Memories #26: Wii Shop Channel

Last week, the Wii Shop Channel, which has been online since 2006, was shut down. With the shop's closure comes the loss of many games. However, I'm not going to discuss that. Game preservation is a topic for another day in fact I've had an editorial circling in my brain about it for months, so you'll be able to check that out when I get around to starting and finishing it. Today, we remember the Wii Shop Channel.

Financially, life was pretty rough for me from 2008 and 2009, so picked up a new game console was off the table. At least until tax season rolled around. Using my tax return cash, I picked up a Wii in early 2010 along with Super Smash Bros. Brawl and a 2000 Wii Points Card. I already knew the games I was going to purchase with those points: Mega Man 9 and Mega Man 10, the two titles that had the honor of being the very first (of many) games I bought from the shop.

Pulseman was one of the most visually impressive
games on the Mega Drive. [Screenshot by Emuparadise]

The first time I hopped onto the Wii Shop, I didn't spend a great deal of time on it. I was in such a rush to get Mega Man 9 and 10 that once I bought them, you could see a smoke trail indicating that I was long gone. This would change as I would go to the Wii Shop more and more. When I moved to Virginia and got a higher paying job, things were going a lot better. I made it a point to pick up at least two Wii Points Cards every time I got paid.

Since I did not get a PS3 until the last day of 2013, the Wii Shop Channel was my first exposure to digital game stores and really helped sell me on digital distribution. Games on the Wii Shop were a great alternative for when I didn't feel like hooking up my NES, SNES or Genesis. True, not every single game on those systems came to the Wii Shop, but there was a lot to choose from. Even some of the cult classic games like Orge Battle: March of the Black Queen and Ogre Battle: Person of Lord Caliber, two titles that now go for insane prices on the second hand market, could be bought for chump change on the Wii Shop and thankfully, I bought both.

Originally released only in Japan, Do-Re-Mi Fantasy
was exposed to wider audience thanks to the
Wii Shop Channel. [Screenshot by Emuparadise]

The Wii Shop Channel didn't just sell NES, SNES and Genesis titles. It was also home to some of the best games on the TurboGrafx-16 or the PC-Engine if you prefer. I had considered picking up a TG-16 but due to the price of that system going up, I opted against it and when I saw TG-16 games on the Wii Shop, I found that I was better off just buying what I could from there. I had heard for years that Alien Crush and Devil's Crush were the best video game versions of pinball and thanks to the Wii Shop, I was finally able to see what the fuss was about and yes, said fuss was right. All the praise for Lords of Thunder and Wings Thunder turned out to be true too, because hot dang, were those some amazing shooters with some banger soundtracks.

Digital distribution on the Wii Shop Channel was not just limited to games that were originally released in the states. The channel also enjoyed a slew of games that were never released in America like the TG-16 version of Castlevania: Rondo of Blood and Do-Re-Mi Fantasy, the later of which is a charming Super Famicom platformer staring Milon of the NES Milon's Secret Castle and thankfully is nowhere near as frustrating. Since Konami owns Hudson's IPs now, perhaps they'll take their heads out of their butts and re-release it someday, but I'm not holding my breath.

Pulseman, one of Game Freak's babies that isn't Pokemon, was originally only available to players outside of Japan that were subscribers of the Sega Channel. The release on the Wii Shop Channel marked the first time in years the game was given a much wider release. On top of being a audio/visual Mega Drive marvel, the game is pretty freaking good to boot.

The Wii Shop Channel also housed N64 games and while the selection was small compared to the other systems it represented, some of the best of the best was there including Sin & Punishment, which is another title that was originally only released in Japan. Sin & Punishment did so well in sales that we got Sin & Punishment: Star Successor, a fantastic sequel and one of the Wii's very best games.

The Wii Shop was also home to one of the most catchy, upbeat pieces of music in the medium of video games, known simply as the Wii Shop Channel theme. Seriously, this music alone made going to the shop such a joyous visit. This music really set the Wii Shop apart from Sony and Microsoft's online stores and when you consider how backwards Nintendo is known for being, that's kind of a huge deal. It helped give the shop so much more life. That music is one of the reasons I would spend so much time on the Wii Shop Channel. When I was still mulling over which game to buy, sometimes I would just let it play in the background as I did other things while trying to come to a decision. Nintendo would add music to the 3DS and Wii U eShops and depending on the season, the song would be different, but it just didn't come close to the Wii Shop Channel theme. The eShop on the Switch has no music at all, which kinda lets the sails out of going to the Switch eShop a bit. I'd love for Nintendo to implement the Wii Shop Channel music on the Switch eShop or at least come up with an equally lively piece of music to jazz things up, but as it stands, the Switch eShop lacks a bit of omph even with that outstanding library of games. At least we can listen to the Wii Shop Channel music in various Nintendo stages in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate.

With the exception of Wii Ware titles, every game I purchase off the Wii Shop was saved to my 2 GB SD card and last I checked, the thing is still working, so many of the games I bought off the Wii Shop, I can still play. Still, there are games I wanted to buy off the Wii Shop Channel but I never got around to, which makes me all the more sadder that the shop is closed. Nothing lasts forever, but the Wii Shop Channel was certainly good while it did.