Reviews

Retro Reviews

  • Review R-Type (Wii U eShop / TG-16)

    More like our type

    You can't have a conversation about shoot-'em-ups, or shmups, without mentioning R-Type. Back in the late '80s and early '90s the game was synonymous with the genre. Unfortunately for Nintendo fans at the time one of the best ports of the arcade classic was on the TurboGrafx-16, an also-ran console that never found its place in...

  • 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...

  • Review Street Fighter Alpha 2 (New 3DS / SNES)

    The eShop has Alpha too

    There are a few Virtual Console options for New Nintendo 3DS-owning Street Fighter fans such as a speedy Street Fighter II, a sixteen-character Street Fighter II and this eShop release that stands out on account of not being Street Fighter II. Released in 1996 this SNES port of Street Fighter Alpha 2 may have been overlooked...

  • Review Super Street Fighter II: The New Challengers (New 3DS / SNES)

    Super solo fighter

    The New Nintendo 3DS is a nifty device with a number of great games available, but as everyone knows something cannot be considered a true games machine unless you can play Street Fighter II on it. Thankfully Capcom has stepped in to save New 3DS owners from the taunts of ZX Spectrum, Atari ST and CD32 gamers by bringing the game...

  • Review Street Fighter II' Turbo: Hyper Fighting (New 3DS / SNES)

    Speedy fighting on the go

    Ever since SNES games were announced as coming to the New Nintendo 3DS it seemed inevitable that Capcom would jump at the chance to flog us Street Fighter II again and - sure enough - here it is. In a surprise move they've skipped the World Warrior port and moved straight to Street Fighter II Turbo: Hyper Fighting, released...

  • Review New Adventure Island (Wii U / TG-16)

    An old-school endless runner

    It's often said that there's no such thing as a bad idea, that it just needs the right moment to shine. More than any other medium video games like to rehash what's come before, retrofitting old concepts into new titles for something that can feel wholly unique while paying tribute to what's come before. For instance,...

  • 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 Mega Man X (New 3DS / SNES)

    Mega Xcitement

    The Mega Man games provided people with enjoyable action-platforming and Capcom was happy to keep producing more and more of them to be purchased and played. 1993 (at least in Japan) saw the release of the sixth NES game in the series, but also the start of something new. Following Virtual Console releases (and a compilation) of the...

  • Review Front Mission Series: Gun Hazard (SNES)

    Out Of This Valken World

    The original Front Mission raised the bar very high indeed for what we have come to expect from mecha games on Super Nintendo. Just one year later, Square released a sequel - but don't be fooled, Front Mission Series: Gun Hazard is everything but a traditional follow-up. In fact, it's not even in the same timeline as the...

  • 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...

  • Review Bonk's Adventure (Wii U eShop / TG-16)

    The third (stone) wheel

    Woe is the child who grew up with a TurboGrafx-16. Whereas battles of words and wills cropped up endlessly in the schoolyard by stalwart Nintendo and Sega fans in the great console wars of the early 90s, anybody with NEC's home rendition of the PC Engine was the gaming equivalent of Switzerland, a neutral entity that was more...

  • Review Super Boss Gaiden (SNES)

    Bad Day At Sony Headquarters

    The retro gaming world came to a halt on Sunday when Chrono Moogle and Dieter von Laser released this game to the unsuspecting Super Nintendo-loving crowd. Understandably only one person in the world will be able to play Super Boss Gaiden on the SNES Playstation prototype, but for the rest of us the

  • 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 Whirlo (SNES)

    ​AKA: Xandra, the legendary klutz gummy hero

    You might have stumbled upon Namco's love letter to Norse mythology, the Valkyrie series, in the past. Of the few games released, there is one rather noteworthy entry for the arcade named Walküre no Densetsu, a one or two player overhead shmup/platformer hybrid with a lot of impressive scaling effects...

  • Review Super Ghouls 'n Ghosts (New 3DS / SNES)

    Move over, Maximo

    These days, it's in vogue to bemoan Mega Man's absence from the gaming scene. Mega Man, however, is not the only franchise Capcom has forgotten; one of its more egregious crimes is leaving the mighty Knight Arthur himself by the wayside. Super Ghouls 'n Ghosts is a classic SNES title and one of the hardest games on the platform...

  • 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...

  • Review Hyper Iria (SNES)

    Metroidless Bounty Huntress

    Banpresto always boasted a healthy lineup of anime and manga licensed video games. If you had a favourite series, there would be a good chance if there was a video game counterpart made for your video game console of choice, it was probably released by Banpresto. Of course, getting a western release was easier said than...

  • Review Mega Man 7 (New 3DS / SNES)

    The worst Mega Man is still good

    Mega Man 7 is a game that came at the wrong time. By the time of its original 1995 release fans were a bit beleaguered by continued rapid-fire releases, and interest had shifted from the portly robot that could to his slimmer, cooler younger brother - Mega Man X. If you've played one Mega Man game, you'll be...

  • Review Kaite Tsukutte Asoberu Dezaemon (SNES)

    Super shmup construction kit

    How would you like to make your own video game? The incredible Super Mario Maker was not the first time a company gave players the tools to produce their own interactive entertainment. In fact, such titles predate the online infrastructure which modern examples of the genre rely on for growth, idea exchange and level...

  • 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 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...

  • Review Rendering Ranger: R2 (SNES)

    ​Shoot or Die

    Are you familiar with the name Manfred Trenz? How about a company called Rainbow Arts? Perhaps the name Turrican will be more relatable? It all depends on how far back you started playing video games, especially in Europe. All three names warranted attention for Commodore 64 and Amiga owners, since they were synonymous with arcade...

  • Review Contra III: The Alien Wars (New 3DS / SNES)

    Portable blockbuster

    The year is 2636 and some aliens have popped over to earth for a visit. At first it seems they are putting on a fancy light show but then buildings start exploding and the alien wars begin! Contra III: The Alien Wars is a run and gun classic full of action as you "attack aggressively" in an attempt to defeat those pesky...

  • Review Tactics Ogre: Let Us Cling Together (SNES)

    ​Never Cling Alone

    There are some video games that show up late in a console generation that push boundaries and defy preconceptions on what was considered possible. Resident Evil 4 immediately springs to mind, not only pushing the series to a point Capcom that hasn't been able to match since but also serving as a template to every other game in...

  • 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 Midnight 2 (Wii U eShop)

    Another round with a square

    It's not easy to mix chill with challenge, and yet the Midnight series somehow manages to do a quite decent job of it. Petite Games has brought the twilight golf-like back for another go, providing another round of stages with next to no changes in the formula. Midnight 2 should feel right at home to those who played its...

  • 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 Majyuuou (SNES)

    Hell is the impossibility of reason… but it's very pretty

    The Super Nintendo (even in Japan) was marketed as a family friendly system, something easily proven by taking a glance at its excellent game library. Despite that, you can find yourself a few horror gems targeted at a more mature audience that naturally never made it out of Japan. KSS...

  • Review Choujikuu Yousai Macross: Scrambled Valkyrie (SNES)

    Now that Star Fox Zero has made transforming space fighters cool again (as if they could be anything but cool, we hear you cry) we take a break from the relentless war raging in the Lylat system and go back to the classic shmup formula on a console that is not all that well known for the genre. Produced by Winky Soft – a studio responsible for a...

  • 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,...