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

One unorthodox Pinball title plus a less than popular spin-off from what was once a pure classic series of Capcom titles. Anyway enough from me and on with the games!
 
Available for download this week we have...     

Super Mario Ball
Mega Man Xtreme 2


 
Price: GB £6.29, EU €6.99
Publisher: Nintendo
Developer: Fuse Games
Released: 2004
System: GBA
 
It's fair to say that Mario has filled in a few roles over the years including that of a plumber amongst other things but by far the strangest would have to be when it was decided that everyone's favourite Nintendo mascot would become a pinball for reasons that I cannot even begin to fathom, naturally the Mushroom Kingdom could lend itself well to becoming a virtual pinball title but then so would the kingdom of Hyrule from Zelda by the same token if it was more the case of 8-bit sprites being incorporated onto a table with a normal pinball being used for play... but not like this. No it seems developer Fuse Games decided that creating a fully '3D' pinball land was indeed the way forward which is fair enough when you consider the GBA was a powerful piece of hardware at the time yet it still makes for a rather awkward juxtaposition as it looks nice enough but it doesn't quite feel right just like the shoe-horned story; It's all centred around something called a 'Pinballer' - would you believe? - created by something unknown, it lets the Mushroom Kingdom inhabitants use devices called 'Sky Cannons' so all is good but then 'Oh no!' Bowser kidnaps Princess Peach and uses a Sky Cannon to fire her right into his Castle... so as Mario, as a 'Ball' you'd best go and get her, especially if you ever want to see one of those lovely pink iced cakes ever again.

Anyway the plot matters not as this is Pinball so just give it a shot, as your main goal is to get Star Keys from all across the land so that you can get into Bowser's Castle to you know... rescue Peach, of course it's not that easy though as you're given loads of objectives in order to obtain power stars which then nets you access to those pesky keys. So you get plenty of Mario themed Pinball areas including one set in a Ghost House plus other random areas featuring classic enemies such as Bullet Bills, Chain Chomps, Goomba's, Koopa's and more besides, it's all reasonable with decent physics but there is just something ever so slightly 'off' regarding the pacing plus spacing as the action feels too slow sadly in addition to certain areas being too difficult to get past because of a gap that seems not quite right or one that makes you accidentally skip a part before you're finished, it's quite poorly executed overall.

While the game is challenging at times it's often for the wrong reasons as for every decent enjoyable challenge which brings you some nostalgic form of joy you'll get a handful of other ones where you'll really just need to persever with purely to beat the game if you're so inclined to in any case, so while it's a fully functioning Pinball experience of sorts unless you're really into Mario then you're going to find it trying at the best of times. Probably the saving grace would be the boss battles as they are actually quite inventive for a Pinball game, such as the ones featuring a Big Boo or the Mario Sunshine classic Petey Pirahna as they are such a welcome change from the usual completing very similar objectives but in a different location.



Clearly the visuals save the game here even if I personally think they look a bit awkward as I would have preferred to see what could have been done with a style that fits on to a more traditonal Pinball table like in the best GBA Pinball games which I still consider to be Sonic Pinball Party closely followed by Pokémon Pinball: Ruby & Sapphire as those games had it all in the presentation department, but still Super Mario Ball is still a technicaly achievement with all of its fancy polygonal like characters, at least it's all pre-rendered anyway. Audio is as cheerful as you'd expect with samples taken from classic Mario games though it's not a particularly memorable soundtrack overall just a recycled one that's just about fit for purpose.

Quite simply if you like Mario and Pinball then chances are you will enjoy this game to a degree but if you're more into the Pinball aspect then there are much better alternatives available elsewhere though not that many on the Wii U Virtual Console as of yet so it's still a safe enough bet if you're desperate for that kind of game. I'd jsut wait it out though as the frustrating elements will take their toll on your willingness to play eventually unless you have a lot of patience or a special skill for using restore points which will no doubt come in useful when the game essentially forces you to make mistakes; enjoy if you can persevere with it though, for me it was just too much to endure a second time after already owning it on the GBA originally, Mama Mia!      

Verdict : Passable pinball starring a portly plumber shaped into a spherical object.  



Price: GB £4.49, EU €4.99
Publisher: Capcom
Developer: Capcom
Released: 2002
System: GBC

Originally the first Mega Man Xtreme title was something of a disappointment especially to those of us who actually have fond memory of or who have recently enjoyed the Mega Man X games, so does this sequel make up for the pitfalls laid down by the previous game at all? Partly perhaps because at the very least this title feels like it's on the right track as a mildly more competent all-round experience that isn't quite as badly hampered by the brilliant but noticably limited hardware. The story goes that in the Reploid research facility on Laguz Island, Reploids are being turned into lifeless shells as if their souls have been erased... Maverick Hunters Mega Man X and Zero have been dispatched to investigate and solve this mysterious turn of events; so another excuse to get blasting as two of the best characters in the series then.

By no stretch of the imagination is Mega Man Xtreme 2 an amazing game but it does improve upon things in a number of ways including addressing the issue of having to switch between two methods of dashing which was a problem, now though you can either double-tap in either direction or press down plus the 'A' button but the difference is both of these options are available simultaneously meaning no need to navigate a menu during critical gameplay which is one of the most irritating things as it breaks the level of immersion instantly. Having the ability to choose from either 'X' or Zero is nice and even though you'll find yourself fighting through the same levels towards the end, getting there is a completely different experience with each character as with the 'Blue Bomber' you'll fight against (from X) Flame Mammoth, Launch Octopus, (from X3) Neon Tiger and Volt Catfish while everyone's favourite long-haired 'Red Maverick' gets to face off with (from X2) Overdrive Ostrich, Wire Sponge, (from X3) Blast Hornet and Tunnel Rhino which is quite a comprehensive selection in itself.

All of the stages seem to be of reasonably solid design throughout with just enough to make you think though never reaching anywhere near the heights of classic Mega Man titles, plenty of collectables are on offer including the usual Heart plus Sub Tanks which do what you'd expect  but in addition to those you have the Dr. Light Capsules which can bestow an upgrade for either character reagrdless of which one you're playing as, in addition to this though you will get different upgrades from the bosses which play on the stregnths of the individual characters. When playing as 'X' you get more of the same from before bit slightly more refined so you'll be dashing, wall-jumping in addition to charging your buster at every opportunity which is more in line with the classic Mega Man platforming formula; playing as 'Zero' feels much more engaging due to your main weapon being the Z-Sabre which is only really good for close range which changes the gameplay considerably so you end up being less aggressive with your approach and much more on-edge as a result, it's a very satisfying experience once you become to his unique style of play.



Stages are certainly colourful enough with sufficient variation in the themes throughout to warrant wanting to see them all, the sprites seem to be slightly improved too which is nice to see as is the competent animation with some nice flashes of detail splashed around sporadically which show that you can make a Mega Man game at least look reasonable on an 8-bit portable despite it still being an obvious downgrade from the home console counterparts. Aurally there is a soundtrack that's pretty special considering the sub-series this is for, so there are plenty of tracks for you to enjoy throughout the experience in addition to all of those reliable sound effects that you will have come to associate with the franchise over the years.

With it being a marked improvement on the intial Mega Man Xtreme game I can say that I would recommend the sequel as it has a lot more to offer even if it's still only worth getting if you've already experienced the original Mega Man X series and you're looking for a portable alternative or even if you're solely a 3DS owner looking for an enjoyable platformer. If you can wait though there are sure to be better Mega Man games still to come yet so it might be worth holding onto your credit until then; if you're a hardcore fan of the series who needs to own every game then no more needs to be said as you will have bought it and probably completed it by now, at least it's better than the first three GameBoy Mega Man games in any case.    

Verdict : Portable Mega Man manages to be mostly playable.

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!