We're counting down to the Wii's launch with a daily look at what retro games we'd like to see on the Virtual Console. Each also features a Virtual Console Likelihood rating. A rating of 5 means the game has officially been announced for the service. Click here for an archive of previous days, or keep on reading below!
Released: 1990
Developer: Zippo Games/Rare
Console: NES
Players: 1
Save: password
Virtual Console Likelihood: 1 / 5
Solar Jetman: Hunt for the Golden Warpship is the third game in the Jetman series, which started with Rare's Jetpac. The first time I played Jetpac was when I unlocked it in Donkey Kong 64, and since then I've been able to track down and play the others. Solar Jetman is the best of these by far, although many people find it too difficult, like many top-down shooters.
The object of the game is to find and assemble the many pieces of the Golden Warpship, which have been scattered to various planets in the galaxy. With this ship, Solar Jetman and his fleet can stop the evil aliens and bring peace to everyone. A noble cause indeed. By shooting aliens and obstacles, Solar Jetman can navigate through twelve planets (and one secret planet) in search of the parts. Solar etman's Jetpod has a limited fuel supply, however. If the fuel runs out you will likely crash land, after which you must proceed on foot or return to your mothership for a new Jetpod. By collecting fuel tanks on the level or refueling at the mothership periodically, Jetman can last a very long time flying in his Jetpod.
Once I got my grubby hands on this game, I was hooked until the very end. There's no real story to speak of, and the controls can be frustrating at times, but I ended up being very good at the game. If you like a challenge I definitely recommend it. While it's unlikely that Microsoft would let Rare release the game on Nintendo's Virtual Console, hopefully a version could be re-released eventually somehow, somewhere.
Released: 1985
Developer: Nintendo
Console: NES
Players: 1
Save: With the Famicom Data Recorder, only released in Japan
VCL: 5 / 5
Excitebike was a launch title for the NES, unique for its create-a-track mode and huge jumps. Players can compete for a best time in one of five tracks, or face the CPU racers in championship mode. To place high enough in championship mode to move on to the Excitebike race on that track, you must place 3rd or better in the preliminary race. CPU racers are only really there as obstacles, as it is your final time that determines how well you place.
You control your position on the track by pushing up or down, and when you hit a jump, your goal is to angle your bike so that it makes a clean landing without losing speed. The angle changes with the left and right directional pad buttons. You get two accelerator buttons - one for normal acceleration and one for turbo. Keeping an eye on your TEMP meter allows you to turbo most of the race, as long as you don't overheat. If you hit a chevron (normally used in modern racing games like F-Zero as speed booster arrows), your TEMP reduces to empty, allowing you to boost longer before overheating.
The game has been re-released several times over the years. It was available in Animal Crossing, playable on the E-Reader, unlockable in Excitebike 64, and even a Famicom Disk System which included a two player mode and allows you to save created tracks without a Data Recorder (a little known add-on for the Famicom that allowed you to save data on cassettes). Perhaps this enhanced version could be released again? It sure beats the original, and it wouldn't take much to just put both up on Virtual Console.
#28 (Third Party) - Solar Jetman
Released: 1990
Developer: Zippo Games/Rare
Console: NES
Players: 1
Save: password
Virtual Console Likelihood: 1 / 5
Solar Jetman: Hunt for the Golden Warpship is the third game in the Jetman series, which started with Rare's Jetpac. The first time I played Jetpac was when I unlocked it in Donkey Kong 64, and since then I've been able to track down and play the others. Solar Jetman is the best of these by far, although many people find it too difficult, like many top-down shooters.
The object of the game is to find and assemble the many pieces of the Golden Warpship, which have been scattered to various planets in the galaxy. With this ship, Solar Jetman and his fleet can stop the evil aliens and bring peace to everyone. A noble cause indeed. By shooting aliens and obstacles, Solar Jetman can navigate through twelve planets (and one secret planet) in search of the parts. Solar etman's Jetpod has a limited fuel supply, however. If the fuel runs out you will likely crash land, after which you must proceed on foot or return to your mothership for a new Jetpod. By collecting fuel tanks on the level or refueling at the mothership periodically, Jetman can last a very long time flying in his Jetpod.
Once I got my grubby hands on this game, I was hooked until the very end. There's no real story to speak of, and the controls can be frustrating at times, but I ended up being very good at the game. If you like a challenge I definitely recommend it. While it's unlikely that Microsoft would let Rare release the game on Nintendo's Virtual Console, hopefully a version could be re-released eventually somehow, somewhere.
#28 (Nintendo) - Excitebike
Released: 1985
Developer: Nintendo
Console: NES
Players: 1
Save: With the Famicom Data Recorder, only released in Japan
VCL: 5 / 5
Excitebike was a launch title for the NES, unique for its create-a-track mode and huge jumps. Players can compete for a best time in one of five tracks, or face the CPU racers in championship mode. To place high enough in championship mode to move on to the Excitebike race on that track, you must place 3rd or better in the preliminary race. CPU racers are only really there as obstacles, as it is your final time that determines how well you place.
You control your position on the track by pushing up or down, and when you hit a jump, your goal is to angle your bike so that it makes a clean landing without losing speed. The angle changes with the left and right directional pad buttons. You get two accelerator buttons - one for normal acceleration and one for turbo. Keeping an eye on your TEMP meter allows you to turbo most of the race, as long as you don't overheat. If you hit a chevron (normally used in modern racing games like F-Zero as speed booster arrows), your TEMP reduces to empty, allowing you to boost longer before overheating.
The game has been re-released several times over the years. It was available in Animal Crossing, playable on the E-Reader, unlockable in Excitebike 64, and even a Famicom Disk System which included a two player mode and allows you to save created tracks without a Data Recorder (a little known add-on for the Famicom that allowed you to save data on cassettes). Perhaps this enhanced version could be released again? It sure beats the original, and it wouldn't take much to just put both up on Virtual Console.