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Surprise! After several weeks of questionable, mediocre, or just plain terrible releases, the Wii's Virtual Console bounces back by offering up a pair of imported Japanese releases. Good ones, too!

I mean, you wouldn't expect a sequel to Milon's Secret Castle to be anything worth playing, but somehow, DoReMi Fantasy: Milon's DokiDoki Adventure (SNES, 900 Points) emerges as a charming and entirely playable platformer. And even though you probably own at least some form of Puyo Puyo at this point (either in Dr. Robotnik's Mean Bean Machine or Kirby's Avalanche), Puyo Puyo 2: Tsuu (Genesis, 900 Points) is said to be a step forward for the series, introducing new rules and features that would stick with Puyo Puyo games for years to come.

Note that both of these games are still fully in their original Japanese, and contain no translated text. Boo! Hopefully this doesn't present too much of a problem in terms of playability. I'll report back later after some playtesting.

WII-KLY UPDATE: TWO NEW CLASSIC GAMES ADDED TO WII SHOP CHANNEL

March 10, 2008

Got enough challenge in your daily routine? Chances are that basic everyday tasks - getting to work or school on time, walking the dog, taking out the trash - aren't enough to keep you firing on all cylinders. Luckily, Virtual Console is close at hand to help you test your mettle in fresh and unusual ways. Whether you're rescuing a kidnapped pal or mastering a set of mind-bending grid puzzles, this week's new arrivals, imported from Japan, offer a refreshing break from the late-winter blahs.

Nintendo adds new games to the Wii Shop Channel at 9 a.m. Pacific time every Monday. Wii owners with a high-speed Internet connection can redeem Wii Points to download the games. Wii Points can be purchased in the Wii Shop Channel or at retail outlets. This week's new games are:

DoReMi Fantasy: Milon's DokiDoki Adventure (Super NES, 1 player, Rated E for Everyone - Alcohol Reference and Comic Mischief, 900 Wii Points): This is an action game where an energetic boy named Milon sets off on a great adventure in a cute fairy-tale world. Piccolo is a village in the country of Fantasia. One day, they hear from the fairy Alis that songs and music have disappeared from the forest. Suddenly, the wizard Amon appears, grabs Alis and vanishes with her. The brave Milon must now go on a journey to rescue his kidnapped friend, with his bubble shooter as his only weapon. Along the way, he'll need to retrieve five legendary instruments and stars by defeating Amon's minions. Get ready to enjoy the fun and comical action of this charming game.

Puyo Puyo 2: Tsuu (Sega Genesis, 1-2 players, Rated E for Everyone, 900 Wii Points): The object of this head-to-head puzzle game is to clear your grid of falling patterns called puyos by forming chains of four or more same-colored puyos in a straight line or one of several geometric patterns. What makes this a challenging two-player contest is the fact that when you clear a chain of puyos from your grid, it drops a random piece of filler onto your opponent's grid. The more puyos you clear, the more you fill your opponent's grid, and if you can clutter up his grid enough to fill it to the top, you've won the game. An intriguing backstory makes this an amusing experience for one or two players.

For more information about Wii, please visit wii.com.

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