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

A chance to relive the revamped version of a classic review of Super Ghouls 'n Ghosts originally written by Jordan Khoviteri-Zadeh plus a second airing of my Super Castlevania IV review which has now had its third outing on the Virtual Console thanks to these New 3DS SNES releases.

If it turns out that we'll be buying games all over again for the Virtual Console on the Nintendo Switch (the service is launching later this year according to Nintendo) then Super Castlevania IV would most certainly be one of the titles I'd buy again but let us hope that it doesn't come to that as hopefully there will be some kind of loyalty programme at least for titles linked to a Nintendo Network ID we would hope.

Of course in the meantime there will still be a fair few Virtual Console reviews to come regardless of this later launch because personally I'm still working my way through some of the excellent titles which have been released within the past couple of months, in addition to planning for the future of this article which is coming up for its four-hundredth edition; surely there shall be some exciting times ahead. Anyway enough from me and on with the games! 
  
Available for download this week we have...   

Sequel to the original arcade classic, Super Ghouls 'n Ghosts is in my opinion, the original survival horror. The game involves running from one end of the stage to another. Get hit twice, and you're dead. Simple as that! This game is tough as nails. Even finishing the first level on standard difficulty can be tough, as the enemies which move faster than you do. So the big question is, are you up for the challenge?

The game does have a story; you play as Arthur an intrepid young knight who must save the princess from certain doom, there are a couple of cut scenes to set the story up, but this game is more about action than anything else. Jumping, running and throwing your trusty weapon is the only way you can avoid anything in this game, it is relentless and unless you learn the levels they will constantly surprise you.

Its weapon system is quite in depth and robust, there are a few main types; all are projectiles but vary quite a lot, some have a longer range,  while others act more like grenades, while there are even weapons that only hit things in the air, these can however be upgraded, twice in fact. With the different suit types, Arthur's move set drastically changes, your weapons become stronger, by gaining a longer range or simply becoming faster to use, then with the final suit, you gain the ability to perform powerful charge attacks... if you get far enough.

One of the most iconic videogame settings in existence? A grave matter of debate indeed.

Visually the backgrounds and sprites are quite simple, but the effects used at times are fantastic, the ground terraforms to allow you to jump or even miss other jumps; later on the sea destroys parts of the stage making for some challeneing moments indeed. Aurally the composed score is fantastic, the first level music will stick in your head for a long time to come and it has a great tone to it, while the sound effects are also equally impressive, helping to add that extra layer of immersion.

So, should you buy this game? Most certainly.... If you feel up for the challenge, as although it may be incredibly difficult, the amount of charm and character this game has is astounding making its purchase entirely justified as it's one of those titles which you simply must experience. Just keep in mind that you will most likely have a tough time finishing it, but with the addition of save states that are easy to use on the New 3DS this shouldn't prove an impossible task so long as you pick your moments, in fact if you've ever played this classic in the past but found it too difficult then this may as well be a huge selling point, as belive me that with a game like this it makes the world of difference.  

It might come as a surprise to some readers when you learn that I had never actually played the brilliant Super Castlevania IV before the Wii U release, although it was released on the Wii Virtual Console right near the very start this date is actually before we started officially reviewing VC games, you can bet that I certainly didn't miss this second chance though to grab my 'whip' and get cracking on a review! (Third time's a charm with this New 3DS release) Essentially a remake of the very first game in the series but only down to its plot and basic structure; you take on the role of Simon Belmont who has been tasked with slaying Dracula who has come back from the afterlife once again as its been another hundred years since the last time the lord of the vampires was vanquished, this is all brought to life in a wonderfully well animated cutscene which really sets the tone for adventure very nicely indeed as does the gruesomely good title screen complete with its dark, sinister feeling of uneasiness.

As you stride through the opening areas Simon controls almost as you'd expect with jumps being assigned to 'B' along with the 'Y' button for your trusty whip which you can actually keep extended while independently flailing it around with the d-pad while you're on the spot, this is something unique to this Castlevania title but personally I quite like the tactical element it can add as while you deal less damage this way per hit it can actually prove very useful in protecting you from most things that your enemies will throw at you. Speaking of projectiles you can launch any of these that you have acquired - by destroying candelabras - at the press of the 'R' button, thesw include throwing knives which travel in a straight line, axes thrown in an arc and razor-winds which comes back to you like a boomerang plus the obligatory holy water; there are also power ups which change the gameplay temporarily such as the invincibility potion making you untouchable for a few fleeting moments, a clock which stops the enemies but not the level timer, projectile multipliers and more besides... each of these costs one heart or more to use of which you can collect up to ninety-nine of while resoring your finite health bar is done by acquiring some meat plus if you reach a certain score you get an extra life.

When you actually reach Dracula's Castle about half-way through the game this is where things really start to pick up as you will witness some of the most brutally brilliant level design ever included in a Castlevania title to date which when you couple with the ever-impending time limit which typically only gives you a few minutes per stage, add in a variety of enemies ranging from skeleton warriors, swathes of bats, ghosts, medusa heads to name but a few and you already have a pretty stern challenge ahead of you. There are some impressive boss battles too spread across the stages which are often at the end but sometimes somewhere in the middle, you'll face-off against a dual-headed dragon, golem that changes size as you chip away its HP, a Ridely-like skeletal bird plus more besides; speaking of comparisons to Metroid the way in which you can hook onto things so that you can grapple across works in almost exactly the same was as in Super Metroid but that's where the comparison ends - beyond platforms that look similar to the Metroid creatures in one stage - as there are no multiple pathways here but still plenty of fun to be had, it's also worth noting that the game has a password system which I never had to use thanks to the wonderful save-state feature. 

Who lives in a castle like this? Simon, it's over to you.

The visuals used in this title are simply stunning as they certain take full advantage of the hardware available at the time, really showing off what was possible on the 16-bit SNES in very unique ways including one stage which has a wonderful rotating, elsewhere there is plenty of detail too coupled with some really decent animations and just everything you would expect from a legendary Castlevania title including that dark gothic feeling which is perfectly projected at all times. Audio is absolutely astounding as well with a truly terrific score which features all of the tracks that you'd expect in addition to many more - now classic tracks - which always match up perfectly with the stage that you're playing; this means that you always feel fully absorbed while you're playing as the quality is really amazing even by todays standards, oh and 'that' organ music in midi form... what more could you ask for? Some substantial sound effects perhaps, they are there too.

Super Castlevania IV comes Highly recommended indeed as it is one of best traditional Castlevania titles I have played in a long time, more importantly it represents the series before Symphony of the Night changed things dramatically giving birth to the now standard 'Metroidvania' term that is used so frequently these days. Regardless of if you are new to the series or a long-term fan this is a fantastic title which deserves to be played multiple times - try out the hard mode after finishing the main game - as being that it's essentially the first game remade it is both the ideal starting point plus the perfect point of reference for fans of the genre making it simply unmissable.   

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!