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Super Mario World takes off on VC

Portly plumber's SNES debut looms large on the Wii Shop Channel; Gain Ground and Vigilante also new to service.

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A new round of games has appeared on the Virtual Console today, headed up by one of GameSpot's Greatest Games of All Time. The downloadable game service is currently playing host to the Super Nintendo launch title Super Mario World, the Sega Genesis edition of Gain Ground, and the TurboGrafx-16 beat-'em-up Vigilante.

While Mario had been "super" since the days of the Nintendo Entertainment System, it wasn't until his SNES debut that he actually donned a cape suiting the moniker. Super Mario World also marked the debut of Yoshi, Mario's loyal dinosaurian steed and a voracious devourer of evil creatures. Super Mario World is available for 800 Wii Points ($8) and is rated E for Everyone.

Originally scheduled for release on the Virtual Console last week, Gain Ground is a port of an arcade top-down shooter. Players take on the role of combatants on a virtual reality sim gone haywire, rescuing other humans and attempting to bring the system down from the inside. Gain Ground is available for 800 Wii points ($8) and is rated E for Everyone.

The final Virtual Console release of the week, Vigilante is a side-scrolling beat-'em-up that puts players in the role of a New Yorker looking to take justice into his own hands after a gang kidnaps his girlfriend, Madonna. The game was originally developed for the arcades by Irem, makers of the previous Virtual Console releases R-Type and R-Type III. Vigilante will cost gamers 600 Wii points ($6) and is rated E10+ for Everyone 10 and Older.

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Avatar image for ll_jun10r_ll
ll_jun10r_ll

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yeah mario, now we just need zelda, metroid, 4 other mario games, a couple other zelda games, a couple other metroid games, the rest of the sonic games, and banjo kazooie 1 and tooie :)

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EverAB

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Sweet, I would complain if VC only released the same mario games over and over, but I know thats not the case, theres more variety to come.

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Agelu

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More Legendary goodness for VC.

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Googeta

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jest

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old_fella

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!!! wow that brings back memories!! SNES was the first nintendo console i got and SMW was the first game i got!!!!!! I've never had anything but a nintendo since then!!!!! I WANT IT!!!!

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pdo4545

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hmmm....

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Gmacrusher

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Well SMW is one of the best mario game that the creator ever made...i like world 3 the most!

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HyperMetaDragon

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Super Mario World is honestly one of the best games created. Of all time.

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f7f130

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SMW is a GREAT GAME!! Hope they release Secret of Mana.

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whitewizardcody

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FINALLY! Wait to go Nintendo!

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Arley569

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Doesn't EA make the James Bond games now??

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Ironman3087

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i never had snes but ive played it at my friends house. definatly dling this

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tk1080

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Diddy Kong will never appear on a Nintendo Console (the original one). Yes, Rare are releasing a version of it on the DS, but its different, it doesnt have any Rare created characters in it which, in theory, are owned by Mircrosoft (Microsoft own Rare-> Rare own characters). God dammit i want Diddy Kong on VC! :( and release more games in the UK Nintendo!

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JLCrogue

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No thanks, I already have it on SNES! :D

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bminns

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super mario world is an awesome game

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her0carn

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if it was licsensed by nintendo previously it is theres to keep and Distribute sorry guys they are aloud and i cannot spell licsence or how ever it is spelt lol.

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tenorio_rotc

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It is more likely that Banjo Kazooie and Goldeneye will be on Xbox Live Arcade since MS does own Rare. Nintendo was just the publisher. THat is why Perfect Dark 0 and the next Banjo will be on the xbox. Developers can switch publishers. THe problem with GoldenEye is that the license to James Bond is held by activision. There hasnt been a good bond game since GoldenEye which makes me think that it will be a while before there is one.

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MarkkelleherUK

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Nintendo trying to be smart and release mario games seperate and then later i reckon they will just release Mario all stars anyway!..........I just wonder if rare which microsoft own will let them have Banjo kazooie and goldneye games on the Virtual Console?? wudnt that be great? Diddy Kong racing needs to be added and F zero on The N64...........WHAT GAMES WOULD PEOPLE LIKE TO SEE ON THR VC?

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CheddarLimbo

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I love Super Mario World and all, but I already own it. Twice. I complain a lot about the VC, but I think maybe I'm just not the target audience for games like this. It'd be nice to show this game to my kids someday, though...

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jacnewforce07

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MARIO WILL NEVER END:)

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Masterx1220

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where's earthbound and oot.... super mario is cool but i played those super games so many times

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tk1080

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i want! pls come 2 the UK this friday :P along with LTTP!

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Maquis_UK

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nice one :-)

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Mr_Saturn26

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sweet

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meesey01

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I'm pretty sure Super Mario World will be one the the best SNES VC releases this year. Am I right, I'm right...

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muppen

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Interesting

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deactivated-57fce817a4cf5

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An awesome game. Many days spent playing this when I was 11.

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anarchicgoth

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Awesome- I should download Super Mario World soon..

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interpolred

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Oh, God! I shall finally play Super Mario World! Yes!!!!

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DrCLos

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As much as I LOVE SMW I think that SMB3 is better. More power ups and more diverse worlds. It was more challenging too. But I'm not complaining about SMW. Imma go buy that now! Aside from the Mario series though, I hope the first Earthworm Jim gets released on the VC too. It's groovy! :P

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bob_newman

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I prefer Mario 64 for the sole reason that you can mess around with all the glitches that the game has to offer. I put so many hours into trying to find glitches and mess-ups...good times...Plus it was 3-D! Back in the day, I never saw anything quite like Mario 64. I've always been playing video games, ever since I was 2 years old, playing on my dad's Atari (which i destroyed...that joystick never saw me coming), moving up to the NES years later playing Mario 1-3 and the Ninja Turtles series (anyone remember when the foot soldiers came out from behind the Pizza Hut signs? They got me every time), having fun playing Super Mario World and Donkey Kong on the old SNES...but I never really got into games as much as I did with Mario 64. To me that game is a true classic.

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Phazevariance

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I have 600 poitns and can't buy 200 more... and I just don't want to add extra money in there that I don't plan on using.

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Chainblast

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The best Mario game and one of the best games ever made...period. This is the single VC release I've been waiting for the most and I'm very happy it was made available today.

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bghattas

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Vigilante was a favorite of mine in the arcade. It's a bit short but for $6 it's worth checking out. Gain Ground is a cult classic. However, everybody probably has Super Mario World 4 in some form. I think I perfected that game 10 times when I had a SNES.

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KoruKinshi

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You can buy Wii points via credit card on the Wii. Also calm down. Nintendo's releasing this stuff bit by bit to keep people hungry. They're not just going to dump everything and let everyone pick and choose, thereby losing business.

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peeweeshift

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SMW is awesome. but i got enough of it on The greater tha original port on gba. I own the original one for snes and the allstar bundle too. i don't it being on vc would be worth my money. but if nothing new comes out for a while i might get it anways

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Gamer46

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"Rayterd: Just out of curiosity, is anyone else having trouble finding Wii point cards?" Yup, can't find them anywhere near where I live. I'm in upstate NY.

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chazzx21

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great thats like... 7 great VC games... only like 500 to go. at this rate wii sports could be the 50th VC release, being released sometime next uhh..decade. Hurry up nintendo emulation is not exacty a new science.

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justiceboy13

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I downloaded SMW, great stuff.

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Berem

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ABOUT FREAKING TIME, MY ALLTIME FAVORITE MARIO GAME IS FINALLY BACK!!!!!!!!!!!

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Rayterd

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Just out of curiosity, is anyone else having trouble finding Wii point cards?

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chibi-acer

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IMO, the greatest Mario game ever.

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GhaleonQ

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For those who forgot, this would be the greatest platformer yet.

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rallykupo

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Crap, I only have 700 wii points left! Can't I just buy 100? T_T

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trick6952

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since i dont have a Wii i'd rather play that on the SNES

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Gamer46

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I have SMW on GBA but I like playing it on a tv better and since I no longer have my SNES this is the next best solution. I highly recommend to anybody who downloads this though to have a classic controller handy. The GC controller sucks with this as it does with most SNES games.

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Jedi_Osborn

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almost time to start thinking about getting a new nintendo

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robbo_the_hood

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If they use the revenue to strive for a free online service as close to Live as possible, then I would gladly contribute the $8.

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nickbakopoulos

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man i used to love Vigilante, but I have it on Master System

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sniper_99

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now this is a good game

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