The Virtual Console Thread (A.K.A. Link to the Past on VC)

[DMiller]

Anyone going to buy it again? I know I already have two versions of it, but for my favorite game of all time I am still tempted by it. Please convince me not to buy it for a 3rd time.

<i>Edit: Changing thread name since discussion has moved far beyond LttP at this point</i>

[A Black Falcon]

... You think we're going to try to convince you out of it? Really? :D

[Dark Jaguar]

Um, you already have it and this version adds nothing?

If that won't convince you, buy it and two more copies of the SNES version why don't you.

[A Black Falcon]

Really though, it depends -- is it worth $8 to get a version of the game which doesn't require finding your LTTP cart and SNES (which might not always be hooked up?), and do you plan on replaying the game soon...

[DMiller]

I reply the game a lot. It's probably the most replayed game I own. My SNES is hooked up, but my Wii has the better TV so it's got that going for it. I think I have $8 worth of unspent Wii points that I was saving up for something I really wanted so maybe that's a sign. I know I'll end up buying it no matter what you guys say, but I figured I'd ask anyway. :)

[Dark Jaguar]

I wish I had money to throw away on things I already own.

[A Black Falcon]

The first VC SNES game I'd get is F-Zero, and I have that game on cartridge...

[DMiller]

I wish I had money to throw away on things I already own.

Well you're still in school. When I was in college this choice would have been $8 for Zelda, or $8 for food for the week. Having a full-time job certainly has it's perks.

[EdenMaster]

Yep, I did see that on the VC yesterday, and I'm probably going to buy it again also, against my better judgment. For you see I ALSO own both my SNES version and my GBA version but...Wii!!

I've been giving my SNES some long overdue love lately. I just finished my umpteenth replay of Super Mario RPG, and now I'm getting into a game I've had for many years but never got around to starting, even though I've wanted to...Final Fantasy III (VI).

[lazyfatbum]

im not getting it. i got GH, Bomberman 93 and bonk 1 and next looks like icarus or rytpe, im pretty much getting just the games i either no longer own or never had. my blastermaster cart was destroyed in one of the 8 hurricanes a couple years ago, and life force has been sorely missed since i was 12 and my sister borrowed it and quickly lost it. not to mention city connection and that stupid cat that flew in slow motion and fantasy zone, rc proam, marble madness, lolo 1 and 2 and like 50 megaman games

but the real question, as far as im concerned, is when can we d/l Square titles, as well as older pc games.

and where in blinking blue blazes is gauntlet?? oh wait... that was a tengen game...

[A Black Falcon]

Hopefully whoever owns the rights to Atari's old games and Nintendo can come to an agreement and release Tengen (Atari's NES label)'s games on the VC, because they had some great ones, and yeah, they were all unliscenced...

[DMiller]

im not getting it. i got GH, Bomberman 93 and bonk 1

Bomberman is great. I have that and my family played it almost as much as Wii Sports over Christmas. How is Bonk, though? I've been considering getting that or Toe Jam & Earl.

[EdenMaster]

So far I've bought Mario 64, Sonic the Hedgehog, Bomberman 93, and Super Star Soldier. Of them, I've probably played SSS the most.

[lazyfatbum]

bonk is alot like wario's sidescrollers. its very simple but gets more and more complicated as you progress. theres mini-bosses everywhere as well as bosses too. its worth 6 bucks.

but gunstar heroes is awesomer.

[A Black Falcon]

Games I would also consider must-owns if I had a Wii: (yes, I love shmups...)

Super Star Soldier
Soldier Blade
R-Type
Gradius
R-Type III (if I find the SNES cart I wouldn't probably get it for Wii, but I haven't yet)

... probably also Dungeon Explorer, since I love Gauntlet.

[Great Rumbler]

I've got Link to the Past, Super Mario 64, and R-Type 3 [which is incredibly hard].

[A Black Falcon]

[which is incredibly hard].

It's a shmup. They tend to be like that. :) I've said it before, but I belive that the shmup genre is probably the most consistently difficult one in existence... doesn't make them any less great, but they are often very, very hard.

[Dark Jaguar]

shmup? You will NEVER use that term again, except now, to explain what on earth it means.

[DMiller]

I had never heard it before, but I believe it's an awkward shortening of shoot-em-up. Maybe it's a New Englander term that you always hear said in a Boston accent.

[A Black Falcon]

SHoot-eM-UP is the way it's explained. And I didn't make it up; the term has been around for years. It's kind of a silly term, but since "shooter" has been taken over by FPSes, the side/forward-scrolling ship-shooter genre needed a new name...

for instance, http://www.shmups.com

[Dark Jaguar]

Okay, just call it a side scroller. That term is just...

[EdenMaster]

It's not a regional thing, I live on the edge of what could be considered New England and I've never heard the term before.

Sounds dirty.

I still call them shooters or side-scrollers. I say FPS when referring to an FPS :D.

[Fittisize]

I have Super Mario Bros., Castlevania IV, and Ice Hockey as my VC games. I haven't played any of them yet.

[Weltall]

I've heard of shmups.

[A Black Falcon]

It's certainly not a regional term, since I heard it on the internet. As that website I linked shows, it's the term that is usually used for shooters where you fly a spaceship either up or right and shoot things. :) ("side-scroller"? That term is far too general... that includes a lot of kinds of games, far more than just shooter/shmups...)

[Dark Jaguar]

shmup sounds like someone is attacking the english language out of SPITE.

[Great Rumbler]

Schmoe?

[EdenMaster]

Schmuck?

[A Black Falcon]

The word might sound silly at first, but you get used to it...

[lazyfatbum]

dungeon explorer is like gauntlet?

There's a rumor that some VC games are actually presented in widescreen. I'm gonna hook up wii-wii to the widescreen and see if any of mine are indeed wide. The one heard is wide is Sonic which i dont have yet.

I wonder if the VC is going to get Saturn, we're only talking 400 MB max depending on the game... Burning rangers, crazy taxi, etc. that would be awesome. I mean Thwobeome. And honestly, what's stopping Nintendo from getting PSX games? can you imagine? :D

getting atari would be funny, imagine all the 2600 games for a dollar. Although that would mean great ports of Tempest, Invaders, etc. Then get Midway in on it... ohhh.... Joust! flap by shaking the wiimote!

[A Black Falcon]

dungeon explorer is like gauntlet?

Yes. It's a Gauntlet clone, but you don't have to do the whole thing in one sitting... :)

I wonder if the VC is going to get Saturn, we're only talking 400 MB max depending on the game... Burning rangers, crazy taxi, etc. that would be awesome. I mean Thwobeome.

Saturn games on the Wii would be awesome, but they can't do it before they allow people to play VC games off of SD cards and not just from the internal memory... (not to mention that emulating the Saturn is tricky. It'd take some effort do do well, I think.)

[Great Rumbler]

not to mention that emulating the Saturn is tricky.

It has been done before, however.

[A Black Falcon]

It has been done before, however.

There are PC Saturn emulators, but I don't think any of them are anywhere near 100% emulation quality, though I believe some games do work... never tried one.

I do know that Sega has never managed to emulate the thing. Sonic Gems Collection's Sonic R was a port of the PC version...

[Great Rumbler]

I've got a Saturn emulator that plays Panzer Dragoon Saga and Guardian Heroes very well.

[Dark Jaguar]

http://kojimakemesad.ytmnd.com/

[EdenMaster]

Ooh, another strong entry this week: Mario Kart 64! Still my favorite of the series. I might just have to grab that one...

[A Black Falcon]

No ghost saves; it seems that Nintendo hasn't bothered to put controller pak emulation into their N64 VC emulator, and won't do it just for Mario Kart ghosts...

[Dark Jaguar]

Annoying... And their excuse that this is "unavoidable"? Bah! We know better!

[A Black Falcon]

Yeah. N64 emulators for PC have controller pak support, after all. "Unavoidable"? How dumb do they think people are...

[Dark Jaguar]

The fact is, this is outright deception. They are not being honest about this.

"So what, you expect them to say "The emulator doesn't have controller pack support?" That makes them sound lazy for not including it!"

That's my point! If the FRANK REALITY makes them look bad, maybe that means they should do something to CHANGE that reality! But, I suppose lies are cheaper.

[lazyfatbum]

it would require special coding to save to the internal 512 and nintendo is taking the minimalist approach to VC ports. little effort = big profit

it would be cool though if ghost data could be saved to the internal memory on the wiimote atleast on actual wii games, then take ghost data to other people's houses, and haunt them.

LOL GHOST DATA........ HAUNTING....... OH GOD I'M CRYING......... LMAO....... ......JESUS....... OH I CANT BREATH............... I CANT BREATH.......... OH MAN.............. OH, oh man.... WOW.......... that was good stuff............ just outa no where too, just hey "and haunt them" LMAO...... LMAO...... ahh.... shit, I laughed so hard I peed a little. god, that was gold. my cheeks hurt. "Ghost data"...... i'm gonna email everyone with that........

[Dark Jaguar]

Yes, and if they were honest, that's one thing. Then we'd just be saying "c'mon". They lied though.

[Great Rumbler]

It's not like you can't still play Mario Kart on the N64...

[Dark Jaguar]

Well duh.

But that's changing the subject isn't it? Deception is never a good business practice, and I don't just look the other way when it occurs. It must be brought into the light for what it is. Yes, I'm hounding about such a trivial little tiny lie, but that's how it is.

[Great Rumbler]

Who cares WHY it's not in there? It's not and that's really all that should matter when making the purchase.

Really, though, the multiplayer portion of Mario Kart 64 was by far the best part of the game.

[EdenMaster]

I never used the ghosts anyhow, and the whole controller pak for the N64 was a joke anyhow.

Yunno what I did in MK64? I raced against other racers. That's not to say I didn't spend my fair share in Time Trials, but most of the time I didn't save my ghosts. It tells me what my best time was so I knew what I had to beat. That's all I needed.

[A Black Falcon]

I never used the ghosts anyhow, and the whole controller pak for the N64 was a joke anyhow.

I didn't either, but that's because MK64 uses a full controller pak for each ghost save; with emulation, you can resolve that problem by having them just be in software, relieving you of having to have lots of controller paks to switch...

(controller paks are annoyingly small though; I have four of them, and they're all full just to have save files for the games I have...)

[Dark Jaguar]

GR, stop changing the subject, which is, Nintendo LIED.

[Great Rumbler]

It doesn't change the fact that the feature isn't there and thus will have no bearing on whether you purchase it or not.

[Dark Jaguar]

...Look, deception is the sort of thing that actually does alter my buying choices. I'm the sort who's willing to boycott things due to it. Nintendo's slip into lying should not be tolerated.