Paper Mario joins Euro VC

**Shrygue** · July 13th, 2007, 17:00

via Eurogamer

Nintendo 64 RPG classic Paper Mario has joined the Wii Virtual Console line-up today.

The addition of the 2001 classic brings the number of N64 titles available via the Wii Shop to six, joining Super Mario 64, Mario Kart 64, The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, Lylat Wars and F-Zero X. Each costs 1000 points to download, which equates to about GBP 7 - or just over 10 Euros.

Back in the day Tom awarded the game a whopping 9/10, commenting that it was "the best RPG on the Nintendo 64, and acts as a superb gateway to the genre," and "an RPG rich with ingenuity and style" with "all-important Mario moments that only a true fan will understand."

He even said, back in October 2001, that people should "buy it and forget about the GameCube". Now that it's about one eighth of its original £60 price tag (dear god), we reckon this one might prove a popular download, especially with the long-awaited Super Paper Mario arriving on Wii here in Europe in two months time.

In the meantime, you might want to trawl the bargain basement for 2004 Cube classic Paper Mario 2: The Thousand Year Door. Another game Tom dished out a rare 9/10 to, and fully compatible with the Wii, of course.

Elsewhere on the VC service this week is Air Zonk, a TG-16 game from 1992. Said to be a side-scrolling shooter, our friendly neighbourhood Wikipedia entry claims the game is "widely considered to be an excellent shoot 'em up." We'll be putting it through its paces ourselves today, and bringing you another VC round-up tomorrow morning to find out if they're talking a load of rose-tinted rubbish. As ever, 600 points is the fee for this slice of retro blastery.

We're losing count a little bit, but with think this pairing brings the European VC total up to 105. Not bad going, Nintendo, but some free trials would be nice.