Game Stooge

Today’s Virtual Console Titles: June 23

• Scribbled on June 23rd, 2008 by Jonathon Howard
• Filed in Action, New Release(s), Nintendo Wii, Platformer, Press Release, Retro, Virtual Console

I can only raise the same complaint about poor choices so many times. With a back-catalog as amazing as Nintendo’s is - not to mention Sega’s and NeoGeo’s as well - why do wee keep seeing mediocre and instantly forgettable games released on Virtual Console week after week? I’d like to sit down with the man in charge of their on-line content strategy and have a real heart-to-heart. Would he wow me, or merely convince me that they have no strategy? I’d put a whole lot of money on the latter.

• Alex Kidd in Miracle World (Sega Master System, 1 player, 500 Wii Points)
• BURNING FIGHT (NEOGEO, 1-2 players, 900 Wii Points):

Alex Kidd in Miracle World and Burning Fight. I don’t know what to say… Have you heard of either of these games? Alex Kidd was the built-in game in some Sega Master System consoles; growing up I didn’t even know Sega had a Master System, everyone I knew had a Nintendo. Alex Kidd in Miracle World is your standard run and jump platformer, the only unique game-play feature being that you fought the bosses in best 2 out of 3 matches of rock-paper-scissors. Unless you need this for nostalgia reasons, I recommend playing rock-paper-scissors with your room mate.

Burning Fight is a beat ‘em up; basically Final Fight and Double Dragon, except more forgettable. I’d pass on it if I were you.

Click “Read more…” for the press release info.

Alex Kidd in Miracle World (Sega Master System, 1 player, Rated E for Everyone-Comic Mischief, 500 Wii Points): In this platformer from the 1980s, you’re Alex Kidd, looking for your lost brother Egle. In order to find your brother, you’ll have to contend with the evil Janken the Great, who will send his henchmen and monsters at you to thwart your progress. One aspect of this adventure is that you’ll have to play the classic game of “rock, paper, scissors” against the henchmen in order to defeat them. With 16 different levels to conquer in order to save Egle, this classic is sure to test your skills and your wits at the same time.

BURNING FIGHT (NEOGEO, 1-2 players, Rated E10+ for Everyone 10 and Older-Mild Suggestive Themes, Violence, 900 Wii Points): Released in 1991 by SNK, BURNING FIGHT is a side-scrolling hand-to-hand-combat action game. In pursuit of Casterora, leader of a huge syndicate that has escaped from New York to Osaka, the protagonists are three detectives: Duke, Ryu and Billy. Each character fights using a combination of punches, kicks and jumps, plus his own particular special move, activated by simultaneously pressing the jump and attack buttons. These lethal techniques have enormous destructive force, but they also consume a great deal of energy. For this reason, players must use their special moves with skillful timing. Luckily for the detectives, new weapons and additional health can be found by breaking things like phone booths and street signs along the way. A boss, who must be defeated in order to continue the mission, awaits players at the end of each stage. You can also take on the gang with a friend, but beware-attacks by one player can damage the other, so keep an eye on where your partner is in the heat of the battle. End Casterora’s reign of terror once and for all.

For more information about Wii, please visit wii.com.