Game Stooge

Today’s Virtual Console Games: July 14

• Scribbled on July 14th, 2008 by Jonah Falcon
• Filed in Action, New Release(s), Nintendo Wii, Press Release, Virtual Console

Well, for a change, there’s two Virtual Console titles instead of the now-usual one, but neither are going to make people jump for joy.

The first is the most obscure of all the Donkey Kong titles, Donkey Kong 3, which is about as far removed from the series formula as you can possibly get. The hero this time is Stanley, an exterminator who is fighting off insects sicced on him by Donkey Kong. It’s as if it was developed as a game just about Stanley and bees, and someone decided to include Donkey Kong to get the game noticed.

Ninja Commando was an obscure NEO*GEO title in which you played a machine-gun wielding ninja in a free-scrolling top-down shooter. Yes, it’s as lame as it sounds.

• Donkey Kong™ 3 (NES®, 1-2 players, 500 Wii Points)
• NINJA COMMANDO (NEOGEO, 1-2 players, 900 Wii Points)

Gotta wonder when Nintendo will start releasing some of the titles that people, you know, want. And that doesn’t include competitive eating.

Click “Read more…” for the official press release stuff.

Donkey Kong™ 3 (NES®, 1-2 players, Rated E for Everyone, 500 Wii Points): Based on the third game in the enormously popular arcade series, Donkey Kong 3 introduces an exterminator named Stanley as he desperately tries to protect the flowers in his greenhouse from Donkey Kong. Armed only with a can of bug spray, Stanley must force Donkey Kong higher and higher into the greenhouse rafters until Donkey Kong is off the screen and the next stage is reached. Not surprisingly, Donkey Kong isn’t going to move without a fight, so he sends wave after wave of bugs, bees and other creatures toward Stanley. Not only must Stanley repel the insects in order to save the flowers, but he’ll also have to keep an eye out for projectiles thrown by Donkey Kong himself. If Stanley is good enough, he’ll be able to grab a can of more powerful bug spray and really get Donkey Kong moving. It all adds up to frantic fun that anyone can enjoy.

NINJA COMMANDO (NEOGEO, 1-2 players, Rated E10+ for Everyone 10 and Older-Mild Language, Fantasy Violence, 900 Wii Points): NINJA COMMANDO is a vertically scrolling action game released by ADK in 1992. Players choose from among three ninjas-Joe, descended from the Koga ninja; Rayar, a woman who has learned the ways of the Iga ninja; and Ryu, descendant of the famous ninja Fuma Kotaro-as they pursue the merchant of death known as Spider, who plans to use a time machine to bring havoc to the world. The battle spans seven time periods, including the Stone Age, the Egyptian era and the Japanese Civil War era. Each hero features a variety of attack options in addition to their own normal attacks, including a deadly attack that inflicts damage upon all enemies on the screen, special ninja-arts attacks performed by inputting specific commands, and a powerful attack unleashed by taking on the “shape of the beast” when three scrolls have been collected. The game also supports two-player cooperative play, so you’re welcome to bring a friend and enjoy taking on the evil Spider together.

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