Rant: Why you should be down with the Nintendo Virtual Console

So if you own or have owned a Nintendo Wii, Wii U, 3DS or new 3DS, then you're probably familiar with the Virtual Console service. It originally appeared on the Wii shortly after the system launched, and it was a big deal for Wii owners during that time. I remember being able to buy and download a ton of ordinarily expensive SNES and NES games when it debuted. To start with, it seemed like every Monday was a new awesome title being released on the Virtual Console...but then it seemed like there started being some "meh" titles released with the great titles released here and there. Most people, including myself, seemed to fall out of following it after about 2009 or 2010.

That's why I decided to bring up this topic now. You can still buy games on the Nintendo Store on the original Wii, and there are a TON of games there to download now. The highlights are the TurboGrafx 16 (which is awfully expensive to collect for if you don't have one) and a lot of more expensive SNES, SEGA and NES games.  The Virtual Console on the Wii also has NEO GEO AES and Arcade titles, as well as Nintendo 64 and Sega Master System titles. The NEO GEO titles are worth it alone, as a lot of AES titles sell for well over $100 USD on eBay.  It really is a good cheap way to collect a lot of classic games without just downloading sketchy ROMs...not to mention the emulation on the Wii is perfect.

The Wii U also has a virtual console, and if you didn't have a Wii (or at least, didn't buy Virtual Console games on the Wii), you can go to the Wii channel on the Wii U and still have access to all the old Wii Virtual Console titles. In addition to the original, the Wii U has a Virtual Console too, but the systems on there include the NES, SNES, N64, Game Boy Advance, Wii and Nintendo DS. Notably you can buy EarthBound on the Wii U Virtual Console, as well as Mother (EarthBound Beginnings).

The New 3DS virtual console includes NES, SEGA Game Gear, and Game Boy games. A large host of classic Game Boy titles are on there, as well as the 3D remasters of SEGA Genesis games. You should pick up the 3D remaster of Fantasy Zone if you like shm'ups and Super Mario Land 2: Six Golden Coins.

Also if you don't own a Wii, Wii U or a 3DS...do you even play video games? There are a ton of great titles on all three systems. So if you get tired of playing your blockbuster title games on the XBONE or the PS4 (or PC if you're like me)...go get one of the Nintendo systems. I'll probably talk about a lot of the great games on them as the blog goes on.

Rant: Genesis does what Nintendon't

The old SEGA slogan from the late 80s / early 90s used to strike fear into Nintendo fans everywhere...right? Well maybe to a certain extent...I have to admit my bias, I'm a bit of a Nintendo fanboy when it comes to video games, but I'm a bit more open-minded as an adult.

I wanted to discuss the SEGA Genesis in particular, because I was in a local used video game store the other weekend, and I overheard a guy (who was probably a few years older than I was) talking about how he just picked up a Genesis, but he wasn't finding a lot of games he was interested in to buy for it. I'm a late-adopter of the SEGA Genesis myself, but over the years I've done some research and discovered how great the library of the system that I wasn't a fan of as a kid was.

One thing I will say about the Genesis is, that faster processor makes a difference, especially when you compare shoot 'em ups on it versus the Super Nintendo. Going back as an adult and playing SNES, you tend to notice the slowdown when there are a lot of onscreen objects (Just go play Super R-Type and see what I mean).  The Genesis tends to plow right along and doesn't suffer from much slowdown at all, which means the cream of the crop on the Genesis tends to be shoot 'em ups and beat 'em ups. The Genesis has some real gems when it comes to these genres as well, in later blog posts I'll be reviewing a few of those games.

Some of my Genesis collection

Back to what the gentleman in the store was complaining about, a lot of the really good titles to get on the Genesis are a little harder to come by. This may just be due to the lack of popularity of the Genesis versus the Nintendo systems, or just the fact that a lot of the great titles didn't get the attention that other titles did. As a kid, especially from circa 1990-1999, I read a lot of Nintendo Power magazine. The only bad thing about Nintendo Power is that it was quite obviously, biased.  A lot of these great Genesis titles I ended up missing out on as a kid, and I think a lot of people that were strictly Nintendo fans did as well.

I think I finally bought my Sega Genesis around 2004 on eBay for pretty cheap. I have a model 2 Genesis, and the first game I got for it was Sonic the Hedgehog 2. Now, don't get me wrong, Sonic is no Mario, but it is a pretty good platformer with a slightly different dynamic than Mario. Sonic is built around blazing through a level along multiple paths versus Mario, which is basically a little more based on exploring.  Over the years I picked up more excellent titles, such as Gunstar Heroes, Truxton and Contra Hard Corps.  In fact, if you like Contra, Contra Hard Corps is probably the best non-NES Contra to play, and probably the hardest in difficulty.

Here is my model 2 Genesis hooked up in the living room

So what I think someone like the gentleman in Matt's Game Exchange needs, is a good solid list of titles to get on the system, and here are a few I would recommend:

-Sonic the Hedgehog

-Sonic the Hedgehog 2

-Sonic the Hedgehog 3

-Space Harrier II

-Super Thunder Blade

-Altered Beast

-Ghouls'n Ghosts

-Phantasy Star II

-Phantasy Star III

-Phantasy Star IV

-Thunder Force II

-Thunder Force III

-Thunder Force IV

-Truxton

-After Burner II

-Columns

-ESWAT: City Under Siege

-Gaiares

-Ghostbusters

-M.U.S.H.A.

-Marble Madness

-OutRun

-Paperboy

-Space Invaders '91

-Star Control

-Streets of Rage

-ToeJam & Earl

-Zero Wing

-Battletoads

-Desert Strike: Return to the Gulf

-Double Dragon

-Dr. Robotnik's Mean Bean Machine

-Ecco the Dolphin

-Kid Chameleon

-Paperboy 2

-Streets of Rage 2

-Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Hyperstone Heist

-Disney's Aladdin

-Fatal Fury

-Gunstar Heroes

-Jungle Strike

-Jurassic Park

-Mortal Kombat

-Shining Force

-Street Fighter II: Special Champion Edition

-Super Battleship

-Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Tournament Fighters

-Contra: Hard Corps

-Earthworm Jim

-Ecco: The Tides of Time

-Fatal Fury 2

-Jurassic Park: Rampage Edition

-Mega Man: The Wily Wars (in the USA, this is available on repro carts)

-Mortal Kombat II

-NBA Jam Tournament Edition

-Samurai Showdown

-Shining Force II

-Sonic & Knuckles

-Steel Empire

-Streets of Rage 3

-Super Street Fighter II

-Vectorman

-Vectorman 2

-The Lost World: Jurassic Park

-Frogger

And of course, there are many more, but I tried to list the ones that stand out to me. As you can see, there is quite a selection to collect.  If you don't want to grab these on the Genesis due to cost, you can pick a lot of these titles up on the Nintendo Wii Virtual Console, and they also released the Sega Genesis Mega Collection on the Playstation 3 and the XBOX 360.  These are much less expensive ways of collecting great Genesis titles, but being the nostalgia person that I am, I try to get them on the original console.

Also if you are playing the fighting games on the Genesis, I recommend finding a SEGA Genesis 6-button controller, it makes quite the difference.

That pretty much sums up my rant on why the Genesis is a great system and a good one to collect for, even as a Nintendo fan. I'm sure there are many other titles that people enjoy that I missed, and I encourage anyone to comment and include your favorites too.

My next blog entry should be a game review, I think I'm going to discuss Rare Replay on the XBOX One and perhaps some more retro titles...but until then Play it Loud...er...I mean SEGA!