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

A certain bomber in blue makes his appearance on the Wii U, I'm sure you all will know his name. Anyway enough from me and on with the game!
 
Available for download this week we have...     

Mega Man X

Price: GB £5.49, EU €7.99
Publisher: Capcom
Developer: Capcom
Released: 1994
System: SNES

Undeniably the Mega Man series is one of Capcom's most popular franchises but after eight numbered titles in succession the developer decided to try something a little different, in doing so they created the Mega Man X series which would go on to become the most popular era of Mega Man to date, thankfully the first entry in the excellent evolution of the series is now available on the Virtual Console to be enjoyed by a new generation of gamers and most likely enjoyed again by those who have already experience its brilliance.

Providing you've played a Mega Man game before then you should feel instantly at ease with this title for it retains the same basic mechanics from the early games only in a refined form, you still run 'n gun as before but this time you can now hang on to ledges plus jump up walls - not to mention upgrading your weapons along the way – all of which are very welcome additions along with the absolutely perfect controls which are incredibly responsive. Starting off is still a simple case of picking a stage, to do this you must pick a 'Maverick' – the replacement name for 'Robot Master' in previous games – and away you go to the stage of your choice; there is of course as always an order which will enable you to progress faster due to each boss having a weakness to the others weapons which you acquire but the fun of it all is discovering that route for yourself.

There's a lot to love about this game including the boss battles themselves which seem rather dynamic as they will constantly keep you on your guard, you'll need to put a bit of thought into defeating them at times which is a welcome change from bosses in games these days which can seem painfully easy in comparison. It never feels unfair though as there is a balance which is maintained throughout which ensures that you'll never be annoyed at the game for very long, only at yourself as you analyse your performance and try to work out various strategies in your head to try next time which adds a tonne of replay value.

As you might expect the visuals are of a very high standard indeed featuring some of the nicest graphics ever seen on the SNES or even in the history of the series, the actual character model of 'X' is realistically rendered featuring some genuinely astounding animation which really sets it apart from other side-scrolling platformers. Thankfully the classic chip-tunes of the original games haven't been forgotten about as that same style is  present and correct with some nice touches only made possible by the SNES hardware, there are some truly fantastic tunes here in addition to the sound effects which are also of the high quality fans have come to expect from the series.

If you like Mega Man then you'll absolutely love the 'X' series, given that this is the first with the precursor attached to it that's highly regarded as one of the best then you should really invest in this title as it's an excellent starting point or indeed a fantastic way to reignite your love for the franchise if you haven't played a Mega Man game in a while. Clearly this can't come recommended enough on its own merits but the relatively cheap price alone compared to buying the original cartridge should be enough to persuade you into purchasing this outstanding title.  

Verdict : Mega Man at its most 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!