Week of February 23, 2017:

Wii U Virtual Console:

Harvest Moon 64 (N64)
$9.99


Yes, after all the years of Natsume stating they couldn't bring over the game to the Wii and Wii U Virtual Console due to technical issues (which I thought was BS as it was able to run just fine through Wii homebrew), Harvest Moon 64 finally makes its Virtual Console debut to coincide with its 20th anniversary. With the game also being released on Europe's Virtual Console, this makes it the first time that region got Harvest Moon 64. Before that, they got the enhanced Harvest Moon: Back to Nature game for the PS1. It seems that this is also released to coincide with the new Story of Seasons game... which is really Harvest Moon, but with a different name as it's handled by a different distributor. It's just too bad Natsume decided to release this on the Wii U Virtual Console a week before the Nintendo Switch comes out.

Speaking of the Nintendo Switch. It's been announced that the console will not have the Virtual Console available at launch. I kind of expected that, honestly. I predict the Switch Virtual Console will come sometime around the fall season or so, but I kind of hope it happens before that. I want to see what they do with the online multiplayer as well as what consoles will be included on the Switch Virtual Console. I'm still keeping my fingers crossed that Gamecube games will be included. As well as better looking emulation for NES games, where it could look more like how they would look on the NES Classic Edition.

The Nintendo Switch is now out, and the Wii U Virtual Console games still continues. For how long, I'm not sure. I'm assuming we'll see a gap between Virtual Console releases until the Switch unravels theirs. But until then, we still have the Wii U releases to go by. This is the week of March 2, 2017:

Wii U Virtual Console:

Dungeon Explorer (TG-16)
$5.99


Neutopia (TG-16)
$5.99


I guess if there's anything to expect, is Konami releasing Turbografx-16 games right during the eve of the Switch's launch. Especially since we're NOW just getting the first Neutopia. The sequel is far superior, but who knows if we'll even be getting that at this point, especially after the Switch has been released.

Even though the Nintendo Switch is out, and the Wii U is pretty much considered obsolete at this point, that doesn't stop the system from getting some (late) Virtual Console releases. This is the week of March 9, 2017.

Wii U Virtual Console:

Bomberman 64 (N64)
$9.99


Bomberman 64 makes its Virtual Console debut, probably to coincide with Super Bomberman R on the Nintendo Switch. Not sure how the Switch game compares to this N64 classic, but it still looks like a lot of fun. Of course, leave it to Konami to release this game after the Switch releases. Again, I hope the Switch will allow unity with the previous Virtual Console service.

Speaking of the Switch, the Virtual Console may not have been announced for the system as of right now... but there is something to hold us over until then. This week, SNK has released their first line of the Neo Geo Arcade Archives line. That's right, you can now download Neo Geo games on the Nintendo Switch for those who own this console (though, I have a feeling I'm the only one here who currently owns a Switch). The games released this week includes The King of Fighters 98, Metal Slug 3, Waku Waku 7, World Heroes Perfect, Shock Troopers, and NAM-1975. These games were all released on the Wii Virtual Console, but unlike those releases, the Switch Neo Geo releases uses the MVS Arcade versions as opposed to the AES console version.

I ended up getting Metal Slug 3 from the Switch eShop. I've heard that there's desync issues with those games, with no pro controller support. But that all seems to work fine when I tried it. Though, the video quality on the TV does look a little muddy, though that could just be my TV. The looks fine in the Switch's portable mode. So, those of you who want to play Neo Geo games on the go, this is a good way to do so.

Week of March 16, 2017:

Wii U Virtual Console:

Picross 3D (DS)
$9.99


Well, here's a DS game that I forgot even existed. What's interesting about this game is that it was developed by HAL Laboratory... same developers who did Kirby, Mother, and Smash Bros. A game like this is not exactly the best I'd expect from the company. But I guess if you're into Picross. Me personally, I would probably stick to Pokemon Picross on the 3DS.

Meanwhile, on the ACA Neo Geo line for the Nintendo Switch, King of Fighters '94 has been released this week. Kind of odd that King of Fighters '98 came out for the Switch before '94 came to the system. Most of the previous re-releases of King of Fighters '94 on the Wii Virtual Console, SNK Arcade Classics Volume 1, King of Fighters Collection: The Orochi Saga, and NEOGEO Station used the AES home console versions. The Nintendo Switch version, on the other hand, uses the MVS Arcade version just like the rest of the games in the ACA Neo Geo lineup.

Also, on a sidenote, a patch has recently been released for the ACA Neo Geo games. Before the patch came out, the colors would look a little washed out. I noticed this when I was playing Metal Slug 3 in TV mode. Apparently, there were problems with joycon desyncing, but I didn't have that happen to me. In fact, it's been said that people were not able to use the Switch Pro Controller before the patch came out... yet, it worked fine for me this whole time. Well, either way, it's nice that this patch came out. I noticed other minor differences, such as the fact that when you switch from Level 4 and Level 2, it actually does it. The pre-update wouldn't do that.

It's been a few weeks since the last Virtual Console release. Mainly because the Wii U eShop seems to be dwindling down from here now that the Switch has been released. I think soon, we will stop seeing Virtual Console releases until the Switch reveals their Virtual Console lineup... whenever that will be. But at least we have the ACA Neo Geo lineup to hold us over until then. Also, Pikmin 2 was released on the Wii U eShop last week... and was even given its own Miiverse community. Yes, folks. Now you can play all three Pikmin games on the Wii U.

let's just hope nintendo hasn't forgotten about the n64 smash bros.

Week of April 20, 2017:

Week of May 5, 2017:

to be fair they did say the nes mini would be limited. but i'm way ahead of them with homebrewing my wii u. again i thought it was a missed opportunity that they didn't include nes zapper games, especially since it was said that the nes mini would be compatible with the wii remote. now the snes mini is gonna get released and they'll say the same thing about it being limited.

Week of May 18, 2017: