It’s a week dominated by Sega Mega Drive titles in Euro Virtual Console Land, with a trio of sequels to titles already available on the service. Quite a nice selection, truth be told, with another vertical scrolling shooter, nabbed from the TurboGrafx-16 library, thrown in for good measure. Oh, and you lucky Australians have also been let loose on TurboGrafx-16 action this week, with eleven (count ‘em!) all made available at once Down Under.

Sonic the Hedgehog 2 (Sega Mega Drive, 2 Players, 800 Wii Points).

Sonic the Hedgehog 2 was originally released back in 1992, and is an improvement on the original in nearly every sector. Graphics, speed and boss encounters have all been beefed up - and a head-to-head multiplayer mode adds extra replay value. If you haven’t experienced Sonic 2 in any of the many gaming collections it has appeared in over the years, then now’s the perfect opportunity.

At the end of Sonic the Hedgehog, Dr. Robotnik’s Scrap Brain facility was destroyed, but the evil doctor narrowly escaped.

Now Robotnik is back and plans to conquer the world once more. He secretly follows Sonic’s biplane, the Tornado, to his vacation spot, Westside Island. According to legend, an ancient civilization once abused the power of seven “power stones” on Westside Island. Sonic meets a peculiar two-tailed fox named Miles Prower, better known as “Tails”. The two become good friends. Meanwhile, Robotnik begins his search for the Chaos Emeralds to fuel his new Death Egg warship. One afternoon, he launches his full-scale attack on the island. He imprisons all of the animals of the island and turns them into mindless worker drones. Fortunately, Sonic is determined to thwart the Doctor at all costs. This time, he isn’t alone, as Tails decides to aid him. Together they must locate the Emeralds before Robotnik does, and stop him before the Death Egg is complete.

Ecco: Tides of Time (Sega Mega Drive, 1 Player, 800 Wii Points).

Ecco: Tides of Time was the second game in the Ecco the Dolphin Series, released on the Sega Mega Drive, Sega Game Gear and Sega CD. Its storyline was a continuation of the original, although a number of new gameplay elements were added, including new puzzling quests and the Metaspheres, which allowed Echo to transform into different animal forms.

In this sequel to Ecco the Dolphin, everyone’s favorite underwater hero must battle the Vortex Queen and her hive of drones. The wicked queen followed Ecco back to Earth from the future and quickly established her hive.

It’s up to Ecco to defeat this alien threat by navigating the depths of his side-scrolling world, solving puzzles and receiving help from his marine-mammal friends. When Ecco used the time machine to save his pod, he split the stream of time in two.

He must now restore the rift before the world is permanently changed into a mechanical world, sucked dry by the Vortex.

Golden Axe II, (Sega Mega Drive, 2 Players, 800 Wii Points).

Golden Axe II was released for the Sega Mega Drive in 1991, a title offering a similar side-scrolling hack ‘n’ slash experience as the original. As such, critics were divided as to whether it improved over the first in the series, or whether it was just a rehash of the same old formula. It was also knocked for being easier to finish than the first, although others liked its refined features that they argued provided a more refined experience.

A new terror has arisen to threaten the peaceful kingdom once protected by the three warriors Gilius Thunderhead, Ax Battler and Tyris Flare. The maniacal Dark Guld and his legions of doom are advancing to conquer the land and destroy its inhabitants. All looks grim for the world until the heroes come out of retirement and agree to once more risk their lives, defeat the new evil and make the world a safer place.

Like its predecessor, Golden Axe II is a horizontally scrolling beat ‘em up, boasting exciting moves, such as the rear somersault slash, new improved magic and a host of monstrous new opponents to slay. The action is spread over six levels, with an awesome guardian at the end of each. Can you (and a friend if you choose to battle simultaneously) beat the baddies and save the day?

Dragon Spirit (TurboGrafx-16, 1 Player, 600 Wii Points).

A vertical scrolling shooter released by Namco in 1987 for the Namco System, it was later ported to a host of machines including the TurboGrafx-16. Players must battle their way through ten levels, gathering power-ups and destroying the enemy on the way to the Temple of Evil, headed by Zawell.

A fantastic world of adventure unfolds in this vertical-scrolling shooter. Sealed away by the gods long ago, the Evil Demon of Darkness, Zawell, seeks to rise again and unleash a new reign of evil. The brave warrior Amur races to rescue Princess Alicia from the demon’s wretched clutches.

Amur takes the form of the legendary Blue Dragon and fights his way through the legions of monsters that await in the sky. Battle your way through eight different areas, using your Dragon Breath to bring down airborne targets and Fireballs to wipe out targets on the ground.

Destroy flashing enemies and smash Eggs to uncover different kinds of power-up items. Boost your firepower by increasing the number of heads your dragon has, and defeat all the bosses as you make your way to Zawell’s dark lair.

Until next week, enjoy!