The VC recommendation post

[DEMON212]

There's been so many posts about what games people should get and "What is so and so like?" so i've had a great idea.

This is the official recomendation post.

This is a post where people can come and look at forum goers recomendations.

Post up about whatever game you like and about however many you want to. Basically I want you guys to do a mini review about it. And don't worry if someone else has already written one, you can still do one. I want people to post up there opinions.

Why do you think it's a good game? What do you think it's strengths are? Why do you think that people should spend the few points they have left on it? If it's multiplayer, tell the folks. CO-OP? VS? both? Do you think it's hard? Is it a long game? Is it replayable? Etc...

So stop reading and start typing

[DEMON212]

60 views and NO-ONE! wants to be the first to post?

Fine. I'll start.

Super Castlevania IV (last game I beat).

This is a sidescrolling adventure game where you have to fight your way through Dracula's castle so that you can kill Dracula. You have a whip which is pants (until you upgrade it. It can be upgraded twice and each time you upgrade it it gets longer and more powerful) and you can collect several side weapons which requires Hearts to use. The side weapons range from Daggers and Axes to Crosses and Holy Water (which many people call Firebombs ).

The game starts hard and gets harder. This game has 12 levels each with 3-4 sections and a boss. It is a password save game and when you enter a password you must enter the USERNAME that you got the password under. The game allows you to configure your controls so this is one of the few games where the NGC's button placement isn't a problem. It cannot be used with the Wiimote.

Rather than desribe the actual gameplay, i'll show you

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rxkq402gYEo

IMO this is one of the best Vania games, and easily one of the best VC games out now. It is 800 points and is a steal at this low price.

[RMA]

My recommendation wondering which game to download first is, in my opinion, the greatest game ever made.

Super Mario World.

I've seen this game completed within 15 minutes. It's that easy if you know how. Took me three weeks when I first bought my SNES. And then I found out about the secret levels, switching palaces, ghost houses, etc. Took me a long time to find all of those. And then I found out about the Top Secret levels...and believe me, if you like a challenge, try these!

Super Mario World really reached new heights for offering diversity in the gameplay, from the simple classic Super Mario Bros. early levels to the challenge of picking the right rooms and making progress in Bowsers Castle, through underwater, lava filled and cape-wearing flying levels...97 exits to find means you're going to need plenty of time to finish this one!

Then there's getting used to using the various Yoshi's!

Great value at 800 points and a game you'll return to again and again just for the sheer fun of it. GENIUS.

Now if only I get off of the end screen without resetting...

[Kevin]

My recommendation: Punch-Out!!

Now, I'm not a big sports gamer anymore, (Wii Bowling is an exception though.) but when I got the NES when I was a kid, I was crazy about sports games. This one is no different! I remember the first time I rented it I was like, whoa! This is awesome! Punch-Out!! gives you that reaction knowing its awesome playing through the first couple rounds immediately. The game is that special. The gameplay is great, the graphics were good for its day and it is a pretty challenging game. It took me a long time to get far in the game (and beat it) thanks to the boxer's different styles and adjusting at the proper time.

This game, nearly 20 years later is still a blast to play and will be enjoyed by everyone who plays it for many years to come! Download this now! Its only 500 points, which is an absolute steal for an old school classic such as this.

[dk_xcalibur]

My recommendation: Star Fox 64

I think the #1 thing that I like about this game is the arcade feeling of "beating your old score" about this game. The characters are cool, their voices are really well done and the level design is great. You can play through the entire game in a very short time but the game makes you want to play it again and try to do better so you can reach harder levels or earn medals or just beat your old score. I also think the controls are very good and the game play is spot on. It has its problems also, but what game doesn't.

The value might not be as strong as other games since this game downloads for 1000 points and because the actual game is not long, but it does have strong replay value.

If you download this game, I hope you enjoy it as much as I do.

[Jazzem]

I'll be a little quirky

Chew Man Fu

I'm willing to bet not a single person on this forum had played this game before the VC. I'm one such person who'd never heard of it. But it's proof, if any was needed, that being adventurous with VC purchases and buying games you've never played before can be worthwhile!

It's a wacky, off the wall ball rolling-maze-puzzle game, and a good one at that! You play a role of a female monk (...As always?), rolling four differently coloured balls around several mazes, trying to roll each onto their respectively coloured panel. Along the way are enemies who you can kick a ball you're rolling into, and walls that can be demolished in the same way.

It's a simple premise, but there's surprisingly quite a bit of depth to the game. For example, each ball has it's own advantage when rolling; Black destroys walls with few hits, red kills enemies with few hits, blue bounces against walls quickly and green is a bit of everything. It's things like this, along with the enemies and their thought patterns that put a bit of strategy into the game, making it very satisfying to play

The game manages to keep things varied by always introducing new little mechanics throughout, so repetition is never an issue. It's not bad value for money either, the main quest is 50 or so levels as it is, then there's a second quest to deal with (which implements more difficult maze designs and different graphics for the mazes), a level creator,a two player co-op mode and a two player kickball competition (Though I haven't had the chance to play the two player sadly). Either way, it's been one of my favourite VC releases =) If you're mildly interested or curious about it, or just happen to want something different, download it now!

[Hendo]

As posted in the SNES folder, mine has to be ActRaiser.
Single player only, half god-sim half action-RPG.
Think Sim City simplified with action platform parts very similar to Castlevania. It's one of the best games I've ever played, let alone downloaded.

[mastershake]

I would recommend Streets of Rage 2.

Now most people here probably know enough about this, but basically it's the king if side scrolling beat 'em ups. You can take control of one of four characters, each with their own strengths. You fight through 8 levels of mayhem to the end, with some levels having up to 5 or 6 "sub levels".

The main point of this game is to have fun. I'm not sure exactly what it is, but this game is just plain fun, especially the 2 player mode. Perhaps is the wide range of moves available. Also, you can take friendly fire so to speak, which adds new strategy when playing 2 player. The easy mode is way to super easy, and normal mode is somewhat difficult. the jump here in difficulty really is my only complaint.

Go spend 800 points on this one, you won't be sorry.

[chris_92]

ocarina of time

its a really fun game you have so much to do, there side quests and you can collect heaps of items and weapons, the 3D stunning world is fantastic its just like the real world, it'll get you hooked on the game till you beat it, its a good challenging game for those who want a challenge.

[Jonno]

Argh... this is a real toughie but... I'll recommend.... Super Castlevania IV.
It is the best treasure among a vast sea of poopies! Oh god, I just sound like the dub version of Luffy...

No matter how hard Castlevania IV is, (had it since the very beginning of the Wii and just beat the first level) it is still a great example of a horror game not gone soo very, very wrong, unlike the ultra hard die-after-fifteen-seconds-of-play Super Ghouls 'n Ghosts (I'm not bashing the long running series or really this game. Buy it if you want a Contra-ish challenge) or the just plain mediocre Splatterhouse! (sorry Mendez)

[Sektor]

I think.... Military Madness


This game is like awsumwa powa!!
Basically imagine advanced wars.. u like? Then you'll love this

In my opinion it is better, main diffrences are that you move units on hexagons instead of squares, units are diffrent and you dont have boat units.

Another advantage of this game over AW is the 'surround support',,,.. whats this u ask? ...Well gather round children and i will tell.


'Surround support' is when you group your units togther for extra support
.
eg:

A tank is going to attack your tank, (they are both the same tanks btw), they take each other out equally.
However if this tank attacks your tank while you have say... another tank next to it, because you have two against one your tank gets extra support, and thus annihilates the enemy tank in a unequal proportion.

Another cool factor is the terrain, but i think you know about this, hehe, if you don't it is when you get attack power(or defense) if you are on a hill, mountain, cliff etc.

This all makes the game more interesting and fun.

So yes thats MM, hope you liked the recommendation, it is good fun ohh!.. and it has an excellent 2 player! but i'll let you discover that for yourself

600 points is a bargain and it will keep your attention for a while with 32 missions.

It is also quite challenging, so don't expect an easy game from this.

hope you enjoy it

[fire deity]

The legend of zelda : ocarina of time

Still to this day, this game is my all time favourite. There is a lot of secret levels and has amazing graphics for it's day. This game was undoubtly the best game of its time and always will be. You get to slay monsters with your sword, do horseback archery, defead dungeons with difficult bosses at the end an you pick up various weapons / armour throughout the game. THIS IS A DEFINATE MUST HAVE FOR ANY ADVENTURE RPGER

[shrapnel]

i think you need to work out a little equation here, what about the most bang for your buck? Do you think one would spend just as much time playing punch-out!! as they would ocarina of time?

My recommendation for a game that will last you is: ocarina of time

For a quick fix i would recommend: street fighter 2 Turbo

I have invested a lot of time in ninja gaiden however, thats probably due to the difficulty but i have beaten it recently and im trying to think of the game i spent the most time playing... oh well i just know that mario 3 is my all time favorite, but that wont be coming out for years.

[alexknibb]

I'm gonna stick my two penneth worth in too.

My vote also goes for Military Madness on the TG16.

If the virtual console was designed for one thing, it's games with shed-loads of playability that'll keep your mind off the dated graphics. And what suits this the best? Strategy games.

Military Madness is a lot like Advance Wars, although I think I almost prefer this retro version. The surround and support bonuses add a real level of strategy to where you place your units and how you back them up. While any variety at all on the background gfx would've been nice and the units are all revealed only a few levels in, once you're sucked in, it's just like an ultra-cool version of chess. And when was the last time you complained that a chessboard only had 2 colour backgrounds?

Basically, 600 pts for this gem is the bargain of the decade, and after I was recommended it by other users on here, I wouldn't hesitate to recommend it for any strategy fans or to anyone who wants a VC game that'll be more than an hour's fun. I've played it for almost a day in total and I'm still only on level 16.

On a side note, and this is just my opinion, I couldn't get into Lylat Wars/Star Fox 64. The lack of an in-game save feature put me off to quite a degree, and it frustrated me too much to replay the earlier levels every time I played. Doesn't seem to have put others off, but if it sounds like a sticking point for you, might be worth thinking about. On the other hand, F Zero X is just as good as I remember and a good buy for 1000 pts.

I'll shut up now.

[Tennant]

I recomend Soldier Blade on the TG16.

It's a vertical shoot 'em up. Music is great, it looks very nice, and the weapon upgrade system is pretty cool. Boss' are huge, and there's also a Challenge Mode, sort of like a Time Trial. I hear this mode was used in tournaments and compertitions many a year ago.

If you're after a good shmup, I highly recomend this game.

[DEMON212]

I’d like to recommend 3 games. Starting with…

Mega Man on the NES.

Mega Man games I’d played before were disappointing (This is the first MM game but wasn’t my first), to say the least I wasn’t all that big a fan of them and in my experiences they definitely didn’t deserve the hype.

I got bored with them easily and thought it stupid that in order to beat certain bosses, you needed certain guns, but to get those guns from the other bosses you needed certain guns to beat those bosses from the bosses that you needed to beat in order to get those guns.

All in all it was very confusing and irritating.

The NES Mega Man is a lot more lenient with this, making the bosses difficult, but not to difficult if you don’t have the right gun to make it easier.

It’s got colourful graphics, good music and most importantly, challenging and addictive game play.

7 levels in all each with there own boss. Who all differ in attack and defence thus keeping you on your toes.

For a mere 500 points, there are few netter games out there and this is definitely worth a shot for anyone who’s a fan of side scrollers

Now we go onto…

Castlevania on the NES.

This game wins the best music on the NES award for me.

In this game you go from left to right and sometimes right to left, fighting you way through hordes and hordes of the un-dead. Which manifest themselves in many different forms.

From Vampires to Zombies, Werewolves to Mummy’s and even Knights with big Axes.

Like all over Vania games these games have impressive visuals, great music, addictive game play and rock hard game play too.

IMO it’s a must have title and well worth 500 points.

And finally…

Super Mario Bros. on the NES.

If you haven’t played this game before, then hit yourself, HARD!

This game is so close to perfection it’s unreal. And lifespan, well, how many other games do you know that still keeps playing people even after 20 years!

This game is fantastic. It’s simple and to the point.

[Pit 42]

Kid Icarus

This is, without a doubt, one a the greatest games you could download. If you liked Mario, Zelda, and Metroid, you'll probably like this, too. Kid Icarus blends all the fun elements from those NES titles and makes them better. Kid Icarus has dungeons to explore like Zelda, tricky jumps which will challenge your platforming skills like Mario, and creative enemies to shoot like Metroid. Now that the main character Pit is going to be playable in Smash Bros. Brawl, what better time to pick up a copy of one of the most underrated NES classics ever?

[SKTTR]

I recommend

SimCity

Everyone knows SimCity. What should I say? What do you wanna know?
First, there are 2 main game options. Free Build and Scenario mode.

There are 6 (+2) scenarios. In each of them you have a limited amount of time to save the city or make the city better. Bowser is coming in one scenario trampling down all buildings in his way. Then there's one where the flood comes. Then there's one where an atom reactor explodes and you'll have to build the city outside of the radioactive zones etc.

In Free Build mode you start your own city from scratch. You have 1000 (+1000) free maps to choose from. They're not that different from each other with rivers and lakes here and there but anyway, find a land that you like and build a city like you want. Build power plants, connect them with electricity cables to all the other buildings, i.e. buildings for the citizen to live, buildings for the citizen to buy and buildings for the citizen to work. Then they should be connected with roads or rails. You need police stations against crime or fire stations against catastrophes. It's simple and easy and you'll get addicted if you like this type of game. All you have to do is move a cursor around the map, build a few things and let the time pass to see how everything's growing.

There are things to watch out for: taxes can be manipulated, you must keep an eye on air pollution, and build effective so there are no traffic jams and many other little things. good city builders get bonus buildings to grow population. Target is to get the biggest city possible.

You can save your game on 2 files whenever you want to stop.
So two people can play on a seperate file. Or you can build to seperate cities. Or you may as well play Scenario modes on one file and have your own city on the other file.

It has neat graphics and very good music.

I recommend this for everyone who think there's a lack of
creativity games or city-simulation games on Wii.

Also, this game kills time like no other.
You easily spent more time on this than on a regular Wii game.

[DEMON212]

Guys, it's a "recomendation" post, not a "dispute why you don't like a game" post

Mach Rider.

This game gets a bit of a bum rap, but I fail to see why. Sure graphically it's not much. But the music is fantastic and the gameplay is great.

Basically there's 3 modes of play. On Fighting Course you drive with an energy/life limit until you reach a certain point when it kicks you onto the next highway. But it's not that easy. On the roads there's hazards to make you crash and enemies to try and crash into you. You continue on until you've beaten all 10 roads, or you lose all your lives. Then you redo it.

Then there's the Endurance Course where you drive a certain distance within a time limit. Same as above when it comes to the roads.

And then there's the Solo Course, which is just a harder version of Endurance. No enemies but LOTS more hazards and tight turns.

You can also create your own courses to drive on and save them (Something which is new to the game. Added for the VC).

Controls are pretty tight and I never mess up because of them, it's always because I suck

The game is very basic. But it's just so much fun and for 500 points you can do better, but you can do oh so much worse. Not an amazing game, just a really good fun game that'll keep you playing for quite some time. It's also the perfect "pick up and play for a quick 5 mins" game. Well worth the 500 points IMO.

[Sektor]

Originally Posted by DEMON212

Guys, it's a "recomendation" post, not a "dispute why you don't like a game" post

Sorry bout that Had to fuel my views :P


Hehe


excite bike

This game is great, its very old yes and alot of people are harsh on it (ONM only giving it 64%) but i think its hasn't aged at all, its so simple and brainless yet so amazing, not to mention a good challenge, and there a track editor that lets you save tracks thanks to the wii memory

Its great i always go back now and then for a quick play

In my opinion this is one game that is defo. worth 500 points.

[Balrog]

One of the best SNES games ever and one of the best R-Types ever. And one of the best shmups ever!

I reccomend R-Type III because... well it's self explanatory. The graphics are wonderful and realistic, the music was absolutely epic, and the gameplay was fun and challenging.

On top of that it's has 3 loops. 3 different missions for you to clear. Now I don't mean 3 stages, I mean 3 loops of 6 stages. (unless it's 7)

I have always had fun with this game, most who downloaded had fun, and I hope any newbies to the game will have fun too. And if you still have R-Type I and II somewhere, you will not be disappointed.

THIS IS A HYPED GAME THAT LIVED UP TO THAT HYPE. GET IT NOW.

[DEMON212]

Devil's Crush.

Fan of Pinball games everywhere, do yourself a big favour and download this game ASAP.

The music is brilliant, the gameplay is brilliant, the graphics are really nice and polished, the art style is really cool. I could go on for ages.

As all other Pinball games, the object of this one is to get the most points. Unlike all other Pinball games though, you have enemies and bosses to fight along the way to get those points up.

You can gain extra balls in many ways which all add to your points. For people living in the 1800's, Pinball is this. You fire a ball onto the board, and hit it at objects with your flippers. One button controls the left and another the right. You fall down to the very bottom of the board, and you lose.

This game is fantastic and hugely addictive. The only slight problem I have with this game is the flippers aren't as fast as I like. For example, play Alien Crush then play Devil's Crush and you'll know what I mean. DC it's as if you have to push the button half a second before you want the flipper to move. Which greatly affects your accuracy when you're trying to fire the ball in a specific area. But hopefully this can be fixed with an update.

But as bad as that may sound, it still doesn't stop this game from being hugely enjoyable and addictive. 600 points is an absolute bargain.

Alien Crush.

I never got into this game until DC. If you can only get one, then get DC. But if you can get both, then do so.

Pretty much everything isn't as good as DC. Except the flippers which are much better. Alot more sensitive. But even though that makes this game sound crap, it's really good.

Pretty much same as above. Because afterall, it's the same series.

[SKTTR]

I recommend

Dynamite Headdy

This is really a crazy fast paced action platformer with quite a few puzzles and minigames, several cool secrets and some amazing graphic effects. every stage is different and detailed. backgrounds, animation, colors. just cool.
action is challenging but in a good way. every enemy has it's weak spot, and if you're doing it right, you can easily rush through that game.
the Wii's save function really helps if you need to pause this game. you can only beat it in one go. Mischief Makers had a stage select und you always could go back and collect secret points. this would have been a nice addition to Dynamite Headdy. anyway it's a great game.
the stages are short but very different from each other. there's no repetitiveness in this game.
for now it's always fun to come back. even if i don't kill baby face.
the levels are just perfect designed and make the gameplay fun.

Donkey Kong Country 2 : Diddy's Kong Quest

I recommend this to every ape. I love this series. For me it's gameplay always has been top notch. It's fun. It's challenging and thanks to the map system, you can select every level, you've beaten. it's obvious that the save system here makes this game a little more attractive and less challenging than Dynamite Headdy. But DKC2 has it's great parts where precious platforming skills are required.


Both games are cool. That's why they're on my first Wii channel site. ^^
Dynamite Headdy is 5 Stars, but probably not made for everyone.

Donkey Kong Country 1&2 are 5 Stars, and among some others, the greatest platformers on the SNES.

[The shoemaker]

This game is great theres so many things to do. no matter when you play thing game you have fun. The fighting is taking turns this is an rpg game. So you get level ups. the fighting is just challenging enough for you to in joy it. the story line is funny and insane. you get party members to help you on your way, each with different moves. use badges to make you stronger, or help you with different abilities or help your partners. Has loads of side quests And is just plain fun. I'd give it 5 stars.

[enjoievan]

Super Metroid

"Wow." is all I have to say about this game.
Quite possibly the best Metroid game ever made, it tops many a gamer's top 10 list. Explore the vast world of Zebes, discovering secrets to mind-bending puzzles. There is no right strategy to finish the game. Because of it's open-endedness, it is considered one of the most popular speed-run games of all time, and will be fun on every playthrough. If you have 800 points to spare, pick this one up ASAP. If you don't, get up out of your chair this instant and drive/walk to the nearest store and buy some Wii points immediately. This is an incredible adventure that never loses it's charm, and is certainly not one to be missed.

[Mendez]

Wrecking Crew

I know many people are saying this is a bad game, but I just can't see where they're getting this from at all.
It's a great game, it has decent music, the graphics look good for it's time and the puzzling gameplay is really good.
There are 50 stages, so it should keep you going for a fair while, and there's also the create your own level feature, which you will now be able to save, though I haven't tried that yet.
It'd probably do you good to watch a video first before making the download, just so you know what you're getting.

8.5/10

[Drake]

There's 100 stages actually. And if you're stuck you can just go back to the title screen and select the next one.

[Pocketim]

Battle Lode Runner

Do you like puzzles? Do you like action? Do you like running around the place digging holes that evil bombermen fall into and then watch them struggle to climb out? Then battle lode runner is the game for you.

The Facts:

100 stages
Level Edit Mode
Level Select
Save features
5-player multiplayer
Original version only released in Japan

Battle lode runner is a puzzle game, but not like you may think. If you make plans of what you are going to do before you start you will have a better chance of winning, coz if you forget to dig in the right place, then you will find yourself trapped before you know it. Your runner’s ability is to dig holes, this will help you trick the enemies such as dinosaurs. If a baddie falls in a hole, then he is trapped and he can not harm you until he climbs out. Get touched by a baddie and you will have to start the level again. So how do you win a level anyway? Simple, get all the gold and then you will see a message saying GET OUT! Now all you have to do is climb up the new ladder and get out of the level.
One of the biggest downfalls of this game is that it is extremely frustrating, it's one of those games where you get trapped every 2 minutes but the good thing about that is that completing a level is always very exciting, and you will likely be going crazy shouting "Yes!!! I completed the level!!!! It was so hard!!!" or something like that. Level Editing isn't too hard, in fact, it is very basic, and it's a nice little extra feature. You can also save your levels, game progress and stuff like that, so if you reset the game, your levels and game progress will still be saved. The game also has multiplayer, which can be played with up to five players, It's nowhere near as fun as Bomberman, but is still quite enjoyable, and it can be played alone, and has lots of different modes, and yes you can make your own multiplayer levels with level edit. Graphics are nothing special but aren’t terrible, just basic but there is good music that fits in with the levels well, like the China level.

Overall, Battle Lode Runner is a bit like a mix of adventures of Lolo and Bomberman, and IS a fun game, but probably not for everyone as the difficulty is a real pain, but is good for a challenge.

Overall Score: 8.1/10.0

[Zombie]

Super Mario 64

One of my top 10 favorite games of all time really, this game is really a masterpiece.

Clean, attractive graphics, some of the landscapes on the different worlds are just wow.

Plenty of different worlds, of which, if you want to get all the stars have to go through more than once, so this game will keep you occupied for a while.

Love the music, upbeat to epic, a delight the whole way through.

If you call yourself a platformer fan, than you need to get this game right now. The only thing it doesn't have is two player, but that shouldn't ever stop you form buying it.

Here's a gameplay video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bqvfWNaI4Cg

Wii Points: 1000
System: N64

[The shoemaker]

I don't think any one would agree with me but yoshi story. Honestly it's a good game, really. I just got the game so I don't know much about it but I'll tell you the most I can. There's six worlds and 4 levels in each world. Graphics are good. The game play is just like yoshis island but maybe better. You walk side to side not all around. You can chose between I think 7 different yoshis with different likes and dislikes. you must get through a level by eating 30 pieces of fruit. Yeah sound easy but also remember at the end of the level you get scored and you want the best score you can get. so By collecting coins, hearts melons and yoshis you can try and get a perfect score. You only have to do 1 level per world because once you lose all of your yoshis you have to start all over. some people think thats cheep but really, it's how you get more re playability in the game. And there's also trail mode where you can play any of the levels you've been to and try and beat your score. and remember there's also the legendary black and white yoshis you can get. This game isn't my favorite but it's a really good game. I would give it an 8/10 maybe 7.5/10. so this is a good game and to some people this game isn't worth 1000 points but to me it is. at first you may not like this game, but if you keep trying it gets really fun.

[jmhanson11]

I would have to reccomend this game because of the sweet multi-player. Up to 5 people can play. Basicly you have to set bombs to try to destroy the blocks and then trap and kill your oppenent. Its easy to learn anf fun for everybody. I had a couple of friends over and we played for at least 2 hours straight.

8.5/10

[Juice_Lee]

I posted this long entry on my website. Seven virtual console reviews.

Gunstar Heroes



Thinking back, it’s actually pretty shocking that Treasure managed to pull off a game as good as Gunstar Heroes as a first release. After all, it was during the same year that the company also released McDonalds Treasure Land Adventure, typically designated as the worst game Treasure has ever made. I think part of what makes Gunstar Heroes such a cult hit today is how accessible of a game it was and still is. At this point the Super Nintendo was busy cranking out their impressive repertoire of Role Playing Games. To this day, my most poignant video game memories are that of playing my friends SNES back when I was a kid and experiencing in full games like Earthbound, Chrono Trigger, Lufia 2, and Secret of Mana. But today I look back at all the games I played as a kid with a much more impatient eye, which is strange considering my change in age. I find games that are accessible to be more enjoyable, and Gunstar Heroes delivers on a level of sheer fun factor that rivals that of, say, Mario Kart, a game that my friends and I stills swear at one another over today.
What makes Gunstar Heroes so brilliant is the juxtaposition of it’s simple traditional concept and it’s complex mode of play. As in an other Shoot’em’up game from the nineties, you are small, your enemies are many, and your goal is the right side of the screen, or at least what is as close as can be to it’s reach. The graphics are plush and memorable and the music is uptempo and fun. What first strikes the player about this game is how fast paced it is. It rivals games today for sheer adrenaline, because at any given time, as many as ten or more enemies are on the screen, running toward you at the full extent of their tiny football player legs. They are weak, and they explode into fire when you shoot them. And when you are moving forward very quickly and turning in all directions to get a shot on these walking or flying enemies, your TV screen is mostly likely wishing that it could bleed just so that the scope of this game could be felt in the real world. The game has several difficulty settings, and even seasoned platformer fans won’t find too much safety in easy mode. The later modes can get, in a word, brutal. The remedy for this is the fact that two people can play it at once, cooperatively taking down levels with precision and different guns for different situations.
Which brings me to this games most brilliant stroke of fun… Customization. Ever since Pokemon shattered your piggy bank ten years ago, customization has been a necessity with electronic games. It was at that time that people realized how much it mattered to put oneself into the game to extract it’s true enjoyability. That said, Gunstar Heroes is WAY ahead of it’s time. If the game only contained one or two guns, or even many like Contra, it wouldn’t be half as special. But the game not only provides two different styles of control that deeply effect how the game is played but also four different types of guns, a rapid fire gun, a laser gun, a flamethrower, and a homing gun. That’s four right there. But the beauty here is that you can combine them to create double weapons, combining the elements. That’s six more. Plus the fact that you can combine two weapons of the same type. Four more. That’s fourteen weapons total, all of which have their advantages, disadvantages, and mediums of fun. Beyond this depth, the game just never stops being fun. It also has a fun throwing/melee system which gives the player more options than simply shooting, and it contains about eight levels of nonstop action, fun bosses, and areas that require both skill and know-how to complete. It’s no wonder why Gunstar Heroes has been released so many times; on Game Gear, in a PS2 Treasure Compilation, on the Wii Virtual Console, and with a spectacular Gameboy Advance remake Gunstar Super Heroes… This game stands the test of time. Quite possibly Treasures greatest game.



Sin And Punishment






Sin and Punishment is best described as what would happen if Starfox, Time Crisis, House of the Dead, and Jet Force Gemini all got together and had a beautiful, relentless love child. I suppose now is as good a time as ever to acknowledge this great game, considering it does take place in 2007 despite being made in 2000. Why you never got to play this game is sadly unknown. It was translated into English. Hell, the voice acting was originally in English anyway, don’t ask why, so all the nitty gritty was already done with, and the only thing left to really do was release it. It never happened. I guess it could have been due to a lack of interest, considering this was right on the line between the birth of the Gamecube and the death of the Nintendo 64. In any case, you have been robbed of one of the finest games the N64 has to offer. Regardless of your language capabilities, playing this game is awesome, even if you have to import it for a ridiculous price and carefully saw off some bits of plastic so that it will fit into your inferior American console. Goddam, this you deserve better. You pay your taxes, and you are a respectable citizen, so why the **** wouldn’t Nintendo just push through all the bull**** and do whatever minuscule work it required to release this? I don’t know. Sin and Punishment is friggin awesome, just about as badass of a shooter as you will find on the console and great mesh of different elements of third person shooters. It isn’t without it’s little issues, but the fun factor is through the roof.
The game is a futuristic third person shooter that moves along on “rails,” that is, you don’t choose where you move but instead how you aim and sidestep while going along that set path. The two main characters are Saki and Arain, two brave sensible rebels, and you control them through the games several levels. You are expected to be a walking army with very few weapons, namely a police issue laser gun and a sword built into it. This may seem simple for some peoples tastes, but adding anything more would just ruin everything. It’s really all you need, and you never find yourself wishing you had other weapons in the game. Learning to use both of these weapons efficiently is key; the gun has two modes of aim, one manual and one less powerful lock-on, and they both have their time and place. The key to playing this game effectively is being able to move, aim, and shoot at the same time, and it can get pretty difficult. There are a lot of buttons used in this game, for sure. You need to sidestep, roll, jump, aim, and dodge bullets in rapid succession, so you’ve got enough on your mind to worry about without having many weapons to chose from. The sword is used for close combat only, and it is initiated by tapping Z very quickly when something is near enough. If you can manage to master it, you can end up doing a lot of damage, saving a lot of aiming, and quickly taking down stages with greater efficiency.
Sin and Punishment is, like most games by Treasure, short but sweet. It’s over just as you have gotten pumped enough to enjoy a game three times bigger. Fortunately, the game is so packed with action and fun that it doesn’t really matter. There are several difficulty levels and reason enough to play through the game several times. The sound can be a bit annoying. There is this great scene where Arain is battling her way through a monster infested subway in the dark and it is so ruined by the background music. As far as backgrounds go, the graphics are stunning and great for the N64, but the character designs are presented very poorly. It may be a mixed bag on the outside, but it’s interior is solid. If I didn’t explain thoroughly that this game is ACTION PACKED, well **** I just did it again. It really does remind me of Time Crisis and other similar arcade games where the player has to deal with enemies jumping down from places and sidestepping into different positions that you have to be aware of. Particularly memorable is a scene where Arain takes down an entire Navy in a matter of about two minutes flying around at dizzying speeds on a piece of jagged metal controlled by a psychic friend. It may seem a shame that this game ends so soon, but it’s worth playing over and over again.

[DEMON212]

Crack Down.

So much fun. Especially in CO-OP. Downloaded it today and loved it, and when my mate came round he wanted to try it. So we beat it in one go.

You basically have to run around shooting people, planting bombs, and then finding out how to get the hell out before they blow.

There's slight puzzle and strategic elements to the game, but mainly it's running around firing your gun and planting bombs.

It sounds simple, but it's got quite a bit of depth. Like only having a minute to navigate your way through a maze of electricity that kills in one.

Brilliant game and well worth the 800 point price tag

[The shoemaker]

It's a great game really, it's score is up with the other 3-D Zeldas. Some people who never played this game are turned off because of the graphics and thought it would be like the four soards or something, but it's not, it's sooo much better. The story is just like any other game, save zelda. I'm sorry I can't remember what happened at the beginning because I downloaded it 8 moths ago and I'm still trying to beat it! At first you have to find these ball things so you can beat the evil wizard but once you get to him he tricks you. So after the fight you go to the dark world and you have to save all seven sages. It's a big area to walk around in, dark world and light world, and so many things to find that will help you on your quest. It has great classic zelda music. You collect lots of items like boomerangs, Bombs, hock shot and so much more. Find Four big hearts to make your health go up and, and bottles to keep farries or potions in or whatever you feel like. It has dungeons with mind boggling puzzles, and enemys as big as dragons. And with a great story line and great game play you will be comeing back to play this game again and again. Out of 10 I would give this game a 8.5 or a 9 out of 10. And If you've never played Zelda before this is a great game to start off with.

[DEMON212]

Thank you Tull.

Anyway...

I recomend the Streets trilogy.

All 3 games are superb.

The gameplay in all is bog standard, walking around beating people up. You can collect weapons, lives, health and in SOR 1's case... Special moves.

SOR 1.

Each round you get one special which basically kills everyone in one, except for a boss. Whom it'll severely damage instead.

SOR 2.

You have specials that partain to your health now, as long as you have health, you can use them. Yes, this does make the game a tad bit easier than SOR 1. But it's still hard at times.

SOR 3.

Same as 2, except now you have a special meter, and if it's full, then your special won't hurt you that time.

The music in the first 2 is fantastic, and the story is good. In the third one however, skipping the story and listening to an iPod is perhaps the best way to go.

However, 3 does have a Kangaroo you can play as

Gameplay differs slightly in all of the games. In the first it doesn't tell you your enemies names or remaining energy (Something that was welcomed with open arms for 2 and 3). You also can't do running attacks.

In 2, Skate is the only one with a running attack.

In 3, you all have a running attack. And now, you can do running WEAPON! Attacks

1 is the shortest of the 3, followed probably by 3 (I dunno, I seemed to beat 3 quicker than 2). As in 1, you only have 1 section per stage, 2 and 3 added multiple sections and sub bosses for every stage.

At the end of every stage is a boss, 2 is you're on 2 player on (Not every boss or sub boss doubles up though. It's mainly only in 1 where they double up). And 3 if you're on that pain in the ass stage on 3 (At least it's not 6 for 2 player mode). Oh, and on the final stage of 1, I think you fight 5-10 plus Mr. X. Might be 6-12.

The co-op is brill, as you can do team moves. However, you can also kill your team mate. So be careful.

Fantastic games, well worth the 2,400 points. Good in single play, fantastic in co-op

[Splutter]

The VC is a fantastic thing and has opened my eyes to many classics, in fact I'm playing them more than the games for the wii!

A number of games I recommend I don't have on the VC but on other formats such as the N64 or DS

Mario 64
Zelda Ocarina of Time

Both of these are absolute classics and rate very highly in my all time list, however I have OOT for the Game cube (Windwaker bonus disc) and N64, and mario 64 on both the 64 and the DS so I won't be buying again, if you've never played them you won't be dissapointed.

The other game that I played for the first time after downloading it is Paper Mario this game has sucked up so much of my time, it's a fantastic mix of RPG and action adventure, and far better than the Mario & Luigi game on the DS. I've actually held off buying Super paper mario till I've finished this and then I'll be hunting down the gamecube version as well, can't wait for Mario RPG for the snes to be released as I missed that first time around.

Dragons Curse also dragged me in until I got stuck at the end of the underwater pirate ship unable to hit the boss more than a couple of times, if you are a man of Wonderboy games (The monsterland ones) you'll love it.

[Shortay]

Super Metroid (SNES)
You just can't go wrong with this one, but I won't go on about what the game is like because many already know about it. It's really entertained me so far (and challenged me) and I love the exploration aspects of the game and not knowing where to go or what to do next. I give it 5 stars easily, one of the best SNES games ever.

[DEMON212]

Kirby's Adventure.

The game is a fantastic Platformer from the NES.

The basic object is th eusual left to right to get to the end, and every world you fight a boss.

But Kirby's twist is power. He can suck up almost every enemy on the game, and take a enemies power (If he has one) to use it himself.

The game has tons of diversity. Some levels may require you to speed through them as a tyre, or fly through them as a UFO blasting everything in your way. There's bonus levels that allow you to get powers or lives by either defeating a boss in the colleseum or by catching a Kirby doll with a Crane.

Huge game for the NES, 7 worlds averaging at 6 levels each with bonus levels too. Loads of secret exits and switches to be found to unlock even more levels and bonus levels.

Graphically one of the best on the NES. And music wise, it's got a fantastic upbeat score to it.

500 points is a steal.

[koolkitties]

I can't believe you people are being so cliche. I mean, seriously, trhere are other games than OoT!

Anyways, I'm gonna do a little favorite of mine.

This is a great game. It has a decent amount of skill and depth required, but anybody (but my dad) can pick it up and in fifteen minutes start to play well. The basic game is a simplified game of hockey. You can choose boring countries like Canada, Sweden, USA and Poland, but the fun ones are the places that don't actually exist anymore! Checkoslovakia and SOviet Union FTW! You can choose a team of five, with four being customizable in size. You can choose fatties, skinnies, or borings. I personally prefer to fatties and two skinnies as my team, but different people prefer different things. Customizing your team, the addictive multiplier, addictive music, ball-in-net gameplay and easy learning curve makes this in many ways, in my opinion, the spiritual predecessor to the popular Mario Strikers Charged!

This. This. This is the first good football game. Made form a japanese developer who had probably never watched a game on the NFL once, this is a surprisingly accurate game to the classic gameplay, and more amazingly, it's a hecka lotta fun. The music is very catchy, the graphics work. (Not that great) The multiplayer requires skills and wits, and the whole game offers an addictive pick-up-and-play experience.

NES sports pwn.

[DEMON212]

Like how Drake mentioned how many lvl's Wrecking Crew has...

I feel I should mention that in Hockey, you control your Tendor at the same time as your players. And the shortest game is 21 minutes of play. Close to 30 with stoppages and stuff.

It's what stops me from enjoying it.