Wonder Boy, Gradius and Lode Runner Coming on the Wii Shop Channel

Nintendo will add three more classic games to the American Virtual Console. This week, Gradius III, Wonder Boy in Monster World and Battle Lode Runner will be made available to Wii gamers.

Here are the details of the games for the American VC:

Gradius III (SNES, 1-2 players, 800 Wii Points):

Return as the pilot of the Vic Viper starfighter to battle the onslaughts of the Bacterion Empire. Blast through 10 action-packed levels in space, annihilating everything in your path. Customize and power up your ship with weapons and upgrades as well as speed-ups, missiles, lasers, options, and shields.

Wonder Boy in Monster World (Genesis, 1 player, 800 Wii Points):

Monster World was a calm, happy place until one dark day when an army of BioMeka monsters invaded. As a young man named Shion, you have vowed to defeat the hostile foes and make the land peaceful again. You will attack enemies with swords and spears and guard against incoming projectiles with shields and armor. As you travel through the many different regions of Monster World, you will talk to the townspeople, collect money to buy items, and gather a large assortment of weapons and magic. The further you endeavor, the more powerful your weapons and equipment, including suits of armor and boots, will become.

Battle Lode Runner (TurboGrafx 16, 1-5 players, 600 Wii Points):

This upgraded edition to the famous Lode Runner series includes a 5-player versus mode. Gold funds have been stolen from the Time Machine Research Center, and the group responsible used a time machine to escape and hide the gold throughout time. The center sends an elite team of “Runners” to go and retrieve the gold. In addition to the familiar Puzzle mode, the game features Battle mode, where up to five players can compete, and Edit mode, where you can make your own unique stages. You can enjoy Battle mode in a number of different ways. Be the last one standing to win in Survival. Grab items from enemies and escape to win in Escape. With four players, you can separate into two teams to do battle in Tag Match.

Gradius III, Wonder Boy in Monster World and Battle Lode Runner will go live at 9 a.m. Pacific time. I think, out of three games listed above, Lode Runner is the best game and I feel all Wii gamers will be delighted to play it.