Retro Reviews - Page 9

Change is good.

After first being officially announced on December 21 at the 2003 Jump Festa event in Japan, Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles marked the dawn of a new era for Nintendo fans. After Square Enix packed their bags and left Nintendo’s consoles, the state of the role-playing genre on Nintendo’s consoles was questionable; developer...

From comic strip to bowling alley.

After a few years' absence (spent as a struggling actor according to the instruction booklet) former Nintendo Power comic strip star Nester returned in this bowling game, featuring three modes of play and some “funky” animations. Before the Wiimote provided a natural way to play bowling, video games had to find an alternative way to simulate playing the sport..

One mean %&*@% Squirrel…

Once upon a time, there was a cute little squirrel that captivated the hearts of children in his debut game for the Game Boy Colour. This red-tailed critter was known as Conker: Conker The Squirrel. No one knows the full extent of what happened to this cute woodland creature in his transition to the N64; he had a...

The Super Famicom version of Star Ocean might feature a lot of flashy technology, but it's the game's epic storyline and unique combat system that's made it such a beloved classic among 16-bit RPG fans over the years.

The Super Nintendo is well known for sporting a rather large and outstanding library of RPGs, but there were several of these outstanding titles that never made an appearance outside..

Sticking him in a go-kart worked out well. What else can we try?

Mario’s Tennis does exactly what it says on the cartridge. It takes Mario and six other characters and places them in a Tennis game. Singles and doubles matches are available as either one-off matches or a Tournament, and standard tennis rules apply. A launch game in Japan and the...

Because everyone knows spooky mansions are the safest place to be…

Insmouse no Yakata, apparently based on a film that’s based on a story by H.P. Lovecraft (The Shadow Over Innsmouth - how they got 'Insmouse' from that is anyone's guess) is a first person shooter that sees the player work through maze-like floors of a mansion as they try to escape. But with a variety of monsters, not much ammo..

The mightiest weapon of the medieval battlefield is at your disposal.

Towering over your soldiers, the mighty Odama rolls a path of destruction over all it touches - friend or foe. Direct your soldiers with voice commands, and guide them out of harm’s way on to victory. Let the battle begin! This is a pretty epic game, so allow us to set the scene a little. The battle begins in 1539 when the..

Ikaruga might not be quite as intricate as its predecessor Radiant Silvergun, but its added intensity more than makes up for it.

There are very few shooters that can bring a smile to a shooter fan's face quite like Ikaruga can - which brings me to my quandry. What can I say about Ikaruga that hasn't already been said a hundred times before. It's easily one of the greatest shooters ever made. And..

Platforming perfection…

Back in the days of the N64’s prime, there was one firm that still managed to stand out from the rest, Rare. The UK based outfit were responsible for some of the greatest games the world has ever seen – Goldeneye, Diddy Kong Racing, Perfect Dark, and not to forget, the classic Banjo Kazooie... Staring Banjo, the placid bear with a ferocious sense for adventure, and..

Let love be your energy in this forgotten Gamecube gem

Initially a game on the ill-fated 64DD add-on, Doshin the Giant puts you in control of the titular yellow fellow, and charges you with the care of an island of tribesmen and women. How you care for them is left entirely up to you. As a friendly sort of god, Doshin is capable of gently raising and lowering land to enable his subjects to live..

The Legend of Zelda is one of Nintendo's epic franchises. Can the Wind Waker do the legend justice?

Ten years ago, "The Ocarina of Time" raised the bar of gaming standards to a new, unprecedented height - Its unique battle system, innovative "Z-Targeting" system, and utterly captivating storyline stunned gamers worldwide. Millions waited for another...

Can there really be a more time consuming game than this?

The Sims is a franchise renowned for its cross-gender popularity and appeal to a large portion of gamers- many care for their Sims more than themselves! When it comes to console versions, the series have always struggled to entertain the masses to the extent that the PC titles have. The past two GameCube installments were merely a shadow of..

Competition is good, but it hasn’t been kind to Electronic Art’s squillion-selling football title.

FIFA soccer’s fall from grace as the number one football title in the 16-bit generation has been well documented. Sure, it has always sold well, usually remaining in the top 5 games well after its release on a yearly basis, but it’s no secret that for the football purist, despite FIFA’s..

When Sega and Nintendo had their rivalries in the 90’s some people never got a chance to witness some of the best that gaming had to offer due to owning only one of the two machines.

Fast forward fifteen years and how things have changed! What better way to begin new friendships than bringing out one of the best compilations to date.. Sonic Mega Collection Sonic Mega Collection to sum up has..

Is the force with this one?

New Gamcube titles doesn't grow on trees these days, in fact Nintendo's current generation console is almost completely abandoned, by both third party companies, and Nintendo them self. Therefore we're always glad when a new quality game launches for the Gamecube. The original game, Lego Star Wars, was a smashing success...

Resident Evil 4 is the best game on the Gamecube.

There, it has been said – that’s my stance on the latest in Capcom’s self proclaimed ‘Survival Horror’ genre. Action games, hell, most games in general will feel sluggish, dull and ultimately underwhelming after the onslaught of this games opening salvo (the first 20 minutes will become the...

After a Computerized Armament Management System (C.A.M.S) malfunctions on a planet and all of the defence robots start to destroy and attack the colony, what is the contingency plan? To send you of course!

You control the character of Vanessa Z. Schneider, a strong sassy sarcastic female mercenary who kicks arse. Girl Power! Well, she is not really a feminist’s icon as Capcom have made Vanessa a..

Tony hawk is back!

Only eleven months after the release of Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3, the Hawk is back in this sequel to the award winning skateboard game. Over the years the Tony Hawk series have managed to get a huge fan base, and there is no doubt that this was a highly anticipated title. If you're interested in the skateboard genre, the sport...

Mario. Game board. Dice. Party games. All you need now is a keg.

The Mario Party franchise has been running for years and no doubt will continue to be present on all future Nintendo consoles; it even appeared on the sparsely known GC e-reader. The N64 had the original and two sequels in its lifetime, now it is continuing to evolve on the Gamecube. The first being Mario Party 4, but also at the time..