A New Bomberman for Switch and two VC classics on Wii U, all in the same week? Be still my heart, Konami! While I wish they were being released on the Switch VC instead, NES classics Neutopia and Dungeon Explorer are hitting up Wii U Virtual consoles tomorrow!
Originally released by Hudson for the PC Engine back in 1989, Neutopia is widely considered a carbon copy clone of The Legend of Zelda in nearly every way possible. There’s the top-down perspective overworld filled with bombable walls, burnable bushes, pushable blocks and medallion laden dungeons; a boy seeking both adventure and eight power imbued artifacts containing the ability to seal away an ancient evil; and a slew of puzzle solving items to beef up your typical sword and shield wielding combo. Poor collision detection and several head-scratching references to Judaism, Islam and Star Wars aside, the game often gets credit for its clean, crisp graphics and decent quality soundtrack, as well as its introduction of the fire rod eventually adopted in Link’s future arsenal. It may not be the most original game out there, but surely more than worth the few bucks for those who can’t wait another few days for Breath of the Wild.
Dungeon Explorer, on the other hand, is a multiplayer action RPG allowing up to five players to cooperatively save the world from an evil race of invading aliens. The game draws a great deal of inspiration from Gauntlet, featuring a robust class system of eight different character types to choose from. As you’d expect, each one comes with its own strengths and weaknesses, and striking a good balance between characters is key to forming viable strategies and mastering enemies’ elemental weaknesses. As you could probably guess, the game was way ahead of its time back in 1989 on the PC Engine in large part due to its inclusion of five person, simultaneous cooperative play. With teamwork being a key component to victory, those rich with friends in close proximity looking for a blast from the past are sure to find plenty to love here.
Both Neutopia and Dungeon Explorer will be available tomorrow, March 2nd, for $5.99 each.
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Written by Matthew Weidner
When it comes to playing and writing about video games, Matthew aspires to be the very best, like no one ever was. Writing for Nintendo Wire and the thought of one day finally achieving a perfect, no death Super Meat Boy run fills him with determination.
