Game Gear emulation on 3DS earned high marks from us when it launched, but its output since launch has been notably low. So low, in fact, that the three initial launch titles are still the only ones available. Nintendo has plans to change that, with a veritable flood of Game Gear titles making their way to the 3DS Virtual Console.
Despite offering a full color screen against Nintendo's green dot-matrix, Sega's Game Gear hasn't been so lovingly remembered. The handheld didn't have the library of its competitor, the GameBoy. It's legacy largely consists of slowdown, blur, and poor battery life. So as Virtual Console offerings go, Game Gear is probably the least revered. That's why it's such a pleasant surprise that, despite a weaker stable of games, the emulation itself puts others to shame.
March 15 will mark the first appearance of Game Gear on the Nintendo 3DS Virtual Console, Nintendo has announced. The first set will include Sonic the Hedgehog: Triple Trouble, Shinobi, and Dragon Crystal, as we saw in the Japanese line-up. Nintendo also dropped word of a another classic title on the way.
The first batch of Game Gear games are set to hit the 3DS eShop in Japan and Europe soon, and Sega has teased a look at the presentation we can expect. Like the Game Boy titles, Game Gear packs a nifty easter egg that imitates a system border (above).
Last year, Nintendo promised that Game Gear games would be available on the 3DS Virtual Console. Sega pledged five games would be available for the launch of the eShop and unfortunately, that has yet to come to fruition. It appears the (game) gears are finally in motion. The ESRB has rated two Game Gear games for release on the 3DS.
"I need to bust my Game Gear and TV Tuner out now...thanks. >:("
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