Ninja Spirit, Blazing Lazers confirmed for Wii VC

With another month nearly in the books, Hudson has once again updated its list of TurboGrafx-16 games headed for the Wii's Virtual Console. In May, the publisher expects to see another quartet of offerings from the 16-bit-era console appear on Nintendo's downloadable game service. The slate of titles for the month consists of a pair of shoot-'em-ups in Blazing Lazers and Ordyne, as well as the action game Ninja Spirit and the Olympic-style World Sports Competition.

Originally released in 1989, Hudson's Blazing Lazers is a vertically scrolling shooter in the mold of previous Wii Virtual Console releases Super Star Soldier and Soldier Blade. Players pilot a lone ship against an alien armada, choosing from four different weapons that can be powered up multiple times.

With cartoonlike visual sensibilities and horizontally scrolling action, Namco Bandai's Ordyne offers a distinctly different take on the shoot-'em-up genre. Also released in 1989, Ordyne belongs firmly in the "cute-'em-up" subgenre of shooters.

Irem's arcade action game Ninja Spirit arrived on the TurboGrafx-16 in 1990 and featured a high-jumping protagonist mowing down waves of kite ninjas, staff-wielding monks, and boss demons with the help of a sword, various projectiles, and a handful of doppelgangers.

Released in 1992, Hudson's World Sports Competition offered TurboGrafx-16 players the chance to engage in some Summer Olympics-style fun. The game featured more than a dozen events, including shooting, rowing, swimming, archery, and track and field.

All games are currently listed with a May release window and a price of 600 Wii Points ($6). TurboGrafx-16 fans looking for something to tide them over until the next month's releases may be pleased to find that Hudson has also given the previously announced action game Shockman a Wii Virtual Console release date of April 30.