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

If you just can't stand the thought of not having the Mega Man X games to play on the go then fret no more! As now two more titles are available for the New 3DS. Anyway enough from me and on with the games! 
  
Available for download this week we have...   

The original Mega Man X was hailed as a breath of fresh air because after many numbered sequels this title came around shaking things up somewhat as it took everything that was great about the original games but added so much more detail and precision without diluting that all important overall feel that Mega Man has become famed for over the years. Predictably the plot set around a few months after the first 'X' title revolves around Mega Man taking on eight new Robot Mavericks in order to restore peace to the land once again, all in a days work naturally.

Keeping true to its roots you can tackle eight different stages from the outset each of which will end in a confrontation with one of the Robot Mavericks, upon beating each boss you'll inherit a new power which you can then use against the others... of course the trick is to find out which powers are most effective against certain bosses and therein lies half of the fun. The other half of course is found in playing the stages which seem to be just as finely crafted as those in the previous game but with a more heavy emphasis on platforming whereas things seemed more balanced before including a more balanced ratio of jumping to shooting, it's a small criticism though as overall the experience is still just as satisfying.

Controls are still spectacularly slick even featuring a few additions which include Dashing, Wall-Jumping plus for those who remember the hidden Hadouken move there is now a Shoryuken which should please many Capcom fans no end. Three of the main stages contain secret rooms where you'll fight against special bosses which interestingly effects the ending of the game which is worth considering if you're something of a completionist; other notable additions include hover-bike stages which are interesting plus an array of  extra abilities you can obtain including a useful mid-air dash alongside other collectables  which include armour and life-bar enhancements which are well worth picking up.    

This boss battle is a load of junk... man.

Naturally the visuals are on par with the previous entry though this time the backgrounds don't seem quite as delicately detailed but the levels are still bold just as the sprites are as beautiful as they always have been. There are still many marvellous of melody despite the music not quite being of the highest standard that we're perhaps used to it's still an admirable achievement that the audio department with the usual sound effects being just as you'd expect them to be.

Still a stunning outing for our robot blaster master in it's own right even if it doesn't have the same kind of impact that was so prominent with the release of Mega Man X this is still a very much enjoyable entry in the series even if it is a fairly safe sequel. Of course there was nothing really wrong with the previous title so Capcom wisely didn't try to change too much meaning that the majority of the quality is still retained meaning that this is most definitely a must own title, even despite its slight shortcomings you still won't want to miss this classic platformer.  

Verdict : A much-loved Mega Man sequel that safely manages to be marvelous.

Price: GB £5.49, EU €7.99
Publisher: Capcom
Developer: Capcom
Released: 1996
System: SNES

The last Mega Man X game to appear on a Nintendo platform, based on the previous two stellar entries you would have thought that the third would have been something spectacular but alas sadly this was not to be the case. Though you could argue that this was inevitable with the original game setting the bar so high, the sequel then carrying the well-lit torch managing to make it burn brighter somehow, then onto the 'final' part of the relay as X3 quite spectacularly stumbles with it managing to set itself ablaze; an extreme metaphor perhaps but this really is a prime example of why if you have a near-perfect formula that you shouldn't try to tamper with it too much lest you destroy all the initial good work laid down in the foundations.

Your standard Mega Man storyline revolving around eight robot Mavericks which are on the loose, so they must be stopped by 'X' in order to restore peace once again; as ever you choose which stage you wish to take on first remembering that each of the robot bosses at the end will bestow when beaten a power which you can use against the others all who have their individual weaknesses so choose your path wisely or you might be in for a tough time. In truth you'll already be in for something of a trauma from the very start as Mega Man X3 has reasonable controls but everything else is a real trial, not least of all the level design which is poorly thought out to say the least containing many stages which simply don't have enough action for long periods of time but then have traps out of nowhere which will almost certainly see your early demise being that there isn't even a clue that they are there; properly designed games will at least give you some subtle visual or audio due but not here so have restore points at the ready! 

At least the bosses will be of decent quality though surely? Sadly not as the Mavericks are something of a joke this time around as although hunting down the right weapon still rings true here you can actually defeat most of them with relative ease thanks in part to their decidedly dumbed down attack patterns, literally all you have to do is move around slightly while shooting which near enough secures your victory. Good luck if you want to get every upgrade in this game too as some of them require bizarre ways of dealing with interactive parts of the stage which make no sense when it comes to which weapon you must use to obtain them as apparently sending a shockwave through the ground can break a rope yet a blade can't bizarrely; at least you can choose to use Zero if you summon him during a stage which adds some nice variation to the gameplay even if this isn't his finest hour owing to a limited move set but at least it's something.

Careful with that saber Zero... oh there goes the corner!

Visually this title isn't too bad in the respect that it doesn't seem to come across as being graphically inferior to the previous titles though it doesn't really do anything to better itself either, at least it's nice enough to look at though but it does lack the variety of the other Mega Man X titles. Audio on the other hand takes quite a nose-dive in terms of quality, whereas this is usually a highlight here it is yet another low for the series as a lot of the stage music isn't even enjoyable to listen to on a basic level which is really unfortunate; the sound effects are still reasonably well-sampled though but that's like saying the jam in a sponge is nice while the rest of the cake tastes terrible, jam on its own isn't great and neither are just the sound effects to this poorly put together game.

It is with a heavy heart that I would advise anyone wanting to get into the Mega Man X series to steer away from this abomination, though I can gleefully recommend either X or X2 in a heartbeat, this third entry just misses the boat entirely. Obviously if you're a long-term fan then you will either buy it or will already have it bought though I'm sure you can't say that it's honestly that enjoyable; understand that I'm not calling this the worst platforming game ever, just that it's the worst in the Mega Man X series and it will always be a crying shame that it's a series that peaked with the second entry, never recovering since... try out Mega Man 7 instead if you haven't already.

Verdict : Mega Man X3 is maddeningly mediocre.

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!