Retro News

February2010

  • Review WarMen Tactics (WiiWare)

    Shockin' awful

    Here at Nintendo Life we pride ourselves on reviewing every downloadable game and application released for the Wii and DSi. As a reviewer this may mean reviewing games in genres you might not regularly play, and there's also the risk of playing a bad game; sometimes a really bad game. WarMen Tactics is one of the latter, a game that...

  • Review Sonic & Knuckles (Virtual Console / Sega Mega Drive)

    Lock-on, baby

    It's widely known that Sonic and Knuckles (S&K) started out as the latter half of Sonic 3, but development constraints forced SEGA to split the game in two, putting S&K onto an innovative Lock-On cartridge that, when combined with Sonic 3, pieced the game back together into its original state. Now, with the announcement that...

  • Review Let's Golf! (DSiWare)

    Par for the course

    On DSiWare, we very recently saw the release of A Little Bit of... Nintendo Touch Golf (Or True Swing Golf Express in North America), a slightly cut-down version of the retail game bearing the same name. We thought it was very competent, and as such felt that the "golf game" gap on the service had been filled. But here...

  • Review Nacho Libre (DS)

    Luchador's lament

    Lucha Libre has an interesting history and place in Mexican culture and luchadores can be viewed in the same light as Japanese sumo (unsurprisingly Lucha Libre has a strong following in Japan as well): real-life super-heroes. Like super heroes, most luchadores wear masks and go to great lengths to maintain an air of mystery about...

  • Review Oscar in Movieland (DSiWare)

    Cut, cut, cut

    Oscar in Movieland was originally released for Amiga computers in 1993 under the name Oscar. While its predecessor, Oscar in Toyland, was centered around Troll dolls back in the day and later shoehorned the character into the game when developer Flair lost the license, Movieland was the first straight-up Oscar game. Like Toyland, this...

  • News Super Mario Bros. 3 Turns Twenty

    One of the greatest games ever celebrates a milestone.

    For those unaware, today marks the 20th anniversary of the release of Super Mario Bros. 3 in North America. Having sold over 18 million copies worldwide, it still stands as one of the best-selling video games of all time - and that's not even accounting for the various remakes and re-releases of...

  • News Bit Museum Episode 5 Coming Soon

    Nintendo's classic Game & Watch handhelds get the spotlight

    As retro-gaming fans it's no surprise we have a soft spot for Robotube Games' fantastic series of Bit Museum videos showcasing forgotten gaming consoles and handhelds. Nintendo's early gaming consoles from the 1970s featured in the first episode and we've gotten word that the latest episode...

  • Review Princess Tomato in the Salad Kingdom (Virtual Console / NES)

    A Virtual Console vegetable medley

    After making several appearances on various Japanese personal computers and then being ported to the Famicom system, Hudson decided to bring the unique vegetable-themed text adventure Princess Tomato in the Salad Kingdom over to American NES gamers. The game was obviously quite a change of pace from the majority of...

  • Review The Incredible Hulk: Ultimate Destruction (GameCube)

    Incredible destruction; incredibly satisfying

    It's practically a truism that video games built on film and book licenses suck; probably due to the motivation for using a license from another medium being more about attempting to cash-in on name recognition than actually delivering a compelling gaming experience. Of course there are exceptions to the...

  • Review Link 'n' Launch (DSiWare)

    We have liftoff!

    If it's one thing Intelligent Systems has become well known for over the years, it's their diverse game development. While they've had their hands in quite a few of Nintendo's biggest selling hits over the years, it's their Advance Wars and Paper Mario series that tend to stick out in most people's minds. Now, they've decided to try...

  • Review Fieldrunners (DSiWare)

    Run to the hills

    There once was a time when the tower defence genre was so niche that, shock and awe, there weren’t these types of games released somewhere every week. In case you haven’t overindulged on the genre, Subatomic Studios’ Fieldrunners would like your attention, please. No, don’t leave, it’s good! Originally released on...

  • Review Hubert the Teddy Bear: Winter Games (WiiWare)

    Teddy bear Christmas comes early

    WiiWare has seen a surprising number of mini-game collections come its way, probably due to the simple nature of the genre and the greater likelihood of standing out as part of a weekly download release than on a store shelf crowded with such titles. Hubert the Bear: Winter Games makes a decent addition to the genre...

  • Review Blaster Master: Overdrive (WiiWare)

    A blast from the past gets a makeover

    Over the years, Sunsoft's NES Blaster Master release has become a favourite among fans of the console. Not only has it gone on to become a true cult classic for the system, it's also been called one of the most innovative gameplay experiences of the 8-bit era. Now Sunsoft is back and after having recently...

  • Review Extreme Hangman (DSiWare)

    Less violence, more vocabulary

    With all the sudoku games that have hit the DSi Shop since the service launched last April, it's nice to occasionally see a pen-and-paper puzzle game for DSiWare that doesn't involve numbers. In Extreme Hangman, Gamelion has taken the time-honored word-guessing game and turned it into something a little more...

  • Review Sudoku 4Pockets (DSiWare)

    Time to dig out your sudoku dictionary

    Since 2002, the aptly-named 4Pockets.com has been creating applications and casual games for pocket PCs and smartphones, including Breakout clones, jigsaw puzzles, pinball games, and of course, sudoku. Their version of the ever-popular puzzle game has received a slight makeover and a cute Japanese doll-shaped...

  • Review Bloons (WiiWare)

    Floats like a lead bloon

    Balloons have a proud history on game consoles, stretching all the way back to Circus Atari on the venerable Atari VCS and Nintendo's Joust clone Balloon Fight. There's just something about popping balloons that tickles a part of our inner children it seems and it's an activity that generally translates well to video games...

  • Review Snakenoid (DSiWare)

    Combining two classics into one disaster

    Cinemax's last DSiWare game wasn't too hot, so we didn't exactly have high hopes for their second effort. It looks like our assumptions were correct, because although it borrows heavily from classics Arkanoid and Snake, it just doesn't work. How does one combine Arkanoid and Snake, you ask? Simple: by taking...

  • Review Yume Koujou Doki Doki Panic (NES)

    Super Mario Bros. 2, minus the Super Mario Bros.

    Depending on who you ask, you're likely to hear quite a few different variations on the story of how Yume Koujou Doki Doki Panic came to be. Some say it was originally intended to be a Super Mario Bros. game but ended up taking on a life all its own at the hands of video game developer extraordinaire...

  • Review Tumblebugs 2 (WiiWare)

    When the bugs come tumbling down

    Originally released on the PC, the first and second Tumblebugs games were relatively well received. However the series failed to attain the mass popular appeal of similar games such as Zuma and Luxor as well as others. Tumblebugs is not even the first in this genre on WiiWare: that distinction goes to Magnetica...

  • Review Downtown Texas Hold 'Em (DSiWare)

    One step forward, two steps back.

    We've already seen a host of card games released on DSiWare so far and Texas Hold'em seems to be the hot new card game to get. Hudson recently released its High Stakes Texas Hold'em onto the service to rather mediocre reviews and now EA is serving up its version of the game with the release of Downtown Texas Hold...

  • Review 5 in 1 Solitaire (WiiWare)

    Tethered to a television is not the way to play

    Just like sudoku, crossword puzzles, word searches, and other public-domain fare as WiiWare, Digital Leisure's 5-in-1 Solitaire will have you tied down in front of a television after having plunked down your Nintendo Points for games available for free on the internet or, worse yet, that came...

  • Review 5 in 1 Solitaire (DSiWare)

    Five games for the price of two

    So far, Digital Leisure hasn't done the greatest job of bringing public-domain games to WiiWare or DSiWare. Sudoku Challenge wasn't challenging in quite the right way, and Word Searcher only worked on DSiWare because word searches were meant to be portable to begin with. The interfaces seemed a bit rushed and...

  • Review Geometry Wars Galaxies (DS)

    A near-perfect translation of the console classic

    Bizarre Creation's Geometry Wars: Retro Evolved is something of a modern classic. The wireframe graphics and gameplay consisting of firing at enemies in every direction on a closed 2D playfield are like a marriage of arcade classics Tempest and Robotron, making for some addictive gameplay. Sierra...

  • Review Moero! Nekketsu Rhythm Damashii Osu! Tatakae! Ouendan 2 (DS)

    Once you start, you'll need to call on the Ouendan to help you stop playing this game

    In 2005, iNiS crafted Osu! Tatakae! Ouendan for DS. Rhythm games were hardly being made for the system, but they instantly proved that it could have amazing results when done right. People spoke so positively about it that it was popular both in and outside Japan,...

  • Review Legends of Exidia (DSiWare)

    DSiWare's first RPG doesn't set the bar too high, but it's still quite enjoyable

    It's a bit odd that we haven't seen any DSiWare RPGs until now. You'd think that with the service's portable nature and the genre’s wealth of retail releases, it would be a perfect fit. Apparently developers think otherwise! Gameloft is known for their frequent...

  • Hardware Review Yobo FC-16 Go Portable SNES

    Attack of the clones

    Those of you with especially keen memories will recall that we reviewed the RetroDuo console not so long ago. One of the growing number of unlicensed clones hitting the market at the moment, this neat machine is now joined by something a little more portable - namely the Yobo Gameware FC-16 Go. This is essentially a portable...

  • Review Tales of Monkey Island: Chapter 5 (WiiWare)

    Another episodic adventure comes to an end.

    It took a surprisingly long time, but the fifth and final chapter of Guybrush's latest adventure has finally hit WiiWare. Every previous chapter has been building up towards this supposedly epic conclusion, so was the long wait worth it? Considering this is the fifth and final part, spoilers for the series...

January2010

  • Review Endless Ocean 2: Adventures of the Deep (Wii)

    What lurks beneath?

    2007’s Endless Ocean was a true original: a diving game that made little attempt to be a game, basing most of its gameplay around just touching fish. As part of the Touch Generations range it clearly appealed to enough aspiring divers to merit a sequel, but it’s certainly changed from the inviting warm waters of the Manaurai...

  • Review AiRace: Tunnel (DSiWare)

    All I wanna do is zomma-zoom-zoom

    Flight games are a rare breed on DSiWare. There’s Thorium Wars and, uh, we suppose Paper Plane, and now QubicGames has entered the not-so-crowded field with the neat AiRace: Tunnel. It’s more Paper Plane than Thorium Wars since the focus is on navigating an obstacle course/tunnel as far as you can instead of...

  • Review Escapee GO! (DSiWare)

    A must for maze mavens.

    Gevo Entertainment didn't have the greatest luck with WiiWare, but they've turned things around for their debut DSiWare release, going from a brightly colored, child-centric theme to something more dark and mysterious. In Escapee GO!, you play as Claire, a girl who has been locked up in an insane asylum by the mysterious...

  • Review Ghoul Patrol (Virtual Console / Super Nintendo)

    Bustin' makes me feel alright, I suppose

    When it came time to follow Zombies Ate My Neighbors, LucasArts decided to go with a third-party developer. Using basically the same gameplay engine as the one found in Zombies, the developer was able to successfully create a game that looked and played very similarly to the original release called Ghoul...

  • Review bittos+ (WiiWare)

    A little bit here and a little bit there...

    With as many puzzle games as there are in Nintendo's WiiWare shop it's impressive that companies are still developing more. Even more impressive is how many of them are fun and original, and Unconditional's bittos+ is definitely one to add to the "good" pile. At first glance you might think it's...

  • Review "Aha! I Found It!" Hidden Object Game (WiiWare)

    Flawed by fuzziness

    It took Ateam Inc. almost a year to bring their last WiiWare offering to the west after its initial Japanese release, but their next reached our shores within a matter of months. "Aha! I Found It!" Hidden Object Game brings with it the promise of good old-fashioned 'find the hidden object' family fun for up to four...

  • Review Tatsunoko vs. Capcom: Ultimate All-Stars (Wii)

    Crossover chaos at its very finest

    When Capcom’s Versus series burst into arcades in 1996 it was a refreshing change of pace after the seemingly endless stream of copycat brawlers and tired sequels. X-Men vs. Street Fighter also marked a significant new attitude for the veteran developer; it was willing to let its most famous characters duke it...

  • Review No More Heroes 2: Desperate Struggle (Wii)

    Travis Touchdown is back with a vengeance and better than ever

    The mirrors don’t work. It’s a minor detail and completely inconsequential to gameplay, but when Travis Touchdown meanders into a public restroom to do his deeds and save the game in No More Heroes: Desperate Struggle, he might as well be a vampire. Despite his bloodlust, Travis is...

  • Review Max & the Magic Marker (WiiWare)

    A beautiful piece of art or a worthless doodle?

    Games involving drawing seem to be incredibly popular nowadays. With the DS's touch screen and Wii Remote's pointer both allowing rather precise drawing, it's pretty obvious to see why. Although it's a bit late to the party, Max & the Magic Marker keeps things pretty basic: it's a fairly...

  • Review Glory of Heracles (DS)

    Herculean effort or Greek tragedy?

    Role-playing game fans have to be excited to see the number of RPG releases appearing on the DS system continuing to grow. And while we've seen some very unique gameplay elements in many of the titles, we've seen almost as many titles take a much more traditional approach, choosing to stick to many of the familiar...

  • Review de Blob (Wii)

    ¡Viva la revolución!

    Chroma City has been subjugated by the diabolical INKT Corporation! Can anyone free the formerly colourful Raydians from their grey prison? Enter the members of the Colour Revolution led by legendary Chroma City graffiti artist Blob, whom players control in their quest for colour, funk and freedom! Based upon a game created by...

  • Review Ai Chō Aniki (Virtual Console / TurboGrafx-16)

    Possibly the maddest shooter of all time

    Thanks to Nintendo making imports available on the Virtual Console, you've probably come across Chō Aniki: a shooter on the PC Engine in the same mold as Gradius and other side-scrollers, but with some rather unconventional enemies and a lot of muscles. You may be less familiar with this sequel, which was...

  • News Gaijin Games Reveals First BIT.TRIP RUNNER Details

    Dozens of stages, new characters and a special musical guest

    Gaijin Games is anything but lazy. Their acclaimed BIT.TRIP series is nary a year old with three entries under its WiiWare-shaped belt. Not ones to rest on their laurels, the Santa Cruz developers are hard at work on the next entry in their retro metaphysical saga: RUNNER. On the latest...

  • Review The Amazing Brain Train (WiiWare)

    All aboard, kids!

    Back in 2008, indie developer Grubby Games created a collection of cute, quirky mini-games for the PC designed to amuse as well as stimulate your brain. It went on to be chosen as a 2008 PAX 10 winner, and though it did not capture the Audience Choice Award as well, it obviously turned enough heads for an eventual console release...

  • Review Chronos Twins (DSiWare)

    Double the fun, half the price.

    Quick history lesson: Chronos Twins began life as a Game Boy Advance title that was later ported over to the DS. While the game saw release in the UK, it was unable to land a North American publisher – poor UK sales didn't help matters. The game was released on WiiWare and now, only one week later, the DS version is...

  • Review Dark Void Zero (DSiWare)

    More 8-bit retro goodness

    We've already seen Capcom enjoy success on WiiWare with their retro-infused Mega Man 9 release. Now it seems they're trying to show DSiWare the same retro love with Dark Void Zero. Of course now the question is, does the game live up to the lofty standards the company has already put in place with Mega Man 9? Dark Void Zero...

  • Review Muscle March (WiiWare)

    Weird doesn't even begin to describe it

    Someone has stolen your stash of muscle-pumping creatine! Quick, assemble the burliest speedo-clad men, women and polar bears in town, chase the thief through walls and bury them under a pile of men! Dash, pose, flex! Muscle March is the kind of game that doesn't really need a review because everything you...

  • Podcast NLFM Episode 3: BIT.TRIP Down Memory Lane

    Alex Neuse of Gaijin Games talks influences, music game design and the future of Commander Video

    Welcome to another jolly good episode of NLFM, the chip and game music podcast from Nintendo Life. We're joined in this double-length episode by special guest Alex Neuse of Gaijin Games, who has schlepped along a crate of his favorite chip/game music...

  • Review Sands of Destruction (DS)

    Yet another engaging DS Japanese RPG.

    There's no denying that Nintendo's DS system has seen quite a few Japanese RPG releases over the years and is quickly becoming the system of choice for fans of the genre. Imageepoch, comprised of former developers of such legendary RPG classics as Xenogears and Grandia, have once again combined their talents to...

  • Review ShadowPlay (WiiWare)

    Hey, you got your MotionPlus in my WiiWare

    Everyone with a playful heart has thrown their hands into light and tried to make a shadow figure on the wall at some point in their lives, but few stick around for more than a couple of tries, let alone ever consider paying for the opportunity. Deep Fried Entertainment asks both of players with ShadowPlay,...

  • Review Word Searcher (DSiWare)

    Better on a portable?

    Digital Leisure attempted to jump on the Sudoku DSiWare bandwagon a while back, failing miserably in the process. Now they've taken another crack at the service with something different: Word Searcher, a game featuring 100 different word-search puzzles to sink your vocabulary into. Granted, Word Searcher as WiiWare wasn't that...

  • Review Chronos Twins DX (WiiWare)

    Double the fun

    Quick history lesson: Chronos Twins DX began life as a Game Boy Advance title that was later ported over to the DS. While the game saw release in the UK, it was unable to land a North American publisher – poor UK sales didn't help much. Thankfully, the game is now enjoying a well-deserved second chance on WiiWare and turns out to be...

  • News Bit Museum Showcases Nintendo's Pre-Famicom Days

    Game developer does video gaming archaeology on YouTube

    If you haven't heard of mobile phone and WiiWare game developer Robotube Games, it's possible you may have come across their Bit Museum video series on YouTube, presented by designer Jason Cirillo. We think they're some of the best gaming videos on the 'net with a special focus on the earliest...

  • Review Avatar: The Game (Wii)

    The sum of its parts

    There's no doubt that James Cameron's Avatar in all its 3D blue-and-green beauty is a worldwide phenomenon, grossing millions upon millions of dollars and becoming a word of mouth sensation. With such a wave of success comes James Cameron's Avatar: The Game from Ubisoft, with its oft-heard promises of being an interactive...

  • Review Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney (WiiWare)

    “Objection!”

    Renowned primarily for its storytelling and unique style, it’s hard to say for sure whether the Phoenix Wright series are games at all or rather interactive short stories, but the medium in which they exist lumps them into the game category, and so as a game we must review it. There’s nothing we can say about the Phoenix Wright...

  • Review Jazzy Billiards (DSiWare)

    Every day I'm hustling

    Out of the entire spectrum of bar games to make the digital jump, billiards is second only to poker in delivering really fun interpretations, like Virtual Pool on PC. What makes that series great is a total understanding of why billiards is fun and how to translate that into mechanics that feel more like skill than luck. Arc...

  • Review Move Your Brain: Rollway Puzzle (DSiWare)

    Tilting fun on a DSi

    Move Your Brain: Rollway Puzzle certainly is a brave title. It dares make use of the DSi camera extensively – the last title to do that was Nintendo’s own WarioWare Snapped! and the result was a game that didn’t really work in a lot of lighting situations. The game is based on a maze of 3D platforms, the job of the player...

  • Review Freshly-Picked Tingle's Rosy Rupeeland (DS)

    Kooloo-limpah!

    When it was announced Japan would be getting a game starring the Zelda series' strangest character, Tingle, everybody pretty much agreed on one thing - it would never leave Japan. But, in a very surprising move, Nintendo decided to take the gamble and localise the game. Tingle's Rosy Rupeeland takes place before every Zelda game he's...

  • Review Sokomania (DSiWare)

    A budget title in more ways than one.

    When Cinemax first announced their plans to bring the classic Sokoban puzzle to DSiWare, we were somewhat excited – especially with the price being set at a measly 200 points. But unfortunately, in this case, this has also resulted in the game itself not offering much content. The game starts with pretty...

  • Review Street Fighter Alpha 3 (Game Boy Advance)

    Street Fighter returns! Bigger and better!

    Three years after porting the first Street Fighter Alpha to the Game Boy Color, Crawfish Interactive tried something a bit more ambitious, this time for the more powerful Game Boy Advance. The decision was made to skip Alpha 2 and instead port the third game of the series. Street Fighter Alpha 3 had arrived...

  • Review Shadow Dancer: The Secret of Shinobi (Virtual Console / Sega Mega Drive)

    Shinobi Joe is back, and this time he’s brought his dog

    Shadow Dancer started out life in 1989 in the arcades as the sequel to the ever-popular Shinobi, which was a sizable hit for creator Sega. In the same year the company also released the rather excellent Revenge of Shinobi as an early title for the fledgling Mega Drive/Genesis. It strayed from...

  • Review Street Fighter Alpha: Warriors' Dreams (Game Boy Color)

    An impressive but flawed conversion

    In 1995 Capcom decided that, for the time being, there were enough versions of Street Fighter II in the world and so came up with something different. Street Fighter Alpha featured air-blocking, a three-level super combo gauge, counter attacks and a fancy anime appearance. Although sequels followed, it was decided...

  • Review Fast Draw Showdown (WiiWare)

    “Keep it in your holster!”

    Fast Draw Showdown is a game set in the distant past…the year 1994, to be precise. In those days, arcades were lit up with light gun games; even as other genres drifted into console-only territory, there was still a ready supply of them. But where most of these games were frantic on-rails, shoot-everything-that-moves...

  • Review Animal Puzzle Adventure (DSiWare)

    Puppies and kittens and piglets, oh my

    Aksys Games makes most of their living by translating and localising Japanese games for Western markets. Their choices for WiiWare offerings, at least, haven't been great so far, but they've now graced the DSi Shop with partner developer Arc System Works' Animal Puzzle Adventure

  • Review Pub Darts (WiiWare)

    Downloadable darts — just as pointless as it sounds

    Pub Darts is puzzling. Not that it’s a truly horrid game, but it’s just so basic that you have to wonder why you’d want to spend a lot of time with it. People like to play darts in bars and pubs because it’s a great excuse to get tipsy with your friends and throw sharp objects really fast...

  • News Tuper Tario Tros: A Mario/Tetris Mash-up

    Warning: this Flash game is highly addictive

    Newgrounds user and all-round genius SwingSwing has created a fantastic Mario/Tetris mash-up named Tuper Tario Tros. Blending the platformer and puzzle genres, the game involves traversing the usual Mario landscape with your usual repertoire of jumping and, err... more jumping. When Mario encounters an...

  • Review Happy Hammerin' (WiiWare)

    Now you can whack moles... in space!

    Gamebridge seems to love bringing quirky, Japan-exclusive WiiWare games over to the west. Overturn, a fun mech fighting game, was their first, and although for some reason it's not out in Europe yet, we reviewed the North American version and thought it was surprisingly good. Happy Hammerin' is their second...

  • Review Final Fight 3 (Wii Virtual Console / Super Nintendo)

    Is the third time the charm?

    Final Fight 3 came along fairly late in the Super Nintendo's lifespan, but that certainly didn't bother fans of the series who were looking for one more heavy dose of beat-'em-up action. Capcom decided it was time to spice up the gameplay some and the end result was something that would appeal to classic fans of the...

  • Review Faceball 2000 (Game Boy)

    Fun Person Shooter

    Shortly before Wolfenstein 3D kick-started interest in the genre, Xanth Software F/X treated Game Boy owners to Faceball 2000: a first-person shooter that saw players working their way through maze-like corridors battling giant smiling faces (Smiloids). Less violent than other FPSs, Smiloids disappear when defeated rather than...

  • News Dark Void Zero Landing This Month

    Capcom continues 8-bit resurrection

    While HD console owners can expect to play Capcom's Dark Void on the big screen soon, the company hasn't forgotten about DSi fans, with a portable version available to download to DSi in the coming weeks. Titled Dark Void Zero, the game takes its visual cues from classic 8-bit shooters such as Metroid as well as...

  • Review Intellivision Lives! (GameCube)

    Relive the classics from one of gaming's pioneers.

    When the Intellivision launched in 1980 it kicked off what is arguably the first console war with Atari's Video Computer System. Sure there was an earlier price war between Fairchild (the first company to mass-market a removable-cartridge-based games console) and Atari, but Mattel's approach was...

  • Review The Oregon Trail (DSiWare)

    The most fun you can have with dysentery

    For whatever reason, The Oregon Trail in its various incarnations, whether on DOS or an Apple II, holds a special place in the hearts of American gamers. Maybe it's because of the balanced risk/reward system and simple resource management. But more likely it's because The Oregon Trail was one of the few...

  • Review Tomena Sanner (WiiWare)

    We don't know why...he's the greatest dancer...that we've ever seen!

    Tomena Sanner is the kind of WiiWare title that gamers expect to come from Japan. You control the destiny of a faceless salaryman named Mr. Susumu (Japanese for "forward" or "continue") using only a single button press to help him navigate obstacles as he runs...

  • Talking Point Are Rereleases Killing the Retro Market?

    We sink our teeth into plummeting retro prices

    MTV Multiplayer recently published an article detailing the decline in value of sought-after videogame classics after their rerelease on download platforms such as Virtual Console and Xbox Live Arcade. While it chronicles mainly high- profile games such as Marvel vs. Capcom 2; it’s the Nintendo...

December2009

  • Review Me and My Dogs: Friends Forever (DSiWare)

    Pure bred or pure mutt?

    Me and My Dogs: Friends Forever is a curious title: it's unashamed of its Nintendogs roots, but rather than simply following the leader of the pack it earnestly tries to make its own mark. It's a virtual pet sim, focused on raising a small pack of puppies and training them for various competitions. The game is set in a small...

  • Review The Magic Obelisk (WiiWare)

    Running in the shadows

    Whilst most of us would imagine that plants like being in sunlight so they can thrive, the tree spirit Lukus in The Magic Obelisk needs to stay in shadows. That's because he's on a big journey trying to find the right spot to lay down roots. Helping him stay in the shadows until he finds that special place is Popo, the light...

  • Review Glow Artisan (DSiWare)

    Puzzle fans will take a shine to this one.

    Proudly located in the Big Apple, Powerhead Games is an independent game developing company that previously focused their talents on licensed titles published by bigger companies, including games under the Catz, Trollz, Mary Kate and Ashley, and Winx Club names. They pitched their very first original game...

  • Review Arcade Hoops Basketball (DSiWare)

    Flick and swish

    Arcade Hoops Basketball is a simple beast. Odds are you've played it's real-life counterpart before, too. No, not basketball. Have you been to a fair? Theme park? Arcade? Large movie theater? It's the one where you have to chuck a ball through the hoop as many times as possible before time runs out and you may or may not win a cheap...

  • News Zelda Reorchestrated's Ocarina of Time Album Cleaned Up and Ready to Go

    Old and improved!

    Soundtracks as good as The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time's are few and far between. Now over a decade old, those sweeping symphonics sound, on a technical level, a bit aged thanks to the N64's compressed cartridge medium. Good thing the series has a very talented fanbase with groups like ZREO then, who painstakingly...

  • Review Sudoku Sensei (DSiWare)

    Beginners beware

    This past summer, sudoku-holics were blessed with Hudson's Sudoku Student and Sudoku Master, which brought hand-crafted puzzles straight from Nikoli to the DSi Shop. However, where Student was for beginners and Master had a little bit of something for everyone, Sensei brings the pain with 100 of Nikoli's hardest puzzles to tantalize...

  • Review Castlevania The Adventure ReBirth (WiiWare)

    Vampire killing with a nostalgic twist!

    We've already seen Konami resurrect two of their most popular gaming franchises with WiiWare’s Gradius and Contra ReBirth, so it comes as no real surprise to see them giving the same treatment to yet another much-loved classic series: Castlevania: The Adventure ReBirth. Despite its title, this actually has...

  • News David Jaffe Inspired by Zelda

    God of War producer would like to re-design his flagship series with more “Zelda 64” elements

    David Jaffe, producer of the hit PlayStation-exclusive series God of War has revealed on his Twitter account that if he were to remake the series now he would like to include more elements inspired by “Zelda 64.” If I were to do GOW now, I would do...

  • Review The Mystery of Whiterock Castle (WiiWare)

    Can you solve the mystery?

    With a solid sim offering on the Wii behind them, Keen Games have decided to use a similar setting to Anno: Create a New World for their first self-published WiiWare title, The Mystery of Whiterock Castle: a good-looking "find the hidden object" game that should provide entertainment for the whole family. The...

  • Review Jambo! Safari (DS)

    Sega’s African adventure bagged and tagged.

    Jambo! Safari: Animal Rescue is a bold attempt at converting the popular Arcade title to something more palatable for the home audience. Quite obviously aimed at younger gamers, this conversion basically boils down to a few veterinary minigames tacked on to the central animal-wrangling gameplay sections...

  • News Zelda Producer Could Use More Crossbow Training Action

    Wanted to "intensify the multiplayer" in sequel

    One of the upsides of buying a Wii Zapper, besides being a nice +1 to your collection of somewhat useless bits of plastic, was getting your hands on Link's Crossbow Training. We daresay that was the only reason a lot of people bought the peripheral [cough -Ed.] as Link is as powerful an endorsement to...

  • Review Hot and Cold: A 3D Hidden Object Adventure (DSiWare)

    Will it light your fire or stink on ice?

    "Find the Hidden Object" games used to be the realm of books and magazine puzzles, but recently computer and video game versions have become more and more popular. This past Monday Majesco Entertainment made their DSi Shop debut with Hot and Cold: A 3D Hidden Object Adventure, where they take the...

  • Review Puzzle Series 2: Illust Logic + Colourful Logic (Wii)

    We just died and went to picross heaven...

    Nonograms (you may recognise them by the Nintendo trademark "Picross") are relatively recent to the puzzle world, first appearing in Japanese puzzle magazines in the late 1980s. Nintendo quickly popularised them by publishing titles for Game Boy and the Super Famicom and have continued to do so...

  • Review Batman Returns (Super Nintendo)

    Merry Christmas, Mr. Wayne

    The release of Batman Returns was perfectly timed at the peak of Konami's SNES development and during a high point in Batman movie history. The festive feel of the game was slightly out of sync with its Spring '93 release date, but it was completely fitting in regard to the source material. Konami had already mastered a...

  • Review TV Show King 2 (WiiWare)

    A significant improvement over a trivial predecessor.

    One of the very first Wiiware titles at launch gets a much-needed sequel in TV Show King 2. The original was a decent trivia vehicle that we thought was okay, if somewhat overpriced for what it offered. There was so much room for improvement that we were glad this got a second chance. But is...

  • Review High Stakes Texas Hold'em (DSiWare)

    No more, no less

    With the influx of card and parlor game adaptations hitting DSiWare, it’s odd to see that poker, arguably the most popular competitive card game in town, is so underrepresented. Seeing this gap, Hudson has leaped in with High Stakes Texas Hold ‘Em, doing exactly what it says on the tin. The whole package couldn’t be more...

  • Review Dragon's Lair (DSiWare)

    Dragon slaying for people on the go!

    In 1983, former Disney animator Don Bluth decided to create a video game using his stunning animation talents. Instead of the regular sprite-based games normally found in arcades, Dragon's Lair created a vivid world through some of the best animation of the time. Of course in order to store all of this animation,...

  • Review Hasbro Family Game Night (DS)

    Family Game Delight?

    Connect 4, Operation, Battleship and Bop It – games that have become household names with which we are all familiar. Translating Battleship and Connect 4 into digital versions for the Nintendo DS was always going to be an easy task; the challenge for EA was to digitize Operation and Bop It to try and emulate the success of...

  • Review A Little Bit of... Magic Made Fun: Psychic Camera (DSiWare)

    It doesn't take a psychic to figure out this isn't worth your time.

    Although Nintendo started off by releasing a few tricks directly taken from the retail game Master of Illusion/Magic Made Fun, they've also developed a few new ones that take advantage of the DSi's single big new feature — the camera. This particular trick will allow you to take a...

  • Review Eco Shooter: Plant 530 (WiiWare)

    A shooter with can-do attitude!

    Without question, lightgun games have become a Wii staple. Between standalone disc releases, original WiiWare titles and mini-game compilations you've really got your pick when it comes to games you can play whilst pretending your remote is a gun. Now developer Intelligent Systems, of Fire Emblem and WarioWare fame,...

  • Review Outlaw Golf (GameCube)

    It may not feature Tiger Woods, but it does let you beat up golfers with golf clubs.

    With the advent of the Wii Remote and Wii MotionPlus, older golf games may seem obsolete by comparison, but a few exceptions are still worth checking out for the extra content they bring besides just golf. One such exception is Outlaw Golf with its irreverent take...

  • Podcast NLFM Episode 2 - Holiday Spectacular Spectacular

    Cheer or bust!

    Welcome to another handsome episode of NLFM, the chip and game music podcast from Nintendo Life. This month we succumb to the holiday spirit and explore the seasonal chip music landscape in this holiday spectacular spectacular! NLFM will generally focus on music from games playable on Nintendo consoles and handhelds, which, thanks to...

  • Review Eat! Fat! FIGHT! (WiiWare)

    Sumo-riffic!

    It has been more than 20 years since Tecmo released the first sumo video game on the Famicom, so whilst this goofily named WiiWare update (we guess the original Japanese "Tsuppari Big Sumo Wii Stable" didn't have enough pizzazz) seems a bit overdue, it has most certainly been worth the wait. Your life as a sumo starts when you...

  • Review Crossword Collection (DS)

    Cryp-ticks all the right boxes.

    It's very rare for Nintendo to be beaten to the punch by other developers, but some of their recent DS releases certainly seem to be playing catch-up to the wealth of third-party support on the machine. Style Boutique (known as Style Savvy in the US) resembles any number of other titles, and now with Nintendo...

  • Review Space Manbow (Virtual Console / MSX)

    Old school shooting fun on the PC standard that wasn't.

    Don't feel bad if you've never heard of the MSX. It was an early-80s Microsoft-driven initiative to create a hardware standard for home computers to transform software development in the same way that the VHS standard transformed home video: by removing the need to develop for multiple hardware...

  • Review Starship Patrol (DSiWare)

    Q Games has another hit on its hands.

    Tower defence games haven't exactly been a popular genre for long, but they're already starting to become boring to most. After all, fending off endless waves of enemies by strategically placing turrets is fun the first time, but any more than that and it might start to get annoying quite quickly. With Starship...

  • Review Sunset Riders (Super Nintendo)

    Bury me with my SNES

    Just for a moment, cast your thoughts towards Saturday matinee Western films and reel in all of their imagery of the Old West. Picture in your minds the characters deftly dodging stampeding cattle, guiding their trusty steed as it gallops alongside a runaway train, chasing down a stagecoach, gun fighting in uncouth taverns and...

  • Review Miami Nights: Life in the Spotlight (DSiWare)

    If only fame were this easy

    Sometimes a game’s theme song tells you everything you need to know about what you’re about to get yourself into. For Gameloft’s Miami Nights: Life in the Spotlight, it’s a circa-1996 MIDI instrumental tune that sounds suspiciously like Reel 2 Reel’s “I Like To Move It,” a senseless dance song so shallow...

  • Review Silent Hill: Shattered Memories (Wii)

    Hill hath frozen over

    Harry Mason is not having a good day. After crashing his car in a freak snowstorm, he wakes up to find his daughter missing with nary a trace. Determined to find her, Harry sets out into the night with a flashlight to explore the town of Silent Hill in this reimagining of the series’ original entry. Yes, reimagining, not...

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