Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars
- Platform: SNES
- Wii Points: 900
- In Real Money: GBP 6.30 / EUR 9 (approx)
It's been a while since Nintendo graced the VC with a genuinely anticipated title, and with the arrival of Super Mario RPG we can at last cross another beloved classic off the list. It's been worth the wait - and is even worth gritting your teeth and putting up with the needlessly inflated price-tag.
Famously developed by Square, under direct supervision from Miyamoto, the game is every bit as impressive as you'd expect given the creative muscle at work behind the scenes. It may sound slightly obvious, but it really is a Mario game and it really is an RPG. Neither element suffers for the cross-genre mash-up, and the result is a game that positively oozes charm and depth.
The story finds a new threat unleashed on Mario's world - the enormous sword-shaped Smithy. As you progress through the saga you collect the inevitable band of companions, some (Princess Toadstool, Bowser) drawn from classic Mario mythology, others (Mallow, Geno) created for this adventure. The roster obviously isn't huge - and fans may pine for Luigi or Yoshi to join the party - but don't be fooled into thinking this mean's the game is a dumbed down version of Square's "real" role-playing epics.
Pretty much every aspect you'd expect from a mid-'90s Final Fantasy title is included, albeit disguised in Mario clothing. Flower Points are the currency for special attacks, for instance, while mushrooms replace potions for restoring health. Combat follows the traditional turn-based template, but with a small twist - attacks can be increased in power by hitting or spamming buttons at the right time or even twizzling the d-pad. If the concept sounds familiar, it's because Square used it again for Final Fantasy VIII - though this version is fast and arcadey, and nothing like the elongated Guardian Force animations that would come later.
They also shrewdly borrowed ideas from their other titles, most notably Chrono Trigger's refreshing absence of random battles. Moving around the game world feels more like an isometric Mario platformer, and enemies are clearly visible. Contact triggers the fight, at which point things switch to the familiar Square battle screen.
The game puts up a tough fight as well. Pity the complacent soul who thinks the cute exterior means a toothless challenge. The early stages are simple enough, with Level Ups easy to come by, but if you wander into the first real boss encounter without taking things seriously and stocking up on health and revival items, even the best RPG player can struggle.
There's really not much more to say - it's up there with Zelda as one of Nintendo's crowning achievements, and is the closest the VC has had to an essential download in a good long while. Here's hoping that this means Chrono Trigger isn't far away...
9/10
Super Mario Bros: The Lost Levels
- Platform: NES
- Wii Points: 600
- In Real Money: GBP 4.20 / EUR 6 (approx)
Hmm. Bit of déjà vu, this one. Yes, we already reviewed this, back in September last year, when it kicked off the very first Hanabi Festival. Considered the true sequel to Super Mario Bros, but only released in Japan (the West got a rebranded Doki Doki Panic with Mario sprites) it was a potent example of the sort of obscure offering Nintendo planned to celebrate with their virtual festivities.
Then they had the not-entirely-clever idea of making it a limited offer. When the first Hanabi Festival ended, The Lost Levels vanished from the VC. A bit pointless, really, and very annoying for anyone who didn't download it when they had the chance. Well, now everyone can download it again - and this time it's not going anywhere.
For those who can't be arsed clicking on the link above to see what I blabbed last time, it's a lovely little platform game - though perhaps not different enough from Super Mario Bros. to make it an absolute must-have for anyone but dedicated Mario completists. Many will know it from the slightly inferior version bundled into the Super Mario All-Stars package, but it's worth seeing it in its original form. The only major complaint is that it's a far cry from the quivering majesty of Super Mario Bros. 3, but then most things are.
8/10
Samurai Shodown II
- Platform: NeoGeo
- Wii Points: 900
- In Real Money: GBP 6.30 / EUR 9 (approx)
"Long long ago there were a man who try to make his skill ultimate." So begins yet another of SNK's fighting games, though the Samurai Shodown series always ploughed its own furrow, thus taking it out of direct competition with the mighty Street Fighter II.
It's a swordplay game, and it improves on the first Samurai Shodown in numerous ways. There are more characters, but that's par for the course in the genre. It's still a fun and varied line-up, though, with everyone from stereotypical samurai to hulking brutes, old geezers and girls with pet falcons. It's nicely balanced as well, although you may not realise this when Earthquake pummels you with his sodding chain thing all the time. Most interesting are the subtle flexibilities woven into the controls, enabling you to roll and flip out of danger, duck and jump to avoid high and low attacks, and a parry move that turns a last-second block into an offensive opening.
SNK fans will love all the nods to the company's other fighting games, while newcomers will find an accessible but deep combat system that renders button-mashing entirely unnecessary. The only quibbles are with the conversion, which is often noticeably slow, and the controls, which are unwieldy on the remote but not optimised for the GameCube pad either. The Classic Controller is your best bet, but if you don't have one of those it can be a bit of a fiddle.
Still, this is another fine Neo Geo fighting game and one that deserves attention from casual fighting fans as well as the inevitable hardcore devotees.
8/10
Pitstop II
- Platform: C64
- Wii Points: 500
- In Real Money: GBP 3.50 / EUR 5 (approx)
Driving games have come so far that it seems impossible that a game created almost a quarter of a century ago could impress our modern jaded eyes. Jerky scrolling, lurching controls and no depth whatsoever - that's what you'd expect from a 1984 Formula 1 title.
Pitstop II should come as a shock then, since it's still a fantastically fun racer, and suffers from none of the problems you'd expect given its vintage. The scrolling is smooth, while control is especially surprising. Rather than juddering from left to right, one square at a time, you glide effortlessly around the track with arcade precision. And as for depth, well, it's not going to wow the petrolheads who spend hours tuning in their virtual garages in games like Gran Turismo or PGR, but there are pitstops (as the name suggests) and factors like tire damage to take into consideration.
There's even a split-screen two-player mode, which is just as well since the CPU cars aren't the brightest sparks on the grid. What they lack in AI they make up in numbers though, and working your way to the front of the pack is still a commendable challenge.
Obviously, many of these achievements will be lost on the majority of players who - understandably - won't feel like filtering the experience through the prism of 1984 to appreciate just how ahead of its peers Pitstop II really was. For those who appreciate vintage software for more than just nostalgic giggles, however, this is am impressive slice of history.
7/10
Ecco Jr
- Platform: Megadrive
- Wii Points: 800
- In Real Money: GBP 6 / EUR 8 (approx)
The title is a bit of a giveaway here. After the bizarre mixture of New Age ambience and punishing gameplay of the first two Ecco games, this junior edition aimed to make things more accessible. It certainly succeeds in that aim, but the result is rather bland and lacks the off-the-wall weirdness that made the original games worth sticking with.
As before, you guide a younger Ecco through a series of undersea mazes, using your sonar to locate other aquatic pals and objects. The drop in difficulty is immediately noticeable, as this is no longer an underwater arena of death where absolutely everything is out to harm you. The tasks are much simpler as well, and by following your sonar echoes none of them prove terribly hard to complete. There are two new playable characters to choose from - a baby orca and a slightly different dolphin - but neither changes the gameplay in any meaningful manner.
If you're buying for the youngsters then they may find some amusement here, though there are far more reliable options on the VC that appeal to kids more comprehensively. Ecco Jr may not be difficult, but the controls are still a touch fiddly and some of the mazes can be frustrating to younger eyes, thanks to the repetitive scenery.
6/10
Splatterhouse 2
- Platform: Megadrive
- Wii Points: 800
- In Real Money: GBP 6 / EUR 8 (approx)
I hate the first Splatterhouse and, since this is basically the exact same game with a 2 on the end, I can't help but hate this one as well. Once again playing as "Rick", the lovelorn sap granted monster-crushing power by a spooky mask, you plod from left to right (and sometimes right to left) splattering creatures with one hit, and trying to use your laughably rigid jump to avoid damage.
It's one of those games where you can be defeated by an annoyingly wide puddle of corrosive slime, and the fact that the game still takes place on a fixed 2D plane - with no movement up or down at all - is rather embarrassing. Wikipedia hilariously calls the game "survival horror", though the only thing you'll have to survive is tedium from the one-note gameplay and pathetically juvenile horror content. Ooh, fountains of green goo! Don't tell Mum!
If you're in the mood for a scrolling beat-'em-up, download Streets of Rage 2 instead. You can actually move around the screen, and have more than two attacks. Splatterhouse was pointless in 1992 and it's even more pointless now. You'd have to be psychotically nostalgic to find any real merit in this flimsy effort.
2/10
