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

Fans of the original Metroid may enjoy this release as it's not too dissimilar and even gives it a run for its money in this quirky platform title. Anyway enough from me and on with the game!

Available for download this week we have...

• Ufouria

Points: 500
Publisher: Sunsoft
Developer: Sunsoft
Released: 1992
System: NES

You'd be forgiven for not being familiar with this game due to its relative obscurity and scarce availability in its original form but if I were to say to you that Ufouria is basically a simplified version of Metroid that actually manages to better it in places then I suspect a good few people would take notice. So now that I have your attention I'd like to tell you a little bit about why this criminally overlooked game is a real diamond in the rough.

Taking on the role of a snowman shaped mascot 'Bop-Louie' you must navigate a strange world that you and your friends have fallen into with your mission being that of rescuing your companions and ultimately escaping from this peculiar place. There are a limited amount of abilities to gain as using the skills of your friends - once you find them - is the key to beating the game as you'll find yourself switching between them frequently as and when required.

Swapping out characters is somewhat awkwardly done via a menu so you basically have to pause the game in order to do this which may break the flow but can be especially useful in certain instances saving you from several near death moments providing you remember to pause. Controllable characters are pretty defenceless on the whole bar a stomp and throw attack which is a stark contrast to Metroid as is the decidedly easy difficulty level.

One big plus point is the map which makes navigating the games various areas a rather joyful experience seeing as you're nearly always progressing and shouldn't have too much trouble with any part of the game, not even the bosses which are more entertaining than fearful. Visually everything is rather nicely rendered and audibly there really isn't much to complain about either which should come as no surprise given Sunsoft's excellent reputation.

If you're looking for a decent and original platformer that has a fair deal to explore then this is surely the game for you, it may be a little on the easy side but that doesn't make it any less charming. It's a darn site cheaper than obtaining the actual cartridge too, unless you have hundreds of pounds to splash on it - assuming you can find a copy - this VC release is both cheap and cheerful.

Verdict : A pedestrian paced but perfectly playable platformer.

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.