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Star Soldier leads Wii VC charge

Tom Magrino
By Tom Magrino

NES shoot-'em-up joins Genesis Dynamite Headdy, TurboGrafx-16 Drop Off on this week's release slate.

One man's junk is another's treasure, as the saying goes. Coming up barren on the name recognition, this week's Wii Virtual Console update comprises a trio of games that may appeal to the nostalgia-seeking sect. Available this week are Star Soldier from the Nintendo Entertainment System, Dynamite Headdy from the Sega Genesis, and Drop Off from the TurboGrafx-16.

Though Star Soldier is the first installment in Hudson's Soldier series, it is the fourth to make it to the Virtual Console, behind Super Star Soldier, Soldier Blade, and Blazing Lazers. In this vertically scrolling shoot-'em-up, players zip through 16 stages while blasting hordes of enemy spaceships and acquiring power-ups for increased firepower, speed, and defense. Originally available for the NES, Star Soldier is rated E for Everyone and costs 500 Wii points ($5).

One of the more unusual titles in the Genesis' library, Dynamite Headdy is a platforming action game from Treasure Co. and was first released in 1994. In the game, players assume the role of a puppet named Headdy as he sets out to defeat the evil puppet king Dark Demon, using only his detachable puppet head as a weapon. As the game progresses over a series of scenes, players can find more than 15 different heads to fire off against a number of different enemies and bosses. Dynamite Headdy is rated E for Everyone and can be downloaded for 800 Wii points ($8).

Hudson's Drop Off rounds out this week's list of Virtual Console games. Drop Off plays much like Atari's classic Breakout game, where players control a horizontally scrolling paddle to bust up blocks suspended from the top of the screen. Adding a slight twist to the classic gameplay, players can aim for joining blocks to knock down multiple strings at once. As with many classic games, it combines fairly simple puzzling action with an absurdly overwrought storyline full of nightmarish dreams, evil demons, epic heroes, and damsels in distress. Drop Off is rated E for Everyone and is available for 600 Wii points ($6).

Tom Magrino
By Tom Magrino

Tom Magrino has covered the games industry since 2006. He's been compared to Steve Martin by Ozzy Osbourne and Daniel Craig by Tim Schafer. His voice, heard largely on GameSpot's podcast, recalls that of Kermit the Frog. It ain't easy bein' Magreen.

29 comments
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Poshkidney
Poshkidney

THey don't they take games from dos xbox but mircosoft owns dos but the lucasarts adventrue games wouldn't be a miss

pencilpusher69
pencilpusher69

I'm going to put this statement up for people who weren't around for 16-bit gaming, or for those who missed them at the time: Don't miss out on Treasure games.

dmish82
dmish82

Ah, more games I could care less about.

comthitnuong
comthitnuong

Nothing in this batch interests me. Maybe Dynamite Headdy, but I have lost my taste for platformers.

Thornscar
Thornscar

Just wait for "Keith Courage and the Alpha zones." That was the flagship TG-16 title.

123625
123625

i wish in new i these games were good it would help me when choosing

B_O_B_
B_O_B_

I might buy a Wii just for Dynamite Headdy!! That game rocked hard!! With all the movie film level names like 'Toys in the Hood' or 'Twin Freaks', I seem to remember that level sucked though, maybe it was just tough.

EpiHeroOfTime
EpiHeroOfTime

Nice! Another game by Treasure! I used to play Dynamite Headdy all the time as a kid.

chisoxrule
chisoxrule

I don't know anything about any of these games to warrant a purchase. I'm not saying they're lousy but nothing seems interesting here. I'm sure some of you are more than willing to prove me wrong.

ElvenArcher
ElvenArcher

I'd bet none of these people saying these games are crap have even played them. Dynamite Headdy is a great 16-platformer, just as good as the 'second class' platformers like Super Metroid or Megaman X. By second class, I mean platformers that aren't Sonic and Mario of the time.

finaleve
finaleve

heybuddy142 > Europe gets about the same games, sometimes they get them before us but we get the following week. Japan? They always get the upper hand on everything, so it shouldnt be a surprise at all to anyone. And besides, if they pump out all the good games in one week, then we'd run out of things to do while playing the Wii in a short while. The VC keeps the system alive while we wait for other games to play. Meh week, might pick one up when I feel the need to pass boredom.

Maxx_the_Slash
Maxx_the_Slash

I'd still like to know where the hell Megaman and Super Turrican are for the US Virtual Console.

Iadien
Iadien

Dynamite Headdy is a great game.

TintedChimes
TintedChimes

oh well, I'm going to get paper mario anyways

fistoflight
fistoflight

bah... come on something better i need something to play on my wii...

heybuddy142
heybuddy142

Wow more crap i could careless about. When is Nintendo going to get to the good stuff? Why is it Europe gets Metroid and Japan gets way more games each week? Doesn't the U.S. market count fro anything? Does Nintendo care about it's customers?

FearNeutron
FearNeutron

I'm pretty much just hovering around the VC until Crystalis finally hits. Someday. I mean, you'd think with their propensity for releasing relatively unknown games that we'd have already seen it. =(

VagrantChild24
VagrantChild24

Hey, I still have Dynamite Headdy around here somewhere. Great game.

ChickenHounk911
ChickenHounk911

[This message was deleted at the request of a moderator or administrator]

Sparticus247
Sparticus247

That heady game was pretty fun when it came out. I used to play it at my friends house. Good game, good memories :)

DeadBullet
DeadBullet

Good memories when I used to play Star Soldier, in the arcades.

dn3datomiced
dn3datomiced

The selection, while basically nameless, actually sounds like a solid batch... Huh.

phinsfan
phinsfan

DYNAMITE HEADDY! HUZZAH! You download Dynamite Headdy or you will die a horrible death.

ElvenArcher
ElvenArcher

Seems good, besides Drop Off. Though still a rip off, as usual.

Rayze78
Rayze78

Welp....there is always next week....

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