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New Super Mario Bros. Wii
If you’ve read any of this site at all it should be apparent that I’m not a big fan of platforming games, so why on earth would I buy this? Good question actually and I’m sorry to say I just got swept up in the hype: the great visuals, the music and Charles Martinet’s enthusiasm, but in the end it’s still a Mario game and I just don’t like Mario games, sorry. It looks nice and the difficulty curve is loads better than Super Mario Bros. 3 (which the overworld and level design of this game bears a strong resemblance to), but ultimately I’m not really interested, so I traded it in today.
Crazy Climber (Virtual Console Arcade)
One of the first dual stick games, in the arcade this one could be a pain in the ass to play, but somehow I still loved it. Make the crazy man climb the side of a skyscraper with some rather unusual geometry to reach a helicopter at the top using one joystick to control each arm whilst avoiding falling bricks, bird eggs and people dropping flower pots on your head (seriously murderous tenants, eh?).
You really cannot fault the CC/Pro dual analogue controls. If you’re used to playing it via an emulator like MAME you’ll note the music is a bit different and the “Go For It!” sound sample is missing (instead there’s a voice you can barely make out; possibly saying something in Japanese). Whilst the music and samples are different, it’s the same gameplay and sound effects and it’s brilliant. If you’re a fan of the oldies I probably don’t need to tell you to download this one (assuming you’ve got a Japanese Wii).
Moon Cresta (Virtual Console Arcade)
This is a guilty pleasure from my youth, fuelled by the nostalgia of it being one of the first games I ever laid eyes on at my local arcade. It’s a vertical shooter from Nichibutsu which features some groovy music and a rather novel multi-stage player ship design rather than the conventional three lives. At the midway point and after completing all enemy waves you’ll get the opportunity to dock the sections, creating a more powerful ship. It’s not an easy game because the enemies bob and jig about and your rate of fire is pretty crap, but I love it to bits and I’m thrilled Hamster Co. decided to bring this and Crazy Climber to the Wii in Japan.