Mega Man 9 was finally released today for download from the Wii Shop Channel. It's a purchase I'll be making tonight, though I will likely take the opportunity to fill my shopping cart with other goodies, such as these four SNES games:
- Zelda 3: A Link to the Past — one of the greatest 16-bit adventure games ever made. I've played this title over and over, finding its rituals comforting. I've not done so in years, and it'd be fun to go back and compare this experience to the newer ones offered by the likes of Twilight Princess.
- Contra III: The Alien Wars — little beats the old-school Contra games for fast action shoot-em-up, and the franchise's only SNES entry is no exception.
- Super Metroid — another game I've rehearsed over and over, yet I seem to forget the order of levels and locations of power-ups every time, making each play-through feel like the first time.
- Super Mario World — I once mastered this game so thoroughly, I was able to beat every level and find every exit without activating a single Switch Palace. Mario games have always been a balance of action and exploration, and I'd like to revisit the pack-in that once came with every SNES.
Besides the Virtual Console and Mega Man 9, the new WiiWare platform also offers other intriguing titles, including Block Breaker Deluxe and Groovin' Blocks, which appear reminiscent of arcade games Arkanoid and Columns, respectively. Granted, the only other WiiWare game I've purchased, VIP Casino Blackjack, was disappointing, but it hasn't deterred me from the venue's potential.
The cost for all seven of the above games is $58, which may sound like a lot, but consider that the same amount would buy only a single game at retail. And by making this purchase now, it gives me time to save another $20 for two more classic games revisited: Space Invaders Get Even and Bomberman Blast.
Though between this bounty and the undeniable lure of other downloadable games for the Xbox 360, destitution seems inevitable… but who needs food and water when you have games like these?
I'm not the biggest fan of the Contra games (they're pretty good, just not my favorite), but the other 3 games you mentioned are all personal favorites. I really should get around to downloading SMW off the VC.
As for Mega Man 9, I'll be picking up the 360 version sometime. I don't get paid again until the end of October so it might have to wait until then.
Rob, your pay schedule may work out well, as the Xbox 360 version of Mega Man 9 doesn't come out until October 1st!
I bought the other games last night (except Zelda 3 — turns out I'd already downloaded it), though I had to clear some space off my Wii to make room for all the purchases, and will probably have to do so again when Space Invaders and Bomberman are released.
Finally! Bomberman Blast came out today. Just 1,000 Wii points!
I'm more interested in the Bit Generation remake that just came out, Art Style: Orbient. $6 for a Nintendo-created gravity based puzzle game and unlike the GBA original, it's in English.