Star Fox 64 takes off on Wii VC

Three new games were added to the Nintendo Wii's Virtual Console today, spearheaded by just the fourth Nintendo 64 title to arrive on the downloadable game service. Star Fox 64 is joined on the service's new release list by the original Nintendo Entertainment System Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles game and the TurboGrafx-16 action-role-playing-game Dragon's Curse.

When it was released in 1997, Star Fox 64 became the first sequel in the series to see the light of day (Star Fox 2 on the Super Nintendo was canceled). The game boasted support for up to four players and levels that take players out of the standard Arwing fighters and put them behind the controls of tanks and submarines. Star Fox 64 is available for the N64-standard 1,000 Wii Points ($10).

One game that deviates from the Virtual Console's usual pricing scheme is the original NES Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles game. Not to be confused with the NES port of the arcade game, Konami's first foray with the license was a single-player side-scrolling action game in which gamers could switch between the four turtles at will. It also carries an asking price of 600 Wii Points ($6), a $1 premium over the usual amount charged for NES games. The only other North American Virtual Console game to receive the premium pricing treatment is R-Type, which sells for 800 Wii Points ($8) instead of the TurboGrafx-16 games' usual 600 Wii Points ($6).

The final game added to the Virtual Console today is HudsonSoft's 1990 TurboGrafx-16 game Dragon's Curse. As a hero transformed into a creature, players must travel the gameworld defeating monsters and acquiring various swords, items, and armor in order to defeat the sinister Mecha Dragon. Dragon's Curse is available for 600 Wii Points ($6).