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

Three titles this week, up for the count is a platformer featuring Dracula, a technically impressive horizontally scrolling shooter and a flawed yet fun fighter just for good measure; anyway enough from me and on with the games!

Available for download this week we have...

• Castlevania II : Simon's Quest
• Gate of Thunder
• World Heroes

Points: 500
Publisher: Nintendo
Developer: Konami
Released: 1990
System: NES

Castlevania was originally a classic for it's time; albeit a difficult example of it's genre which had some annoyingly designed parts but despite that it quickly gained a cult following. So what next for Konami? Oh yes a sequel and with a sequel comes more of the same but bigger and better; well sort of...

In fact this is more a case of Konami doing for Castlevania what Nintendo did for Mario and Zelda's second outing; instead of being purely limited to side scrolling sections you start off exploring an overworld which contains multiple dungeons (cleverly dubbed Mansions in keeping with the theme) and towns much like in true RPG fashion.

Dracula has been resurrected in a weakened form, his body parts have been scattered around the world inside mansions and he needs them to become stronger (which then later became a popular trait for the series ). Simon Belmont is tasked with collecting all of the body parts to revive Dracula and then kill him for good, though to be honest destroying the parts might have been simpler but I digress.

The meat of this game can be found in the mansions where you must do battle with many minions of the count who are much stronger than those found elsewhere; the main goal here is to find a salesperson who will sell you a solid oak steak which you must use to break an Orb at the end of the mansion which will grant you access to one of the body parts which you seek. Upon collection of all severed limbs and associated appendages off to Dracula's castle you go to "own" Dracula, which coincidentally is disappointingly easy to do, some replay value can be derived from treading the game once more to get the better endings.

It's a reasonably decent game for the console it was released on which has some distinctly detailed graphics combined with a haunting soundtrack which plays throughout, setting the scene nicely. As a Castlevania game though and indeed the first sequel it falls short a bit, yes it adds some interesting traits (some of which got recycled in later outings) and a very different brand of gameplay from the original, but thats all it really is, different; no better than the original, not terrible but just not as good.

Verdict: A fun follow-up to the fang-tastic original.

Points: 800
Publisher: Hudson
Developer: Red Entertainment
Released: 1992
System: Turbografx CD

Though mostly unheard of if you weren't overly familiar with the Turbografx CD (admittedly a niche piece of hardware) this schmup is quite iconic inside it's own circle. It's not really hard to see why either, as for a start it features some of the most sumptuous graphics and techniques found in it's era of release, coupled with a well suited hard-rock soundtrack which perfectly promotes the amped up feeling which this shooter goes all out to deliver.

Opening with an admirably well animated intro which fills you in on the plot, which revolves around the main character who you control (an agent called Hawk) and the evil force whom he must stop from doing evil stuff called the Obbellon fighters. After that it's straight into the action which comes at a fast, furious and frenetic pace; there isn't really a single passable moment as the game constantly gives it's best the entire time you are playing.

While everything from the ship spawn patterns to the level design isn't anything that hasn't been seen or done before, it's the way that it's all put together which really elevates the enjoyment level that much higher than that of just any old shooter. It's challenging too but not in a way that may see you sending your chosen controller hurtling through the air at a velocity comparable to the ships themselves; no the game is in fact rather well paced with a good learning curve and a respectful level of difficulty which in short means that if you lose a ship, you accept it and move on with no blame of the game.

A nice weapon selection is available which again is nothing unseen but they are well placed and give an exquisite sense of equilibrium throughout. Impressive too are the boss battles which are perfectly paced, coupled with some particularly delicious designs on the creatures themselves which are nicely imaginative as opposed to derivative; so there is originality here also but it's in select slices rather than spades.

Easily ranking right up there with the likes of Thunderforce IV this truly is a terrific title that maybe didn't receive as great an audience as it deserved at the time due to the niche market which it was originally aimed at. Now that it has reached the VC however it has the potential to be enjoyed by many more; if you really are really serious about schmups then you are in for a real treat here and even if your not this is a title well crafted enough to ensure enjoyment.

Verdict: A substantially sumptuous and solid schmup.

Points: 900
Publisher: SNK
Developer: ADK
Released: 1992
System: NeoGeo

Here we have another clone of the superb Street Fighter II which so many tirelessly tried to emulate during the height of it's success. What does this title offer then? A storyline revolving around fighters from around the world competing to be the best? Check, vivid visuals? Indeed, reasonable gameplay? Certainly, so what makes this game special then?

It's cast of crazed controllable combatants is what really sets this game apart from the crowd, first we have the obligatory main characters who predictably use near identical move-sets to those famously flaunted by Ryu and Ken in SFII. After that though it truly is anything goes with a comedic collection including Brocken a German robot with an uncanny resemblance to M.Bison, Rasputin the Russian monk and even Geegus the extraordinary extraterrestrial who can transform into any one of the other fighters.

Even with this extensive cast though, World of heroes is somewhat lacking as even though it may have a style all of it's own it sadly lacks the substance of the innovative title which it imitated. Some fun may be derived from the semi-original death match mode where you fight it out with weapons but in reality your more likely to find the battle mode found in Streets of Rage II more entertaining; this is a decent effort but it falls short by a long way and unless you happened to be a fan of this game when it was originally released there really isn't enough to recommend here.

Verdict: A fatally flawed, flat fighter that falls short.

Thats 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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