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

Two new Virtual Console release categories are launched in one fell swoop, containing at least one genuine surprise title. Anyway enough from me and on with the games!
 
Available for download this week we have...    

Mario Kart DS
Wario Ware Touched!
Super Mario 64
Donkey Kong 64

Price: GB £8.99, EU €9.99
Publisher: Nintendo
Developer: Nintendo EAD
Released: 2005
System: DS

Mario Kart DS is certainly an interesting prospect especially when retrospectively reviewing it as I seem to recall rather good things about it when it was originally released but now it's something of a mixed box of items, pushing what was technically possible we received a Mario Kart which was rendered with polygons, had a real-time map displayed in full on the touch screen plus a fully functional online multiplayer mode thanks to the Nintendo Network which remained functional until a few short months ago. Not only that but there was also the newly introduced Mission Mode which was an insanely popular addition which set the player different objectives such as driving through barriers or collecting objects on exisiting courses, a simple thing perhaps yet it was so brilliant; so much so that Sega seemed to carry the idea and then run with it in their own recent racing series while Nintendo promptly ditched it as we've never seen it since so I would say that mode alone is reason enough to pick this up if you haven't experienced it - perhaps it will return as Mario Kart 8 dlc - but aside from that lest we forget what else this version has to offer.

You get to race across thirty-two tracks with an even split modern to retro ratio, as one of twelve different characters, in one of thirty-six diverse karts including the B-Dasher which I believe this title was famous for including on its box art. Of course you also have the chance in partaking in a bit of snaking which is where you can drift then boost then drift then boost in an endless cycle of boosting to win, this technique has been present in Mario Kart games since the N64 era, it only really presented a problem since this version being that it had an online component but with that gone I suppose you could just do it as you please to blitz through the single player mode; it has become increasingly difficult to perform this technique in iterations which have since released only to give way to the recently discovered 'Fire-Hopping' technique in Mario Kart 8, it's a controversial issue about techniques which are technically allowed because they are in the game yet are generally frowned upon in competitive online racing yet are routinely abused in order to set insane Time Trial records, it certainly makes for an interesting topic of conversation.

Fortunately there are some fantastic courses on offer including new tracks such as Cheep Cheep Beach which became an instant classic, Delfino Square which oozed plenty of Pianta-based charm plus Peach Gardens which perhaps has the best inclusion of both Chain Chomp and Monty Mole ever within a track, those box hedges with the Chomps roving around the simple faux-maze structure like some oversized killer version of Pac-Man just waiting for your kart to get within biting distance proved to be brilliant. My personal favourite of the new tracks has to be Airship Fortress as it felt incredible to be racing atop one of Bower's flying fleet of ships from Super Mario Bros. 3 as you bolt through a barrage of oncoming Bullet Bills before power-sliding over the heads of the Rocky Wrenches, then through the fire and the flames as you pass through the ship interior before being fired through a cannon across to spiral tower, I would love for this track to become dlc for Mario Kart 8 as it's a missed opportunity otherwise; of course this was the first game in the series to have select tracks from all past versions of Mario Kart included so you also get to play such classic tracks as Moo Moo Farm from the N64, Baby Park which debuted on Double Dash!! for the Gamecube, Choco Island 2 from Super Mario Kart on the SNES and of course the legendary Sky Garden originating in Mario Kart Super Circuit for the GBA plus many more.

While the visuals are certainly a product of the titles time of release I can recall being suitably impressed when playing this for the first time, even years on the fully 3D racer might not look amazing in comparison to more modern entries but it is impressive to see it running on a big screen with the smoothing option enabled though it feels more at home on the gamepad perhaps, it's nice that there are several ways to play DS Virtual Console titles. Of course the soundtrack is decent as ever featuring those fun familiar tunes that you will have become used to over the years presented in true Mario Kart style, the familiar Whoosh! of a Blue Shell, Kaboom! of a Bob-omb and of course the Kerching! of many golden coins being collected - or subsequently spilled across the tarmac - are all present.

If you merely wanted to experience Mario Kart DS as a solo affair then step right up as you won't be let down in that department as all of the single player content will keep you entertained for a few hours, but having Mario Kart without multiplayer is like having Zelda without dungeons or Metroid without upgrades; you just don't do it. So if you missed out on this title the first time around then by all means download it if you're curious, just be fully aware of this versions limitations, at least you can have fun with the emblem editor!
       
Verdict : Mario Kart minus multiplayer makes it merely moderately playable.

Price: GB £8.99, EU €9.99
Publisher: Nintendo
Developer: Nintendo SPD
Released: 2005
System: DS
 
When the original WarioWare, Inc.: Mega Microgames launched on the GBA it was something of a revelation, a new original IP from Nintendo based purely around the split-second instincts many gamers have perfected over the years perhaps without even realising it, then was the expanded port on the Gamecube but it wasn't until the release of the Nintendo DS which proudly heralded in a new era of touch-screen gaming - which is unsurprsingly now so commonplace - that the series truly flourished. Bringing out Wario Ware Touched! was considered to be the next natural step for the series, after all what could be more instinctive than simply reaching out and touching something? It's what a lot of our human interaction is based on, once you tap into using this as a game interface it really opens up many possibilities, especially with a title so intensely focused on the near-instananeous reaction of the player.

It was a perfect introductory game ten years ago but now it serves as the perfect testing ground for the viability of launching Virtual Console games from the DS library, it turns out that everything works more than well enough, indeed it's a pleasure to play this entry in the now long-running series on the big screen as it fits in perfectly with the Wii U eco-system especially when you add in Miiverse support as this is very much a game which encourages community spirit. Aside from the new additions everything else is as it was, within Games Mode you'll encounter several short sections of bite-sized gameplay centered around the crazy characters the series is famed for; Mike rather simply has challenges which use only the microphone while Mona is more focused on slicing things for some reason but clearly the best of the bunch has to be the nostalgically powerful ones supplied by both 9-Volt and 18-Volt as they all involve Nintendo's staple franchises including Mario, Zelda... even Game & Watch! So naturally these make for the most enjoyable self-contained hits of fun being that they are based around classic games.

After playing each mini-game in the main mode you can choose to replay them individually within Album Mode as you continue playing until it gets too difficult, you could choose to use the new restore points here if you like just for fun but you might find yourself coming unstuck rather quickly so perhaps this is a case where playing as it was originally intended is the better option, though it's nice to have this choice. Let us not forget about the Toys though as these possibly pointless unlockables are just simply fun to mess around with, perhaps the best being the immortal Pyorot mini game where you play as a small red bird who must eat as many insects as possible, it might not sound that compelling but it's genuinely worth the entry price alone; also being that you can choose to play DS games a variety of ways on this 'new' format you actually get six different layouts to choose from, if you opt to play just on the gamepad then you can hold it vertically with both original DS screens being shown on the one gamepad screen, I can see this feature becoming increasingly useful for certain titles.

Visuals have always been a highlight here for this series as you have what is in essence a simple style overall with some mini scenes inbetween making it seem like a cartoon, yet there is so much going on in such a short space of time that it becomes this strange almost sadistic pleasure which seems to be being derived from advancing to the next title while wondering whatever will come up next; certainly a visual tour-de-force. Of course the music must match the mad-cap action and here you will not be let down as Wario Ware makes so many subtle culture references in audible form that it becomes slowly ingrained into your mind over time, indeed many of the intermission sequences plus multiple sound effects I have never forgotten to this very day, so for anyone replaying it's certainly an interesting experience to say the very least.

On the surface there may only be a good couple of hours or so in gameplay if you merely just want to reach the credits, the real fun however simply comes from dipping in every now and then to experience the pure randomness on offer. For anyone who has somehow missed the series completely then this can't come recommended enough as there really is nothing else quite like it even today which says a lot about the state of the industry at times, so instead why not contribute to Wario's micro-game empire? It's only a few pounds after all. Kerching! 

Verdict : Wario's games are well worth playing again on the Wii U. 

Price: GB £8.99, EU €9.99
Publisher: Nintendo
Developer: Nintendo EAD
Released: 1997
System: N64
 
Super Mario 64 isn't just another game, it's one of the single most important games made within the past double decade which helped to not only create a brand new genre in the 3D Platformer but it has also helped to move gaming along in multiple directions. Even from the main hub of Peach's Castle it's amazingly well designed, you make your way around this incredibly well crafted 3D world, opening doors with different numbers of stars on them, the more stars you obtain the more of those doors you'll be able to unlock, if you get enough stars to open the big door on that level of the castle then you'll get to fight Bowser in progressively difficult boss battles.

Before that though earning most of the stars is down through the game worlds which are contained within magic paintings that Mario can jump into, you are then tasked with getting a specific star but the beauty of the games design is that it allows you to collect most of the stars in any order you choose; the first area Bob-omb Battlefield is a masterfully created playground which teaches you all of the vital mechanics of the game such as running, jumping, holding onto ledges, plus much more besides, the design is so striking though because if you choose to make your way straight to the top of the spiral mountain - a design which went on to influence another N64 platformer - then you'll see most of the level, yet even after you beat King Bob-omb - by picking him up and throwing him no less - the fun has only just begun as you'll be able to fire Mario out of cannons, throw exploding bob-oms at destructable objects or even go for the challenge of obtaining one hundred coins. All of this plus much more besides is capable just within the first game world which goes some way to showing you just how much scope this platformer from 1997 still has.

Though you can grab the stars in any order you'll get small updates for reaching a certain amount of stars letting you know it's possible to progress to the next part of the castle if you want to, if you're a completionist who doesn't like the idea of moving on too far before fully completing an area then you can choose to go that route too; it's likely you will find yourself going between two or three different worlds before you activate the three different coloured caps which grant Mario different powers however. Perhaps the most famous of all is the winged cap which allows the portly plumber to soar through the skies in certain environments, this is probably the most fun of them all effectively selling the game on its strength alone being that it's so proudly displayed on the box, you also have the Metal Cap making Mario metallic in appearance in addition to making him heavier allowing traversal along the seabeds of aquatic areas and finally the Vanish Cap which... wait, where did he go? Ah he's on the other side of the previously impassable wall! Each of these caps are time-limited however which adds a nice bit of strategy to the proceedings.

Clearly at the height of technical brilliance for its time featuring fully realised three-dimensional characters set in environments all built from the ground-up, it was unlike anything gamers had seen before as it still very much represented Mario albeit brought to life in a new way which has now become more than familiar to the audiences of today; in this modern era it's surely testament to how amazing this title is that it still has its own unique identity whereas the more recent Mario titles suffer from similarity at least in some ways, Super Mario 64 still appears to be tireless and timeless in addition to coming across even clearer on the Wii U than it ever did in the Wii VC version which now looks decidedly dated. Perhaps one of the most iconic soundtracks in videogame history the legendary Koji Kondo makes his mark in this masterpiece in the only way he knows how by creating some of the most marvelous melodies ever committed to cartridge, incidentally due to size restraints at the time many of the tracks are recycled as they get used for multiple worlds, this is especially notable later on in the game where we have the same track used for both Tick Tock Clock in addition to Rainbow Ride not to mention the same track being used for the slide areas yet it's just testament to how well it works in all of these instances, of course let us not forget the voice of Mario himself Charles Martinet who has provided those classic 'Whoop!' 'Wha!' and even 'Yahooo! Haha!' sound effects which make the game come to life even more... Mama mia! this guy is a-good!

Quite simply if you have yet to experience this landmark title then you are only doing yourself a huge disservice as you're missing out on one of the finest games in existence, while it may be true that it will take newer gamers who are not used to the N64 controls a while to acclimatise in addition to the issue of limited draw distance on certain objects such as coins making things a little more challenging, these are all quirks of the game which have made it so endearing to those of us who remember it the first time around. Eighteen years on though it's nothing short of impressive to see that Super Mario 64 is still every bit the classic title that it always has been, now with the ability to play it either solely on the gamepad or on the big screen with improved visuals, the option to remap controls, save states and Miiverse integration make it all the more enticing to play either for the first or perhaps sixty-fourth time. No better title could have been chosen to launch N64 games on the Wii U Virtual Console, here's hoping Nintendo's future account merging plans will now secure this titles future for many more generations to come.

Verdict : Super Mario 64, shall remain a masterpiece forevermore.

Price: GB £8.99, EU €9.99
Publisher: Nintendo
Developer: Rare
Released: 1999
System: N64
 
Being that this is an N64 platformer made by Rare it feels natural to almost instantly draw comparisons between DK64 and Banjo-Kazooie but they are different approaches to the same genre, in essence though if BK is represented by two characters in one with an incredible set of moves between them, then DK64 has many different abilities though they are spread out between five different characters which you must alternate between frequently in order to get things done. At first this doesn't seem so bad as when you start out in the first level playing as Donkey Kong, collecting all the bananas you can see then learning a few new tricksall is fine, then you gain control of Diddy for more of the same plus a few different tricks, by the time you advance to the next stage and rescue another of the Kong Clan things start to get a little complicated because although you can make a little bit of progress you are also limited because you don't have the projectile weapon which the other two have by now, in order to get this you need to go back to the first level so that Funky can give you your much needed weapon; it's just as well that there are many warp panels throughout the Kong Island hub world plus each level because you'll be needing them more than you'd think, not to mention the amount of character barrels you'll be jumping into as you frequently change from one Kong to another.

Yet it's all part of the charm in the way that this title has been designed, once you've got your head around it all the world of Donkey Kong 64 makes a lot of sense despite it not being quite as cleverly streamlined as other N64 platformers, I fully believe that Rare really did their best in making a 3D title for the series and the fact that it hasn't been attempted since certainly speaks volumes; not only does DK work really well in two dimensions as evidenced by Retro Studios but if a studio were to ever again take on something as ambitious as this then their worry wouldn't be trying to surpass it; instead it would be a struggle to even equal its excellence. For anyone who enjoys collectables this title is also a dream come true as not only must you gather regular bananas in order to progress being that you need them to access the - variable but always entertaining - boss battles but you'll also be battling it out for Golden Bananas of which there are plenty to collect for each character, then you have Banana Coins which become currency as they are needed not only for weapons, you require them to gain potions from Cranky Kong's Laboratory; you'll also require Crystal Coconuts which you can use to activate limited abilites from character specific barrels - not quite as brilliant as the context sensitive pads from Conker's Bad Fur Day but still - which will enable you to progress further within the worlds.

Speaking of worlds they have rather nicely alliterated names such as Jungle Japes, Angry Aztek plus many more, each of these are all rather ambitious from the start as well because on the face of it you have this moderately-sized open area which is fun to explore but as you progress you'll start to uncover many self-contained places hidden away similar to both Super Mario 64 and Banjo-Kazooie had many hidden places giving rise to that larger feeling of exploration. There's even K.Rools battle arena where you defeat many enemies to earn a crown, Snide's HQ supplies you with Golden Bananas in exchange for blueprints plus there is a bigger surprise later on should you find them all, Squawks the Parrot will give you advice through the game not to mention that you get to ride Rambi the Rhino in 3D for the first time; finding a Banana Fairy will increase your item capacity then there's the staple Mine Cart section which makes its welcome return not to mention that if you want to really say that you've completed the game then you'll need a whopping 102% completion which is certainly no mean feat, yes restore points certainly will come in handy for this version.

All of the Visuals still stand up very well today, indeed it all looks pretty well polished in this version perhaps even appearing to be better which bodes well for all future N64 titles released for the Virtual Console especially as this is the game which was famously bundled with the Expansion Pak back in the day; all of the original charm still shines through with no real technical issues to report either thankfully as the extra peripheral originally fixed a game-breaking bug so it's good to see that no new ones were introduced. Of course there's a legendary soundtrack thanks to Grant Kirkhope, you just know from the moment you start playing as the spectacular style of the extremely modest genius of a composer is unmistakable, those initially jovial tunes with hidden undertones of complexity coupled with the underlying feeling that this is beyond doubt a Donkey Kong game, he's also responsible for the D.K rap of course in addition to supplying the voice of the big ape himself, so now every time you save your game and here that 'OK!' as confirmation you can think of it as Grant securing your progress, if you like. Either way the audio is anazingly well refined, indeed it's just a shame that this version seems to have a strange audio mix as when you go for the surround option the sound sadly doesn't seem to come through all five speakers which I'm sure wasn't the case on the original N64 game cartridge.

DK64 is Very much worth playing especially in wake of platformers being very much in demand in today's market which has seemed to be starved of quality examples in this genre for years, it's even worth playing through again as it's a lot of fun plus easy to play on Wii U thanks to not needing to buy an N64 with an expansion pak which will have been a barrier for some back in the day. For this being the first time I've properly played the game I can safely say that I am very glad to have at least sampled it now as in retrospect I can see why it divides opinion despite being an extremely solid title with all of that trademark Rare humour that you'd expect, also lest we forget that there's also the original Donkey Kong arcade game hidden away in there in addition to the classic Jet Pac in fully playable form not to mention the fantastic multiplayer mode which is criminally underrated; here's hoping that we get more Rare gems like this in the future as this has really set the bar high from this point in so take to Miiverse to show your support for these classic games.

Verdict : A rare treat for fans of Donkey Kong and platformers alike.

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!