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

Another average set of offerings sadly even if you like NES titles, as four more are regurgitated from the Wii VC onto the Wii U and 3DS services respectively. Anyway enough from me and on with the games!
 
Available for download this week we have...     

Donkey Kong 3
Baseball
Pinball
Wario's Woods

Price: GB £3.49, EU €4.99
Publisher: Nintendo
Developer: Nintendo R&D1
Released: 1983
System: NES

After the huge ape-sized success that was the original Donkey Kong and it's original but lesser sequel Donkey Kong Jr it seems that for the third installment Nintendo really were scraping the bottom of the proverbial barrel. The premise of Donkey Kong 3 is somewhat random, Donkey Kong has taken up residence inside Stanley the bug man's Greenhouse and understandably Stan the man isn't too happy about that and goes in armed with his bug spray gun to combat the ape and the barrage of bugs which he hurls downwards towards the crops below.

It isn't the most enthralling of plots and sadly it doesn't set the scene very well for any enthralling gameplay by any stretch of the imagination, there is no platforming involved this time around as you merely stand on the ground and spray DK in the crotch until he retreats to win the level. Of course it isn't that simple as at the start of the level the big ape  has a go at the bee hives at the start of the level causing bees and bugs of varying appearance to descend upon you like a mini plague; so between trying to shoo the ape away you need to either dodge or shoot the insects all the while being aware of how far DK is down the vines as believe me, you don't want him to reach the bottom.

Unfortunately that's basically it for the rest of the game, backdrops will change a bit, trees from green to red, bees from living to dead, DK moving more frantically above your head... but essentially it's the same game mechanics with little variation to break things up so it gets somewhat old very quickly. Speaking of quickly if you wish to speed up the process you can get a super bug sprayer that appears at certain points, it's repellent when sprayed will ascend to
the ape much quicker.

There is little else to say about the third installment of what was once a groundbreaking arcade game, visually it's not very inspiring and the sound is rather basic even by Nintendo's standards. So even though it's a mere three and a half pounds it really isn't worth even that as there are by far better NES games already available which are well worth it but this just isn't one of them and only goes further to prove that in this instance, the original truly is the best.

Verdict : Substandard simian sequel.

Price: GB £3.49, EU €4.99
Publisher: Nintendo
Developer: Nintendo R&D1
Released: 1983
System: NES

When the NES launched it needed some games, certain ones would just sell by their names, Baseball is an example of such fame, though unfortunately the standard is really quite lame. As you'd expect it's a game of bat and ball, which plays at a pace more akin to a crawl, after playing this you certainly won't suffer from withdrawl.

You play as a character wearing a glove and/or hat, you then throw the ball or hit it with a bat, try not to hit it out, or you'll look like a prat. Run around to each base, try to score a home run; don't fall flat on your face though, as that is no fun.

Play against the CPU, or with another player as it supports up to two, but if you're playing this game you'll just be wishing it's through. It's a basic recreation of a well-loved sport, aside from that there's nothing else to report, so I'll just carry on rhyming in an attempt to retort, you'd be better off playing the version in Wii Sports!

Visuals are plain, you get players and a field, aside from the obvious bat or ball which you wield. Sounds are so sparse, you make sounds as you run, every other bleep sounds like its come from a laser gun.

If you like NES sports games, then this one is for you, everyone else won't even give it a view. Once a good title back in Eighty-Three, now it's a victim of its own simplicity.

Verdict : Drops the ball completely.

Price: GB £3.49, EU €4.99
Publisher: Nintendo
Developer: Nintendo R&D1
Released: 1984
System: NES

A pinball game in the Eighties? No bigger cliche it seems but this NES interpretation of the popular game revolving around steel balls and flippers is actually rather faithful considering its age, rather basic at first glance there is actually a reasonable amount of thought put into this title even though it's clearly dated now. There is definitely a certain Nintendo charm to even this basic offering as you will notice that various characters adorn the differnt table levels at various points including Mario plus some rather cool penguins and seals which go very nicely with the flippers... sorry.

You have all the trappings of a Pinball table regardless of which half you're playing on including bumpers, flippers, kickout holes plus even some targets to roll over; clearly a decent amount of time was invested in the physics as the weight of the ball feels good and the mechanics are certainly solid enough. But here lies the problem as you have other pinball titles like the ones in the 'Zen' series which have been released recently, they are at the very top of their game when it comes to recreating that authentic pinball experience so a title like this just seems fairly underwhelming in comparison.

Controls are as you would normally expect Left on the d-pad for one flipper plus the A button for the other, unfortunately if you have been spoiled by modern titles which allow you to use the superior shoulder buttons on the gamepad for flippers then this might take a bit of adjustment for you but otherwise it's easy enough to get into. One excellent aspect though is the Mario mini-game which can be accessed from a hole on the lower part of the table, it involves moving the plumber from left to right as he holds a platform above his head which you use to keep rebounding the ball in order to rack up loads of points, indeed it's probably the best part of the game; well that and the added bonus of off-tv play which suits this title perfectly.

Visually you really shouldn't expect too much here beyond the usual 8-bit NEs sprites, charming as they are it's clear to see how dated the title is, while the audio just consists of a few select sound effects with no background music at all. This essentially means that you don't really feel much of a connection to the game while playing which isn't a good thing, even a simple looping 8-bit theme would have done but alas there is nothing other than the sound of the ball and the flippers.

While it's nice to see just how far Pinball games have come, sadly one of the very first examples really hasn't stood up to the test of time very well at all, but if you are a fan of the genre then I would still say that it's worth picking up as nothing more than a curiosity. Everyone else can quite hapilly bypass this though as they really won't find much to keep them coming back beyond that quirky Nintendo charm which just about saves it from being completely
void of identity.

Verdict : Not exactly a pinball wizard.

Price: GB £3.59, EU €3.99
Publisher: Nintendo
Developer: Nintendo R&D1
Released: 1991
System: NES

The very last officially released title for the NES, this is the title that Wario's Woods holds in addition to being a somewhat curious game as well, it falls within the puzzle genre, features Wario and is generally regarded as being rather good for what it is. While it's true that the laster released SNES version is superior in just about every way, the gameplay has still translated across rather well falling into that category of games that are great to play at a moments notice for that immortal 'one more go' which inevitably ends up being a lot longer than that providing you have the time.

Indeed the only other times most players will have com across the game - assuming they didn't play it on the NES - would either be as a downloadable title via the GC version of Animal Crossing or on the Wii Virtual Console - from a time before VC Weekly even existed! - so it has at least been a few years between re-release. Perfect for portable play you take on the role of Toad who has to defeat Wario by matching up various blocks, monsters plus bombs in order to clear the screen, the best part is though you actually control Toad who has to physically move the pieces which is almost unheard of in a Puzzle game but it certainly adds originality into the mix; watch out though because all the while the roof of the 'tree' which the puzzle plane takes place on gradually lowers and we wouldn't want to see our little mushroom hero get squished now would we?

Keeping things interesting as you play there are two altered states which are 'Bomb Time' where Birdo will drop extra bombs onto the area making things easier but then there is 'Enemy Time' where Wario will chuck some extra enemies your way in addition to lowering the ceiling a notch, what a sod! So you really have to be at the very top of your game as thing can change very quickly, once you get into a rhythm though it's not too much of a task to rack up a new high-score each time but there's always a decent amount of challenge the further that you progress; for begginers there is even a lesson mode while Game B throws boss battles into the mix whereby you need to keep blocks/bombs in direct contact with the enemy in order to deal damage, so there is something for everyone here.

Visually this is a title which pulls every graphical trick in the 8-Bit book meaning that you end up with something that looks rather spectacular and so it should too being that it was produced towards the end of the life-cycle of the NES, even if it's nowhere near the SNES standard. Audibly things are a bit mixed though as clearly that same amount of attention wasn't put into the music tracks but the looped themes are still nice enough as are the sound effects but just don't go expecting anything on the same level as other Wario themed games or even Nintendo puzzle games in general.

A fine example of a puzzle game which players may not be quite so familiar with, is it worth investing in? Most certainly as it still offers value for money today even if it's not quite up to the same standards as other immortal titles within the genre. There is more than enough charm coupled with intruiging gameplay which makes Wario's Woods a stand-out choice for fans of the genre or just of Wario himself, portability is also an important factor here being that you can use save states to exit at the drop of a erm.. block, but if you're listening Nintendo we would love to see the SNES version get released on the Wii U Virtual Console at some point in the future.   

Verdict : A puzzle game that Wario would be proud of.

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!