Here's the first entry in our "Games we wish they would make available on the Virtual Console" list. First up is Koei's seafaring RPG/Sim called Uncharted Waters 2 - New Horizons.



Uncharted Waters 2 - New Horizons is set in the 16th century, and was originally released for SNES and sega genesis System in 1994. In this game, there are six protagonists to choose from, each of them representing a different path or career featured in the game. They are listed as follows:

1. João Franco: Son of Leon from the first game, a Portuguese explorer sent by his father to follow the family's footsteps and discover the secrets of the lost Atlantis continent.
2. Catalina Erantzo: Former Spanish naval officer turned pirate, she avenges the loss of her brother and her fianceé and suspects that the Franco family is behind this scheme.
3. Otto Baynes: English naval officer, a privateer sent by Henry VIII in a secret mission to defeat the Spanish Armada and prevent Spanish hegemony in the European continent.
4. Ernst Von Bohr: Dutch teacher and cartographer, he is set to make a journey to far lands and with this experience create a map of the entire world.
5. Pietro Conti: Italian treasure hunter, he inherited a huge debt from his father and is set to travel for treasures and other secrets in order to cover the debt.
6. Ali Vezas: Turkish merchant, he grew up as an orphan in extreme poverty. With the help of his friend, he decides to become a trade merchant and find his lost sister.

I spent quite a bit of my high school life on this game and there's a reason for that: its quite good. Not only was it the one of the first sea based exploration games available for the SNES, it combined RPG charcter development and Pirates-like combat and backstory. Curiously, it is also one Koei series that Kou Shibusawa (Koei co founder) didnt develop. Trading, Sailing, Exploring and Combat all combined into one addictive package. Perfect for the Virtual Console.

sources: wiki