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

Sorry about the lateness of this guys, new PC 'n all that. Taken me a while to get things back to how I want them. Yeah, I'm rather picky! Anyway, only two games this week so it might be a little shorter than normal, especially since one of the titles is one of my favourite games ever made.

A couple of other things, apologies about the forum vote not being added last week - this was due to St. Patrick's Day (our site director Conor is Irish, hehe). So, basically, he was a little... tipsy to say the least. Another thing is, from this week I'll be supplying screenshots, so no more confusion and wrong posted things. {Wow, I come off well - Conor]

Let's get on with the games now shall we? This week, as previously mentioned we have two new offerings on the Virtual Console, they are:

• The Legend of Zelda: A Link To The Past
• Castlevania

Points: 800
Publisher: Nintendo
Developer: Nintendo
Released: 24th November 1992
System: SNES

If you're a Zelda fan you're bound to know this one. After Zelda II, the 'black sheep' of the series, was released, Nintendo set to work on its sequel. However, it played much more like the original NES game. The game obviously became, The Legend of Zelda: A Link To The Past.

This Zelda game was the one that started all the conventions. Every Zelda game that has come out after A Link To The Past has used something from it, be it the music, the graphics style, the storyline or even the items. The game opens as our hero, Link, is called by Zelda in his dreams during a ferocious storm. As the game progresses, you save Zelda and all of Hyrule. The game differed from previous games however, as it had two different maps. The dark and the light worlds, you even start off a bunny for a while in the dark world! The worlds are however, identical and the only difference is the colours, enemies and other accessible areas. It was used more for puzzle solving and storytelling than anything.

90% of people have played this game, it is after all a classic and a masterpiece. Some, in fact, prefer it to Ocarina of Time. This game has a unique charm that was only later realised by The Wind Waker. It may be rather simplistic in explanation, but it's incredibly complex in execution, and it is very, very long: the story was epic at the time it was released. It still very much stands the test of time, the graphical touches here and there are smart, sprites are all rich in detail and there are so many varied backdrops. The soundtrack also stands out as one of the greatest ever composed, thanks to Koji Kondo and the sound effects are just spot on.

This game really is still an incredible title. If you've never played it, buy it. If you haven't played it since the SNES days, buy it. The only reason not to, would be to if you explored everywhere, everything, got every item, got every heart piece. In essence, A Link To The Past sums up everything that was astounding about the SNES era, an astounding technical and artistic achievement that will forever stand the test of time.

Verdict: A genius game, from the beginning to the very end.

Points: 500
Publisher: Konami
Developer: Konami
Released: 19th December 1988
System: NES

Our second title this week, probably very much over shadowed by Zelda, is the original Castlevania. I have a feeling this was put out this week to counteract Symphony of the Night that just went up on the XBOX Live Arcade. But anyway, let's introduce this title.

Castlevania, known as 'Demon Castle Dracula' in Japan, was a platformer with some RPG conventions. You play as Simon Belmont, as he traverse through Dracula's castles six levels. This game does not play like modern Castlevania games; it does not play like a Metroid game. There is only one real specific route and there is very little backtracking, if any. This game is basically running from left to right, killing things with your upgradable whip and collectable sub-weapons whilst collecting hearts by killing enemies and destroying candelabra. That said, it's still pretty fun.

The game is pretty basic: with some skill, you can easily finish it without dying, as it offers little challenge and is extremely short. Don't be expecting many epic boss fights like in modern Castlevania games due to the limitations of the NES console. The game heavily borrows from horror stories as boss fights include: Dr. Frankenstein's monster, the Grim Reaper and Medusa.

There are, however, complaints about this game which at the time you would probably not be all that bothered about. But, you can't change direction in mid air and you can't jump up and downstairs. Although these may not seem large factors, mobility is sometimes an issue with this game. Graphically, it's fairly basic. The sprites are very pixelated even for an NES game, but the backgrounds are colourful and suit the scenery well. The music, though, is classic and has been used in many Castlevania games that have been released.

Should you buy this game? Not if you haven't played Super Castlevania, as it is a far better game. But if you're a diehard, it's a pretty good one for only 500 points.

Verdict: Very little challenge, but fun little title.

This is hardly surprising. Link To The Past grabs the fans and is storming ahead... here!

Zelda: A Link To The Past (87%)

That's us for this week, enjoy your classic Zelda! Normal service should resume this Friday. And remember, you can keep up to date with our Virtual Console reviews on our super VIRTUAL CONSOLE PAGE.