Virtual Console gets Eternal Champions, Zanac, The Dynastic Hero

by Justin McElroy { Dec 3rd 2007 at 9:35AM }

We were so close to having a unified theme this week with two out of three games having really great music. If only Eternal Champions soundtrack wasn't so reminiscent of a Wesley Willis concert being pushed down a flight of stairs. Oh well.

Eternal Champions (Sega Genesis, 1-2 players, 800 Wii Points): We have a lot of happy childhood memories that involve this 2D, not-in-any-way-a-Mortal-Kombat-rip-off-(wink) fighter, and we'd bet that you do too. Now does that mean it's a good game, or even fun to play? We have absolutely no idea. It's nostalgia roulette, and it's only going to cost you $8 to play.

Zanac (NES, 1 player, 500 Wii Points): In Nintendo's description of vertically scrolling shooter Zanac, the most prominent feature advertised is that the game's difficulty adjusts in real-time to how well you play. It sort of feels like a used car salesman trying to sell you a Chevette by telling you it has "luxuriously wide cup holders." Which is to say it's worrisome. That said, it does have some pretty killer music.

The Dynastic Hero (TurboGrafx16 CD-ROM, 1 player, 800 Wii Points): The Dynastic Hero is an action RPG that has its lead roles filled by insects (finally). It's basically Wonder Boy in Monster World (if that means anything to you) with different characters inserted. Maybe a commenter will be able to share their thoughts on the game. But what we can tell you is that the music is fantastic.

Tags: nintendowii, sega, virtualconsolemonday, wii

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

Brandon @ Dec 3rd 2007 9:50AM

Ok, upon initially reading the article I was feeling nostalgic about EC and was thinking hey, 8 bucks would be great to play this again. I remember some of the times in the dorm with this and it was a lot of fun.

I then hit play on the vidoe and watched it and was quickly cured of the nostalgic malaise. Thank you YouTube video!

I'm only half joking when I say that from now on I'm going to watch video of any VC I consider purchasing. This could end up saving me (and my limited Wii available space) lots! :)

Brad Lee @ Dec 3rd 2007 10:21AM

Yeah, that game was something seriously awful.

Phi Nguyen @ Dec 3rd 2007 9:52AM

Wow, player one is so frickin' cheap in Round Two. He's that guy that would put his quarter on the arcade machine and you would immediately slap it off. "Bitch, not in my town!"

Phi ^_^

Jack @ Dec 3rd 2007 9:57AM

"Nostalgia roulette" is the best phrase I've heard to articulates the enormous uncertain of buying VC games. I feel that way with Eternal Champions, which I probably rented from Blockbuster a few times in my grade school years and which serves as the entire basis for my probably-unfounded nostalgia.

Jack @ Dec 3rd 2007 9:59AM

Just watched the video. Wow - the game looks about 98% terrible. 2% not-terrible because of funky music that sounds ripped out of also-terrible Sonic Spinball.

Princess Skittles @ Dec 3rd 2007 10:05AM

Sega owned the Wonder Boy name and franchise but not the games themselves. Westone, the creators of the games licensed them to Hudson for publishing on other consoles. That's why you have stuff from them like Adventure Island, Dragon's Curse and Dynastic Hero. They're the exact same games with different names and some different graphics.

wud_e @ Dec 3rd 2007 10:14AM

Well I say.....AWESOME! I love this game! I remember on a message board I was on that asked the question "Which oddball game would you like to come to VC?" I picked Eternal Champions. Sweet.

Boss Tempo @ Dec 3rd 2007 10:14AM

Say NO to nostalgic gaming, kids! You'll only spoil your fond memories! Playing them now will be mildly entertaining for about 10 minutes and then you'll turn it off forever!

Kye, NDF - Fearless Leader @ Dec 3rd 2007 10:52AM

I somewhat agree with the above comment.

baby sea tuna @ Dec 3rd 2007 11:18AM

As the owner of several disappointing but "nostalgic" virtual console games, I totally agree with that statement (and also realize the main reason the VC Store doesn't offer demos).

wud_e @ Dec 3rd 2007 10:17AM

EDIT: Now All we need is "Beyond Oasis".

AstroZombie @ Dec 3rd 2007 11:48AM

Um... Beyond Oasis is already out. I wouldn't recommend it.

mr nimblewick (SegaDF - Jogurt Ring) @ Dec 3rd 2007 12:08PM

What? Beyond Oasis kicks ass!

WiNG @ Dec 3rd 2007 10:18AM

Eternal Champions sucked for the most part, just the controls were bad really. I liked the characters.

But yeah I found out that for the most part, nostalgia is not worth it.

I really regret buying Super Mario Bros and Sonic 2.

SMB is just not a fun game. Yeah it's funny to laugh at the sounds and sprites you remember but it is punishingly hard IMO,and the repetition kills it.

Sonic 2 was the first game I ever owned but that's the problem. I played it to death when I was 8. Now there are no more secrets, and everything is either too easy or still frustrating (I'm looking at you, Mystic Cave boss whose nearest signpost makes you fight him with 0 rings if you die). Plus Sonic 2 is NOT fast, not at all, esp compared to Sonic 3 or the newer GBA/DS Sonic games.

comtar @ Dec 3rd 2007 10:23AM

The virtual console selection has kinda sucked the last few weeks... that's okay though. *snuggles Axelay*

Organic_Shadow @ Dec 3rd 2007 10:29AM

I thought it was a cool fighter and did some things to stand out from the other fighters, but I think it's biggest problem was it was just too slow. It's like everyone was fighting on the moon or something.

That and the fact that finishing moves were just 'make sure the enemy lands on the right spot on the ground so the finishing move thing will initiate'. No combos or special buttons to press for a finishing move, just making sure they land 'next to that one pole... like try and make it to where their knee is lined up with it...' Kinda dumb.

Fun? yes
Worth the VC price? no
Any game worth their dumb VC prices? no

WiNG @ Dec 3rd 2007 10:50AM

Kirby's Adventure and Super Metroid were worth it, IMO, esp since I never played them before.

In fact the ONLY thing I didn't like about Kirby was how enemies respawn every time you move back on screen.

FOXHOUND @ Dec 3rd 2007 11:03AM

Agreed.
As much as I like the VC (concept, playing nostalgia-inducing games that are difficult to find, et al); I *highly* dislike the overpricing for them... NES games in particular. :\

AstroZombie @ Dec 3rd 2007 12:01PM

I don't think all VC games are overpriced. There is a flaw in sticking all games from one system with the same price, however. Something as simplistic as Donkey Kong should not be the same price as, say, SMB3.

whoamygod @ Dec 3rd 2007 11:11AM

eternal champions... back then, my friend and i spent HOURS figuring out where to make the loser land in every level to initiate the fatality things. i don't think we ever really "played" the game. i think we had fun...

Kevin @ Dec 3rd 2007 11:14AM

Damn you nintendo! Today is Brawl day but instead of any Smash Bros, you give us NO Smash Bros.

At least I still have Melee...

FOXHOUND @ Dec 3rd 2007 11:23AM

To be honest, I'm a little surprised SUPER SMASH BROS for N64 wasn't released today for VC as a way of compensation to the shred of upset masses out there(even though there was no prior announcement of any possible VC release).

Jay @ Dec 3rd 2007 12:28PM

@FOXHOUND
Compensation for the delay AND the lack of good updates. I mean seriously....we're all pissed we're not playing the game today and what do we get for it? FRIEND CODES

Gerwurztraminer @ Dec 3rd 2007 1:03PM

You beat me to that thought. I was also hoping for the N64 Smash Bros. today. Way to drop the ball Nintendo. Anyway, uh, back to SM Galaxy...

Richard Mitchell @ Dec 3rd 2007 11:15AM

Nuts to all of you. Nuts, I say! Eternal Champions was a great game. Tons of moves, fighting based off of real martial arts, and not one palette-swapped character.

Many a good time had playing that game.

xGeneral DEATHx @ Dec 3rd 2007 1:31PM

I have to agree...although it was one of the most difficult fighting games I ever played in my younger years (the computer almost ALWAYS had a counter-maneuver for whatever you tried), the originality of the characters and realism devoted to the various martial arts styles is uncanny. Like a previous poster though, I spent a good bit of time pressing Start on P2's controller and then throwing them everywhere to find the sweet spots for the finishing maneuvers.

Chris @ Dec 3rd 2007 11:45AM

More crap. Nintendo must have something big planned.

Oh yeah Pokemon Snap.

I could also go for some Mario Paint with Wii and DS controls.

warioswoods @ Dec 3rd 2007 12:34PM

It is already possible to play Mario Paint on the DS with full touchscreen support, thanks to the genius of homebrew; I was just doing this a couple days ago. But yes, it would also be great, perhaps even better, to put it on the VC with Wii remote support.

Donald @ Dec 3rd 2007 12:02PM

I hope they didn't fix the title screen for Zanac.

Desined By ftw

madthoughts @ Dec 3rd 2007 1:27PM

Eternal Champions? What's next? Weaponlord?

Mannyman @ Dec 3rd 2007 1:28PM

I'm sorry but seriously is there anyone else disturbed by the fact that Nintendo has decided to practically rerelease a game that VC had just a year ago!? The Dynastic Hero is Wonder Boy in Monster Land, folks! Some of the music/graphics are better but the puzzles, levels, and monsters are EXACTLY the same! I previously bought and completed Wonder Boy on VC and enjoyed it, but when I saw gameplay footage of Dynastic Hero I was pissed off.

I really think this is rediculous, it's like releasing Super Mario Bros 2 and then Doki Doki Panic a year later. I already felt that VC has been disappointing due to mediocre weekly releases and most of the good games are "been there done that" but this is yet another wasted release opportunity for Nintendo. The holiday season is a good time to bust out a plethora of great games to get gamers excited about the Wii/VC lineup. Nintendo just isn't cutting it.