It’s a long way to fall from the glorious highs of last week’s Super Metroid release. This week we’re down to earth with a bump with three more ancient games, forced out of their rocking chairs and made to dance, Dance! for our entertainment.

Most well known of these three is Castlevania II: Simon’s Quest (500 points). Most well known for being a bit rubbish, that is. Nintendo tried something different with an RPG-style adventure, day and night cycles, NPC dialogue, and open levels. Yet some pretty bad platforming and obscure methods to access new areas make it an experience to be endured rather than enjoyed. Only for those who want to say they’ve played through every Castlevania adventure.

The second of the Neo Geo VC releases, World Heroes (900 points), follows in the footsteps of Fatal Fury. It’s another one-on-one beat ‘em up, this time with the premise of famous historical figures from different eras coming together for a chronologically incorrect megabrawl. Hence Rasputin battles Muscle Power, wrestler from the XXI century, and Joan of Arc faces Japanese samurai Hanzo Hattori. (Rumours that holding down A+B+Up to unlock Marie Curie and John Logie Baird are unfounded as of late.) Pretty average it seems, and, we know this is the Neo Geo’s forte, but do we really need another beat ‘em up so soon?

Speaking of more of the same, Turbografx’s offering is another scrolling shooter, Gate of Thunder (800 points). Not one that regularly gets a mention in the same breath as R-Type or the like, but it’s regarded as a good, solid shmup. Definitely worth a look if you’re done with Gradius III.

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This entry was posted on Friday, October 19th, 2007 at 2:30 pm by James Lyon
Virtual Console.