Holiday Virtual Console Games

Filed in archive Wii on December 23, 2006

Nintendo has a little surprise in store for North American gamers this holiday weekend. Instead of one or two relatively obscure games appearing on the Virtual Console, we get treated to four brand new titles, several of which will be recognized by even the most casual of gamers. Take a look at what will be available to download on December 25th:

Super Mario Bros. (NES) - Yep, the original game that started it all. Plunk down 500 Wii Points and this classic platformer is yours. I'll throw in some obligatory adjectives that must be used in reference this game: ground-breaking, revolutionary, monumental, record shattering, world-renowned... you get the picture. Go ahead, I dare you not to download it.

Street Fighter II: The World Warrior (SNES) - The definitive fighting game is back in Virtual Console form. Capcom's Street Fighter II revolutionized arcade-style fighters and brought the genre to home console gamers. Along with Mortal Kombat, Street Fighter II set the stage for the likes of Tekken, Soul Calibur and many, many others.

Super Castlevania IV (SNES) - What more do I need to say? It's Castlevania featuring Simon Belmont in his simpler whip-slapping days. No cards to collect, experience points to raise or coins to gather, just vampire/zombie/bat killing action.

Toe Jam & Earl (Sega Genesis) - Two crazy aliens crash on Earth and have to find the missing pieces of their spaceship so they can get back home. It's an absolutely wacky action/adventure game that has held up well over the years.

R-TYPE (TurboGrafx16) - The famous horizontally-scrolling shoot-em-up arcade game that's seen an incarnation on many systems throughout video gaming history. R-TYPE set the stage for tons of shmups that would follow and is one of the revered grandfathers of its genre.