Re-Releases You Should Play Part 2

Hello and welcome to the sister series of Much Needed Re-Releases. This series features games that have been fortunate enough to receive a re-release that you should check out. 

Wild Guns (SNES)

Cowboys vs. robots? Yeah, it may seem out of place, but Wild Guns makes it work extremely well. There's more than the occasional cowboy to gun down but the giant robot bosses will give you the most trouble. Wild Guns is heavily based off arcade shooters and it brings with it that classic arcade difficulty. There are only five stages (you get to select the remaining four in any order you like), lives are few and punishment will come swiftly for anyone that shows the slightest bit of hesitation. Fortunately, you always know where enemy fire is coming from and if you still haven't caught on to the fact that danger is imminent, Clint and and Annie will be so kind as to say "Look Out!" prompting you to move or doll out of harm's way. This was one of those later SNES titles so as you may have guessed, it runs for a pretty penny on the used market. Thankfully, Wild Guns was re-released not just on the Wii's Virtual Console service, but the Wii U's as well. $7.99 sure beats those $100 and up price tags you'll see for a physical cart.

Available on: Wii, Wii U

Blast Corps (N64)

Microsoft recently released Rare Replay, a killer compilation of some of Rare's best titles, including Blast Corps. Whether you're transforming into a wrecking ball, or taking flight inside a giant mecha, wrecking things has never been so much fun. This is the kinda game that makes demolition work seem like a dream job. Rare Replay marks the first time Blast Corps and many other games in the collection have been released so while $30 may seem like a lot of money to experience one of the N64's most inventive titles, you have to look at it this way: for that price, you not only get Blast Corps, you get a ton of other Rare classics. That makes it easily worth the price of admission.

Available on: Xbox One

Castlevania: Rondo of Blood (PCE)

For over 10 year's, what has often been considered the pinnacle of traditional Castlevania titles remained a Japanese elusive to PC Engine owners. This was remedied in the 2007 PSP release Castlevania: The Dracula X Chronicles, which featured a remake of the classic as well as said original classic game as an unlockable along with Castlevania Symphony of the Night. But since the PSP got wrecked by the DS, many gamers may have missed out on it. In 2010, the PCE original was brought to the Wii U's Virtual Console. Rondo of Blood features many branching paths, and in some casses this leads to brand new stages. Richter plays like a Belmont in all his stiff movement glory while Maria grants players much more freedom being able to double jump, slide and being able to attack and move at the same time. Despite the difficulty that comes with playing as Richter and what later stages bring about, Rondo of Blood doesn't feel cheap like a lot of earlier Castlevania installments. 

Available on: PSP, Wii

Mega Man V (GB)

Known as Rockman World 5 in Japan, this was the final Mega Man  game to be released on the Game Boy. The first four Mega Man titles on Nintendo's handheld featured Robot Masters from the first five Mega Man games on the NES, remixed stages of sorts and some new levels here and there. In spite of this, they were still good games (except Mega Man II) but Mega Man V was a whole new ball game. The Startroids ditch the "Man" names in favor of planets, the stages are 100% original and the final boss is not Dr. Wily. None of the original GB Mega Man carts are easy to come by so $3.99 for a digital version is a blessing. Mega Man V is often hailed as the best of the GB Mega Man games. 

Available on: 3DS