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

Two reviews, both of previously released game including one re-working of a Jordan Khoviteri-Zadeh classic with a very different ending. Anyway enough from me and on with the games!
 
Available for download this week we have...     

Kirby's Adventure
Dig Dug



 
Price: GB £4.49, EU €4.99 (£0.30/€0.30 until 21/04/13)
Publisher: Nintendo
Developer: Hal Laboratory
Released: 1991
System: NES

Kirby's Adventure - the second game in the Kirby franchise - saw a very late release in the life of the NES, this is evident from the amount of extra detail thats been put into it as it represented quite a leap forward for platform games at the time. I'm sure many of you will have at least played one game in the series but for the uninitiated, here is how it plays out: certain enemies you face have unique abilities which Kirby is able to steal once he 'hoovers' them up thus absorbing their special power, this unique style of gameplay is what separated Kirby from all other platformers back in the 8-bit days, the damage system is delightfully simple too, giving you eight energy blocks which can be refilled by items making for a simple but enjoyable experience.

Like other platformers however, Kirby is incredibly short with eight worlds containing six to eight levels in each, which are mostly themed around foods with each ending in a boss battle; there are four mini games: Quick-Draw, Crane, Egg Catcher and Arena which give you the chance to grab some extra lives plus power-ups. Kirby was originally aimed at the lower aged gamers when it was first developed; the game is much easier than any of the three Mario's on the NES due to its simple level design and life system.

But that's not to say that it isn't fun, far from it in fact as it's easily one of the most enjoyable games that you're ever likely to play, blast through entire levels using just the one ability or change them out at the drop of a hat, providing the enemy you absorb has some sort of ability beyond being able to jump then the chances are you will get a new power-up to play with ranging from Fire, Sword, Tornado plus a lot more besides. Much of the joy is derived from discovering which abilities work best for you, then blasting your way through the game as you try to get a really high-score; indeed this part of the game can now have greater emphasis on it should you choose to upload a screen of your score to Miiverse as it can be fun to share your accomplishments while joining in with a fantastic community.

Visually there is so much to love here as there are vibrant colours used throughout making full use of the palette provided by the NES at the time, though you would perhaps expect this given that it was one of the later games released on the console, but this still doesn't detract from the fact that it still looks brailliant even by todays standards. While the sound effects can be rather tinny meaning you might want to adjust the volume, the music however is very catchy indeed featuring some genuinely classic tunes that have been recycled countless times in almost every main game in the series to date, serving as true testament to their greatness.

It may not be the most refined game in the series as there are other entries which have since bettered it considerably but Kirby's Adventure is still in my mind the purest example within its own timeline plus it has also served as a shining example of how to make a decent platform game as surely many developer have tried to copy it's near-perfect template many times. Yet even today this still remains one of the firm fan favourites, which is entirely justified and it's of little wonder that Nintendo picked it for one of their 3D classic remakes, but if you want to experience the original then I would suggest that you download this now while it's available for next to nothing as you'd be hard-pushed to find a better videogame bargain for the same price.

Verdict : A classic Kirby game at an incredibly tasty price.  



 
Price: GB £3.59, EU €3.60
Publisher: Namco Bandai
Developer: Namco
Released: 1982
System: NES

This age old popularly ported arcade game was surprisingly not released in NES format outside of Japan, in it you play as the titular "Dig Dug" with the objective being to well... dig and defeat all the monsters in each stage before moving onto the next... and the next and the next.

You can do this in one of two ways, firstly there are rocks which if you dig underneath them and time it right you can make them fall on your enemy crushing them instantly; alternatively there is the slightly more inventive hook which you throw into your enemy and then use the attached pump to inflate them until they burst.

Of course you don't always have time to fully inflate them and so you can choose to inflate them a little bit before running, but beware as they will then deflate and give chase again however you may run past them while they are in a state of deflation and not take any damage. There are only two kinds of enemy that inhabit the stages, Pookas which are red, round and have yellow goggles who can move through earth in later stages as time decreases and Fygars which are green fire breathing dragons.

It doesn't take too long to work out their attack patterns however so the only other things you need to worry about is the route you are digging and the fruit in the centre of the screen if your able to collect it within the allotted time which gives you bonus points. Not much else can be said here really, the graphics are decent but nothing special, the music only playing when Dig Dug moves is innovative but thats about it.

An arcade classic this may be but in this day and age it's rather short and there isn't a great deal of variation to the levels; by all means though if you have never played Dig Dug before then feel free to give it a go but for everyone else who's played it before there really is no point to dig deep into your pockets and shell out for this again.

Verdict : Dig dug is damn good fun but ironically lacking in depth.

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!