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Best Japan-exclusive Virtual Console (/WiiWare) games for Wii?

Boogiepop

Member
Recently picked up a Japanese Wii as they're fairly cheap nowadays, and the everything works great. Already have a decent selection of stuff coming physically and a small selection digitally (Ai Cho Aniki (which is ridiculously hard, geeze), Parodious, the Fire Emblem games). But I've been wondering, what are less obvious but still great exclusives? How are all the various Goemon games, for example? Or, for example, is there anything particularly good in all those various shooters? What about all those random games on there that hardly seem to even have info on wikipedia? Any of the arcade games worthwhile?

And WiiWare in particular seems hard to get information on. Is there anything particularly worthwhile there that didn't make it over? (Same for DSiware I guess, as I do have a Japanese 3ds too...)

Thanks for any help you guys can offer, as I'm certainly curious as to any hidden gems I may currently be missing...
 
There's Line Attack Heroes and the Pokemon Mystery Dungeon games for WiiWare. Not sure of their quality, though.

As for DSiWare, I can't really think of anything other than the Tingle 'game', which sounded like it would be fun for about 5 minutes.
 
There are three (!) JP exclusive Pokémon Mystery Dungeon games on WiiWare with shared save file support.

If you like hurting yourself, Takeshi's Challenge is on Japanese Wii VC.

Wii Chess (which was released in the West only as a budget retail game for Europe) is actually a Japanese WiiWare exclusive called Tsūshin Taikyoku: World Chess.
 
From wikipedia, here are the WiiWare games that were only released in Japan... let's rate them!

(thanks to the sortable tables!)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_WiiWare_games

Japan-only WiiWare said:
3°C [Kemco]
81diver (Hachi Wan Diver) Wii [Silver Star Japan]
Aero Guitar [Yudo]
Bakutan (Bomb Tapper) [Alpha Unit]
Boku wa Plarail Untenshi: Shinkansen & Jōkikikansha Hen [Takara Tomy]
Bokumo Sekai wo Sukuitai [Poisoft]
Bokumo Sekai wo Sukuitai: Battle Tournament [Poisoft]
Chindōchō!! Pole no Daibōken (On a Weird Way!! Pole's Big Adventure) [Sega]
Darts Wii [Alpha Unit]
Discipline: Teikoku no Tanjou [Marvelous Entertainment, Unigame Bunko]
Downtown Nekketsu Dodgeball [Miracle Kidz]
Fantasic Cube [Zoom Inc.]
Fantasic Tambourine [Zoom Inc.]
Full Blast Hitchhike (Let's Zenryoku Hitchhike!!!!!!!!!) [Nippon Ichi Software]
F.O.R.T.U.N.E: Hoshi no Furi Sosogu Oka [Cybird]
Game Sound Station [Gust Corporation]
Hajīte! Block Rush [Agenda]
Hamekomi Lucky Puzzle Wii Returns (no longer available) [Yuke's, Tryfirst]
Hirameki Card Battle: Mekuruca [Tom Create]
Ivy the Kiwi? Mini [Prope, Bandai Namco, Xseed Games]
Janken Party Paradise [Studio Zan]
Jinsei Game (The Game of Life) (no longer available) [Takara Tomy]
Jinsei Game: Happy Step (The Game of Life: Happy Step) (no longer available) [Takara Tomy]
Jintori Action! Taikōkenchi: Karakuri Shiro no Nazo [Perpetuum]
Kaku! Ugoku! Tsukamaeru! Sensei Wii [Takara Tomy]
Kanken: Minna de Wai Wai Kanji Nou [IE Institute Co., Ltd.]
Kappa-kun to Asobou: Kappa-kun no Ota no Shimikai [Cable Entertainment]
Kappa-kun to Asobou: Kappa-kun to 3 Biki no Koneko [Cable Entertainment]
Kappa-kun to Asobou: Kappa-kun to Mori no Nakamatachi (Play With Kappa: Kappa and Forest Friends) [Cable Entertainment]
Kentei TV! Wii: Minna de Gotouchi Quiz Battle [Kosaido Co. Ltd.]
Kentōshi: Furi Furi Boxing [Takara Tomy]
Kodomo Kyōiku Terebi Wii: Aiue Ōchan [Home Media]
Kodomo Kyōiku Terebi Wii: Aiue Ōmuzu [Home Media]
Kotoba no Puzzle: Mojipittan Wii [Bandai Namco]
Licca-chan Oshare House [Takara Tomy]
Line Attack Heroes [Grezzo, Nintendo]]
Minna de Asobou: Koinu de Kururin (Play Together: Kururin as Puppies) [MTO]
Minna de Taisen Puzzle: Shanghai Wii [Sunsoft]
Minna de Tobikome! Penguin Diving: Hooper Looper [Agenda]
Minna no Theater Wii (available from 2009-01-27 to 2011-04-30) [Fuji Soft]
Möbius Drive [Jorudan Co. Ltd.]
Oekaki Logic (no longer available) [G-Mode]
Order! [Poisoft]
Osu! Exercise Dōjō [IE Institute Co., Ltd.]
Othello [Arc System Works]
Ouchi de Mugen Puchi Puchi Wii [Bandai Namco]
Out of Galaxy: Gin no Kōshika (available from 2009-04-14 to 2011-11-29 in Japan) [Sunsoft]
Phalanx [Zoom Inc.]
Poker Puzzle (Pokers Wii) (no longer available in Japan) [Milestone, UFO Interactive]
Pokosuka Racing [Recom]
Pokémon Fushigi no Dungeon: Ikuzo! Arashi no Bōkendan [Nintendo, Chunsoft]
Pokémon Fushigi no Dungeon: Mezase! Hikari no Bōkendan [Nintendo, Chunsoft]
Pokémon Fushigi no Dungeon: Susume! Honō no Bōkendan [Nintendo, Chunsoft]
Ponjan Wii [Takara Tomy]
Popple to Mahou no Crayon (Popple and the Magical Crayon) [G-Mode]
Princess Ai Monogatari (no longer available) [Sunsoft]
Raku Raku Kinen Appli Wii: Kinenka no Isha ga Oshieru Nanoka de Yamaru Hōhō [Silver Star Japan, Mayumi Abe]
Saikyou Ginsei Gomoku Narabe [Silver Star Japan, Electronic Arts]
Saikyou Ginsei Igo [Silver Star Japan, Electronic Arts]
Saikyou Ginsei Mahjong [Silver Star Japan, Electronic Arts]
Saikyou Ginsei Shogi [Silver Star Japan, Electronic Arts]
Sekai no Omoshiro Party Game [SIMS Co., Ltd.]
Sekai no Omoshiro Party Game 2 [SIMS Co., Ltd.]
Shikakui Atama wo Maru Kusuru: Mainichi Minna no Challenge Hen [Nichinoken, IE Institute Co., Ltd.]
Simple Series Vol. 1: The Block Kuzushi neo [Tam Soft, D3 Publisher]
Simple Series Vol. 2: The Number Puzzle neo [Tam Soft, D3 Publisher]
Simple Series Vol. 3: The Mahjong [Tam Soft, D3 Publisher]
Simple Series Vol. 4: The Misshitsu kara no Dasshutsu [Intense, D3 Publisher]
Simple Series Vol. 5: The Judo [Tam Soft, D3 Publisher]
Sorcery Blade [Kemco]
Sugarbunnies Wii: Yōkoso Bunnies Field e (available from 2009-09-29 to 2012-05-22 in Japan) [Takara Tomy]
Sugu Suro Duo: New Pulsar R&V [Yamasa Entertainment]
Tenshi no Solitaire [G-Mode]
Tokyo City Nights [Gameloft]
Tomy Car Drive Shutsudou! Kinkyū Sharyou Hen [Takara Tomy]
Tsūshin Taikyoku: Hayazashi Shogi Sandan [Nintendo]
Tsūshin Taikyoku: Igo Dōjō 2700-Mon [Nintendo]
Tsūshin Taikyoku: World Chess [Nintendo]
Unou Kids: Okigaru Unou Training [IE Institute Co., Ltd.]
Yakuman Wii: Ide Yosuke no Kenkou Mahjong [Nintendo, Spice Games]
Yomi Kikase Asobi Wii [Perpetuum]

Sadly there's no easy way for me to generate a list like this from wikipedia for VC, sorry.
 
I believe Starblade (Arcade) lets you use the Wiimote to control the crosshairs, which I assume is easier that using the d-pad like the other home versions.
 
Twinkle Star Sprites was a good pickup from there for a lil bit, but with the ADK Collection on PSN and recently the SNK Humble Bundle, I wouldn't think it's considered one of the better options anymore. I think that Tant-R and Ichidant-R for Mega Drive are neat, they're sorta Point Blank/Bishi Bashi esque series of puzzle minigames. I'm not sure about the other collections it comes on, but Wii VC is a pretty affordable way to get Waku Waku 7 too. And of course everyone loves Windjammers but that got delisted so shrug.

If you don't mind stuff also on 3DS VC, I personally picked up Joy Mech Fight, the Famicom Detective Club games and Shin Onigashima, but out of those only Joy Mech Fight wouldn't require Japanese knowledge.

edit: oh, also tons of Namco arcade stuff but I'm not really sure what's best to recommend based on quality/price of other home ports
 

maxcriden

Member
I really hope the Wii Shop doesn't shut down this year as I'm kinda concerned it will. If it does, will there be no way in the future to play the WiiWare games?
 
Welp, time to trot Takoyaki's and my posts on this back out from when Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection was shutting down a few years back. The SFC Goemon games are all fun. Ganbare Goemon 2 is kind of more of the same of Legend of the Mystical Ninja, except the villain is a bunny-themed Westerner military general, there's saving, and new Goemon mech rail shooter sections. Goemon 3 takes the series on a brief detour into a more Zelda direction. Goemon 4/"I'm a Dancer" or whatever it's called never went on VC, unfortunately. A lot of the Namco arcade ports are exclusive to the Japanese Wii Virtual Console Arcade, and a lot are great!:

I initially read the news as "Nintendo is shutting down "Wii/DSi Online services" and thought that Wiiware would be gone as well. That led me to a little research into hidden Wiiware games on the Japanese Wii. There's a bunch of games that were only released on the Japanese Wiiware, but most of them are Card-games/Karaoke/Brand-cash-ins.

Two games I previously bought and played were the Sega game "Pole's Big Adventure" and Grezzo's last game "Line Attack Heroes" before they went on doing the port of Ocarina of Time. Both games were a blast to play.

The one game I just bought with my 800points that must have been on the console since 2010 or so was "Discipline: Teikoku no Tanjou". It's a weird little game created by Kazutoshi Iida. He was in charge of "Aquanauts Holiday" and "Tail of the Sun" while working at Artdink and later on, he was one of the creators responsible for "Doshin the Giant". It looks very much like the funky Japanese PS1 games from the 90s:

http://www.nintendolife.com/news/2009/08/first_impressions_discipline_wiiware_japan

Pole's Big Adventure is hilarious (and fun)! Sega full on riffing on Super Mario Bros./the NES and generally surprising and messing with the player. The continual Super Mario Land "Oh! Daisy"-style switcheroo on the damsel(s) in distress never ceases to amuse. I've been really curious about Line Attack Heroes, and was really disappointed that neither of the two of those ever wound up coming out in North America.

I felt like making myself angry all over again about all of the Japanese exclusives and North American (and usually also European) Wii owners missed, so here's a rundown of what are by my count the most interesting games that are only available on the Japanese Wii Shop[ping] Channel. There are a lot.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_WiiWare_games

The WiiWare games that you listed are probably the most high-profile Japanese exclusives, but these are interesting too:
Downtown Nekketsu Dodgeball Miracle Kidz Yes No No 800
The most recent sequel to Super Dodge Ball for the NES​
Ivy the Kiwi? Mini Prope, Namco Bandai, Xseed Games Yes No No 1000
Cut-down version of former Sonic Team leader Yuji Naka's most recent (released) game, if you don't want to buy the disc retail version​
Phalanx Zoom Inc. Yes No No 500
(SNES/Sharp X68000-era also-ran shmup selling for cheap)​
Pokémon Fushigi no Dungeon: Ikuzo! Arashi no Bōkendan Nintendo, Chunsoft Yes No No 1200
Pokémon Fushigi no Dungeon: Mezase! Hikari no Bōkendan Nintendo, Chunsoft Yes No No 1200
Pokémon Fushigi no Dungeon: Susume! Honō no Bōkendan Nintendo, Chunsoft Yes No No 1200
I have no idea if this content is or isn't in the Pikachu Mysterious Dungeon disc retail game that came out on Wii, but if you're into Roguelikes, these are probably relevant​
Princess Ai Monogatari (no longer available) Sunsoft Yes No No 500
No longer available, but it was the digital version of a manga about a fantasy princess version of Courtney Love, co-written by Courtney Love. This falls into the "500 point morbid curiosity" category​
Tsūshin Taikyoku: World Chess
[Available in Europe as the disc game Wii Chess] Nintendo Yes No No 1000

A chess game developed by Nintendo​

You didn't mention Virtual Console, but while they're rereleases, some of the original games are hard to find, and most of these are probably better and more interesting purchases:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Virtual_Console_games_for_Wii_(Japan)

Famicom
The Hyrule Fantasy: Zelda no Densetsu Nintendo December 2, 2006 A
Zelda no Densetsu 2: Link no Bōken (The Legend of Zelda 2: Link's Adventure)[a] Nintendo January 23, 2007 A
Hikari Shinwa: Palutena no Kagami (Light Myth: Palutena's Mirror)[a] Nintendo January 23, 2007 A
Metroid[a] Nintendo March 4, 2008 A
Dracula II: Noroi no Fūin (Dracula II: The Seal of the Curse)[a] Konami October 28, 2008 A

Famicom Disk System versions of Zelda 1, Zelda 2, Kid Icarus, Metroid, and Castlevania 2 with higher quality audio, and saving instead of passwords in the latter three​
Gradius II: Gofer no Yabou (Gradius II: Gofer's Ambition) Konami April 24, 2007 A
Other regions only got the TG-16/PCE version, and this version has some unique, great music tracks​
Esper Dream[a] Konami October 2, 2007 A
Konami action RPG​
Devil World Nintendo January 22, 2008 A
Miyamoto's more varied Pac-Man clone, Koji Kondo's musical debut, and the protagonist Tamagon is the original source/beginning of Yoshi's design (his egg cracking will sound very familiar)​
Joy Mech Fight Nintendo March 11, 2008 A
8-bit fighting game with Rayman-style limbless robots​
Nazo no Murasame Jō (The Mysterious Murasame Castle)[a] Nintendo August 19, 2008 A
This one may be the crown jewel of regional exclusives for the Famicom. Like Zelda 1, but more linear, more action/reflexes-oriented. Japanese-themed Koji Kondo soundtrack.​
Atlantis no Nazo (The Mystery of Atlantis) Sunsoft December 2, 2008 A
Dense and confusing platformer that has you searching for hidden treasure and hidden exits, but fun and challenging once you get the hang of it. Maybe an acquired taste?​
Takeshi no Chōsenjō (Takeshi's Challenge) Taito March 31, 2009 B
Notorious, funny (funnier if you aren't the target) master-level trolling in game form by actor Beat Takeshi. The 25,000 hits to kill the final boss would probably be easier to manage with the Wii's suspend/restore points.​
Akumajō Densetsu (Devil's Castle Legend) Konami April 21, 2009 A
Castlevania III with significantly higher quality audio. The closest the NES/Famicom comes to sounding like an orchestra.​
Downtown Special: Kunio-kun no Jidaigeki da yo Zenin Shūgō! (Downtown Special: Its Kunio's Period Piece, Assemble Everyone!) Arc System Works May 12, 2009 A
River City Ransom sequel (prequel?) set in ancient Japan​
Final Fantasy II Square Enix June 16, 2009 A
Final Fantasy III Square Enix July 21, 2009 A

The 8-bit versions of these have still never seen any form of release outside of Japan. III is really good.​
Fire Emblem: Ankoku Ryū to Hikari no Tsurugi (Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragons and the Blade of Light) Nintendo October 20, 2009 A
Fire Emblem Gaiden Nintendo November 4, 2009 A

Nintendo's strategy RPGs with permadeath​
Ganbare Goemon 2 Konami January 24, 2012 A
Probably the best 8-bit Goemon, structured similarly to Legend of the Mystical Ninja​

Super Famicom
Akumajō Dracula (Devil's Castle Dracula) Konami December 2, 2006 A
Out elsewhere as Super Castlevania IV, but this is the uncensored version with the dungeon level filled with blood instead of slime, and a much cooler/creepier title screen​
Mario no Super Picross Nintendo December 19, 2006 A
PAL territories got this too. Addictive Picross puzzle game. Lots of bang for the buck.​
Fire Emblem: Seisen no Keifu (Fire Emblem: Genealogy of the Holy War) Nintendo January 30, 2007 A
Shin Megami Tensei (True Goddess Reincarnation) Atlus February 13, 2007 A
Shin Megami Tensei II (True Goddess Reincarnation II) Atlus September 7, 2010 A
Shin Megami Tensei if... (True Goddess Reincarnation if...) Atlus February 1, 2011 A
Majin Tensei (Demon God Reincarnation) Atlus September 6, 2011 A
Majin Tensei II: Spiral Nemesis (Demon God Reincarnation II: Spiral Nemesis) Atlus December 13, 2011 A
Kyūyaku Megami Tensei: Megami Tensei I・II Atlus July 3, 2012 A

ALL of the SNES Megaten games are present, including the Majin strategy RPGs, and the "Kyuuyaku" remake of the two Namco 8-bit games.​
Fushigi no Dungeon 2: Fūrai no Shiren (Mysterious Dungeon 2: Shiren the Wanderer) Chunsoft July 24, 2007 A
Classic roguelike​
Panel de Pon Nintendo November 27, 2007 A
The Super Famicom/Japanese version of Tetris Attack is available in Japan, so instead of the "way to go!" N64 Pokemon-themed one, this one is extra girly​
DoReMi Fantasy: Milon no Dokidoki Daibouken (DoReMi Fantasy: Milon's Heart-Pounding Great Adventure) Hudson Soft/Konami[2] February 26, 2008 A
This one is out worldwide, it's just really good and the original cartridge is expensive now​
Ganbare Goemon 2: Kiteretsu Shōgun Magginesu (Go Goemon 2: The Odd General Magginesu) Konami May 27, 2008 A
Ganbare Goemon 3: Shishijūrokubē no Karakuri Manji Gatame Konami September 15, 2009 A

Japan got 3 of the (really fun) 4 SF Goemon games, instead of just Legend of the Mystical Ninja (Ganbare Goemon 1)​
Tactics Ogre Square Enix February 10, 2009 C
Bahamut Lagoon Square Enix September 29, 2009 B
Romancing SaGa Square Enix November 24, 2009 C
Romancing SaGa 2 Square Enix March 23, 2010 B
Romancing SaGa 3 Square Enix September 21, 2010 B
Final Fantasy V Square Enix January 18, 2011 A
Rudra no Hihō (Treasure of Rudra) Square Enix June 7, 2011 A

Square​
Clock Tower Sunsoft August 3, 2010 B
Really interesting gameplay experiment for the SF, point-and-click early survival horror​
Kunio-kun no Dodgeball da yo Zenin Shūgō! (It's Kunio's Dodgeball, Assemble Everyone!) Arc System Works February 14, 2012 A
Super Dodge Ball sequel​

Mega Drive
The Hybrid Front Sega May 29, 2007 A
Strategy/military sim (one of the last Mega Drive releases in Japan), with really excellent music​
Bare Knuckle III: Tekken Seiten Sega October 2, 2007 B
The Japanese version of Streets of Rage 3 is generally accepted to be a much better game (opinions on the randomly-generated music notwithstanding), more nuance to attacks than SOR/BN2​
Dyna Brothers 2 Special Sega October 23, 2007 A
Former Japanese Sega Channel exclusive (and the only game on the Shop Channel worldwide that only got a Japanese Sega Channel release), this may be the only way to get this version of the game​
Gynoug Nippon Computer Systems May 20, 2008 A
Additional shmup weirdness (albeit less over the top) from the creators of the Cho Aniki series​

PC Engine
Gradius Konami August 7, 2007 A
Salamander Konami September 11, 2007 A

Nearly arcade-perfect versions of Gradius and Life Force. Life Force/Salamander doesn't have instant respawning after death in this version though, just checkpoints.​
Ai Cho Aniki (Love Super Big Brothers)[a] Hudson Soft/Konami[2] December 18, 2007 A
The rest of the world got the first one, but this is the first one where they really went all out on the camp​
Dungeon Explorer II[a] Hudson Soft/Konami[2] February 5, 2008 A
Rest of the world only received the first one on Wii​
KiKi KaiKai (Mysterious Ghost World) Taito July 8, 2008 A
Arcade conversion of the precursor to the Pocky & Rocky series​
Parasol Stars Taito August 19, 2008 A
Sequel to Bubble Bobble (I would argue much closer to the fun of Bubble Bobble than Rainbow Islands was), only Japan got this on Virtual Console​
Nekketsu Kōkō Dodgeball Bu: PC Bangai Hen (Nekketsu High School Dodgeball Club: Bonus PC Version)[a] Naxat Soft September 30, 2008 A
Nekketsu Kōkō Dodgeball Bu: CD Soccer Hen (Nekketsu High School Dodgeball Club: Soccer CD Version) Naxat Soft November 4, 2008 A

PC Engine versions of Super Dodge Ball and Nintendo World Cup​
Cadash Taito November 11, 2008 A
Rastan Saga 2 Taito January 6, 2009 A

Side-scrolling action RPGs, rest of the world didn't receive these on Wii​
Dai Makaimura (Great Demon World Village) (SuperGrafx title) Capcom February 3, 2009 A
Arguably a better conversion of Ghouls & Ghosts than the MD/Genesis version, but it has limited continues, making it extremely difficult to complete. Considering that almost no one bought a Supergrafx at the time, I'd assume that the original card of this is probably pretty rare.​

Neo-Geo
Waku Waku 7 D4 Enterprise April 27, 2010 A
The weirdest fighting game of the Neo-Geo's expansive and expensive fighting game library.​
Flying Power Disc (delisted on December 24, 2013) D4 Enterprise June 22, 2010 A
Also no longer available, but Flying Power Disc/Windjammers is a fun one. Like an evolved version of Pong meets air hockey, Neo-Geo-style. I hear that Giant Bomb loves it.​

MSX
Konami put a ton of support in on here on the Wii, and only Japan received any of these. Scrolling on their MSX shmups is supposed to be mostly pretty choppy and weaker than other versions.
Metal Gear Konami December 8, 2009 A
Quarth Konami February 2, 2010 A
Metal Gear 2: Solid Snake Konami March 30, 2010 B


Virtual Console Arcade
Namco also released a ton of arcade games on the VCA, but only in Japan. A number of these are the only home releases of the arcade versions.
Solvalou Namco Bandai Games March 26, 2009 A
StarBlade Namco Bandai Games April 21, 2009 A

3D games that inspired awe in 1991, now with motion/pointer controls​
Space Invaders Taito April 7, 2009 A
I'd rather be playing Galaga, but this is the actual arcade version instead of a SNES/PCE port.​
Numan Athletics Namco Bandai Games April 28, 2009 A
4-player Namco version of Track & Field: Insane edition​
Splatterhouse Namco Bandai Games May 26, 2009 B
More violent and better quality audio than the TG-16/PCE version​
Rolling Thunder Namco Bandai Games July 21, 2009 B
Rolling Thunder 2 Namco Bandai Games October 27, 2009 A
Phelios Namco Bandai Games July 28, 2009 A

Cosmo Gang the Video Namco Bandai Games August 4, 2009 A
Namco's "Parodius" version of Galaga, fun​
Pac-Mania Namco Bandai Games August 4, 2009 A
Knuckle Heads Namco Bandai Games August 18, 2009 B
Dig Dug Namco Bandai Games October 20, 2009 A
Dig Dug II Namco Bandai Games October 20, 2009 A
Galaga Namco Bandai Games November 24, 2009 A
Toy Pop Namco Bandai Games November 24, 2009 A
Rompers Namco Bandai Games December 1, 2009 A
Moon Cresta Hamster March 9, 2010 A
 

nateify

Member
I really hope the Wii Shop doesn't shut down this year as I'm kinda concerned it will. If it does, will there be no way in the future to play the WiiWare games?

No, the Wii and the Wii portion of the Wii U can be safely softmodded, and nearly all region's WiiWare and VC have been preserved somewhere. It's a matter of obtaining the WAD file and installing it.
 
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