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

A couple more NES titles which may be of interest to non-ambassadors on the 3DS and a rather unusual futuristic sports title keeps the Wii VC ticking over. Anyway enough from me and on with the games!
 
Available for download this week we have...     

Donkey Kong Jr.
NES Open Tournament Golf
2020 Super Baseball


 
Price: GB £4.50, EU €5
Publisher: Nintendo
Developer: Nintendo
Released: 1987
System: NES

While it's undeniable that Donkey Kong has easily earned his place in history thanks to his original appearance, in Donkey Kong Jr roles were reversed which saw the big ape himself get captured by Mario and it's his son that comes to the rescue... it was seen as an odd move for the series. Credit to Nintendo though for creating a follow up that doesn't play exactly to expectations but instead goes in a different direction while retaining part of the charm from the original.

Playing as our titular hero you are able to jump and climb between platforms, across vines while avoiding Birds, Crocodiles, Sparks... all sent by Mario in an attempt to take you out; if you make it to the top you can grab the key to release the adult ape, at which point the next stage starts. There are four of these in total which makes it about the same length as the original, invariably challenging but perhaps due more to the controls which feel a bit odd at times plus the ways in which you can die quite easily just from falling a certain height; it's worth persevering with even though it won't last you long.

Visuals are on-par with the original, perhaps a bit more detailed in places though the overall feel of the levels is certainly less inspiring than the originals which had something of a solid appearance to them while here they lack style. Sound effects are largely recycled from the first title which is no bad thing but it also means that there isn't a great deal to say about them; they work in the same way but are somewhat predictable if you've played the first game.

Despite its shortcomings there is still a decent amount of fun to be had here just as there is with the original, the challenge offered by it will keep some gamers playing while others will likely persevere with it for a few plays before moving on. It may not be that compelling an experience by today’s standards but it's still one that's easily enjoyable and to an extent that's all that really matters.

Verdict : Donkey Kong Jr is an enduring classic despite having seen better days.


 
Price: GB £4.50, EU €5
Publisher: Nintendo
Developer: Nintendo
Released: 1992
System: NES
 
Golf... a game of seriousness, of skill, of precision and err yeah it's not actually that exciting at all; so it's no surprise that Nintendo decided to release this Mario themed variation of the popular sport as one of their more original takes on the sports based genre.

At its core this is still very much what it portrays itself to be; a golf game where you get to play on three worldwide courses incorporating USA, UK and Japan. Each course varies in difficulty and you can opt to change the overall rank from amateur to pro which creates a nice learning curve for those wanting to rise through the ranks as well as catering for those who just simply want to play a quick round of golf.

Beyond the standard persistent pursuit of putting that is the main game; alternative offerings include Stroke Play which when separately undertaken (as opposed to being part of tournament mode) is solely goal focused and Match Play where playing as Mario you get to face off against Luigi in a bid to win the most holes. Should you prove successful in beating Luigi you then get to compete against four original generically named characters (Steve, Mark, Tony & Billy) who each vary in difficulty from Beginner to Pro respectively.

While graphically it's not much to look at by today's standards it still made full use of the limited colour palette that the NES provided to create a decent representation of the sport for its time and even today it has a certain charm to it. Gameplay is suitably solid with accurate mechanics that work well and while there are now better golf games available such as the Mario Golf franchise and most recently Wii sports; this title could easily be seen as the forerunner of sorts and is comfortably competent for the 8-Bit title that it is.

NES Open is a title which delivers what you'd expect it to; a competent game of golf that anyone can enjoy. Fun in both single and multiplayer mode with that added brand of Nintendo humour courtesy of Mario & Co thrown in for good measure; this is classic retro golf which provides an entertaining experience.

Verdict : Neither a hole-in-one or a bogey, simply on par.

 
Points: 900
Publisher: D4 Enterprise
Developer: SNK
Released: 1991
System: Neo Geo

Baseball may not be the most exciting of sports but there is certainly something to be said for the mechanisation of players as a way of making things a little more interesting, afterall it's a formula that has worked before in the classic Cyberball  - a futuristic take on American Football - so applying it to other sports seems like a no-brainer. Of course the standard rules of the sport are still in play but the unique aesthetics and elements are what really set the game apart from other more typical examples of the genre.

What seperates this title even further is your ability to apply upgrades to your human players piece-by-piece even going to the extreme of turning them into actual robots if you so desire, this usually will help in giving you the edge as you play which in turn allows you to win more money as you even start to upgrade the stadium that you play in among other things. Exploding areas, ricocheting balls and even a slightly claustrophobic, smaller pitch size are all things which will come into play during matches which certainly makes things more interesting at least on a somewhat superficial level.

It's relatively easy to pick up thanks to the simple nature of the game and the uncomplicated yet satisfactory controls which will allow anyone to get into the action with very little effort at all which makes it pretty accessible despite all of the rather fanciful additions. Assuming you don't take things too seriously then you may well actually get a certain amount of enjoyment from this but if you're the kind of player who enjoys a more methodical or traditional approach to their sporting experiences then you may well wish to look elsewhere.

A decent effort has at least clearly been made in the visual department as the colours are beautifully bold featuring some really spectacular animations in addition to some rather wonderful and impressively rendered close-ups which really help to grab your attention. It's certainly a shame that the audio quite simply just doesn't cut it though as while it does feature some perfectly acceptable digitised speech, this may actually ruin the experience for some though not as much as the nearly non-existent background music.  
   
Overall a decent effort has been made here to provide something with a bit more depth to a genre that can often feel a little stale those who are perhaps only casually interested in the sport so this certainly has a target audience even if it's rather niche. For die-hard fans of more 'serious' sports titles however 2020 Super Baseball will either be a very enjoyable experience acting as a nice inbetween title or it'll likely be an annoyance as it will most definitely divide opinion; there are definitely better titles within the genre available so I would only advise picking this up if you've played all the rest that are available or if you're in the mood to take a risk on something that may turn out to be rather whimsical but nothing more.

Verdict : Not the best Baseball title but it's still a blast.

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!