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

Side-scrolling games of different varieties are available, so if you're in the mood for some simple but fun games then these may be for you. Anyway enough from me and on with the games!
 
Available for download this week we have...     

Kirby's Dreamland 3
Street Gangs
Sengoku

Price: GB £5.49, EU €5.99
Publisher: Nintendo
Developer: HAL Laboratory
Released: 1997
System: SNES

Most of you will already know if you love Kirby or not but I've yet to find anyone who dislikes the pink blob, Kirby's Dream Land 3 is very much more of the same that veterans will have become used to. except with a few welcome additions which only serve to make the experience even more enjoyable to play. The story starts of as Kirby and Gooey are on a fishing trip where all is calm until something called 'Dark Matter' appears in the skies above Dreamland, shattering the planet's rings; he then assumes control of many Dream-Landers, including King Dedede - no surprises there - our heroes then team up with Rick, Coo, Kine, plus some new characters (Pitch, ChuChu and Nago)... it is now up to you to collect all the Heart-Stars in order to create the "Love-Love Stick" which is the only thing that can defeat Dark Matter and save the day!

Controls are the same as any other Kirby title as you maneuver the lovable lump of pink fudge with the d-pad at normal speed or dashing along if you double-tap left or right, you can then jump/float along with inhaling enemies or opt to team-up with one of your animal friends using the face buttons, it may take a couple of stages to get used to but once you get into the swing of things you can just 'float on' without a care in the world. There are many enemies for you to 'copy' abilities from and if you have a plan then this can work out quite nicely for you; if you inhale a witch for example you get a broom which you can use to 'sweep' away certain blocks which may lead to secrets, the ability you have will change again when you're teamed-up with one of your animal friends though as if you have the ability of throwing boomerangs while riding on top of Rick the Hamster then instead he will throw 'Kirby' as the projectile instead!

As you can imagine this provides some extremely entertaining moments so naturally you are encouraged to experiment a lot as this will also be key to you unlocking all the secrets, for each stage there is a mini-objective which you aren't told about, chances are you won't know this until you get near the end of the stage where you will encounter a Dreamland resident who will either be happy resulting in an extra 'tick' next to that level or they will be sad because you didn't manage to 'do it right' and while this might seem frustrating at first it does at least add to the longevity, as completing every objective is the only way to fighting the true boss and seeing the proper ending. Interestingly you can opt to sacrifice half your HP at the press of a button which will mean that 'Gooey' will separate from you, becoming an A.I that's sometimes helpful but most of the time you'll just opt for having that extra bit of life; unless you have a friend nearby that is... in which case you'll want to hand them a second controller so that you can indulge in a spot of very enjoyable co-operative multiplayer.

Somewhat striking in the visual department the whole game employs a style that definitely draws inspiration from Yoshi's Island, which of course is a good thing as each stage is lovingly drawn in magnificent pastel shades through the whole of your adventure; the animations are nothing short of magnificent as they are quite simply adorable, so it's safe to say that Kirby definitely retains the 'cuteness' that he has always been known for. Though the audio might seem rather lacking if you compare it to the previous Dreamland games, there's still more than enough to ensure that you'll be humming along just so long as you don't expect it to reach quite the same level of delerium that you might usually associate with the series, thankfully the sound effects are still solid just that there are no real surprises in this department.

If you've played the previous games then definitely pick this up without a doubt as it will provide you with more of the same fun that Kirby is famed for, just with a new pastel-coloured look which suits the game very well; indeed it should come as no surprise that Epic Yarn came about when it did after seeing the brilliant style for this game, the pink blob can make any style his own. For those who haven't played a Kirby game before though I would suggest maybe picking up one of the earlier titles or the 3D classics version if you own a 3DS as well, but really you can't go far wrong here just so long as you expect nothing more than a simple, enjoyable platformer which will keep you entertained for a couple of play sessions.   

Verdict : One of Kirby's cutest adventures to date.

Price: GB £4.49, EU €4.99
Publisher: Aksys Games
Developer: Technos Japan Corp
Released: 1993
System: NES

Perhaps more famously known as 'River City Ransom' in America this is a case of Europe getting lumped with the slightly inferior but more literal title of Street Gangs, don't be put off by the simplified name though as this is still the same iconic game which has been highly regarded for many years ever since its arcade roots where the 'Kunio-Kun' series gained most of its popularity. You play as Kunio as with all of the original japanese titles but being that this is a more Western-friendly version of the third game you play as Alex or Ryan as you attempt to rescue Cyndi (Ryan's Girlfriend) from one of the gangs who has kidnapped her; to achieve your goal you'll need to beat up many rival gang members so that you can become strong enough to reach the school where Cyndi is being held.

So you run around beating up bad-guys with your basic punch/kick moves, you'll soon notice that enemies drop money which you will promptly pick up as it's very much required to buy what you'll need to succeed which are new moves, these can be purchased at the shopping districts where you can also momentarilly catch your breath; the offensive capabilites include the brilliantly named Acro Circus, Dragon Feet plus Stone Hands... you don't need them all to succeed but it is more fun to play with these abilities. You can also buy comsumable items which will either restore your health or boost your attributes, other objects can be saved for later or even picked up while on the street, for instance a metal bin can make for a very useful improvised weapon.

Essentially you go from left to right for the whole game beating up anyone who stands in your way, you will need to battle many opponents to start out in order to get stronger otherwise you really won't get very far, once the screen moves onto the next area there is a change to the 'turf' meaning that if it's owned by a lowly gang you'll have an easy fight; if it's a particularly tough gang's turf though you may wish to run if you're not that experienced. Of course you can get lucky sometimes as if the 'turf' is unclaimed then you won't have to fight anyone but as you might guess this doesn't happen very often at all, besides that wouldn't be any fun if it did would it? Bring a friend along and tackle the adventure in two-player mode if you want it to be that much more enjoyable.

Visually there is a decent use of colour throughout which always keeps the areas interesting even if they are quite similar, there's still enough variation here meaning you won't tire of it too quickly; the character designs are iconic as they are re-used almost pixel for pixel within the series, this of course adds to the charm. The music is probably best described as being rather quirky, which fits in well with the feel of the game so there really isn't anything to complain about here as you will most likely enjoy it, this isn't a game to be taken seriously at all as is evidenced by various comical touches such as certain defeated enemies shouting 'BARF!' as they are beaten, which I think is genuinely brilliant!

Though simple this is still a side-scrolling brawler that is worth your time playing especially if you're just looking for a quick game that's a lot of fun to blast through, but that doesn't require a huge amount of time, taking advantage of the Wii U's 'Save States' you can progress through this title rather quickly though you will still find a certain amount of challenge along the way. There are better examples within its own series but being that this is the only one available on this service, it's still worth going for especially if you're a fan of the genre as Street Gangs will certainly fill a hole.        

Verdict : Short but sweet side-scrolling street beat-em-up.

Points: 900
Publisher: D4 Enterprise
Developer: SNK
Released: 1995
System: Neo Geo

During the nineties the beat-em-up genre was very popular indeed inside arcades thanks in no small measure to games such as Double Dragon plus the magnificent Final Fight which I remember rather fondly myself, so then SNK came along creating attempting to make its own mark within the genre with the rather inventive Sengoku. Taking place in Washington City you step into the shoes of a super warrior who is tasked with defeating many evil spirits from the past, in order to stop them taking over in the present; it's all up to you now!

After deciding whether to go solo or team up with a friend you must make your way on a long journey from left to right as you decimate anything that stands in your way, wave upon wave of enemies will come your way each even tougher than the last so you'd best be on your guard otherwise things could turn rather nasty. You can acquire projectile spells plus weapons from coloured orbs and you can even morph into various other fighters for a limited amount of time, it's best to master all of these elements quickly as at the end of each stage you will come up against an inevitable boss battle; some of them can be particularly brutal so you'd better hope that you're able to take them out effectively when you face these formidable opponents.

The controls are very responsive plus they are streamlined too which is a help, you have an attack button which controls whichever weapon you are currently using, a jump button for when you need to move quickly plus a transform button which can change you into the other fighters that you have in your inventory. Interestingly you will get pitted against many different enemies in a relatively short space of time, unlike in other examples of the genre which tend to throw the same enemy at you for a good stage or two while gradually blending new ones in; here they change quite rapidly so you tend to play with a little bit more caution which puts an interesting spin on things.

Reasonably detailed for its time Sengoku doesn't look like the best example within its genre, but it's certainly rather diverse so you should never find yourself short on weirdly wonderful backgrounds to fight against as you journey through each stage, if only the character animations were a bit more up to scratch then this could have been something quite special. The background music tends to really serve its purpose in that it is exactly that, music in the background but nothing more... of course there are a few genuinely decent compositions but they are mostly lost under the waves of high volume sound effects.

It may lack a certain amount of substance overall but it certainly has a unique style all of its own, for that at least this is a title which I would recommend to both the fighting game fanatic and the casual player just looking for their next downloadable thrill. While the sequels are inevitably better - as tends to be the case with these games - this is still the original and so for that reason I would say that it is worthy of your time if you're willing to be a little bit forgiving for some of its shortcomings, it's still an enjoyable title which will last you a little while.

Verdict : Sengoku is an interesting twist on a well-established genre that fans will enjoy.

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!