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

A terrific trio of terror themed titles grace the VC seemingly in keeping with the recent day long event known as Halloween and are now available for you to sink your teeth into. Anyway enough from me and on with the games!

Available for download this week we have...

• Castlevania III : Dracula's Curse
• Devil World
• Ghosts 'n Goblins

Points: 500
Publisher: Konami
Developer: Konami
Released: 1992
System: NES

There is no denying that the original Castlevania was a classic with it's simple but spectacular structure that worked so well and earned it much well deserved praise; for the second outing however Konami proceeded to eschew the basic formula in favour of a fuller RPG flavour which added depth but displeased fans. So it came as no surprise that for this third installment everything has been taken back to the roots of the first game.

You assume the role of Simon's ancestor Trevor Belmont who must go up against Dracula armed with the traditional Mystic Whip, journeying through many deviously designed dungeons and choosing your own path between each ensuring a varied experience with each subsequent play-through and promotes an immense level of replay value.

Along with the action of old there are a few newly introduced elements that work well with the game; namely a collection of companions who Trevor will meet on his quest and will aid him en-route. Each has their own unique ability, from Grant the Pirate who excels in climbing, Syfa the Magician who can summon powerful spells and Alucard who is Dracula's son and can turn into a bat to assist you for however long your hearts remain.

The aforementioned adds a certain tactical element as you can only have one of these assist characters in your party at once so choosing the best use of them based on your immediate situation is wise; the element thankfully only serves to back up whats already there as opposed to detracting from what makes it so brilliant.

Visually it's an excellent effort and audibly the score further backs up everything admirably but other than that the most important fact is that it's the Castlevania that fans know and love; you carry your whip which gets longer and stronger the further you progress, there are many varied locations ranging from a Clock Tower, Forest and a Ghost Ship. Trademark items such as the Holy Cross and Magic Potion make themselves known once more and everything comes together to form an altogether awe inspiring experience for fans and newcomers alike.

Considered by many to be the best ever created in the series and with very good reason, you only have to play this stunning title for a short while to understand why that statement is entirely justified. Be you a fan or just someone looking for their next platforming fix, you truly can't go wrong either way with this fine example of just how well a sequel can be made when the developers decide to put all their creative efforts into it.

Verdict : As classic a Castlevania as they come.

Points: 500
Publisher: Nintendo
Developer: Nintendo
Released: 1987
System: NES

A seldom remembered classic of it's time which got seemingly overshadowed by the greater releases from the big N around about the same time; created by the legendary Shigeru Miyamoto, it's an action game of sorts where you control a dragon named Tamagon who must defeat evil by collecting Boa Boa dots and breathing fire in their general direction all inside a strangely familiar maze structure.

It's undeniable that it somewhat resembles the original Pac-Man at least in maze and dot consuming respects but it's not as simple as that, scattered around the mazes are crosses which you must push around to collect the dots and all the while you are doing this the devil is dancing at the top of the screen making life difficult for you.

He can summon many minions which will kill you with one touch but while in possession of a cross you can spit fireballs which will engulf your foes, the only catch is the crosses will only last for a few second though they infinitely respawn but so do the enemies. But wait there is more, as while the Devil dances the mazes moves to his advances; so when he moves left or right the maze will do so also accordingly which adds to the challenge of the title.

Once all pellets are collected you may proceed to the next round in which there are four Books which do not respawn but have the same fireball bestowing properties of crosses, this time though you must slot them into a cube in the centre of the screen thus defeating the Devil and moving onto the bonus round. In this round you must collect books for bonus points and can move across arrows which correspond and counteract the Devils moves, the game then moves on and you are back to the concept of the first level but harder; the more you play the harder the levels get as invincible Mini-Devils and more enemies are introduced.

Overall it's a quality title with decent graphics for it's time and a classic soundtrack, it might not be in the same league as some of Shigsy's other masterpieces but it's every bit as enjoyable and has a lot more depth than the game it appears to have borrowed from. So if you're looking for something thats both original and entertaining from Nintendo's back catalogue of long lost classics then you will certainly find it here; oh and just to clarify, yes the Devil assist trophy in SSBB did originate from this very game.

Verdict : Dancing with the Devil has never been so much fun.

Points: 500
Publisher: Capcom
Developer: Capcom
Released: 1985
System: NES

Now many people will no doubt be familiar with Capcom's excellent Ghouls 'n Ghosts but what you may not be aware of it that the very first game named Ghosts 'n Goblins which was released some time before was an entirely different story, even if it did help to lay the foundations for what greatness was to follow.

As some of you may already be aware, Ghouls 'n Ghosts was notorious for being one of the hardest platform titles of it's time but truly it really has got nothing on it's predecessor; so things start off with Princess Prin-Prin getting captured by the evil Astaroth and it's up to Arthur to journey through legions of demons to get her back and this is where your epic journey or rather trial by fire begins.

You are armed with your trusty lance and basically nothing else, you may take two hits but no more before succumbing to your wounds, can only jump once and may not upgrade your armour in any way, shape or form oh and you can only fire in one direction, not up and down. Technically there are other weapons in the form of the Axe and Torch but they truly are abysmal and the only item worth getting is a shield that can double up as a projectile and thats not even until your second play-through!

There are six stages available each with a rock-hard boss battle at the end, each level has many of the most annoying enemies in the series including most notably lots of Red Arremers which are irritating airborne enemies which you will most likely fall victim to many a time. The visuals may not look like much now but they pushed the hardware at the time as did the excellent soundtrack, though these aspects are vastly improved in the superior sequel.

It is a quality game overall and perhaps it's only downfall is that it's just too damned hard! Featuring many frustrating moments, you really will have to truly want to complete this to get through it because it's the kind of game thats easy to give up on if you lack the will to continue. While it's sequel was considered hard but fair this is more cheap as the amount of enemies it throws at you and the repeated boss sections near the end of the game really do snatch the proverbial biscuit right from your cold, dead characters hands but hey at least you can always keep coming back for that "one last go."

Verdict : A classic title that requires untold amounts of both perseverance and patience.

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.