September2016
Review Picross 3D Round 2 (3DS)
Pleasantly puzzling
A wise gentleman once said that every puzzle has a solution. In Picross 3D Round 2, finding those answers may have players tearing out their hair while simultaneously cracking a smile. Picross 3D Round 2 is a game that is as addictive as they come. Like its predecessor puzzles are in 3D (as the name so helpfully points out) and...
Review Dragon Quest VII: Fragments of the Forgotten Past (3DS)
Islands in the Sun
Whether you know it as Dragon Quest or Dragon Warrior, Yuji Horii's enduring role-playing series has been delighting fans and inspiring adventurers consistently since 1986. Like its Square-Enix stablemate Final Fantasy, each Dragon Quest is a standalone story, with shared elements and lore connecting it to other entries; in...
Review Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Sky (DS)
The sky's the limit
Though the core series still delivers by far the most popular kind of Pokémon games, the Mystery Dungeon series has still done a good job of establishing its own identity and setting itself apart. As the third and final game in the DS set of games for the series, Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Sky provides a charming...
August2016
Review Metroid Prime: Federation Force (3DS)
Samus Who?
For the past three decades Nintendo's Metroid saga has given players the chance to explore a vast science fiction universe filled with lore, wonders and hazards from the perspective of the one and only Samus Aran, the galaxy's greatest bounty hunter. As such, it's easy to forget that all her struggles form but a small part of a huge,...
Review Disney Art Academy (3DS)
Whistle while you work
If you're an artistic soul, there's a good chance the Art Academy series has something to offer. These titles have been a great resource for learning artistic techniques and offer a digital atelier for you to explore your creativity. Years of entries have allowed the series to hone an already strong foundation upon which to...
Review Metroid Prime: Blast Ball (3DS)
Dropping the ball
Ever since its initial announcement, Metroid Prime: Federation Force has been fighting an uphill battle. After a hiatus for the Metroid series, some fans were expecting something a bit more back-to-basics than a co-op shooter with a chibi artstyle set in the Metroid Prime universe. While there's still a week left at the time of...
Review Metroid Prime: Hunters (Wii U eShop / DS)
A bit past its Prime
The year was 2004. The Metroid series had been brought roaring back to relevance a couple years prior with the excellent Metroid Prime, and its sequel was due out soon. At E3, Nintendo opted to unveil its newest platform, a bizarre device that featured two screens. Many were skeptical as to whether or not the device would be...
July2016
Review Style Savvy (Wii U eShop / DS)
Retro Chic
If there's one thing that's true in style, it's that what's old is new again. That's as true in fashion games as it is on the runway, and now, after two excellent turns on the 3DS in Style Savvy: Trendsetters and Fashion Forward, Nintendo's going back to basics by bringing the DS original Style Savvy to the Wii U's Virtual Console. Style...
Review Pokémon Ranger: Guardian Signs (Wii U eShop / DS)
New features and more circle-capture adventures
The Oblivia region has tidy beaches, clear seas and lots of sunshine; it's a pleasant place to be whether a human or one of the many free-roaming Pokémon. Things have changed recently, however, with many Pokémon abducted by a villainous gang known as the Pokémon Pinchers (no, really) and it's up to...
It's still hip to be square
Life may be good when you're a ninja block, but the original BOXBOY! possibly ended up doing a bit too much sneaking around when it released last year. The HAL Laboratory puzzle-platformer went completely under the radar for some people, never gaining widespread attention or shaking the eShop up with its monochromatic...
Review Kirby's Dream Course (New 3DS / SNES)
Kirby's Krazy Golf
Super NES title Kirby's Dream Course has made it to the New Nintendo 3DS, and we had to see how this non-conventional Kirby title has held up since its initial release in 1994. Kirby's Dream Course is effectively crazy golf with our little pink pal acting as the ball. Kirby has three lives with four attempts each, and unless...
Review Pokémon Ranger: Shadows of Almia (Wii U eShop / DS)
New region, new Pokémon, similar circling action
During the Pokémon Ranger games you spend a lot of time wandering around catching Pokémon. Captures are different from the main series, however, as Poké Balls are ditched in favour of Capture Stylers, requiring you to use the touch screen to draw circles around the Pokémon with your stylus. The...
June2016
Review Mario & Sonic at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games (Wii U)
Taking home the bronze
Although carnivale looms neon bright on the horizon, the party may already be winding down for Sonic and Mario. From snowy peaks to sandy shores, these former rivals are back for another collection of sporting mini-games in celebration of the Rio 2016 Olympics, and while they won't have to deal with the political turmoil or...
Review Tokyo Mirage Sessions #FE (Wii U)
Superstardom awaits!
When you hit the main menu of Tokyo Mirage Sessions ♯FE, there's no start button. Instead the bright, rainbow-coloured visuals invite the player to debut, a seemingly minor change of wording that nonetheless sets the tone for the entire game. In this candy-coated world heroes are showbiz sensations, dungeons are department...
Review Mario Hoops 3 on 3 (Wii U eShop / DS)
Going for a slam dunk
From his first venture into Karting through to competing in the Olympics, Mario has been spending plenty of time taking part in activities other than Princess saving. In 2007 (European release) Mario and his mates tried their hands at shooting a few hoops on Nintendo DS in Mario Slam Basketball (aka Mario Hoops 3-on-3 in the...
Review Mini Mario & Friends: amiibo Challenge (3DS eShop)
Tiny toys
Nintendo's track record in promoting amiibo through free apps isn't one that's always shown the company at its best. amiibo Tap: Nintendo's Greatest Bits, for example, was a bit rubbish and unsure of its audience. With efforts like that it's just as well that the range and compatible games mean the figures (and cards) practically sell...
Review Donkey Kong Country 3: Dixie Kong's Double Trouble! (New 3DS / SNES)
Awesome ape action
Well, here we are again – ape platforming shenanigans from Rare in a game bearing the lengthy packaging title of Donkey Kong Country 3: Dixie Kong's Double Trouble. Thanks to previous Virtual Console releases, all six of Rare's 2D Donkey Kong titles are available on New Nintendo 3DS; with the changing Kong lineup helping to keep...
May2016
Review Kirby: Planet Robobot (3DS)
A new technological age for Kirby
While some franchises have a 'one per generation' rule, others seem somewhat more spontaneous - factors such as development progress and sales can be more important to their fate. So when Kirby: Triple Deluxe provided a strong 3DS début as a fairly traditional adventure with the Pink One, HAL Laboratory seemingly...
Review Super Punch-Out!! (New 3DS / SNES)
Thinking with your fists
Thanks to the standard Virtual Console suspension and restore point functions any SNES re-release on New Nintendo 3DS can be played in whatever sized chunks are allowed by your free time and battery life. There are, however, some that work particularly well as a handheld title, such as this game - a game so exciting it needs...
Review Mini Mario & Friends: amiibo Challenge (Wii U eShop)
Toying around
Beyond simply dropping amiibo into stores and saying "look, Nintendo characters as collectible toys", the big N has also been trying to produce free software to tempt Wii U and 3DS owners to pick up some figures. We've already had amiibo Tap: Nintendo's Greatest Bits, but that was an oddly flawed and arguably rubbish app - thankfully...
Review Mario Party DS (Wii U eShop / DS)
Partying alone
For gamers seeking fun with friends Mario Party has long been a good series to visit. Although multiplayer is preferable for the games, there are occasions where you may play alone whether just for practice or because everyone's avoiding you after you mistook that drinking fountain for a bidet. For Mario Party DS (on Wii U at least)...
Review Pocket Card Jockey (3DS eShop)
Horsing around
Sometimes mash-up concepts can bring us delightful gaming experiences, and occasionally they simply leave us scratching our heads in confusion. Pocket Card Jockey does both, and is in turns fun, irritating, exciting and unfair. Some may have a love-hate relationship with it as hours slip by and, when all is said and done, little in...
April2016
Review Pokémon Yellow Version: Special Pikachu Edition (3DS eShop / GBC)
First generation Pokéfun. IN COLOR!
Twenty years since the franchise began and after numerous games, TV episodes, movies, trading cards and plush toys, Nintendo has given Pokémon fans a chance to travel back to where it all began with Virtual Console releases of the first Game Boy titles. 3DS owners can purchase the original Red or Blue versions,...
Review Star Fox Guard (Wii U eShop)
En garde, robot scum!
Project Guard debuted at E3 2014 as part of an initiative from Nintendo to craft new experiences that could only be pulled off with the GamePad. What was then a small, weird, experimental game is now a small, weird, experimental game set in the Star Fox universe. Oh, and a pretty great — if distressing — proof of concept...
From zero to hero
Almost from the moment it was revealed, Star Fox Zero has endured the kind of scrutiny that first-party Nintendo releases are rarely subjected to. From Time's botched announcement during E3 2014 to the news that external help was being used and the game would
