Wow, so it was 5 VC games last Christmas and not 4? On top of that, they seem like good games on that week as well. Dunno if we can expect something similar this year, though.

Keep in mind, the Virtual Console service was still relatively in its infancy at last year's Christmas week. We may see an even greater bulk of games released next week.

This Christmas week on Virtual Console US (12/24/07):

Rolling Thunder 2 (Genesis)
Blades of Steel (NES)
Donkey Kong Country 3: Dixie Kong's Double Trouble (SNES)

The only one I've played out of those is DKC3, and while it's fun it's not as good as the first two. Still, it's a decent game.

Wow, that's... a fucking disappointment in every regard. DKC3 sucks, and is inferior to the previous titles. The other two games I've never heard of, but I expected at least something to stand out for the Christmas release of Virtual Console games. They don't.

I honestly don't have any faith in VC at all and will continue to play my SNES games at perfect emulation on a 1024x monitor without shitty PAL conversion issues. But since Reggie thinks the Wii will last "forever" I'll probably wind up seeing Earthbound released when I'm 28.

Wow, TERRIBLE, Lix. How can you say it's a disappointment if you've not even heard of or played the other two? Although this attitude is held by most of the people in this damn thread, I'll give you that. "Yeah I have never played anything on the TG-16 before but every week that doesn't contain a Nintendo franchise in the release list sucks mad balls". Makes me sooooooo sadface.

While most people are gonna think that DKC3 is the star of this week's releases, they'd be dead fucking wrong.

Blades of Steel motherfuckers. Repre-fucking-sent. I'm not gonna lie. Holllllllllly shit. Great multiplayer hockey or GREATEST MULTIPLAYER HOCKEY?

Honestly probably the latter.

FACEOFF!

Bought so BAD.

I've never played the other two, but I looked them up on youtube. They don't really look like very popular games or my kind of games. Last year consisted of Super Mario Bros, Toejam and Earl, Castlevania IV and Street Fighter II. Everyone knows those titles. Well, most people. And considering Toejam and Earl is my favourite game of all time, Elixir was pleased. This year? Not so much. Only three titles, and DKC3 is probably going to be the most purchased one.

My fault for getting my hopes up, I guess.

Again, you fail miserably for declaring this week horrible without ever playing Blades of Steel, Lix. As a general rule, I hate 97% of sports games ever made. Blades of Steel is awesome though, and must be purchased immediately. A hockey game mixed with a fighting game? Pure win.

Why are you guys ragging on Elixir for being upset over this week's VC releases?
It's not like Blades of Steel makes up for last year's killer 5 game lineup of awesomeness anyway.
I mean, what the hell. I was at least hoping for a killer app from each system in the VC's repertoire.

All right. I just played it. And, like I said before, it isn't my kind of game. It might have some huge sentimental value with a bunch of people, but I missed that, and I don't really like the game. I saw a friend's LP of DKC3 over at SA and it reminded me of how terrible it is in comparison to DKC2. Rolling Thunder 2 I would've played in 1995. Awesome much though.

These 3 releases in comparison to Super Mario Bros, Toejam and Earl, Castlevania IV, etc, suck.

Now I can say that after having played them. Happy?

Condemning something as lackluster when you haven't even played it is ridiculous. This isn't rocket science. That's what I took issue with primarily. The fact that it's not mostly filled with extremely recognizable titles that the average forum goer's mother would recognize is a hard point to stand against though.

But I'll contend that Blades of Steel certainly makes this a pretty fucking awesome week.

Edit: This was for Matt, before that follow up post.

Here's the thing, you have to watch what you say around here. If you say certain games suck without ever playing them, people will go apeshit on you.

I've got to agree though, I was expecting some big titles today like Super Mario Bros. 3. I'd be surprised if they did another release tomorrow, but I doubt it.

Daamn. DKC3 wasn't that bad. Maybe cause I never really cared about flaws and little details. Other than that, playing with the tarantula was cool.

Oh god, Blades of Steel, possibly the best hockey game ever made along with Ice Hockey. I remember spending so many afternoons on both of those games with friends (As well as Double Dribble which was released recently. How long until Base Wars or Baseball All Stars comes out?).

It's going to be hilarious if I get NHL '08 for Christmas, after playing Blades of Steel today. GET THE PUCK!

I might actually pick up DKC3, as it's the only one of the three I haven't played completely through. For me, what the series lacks in gameplay it makes up for in presentation.

Blades of Steel was the only video game my dad ever played with me, so not only does it rock fucking balls, but it carries sentimental value. For whatever reason, I would always play as Edmonton.

<3 this game so much.

What a coincidence. I beat Nutty 15-5 while playing as Edmonton last night. :tpg:

I never understood how people could dislike the gameplay in the DKC series. I always thought it was simple, tight, and engaging. DKC II and III were actually fairly challenging toward the end as well.

At the end? I dunno about III but II could be a right bitch of a game when it came down to it.

Bramble Scramble nearly sent my Wii Classic Controller flying out the window and web woods isn't exactly the kindest mistress in SNES level design ether.

Don't lets confuse bad with hard. I remember having to work at those levels, but they really weren't that bad. Keep in mind, one ups are never in short supply, so it isn't like you have three attempts to pass a level and then you have to start the game over again right from the beginning. I think my overwhelming favourite level to hate was Screech's Sprint. This one really walked the line between frustrating and challenging. Somehow, I managed to clear not only this level but all the special stages as well. I can't wait to hear the screams of frustration when all the PS / N64 generation get that far in DKC II.

A brick wall is a brick wall all teh same, no matter how many 1ups you have.

And I'm a Megadrive/SNES gen guy.

Seems the next N64 release will be 1080 Snowboarding. If you haven't played it, it's pretty much worth it for the music alone, with thought-provoking lyrics such as "GRASPU POWAH" and "WORK YO BODY" looping to the sexual delight of drowning MIDI rawk. Actually I have no idea how well this game has held up, loved it when it originally came out. It was a real bitch to not fall over after doing anything at all though.

*Selects character, falls over, energy bar starts flashing*

Also I think Nintendo's going to keep skipping over Pilotwings 64 forever. :(

I wonder what the chances are for Turok 1 and 2 to be released. Awesome N64 games.

And on the SNES... Sunset freakin' Riders! NOW.

I always found the little memory cartridges to be extremely unreliable for the N64. For this reason alone, getting Turok 1 and 2 for the VC would be totally worth it. I still remember how Turok 2 was so expansive I'd always get hopelessly lost in the second area. I think they said the game had like 20 square miles of terrain. The sheer scope of that game is mindboggling. Also, can't forget the infamous fog.

Conan, come on. A BRICK WALL? I didn't find the DKC trilogy all that bad and I'm not an exceptional gamer by any stretch of the imagination. (Skills can confirm this.)

I'm not saying ti's a game ending brick wall, it's just a brick wall untill you can crack it.
Which, giving the levels, can take a few shakes, so to speak.