3DS eShop Reviews

Tipping the balance

The differences between the 3DS and Wii U versions of Mario vs. Donkey Kong: Tipping Stars are few and far between, but the 3DS version does feature some differences of note. You can read our thoughts on the Wii U version of the game here. The 3DS version takes full advantage of the SpotPass and StreetPass functionality of the...

Hard candy

The puzzle genre has been represented quite well on the eShop, with plenty of addictive and clever titles eating up hours and hours of playtime. The sheer volume, however, means that in order to stand out a new release has to have some kind of special hook to grab players, be it personality, gameplay mechanics, or some other defining...

Paper play

We don't all claim to be linguists or experts on Japanese language or culture here at Nintendo Life, but being the dedicated journalists that we are, we're always willing to do a bit of research. It turns out that origami, the art of paper folding, has a very interesting linguistic background. When broken down, "ori" means to fold or...

The King is dead

When you even mention the term "board game" to someone, chances are that the timeless classic chess will be one of the first examples that springs to mind. Beyond the family fun of Monopoly, Scrabble, and Operation, there's a real intellectual bite to chess that has cemented its reputation as the grandmaster. Bigben Interactive has...

Will battle for food

Adventure Bar Story sees players taking on two seemingly disparate roles: a chef/restaurant manager and a monster-slaying adventurer. Though these two sound like they would make a questionable mix, the result is actually quite charming and addicting; the ultimate challenge for this quirky RPG is to satisfy the appetite of...

Hoenn Hustle

Pokémon have been puzzling ever since the Johto days, when Pokémon Puzzle Challenge married the block-flipping gameplay of Panel de Pon with Game Freak's charming, collectable characters. It's a formula that's stuck, with Denpa Men developer Genius Sonority heading up the most recent series of Poké-puzzle combinations, including...

Space Invaders Neo

On its official website, British developer Puppy Games declares Titan Attacks as 'the best Space Invaders tribute ever'. Whether you choose to agree with it or not, this simple statement aptly describes what to expect from this homage to Taito's 1978 classic arcade hit. Yes, it's time to jump into a somewhat impractical tank in...

Dungeon crawling on a budget

Like most dungeon crawling RPGs, Excave builds its core upon slashing and fighting your way through waves of enemies in multi-floor dungeons, collecting various weapons and healing items, all while trying to escape with your bounty. The risk-reward tension combined with the thrill of the unknown awaiting you on each...

Flap off

The success of the free mobile hit, Flappy Bird, was arguably one of the darkest periods in the history of video games. It was a title with questionable assets, a tedious concept and flawed mechanics that was made in just a handful of days. Despite this, it was clearly addictive, going viral with unprecedented downloads and media coverage...

Striking a nearly perfect note

From its launch in late 2008 until its eventual discontinuation five years later, Flipnote Studio was a smash hit among both the casual and professional creative types. As an application that assisted in creating flip-book style animations on the DSi, the concept was simple, but the amount of creativity that users put...

Error Hockey

Step into the dimly-lit, sticky-floored interior of any arcade, pizza place, or bowling alley you can find, and there's bound to be at least one air hockey table somewhere. They're an iconic fixture, always ready to lure you and a friend over for just one game, no matter how many hockey pucks you've sent flying across the room in the...

Bust

You might think that you can't go far wrong with a good, old-fashioned card game, and you'd be right for the most part. Unfortunately there has never really been a successful transition of those card games that require multiple players into the download format, as much of the game resides in the psychological. Psyching out your opponents or...

Just Another Brick in the Wall

It takes an extremely exceptional video game to defy the tests of time. Technological advancements coupled with ever shifting consumer attitudes and expectations have often seen classic gaming titles left by the proverbial wayside as the years roll on. The likes of Pac-Man, Tetris and Gradius are prime examples of...

Blow your mind in a fantasy zone

One of the first 'cute 'em ups' following Konami's Twinbee, Fantasy Zone first launched in Japanese arcades in 1986, but is better known in the west for its decent Master System conversion. Iconic protagonist Opa-Opa also sneaks in cameo appearances in many Sega games, most recently as a playable character in Sonic...

Matching never felt so adequate

Mahjong is something of a cultural institution in the East, widely played to this day throughout China, Japan, and South Korea. For such an enduring board game, the 3DS eShop has seen no shortage of adaptations - of the basic Solitaire version, in any case. In fact, there's almost an embarrassment of options available...

Iron Man

Announced briefly last year and shown off in a recent Nintendo Direct, IRONFALL Invasion certainly turned some heads. It's one of the very few third person shooters available on the 3DS, developed by the relatively unknown VD-Dev - although it's been around for almost two decades and has developed several good games, it's yet to truly...

Drop it like it’s hot

Originally released as a WiiWare title near the end of that service's lifetime, Drop Zone: Under Fire has been ported to the 3DS in an attempt to bring virtual base-jumping action to the handheld audience. Whether or not you enjoyed the original release, it's undeniable that this arcade style game's transition to the 3DS hit...

Not quite over the moon

Renegade Kid's episodic Moon Chronicles - an updated port of the Nintendo DS title Moon - has now delivered Episodes 2-4 as downloadable content, allowing players to finally finish the entire game. As a first-person shooter, Moon Chronicles stands out on the eShop and is a welcome change from the vast collection of puzzlers...

You've got the whole world in your hands

Men like our beloved Vice-President of Earth are truly one of a kind. Maybe it's the shocking red hair, the gleaming white smile, or the fact that his suit looks freshly pressed even after taking a full night's sleep in it. We can't put our finger on it, but something about him just...makes him seem...