Even more ninja action on VC!

Things are a bit disappointing on the download front for Europe this week - only the Virtual Console release can really be recommended. What's most interesting about this update is that we've finally gotten a WiiWare game North America has had for over a year - if only it was any good!

It's taken a while, but the original Shinobi is finally available on Virtual Console. Thankfully, Sega skipped the Master System port and has immediately given us the superior original arcade game. As with all other games in the series, you play as the titular Shinobi, who must traverse a multitude of sidescrolling stages, using his various ninja tricks to stop an evil gang. It's not as good a game as Revenge and Return, but if you'd like to see how Sega's classic ninja series got started, you can now. The game costs 800 Wii Points, and we'll review it soon.

One of this week's WiiWare releases is extremely odd, to say the least. Protöthea was released in North America in June - last year. It's been rated for the longest time, and to be honest we thought it wouldn't see release with all the other upcoming WiiWare games. Needless to say, it's not very good - basically just a generic shoot 'em up with some faux 3D graphics. And with so many fantastic shmups available on VC already, it's hard to recommend, especially at the price of 1000 Wii Points.

The other WiiWare release isn't much better though - PictureBook Games: A Pop-Up Adventure is Nintendo's attempt at creating another good board game after the Mario Party series, in this case one which heavily relies on cards rather than dice. Long story short? They didn't succeed. The game costs 800 Wii Points.

Strangely enough, today's new DSiWare titles were the only ones announced by Nintendo for release. A Little Bit of... Dr. Kawashima's Brain Training: Arts Edition features yet more brain exercises from the Brain Training series, this time consisting of a bunch of arty games. Like the previous two titles, it's actually not that bad, so if you're looking for a compact Brain Training fix, for 800 DSi Points, this is a good pick.

Combat of Giants: Dragons - Bronze Edition is a small version of Ubisoft's retail DS title Combat of Giants: Dragons, which was released earlier this month. You can play as a variety of dragons as you fly around and battle other dragons. There's not many reviews for the full game around, but those that exist are generally positive - of course, we can only hope this version is decent as well. It costs 800 DSi Points, and we'll have a review available in a few days.

No good surprises this week! Next week's update is on the day before Halloween, so we think the release of a certain Virtual Console game is quite likely!