GBA Virtual Console

[Nester the Lark]

So, one announcement from the recent Nintendo Direct that no one here has been talking about is that Game Boy Advance games will be available on the Wii U eShop starting this April. I guess Nintendo actually announced this last year, but are only just now getting around to finally doing it. (Even Iwata emphasized the word "finally" in the Direct.)

The first three games for North America are:

- Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga
- Metroid Fusion
- Yoshi's Island: Super Mario Advance 3 <-- Finally!

In addition to those, here's what Japan is also getting:

- Advance Wars 1+2
- F-Zero: Maximum Velocity
- Golden Sun
- Kirby & The Amazing Mirror
- Kirby: Nightmare in Dream Land
- The Legend of Zelda: The Minish Cap
- Mario Tennis: Power Tour
- Super Mario Advance 2: Super Mario World (Don't they already have the SNES version?)
- Wario Land 4
- Warioware Inc: Mega Microgame$

...Yeah.

Anyway, what GBA games would you guys like to see on the Virtual Console (in your region)?

Naturally, I'd like to see stuff that I passed on the first time around:

- The F-Zeros (Maximum Velocity, GP Legend)
While I wait for Nintendo to decided if it wants to do a new F-Zero or not, it'd be nice to go back and try the ones I missed.

- Fire Emblem: The Sacred Stones
I almost bought this when it came out, but I had a hard time finding it. I wouldn't mind having another chance to try it.

- The Legend of Zelda: The Minish Cap
I've always been lukewarm to the handheld Zelda games for some reason, so I usually pass on them, but I've always felt like I've been missing something with Minish Cap.

- Mario vs Donkey Kong
This is a series I've pretty much ignored, not counting Donkey Kong '94 on the original Game Boy. I'd like to go back and get into it.

This doesn't count third-party games, as it remains to be seen if there will actually be any, but there will probably be a few eventually.

[Leon]

I know it will never happen, but Nintendo needs to make an English translation of Napoleon. I love it so much I even imported a copy, which I rarely do these days.

[Kriven]

Honestly, I'm hoping for all of the Super Mario Advance/Donkey Kong Country titles, even though most of them have the SNES release available. I like having all the versions at my disposal, and each one handles things just differently enough for me to tilt my head and go: "Huh."

Other than those, I'm looking forward to games that I used to have but managed to lose over the years. Most of those are third-party, but I do seem to have misplaced Mario Kart: Super Circuit, and that's leaving some bitter tastes on my tongue. If they could make ALttP/Four Swords work out somehow (split-screen play with the three non-owners utilizing Wiimotes? Online play?) that would be sweet too, because I never got the chance to enjoy that game to its fullest (four friends with a GBA and the same game in rural NH? Ha). The Gen III Pokemon games would be nice, but... I doubt that's happening.

I'm also interested to see them tackle Yoshi: Topsy-Turvy. The gamepad has tilt mechanics, so it shouldn't be too difficult to figure it out, right?

Other than those, I'm really far more interested in the idea that there might be ports for games that never came stateside. I'm doubtful, because this doesn't seem to be a trend with the other consoles, but I still have a little hope it'll happen. I'd love to play the original Stafy/Starfy games, and definitely Mother 3 (and while we're talking about this, maybe the Mother/Mother 2 cart since they haven't brought Mother over yet). Definitely that one FE game with Roy in it... Yeah.

And--while not really the topic--I definitely expect to at least get the Sonic Advance games eventually. Sega has been pretty good about getting the Sonic franchise onto the Virtual Console so far, and I expect the trend to continue.

Actually, while I'm thinking about it, the GBA had a lot of connectivity with the GCN, and it would be a shame to let all of that go to waste. I know there aren't currently any official announcements about a GCN virtual console, but I think it would be a missed opportunity to (if they do a GCN VC) ignore the connectivity. Players with GBA games that correspond to GCN games they have should be able to utilize the connectivity features somehow, with the Gamepad acting as a stand in for the GBA display. I'm just doing a little future-thinking here, but it would definitely be a shame not to include the island in Animal Crossing or the Tiny Chao Garden or the Tingle thingy.

It would also be cool if they included eReader content as DLC somehow (I'm mainly thinking about Super Mario Advance 4: Super Mario Bros. 3 with this one).

Yoshi's Island: Super Mario Advance 3 <-- Finally!

This is great, but the visuals and audio are superior on the SNES version... Why has that never been released on the VC?

[The Qu]

If I had to guess, issues with SuperFX. The original Starfox also hasn't been released.

[Nester the Lark]

Yeah, no Super FX games were ever released on the VC. It was either technical issues or legal issues. The GBA port of Yoshi's Island was remade from scratch, so it doesn't rely on that technology.

Another game I forgot to mention:

- Drill Dozer
Never played it, but I've heard nothing but good things about it. It'd be nice for it to get a second chance.

[nocturnal YL]

*checks 3DS*
I already have Wario Land 4, WarioWare, Amazing Mirror, The Sacred Stones, Yoshi's Island, Minish Cap, Metroid Fusion, Maximum Velocity, Mario vs Donkey Kong and Mario Kart Super Circuit. Yay! I also have 10 more NES games and an extra GBC game for joinging Japanese Miiverse. You're so generous, Nintendo.

...But yeah, it took them long. I doubt they'll ever do GC-GBA or even GBA-GBA connectivity, though. Though the Wii U and 3DS VC did better, Wii VC seldom bothered with extra hardware support. The best I've seen was Pokémon Snap with SD card support added, and Kirby's Dream Collection finally adding letterbox for 16:9 and Wii Remote support for SNES and N64 games. On that note, I want to see more button mapping done on a per-game basis in the future.

And N64 titles on VC too, just so we can laugh at the low-poly graphics in all its 720p/60fps glory.

[Uncanny Doom]

Metroid: Zero Mission please.

I could randomly play through that game on a rainy day for the rest of my life.

[Manspeed]

Feb 17, 2014 22:39:55 GMT -5 Nester the Lark said:

- Mario vs Donkey Kong
This is a series I've pretty much ignored, not counting Donkey Kong '94 on the original Game Boy. I'd like to go back and get into it.

Only the first MvDK has anything to do with DK'94. The 2nd, 3rd and 4th games are all Lemmings clones. Not a bad idea for a Mario game, but Donkey Kong's presence makes little sense.