I wanted this

People will probably complain that we didn't get SSB though

Not a bad update. I am sure quite a few people want this although it's not to everybody's taste.

Still one game again....I want something better (in my mind)

Those 1 game weeks are going to be normal from now onwards sadly.

Those 1 game weeks are going to be normal from now onwards sadly.

No and every time someone says this I slap my forehead.

People thought that last year and then we started getting 3-4 games a week again.

It's not going to stay like this. If Nintendo released 10 games a week for two weeks, would you think that would never change as well?

should have had two VC games if they're only able to manage one WiiWare game. and it looks like VCR staff get a break from reviewing games. rest well guys. hehe.

This was the month that was January 2009:

05: Kirby's Dream Land 3
12: Castlevania III: Dracula's Curse
19: MUSHA
26: Wonder Boy in Monsterland

A surprisingly good month for the U.S. - okay so its been one VC game every week but we're getting used to that now so there's less complaining about it only being one game. But who cares if its just one game a week when Nintendo put out such good games including long awaited ones? Even the lowest rating was 3 stars which some people have said was too low.

@slangman
yeah, its been like that for 3 weeks now, i think.

Ever since I got Chrono Trigger for my DS, I just haven't cared as much about VC updates as much as I used to, only one game can make me put Chrono Trigger down right now and that's Chrono Trigger, sadly

@AlexSays

Actually it has been happening since November.

Well it least Wonderboy has been sharing comparisons with a Zelda adventure. I guess it can't be that bad. I just don't like this 4 game a month stuff since I usually purchase VC over Wii Ware. I guess we'll have to see what our Japanese friends have in store for us this Friday

It is not a bad game for the Sms. I've played worse Sms games before like Great Basketball and Alf.

I will not complain any way. There is a good amount of games want to beat after I beated Shining in the Holy Ark before downloading another vc game.

I am looking forward to see what vc games will be announced on Friday for next month in Japan.

That's two months.

Before that, 14 of the previous 19 weeks came with more than one game.

When it goes a week without raining in your neighborhood, you must go nutty over your grass. lol

I may pick this title up one day when I need another Wonder Boy fix (I've played through the Genesis title a couple times in its entirety, so the urge is bound to strike sooner or later), but for now I'll stick with the superior-looking WiiWare title. If the WiiWare-World review and videos are any indication, Rock 'n' Ball is a unique little platformer that's right up my alley. Very much looking forward to it, especially at the cheap price of 500 points!

It seems the reason we are getting less games here is because Japan started getting less games. So maybe if Japan release schedule starts picking up again then NA and Europe will get more games. One can only hope

"When it goes a week without raining in your neighborhood, you must go nutty over your grass. lol" Actually Alex I have to admit that is true LOL

Looks like Sega's mission to bring each & every Wonder Boy game to the VC has almost been completed.

Here in the UK we get VC games once every two weeks and we only get two some times, I'd prefer it if we got one a week and Wii-ware stuff. I too buy VC over Wii-Ware. We will probably start getting the bigger title games again soon, Hopefully we might get some good stuff at Easter (I know that's a while yet)
I think Wonder boy 2 is a bit like Zelda you collect coins and then exchange them for weapons and poison! it's not a bad game either.

Bummer. I was hoping for something better.

Too bad, SSB would have been a better game to be released.

Yeah, this release shouldn't surprise, I guess. Well, it does a little because we actually got it with no delay. That hasn't happened in a while, I think (or at least, it doesn't happen as often as it used to).

Anyway, I STILL don't understand the weirdness that is Wonder Boy/whatever other games are related to it, so I'll just ignore this as usual and go back to playing Paper Mario (getting close to done with the first, then on to the Thousand-Year Door!).

I'm not all that excited about SSB since I'm pretty tired of that game and seeing my friends playing it all the time gets me even more bored of it. But I'm happy that Wonder Boy is out today, I kind of predicted that it would. I don't mind Nintendo only releasing one VC game a week as long as it's a good game rather than two or three games that no one cares for.

I was hoping for Smash but I was expecting this. Seeing as I've already downloaded the other games in this series and really didn't care for them all that much, I'll probably pass on this one, but kudos to those who have been wanting it. Here's hoping for Smash next week, although I have a feeling we'll be getting Ogre Battle instead.

Does this have the Special Options the Euro version got too?

Hmm, nothing good for me here, as it was for the past two weeks, but it's ok, I'm in the middle of a move, boxing and unboxing, so I don't have much time for VC

Too bad. I was really hoping for Smash Bros. today. Maybe I'll cherck out Niki.

A decent update and a good month, but I think I'll pass in favor of something else.

meh

Nice, I liked Dragon's Curse, and I want to checkout where it came from, I'll certainly get this later on, right now I have a serious lack of points as usual .

@Stuffgamer1
Funny, I'm playing Paper Mario too, it's curious since I hadn't played my N64 in some time, and suddenly I just felt like playing it, I'm also going through ATYD, I hope .

This is a totally different Wonderboy game right? It's not a master system version of one of the previous Wonderboy games already released on VC is it? The screenshots look awfully familiar. If I buy this I wanna make sure I don't already own it.

Hmmmm...
Don't care too much for this game.
Still though, is better than other stuff it looks like.
Sure, Super Smash Bros would be cool to have...
If only we got VC games more often. Is sometimes a drag to wait every Monday.
Well, what can ya do right?

Not a good update (for me). But unlike alot of you, I don't care about smash bros. either. I want to see The Legend of Toki on here.

It was definately a great month for the VC.

@Link79,

Wonder Boy in Monster Land was not release on the vc already on a another system in North America and Europe.

There is a Wonder Boy in Monster Land on the tg-16 called of Bikkuriman World in Japan, but it not be coming to North America as a vc game due to translation and it was a Japan only game.

Wonderboy in Monster Land is not Wonder Boy in Monster World despite the Screen shoots or Dynastic Hero for that matter.

Dynastic Hero and Wonder Boy in Dynastic Hero are the same, but just on different systems.

I own Wonder Boy in Monster Land and Wonder Boy in Monster World on cartridges. There is a difference in both games Wonder Boy in Monster Land has a timer and Wonder Boy in Monster World Doesn't and Wonder Boy in Monster Land takes place before Wonder Boy 3: Dragon's Trap.

Wonder Boy in Monster World takes place sometime after Wonder Boy 3 : Dragon's Trap or Wonder Boy 3: Monster Lair.

Here are the Wonder Boy games that were release on a different system on the vc:

Wonder Boy (sms) = Adventure island(nes)
Wonder Boy 3: Dragon's Trap (sms- could be release soon on vc) = Dragon's Curse(tg-16)
World Boy in Monster World (Sega Genesis) = Dynastic Hero (tg CD)
Wonder Boy III: Monster Lair (Mega Drive) = Monster Lair (turbo cd)

Oh, wow, we did get this today. While I am interested in the Wonderboy series, I'm still waiting for Salamander...and Cave Story. Plus I still gotta get MUSHA.

Hey, cool, Wonder Boy.

yes! YES! YES!

I've heard positive stuff about WB but I'm not really interested. Looks I'll be downloading only 2 VC titles this year too.

@ 7th lutz
Okay thanks I guess I will have to get this since I know it's a different game now. I bought Dragon's curse a while back and I liked it so much I went ahead and got the rest of the Wonder boy games. I missed out on these originally so It's nice to finally get some good games on VC that I never heard of.
I hope there's a chance of the last wonder boy game being Imported to American VC. The one that was only released in Japan before. Which ever one that was called.

@7th lutz: That was a pretty helpful list, thanks.

So, do you or anyone else have recommendations for which version of which game to get? I don't know if the stories are connected enough (or changed enough in alternate versions) for it to matter what I get. I'd generally assume stuff like tg-16 > sms and tg-CD > Genesis, but I'd like to be sure.

This should've really been less complicated. Whose bright idea was it to keep re-making these dang games over and over like that anyway?

While I'm not pissed (I actually want WB), I'm disappointed with the two-game release. Nintendo probably has some good reason for releasing only two games this week, but until I hear that good reason, I'll dislike these weeks. In my opinion, Nintendo should consistently release three games--whether they be on VC or WiiWare--each week if they have enough games to do so. Sadly, my opinion ain't much compared to Nintendo.

Oh well, when I'm pissed, I always ask myself, "If Nintendo for some odd reason stopped releasing VC and WiiWare games entirely, would I be satisfied with the current catalog?" While I don't want to admit it, I'd probably be fine with all the games we have now. Still, my greedy side just wants more games.

I guess they're just trying to be fair. After all, France got a two-game week last week.

Anywho, all we need now is Monster World IV, which the version I'm looking forward to.

I already downloaded Rock 'n' Ball, I have the first Wonder Boy game on the VC for the SMS, they are all pretty much the same for me, allthough the extra FM Synthesis did sound interesting to me.

@Stuffgamer1

Adventure Island is better than Wonder Boy.

There is no difference between Wonder Boy 3: Dragon's and Dragon's Curse except for graphics being tg-16.

I haven't played Wonder Boy III: Monster Lair or Monster Lair. Based on What I've read it is

I never played Dynastic Hero due to the fact I own Wonder Boy in Monster World. Based on I've read Dynastic Hero is easier to beat the final boss than Wonder Boy in Monster World is.

From my past experience, Wonder Boy in Monster World's final boss is a royal pain. If you want an easier time to beat a game, go for Dynastic Hero.

The graphics are better in the Genesis version,the music is worse on the genesis based on what I heard.on youTube.

Go for Dynastic Hero over Wonder Boy in Monsterland for downloading on the vc.

Not an interesting week for me.

So this month I downloaded two "New Release" games. (MUSHA and Castlevania III.) Not bad, given I hadn't downloaded a single "New Release" game in what seemed to be ages.

Still, I'd like to see a return to the 2-3 new games a week strategy of old.

I'm pretty sure North America wont get SSB until April.... as I've said before, that will be its 10 year anniversary

@Zbomber-The exact date was April 26th, 1999 (US). This year, April 26th is a Sunday, so maybe we'll get SSB on the 27th.

@7th lutz: "Adventure Island is better than Wonder Boy."

In what ways would you consider it better? Wonder Boy is pretty much universally considered the superior of the two.

@Angelic Lapras King: "Does this have the Special Options the Euro version got too?"

Indeed. Why wouldn't it?

I was just thinking to myself: "Will, you know what the VC really needs? Another f***ing Wonder Boy game, of course!"

@The_Indigo_Effect - ROFL COPTER!

and... werd.

Meh, still sounds too complicated to me. I have other games of a similar nature I could play anyway, I suppose. I could really do with a professionally written article about the series, if there isn't one on this site already that I somehow missed. I don't suppose any VC-Reviews staff would be willing to take that task on (or somebody let me know if there is one back there somewhere, please)?

@Stuffgamer1

Here is a professional article of the Wonder Boy Series: http://retro.ign.com/articles/930/930245p1.html .

@Adamant

There wasn't much of a difference between Wonder Boy or Adventure Island to me. The graphics were given an edge to the Sms.

While played both games and own them both. I really don't have a favorite between the two games. It is a toss up to me. I picked the Adventure Island since I was annoyed by the sound than I was with Wonderboy.

I am bigger on the later Adventure Island games after Adventure Island and Wonder Boy became different after the first Wondery Boy game.

This Week's only VC Game is not worth it seeing as we have the other versions of this game that came before this one.

Now it looks like America is playing catch up with us.

@WolfLink22: A common misperception, but no, this is truly a unique Wonderboy experience

My NA predictions for February 2009. Boy and his blob, Strider, Fantasy Zone II, and Mercs

Meh, another SMS title. I can't think of a single game for this system that I would pay money for. What's up with all the releases on Sega systems anyway? Since October the US has got 10 Sega releases (7 on Genesis, 3 for SMS) and only 7 for Nintendo systems (3 for SNES, 3 for NES and one for N64). I want more SNES games!

Sucks to be you. Can't the non-fanboys enjoy the game in peace?

@niner: Thats not that big of a difference. Though I wish there were more N64 games. Besides, if this keeps up (more sega games than nintendo games) we might get Legend of Toki or Ghostbusters soon. Possibly even Bloodlines.

@Adamant

Yeah, sucks to be a fanboy sometimes. The SNES is just way under-represented on VC so far. We have a lot of the great titles, but the quantity just isn't there.

My Febuary predictions for North American VC:

-Super Smash Bros. (N64)
-Ogre Battle (SNES)
-The Boy and His Blob (NES)
-Fantasy Zone II (SMS)

#61: The way things are going, they'll have to start focusing on the SNES sometime or other. Nintendo don't have a huge amount of titles for the NES that they themselves created - they'll have to move on to the Super Nintendo. shouldn't be too long.

@Bass XO
Yeah but it wont be for a while since they`ve had the “one game a week” trend going for sometime now and truly it seems their only working on everything other than SNES and N64.

So what's the verdict? Anyone know if the FM synth feature is in the states version? I figured that it probably wasn't due to the price (why not charge as an 'import' if an 'import feature' is included-we didn't get the FM synth here), but it would have been a nice peace offering for the 1 game weeks.

@ Manicfatty
Yes the FM synth feature does work in the states version. I've been playing it and just tried it out. It's pretty neat to have a game with that feature.

Drake you may not but USA has like 6 to 7 Wonder Boy Titles already.

I want to see the Super Mario Karts and SSBs and Tetris Attack type games get more support by being added reither then seeing to many Street Fighters, to many Wonder Boy Games or stuff like that.Heck give people ZAMN or SSB or ClayFighter or Plotwings or something that was re rated by the ESRB or whoever and get them off of people's want lists and get them out there.

@WolfLink22 #53

You're thinking of Wonderboy in Monster World, which is the sequel to this one. This is the one and only version of Wonderboy in Monster Land.

ok but like i said before:

I want to see the Super Mario Karts and SSBs and Tetris Attack type games get more support by being added reither then seeing to many Street Fighters, to many Wonder Boy Games or stuff like that.Heck give people ZAMN or SSB or ClayFighter or Plotwings or something that was re rated by the ESRB or whoever and get them off of people's want lists and get them out there.

@WolfLink22

Thats nice. Personally I'd rather see more good games in general, regardless of how many we're getting, but I suppose there's nothing wrong with skipping out on a good game because it's not the game you wanted.

Drake you may not but USA has like 6 to 7 Wonder Boy Titles already.

lol. We have three.

@AlexSays

We have three games with Wonder Boy in it's title, but...oh, I see your logic!...I think. He did say Wonder Boy Titles, and there are only 3 games with Wonder Boy in it's title. That makes sense...kind of.

By the way, I stand corrected - We need Wonderboy III: Monster Lair, Wonder Boy 3: Dragon's Trap, and Monster World IV.

@7th lutz: Thanks for the link. Very informative. But now I want to play Monster World IV (the one never released in America at all). And I'm jealous of the Wonder Boy collection for PS2 that was released in Japan two years ago.

@Mickeymac: Technically, there's nothing wrong with that. On the other hand, that viewpoint has led to many superior games getting ignored and a lot of fun missed out on. At least on VC you can always go back and try it if you find that you want to, unlike failed retail games like Beyond Good & Evil...

@AlexSays: I think he's including the tg-16 versions in that count (and Adventure Island, of course).

@Stuffgamer1

Yeah, I really wish we got the collection, I'd buy it in a heartbeat, if only so I don't have to buy all the games individually (although I'll only be getting the Sega versions).

Anyone else besides me think that De Blob is actually a pretty cool game?

I think it's cool, although I haven't played it yet, and it'll probably be a while before I do.

I am strongly considering getting Wonder Boy in Monster World, it looks like a very good game. Of course, I'll have to wait and see how much Cave Story costs when it's released, but if it costs, say 600 points, I'll get MUSHA, Monster World, and Cave Story. If CS is 500 points though, I'll get DoReMi Fantasy instead of Monster World, and if CS is more than 600 points, then I'll just get MUSHA and CS.

I'm thinking of getting Wonder Boy in Monster Land, along with the original Wonder Boy, when Fantasy Zone II and either Sonic Chaos or Wonder Boy 3: Monster Lair comes out, so then I could have an SMS day.

Edit: Sonic Chaos finally hit, so hopefully we'll Fantasy Zone II pretty soon. After that, it's party time!

Wonder Boy in Monster Land is awesome, probably my favorite game in the series. Definitely get it.

Wow Viral, out of left field again! It's an ok game, I don't mind it. But I prefer Wonder Boy in Monster Land!!!

Could this Wonderboy craze on the VC might mean we might see Monster World IV?

I dunno. They couldn't get away with not translating it. But here's hoping anyway.

@Cally

I hope Monster World IV comes, with or without a translation. I've worked with worse.

Personally loved Dragons Trap on SMS, have the original cart it's awesome
this one is enjoyable but not nearly the gem III was, IMO

I don't care for the Wonder Boy series...too childish.

@Shinnok - No, you just have set a limit on what games you can play. You have an age complex.

@Viral - I like de Blob, but you really have to make sure you have time to play when you do. It can take upwards of an hour and a half to complete a level unless you truly do the bare minimum. I need to beat that game. I've been to obsessed with getting my 131st jiggy in BKN&B lately. Fortunately, I got it, so I can finally play other games .

It was a joke. You know, Wonder Boy...Childish. Boys are children. Get it? It's supposed to be funny.

All hilarious comments aside, I really don't like this game. The story is just too simple for me to enjoy.

@Shinnok

Well, it's over 20 years old, you were lucky if a game even had a story back then.

The year this game was released, the second Castlevania was released, along with Metal Gear. both of those games had wonderful stories to tell. And if one person could do it, they all could.

On top of all that, Wonder Boy is simply no fun to play (for me, anyways).