North America gets a world first today with Street Fighter II Turbo: Hyper Fighting debuting on the Wii’s virtual console. The cost to play as M. Bison and use Ryu’s mid-air hurricane kick is 800 Wii Points, the same price as Street Fighter II. You can pick it up now, but you may want to wait for the release of Super Street Fighter II Turbo and grab the extra four characters for the same price. For consumers, it would have been a good idea if Nintendo set up a system where you get a discount for buying “updated” virtual console games like the Street Fighter II series. But since that cuts into profits you’re going to have pay 800 Wii Points for each Street Fighter II release. On the positive side at least Capcom chose to skip over the Genesis and TG-16 versions of Street Fighter II: Championship Edition and go straight to Turbo.
The other games out this week are F-Zero X and China Warrior where you fight through side scrolling levels as a Bruce Lee clone.
F-Zero® X (Nintendo® 64, 1-4 players, Rated E for Everyone, 1,000 Wii Points): Choose from 30 different hover-car racers, including updated versions of the Blue Falcon and other vehicles from the original F-Zero, and get ready to play one of the fastest racers ever. You’ll speed to the finish line on tracks that twist and turn through the air, doing your best to avoid the other 29 cars on the track. If you’re in a competitive mood, try to win a Grand Prix Cup, get the fastest lap time in a Time Trial or destroy the competition in a Death Race. You can also challenge three friends in the Versus mode. With five separate play modes, hidden vehicles and courses, and an excellent soundtrack, F-Zero X still represents one of the best racing titles to date.
Street Fighter® II’ Turbo: Hyper Fighting (Super NES®, 1-2 players, Rated T for Teen –Violence, 800 Wii Points): Street Fighter II defined gaming in the 1990s by revolutionizing the fighting-game genre. Regarded as one of the greatest games of all time, Street Fighter II’ Turbo: Hyper Fighting was the third and final release in the original series. Featuring the eight original World Warriors (including Ryu, Chun Li and Guile) along with playable boss characters (Balrog, Sagat and M. Bison), this classic title offered enhanced playing speed and improved character balancing.
China Warrior (TurboGrafx16, 1 player, Rated E10+ for Everyone 10 and Older –Violence, 600 Wii Points): China Warrior is a side-scrolling action game that was released around the same time as the TurboGrafx16 in Japan. It’s up to the kung fu master Wang to defeat the Dark Emperor, who stands atop the kung fu world in China. Punch, kick and jump-kick enemies along the path that lies between you and the three bosses of each stage. Skillfully fight your way through all four stages, and be sure not to miss recovery items while dodging enemy attacks. China Warrior boasts character size and detail that rivaled all other games at the time of its release. Exciting one-on-one fights against the game’s realistic bosses will make you feel like you’re in the middle of a kung fu movie.
