Final Fantasy IV: The After Years:
Final Fantasy IV happens to be my favorite FF title, and the not-much-changed sequel The After Years is as fun as its prequel. You get to play most (for now, since only Rydia's chapter is available) of the original FF IV cast, the battle system is not changed much and the soundtrack is simillar(more like remixed, depends on which version of FF IV you played). So, if you liked FF IV, definitely get this, the feeling is pretty much the same as in FF IV. The only downfall with this game is the price, including all the chapters, it goes for 37€/$.

NyxQuest: Kindred Spirits
Ah NyxQuest (or as I still call it, Icarian) is a great game... seriously, the platforming elements and puzzling are mixed together very well. The game also makes great use of the IR pointer. It does start of a little easy, but the difficulty picks up later in the game(at some parts). And... it might not be that long, around 3h for one playthrough, but it sure is worth every cent of those 10€/$.

Mega Man 9:
Theres not much to say about this game. If you like the old school Mega Man games, you should already own this game. The platforming and difficulty make this game sometimes frustrating but most of the times fun.

Dr. Mario is really fun, there isn't much of an overall... point to it, but it's just a fun puzzler to play from time to time, i find it better with friends in multiplayer, and the people online are really tough too.

NyxQuest is just great. Quite addictive once you get into it. You've probably heard that it's quite short and easy, which is relatively true, but it's really fun to play. There are also hidden relics to collect which gives a fair bit of replay value. I've only played a couple hours of it and haven't completed it yet though. Still, it is very enjoyable and i must recommend it to anyone looking to give it a try. I find it's calm atmosphere really engrossing and it's quite hard to put down once you get in to it.

I haven't played much of Lostwinds (or a lot of my games) because i've been too busy with others, but it's a pretty similar situation to NyxQuest. The music and graphics are really nice and the controls are fun to work with. Like NyxQuest you've probably heard around that it's really short and easy which i'd also have to agree with. If anybody claims this to be among the top Wiiware games around, they're right, it's really fun to play.

Mega Man 9 is just amazing. It's classic mega man at its finest. I must stress though that it is very very hard, so i really cant say this is for anyone who isn't looking for a tough game to deal with. Otherwise any mega man or side scrolling shooter fan should just pick this up. It has tons of replay value to in the form of achievements, time trials and some downloadable content. I've gotta say though, this is probably my favorite Wiiware game so far, but that's probably because i'm a fan of the numbered mega man games.

My Pokemon Ranch is... well, it's really just a storage solution for your Diamond, Pearl and Platinum games on the DS. If you don't have any of those games, then you're probably just wasting your time getting this. I'm a die hard Pokemon fan though so i put this to good use.

I wish i could've given a better insight on NyxQuest and Lostwinds but i've only played a couple hours of both

Mega Man 9: Since I'm a Mega Man nut, I can't really not like it, but the game stands on its own as a top-notch platformer as well. The graphics are great with their retro style, the music gives MM 2 & 3 a run for their money, and they even managed to keep the gameplay fresh instead of falling into the same pit of staleness the later NES games did. It's a bit tough for ones first MM game, but it won't break anyone, at least after a few (dozen) tries. The only downsides I can see are the length (only 12 stages) and IMO pointless microtransactions for the addons. Other than that, no real complaints.

World of Goo: I was positively surprised by this one, even after the insane internet hype. The puzzles in the game are interesting and creative, the graphics have quite a bit of personality and quirkiness (I like it) and clarity, so you can always see what you're doing - though a Zoom function would have been nice. The music is really nice: I think I liked all the pieces in the game, which is really rare for me. The game also has quite a bit of challenge in it, especially if you want to finish all of the obsessive challenges (IIRC) or actually compete with your Tower of Goo. As for the controls - they simply work. 'Nuff said. The price is a bit steep for a WiiWare game, but IMO it's worth every point.

LostWinds: The controls make this game IMO. They're different from most other action/adventure games I've played, since your character can't really do anything but walk - you're controlling your character indirectly thru a wind spirit. And they really work - intuitive, sharp and flexible (?) - what more can you ask for? The graphics also have this cutesy oriental feel, which always works for me - and the music, while rare, works just as well. The only problem with the game is its length: you can easily beat it in a single sitting, which makes the 1000 point price tag seem a bit expensive. But if you have the points to spare, it's worth a try.

Bomberman Blast: Hey, it's Bomberman. You'll like it if you like BM games, and vice versa.

Toki Tori: I'll fill you in on this later since my ear hurts like a bitch ATM. But worth a purchase if you like puzzle games, especially since it's quite cheap for a WW game.

Mega Man 9 is probably my favorite. I played the game a ton, and got into the competitive time trial scene early (or had to, since I'm not the greatest and wanted the overall #1 spot just once). Only managed #2, and that's with putting like, probably over 50 hours into it in the first 2 weeks or so, ha... crazy stuff. I hadn't played an arcade type game in a long time, Mega Man 9 was a good reminder of why I loved the series so much as a kid.

FFCC:MLaaK was a fun game, as well. I put quite a bit of hours into it (though not as many as MM9). I'm a fan of the "build your city" type of game, so I got a lot of enjoyment out of this one before its repetitiveness started to bore me. I'm guessing I'll love LKS for similar reasons...

WoG I sort of just bought since I got caught up in the reviews. I managed to beat the first chapter, then I sort of forgot about it. Not sure if I can say anything bad about it though, I do get bored of games from time to time, I'll probably finish it sometime later.

Tetris Party, same deal as WoG. The reviews were great, and I wanted a good multiplayer game. Unfortunately, most of the people I invite over don't seem to show much interest. I suppose I should have held off for a beat-em-up or something... hell, I'm considering Bomberman.

Lost Winds, I got from Secret Santa, lol. I haven't given it much of a chance yet, since I've been playing more PC games recently. I'll probably get to it in a month or two.

World of Goo- Amazing game, and way better that I expected. The puzzles are fun and challenging with new elements always being introduced. The music was amazing and helped create the mood. The sign painter's humor and deep words were a nice bonus as well. Overall, it is one of the best games I have played in a while actually. The atmosphere it creates though, was one of the most interesting and best part of the game. It is something I haven't really experienced in a game before.

Mega Man 9- I haven't played a Mega Man game before, so i had no idea what I was getting into. Still, even though I lost countless lives, I didn't stop having fun. Very great game, although not as good as WoG. The 8 bit music was outstanding as well. Hoping for a MM10 :D

Mega Man 9 was the first title I purchased for WiiWare, and is a perfect example of what should be done with the service. People complain about the difficulty, but if they'd known anything about Mega Man in the first place, they should have expected that. I do have one complaint about the difficulty. That may sound contradicting to what I just said, but let me explain. Previous Mega Man's we're difficult because of enemy placement in areas that we're already hard to manuever. Mega Man 9 is difficult because it's littered with instant kill spikes in every level. One false move and one less Mega Man. As a MM veteran though, I appreciated the challenge I found in this title. So few games these days provide old school difficulty. It may be tough to learn, but once you're able to blast through levels with effortless finesse it gives you a sense of accomplishment and reward hardly found off Nintendo's first console.

Capcom knew who they were catering to when they put in the Time Trial mode and online leaderboards. Trying to beat your fastest time in Galazy Man's level is so addicting. Thinking of ways to shave seconds off your time is only limited by your creativity with the tools Mega Man is provided. Tornado man's power to give yourself a little extra boost in your jump is simply genius.

Final Fantasy IV: The After Years is something I only started playing recently. As a someone who enjoyed the first one I can say that it is very interesting to see a sequel to FFIV. I can't help but like falling back into the world. I grew up with these characters, and Square knew to aim squarely at the nolstagic hearts of players like me.

Depending on your perspective, the fact that much hasn't changed with how the game is played can be a good or bad thing. They've added a new functionality to fights where, depending on the cycle of the moon, the character is stronger in some aspects of the fight and weaker in others.

I have to delve deeper into the game before I can make a concrete decision, but so far the game is looking good. Not great, by any means, but still good.

Gradius: Rebirth

Oh lordy.... This games was made in the "simple but insane" vein of classic Gradius titles, so it's one hell of a doozy if it's your first SHMUP, or even your first Gradius! It also mimics Ghosts N' Ghosts in that you need to complete it multiple times to see the ending (three in this case), with the difficulty escalating with each loop, and mutating into a true bullet hell by thefinal trip into the last level.

Thankfully, there are several levels of easy difficulty settings( such as enemies shooting less frequently and even bulltes being blastable) so newcomers to the grenre can practice in safety before tackling Normal, and on top of that there are many diffrent weapon bars selectable from the start menue, such as the traditional set up and the "Salamander/Life-force" set. Since the game is presented as a prequel to the MSX computer game Gradius 2, there's more story than normal to be found, which should help hook in the uncertain player. The music is top notch and nearly all the tunes are ear-worms, esspecially "historic soldier".

It may sound rough, but if you stick with it Gradius: rebirth doesn't disappoint for it's 10$ price, and feels great for those "Pick up and play" urges.







Mega Man 9:



Similarly to Gradius: rebirth, this game will kick your butt if you are not prepared for it, but that doesn't mean it's "cheap" in it's difficulty. The real appeal comes in it's 8-bit cut-scenes, which offer much more exposition and story than it's 16 and 32-bit bretheren. It also re-invents the wheel with several of the Robot-master weapons, such as the Jewel-sheild behaving exactly like it did when it was used against you-no more "one hit and it's gone" crap!

The levels themselves are vairied and interesting, such as the literal concrete jungle and the lava facility that house Concrete-man and Magma-man respectivly. Speaking of Bosses, Splash-woman is the most interesting of the bunch, and it's surprising Capcom didn't pull it's usual "women=fanservice" rutine with her. It's probably best to compare 9 to 2, since Keji Inafune actually adimts he based this one on 2 since it's the most revered by fans. While it may share some of the tight spots, the small touches of 3 and the purchaseable items such as E-tanks and 1-ups make it much more forgiving and conqerable for beginers, though Wily's castle is as brutal as ever.

VIRTUAL CONSOLE

* Ogre Battle: The March of the Black Queen (SNES | 900pts) (3 July 2009)
* Pulseman (Megadrive | 900pts) (3 July 2009)

WIIWARE

* Bit Boy!! (Bplus | 600pts) (3 July 2009)
* Gradius Rebirth (Konami | 600pts) (3 July 2009)

DSiWARE

* Brain Challenge (Gameloft | 800pts) (3 July 2009)
* Mario Calculator (Nintendo | 200pts) (3 July 2009)
* Mario Clock (Nintendo | 200pts) (3 July 2009)