alt="Fatal Fury 2" />

Fatal Fury 2

Developer:SNK

Publisher:D4 Enterprise

Price:900 Wii Points

Originally Appeared on: Neo Geo

RECOMMENDATION:
Buy It

The original Fatal Fury was pretty fun, and gameplay-wise, it held up quite well to Street Fighter II, which was originally released a few months before SNK's game way back in 1991. It wasn't long before arcade-goers became attached to characters like Terry and Andy Bogard and Joe Higashi. The problem was, gamers kinda had to get attached to those three as they were the only playable characters in Fatal Fury. None of the opponents that the trio originally faced were selectable.

Luckily, SNK added a few more playable characters to this sequel, which was released the following year. Like the original, FF2 is played on two planes, giving you the chance to avoid attacks by moving between the foreground and background. Now, however, you have the ability to knock your opponent into the other plane. Also added is a desperation move that can cause massive damage, but only if your health is dangerously low.

Despite being rather old, Fatal Fury 2 is still a quite enjoyable. SNK obviously has a long history of creating fighting games, and it's great to go back and look at some of the better titles that led the company to where it is today.

alt="King of the Monsters" />

King of the Monsters

Developer: SNK

Publisher: D4 Enterprise

Price: 900 Wii Points

Originally Appeared on: Neo Geo

RECOMMENDATION:

Fry It

King of the Monsters is one of those games that has a better premise than it has gameplay. It's basically a riff on the old "Godzilla" movies -- you take control of one of six giant monsters and duke it out with the other creatures in a variety of Japanese cities. In classic kaiju fashion, the cities that form the arenas crumble like so many miniature models as your brawl progresses. Since the combatants are lumbering monsters, the game has more of a wrestling feel than your standard fighting game, and each monster has special moves and the ability to pick up and toss vehicles.

Sounds pretty good, right? Unfortunately, it's not nearly as exciting in practice. The fighting engine is pretty basic, resulting in some dull, plodding matches. After the novelty factor of staging a battle between Fake-Godzilla and Fake-King Kong wears off, there's really no reason to go back to this one. Making matters worse is the fact that KotM is one of the games included in the compilation, SNK Arcade Classics Vol. 1, which is coming soon to Wii.

@@

alt="Donkey Kong 3" />

Donkey Kong 3

Developer: Nintendo

Publisher: Nintendo

Price: 500 Wii Points

Originally Appeared on: NES

RECOMMENDATION:

Fry It

More of a novel footnote than a true Nintendo classic, Donkey Kong 3 abandons the platformer roots of its two predecessors in favor of a game about shooting the titular ape in the junk. It's true. This oft-forgotten relic is little more than a lame Galaxian variant with Donkey Kong just sorta stuck in there. So dull is DK3 that Mario didn't even bother to show up for it. The game's star is Stanley, an exterminator charged with protecting flower-filled greenhouses from nasty bugs and Donkey Kong, who can always be found hanging from vines in the middle of each stage.

To clear each stage, you simply need to use your can of bug spray to blast DK in the crotch until he climbs off the screen. Meanwhile, swarms of bugs fly down to steal your flowers. They, of course, are vulnerable to your poison as well.

The goofy premise may make DK3 sound like it might be good for a laugh, but the truth is that it gets frightfully dull after a level or two. It has neither the charm of Donkey Kong or Donkey Kong Jr., nor the mechanics of a proper shooter (like, say, Galaga) to stay interesting for anything past that.

alt="Ninja Commando" />

Ninja Commando

Developer: ADK

Publisher: D4 Enterprise

Price: 900 Wii Points

Originally Appeared on: Neo Geo

RECOMMENDATION:
Buy It

One has to wonder if the title Ninja Commando is supposed to invoke memories of Capcom's classic arcade game, Commando. Both games, after all, share a fairly similar gameplay style. They're both vertically scrolling action games that that could almost be classified as a shooter. Of course, Capcom had nothing to do with this Neo Geo release, but hasn't it been said that vaguely implied relation is the sincerest form of flattery?

Title aside, Ninja Commando is one of those good old-fashioned quarter-suckers that prompted players to dump a pocket's worth of change into the machine, beat it, and be done with it. This doesn't lend itself to a lot of longevity at home, but there's no denying that it's a fun ride while it lasts. It's a bit odd only being able to shoot straight up (especially when the bad guys can shoot in all directions), but bring a second player into the mix, and you'll forget all about it. If you can handle the limited replay value and the charmingly retro "early '90s" graphics, NC is one of the more enjoyable Neo Geo games on the Virtual Console.

@@

alt="Gley Lancer" />

Gley Lancer

Developer: NCS

Publisher: NCS

Price: 900 Wii Points

Originally Appeared on: Genesis

RECOMMENDATION:

Buy It

Sporting a name that could only come from Japan, the awkwardly-titled Gley Lancer is one of the many side-scrolling shooters that dominated videogame systems back in the 16-bit era. This one, however, never left Japan, so there's a strong chance that you haven't played it even if you're a big fan of the genre. Sporting some great parallax scrolling effects, Gley is certainly a nice-looking game, and you actually have quite a bit of variety when arming your ship.

As you progress through the levels, you can collect a couple orbs that orbit your ship (think Gradius' options). Before starting the game, you choose from a handful of different configurations for the orbs to follow. For free-flowing configurations, you can even hold down a button to "lock" them into place for more strategic shooting.

Sure, there are a ton of shooters on the VC, but Gley Lancer is a darn fine game that most people haven't even heard of. If you're looking for another twitch fix, this is an import worth buying.

alt="Super Fantasy Zone" />

Super Fantasy Zone

Developer: Sega

Publisher: Sunsoft

Price: 900 Wii Points

Originally Appeared on: Genesis

RECOMMENDATION:

Buy It

The original Fantasy Zone was one of the first Sega Master System games released on the Virtual Console, and now we're seeing a release of the final game in the series, Super Fantasy Zone. This release is a bit of a treat for U.S. Sega fans, as it was originally never released outside of Japan and Europe.

The gameplay is virtually identical to the original FZ. You take the adorable spaceship, Opa-Opa, through a pastel-colored world on a quest to destroy each stage's Enemy Generators. The generators, of course, spit out all sorts of crazy bad guys that hinder your progress. Downed foes drop coins that can be collected and spent on power-ups in the shops that occasionally appear. Once you take out all the generators, a massive (and cartoony) boss appears.

Fans of Defender will feel right at home here, as the game uses that classic arcade game's looping map level layout. You're free to move left or right, and continually flying in one direction eventually circles you back to where you started. Despite the kiddie graphics and bouncy (and incredibly catchy) music, this game is no pushover. Don't feel too bad if you see the Game Over screen before you see the first boss.

If you're easily emasculated by videogames that are chock full of pink, you'll want to steer clear of Super Fantasy Zone. Shooter fans should give it a try, though. It's a bit odd, but very fun.