Virtual Console Games

[Mithradates]

Having recently purchased a Wii,at long last, i was thinking about delving into the VC archives but then i realised i really have no idea how good any of the games are. I was wondering if anyone who can remember the golden days of the NES when games came in bits could reccomend any good games?

[frogbeastegg]

I can only speak of the PAL version of the virtual console. It's got different - and fewer - games to the US and Japanese versions. There's an awful lot of rubbish on there, and a lot of "meh". There are some good games, though which and how many will depend upon your tastes. I can't recommend any NES games; not seen any which I wanted to download.

Paper Mario for the N64 is all kinds of awesomeness with a cherry on top. I loved it back in the day and I love it still. IMO it's better than both its sequels.

Zelda: Ocarina of Time is brilliant if you haven't played it before. Time has sadly dented some of its awe; Hyrule field is no longer jaw-dropping.

Super Metroid is available, the first time it has reappeared legally since its SNES release. It's widely regarded as a classic, and I wouldn't argue.

The various Sonic and Mario games are as good as they ever were, assuming you like platformers.

I used to love Ecco the Dolphin when I had my Mega Drive, spent countless hours on it. Nowadays I can't get along with the brutal difficulty. If hard games are your thing then Ecco is still the best game based around a dolphin.

[Xiahou]

I can't recommend any NES games; not seen any which I wanted to download.

Surely you have SMB and SMB3 on the NES VC? Aside from that, not many NES games come to mind that have withstood the test of time. Luckily, the SNES fares much better- check out Act Raiser for starters.

This also seems as good a time to mention that Wiiware is supposed to be officially launched, in the US at least, this May. That means game developers will be able to release new download-only content. I'll be interested to see how that plays out considering the Wii's limited storage. I keep waiting/hoping for the ability to run the games directly from an SD card instead of copying back and forth...

edit: I'll second the Paper Mario reccomendation too.

[Ramses II CP]

Well, I still have a lot of my old 8 and 16 bit NES games, so I'll list my favorites out of my little collection even though I have no idea if any of them are available to you:

8-bit
Destiny of an Emperor (Chinese history war game)
BaseWars (Baseball with robots and fighting, best for multiplayer, but okay solo)
Super Mario Brothers 3 (An obvious classic)
Super Dodgeball (International Dodgeball competition! If there's no multiplayer, skip this)
Contra (Side scroller classic)
Metroid (duh)
Zelda 1 (ditto duh)
Nobunaga's Ambition (Japanese history game)
Maniac Mansion (No, I don't have the one where you can put the hamster in the microwave)
The third Castlevania game, forget what it's called, where you can change characters
Final Fantasy I and the Dragon Warrior games (There are 4?), if you're into RPGs


16-bit
John Madden Football (The original, crude but cool)
Super Mario World (Another classic, lots of playability)
Super Mario Kart (Irresistable, even without multiplayer)
Final Fantasy II (If you dig RPGs, again)
Killer Instinct, Mortal Kombat, Street Fighter II (If you like fighting games)
The Legend of the Mystical Ninja (Sort of a roaming side scroller, very 'next gen' )
Populous (The original god game)
Romance of the Three Kingdoms (I think there were 3 of them, I lost 'em all)
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles IV: Turtles in Time (Most of the TNT games were awful, this one wasn't)

I'm sure I missed a bunch, but these are games I've played and (For the most part) still own, and would very much recommend as fun, even if dated.

[TinCow]

Here's another one for you:
SNES - King Arthur's World - Pretty much a medieval themed version of Lemmings. Good strategy fun and interesting puzzles.

[Mithradates]

A medieval themed version of lemmings now ive heard everything! Think ill invest in some classic mario possibly with a dash of metroid until some more interesting games reach the english market. Does anyone know much about upcoming wii ware titles ive only seen one rather dull looking rpg for it although i may be mistaken?

[frogbeastegg]

Surely you have SMB and SMB3 on the NES VC?

Nope. I own the 5 Mario Advance games and don't like them sufficiently to buy them again a la Paper Mario and Ocarina of Time.

[Whacker]

Secret of Mana. <> Until then, I'll play Link to the Past.

[Xiahou]

Nope. I own the 5 Mario Advance games and don't like them sufficiently to buy them again a la Paper Mario and Ocarina of Time.

In my case, I didn't like them well enough to buy the GBA versions and got them on the VC. Either way, they're classics- but not so classic as to buy twice.