DS Virtual Console Won’t Have All Your Favorites

Recently an announcement was made by Nintendo regarding their Virtual Console library on the Wii U. They are planning to release DS games for download.

Now this may sound great to some of you and it is to an extent. The television plus the Wii U tablet controller does seem to be simply a giant sized DS anyway. Why not release DS games to be played on it?

I’ll tell you why not. Because some of the DS system’s original and interesting titles simply don’t work well anymore once the dual screens are detached. Sure a slower game like Broken Sword: Shadow of the Templars or one that doesn’t use the touchscreen in any unique way like Ultimate Mortal Kombat and New Super Mario Bros. will work just fine.

However many games won’t transition well at all once both screens aren’t in your field of vision at all times. Sonic Rush and Contra 4 are two games where both screens are used as one. Dodging bullets from the soldiers of Black Viper are now much more unfairly difficult when the enemy is firing from the TV screen at your character on the tablet. The whole reason this is problematic at all is because you have to move your head to look at either screen instead of it being in your peripheral vision at the very least.

Ultimately, I’m not saying Nintendo shouldn’t do this, but as long as they’re smart about it you won’t be seeing The World Ends With You on the Virtual Console.

Joystiq: Nintendo bringing DS to Wii U Virtual Console

Holiday Update

Hey everybody! I hope you’re enjoying the holiday season. Here’s some of the things that have been going on since I last checked in with you all.

THE LEGEND OF ZELDA: THE MINISH CAP
I read up in an FAQ on the problem I was having with getting into the scholar’s home. I thought I could get all three of the library books and then return them at the same time. As it turns out I needed to return the first book before being allowed into the house.

Since then I’ve been looking around for some more people to fuse Kinstones with and finding other helpful items before moving on.

Outside of this game I haven’t been playing all that much.

CHRISTMAS GIFTS
Remember those games I got for my niece and nephew? Well the it seemed like she liked that she got Namco Museum 50th Anniversary.

He, on the other hand, claimed to already have Sonic Rush. My brother said that they aren’t sure what they have. I also tried to replace it with Brain Age, but I got only whining for my efforts. Later that night I noticed that the game was left behind. There was no pleasing him that was for sure.

I think next year a piece of coal is in order.

NEW GAMES
I was much more grateful for what I got. Usagi704 got me The Guardian Legend and my parents got me Soul Calibur: Broken Destiny.

Overall I’ve had a good time this year and I’m ready for a great New Year. Have a good one! :)

Last Bit of Games Bought Last Week…

…at least I hope so for now. :P

The first set of five games came from It’s About Games. I went there to get one new PS3 game so go figure that I’d find some harder to find games and get them instead.

Aladdin (SNES) – game only
WCW vs. The World (PS) – complete
Spyro: Year of the Dragon (PS) – complete
Crash Bandicoot (PS) – complete
Battletoads (NES) – game & box

This second group I bought all new. The top three DS games were bought as part of the “buy 2 get 1 free” sale that was taking place at Toys-R-Us. Geometry Wars: Galaxies and Space Invaders Extreme here bought at Meijer. I was happy to get Space Invaders Extreme. It’s as fun, if not more so than, the demo and it was only $20! :)

Ninja Gaiden Dragon Sword (DS)
Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare (DS)
Sonic Rush Adventure (DS)
Geometry Wars: Galaxies (DS)
Space Invaders Extreme (PSP)

Pick 5: Hateful Games

In this Pick 5, I’ll be calling out five games that hate me. For whatever reason the following games don’t want me to play them despite that I really want to like them. My reasons will be quick and to the point.

Baldur’s Gate: Dark Alliance (PS2)
Dying is much easier than in the GBA game and that’s with the addition of co-op play.

Batman Returns (SNES)
If battling Catwoman and the Penguin twice isn’t bad enough, you also have to deal with the extreme range of Catwoman’s whip.

Battlefield 2: Modern Combat (PS2)
Your AI allies don’t do much to help out whether it’s fighting the enemy or completing the objectives.

Sonic Riders (PS2)
This game is just too easy and too difficult at times. Plus, the player is expected to be perfect on later tracks.

Sonic Advance 3 & Sonic Rush (GBA/DS)
My problem with these two games are the same. I can’t pass the second set of stages. If I remember correctly both problematic areas consist of mainly under water levels. The first time I realized that I have trouble with these types of levels in Sonic games was, I think, Sonic 2.

Now Playing: January ’07

The Incredible Hulk: Ultimate Destruction was, by far and away, the game I played the most of during this last month. This game is without a doubt, and for a lack of a better term, incredible. Sure the graphics aren’t the best, but it doesn’t need to be. Why, you ask? Because as Alex Navarro put it in his review of the game, “everything in the game smashes and explodes real, real good.” I highly recommend this game to anyone.

Other games that I played some of were: Sonic Rush, Pinball Hall of Fame, Tekken Advance, and DOA2: Hardcore. The second zone while using Sonic in Sonic Rush has been a consistant pain to complete for me. Tekken on the GBA was only a little more exciting than Vitura Fighter 2 was on the Genesis. The addition of the 3-on-3 tag mode was fun. I loves me some old fashion style pinball and I got my fix with Usagi in two player mode. Afterwards, I was mostly getting my butt kicked in DOA2.

I recently bought the European version of Tomb Raider: Legend for the DS. I quickly ran through it in about three days. Having played the console version of the game made it easier to know what to do.

I’ve had Baldur’s Gate: Dark Alliance (GBA) for a couple of years, but I stopped playing it because I couldn’t ever find my way out of the Dark Forest in Act II. Now that I tried to find a way out and succeeded, I’m going to head on until the end of the game.

Another thing I wanted to mention was that I tried the Crackdown demo and it was fantastic. I’ll definitely be getting my hands on the full version of that game and it won’t have anything to do with what Bungie has added.

Now Playing: August ’06

I started this past month off by playing though Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time a total of four times. A wonderful game to say the least. When I was visiting a friend I played a little of Super Street Fighter II: Turbo Revival, Racing Gears Advance, and Sonic Rush. I’m still having trouble with the second Sonic level (the water stage). I also played a little bit of Brain Age just for the Sudoku. Previously I didn’t understand the rules very well and was averaging 70 minutes per puzzle. I’m proud to say that my time is now down to around 25 minutes.

Back on the PS2 console I played some of the missions in Battlefield 2: Modern Combat. It was fun at points, but it was mainly a holdover until I received Prince of Persia: Warrior Within through the mail. I’m currently playing POP2 (currently right before the Gryphon boss battle) with some Street Fighter Collection 2 vs. mode action mixed in for good measure.

DS + Games

The picture below is my current library of DS games. Yeah, it’s only five games, but they’re all great games. I beat Super Mario and Castlevania last month with Sonic Rush being next, hopefully. the puzzle mode in Tetris DS is quite fun as is the online portion. Oh and Brain Age, I have two words for you…

View larger image

Now Playing: July ’06

7 Games…3 Finished…1 Month.

Played
Street Fighter Alpha Anthology (PS2)
Tetris DS (DS)
The King of Fighters XI (PS2)
Urban Chaos: Riot Response (PS2)

Played and Finished
Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow (DS)
Castlevania Double Pack (GBA)
New Super Mario Bros. (DS)

Gaming. Now 4x More Fun!

Four new games bought recently, each for a different system.

Mortal Kombat 3 (PS), $10, used – complete
Mega Man & Bass (GBA), $15, new
Sonic Rush (DS), $30, new
Urban Chaos: Riot Response (PS2), $40, new