With arcade games now on Wii, let's hear what you're looking for!

With arcade games now on Wii, let’s hear what you’re looking for!

Submitted by Stephen Munn on March 27, 2009 – 9:25 pm20 Comments

Nintendo’s announced arcade games on Wii Virtual Console finally, so I want classic arcade titles Mr. Do’s Castle and Gyruss to come to Wii Virtual Console. That’s a short list, but it will do for now. Galaxian, Galaga, that’s all good, but you know we’re kinda Namco’d out at this point thanks to the endless iterations of Museum. The version of Gyruss I grew up on was the Commodore 64 version, but the NES version was also very good. Unfortunately, the NES version (like all NES games) has mono sound, so I’m going to stick with the awesome stereo sound of the original arcade version. As to Mr. Do’s Castle, I play that on MAME pretty frequently for an old game, and would waste no time plunking down my Nintendo Points for some of that solid ladder-pushing unicorn-hammering action. Even if I can’t beat, like, the third stage because it gets too hard. Check the videos of Gyruss (above) and Mr. Do’s Castle (below) to see what I’m talking about. You can feel the retro deliciousness, even if you can’t see why I love these games.

If you get hooked on the Mr. Do’s Castle theme like I did, check out the XOC version. The Gyruss theme is Bach’s Toccata & Fugue in D minor, BWV 565, You’ll have to do some searching around for downloadables. Finally, if you want proof that Konami remembers such roots, look no further. What arcade games do you want on Wii? The best answer here might be Donkey Kong. The NES version that’s already on VC is a travesty.

Tags: gyruss, mr. do's castle, Retro

http://www.facebook.com/people/Andrew-Adam/39102958 Andrew Adam

Top of my list: TMNT IV: Turles in Time
Close second: Area 51
Third: X-Men (don't remember the full title)

I would say the Golden Axe series, but they are on there in SNES form already. I'm sure there are others, but those are my top 3.
chackokhan

I remember when the arcades first started and played many games there. (as probably as Paul and Stephen did) So, here are a few of my favorites:

1. Altered Beast
2. Mario Brothers (on the C64 ver we would have marathon bouts with my friends)
3. Rolling Thunder
4. Space Harrier
5. Afterburner
6. Rastan
7. Shinobi

There are tons more that come to mind but, I don't want make a list that's a mile long…
Harshy

Does that mean I have to plug in two TV's to my Wii and get a 6 player game going for the X-Men game? (Oh the memories…) TMNT IV was on SNES, too, right?
Harshy

1) Syphon Filter / Silent Scope
2) MVC2
3) The Simpsons
Jet Pilot

The Simpsons Arcade Game and the original Mortal Kombat.
http://myanimelist.net/profile/Mario1-7 Mario1-7

Arcade Fails! We need Donkey Kong 64 and the Banjo's
bearmon

I want arcade coin op such as model 2 and model 3.. What about Jurassic Park 1 and 2 ?? What about Lost World from Model 3 ? It is going to be great.

Oh what about Safari! Jambo! It is perfect for Wiimote for throw a rope or net to caught the animals.
Jordan_Snyder

Those games will (most likely) never come to the Virtual Console. RARE made DK64 and the Banjo games, and Microsoft owns RARE, so it's highly unlikely. That's the reason I'll *starts to sob* never see GoldenEye 007 on the Virtual Console.
JoeFourhman

As I said before, I've always been kinda disgusted that Nintendo was satisfied to let their inferior NES-to-arcade ports reign on the VC, when Nintendo's own true history starts with those arcade originals. Let's see DK, DK3, and Mario Bros straight away.

Beyond that, I'll nominate Bank Panic, Ms. Pac-Man, and, uh, Journey.
StephenJMunn

I didn't know TMNT IV was an arcade game. I thought it went straight to SNES. Andrew, do you mean the X-Men brawler game? I think it was just called X-Men. The Golden Axe games are by Sega, the Golden Axe games on VC are Genesis versions. If you have a PS3 or 360 you will find the Genesis and arcade versions of the Golden Axe games in Sonic's Ultimate Genesis Collection.
StephenJMunn

That would be something, wouldn't it, to have to set up all those displays? We could dream that they would use online play to plug that gap but oh, well. I imagine there were different setups for those brawlers. I saw versions of most of them running multiplayer on one screen.
StephenJMunn

I expect we'll see DK64, as Nintendo owns the IP. Like with Diddy Kong Racing on DS. Heck, even Viva Piñata came to DS. It may take a while because Nintendo doesn't seem to like releasing N64 games on VC at all (probably the footprint, but that issue has now been fixed). I don't think you'll ever see a Banjo game on VC, though. I don't think GoldenEye is worth crying over. The game's been outdone in every area by other games now.
StephenJMunn

Journey! Hah!
Jordan_Snyder

Yeah, Donkey Kong 64 might come out. There may be some issues with the rights and licensing, though. For instance, in Diddy Kong Racing on the DS, Banjo and some other characters were taken out.
JoeFourhman

Agreed on the GoldenEye jab. It simply does not hold up, and it lacks the charm that give the Banjo games (which have also been outdone) legs going forward.

DK64 was not very well received, if I remember correctly, and is sort of the flashpoint for the Fall of Rare. They are not the company they used to be (literally), so an ongoing devotion to the brand name “Rare” doesn't make much sense to me. Kind of like the devotion to the brand name “Guitar Hero”, actually.
Jordan_Snyder

Pish tosh! I think GoldenEye will be fun forever. People are trying to say that it doesn't hold up, which is true, but that doesn't mean you still can't have a blast playing it. That game has given me, and still gives me today, some of the best local multiplayer experiences.
http://en-us.facebook.com/people/Andrew-Adam/39102958 Andrew Adam

I do remember playing the game at the arcade, TMNT I mean. I will play the arcade or SNES version gladly, just put it on VC for crying out loud.

And I would love to set up multiple TVs to play the X-men game.

And yes, Golden Axe is already out there, but I know it was a great Arcade game.

What, no love guys for Area 51?
http://en-us.facebook.com/people/Andrew-Adam/39102958 Andrew Adam

I have to agree with Josephina Shelley here, GoldenEye has stood the test of time. I pulled it out about six months ago just for kicks, still had a ball with it. The only thing it lacks is online multi-player. I fail to see games give out all the unlockables it had.
http://www.facebook.com/people/Andrew-Adam/39102958 Andrew Adam

I do remember playing the game at the arcade, TMNT I mean. I will play the arcade or SNES version gladly, just put it on VC for crying out loud.

And I would love to set up multiple TVs to play the X-men game.

And yes, Golden Axe is already out there, but I know it was a great Arcade game.

What, no love guys for Area 51?
http://www.facebook.com/people/Andrew-Adam/39102958 Andrew Adam

I have to agree with Josephina Shelley here, GoldenEye has stood the test of time. I pulled it out about six months ago just for kicks, still had a ball with it. The only thing it lacks is online multi-player. I fail to see games give out all the unlockables it had.