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

If you like platformers with a twist or side-scrolling beat-em-ups where you get to use your fists then you should be well catered for and so shall your wrist. Anyway enough from me and on with the games!
 
Available for download this week we have...     

Wario Land II
Double Dragon II: The Revenge


 
Price: GB £4.50, EU €5
Publisher: Nintendo
Developer: Nintendo
Released: 1999
System: GameBoy Color

Following the undeniable success of the first Wario Land game - which was also technically the third Super Mario Land title - Nintendo seemed to want to take Wario even further in his own direction so by ditching any association with Mario and finally letting the lovable purple/yellow garbed rogue have the limelight they did just that. Following her previous defeat Captain Syrup returns for revenge as she sneaks into Wario's Castle as he sleeps, stealing his treasure and vandalising his beloved home; naturally Wario is none to pleased about this and so he sets off to grab back his bags of nabbed cash.

One of the first main differences here is that Wario is completely invincible, which you might think would make things really easy but due to the changed game mechanics it only serves to add to the experience because now all of the levels are all largely puzzle-based meaning you'll still be moving around as you did before but with a few new moves at your disposal and a new emphasis on collecting coins almost as if this was the original inspiration for the upcoming New Super Mario Bros 2 but I digress. It is possbile to make it to the end of each stage with not too much thought at all but if you're a completionist then you will find yourself doubling back and exploring every alternate path until you manage to nab every bit of treasure to ensure that you get the very best ending; there are also many mini-games along the way which may tax you slightly unless of course you feel like being rather 'sneaky' with your use of the save suspend feature to ensure success.

Perhaps the best part of the game is the transformations - which later became a staple of the series - which occur when you come into contact with certain enemies or traps, sometimes it can seem like a hindrance but it can also be the only way to progress for instance when Wario gets squashed into pancake proportions this means he can't jump very high but he can cross very small gaps also floating down from high platforms; one of the best has to be when Wario gets set on fire though which allows him to burn through blocks as if they were nothing. There are plenty of secrets in this platformer so you'll want to go after all the aforementioned pieces of treasure and the map as this will grant you access to a secret final stage plus a Wario themed Game & Watch game remake which is a pretty decent extra not to mention the alternate levels/bosses that can be discovered if you find the five hidden level exits.

Being that this is the re-released colour version of the game the visuals look pretty decent as you might expect and are a cut above the original monochrome version featuring lots of extra detail that still looks very pleasing even today. Audio is very competent too offering many pieces of background music that you'll find yourself humming along to in addition to many thoughtfully implemented sound effects which only ever further serve to enhance what's already there just as they should.

I can't think of a good reason not to recommend Wario Land II and that applies even if you've played it already because quite simply it is such a joy to play that it's worth another go plus if you've never played a Wario game before but like other Nintendo platformers then this is a fantastic place to start. Full of charm, great humour alongside tonnes of replay value we really can't go wrong with this as it's easily one of the greatest GameBoy games ever released that deserves to be played by any self-respecting 3DS owner.             

Verdict : One of the richest Wario games to date.

 
Points: 500
Publisher: Aksys Games
Developer: Technos Japan Corp
Released: 1990
System: NES

The original Double Dragon has always been highly regarded for its unique brand of beat 'em up action coupled with stunning sound and vibrant visuals that secured its now classic status, so it would seem only fitting that a sequel would surely be just as successful or even better. Certainly this title seems to be every bit as good as the original in most respects even if true fans of the series would have you believing otherwise, this is a sequel which beings new elements to the table while retaining most of what made the original so great which is definitely something worthy of praise.

While there was nothing wrong with the original control scheme things have been optimised to make short-ranged combat more accessible meaning you'll be cracking heads with ease as you simply use the two main action buttons to attack in the direction that they are more biased towards on the controller while performing a special or a jump is a simple case of pressing both buttons simultaneously which will result in either action depending on the sensitivity of the context. It might sound unnecessarily overcomplicated on paper but when you're playing it feels completely natural, really helping the overall flow of the game making it instantly more playable.

Another marked improvement is the addition of two player competitively cooperative multiplayer which allows you to team up playing as either of the Lee brothers as you choose to either help or hinder your teammate as your fight your way through the brilliantly simple yet spectacular side-scrolling stages that this title still has to offer. It's still fun to play solo of course but playing alongside a friend or foe elevates this from being a fun fighter to a chaotic brawler that has all the hallmarks of a classic co-op experience. 

Improvements are also noticable in the overall visual quality as everything has a new-found clarity to it from the character and enemy sprite animation right through to the bold colour palette that perfectly outlines everything while at the same time creating that all-important seperation of the sprites from the foreground so that you always know where you are while still feeling very much part of the action rather than trying to spot your character as they blend in with the scenery which can be a common problem with this genre of game. Music is also of a particularly high standard as you may have come to expect from the series with each stage featuring some truly terrific compositions coupled with several short, sharp and satisfying samples that make up the sound effects which you'll never tire of hearing no matter how many times you floor an enemy.

Sequels don't get much better than this as taking everything that made the original so addictive then improving on almost every element, making everything more accessible and above all fun to play is surely the way to do things properly; of course naturally this all comes at a price as the game is ever so slightly easier but really when the experience is this enjoyable it really is a small trade-off indeed. No matter if you're a fan of the series or one of the few unconverted people who have perhaps never played a Double Dragon game before there truly is no better place to start than right here.    

Verdict : Double Dragon II delivers a dose of fun to the genre it helped create.

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!