Tis The Season –
Nintendo offered some pretty unique games in Nov 2012 whereas they are going the more Virtual Console route in Dec 2012. And instead of offering 2 games at a time, they are offering 4 for a limited time!
Starting off the month is 1080 Snowboarding, an N64 Virtual Console title that will be available until Jan 6, 2013 for 150 coins. This game was originally released in 1998 and normally is available as a 1000 Point ($10) download. Personally, I was not a fan of this game back then and really has only gotten worse with age. Even its GC sequel, 1080 Avalanche, wasn’t that great of a game. In my opinion, Snowboard Kids (and to a lesser extent, SSX) is a much more entertaining snowboard game. But this N64 classic supports 2-players and features a decent amount of hidden content. For 150 coins, it is worth the price of admission if you are into snowboarding. If anything, it fits the season.
The next N64 Virtual Console title available until Jan 6th is Mario Party 2 for 150 coins. This digital boardgame is the best way to break your controllers and bister your thumbs but can offer a bit of fun if you enjoy same-sofa multiplayer. For 150 coins, this is the much cheaper route than scouring eBay for the cartridge.
3DS owners can experience Samus’ first handheld adventure with Metroid II: Return of Samus for 150 coins also until Jan 6th. Unfortunately, Return of Samus has not aged well and is probably the worst game in the highly coveted Metroid series. With no mini-map and indication on where to go, hunting down each Metroid can be a lesson in tenacity. Samus is almost as tall as the screen which puts a huge damper on the field of vision. This makes combat with Metroids difficult and just navigating from Point A to Point B cumbersome. If there is one Metroid game that needs a complete remake, this is it. However, if you missed out on playing this on the pea-green screen you owe it to yourself to check this out as many Metroid games have followed the events of “the baby” being born.
When Nintendo launched the 3DS they created re-releases of classic games but updated them to support the three-dimensional viewing angle. One of these game is 3D Classics: TwinBee, a forgotten old school shooter. This game will also be available for 150 coins and until Jan 6th. This vertically scrolling shooter is colorful and has power-ups to keep gameplay fresh. It actually is a decent game and one that you probably missed in the NES era so it is worth a look for 150 coins.
Nintendo definitely took a new route this holiday season by offering four Virtual Console games all month long. Will this trend continue into the new year? Will third party games finally be offered? Time will tell.
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