I still love gaming, though I don’t get to play as much these days. (Having a demanding 14 month old can do that to a person!) Video games were a big part of my life growing up. Me and my brothers had most of the major systems. Throughout the years, we had an Atari 2600, NES, Sega Genesis, Super NES, Sega GameGear, Nintendo GameBoy, Sony Playstation and a Nintendo 64. That’s why I love the Wii now…
One of the great things about the Wii is the ability to download older games via the Virtual Console. With the Virtual Console you can buy older games that appeared on older consoles like the NES, Super NES, Turbografx 16, Sega Genesis, or Nintento 64. So far, I’ve picked up Super Mario Bros. (NES). Super Mario World, Sonic the Hedgehog and Streets of Rage. Those are but a small selection of what’s already available on the Virtual Console… a large list of other games are also available. But there are lots of other games I used to play that I’d love to see come to the Virtual Console… so, here’s my Virtual Console wishlist.
UPDATE: It looks like a lot of my wishlist items are Planned Releases…
- PilotWings 64 or PilotWings- I had forgotten about this game until I heard it mentioned elsewhere. I freakin’ loved that game. Between flying, gliding, using a rocket jetpack, etc… this game had tons of replayability.
- Ninja Gaiden - Was, IMHO, one of the great side-scrolling games for the NES. I know a new Ninja Gaiden was released on the Xbox back in 2004, and a new version is planned for the PS3… but it just wouldn’t be the same.
- Road Rash - is one of the coolest motorcycle games I’ve ever played. I spent hours and hours playing this game on the Sega Genesis. I still get a kick thinking about kicking opponents off of their bike, or whipping them with a chain… This was a truly fun game, in spite of the racing violence.
- Tecmo Bowl and Tecmo Super Bowl - Tecmo had the greatest football games for a while. Tecmo Bowl and its successor, Tecmo Super Bowl were great games. It’s been ages since I’ve played either, but it’d be great to play them again.
- Metroid - A classic… probably one of the best NES games of all time. It’s probably only a matter of time before tis title appears on the Virtual Console.
- Battletoads - I don’t know why, but I loved this game.
- Blades of Steel - a great hockey game. I especially loved the fights in the game.
- Bionic Commando - Come on! What’s not to love about this game? It was a great side-scroller, and the use of the extending arm really enhanced gameplay.
- Castlevania - Another great side-scroller with a great storyline.
- Dragon Warrior - One of the great RPGs on the NES.
- Excitebike - Nintendo released a follow-up on the Wii called ExciteTruck, but releasing Excitebike on the VC would be much cooler. I especially loved being able to create my own courses…
- Mega Man - Subsequent versions were more of the same. The original was great and would be lots of fun to play again.
- Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles - I loved the Turtles growing up. I collected the comics, watched the cartoons, collected the action figures, and watched the movies. This game, and the others that followed, were great to play…
- Star Fox - the original SNES game had awesome graphics and gameplay.
I could keep going… but this is a start. There were lots of great games on the older consoles, and knowing that at some point many of these might become available on the Wii Virtual Console.
What games are you looking forward to on the Virtual Console? Which games have you already gotten for the Virtual Console?
I am most looking forward to seeing….
Marble Madness (NES)
Tecmo Bowl (NES)
Super Tecmo Bowl (NES)
RBI Baseball (NES)
Blades of Steel (NES)
Super Mario 2 (NES)
The Adventures of Link (NES)
North Vs. South (NES)
NBA Jam (SNES)
Mario Kart (SNES)
Killer Instinct (SNES)
Ken Griffey Jr. Baseball (SNES)
Arch Rivals (Genesis)
Mutant League Football (Genesis)
I am most looking forward to seeing….
Marble Madness (NES)
Tecmo Bowl (NES)
Super Tecmo Bowl (NES)
RBI Baseball (NES)
Blades of Steel (NES)
Super Mario 2 (NES)
The Adventures of Link (NES)
North Vs. South (NES)
NBA Jam (SNES)
Mario Kart (SNES)
Killer Instinct (SNES)
Ken Griffey Jr. Baseball (SNES)
Arch Rivals (Genesis)
Mutant League Football (Genesis)
Mario Tennis (N64) [with Wii Remote controls]
Earthbound (SNES)
Mortal Kombat (Sega CD)
Night Trap (Sega CD)
King of Fighters (Neo•Geo)
Super Mario 2 (NES) [Japan version]
Mario Tennis (N64) [with Wii Remote controls]
Earthbound (SNES)
Mortal Kombat (Sega CD)
Night Trap (Sega CD)
King of Fighters (Neo•Geo)
Super Mario 2 (NES) [Japan version]
Scott: GREAT list. I’m wondering if they’ll release Mario Kart seeing as they released the 64 version of it already… NBA Jam and Killer Instinct are great games. Matter of fact, I have the cartridges of both at my desk right now :) I recently discovered them amongst some other older games I own.
tgpo: Good list… You bring up an interesting point with your list of games… I wonder if Nintendo will add additional console support at some point. Seeing as they are basically running all of these games in emulation (via software) - it wouldn’t be outside the realm of possibility to see additional console software downloads at some point…
Scott: GREAT list. I’m wondering if they’ll release Mario Kart seeing as they released the 64 version of it already… NBA Jam and Killer Instinct are great games. Matter of fact, I have the cartridges of both at my desk right now :) I recently discovered them amongst some other older games I own.
tgpo: Good list… You bring up an interesting point with your list of games… I wonder if Nintendo will add additional console support at some point. Seeing as they are basically running all of these games in emulation (via software) - it wouldn’t be outside the realm of possibility to see additional console software downloads at some point…
Master Blaster
Faxandu
Kickle Cubicle
… and what’s with the complete absence of Final Fantasy titles? Give me FF1 on Wii and I’ll become a self-proclaimed Nintendo fanboy.
Will: Wow… busted out with three titles I don’t remember at all… And yeah, the lack of Final Fantasy being on this list was a bit of an oversight…
Master Blaster
Faxandu
Kickle Cubicle
… and what’s with the complete absence of Final Fantasy titles? Give me FF1 on Wii and I’ll become a self-proclaimed Nintendo fanboy.
Will: Wow… busted out with three titles I don’t remember at all… And yeah, the lack of Final Fantasy being on this list was a bit of an oversight…
Here’s my short list
Strider
Bionic Commando
Dragon Warrior Series
Legacy of the Wizard
Zelda 2
Golgo 13
Ultima Series
Pilotwings
CD-ROM Version of Street Fighter that came with the TurboGrafx
Ghost and Goblins
Duck Hunt
Castlevania Series
Metal Gear
Excitebike
Kung-fu
Metroid Series
Punch Out
Secret of Mana
Pro Wrestling
Rygar
T C Surf Designs
Double Dragon
Road Rash
Actraiser
Starfox Series
Y’s Series
And when I say Series I mean all of them across all systems.
Man… Strider, Golgo 13, Rygar… I had forgotten about all of those. You had a few I hadn’t heard of before, but great list… Man… Can you imagine if half of these came out on the VC? Nintendo is sitting on top of a mountain of gold…
I need to add Skate or Die to my list…
Wario Land (Virtual Boy)
Burn:Cycle (CD-i)
Mad Dog II: The Lost Gold (CD-i)
Who Shot Johnny Rock? (CD-i)
D (3DO)
Way of the Warrior (3DO)
Oh, and
Twisted: The Game Show (3DO)
tgpo - I’ll have to look at those, and the game you mentioned in your subsequent comment. I’m not familiar with most of those!
Re: Wario Land… I wonder how in the heck they’d port a game designed for the Virtual Boy over… and for that matter… I wonder if they’re considering porting over any GameBoy, GBA, Sega GameGear games, etc… I don’t think any of us have really considered that possibility!
Here’s my short list
Strider
Bionic Commando
Dragon Warrior Series
Legacy of the Wizard
Zelda 2
Golgo 13
Ultima Series
Pilotwings
CD-ROM Version of Street Fighter that came with the TurboGrafx
Ghost and Goblins
Duck Hunt
Castlevania Series
Metal Gear
Excitebike
Kung-fu
Metroid Series
Punch Out
Secret of Mana
Pro Wrestling
Rygar
T & C Surf Designs
Double Dragon
Road Rash
Actraiser
Starfox Series
Y’s Series
And when I say Series I mean all of them across all systems.
Man… Strider, Golgo 13, Rygar… I had forgotten about all of those. You had a few I hadn’t heard of before, but great list… Man… Can you imagine if half of these came out on the VC? Nintendo is sitting on top of a mountain of gold…
I need to add Skate or Die to my list…
Contra (NES)
Most everything else I can think of has been covered already…
Wario Land (Virtual Boy)
Burn:Cycle (CD-i)
Mad Dog II: The Lost Gold (CD-i)
Who Shot Johnny Rock? (CD-i)
D (3DO)
Way of the Warrior (3DO)
Oh, and
Twisted: The Game Show (3DO)
hehe… I hear ya, Greg. I’m sure I could come up with a few more titles if I put my mind to it… but I don’t think it’s necessary at this point. If anything, though… it just goes to show how Nintendo really got this feature right on the Wii. People love their classic consoles… Many people got rid of their old systems in order to get new ones… I know I did. Now I can enjoy all of those older games all over again… and that’s the real win for me.
tgpo - I’ll have to look at those, and the game you mentioned in your subsequent comment. I’m not familiar with most of those!
Re: Wario Land… I wonder how in the heck they’d port a game designed for the Virtual Boy over… and for that matter… I wonder if they’re considering porting over any GameBoy, GBA, Sega GameGear games, etc… I don’t think any of us have really considered that possibility!
Contra (NES)
Most everything else I can think of has been covered already…
hehe… I hear ya, Greg. I’m sure I could come up with a few more titles if I put my mind to it… but I don’t think it’s necessary at this point. If anything, though… it just goes to show how Nintendo really got this feature right on the Wii. People love their classic consoles… Many people got rid of their old systems in order to get new ones… I know I did. Now I can enjoy all of those older games all over again… and that’s the real win for me.