Virtual Console Gets Sinful

As Nintendo brings its Hanabi Festival – which brings previously unreleased-in-Europe titles to Virtual Console – to a close, European Wii owners are getting treated to Sin And Punishment and Gradius III.

Sin And Punishment first saw release in 2000 on the N64. It's third-person shootery goodness brought to us by the lovely developers at Treasure. Basically, you're a young resistance fighter facing off against a horde of bio-genetic nasties called Ruffians. Granted, Treasure could have come up with a scarier name that doesn't sound like the upper class word for people who enjoy football, but then the Japanese named a console 'Wii'. To save the planet you'll need to take to land, sea and sky collecting energy, time and points as you go. This cult Japanese classic has had a dash of English text thrown in for your reading pleasure. It's yours for 1,200 Wii Points.

Next up is Konami's Gradius III, originally getting U.S. release on the SNES back in 1990. Players take on the role of the excellently-named Vic Viper Starfighter as he does away with the Bacterion Empire in a side-scrolling frenzy. You can join the fight for 900 Wii Points.

This week's non-Hanabi offering comes from the TurboGrafx and is Legend of Hero Tonma, first released in 1991. According to Nintendo, “players assume the role of Tonma, a trainee magician who must rescue a princess from prison, using magic spells to battle giant bosses and work their way through seven stages riddled with treasure chests and unusual power-ups!” You can get it for 600 Wii Points.

For those who are keeping count, there are now 144 titles available on Virtual Console.