NES Game Reviews
Review Ninja Gaiden II: The Dark Sword of Chaos (Wii Virtual Console / NES)
The ninja returns
Ryu Hayabusa is back, and this time he brings his dad along for the ride. Well, not really, that was Indiana Jones, wasn’t it? The storyline is largely irrelevant; the point is this series features Ninja action, and therefore a sequel was inevitable. What we really want to know is how this Ninja Gaiden II: The Dark Sword of Chaos...
Review Ninja JaJaMaru-kun - A Former Famicom Exclusive Comes To Switch
Time to put Lord Namazu Dayuu in his place
Of all the Japan-only games to be given new life on the Virtual Console – and now in 2021, Nintendo Switch Online – Nintendo, oddly enough, picked this Famicom exclusive. While on the surface Ninja JaJaMaru-kun looks like another not-very-good arcade game, it's actually quite fun if you give it a...
Review Super Mario Bros.: The Lost Levels (Virtual Console / NES)
For the first time outside of Japan – experience the original sequel to the best-selling video game of all time!
Super Mario Bros.: The Lost Levels is a bit of an oddity. "The Lost Levels" isn't even it's real title - This is actually the real version of Super Mario Bros. 2. Japan got this game (As SMB2), but when Nintendo realized...
Review NES Play Action Football (Virtual Console / NES)
Ready! Hut hut hut…
Coming quite late in the life of the NES - 1990 to be exact - Play Action Football was Nintendo's attempt at creating a realistic gridiron game for their aging, yet still popular console. The diagonal viewpoint is 'fake 3D' which looks a little pathetic by today's standards but was pretty impressive back then. At least it looks...
Review Adventure Island (Wii Virtual Console / NES)
An island of adventure
Adventure Island is somewhat of a Mario clone - you guide Master Higgins to the end of every level (8 worlds with 4 levels each, sound familiar?) dodging wildlife, boulders and fire in order to defeat the witch doctor at the end of each world (also familiar?) who has captured your beloved bride-to-be Tina. Things aren't as...
Review Super C (Wii Virtual Console / NES)
Super Charged
After Konami's maddeningly hard Contra/Probotector proved immensely popular, obviously it wasn't going to sit around and not make a sequel. Super C/Probotector II puts you in the role of the same heroes once again as you try to take out alien scum. This time they're possessing humans to attack you. The game's got practically the same...
Review Wrecking Crew (Wii Virtual Console / NES)
Wreck, not dreck
Wrecking Crew's a bit of an oddball. Despite starring Mario, it flies under many peoples' radars, partly because it launched simultaneous with the legendary Super Mario Bros. and several other titles, thus meaning it was quickly overshadowed. Wrecking Crew's genre is hard to nail down, but is essentially a mix of a platformer and...
Review Lunar Pool (Virtual Console / NES)
Unique and futuristic flair
The humble pool simulator has never made for the most exciting game, so a futuristic version of the classic pub game set on the moon is an intriguing proposition. It is worth noting that Lunar Pool is based on American pool, which is very different game from what the British play. This game is more similar to billiards in...
Review Volleyball (Wii Virtual Console / NES)
Not volley good
Volleyball represents yet another of Nintendo’s dated sport sims. Comparing to Soccer, Baseball, Ice Hockey, Tennis on the NES this game is the worst of the bunch. Considering it was released in 1986 it is understandable that the graphics and sound are nothing to write home about. The players continually bop up and down all...
Review Star Soldier (Wii Virtual Console / NES)
Not quite a super star
We’ve already been blessed with the sublime Super Star Soldier and Soldier Blade but now it’s the turn of the game that started it all as the NES classic Star Soldier hits the Virtual Console. Released on the NES way back in 1986, Hudson’s shooter went down a storm in Japan but failed to replicate this success in the...
Subscribe to Nintendo Life on YouTube764k Watch on YouTube Review Metroid (Wii Virtual Console / NES)
Where it all started
More than 20 years have past since Metroid first blew away NES owners with its clever mixture of platforming, exploration and character upgrades. It went on to become spawn many sequels over the years, becoming a much-loved franchise for Nintendo fans – but nostalgia aside, is Metroid still high-quality by today’s standards?...
Review Mega Man (Wii Virtual Console / NES)
The Blue Bomber's debut
The Mega Man series will need no introduction to most gamers; this game spawned five sequels on the NES, not to mention numerous games on other systems over the years. Mega Man has come a long way since his début way back in 1987. This originally story spins the yarn that Dr Light created six master robots for industrial...
Review Lode Runner (Wii Virtual Console / NES)
A lode of rubbish or not?
The timing could have been a bit better for this as the far superior Battle Lode Runner for the TurboGrafx became available on the Virtual Console only two months ago. Is there a reason to bother with the NES original when for just 100 more points you could be enjoying better graphics, music and a whole host of new gameplay...
Review Balloon Fight (Wii Virtual Console / NES)
Balloon Light
Before games like Metroid and The Legend of Zelda, Nintendo's NES console relied on simple arcade titles to keep itself afloat. Balloon Fight used an already-successful gameplay mechanic similar to that of William's Joust arcade release, and while it offers up some simple arcade enjoyment, the repetitive gameplay keeps it from lasting,...
Review Adventures of Lolo (Wii Virtual Console / NES)
Run Lolo Run
Before HAL labs created our favourite pink puffball named Kirby there was a blue blob by the name of Lolo. In 1989 when Adventures of Lolo was first released it got modest attention due to the quality of the game but as a brand never really made it big. However Lolo has been known to surface as a bad guy in some of the Kirby games so...
Review Milon's Secret Castle (Wii Virtual Console / NES)
A musty old place
Milon’s Secret Castle is one of those games you’ve never heard of, but when you do finally acknowledge its presence you realize that it inexplicably has an enormous following. A minor classic in the Hudson library, Milon was originally published in 1986 to fairly lukewarm critical response. To be perfectly honest, time has...
Review Mach Rider (Wii Virtual Console / NES)
Return of the Mach
The action is fast and furious in this crazy motorbiking game. You have to blast your way through enemy vehicles and barrels on the track in addition to avoiding oil slicks. The pressure is always on to keep going fast to avoid enemies ramming into you from behind! Getting to the end of each course before the timer runs out adds...
Review Super Mario Bros. 2 (Wii Virtual Console / NES)
A strange, but entertaining dream
It should be no secret by now, so let's get it out of the way first - Yes, the Super Mario Bros. 2 that most of us know, that is, this one, is technically not really a Mario game. Originally released in Japan as Yume Kōjō: Doki Doki Panic (Dream Factory: Heart-Pounding Panic), it was designed by Shigeru Miyamoto,...
Review Yoshi (Wii Virtual Console / NES)
An eggciting puzzler?
In the early 90s, presumably following the success of Tetris, Nintendo went through a phase of releasing one falling block puzzler after another. Dr. Mario, Yoshi’s Cookie and Wario’s Woods are key examples of this. Many gamers will no doubt have forgotten this puzzler simply known as Yoshi in North Amer
Review Ninja Gaiden (Wii Virtual Console / NES)
The nimble ninja
Ninja Gaiden ranks as one of the finest 'ninja' style games ever made, right up there with The Revenge of Shinobi. When it was first released it amazed gamers with the degree of control it allowed over the main character, Ryu. He felt so quick and mobile - just like a proper Ninja should - and within seconds of picking up the pad,...
Review NES Open Tournament Golf (Virtual Console / NES)
Tee off with Mario in this classic sporting simulation from 1992
Mario is no stranger to appearing in sports game crossovers these days; he’s virtually done it all now from baseball to soccer. This sporting career began of course with his appearance in NES Open Tournament Golf, which is something of a sequel to the original NES launch title...
Review Mighty Bomb Jack (Wii Virtual Console / NES)
Jack bombed
The original Bomb Jack arcade game was a big hit when it was released. It featured a screen with 20 bombs which had to be collected in a specific order if the player was to achieve the highest score; players would play religiously in an attempt to find the best route around the baddies and to get the perfect chain. Arcade perfection! So...
Review Donkey Kong Jr. Math (Wii Virtual Console / NES)
10 minus 9 equals?
'Edutainment' titles are a strange lot. They're usually poor attempts to shoehorn some 'learning' in videogames, possibly out of fear that games rot the brains of kiddies. Donkey Kong Jr Math is no exception. The game features one player and two player modes. In the one player mode, the objective is to enter math answers in order...
Review Pac-Man (Wii Virtual Console / NES)
Gobble gobble
He may be as old as the hills but Pac-Man still manages to entertain after all these years. We've been relying on one of those Namco 'plug in' TV games for my pill-popping fix, but thanks to the Virtual Console that battery-hungry gadget can be retired. For those not acquainted with the premise of the game — what cave have you been...
Review Punch-Out!! Featuring Mr. Dream (Wii Virtual Console / NES)
Hey, where's Mike Tyson gone?
Although boxing is a fairly obvious display of aggression, it’s surprising that so few video game adaptations of the sport have been worth playing. Punch Out!! Featuring Mr Dream is an exception, and to many it still hasn’t been beaten. Assuming the role of Little Mac, you have to punch your way to ultimate victory...
Review Castlevania (Wii Virtual Console / NES)
Introducing Belmont
The first NES Castlevania was like a breath of fresh air when it was first released. Capcom's spooky, but cartoon-like Ghost 'n' Goblins was the closest thing on the market, but Konami's game was a little more mature and serious. The gothic feel for which the series has become famous for is all present and correct, and the...
Review Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (Virtual Console / NES)
T-U-R-T-L-E POWER!
Turtle mania was sweeping the world when this came out in 1989. That's probably why this game was so popular despite it being an unfair bag of dog's droppings! So popular was the franchise that Nintendo even bundled the NES with this game in Europe replacing the mighty Super Mario Bros cart. It's easy to see why so many...
Review Tecmo Bowl (Wii Virtual Console / NES)
Will you be bowled over by this one?
Before video game football became just as complex as real-life football, there was Tecmo Bowl. There weren't hundreds of plays with varying formations or special spin moves to worry about, in fact you didn't actually have to know much about the game of football to enjoy and play it. It was this simplicity that...
Review Galaga (Wii Virtual Console / NES)
Classic blasting action
The NES version of Galaga is a almost perfect port of the timeless arcade classic. Like space invaders you control a ship at the bottom of the screen and blast away at oncoming enemies. The enemies in Galaga first fly in and line up in formation and then dive-bomb at you while firing sometimes in predictable patterns and...
Review Elevator Action (Virtual Console / NES)
Who would have thought that elevators got any action?
Originally released in the (very) early 80's, this spy action title was a real eye-opener for gamers of that generation. The premise is simple, yet instantly appealing; the player is dropped onto a series of buildings and has to make their way to the bottom, taking on evil agents and entering...
