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

For anyone that likes their weird platformers and strange cartoonish ports of once semi-realistic fighting titles then you're in the right place. Anyway enough from me and on with the games!
 
Available for download this week we have...     

Ufouria: The Saga
Mighty Final Fight
 


Price: GB £3.49, EU €4.99
Publisher: Sunsoft
Developer: Sunsoft
Released: 1992
System: NES
 
You'd be forgiven for not being familiar with this game due to its relative obscurity and scarce availability in its original form however, if I were to say to you that Ufouria is basically a simplified version of Metroid that actually manages to better it in places then I suspect a good few people would take notice. So now that I have your attention I'd like to tell you a little bit about why this criminally overlooked game is a real diamond in the rough.

Taking on the role of a snowman shaped mascot 'Bop-Louie' you must navigate a strange world that you and your friends have fallen into with your mission being that of rescuing your companions and ultimately escaping from this peculiar place. There are a limited amount of abilities to gain as using the skills of your friends - once you find them - is the key to beating the game as you'll find yourself switching between them frequently as and when required.

Swapping out characters is somewhat awkwardly done via a menu so you basically have to pause the game in order to do this which may break the flow but can be especially useful in certain instances, saving you from several near death moments providing you remember to pause. The playable characters are largely defenceless on the whole bar a stomp and throw attack which is a stark contrast to Metroid, as is the decidedly easy difficulty level.



One big plus point is the map which makes navigating the games various areas a rather joyful experience seeing as you're nearly always progressing, so you shouldn't have too much trouble with any part of the game; not even the bosses which are more entertaining than fearful. Visually everything is rather nicely rendered while audibly there really isn't much to complain about either which should come as no surprise given Sunsoft's excellent reputation.

If you're looking for a decent, original platformer which has a decent amount of exploration then this is surely the game for you, it may be a little on the easy side but that doesn't make it any less charming. It's a darn site cheaper than obtaining the actual cartridge too, unless you have hundreds of pounds to splash on it - assuming you can find a copy - this VC release is both cheap and cheerful.   

Verdict : A pedestrian paced but perfectly playable platformer.



Price: GB £4.49, EU €4.99
Publisher: Capcom
Developer: Capcom
Released: 1993
System: NES
 
Being that the original arcade game was such a smash-hit success in addition to the numerous ports on 16-bit systems of the era I suppose it seems only logical to tap into the 8-Bit market as well, this seems to be the reasoning behind Mighty Final Fight which takes everything from the original classic, shrinks it all down in proportion with the exception of the characters which have a chibi style featuring slightly larger heads than normal so you'll still be able to tell your favourites apart despite the drop in resolution. What you're left with is a side-scrolling beat-em-up which may lack the obvious modern trimmings we have become accustomed to such as two-player co-op or even a versus mode, indeed all you get here is a soley single player story mode featuring five stages, three playable characters and that's it.

Though to just dismiss this port as being just a shadow of its former self would be missing the point entirely, it all comes down to the intense level of difficulty which is provided on a plate to the player in plentiful supply; indeed unless you are at least vaguely familiar with the series from playing the SNES or Mega Drive/CD versions then there's a good chance that the generous stockpile of lives is not going to last you very long at all, so it's just as well that the game only makes you start again from the stage which you were at previously rather than having to start all over again. Each of the three playable characters - Cody, Guy & Haggar - have their own distinct style of play so just choose the one that you feel most at home with which for most will likely be Cody being that he feels like the 'all round' option with Guy suiting more intermediate players and Haggar being the choice for seasoned veterans being that he features a brutal learning curve of being stronger than the other two but coming at the cost of a noticable reduction in speed plus he's less mobile; by all means do play as them all though as it adds immensely to the replay value.

Controls are very straightforward as you move with the d-pad while 'A' and 'B' are your seperate attack buttons but you can use both in conjunction for your special move, combos are always satisfying plus you can initiate a throw at the end by a simple press on the d-pad providing you're within range which is always enjoyable when you manage to pull it off; another hook comes in the form of an XP system which will allow you to eventually unlock some extra moves which is a nice addition even if actually utilising them takes a bit of luck in addition to skill as the button presses required are awkward to say the least. Most of the game is simply about learning the attack patterns of your enemies, so when you initially experience some challenge from even the most basic of foes you begin to realise just how challenging this title can be,   



Formed from a fairly concise colour palette, all of the action stands out nicely from the foreground with a clearly defined background as well, this is a hue plus in a game of thise genre as it's important to be able to tell what's going on instantly; the level of animation seems decent too with some genuinely comical expressions on the faces of each sprite giving the whole experience a less serious vibe. The accompanying audio seems to be of decent standard as well with some classic 8-bit music that you will have come to expect from Capcom and though it's not quite up to the same standard as the score from the original game it's still decent enough, plus there are some substantial sound effects which add weight to your on-screen actions.

It's easy to recommend Mighty Final Fight to anyone who has already played the original before as you'll probably enjoy it a lot more knowing that it's merely a scaled back charicature of its former self, for everyone else I'd advise that you play the original Final Fight as it's still the better game even though this comical shrunken variant with a tough difficulty spike is still fun to play. Obviously if you enjoy the genre then it's worth picking up but just don't go into it expecting it to be the original 16-bit game just in smaller form because it's not, this is a brutally charming experience made more appealing by the option of using save states; portable Final Fight is never a bad thing though in any form.

Verdict : Final Fight tries with all its might and succeeds in being a portable delight.

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!