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

Three decidedly different Game Boy Advance titles join the Virtual Console ranks with two reviews from Dean and just the one from myself, it's also the first edition of this article to contain video and audio - I said before that VC Weekly would be getting a much needed shake up! -  as Dean has very kindly gone to the trouble of recording some material for the purposes of his two reviews so please do check them out. Anyway enough from us and on with the games!
 
Available for download this week we have...   

Contra Advance: The Alien Wars EX
Medabots AX: Metabee & Rokusho
Mega Man Battle Network 5 Team: Colonel & Protoman  

Fans of classic 2D sidescrolling run & gun platformers are no doubt familiar with the Probotector/Contra series and chances are that if you’ve played just one of them, it’s probably Contra 3: The Alien Wars/Super Probotector: Alien Rebels. For those of you who have never played the SNES classic, this is a game where you run to the right and blow up every single thing that moves (and also some things that don’t) along the way.  It’s a non-stop adrenaline rush that is notorious for its high difficulty as it subscribes to the classic One-Hit-And-You’re-Dead rule.  You run with machinegun in hand, mowing down anyone who dares stand in your way; but your foes are just as relentless as you and want nothing more than to see you get kicked to the curb again and again as they live to drain each and every last one of your limited lives.

It’s a classic game with non-stop action gameplay that, as any fan of the genre would tell you, is at the very top of its league.  The original SNES game is rightly heralded as a classic, but how does this Game Boy Advance conversion fare? Does it offer anything worthwhile for those who’ve already vanquished the alien scum time and time again in the original version? Well… The short answer is no.  I can’t recommend this version at all as it really is a pale imitation of the original.  The long answer however is a bit more complex, but that’s what a review is for! So let’s dive in!

The visuals are mostly intact, and the iconic first level still exudes the moody post-apocalyptic atmosphere of the original

Coming from the original, the first thing you’ll notice is that the visuals have translated over very well actually.  They’ve been brightened up somewhat to stand out on the original model GBA’s notoriously dark screen, but not so much as to ruin them; that part was handled pretty well.  Likewise, the sprites haven’t been shrunken down and the backgrounds are mostly intact… which is where the problems begin...

See, the issue is that Contra 3 has a lot of moments where enemies come down from above and all around you, but that’s ok because there’s plenty of open space to manoeuvre, the bullets are small and it's relatively easy to dodge incoming enemy fire. Unfortunately the same can’t be said of the GBA version as everything has been squashed into the smaller GBA resolution, resulting in a very cramped playfield that makes for madly frustrating play…

GBA                                                              SNES

As you can see, the lack of vertical resolution makes for ridiculously frustrating sections as there just isn’t enough space to move.  Just try to dodge those oversized bullets on the GBA version! Go on, I dare ya!

To make matters worse, the screen clearing bomb item has been taken out altogether, as has the ability to hold a weapon in reserve and to hold two weapons at the same time.  While they have added in the ability to lock your fire in position while walking backwards, which is admittedly quite useful, and they now allow you to re-collect a powerup that you dropped by mistake, this isn’t nearly enough to even the odds that have now been heavily stacked against you.  And on top of all that, gone too is the ability to set the number of lives at the start and Novice difficulty now only allows you to play as far as Stage 4, for added insult to injury.

It seems that the developers (Tose, in case you’re wondering) realised this and compensated by lowering the overall enemy count and by removing the Hard difficulty altogether.  An act of mercy that feels like a bit of a band aid solution to be honest. But the cuts don’t stop there! Oh no… Gone also is the intro sequence, with just a static title screen to take its place, as well as the individual end of level artwork, also replaced by a static shot that is reused throughout.  Small things, but they count…

A riveting title screen and intro all in one! Truly a marvel.

And speaking of small things, the game just feels like it lacks the polish of the original.  Certain enemy and boss animations just look and feel off and your main character’s movement is just a bit more slippery than the tight and responsive controls of the original.  The Spread Shot (one of the series’ most heralded of weapons) finds its usefulness heavily reduced as the rate of fire is lessened and other weapons just feel less useful than before. Oh and the less said about the music the better.  It’s nothing short of butchery.  Here, have a listen to the boss music from both versions and see if you can tell the difference…

It’s not all bad though as they have added some extras to the package; the most notable of which are two levels taken from Contra Hard Corps/Probotector on the SEGA Megadrive.  These two have been converted over pretty well (aside from the boss in the first level of the two, who’s attack patterns are a bit messed up), but controversially, these come at the expense of the two top-down stages from the original SNES version of Contra 3/Super Probotector.  Now, I know that not everyone likes these levels but I always enjoyed the variety that they brought to the table as they were a nice way to break up the sidescrolling action; without them I feel that the game’s pacing is heavily affected as a result, as it ends up feeling a bit one note all throughout.  Finally there is a password save system in place; which is very handy in a game as hard as this one as you’re gonna need all the help you can get!

Despite those additions though I really can’t recommend this version to anyone other than maybe the most diehard of diehard Contra/Probotector fans who simply must play them all.  Outside of the visual fidelity, the port is rather shoddily put together and there’s simple too much missing from the experience to really consider it worthy of a look when the far superior SNES version is currently available on the Wii U Virtual Console; especially when the co-op multiplayer mode is entirely inaccessible in the GBA version here on Wii U.

Verdict : A problematic Probotector port that can’t compare to classic Contra 3.

Price: GB £6.29, EU €6.99
Publisher: Natsume
Developer: Natsume
Released: 2002
System: GBA
Author: Dean Anderson
 
Time to Robattle! Screams the enthusiastic singer in the intro.  Taken straight from the anime series of the same name (I’m sure many of you know it, even if you didn’t watch it!), the game gives a great first impression; with some of the highest quality audio I have ever heard from a GBA game (and I’ve played a LOT of GBA games in my time, I’ll tell you sonny!) No really, have a listen! (I swear that this video has NOT been dubbed over!)

What many of you might not know is that this is not an anime licensed game, because the game series actually does predate the anime.  Starting in 1997, not long after Pokemon hit the streets of Japan, the series began with a set of RPG titles on the original Game Boy and much like Nintendo’s aforementioned series, the game quickly developed into a multimedia franchise of its own.  While never rivalling the Pocket Monsters in terms of popularity, the series managed to carve out a sizable enough fanbase to warrant the creation of many a spinoff that stand apart from the main RPG series that still continues onward to this day (well, in Japan only at least) and this is one of them.

Unlike the other Medabots game that is currently available on the Wii U Virtual Console in Europe (which was already covered in VC Weekly 357; you should give that one a little read.  No, really.  Go ahead.  We’ll wait for you.), this one is not an RPG, but is rather an arena based fighting game.

Ready… figh… I mean, MEDABOTS… ROOOOOBATTTLLLEEEE!!!!

Contrary to its RPG counterpart, Medabots AX is very much linear and simpler in set up.  You have a set of stages that you travel to on a simple world map.  You go there, you fight three opponents and you clear the stage.  Clear all the stages and you’ll then enter a tournament.  Beat that and you win the game! Simple, right? Hang on there bucko, cause it’s not as simple as it looks… in fact, it can get rather complex as this game is all about customisation and you’re gonna have to get stuck into it if you want to get anywhere fast (or even slow for that matter!)

With over 120 parts (20 are exclusive to each specific version of the game), there’s a LOT of customisation on offer and each will give you an advantage in specific stages, against specific enemies (that also utilise the same equipment that you can earn) that you’ll be put up against.  For those who really get into collecting parts and customising their perfect Medabot, you’re most likely going to enjoy this part of the game.  Personally though, I think that the game gives out parts at too slow a pace for my liking however.  I always found myself feeling that I didn’t have a lot of parts to choose between at a time up until near the end; which is a bit of a bummer when customisation is such a big part of the overall experience.  While you can earn more parts by repeating stages that you’ve already beaten, you also forfeit a part if you should lose that repeat battle; this is a real issue as it not only slows down progress by quite a bit, but it also makes it possible to land yourself in a more or less unwinnable situation as you will simply lack the parts you need to be competitive in battles.  Thankfully you can simply reset the game upon a loss to reclaim your lost part (just be sure to save after every successful battle!)

More menu options than a swanky Italian restaurant! Try not to get lost in there!

Of course, all that would mean nothing if the actual fighting gameplay wasn’t worth your time, but thankfully it is actually pretty solid.  Making the most of the GBA’s limited buttons on hand, the control scheme is not unlike Super Smash Bros or Kirby really.  You can walk/dash with a press or two of the D-pad, you jump with A, you block with L and you perform one of three customisable moves with a combination of D-pad directions along with B.  In addition, you also have a partner who fights alongside you in every battle (oh and you can customise them as well, you can even choose their gender – and it does affect what parts they can equip too!) who you can issue AI commands to with a press of the R button and finally, you have a Super attack of sorts that you use by pressing select (or whatever you remap that to via the Wii U VC menu) when the gauge is fully charged; just to note, that meter charges either whenever you take damage, or when you stand still for an extended amount of time.  Phew! Hope you took that all in!

As you can see the visuals are bright, colourful and detailed and (although you can’t see it in the screenshots) they are animated well too.  It’s a good looking and sounding game that plays very fast; very impressive for the GBA, especially when you consider that there are 4 fighters (2 per team) in each and every battle.  While the fighting gameplay isn’t the deepest you’ll ever play and yes it can get a bit monotonous if you play it in long sessions, it is surprisingly fun; helped in part by the excellent visuals and sounds that give each blow that satisfying crunch.

You’re gonna be spending a lot of time on your shiny metallic butt, as this game does NOT let up!

The stages are varied and most feature their own gimmicks, be they conveyer belts that push the characters around, or submerged stages that slow down Medabots that lack the equipment to compensate for the wrath of liquid immersion.  While not amazingly varied or creative, they do offer some variety that makes each encounter feel a bit different from the last.

So I seem to think that it’s a pretty solid little game really, however it is a shame that the game does absolutely nothing to explain anything whatsoever to the player.  This is one game where a trip to visit the electronic manual is mandatory.  Likewise, it’s also a pretty short game (around 6-10 hours your first time through most likely) and if you’re hoping for any sort of major story to go alongside the fighting gameplay, you’re out of luck as it’s pretty banal stuff really.  And while it does of course go without saying, but a lot of the game’s appeal is indeed lost by virtue of GBA Link Cable support being unavailable; the allure of collecting every part is significantly lessened when you can’t bring your customised robot to do battle with a friend.

Despite these niggles however, I enjoyed my time with it and I’ve never watched a single episode of the anime or played a previous Medabots game before.  Go in expecting a quirky, single player, arena based fighter with a focus on customisation and chances are that you may just enjoy your time with it as well!

Verdict : A chirpy, customisable robot battler that is worth a look for anyone wanting something different.

So here we have the fifth iteration in the Mega Man Battle Network series, it should come as no surprise that this is the point where the quality of this series started to take a dive, not to immediately label it as being terrible but personally I can't say that it has been a particular favourite RPG series of mine overall despite most of the titles seemingly being decent; so although I must stress that it is good to see Capcom releasing as much of Mega Man's legacy across Nintendo platforms as possible, I for one am certainly burnt out on this series and am glad to be nearing the end. Nevertheless this still deserves a fair review, indeed for what it's worth there is still the same familiar on-screen action that fans will have become accustomed to so if you have enjoyed the series thus far then please do read on as we delve into the Battle Network once more!

When a mysterious force begins corrupting Navis with Dark Chips, it's up to Lan and his friends to infiltrate the nefarious Nebula organisation and stop their evil plans. The survival of cyberspace is in your hands! Mega Man Battle Network 5 continues the turn-based battling adventures of net warrior Lan and his Navi computer counterpart Mega Man.EXE. Experience two different adventures in the Team Protoman and Team Colonel versions; each with separate storylines, different enemies plus allies, and new battle chips to discover. There's your "As exciting as anyone could have hoped for" storyline so let us see just what we can expect from the game this time around.

You shall not pass! *Walks underneath outstretched robotic arm*

Just in case you're jumping into the fifth iteration with no explanation - why that would be I have no idea - the general idea is that the whole series is based around a world where we are so involved with the internet that is has become a part of everyday life - just imagine that! - so everyone carries around a PET - mobile device - giving access to a Net Navi which allows them to enter the internet as a fully sentient computer program so essentially; in the real world you'll control Lan Hikari while in the digital realm you play as Mega Man.EXE so that you can do battle against evil viruses controlled by the Nebula corporation. Wandering around the futuristic urban world as Lan you will converse with various NPC's in addition to exploring various locations laced with amusing details along with in-jokes which many fans of the series will appreciate, even though there is generally very little improvement to this it at least gives the player a fair few things to look at and interact with if they should decide to.

Down in the digital realm while there is some light exploring to do in dungeons of sorts, the majority of your time will be spent on the battlefield which is made up of two different coloured sides - Blue & Red - each of which contains a three by three grid of nine squares which your character is limited to while attacking the other side. You do battle by making use of Chips which require a certain amount of MB to work - basically moves which require magic to use if this was a traditional RPG - and once each side has selected five of these chips battle commences, it then turns into the usual whittle down the health to win, there are other intricacies such as chaining attacks together plus there is the collectable element to it as there are three hundred chips available in the game - hence the two versions because... money! - but personally all I can think of is that I'd rather play something like Phantasy Star Online Episode III with its card battle system than this; but if you're a fan and you enjoyed the previous titles then this will still keep you playing. Random fact time, in the DS version of these titles - which seemed to incorporate content from both versions - you could unlock further extras by inserting any Mega Man Battle Network cartridge into the GBA slot of either a Nintendo DS or DS Lite... completely useless here but I found it interesting.

Oh is that a saber? Reminds me of how much I'd rather be playing Phantasy Star Online!

On the visual side of things there is a suitable amount of detail used throughout, the main thing I've always appreciated about this series is the amount of small things put into the overworld areas as the isometric viewpoint - which reminds me of the cover from a Retro games magazine - and small characters makes it looks like a living piece of pixel art, however you won't be seeing much in the way of overall improvement as it still looks almost identical to the same level of quality used in the previous games which isn't a bad thing; indeed most of the assets seem recycled aside from a few new additions, even the animations are familiar. The audio used throughout is again like the visuals, recycled in many places which will lead to more than a few feelings of de-ja-vu, so there is no real degradation or improvement here but I would recommend taking a reasonable break between Battle Network titles if you really want to play them all as personally I'd find it too easy to get burnt-out on them.

For fans there may be a lot more of the same to enjoy here in Mega Man Battle Network 5 but for anyone looking to jump in at this point I would advise either starting with the first title or skipping the lot entirely, because it's not as if the plot is hard to follow or anything like that but just that it would feel decidedly wrong to start here as I'm a believer in working through things chronologically where possible. If you are looking for a vaguely entertaining, futuristic styled RPG with a fair amount to offer which also isn't too taxing on the difficulty level then look no further but do at least investigate the battle system a bit before buying just to make sure that it's a title you really want to invest in as very little seems to change throughout the entire series and this iteration is no exception.   

Verdict : Mega Man manages to maintain nothing much more than a middling RPG series.

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!