News Article

RPG Titles Dominate Nintendo Power’s Most Wanted List

Posted Thu, 01 May 2008 by Damien McFerran

Earthbound is your most wanted Virtual Console title

Earthbound is your most wanted Virtual Console title

As we reported a while back, respected US magazine Nintendo Power recently asked Virtual Console fans to submit which games they would like to see on the service in the hope that it would make the Big N sit up and take notice. The results are now in and (unsurprisingly) SNES RPGs dominate.

Here’s the reader’s top 5 most wanted:

  • Earthbound (Super NES)
  • Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars (Super NES)
  • Chrono Trigger (Super NES)
  • Mother (NES/Japan Only)
  • The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask (N64)

The Nintendo Power staff also created their own list:

  • Mega Man: The Wily Wars (Sega Genesis)
  • Terranigma (Super NES)
  • Final Fantasy VI (Super NES)
  • Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars (Super NES)
  • Rocket Knight Adventures (Sega Genesis)

Of course it remains to be seen if Nintendo will actually pay any attention, but with Nintendo Power having such close links with the Japanese giant you can be sure that someone within the marbled halls of the company's HQ will see the magazine.

So what do you think? Any games in those lists that you asked for? Should the VC be flooded with role playing games? As always, your commends are more than welcome…

Thanks to VCR reader Tides of Chaos for the information.

Tags: Virtual Console, Wishlists, Nintendo Power.

User Comments

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1. William Netherlands 01 May 2008, 09:49 GMT

Hhmmm- thats it? I was expecting Mario Kart to be on their. Why Earthbound?

I want Mario Paint

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2. Smileoscar Sweden 01 May 2008, 09:58 GMT

Eartbound & SMRPG FTW!

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3. E-dawg Australia 01 May 2008, 10:02 GMT

We really need Majora's Mask, why are we short just ONE Zelda game?

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4. slangman United Kingdom 01 May 2008, 10:22 GMT

Heh 3 of my most wanted games are up on the list (Super Mario rpg, Earthbound Chrono Trigger). Was expecting Super Mario RPG up on the list though. Maybe now Nintendo will hopefuly take notice how much we really want those games.

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5. Splutter United Kingdom 01 May 2008, 10:44 GMT

In many ways I can see why Nintendo are reluctant to put huge RPG's on the VC, quite simply they last a long time and the more someone is playing one game the less likely they are to buy another. Nice to know the Nintendo Power readers have their head screwed on, I would love some more RPG's and maybe Nintendo will now realise it's a popular genre.

MorikaWeb

6. MorikaWeb United Kingdom 01 May 2008, 11:04 GMT

So I'm not the only one feeling impatient by the lack of RPG's on the VC. Surprised by the lack of FF's in the top 5 though, I would have expected FF VI* to be there. I'm also wanting Illusions of Gia,

*Please VI re-translated and not III

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7. Chester Norway 01 May 2008, 11:26 GMT

I really wish Big N do listen to this. If these games actually gets downloadable, both VC-gamers and Nintendo will earn on it. Everybody wins, basically. There only one game that could be a problem, and that's unfortunatly Chrono Trigger. I read somewhere that CT had some copyright issues that needed to be handled before it could be realesed as a port, or something like that. Better cross fingers for a realese...

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8. Hero10x United States 01 May 2008, 11:48 GMT

mario rpg on the readers list and the NP staff list
ftw

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9. SuperMichael64 United States 01 May 2008, 12:09 GMT

Hey i voted for earthbound, sm rpg, mother and zela: mm :)

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10. Jon Sweden 01 May 2008, 12:23 GMT

Chrono Trigger won't come unless Square-Enix changes their policy. Super Mario RPG i a bit uncertain. Wasn't it rated for a while and then it was not? I think they are going to do something like Dr. Mario with Super Mario RPG, in other words a WiiWare product.
I want to see Super Mario All Stars on the VC. It will turn up, eventually. But I don't think we are going to get it until 2009-2010.

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11. Will Ireland 01 May 2008, 12:55 GMT

Hey, rocket knight adventures! long time no see! What a great game, stands a very realistic chance of coming to us soon too id imagine!

Jupiter Adept

12. Jupiter Adept Canada 01 May 2008, 13:01 GMT

I'd get all of those.

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13. Tony United States 01 May 2008, 13:34 GMT

Please don't flood us with RPGs! I am not a fan of RPGs
I wish more Sega games were on the list, but it was so short anyway.
Mega Man Wiley wars would be a cool download as it was only on the Sega channel.

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14. Rexy United Kingdom 01 May 2008, 13:50 GMT

I've got an eye out for both Earthbound and Majora's Mask here. Other than that, I'm better off waiting for whatever else could potentially come around the corner.

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15. Bristol Red United Kingdom 01 May 2008, 14:17 GMT

Well there's a surprise...none of my top 5 make an appearance! Sucks to be me.
Must admit, I'm not a big fan of RPG so I'm kind of hoping Nintendo don't pay too much attention to this. I find the novalty wears off pretty quickly.

It would be nice if Nintendo could manage to get Goldeneye (N64) on board. I thought Super Mario Kart (SNES) would have featured, but must admit I'm hooked on the Wii version.
Would also be interesting to see an extended list of results, rather than just the top 5.

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16. Sharecrow United States 01 May 2008, 14:58 GMT

None of my top five made an appearance either. There are dozens of RPG's I'd like to see, though, so I would love to see that genre expanded on the VC. I still like my adventure games and shmups too, so I'm not out of stuff to play anyway....

Rapadash6

17. Rapadash6 United States 01 May 2008, 15:07 GMT

Wow, I'm not surprised to see Earthbound on the list but number 1? This should be enough of an indication to Nintendo that, yes, we want to see the Mother series here in the states. We WILL buy it, if only you'll release it. ^^' As for Mario RPG, I think Nintendo is well aware we want this game and I'm sure they already have a time frame pegged to release it. Sadly, that information is kept secret at a nearly government level, so all we can do is wait. Chrono Trigger seems so highly demanded that it would be foolish for Nintendo and Square not reach some kind of agreement on getting it onto the service. The only games that I voted for that weren't on this list are Yoshi's Island and Super Smash Bros, which I'm sure will come along eventually.

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18. MrPoo6321 United States 01 May 2008, 15:42 GMT

there also needs to be the SNES Star Fox on that list, as well as Vectorman.

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19. Smoke39 United States 01 May 2008, 15:47 GMT

Score one for the Mother fandom! Hopefully Nintendo'll actuall pay us some mind for once.

I never actually played CT, so it'd be cool to get that on the VC. And the other two games are awesome (MM is probably my favorite Zelda, it had so much personality).

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20. MrLopez Netherlands 01 May 2008, 16:02 GMT

I want earthbound!!

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21. 2hip2beskware Canada 01 May 2008, 16:27 GMT

We should march on Nintendo and demand Earthbound. Militant gamers FTW!

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22. Link O' Fett United States 01 May 2008, 16:29 GMT

I want Super Mario Kart, Mario Paint, Star Fox, and Smash Bros.!

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23. NintendoBrad United States 01 May 2008, 16:37 GMT

Alright, now it's more obvious than ever; People want EarthBound. Seriously, how much more does it take to get something Mother related? Please, Nintendo, give this series the second chance it truly deserves...

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24. Jordan23 United States 01 May 2008, 17:14 GMT

I want me some NBA Jam.

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25. Juampi Argentina 01 May 2008, 17:14 GMT

This is the list I sent:
Chrono Trigger (SNES)
Earthbound (SNES)
Super Mario RPG (SNES)
Final Fantasy III (SNES)
Secret of Mana (SNES)

I didn't vote for Majora's Mask because I already have it for the N64 and the Collector's Edition, but that game is absolutely awesome.

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26. StarDust United States 01 May 2008, 17:20 GMT

Super Mario RPG is the game that came before the Paper Mario series, of which I have all three. I also own both Mario & Luigi sagas, but I have this feeling that they don't live up to the Square original (the battle mechanics on the DS version were also fickle).

Release it please, so I can complete my collection!
Oh, and give us Super Mario Kart, too!
Never played Earthbound so I can't comment on that...

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27. pdrydia United States 01 May 2008, 17:36 GMT

The only two I voted for that made the top 5 are Mother & Earthbound (my top 2 most wanted), but I'd be totally down with Chrono Trigger & Super Mario RPG.

Anyone got a full list somewhere? Or what issue N Power this came out in?

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28. Storm101 United States 01 May 2008, 17:55 GMT

I love the fact that Earthbound got #1. Mother fans have been so neglected over the years and Nintendo seems to have a strong bias towards the series. Well there's no excuse now. Come to reason, Nintendo. Earthbound is your most wanted VC game!

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29. benja86 United States 01 May 2008, 18:43 GMT

lol i sent faxanadu i dont think anyone knows about that game
and i couldn't remember the name for rocket knight adventures
that was fun

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30. link64 United Kingdom 01 May 2008, 18:46 GMT

soulblazer and Terranigma please

toffeeman30

31. toffeeman30 United Kingdom 01 May 2008, 18:52 GMT

ALL GOOD GAMES. I PERSONALLY LIKE SECRET OF MANA. IT WAS AN AWESOME RPG ON THE SNES, SPENT MANY AN HOUR ON THAT

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32. Stuffgamer1 United States 01 May 2008, 18:54 GMT

It's not too surprising that Earthbound made the list (but #1 was AMAZING!), but what's really unexpected was Mother hitting the list at #4. I never would have seen that coming. I would definitely download all five of the games voted. The top 3 were the main games I salivated for when the VC was announced!

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33. Sharecrow United States 01 May 2008, 19:04 GMT

@benja86 - I loved Faxanadu. It wasn't one of my picks if only because I have beat it so many times already. I would still download it the same day it becomes available though.

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34. rbtransformed United States 01 May 2008, 19:07 GMT

I've never played any of the games from the Mother series, but I would love to play them. Three of the games I votes for are in the top five (SMRPG, Earthbound, and LoZ:MM). As everyone's been saying, there is now no excuse as to why Nintendo shouldn't release Earthbound; they know it will sell.

My most wanted game has been- ever since the VC was announced- Majora's Mask. I honestly didn't give that game a fair chance when I was younger, but now that I've looked into it more, it appears to have been one of the best Zelda games. I've played and beaten every Zelda game except for a couple of the GB ones, so I would download MM in a heartbeat.

P.S. the other two games I voted for that didn't make it were Super Smash Bros. and Kirby Super Star

Oh, and this may sound a little harsh, but I'm going to say it anyway: Nintendo really needs to step it up. They finally have the market in their hands again, but they still aren't listening to their fans. I know they like to do things their own way, but seriously, we the consumers know what we want.

playner1

35. playner1 United States 01 May 2008, 19:47 GMT

hey damo,
can we see the results of all the games sent in not just the top five!!!!!!!!!!

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36. Draygone United States 01 May 2008, 19:59 GMT

Yes, we need more RPGs on the VC.

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37. NintendoBrad United States 01 May 2008, 20:42 GMT

People, the magazine ONLY lists the Top 5 games, no more, no less.

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38. Objection_Blaster United States 01 May 2008, 20:49 GMT

Earthbound (Super NES) Want very much, but on DS compilation
Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars (Super NES) YES
Chrono Trigger (Super NES) Never played it but heard lotsa good
Mother (NES/Japan Only) See Earthbound
The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask (N64) Overrated IMO

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39. SupermarketZombies United States 01 May 2008, 21:21 GMT

I love Earthbound :(

Thank you fellow Nintendo Power readers!

Actually I would love if any of those games made it into the Top 5, but I was hoping for Ogre Battle 64.

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40. Tides of Chaos United States 01 May 2008, 21:26 GMT

@ pdrydia
It's from the newest issue, V229 with Guitar Hero Aerosmith on the cover and as NintendoBrad said, only the top 5 are listed, which is a shame. I wonder if SNES Star Fox made it into the top 10 at least....

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41. gardawg62 United States 01 May 2008, 21:32 GMT

I would like to have mario kart, Kirby superstar, and Kirby's dreamland 3

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42. lockelocke United States 01 May 2008, 21:51 GMT

@ Jordan: Hell to the yes! These are all sick games, no doubt, and Earthbound is, without dispute, one of the best titles for the SNES. But, didn't ya'll have childhoods filled with "Boom Shaka Laka"s and "He's Heating Up"s. NBA Jam was in the top 5 I mailed to NP. I mean, to me, you can't have the early 90's without NBA Jam. One of the best multiplayer titles of its generation. Required release, Nintendo; Get on it!

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43. RevolverLink United States 01 May 2008, 22:07 GMT

There's a serious lack of great RPGs for the VC. The list I sent was:

1. Earthbound (SNES)
2. Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars (SNES)
3. Illusion of Gaia (SNES)
4. Space Station Silicon Valley (N64)
5. Chrono Trigger (SNES)

It's just a shame that I had to leave off DK64, Kirby Superstar, Kirby's Dreamland, TMNT 2: The Arcade Game, and Bionic Commando (granted, I have almost no hope for that one now).

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44. Jogurt the Yogurt Canada 01 May 2008, 22:14 GMT

The more RPGs the better. I don't see how it could hurt. I know I'd be buying a lot more VC games if there were more RPGs.

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45. WarioFan63 United States 01 May 2008, 23:15 GMT

Its amazing how that was almost exactly my list. Replace Majora's Mask with Mario and Wario and that would be mine.

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46. DDR Paladin356 United States 01 May 2008, 23:31 GMT

Go EarthBound.

Ok, so everyone says that Nintendo doesn't listen to their fans...but my question is, what else have the messed up with in the past. I know the whole EarthBound thing is just one of the things (come on, petitions, an anthology, phone calls) that they ignore us on, but what else does nintendo not like to do for us?

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47. Sharecrow United States 01 May 2008, 23:59 GMT

Almost any RPG they put on VC I am going to seriously consider downloading....maybe they don't put much because they take so long to play. The player gets bang for their buck, but the seller not so much....

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48. romulo Brazil 02 May 2008, 04:00 GMT

Terranigma would be a fantastic release.

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49. Tim Canada 02 May 2008, 04:13 GMT

I thought it was suppose to be the top 100 games.

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50. Mario maniac Australia 02 May 2008, 05:35 GMT

It's too bad that the US doesn't really speak for Europe and Australia when it comes to the Virtual Console... I'd kill to be able to play Super Mario RPG and Earthbound.

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51. aut0matic Armenia 02 May 2008, 05:40 GMT

lufia 2, people! this game kicks balls! while earthbound was good, the story was pretty stupid and it got less and less fun to play towards the end. c'mon, the whole ending with the "lets all get into robot bodies" thing... ugh...

1) Lufia 2
2) SMRPG
3) Earthbound
4) Chrono Trigger

and that would do it for me in the RPG department...

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52. TBoneTony Australia 02 May 2008, 06:45 GMT

In the end, it will be Nintendo and the 3rd Party companies of all those RPGs like Square-Enix and the like would have the final say, and they will release them onto the Virtual Console when they feel they have settled all the payment issues.

Hope Chrono Trigger, Super Mario RPG, Final Fantasy and also Lufia 2 are released soon.

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53. Fulgor_Astral Mexico 02 May 2008, 07:30 GMT

happy with the results ^^

love MRPG

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54. Gameguardian Sweden 02 May 2008, 10:06 GMT

That's awesome, only goes to show that RPG:s still maintains the top places among games, and hopefully Wii, 360 and PS 3 will get more RPGs as well. Good work Nintendo Power readers!

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55. Gameguardian Sweden 02 May 2008, 10:18 GMT

And also, does anyone know if the wonderful Phantasy Star IV: The End of the Millennium will arrive on the VC sometime? I would love that!

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56. romulo Brazil 02 May 2008, 16:17 GMT

Gameguardian: the prequels have arrived, so it must appear as well.

BJWanlund

57. BJWanlund United States 02 May 2008, 17:08 GMT

Here's the list I sent in to NP (5-1 order):

Wonder Project J and J2 (Import titles)
Earthbound
Nickelodeon GUTS (SNES)
Super Mario Kart
Duck Hunt

It'd be a real sight to see if Ninty actually listens to more than half of my list.

BJ

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58. pdrydia United States 02 May 2008, 17:37 GMT

@ Tides of Chaos:
That's tragic. I was under the impression the top 100 most requested would be posted (probably because that's what Damo indicated in his previous article; I wonder if NP changed its mind?)

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59. TheLuigiDude United States 03 May 2008, 00:19 GMT

Only top 5? Lame I was hoping for a larger number to see more odd titles (I bet river city ransom was high, but it didn't count because it was finally released). Good list though from the fans, but why would NP want FFVI as the GBA remake is much better?

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60. The shoemaker Canada 03 May 2008, 05:06 GMT

I can't even remember what games i voted for, I'm pretty sure it was along those lines though. Ironic though hey, once the results for this survey were published, EarthBound gets ESRB rated. Something tells me Nintendo knew this was gonna happen, and they decided to wait until the survey was over then get EarthBound ESRB rated, so we think that Nintndo cares about us.

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61. MrLopez Netherlands 03 May 2008, 16:26 GMT

No Secret of Mana??

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62. pdrydia United States 03 May 2008, 20:53 GMT

@ LuigiDude:
"I was hoping for a larger number to see more odd titles"
Me too. :[

"why would NP want FFVI as the GBA remake is much better?"
I totally agree that the GBA remakes are a horjillion times better, but some people prefer the original. I think it wouldn't be terrible to have both available, considering there's a finite, decreasing number of working FF6 GBA carts in existence (assuming that carts get lost & fail), but a VC supply would be endless--not to mention the VC version would be easier to track down and theoretically cheaper, for those inclined for such features. Plus, anyone who owns a Wii could play the VC version, and not need a working DS/GBA (and vice versa).

The GBA version is sold out, as far as I know, so I don't see why Squeenix wouldn't want to squeeze some extra profit out of the title through the VC. Not like they get money from used copies of the game.

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63. Drizzt Canada 04 May 2008, 16:31 GMT

I'm glad to see Majora's Mask made the list! As well as Chrono Trigger! I was one of the people here who emailed my votes in that Nintendo Power poll. Glad to see I may have slightly helped :D.

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64. NESgamer Mexico 05 May 2008, 10:39 GMT

Well it's kind of a RPG... so i must say... where is my Secret of Mana on the list? :O. I want it!.

wedge554

65. wedge554 United Kingdom 05 May 2008, 14:56 GMT

Nintendo are looking mainly at these two things:

1. The audience, can they make money from the mass market from the games us (small) but avid fans really want.

2. Most games we want were released near the end of the consoles lifetime. everybody knows they can push the hardware more at its end of life, which makes the games immesurably harder to emulate. not ony that but compression may be an issue.

It also springs to mind that nintendo dont want to release the best games just yet, theyre hoping in waiting, people will purchase the other games that didnt do so well or that were not as well known/popular.

anybody agree?

RayWilson

66. RayWilson United Kingdom 05 May 2008, 21:58 GMT

Damn, I was hoping the SNES classic "Out To Lunch" was gonna top the list. I so want to play as Pierre le Chef again :-/

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67. mattrob24 United States 06 May 2008, 03:26 GMT

The five that I submitted were:

1) Rygar (NES)
2) Crystalis (NES)
3) River City Ransom (NES)
4) Willow (NES)
5) Ys Book I & II (Turbo CD)

I realize Willow is a long-shot. ;-)

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68. Smoke39 United States 06 May 2008, 03:31 GMT

@RayWilson: I'm surprised to hear anyone else has actually even heard of Out to Lunch. :b I actually have a copy I bought used from a West Coast Video back when they were phasing out their SNES games. It's a cute game, and the publisher is apparently still around, so perhaps we could still see it on the VC some day.

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69. Gameguardian Sweden 06 May 2008, 22:38 GMT

@romulo: Indeed, I believe so too, but I just wanted to add that comment to my addition in this news :)

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70. Cally United States 11 May 2008, 06:29 GMT

There was one severe thing I had against the FF Advance rereleases--the GBA couldn't do the music justice, and I refused to hear FFVI (especially) butchered.

Other than that, what's the deal with Final Fantasy and Chrono Trigger up there? Seriously, just buy a PS 1/2/3 (a PSone is CHEAP, folks) and get FFAnthology and FFChronicles (containing Chrono Trigger), or yes, those GBA remakes. So not like it would be a big hairy deal either way, but I can't understand why everybody's so desperate for games you can get a jillion different ways already. Earthbound, Secret of Mana, SMRPG have not been rereleased ever so I'm glad to see those up there.

My votes were for the Ys series; the wait for Book I & II is becoming absolutely obscene. Also Romancing SaGa (SNES) translated, as I heard the the Super Famicom trilogy was excellent, unlike most of the SaGa series after that.

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71. BB Sting United States 20 May 2008, 13:14 GMT

They need to release the Mortal Kombat games. Sure, they were rated M back in the day, but if they were rated according to todays standards, they'd probably get a Teen rating.

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72. Zeroagean United States 07 Jun 2008, 23:58 GMT

Some of them games up there is no surprise but it is missing a few epic rpgs i really liked, like Secret of Evermore, Secret of Mana, & Final Fantasy's 1-6

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73. Kreegs07 United States 30 Jun 2008, 14:33 GMT

Maro Kart please

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74. Captain_Konami United States 23 Sep 2008, 09:25 GMT

Setting aside the ones that aren't so likely (US Final Fantasy 1, 2, and 3; Bionic Commando; Goldeneye; Banjo and Kazooie; Metal Gear), we dearly need to see:

Goonies II (I wouldn't mind trying out a port of the Goonies I, especially since I tried it in the arcade and sort of enjoyed it)
Pro Wrestling, Faxandu, Crystalis, Rygar (WHERE are these early NES classics??)
Willow (would LOVE to see a true port of the arcade Willow game somewhere on the VC/WiiWare as well)
Blaster Master
the ONE decent Double Dragon game that was properly 2 player (DD2)
Duck Hunt

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