Virtual Console Monday

[Doctor Setebos]

No press release from Nintendo today (must still be patting themselves on the back for the release of Super Metroid last week), but never fear! We still know what games came out today (http://www.vc-reviews.com/news/150/us-vc-releases-27th-august-ghouls-n-ghosts.php).

Yet another stellar week for the Wii Shop Channel! This week brings us the phenomenal Ghouls 'n' Ghosts (http://www.vc-reviews.com/review/4/ghouls-n-ghosts.php) for the Sega Genesis (800 points); the wonderful RPG Breath of Fire II (http://www.vc-reviews.com/review/542/breath-of-fire-ii.php) for the SNES (800 points); and the fantastic Contra follow-up, Super C (http://www.vc-reviews.com/review/557/super-c.php) for the NES (500 points). I've run out of adjectives! Amazing!

[mkelehan]

Too bad Square localized BOF1, so we can't be sure we'll ever get that. Does BOF2 for the VC have a cleaned-up translation? D*Refresh?

[Skyelan]

Wow, that IS a badass lineup.

It's just a shame that Capcom didn't do a very good job translating BoF2. Even through an awful translation, the game really was years ahead of its time in many areas.

[Gorvi]

Wow, that's a damn good lineup. All 3 are worth it. Well, if you don't own BoF2 for the GBA already.

[Heretic Machine]

Fuck Ghouls 'n' Ghosts, and fuck the people who made it. Worst franchise, ever.

Now Breath of Fire II, on the other hand...

[violentp]

Fuck Ghouls 'n' Ghosts, and fuck the people who made it. Worst franchise, ever.

A little too difficult for you Susan? ;)

[Doctor Setebos]

Fuck Ghouls 'n' Ghosts, and fuck the people who made it. Worst franchise, ever.Are you talking the whole series, or just Ghouls 'n' Ghosts? Because if you don't like Super Ghouls 'n' Ghosts, then I hate you. A lot. And there's something wrong with you. And you smell. A lot. :rolleyes:

[frederec]

Fuck Ghouls 'n' Ghosts, and fuck the people who made it. Worst franchise, ever.

Now Breath of Fire II, on the other hand...

Wow, such anger. I could never get very far in Ghosts 'n Goblins for the NES, so was scared off by the others, which supposedly had similar levels of difficulty. But I don't see a reason to hate it THAT much.

Breath of Fire II was okay. I remember buying that and the first one used on the SNES while I was an undergrad. Played them and sold them. I think my problem with that series was that I played BoF III first, which seems to be the pinnacle of the series. The others have their moments (especially II), but they're just not quite as good.

[Gorvi]

Great, now I have the music from Super Ghouls n Ghosts stuck in my head. Thanks a lot, guys........

Bastards.....

[Gorvi]

Wow, such anger. I could never get very far in Ghosts 'n Goblins for the NES, so was scared off by the others, which supposedly had similar levels of difficulty. But I don't see a reason to hate it THAT much.

Breath of Fire II was okay. I remember buying that and the first one used on the SNES while I was an undergrad. Played them and sold them. I think my problem with that series was that I played BoF III first, which seems to be the pinnacle of the series. The others have their moments (especially II), but they're just not quite as good.
BoF3 the pinnacle? Man, I always thought that was the weakest, followed by 2. I'm something of a big BoF fan, so maybe I'm overanalyzing it. Dragon Quarter was my favorite, thought I know it's not for everyone, followed by 4 and then 1.

[TheFlyingOrc]

Dude...Breath of Fire 2 is a pretty weak game. You spend the first 33% trying to clear Bow of some stupid crime.

[Loki_09]

Actually kinda supised they released this lineup the same week as the newest installment of Prime. I mean, save the good stuff for the time between major releases.

[frederec]

BoF3 the pinnacle? Man, I always thought that was the weakest, followed by 2. I'm something of a big BoF fan, so maybe I'm overanalyzing it. Dragon Quarter was my favorite, thought I know it's not for everyone, followed by 4 and then 1.

Well, it's thanks to you that I now have Dragon Quarter sitting at home, waiting to be played. You're also one of the only people I've seen championing Dragon Quarter. Most other people seem to think it's the low point of the series.

I think people really like BoF 3 (myself included) because of the many different dragon fusions involved. There's also something kinda cool about the game starting out with all the characters being young, then zipping a few years into the future, aging the characters.

BoF 2 is a classic, but I think the improvements in 3 edge it out over 2. BoF 1 and 4 are okay installments in the series, but not impressive. I lost interest in BoF 4 because it played a lot like 3, but without some of the cool points (if I remember right).

[Skyelan]

followed by 4

People who genuinely like 4 (See: me) seem like such an incresing rarity. For that matter, I think it may even be more universally despised than Dragon Quarter among core BoF fans. :(

So it's nice to see a hardcore fan who doesn't loathe it.

I genuine love 2 moreso because of how amazing it was when it came out than to how it stands up, so I guess you could call it little more than nostalgia. Right now it's a genuinely solid RPG, but then it was a big shift compared to the other RPGs of the era.

(This is an RPG, so I guess this applies as spoilers, but it's only vague, so I'll just instead of being arsed to look up spoiler-text number, in case anyone cares about getting vaguely spoiled about a decade-and-then-some old game ;) ) People dying left and right, some genuinely twisted concepts in the story (The entire way Ryu ends up on his own is just creepy), and it did 'this religeon is actually founded by a demon/evil force' long before it became driven into the ground by every RPG imaginable.

Really caught me offguard back in the day.

Orc: While I definitely agree the start was slow, once you get Bow back and everything starts going to shit it's awesome. Or was at the time at least. I do play it now and then, so at least I know it does have SOME redeeming value beyond my own nostalgia. I hope. :p

[Heretic Machine]

A little too difficult for you Susan? ;)

"Here, beat this super-hard game that stops being fun about twenty-minutes in, and then after you're done, beat it again to actually see the ending and the final boss. In one sitting of course."

Yeah, fuck it. Fuck it up it's ass. I don't care if you think I'm not hardcore like you buddeh, that was one of the most awful, boring experiences of my entire life. If someone asked me, "What was the worst thing that ever happened to you" I could easily point to this franchise and say, "These games right here; these are the worst things that ever happened to me."

And yes, I'm mostly acquainted with Super, not the NES version.

[violentp]

"Here, beat this super-hard game that stops being fun about twenty-minutes in, and then after you're done, beat it again to actually see the ending and the final boss. In one sitting of course."

Yeah, fuck it. Fuck it up it's ass. I don't care if you think I'm not hardcore like you buddeh, that was one of the most awful, boring experiences of my entire life. If someone asked me, "What was the worst thing that ever happened to you" I could easily point to this franchise and say, "These games right here; these are the worst things that ever happened to me."

And yes, I'm mostly acquainted with Super, not the NES version.

Yikes. Sounds like this game broke up with you or something.

[gojira]

Yikes. Sounds like this game broke up with you or something.

Verily.

Perigon: Seek professional help.

;)

[Evil Avnovice]

How long before the original Breath of Fire? Breath of Fire II was okay to me, but I had a grand time with the first game.

Good thing I was aquainted with these two via Game Boy Advance. :)

[gzsfrk]

Those are all great games, but damned if I'm going to pay that much for them when they offer NO new features whatsoever. Now online co-op in Super C--that would be worth the price of admission. But as it is, I'll stick with playing it on my DS or PC.

Speaking of which, why the hell hasn't Nintendo just added some kind of Kaillera functionality to their emulation engines on the Wii so that they could OFFER online gameplay in the classic games without actually having to re-implement the code? PC Emulators have been doing this for ages now, and I can go right now and fire up any of a number of NES emulators and play a game of River City Ransom with a buddy in another state no problem.

I mean, COME ON. Get with the Internet, Nintendo. It's far past time for you to do so.

[Skyelan]

Those are all great games, but damned if I'm going to pay that much for them when they offer NO new-

Phew!

For a moment there I thought we were gonna have a thread without whining. Mostly about how much we hate the service, regardless of the games, even though it's been repeated to ad-nausium every single goddamn week. To the point of "Yes, we all know, and most of us agree, we just can't care enough to complain anymore. I'm sure next you'll inform us that the PS3 is too expensive, and the Dreamcast had a mournfully early grave".

I was worried we might break tradition. Keep up the good work, soldier. ;)

[walkstheplanes]

Great, now I have the music from Super Ghouls n Ghosts stuck in my head. Thanks a lot, guys........

Bastards.....

Augh. Because of your post, I have it stuck in my head too!

[Gorvi]

Well, it's thanks to you that I now have Dragon Quarter sitting at home, waiting to be played. You're also one of the only people I've seen championing Dragon Quarter. Most other people seem to think it's the low point of the series.

I think people really like BoF 3 (myself included) because of the many different dragon fusions involved. There's also something kinda cool about the game starting out with all the characters being young, then zipping a few years into the future, aging the characters.

BoF 2 is a classic, but I think the improvements in 3 edge it out over 2. BoF 1 and 4 are okay installments in the series, but not impressive. I lost interest in BoF 4 because it played a lot like 3, but without some of the cool points (if I remember right).
BoF DQ is very, very different from just about any other RPG out there. You really may hate it, it just struck a chord with me.

As far as BoF4, I liked it so much because I thought (at the time, at least) that I could really identify with the "bad guy". Hell, I didn't even think he was a bad guy at all, and I was rooting for him in a way. I'm kinda glad they let you choose a side in the ending.

[alienchild]

Breath of Fire 2 is a must-buy for me. Too bad you can't transfer these to your DS :(

[frederec]

Breath of Fire 2 is a must-buy for me. Too bad you can't transfer these to your DS :(

Yes, in spite of all the cross-talk and babbling, if you're an RPG fan and you haven't played BoF 2, you should fix that.

[Spigot]

I'm with some of the other people here. I absolutely LOVED Dragon Quarter, but then I wasn't a huge BoF fan prior to playing it.

Anyway, great line-up this week. I don't know if I'll be snagging any of them right away but it's nice to know they're available. BoF2 is probably the only one I'd grab any time soon though.

[gzsfrk]

Phew!

For a moment there I thought we were gonna have a thread without whining.

Yeah, yeah... I know. But I was mostly gone from EvAv for a couple months and needed to get in a cliched rant to find my groove again. ;)

Besides, gotta keep the fires burning lest the embers of apathy and acceptance set in. If we stop bitching and whining, then that just makes it more likely the ridiculous prices are here to stay, right? (As if they weren't anyway. <sigh>)

[Loki_09]

Phew!

For a moment there I thought we were gonna have a thread without whining. Mostly about how much we hate the service, regardless of the games, even though it's been repeated to ad-nausium every single goddamn week. To the point of "Yes, we all know, and most of us agree, we just can't care enough to complain anymore. I'm sure next you'll inform us that the PS3 is too expensive, and the Dreamcast had a mournfully early grave".

I was worried we might break tradition. Keep up the good work, soldier. ;)

Wait... Whats a Dreamcast???? ;)

[Chris_D]

Ghouls and Ghosts was really pretty for the time, and I think the difficulty must be a little toned down from the arcade, since I managed to complete it somehow back in the day. Almost unheard of for me because I'm not that good at these kinds of precision timing games. Anyway, recommended for anyone who doesn't already have the capcom classics arcade version. Of course, paying 800 points for almost any 16bit game sucks but..