Reviews

3DS eShop Game Reviews

  • Review SpeedThru: Potzol's Puzzle (3DS eShop)

    Spinning out of control

    Back in 2010, Nintendo published an amusing little WiiWare title called ThruSpace, a game which at its very core simply involved flipping, turning and moving a block around in order to fit through gaps in walls. KeysFactory, the developer responsible for that title, has now created SpeedThru: Potzol's Puzzle — known as...

  • Review Arc Style: Soccer!! 3D (3DS eShop)

    Like real soccer, it's better with friends

    Hoping against hope to sweep the award for most cumbersomely titled game in the eShop, Arc Style: Soccer!! 3D is here, and it's brought with it a slew of impressive options for customisation. Unfortunately, the gameplay seems to have been sacrificed on their behalf. As with just about any sports game, Arc...

  • Review Dr. Mario (3DS eShop / GB)

    The doctor’s out

    If there’s one thing the 3DS eShop has plenty of, it’s puzzle games. It’s a genre that's always been commonplace on Nintendo handhelds, with Tetris probably the best known example. It’s hardly surprising that Nintendo’s mascot extraordinaire, Mario, invaded Game Boy with his own puzzle title, Dr. Mario. Does it make us...

  • Review Zombie Slayer Diox (3DS eShop)

    Dead to us

    It's too late. The zombie apocalypse has not only begun, it's already over. The zombies have won, and there are few — if any — survivors other than Diox, who continues to roam the streets, slashing away at the undead with his guitar. Diox is on a mission: if he can find the magical amp, he just might be able to destroy all the...

  • Review Dragon Crystal (3DS eShop / GG)

    Manageable masochism

    For a system known for its incredible appetite for AA batteries, the Game Gear makes quite a strange home for the hardcore, permadeath-filled roguelike Dragon Crystal. With absolutely no save option or password system, the game must have caused some incredible bouts of rage when those last spurts of juice ran out. Dragon Crystal...

  • Review Sonic the Hedgehog: Triple Trouble (3DS eShop / GG)

    Need for speed

    While SEGA's Sonic the Hedgehog series pulled in monstrous sales on the Mega Drive/Genesis, many gamers aren't aware that Sonic also enjoyed a number of releases on the Master System and Game Gear. Sonic Triple Trouble is the follow-up to Sonic Chaos and while the game still suffered from the hardware limitations of the Game Gear's...

  • Review Shinobi (3DS eShop / GG)

    On-the-go ninja, go ninja, go.

    The Shinobi series has been sneaking about the gaming world for over two decades, and the 1987 original arcade entry remains a classic to this day. The 1991 Game Gear instalment — also called Shinobi — has now infiltrated the 3DS eShop, and we're happy to say that it's aged better than we would have expected. You...

  • Review Fun! Fun! Minigolf TOUCH! (3DS eShop)

    Put some putt in your strut

    The second 3D golf title to hit the eShop, Fun! Fun! Minigolf TOUCH! offers a miniaturized approach compared to its counterpart Let’s Golf! 3D, but promises at least three times the level of exclamation points. A close cousin to the pricier WiiWare game Fun! Fun! Minigolf, this title delivers short, simple courses...

  • Review Kid Icarus: Of Myths and Monsters (3DS eShop / GB)

    Heavenly

    When the original Kid Icarus hit the NES, many gamers weren't sure exactly what to think of it. For starters the game's protagonist was a cute little winged angel (at least we thought so) who ran around shooting tiny arrows at mythological enemies. Of course it didn't help matters that the game was released around the same time Nintendo's...

  • Review Punch-Out!! Featuring Mr. Dream (3DS eShop / NES)

    Dreamy

    With ten NES titles originally released on the 3DS for Ambassadors only, it wasn't much of a stretch to expect the first ten put up for sale to be the same games. But we've already received a title that actually wasn't part of the Ambassador batch, and Nintendo has picked one of the best possible games. Originally released in 1987,...

  • Review Metroid (3DS eShop / NES)

    The classic that inspired so many still holds up today

    The NES section of the 3DS's Virtual Console expands by another notch with the addition of Metroid, regarded by many as one of the best entries that amazing series has to offer. The great news is that it's every bit as wonderful as you remember; the bad news is that it's no more interested in...

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

    Yet another way to experience a masterpiece

    Mario. Say it loud and there's music playing. Say it soft, and it's almost like praying. Super Mario Bros. was, is, and will always be one of gaming's great masterpieces, and its availability on any additional format is a good thing. Now it's come to the 3DS Virtual Console, and we couldn't be happier. For...

  • Review Dillon's Rolling Western (3DSWare)

    On a roll

    After an initial launch period when the 3DS eShop was struggling for exclusive software, it’s now gaining genuine momentum. As well as some excellent third-party efforts, Nintendo itself has jumped into the fray with its latest title, Dillon’s Rolling Western, arriving to some fanfare. This title continues the trend set by Pullblox,...

  • Review Wario Land: Super Mario Land 3 (3DS eShop / GB)

    Third time’s a charm?

    While Nintendo kept things fairly standard with the first two Super Mario Land releases, it obviously decided to make some changes when it got ready to create this third title in the series on Game Boy. Instead of featuring Mario, it decided to give players a chance to shake things up and take on the role of its newest bad...

  • Review Kirby's Block Ball (3DS eShop / GB)

    Ball breaker

    Outside of the popular platformers for which he was first known, Nintendo is always more than happy to take advantage of Kirby’s robust, rotund appearance for spin-offs. In the past the happy little chap has been flipped and lobbed about in Kirby’s Pinball Land and abused with golf clubs in Kirby’s Dream Course. It was never a...

  • Review Maru's Mission (3DS eShop / GB)

    Mission: Unbearable

    Several months ago, the eShop saw the release of Avenging Spirit, a gleefully eccentric title that made us all sorry we missed it the first time around. Lightning doesn't strike twice for Jaleco with Maru's Mission, however, as this time the publisher has dusted off a forgotten title that really should have stayed that way. The...

  • Review Sakura Samurai: Art of the Sword (3DSWare)

    Patience, young grasshopper

    We're only a month into 2012 and the eShop's offerings this year are already weighted heavily with samurai-themed games. In truth, the two couldn't be more different: whereas UFO Interactive's Samurai Sword Destiny favours the straightforward button-mashing approach, Nintendo's own Sakura Samurai: Art of the Sword puts...

  • Review Prince of Persia (3DS eShop / GBC)

    Lowly servant of Persia

    There's no question the original Prince of Persia is a classic game, with its iconic realistic movements, precision platforming and time limit. It's been ported to many, many platforms over the years, but does this handheld version hold up as well as other versions? In the transition to Game Boy Color, most of the game has...

  • Review Mutant Mudds (3DSWare)

    Here's Mudd in your eye

    Mutant Mudds started out as a 3D polygonal platformer called Maximillian and the Rise of the Mutant Mudds intended as a retail title for the DS. Sadly, this retail release and a pitched DSiWare rendition never got off the ground. Not ones to let a good concept die, Renegade Kid instead decided to morph and move the project...

  • Review Fire Emblem: The Sacred Stones (3DS eShop / GBA)

    Once more, to arms!

    For such a long-running series, it's hard to believe Fire Emblem: The Sacred Stones was only the second game to leave Japan after GBA predecessor Fire Emblem. Since then the series has had a far bigger presence in the West, a fact underlined by Sacred Stones' status as a 3DS Ambassador title. If Sacred Stones is your first Fire...

  • Review Super Mario Advance 3: Yoshi's Island (3DS eShop / GBA)

    Drawing you in

    Super Mario Advance 3: Yoshi’s Island joined a Nintendo tradition of re-releasing classic titles for a new audience. Bringing an iconic Super Nintendo platformer to the Game Boy Advance seemed perfectly apt, with the handheld more than capable of 16-bit standard visuals. The question remains, is this port worth playing today?...

  • Review Trip World (3DS eShop / GB)

    Bad trip?

    Sunsoft made a ton of great games for Nintendo systems back in the day. Everybody knows the likes of Blaster Master and the NES Batman game, but they also had a ton of equally great games which people simply didn't find out about. We've already had some, like Ufouria: The Saga and Lock 'N Chase, but thankfully it's continuing its support,...

  • Review WarioWare, Inc.: Mega Microgame$! (3DS eShop / GBA)

    No time to catch your breath

    Nintendo has made its name in the games industry by providing tightly focused and highly polished experiences for over 20 years. Its games are always regarded as some of the best in their respective genres, so what to do when it's conquered all charted territory? Invent new ones, of course. WarioWare, Inc.: Mega...

  • Review Samurai Sword Destiny (3DSWare)

    No ninja, no ninja, no

    There's been a lot of ballyhoo about the death of the dedicated handheld at the hands of smartphones and tablets, and given the amount of doom-and-gloom headlines penned about portables in the past year it can be easy to think that the chair has been kicked so forcefully out from under them that it's shattered against the...

  • Review Mario vs. Donkey Kong (3DS eShop / GBA)

    A worthy successor

    The Mario vs. Donkey Kong series has been going for quite a while now, with four entries under its belt. If you've never played the original, you'd be forgiven for thinking that it's not much more than a fun Lemmings clone, but that's actually not true. In fact, Mario vs. Donkey Kong is closer to the Game Boy version of Donkey...

  • Review 3D Classics: Kid Icarus (3DSWare)

    Pit of class

    Kid Icarus was always a bit of a weird game. Originally released alongside Metroid and using an almost identical game engine, it was quickly overshadowed by the popularity of Metroid's giant game world full of areas to explore and, save for a (more entertaining) Game Boy sequel, the series was never heard from again until Pit suddenly...

  • Review Bionic Commando (3DS eShop / GB)

    Don’t mean a thing if you ain’t got that swing

    If there’s one sacred cow in the entire platforming genre, it’s jumping. According to our highly scientific calculations, there are one hojillion sidescrollers that rely on hopping all about to climb, collect and kill. Capcom’s Bionic Commando series has plenty of climbing, collecting and...

  • Review Nintendo Letter Box (3DSWare)

    A note to remember

    Until mid-December, the only online communication built into the 3DS was a 16-character status message on your friends list. Even by Nintendo standards, that's extremely constrictive. Now we all have the chance to download Nintendo Letter Box — aka Swapnote — for free. The first thing to note about Nintendo Letter Box is it is...

  • Review VVVVVV (3DS eShop)

    VVVVVVery impressive

    When VVVVVV burst onto the indie scene in 2010, it was immediately lauded for its simple, addictive gameplay and unique vector visual style. After enjoying quite a bit of success on PC and Mac over the past two years, the game is now making an appearance on a dedicated game system for the first time via Nintendo's 3DS eShop...

  • Review Wario Land 4 (3DS eShop / GBA)

    A treasure

    Wario is pretty good, for a bad guy. To look at him you wouldn’t think he’d have a heroic streak at all; he’s got the squiggly moustache of a pantomime villain and a nose that would put any alcoholic to shame. Despite all this he’s secretly a sweetheart: considering that the rotund treasure hunter started life as an antagonist to...