Retro SNES Game Reviews
Review Harvest Moon (Wii Virtual Console / Super Nintendo)
Farm life
Harvest Moon, a role-playing game based around the noble profession of farming, was one of the later Super NES releases when it arrived in 1997. If you are not familiar with this series, stay with us — it's not as bad or as boring as it sounds on paper This is basically The Sims on a farm. So, if you're a fan of simulation and RPG...
Review Donkey Kong Country 3: Dixie Kong's Double Trouble! (Wii Virtual Console / Super Nintendo)
Double the trouble, double the fun?
After the stellar Donkey Kong Country 2, people were wondering if the third game would be even more amazing. It was released very late in the SNES's lifecycle, so naturally it was expected that Rare would be pulling out all the stops. In DK Country 3’s storyline, both DK and Diddy have been kidnapped. You're...
Review Cybernator (Wii Virtual Console / Super Nintendo)
Don't be a Cybernator hater
The Japanese have a real love for big robots that hasn't entirely crossed over into the West. Thankfully Cybernator (AKA: Assault Suit Valken) - a follow up to the Megadrive Assault Suit Leynos/Target Earth - made the jump from East to West and remains one of the more memorable SNES shooters. After the mission-based...
Review Axelay ( / Super Nintendo)
Who said the SNES couldn't handle shmups?
Regardless of the fact that it was released fairly early on in the life of Nintendo's 16-bit console, Axelay remains one of the best looking and most impressive shooters available for the format. Employing a similar format to Konami stable mate Lifeforce, Axelay switches between a vertical and horizontal...
Review Metal Marines ( / Super Nintendo)
Heavy metal
The Japanese love big robots; you only have to look at series like Gundam, Macross and Patlabor to see this. However they seem to like strategy videogames a lot less, which is what makes Namco's Metal Marines (Militia in Japan) all the more surprising. Released at a time where real time strategy titles were only just beginning to...
Review Mario's Super Picross (Wii Virtual Console / Super Nintendo)
You won't pi cross buying this
Ask anybody to name some Mario puzzlers and you'll most likely hear Dr. Mario, maybe Wario's Woods, Yoshi or Yoshi's Cookie. They never name the best of the lot though — Mario's Super Picross, or its predecessor, 1995 Game Boy title
Review Vegas Stakes (Wii Virtual Console / Super Nintendo)
Always bet on black
Here's an odd offering for the VC - a gambling game! In Vegas Stakes, sequel to Vegas Dream on the NES, you head to Vegas with a group of friends to try to make it rich. There are four casinos to go to, ranging from the-run-down Hideaway, which only allows small bets, to 2020, a futuristic-looking casino that allows high bets...
Review Super Metroid (Wii Virtual Console / Super Nintendo)
A true classic
Metroid was very popular in the late 80s and early 90s. Despite only two games being released, players loved it for its unique atmosphere and construction: the whole game consisted of one gigantic overworld with many places to explore and items to find. On top of that, there were plenty of secrets: who can forget the fact that you get...
Review Breath of Fire II (Wii Virtual Console / Super Nintendo)
A breath of fresh air
Capcom’s Breath of Fire series isn’t really respected that much these days. The last instalment — the underrated Breath of Fire: Dragon Quarter for the PS2 — was a bit too different from previous games and didn’t really make the impact Capcom possibly hoped for. Compare this to the fanfare that followed the release...
Review Kirby's Avalanche (Virtual Console / Super Nintendo)
The call has gone out throughout Dream Land – the First Annual Ghost Trap Competition has begun!
This is basically Puyo Puyo given a lick of paint, but... wait a minute, isn't that exactly what Damo typed for Dr. Robotnik's Mean Bean Machine? Well, it holds true for this game as well. Only this time, instead of Dr. Robotnik and various robots from...
Review Kirby's Dream Course (Wii Virtual Console / Super Nintendo)
A new spin on crazy golf
Kirby much like our friend Mario has never been afraid to offer his own take on another genre. In this case the world renowned sport of mini golf. Unlike other pitch and putt games like EA’s Zany Golf on the Megadrive Kirby has a few tricks up his sleeve. To destroy enemies in your path you roll into them rather than...
Review Street Fighter II' Turbo: Hyper Fighting (Wii Virtual Console / Super Nintendo)
Time to get hyper
If there's one thing the Virtual Console service has taught us, it's that some games have aged better than others. Playing the original Street Fighter II after all these years is a real eye-opening experience - it is almost too slow to be playable (especially for PAL gamers). After years of Street Fighter updates from Capcom, it...
Review Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest (Wii Virtual Console / Super Nintendo)
More monkey business
For anyone familiar with the original DK Country game this is more of the same. This is a good thing as the original was almost perfection in every way and this game manages to build on the franchise even more! For a 16-bit console the graphics are amazing. The smooth animation and wonderful artwork create a 3D feel which works...
Review Final Fight (Wii Virtual Console / Super Nintendo)
Oh my car
Final Fight is one of those coin-ops that defines a generation. It was simply the only arcade game to be seen playing in the late 80's/early 90's. When the SNES conversion was confirmed, I was heartbroken - being a Mega Drive owner, I had hoped that the (false) rumours of a Sega port were true (Sega fans had to wait until the Mega CD...
Review Gradius III (Virtual Console / Super Nintendo)
Vic Viper is back to rid the galaxy of evil.
Gradius III was one of the first SNES shooters and to be perfectly honest, it shows. Graphically the game is fairly bland (although the same could be said of the coin op original), the sound is nothing special and when things get hectic there's some terrible slowdown. Regardless of these points, the...
Review ActRaiser (Virtual Console / Super Nintendo)
Take control of the Master, a dethroned deity whose once-idyllic world has fallen under the control of the Evil One.
When I saw the review of this game in the Mean Machines gaming magazine as a youth I was quite literally heartbroken. My Megadrive was (technically, at least) no longer the most powerful console in the world. Nintendo's new machine...
Review The Legend of the Mystical Ninja (Wii Virtual Console / Super Nintendo)
Go go Goemon
You might be forgiven for dismissing this mysterious game at first glance, but give it a chance and you might find a fantastic game with amazing depth. Kid Ying and Dr. Yang are on an adventure to save Princess Yuki who has been kidnapped by counterfeiters. By traveling through different Warlock Zones in Japan, Kid Ying and Dr. Yang are...
Review Romance of the Three Kingdoms IV (Wii Virtual Console / Super Nintendo)
Taxing the old grey matter
First things first - this fourth edition of Koei's long running 'Romance of the Three Kingdoms' series is not going to be for everyone. The franchise, based on actual events in China's history, has evolved and developed considerably over the past few years and it's encouraging that VC users are getting one of the better...
Review Super Ghouls 'n Ghosts (Wii Virtual Console / Super Nintendo)
Grabbed by the ghoulies
Ghouls ‘N Ghosts was an arcade classic, and Sega Mega Drive / Genesis owners were undoubtedly over the moon to be treated to an almost arcade perfect conversion in 1989. When the Super Nintendo came out, it needed some games to compete with its rival; quite soon after its launch Capcom was kind enough to treat Nintendo fans...
Review Super Mario World (Wii Virtual Console / Super Nintendo)
Simply superb
It was hailed as the greatest videogame of all time when it was released, and even after all these years it still has a pretty solid claim to that title. Super Mario World is without a shadow of a doubt one of our favourite Mario games, and when SNES was released some members of our staff played very little else until they'd discovered...
Review The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past (Wii Virtual Console / Super Nintendo)
A Link to a Classic
To put it simply, The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past is one of the finest RPGs in existence. Everything is perfect - the bold lines and subtle pastel-tones of the graphics, the triumphant rendition of the Zelda theme, the excellent yet simple combat system, the brilliantly conceived logic puzzles. Nintendo left nothing to...
Review Contra III: The Alien Wars (Wii Virtual Console / Super Nintendo)
Run 'n gun
Konami really went all out with this title, the third instalment to the Contra series (or Probotector to gamers in the PAL regions). The development team at the time must have relished the challenge of developing on the Super Nintendo as this is one of the more impressive games on the system; the experience is a good deal bigger and...
Review R-Type III: The Third Lightning (SNES)
The Bydo Empire is back! More powerful and deadlier than ever, the Bydo are en-route to Earth.
R-Type III is an interesting title in many ways. Firstly, it was a console exclusive, which generated quite a stir when it was first published. Secondly it takes advantage of the Super NES 'Mode 7' graphics to bring rotating backgrounds into play. Thirdly,...
Review Street Fighter II: The World Warrior (Wii Virtual Console / Super Nintendo)
Fighting Street
To say that the original Street Fighter II was a genre-defining game would be the understatement of the century. Not only did the game take the one-on-one fighting game idea and take it to heights never before reached, it also single-handedly kicked off a fighting game craze that's still in full swing to this very day and spawned...
Review Super Castlevania IV (Wii Virtual Console / Super Nintendo)
Castlevania goes super
Every now and then you play a game that simply changes your life. To me, Super Castlevania IV is that game. I recall playing it at a friend's house and regardless of the slow pace of the first few levels, it had a real impact on me. The game was quickly purchased and hasn't left my collection since. If your Castlevania...
Review Donkey Kong Country (Wii Virtual Console / Super Nintendo)
Worth going bananas over still?
Much fuss was made about Donkey Kong Country when it was first released, and with good reason - the CGI visuals were a cut above what SNES owners were used to at the time and the game seemed to give the Super Nintendo a much needed second wind. Donkey Kong Country is a side-scrolling platformer. Using DK and Diddy,...
Review F-Zero (Wii Virtual Console / Super Nintendo)
From zero to Mode 7 hero
Before WipEout, there was F-Zero. Nintendo's futuristic racer was one of the first SNES releases, but shows very little sign of aging — in fact, it feels just as fresh and fun today as it did all those years ago. Graphically, the Mode 7 effects have obviously lost some of their edge when viewed today but the visuals are...
The famous simulation in which one takes the role of a mayor and must help a new city thrive and become a megalopolis.
Before ‘The Sims’ there was SimCity. This game was on most home computer systems at the time but the SNES port with its exclusive features and additional scenarios ranks as one of the better versions. The SimCity series has...
