Version tested: Wii
Super Fantasy Zone
- Platform: Megadrive
- Wii Points: 800
- In Real Money: GBP 6 / EUR 8 (approx)
With so many deadly serious shooters on the Virtual Console, it's nice to be able to welcome something a little lighter into the fold. Super Fantasy Zone was the last entry in Sunsoft's shooter series, and represents a neat encapsulation of all that was lovely and sweet about that little spaceship called Opa Opa.
Much like Defender, you have freedom to scroll left and right in a wraparound playfield. Each level has a number of floating mini-bosses, which spit out smaller enemies. The aim of the game is simply to take down all these mini-bosses, to trigger the main boss fight. Coins drop from defeated enemies, worth between 100 and 5000 points, and you'd do well to grab as many as you can. These coins can be used in the shop, which appears in the level as a red balloon, to buy more powerful weapons and other upgrades.
And you really do need them. This is a game where the basic speed and weaponry aren't really up to the job, but with some shrewd spending you can even things out in your favour. From jet engines to whirlwinds, there are loads of gadgets to try out, and the difference they make to the gameplay is vast. Luckily, it's easy to afford a decent upgrade - I recommend the Quartet missiles - after scooping up a few thousand points.
Super Fantasy Zone isn't one of the all-time great shooters, but it is a lot of fun and accessible by players of all skill levels. For anyone intimidated by some of the more hardcore blasters, this is definitely worth a look.
7/10
Summer Games 2
- Platform: C64
- Wii Points: 500
- In Real Money: GBP 3.50 / EUR 5 (approx)
Another of the fondly remembered Epyx sports games pops up on the VC and, much like California Games and World Games, the result is a mixed bag of events. Some have aged very well, others are marred by the limits of the technology or by the need to change the control system.
The events on offer are Triple Jump, High Jump, Rowing, Javelin, Fencing, Kayaking, Cycling and Equestrian. As with the previous games, they all favour timing over button mashing, which certainly helps make them more interesting. It's not always for the better, though, since there's no consistent control scheme across the events. In some, pressing the 2 button on the remote moves you forwards, in others the same function is carried out by pressing right, or even up. Cycling is an absolute chore when played with the remote, as you press right and left as an arrow rotates up and down, but play it with a joypad and twizzling the stick makes it an absolute doddle.
Events like javelin are nice and simple, but more complex sports like fencing can be a right fiddle, especially given the limitations of the animation. Equestrian is actually kind of fun, as is rowing. Then there's kayaking, which is just horrible.
So, another old sports game which varies depending on the event. It's aged a lot better than World Games, simply because these events are often better suited to the videogame format than log rolling and caber tossing, but it's still a game where you'll be amused and annoyed in equal measure.
6/10
Cybernoid
- Platform: C64
- Wii Points: 500
- In Real Money: GBP 3.50 / EUR 5 (approx)
Raffaele Cecco was one of the stars of the 8-bit UK home computer scene, his bold colourful shooters helping to keep us happy while we saved up for an Amiga or Atari ST. Cybernoid was his breakthrough hit, a flip-screen shooter made up of numerous bite-sized tests of reflexes and agility.
You control the Cybernoid ship, tasked with retrieving gems and weapons stolen by space pirates. Each screen is a stand-alone miniature challenge - and I really should emphasise the word challenge. I'd forgotten just how brutal this game was, offering no gentle introduction but instead putting you in do-or-die situations from the second screen onwards.
You have a laser, and holding down the fire button launches bombs for destroying larger foes. You can also pick up additional weapons from defeated enemy ships, such as a rotating spiky ball of death and a rear gunner.
It's also worth pointing out for purists that this C64 port was actually coded by Nick Jones, rather than Cecco himself. The gameplay is much the same as the Spectrum version, but the graphics are rather splodgy compared to the Speccy's insanely detailed, if colour-clashing, design.
Cybernoid is a fantastic game, and one that sits proudly alongside Uridium as an example of how innovative the 8-bit era really was. It is, however, one of those vintage games that makes you sweat blood to make any sort of progress. Wimps take note.
8/10
Pac-Attack
- Platform: SNES
- Wii Points: 800
- In Real Money: GBP 6 / EUR 8 (approx)
I'm starting to suspect that Nintendo is aiming for some sort of world record for Most Block-Dropping Puzzle Games In One Place. At the last count, there are 526 such games on the Virtual Console, give or take a few hundred.
As the name suggests, Pac-Attack ropes Pac-Man into the fun this time, and it's an addition that actually works better than you might think. You're dropping mixtures of blocks and ghosts, and the aim is to arrange the ghosts in nice neat lines. That way, when Pac-Man drops from the top, he'll munch his way through them, clearing a big chunk of screen. Each ghost munched fills up the fairy meter, and when full that introduces a fairy who can destroy large sections of the on-screen clutter. The blocks, as with every Tetris clone, disappear when you create a full line.
It's okay for what it is, but that's literally all there is to it. It's the beginning of a cute twist on an over-used formula, but as it never really advances beyond the obvious, you'd be better off choosing one of the other similar games first.
6/10
King of the Monsters
- Platform: Neo Geo
- Wii Points: 900
- In Real Money: GBP 6.30 / EUR 9 (approx)
I like giant monsters, and it kills me that the only truly great giant monster videogame is still Sony's War of the Monsters. This relic from the '90s seems to offer everything a desperate kaiju fan could need, but it's really only worth the effort if you have a like-minded friend to play against.
It's a fighting game, with a mixture of melee attacks and wrestling moves with which to defeat your opponent, who is drawn from six available creatures. Each bout takes place in a medium sized city, with electric barriers hemming you in. Be the first to pin your foe and victory is yours.
As fun as the concept is, time hasn't been kind to the execution. Collision detection feels random and often unfair, while triggering the most effective slams and drops can be something of a crapshoot as well. For this reason, playing it solo against CPU players can be a thankless exercise, as they effortlessly smack you down time and time again, often giving you little chance to recover.
Play against a human opponent and the field is levelled, but for a game nudging the upper VC price bracket, there's too much here that feels wonky to make it a worthwhile download.
5/10
