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

Another couple of titles that were previously unreleased in Europe join the ranks of the VC as the Hanabi festival continues. Anyway enough from me and on with the games!

Available for download this week we have...

• Bomberman '94
• Zoda's Revenge : Startropics II

Points: 700
Publisher: Hudson
Developer: Hudson
Released: 1993
System: Turbografx

Bomberman has been around for over two and a half decades now spanning many incarnations across multiple platforms but it wasn't until the introduction of multiplayer that the series really started to gain true commercial success and critical acclaim. Originally there was just the solitary Adventure Mode in which you would blast through blocks with bombs while blowing up the occasional enemy along the way which was all well and good back then but when the 16-bit era came along tastes and trends had changed and it was no longer solely about the single player but more about the multiple.

Of course there is a single player adventure mode in this version and it's both perfectly playable and well paced; it basically has you repairing the world which has been split into five separate parts and will see you travelling to each place which includes Forest, Factory Mine, Snow and Underwater areas. Your task revolves around obtaining pieces of a tablet - one per stage - and to get these you need to blow up forcefield units; of course there are plenty of enemies and blocks that will get in your way as you attempt to do this but thankfully there are the obligatory power-ups that bestow more bombs etc upon you not to mention interactive objects such as the carts on the mine stage.

After you've completed the set of stages within each themed part of the world you then get to face off against a boss; these battles often take place in a relatively large arena and are both challenging and enjoyable featuring such delights as a remote controlled Banana, Ice Queen, Vampire Bat and an epic final battle. But however good the single player is it's the multiplayer that'll keep you coming back for more as you pick your favourite Bomberman � of which there are various shapes and sizes � select an arena and bomb away to your hearts content!

Many an enjoyable multiplayer session has been had by myself and my brothers on Mega Bomberman in the past � the Megadrive port � so I can personally vouch for the quality of the experience that is to be had from this part of the game. A multitude of power-ups are included ranging from the obligatory additional bombs, increased firepower and speed-ups to the skulls which will bestow a random effect on the player such as slower speed, auto bomb or no bombs so these are best either avoided or blown up where possible; perhaps one of the greatest additions though are the Louie's which are Kangaroo-like creatures and each different coloured variant has its own special power, everyone has a favourite - mine being the green - and curse words are often uttered if your opponent manages to snag the one that you wanted, all in the name of fun of course.

There really isn't anything else quite like it out there and on top of all this the game is both graphically gorgeous featuring the sleeker more modern looking Bomberman and an awesome accompanying soundtrack which contains plenty of tunes to hum along too and of course some excellent explosions. Overall this is Bomberman at his finest and if you missed out on the Pal version of the Megadrive port years ago then don't miss the chance to own this re-release of the original Turbografx version complete with five player multiplayer support, it really doesn't get better than this.

Verdict : The best Bomberman bar none.

Points: 600
Publisher: Nintendo
Developer: Nintendo
Released: 1994
System: NES

The hero of the original adventure Mike Jones returns in a sequel that has the young intrepid adventurer traveling across time following a telepathic message received from one of the children whom he saved in the first game informing him that Zoda is still alive and what's more he is planning on using the power of the Tetrad blocks for his own nefarious deeds. Cue our hero stepping in to save the day by tracking down the blocks before Zoda does; with the help of his Uncle and an ancient book Mike will travel through various time-zones and even get to meet the likes of Cleopatra and Leonardo da Vinci along the way.

Yes the plot may be all over the place but it fits in with the nature of the game and keeps things moving along nicely not to mention it means you get to travel to places such as C Island from the first game, Egypt, the Ice Ages and even London in the Nineteenth century. The core mechanics are largely the same, you start out exploring the overworld searching out items and eventually you'll make it to a dungeon which are largely two per chapter now and this is where the first improvement comes in as you can now move diagonally inside the dungeons as opposed to the stricter four directions imposed upon you in the original.

Now you can also jump at any given moment and there are plenty of places inside the dungeons where you can take advantage of this, weapons are now stackable and instead of them degrading over time you have a secondary ranged attack which is stronger or weaker depending on your health once you obtain the upgrade. Overall the dungeons seem more challenging than the ones in the first but they also can be infuriating too, especially when you fall down the many invisible pitfalls full of enemies.

Visually the game isn't that amazing but it's detailed enough for a NES title, the music is excellent when inside the dungeons but somewhat dull when traveling across the overworld. Indeed it's a shame that Nintendo chose to release this so late on in the NES' life-cycle as the SNES was already out in the US and could have made use of the more powerful hardware if they had only shifted development; as things are though this never got released outside of America until now and it's a great shame.

Generally the original is still the best out of the two and despite this sequel improving upon the formula in many ways it also introduces new problems - namely the pitfalls - not to mention not being able to live up to the high expectations of its fans. Rest assured though if you loved the original then this will still keep you entertained to the end and we should be grateful to be finally being able to play this long lost sequel, it's just a shame that it could have been that little bit better.

Verdict : Fantastic follow-up that falls ever-so slightly flat.

That's 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]

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