It’s been a wee bit of a weak showing for the Wii’s VC lately. Week after week of meek offerings, which — sorry, Nintendo fans — isn’t changing today.
Gradius III kicks things off today, coming in as an $8 SNES purchase. It’s a pretty safe bet for fans of horizontal shooters — among its genre, Gradius was close to the top of the pile. A veteran, if you will. Konami knew its stuff, and that shows in the customizable spaceships, 10 levels, pretty 2D visuals, and challenging difficulty. Nostalgia always makes for a reasonable purchase.
Next up are two more gems — well, one’s actually a rock — from yesteryear: Wonder Boy in Monster World (Genesis, $8) and Battle Lode Runner (TG-16, $6). BLR isn’t bad at all; this puzzle game was buried alongside the Turbo-Grafix that spawned it, and it’s nice to see it return as the cheapest game on display this week. If you’re looking for simple fun — now with 5 player! — part with it. WBMW continues the mascotism. Avoid.
Hopefully the news of the NeoGeo’s arrival on the VC later this summer will bring more fun to the service on a weekly basis. By then Nintendo should be readying a few "big deals." And a little Samurai Shodown never hurt anyone. Except some samurai.
