Reviews

3DS eShop Game Reviews

  • Review Legend of the River King 2 (3DS eShop / GBC)

    Return of the King

    As an extra, easter egg or background element, fishing seems to pop up everywhere in video games; from side-angle angling in Link’s Awakening and Rumble Pak-reeling in Ocarina of Time to museum-filling in Animal Crossing and fly-rod flinging in Yum

  • Review KORG DSN-12 (3DS eShop)

    Electric Feel

    Teaming up with Japanese developer Detune once again, KORG has proven itself to be quite enamoured with the 3DS eShop by releasing another piece of music creation software, in the form of KORG DSN-12. Emulating the popular MS-10 analogue synthesizer, this title brings us back to a time of smoke-filled clubs and angst-ridden youths all...

  • Review Game & Watch Gallery 3 (3DS eShop / GBC)

    A gallery worth visiting

    As over 50 different Game & Watch titles were released during the eighties, Nintendo had the clever idea to give a select few a fresh coat of paint, giving them a visual makeover, adding music, turning them into Mario-themed titles and then putting them together in a collection which allowed you to play both the new and...

  • Review Donkey Kong: Original Edition (3DS eShop / NES)

    Whole once again

    The legendary arcade title Donkey Kong is slightly infamous for receiving a rather botched NES conversion. Lacking several screens, animations and even an entire stage, it wasn't exactly one of Nintendo's finer porting jobs, especially when other home versions by different companies did manage to include all of the original content...

  • Review BlazBlue: Clone Phantasma (3DS eShop)

    Small brawl

    There's always excitement in the air when a new fighting game hits the streets. These days, especially with the upcoming release of Nintendo's premier brawler, it's easy for lesser-known releases to get swept under the rug. Some fighting franchises are big among niche groups of gamers, but this means that great titles often get...

  • Review The Keep (3DS eShop)

    Old dungeon, new tricks

    Many dungeon crawlers tend to come pre-packaged with a dose of nostalgia through the nature of the genre alone, their exploration and equipment elements resonating as familiar conventions. Stick with a medieval fantasy theme like The Keep and it feels even more from Yon Olde School. The story of The Keep is kept rather...

  • Review Hideaways: Foggy Valley (3DS eShop)

    Low visibility

    It’s hard to believe that the 3DS eShop houses so many hidden object games within its figurative walls. We haven’t tallied an exact count of these games on offer, but we do know that there are very few that we’ve scored higher than average; in most cases we’ve found them to be unsatisfactory. It’s a pity that we've seen a...

  • Review Top Model 3D (3DS eShop)

    Not so style savvy

    There are going to be many unhappy customers in the eShop thanks to Treva's Top Model 3D. The misleading title would suggest an affiliation with any number of popular reality television series, such as America's Next Top Model, but there is no branding to be found. The atrocious presentation is going to turn off anyone expecting a...

  • Review Outback Pet Rescue 3D (3DS eShop)

    Lost in the bush

    Treva Entertainment's Outback Pet Rescue 3D is an attempt at an "edutainment" title that doesn't succeed at being a quality learning experience or a fun game. While there's nothing wrong with the idea — see animals found in Australia while learning about animal care and responsibility — the execution is atrocious, with horrible...

  • Review Azure Striker Gunvolt (3DS eShop)

    Hz so good

    The pedigree behind Azure Striker Gunvolt is the stuff of dreams for a Mega Man-inspired game. Inti Creates, after all, was the team behind the excellent Mega Man Zero series, the Mega Man ZX series, and the classic Mega Man "rebirth" titles Mega Man 9 and

  • Review Gothic Masquerade (3DS eShop)

    Hide it away

    Surprise! There is yet another hidden object game now available on the Nintendo 3DS eShop! It's become clear to us that the developers behind all of these games are going for a world record regarding quantity, because the quality here does nothing to impress. If Gothic Masquerade — the latest addition to the flooded genre — is an...

  • Review Kirby Fighters Deluxe (3DS eShop)

    Popstar wars

    Ever since Kirby’s Adventure introduced the pink puffball’s trademark copy abilities in 1993, they’ve been at the heart of his every hobby, from Dream Course’s mini-golf to Air Ride’s racing. With Kirby Triple Deluxe, players were given the chance to use those powers in Kirby’s newest pastime — all-o

  • Review Street Fighter 2010: The Final Fight (3DS eShop / NES)

    Back to the future

    Capcom's Street Fighter 2010: The Final Fight is not a typical Street Fighter game. If you go into this relatively obscure NES action title knowing you won't hear "Hadouken!" shouted once, you may be able to enjoy the experience. However, Street Fighter 2010's depth and surprisingly intricate gameplay will likely be lost on all...

  • Review Tappingo 2 (3DS eShop)

    Extended play

    When the first Tappingo hit the scene in early 2014, it brought a puzzle style that was simultaneously fresh and familiar. Combine that with an amiable price point and it was a pick to easily consider diving into. Now creator Hugo Smits is back with Tappingo 2, a new edition of puzzles for those who have thoroughly tapped all previous...

  • Review Dedede's Drum Dash Deluxe (3DS eShop)

    Hammer time

    Though he might be best known for his platforming antics, Kirby is no stranger to spin-offs – from racing and pinball to madcap mini-golf, the pink puffball and his friends have been genre-hopping happily since 1993. Lately, Dreamland’s semi-benevolent King Dedede has spent some time in the spin-off spotlight himself, with his...

  • Review Demon King Box (3DS eShop)

    Put a lid on it

    Prolific publisher CIRCLE Entertainment’s latest eShop effort takes players down into the world of demons, where the once mighty Demon Lord now sits boxed up and bodiless. Unable to reconquer his kingdom alone, he enlists the help of several of the underworld’s finest fighting spirits; that’s where you come in. While it’s...

  • Review Thorium Wars: Attack of the Skyfighter (3DS eShop)

    Thor' real

    It’s not that space shooters don’t exist on Nintendo systems, but there’s certainly not enough of them to keep cockpit-hopping fans from feeling parched. 3PM Games took advantage of this vacuum by releasing Thorium Wars on DSiWare and now, just like the alien antagonists of the series, it's back with Thorium Wars: Attack of the...

  • Review Xtreme Sports (3DS eShop / GBC)

    Like, totally awesome

    While WayForward is busy cooking up the latest instalment in the wonderful Shantae franchise, fans are sure to get a little bit impatient for more of that half-genie action. Although the original is available now on the 3DS Virtual Console, we’ve also recently been treated to something completely different in the form of the...

  • Review Tangram Attack (3DS eShop)

    Making the cut or on the chopping block?

    Instead of piecing together various shapes to construct a square, like you would in a traditional tangram game, Tangram Attack is about slicing and dicing seven shapes from already-assembled asymmetrical designs. Since the outlines of these shapes are often masked by a single colour and a uniform pattern, the...

  • Review Steel Empire (3DS eShop)

    The Empire strikes back

    Side-scrolling shoot-‘em-ups were a force to be reckoned with in the early ’90s, gracing every arcade and home system under the sun with seemingly limitless variations on Gradius-style gameplay. Perhaps surprisingly, given the genre’s popularity, they also tended to stick rather closely to each other in terms of theme;...

  • Review 101 Pony Pets 3D (3DS eShop)

    Horse play

    Selectsoft apparently buys its quirky pets in bulk. From dinosaurs to penguins, it's got your number; as long as it’s 101. Now its attention has inevitably turned toward the ultimate care-for-me-and-squee animals: ponies. 101 Pony Pets 3D takes a cue from A Certain Friendshipically Magical Brand by offering three different breeds of...

  • Review Rabi Laby 3 (3DS eShop)

    Return of the Rabi

    We would like to formally thank Silver Star Japan for developing Rabi Laby 3 as a 3DS eShop title. Not because this is the most interesting, original, or even fun game that we've ever played, but because the developer decided to circumvent the DSiWare service and release its new game on the current generation of Nintendo's digital...

  • Review Glory of Generals (3DS eShop)

    Inglorious

    The 3DS is no stranger to war games, and CIRCLE Entertainment has been a particularly prolific profiteer, with World Conquerer 3D, European Conquerer 3D and this latest effort, Glory of Generals, all hitting the eShop within the last year. A turn-based strategy game set in World War II, Glory of Generals attempts to stand out from the...

  • Review Strike Force Foxx (3DS eShop)

    Get to the chopper!

    Not to be confused with a certain furry-tailed Nintendo character, Big John Games' Strike Force Foxx is a helicopter rescue game starring humans. Heavily inspired by the 1982 computer game Choplifter, its retro roots show in its simple, action-oriented gameplay and tongue-in-cheek '80s action movie story. There is charm to be...

  • Review Comic Workshop (3DS eShop)

    A work of art

    Nintendo platforms have never been strangers to art and drawing applications. From Mario Paint on the SNES to 2013's Art Academy: SketchPad for Wii U, there has always been room for artistic pursuits with Nintendo. It should also come as no surprise that the 3DS is already hosting yet another creation tool after the success of Art...

  • Review Pick-A-Gem (3DS eShop)

    Pick up or put down?

    Jewel games are kind of a big deal right now. When we aren’t crushing candy we’re swiping crystals and arranging colours into pleasing lines to calm that casual OCD which mobile gaming has begun to inspire. It’s easy to get lost in the swarm of them on 3DS alone, so Gamelion studio’s latest release

  • Review Me & My Pets 3D (3DS eShop)

    Pet-thetic

    First thing’s first: the pets in Me & My Pets 3D are not yours. You are running a pet hotel, so they belong to others. Second, things are not in 3D as much as a flat, albeit layered, pseudo-3D. Third, the pets do not resemble real pets as much as colourful rocks that have been given GIF animations. For a game that seems to scream...

  • Review Bases Loaded (3DS eShop / NES)

    Can this old timer still make contact?

    Back in the mid-to-late 80s, when the NES was the dominant force in video games, cyber sporting wasn’t exactly the complex affair that it is now. With modern controllers having about a dozen buttons and joysticks to manage, it’s common for every one of those to be utilized for numerous functions —...

  • Review Siesta Fiesta (3DS eShop)

    A breakout hit

    When you learn that a title on the 3DS eShop originally began as a concept for a smartphone game, there's an instinct to take a hesitant step back. On the other hand, Siesta Fiesta is proof that this route to the system can be a blessing — if iOS and Android games can be addictive and fun enough to keep millions of consumers amused,...

  • Review Bike Rider DX2: Galaxy (3DS eShop)

    Giro della Galaxy

    Last year’s Bike Rider DX was a pleasant surprise, bringing auto-scrolling precision platforming to the eShop in a charming, polished, pedal-powered package. Now, fresh from the first game’s world tour, our tireless cyclist returns to take to the stars in this space-themed sequel, Bike Rider DX2: Galaxy. Keeping the same great...