Feature: The Download Roundup: March 2007 Subscribe to this RSS feed

True to form, March went in like a lion and out like a lamb in the world of downloadable content. Here's a roundup of the best new items on the Virtual Console, Xbox Marketplace, and PlayStation Store!

March was, by and large, a reversal of fortunes for the console download services. Nintendo, which has been the belle of the ball since the launch of the Virtual Console, put out an extremely poor slate of titles for the month of March. Microsoft's Xbox Live Marketplace, which was suffering from a severe dearth of quality content since the holidays, came out swinging with four weeks of great classic titles. Sony once again went with a "quality over quantity" mantra, and while there wasn't much new content in the PlayStation Store, what was added was top-notch.

Wii Shopping Channel

You will crave BO. That doesn't sound right.

You will crave BO. That doesn't sound right.

After a packed February that saw Streets of Rage, Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, and Kid Icarus released for the Virtual Console, Nintendo and it's downloadable content partners dropped the ball with a month that mixed overrated with the justifiably overlooked. On the NES, Tecmo Bowl should have been one of the month's highlights, but the game came without an NFL license, nevermind the circa-1988 rosters that let you run roughshod over NFL defenses with Lawrence Taylor. On the other hand, Excitebike was excellently emulated, allowing you to (finally!) save your created tracks. Moving onto the SNES, Super Ghouls and Ghosts was probably the best Virtual Console title of the month, while Romance of the Three Kingdoms IV: Wall of Fire was the most disappointing, as it comprised the sole release of the last week of the month. On the Genesis, there was a duet of RPGs in Sword of Vermillion and Beyond Oasis, as well as Sonic Spinball--the first of many failed Sonic offshoots. Beyond Oasis is a definite recommendation, as it's an excellent take on the Zelda-esque action-RPG genre. Sword of Vermillion is a bit of a mess, to be honest, employing four vastly different perspectives of the action, depending on whether you're in a town, a dungeon, a battle, or fighting a boss. It is notable, however, for being Virtual Fighter creator Yu Suzuki's first console game, and my first RPG. The TurboGrafx-16 batch was probably the worst of all of the emulated consoles last month, with Double Dungeons, which is half as fun as most Virtual Console fare, and Splatterhouse, which has aged terribly. Add in the complete lack of new N64 titles and you've got a pretty uneventful sales month in the Wii Shopping Channel.

March must-buys:
Super Ghouls and Ghosts: 800 points ($8)
Beyond Oasis: 800 points ($8)
Total: $16