The Tanooki

The Top 9 games for the Virtual Console

By matthew, posted in Tanooki - Feb 11th, '07 2:06pm CST

In the past month, Nintendo has graced us with several blockbuster additions to the Virtual Console lineup. With the list of available titles growing each week, it seems to get harder to choose which games to spend your Wii Points on. We hope this list will help you on your journey to retro enlightenment.

9. Mario Kart 64

Where’s all the love for the Nintendo 64 so far? At least the two titles Nintendo has decided to release just happen to be two of the very best. Mario Kart 64 also happens to be my personal favorite in the series (aside from Mario Kart DS, but that’s mostly because of all the retro tracks!).

Mario Kart 64 is simple and addictive fun that builds off of the foundation laid out by its SNES predecessor. The most important addition was the ability to power slide through turns while (hopefully) coming out with a slight boost of speed. This simple addition made the races far more interesting, especially in multiplayer. The tracks in Mario Kart 64 are also a blast to race through compared to the sometimes bland tracks of Super Mario Kart. Mario Kart 64 is easily the best racing game on the Virtual Console and it looks to stay this way for quite some time.

8. Contra III: The Alien Wars

The Konami code won’t save you kiddies here. Even with only six stages, this game will put the hurt on you only like an old school game can. You are guaranteed to replay stages again and again as you try to beat the game, but you will love every second of it.

Contra III features super fast gameplay with extremely responsive controls. The ability to duel wield each of the game’s weapons only adds to the intensity of blasting through each level. Speaking of levels, Contra III throws a bit of variety at us with each of the level designs. One minute you’re blasting away aliens while hanging from a rafter, then the next minute you’re riding around in your super-futuristic motorcycle. That’s life in the year 2636.

7. Sonic the Hedgehog

Am I the only one that still finds it strange to see flagship Sega Genesis titles on a Nintendo console? If Nintendo and Sega can kiss and make up, why is it taking India and Pakistan so damn long?

Sonic the Hedgehog introduced the world to a furiously fast style of gameplay previously unseen on consoles. This game also finally made Sega a serious competitor to Nintendo at the time. While the game is certainly a revolutionary Genesis title, I feel that Sonic 2 is far superior. The first Sonic the Hedgehog has all the right ideas, but Sonic 2 really perfects the exploration and sense of speed that Sonic the Hedgehog tried to accomplish. Regardless, Sonic the Hedgehog is still an essential title to own for the Virtual Console, much like…

6. Super Mario Bros.

The year was 1985, and I have not been born yet…

(Skip to 1988)

The year is 1988 and the NES has finally been brought into our household. Playing Super Mario Bros. is honestly one of the very first memories I ever had. This is most likely because I constantly played this game, even if I was just a few years old. 20 years have passed and I’m still enjoying this game as much as I did when I first learned how to hold the NES controller.

Super Mario Bros. is one of the greatest games of all time, but many of us have played this game more times than Martin Scorsese has been screwed out of an Oscar (and that’s a lot of times!). So while most games might not be better than Super Mario Bros. in the grand scheme of things, a few offer a bit more bang for your Wii Points.

5. Super Castlevania IV

I’ll be honest, I’m not a huge fan of the 8-Bit Castlevania games. Perhaps this is a result of the limitations the NES had, which prevented many titles from truly reaching their full potential. The release of the SNES Super Castlevania IV seems to acknowledge this theory, since after all, the game is a remake of the original Castlevania. Most people frown upon remakes (I’m looking at you NARC), but Super Castlevania IV is truly the rebirth of the series.

Super Castlevania IV took advantage of the power the SNES provided with its launch in 1991, making Super Castlevania IV the game that the original could only dream of being. The SNES allowed for a greater range of motion and control with the eight-direction input of the D-pad, allowing Simon Belmont to jump and whip those damn vampires in any direction he chooses! The game also improved upon the whip by giving it the ability to be loosely swung in any direction for multiple hits, along with helping Simon swing across platforms, Pitfall style. Super Castlevania IV is definitely one of those titles that a new school gamer needs to experience, and hopefully appreicate.

4. Legend of Zelda

Where would we be without the Zelda franchise today?

Probably wondering why the world lacks a truly amazing adventure franchise. To this day, no other game NES game has offered me as much replay value as the Legend of Zelda. I guess it must be the theme song that gets me through each journey…

The first quest of this game is pretty fun, but in my opinion, the real heart of the game begins once you start up the second quest. Unlike the second “quest” in Super Mario Bros., which is nothing more than faster enemies and smaller elevator lifts, the second quest of the Legend of Zelda truly shakes the game up and causes even the biggest Zelda junkie to rethink certain tactics that helped them through the first game. Just always watch out for those damn sword shooting Centaurs.

3. Super Mario 64

Here is where the Virtual Console pricing becomes questionable. For the NES you can purchase a game for $5. Sounds like a great deal, but considering that most games only offer a limited amount of replay value, that $5 becomes debatable…

Then there are games like Super Mario 64. For double the price of a NES title, you get a game that will easily give you 20+ hours of solid gameplay for the first time through. Unlike other releases on this countdown, this is the first time we are getting a true re-release of Super Mario 64 (the DS remake just wasn’t the same). With the slightly updated graphics, solid gameplay, and numerous hours of fun, Super Mario 64 belongs on your Wii.

Or you could just pick up Baseball and Urban Champions for the same price.

2. Super Mario World

My greatest inner conflict has always been determining which is better: Super Mario World or Super Mario Bros. 3.

Thanksfully, I don’t have to make that decision today. When released alongside the SNES, Super Mario World was said to be a flawed rush job. Miyamoto himself has even stated that the game was not as good as he hoped. I could only imagine what Super Mario World would have been like if Miyamoto was truly happy with it…

There is just so much to love about this game. While you can easily fly through the game in a matter of hours to get to the end, the real joy comes when trying to find all the hidden secrets in each level. Oh, and then there’s that whole Special Zone and Star Road. Speaking of which, that Star Road theme will forever be engraved into my head. Thank you, Koji Kondo.

1. Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past

Unlike the Super Mario World vs Super Mario Bros. 3 conflict, there is no debating whether A Link to the Past is as good as Ocarina of Time or Twilight Princess, because A Link to the Past blows them both out of the water.

A bold statement indeed, but this is the game that truly paved the way for Ocarina of Time to become the most beloved game in the franchise. By the time the second dungeon rolls around, this game will have you hooked (via hookshot of course!) for the rest of your journey through Hyrule’s light and dark worlds. My only complaint is that many of us have played through this game way too many times to count, so the journey is definitely not fresh. Sometimes I wish the Zelda part of my brain could be erased so I can relive the magic again.