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

Now... being that I have been writing VC Weekly for many years now I'm used to the same game coming out on the newer VC's but never before have we had not just one but two games not seen since the Wii VC now released on both the Wii U and 3DS VC in the same week; but there's a first time for everything or even a second or third in the case of two of this weeks releases in terms of outings. Anyway enough from me and on with the games!  

Available for download this week we have...     

Crash 'n the Boys: Street Challenge
S.C.A.T. (X2)
Shadow of the Ninja (X2)



Price: GB £3.49, EU €4.99
Publisher: Technos
Developer: Technos
Released: 1992
System: NES

If you like both River City Rampage plus Track and Field then there is a chance that you might like Crash 'n The Boys: Street Challenge as it seems to combine the visuals from the former with the gameplay of the latter, or at the very least makes a rather brave attempt at it. Sadly though the actualy quality of the game is more akin to something like Urban Champion only with perhaps a touch more variation, as essentially you get to partake in five different 'street sports' which you can either opt to play all of them in rotation, just one from the list or rather oddly three which seems to be neither here nor there but is perhaps more geared towards multiplayer which can support up to four players alternating but in practice this is a two-player title on a technical level.

Before you start the events there is a chance to purchase various items which just might give you the tactical advantage in a particular sport, these include extra moves plus items for slowing down your rival but if you want to keep it clean then you can just opt to play the games as they are. First up is the '400m Hurdles' which plays like the regular version of the sport with a crucial addition to the gameplay which allows you to break the hurdles so that you can hit them with the debris; 'Hammer Throw' is a little bit like golf... but with hammers as you must hurl your hammer across the course many times until you make it land in a hole, the quicker you can get there with the least amount of throws the better.

Perhaps the 'Swimming' event should be renamed as 'Drowning' because that is essentially what you end up trying to do to your opponent in order to win, while 'Roof Top Jumping' prooves to be even more bizarre yet strangely enjoyable as you get to ride a unicycle along a narrow piece of wood between two buildings for seemingly no good reason at all; finally we have 'Fighting Scene' which is very much like a classic side-scrolling beat em up of sorts. Although some of the 'sports' are randomly enjoyable, their method of control really isn't at all and as a result you will be hard pushed to persevere with any of them for more than a few tries which is where this package of mini-games is ultimately let down very badly indeed, which is a shame because it clearly showed at least some promise within its bizarre appeal.



Graphically you can expect rather standard 8-bit visuals which have a clear style but aren't exactly pusing the console to its limits, the level of animation seems to be reasonable as well although sometimes it can come across as being unintentionally hilarious at times. The music is sub-par at its best sadly, at its lowest points I'd even go as far to say that it sounds awful complete with sound effects which are very drab indeed lacking any real substance that you might otherwise expect.

Overall there is at least a decent amount of originally within the title but it's let down by sloppy execution, the fact that there is a distinct lack of polish to the whole package certainly doesn't help matters any further as it's clear that this entry in the Crash 'n The Boys series could have been much better. If you happen to like titles which are at least mechanically similar though then you might just find that this will hold your attention for a short while, just don't expect to get anything more than a handful of play sessions out of it before you move on to other better games though.  

Verdict : Crashes but doesn't completely burn.


 
Price: GB £3.49, EU €4.99
Publisher: Natsume
Developer: Natsume
Released: 1992
System: NES

Despite having a somewhat amusing acronym - which stands for Special Cybernetic Attack Team - this lesser-known title is actually something of a cult-classic among fans of the scrolling shooter genre. The story is set in 2029 and boils down to alien invaders led by Vile Malmort have planted an 'Astrotube' which connects the ruins of New York with their space station; so now it's up to you as a member of the aforementioned team to combat the alien invasion.

You have a choice of two characters, either a male marine name Arnold or a female soldier named Sigourney – It's not hard to guess where they got the names from – and while there is no actual skill difference between the two it's always good to have a choice. The game bares a striking resemblance to the Capcom classic Forgotten Worlds as the screen scrolls automatically and you merely have control of your character as you fly through the air plus your weapon fire which allows you to only shoot either left or right with your gun but two additional orbs above and below you will fire in other directions in sync with your shots; you can also opt to have them either orbit you or remain stationary which proves to be a very useful feature throughout.

Level design is most excellent and once you've got over the somewhat unconvincing way in which your character 'flies' around you'll start to take in the beautiful but deadly way that each area is created... and then realise just how hard it actually is to complete! This game is no pushover and really throws everything it has at you from the start as increasingly difficult enemy spawns try to catch you out; there is hope however which comes in the form of collectable letters which enhance your fire-power like 'L' which changes your gun into a laser and helpfully you can collect a letter 'R' which will replenish lost segments of health, these are usually found just before bosses which is just as well being that you're going to need them.



Bosses are genuinely original, challenging encounters which will test your skill, this is a refreshing change from many other similar titles where these fights are quite easy to blast through in comparison. For a NES title the graphics show a decent level of detail even if the character models feel like they could have been afforded a few more pixels, the audio is genuinely immersive and just goes to show how good an accompanying selection of music tracks can be when a decent amount of time is spent on the composition.

How much you'll get out of this title will largely depend on your willingness to persevere with its rather harsh level of difficulty which ranges from challenging to slightly unfair, it is however worth sticking with as the feeling of reward from completing each level is immense. If you have a rather short attention span for these type of games though then you may wish to purchase one of the many other 'easier' scrolling shooters that are available; purists of the genre however will revel in the challenge that it presents.

Verdict : A spectacularly crafted, awe-inspiring title.



Price: GB £3.49, EU €4.99
Publisher: Natsume
Developer: Natsume
Released: 1991
System: NES

Ninja games started to gain in popularity during the Eighties thanks to the aforementioned titles plus the phenomenon that later followed featuring turtles trained in the discipline of martial arts. In the year of 1991 our obsession with Ninjas may have died down but this didn't stop Natsume from being slightly late to the party with the arrival of their game entitled Shadow of the Ninja.

Playing as either Hayate or Kaede you must run, slice and jump your way through five levels - split into stages - set across the USA as you attempt to save the country which has been overtaken by the evil emperor Garuda who you must - naturally - take out in order to save the country and in turn probably the world from destruction.

Both characters have similar ninja abilities and so can climb, run and jump through the levels armed with a katana for slicing up whoever gets in the way, this is upgradable to the  kusarigama if you can find it during the level not to mention you can carry a limited number of shurikens should you happen across any. Picking up the same weapon will result in an increase in power while taking too much damage will cause it to revert back to its standard state, it's an interesting system that seems to reward more careful players.



Your enemies will come in all manner of shapes and sizes ranging from bog-standard baddies to light-footed ninjas, mutated monkeys and ruthless robots each with their own  attack patterns that get trickier as the game progresses. There are boss battles too and while a good few of them are initially intimidating they can be dispatched with a good few hits when employing rinse and repeat tactics; visually everything looks nice for a NES title with some decent accompanying music but overall it's pretty standard as ninja titles go.

It doesn't do a lot wrong but there isn't much here that hasn't been done before and to a better standard at that; if you really enjoy ninja games though and want your 'fix' then you could do a lot worse but if you're looking for a similar game that has more substance to it then check out either the Shinobi or The Last Ninja series as they are by far superior in almost every respect.
 
Verdict : A nonchalant ninja title.

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!