Nintendo is very keen on pleasing the so-called hardcore demographic, now that it’s facing a backlash regarding the more casual oriented nature of its E3 2008 presentation, which did not deliver anything related to core franchises like Mario and Zelda while focusing on Wii Music.

 

The company is trying to make up for that by releasing Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars for the Virtual Console service which serves the Nintendo Wii. The game has been available in Europe for the last two weeks and it is now also downloadable in North America for those who enjoy a good role playing adventure that features Mario and his friends.

 

The game is the one that paved the way to Paper Mario and Mario and Luigi: Superstar Saga and, in true Mario fashion, it focuses on what Mario has to do to, yet again, get his favorite princess, Peach, from the hands of eternal villain Bowser. Super Mario RPG costs 800 Wii Points, meaning 8 dollars, which is significantly less than the 40 bucks for which you can get the game on eBay. Nintendo is saying that other Mario games from the character’s long history might make their way to the Virtual Console this year, until the entire collection in which he starred can be played.

 

Alongside the Mario offerings, you can also spend 500 Wii Points, the equivalent of 5 dollars, to get the puzzle Clu Clu Land, which was originally released on the NES. You will play as a fish named Bubbles, which weirdly collects gold bars.

 

My Aquarium is available for the same price as Clu Clu Land and it's basically a sort of virtual aquarium where you are offered a selection of 40 popular types of freshwater and saltwater fish that you can breed while also being tasked with decorating the aquarium itself.