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

This edition heralds the arrival of a cult classic platform title and a shining example from a an ever popular RPG series. Anyway enough from me and on with the games!

Available for download this week we have...

• Earthworm Jim
• Shining Force II

Points: 800
Publisher: Virgin Interactive
Developer: Shiny Entertainment
Released: 1994
System: Megadrive

Earthworm Jim, the soil he did crawl... Ahem! Many people will no doubt fondly remember this highly original platform from the mid nineties; it seemingly came out of nowhere and became something of a cult classic and rightly so. The plot is nothing short of being as ludicrous as it is genius and revolves around an ordinary earthworm named Jim being chased by a crow on Earth while in in the vast reaches of Space a battle ensues which results in an ultra high-tech suit being sent crashing down to earth into which Jim crawls and forces a lightning fast evolution which transforms him into the hero we know and love.

Once destined to be used for the forces of evil by Queen Slug-for-a-Butt in order to make her more beautiful than Princess-What's-Her-Name; Jim overhears these plans and decides to meet with the princess and so his madcap mission to defeat the evil Queen and save the day begins.

What separates this from other popular platform titles is that it's structure is drastically different from the vast majority as instead taking a linear trip from one point on the left side of the level to the goal on the right side you find yourself in a mass of mazes and only exploration will lead you to the eventual exit. You will encounter many ingenious puzzles along the way too including the unforgettable combination of a fridge suspended by a rope above the vacant side of a see-saw and on the other side is of course a cow, I'll leave you to work out the rest but the end result is quite simply hilarious.

Jim's ingenuity doesn't end there, as well as the usual platforming staples of running an jumping our hero also comes equipped with his trusty blaster which is particularly useful for dispatching simple enemies and for the rest he can inventively use his invertebrate body to whip enemies as well as utilising himself to swing across carefully crossing many a chasm.

There are also sections throughout the adventure that deviate from standard platforming including pseudo three-dimensional race sections against the evil Psy-Crow which enable you to bypass fighting him if you win, a quiz show to partake in, escorting your canine companion Peter Puppy through many a lethal level and many other diverse elements which make help to set it apart from everything else.

Visually the game is a credit to the various platforms it was released on, this Megadrive version in question is no exception in that respect as everything looks suitably sumptuous with a wonderful living cartoon feel to it. Where this version does fall down slightly though is in the audio department this is due to the both SNES and PC versions being much more capable in this department so it suffers slightly in that respect but it's a minor criticism as everything still sounds spectacular but it just falls flat when weighed up against the other platforms it exists on.

Overall what you get is one overtly original platforming experience that is quite simply like no other released at the time add to all the aforementioned awesomeness the brilliant bosses including Bob the Killer Goldfish, Evil the Cat, Professor Monkey for a Head and many more magical moments besides and it's little wonder that this game managed to worm it's way into the hearts and minds of so many of it's well deserved fan-base; heres hoping that the new upcoming Wii-ware installment will be every bit as groovy.

Verdict : Jim graces the VC in all his groovy glory.

Points: 800
Publisher: Sega
Developer: Sonic Software Planning (Camelot)
Released: 1994
System: Megadrive

When the original Shining Force arrived it provided Megadrive owners with a strategy RPG that easily rivaled Nintendo's highly regarded and respected Fire Emblem series and while it was an excellent example of it's time, this sequel that it spawned is nothing short of spectacular and eclipses it's predecessor by a long way; hence it's still well remembered even today.

It's plot is set in the kingdom of Granseal where someone steal two powerful jewels from the Tower of the Ancients; from this thievery comes a series of events which leads to the eventual but predictable resurrection the Devil King known as Zeon. The good King of Granseal falls ill, his daughter is kidnapped and the door to Arc Valley the proverbial hell itself is opened; taking on the role of the swordsman Bowie you must lead the Shining Force on a quest to obtain the Holy Sword and the stolen jewels and ultimately prevent the kingdom from falling to the evil intentions of Zeon.

This sequel basically takes the staple elements of the first and builds upon these blocks to shape it into something far superior but with that familiar feel still left intact; visuals are greatly improved but still retaining the colourful charm from the first, with everything aspiring to an incredible amount of detail in the overworld which becomes even greater in the games battle sequences which are suitably epic.

Audibly little has changed with the satisfactory sound effects coupled with a sublime soundtrack which truly has some superbly scripted examples that help to enhance the overall atmosphere and really keeps you drawn into to game world.

Little has changed on the way that the game plays as there was nothing wrong with the formula of the first; acknowledging this Sega wisely decided to stick to this and the only real thing that has changed is that there is a larger degree of freedom this time around where as the first felt constantly restricting in places this entry provokes a greater feeling of free-flowing freedom; you will still end up going along the main set path to a degree but the way in which you do that is up to you.

Remaining substance in the title derives from the party you lead and the twist here is that you get to assemble it as opposed to it being done for you at set points like in many a game within the same genre. There are a great deal of possible combinations and some you will find are better than others, it's a dynamic that can either make or break your team but it's one that encourages further replay; once you get to level twenty you are given the option of promoting any member of your team, this is where you need to judge at what point is best to do this as depending on if you leave it too early or too late your character may become weak or underpowered and it's striking that perfect balance that is one of the more satisfying elements within the experience.

When all is said and done Shining Force II is an incredibly well crafted Strategy RPG which manages to completely eclipse the original and makes a name for itself all over again. Featuring a good deal of depth a decent plot and aesthetics pleasing enough for it's time and even today; this is an experience thats well worth investing Wii points in, so if your looking for your next retro RPG fix then look no further.

Verdict : A shining example of a spectacular strategy role playing game.

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
[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.