VC Tuesday: Japan's Theater

On the Japanese Virtual Console this week: two games we'll never see outside of Japan! Aw. Neither Konami's NES side-scrolling action game Getsu Fuuma Den nor Falcom's sidescroller/action RPG Legend of Xanadu II were seen in the West, and they're a bit too low-profile to warrant a release as an import. Of course, we thought that about Bio Miracle Bokutte Upa, as well, and look how that turned out (hint: it turned out with Bio Miracle Bokutte Upa on the VC in the West).

• Getsu Fuuma Den (Famicom, 1 player, 500 Wii Points)
• Kaze no Densetsu Xanadu II (PC Engine, 1 player, 800 Wii Points)

WiiWare this week holds significantly more promise for those of us speculating for future US/PAL releases. The video streaming service Minna no Theater Wii is launching with an already-impressive lineup of anime (including free episodes!), live-action sentai shows, and variety shows. Fujisoft has already expressed interest in releasing this service in the US. We can safely assume Crystal Defenders R1 from Square Enix will appear worldwide (and on every platform). And we are absolutely certain that Aksys will release every single Family series game Arc System Works puts out, even if it's based on a Japanese dice game nobody's ever heard of.

The only game in the group unlikely to see the world is Popple and the Magical Crayon, a children's adventure game. Oh, well.

• Okiraku Sugoroku Wii (1-4 players, 500 Wii Points)
• Crystal Defenders R1 (1 player, 1,000 Wii Points)
  
• Popple and the Magical Crayon (1 player, 800 Wii Points)
• Minna no Theater Wii (0 players, 500 Wii Points)

Source -- Virtual Console
Source -- WiiWare