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

Another solitary title has been thrust upon us most 'graciously' by Nintendo. Anyway enough from me and on with the erm... game!

Available for download this week we have...

• Shadow Dancer : The Secret of Shinobi

Points: 800
Publisher: Sega
Developer: Sega
Released: 1991
System: Megadrive

Originally this game was the arcade sequel to the popular Shinobi however the Megadrive got the excellent Revenge of Shinobi as its follow-up which was met with much praise upon its release. Because of this Shadow Dancer was released after it and before Shinobi III and as a result has a more 'arcade' feel to it as opposed to the better known titles.

Essentially though it's not even the same game because rather than it being a straight port all of the levels and enemies have been redone leaving only a few similarities to the arcade game in name and theme only. Set in a post-apocalyptic New York City from 1997 you must take down a gang of overgrown reptiles who have overtaken the place, using your ninja skills to restore peace, harmony and all that jazz; hardly the most 'cannon' storyline for the series but it does the job.

As for how it plays, you still have your regular sword-slicing and shuriken-slinging skills but the best addition has to be the ability to call upon your faithful canine companion called Yamato who will grab onto enemies with his teeth allowing you to take them out like a true Ninja; but be wary on how often you call upon him as if he takes a single hit from an enemy then he will turn into a harmless puppy for a short period of time making him somewhat cuter but altogether useless.

Getting to the end of each stage unharmed is the main goal but there is also the small matter of rescuing hostages � a loathed objective from the first arcade game � so it some ways it's a step forward in most areas but a step back in others. As always there is a boss battle at the end of each stage, most are pretty challenging and defeating them takes our hero Joe to a special stage where he jumps off a skyscraper taking out as many airborne enemies as possible before landing.

Stages look impressive in places for all the work thats gone into them with some rather stunning set-pieces such as one stage set around the statue of liberty that runs very well for the hardware it was produced on. Music is worth a special mention too as each track fits in well with each stage and adds that extra level of immersion which makes it all the more enjoyable to play.

Overall we have a Shinobi title that takes the arcade roots of the original, improves upon them and takes advantage of the more graphically and aurally capable hardware that its been rebuilt for. It may not be as accomplished as either Revenge of Shinobi or Return of the Ninja Master but lest we forget that this was the originally intended sequel to the arcade original and in that sense it succeeds on many levels and provides a very enjoyable experience indeed.

Verdict : Another successful Shinobi side-scrolling scrapper.

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
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