Now on the Virtual Console: Gunstar Heroes and Alien Crush make an appearance

By Spencer . December 11, 2006 . 11:19am

Now on the Virtual Console: Gunstar Heroes and Alien Crush make an appearanceThere have been rumors that Alien Crush was coming to the Virtual Console this week and the sci-fi pinball game made this week’s four game list. Alien Crush has a cult following since it was one of the few pinball games that was actually fun to play. It had bonus stages, moving alien targets to hit and a style similar to the Alien movies. Also on the North American VC list is Gunstar Heroes, Treasure’s classic 2D run and gun shooter. Gunstar Heroes was one of the best co-op games on the Genesis and if you’re only getting one game this week download it. Robotnik’s Mean Bean Machine, Sega’s variation of Puyo Pop and Ice Hockey for the NES are on the list too. See extended descriptions of this weeks retro four past the break.

Ice Hockey (NES, 1-2 players, 500 Wii Points): Ice Hockey is hard-hitting, fast-action competition that re-creates all the excitement of the sport from faceoffs to penalty shots. Players pass the puck and shoot to score while using defensive tactics, including fake shots and ice brawls to crush adversaries. It’s up to the player to find the best strategy to win the game – finesse or power.

 

Gunstar Heroes (Sega Genesis, 1-2 players, 800 Wii Points): The Gunstar 9 planet was peaceful for many years until the vicious dictator, Colonel Red, kidnapped the Gunstar twins’ older brother and used mind control to make him his slave. Players face many different enemies and bosses while battling to stop the dictator from unleashing "Golden Silver the Destructor" with apocalyptic consequences.

 

Dr. Robotnik’s Mean Bean Machine (Sega Genesis, 1-2 players, 800 Wii Points):
Dr. Robotnik is stamping out music and fun in Mobius with his giant robotizing Mean Bean Steaming Machine. Before he turns all the citizens of Beanville into robots, players must save the day by gathering up beans in matching colors and defeating Robotnik’s guards.

Alien Crush (TurboGrafx16, 1 player, 600 Wii Points): Alien Crush is a fan-favorite pinball game that features a sinister sci-fi theme. Play through a two-level playing field that comes to life with pulsating alien creatures. Rack up a high enough score, clear the board of these extraterrestrials and discover secret bonus stages. The game features realistic pinball action, complete with a tilt function and two selectable soundtracks. Do you have what it takes to fight back against this alien infestation?


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  • ragingdwarf

    Now I REALLY need a Wii! I haven’t had the chance to play Gunstar Heroes, yet, and this would totally be worth the 8 bucks I’d have to shell out for it. NOW GIMME SIN AND PUNISHMENT!

  • ragingdwarf

    Now I REALLY need a Wii! I haven’t had the chance to play Gunstar Heroes, yet, and this would totally be worth the 8 bucks I’d have to shell out for it. NOW GIMME SIN AND PUNISHMENT!

  • http://thegamespoilers.com Louise

    As much as I like Gunstar Heroes, $8 for a game that’s more than 10 years old?! Man, Nintendo is making BANK on the VC.

  • http://thegamespoilers.com Louise

    As much as I like Gunstar Heroes, $8 for a game that’s more than 10 years old?! Man, Nintendo is making BANK on the VC.

  • the_importer

    Jesus Christ, enough with the 8 and 16bits games Nintendo, how about some games that don’t play well with emulators like, I don’t know, N64 games?!?! Stop #$%@#$ around and release Ocarina of Time and Majora’s Mask, not everyone wants to buy the collector’s disk on eBay for $80.

  • the_importer

    Jesus Christ, enough with the 8 and 16bits games Nintendo, how about some games that don’t play well with emulators like, I don’t know, N64 games?!?! Stop #$%@#$ around and release Ocarina of Time and Majora’s Mask, not everyone wants to buy the collector’s disk on eBay for $80.

  • vysethebold

    Your popular games will be coming. For now I’m just happy that games that I used to rave about that no one ever heard of when I had a Genesis are getting some exposure. Gunstar Heroes was the first game that I ever bought with my own money when it came out. Even as a young boy, I knew how good the game was when I rented it, yet I had never heard of it even mentioned in a magazine. Anytime a company promotes an amazing game like Gunstar Heroes is fine in my book. I will eventually download it though I’ve beaten the game dozens of times. The VC is giving hope to long-forgotten developers and series. If enough people download these forgotten games, the better chance they have of getting an update or the developer has of continuing to bring great games to the market. They are getting a second chance to gain an audience, which is quite rare. In many ways the VC is doing for games what Nick-at-Night did to black and white sitcoms. The Honeymooners were pretty much an obscure show to TV watchers until they were being rerun on cable. Now, Honeymooners is a cemented part of popular culture. The VC, much like Nick-at-Night, is a place where people can experience games that they love and games that they never heard of. I hope Nintendo keeps up with a good mixture of obscure and well-known games. I implore you guys to check out these games you’ve never played and give them a chance.

  • vysethebold

    Your popular games will be coming. For now I’m just happy that games that I used to rave about that no one ever heard of when I had a Genesis are getting some exposure. Gunstar Heroes was the first game that I ever bought with my own money when it came out. Even as a young boy, I knew how good the game was when I rented it, yet I had never heard of it even mentioned in a magazine. Anytime a company promotes an amazing game like Gunstar Heroes is fine in my book. I will eventually download it though I’ve beaten the game dozens of times. The VC is giving hope to long-forgotten developers and series. If enough people download these forgotten games, the better chance they have of getting an update or the developer has of continuing to bring great games to the market. They are getting a second chance to gain an audience, which is quite rare. In many ways the VC is doing for games what Nick-at-Night did to black and white sitcoms. The Honeymooners were pretty much an obscure show to TV watchers until they were being rerun on cable. Now, Honeymooners is a cemented part of popular culture. The VC, much like Nick-at-Night, is a place where people can experience games that they love and games that they never heard of. I hope Nintendo keeps up with a good mixture of obscure and well-known games. I implore you guys to check out these games you’ve never played and give them a chance.

  • the_importer

    Your popular games will be coming. For now I’m just happy that games that I used to rave about that no one ever heard of when I had a Genesis are getting some exposure. Gunstar Heroes was the first game that I ever bought with my own money when it came out. Even as a young boy, I knew how good the game was when I rented it, yet I had never heard of it even mentioned in a magazine. Anytime a company promotes an amazing game like Gunstar Heroes is fine in my book. I will eventually download it though I’ve beaten the game dozens of times. The VC is giving hope to long-forgotten developers and series. If enough people download these forgotten games, the better chance they have of getting an update or the developer has of continuing to bring great games to the market. They are getting a second chance to gain an audience, which is quite rare. In many ways the VC is doing for games what Nick-at-Night did to black and white sitcoms. The Honeymooners were pretty much an obscure show to TV watchers until they were being rerun on cable. Now, Honeymooners is a cemented part of popular culture. The VC, much like Nick-at-Night, is a place where people can experience games that they love and games that they never heard of. I hope Nintendo keeps up with a good mixture of obscure and well-known games. I implore you guys to check out these games you’ve never played and give them a chance.

    You almost sound like a Nintendo representative. Anyway, it’s more than obvious that titles are selected in order not to interfere with real Wii title sales.

  • the_importer

    Your popular games will be coming. For now I’m just happy that games that I used to rave about that no one ever heard of when I had a Genesis are getting some exposure. Gunstar Heroes was the first game that I ever bought with my own money when it came out. Even as a young boy, I knew how good the game was when I rented it, yet I had never heard of it even mentioned in a magazine. Anytime a company promotes an amazing game like Gunstar Heroes is fine in my book. I will eventually download it though I’ve beaten the game dozens of times. The VC is giving hope to long-forgotten developers and series. If enough people download these forgotten games, the better chance they have of getting an update or the developer has of continuing to bring great games to the market. They are getting a second chance to gain an audience, which is quite rare. In many ways the VC is doing for games what Nick-at-Night did to black and white sitcoms. The Honeymooners were pretty much an obscure show to TV watchers until they were being rerun on cable. Now, Honeymooners is a cemented part of popular culture. The VC, much like Nick-at-Night, is a place where people can experience games that they love and games that they never heard of. I hope Nintendo keeps up with a good mixture of obscure and well-known games. I implore you guys to check out these games you’ve never played and give them a chance.

    You almost sound like a Nintendo representative. Anyway, it’s more than obvious that titles are selected in order not to interfere with real Wii title sales.

  • Veilknight

    Adding some import titles to the roster would add some flavor the Virtual Console lineup. Hell, if it’s not asking too much, a few translated RPGs here and there would be a nice bonus as well.

    There are many classic RPG franchises that have only begun to gather quite a cult following here in the US, such as the Shin Megami Tensei and Dragon Quest series. It would only be natural to localize these previous installments to capitalize on their success overseas, I bet there’s plenty of gamers who would want to get a chance to experience their roots for the first time in English.

    For some titles more than others, there’s definitely a risk in localizing a title for an Western audience, especially one with a quirky setting or unique twist to the genre. Rent A Hero is a prime example. As much as I’d love to see either the original Megadrive classic or Dreamcast/Xbox sequel get a release here in the US we always seem to get denied. I was really looking forward to the Xbox translation, yet sometime down the lane it just never happened, with the title most likely getting cancelled, once again only getting a release in Japan.

    At this rate we may never get the chance to play as the hero for hire (with his only apperance in the States being in Fighters Megamix for the Saturn). However, if titles like Katamari Damacy have shown us anything, taking such risks could actually turn out to pay off in the end, with the series turning out to find its own niche.

  • Veilknight

    Adding some import titles to the roster would add some flavor the Virtual Console lineup. Hell, if it’s not asking too much, a few translated RPGs here and there would be a nice bonus as well.

    There are many classic RPG franchises that have only begun to gather quite a cult following here in the US, such as the Shin Megami Tensei and Dragon Quest series. It would only be natural to localize these previous installments to capitalize on their success overseas, I bet there’s plenty of gamers who would want to get a chance to experience their roots for the first time in English.

    For some titles more than others, there’s definitely a risk in localizing a title for an Western audience, especially one with a quirky setting or unique twist to the genre. Rent A Hero is a prime example. As much as I’d love to see either the original Megadrive classic or Dreamcast/Xbox sequel get a release here in the US we always seem to get denied. I was really looking forward to the Xbox translation, yet sometime down the lane it just never happened, with the title most likely getting cancelled, once again only getting a release in Japan.

    At this rate we may never get the chance to play as the hero for hire (with his only apperance in the States being in Fighters Megamix for the Saturn). However, if titles like Katamari Damacy have shown us anything, taking such risks could actually turn out to pay off in the end, with the series turning out to find its own niche.

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