Game Stooge

Today’s Virtual Console Titles: August 25

• Scribbled on August 25th, 2008 by Jonah Falcon
• Filed in Fighting, New Release(s), Nintendo Wii, Press Release, RPG, Retro, Virtual Console

This week’s offering of Virtual Console titles is a little better, as Ys and Samurai Showdown II both hit the Virtual Console - though it took a year for Shodown to make it when we last reported it coming to VC and Xbox Live Arcade at the Tokyo Game Show last year.

• Ys Book I & II (TurboGrafx16 CD-ROM, 1 player, 800 Wii Points)
• SAMURAI SHODOWN 2 (NEOGEO, 1-2 players, 900 Wii Points):

Ys Book I & II is a 1990 compilation of the popular Japanese RPG for the TurboGrafx-16, itself ported from the PC compilation itself an adaptation of the first two games. Ys was a refreshing change from the sometimes overcomplicated top-down JRPGs of the time; Ys was just run up, bash bash, battle over.

Samurai Shodown II is a decent fighter, but it’s best remembered for its funny Engrish localization, with such lines as:

• “What a nice person! You kindly give the palm to such a crock!”
• “All creature will die and all the things will be broken. That’s the law of samurai.”
• “Give you my knock for justice!” 

So, this week, we give Virtual Console a knock for justice for its more-than-decent offerings this week.

Check out the press release after the break.

Virtual Console 

(TurboGrafx16 CD-ROM, 1 player, Rated E for Everyone-Mild Fantasy Violence, 800 Wii Points): Ys Book I & II chronicles the first adventures of Adol Christin, a young, red-haired swordsman on a quest to unlock the secrets of an ancient kingdom. As Adol, you search the island of Esteria, gathering clues to unravel the mystery of Ys. Fight monsters that lurk in caves and towers with physical or magical attacks, and use your brain to make your way through dangerous areas filled with traps. In Ys Book I & II, the first titles in the Ys series were put together as a single TurboGrafx CD-ROM. They awed players with their gripping story lines accompanied by fully orchestrated soundtracks, wonderful voice acting and amazing special effects. Don’t miss out on your chance to experience this wonderful piece of gaming history.

Ys Book I & II

SAMURAI SHODOWN 2 (NEOGEO, 1-2 players, Rated T for Teen-Blood, Language, Tobacco Reference, Violence, 900 Wii Points): First released in 1994, this fighting game follows 15 samurai in their individual quests. The rage system, which was popular in the first game, has been further enhanced. Not only does attack power rise when the gauge is full, but the player can also use a special technique that can break the opponent’s weapon and force the opponent to fight unarmed. The game also allows for more movement techniques such as back-stepping, rushing forward and ducking, allowing for even more strategies. A fun and important detail of this game: One of the new characters, Cham Cham, was voiced by voice actress Reiko Chiba, an idol in the gaming community.

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