The only times I have ever played Virtual Console was on the Wii over a two year period from 2010 through 2012. It was mostly Mario Kart 64 and Mario 64. Not to mention I saw others playing Rondo of Blood and a few other titles from other systems. From the get go, Nintendo had the service at launch with five systems. Three of theirs and two competitors. As time went on, they expanded to a few other systems. Some survived, while others were discontinued very quickly. Before it shuts down the ability to use Wii Points, let's go through the systems and games it had through the North American market.
Let's begin with the Nintendo Entertainment System. It had a steady flow of games from launch up until 2012. This one had quite a bit of support from different companies. Obviously, Nintendo with their vast array of titles. Tecmo put a lot of their releases on Virtual Console like Mighty Bomb Jack. Konami had their heavy hitters in as well as Taito and Jaleco. Capcom surprisingly didn't have many. It was mainly Mega Man. There's a few others like Namco, but overall, it is your last chance to get titles that are cheap to download. You got just over 90 games to choose from.
Super Nintendo Entertainment System had the most varied of the Nintendo systems. Most of the same companies put their heavy hitters on Virtual Console. Capcom really gave it their effort to put Street Fighter, Final Fight, and a few others on. Unfortunately, most of their games were delisted a few years ago, so no chance of getting them cheap. Out of all the systems on the service, it lost quite a bit of games, leaving you with just over 60. Nintendo still put up the effort, though there are some notable omissions. Konami and Tecmo went all out. LucasArts were in with their titles, including the Star Wars games. Overall, there is variety, and you might want to buy the few essentials since some of the cart versions go for an arm and a leg.
Last of the Nintendo systems is the 64. It's disappointing that it only got 21 titles. Nearly all of it is Nintendo games. Still, there's most of the Mario stuff, Zelda, Smash Bros., Pokemon. There's also Bomberman, Ogre Battle, and Sin and Punishment, a Japan only release back then that made it to Virtual Console. The system is a victim of companies going bankrupt which includes quite a bit of games from Acclaim and Midway. I know Konami and Capcom didn't release much for it back in the 90s, but they could have at least tried to put something on the service. Obviously, Rare games can't be put on board since Microsoft owns them. Like the SNES, try to get the few essentials because of high prices for some of the carts.
Sega got into the mix from the start of the system's launch with the Genesis. It's got the second most titles with just over 70. A number of titles are ones you see in compilations. Sonic the Hedgehog, Streets of Rage, Columns. The list goes on. It's mostly a Sega library list, but there are some ones that made it to Virtual Console. Capcom had a few like Street Fighter and Ghouls n Ghosts. Namco put out a couple games. Interesting titles include some Interplay games like Boogerman and Earthworm Jim. A few exclusives outside the US are the Game Freak developed Pulseman and Sega's Monster World IV. What you do with this system for Virtual Console, I don't care. Personally, I would try to go after the ones you don't typically see in compilations. A prime example is M.U.S.H.A. A copy goes for literally hundreds of dollars, so try to get ones that you know will disappear for good.
Last of the launch service systems is the Turbografx-16. It's not an easy system to find in terms of hardware and software. Hudson Soft bought into this and brought a good chunk of the library over. The list is just shy of 60 titles. There's shooters like Galaga 90 and system sellers such as Splatterhouse. Other notables include Falcom's Ys, and Konami's Castlevania: Rondo of Blood. This is a system to target since you don't see them out in the wild. Try to get what you think you will like before you can't add more points.
Part 2 includes the additional systems.
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