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

Wait, so this is the Four-Hundredth edition? I've been writing this article on and off consistently for almost exactly Ten years?!? While I may have succeeded Jordan Khoviteri-Zadeh as the main author which I'm still grateful for, I really didn't imagine that a whole decade on I'd still be writing away about classic games; but I still enjoy it and am lucky enough to be in this position so I intend to continue for as long as I possibly can.

Of course I wouldn't have got this far without a little help, indeed I've even had guest reviewers involved who have provided some excellent reviews of their own, well mostly its been Dean Anderson (Dcubed) plus reviews from Nick Lone and Joshua Phillips (Josh64)  - (though let me know if I've forgotten anyone elses contribution) but nonetheless I'm more than grateful for these reviews as it has lessened the workload but most importanly provided some additional points of view in addition to being very well written.

Thank you again to everyone involved with N-Europe which includes all staff members who keep this place running, Ashley our Editor-in-Chief, Shorty our Administrator and all of our team of Moderators, Admin, Graphics Designers and Writers galore be they focused on News, Features, Reviews or even all of the above. 

I also owe thanks to Justin Marimon who created the familiar banner of Mario through the ages and all the previous incarnations before that plus the majority of the game banners when he was contributing to N-Europe for many years and even for some time after, he even taught me ultimately how to make the game banners and graphics myself which I now do but I'll always be keeping that familiar header as a tribute so don't expect that to change any time soon.

As for things which will change, just a few minor tweaks to the formula for now plus some slight adjustment to the graphics, much like a day one patch with a new game, who'd have guessed that would become a thing? There will undoubtedly be more changes though over time, for one thing we don't know what the future of the Virtual Console is for the newly released Nintendo Switch for one thing but until that happens I still have the last remaining Wii U and New 3DS VC titles to cover - indeed assuming these are even phased out - in the meantime plus I've just started reviewing ACA NeoGeo games as full reviews for the site but in a familiar style, so there's that.

And that just about covers it for what at this point is probably a superfluous introduction almost amounting to half a reviews worth of writing, I'd just like to finish by saying a special Thanks to you the readers as it is really nice to think that others might find these general ramblings about games which happen to have a bit of structure perhaps a useful resource or purely as a form of entertainment in an age which is dominated by video reviews. 

It's humbling to have anyone who cares enough to give this article more than a second-glance because a fair amount of time does go into it, therefore if it has provided some brief form of enjoyment or even escapism then I'm more than happy with that.  

So without further ado, on with the review!   
  
Available for download this week we have...   

Price: GB £7.19, EU €7.99
Publisher: Capcom
Developer: Capcom
Released: 1994
System: SNES 

For anyone familiar with Ghosts 'n Goblins the main protagonist of this series should be easy to identify, namely because you are playing as a Red Arremer named Firebrand who is responsible for stealing the Arthur's armour in the aforementioned title; however here everyone's favourite demon is a hero of sorts. 

Revolving around the titular Demon's Crest which is composed of six magical stones which when combined grant the bearer ultimate power to rule over all, as leader of the Demon Realm it was Firebrand who fought for the power only to have it snatched from him by his nemesis Phalanx, so the task has now fallen before you to recover the stones before all of human and demon-kind must submit to new rule under Phalanx, after all surely it's better to be ruled by the demon that you're more familiar with.

Taking control of Firebrand couldn't be more satisfying, featuring full flight control while you're airborne in addition to being able to jump, hover, ledge-grab, shoulder-charge, attack... oh and you can breathe fire as well, rather handy that. 

In addition to being well-equipped by default you'll be able to obtain other Crests through your quest which enable you to transform into various demonic forms which will grant you extra abilities such as increased jumping height as you take flight, reduced damage dealt from enemies or even brand new talents such as swimming or slicing; not to mention purchasable potions containing spells to make life a bit easier which some may find welcome in addition to using save states being that this is a game that's definitely demonic in its difficulty level even though it's equally rewarding should you stick with it.

Aren't you cold there Firebrand? No? OK then...

While this is a game that perhaps has only a finite following due to its intense rarity alone which has forced the price up dramatically being that it must have had a very limited Pal print run during the Nineties as personally I have never seen a copy in my life and the few which surface on certain sites which are actually genuine go for exhorbitant amounts, not even taking into acount the overpriced reproductions. 

So this is definitely the case of a title which will be well received on the Wii U Virtual Console (and now the New 3DS) purely for the fact that it gives many people - including myself - the chance to finally play this classic as it was meant to be played being that this is the 60Hz version which runs magnificently well; of course it's also nice that the Miiverse community will now keep the game alive for a long time to come.

Splashed with a staggering amount of detail spread rather spectacularly through each of the significantly stylised seven stages, this is a platformer in a realm of its own when it comes to the graphics as there is almost too much detail to take in from just one play of the game - which is just as well that there are different endings - not to mention the phenomenal animations; there's a real sense of life aptly teeming within an adventure more closely linked with death, taking in a tour of the gruesome graveyards alone is atmospheric enough. 

Ah, back indoors again, sort of... that's some lovely Gothic architecture there.

Then you have the scintillating soundtrack which features enough ambient organ music to make you feel so absorbed into the experience that you'll question the validity of many other platform games as it brings together the world so seamlessly in additon to keeping you there with its brutally brash sound effects that you'll want to keep playing for as long as is demonically possible.

It's certainly a unique experience from start to finish, one which will leave you feeling proud to have played it, thoroughly exhausted by the end yet raring to play it again just to experience everything that this marvelously malevolent masterpiece has to offer. Anyone who has even the slightest interest in quality 16-bit titles should play this, at such a spectacularly low price-point for the joy you'll receive providing this game 'clicks' with you, it's almost impossible to go wrong with a title that feels so right; buy this glorious gem and save the Demon Realm from its plight; if you're willing to put up a good fight then Firebrand will surely give you a light.   

That's it for another edition of VC Weekly which will hopefully return again soon. So until then, enjoy whatever titles you might be playing and Game On!