Here we are with the first week of releases since the tragic death of Satoru Iwata. Even after a few days of passing, it still feels hard to believe that he died. Especially since he wasn't even that old when he died. His funeral is being held tomorrow. It's hard to imagine what's going to happen with not just Nintendo, but even the gaming industry without Iwata around. Guess we'll have to wait and see what happens. Either way, he will be missed. But nevertheless, Nintendo still continues with their weekly Virtual Console releases, and this is the week of July 16, 2015.

Wii U Virtual Console:

Blaster Master (NES)
$4.99



Not too much going on for this week, as we have another game in the Virtual Console Three-peat. But nevertheless, Blaster Master is still a very hard game for the NES reguardless. There's also Blaster Master: Enemy Below GBC game released for the 3DS Virtual Console, as well as Blaster Master Overdrive being available as a Wiiware title.

Week of 7/23/2015:

Wii U Virtual Console:

DK: Jungle Climber (DS)
$9.99


Somehow, I barely knew that game even existed. I mainly remember DK: King of Swing, and I wasn't very interested in that game. So, that's probably why I barely knew about DK: Jungle Climber, or at least, forgot that it existed.

On the flipside, 3D Streets of Rage II has arrived on the 3DS eShop. Much like with other games from M2's 3D remastering, this one includes some new modes such as Rage Relay, where instead of playing one fighter, you play all four in an order you select. Lose a life, and one of the other characters would take your place. This brings a nice variety that the Sega Genesis version of Streets of Rage II did not have.

Cool news on Streets of Rage II! That new mode sounds fun.

Week of 7/30/2015:

Wii U Virtual Console:

Kirby Squeak Squad (DS)
$9.99


Kirby 64: The Crystal Shard (N64)
$9.99


This week is a pretty interesting week as Nintendo is celebrating Kirby's 23rd birthday on the Nintendo eShop. Not only is Kirby 64 and Squeak Squad released on the Wii U Virtual Console, but Kirby's Return to Dreamland was also included as well as part of their lineup of Wii games on the Wii U eShop. I may have said this before, but I don't actually count the Wii games as Virtual Console titles. The reason being is because the Wii games are it's own separate entry on the eShop that's not included as part of the Virtual Console category. The reason these releases exist in the first place is to give people a digital release of their Wii games that would be able to run on the Wii U the same way it runs in Wii Mode. To count those games as Virtual Console titles would be like counting all the digital retail Wii U games as Virtual Console games just because you can get them off the eShop.

On a little sidenote, the newest DLC update for Super Smash Bros for Wii U and 3DS is now on the eShop. These include some new costumes, as well as two stages from the N64 game (Peach's Castle and Hyrule Castle).

Oh, the kids are going to love this. They're big Kirby fans at the moment.

Week of 8/6/2015:

Wii U Virtual Console:

Golden Sun: The Lost Age (GBA)
$7.99


Onimusha Tactics (GBA)
$6.99


Even though the Wii U Virtual Console does not support the GBA link cable, Golden Sun: The Lost Age retains the password system that was used when transferring data from the original Golden Sun game. These include characters and items. Of course, I'm sure people are probably going to abuse that by looking up passwords online, but that's not really something I endorce. It would also be nice to see a fourth Golden Sun game from Cramalot, but they seem more focused on making Mario sports titles such as Mario Tennis Ultra Smash.

On a side note, Rare Replay was released this week for the Xbox One.... and it's gotten some positive reviews from what I've seen. The game is actually making me want to get an Xbox One as it has a collection of 30 games made by Rare all for $30. With all the additional content and everything, this sounds like a great bang for your buck. It includes all of Rare's greatest games, including games released for the NES, games from the N64 era, and even their Xbox 360 games (although the 360 emulation from what I've heard, is a little laggy compared to the original hardware). Of course, the collection doesn't include games like the Donkey Kong Country trilogy due to obvious copyright reasons. In fact, like with previous Rare games released for the 360... all the Nintendo references are removed from their games. RC Pro Am is a good example of that, as the letters used to spell out Nintendo, were changed to Champion. Same letters used in the Sega Genesis version. And of course, they used the 360 remastered versions of both Banjo games and Perfect Dark, while the other N64 games uses N64 emulation.

I was also looking up gameplay footage from Rare Replay, and there are some things that the game did that was actually better than what Nintendo was doing for their Virtual Console service. The NES emulation for example, looks a lot better with the games running through Rare Replay than the games on the Wii U Virtual Console. I really don't understand why the NES emulation on Wii U has such a dark picture. Not to mention they used some analog audio signal that requires you to turn the volume up to 50. I really think M2 has done a better job with bringing emulation to Virtual Console than Nintendo themselves did, as the GBA and DS emulation looks great on the Wii U. Rare Replay also happens to have more N64 games than what Nintendo currently released on the Wii U Virtual Console. Then again, they started offering N64 games for the Wii U earlier this year, so we'll see what else Nintendo adds in a year from now.

On top of Rare Replay being released, Microsoft also announced the Season 3 DLC pack of Killer Instinct this week, and Rash from Battletoads will be included. In fact, they have a beta version of him available to play up until September 8. In order to get access to Rash, you either have to have previously purchased DLC from Killer Instinct, or own a copy of Rare Replay. I actually did try out Rash at a gamer's lounge earlier today, and he was amazing. I'm glad Microsoft is starting to pay attention to Rare's legacy at last. Although, the damage has already been done as Rare is still a shadow of their former selves in terms of their talent, which is now long gone from the days of the N64. Ah well. At least there's Yooka Laylee to look forward to.

Last week was a bit of an odd week as there were no Virtual Console releases whatsoever. I think this is the first time this has happened in the history of the 3DS and Wii U Virtual Consoles. I'm guessing the download release of Pandora's Tower was the reason why they decided not to release a Virtual Console title for that week. For that, I didn't update last week, because it didn't count. Yes, I still hold to my opinion when I say that despite what others think, I don't count Wii download games as Virtual Console titles. They're not in the Virtual Console section for one thing, and when you download them, you're running the game the same way it would when you run the disc in Wii Mode. It doesn't have the Virtual Console emulation options for customizing controls, adding restore points, or even allowing you to use the Gamepad or Wii U Pro Controller. It's designed for the same purpose by giving you the option of owning some of the retail games for the original Wii digitally on the Wii U, the same way they have digital downloads for some of the retail games for the Wii U and 3DS. That's why I don't count Wii games as Virtual Console releases.

But this week has a few releases, so here we go. This is the week of August 20, 2015. Fun fact, it also happens to fall towards the weekend of my birthday.

Wii U Virtual Console:

Advance Wars 2: Black Hole Rising (GBA)
$7.99



Genghis Khan II: Clan of the Grey Wolf (SNES)
$7.99


Also, on the 3DS is the next addition to Sega's 3D Classics. 3D Gunstar Heroes is now out. The classic Sega Genesis game that was made by Treasure has finally received the treatment of M2's 3D remastering of Sega games. Treasure is a really good developer that was made up of ex-Konami employees. They made Gunstar Heroes, Dynamite Heady, Sin and Punishment, Wario World and so many great games. In recent years, they worked with Capcom to make Gaist Crusher for the 3DS. Unfortunately, the game never got released in the states. Again, why do they think region locking their systems is a good thing.

Treasure's best game was Guardian Heroes, hands down.

now we just need dynamite headdy 3D!

Week of 8/27/2015: