Adventure Island: The Beginning

Adventure Island: The Beginning, known in Japan as Takahashi Meijin no Bōken Jima Wii (高橋名人の冒険島Wii), is a platform game released for the Wii's WiiWare service. It was developed and published by Hudson Soft.

Gameplay
The game features gameplay similar to the Nintendo Entertainment System version of Adventure Island, but with a 3D graphics makeover. Players control Master Higgins, running and jumping through levels and dispatching enemies with axes, boomerangs and spears. They must also collect food items in order to maintain a constantly depleting vitality meter. Players can also upgrade their abilities and weapons by finding golden melons and trading them in at a shop on the overworld map.

The game also features four minigames, including skateboarding (that uses the motion sensing of the Wii Remote), axe throwing and a virtual re-creation of Hudson's 16-Shot handheld gaming device, which measures how many button presses a player can achieve in a second.

Reception
Prior to release, the game had been criticized by several reviewers who previewed the game. JC Fletcher from Joystiq criticized the 3D makeover, saying that "we do wish that Hudson had taken the Mega Man 9 route, because the 3D makeover isn't working". Ray Barnholt from 1UP.com noted that the game looked "remarkably similar" to Hudson Selection Adventure Island, the previously released GameCube and PlayStation 2 remake of the first game, and felt that the graphics in the remake were "more appealing" than their Adventure Island: The Beginning rendition. IGN called it "an enjoyable, entertaining update to a classic franchise" but lamented the lack of improvements to the presentation.