Virtual Console Reviews - Page 21

Mario Kart gets a 64-bit upgrade!

To say that the original Super Mario Kart was a huge hit for the Super Nintendo console would be a mammoth understatement. The game caught gamers by storm and kicked off a series that's still producing new titles some 17 years later. So when Nintendo released their Nintendo 64 console, gamers knew that it was only a...

A young boy named Link leaves home on a stormy night to find and rescue Princess Zelda.

To put it simply, Zelda: A Link to the Past is one of the finest RPGs in existence. Everything is perfect - the bold lines and subtle pastel-tones of the graphics, the triumphant rendition of the Zelda theme, the excellent yet simple combat system, the...

In the year 2636, the Alien War continues, and it's up to two soldiers, Jimbo and Scully, to put a stop to the alien invasion.

Konami really went all out with this the third instalment to the Contra series (or Probotector to gamers in the PAL regions). The development team at the time must have relished the challenge of developing on the Super...

The Bydo Empire is back! More powerful and deadlier than ever, the Bydo are en-route to Earth.

R-Type III is an interesting title in many ways. Firstly, it was a console exclusive, which generated quite a stir when it was first published. Secondly it takes advantage of the Super NES 'Mode 7' graphics to bring rotating backgrounds into play. Thirdly, it's one of the few decent 2D side-scrolling..

Golden oldie

Following its success with Pac-Man and Galaga in the arcades, it seemed that Namco was unstoppable. The release of Xevious only helped to cement this idea: it was first one of the earliest examples of a vertical scrolling shooter and innovative for its time. The action in Xevious takes place on two parallel plains; your spacecraft gets...

Konami's classic shooter series takes off

It's so hard to review a game like Gradius. This is a near-legendary title and has inspired a franchise that has sold millions, not to mention the spin-off series Parodius and countless other clones. But when reviewing classic retro titles, you have to judge if this game is still worth playing today...

A new shooter in the Star Soldier tradition. Players play as an pilot flying the heavy assault fighter Soldier Blade.

One thing that can be said for sure is that if you owned a TurboGrafx console you would never be in short supply of shoot-em-up games! For anyone who is a big fan of the genre it is great news that Hudson has brought one of the most respected games of the genre to the Virtual..

The action in this racing game is viewed from above and features rotational controls.

Every once in awhile you come across a game that just makes you scratch your head and wonder what someone was thinking when they let a game like this actually get released. After the success of RC Pro-Am and Micro Machines on the NES, overhead racers began to gain popularity. It would seem that NEC was looking to..

Batter up for this aged NES Sports classic.

Nintendo’s Baseball was actually a launch title for the NES way back in 1985. With unknown brands like Ice Climber and Gyromite it made perfect sense for Nintendo to have a representation a popular sports game to attract sceptics to their new console. Predictably enough, it’s now horribly dated. The...

A century of Transylvanian tranquility is about to come to a shocking end.

Every now and then you play a game that simply changes your life. To me, Super Castlevania IV is that game. I recall playing it at a friend's house and regardless of the slow pace of the first few levels; it had a real impact on me. The game was quickly purchased and hasn't...

Discover or rediscover the most popular video game of all time.

This game needs no introduction, this was really where it all began with our favourite Italian plumber. Having been originally bundled free with the NES console in 1985 Super Mario Bros. Proved to be a killer app at the time helping to shift millions of consoles. There have since been...

Street Fighter II kicked off a fighting game craze that still continues to this very day.

To say that the original Street Fighter II was a genre-defining game would be the understatement of the century. Not only did the game take the one-on-one fighting game idea and take it to heights never before reached, it also single-handedly kicked off a fighting game craze that's still in full swing to this..

This is R type of game!

R-Type is widely considered one of, if not the greatest shooters every created. But kick off any conversation with a shooter fan about R-Type and you're likely to get a 10 minute rant on how excruciatingly difficult the game is. Over the years, shooters have come and gone. Some have been good and some have been bad, but in...

Toe Jam and Earl are two fun-loving aliens who accidentally crash on Earth.

This is a very strange game. It was hugely popular at the time and most Megadrive / Genesis gamers at the time will probably remember the wacky lead characters, but how does it fare today? The action is played from a top-down view. As either Tom Jam or Earl you must search the planet Funkatron for all the scattered parts of..

It was the first tennis game on the NES and allowed to play singles or doubles against five different levels of enemies.

Tennis was one of the launch titles for the NES way back in 1985, it succeeded back in winning new gamers to the system in much the same way as Wii Sports is doing nowadays. That begs the question of course, why bother with this if you already have Wii Sports Tennis, which you..

Fantasyland has been taken over by destructive forces, and a call for help comes from deep in the universe.

I'm sure most 80's gamers can recall their first brush with the arcade Space Harrier - it was like looking into the future. The silky-smooth sprite scaling coupled with the excellent sound and futuristic feel made this an instant coin-op classic. The game was ported to the 8-bit Master System..

Strategic lunacy!

Also known as Nectaris in Japan, this game was a cult hit when it was released in the US many years ago. It wasn't a massive seller but positive reviews made sure it got a decent reception from gamers 'in the know'. For anyone who has played Advance Wars on the GBA you will know exactly what you are getting here. It’s a...

More like Urban chump!

It's impossible to overlook the fact that many of the earlier NES releases were extremely simple in design and took very few chances when it came to gameplay design and visual substance. While many of the games were classic arcade titles from Nintendo, there were a handful of original games that tried to up the ante in the gameplay department. Urban Champion is one of the..

Ice Hockey is one of the most acclaimed sports games on the NES.

The earlier titles in the NES sports series are probably not remembered by many for being great games, but Nintendo’s Ice Hockey, a latecomer to the series in 1988 certainly bucks that trend. It is fondly remembered as a semi-faithful translation of the sport which was fiendishly...