Ikaruga Final boss = Bleh?!? My hand is hurting from hitting the change colour button as quickly as possible. But I beat it, anyway.

I've never seen it, I'm too obsessed with chaining. Managed to get an "A" on level 1 last night with a 49 strong chain.

I may have to just try and play through the game with continues at some point to see whats's in those later levels.

What was your final score on Level 1 when you got that A, Trousers? I've managed 50-odd chains but my best rating so far is B+. Hmm, I wonder if you automatically don't get an A if you lose a life, as that seems to be my major problem - I spend so much time concentrating on the chains that I die stupidly at some point in the level.

Oh, and I'm gunning for your score, obv.

*Until Trousers plays again.

didn't know cast shikigami was coming for the wii..
how do you control it? if GC pad works, problably my xarcade as well

Then again, for the sake of my bank balance maybe it's best they stay in Japan.

Hehe, I'm clinging to the small possibility of some of them being region-free. It seems to be entirely up to the developers, and unfortunately most devs have been choosing to 'lock' their games anyway.

Get stuck into Gradius V, mate. It's one of the most accessible shooters ever made, contrary to what a lot of absolute pansy reviewers say, and it's easily the most 'refined' Gradius game from a technical standpoint. (Top tip, folks: the phrase "I've grown up now" in reviews roughly translates as "Jesus! I'm shit at this! Instead of putting in a couple of hours of practice and finding my feet, though, I'll tell as many people as I can not to bother buying it, because I'm a miserable cunt who's misplaced his soul. I'll also suggest that these design philosophies are somehow outdated and beneath us now, in case anybody thinks I'm whinging".)

Also, I hope The Monkey King isn't as bad as this fellow says. The genre could do with some good Wii representation...

I don't know that a cowboys n' indians aesthetic would really suit the tight, fast schmup action, imho.

Dunno if a UK release is scheduled, but I'd strongly recommend laying down the cash for an import copy if you can. Just prepare yourself for a bit of a, er, challenge.

I made my last post in September 2008. Gradius Rebirth was released in Japan and America shortly after. It is still not available here, despite the fact that absolutely no conversion or translation of any part of the game would be necessary.

I'd Homebrew Channel the fuck out of it, but I'm terrified that installing the WAD could 'brick' my Wii.

The WAD I have has apparently been made region-free, mate. I'm just not sure how to get it onto my Wii without ruining anything. I was told the usual WAD installers don't work on the latest firmware. Any truth in that?

Where did you get it from? I can't find it on-line - is it a PAL release?

The WAD I have has apparently been made region-free, mate. I'm just not sure how to get it onto my Wii without ruining anything. I was told the usual WAD installers don't work on the latest firmware. Any truth in that?

Thanks a lot, RuySan. I can't connect to the internet with the Wii until the weekend, so I might not be able to downgrade just yet, but I'll definitely give it a shot.

I'm not sure having the player lose their power-ups when they die is a 'sin', though! It takes a while to get used to recovering from your deaths, but - coupled with limiting yourself to a single credit - it makes a better player out of you in a shorter amount of time.