Welcome to VC Weekly, N-Europe's guide to the wonderful world of Nintendo's download service. Written by Jordan Khoviteri-Zadeh.

Welcome to our second instalment of VC Weekly! Okay, so right off the bat, last week two things struck me when I was reading through the comments that were posted. Firstly, I am completely ditching the current score system, due to several factors but mostly because what I rate as average (5/10) some people don't. A prime example is Kirby, which, compared to Super Mario Bros, is plain average in my opinion. Let me say outright, I love the Kirby games, especially Power Paintbrush (or Canvas Curse, depending on your territory) it's just a shame I got such comments about my scoring. Almost feels like I'm Jeff Gerstmann. Anyway, the other change is that (mostly due to confusion) I'm removing the size of downloads as it can vary from system to system. So let's get on with the show shall we?

The last few days have been fairly hectic with the release of two rather high profile games fairly close to each other: Excitetruck and Sonic and The Secret Rings. But let's forget about all these new games and concentrate on the old! This week saw the release of a much loved NES game and an N64 game still touted as The Best Game Ever�.

They are of course:

• Kid Icarus
• The Legend of Zelda: The Ocarina of Time

The games shall be reviewed in the same way as last week, only the rating will be based on words. So if it's an awful game 'Instantly forgettable' or a classic 'Masterpiece'. You get the idea.

Points: 500
Publisher: Nintendo
Developer: Intelligent Systems
Released: 1987 (No exact EU date)
System: NES

Kid Icarus can only be described as a mixture of three Nintendo games: The Legend of Zelda, Super Mario Bros and Metroid. I say this because it features platforming, item collection and RPG elements. This may sound a little weird, but actually it kind of works. You'll start the game just like the original Metroid: you're given this huge world and you have to find your way around it, meaning some young gamers might become frustrated... not to mention the game is incredibly hard. I can't mention the amount of times I died within the first 20 minutes of me playing it.

The game centres on collecting the hearts dropped by enemies, to level up the main character Pit. He can also gain weapons to increase his power and move set. Combined with some fiendish platforming and this game does become quite fun, the only downside being if you drop to the bottom of the screen, it's instant death. The game also uses a left to right structure, but the screen only scrolls vertically meaning you get 'warped' to the other side of the screen. This means that often there are two routes or more routes you can take in a level, meaning replayability is high.

The graphics and sound in Icarus still have some charm. The midi beats are quite toe tapping, the music also changes as you approach different enemy types such as the Grim Reaper. The graphics, although simple still look nice to this day as the game used the Metroid engine to great effect. There is some slowdown, but it's very infrequent and doesn't really hinder the gameplay experience.

One thing that hardened Icarus fans might not like, however, was the removal of the so called 'Icarus Code'. It was secret code system is completely removed from the game, due to the fact that the Wii can suspend the game until you come back to it. But this means that certain cheats have been removed.

Overall, Kid Icarus is a tough but highly enjoyable game that I can highly rate for anyone who wants a challenge.

Verdict: Highly Enjoyable Classic

Points: 1000
Publisher: Nintendo
Developer: Nintendo EAD
Released: 18th December 1998
System: N64

As if this game needs any introduction at all. The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, which is seen in many eyes as gaming perfection, has been unleashed the Virtual Console, not only that but Europe was the first territory to receive it, isn't that nice?

You all know the story: a strange boy by the name of Link is chosen by the Great Deku Tree to receive a fairy, known as Navi to help him stop the evil Ganondorf. Yup, text book Zelda. However, Ocarina was the first 3D Zelda and it still, incredibly stands up to today's other 3D action adventures and the other titles in the Zelda franchise.

This is by far the lengthiest game so far on the VC, clocking in at around 30-50 hours of gameplay and even longer if you consider the side quests. As you probably all know, Link must travel across Hyrule Field and enter many regions such as: Kakariko village, Death Mountain, Zora's Domain, Gerudo Valley and Hyrule Castle. All of these locations are still instantly memorable and utterly unforgettable in every sense. You'll remember all the music, all the (fantastic for their time) graphics, all the enemies, all the outstanding bosses. Hell, you might even remember why this is probably the best Zelda game.

If you haven't played this game, download it right now. This very second! The only reason not to download this game is if you own it several times or you've played it to death. It may not have the beauty of The Wind Waker or the epic scale of Twilight Princess but Ocarina of Time still stands tall as in many opinions as the greatest in the series... now bring on Majora's Mask Nintendo.

There isn't much more I can mention about this game, you all know about its fun and often frustrating temples, its item collection, the characters, the story sequences... just go play it!

My only problem with this game; isn't the game parse but why on Earth are Nintendo releasing all their best games so fast on the VC? It's a worrying thought that some time down the line, we'll be stuck with awful 3rd party games! Oh well, for the meantime, let's not complain too much.

Verdict: Utter Masterpiece

That's it for this week, retronauts. Now go off and remember all over again why the Water Temple is a son of a whore.