In news straight out of the "Never saw it coming" department, the OFLC has rated four new import TG-16/TG-CD titles for the Virtual Console, and the most interesting among them is Cho Aniki. I honestly never thought I'd see the day that a Cho Aniki title would be released anywhere other than Japan. Seriously. Usually, with the exception of things like Mega Man, Mega Man 2, and Vectorman, titles that hit the Euro/Aussie Virtual Console eventually make it to the US. This one, though, I'm not so sure about. For those of you unfamiliar with Cho Aniki, it's a shmup (the first in a series, actually) for the TG-CD that's…well, too weird for me to describe. Just imagine the strangest shmup you can imagine. No, stranger. Much stranger than that. Well…just take a look at the screenshot up there. That about sums it up.
Oh, with all this talk of Cho Aniki, I've forgotten to mention the other three titles, one of which I'm extremely excited for. First up is Digital Champ Battle Boxing, a Punch-Out style boxing game. Second is Gradius II, the sequel to Gradius (of course), which is just overall bigger and better than the first. I even prefer it over the third entry in the series, to be honest. And third, the title that I'm really excited for, Star Parodier. Hudson's answer to Konami's Parodius, Star Parodier is a parody of Hudson's Star Soldier series of shmups. It features cutesy graphics, multiple ships, and even a cameo by Bomberman (as a playable ship, at that!). Out of all four titles rated, I'm most hopeful that this one hits the US. But honestly, with the possible exception of Digital Champ Battle Boxing, all of these titles are fairly excellent games, and fans of shmups especially should be looking forward to their release on the VC. Perhaps this could be the shot in the arm that the VC needs to get it out of it's slump. Here's hoping!
Images courtesy of Hudson Entertainment.
