3DS eShop Game Reviews
Review Star Soldier (3DS eShop / NES)
I got soul, but I'm not the best Star Soldier
We may as well stop playing games en masse right now, because we all suck. That may sound harsh, but this 3DS eShop release of Hudson Soft’s vertically scrolling NES shoot-em-‘up will either make or break you. Unfortunately, if you play Star Soldier on the smaller screen of an original 3DS, the tiny...
Review Donkey Kong (3DS eShop / NES)
It's on like Donkey Kong
This year marked the 30th anniversary of the initial Japanese launch of the Nintendo Family Computer, more popularly known around the world as the Famicom. Among the landmark console’s launch titles was Donkey Kong, a port of the arcade hit that began Nintendo’s launch into video game history. Now, in the year of the...
Review Family Kart 3D (3DS eShop)
A familiar feeling
Fresh off the court from the surprisingly fun Family Tennis 3D, the world's most competitive family returns to the 3DS eShop to hit the racetrack in Family Kart 3D. Developed by Arc System Works - yes, they of Guilty Gear and BlazBlue fame - this is a simple, straightforward kart racer that fails to stand out from the crowd, but...
Review Tangram Style (3DS eShop)
Lots of tangram, not much style
The game of tangram has made the long journey from ancient China to your 21st century 3DS, and despite roughly one thousand years of technological improvement it’s still pretty much the same thing. Seven pieces of varying sizes and shapes must be crammed into a crude silhouette that may resemble a bird, a sailboat,...
Review SteamWorld Dig (3DS eShop)
A gem to discover
At its best, the 3DS eShop is host to titles with a simple, well-formed idea that's executed with care and skill. SteamWorld Dig, the second in the SteamWorld franchise from developer Image & Form, fits into that mould, incorporating puzzle platforming mechanics within a continuous process of digging and resource management...
Review Smash Bowling 3D (3DS eShop)
Bumpier bowling
Smash Bowling 3D, the latest from Big Bass Arcade developer Big John Games, feels like a proof-of-concept for a potentially great bowling game. While the bowling simulation is fun while it lasts, the bare bones presentation and lack of variety in game modes ultimately bring down the experience. Big John Games has touted Smash Bowling...
Review 10-in-1: Arcade Collection (3DS eShop)
Is it worth your hard-earned quarters?
Retro enthusiasts may be disappointed to learn that 10-in-1 Arcade Collection doesn't actually include any arcade greats of yesteryear. Luck would have it that Atari — despite decades of financial turmoil and even bankruptcy — still holds the rights to most of its impressive back catalogue. It's a similar...
Review River City Ransom (3DS eShop / NES)
BARF!
River City Ransom — or Street Gangs as it was known upon release in Europe — is arguably one of the most famous fighting titles for Nintendo's 8-bit NES console. Ported from the Japanese Famicom title Downtown Nekketsu Monogatari, the game combined the pugilistic focus of Double Dragon (which was created by the same company, Technōs...
Review Bike Rider DX (3DS eShop)
Smooth Ride
Bike Rider DX doesn't have much in the way of exposition. It looks like a simple game, and it is: players guide a constantly-advancing cyclist through different stages, using a single button to jump over obstacles, pitfalls, and enemies on the way to the goal. This certainly isn't a new idea, but it wraps it up in a polished package...
Review Chain Blaster (3DS eShop)
Blastin’ makes me feel good
It’s been just over a month since G.Rev’s Kokuga hit the 3DS eShop, and now we’re already being treated to another shoot ‘em up with the release of G-Style’s Chain Blaster. Though shoot ‘em ups have been few and far between since the home console took over the industry and put countless arcades out of...
Review Undead Bowling (3DS eShop)
Bowl or be killed
Undead Bowling isn’t the typical ten frames of bowling that you’re used to. There are no spares or strikes, no gutters or pins, and no fungus-laden shoes or hairstyles leftover from the '70s – but you do knock things down with a bowling ball…a bowling ball of doom, that is. And actually, “knock” isn’t an appropriate...
Review Shantae (3DS eShop / GBC)
Whip ya hair
Just over 11 years since its original release in 2002, Shantae has finally made it onto the 3DS Virtual Console – and it's the first time that it's been available in Europe too. Despite the long wait, WayForward's tricky 2D platformer is sprinkled with enough genie-magic to keep it fresh and interesting for a modern audience. Shantae...
Review Robot Rescue 3D (3DS eShop)
Are these the droids you're looking for?
After two games on the DSiWare service, Teyon's Robot Rescue series, famous for fiendishly difficult maze puzzles and a unique synchronized movement mechanic, has made the jump to the 3DS eShop with this latest instalment, Robot Rescue 3D. Rather than an entirely new entry in the series, Robot Rescue 3D is a...
A fowl business
Both DSiWare and the 3DS eShop have seen their share of sim games, managing a variety of businesses, creatures and a combination of both. My Farm 3D is the latest in a series that delivered a few budget priced options on DSiWare, some playing it straight and others being more off-the-wall. Aside from the odd quirky moment this latest...
Review Attack of the Friday Monsters! A Tokyo Tale (3DS eShop)
Pacific Rim meets The Goonies
Level-5 saved the best for last in its final Guild02 release with Attack of the Friday Monsters! A Tokyo Tale. Designed by Kaz Ayabe, this is a short, very sweet interactive story about a little boy who lives in a small town where mysterious monsters appear on Friday afternoons. The game takes place in rural Tokyo in...
Review Spelunker (3DS eShop / NES)
Go back to your cave and stay there
Ask a few western gamers about Spelunker and it's likely that barely any of them will have heard of the game, despite it being originally developed by an American company. Ask Japanese gamers, though, and it's a completely different story — the game is very well known to them and is joked about online all the...
Review Super Mario Bros. 2 (3DS eShop / NES)
Sweet dreams are made of these
By now we all know the story of Super Mario Bros. 2: concerns about the Japanese sequel to the original Super Mario Bros. kept it from release in North America and Europe. Different reasons have been given over time, from the game being too difficult to it simply not demonstrating enough creativity to keep gamers...
Review Deer Hunting King (3DS eShop)
Oh, dear
Is there something about the 3DS that screams out to developers that it just might be the ideal platform for arcade shooters? Maybe it’s the 3D effect that adds simulated depth to in-game environments, or maybe it’s the touchscreen which is seemingly built for aiming a crosshair? Whatever the case may be, the 3DS has seen at least a...
Review Sonic Drift 2 (3DS eShop / GG)
Super Sonic Racing
Quite a few video game mascots got swept up in the kart racing craze of the 90's, and the world's fastest hedgehog was no exception. Sonic and racing have always seemed like a good fit, and after the success of Super Mario Kart in 1992, SEGA gave the Blue Blur some well-deserved time on the track with Sonic Drift for the Game...
Review G-LOC: Air Battle (3DS eShop / GG)
Crash and burn
Around its initial release in the early '90s, Sega launched G-LOC: Air Battle in several different forms, including an arcade cabinet, a Mega Drive port, and eventually crash-landing it on the portable Game Gear console. The series has been mostly absent since then, finally popping back up on the 3DS’s Virtual Console service. Some...
Review Fishdom H2O: Hidden Odyssey (3DS eShop)
Submerged in familiarity
If you’ve never been exposed to a hidden object game before, the concept is as simple to understand as a youthful game of I spy or finding Waldo hidden within the pages of a Where’s Waldo? book. Imagine your bedroom is contained in a snow globe. Someone takes it, shakes it for a minute or two, sets it down, and at that...
Review Vampire: Master of Darkness (3DS eShop / GG)
Out for the count
Given its gothic setting, focus on melee combat and inclusion of Dracula as the final boss, it’s little wonder that Vampire: Master of Darkness was compared to the famous Castlevania series when it launched on the Master System and Game Gear back in the early ‘90s. Developed by SIMS — which at the time was a second-party Sega...
Review Crystal Warriors (3DS eShop / GG)
Curiously characterless
One of the Game Gear's earliest RPG titles, Crystal Warriors tries to cherry-pick the best elements of genre classics like Fire Emblem and Shining Force while throwing its own element-driven combat system into the mix, along with the ability to tame monsters and use them in battle. Despite these attempts to do something fresh...
Review Urban Trial Freestyle (3DS eShop)
Dropping in for a good time
What is Urban Trial Freestyle? The best way we can think to describe it would be a physics-based platformer – any of you familiar with the Trials series on XBLA should know what to expect here. Think of a 2D sidescroller like Mario, but instead of running around, you’re on a bike, zipping in-and-out of ramps and onto...
Challenge accepted
There is so much that can be said about the legacy that Kokuga brings with it to the 3DS. We can talk about the illustrious Hiroshi Iuchi, and how his work is seminal is shaping the modern shoot ‘em up genre, or we can talk about Ikaruga, the under-sold yet much adored bullet hell shooter that fans will remember fondly. Instead...
Review Aqua Moto Racing 3D (3DS eShop)
Choppy waters
When Zordix announced that it was bringing a smartphone jet-ski title to the 3DS eShop with Aqua Moto Racing 3D, we suspect that quite a few people immediately let their minds drift to certain iconic Nintendo 64 and GameCube games, and applied those expectations to this download title. That would be unfair, but this release still tries...
Review Sonic the Hedgehog 2 (3DS eShop / GG)
Saving your Tails
A year after the runaway success of Sonic the Hedgehog in 1991, SEGA followed up with a sequel that introduced Miles 'Tails' Prower and the iconic Casino Night Zone to the gaming world. This, however, is not that sequel. Rather than leaving its Master System and Game Gear-owning fans with a simple, downsized port of Sonic the...
Review BUGS vs. TANKS! (3DS eShop)
Repellant
The Guild01 series brought 3DS owners three completely different, off-the-wall, and well-received games. The second iteration of this series, appropriately named Guild02, is already off to another fantastic start with the recent release of The Starship Damrey, a story-heavy science fiction adventure. Now, we’re lucky enough to experience...
Review Farming Simulator 3D (3DS eShop)
A field of dreams or a load of crop?
Say it with us…Farm-ing Sim-u-la-tor. How does that make you feel? Are you intrigued, or does it sound about as fun as, well, an exhausting day of work on the farm? If you’re questioning whether you’d personally find enjoyment in a game like this, then you should probably keep on truckin’. However, if the...
Review Gabrielle's Ghostly Groove Mini (3DS eShop)
A lot less gabby
We at Nintendo Life have enjoyed the various Gabrielle's Ghostly Groove games, but so far we've tended to like them more for their charm and visual appeal than for their gameplay or for anything they do particularly well. This is a trend that goes back to the WiiWare incarnation of the series, Gabrielle's Ghostly Groove: Monster...
