With the NA releases of Sin & Punishment and Super Mario Bros.: The Lost Levels on the Virtual Console, paying attention to which games get VC releases in both Japan and Europe get much more important, as these games are then ready to be used on the VC, and sport the possibility of crossing the ocean.

The highlight this week is Balloon Fight for the Famicom, which both North America and Europe already have.

Joining our returning friend this week is another game from legendary studio Treasure, Light Crusader for the Mega Drive, Dragon Spirit for the PC Engine, another Gradius game, Gradius II GOFER no Yabou for the PC Engine, and Baseball Stars 2 for the NeoGeo.

The biggest surprise for us this week is right there in the title. Balloon Fight is one of the canonical first-generation NES games. It's already out in the U.S. and Europe, and it was even remade for the DS in Japan in a Club Nintendo-exclusive Tingle version. So why has it taken so long to show up on the Virtual Console in Japan? In the time that Japanese Wii owners have been waiting for Balloon Fight, they've gotten two versions of Wonder Boy in Monster World. Similarly, today brings the second version of Gradius II.

Speaking of repeat performances, we'd like to point out how awesomely Treasure is represented on the VC. Light Crusader is the fourth Treasure game to appear on the VC so far, and we appreciate every one. Even Light Crusader.

Balloon Fight (Famicom, 1-2 players, 500 Wii Points)

Light Crusader (Mega Drive, 1 player, 600 Wii Points)

Dragon Spirit (PC Engine, 1 player, 600 Wii Points)

Gradius II GOFER no Yabou (PC Engine, 1 player, 800 Wii Points)

Baseball Stars 2 (Neo Geo, 1-2 players, 900 Wii Points)

Akira_EX via nintendowiifanboy.com »