The Newest Oldies Round-Up: March '10

After months of writing about painfully bad lineups on the “Virtual Console Round-Up,” the revamped monthly article “The Newest Oldies” has demonstrated that there are still plenty of good titles on the way for the Virtual Console. Meanwhile, PSOne Classics lags behind, and XBLA gives us the occasional gem.

The Fatal Fury (Garou Densetsu) series makes me feel simultaneously more and less masculine compared to its cast of characters.

Let’s start with Virtual Console. On March 1st, SNK’s FATAL FURY SPECIAL hit the VC store. This Neo Geo originally costs 900 Wii Points, for reasons unknown to me. This is an enhanced/updated version of FATAL FURY 2. You can play as the “boss” characters, plus they brought on some cast from the first game. Known as GAROU DENSETSU in Japan, this series of 2D fighters never really grabbed my attention. If I want to rock some SNK action, it’s usually via KING OF FIGHTERS. Nonetheless, it’s quite the rarity, and fighter-fans might want to check it out.

So the good news here is that Fatal Fury Special is the least interesting of March 2010′s four VC releases. Next up, we have FINAL FANTASY II on SNES, released on March 8th. That’s the one that’s really FINAL FANTASY IV “Easy Type” in Japan. So, do you want to play the inferior version with whole sections of script cut, abilities and items “dummied out,” etc? Well, if you are like me and you played the game in 1992, maybe the nostalgic experience will make it worthwhile. But it is a solid $8 to download; and as I said in my review of the DS version, the DS version is a great way to experience the game. And you can probably find that used for $20. Your call. Super-old 2D original or thrice-remade 3D DS version. Or any of the other remakes in-between.

CASTLEVANIA: RONDO OF BLOOD for the TurboGrafx is the game that paved the way for Symphony of the Night (which in turn started the Metroidvania craze). The game is a lot like SUPER CASTLEVANIA IV, but with a rudimentary inventory system, but lacking 8-directional whipping. Whipping straight-forward only? “That’s no good!” Much like FFIV, this game is available in all kinds of random places, most prominently on DRACULA X CHRONICLES for PSP. The game itself is a 3D upgraded version of Rondo of Blood, but the original game (as well as the complete version of Symphony of the Night) can be unlocked while playing the game. For 900 Wii Points? Eh… I guess I’d say it’s worth it. It’s a fun game to be sure. This one was released on March 15th.

"Only for Nintendo 64" ... until now!

Finally, and most importantly, Square Enix very recently (March 29th, to be exact) published the old Quest-developed Strategy RPG OGRE BATTLE 64: PERSON OF LORDLY CALIBER. I saw a dude at Anime Boston this past weekend selling a used, but boxed, copy of the N64 cartridge for like $80 or something. This is one rare frickin’ game. And, apparently, it’s also a great game. I’m behind on my “Ogre” goodness, but the general verdict from RPG fans is that this game is a rare treat, one of a fistful of worthwhile RPGs for the N64 console. So yeah, for only $10 (1000 Wii Points), this is pretty much the best thing ever. I’m probably going to buy this and play it.

One “PSOne Classic” hit the docket in March. I actually played this one to completion as a kid, and I tentatively recommend it to people who remember the game and say to themselves “hey, was this a good game?” The game is ONE. It has no relation to the Metallica song. Instead, you play some sort of military enhanced-soldier guy with a gun-arm and a barcode on your neck. Right from the start, you’re being chased down by hostile police forces and stuff. This 3rd-person, 3D run-and-gun platformer/shooter spans six levels, forces you to conserve ammo, and pits you against some mighty intriguing bosses. Very hard, but if I recall, pretty cool concept as well. It’s also from some (in my mind) no-name companies: developer is Visual Concepts, publisher is ASC Games. The PSOne Classics version hit the store on March 18th.

In the land of Xbox Live Arcade, developer 4J Studios did a visually upgraded remake of Rare’s N64 classic PERFECT DARK. Improvements outside the graphic realm include online multiplayer and added voice acting. We already mentioned this one on The Jurassic Hour, but I thought I’d plug it here too. I’d much prefer they take this same approach to the game’s engine-based predecessor, GOLDENEYE. I’ll mess all you Odd Job players up. You can’t karate-chop my ankle when I’m rockin’ prox mines.

Joanna, do you play mind games? I play "mine" games. GOGO REMOTE MINES!

Finally, and this is slightly outside the scope of this series of articles, MEGA MAN 10 is out. That’s not to be confused with MEGA MAN X. And it’s out on like, every current-gen platform. It was a “timed exclusive” from one week to the next, with Wii getting the first shot. But yeah, this is just a direct follow-up to MEGA MAN 9, which was what brought the “intentionally retro development” scheme into the forefront of chic gaming. I haven’t really sunk much time into this one yet, but I loved 9, so I will almost undoubtedly love 10 as well.

In other news, FINAL FANTASY IX is on its way to the Japanese PS1 archives. We’re waiting anxiously for its North American (re)debut.