NES Reviews - Page 6 of 8

Volleyball is one of the fastest team games around, and this NES classic recreates the speedy sport in a way that anyone can play.

Volleyball represents yet another of Nintendo’s dated sport simulations. Comparing to its early NES stablemates such as Soccer, Baseball, Ice Hockey and Tennis this game is easily the worst of the bunch. Considering it was originally released in 1986 it is..

The standard for vertically scrolling shooters, Star Soldier is the original game that spawned all of the titles in the long-running Soldier series.

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..

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?...

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...

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...

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,...

The Great Devil has threatened to destroy the peaceful country of Eden, so Princess Lala and Prince Lolo set off to seek help.

Before HAL labs created our favourite pink cuddly blob 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...

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...

It is the year 2112 and Earth has been taken over by evil forces.

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...

Doki Doki Mario

Super Mario Bros. 2 really is the black sheep of the Mario family. Starting out life as Doki Doki Panic, it doesn't feel like any other Mario game. This does not, however, mean it's any less of a game, far from it; Nintendo stamped its famous seal on this one and it oozes with quality. There's nothing more satisfying than picking a...

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

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,...

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 “Golf” which strangely hasn’t found a home on the..

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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 persevered with this at the time. It had the turtles in it!..