Welcome to VC Weekly, N-Europe's guide to the wonderful world of Nintendo's download service. Written by Sam C Gittins.

This week brings us a classic Sega title from the very start of the golden 16-bit era and a most welcome addition to the Virtual Console it is indeed. Anyway enough from me and on with the erm... game!

Available for download this week we have...

• The Revenge of Shinobi

Points: 800
Publisher: Sega
Developer: Sega
Released: 1989
System: Megadrive

As a series Shinobi has proven itself to be successful over the years but in its humble beginnings it was nothing more than an original arcade game that while entertaining didn't go as far as it could have. Clearly there was untapped potential here though which thankfully Sega recognised and so upon the release of their new 16-bit console the Megadrive they went all-out to produce the sequel which would go on to be responsible for ensuring the series would go down in history.

Taking on the role of Joe Musashi you're out for revenge against the newly formed criminal group 'Neo-Zeed' who caused much trouble before under their previous guise of 'Zeed' in the prequel. You will traverse through eight streamlined stage split into three sections each; no longer are you tasked with rescuing hostages but merely making it from one end of the stage to the other.

Of course it's not actually that simple as there is the small matter of getting past numerous nefarious Ninja's, deadly dogs, merciless mercenaries and much more besides; not forgetting the perilous pitfalls and treacherous traps thrown in for good measure. Thankfully you're well prepared with a healthy supply of shurikens to throw not to mention a sword for close quarters combat; that's not all of course because the true nature of your talent lies in the jumping ability you posses in which extending at the zenith enables you to jump even higher and rain down a fist-full of projectiles from above.

Mastering the ways of the Ninja is no easy thing however and you will most likely plummet to your demise many a time throughout the course of your journey; you have a life-bar this time around though which can be topped-up by destroying crates but beware as many boxes will contain bombs which aren't so beneficial to your health. One other power you possess is that of Ninjitsu which allows you to call upon the power of Ikazuchi; lightning that protects Joe, Karyu; flames from above which engulf all enemies, Fushin; an enhanced jumping ability and finally Mijin; causes Joe to explode, sacrificing a life with devastating effects; all of these techniques can only be used once per stage with the exception of Mijin, they are a last resort however so use them wisely!

From a visual standpoint this is an impressive piece of work indeed considering that it was one of the very first Megadrive titles, usually it's not until near the end of a consoles life that the more impressive graphical examples arise and indeed it may be true that Shinobi III is a lot more vibrant but the gritty yet realistically detailed style of this title is an excellent achievement for its time of release and indeed in many cases is even favoured over its sharper looking sequel. Everything from the atmospheric title screen, expertly animated sprites and beautiful backdrops are rendered with an amazing amount of detail and help to set the scene very nicely indeed.

Yet for all of its visual splendour this game would still be nothing without the audible talent of composer Yuzo Koshiro who is responsible for creating the soundtrack which is nothing short of being simply stunning and is held in very high regard to this very day. Each track is expertly executed and manages to convey completely the feeling of each environment that that it was paired up with; from Forests to Military Bases to the very Rooftops, everything sounds as it should, reinforcing everything and making the experience whole.

It's worth noting that there have been a few subtle alterations to this VC incarnation because in its original first release on the MD there were several bosses which resembled (among others) Marvel characters; these included the car throwing boss that turned green Incredible Hulk style and then into some Terminator style robot near the end. Most notably though inside a warehouse you could fight Spiderman who transformed into Batman for the final part; this was changed though many times due to licensing issues and what you are left with in the VC version is... a Pink Spiderman and something that resembles a bat-person; it's a shame that it couldn't have been left unchanged, it doesn't have a negative effect on the games quality but be aware that if you want to see Spidey in his original glory then you'll need to check out either the MD version or Sega Arcade Classics on the Mega-CD.

Tampering with the bosses aside though - which are all satisfyingly challenging by the way - the original game remains intact and as amazingly playable as it always was a whole two decades ago. It may be slower paced than Shinobi III being that character movement was made more agile in each sequel but make no mistake that this is still one of the best examples of the series ever created that has stood the test of time superbly and hopefully will do so for some time yet.

That's it for another installment of VC Weekly which will return again soon. So until then, enjoy the rest of the week and Game On!

Sam Gittins
[email protected]

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