Some time ago I posted my thoughts on Hard Copy Collection Vs Digital Distribution. Although there are pros and cons for each, I myself still remain stuck in my ways as a hard copy collector. One of the reasons being the issues with playing retro games on a controller designed for modern gaming.

The Wii’s Virtual Console is the digital distribution service for old school gaming, unfortunately Nintendo’s mish-mash of previous controllers; the Classic Controller can detract from the overall retro experience. So I’ve been looking around for some good alternatives. Heres what I found:

The Obvious Choices

GameCube Pad/WaveBird

I’m sure everyone knows this by now; so I will quickly go through the motions. You don’t need to recycle your old, faithful Gamecube pads as they can be also reused to play your favourite Virtual Console and Gamecube games as well as a whole bunch of Wii titles.

With this you can also take advantage of the Gamecube’s excellent wireless WaveBird pad. If you don’t already own one of these controllers then chances are you’ll have a hard time finding one. Nintendo ceased production of WaveBirds over a year ago and thanks to the Wii’s run away success, the demand for WaveBirds has also increased despite the number low Wavebird numbers. But don’t fear as there is an alternative to the WaveBird which I shall get to later.

The GameCube pad is great for Nintendo 64 titles in fact it’s probably superior than the N64 controller as the Gamecube’s dual analogue sticks lack the grindy feel of the N64′s. The N64 controller essentially has three main buttons (A,B and Z) which translates well onto the Gamecube’s 4 face buttons. The only disadvantage for N64 games may be the Gamecube’s shoulder triggers. The N64′s triggers are soft and light, conversely the Gamecube’s triggers are large and springy. This nuisance depends on the game at hand though as few N64 titles utilized the shoulder buttons.

The overwhelming majority of Virtual Console games aren’t 3D which is where things get a little frustrating. The Gamecube’s D-pad is just downright awkward for these games so you’ll have to toss up whether you want to use an analogue stick for 2D games. Personally I love using analogue sticks for 2D fighters to avoid blisters from all of those quarter circles but for other games like RPGs and platformers, where direct position movement feel more natural, it can feel a little odd.

Where to Buy?

GameCube Pads can easily be found online at eBay or at local pawn shops.

Arcade Sticks

I’ve spoken about Wii arcade sticks before in my Reliving an Authentic Arcade Experience on the Wii article. Just like before there are still only a handful of sticks available on the market. Primarily the two major players are the Hori Fighting Stick and the Wii Neo Geo Stick 2, the latter of which is yet to be released). Both of these sticks are essentially Wii iterations of previously released PS2 arcade sticks. The Hori Fighting Stick currently retails for $49.99 while the Wii Neo Geo Stick 2 is set for roughly $70.

On the other hand there is also the Wii Shaft which is a slightly cheaper alternative to the other two. The Wii Shaft is in limited supply and must be ordered, it retails for $40 and is the cheapest of the three sticks. I’m not a fan of the overally simplistic design of this stick unlike the other two it lacks a certain spark which gives it an overall cheap, generic look. You can find some video of the Wii Shaft here.

More Information
Hori Fighting Stick

Wii Neo Geo Stick 2

Wii Shaft

Unlikely Alternatives

The GameBoy Player Controller

The GameBoy Player Controller was released by Hori several years ago with the intention to be played with GameBoy Player games. I’m sure that you’ll all agree that this looks much more suited for SNES games on the Virtual Console, purely because of the controller’s shape and button layout. I think that this controller is probably the best option for 2D games on the Virtual Console. In fact seeing this makes me question why other peripheral makers haven’t decided to make their own VC controllers modeled after the original controllers.

The only feature that appears to detract from the SNES design is the right hand button layout which is derived from the Gamecube pad. Even the curved bump underneath the buttons is present. The controller comes in two colours (Black and Indigo) which are intended to match the Gamecube’s original two colors.Unfortunately as of time of writing there was only one available through Amazon at the price of $49.95 which is a terrible price considering this originally retailed for $14.99. Look around.

More Information

The GameBoy Player Controller

Playstation 2 Controller

Last generation there were a surprising high number of adapters released for the Gamecube which would allow for you to use your Playstation 2 controller over the original Gamecube pad. The Playstation controller is one of the industry’s most iconic controllers and one of the reasons for this is because it works well for both 2D and 3D games which makes it a suitable controller for the Virtual Console.

On my search, I could only find three adapters which were the:

• Innovation INNOV3102 Controller Adaptor
• Hais GameCube Smart Joy (HS2125C)
• Cube Joybox

And out of those the Cube Joybox appears to be the most well received. You can still buy it from Play-Asia, eBay and other online retailers for around $8-10. Unfortunately I could not find any of the other two for sale online.

As for the Playstation 2 pad itself as I was saying it is very iconic. Unlike the Gamecube pad which favors particular styles of games the Playstation 2 pad is a one size fits all pad. All buttons are well balanced and comfortable. There may be some problems in configuring the button set up for certain games as you have to match the Gamecube and Playstation 2 buttons.

Cube Joybox Information

Play-Asia

eBay

IGN Review

Thrustmaster T-Wireless NW

As previously mentioned Nintendo ceased production of the wireless Wavebird controller which has left some new Wii owners out in the dark as pre-owned Wavebird sales outmatch supply. Fortunately Thrustmaster released their own take on the controller to help fill that demand.

The T-Wireless NW is as you’d expect a 3rd party WaveBird replacement there are a number of significant differences though. Instead of being modeled around the original WaveBird controller the T-Wireless NW’s layout is based off of the PS2 pad. Which as you’ve just read isn’t a bad thing for Virtual Console games. I can see this being a problem for first party Gamecube games which worked well with the pad’s button layout. There is also rumble support included but this doesn’t mean anything for Virtual Console games. Turbo and slow modes are included as well and the controller runs of three AAA batteries.

The Thrustmaster T-Wireless NW retails for $19.99 and should be available in stores and online.

Thrustmaster T-Wireless NW Information

Amazon

IGN Review

A Brief History Lesson

Back in the 90s Capcom’s legendary Street Fighter series and SNK’s also legendary King of Fighters series were two of the best 2D fighters on the console and arcade scene. Street Fighter 2 set the standard for 2D fighters to come and for a long time was the copy and paste formula used for all developers when making 2D fighters. One of these developers which were known for this was SNK whom borrowed heavily from Capcom’s winning formula on several occasions. SNK managed to crave its own niche into the genre with it’s 3 on 3 fighter, best of the rest, The King of Fighters for the Arcade and NeoGeo CD.

For many years in the 90s these two franchises stood toe to toe with each other, dividing the fighting community with each game’s own unique style. The two developers noticed the divide and agreed on working together to build the Capcom Vs SNK fighting series. Which eventually resulted in 3 titles; Capcom Vs SNK, Capcom Vs SNK 2 and SVC Chaos.

Since the mark of the millennium (did you catch that one) this long rivalry slowly began to fade away. The dying down of the arcade scene and the lack of a new Street Fighter title in recent years has almost killed this fascinating rivalry. That was until now.

Recent Developments

Back in December I posted about the first Street Fighter 4 screenshot. One which finally revealed the real direction that the series was indeed taking. Abandoning Street Fighter’s faithful 2D sprite heritage Capcom decided to make Street Fighter 4 a three dimensional fighter.

I’d like to say something like “this divided long time series fans” but to be fair I don’t really follow the fighting community so I’m not really sure if it did. But I think that it would be safe enough to assume that a few people were upset. As much as some may deny it the 3D character models do totally change the gameplay completely. Thats not to say that Street Fighter 4 won’t feel like the previous games of the series (judging by impressions of the game so far it does actually feel like a tribute to SF2).

I’m getting of track here. With the prior announcement of a high definition remake of the original Street Fighter 2 the gaming community were expecting Street Fighter 4 to go down the same route. But it didn’t and for a lot of people this would have hurt pretty badly (I know it did for me). It would have been incredible to see how Capcom’s sprite work would have translated into gorgeous, detailed, smooth scrolling and animating HD sprites. True high definition sprite work for many traditional/old school/purist gamers is something of a dream, a dream which we may have considered never coming true.

I say may because this is where SNK and their King of Fighters come in. Just recently at the AOU convention in Japan, off screen media was leaked of gameplay video of the new game (KOF XII) for Taito’s Type X2 arcade platform. You can watch the video below or read a fantastic breakdown from Arcade Renaissance here.

Although this is off screen video it already paints a picture of exactly what to expect. That is the dream has come true; high definition, ultra smooth 2D sprites. I must say it simply looks fantastic, doesn’t it? I mean imagine what it would look like on screen.

I’m excited and so I should be. SNK have made a very bold move here and have thrown down the gauntlet. They have done something usually reserved for long time rivals; Capcom. The pure quality of sprite work and animation seen in the video are simply firsts in it’s field. Look at the crowd scene in the fight between Kyo and Ash. The subtle effects look fantastic too.

In reality SNK aren’t really taking much of a risk as they are just upgrading the same fighting game that they have been upgrading for the last 14 years. What they are doing though is saying: “Hey all of you Street Fighter fans whom wanted a HD 2D Street Fighter 4. Why don’t you come here and take a look?”. SNK are doing a Capcom and it is putting themselves in an advantageous situation.

The Real Significance of The Rivalry

I hope that you have caught my drift here. Street Fighter 4 and King of Fighter XII represent much more than just two old foes, going at it once again. What it represents is 2D sprites Vs 3D models and how 2D sprites, much like the arcades that birthed them are dying a slow death. There are two examples which best highlight this point:

The Lack of Higher Definition Sprite Games Last Generation

Last generation there is only one game series which I can distinctively remember which fully utilized 480 resolution sprites and that is the Guilty Gear series. I really can’t think of anything else and if there is anything that I have missed then leave me a comment because I would like to know.

There were definitely sprite games like Ys, Street Fighter Anniversary and King of Fighters XI. But these games either weren’t 480 resolution, only occasionally used sprites or were upscaled and smoothed sprites.

The Complete Lack of Interest in HD Sprites by Game Developers

I’m surprised that it has taken this long for high definition 2D sprites to actually get this sort of attention. You’d think that with Xbox Live Arcade and the Playstation Store that developers would be keen to fix up and perfect their previous games. Obviously not. I guess that the previous point explains why this is the case.

The Real Significance of The Rivalry (Continued)

Capcom’s decision to abandon sprites with Street Fighter IV symbolizes this changing trend and SNK are literally fighting to keep 2D sprite work alive. The ‘traditionalists’ if you will. Capcom haven’t abandoned sprites altogether though, there is of course Street Fighter 2 HD Remix and Sengoku Basara X. But it definitely looks as though they are following the downward decline of sprite games.

Conclusion

The respective 3D and 2D graphical decisions from Capcom and SNK for their major fighting franchises ramps this rivalry up to a whole new level. Not only is it a resurrection of two fighting greats returning to form but it is also a battle between modern and traditionalist views. One of which I believe will significantly shake up the fighting genre for a long time. The release of these two games will be an iconic, landmark event for the industry. One which SNK have the strong possibility gaining of larger market share of the fighting scene. But to do that they are going to need to out smart one of the industry’s sharpest sons. Best of luck to them. It should be an interesting how this plays out.

With the cost of one play now being $AUD2.00 rather than the previous 20c spending a few hours at the arcade is simply not value for money. So I decided to throw together a few very simple, cost effective ideas on how to recreate the arcade experience at home on your Wii.

Rail Shooters

One of my favourite arcade experiences would have to be the House of the Dead series (right alongside Daytona). As I mentioned in the Best Upcoming Fan-Service games of 2008 article I love playing the original House of the Dead and its sequel at the arcades and on the consoles. Actually just last month a few friends and I snuffed out a small arcade near one of my University campuses with a House of the Dead machine.

Basically these are all the tools you need to recreate a solid rail shooter experience at home:

• 1x Wii
• 2x Wii-motes
• 2x Nyko Perfect Shots/Wii Zapper
• 2x Wii nun chucks (game dependent)
• 1x Game

Sure its not an arcade machine but you don’t really need a cabinet unless you want to go the whole way. In which I’d suggest this article isn’t for you then.

The Nyko Perfect Shot is an arcade style gun mold for the Wii mote. Unlike the Wii Zapper which is much more akin to say a tommy gun, the Perfect Shot’s design is based around a hand gun much like many arcade rail shooters. The Wii nun chuck can be attached as well but not all games require the use of the nunchuck.

If I were choosing a gun mold for the Wii I would buy the Perfect Shot as there are more arcade shooters that use this style of gun. Currently I think that only Link’s Crossbow Training and Medal of Honour Heros would work better with the zapper. It all depends on the types of light gun games you want to play.

The great thing about rail shooters on the Wii is that there already is a strong software line supporting this genre.

• Link’s Crossbow Training
• Medal of Honour Heros 2 ( has an arcade mode)
• Resident Evil Umbrella Chronicles
• Ghost Squad
• Wii Play (Shooting Range)

All of the games on that list excluding one were all discounted on release. Then there is also House of the Dead on the way and if Sega listens to the cries of fans we may see additional Virtua Cop compilations.

Arcade Stick Games

At the current time there is only one Wii arcade stick on the market which is a Hori Fighting Stick. Just recently though Arcade Renaissance broke news that NeoGeo will be releasing the NEO GEO Stick 2 for the Wii as well.

Both sticks are compatible with all games that allow use of the Wii Classic controller. As for arcade games on offer there is only a few currently on the market such as Metal Slug Anthology and Guilty Gear but later this year more are on the way. SNK Arcade Classics Volume 1 and King of Fighters Orochi Saga spring to mind.

Otherwise you can check out whats on the Wii’s Virtual Console for the time being. NeoGeo are slowing porting some of their NeoGeo fighters across. Theres already an excellent range of great shmps and a few good 2D fighters as well. It all comes down to choosing something that interests you.

Conclusion

If you are serious about arcade fighters then pick up a PS2 as almost every great fighter in existance is on the system in one form or another. As for rail shooters though the Wii is already building up a strong library of titles and its cheap to buy the accessories required to give it theat authentic arcade feel. If the Wii is all you have then know that its still the best current generation console for arcade games and a lot of be fun can be had from it.

If you own a farily new video game console and love retro gaming then chances are you’ve indulged in at least one of the many old school gaming compilations that have hit the consoles in recent years. There really has been an impressive slew of titles. Some of the best include:

• MegaMan Anniversary Collection
• Metal Slug Anthology
• Sega MegaDrive Collection
• Sonic Mega Collection Plus
• Street Fighter Anniversary Collection
• Street Fighter Alpha Anthology

As well as a never ending slew of arcade compilations by Midway, Capcom, Namco and other developers from the 80s. The compilations just never seem to stop.

Why Retro Compilations?

Retro game compilations took off a few years back and became hugely popular in a short matter of time. Its no surprise really as they:

• are easier, cheaper and quicker to develop than a full production game
• are also easy to market
• are tempting to players who have never experienced the franchise as they can buy one game and be up to date(italics)
• generally speaking the price of the compilation is cheaper than the sum of the individual games
• bonus content

What Could Stop the Greatness Retro Compilations?

There is only one thing getting in the way of retro compilations becoming even more popular, that is digital distribution games. Every next generation current generation home console has a service where individual retro games can be downloaded from an online store. Because gamers buy each game individually game publishers can ramp up the price and get away with it. So far developers seem to support both options which is the best outcome for the consumers as it gives us more choice.

DP’s Retro Compilation Wishlist

There is no denying that there are plenty of great Retro Compilation games that I could (and after this) will dream up. But more importantly, I want to see some already existing compilations be released in PAL regions. Now I know that this isn’t going to happen as many of these games came out years ago. But thats why its a wishlist right?

PAL Wishlist

• Street Fighter Anniversary Collection
• MegaMan Anniversary Collection
• Megaman X Collection
• Vampire: Darkstalkers Collection
• Ninja Gaiden Trilogy

Its absolutely ridiculous that Capcom won’t bring these games out into PAL territories. We ‘ve got Street Fighter Alpha Anthology so it makes no sense for them not to release Street Fighter Anniversary Collection . What this means is that the only legal means that anyone can play a PAL version of Street Fighter III in PAL territories (the UK, Australia and New Zealand) is to either play it on a Dreamcast or in the Arcades. So lets see, the Dreamcast is extinct and the price of playing in the arcades is 10x the price that it was fifteen years ago (and then you need to find the actual machine). This is just ridiculous.

As for DarkStalkers and Megaman well they also should make the jump, its just common sense.

I’d also like to know what happened to Ninja Gaiden Trilogy. I’m not sure if this had a PAL release or not but I can’t find a PAL version of the game so I assume that it didn’t.

General Wishlist

Sega Saturn/Dreamcast Collection

Sega Megadrive Collection was an absolutely awesome compilation of Sega’s brightest titles for the Megadrive. With 27 top titles and only a few duds, this was essential gaming. So, if Sega can make a compilation for the Megadrive then why not the Saturn and Dreamcast as well? Sega have already proven to us that they like to re-release their old games. For example the re-release of Nights for the PS2 in Japan, Crazy Taxi 1 + 2 on the PSP, Sonic Adventure 1 + 2 on the Gamecube and now House of the Dead for the Wii. So you get my drift. With the massive size of a Blu-ray disc and Sega’s obsession of re-releasing old content it all makes sense.

Any Sort of Nintendo Compilation

Something which doesn’t make any sense is Nintendo making any sort of game compilation. The last decent compilation that they made was Super Mario All Stars on the SNES (Game and Watch Galleries don’t count). Remember how awesome this game was? Such value for money. Its a pity that the Virtual Console and the stacks of dough they can make from the GBA/DS re-releases practically ensure that we will never see a Nintendo game compilation ever again.

Just for the sake of it a Mario/Metroid/Zelda compilation would obviously be fantastic. But what I think would even better is a compilation of all of the Japanese Nintendo Wars and Fire Emblem games that never saw a release out side of Japan. This would be an absolute dream for the fans of both game series.

TMNT Collection

TMNT are awesome and furthermore their video games were some of the best licensed games ever made. Some sort of compilation of all the great TMNT games like Turtles in Time, The Arcade and Tournament Fighters would be absolutely sweet. Most of these games go for ridiculous prices on eBay or are just too hard to find.

Theres only one problem with this dream. It would take multiple game publishers to team up in order to get this compilation out on the shelves. There are far too many implications for this to be worth the effort for publishers.

Others

Theres a few more ideas that I have for the wishlist but I can’t write much about them so heres a list:

• A SNK Arcade Essentials Compilation
• A SNK Fighting Essentials Compilation
• Essential Shmps Compilation
• Resident Evil Missing Titles (RE 1.5, RE GBC and RE2 GBA tech demos, alt RE4 versions)
• Capcom CPS-2 Best of

Conclusion

So after reading this you probably have a few ideas of your own compilations that you’d like to see be released (well, you must because I could go on for days ^_^). So go ahead and let me know by posting in the comment box.