If you like crazy shmups you'll love Star Parodier!
If you're a shooter fan you're in real luck this week: There's two import shooters, and both of them are generally considered to be fantastic and some of the best the genre has to offer. There's also an import boxing game.
The first import shooter this week is Star Parodier on the Turbografx. After Konami made a wacky spin-off of Gradius called Parodius, Hudson Soft got the idea to do the same, and created this spin-off of Star Soldier. Aside from being able to play as the regular Star Soldier ship, you can play as Bomberman and a PC Engine (Japanese version of the Turbografx)! The graphics are also very cartoon-like and light-hearted, with some rather comedic situations. The game was actually planned to be released outside Japan as "Fantasy Star Soldier", but this never happened. If you like strange shooters you'll love this! The game costs 900 Wii Points because it's an import.
The second import shooter is Gley Lancer on the Mega Drive. Due to the rather great anime-style cutscenes the game has, coupled with the addictive gameplay, it's usually among the most desired import games of Mega Drive game collectors. The main "draw" of the game are that you can have two additional turrets (One above you and one below) which shoot a whole variety of different beams, like lasers, reflecting shots, and more. It's also possible to increase and decrease your speed, which means you can decide how fast you get to move around the screen. It's by no means a perfect shooter, but it's certainly a great one! This game is also 900 Wii Points.
Today's final import isn't so hot - Digital Champ: Battle Boxing is basically Super Punch-Out!!, except that the controls are not quite as good as those of its peer, and the opponents are nowhere near as stereotypical and interesting as those in the Punch-Out!! series. It's not completely bad though, so if you like boxing games it might be worth a shot. It costs 700 Wii Points.
According to Nintendo of Europe this is the last week of the Hanabi Festival, so, sorry, but DoReMi Fantasy: Milon no DokiDoki Daibouken isn't coming just yet!
1. Jonny
16 May 2008, 00:33 BST
So hopefully next week we get Puzzle League? i can dream.
2. sco0504
16 May 2008, 00:34 BST
Ok week, but we've got wiiware tuesday
can't wait
3. Will
16 May 2008, 00:42 BST
Well im not a shooter fan but thats ok. Im still playing metal slug from last week (I know its a shooter too, but not like these) By the way, six days without an update? Did just nothing happen in the land of VC for a week? Or did the boys just take a holiday? Thats ok if ye did, yer doin a great job
4. Drake
16 May 2008, 00:53 BST
The past week was dominated by WiiWare news really!
5. poggydude
16 May 2008, 01:19 BST
wow
No earthbound?
Nintendo hates all of you
6. Mike
16 May 2008, 01:25 BST
You guys probably won't get anything next week since you get WiiWare on Tuesday.
7. DEMON212
16 May 2008, 01:58 BST
Great SHMUP week, love both titles
8. Kawaiipikachu
16 May 2008, 02:02 BST
lucia in Gley Lancer is extremely cute but i want Final Fantasy which cost 1500 points plus i only got only 1800 points left on my account after Puyo Puyo 2 last week .
Then again side scrolling shooters are not my thing but still a play them at times but its not my faverite genre .
I think i just stick Final Fantasy at the moment .
9. Lugia2
16 May 2008, 02:03 BST
Good choices of shooters at least!
Earthbounder? Uh, you know other games exist, games that didn't even get sequels? I want EB too, but, well, you know.
10. DEMON212
16 May 2008, 02:32 BST
Kawai, read the Parodier review.
11. Kawaiipikachu
16 May 2008, 05:48 BST
@DEMON
I have read all 3 reviews while i know that parodir has the cutsie visuals but i know that Gley Lancer the girl in that game is cute .
12. Viral
16 May 2008, 06:18 BST
Wow. Nice.
13. Bensei
16 May 2008, 07:17 BST
Wonderful week, but DoReMi where are you?
14. StarDust
16 May 2008, 07:31 BST
@Bensei - If you want DoReMi, you'll have to import. Ditto for SMBLL if you didn't get it while it was hot. I've got them both on my Wii. SMBLL was my first VC download. If it were up to me, USA and Europe would both get the same stuff, but I have no say either, so I feel for you...
15. Bluezealand
16 May 2008, 08:45 BST
@StarDust: I guess we're getting DoReMi next week. Would be a nice ending for the Hanabi-Festival^^
16. Bass X0
16 May 2008, 09:16 BST
If you're a shooter fan, you're in luck almost every week since thats we seem to be getting a lot of. But VC wise overall, I think Europe has outdone America on games unique to their region.
17. slangman
16 May 2008, 10:24 BST
lol yeah this year seems to be a hanabi festival catered for shooting fans. I doubt this is the last hanabi festival we will have this month though.
18. samman
16 May 2008, 11:10 BST
Firstly Star Parodier. excellent.
Secondly the megadrive games are japanese versions running at 50hz with borders. I compared to KEGA. What a shame nintendo.
17% slower with no optimisation so back to the early 90's days before multisystem TV's.
My Wii channels are all Pc engine games becase 50hz is untouchable for me.
Dont start releasing games from other territories nintendo and slow them down. That goes against retaining them the way they are.
19. slangman
16 May 2008, 11:21 BST
samman aren't hanabi festival games running at 60hz? The same goes for Gley Lancer and Puyo Puyo 2 since they are imports.
20. samman
16 May 2008, 11:24 BST
they do slangman. These are the first ones that Ive seen that havent
PC engine always will.
The two megadrive games (gley lancer and puyo puyo) here are running bordered and slower.
My Wii is set to 60hz
21. Adamant
16 May 2008, 11:24 BST
@StarDust: DoReMi HAS been announced for a European release.
22. antster1983
16 May 2008, 12:06 BST
Yeah, but sadly not for this Hanabi festival...
23. Drake
16 May 2008, 12:48 BST
According to NoE this is the last week, so there's not going to be any surprises next week, sadly!
24. slangman
16 May 2008, 13:16 BST
Wait so this is the last week of Hanabi festival? That sucks i was hoping for DoReMi Fantasy, and Earthbound.
25. DEMON212
16 May 2008, 13:48 BST
@Kawai.
My point was that Corbie done bone the FFCCMLAAK and SP reviews and reading them, it sounds like he thinks SP is a much better game.
As for the complaints about no DoRe or Gaiden or Earthbound or SMRPG. I reckon we'll get the lot in the next Hanabi, which if they want to do a 6 month thing, then it'll be November. If not, itn might just be September again.
26. Tony
16 May 2008, 13:59 BST
Maybe the US will get Metal Slug this monday to go with Star Soldier and Dr. Mario. That would be a good lineup!
27. strenny
16 May 2008, 14:02 BST
shoot em' ups, shoot me up...
28. Sharecrow
16 May 2008, 15:09 BST
I know that the US has games that Europe wants and doesn't have yet, but I still have to say that I hope we get Gley Lancer sometime....preferably soon!
29. Rapadash6
16 May 2008, 15:28 BST
Well, next week you guys are getting Wii Ware, so I'm wondering if this line up marks the end of the festival. I'd be surprised if you guys didn't get DoReMi Fantasy and, though it wasn't quite as likely, Rondo of Blood. Hopefully I'm wrong and the import releases will continue, unabaited, the following week.
Edit - Oops, maybe I should read the articals a bit more carefully before responding. ^^' I can't believe you didn't get DoReMe through all of that... that blows and I'm truly sorry.
30. E-dawg
16 May 2008, 15:42 BST
Meh, I'll Pass...
31. Jacekc
16 May 2008, 16:34 BST
They could give us Super Mario RPG or some random mario game like Mario Party 1, which was reallly better than 8th, Mario Tennis 64.......c'mon im tired of these totally random games.
_32. Quimby
16 May 2008, 16:35 BST
Lame. More bloody SMUPs... I want some obscure N64 titles or at least one of the shining sequels.
We do have a MS channel now, how about some games?
33. Quimby
16 May 2008, 16:35 BST
Or Mario Golf...
34. ICEknight
16 May 2008, 16:53 BST
Japanese games running at 50Hz? My god, SEGA...
35. Pj
16 May 2008, 17:16 BST
NO Mario kart, Pilot Wings for the SNES. What! our last week? I don't know much about Wii Ware, We will still get VC games won't we? Please...
36. samman
16 May 2008, 17:27 BST
cant believe it myself ICEknight. Im laughing about it now.
Why dont they offer an update on the emulator so that you can tweak it to un 60hz. Offer a warning that some games may not work properly.
37. Jukka
16 May 2008, 17:33 BST
Never even heard of those games. but star parodier sounds interesting, might give it a go.
38. Bass X0
16 May 2008, 18:34 BST
Are WiiWare games coming out on Tuesdays and Virtual Consoles Thursday nights? Or is the Tuesday release for WiiWare games here just a one off?
39. Mendez
16 May 2008, 21:23 BST
Meh... I was hoping for castlevania.
I'm not fussed on shooters.
40. Drake
17 May 2008, 00:33 BST
Bass: This Tuesday will probably be a one-off. If we're lucky we might even get WiiWare games on Tuesday and then more on the Friday after!
41. Adamant
17 May 2008, 04:11 BST
Come on, people, stop complaining so much. Gley Lancer and Star Parodier are both fantastic game well worth downloading. Yes, they are just "more shmups", but DoReMi is "just another platformer", and God knows you have played your fair share of those up through the years.
42. captain-banana
17 May 2008, 04:19 BST
i actually dont like the hanabi festivals: every week i check the shop channel and its another weirdo game with an unpronounceable name that kills my dream of pilotwings 64 or majoras mask coming even further.
dont judge me
43. Quimby
17 May 2008, 05:11 BST
I'm with you captain banana.
)
I like the idea of obscure jap games, but when they come out they all seem to be crappy SMUPS.
They may be good SMUPs, but how many do we need?
Cho aniki, star parodier, parodius... to me all exactly the same game.
I got sick of SMUPs early Mega Drive days. (with the exception of Mars Matrix
44. Corbie
17 May 2008, 05:45 BST
At least Europe and Australia are getting Turbo/PC Engine games. We haven't gotten a new TG16 game since February.
45. That Guy from Faxanadu
17 May 2008, 15:15 BST
I can live without DoReMi Milon. This Hanabi-festival thing has been great with Cho Aniki, Star Parodier, Gradius II, Gley Lancer -and Metal Slug on top of that! I don´t mind shooters at all as long as they are GOOD!
46. Terranigma
17 May 2008, 16:35 BST
I agree that there were a few too many SHMUPS but as long as they don't suck, i have no worries. I do wish instead of the Naxat Soft games, we got something more interesting and different, Like Bio Miracle Bokutte Upa and Castlevania Dracula X: Rondo of Blood (Obvious Choice. I Love that Title)
47. toffeeman30
17 May 2008, 18:18 BST
that old age debate again. not enuff rpgs
48. Corbie
17 May 2008, 18:21 BST
I too, would like to see more RPGs. Of course that's my favorite genre, so I guess that's only natural. But I so love the shooters, and most of these have been very good, so it's really difficult to complain. Could someone call Hudson and remind them that the US still has the Virtual Console.
49. toffeeman30
17 May 2008, 18:25 BST
do the games on vc that u buy last forever on your console or do u lose them over time. cause my mate says that inbuilt flash memory only lasts 10 years or so. is this true cause im a bit thick when it comes to computers
50. Tim
17 May 2008, 18:45 BST
Flash memory does have a life expectancy. It can only be written to and read from so many times. The life expectancy of flash memory is probably different with each type and manufacturer build quality.
Even DVDs and CDs have a life expectancy. I don't know the exact life expectancy of the wii flash memory. In short, nothing last forever unfortunately.
You could make your memory last longer by minimizing read & write operations. Don't transfer and delete saves and channels from Wii memory to SD card often. Of course that would be hard to do if you are low on space and buy a lot of WiiWare and VC titles.
51. toffeeman30
17 May 2008, 18:48 BST
cheers tim nice one mate. its just that i have spent quite a bit of money on vc like alot of us!
52. Terranigma
17 May 2008, 22:04 BST
I hear what you guys are saying about flash memory but in the case of WiiWare and VC Games, surely can't we just redownload them when this happens?
53. That Guy from Faxanadu
17 May 2008, 22:25 BST
Well Terranigma by the time Wii´s flashmemory is worn out, it´s unlikely that Nintendo still has the Virtual Console service online. We´re talking at least a decade here. Unfortunatly this is a downside to collecting VC games, I hope my Wii will keep running for a long time... But like Tim said, nothing lasts forever.
54. Terranigma
18 May 2008, 08:07 BST
yeah nothing lasts forever but you can try to make it last as long as possible, so when Nintendo announces when the VC goes offline, days before this happens, redownload all the games so you'll defintetly enjoy them for longer but this situation isn's likely to happen for many years as they've spent too much time, money and effort into the Virtual Console
55. That Guy from Faxanadu
18 May 2008, 14:29 BST
Absolutely, VC will be online for a long time. I sincerely doubt that a redownload would make the flashmemory last longer though, don´t downloads just wear it out even more? Of course if a game suddenly would disappear a redownload is needed, but I don´t think downloaded copies have a predetermined lifespan. It´s the memory itself thet can get broken if I´m correct.
56. Terranigma
18 May 2008, 17:37 BST
I meant by the redownload is that, yes it might still last as long as the first copy you downloaded but it's a new copy so it will have the same lifespan as the original, so redownloading it before it gets taken off will mean you can use it for longer
57. Tim
18 May 2008, 19:40 BST
Your license to use the game on the system you purchased it for doesn't expire. It lasts forever. You can always back up your games on a SD card so you have a copy on hand for when Nintendo goes off-line.
The wii memory doesn't last forever. Every time your system reads and writes to memory it wears down a little more. So redownloading and deleting over and over again isn't going to make the game last longer.
When your wii memory fails your wii won't work anymore. If you have your games backed up on SD card it won't matter even if you were to get a new wii because the DRM is exclusively locked to the dead system.
58. samman
19 May 2008, 11:40 BST
Well if this is the end of the hanabi festival im pretty sad. We did get some good releases but Dracula X hasnt come to the console.
Not interested in c64 and master system games that will probably follow.
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