Sega has announced a set of three Genesis titles currently on deck to be released for the Wii’s Virtual Console. While a date has not been confirmed for any of these games, they are expected to debut for the traditional 800 points ($8) each, as is the case with other Genesis releases.

Perhaps the most exciting of the three new games is Virtua Fighter 2. First released for the console in 1996, the game built upon the grappling excellence of the original with refined visuals and a couple new characters. Well, refined visuals, for the time, I suppose. [url=http://www.mobygames.com/game/genesis/virtua-fighter-2/screenshots]Looking back on the game[/url], it’s really pretty ugly, but I digress.

However, for some inexplicable reason, neither of these new characters will be featured in the Virtual Console version. That’s right, no Chun Di or Lion Rafale for you. Characters featured in the game include Lau Chan, Kage Maru, Wolf Hawkfield, Jeffry McWild, Akira Yuki, Jacky Bryant, Sarah Bryant and Pai Chan. Without the Genesis version in front of me I’m unable to recall. Were these characters omitted from that version as well?

The next game announced is the mascot heavy Alex Kidd in the Enchanted Castle, which while being a largely forgettable romp from 1989, is still somewhat entertaining. However, it pales to the third member of this set, Wonder Boy in Monster World. While arguably inferior to the sublime Dragon’s Trap (or Dragon’s Curse), Westone’s Monster World ins nonetheless a terrific addition to the Virtual Console library, with its lush colorful graphics, lengthy quest, and charming platforming and RPG-lite atmosphere.

[img]http://www.snackbar-games.com/images/news/2007/03/Wonder Boy in Monster World.jpg[/img]