Nintendo Wii Virtual Console
May 8, 2008 - 11:58 am - Posted by Sean R.
Ok, before anyone starts in on the fact that the Nintendo Wii isn’t a classic or retro gaming system, please hold off until you read my entire post.
There’s good reason why I’m posting about the Wii on Recycled Gaming… still with me? Good, let’s continue…
As most know, I’m a huge fan of retro and classic gaming console systems, which is the reason why I built this site.
I still own working versions of the NES, SNES, N64 and of course I still have a working Sega Genesis as well.
I recently acquired a “hard to find” Nintendo Wii sealed in the box from a good friend of mine.
I was a little unsure if I even wanted the system, but after a little thinking and research, I decided to take a chance on Nintendo’s new baby.
Ok, so now I have a Wii. What’s next? It’s a CD and DVD based system. I don’t have any CD/DVD Nintendo Games… then I read about the Virtual Console.
Taken from Nintendo’s official site:
Nintendo’s Virtual Console is making the greatest video game archive in history available for Wii. Download many of your favorite NES, SNES, N64, NEOGEO, Sega Genesis and TurboGrafx 16 titles and relive those happy memories all over again on Wii.
So even though it’s playing virtual versions of classic games, it’s still the classic games, the real software, etc., so I thought it would be cool to compare how the actual cartridge based systems compared to the virtual console versions.
To make the experience even more “classic”, Nintendo has a classic controller for the Wii and today I picked up two of them:
Here’s a little more detailed information on the Wii Classic Controller:
The Classic Nintendo Wii Controller is needed to play some Virtual Console games. The thin, traditionally shaped peripheral plugs directly into the Wii Remote, and it combines the best features of the Nintendo (NES), Super Nintendo (SNES) and Nintendo 64 (N64) controllers.
So this evening I’ll be purchasing a few classic games from the Nintendo store. A few on my list for sure are Zelda, Super Mario Bros. and River City Ransom.
In the coming days I’ll have a review of both games comparing game play on the original Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) verses the Nintendo Wii Virtual Console.
I’m curious to know if any of the Recycled Gaming readers have a Nintendo Wii or access to one and if so, what are your thoughts on the system and the whole Virtual Console experience?
3 Responses to “Nintendo Wii Virtual Console”
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When you’re buying your games, keep in mind that the Wii has limited space for VC games. I can’t say how limited off the top of my head, but it was small enough that I could see someone hitting it pretty quickly. Once you do, you have to erase a game you already have to get anymore. Then you would have to buy the erased game again if you wanted to play it after that. I vaguely recall that the limit was actually due to the number of menu options you can have, not the amount of memory on the system, so I don’t think that upgrading the memory (or only buying older, smaller games) would do you any good.
The fun part is that now you can play Gamecube games. I could take this opportunity to try and get you to play a game that was made within the last ten years, but I won’t bother. Instead, once I can double check some of the things in my own collection, I’ll let you know some of the discs you should look for as a retro gamer.
Yes there is a limit to how many VC games you can have on the system at one time but if you delete some to make room for others, you do not have to purchase them again.
The games are linked to the Wii serial number, so you can download them again no charge. I actually called Nintendo to ask about that before I purchased a few games.
I don’t own any GameCube games. After the N64, the next system I purchased back then was a PlayStation.
I’m open to newer games as well… I’m not a new game hater as you and others might think. Does Call of Duty 3 count as a modern game? If so, I play that a lot.
I look forward to your list of suggested games.
That’s good to hear about the VC games.
Alright, I checked out my GameCube discs and here’s the good news: there’s a ton of retro gaming goodness available on it, assuming you really like Legend of Zelda games. There’s Legend of Zelda Collector’s Edition, which contains the original NES games and the N64 games (no Super NES or Game Boy games, sadly). Next is Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, which contains the title game and a remixed version called the Master Quest. You’ll have to eBay those, as I know the former was a preorder bonus for LoZ: Wind Waker, and I can’t even remember what I did to get the latter.
If you want some of the flavor of LoZ: Link to the Past, pick up Four Swords Adventures, which is kind of like an action game version of Zelda with gameplay pretty similar to the Super NES installment. Even if you can’t get three other guys and four Game Boy Advances and link cables together to play the full multiplayer, it’s a blast.
There’s also LoZ: Twilight Princess (for both GC and Wii), but if you’ve already played Ocarina of Time it probably won’t feel very new for you.
As for a non-Zelda option, if you pick up Metroid Prime, not only will you be getting an awesome first-person adventure game, but you can unlock the original Metroid in it (or you could just get Metroid Zero Mission for the GBA); I wasn’t so impressed by the second MP, though it’s still fun, and being without a Wii I’ve never gotten to play the third installment.