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

Four games, three sega one not... three solid pieces of software and one piece of Turbografx trash; quite honestly I don't know if there is any kind of quality control going on with TG releases, there are enough decent titles on it just as there are on the Sega and Nintendo's machines so why release the rubbish games which are best forgotten?

Anyway, thankfully we also have three decent examples this week so it's less of an issue; enough from me and on with the games!

Available for download this week we have...

• Drop Off
• Dynamite Headdy
• Shining Force
• Shinobi III Return of the Ninja Master

Points: 600
Publisher: Hudsonsoft
Developer: G-mode
Released: 1990
System: Turbografx

I'm sure every gamer is quite likely to have at least heard of the classic Atari game Breakout; a game which is essentially an "epic" tale of bat and ball versus the wall in which you move a block left and right to ricochet a ball against walls to destroy blocks. Drop Off is basically a clone of a classic which takes the basic formula of the original block buster and attempts to add "more" to it somewhat unsuccessfully.

Firstly this game has a storyline of sorts; a woman falls into a coma in which she dreams of endless hordes of fearsome and formidable fruit! Her boyfriend with the help of a fairy, enters her nightmare and proceeds to do battle with the evil demon controlling the organic oddities by breaking through the wall of edible enemies which stands between him and the final confrontation by use of a mighty weapon... a bat and ball!

Yes the story is quite frankly laughable and really does not add anything to the dreadfully dull proceedings aside from maybe providing a little comic relief but seeing as the rest of the game is basically a joke anyway it's of little consequence. So the basic flow goes a little something like this; you hit the ball at the wall of fruit, a piece will either get destroyed or will fall, you dodge the fruit while attempting to hit the ball back again, lather, rinse and repeat until finished.

But wait, theres more! Power ups which can rewind the descending debris which can save your paddle from coming to a sticky end. The actual block you get to repel the ball with is actually annoyingly small, there is a row of blocks beneath your paddle as a fail-safe but using it often occurs a point penalty and doesn't really make up for the frustration caused by repeated misses due to the titles poor design.

Although this game offers a lot of additional elements (which even include boss fights for god's sake) they really aren't needed as this is a classic case of where less is more. This is a prime example of a clone that tries to add depth to the original game which owes it's success to simplicity; Drop Off is a complete and epic failure of a game which was bad two decades ago and is even worse now, it hasn't just aged badly, it's died and decayed along the way.

Verdict : It's balls and not of the canine variety.

Points: 800
Publisher: Sega
Developer: Treasure
Released: 1994
System: Megadrive

For a developer of predominantly some of the best fast paced shooting games ever conceived such as Gunstar Heroes and Radiant Silvergun this is something of a departure for a much treasured creator of video-games. Dynamite Headdy is a platform title where you control the titular puppet who frequently loses his head; while it may not be as fast paced as most of Treasures titles this is certainly not one to be overlooked.

As aforementioned the storyline sees the main character Dynamite Headdy who journeys to North Town to visit his friends Beau, Hangman and Headcase only to find that the evil puppet master Dark Demon King has launched an attack on the area in a process of selection to determine which of the residents he will attempt to convert into his minions. Headdy is captured but is rejected for conversion and so is destined for the incinerator; but he escapes from the Dark Demon's drones and sets off to defeat the malicious monarch.

So with that you must journey forth and defeat the keymasters who serve as the main obstacle between you and the final confrontation as well as others who will get in your way such as Headdy's rival Trouble Bruin who will stop at nothing to steal the spotlight. This title manages to distance itself from the plethora of platform games that were available at the time due to an ingenious and original gameplay mechanic; he can change his head!

Not only does he use his cranium to climb and crush enemies but at context sensitive points in the adventure he can transform his head with such abilities as bomb, hammer and even vacuum which helps to add variation and humor to the proceedings. Everything has a lot of character to it and a unique charm of it's own brought to life through it's gloriously glamorous graphics and unnervingly upbeat audio which makes for an easily endearing title which is quite literally in places a blast to play and is well worth persevering with through its more challenging parts

It may not quite be on the same level of greatness as such revered classics like Super Mario World or Sonic 2 but it still remains one of the best platform titles of it's time and is unashamedly underrated. If you didn't get to play this gem of a game in it's day then this is the perfect opportunity to acquaint yourself with a brilliantly original title; as much as the Virtual Console is about playing those classics that we fondly remember it's also about discovering those lesser known games that you may have been curious about, Dynamite Headdy is exactly that for many so what better time than now.

Verdict: An overtly original platform title that turns the genre on it's head.

Points: 800
Publisher: Sega
Developer: Camelot
Released: 1993
System: Megadrive

Camelot is a developer most recently known for the development of various Nintendo sports titles of the Mario variety as well as the excellent Golden Sun series on the GBA. In it's early days however they were responsible for a certain well known RPG series that went on to spawn a slew of successful sequels and spin-offs; the name of that series is of course the spectacular Shining Force.

While this may be the first title to feature the "Shining Force" moniker it's technically not the first in the series due to the lesser known Shining in the Darkness being released a year before. It's a noteworthy point as the two games are drastically different as the first released is a dungeon crawler comparable to the first Phantasy Star title while the title in question is a turn-based strategy RPG not too dissimilar to the fantastic Fire Emblem series.

It's storyline starts with a generally familiar premise for it's era; A place known as Guardiana located in the land of Rune which is home to a race of people called the Ancients are guarding a great evil known as the Dark Dragon aka the Lord of Darkness. However a thousand years pass, peace and prosperity reign for a time until an evil person by the name of Dark Soul is planning to unleash the imprisoned beast and this is where you come in as the hero of Rune as you assemble an army of warriors, a "Shining Force" to defeat the darkness that threatens the land.

Yes it may be a clichéd story but the narrative is handled with admirable aplomb which manages to keep you engaged throughout your epic adventure. On the surface it may seem quite visually sparse but scratch beneath that and it becomes apparent that this game employs it's own simplistic style which has a unique charm which suits the overall experience well. The musical score used also helps to keep things ticking over nicely and is a compliment to what is already a solid all-round effort.

A lot is on offer in this classic role-playing offering; an expansive expedition of epic proportions awaits you with a decent amount of diversions along the way through multiple missions and traversable towns which ensure that theres always something to do. If your looking for an older RPG with a lot of depth then look beyond this titles seemingly simplistic exterior and you might be pleasantly surprised.

Verdict: Still shines strongly; a superb strategy RPG.

Points: 800
Publisher: Sega
Developer: Sega
Released: 1993
System: Megadrive

Ninjas seem to be a popular subject matter for many a game and while the Ninja Gaiden games from Tecmo are often considered to be the zenith of this bespoke genre, Sega's Shinobi series easily ranks alongside it as some of the best stealth based side scrolling action games. The franchise started in 1987 and introduced several elements to established platform mechanics such as advanced enemy A.I and multiple layers; two years later the Revenge of Shinobi was released to critical acclaim and still remains one of the most popular Megadrive games.

Fast forward another four years which brings us to the title in question; Shinobi III is the second official sequel in the series which stars Joe Musashi in his last starring role in the two dimensional incarnations of the series. In this installment he does battle with the once thought defeated evil crime syndicate Neo Zeed and their overlord known only as the Shadow Master; you assume the role of Shinobi, stronger than steel and faster than a whirlwind, the last keeper of the Oboro Ninjitsu techniques. Only he can stop Neo Zeed.

Significantly more advanced than it's predecessor, this incarnation introduces several improvements and in the way of a much smoother method of execution which gives it a feeling of refined superiority. Gone are the days of trying for the nth time to get past a part which requires a precise press of certain buttons and ambling along at walking speed; introduced in place is a much faster brand of gameplay which works fantastically well and better complements the games Ninja theme.

The new running ability and an advanced array of acrobatic attacks really helps to open up the game and makes it the most playable in the series by a long way. As your performing mid-air dashkicks and jump scaling walls and obstacles through the games varied locales (including such beautifully rendered locations as caves, forests and even a neo-metropolis) you begin to really appreciate the new enhancements which offer a great sense of interaction with your environments and is effortlessly enjoyable.

With a brilliant barrage of bosses, a superb scene-setting score, side-stages and more that accompany an astonishingly good level design; this is a true Sega classic thats easily the zenith of it's series. Shinobi III is a title which hasn't really aged at all and is as welcome an addition to the Virtual Console service as it was on it's original format at it's time of release and is well recommended.

Verdict: The most successful Shinobi sequel to date.

And so another edition of VC Weekly comes to an end, but it will return again soon so until then, enjoy the rest of the week and Game On!

Sam Gittins
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