Nintendo's Wii-kly Update Takes a Week OffTo celebrate [Monday's] launch of the new WiiWare downloadable game service for Wii, there will be no Virtual Console games added [on Monday]. But don't worry -- next week the Wii-kly Update will be back to its regular Monday schedule, bringing Wii owners information about the best classic Virtual Console titles and coolest new WiiWare games.
So says Monday's press release from the Nintendo Press Room. That's right, in celebration of the WiiWare launch, Nintendo will spare us whatever inevitably disappointing Virtual Console releases were initially planned for Monday. Hurrah!
I guess this means that we'll have to make the latest batch of VC releases last for another week. Thankfully, one of them is actually worth your money. Reviews follow the jump.
Renegade
You know, Nintendo really got this one backwards. Maybe Technos' NES games came packed in a crate, and Nintendo opened it with the "THIS SIDE UP" arrow pointing down. People who have already played River City Ransom are not going to be interested in the inferior Double Dragon, and they're sure as hell not going to want to play Renegade, a primitive and wholly un-fun exercise in monotony and frustration.
Renegade has its merits from a historical perspective. Though it wasn't the first beat'em-up to be released in arcades (credit usually goes to either Kung Fu Master or obscure brawler Knuckle Joe for spawning the genre), Renegade innovated in ways that its successors quickly adopted. Its angled playfield allowed characters to move up and down in addition to left and right, and Renegade's fighting mechanics introduced multiple moves, running, and combination attacks.
Renegade had a remarkable amount of depth for its day, and Double Dragon and River City Ransom wouldn't be half the games they are if Renegade hadn't refined the genre when it did. It's a shame, then, that Renegade is kind of terrible to play nowadays. It's hard as hell, full of cheap hits and deaths, and if you pick the wrong branching path in the last level, you'll find yourself back at the beginning of the game.
(I suspect this happened to the previous owner of my NES cartridge of Renegade, since it's covered in black permanent marker ink and has "CAN'T TOUCH THIS" written on the back in big angry letters. Frustration comes in many forms, and sometimes, the only solution is to etch MC Hammer lyrics on the back of your NES cartridge.)
Really, though, you don't want to do this to yourself. I could make an argument in Double Dragon's favor if I had to, but there's no reason for anyone to play Renegade in our 21st century of plenty. For the second week in a row, you're better off just playing River City Ransom some more.
Try these instead: River City Ransom (NES), Rush'n Attack (NES)
Don't bother with: Double Dragon (NES), Final Fight (SNES)
Pokemon Puzzle League
First of all, if you don't like the Pokemon cartoon, nuts to you. Anyone who refuses to appreciate the charm of Team Rocket is no friend of mine. Likewise, if you're willing to dismiss an excellent puzzle game simply because a cute yellow rat says its name in it a few times, you can get right the hell out of my town. Pokemon Puzzle League is the best puzzler on the N64, and if you've never played it because some psychological defect prevents you from going near anything related to Pokemon, you're missing out.
Pokemon Puzzle League is an enhanced version of Tetris Attack. Or Panel de Pon, or Puzzle League, or whatever you want to call it. In addition to the usual story and competitive modes, it adds in a bunch of extra stuff, including a terrible 3D mode that you'll never want to play. But who cares! Competitive Tetris Attack is just about the most fun you can ever have with a puzzle game, and the inclusion of Team Rocket only sweetens the deal.
I'm tempted to call this the best puzzler on the Virtual Console right now, based simply on the strength of its multiplayer. It's got a unique fierceness to it, and to watch experts play is amazing. At the same time, it's still fun enough for beginners to enjoy as well, and its story and puzzle modes provide a robust single-player experience.
The only problem is that your enjoyment of Pokemon Puzzle League fully depends on whether you've played Planet Puzzle League on the Nintendo DS. If you have, you're spoiled. Sorry. It's almost impossible to go back to Puzzle League's gameplay once you've played it with a stylus. Otherwise, Pokemon Puzzle League is one of the best buys you can make on the Virtual Console to date. It's also likely to be the only version of Tetris Attack to ever appear on the Virtual Console, so if you like the pre-DS entries in the Puzzle League series at all, you're going to want to have this in your collection.
Try these too: Columns III (Genesis), Puyo Puyo 2 (Genesis)
Don't bother with: Wario's Woods (NES), Yoshi (NES)
