I made my first purchases for the Wii Virtual Console this weekend. Then I felt like blogging so I decided to write up a little review for each title. I’ve also assigned each a score based on how many Wii points I think it was worth compared to how many it actually cost.
The NES original. I had never played this before, but with Metroid Prime 3 approaching, my anxiousness is spilling over into other titles in the series. Wise timing on Nintendo’s part.
This game definitely comes from a different time—back when games used to be hard. From the labyrinthian level design to the password-based save system that always resets your health (so annoying!), everything seems to be geared towards very dedicated gamers. I guess there was no such thing as a casual audience in 1986.
The graphics, obviously, are nothing to write home about. Samus’ running animation looks weird to me compared to other 8-bit stuff, but that’s a nitpick. The platforming is very solid, although I did get stuck under a ledge once or twice, which is probably the one of the most frustrating ways to die in a game.
8-bit games aren’t generally known for their atmosphere, but Metroid’s is excellent. Very desolate, very alien. I love how the game offers no hints or explanation of how to use any items you obtain. In fact, the only tip it gives you is the “time bomb set” warning at the very end. The soundtrack fits it like a glove.
When I was a bored kid things were different, but nowadays I can’t afford the sort of time needed to master a game like this, so I used some online walkthroughs and maps to beat it. Still pretty hard. After I’d played it through fair and square, I used a password generator to see all the endings. (Racy 8-bit bikini Samus!)
Summary: This is a real classic. But it’s hard, so unless you have a lot of free time, I’d recommend cheating a bit.
Score: 500 Wii points out of 500.
I love this game. One of the few titles that I’d pull out and play through just for fun.
I have recently become aware that there are people who actually don’t like SMB2 because it’s not a “true” Mario game. I don’t understand this sentiment at all. It’s an awesome game. Who cares if it wasn’t the same as the Japanese one? It’s probably better!
Summary: Awesome.
Score: 1000 Wii points out of 500
I had never played this one either. But it’s been recommended a lot as one of the best titles in the VC, so I decided to check it out.
ActRaiser is supposed to be a cross between an action platformer and a god simulation, which sounds awesome, right? Well, it would be awesome, if it didn’t suck at both those things. As a platformer, Actraiser blows. The controls are frustrating, and the hit detection is always a surprise. Also, you can’t tweak the direction of your jump in mid-air (SMB2, in contrast, even lets you start and stop “running” in mid-air). I can’t tell you how many times I found myself doing this little stunt: run away from the enemy, turn quickly, and jump forward to attack—but the character remains facing backwards, so the attack misses and I get hit. There are so many better platformers out there from this era that ActRaiser just looks like shit by comparison.
Now to be fair, I played with a Gamecube controller. I don’t own a classic controller, for which this game’s control scheme was clearly optimized. So maybe on a proper SNES-style controller, the platforming isn’t complete garbage.
ActRaiser’s simulation mode is some of the most watered-down, oversimplified, boring simulation I’ve ever seen. All you do is tell the people which map tile you want them to populate next. That’s it. Management at the coarsest grain possible. You can cause natural disasters and weather effects (which the awful menu system describes in utter detail every single time you select them), but unless you’ve been explicitly instructed by the people to use them, they have no effect. In fact, the game holds your hand through the entire sim, as the people tell you pretty much everything you need to do. The only really non-autonomous gameplay going on here is fighting monsters on the overworld with your little cursor angel. But even this part sucks, and the monsters continuously respawn until you seal the lair, which is just annoying.
Having said all that, I did have quite a bit of fun. The overall premise is good, and for some reason the sim/action combo is actually really satisfying. The graphics are good but kind of imbalanced; simulation mode seems to have gotten the short end of the budget stick. The soundtrack is actually a real treat: appropriately epic and well arranged for the SNES. Though I will probably never play through this game again, I don’t regret the time I spent playing it.
Summary: Don’t believe the hype. It’s good, but it’s no classic.
Score: 400 Wii points out of 800.
August 24th, 2007 at 9:45 AM
SMB 2 was the first game I owned for the NES (other than Duck Hunt/SMB 1), and I completely agree with your review. Awesome. Always has been and always will be.
My biggest complaint about that game was the ending, which, if I recall correctly, was the “It was all a dream” ending. Nothing like making my hours and hours of play seem completely worthless like the realization that if a loud noise had occurred outside of Mario’s window 4 hours ago, the game would have ended the exact same way.
That being said, I can think of very few games that had what I would call a “satisfying” ending.