September2007
Review Neutopia II (Virtual Console / TurboGrafx-16)
Some years have passed since the brave hero Jazeta destroyed Dirth, the Emperor of Darkness.
Looking very much like it predecessor, Neutopia II plays more like an expansion pack than a fully-fledged sequel. Shamelessly stealing ideas from Nintendo’s Zelda series, this action RPG trundles along quite amiably but never really reaches the heights of...
Review Adventure Island (Wii Virtual Console / NES)
An island of adventure
Adventure Island is somewhat of a Mario clone - you guide Master Higgins to the end of every level (8 worlds with 4 levels each, sound familiar?) dodging wildlife, boulders and fire in order to defeat the witch doctor at the end of each world (also familiar?) who has captured your beloved bride-to-be Tina. Things aren't as...
August2007
Review Bonk 3: Bonk's Big Adventure (Virtual Console / TurboGrafx-16)
The hard-headed hero is back for more side-scrolling action in the third installment of the popular Bonk series.
Bonk 3 was the final game in the original trilogy of Bonk games. As it was the last game, Hudson seemingly decided they had to cram as much into it as they could in order to make it the best game yet - They succeeded. First off, pretty...
Review Neutopia (Virtual Console / TurboGrafx-16)
You play as a young warrior named Jazeta. The princess Aurora was kidnapped by the evil Dirth, and the king send you on a mission to rescue her.
If you've glanced over the screens and video you might've already seen - This game is extremely similar to the original The Legend of Zelda game. The overworld is similar, the gameplay is similar, what you...
Review Cratermaze (Virtual Console / TurboGrafx-16)
Cratermaze is a comical action game set in a parallel world
Cratermaze started out life as a Doraemon game but presumably because the franchise wasn't known so well in its native Japan then Hudson thought that changing the sprites might make it make it more attractive to the American audience. So basically you play a little chubby dude who floats...
July2007
Review Star Soldier (Wii Virtual Console / NES)
Not quite a super star
We’ve already been blessed with the sublime Super Star Soldier and Soldier Blade but now it’s the turn of the game that started it all as the NES classic Star Soldier hits the Virtual Console. Released on the NES way back in 1986, Hudson’s shooter went down a storm in Japan but failed to replicate this success in the...
Review Devil's Crush (Virtual Console / TurboGrafx-16)
Shoot the ball onto the board with the Devil Shooter
After the wonderfully wacky Alien Crush you would have thought developers Compile would have struggled to create an even more unhinged pinball simulation - but you’d be wrong! Devil’s Crush improves on its spiritual predecessor in almost every way possible. Firstly, the ball physics –...
Review Air Zonk (Virtual Console / TurboGrafx-16)
A fun shmup
Air Zonk is a horizontally scrolling shoot-em-up with the cuteness factor cranked up to 10 in much the same way as Konami's Parodius. Hudson essentially took the Bonk character and renamed him Zonk for this one which makes the game even stranger. Perhaps they felt it wasn't appropriate for a caveman to be jetting around in the sky...
June2007
Review China Warrior (Virtual Console / TurboGrafx-16)
China Warrior is a side-scrolling action game that was released around the same time as the TurboGrafx16 in Japan.
When the PC Engine was first released in Japan, China Warrior (or 'The Kung Fu' as it was known in the Land of the Rising Sun) was put forward as a showcase for its graphical prowess. Technically the first game on the system (it was...
Review Lode Runner (Wii Virtual Console / NES)
A lode of rubbish or not?
The timing could have been a bit better for this as the far superior Battle Lode Runner for the TurboGrafx became available on the Virtual Console only two months ago. Is there a reason to bother with the NES original when for just 100 more points you could be enjoying better graphics, music and a whole host of new gameplay...
Review Milon's Secret Castle (Wii Virtual Console / NES)
A musty old place
Milon’s Secret Castle is one of those games you’ve never heard of, but when you do finally acknowledge its presence you realize that it inexplicably has an enormous following. A minor classic in the Hudson library, Milon was originally published in 1986 to fairly lukewarm critical response. To be perfectly honest, time has...
Review World Sports Competition (Virtual Console / TurboGrafx-16)
Feeling sporty?
There won't be many gamers out there that remember this one most likely. World Sports Competition is a game based on the Olympic Games, but without the official license. As to be expected the games are represented as a series of mini-games which you and up to four other friends can take part in. All the usual Olympic events are...
May2007
Review J.J. & Jeff (Wii Virtual Console / TurboGrafx-16)
Two bungling detectives on a crazy adventure
The PC Engine (Japanese name for TurboGrafx-16) has always been a console to attract weird games. If you've ever played Toilet Kids and Photograph Boy then you will know what I mean. This particular game started out life as Kato Chan & Ken Chan in Japan, aside from the characters being changed to...
Review Blazing Lazers (Virtual Console / TurboGrafx-16)
Blazing Lazers is a vertical-scrolling shooter that was praised for surpassing the limitations of the hardware of its time.
Originally released in Japan as Gunhed, Blazing Lazers was one of the most heavily featured titles in the original TurboGrafx-16 adverts, and with very good reason. Considering the age of the title (it was originally released...
April2007
Review Shockman (Virtual Console / TurboGrafx-16)
It's been two years since Arnold and Sonya were made into Shockmen.
Shockman is actually the second game in the Japanese ‘Schbibinman’ series. The first title never saw the light of day outside of Japan sadly, it was basically a fun platform action game along the same lines as Mega Man. It’s sequel Schbibinman 2 was released in North America...
Review Battle Lode Runner (Virtual Console / TurboGrafx-16)
This upgraded edition to the famous Lode Runner series includes a 5-player versus mode.
Lode Runner is strange little title - it's been around for ages, has a cult following but never really seems to break through to the mainstream. This Turbografx 'Battle' edition was produced by Hudsonsoft and graphically is a step up from previous versions, which...
Review Bonk's Revenge (Virtual Console / TurboGrafx-16)
I love a good bonk!
Hudson struck gold with Bonk's Adventure, following its success a sequel was inevitable and we couldn't have asked for a much better follow-up than this. In addition to the usual headbutting caveman antics our hero can now swim up waterfalls (?!!) and swing around on poles. To vary things a little from the former game the...
March2007
Review Dragon's Curse (Virtual Console / TurboGrafx-16)
Wonder Boy by another name...
Those of you that used to own a Sega Master System may experience an unshakable feeling of deja vu when playing Dragon's Curse (known as Adventure Island in Japan) - because it's pretty much the exact same game as the Master System Wonder Boy III: The Dragon's Trap! The history of the Wonder Boy franchise is complex and...
Review Double Dungeons (Virtual Console / TurboGrafx-16)
Double the dungeons, but half of the fun!
Dungeon crawlers became quite popular back in the early 80's on many of the personal computers like the Commodore 64 and Apple II series of computers. I actually owned an Apple IIc computer and played many of the popular titles like the Wizardry and Bard's Tale series myself. It's probably the main reason...
February2007
Review Chew Man Fu (Virtual Console / TurboGrafx-16)
Fried rice and egg rolls are in danger!
This is no doubt a game that not many will be familiar with. I think an award should go for best named game 'Chew Man Fu'. The Japanese release was called 'Be Ball' so for once the western name is much more fun! Basically this is a puzzle game where you have to push large coloured balls around the screen; the...
Review New Adventure Island (Virtual Console / TurboGrafx-16)
Move over Wonder Boy
The Wonder Boy and Adventure Island games have seen releases on just about every 8 and 16-bit console you can think of, not to mention a few remakes on some of the more recent systems. Having said that, if you want to play the best the series has to offer, you need only download New Adventure Island on the Wii Virtual Console to...
January2007
A fun shooter in the Star Soldier tradition
One thing that can be said for sure is that if you owned a TurboGrafx console you would never be in short supply of shoot-em-up games! For anyone who is a big fan of the genre it is great news that Hudson has brought one of the most respected games of the genre to the Virtual Console. Soldier Blade is a...
The action in this racing game is viewed from above and features rotational controls.
Every once in awhile you come across a game that just makes you scratch your head and wonder what someone was thinking when they let a game like this actually get released. After the success of RC Pro-Am and Micro Machines on the NES, overhead racers began to gain...
December2006
Review R-Type (Wii Virtual Console / TurboGrafx-16)
This is R type of game!
R-Type is widely considered one of, if not the greatest shooters every created. But kick off any conversation with a shooter fan about R-Type and you're likely to get a 10 minute rant on how excruciatingly difficult the game is. Over the years, shooters have come and gone. Some have been good and some have been bad, but in...
Review Military Madness (Virtual Console / TurboGrafx-16)
Strategic lunacy!
Also known as Nectaris in Japan, this game was a cult hit when it was released in the US many years ago. It wasn't a massive seller but positive reviews made sure it got a decent reception from gamers 'in the know'. For anyone who has played Advance Wars on the GBA you will know exactly what you are getting here. It’s a...
