After welcoming the Commodore 64 a few weeks ago, European and Australian gamers get their first taste of SEGA Master System titles to the Virtual Console this week. There are a total of four retrograde games this week, consisting of a platformer, a sports title, a side-scrolling shooter and the chance to become a secret agent.

Wonder Boy (SEGA Master System, 1 Player, 500 Wii Points):

The Sega Master System and Game Gear ports of Wonder Boy were a direct port of the original arcade title, with some minor reductions to accommodate the more limited hardware, and original designs for the final levels in each area. The graphics were lifted straight from the arcade version, but the HUD was restricted to a simple vitality bar — the score and number of lives were displayed prior to starting the level.

As Tom-Tom the Wonder Boy, it’s up to you to rescue your girlfriend Tanya from the vile clutches of the monster that has kidnapped her. To do so, you must navigate a series of worlds in a race against time to reach your goal.

Along the way, you’ll battle foes and collect fruit that will add to the amount of time you have to complete your mission. You can also receive helpful power-ups from various eggs, but make sure to avoid the bad eggs and poisonous mushrooms that sap your precious vitality.

Find the magic doll in each level to open up hidden areas, and make it to the very end of your journey to rescue your one true love.

Fantasy Zone (SEGA Master System, 1 Player, 500 Wii Points):

In the game, the player’s ship is placed in a level with a number of bases to destroy. When all the bases are gone, the stage boss appears; when the boss is defeated, the player moves on to the next level. There are two buttons: shoot and bomb; the normal shot is generally useful though weak, while bombs are powerful though of narrow use. One major difference between this and many other shooters is that the player can turn around and fly the other way; the screen will scroll along with the player.

The Fantasy Zone is a solar system consisting of eight brightly colored, fantastic planets. The evil Menons trying to take over all of the planets in the Fantasy Zone by using misappropriated foreign currency to build their forces. It is your job to recover all of the coins and save the solar system! Fantasy Zone is an arcade style shooter for one or two players.

You need to destroy all of the creatures on each planet and collect as many of the lost coins as you can. At the end of each level is a large enemy that will have to be defeated before moving on to the next world. At various points in the game you will be able to find a parts shop, which will allow you to purchase improvements to your spaceship, including better weapons and faster engines.

Impossible Mission (Commodore 64, 1 Player, 500 Wii Points):

Impossible Mission has the user play a secret agent - sometimes dubbed as “Dork” - attempting to stop an evil genius. Professor Elvin Atombender is believed to be tampering with national security computers. The player must penetrate Atombender’s stronghold, racing against the clock to search the installation for pieces which form a password, all the while avoiding his deadly robots. Once in possession of all the password pieces, the player must correctly assemble the password pieces together and use the completed password in the main control room door - where the evil professor is hiding.

You play a secret agent on a quest to stop the evil Professor Elvin Atombender, who is believed to be tampering with national security computers. You must penetrate Atombender’s stronghold, avoid his deadly robot creations, and acquire various pieces of a password to use in the main control room.

The robots, rooms, and puzzle pieces will be switched around when starting over which provides replay value.

California Games (Commodore 64, 1-8 Players, 500 Wii Points):

Originally released for the Apple II and Commodore 64, this game was very lucrative for Epyx and was released for several other platforms over the years. It was eventually ported to Amiga, Apple IIGS, Atari 2600, Atari ST, Atari Lynx, DOS, Sega Mega Drive, Amstrad CPC, ZX Spectrum, Nintendo Entertainment System, MSX and Sega Master System.

California Games was the original “Extreme Games” — what today’s generation might call “X-Games in the sun”. Compete in events such as skateboarding, footbag, surfing, roller skating, flying disc (frisbee) and BMX. Some events are ranked by judges (Surfing), which gives you a score to help you improve your routine.

Until next week… spend those Wii Points wisely.