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

A decent selection for fans of the NES or Neo Geo as two classic titles which couldn't be more different make their appearances on the 3DS and Wii respectively. Anyway enough from me and on with the games!
 
Available for download this week we have...     

Zelda II: The Adventure of Link
Metal Slug X


 
Price: GB £4.50, EU €5
Publisher: Nintendo
Developer: Nintendo
Released: 1988
System: NES

Considered by many to be the 'black sheep' of the series Zelda II : The Adventure of Link sidelines the popular top-down perspective of the first in favour of presenting all main areas in two-dimensional side-scrolling fashion. Originally released at a time where the more traditional RPG had gained a huge surge in popularity, Nintendo saw fit to capitalise on this as they went about creating their unconventional sequel to The Legend of Zelda and to their credit it actually turned out pretty well despite being the one title in the series that would later divide the opinions of its fans.

As our hero Link you are tasked with obtaining the Triforce of Courage in order to awaken Princess Zelda from a sleeping spell... sounds easy? Well you're in for surprise as this is regarded as one of the most challenging Zelda games ever made partly due to its many devious dungeons (now known as Palaces) and seemingly obscure design choices. You'll always find yourself starting at the same place, this is always the case regardless of what point you are at which can seem off-putting as it can become tiresome trudging across the   rather barren over-world just to get back to that one difficult part for yet another go; there are many towns too curiously many of which are named after the Sages from Ocarina of Time, this is where you can get yourself healed plus obtain spells from Elders not to mention engage in some rather laughable dialogue with some locals including the infamous 'I am error' which has subsequently gone down in internet folklore.

Random battles are a regular occurrence as you end up fending off Moblins, Octoroks, Tektites from the original game plus more original enemies besides, experience can be acquired by defeating them though it can also be lost when you take a hit which you won't want to do very often as you can only take a few hits before dying and if this happens three times then it's 'Game Over, Return of Ganon' a screen which you'll likely see often unless you're a prudent player. Saving often is key to progressing in this title because there is a lot of levelling up to do so it's advisable to save after you level up either Attack, Magic or Life because any time you reload the game the exp counter resets... thankfully the VC Suspend Save function can be useful here; aside from that the game is rather enjoyable once you get into it and actually manage to keep venturing further than you possibly imagined, it really is quite a joy to play if you can get past the rather steep learning curve.

From a visual standpoint there are many parts that seem more detailed than the first NES title as some of the palaces and towns are rather nice whereas the over-world feels rather basic, being devoid of anything really interesting which is odd considering the main worlds of most other Zelda titles have always felt bursting with life. Aurally however the game is genuinely brilliant throughout from the excellent reworking of the original theme to the uplifting Town music right through to the hauntingly beautiful Dungeon theme which ranks right up there with some of the best pieces ever created within the series for me personally.

To recommend this title to any would be newcomers to the Zelda series is difficult as it's hardly an ideal starting point being that it's not entirely representative as a whole, so for that reason I'd have to advise new players to start with either the first game or the fantastic A Link to the Past on the SNES. In part though it's hard to deny that The Adventure of Link is at least partly responsible for bringing about many elements that have since become staples of the series and while it's by no means perfect - perhaps even having aged the worst out of all Zelda titles - it still shines through as one of the better examples within the more traditional RPG genre and is a classic Nintendo game at heart.

Verdict : The missing Link that the Zelda series owes much to.

 
Points: 900
Publisher: SNK Playmore
Developer: SNK
Released: 1999
System: Neo Geo

When it comes to run and gun titles there is one series which will always strike a chord with gamers as just the mere mention of Metal Slug is usually enough to send most of us into a nostalgic trance as there is something undeniably awesome about the games overall but when it comes to the real best of the best there should be no doubt that Metal Slug X is the definitive entry for many. This is because it takes Metal Slug 2 as its base which was considered to be the best entry at the time in every way apart from the almost unbearable level of slowdown that plauged it; thankfully SNK were more than aware of their shortcomings so this remake solves this glaring issue introducing a silky-smooth framerate along with a whole host of other improvements which make this title a must have.

True to form you won't have to do much in the way of thinking while playing as this is an unashamedly pure blaster from start to finish featuring six stages, an onslaught on upgrades to acquire in addition to many POWs to rescue along the way in the name of boosting your score. Naturally there's always a behemoth sized boss to battle against at the end of each stage, couple this with the simply ludicrous amounts of enemies you have to face and the game becomes quite the challenge but a very welcome one indeed.    

You'll be using your side-arm mostly as it can be rather effective once you pick up enough power-ups getting you through even the toughest of situations, you also have a limited number of explosives which can be useful when you need to even up the odds. There's a fair bit of platforming involved too but only enough to enhance the experience as for the most-part you'll constantly have your finger on the trigger; there are also a host of vehicles for you to take control of this time around which can make the action all the more enjoyable especially when you take into account the precise controls which make the game quite simply a joy to play.

Famed for its visuals over the years you would expect this entry in the series to be one of the best-looking titles and quite rightly it is nothing short of spectacular in this department featuring second-to-none character animation coupled with many stunning backdrops which feature a level of detail that is simply unmatched by any 2D game from the same era. Similarly the soundtrack is rather impressive delivering that same raw, up-tempo music that really motivates you to carry on through the stages while the satisfyingly realistic sound effects do a fantastic job of drawing you in even further.

Metal Slug X is not only the game that the second installment should have been but it's in many ways one of the single-most defining entries in the series to date thanks to its technical refinements and gameplay enhancements that will ensure that any fan of the series will want to keep coming back for more simply to better their score, there is no better testament to its quality than that. If you're a fan of the series then this is obviously a must but even for newcomers I would say that this is an almost ideal starting point which will give you the best impression of what to expect from the series that moreorless 'owns' the genre and with good reason.

Verdict : Metal Slug at its most memorable and masterful.

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!