Game Stooge

Today’s Virtual Console Titles: September 1

• Scribbled on September 1st, 2008 by Jonathon Howard
• Filed in New Release(s), Nintendo Wii, Press Release, Puzzle, RPG, Retro, Virtual Console

I’m stunned! Near speechless actually! Nintendo is actually releasing game on Virtual Console that we might actually want? Did someone over at HQ lose their mind? Did they decide it was actually time to give their customers quality games? It appears so, because this week you can download the Nintendo/Square RPG Super Mario RPG (800 points). The other game? Well, Nintendo didn’t want to change too fast, they don’t want you to get used to expecting quality from either of their DLC services (did you see that over on WiiWare Nintendo is taking your money for a superfluous screen saver for your television?) so this week you can also get yourself a copy of Clu Clu Land (500 points).

• Clu Clu Land™ (NES®, 1-2 players, 500 Wii Points)
• Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars (Super NES, 1 player, 800 Wii Points)

What to say about these two games? That’s a tough one, Mario RPG is the last good RPG to come out for the SNES during its lifecycle, which isn’t that big of a surprise as it was developed by Square. The story has to do with a new enemy endangering the mushroom kingdom and Mario again has to save the day, with the help of a puppet, something akin to Kirby, Princess Toadstool, and his old time nemesis Bowser, who doesn’t like someone horning in on his game. The game is a mix up of traditional platformer and role playing game. The battle system specifically combines Square’s well known turn based battle system with various timed based button mashing for increased damage (just like in the Mario and Luigi RPGs for Nintendo’s portable consoles). This is a fun game and was the largest influence on later Mario RPGs. Hopefully this is a sign we’ll see more Square games on VC in the future (I’m thinking Secret of Mana…) 

Clu Clu Land? Skip it, this is a terrible game where using poor controls you move around a maze finding golden coins and avoiding urchins… This is the kind of release Nintendo is better known for!

Full details after the break.

Clu Clu Land™ (NES®, 1-2 players, Rated E for Everyone, 500 Wii Points): Take a deep breath and prepare for a puzzle game set in the underwater kingdom of Clu Clu Land. The greedy Sea Urchins have stolen all of Clu Clu Land’s gold bars and buried them in a series of mazes. As Bubbles, a brave bubble fish, you’ll set out to uncover all of the gold bars in each maze. But you’ll have to be careful: Sea Urchins will relentlessly pursue Bubbles, and there are also dangerous black holes that must be avoided. Bubbles isn’t defenseless, though, as she has the ability to stun Sea Urchins with sound waves and quickly change direction using posts scattered throughout the stages. Not only that, but the locations of the gold bars in each maze form the outline of another object—once you know the object, you’re well on your way to finding the gold. With 20 stages to complete and increasingly complex conditions (like having to pass over the gold bars twice to uncover them), you might just want to bring along a friend for help.

Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars (Super NES, 1 player, Rated E for Everyone, 800 Wii Points): Set in the Mushroom Kingdom and featuring its cast of well-known characters, this adventure RPG begins with a familiar scenario: Mario™ must rescue Princess Toadstool™ from Bowser™. However, a mysterious new enemy named Smithy soon appears, and Mario and Bowser are forced to fight as allies for the first time in their long history. In the quest to defeat their powerful new foe, they’ll journey across a wide variety of locations (a town of mining moles, a tropical forest, a thundering waterfall—just to name a few) and tackle a mix of obstacles requiring both expert timing and strategy to overcome. Along the way, they’ll gain experience and grow more powerful, while also meeting new characters whose unique abilities will be needed to take on Smithy and his gang. Striking a perfect balance of traditional RPG elements and the action-packed game play Mario is famous for, it’s easy to see why this title has earned “legendary” status.