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

A once well-reknown RPG and a classic portable puzzle game to keep you busy. Anyway enough from me and on with the games!
 
Available for download this week we have...     

Breath of Fire
Pokémon Puzzle Challenge

Price: GB £5.49, EU €7.99
Publisher: Capcom
Developer: Capcom
Released: 1993
System: SNES

Released at a time when we were spoilt for choice as gamers when it came to RPG's of Japanse origin, Capcom decided to add to the deluge as it bestowed Breath of Fire to the world giving us a turn-based experience which might not be at the height of originality from the outset but it does bring some new things of its own to the table at least. You start out in control of a youth named Ryu who's hair is of a blue hue, as he belongs to the 'Blue Dragon' clan who are at war with the 'Black Dragon' clan, so when Ryu's village is attacked by them his quest of vengeance and world redemption is naturally set in motion.

During the course of your adventure you'll get other characters who will join your paty including a Hunter called Bo who is always useful, Carn the Thief who is adept at disposing of traps and of course Nina who is a Princess blessed with the power of flight; there are many other possible party members too but these are the ones who seem to stick out. Ryu still remains the star though, especially when he's able to transform into a dragon, unleashing a fiery hell upon all on-screen enemies which is quite a sight indeed.

Battles are relatively simple as the game employs a rather standard turn-based battle system with literally no frills at all, it's fairly basic but still done to a decent standard, anyone who is at home with kind of approach in RPG's will surely still enjoy it so long as they don't expect too much bar the odd surprising attack as aforementioned. Interestingly your control scheme has to be 'set' upon starting a new game which I find to be most odd even though it's quite refreshing to be permitted to choose from within the game, fortunately for this Virtual Console release though you can change the controls further if needed from the standardised menu which is quite useful at times.



All of the visuals are nicely detailed for the games time of release, the environments have plenty of depth to them with enough contrast between where you can walk plus whatever is merely scenery while the characters themselves are suffiently brighter so they always stand out; the level of animation isn't too bad either. Even the soundtrack holds up very well by today's standards as the overworld theme is suitably jovial, plus the in-battle music strikes that crucial balance between being tolerable and even enjoyable at times due to it being heard usually in short busts along with the solid sound effects.

For those of you looking for an enjoyable 16-bit RPG to play, which has a decent amount of level-grinding, interesting characters and a simple battle system then look no further as Breath of Fire might just be exactly what you're looking for. This title comes recommended to RPG enthusiasts or even newcomers as it might not be the most difficult of games to master but it is at least memorable for providing an entertaining experience within a lovingly crafted game world.

Verdict : A breath of fresh air from modern RPG fare.



Price: GB £4.49, EU €4.99
Publisher: Nintendo
Developer: Intelligent Systems
Released: 2001
System: GBC
 
If you like Pokémon then this Puzzle game is almost certainly made for you especially if you happen to enjoy the genre a lot, it also helps that this title is essentially a cuter version of Panel de Pon where you have to move various blocks around sideways so that you match three or more of the same colour in a row; it's deceptively simple to start with but it gets more challenging. At its time of release Pokémon Gold & Silver versions were still very popular indeed so riding off the back of those titles you'll be encountering many of the creatures including the starters Chikorita, Cyndaquil plus Totodile of course, naturally you can't have one of these titles without Pikachu appearing either plus a load of other fan favourites have made it in.

You get a fair selection of modes from the start, so once you've picked one plus your difficulty level - speed of the blocks is handled seperately - then you're away! So at least starting to play is easy enough but you'll have a hard time beating everything on offer. Marathon mode just lets you play almost endlessly which can be good if you're just looking to kill some time, Line Clear gives you a specific amount of rows to get rid of; Time Zone just gives you a set time so that you can just go for it in an attempt to get the highest score you can, all of these modes are fantastic if you're just looking for a quick puzzle game fix.

It has to be Challenge mode where a great deal of the game resides as it will pit you against many gym leaders consecutively as you punish their Pokémon by clearing loads of lines so that you create combos which deal extra damage, after you've K-O'd your opponent then you move onto the next until you're done. Then you have Puzzle mode which gives you certain blocks with a concise amount of moves to 'clear 'em all!' as it were; finally we have Garbage which is just a trickier version of Marathon but with a load of junk blocks which are annoying to get rid of, at least there is plenty of choice in how to play though.



A great deal of care seems to have gone into the aesthetics of this charming title, it has a bold, bright colour palette which isn't too obtrusive remaining always in keeping with the Pokémon universe, while the blocks have just enough detail to be seen but not too much to distract from the main gameplay. Many of your favourite music tracks from past titles within the main series are present, they seem to come across as being much clearer than they were in the first and second generation of Pokémon titles too, plus the sound effects are well suited which helps.

When it comes to Puzzle games you really can't go wrong when you use Panel de Pon as a basis, however this is much more than just a cute reskin of an exisiting title as it is very much a decent standalone experience which is more than worthy of your time and your virtual money. This would even be a good title if it had another franchise used to 'sell' it but just having that much loved Pokémon universe to tap into makes this all the more of a loveable title which you'll want to have in your collection if you don't own it already; my only question to Nintendo now is... when can we have Pokémon Puzzle League?

Verdict : Practically perfect portable Pokémon puzzler.

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!