PAC-MAN PURSUED ONTO WII VC BY NINJAS
The Wii's Virtual Console is nothing if not replete in heavy-hitters from days gone by, and Nintendo has added to that roster with a trio of new offerings arriving in the Wii Store today. This week's lineup of retro games sees the arrival of Nintendo Entertainment System hits Pac-Man and Ninja Gaiden, as well as a TurboGrafx-16 fan favorite in Ninja Spirit.
No stranger to the process of cross-platform pollination, Pac-Man's latest outing is a port of the NES version of the game. As one might expect, Pac-Man follows the titular yellow ball as he gobbles up power pellets and fruit while evading the pursuit of ill-intentioned ghosts. Pac-Man can be downloaded for 500 Wii Points ($5).
Playing bodyguard to Namco's pride and joy is a pair of ninjas, Tecmo's Ninja Gaiden and Irem's Ninja Spirit to be specific. With Ninja Gaiden Sigma and Ninja Gaiden Dragon Sword looming on the horizon, the side-scrolling NES version chronicles Ryu Hayabusa's original ninjutsu-fueled exploits to avenge his father's death at the hands of the evil Dragon Clan. Ninja Gaiden will set gamers back the standard Virtual Console NES game price of 500 Wii Points ($5).
Released a year after Ninja Gaiden and situated squarely in its shadow, Ninja Spirit of TurboGrafx-16 fame puts the player in the role of Moonlight, who, coincidently enough, is also out to avenge his father's death. Players can expect to wield the typical ninja accoutrements as they navigate through seven stages of enemies and traps in this side-scrolling adventure. Ninja Spirit will cost gamers 600 Wii Points ($6).
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I was so excited about Nintendo's plans to add a form of backwards compatibility to its new system, but now that I think about it, it's a waste and doesn't really add value to the Wii itself. When (or if) I upgrade to a next-gen system, the leading frontrunner is the 360 because in addition to its online services (Xbox Live) and the ability to also download classic games, you can also play them against other people ONLINE. On top of that, there are Achievements and maybe more extras. This adds appeal to me to pay extra for the games because I'm getting something more for my money. Nintendo wants you to download a game you may very well already own a hard copy of, pay for it, with no extra features. They're really shooting themselves in the foot. They can't depend on the younger generation, since they're only going to want to play the Wii games, and the classic gamers are going to be hesistant to pay again for these games when nothing new's being added.
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