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Before I post this up, I want to note that I didn't write it... it's actually the work of the new Virtual Console editor, Wanderer. We're still working on getting his author access and such set up, but he decided that wouldn't stop him from writing anyway! This week's VC titles are Space Invaders and Forgotten Worlds, two console ports of arcade classics.

Space Invaders: The Original Game

Taito really, really wants people to know that they're the company that brought you Space Invaders. I had not imagined there could possibly be so many permutations on the central space invading theme, but there are a surprising number of Space Invaders games--Space Invaders II, Super Space Invaders '91, Space Invaders DX, Space Invaders '95, Space Invaders Deluxe, Space Invaders In the Hood, Space Invaders Kick Back, Space Invaders 2: Space Harder--and Taito's rereleased most of them in recent memory as part of various arcade compliations. They really are in danger of belaboring the theme.

Into the bargain, Space Invaders Get Even--a 3D game which flips the technique and lets you play as the invaders--is currently available for download by European Wii owners but has yet to appear in North America. The public apparently needs a Space Invaders refresher course.

All of this makes it completely understandable that Space Invaders: The Original Game (800 Wii Points, Rated E) has been released on the Virtual Console. This is a straight-up emulation of a few different versions of the original arcade game, right down to having to press R to get credits before you can play. You can opt for glorious monochrome or slightly less glamorous color, as well as a few different screen resolutions in case you want to pretend you're playing a cocktail machine.

Whether it's worth spending Wii Points on, though, is going to depend on your approach to the classics. Some people can pick this, or Asteroids, or Pac-Man up and just start playing like it's 1981. Others are looking for a bit more complexity from their games. If you're the former, this will keep you entertained for quite a while.

Of course, if you do buy this, you will only have yourself to blame when Taito unleashes the full power of the franchise on the Wii. Don't come gunning for me in three years when Space Invaders 8: Mission to Moscow comes out.

Forgotten Worlds

This was honestly ahead of its time. As one of two guys, Duke Nukem or Black Duke Nukem, you strap on jetpacks and wield rotating laser orbs against an endless supply of aliens. There's a faint pretense at a story, but about all you can say there is that it's cute that they're trying.

On the face of it, this is yet another 2D Genesis shooter. That first impression is faulty, though, as this is a balls hard 2D Genesis shooter.

You fly around with an orb in front of you, sort of like in R-Type, which can absorb bullets and which fires in any direction you choose. You can spin it around in a full circle by pushing buttons, which adds an extra element of multi-tasking to the action. Not only are enemies swarming you, but since you have a 360-degree field of fire, they can come from just about anywhere. You actually have to watch which way your gun's pointing in order to fight effectively.

On top of that, there aren't any power-ups in the traditional sense. You have a life-bar which is shockingly easy to deplete, and defeated enemies drop zenny. You can spend zenny in the shops that pop up occasionally to refill your life, purchase armor, upgrade your weapons, or get shockingly useless gameplay tips.

Between having to reposition the orb constantly and the high challenge factor, Forgotten Worlds is pretty badass. It's frustrating, but it's a "just one more try" kind of frustrating.

It is pretty ridiculous that this isn't the arcade version, though. A significant portion of the Genesis library consists of actively neutered versions of arcade games, such as this or Altered Beast. Nintendo's insistence that only console games go on the Virtual Console is shutting them off from one hell of a lot of good games--Capcom alone could start printing money by releasing some of their arcade back catalog like Shadows Over Mystara--and in this case, you're getting an inferior version of Forgotten Worlds.

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