Europe get the best offering thisweek, with the return of the Hanabi Festival: Nintendo of Europe's event that will bring US and Japanese imports to European shores. The first Hanabi Festival had multiple games, including gems like Sin & Punishment. And unlike Super Mario Bros.: The Lost Levels from last year, all games in this year's Hanabi Festival will remain available on the Wii Shop Channel.
As for this week's update, there are two shooters and one puzzle game available:
The first game is Gradius II Gofer no Yabou (Gradius II: The Ambiton of Gofer) for the Turbografx. For those unfamiliar with the series, it is a horizontal scrolling shoot-em-up, notable for its weapon-selection bar.
The second game is the US version of Columns III: Revenge of Columns for the Sega Mega Drive. It is a gem-matching game, where you line up same-colored pieces as they fall.
The last game is Final Soldier for the TurboGrafx. It is the third game in the main Star Soldier series. As opposed to the Gradius series, Hudson's very popular shoot-em-up series is a vertically-scrolling shooter.
Recap:
TG16: Gradius II: Gofer no Yabou, 1 Player, 700 Points
SMD: Columns III: Revenge of Columns, 1-2 Players, 900 Points
Retro-gaming fans are already used to revisiting classics from yesteryear via Virtual Console. But today, and for the next few weeks, we have an extra-special treat in store at the Wii Shop Channel.
We’re bringing back the Virtual Console ‘Hanabi Festival’, featuring games that were previously unreleased in Europe; this time courtesy of our friends at SEGA and Hudson Soft.
The Hanabi Festival is named after the Japanese holiday season that is famous for its firework displays, so we’re starting the event with some real blasts from the past!
Hanabi Festival – May 2nd releases:
Gradius II Gofer No Yabou – Turbografx (Japanese version)
Columns III: Revenge of Columns – SEGA MEGA DRIVE (U.S. version)
Final Soldier – Turbografx (Japanese version)
Over the coming weeks, you’ll also be able to enjoy other never-before-seen greats such as Gley Lancer (SEGA MEGA DRIVE), Cho Aniki (Muscle Brothers) (Turbografx), Puyo Puyo 2 (SEGA MEGA DRIVE) and Star Parodier (Turbografx), and more.
All games will be released in their original U.S. or Japanese versions, but we’ve chosen games without language barriers. Plus – as with all Virtual Console titles – each game will include a built-in Operations Guide.
All Hanabi Festival titles will remain on the Wii Shop Channel after the Festival is over. Titles from the previous Hanabi Festival in September 2007 (Sin And Punishment, Ninja Gaiden, Gradius III, Ninja JaJaMaru-kun, and Mario’s Super Picross) are still available, except for the limited-edition Super Mario Bros.: The Lost Levels.
And watch this space in the future, because the Hanabi Festival may return…
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