Wii U eShop Game Reviews
Review Mega Man 7 (Wii U eShop / SNES)
Bigger sprites, bigger fun?
Mega Man 7 is in an awkward place; while most big NES franchises made huge leaps to the Super Nintendo, the mainline Mega Man series' 16-bit thunder was stolen by its Serious Business spin-off, Mega Man X. Released after X and its sequel Mega Man X2, Mega Man 7 is Capcom's attempt to bring its classic platforming roots to...
Review Super Mario Ball (Wii U eShop / GBA)
Balls to the wall
It's no secret that Nintendo's iconic red-wearing plumber has had a number of vocations. From referee to painter to kart racer to hotelier, Mario's been through a lot and shows no sign of actually doing some plumbing. Keeping that in mind, let's take a look at a game where he becomes a pinball. Super Mario Ball's plot revolves...
Review Teslagrad (Wii U eShop)
Alternating current, direct fun
We seem to love Scandinavian games here at Nintendo Life. We began our glowing SteamWorld Dig review last month by espousing the virtues of the Swedish indie gaming scene, but Sweden's neighbour to the west is not to be forgotten: hot on the heels of SteamWorld comes Teslagrad, an equally impressive Metroidvania-style...
"I get knocked down, but I get up again..."
The Wii U has had a diverse range of artistically-driven download games ported to its eShop lately, from Another World to Master Reboot to the news that the critically-acclaimed Gone Home will be arriving later this year, and Vancouver-based
Review Mario Golf: Advance Tour (Wii U eShop / GBA)
Like Golden Sun, if all the weapons were golf clubs
Mario is a surprisingly active fellow. We've said it before and we'll say it again — the doughy little guy is a total sports nut, and he owes much of this to the kind developers at Camelot, who have a gift for creating really solid titles that allow him to strut his stuff. Like previous titles in...
Review Mega Man X3 (Wii U eShop / SNES)
A less than fitting farewell
In 1996, the Mega Man X series parted ways with Nintendo hardware. Mega Man X3 is how it ends. Not with a bang, but a whimper. The first Mega Man X game got things off to such a solid start that it was almost inevitable that a letdown would come sooner rather than later. After all, with so little room for improvement,...
Review Donkey Kong Jr. Math (Wii U eShop / NES)
Summin' it
In among the Excitebikes, Super Mario Bros., and Ice Climbers of the NES’s North American launch sat Donkey Kong Jr. Math, an edutainment title seemingly designed so that hopeful tots could point to it on the shelf and Trojan-horse Nintendo’s new Duck Hunt-playing powerhouse into the family home, parents unsuspecting, under the guise...
Review Jett Tailfin (Wii U eShop)
The art of drowning
So far this year, the Wii U eShop has allowed us to submerge our imaginations in the ocean with titles like Squids Odyssey and Abyss, two games we found to be rather charming and worthy of your investment. Yet, as we all should know, the ocean and the eShop are also filled with predators ready to take a big juicy bite out of your...
Review Life Force (Wii U eShop / NES)
Forcefully fun
Konami's 1985 hit Gradius is one of the most influential scrolling shooters of all time, so it was pretty tough to follow up. Rather than make Gradius II right away, the company decided to create a spin-off; Life Force — originally known in Japan as Salamander — hit arcades in 1986 and the NES two years later. Space shooters were...
Review SteamWorld Dig (Wii U eShop)
Groundbreaking!
The two hottest properties in indie gaming right now are Sweden and spelunking. From Amnesia to Hotline Miami to Goat Simulator to that DotA song, a hugely disproportionate number of big independent releases the last few years have come from Swedes; whether it's Cave Story, Shovel Knight,
Review Mega Man Battle Chip Challenge (Wii U eShop / GBA)
The chips are bringing us down
Adding RPG elements to a beloved side-scrolling franchise may seem like a stroke of insanity, but Mega Man has enjoyed more than a few titles that play off this idea while still retaining the atmosphere and challenge of the core series. Even a certain red plumber has proved that the transition can pay off, fleshing out...
Review Double Dragon II: The Revenge (Wii U eShop / NES)
Double draggin'
There was a period from the late-'80s to the early-'90s when side-scrolling beat 'em up games were all the (streets of?) rage – from Double Dragon to Final Fight to Streets of Rage, we just couldn't get enough of punching hooligans in the face down long straight paths. Perhaps the most fun aspect of these titles was the multiplayer...
Review Cybernator (Wii U eShop / SNES)
Run-n-gun in space
Konami's Cybernator isn't as well-known as run-and-gun titles such as Contra, but this SNES game is a quality offering with plenty of challenge, personality and replay value. The Virtual Console exists to let gamers relive (and experience for the first time) classic games, and Cybernator will be a breath of fresh air for anyone...
Review Mega Man Battle Network (Wii U eShop / GBA)
Net neutrality
While the Mega Man series is mostly known for its action platformer instalments, in a move to perhaps appeal to more audiences Capcom decided to try pairing the Blue Bomber with some other genres, first in the form of Mega Man Legends, an action RPG, and then again with this title, Mega Man Battle Network. Released on Game Boy...
Review SHUT THE BOX (Wii U eShop)
What's in the box?!
It's strange how little a concept matters as long as the execution is done well; just recently we criticised Dahku Creations' Soon Shine for playing too much like a mobile game rather than a home console title. Yet here we are with SHUT THE BOX (which seems like it's yelling at you), created by one-man studio RCMADIAX of BLOK...
Review Soon Shine (Wii U eShop)
Here Comes the Soon
It's wonderful to see indie developers on Wii U find enough commercial success to produce more than one title for the platform, and two-man studio Dahku Creations has followed up June's Chubbins with a new family-friendly offering: Soon Shine. Our biggest criticisms of Chubbins were its torturous difficulty and lack of visual...
Review Midtown Crazy Race (Wii U eShop)
Will drive you crazy
You know when you’re playing a game and it’s all going well when, suddenly, it introduces some arbitrary racing section just to add a little variety? Until now you’ve been jumping around, exploring, but for the next half an hour you’re stuck trying to complete this side mission just to continue. The driving controls are...
Review Frederic: Resurrection of Music (Wii U eShop)
A decomposing composer, recomposed
Public domain is often seen as the place cheap music games go to die, but it does not have to be this way. There is a lot of great music from the past that remains untapped; a multitude of virtuosos from previous centuries whose works can appeal within the context of a game. All that’s needed is the right...
Review Pop'n TwinBee: Rainbow Bell Adventures (Wii U eShop / SNES)
Jump'n TwinBee
Although the TwinBee series is mostly remembered as a shoot 'em up franchise, it might come as a surprise that there were actually a few games which took on different genres. Rainbow Bell Adventures — which is coincidentally also the last game released outside Japan — tries its hand at platforming, bringing its own unique little...
Review Master Reboot (Wii U eShop)
Or Enaid Coll, if you prefer
With its continual growth the Wii U eShop library is bringing us a diverse range of games across various genres, yet Master Reboot from Wales Interactive nevertheless succeeds in delivering something unique to the platform. Previously released on PC and PSN, it's an ambitious effort that has moments of brilliance and a...
Review XType Plus (Wii U eShop)
The Citizen Kane of Web Framework games on the Wii U
Note: XType Plus was meant to be released on 31st July along with online leaderboards, but due to a bug in the ranking functionality the game was delayed. It was reinstated on the European eShop on 6th August, and is awaiting a North American release. Nintendo has opened up the floodgates to...
Prepare to put on your dunce cap
The Wii U eShop is filled to the brim with low-budget kids' games these days, and Ninja Pig Studios' IQ Test seems like just another to heap on the pile... but looks can be deceiving. Beneath the simplistic exterior, IQ Test is a real mind-bender: a series of trick questions designed to get you to think outside
Review Ufouria: The Saga (Wii U eShop / NES)
A Ufouric experience
Retro-style indie platformers are all the rage these days, so you'd be forgiven for thinking Sunsoft's Ufouria: The Saga is simply another in the long line of 2D NES-inspired modern titles on the eShop like Shovel Knight, 1001 Spikes, and Insanity's Blade. Released in 19
Review Ice Cream Surfer (Wii U eShop)
Ice Cream Snorer
Shoot 'em ups aren't really a popular genre these days, but there seems to be a bit of a resurgence on the downloadable front. Not long ago we received Gaiabreaker, and now here we have Ice Cream Surfer, a game which had an unsuccessful crowdfunding campaign, but nonetheless ended up being developed anyway. Upon launching the game...
Review Wooden Sen'SeY (Wii U eShop)
More training required
The Wii U eShop, unsurprisingly, isn't short of options when it comes to platformers, especially as it's a genre typically associated with Nintendo systems and their gamers. Wooden Sen'Sey, published by Neko Entertainment, aims to capitalise on that popularity and remind gamers of old-fashioned difficulty; these are noble yet...
Review Super Toy Cars (Wii U eShop)
Straight out the toy box
This summer, it could be argued that the demand for a non-realistic racing game on Wii U has well and truly been met, and another kart-style title is perhaps at the bottom of our wish list as a result. However, standing tall in the face of its moustachioed overlords, Eclipse Games has treated the eShop to an extra slice of...
Review Mega Man 6 (Wii U eShop / NES)
Let battle commence. Awooga!
Arriving on the same day as Mega Man 5 on the Wii U Virtual Console, Capcom has decided to grace us with the final NES entry to wrap up that era of the franchise. Released in 1993, when the SNES was already out and Mega Man X was on the verge of release, Capcom just couldn't let itself say goodbye to the NES and made one...
Review Kirby: Nightmare in Dream Land (Wii U eShop / GBA)
Full of promise, or just hot air?
Kirby: Nightmare in Dream Land is in fact a remake of Kirby's Adventure, Kirby's first outing on the NES from 1993. While it isn't his original adventure (that honour goes to Kirby's Dream Land), it is the first instance in which he was able to use his now classic copy ability. The remake — which originally...
Review Mega Man 5 (Wii U eShop / NES)
Proto Man problems
Over a year ago, the first four Mega Man games were released on Wii U Virtual Console in quick succession. We don't know exactly what took so long for the remainder, but the fifth entry is finally here. As you might expect, Mega Man 5 is quite similar to the four games before it; eight new Robot Masters have appeared, and it's up...
Review Bases Loaded (Wii U eShop / NES)
America’s 8-bit pastime
Is there anything more American than hotdogs and apple pie? Yes. Yes there is. It’s baseball. The answer is baseball. It’s a game that has permeated the American culture and inserted itself firmly into so many of our lives. As such, it comes as no surprise that there are a plethora of video games available based on the...
