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Mario Kart 64, Contra III arrive for Wii VC

Nintendo 64 racer and Super Nintendo shooter joined by Genesis games Comix Zone and Bonanza Bros. on new system's online store.

149 Comments

Last week, Nintendo announced that its Nintendo 64 racer Mario Kart 64 would be powersliding onto the Wii's Virtual Console downloadable game service. The Toadstool Turismo would not arrive unaccompanied, as Nintendo also introduced the Super Nintendo shooter Contra III: The Alien Wars and two Genesis action games--Bonanza Bros. and Comix Zone--to its list of online offerings.

Mario Kart 64 is only the second Nintendo 64 game released on the Virtual Console, and much like the first (Super Mario 64), it stars Nintendo's iconic Italian plumber. The game brought the Super Nintendo original Super Mario Kart into 3D with four-player action that included a race mode to see who could finish first and a direct battle mode for when racers had suffered one too many turtle shells up the tailpipe. Like Super Mario 64, Mario Kart 64 commands a price tag of 1,000 Wii points ($10).

Originally released in 1992, Konami's Contra III: The Alien Wars threw players into the year 2636; armed them with assault rifles, flamethrowers, and spread-shot guns; and asked them to exterminate an extraterrestrial menace. Sporting six stages and two-player cooperative action, Contra III is available for 800 Wii points ($8).

As for the Genesis games, Comix Zone puts a twist on the action genre by structuring its levels as living comic book pages that the player must fight through, while Bonanza Bros. is an early stealth action game that lets two players work together to rob buildings packed with security guards. Both games are 800 Wii points ($8).

According to Sega's Web site, the Genesis shooter Gain Ground should also be released today, but it was not included in this morning's update to the Virtual Console offerings.

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pdo4545

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this game looks coolio

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katamari

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I remember Contra III. What a sweet game!! But why are we not seeing the 1st games in these series. Castlevania IV? Come on. Where are the originals? And please give us Kid Icarus!! And Super Mario World and DKC!!

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jimbo46

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This is bittersweet. While I'm glad they did release a very good VC game (MK64), I already have the original, so there really is no point in buying it again without online. Plus they didn't release Donkey Kong Country, the game I am definitely waiting for. But I still haven't finished LOZ:LttP so I'm not complaining right now!

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Avatar image for deactivated-57fce817a4cf5
deactivated-57fce817a4cf5

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I have Super Mario Bros., The Legend of Zelda, Donkey Kong Country, Super Castlevania 4, F-Zero, Super Probotector and Mario Kart 64. I am extremely happy with the Virtual Console so far and can't wait to see what is coming out next!

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edhc44

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Is only 512Mb enough?

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waffle79

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XD d/loaded mario kart 64 the other day, dont get me wrong the port is great but there is something wrong with the sound on the UK version, the selesction menu noises and voices sound like they are playing at a really low bit rate :S has anyone else experienced this problem, every other virtual console works fine.

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trdrstv

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@ KingLink2 "Compare it to the Wii VC.. a system that has released 1 full title a week minimum and has almost as many games as the XBLA has in one tenth the time?" ??? I have a Wii60, and as of now there are simply more games on the VC (for America) then XBLA. The damn VC is pushing 50 titles now (46 at last count) and I have 11. I'm actually hoping that some of the upcomeing titles don't appeal to me as this is getting hella expensive.

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Get_Shorty

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Can you say "Online Play for Mario Kart 64"?

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meimnobody

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Downloads through the wifi take a minute. It can resume the download if there is a connection hangup. If you don't have the space to download it tells you don't have the space.

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meimnobody

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Extra_Life Kipue - When you download VC games the console shows an estimate of the space the game will take up, and the space remaining on your Wii's memory. You can also redownload the games. When you buy them you buy the usage rights for that wii. So if you need more space just delete some old vc games or move sold wii saves onto a SD card to free up room. Also you can move the vc game channels and save game data to a SD card as well. Read the fracking wii manual people. It explains what SD formats work and what size.

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meimnobody

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Not everyone wants a collection on the PS2. Nor do they want all the games. Also certain people want perfect emulations which is what the vc offers. So the game prices are perfect for them.

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kronfeld

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Comix Zone, Bonanza Bros, and Gain Ground are all on the Sega Collection for PS2. Anyone want to hazard a guess as to which will be the next game off that collection to be released on the VC? Another observation: $24 for all 3 on VC or (I think) $20 for the Sega Collection.

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chrisdojo

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COMIX ZONE.... i always wanted to play that but didn't have (or want) a genesis when i was younger... might have to give it a try!

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kenesu96

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a good batch of game. of course Kart 64 having the most replay value. but if i hear anymore complaints/requests about earthbound or chrono trigger etc on VC i think ill scream! good games, yes but those fans are too obsessive! and they only seem to like 6 games in all the world...

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Dolacide

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Great week to own a Wii.

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pearlpunx85

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finally comix zone!

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ebonyflame

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Damn, if only I could get my hands on a Wii!! I am a little worried though that there are no actual Wii games in the pipeline for quite some time though.

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Extra_Life

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Kipue - When you download VC games the console shows an estimate of the space the game will take up, and the space remaining on your Wii's memory.

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deactivated-57fce817a4cf5

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I'll be buying both this week.

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Max_Hydrogen

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Contra III, wicked!

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Circuts

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ZOMG!! CONTRA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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bminns

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gimme pilotwings for snes and dodgeball for nes please!

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SEr_803

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watch like when nintendo needs money or more support they will release all the games we have been beggin for

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gilbrod

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how many blocks would MK64 take up?

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cobrax80

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awesome!

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DS_fan_atic

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finally another N64 game!

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kipue

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hey there, just a quick question.... do they show the size of games you download, in Mb, I mean? if yes, how much? just curious. Also, how long does it take to dl that, as an average, I know it will depend on the connection. And finally, is the downloader smart? in the way it will resume downloads? thx for your answers! I do not have a Wii yet, but just wanna know that ;)

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StarFoxCOM

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I still laegh when i see MK 64's reivew i mean 6.4 LOL

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someguy503

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Comix Zone FTW :p i like it alot short game though

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HappyInvader101

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I have Mario Kart on the N64, but for party purposes, im buying it on the wii. Amazing games this week, lets keep it up Nintendo

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crashblast23

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YES! Another 64 game!

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rarson

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Wow, some great games released on VC this week! I have to say, Wii owners have a LOT to look forward to. By the way, I've read quite a few articles about great GC games to pick up for those people like me who gave up on Nintendo the last generation around. Yesterday I went to Gamestop and bought 3 GC games for 15 bucks! It's so awesome, it's like an entire library of games for me to choose from that are almost all incredibly cheap. The best part is, a lot of those games really are top notch. There are just so many avenues out there for Wii owners to play some excellent games.

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Chief_Kuuni

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must have's wish I had a wii

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Jebril

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Gimmie online, gimmie extra charachter gimmie better graphics, just gimmie a reason to buy this game again. I already have it for N64 why would I buy it again?

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XenonHID_VQ

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Toad: YAHOO!!!

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sacatash

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Nice! Contra 3: the alien wars is available. One of the first SNES games I purchased because it is one of the first games to implement MODE 7: scaling and rotation, with HUGE bosses that fills up the entire screen on the SNES. This is also one of the most hardest games to get the BEST ending in the SNES library(together with Super Ghouls and Ghost). You need to beat it on hard and the FInal Boss is so tough BUT very enjoyable to go back again and again to try to beat it. Only a few players I know have ever defeated it without any inputting any cheat codes or using an Action Replay peripheral.

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heyhamburgerpim

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Kid Icarus...???

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disfalling

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mario kart 64 for the n64 is the same thing. i only bought it because i sold mine a long time ago. and i missed the damn thing.

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elektrixxx

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Awesome. I'm so gettin' this.

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Generic_Dude

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In other news, no Donkey Kong Country for the United States.

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chaos_dragon06

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if you guys had the original mariokart 64 and a working N64, would you download this for the wii?

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marioman50

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I'm glad nobody is saying anything bad about nintendo, I'm proud of you my fellow commenters

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AnnoyingKid

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Yes! Just got MK64! Now I just need some more points for contra 3

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juanfraino

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Downloaded: Mario Kart 64, Contra III: The Alien Wars and Comix Zone. :)

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Cubb7

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I got Mario 64 already. :D

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*Lightchaos-206931739271909150

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I got Mario Kart 64 and it's awesome!

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Kempatsu_basic

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dude - i have a HDTV with Wii component cables and MK64 looks retardedly awesome.

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HyperMetaDragon

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Mario Kart 64 FTW!

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dadistiller

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contra 3 FTW

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TintedChimes

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when is nintendo going to support on-line play?

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