F-Zero,  Saturday, 21 April 2007 As one of the three original launch titles for the Super Nintendo, F-Zero was the first racing game that brought an “arcade-like experience” to the home. It's great graphics, blistering game play, and thrilling speed make it one of the greatest racing games ever made.

F-Zero takes place in the distant future, 2560. Human civilization has advanced through the discovery of extraterrestrial life. Interplanetary trade has created a new rich and powerful “elite” class of multi-billionaires, who have funded a new form of racing entertainment – the “F-Zero Grand Prix”. The racers used in this competition are proton-powered hovercraft, piloted by four selectable characters, each with their own unique hovercraft: Captain Falcon, Dr. Stewart, Pico, and Samurai Goroh.

The graphics in F-Zero were revolutionary in the 16-bit era, and are just as great 15 years later. The game is one of the first to use the Super Nintendo's “Mode 7”, a special hardware based feature which creates scaling and rotation effects that simulates a 3-D environment. Those effects helped to create the amazing sense of speed that players experience. The music and sound effects are well done, furthering the frantic, futuristic tone of the game play.

The game's fifteen tracks are split up into three different leagues, each with varying difficulty. In addition, F-Zero has four difficulty settings: Beginner, Intermediate, Expert, and Master (unlocked after completing Expert).

Each track has a unique layout, with a wide range of obstacles such as mines, huge jumps, sharp turns, magnetic rails, and electric powered barriers. At the beginning of each lap there is a power zone which allows you to replenish your vehicle's damage meter. In addition, you also receive a speed boost after each completed lap.

F-Zero is a classic SNES game which never gets old, and it's difficulty will keep you busy for quite a long time. This is definitely a must buy for your VC collection.

 Gradius,  Monday, 19 March 2007 Released in 1986, Gradius is one of those great games that gave birth to a new genre: the “shoot 'em up”, also known as “shmup”. Gradius takes the basic structure of Space Invaders and Galaga, and adds so many gameplay enhancements that it sets the standard for all future shooters.

The first thing you will notice is that the play-field is now horizontal instead of vertical like Space Invaders and Galaga. The objective is still the same: destroy your enemies without getting hit. You will encounter squadrons of enemy ships flying in stylized formations, and gun batteries placed on the ground: both below, and above you. You also run into environmental hazards that need to be avoided like mountains, and volcanos.

The big evolution in Gradius is the array of weapons, shields, and power-ups available to you. As you collect energy icons left behind by enemies, your power meter grows, giving you access to many enhancements such as improved speed, shields, lasers, missiles, and two-directional weapons.

Gradius is a revolutionary game that paved the way for games like R-Type, 1942, and later classics such as Raiden and Radiant Silvergun, and is a must have for your VC collection if you are a shmup fan.

 Punch Out!!,  Saturday, 21 April 2007 Punch Out!! is one of the Nintendo Entertainment System's most legendary titles. It was the first game I played when I received my NES on Christmas Day 1987, and that experience will forever be engraved in my memory. The Punch Out!! I played back in 1987 is identical to the Virtual Console re-release, except for one glaring difference...Mike Tyson has been removed from the game.

Many of you may not remember this, but Punch Out!! was originally released as “Mike Tyson's Punch Out!!”. Not only was Mike Tyson's name in the title, he was also included in the game as Little Mac's final opponent. In 1990, Nintendo removed Mike Tyson from the game and replaced him with a fictitious contender named “Mr. Dream”. Many have theorized over the years that Mike Tyson was removed from the game due to his rape conviction, however it is now known that he was removed due to a contract dispute, and because he had just lost to Buster Douglas.

Despite that difference, Punch Out!! is just as great as it was 20 years ago. The graphics are fantastic for an 8-bit game, with nicely drawn cartoon-like characters, rich colors, large sprites, and detailed animation. Each character in the game has his own unique look and personality.

Punch Out!!'s sound is well done. Most of the contenders have their very own intro music, and the game's sound effects are quite good and blend in with the game play.

The game play in Punch Out!! is simple, and fun. The “A” and “B” buttons act as Little Mac's left and right arms, allowing you to throw different punch combinations. When you press up on the control pad and press “A” or “B” Little Mac will do an uppercut. You can also dodge your opponents punches by pressing the control pad left or right at the correct moment. Once you have enough star points, you can launch a devastating super uppercut by pressing the “start” button (+ button on the Wiimote).

The key to defeating each opponent is learning their weaknesses, and figuring out how to avoid their special maneuver. The difficulty increases as Little Mac advances through the different circuits.

As you can probably tell, Punch Out!! is one of my favorite NES games. It is simple to learn, yet extremely challenging. I encourage everyone to download this for their VC collection, it is well worth it.

 Sonic The Hedgehog,  Sunday, 18 March 2007 Released in 1991, Sonic The Hedgehog took the world by storm and helped Sega dethrone Nintendo in the 16-bit video game market. Sonic dazzled gamers with amazing graphics and music, and stellar game-play that pushed the speed barrier.

Sonic The Hedgehog was the first game to introduce gamers to “true” 16-bit gaming. The graphics were of a quality never seen before: highly animated sprites, mesmerizing backgrounds, and a vivid color palette. Now common 16-bit features such as parallax scrolling and transparency effects added to the depth of Sonic The Hedgehog's backgrounds.

The sound in Sonic The Hedgehog is equally as impressive. Sonic's soundtrack is one of the more memorable musical scores in video game history; the main theme is guaranteed to be engraved in your head for the rest of your life.

Sonic The Hedgehog's gameplay was ahead of it's time. Never before had any video game performed at such mind-blowing speed. Sonic offered the core platforming mechanics standard to the genre, but threw in loops and gravity defying turns that took the game-play to a new level.

Sonic The Hedgehog was the game to officially bring video gaming into the 16-bit generation, and is a must have VC download.

 Star Fox 64,  Monday, 02 April 2007 As the “official” sequel to the SNES classic, Star Fox 64 took the Nintendo 64 to new heights when it was released in 1997. Star Fox 64 utilizes many of the unique features that were created for the unreleased “Star Fox 2”, and immerses gamers with fantastic visuals and a rich musical score.

Star Fox 64 was a true technological demonstration of the N64's abilities. The game's 3-D worlds and models are nicely detailed and fully textured, and also shows off the N64's particle, reflection, and transparency effects. Star Fox 64 offers in-game cinematic cut scenes between levels and during game play.

A very rich cinematic musical score adds to the experience and blends in with the action on-screen. Voice over dialogue is great, however much of the dialogue becomes repetitive very quickly. The sound effects are unique, with sounds for everything in the game, from the Arwing's engine to the array of weapons that are available.

The game play in Star Fox 64 is based strongly on the canceled “Star Fox 2” that was originally designed for the SNES. The biggest complaint about the first Star Fox was it's linear “on-rails” game play. While this game does indeed have a lot of linear game play, many of the “on-rails” stages give you the chance to branch off onto different paths. Some stages also offer “range mode” which allows the player to navigate freely within a large confined space to dogfight with other ships or fight off bosses.

Vehicles are introduced for the first time. The Landmaster is an infantry tank that is used to navigate through ground stages on Titania and Macbeth, while a submarine called the Blue Marine is used in one underwater level, Aquas. Star Fox 64 also implements a major feature that was planned for “Star Fox 2”: multi-player. Up to four players can take part in multi-player dogfight mode.

Star Fox 64 is a fantastic N64 game that still stands the test of time, even in a market that is filled with far more advanced 3-D space shooters. This is definitely a must-have VC title.