Slashdot Mirror
Console Downloads Retro Roundup
Via GameSetWatch, 1up's look at recent virtual console releases on the Wii. The hub site's weekly retro roundup is going to make it a point to talk about Wii, 360, and PS3 downloadable games, with a focus on the old skool become new. They also will touch on old games rereleased on handheld systems, such as the fantastic FFIII. From the article: "Ecco the Dolphin - A curiously tranquil game that sees a normal dolphin embark on a quest to save his pod pals from a giant space vacuum, Ecco's nevertheless challenging -- besides oceanic hazards, our hero constantly faces the threat of suffocation should he stay underwater for too long. The idiosyncratic (read: sort of awkward) controls certainly don't make things any easier. All told, they make Ecco an acquired taste, and at the eight dollar standard rate for Genesis games this might be a tough sell. But we'll go ahead and give it the nod just for its boldness in straying from the beaten path. "
Saturn Bomberman was probably the best version in existence, but is hard to find and even harder to get a system to play it on.
http://wso.williams.edu/~aeatonsa/bomb/pixb.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saturn_Bomberman
In addition to a five player battle mode with dinosaur mounts that grow and have special abilities, you have wild powerups like the ability to throw bombs, kick bombs, sprint, drop bombs in front of you, and launch active bombs as they explode. When you died, you could shoot bombs onto the stage to harass people. When time ran out, blocks and powerups would drop from the sky as the level gradually shrunk down to nothing.
There was also an absolutely insane eight player mode that packed the screen with the most bomberman goodness that's ever been on a TV.