Virtual Console - What's Left? NES Edition

[joedick]

First off, I know there may be some debate as to whether this should be in classic or modern. We're essentially talking classic games here so I elected with the former. But if any mods want to move it, so be it!

I know VC wishlists have been a dime a dozen, but I thought it might be fun to go through the whole library to see what still might be available. Why? We can see what games there's still a glimmer of hope for, what might be lost in limboland, and what might be fun to play with or without a Wii.

I'm going to list games alphabetically, five games at a time. That way we can focus on what the staus of those games might be, and if we even want them back. Each new batch of games will get its own post, but will be added to the first post. I'd also love to hear about any Japanese or European games that you think may be worthy. Let's get started!

Titles in White have alredy been released
Titles in Green have a good chance of being released
Titles in Yellow have rights that are up in the air
Titles in Red are unlikely to be released

10 Yard Fight (Nintendo) - Developed by Irem, might they have the rights?
1942 (Capcom) - seems likely to me!
1943 (Capcom) - ditto!
3D Worldrunner (Acclaim) - Developed by Square, maybe it's their game now?
720 Degrees (Mindscape) - Midway has the rights to the arcade game...what about NES?
8 Eyes (Taxan) - Released by Seta in Japan
Abadox (Milton Bradley) - Released by Natsume in Japan. Could they bring it out here?
Addams Family (Ocean) - licensed game, seems unlikely
Addams Family: Pugsley's Scavenger Hunt (Ocean) - licensed game, seems unlikely
Advanced Dungeons & Dragons: Dragonstrike (FCI) - licensed game, seems unlikely
Advanced Dungeons & Dragons: Heroes of the Lance (FCI) - licensed game, unlikely
Advanced Dungeons & Dragons: Hillsfar (FCI) - licensed game, seems unlikely
Advanced Dungeons & Dragons: Pool of Radiance (FCI) - licensed game, seems unlikely
Adventure Island (Hudson) - Aready out!
Adventure Island 2 (Hudson) - seems pretty likely!
Adventure Island 3 (Hudson) - seems pretty likely!
Adventures in the Magic Kingdom (Capcom) - licensed game
Adventures of Bayou Billy (Konami) - No reason not to!
Adventures of Dino Riki (Hudson) - Why not?
Adventures of Lolo (HAL) - Aready out!
Adventures of Lolo 2 (HAL) - Aready out!
Adventures of Lolo 3 (HAL) - I'd be shocked if it wasn't
Adventures of Rad Gravity (Activision) - developed by Interplay
Adventures of Rock & Bullwinkle (THQ) - licensed game
Adventures of Tom Sawyer (Seta) - no longer in videogames
Air Fortress (HAL) - No reason not to
Airwolf (Acclaim) - The first of many licensed Acclaim games
Al Unser Jr Turbo Racing (Data East) - licensed game
Alfred Chicken (Mindscape) - Are the rights to this game still around?
Alien 3 (Acclaim) - Another licensed game
All-Pro Basketball (Vic Tokai) - Do VT still want to release games?
Alpha Mission (SNK) - Who has the rights?
Amagon (Sammy) - Who has the rights?

[RJ]

I'd like the Zapper games, esp. Duck Hunt & Hogan's Alley. These would be great on my 40" LCD TV, guests would go nuts for them I bet.

& where the hell is Popeye???

[Blitzwing256]

they'd have to re-obtain the licence for popeye, I don't think they'd want to go through that much trouble for a mediocre game.

[Clownzilla]

1. Gumshoe
2. Hogan's Alley
3. Duck Hunt
4. Freedom Force
5. Wild Gunman
6. Tecmo Super Bowl
7. Baseball Stars
8. Spy Vs. Spy (this would be really cool with online play)
9. Track & Field
10. Track & Field 2
11. Kung Fu
12. Tetris 2
13. Gologo 13
14. Goonies 2
15.Super Mario Bros. level editor. Nintendo could EASILY make this work. Couple this with an online community to trade levels and that would give the new level making games a run for their money (*cough* Little Big Planet *cough*). Easier to use and more accessible to the average person:)

[namzep]

I'd love to see the gun games but I'm betting that some serious tweaking of the code would be required due to how the old guns sensed your "shots". I'd like to see some of the Bases Loaded games.

[Tupin]

I'd like the Zapper games, esp. Duck Hunt & Hogan's Alley. These would be great on my 40" LCD TV, guests would go nuts for them I bet.

& where the hell is Popeye???
I agree with that, Popeye is one of my favorite NES games.

[RJ]

@Blitzwing- watch your mouth, buster! ;) Popeye rocks.

[TurboGenesis]

I would like to see some more Famicom games.

Also, how about the Dragon Warrior games?

And is it possible to see Rare games on the VC?
example:
Cobra Triangle
Wizards & Warriors
et cetera…

[Frica89]

Aren't we only supposed to talk about the 5 games in the OP?

I'd be pretty happy if I never had to play 10-Yard Fight ever again.

[DigitalSpace]

Regarding the games mentioned in the OP, 1942 and 1943 would be sweet (10 Yard Fight? Not so much). My "wish list" consists of Adventure Island 2, 3, and 4 (4 would be especially nice since it wasn't released in the US), Lolo 2 and 3, Bubble Bobble 2, Pinball Quest, and Zoda's Revenge: Startropics II.


I'd like to see some of the Bases Loaded games.

The first one is there.

[RJ]

Yeah, after I posted I saw what he's trying to do...just discuss the 1st 5 games listed up top, then he's adding 5 more at a time. Sorry if I threw everyone off.

[Kitsune Sniper]

I'd love to see the gun games but I'm betting that some serious tweaking of the code would be required due to how the old guns sensed your "shots". I'd like to see some of the Bases Loaded games.

Not really. The games are running on an emulator, right? Just make the emulator sense the Wii Remote's position instead of the original way to run the game, similarly to how PC emulators handle it, and voila, easy port.

Of course this is probably too much work for those lazy bastards.

And please, keep RARE's crap games out of the VC. :P

[Tron 2.0]

Crisis Force (I have it for the famicom and it's in english all ready i don't see why not)
Journey to Silius
Blaster Master
Code Name Viper

That's what comes to mind for me.

[Icarus Moonsight]

My top 5 VC NES most wanted;

1) Recca
2) Little Samson
3) Bubble Bobble 2
4) Crisis Force
5) Parodius

1942/3 would be alright I guess. The rest... I can barely bring myself to care. ;)

[joshnickerson]

10 Yard Fight (Nintendo) - Developed by Irem, might they have the rights?
1942 (Capcom) - seems likely to me!
1943 (Capcom) - ditto!
3D Worldrunner (Acclaim) - Developed by Square, maybe it's their game now?
720 Degrees (Mindscape) - Does Atari have the rights? Would they even publish on the VC?

10 Yard Fight - Hardly seems worth it, when Temco Bowl is already on the service.
1942 - A great shooter. And everyone knows that VC is sorely lacking in those.
1943 - Yup
3D Worldrunner - Would anybody even really care?
720 - Same as above.

[Scawt]

The problem ("problem") with the VC is that they only do direct ports/emulation. In other words, Zapper games wouldn't be changed to work with the Wiimote because that would be considered an enhancement. Games like Duck Hunt, Gumshoe or Track & Field won't make the cut because you couldn't use the Wiimote or Balance Board.

That being said, I'd like to see a compilation of remakes for WiiWare of games that require peripherals.

[TurboGenesis]

And please, keep RARE's crap games out of the VC. :P

WHAT!?!
That blasphemy! :smash:

But in seriousness… you didn't find any of these games with enjoyment?

RC Pro Am
Wizards & Warriors trilogy
Wrestlemania (first one on NES)
Captain Skyhawk
Marble Madness
Cobra Triangle
Solar Jetman
Snake Rattle & Roll
Battletoads
Slalom
Nightmare on Elm Street

There are more but thats all I can come up with now…
surely there is a good game anyone can enjoy on this list :pimp:

[7th lutz]

720 Degrees (Mindscape) - Does Atari have the rights? Would they even publish on the VC?

No, Atari doesn't have rights to 720 degrees. I am sure Midway has the rights to the arcade version of 720 degrees, don't know about the nes game though. A lot of Atari arcade games have been found on arcade compilations by midway through the years including 720.

Midway has the rights to everything from Atari's arcade devision from 1984 to to the time they closed the arcade divison in 1999 or 2000. Midway also shares arcade game rights.

The current Atari only has rights to arcade games before 1984 including Tempest.

[JSoup]

Personally, I'd like them to focus more on games that never had a US release. I'd be willing to pay a few dollars extra for a translated download of Kawa no Nushi Tsuri.

[RPG_Fanatic]

720 Degrees

720 just plained sucked on the NES.

[MarioMania]

I would just play it on the NES it self..I could play any game I want

[Rob2600]

WHAT!?!
That blasphemy! :smash:

But in seriousness… you didn't find any of these games with enjoyment?

RC Pro Am
Wizards & Warriors trilogy
Wrestlemania (first one on NES)
Captain Skyhawk
Marble Madness
Cobra Triangle
Solar Jetman
Snake Rattle & Roll
Battletoads
Slalom
Nightmare on Elm Street

R.C. Pro-Am is good. Marble Madness and Wizards and Warriors are decent.

That first WWF Wrestlemania game on the NES is terrible though. Pro Wrestling and Tecmo World Wrestling are far superior.

[joedick]

Here's the next set of games. I put more than 5 so we can power through the AD&D games at once.

8 Eyes (Taxan) - Released by Seta in Japan. Both companies are still around, but no longer make video games. Could they be bothered by the VC? Do we even care?
Abadox (Milton Bradley) - Released by Natsume in Japan. Could they bring it out here?
Addams Family (Ocean) - licensed game, seems unlikely
Addams Family: Pugsley's Scavenger Hunt (Ocean) - licensed game, seems unlikely
Advanced Dungeons & Dragons: Dragonstrike (FCI) - licensed game, seems unlikely
Advanced Dungeons & Dragons: Heroes of the Lance (FCI) - licensed game, seems unlikely
Advanced Dungeons & Dragons: Hillsfar (FCI) - licensed game, seems unlikely
Advanced Dungeons & Dragons: Pool of Radiance (FCI) - licensed game, seems unlikely

[Icarus Moonsight]

Looks like Abadox is it out of that bunch. Though it they can finagle a license from WotC then the AD&D titles might actually get some traction.

[skaar]

Looks like Abadox is it out of that bunch. Though it they can finagle a license from WotC then the AD&D titles might actually get some traction.

They cling desperately at any chance for more gold - they need it. I don't see anyone shelling out for that.

Same reason The Wonder Years will never hit DVD - they won't shell out to license all the music again. Can you blame them?

[mailman187666]

I want to see some of the games that never made it to the US. Ones that would be playable without knowledge of the Japanese language. Give us some PAL games that weren't released here too please.

[joedick]

Here's the next set added to the list. I hope the other two Adventure Island games come out sooner than later. Is Magic Kingdom worth a playthrough, VC or not?

Adventure Island (Hudson) - Aready out!
Adventure Island 2 (Hudson) - seems pretty likely!
Adventure Island 3 (Hudson) - seems pretty likely!
Adventures in the Magic Kingdom (Capcom) - licensed game
Adventures of Bayou Billy (Konami) - No reason not to! The game used the Zapper on some levels, but I believe it was optional (like Operation Wolf, which is on the VC)

[Icarus Moonsight]

I want to see some of the games that never made it to the US. Ones that would be playable without knowledge of the Japanese language. Give us some PAL games that weren't released here too please.

Utopia comes to mind.

I think Adv Isl 2 & 3 will come eventually. Hudson has really concentrated on the Turbo stuff and thankfully so. :)

[BenG76]

It would be nice to see Adventure Island 2 and 3 on VC soon. I'd spend some of my points I have been holding onto for those.

[notoriusvig]

I'm an Adventure Island freak and I can't wait until the other 4 major games get released on the VC. I could play these all day, bring em on Nintendo.

[joedick]

I'm hoping Adventure Island 4 comes in as an import!

[joedick]

Added five more games to the list, a couple of which will probably make their way eventually:

Adventures of Dino Riki (Hudson) - Why not?
Adventures of Lolo (HAL) - Aready out!
Adventures of Lolo 2 (HAL) - Aready out!
Adventures of Lolo 3 (HAL) - I'd be shocked if it wasn't
Adventures of Rad Gravity (Activision) - developed by Interplay. Both publisher and developer are active on the VC, so this could happen. But maybe the rights are stuck in between?

[DigitalSpace]

So, Lolo 2 is available after all. Sweet. Here's hoping we see Lolo 3 soon.

[joedick]

More!

Adventures of Rock & Bullwinkle (THQ) - licensed game
Adventures of Tom Sawyer (Seta) - Not really a licensed game AFAIK. However, Seta are no longer in videogames
Air Fortress (HAL) - No reason not to
Airwolf (Acclaim) - The first of many licensed Acclaim games
Al Unser Jr Turbo Racing (Data East) - licensed game, Data East is gone

Anybody gonna miss these games if they don't show up?

[Wolfrider31]

Utopia comes to mind.

I think Adv Isl 2 & 3 will come eventually. Hudson has really concentrated on the Turbo stuff and thankfully so. :)

Utopia? You mean Utopia: Creation of a Nation? That was released here. I got it as a birthday gift when I was little.

[joedick]

Time for an update! A lot of questions in this batch:

Alfred Chicken (Mindscape) - Mindscape are still around but are owned by EA now. They've been bought and sold a bunch of times, so maybe the rights stayed with somebody else. Are the rights to this game still around?
Alien 3 (Acclaim) - Another licensed game
All-Pro Basketball (Vic Tokai) - Vic Tokai are still around, but not making games. Do VT still want to release games?
Alpha Mission (SNK) - Do SNK Playmore have the rights the the SNK NES library?
Amagon (Sammy) - Who has the rights? Sammy are still around, but this was published by Vic Tokai in Japan, so I doubt it'll come out.

[Icarus Moonsight]

Utopia? You mean Utopia: Creation of a Nation? That was released here. I got it as a birthday gift when I was little.

My bad. I was thinking of Ufouria but, typed it "Utopia". I didn't even notice. :embarrassed: