Virtua Fighter (Megadrive) On The Virtual Console!

Wow! This is the first time I've ever seen any gameplay from the Megadrive/Genesis version of Virtua Fighter... In fact I've never even understood how a Saturn launch title, and one that is so inextricably linked to that console, could have appeared on it's predecessor...

But now it all makes sense... cashing in on the enthusiasm for the new Saturn franchise, Sega planned to make a quick buck off those Megadrive owning gamers, without the resources to buy a brand new console, by presenting them with a 2D version of it's brand new 3D fighter.

But do you know what, as well as looking rather like it's 3D contemporary, it sems to play like a nice little 2D beat 'em up in the style of Street Fighter. I'm massively impressed and if I don't find it on my Megadrive emulator for the Dreamcast, I'll bite the bullet and download this on the VC! Happy days!

Latest Download Action On The Wii...

Well the Wii's online features have entranced me. Not the weather or news channel, not the friend code facility, or even the online potential of Mario Charged Strikers Football . It's the easily accessible Retro Treasures on the Virtual Console.

The latest game that has ensnared my credit card is Shinobi 3. The Megadrive original Shinobi was one of my all time favourite games... simplistic, Ninjatastic, 2D-elicious, it's a game that delivers on all levels...

But hey! Let's remember that downloading games comes at a price... the lovely games that I've downloaded have cost me about £21 in total. Now here's the deal... I could have bought about 9 Dreamcast games for that... I could have bought a Megadrive and the two Megadrive games I've downloaded... In fact I could have bought a Dreamcast or a Saturn or even a Gamecube for that...

Am I getting value for money? NO! Whilst it's dead convenient to have them in the main living room on a console that sits under the telly... I'd rather have the original console hooked up to a telly in another room...

Still I had a blast on Shinobi today... I played the game far worse than I played the original 15 years ago, I was crap! I used to be quite adept when the Megadrive was my main console, maybe I need to hone my Retro skills.

Would I reccomend it? Hell yeah! It's a fecking awesome game... But for someone like me who is both overly nostalgic and an impulsive spend-a-holic, the Virtual Console is not necessarily a great thing!

Now back to the Wii...

Its been some time since I had the opportunity to tell you anything that's been going on in my Wii world, 'cos frankly, well nothing has... For about a month it was shoved away in a draw, with no action whatsoever happening on it... The Saturn got played, the Dreamcast got played, the DS got the occasional airing and the PS2 began to grow on me as a console... But the Wii? Well frankly, nothing... Then I gave one of my only Gamecube games, Metroid Prime 2 an outing, but it didn't grab me much... But at least the Wii was hooked up again...

My youngest Ginger, Ted, borrowed Zelda: Twilight Princess off a mate of mine, but again, I didn't bother with it. I need to play some of the older games before I give that an outing...

Having been flushed with love for Red Steel, I got stuck on a particularly tricky sword fight, so I've faltered on my progress with that, (however it's a game I really want to finish at some point...)

But the old Wii got a new lease of life recently, when I hooked up a wireless broadband connection over here at Krishna Towers, and the world of the Wii Online finally came to life in the Early family home...

The Weather and News Channels failed to excite me much, although I guess they're rather cool.

But what did float my boat, was the chance to rinse out my credit card one more time, downloading Retro classics on the Virtual Console, and finally understood what the 'Classic Controller' I'd bought for myself was all about...

First of all I downloaded the most excellent Megadrive/Genesis title, "Comix Zone". I'd never even played this title (or knew about it 'back in the day',) but had read a glowing review of it in the wonderful Retro section of the most excellent Games TM Magazine.

Such a fabulously original concept, the game revolves around the concept of a comic artist getting sucked into his own comic book, then having to battle his gruesome artistic creations in a lovely sidescrolling platformer/beat 'em up... The game is a glorious visual feast, looking for all the world like a living comic, with our hero moving from frame to frame, both left to right and up and down, ripping the 'page' where necessary to progress... The colours are lurid and the musical score and soundbites of dialogue compliment the game nicely. Its clear that this game must have pushed the capabilities of the Megadrive to its limits. The game is clearly a labour of love, and stands out as unique in it's genre... Check out it's Wikipedia entry here...




The nextgame I've downloaded is Zelda: Ocarina of Time. Originally out on the N64, this is one of the most 'modern' games available on the VC. I can't tell you too much about it, as I've only played what amounts to the game's tutorial. But my first impression is that it is a good looking game, with a rather complex control system! If the VC can support 64 bit titles, then hopefully it will soon be supporting 32 bit Saturn titles too... But for now, at least the Wii is a working console in my home again, and as a bonus, my Retro repertoire is expanding. For more Zelda goodness look here...




But hey, if you want a definitive guide to the Retro potential of the Wii, may I point you in the direction of my brother, Gnome and this rather stunning post...

For a damning review of Streets Of Rage 3 on the VC, head over to J's place here...