Today marks a very special day in Nintendoland, with the Nintendo Wii receiving its 100th downloadable title via the Virtual Console service. The chosen game isn’t perhaps the greatest of them all, but 100 games in six months or so isn’t bad going at all!.

Before we give you the low down on this week’s entries, here’s what George Harrison, Nintendo of America’s senior vice president of marketing and corporate communications, had to say about the achievement:

“With an Internet connection rate reaching 40 percent, Wii owners have more options than ever to find the kinds of games they love to play. Beyond the Wii Shop Channel, all types of people are getting connected and checking out the information and entertainment options available on the Wii Menu. Whether voting, creating a Mii or just checking the weather, everyone has a favorite channel.”

Milon’s Secret Castle is an action-adventure game released by Hudson Soft for the Nintendo Famicom (Japan) on November 13, 1986, the Nintendo Entertainment System (USA) in September, 1988, and the Game Boy on March 26, 1993. Although quirky, the title has generally been considered extremely difficult and frustrating. There are no save points, and once a player runs out of life, the game is over. However, it is possible to continue, after obtaining the first crystal. Purchase at your peril!

Milon’s Secret Castle® (NES®, 1 player, Rated E for Everyone - Comic Mischief, 500 Wii Points):

“It is a world where music is the language of the people. An evil warlord from the north arrives and captures the castle. The princess is imprisoned deep within the castle, and the world’s musical instruments are taken and hidden away. Our hero, Milon, takes it upon himself to fight the warlord, rescue the princess and recover the people’s musical instruments. He has only his wits and the magical Bubble to aid him on his quest. Help Milon along the way by looking for hidden doors, finding secret items and defeating fierce enemies. Make sure to look for the shops inside the castle, where you can buy hints and valuable items. Whenever Milon finds a Music Box, he will be transported to a bonus stage. Each instrument you find will add a layer to the background music. Try to grab all seven instruments to create a performance worthy of a music-themed game.”

In contrast to the original ToeJam and Earl, Planet in Funkotron takes the form of a side-scrolling platformer. Collecting humans in jars is the name of the game, better explained by Nintendo’s very own blurb below. Expect the same kind of ‘wacky’ and ‘zany’ behaviour as that in its prequel.

ToeJam & Earl™ in Panic on Funkotron (Sega Genesis, 1-2 players, Rated E for Everyone - Comic Mischief, 800 Wii Points):

“During ToeJam and Earl’s trip back home, a number of Earthlings hitchhiked on their spaceship and are now infesting planet Funkotron. ToeJam and Earl must track down the Earthlings in order to capture them in large jars and ship them back to Earth in spaceships. It is also their funky mission to find 10 beloved objects belonging to Lamont the “Funkapotamus,” the source of all funk in the universe, so they can persuade him to return to his favorite funk-filled planet. ToeJam and Earl must use their “funk powers,” such as Funk Move and Funk Scan, to assist in evading and capturing the Earthlings.”

Well done Virtual Console!

Dead Moon is a video game released for the TurboGrafx-16. It was developed and published by Natsume Inc. and released on February 22, 1991 in Japan and later in 1991 in the United States. It is a side scrolling action shooter with the player piloting a space ship in order to stop an alien infestation of the Moon. The game starts out on Earth but then sends the player into outer space to combat the attack.

Dead Moon (TurboGrafx16, 1 player, Rated E for Everyone - Mild Fantasy Violence, 600 Wii Points):

“This side-scrolling shooter includes a total of six scenes spanning areas from Earth to the moon. The story begins with a comet discovered in the vicinity of Pluto that is headed on a sudden collision course with Earth. Mankind narrowly succeeds in diverting the comet’s course, and it crashes into the moon. However, investigations into the damage uncover that what hit the moon was not a comet, but a gigantic mother ship. Power up your ship, destroy enemies and fight your way through the bosses in an attempt to reach the moon’s core and protect Earth from alien invasion. Enjoy the unique world of Dead Moon, including various stages with beautiful backgrounds, a power-up system that increases your attack as well as your defense and bosses that have you altering your ship’s direction to fight them.”

…and the 100th game in the Wii Shop Channel:

Zelda II is a direct sequel to the original Legend of Zelda, and again involves the protagonist Link (now 16 years old) on a quest to save a new Princess Zelda who has fallen under a sleeping spell. Zelda II’s emphasis on side-scrolling and RPG-style elements, however, was a significant change from its predecessor (The Legend of Zelda) and has given it the common reputation as the “black sheep” of the series. Nonetheless, the game was highly successful and introduced many elements that would become commonplace in future Zelda games. It was followed in 1992 by The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past for the Super NES.

Zelda II™ - The Adventure of Link® (NES, 1 player, Rated E for Everyone - Mild Fantasy Violence, 500 Wii Points):

“Link returns to Hyrule to search for the Triforce and to awaken Zelda from an endless sleep. Embark on a quest to find the Triforce of Courage and save Hyrule from ruin. Learn magic spells, talk to people in towns to get clues, collect items to increase your power and explore six palaces where the underlings of the evil Ganon await you. This sequel to the Adventure classic uses a side-scrolling visual engine unique to the series for more technical combat, and features more in-depth world roaming as Link encounters townsfolk while on his quest.”

Will you be celebrating the Virtual Console’s landmark achievement with a purchase of one of its games?