Page 1 of Nintendo at the rip?? >:(

Virtual Console....I said I wouldn`t pay the money for the stuff and I stick by it.
However I was gifted a 2000 points card so other than banging it on Fleabay or selling to someone I decided to test it out.

First up (as Sue mentions elsewhere) I had to update to 3.0E firmware. I didn`t want to do this because of the DAMN DIGITAL CLOCK I CAN`T TURN OFF! >:( (thank you Nintendo) but the shop channel won`t function without it.

So, off I go to Virtual console and grab two games hotly advertised Mario Kart 64 and Super Mario Bros: The Lost Levels.

First up...the internet channel is apparently not a beta and is better if upgraded to the paid version....so why does my account page show it as "Downloaded" ? ( I have the supposed free Beta version)
Secondly, Mario Kart 64. I expected it to be the NTSC version as I`ve seen comments about it being better than the original.
I had the original...PAL and NTSC (when the Gamecube first price crashed and Ninty responded with MK64PAL and a controller for the complainees and I already had the NTSC one and a converter pak). The NTSC one ran at 60htz and was much faster and much better fun.
What did I geto n a download? PAL version. Same thing I have on an Emulators disc.
What did I gain? No sound glitches and the wee monitor on the bridge works!
Cost: £7.50 (1000 wii points). You can tell I wasn`t amused especially when I found out the Ghost time trial option (race a ghost of your best time) isn`t available due to hardware issues but I`m sure it is on the emulator.

Next up, Mario Bros 2: the Lost Levels!
"NEVER BEFORE seen outside of Japan! Only made for the Famicom Disk System and only available til 30th September"
1) I am DAMNED sure I`ve played this years ago. I had the Mario Pak SNES that came with the Super Scope 6 too. It had 3 Mario games on it and I am SURE this was one of them.
So much so that I even remembered some of the places to hit and get extra lives, grow big mushrooms and hidden coins or jump blocks!

2)Aaaand it`s buggy! They`ve released it with a couple of bugs and the worst one of which is that if you have a big Mario/Luigi and you get hit mid jump by a turtle etc., you become invisible until you jump a couple of times.

Not bad for only playing them for about 15 minutes each,
MK64 was 1000 points, £7.50 as mentioned above. Mario Bros was 400 points, equivalent to £3.

If i had actually paid for the card and not been gifted it I would be firing off a really stinking letter to Nintendo right now....might even do it anyway as I only downloaded these two from comments on the Nintendo site and, for MK, a couple of users.

Once again....I feel let down seriously by the big N. I`ve got 7 wii`s in circulation between family and friends on my recommendations....3 more pondering. One thing I *won`t* be telling them to do is visit the virtual console.

(Oh and if they get the letter they`ll be getting told to stuff that digital clock where it hurts..)

Jimbo : oÞ

"Making Teenagers depressed is like shooting fish inna barrel"

This item was edited on Tuesday, 25th September 2007, 21:19

As I`ve said before, Ive never heard of this `bought is better than beta` thing :-/
Shoulda got Waverace ;-) - still not properly optimised though..
Lost Levels was on Mario All Stars... too hard for ya? ;-)
What`s up with them clock on the `dashboard`?

Ste

This item was edited on Tuesday, 25th September 2007, 21:44

Hi Ste.
Got WaveRace64 on an emulator and got the GC one here too.
Mario All Stars...that was it. Still got the VHS tape that went with it too :-D
I loved the Mario series but to say this wasn`t sold outside of Japan is a total rip. I knew I had seen it and had it. OK, it`s only £3 but I would rather have bought an old Sega game or something that I remembered than buy this when it`s so buggy. The SNES version didn`t have the vanishing dood so why does this? (Oh yeah..."hardware" issues!)

The clock? I don`t like it. Didn`t want it and my biggest problem with it is it`s not a customisable feature I can turn off.

Plus it looks cheap and chavvy!

Jimbo : oÞ

"Making Teenagers depressed is like shooting fish inna barrel"

Memories memories

I knew I had played those lost levels before on the snes, I told my nephew that I had bought him the snes package with mario kart and another mario cartridge which had lots of other mario games on it. Forgot the name but now I see All stars on here it all comes flooding back...

I was going to buy the lost levels from the virtual store for my Wii, However I can`t log on too the store. This is because I haven`t updated my system in a while, I unplugged the cable from my Wii too the modem in favour of my PS3 and X-box 360. Now when I try to go to the store (which I still have 1000 points by the way). I can only connect through my Nintendo Wi-fi doogle.

Straight away it connects and tests the connection which it says is good,but then it tells me that in order too use this store I must perform an update. I click on it and it starts, but NEVER moves I have left it for hours and NOTHING happens ggggggrrrrrrrrrrr

Sorry I didn`t mean too hi-jack your thread here but I thought other Wii users would have encountered the same thing or is it just me.......?

"If Gods mistakes are built to last then I shall live eternal"

This item was edited on Tuesday, 25th September 2007, 22:04

Actually, the game is different..
Read the `.....warp zone` on the homepage of the shopping channel....
Waverace`s waves and the effect they have on races and racing lines have still to be beaten...
And jimbo, you paid 600 points.. ;-)

Ste

Ste, I was 1000 points for MK64 and 400 for LL.
If LL is different then fair enough but I`ve seen nothing so far different.

My wii took ages to update too on an 8 meg connection. It`s always as slow as a dachsund with an erection climbing stairs. Everyone complains about it.
All in, the 3.0E update took around 20 minutes to complete on mine.

Must check the SNES emulator and see if LL is on that one...then I can really kick meself ;)

Jimbo : oÞ

"Making Teenagers depressed is like shooting fish inna barrel"

I left it running for hour with no movement what so ever... eventually the wi-fi connector just switches off and and disconnects the Wii...

I just don`t understand why it tells me the connection is good but can perform the update.....

PS I have all these games in my atic, but it`s nice too mess around with them from time to time on the Wii......

"If Gods mistakes are built to last then I shall live eternal"

second hand mk1 xbox= £45

softmod =£0

all the N64/mame/snes/megadrive games you can shake a stick at £0

my mk1 xbox still gets more action than my 360 :)

Firstly, the LL game is the Famicom original - the one on the All Stars cart was an updated version, so they are technically right in saying it`s the first time it has been released outside Japan. Mind you, the update was probably better. (Graphically it definitely was)

Secondly, emulators are not legit. Not sure if they are illegal, but basically your money does not go back to the game developers. Using the VC, the money does go back to Nintendo to allow them to design more games and upgrades for the Wii. The VC games are cheap as chips, so if you don`t have the older consoles, it allows you to get stuck in to some of the old classics. My kids love them. We don`t go back further than the N64 in our games console history.

Thirdly, the Wifi connection on the Wii is crap. Not much doubt there. You basically have to have it as close to the router/dongle as possible (mine is about 1 metre away) for it to run smoothly. If it is clearly stuck on an update, pull the plug and reboot. Won`t harm the console. Seriously think about bringing the connection closer.

Here are a couple of good sites to study info/video footage of the virtual console games:
www.vc-reviews.com/
www.gametrailers.com/platformlist/all/index.html

Hope that helps.

This item was edited on Wednesday, 26th September 2007, 09:09

Nope, it doesn`t matter how you word it, the VC is a complete rip-off and there`s no way Nintendo are getting my money. They haven`t considered us at all here in Europe. I can`t believe they expect us to fork out for 50hz games - AFTER ALL THESE YEARS OF COMPLAINING AT THEM!! I have no intention of connecting my Wii to the internet anyway, since as you guys say it`s a right mess.

I know many frown on emulation, but I say it wouldn`t be an issue if 1) the publishers didn`t take the p*** out of the customers like Nintendo have here, and 2) many of my favourite games were developed by companies that don`t even exist anymore, so emulation is the only option. You might not go back further than the N64 Sue, but many of us old-time gamers love to go right back even to the Spectrum emu scene. Seeing as you can`t buy a fit Speccy anymore, how else would you suggest we preserve these classics? I love the emu scene and I certainly don`t consider myself a thief. I have and still do put a heck of a lot of my money where my mouth is.