Virtual Console Roundup

Punch-Out

• Platform: NES
• Wii Points: 500

Whereas the NES Mario golf game is of negligible value because its creaky physics mean it no longer plays an acceptable game of golf, seminal boxing title Punch-Out has aged a lot better. With its surprisingly flexible, yet utterly simple, control system it still allows for an impressive array of dodges, feints, hooks and uppercuts. As in any decent boxing game, button-mashing rarely works and progress requires you to continually improve your skills.

Indeed, I personally find it more fun than the broadly similar pugilism bouts in Wii Sports. Given the choice between awkward and inaccurate flailing with the nunchuck and the precision of the old fashioned d-pad and buttons combo, I'll opt for the latter in this case, thankyewverymuch.

From its quaint cartoon graphics (yes, the wonderfully racist bug-eyed, watermelon-lipped black trainer is still there, gibbering away) to the chirpy music, Punch-Out is still a lot of fun and deserves its cult status. Well worth 500 points.

8/10

R-Type III: The Third Lightning

• Platform: SNES
• Wii Points: 800

Irem's flagship shooter has often been imitated but rarely bettered, and those in the mood for some button-mashing mayhem should point their eyes in this direction before they consider the likes of Blazing Lazers.

In typically Japanese style, despite the III suffix this was actually the fifth game to bear the R-Type title and featured the justifiably famous weapons system's biggest overhaul to date. The weapon "Forces", that spew from the weapon pod attached to the front or rear of your ship, now come in three flavours and you choose which one you want before embarking on your latest mission against the Bydo Empire. This introduces just a smidgeon of tactical play, and also offers an incentive to play over and over using different combinations.

The control system was also tweaked, assigning rapid fire to one button and weapon charging to another, making it easier to switch between frantic blasting for smaller enemies and souped-up waves of destruction for boss battles.

No shoot-em-up fanatic should be without an R-Type game, and The Third Lightning is arguably the pick of the series. More intuitively balanced than its predecessors, yet unencumbered by the excessive bloat (53 Forces?) of the later PlayStation offerings. Get it.

9/10