Reviews

3DS eShop Game Reviews

  • Review Kung Fu Rabbit (3DS eShop)

    Kung Fu-cious says hop

    Today’s games industry has become infamous for its endless copycat efforts and yearly sequels, which tend to stick to a very specific template and only offer a modicum of improvement. Nevertheless, while it’s easy for us to call out these games for their lack of innovation (only for us to all then go and buy them anyway),...

  • Review Weapon Shop De Omasse (3DS eShop)

    Well-crafted

    Remember the Guild01 series from all the way back in late 2012? Of course you do. It’s the little eShop series that could. Defying all expectations, the Guild games jumped the pond from Japan and landed securely on the Western 3DS eShop stores, providing three indie games that span a variety of genres. The success of the original...

  • Review Super Mario Bros. Deluxe (3DS eShop / GBC)

    Super Small Screen Bros.

    Especially in recent years, we've seen Super Mario Bros. re-released a ton, but back in 1999 it had been a number of years since the last release, Super Mario All-Stars. As such, Nintendo decided to port the original game to Game Boy Color and add some interesting new features at the same time. Naturally, at its core, this...

  • Review The Mysterious Cities of Gold: Secret Paths (3DS eShop)

    Just golden

    When a cartoon series receives a download-only spin-off, with localisation that's crowdfunded, it's only natural to sound a klaxon of caution. Both scenarios apply to The Mysterious Cities of Gold: Secret Paths, yet it's a pleasing tale of fulfilled expectations; it may not blow many minds, but we'll say early on that it fulfils its...

  • Review Renegade (3DS eShop / NES)

    Crime doesn't pay

    The company known as Technos might be best known for creating Double Dragon and River City Ransom, but before coming up with either of its two big hits, it made a number of lesser known titles — of which perhaps Renegade is the most well-known. Renegade is actually the first game in the Kunio-kun series, which River City Ransom...

  • Review Tappingo (3DS eShop)

    Pixel-by-numbers

    Tappingo is a game for those who enjoy methodically teasing order out of an apparent mess. Really. When you begin one of the 100+ puzzles, the upper screen that displays your goal in progress looks like an NES sneezed on it. Yet by working out the numbered blocks on the grid below, colours and form fill in until you’re rewarded...

  • Review Quell Reflect (3DS eShop)

    A rainy day delight

    Puzzle games are masters of covert time consumption. Some, like Tetris, keep players on their toes with an unrelenting pace and an addictive “one more try” appeal. Others, instead, offer a calmer, more contemplative experience, letting the player move at his or her own pace as they descend into the logic and rules of the...

  • Review Sky Kid (3DS eShop / NES)

    Heavy Weather

    An arcade force to be reckoned with, Namco graced the Famicom and NES with impressive cartridge conversions of quite a few of its enduring coin-op classics. From Dig Dug and Pac-Man to Galaga and Xevious, Nintendo's console quickly amassed a collection of A-list arcade hits, and — along with the heavy hitters and household names —...

  • Review Steel Diver: Sub Wars (3DS eShop)

    Dive right in

    Nintendo has been working on a game to enter the free-to-play market for a fair amount of time, announcing last year than an early experiment with the idea would involve the Steel Diver series. The basic concept has been a game that is free to download and partially play, but requires you to pay a little extra if you want to unlock all...

  • Review Spot the Differences! (3DS eShop)

    Spot the exit sign and run

    There is nothing wrong with simple games on the eShop; players have demonstrated through iOS and Android that quick, fun bursts of creative gameplay can work wonderfully. Unfortunately, Bigben Interactive's Spot the Differences! crosses the line from simple to empty. While it works in the most rudimentary of ways — you...

  • Review AeternoBlade (3DS eShop)

    Meh-ternoBlade

    It may have taken a bit longer than anyone expected, but AeternoBlade has finally ventured beyond Japan and to reach both North American and European markets. The game was nearing completion back in June of last year, but developer Corecell Technology didn’t have the necessary funding to move along with the localization process,...

  • Review Touch Battle Tank 3D 2 (3DS eShop)

    Two of the same

    Ideally, a video game sequel should feature everything that worked about the first game and expand and improve upon it so that the the new entry doesn't feel like an expansion pack. Unfortunately, there was very little that worked about Agetec's Touch Battle Tank 3D, and Touch Battle Tank 3D 2 is basically more of the same. With the...

  • Review Castle Clout 3D (3DS eShop)

    Regal rebellion

    Long before the modern age of mobile gaming and pocket-handy computers that we refer to as "smartphones," poor, lowly players would flock to the Internet in order to get their cheap gaming fix. In this era that time has forgotten, those seeking digital entertainment would subject themselves to monstrosities known as "Flash games,"...

  • Review Retro City Rampage: DX (3DS eShop)

    A Blast From the Recent Past

    About one year ago, Vblank Entertainment released Retro City Rampage on WiiWare. While it had also been released in other forms, it served as a notable last breath for Nintendo's first serious digital marketplace. It was a solid game that we enjoyed with some reservations, but the developers made no secret about the...

  • Review ARC STYLE: Solitaire (3DS eShop)

    Forever alone

    If you've ever had a) a computer, b) a deck of cards, or c) a grandmother, then the odds are good that you've had some exposure to Solitaire. At a relatively low-price point, ARC STYLE: Solitaire aims to bring that hot solo card-arranging action to the 3DS eShop. We would have thought that such a simple game in combination with a touch...

  • Review Mario Bros. (3DS eShop / NES)

    Subpar Mario

    Mario and Luigi’s adventures have been nothing short of fantastical over the years, to the point where you could be forgiven for questioning their occupations as plumbers. But despite the brothers’ incredibly varied employment history as doctors, sportsmen and racing drivers — in which they’ve rarely called upon their supposed...

  • Review Brilliant Hamsters! (3DS eShop)

    Not quite brilliant

    Nintendo revived the pet simulation genre with its hit Nintendogs series, and since then there have been plenty of other pet sims hoping to catch the animal-loving gamers' hearts. Bergsala Lightweight's eShop title Brilliant Hamsters! is a competently crafted pet simulator that simply doesn't present enough variety to sustain...

  • Review Castlevania II: Simon's Quest (3DS eShop / NES)

    What a horrible night to play this game

    Sequels of the present day are almost an inevitability; a safe way for a developer to earn some extra revenue by expanding their previous game, slightly tweaking gameplay nuances and throwing in additional levels and enemies. However, in the late '80s, things were different – sequels could vary wildly from...

  • Review Chibi-Robo! Photo Finder (3DS eShop)

    Photogenic or photobombed?

    Explaining the attraction of the Chibi-Robo series to the uninitiated isn't the easiest task. While the idea of a helpful little robot may be charming enough, it's the activities he takes part in — which, on the surface, might sound like little more than virtual chores — that are sure to scare away many a gamer. What...

  • Review Super Mario Bros. 3 (3DS eShop / NES)

    Pixel-perfect platforming

    Many old-school Nintendo titles are remembered fondly and adored by nostalgic fans; The Legend of Zelda, Metroid, Kirby’s Adventure and more still receive heaps of praise and see frequent re-releases to this day. Few games, however, received the unanimous commendations lavished upon Super Mario Bros. 3 on its release, an...

  • Review Double Dragon (3DS eShop / NES)

    Dragon us down

    From the moment protagonist Billy Lee’s sweetheart is sucker-punched in the opening sequence, Double Dragon establishes itself as an action-packed, thrilling battle through hordes of enemy combatants in an attempt to reclaim the captured damsel. As soon as gameplay begins, however, this façade is quickly stripped away to reveal an...

  • Review Life Force (3DS eShop / NES)

    A force to be reckoned with

    The space shooter is a genre that has somewhat faded into obscurity in recent years, both due to advances in technology rendering their limited scope obsolete and their typically gruelling difficulty proving unpalatable to some gamers. The NES port of Life Force, (or Salamander, as it was originally known on Eastern...

  • Review Cubit The Hardcore Platformer Robot (3DS eShop)

    What’s in a name?

    We're often told that it’s not safe to judge a book by its cover. The adventures and perils that lie within those pages can often be very different than what is offered up by the image imprinted on a book's front, but we all do it anyway. Marketers and publishers know that we're drawn to book covers; it's the first thing that...

  • Review EDGE (3DS eShop)

    A different side of the same cube

    We are already big fans of EDGE on the Wii U eShop, a release in which it was one-third of the Two Tribes Classics trilogy. Its arrival on the 3DS is as a solo flyer, and perhaps on a screen size that'll be more familiar to veterans of the mobigame title that Two Tribes has so effectively promoted to gamers of all...

  • Review Bird Mania Christmas (3DS eShop)

    Making holiday travel fun

    We loved Bird Mania 3D. Its superficial simplicity hid a surprising gem of a game that sunk its talons into us and never let go; news of Bird Mania Christmas, as you might expect, got us very excited indeed. The fact that it missed release in time for the holiday is unfortunate, but the game itself is no worse for the...

  • Review Banana Bliss: Jungle Puzzles (3DS eShop)

    A jungle trek that won't break the bank

    Simplicity isn't always a bad thing. Handheld titles are inherently more limited in technical scope than their more advanced home console contemporaries, but that doesn't necessarily make them lesser games. The 3DS eShop has had no shortage of downloadable beauties in 2013, ranging from simple to sublime, and...

  • Review Life with Horses 3D (3DS eShop)

    Say neigh

    Horses are magnificent creatures. Whether humble labourers or prize-winning performers, each is a complex creature that can be both challenging and rewarding to care for and understand. Life with Horses 3D manages to portray the aspect of hard work in raising horses, but puts the whole “rewarding” part out to pasture. Players in the...

  • Review Crash 'n the Boys: Street Challenge (3DS eShop / NES)

    Challenge accepted

    What do you get when you combine the River City Ransom theme with Track and Field-style gameplay? You get Crash 'n the Boys: Street Challenge. The game takes the street gang theme and creates some fitting Olympic-style events to go along with it. It sounds like a mouth-watering proposition, but sadly while the unique urban...

  • Review My Style Studio: Hair Salon (3DS eShop)

    Crimped style

    Remember that toy where you used a magnetic wand to move iron filings over a drawing of a guy’s head, creating hair, moustaches, and eyebrows? My Style Studio: Hair Salon feels a bit like that, except with less personality and sense of joy. The Hair Salon does offer you more options, in certain ways. There are five “customers”...

  • Review Jump Trials Supreme (3DS eShop)

    Might as well jump!

    On DSiWare, G-Style's Jump Trials games followed in the fleet footsteps of 10 Second Run, providing short bursts of one-track, one-button gameplay with no fuss and few frills; if Super Mario Bros. is an epic platforming poem, Jump Trials is a list of words that rhyme with "cat". There's certainly a place for the simpler things in...