Super Mario Galaxy, Metroid Prime 3, Twilight Princess and a bucket load of triple A games aren’t all there is to your Wii, you know. The shiny little white one has a strong retro side too and all you need to access it are some Wii Points and a WiFi connection. Well, probably a Classic Controller too. But you knew that. Then again, you probably also knew that the Virtual Console isn’t as sleek or well priced as the Xbox Live service and you simply didn’t care. What you didn’t know is that I’m about to suggest 10 of them downloadable classics in an attempt to a) let you get a glimpse at my gaming tastes and b) make sure you don’t spend them hard earned points on something meh.

So, without further ado then, here’s what you should be having a look at (in no particular order and right after emailing Nintendo and asking them for some downloadable demos; I mean, really, how difficult is it?):

Air Zonk (TurboGrafx 16 / 600 points)

Zonk, the sci-fi Bonk spin-off character stars in this wacky shoot-’em-up by Hudson Soft, that comes complete with amazing parallax scrolling, brilliant cartoon graphics and some of the weirdest power-ups you’ve ever seen. Splashes of decent -more than decent by video game standards- humor, tactically demanding gameplay, colorful cartoon graphics, surreal landscapes and a smart buddy/power-up system are also a plus. I’d even recommend it over its CD enhanced sequel too.

The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time (N64 / 1000 points)

According to every games reviewer ever this is the best Zelda game ever crafted. Ever. So, uhm, who am I to question such wisdom? Well, that’s who, but the real question is whether you can stomach the traditionally mediocre Zelda story in order to delve into Hyrule’s past, do some time traveling, solve puzzles, investigate the origins of the Triforce and all in breathtaking 3D? The answer of course should be yes. Ocarina was amazing and revolutionary back in 1998 and still is one of the best games available on any format. Probably will last you for more than 30 hours too.

Sonic the Hedgehog 2 (Mega Drive / 800 points)

The surprisingly named sequel to Sonic the Hedgehog, Sonic the Hedgehog 2, also happens to be the best Sonic game ever (with the possible exception of Sonic CD) and the first platformer to offer split-screen two player action and truly satisfying bonus stages. If you haven’t played it yet, well, here’s your chance. Interestingly Sonic 2 was also the game that kick-started the whole Sonic-friends thing…

Super Mario 64 (N64 / 1000 points)

The N64 killer-app was the first game to provide Mario with a 3D corpus complete with a suitably 3D landscape to play in and consequently the game to show mankind just how 3D platformers are supposed to work. Mario 64 is huge, diverse, smart, beautiful and probably one of the best games you’ll ever play. Mind you, first time I tried it was on the Wii and even though I was suspicious it simply impressed me.

Super Metroid (SNES / 800 points)

The Space Pirates, truly nasty agents of the abominably evil Mother Brain, have stolen the last Metroid from a research station, and Samus Aran must don her awesome high-tech suit and lingerie and save the world. Again. Only this time, the open-ended Metroid experience comes with excellent 16-bit graphics, new weapons, dozens of different enemies and one of the best stories ever told in video gaming history. Make that a rarely touching story.

Ghouls N’ Ghosts (Mega Drive / 800 points)

Ghouls n’ Ghosts, the sequel to Ghosts n’ Goblins, was a major jaw-dropper. Its shiny 16-bit graphics, the rain effects, the smooth scrolling, the detailed sprites, all made for one of the best looking Mega Drive games of the 90s. Only problem was it was dead hard. Addictive and dead hard. Happily, thing haven’t changed on the Wii and people can still lose their sleeps over Arthur.

Paper Mario (N64 / 1000 points)

Paper Mario, the 64-bit follow-up to the 16-bit Super Mario RPG, is a highly enjoyable turn-based RPG/action-game hybrid set in an appropriately papery world composed of colorful cutouts. The story might be simple and Paper Mario may be missing the series’ latest shiny additions, but it’s still beautiful to look at, well written and immensely addictive to play.

King of Fighters ’94 (Neo Geo / 900 points)

SNK’s first King of Fighters game and the first arcade fighter to pit teams of 3 agains each other is one of the few true bargains available on the Virtual Console. Instead of trying to locate one of the few arcades sporting the game left or shelling out a small fortune for a Neo Geo with the cartridge, download KoF 94 and you’ll be in 2D fighting games heaven.

Gate of Thunder (TurboDuo / 800 points)

Admittedly, not everyone likes horizontal 2D side-scrolling shoot-’em-ups or shmups as people tend to call them these days, but those who do can easily appreciate great gameplay mechanics when they see them. As for the few true fans of the genre left, well, they can’t do much better than Gate of Thunder. The game was originally released for the CD part of the TurboDuo and is as hardcore a shmup experience as anyone could ask for. And with hardcore I mean both though and smart. And with an… uhh… interesting 80s soundtrack.

Super Mario Bros. 3 (NES / 500 points)

The only NES game to make my list, but please do understand. I grew up with home-computers and Nintendo’s classic console doesn’t have the nostalgic value of -say- an Amstrad CPC. Still, Mario 3 is an admittedly fantastic game. Probably better than Rick Dangerous too. And no, this has nothing to do with me memories, but more with the sheer excellence of said platformer. The variety of the power-ups, the colorful graphics, the perfect learning curve and gameplay balance… Ahh, yes, definitely a masterpiece.

Posted on December 22nd, 2007 by konstantinos