Has anyone else used Virtual Console yet?

[Tygore]

I bought a 2000 point card the other day, downloaded Bomberman '93, Wario's Woods, and Golden Axe. So far I'm really enjoying it, I was rather pleased to find out that there is a save state of sorts- you can't reload it constantly, but if you exit the VC game it picks up right where you left off.

On a related note, has anybody ever played Ecco the Dolphin? I heard it was good, but would like something to go on (although I'll need to purchace more points either way, so it doesn't matter much at the moment).

[Thunderbird]

I have Sonic and F-Zero downloaded. I hadn't realized the bit about the save state, and was wondering why Sonic had a save taking up two blocks in my system memory :P. Then I read the Operations Guide on one of the two games and saw the bit about the Suspend Point. Really handy for games like Sonic.

[War Lord]

I have Sonic, Legend Of Zelda, and Bonk.
I'm going to purchase more soon.

[Modus Ponens]

I have The Legend of Zelda, Solomon's Key (very fun game, by the way), Sonic the Hedgehog, Ecco the Dolphin, and Super Mario 64. I love the idea of the Virtual Console a lot. It doesn't just offer a way to play old video games--I can already do that on my computer. More importantly, it offers a way for gamers to tell Nintendo, "hey, I like this game." Take Solomon's Key, for instance. I don't think it was very popular before, but as a VC launch title, many gamers are sure to play it and enjoy it. Tecmo, its developer, may notice this and look into another Solomon's Key game. (My fingers are securely crossed that this will happen with other games I like, such as Startropics and The Guardian Legend.) And I'll bet that Super Smash Bros. honcho Masahiro Sakurai will be paying close attention to which VC games are popular when he starts penning a roster for whatever his series holds in store for the future--sure, kids on message boards can beg for Little Mac to be in Brawl (my fingers are crossed for this one, too), but money talks much louder, and when lots of people spend it on a game, that's a pretty good indication that there's a fan base out there.

Tygore, so far, Ecco is pretty fun. I've only played through the first level, but it handles pretty nicely and seems like it will have a lot to offer down the road. I don't know how long it is, but if it's longer than two hours, then I've already spent my money more wisely than if I'd gone to a movie for the same price.

[Orion]

You know, I think down the road I will enjoy it more, but right now, there aren't many games I don't already own already. Most of the major Nintendo titles like SM64 and F-Zero I have, I can play Sonic and Zelda on Gamecube Complilations, and most of the NES games are in the GCN Animal Crossing. I'm anxiously awaiting games like Kid Icarus and Tecmo Super Bowl, which are supposed to arrive in early 07.

[Saffith]

So far I've only gotten Bomberman '93. There's only so much I'm interested in right now, but I'll be sure to get Kid icarus and Kirby Super Star as soon as they're available.

If they'd add the SNES version of Wario's Woods, my mother would probably buy a Wii just for that. I don't know why they insist on the NES version.

[AtmaWeapon]

I'm such a nerd the first game I bought was The Legend of Zelda. That makes probably the fifth time I've bought the silly game. I tried out Solomon's Key and it's pretty cool but not exactly my cup of tea.

Now I'm just going to kick back and wait until Christmas to put more points on games I probably already own.

[War Lord]

All 3 of the games I've purchased on VC I've purchased at least once previously, some more.

[{DSG}DarkRaven]

And I'll bet that Super Smash Bros. honcho Masahiro Sakurai will be paying close attention to which VC games are popular when he starts penning a roster for whatever his series holds in store for the future--sure, kids on message boards can beg for Little Mac to be in Brawl (my fingers are crossed for this one, too), but money talks much louder, and when lots of people spend it on a game, that's a pretty good indication that there's a fan base out there.

While this idea is actually not that unrealistic, I find the notion that the VC is secretly a massive statistics gathering program for the next Smash Bros game very humorous.


I don't have a Wii yet, and when I do, I likely won't be able to access the VC with any relative ease, considering my dial-up status. Sometime in the next year or so, I plan on moving out of my parents house and sometime in the next few months I plan on picking up my Wii. It's all just a matter of time, and by then I won't know what I'll be interested in, but I'm sure I'll pick up a few games. I'm really hoping for Super Metroid, but in all honesty, I think the only reason we haven't seen that is the same reason that we haven't seen Zelda: LTTP. They've already re-made it for GBA/GC, and releasing a lesser version might cause quite a stir. Sure, they haven't announced Super Metroid DX yet, but why not? As the most popular metroid game ever, I can't believe the big N would miss out on a chance to make one heck of a port. Releasing SM for VC would only cut into the potential profits.

[Dart Zaidyer]

...Except Japan got LttP already. And Super Castlevania IV.

I think Reggie recently went on record that he wants to use the really, really good VC games for slow periods between really good Wii games, to "keep the momentum" going.

[Warlock]

I just downloaded Golden Axe last night.. holy crap that game is fun. It's been so long since I played it :P The Genesis emulation seems a bit off though.. I have a plasma and I definately noticed color bleeding which was odd (maybe the fact that it's a stupid composite hookup right now? Which incidentally *should* be solved by tonight if Nintendo actually shipped two-day like I requested :P) and the sound didn't sound quite accurate (but it's been awhile since I've heard the real thing). The little "voice" sounds for the deaths were funny though.. ahh the days of grainny, crappy digital speech :P

[Modus Ponens]

I find the notion that the VC is secretly a massive statistics gathering program for the next Smash Bros game very humorous.

Well, I'm not saying that I think it's secretly anything, and I certainly don't mean to imply that its primary function is a stats gatherer, but I do think that it can provide valuable insight in that manner. This is a great way for current developers to see which old games people will spend money on, and there's nothing else out there right now that can do that.

[Beldaran]

I agree with Riverman. Anything that a company sells, they monitor closely and to some extent view as a barometer of public opinion.

[MottZilla]

Warlock, that color bleeding would be a result of crappy composite video. Nintendo says, "You're welcome". =) and they also say "Muhahaha! We have all the Component Video cables!" Some people are already building their own and selling them.

[Dechipher]

I would suggest that when it comes out, everyone here purchase Battle of Olympus.

Maybe I'm just a crackhead, but I throughly enjoy the game.
I have no Wii yet. A fraternity at my college is doing this thing called Sock Wars, where you get someone's name on a card and have to hit them with a sock, and then you get their card and you have to hit that person, and so on. This goes on until the last two people have each other's cards and then whoever wins gets a Wii.

[Warlock]

Warlock, that color bleeding would be a result of crappy composite video. Nintendo says, "You're welcome". =) and they also say "Muhahaha! We have all the Component Video cables!" Some people are already building their own and selling them.

Well my component cable finally shipped. But Nintendo *has* to use gay UPS, so despite the fact that I payed for 2 day air, and the fact that Nintendo had "shipped" listed since really, really early yesterday morning (with the UPS tracking number so I know this is not Nintendo lying), the UPS tracking number didn't work until very late last night. I go on there to see they didn't even scan the billing information until 10pm and thus I won't get it for *three* days. Which is BS because I payed extra for 2 day shipping (I have waited long enough just for them to get more in!). If it isn't here when I get home today I'll be pissed.

[Kingboo30]

Send a complaint. Honestly, Nintendo has been very greedy and too much business just before the Wii came out. They weren't like this before. But then again, NOA is screwed up anyways.

[AtmaWeapon]

I just downloaded Golden Axe last night.. holy crap that game is fun. It's been so long since I played it :P The Genesis emulation seems a bit off though.. I have a plasma and I definately noticed color bleeding which was odd (maybe the fact that it's a stupid composite hookup right now? Which incidentally *should* be solved by tonight if Nintendo actually shipped two-day like I requested :P) and the sound didn't sound quite accurate (but it's been awhile since I've heard the real thing). The little "voice" sounds for the deaths were funny though.. ahh the days of grainny, crappy digital speech :PWarlock it's funny you say that; I think maybe Sega just isn't good at Genesis emulation. My friend has a Dreamcast and some kind of Sega Classic games collection for it (an actual retail disc, not a burned emulator + roms) and the sound seemed a little off on that too.

It's either that or maybe Sega really did do what Nintendon't, making emulation on a Nintendo system impossible (doesn't explain the DC emulation issue though).

[vegeta1215]

The games in the Sonic Mega Collection play perfectly - they're exactly like they were on the Genesis. I'm pretty sure they're using emulation there, so they must have some idea as to what they're doing.

[Tygore]

It's either that or maybe Sega really did do what Nintendon't, making emulation on a Nintendo system impossible (doesn't explain the DC emulation issue though).

The Wii CLEARLY lacks Blast Processing.

[Rijuhn]

I purchased 1,000 Wii points to download my copy of Super Mario 64. Playing it brings back memories for sure. I don't currently have a classic controller so it's one of the few games I can play without it. I'm looking forward to purchasing more games in the future. Nintendo really has done well by offering this service.

[Tygore]

I purchased 1,000 Wii points to download my copy of Super Mario 64. Playing it brings back memories for sure. I don't currently have a classic controller so it's one of the few games I can play without it.

I assume that you're playing SM64 with a Gamecube controller then? You do know that the GC controller is compatable with other VC titles, right? Not to mention the fact that NES, T-16, and Genesis games (I have one of each, go figure) can be played on the Wiimote by itself. The Classic Controller is hardly necessary.

[MottZilla]

The Sega Genesis emulator on DreamCast was a poor product. However Sonic Mega Collection for GC was excellent and had quite passable emulation. The Wii is easily capable of emulating 8-bit systems and most 16-bit systems with playable results.

[Modus Ponens]

I would suggest that when it comes out, everyone here purchase Battle of Olympus.

I am so there. O Battle of Olympus, how I adore thee. In going with what I said earlier, I'll probably buy a number of VC titles that I already own in some format or another, in the (possibly vain) hopes that it might be another drop in the bucket of attention such games need to show their developers that, hey, we care!

[Warlock]

Got my Component Cables this Friday. So much better :P Zelda actually looks slightly pixelated - can't tell if that's due to the cables or just the fact that Zelda is a crappy GC port. Wii Sports looks a bit better so I'm guessing it's more of the later (with the former only being because it's easier to see the flaws now). Made fishing a lot easier though now that I can actually see the fish :P

Anyways, back to the VC - yeah that cleared up the color bleeding. Games look *much* better now (just like PC emulators :D). I finally broke down and got SimCity. Holy crap that game is fun! I forgot how fun that was!

[Mak-X]

Got my Component Cables this Friday. So much better :P Zelda actually looks slightly pixelated - can't tell if that's due to the cables or just the fact that Zelda is a crappy GC port.

Just in case, make sure you've set your Wii to output 480P for HDTVs.

I should have my Component cables soon, now I just need a Wii...


I've heard there are some sound emulation problems on the recent Sege Genesis Collection for PS2, so I guess they can't always get it 100% perfect. Even the Legend of Zelda Collection for Gamecube had something minor wrong in each game, like the sword beam attack sfx in Zelda 1.

[MottZilla]

Just in case, make sure you've set your Wii to output 480P for HDTVs.

I should have my Component cables soon, now I just need a Wii...


I've heard there are some sound emulation problems on the recent Sege Genesis Collection for PS2, so I guess they can't always get it 100% perfect. Even the Legend of Zelda Collection for Gamecube had something minor wrong in each game, like the sword beam attack sfx in Zelda 1.

Playstation 2 does not have the disposable processing power the Wii and GameCube do. And fact it, the people that do these emulated game collections are not master coders or experienced emulator authors. Hence inaccurate and low quality emulation in many.