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

Fighting game enthusiasts and platforming aficionados rejoice as two more titles arrive to fill the void. Anyway enough from me and on with the games!
 
Available for download this week we have...     

Wario Land 3
The Last Blade 2


 
Price: GB £4.49, EU €4.99
Publisher: Nintendo
Developer: Nintendo R&D1
Released: 2000
System: GameBoy Color  

Wario games are traditionally a bit more off-beat then those starring Mario even from the very first game which was billed as a semi-sequel to the second Mario Land title to the actual second entry Wario Land II where Nintendo decided to ditch the conventional 'lives' system in favour of a more heavy emphasis on puzzle-platforming which actually worked out very nicely indeed as it meant that the series had now found its niche. So for the third entry it should probably come as no real surprise that it's very similar to the defining second game but with a few changes which make it feel a little like Metroid at least in exploration anyway; as expected the sotry is rather standard as it shows Wario crashing his plane in a forest where he then stumbles across a mystical music box which traps him inside its world where an ominous figure informs our rather rotund protagonist that if he wishes to return home then he'll need to find the other five magical music boxes and so the adventure begins.

Mechanically everything is the same as you are still invincible, have all the abilities you would expect plus you can still get transformed when you come into contact with various enemies but it's the structure that has changed a bit as right from the start you have a map screen which allows you to choose any level that you have already unlocked, each of the level has four different exits in the form of coloured treasure chests; there are also four keys in each level so it should be simple to see what needs to be done here... find a key and take it to the corresponding chest to complete the level. If only it were that simple though as this is where those aforementioned shades of Metroid come into play as some of the chests plus keys are initially inaccessible so this means that you'll be revisiting levels multiple times in order to get all the chests which you will want to do as they contain treasures which do a variety of things including abilities, - old and new - path changes, or even mini-games but some treasures simply do nothing but glisten, you'll still need to open the chests to discover this though.

Naturally there are bosses guarding some chests just to keep things interesting for you so you'll need to avoid getting hit during those battles lest you wish to repeat the encounter again not to mention the fact that there's a decent amount of general enemies which will get in your way as well as they certainly don't want to make getting home an easy prospect for you. There are twenty-five levels in total containing a combined treasure count of one hundred items plus an interesting day/night system which triggers each time you return to the map and actually has an impact on each level as it can either introduce different enemies or open up different paths for you so there's already quite a lot of
depth here not even taking into account the eight special coins contained in each level which opens up an extra-stage in the unlockable mini-game so naturally you'll want to 'catch 'em all' if you can.       

This may have been one of the last titles to be released on the GameBoy Color but judging by this the system certainly went out with a bang as the amount of detail that has been put into this platformer is simply astonishing for what's essentially an 8-Bit title; beautiful backdrops with nicely animated sprites all brought together with a bold, bright colour palette which really shows what the portable system was truly capable of. While the soundtrack might not be quite to the excellent standard of the previous game there are still plenty of catchy tunes incorporated this time around which suit the on-screen action well as do the typically wacky sound effects that have long been a staple of the series.

If you like Wario then of course this is a no brainer as it's a fantastic entry to the series which improves on the mechanics of the second title in every way making for a deeper, more challenging experience with a lot of replay value that'll keep you coming back for more. Even if you're just into platform games then you may wish to consider this as a viable alternative as it's certainly an original take on the genre especially with the interesting slant that the puzzle element provides making for a refreshing experience that I'd recommend trying at least once.   

Verdict : Third time's a charm and Wario's quite the unlikely charmer. 

 
Points: 900
Publisher: D4 Enterprise
Developer: SNK
Released: 1998
System: Neo Geo

To say that The Last Blade is a classic would be something of an understatement as it actually worked wonders for the weapon-based fighting game sub-genre thanks largely to its carefully crafted controls which perfectly complemented the flurry of fast-paced on-screen action which in soon became famed for. So it should come as no surprise that SNK stuck to their guns for this sequel which doesn't drastically change anything but instead relishes in refining what's already there because when you create such a winning formula it's not hard to understand why you wouldn't want to change too many things which could risk alienating your exisiting audience which thankfully this title doesn't do; indeed if anything it only further manages to endear itself to its fans which is something that should be considered a great achievement.

From the first game you have nearly the entire character roster plus an additional three fighters to play with just for good measure, you still have the same system that revolves around 'Power' and 'Speed but this time there is the addition of an 'EX mode' which actually allows you to use a combination of both which certainly mixes things up significantly as it can be a useful approach to take into consideration. If you simply adore the original title however then this new mode may not win you over if you don't like change but personally I feel that the addition of it only serves to enhance the experience by empowering the player with more choice as it is merely just another option available to you.

Many characters may have been subjected to a spot of rebalancing but this only really further improves upon things when you couple this with the combo system while taking into account the refined controls which all adds up to a well-balanced battle every time, so if you're an experienced combatant then you will most likely be able to dazzle your opponents with a variety of skills fairly easily. This is still very much a game of skill though so button-mashing will
get you nowhere whereas stringing together lethal combos while remembering to repel enemy attacks at the right time is still the general rule of thumb for success.

Naturally the backdrops are very nice indeed though perhaps losing something in translation from the first title as they aren't quite as striking but they are still extremely detailed in their own right plus they are alwasy well-suited to the constant on-screen action even if they are all raltively similar this time around. Thankfully the musical score that accompanies the carnage is nothing short of being breath-takingly beautiful as the gentle oriental themes go so well with the overall theme of the game serving only to further elevate the level of immersion to new heights as you gleefully slice your way through the game.

If you're a fan of the first game then the chances are that you will definitely enjoy this sequel even if you remain undecided on which one is actually better but really they are both essentially brilliant titles in their own right, having a preference toward one or the other really is like splitting hairs as both have plenty of their own plus points. What really matters is that this is a simply must-have download for anyone who really enjoys fighting games as you'll definitely get decent value for your points here as this is one fighting game that still stands very tall even to this day.

Verdict : A successful sequel to an already fantastic fighting game.

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!