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

Literally nothing to see here that hasn't been seen before this time around as yet another 'duplicate' game gets added to the Virtual Console. Anyway enough from me and on with the erm... game!

Available for download this week we have...

• R-Type

Points: 500
Publisher: Sega
Developer: Irem
Released: 1987
System: Master System

Some repeated releases on the VC are welcome, for instance when a technically superior port triumphs over a questionable one that may have been available before but when you already have the best port of an arcade game then what happens when years later an inferior port is released? Read on to find out...

R-Type is a classic horizontal side-scrolling shooter that has been ported across to many different platforms over the years and since 2006 we have had the Turbografx version which was a near-perfect arcade port, the quality of which still shines through today. But now we have the 8-Bit Master System port complete with a whole load of flicker and not a good deal else.

Now back in the day of its release this would have still been a much enjoyed MS game because the NES did not have a port of this and it's still better than the versions that were released on the 'less-capable' 8-Bit machines which were even more of a mess. There is even a secret level hidden away in this version though this doesn't really add up to much today because as gamers we expect better and why shouldn't we?

It's still the same fighting through wave upon wave of alien creatures/spacecraft as you attempt to take down the evil Bydo empire, there are still 'Pods' to pick up and behemoth-sized bosses to destroy. But honestly, if you had the choice today of playing a near arcade-perfect port and a drastically cut-back, poorly presented and substandard effort then which would you honestly pick? Because the superior version has been available for years.

As a game it's all still 'there' but as a port it's nothing short of shoddy by todays standards, so please avoid this unnecessary entry in the Virtual Console library and if you do decide to pick up R-Type then please make sure it's the Turbografx version because it's how the game is meant to be played, not like this.

Verdict : Poorly placed port of an arcade classic game.

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]

Looking for reviews on other Virtual Console games? Or a full list of games available on the system? Then Check out our Virtual Console Index Page.