It's got a bad rep recently because some internet nerd that all other internet nerds look up made some video about it. It does have its share of issues, yes, but that really wasn't uncommon in the NES days. I love the game, it's an early look at how the series would go into more of an adventure series. Oh, and the soundtrack is killer.

I agree with Pixy; the game and soundtrack are awesome.

A number of the complaints by the AVGN are ill-founded or just plain incorrect. I still don't understand why people enjoy his videos. I think they are poorly written.

I loved Simon's Quest as a kid, but I went back to it earlier this year and could not get into it at all. I think I must have had more patience back then.

I've been playing the N64 version of Paper Mario. The music and general movement have been making me nauseas.....which it too bad since I'm about half-way through and loving it. I might have to bail since the gameplay makes me feel like I'm reading a book on the floor while riding in the back seat of a car. The Simpsons game looks pretty cool. Manhunt looks too intense. I didn't care for RE4, so I guess I'll play it by ear.

Not to hijack the thread, but the AVGN's early stuff was less-offensive and really not too bad. It's when the expletive quotient got way too high that it became more of a cult thing.

In terms of his assessment of Simon's Quest, I do agree with several of his points. The day/night transition is bothersome, especially when the CPU decides to plant enemies right next to you while walking, almost like a trap. The game's difficulty is also rather unforgiving, even when compared to its predecessor, which was one tough action game.

The game held up OK back in its heyday, but these days, games like this (including the original Metroid and Kid Icarus) are wounded by their complexity. There's artificial difficulty in that there's a lot of trial and error in Simon's Quest, when you're just plain stumped and there's no clue in sight as to where to go next.

I will agree, however, that the game's OST is very good... a trait shared by most of the Castlevania games since the beginning.

I have fond memories of Castlevania II despite its many issues, probably because it was one of the very first NES games I ever played and finished. I spent many hours wandering around trying to figure out what the heck I needed to do. In fact, I think it was the first videogame I ever spent multiple consecutive hours playing (oh, had I only known how far that trend would continue, all the way into my adult life). I probably know every screen of that game better than any other.

I actually remember writing - yes, writing, as in a letter sent via the mail - to the Nintendo game play help experts asking them how to get through a few parts in the game when I was absolutely stuck. Getting their response in the mail and running home to finish the game is a fond childhood memory.

This is the first new VC game that I have been interested in buying in the past couple of months. Probably will download it when I get home this evening.

Ooh, Simon's Quest! This is a reason to turn my Wii on tonight for the first time in months. I'm excited.

EDIT: No sarcasm...I'm dead serious.

Still waiting for SMB3 over here.

I remember Simon's Quest from back in the day. Pixy is right about the soundtrack, it's awesome.

I played a ton of SQ back in the day, but I remember the cheap jumps clearly. We would spend hours trying to get past some of them. I couldn't do that nowadays.

Rejoice, Mario fans!

Super Mario Bros. 3 (NES) will be available for download today, 11/5/2007... along with Alien Soldier (Genesis) and Power Golf (TG-16).

I thought that they might wait a week, in conjunction with the release of Super Mario Galaxy, but multiple sources are confirming that Nintendo will be uploading Super Mario Bros. 3 today.

As for the other games:

Alien Soldier is a game that North American Genesis owners only got to play via the Sega Channel and was never released in the retail sector domestically. It's another solid action game from Treasure (the folks behind Gunstar Heroes, among others) and may well be worth a purchase here.

Power Golf is a sub-par golf game for the TurboGrafx-16. (Don't boo me. It wasn't meant to be a pun. Really.)

Any week with an unreleased Treasure game and SMB3 is a pretty good week.

Dammit, it's a shame that Alien Solider is being released next to Super Mario 3, it's probably not even going to get mentioned in most news stories about this week's releases! It's a pretty good game though, typical Treasure action.. of course, I already have it as part of the PS2 Treasure collection.

Super Mario Bros. 3!

Glad Nintendo didn't jack up the price on SMB3 just because it's a popular/most-wanted game.

I'll probably pick up Alien Soldier. I've already got SMB3 in at least 3 different formats (NES, Super Mario All-Stars for the SNES, and the GBA version), but for those who don't already own it, it's a great week.

Of course, Alien Solider is an extra 100 for its "import only" status.

So, beside being by Treasure, what's Alien Soldier like? Graphics? Gameplay?

It's a run and gun sort of like Gunstar Heroes, but its very focused on insane boss fights.

Wow, you said all the right things. I just might buy it.

Did SM3 have a save system in its original form?

No. Does it now?

Not that I know of. I was just playing it on All Stars the other night and couldn't remember if you could save originally.

All NES games have a "suspend save" on the VC, of course.

Yeah, but that's not exactly the same.