Virtual Console Reviews - Page 3

Still one of the best RPGs to come out of the 16-bit era

What can you say about the Final Fantasy series that hasn't already been said a thousand times before? The titles have become one of the best-selling video game series in history and have been largely responsible for making the RPG genre so popular with fans across the globe. After having success with Final Fantasy II on the Super Nintendo,..

Bomberman flies solo

Apart from the very first game in the series, Bomberman has always been famed for its frantic, fast-paced, and, above all, fun multiplayer modes. Pretty much every single game starring the little guy has featured support for multiple players, with most of the Nintendo outings allowing four or five, and others like Saturn Bomberman even allowing up to ten. Despite this,..

Puts up a fight

It might seem strange that there has not been a single wrestling game on Virtual Console in the West so far, but when you really think about it, it makes sense. Almost every single wrestling title out there features the likenesses of real people, meaning it would take some serious effort and money to rerelease them. Games with made-up characters are of course much easier, but..

G.O.O.D.

Although it's now of course primarily known for its Harvest Moon games, Natsume developed quite a few unique, entertaining little titles in the past. We've already had a few rereleased on Virtual Console, and rest assured, S.C.A.T. can easily stand with the rest of them. If you're a Sega or Capcom fan, taking a glance at the game's screenshots might ring a bell to you. Yes, you're right,..

A relic best left forgotten

Capcom's 19XX series is quite fondly remembered, for offering some unique and very solid gameplay over the five installments it has had so far. At least, that mostly counts for the later four, but not so much for the first. Although not as bland as Exed Exes, 1942 does not really offer too many novelties other than its Pacific War theme. It's another vertical shooter,..

Ghosts 'n Goblins 'n Gimmicks

In 1985, Capcom released the infamous Ghosts 'n Goblins upon the world. Still regarded as one of the most challenging games ever made, it was a smash hit and cost many players many, many quarters as they died again and again. Although it would get a sequel eventually, after two years, Capcom decided to make a similar game with a few added gameplay elements. In Black..

Extremely excruciating

We've seen a metric tonne of shoot 'em ups made available on Virtual Console already. With well-known classic games like the Gradius and Star Soldier series as well as lesser-known greats like Cho Aniki and MUSHA among them, there's more than enough good stuff available to satiate the desires of any fan of the genre. Because of this, developers should really think twice about..

The original quarter-eating monster returns

Over two years ago, before Nintendo introduced the Virtual Console Arcade, Capcom released the NES port of Ghosts 'n Goblins on Virtual Console. Arguably the most well-known version of the game out there, it's infamous for being an incredibly challenging and, frequently, totally unfair game. While it would go on to get a bunch of great sequels, the..

The pinnacle of the series

With the recent release of Magical Drop II on the Virtual Console, Wii owners got the chance to experience one of the more enjoyable puzzlers available for the Neo Geo system and a game that's become quite popular among fans of the console over the years. Now SNK-Playmore has decided to up the ante and release the game's sequel Magical Drop III, and despite making use of..

It's party time!

The Mario Party series has become quite successful for Nintendo and has brought many gamers and their families together over the years. Nintendo, obviously still concerned over the taxing controls of the original Mario Party which caused more than a few blisters and hand cramps among players, have decided to skip straight to Mario...

Double the monotony

The Darius series has long taken a backseat to some of the more prominent shoot 'em up series, despite featuring some absolutely amazing releases on the various 32-bit game consoles. Darius Twin still features much of the aquatic-themed shooter action of its brethren, but for some reason the game comes off feeling very stripped-down and lacks much of the intensity other releases..

Bonk moonlights on the Super Nintendo

After becoming a staple and mascot of sorts after 3 platformer releases on NEC's TurboGrafx-16 console, Bonk was given new life on the Super Nintendo system with the release of Super Bonk. The game went unnoticed for the most part, but it's gone on to become a bit of a cult favourite among Super Nintendo fans over the years. While many of the gameplay nuances..

A chimp off the old block

Looking for an arcade game that resembles a side-scrolling Ice Climber in which you control a monkey that hurls fireballs at angry dinner plates? Then look no further! Capcom has seen it fit to release 1984's SonSon from its trove of arcade treasures, and while this isn't likely to be the game anybody was particularly waiting for, it offers a pleasant enough diversion as..

Commandon't

General William T. Sherman is popularly credited with coining the phrase "War is Hell", but we don't think he ever got the chance to play Wolf of the Battlefield: Commando. If he had, he surely would have said, "War is kind of dull, and a little crappy." Originally released to arcades in 1985, Wolf of the Battlefield: Commando (herein referred to as..

Karnov should stick to side-scrollers

To say that there were a wealth of Street Fighter 2 clones during its reign of popularity in arcades would be an understatement, but none were quite as blatant as Data East's Karnov's Revenge. In fact, the game was so similar in many respects that it drew the ire of Capcom, not to mention a failed lawsuit...

As intense as it is addictive

We've seen a wealth of "falling object" puzzlers since Tetris hit the scene in the 80's, some better than others. Data East's Magical Drop introduced a few new tricks to introduce a fun puzzler experience into arcades that turned quite a few heads during the time. As a follow-up, the company created two sequels on SNK's Neo Geo arcade system and the result..

Zelda II's spiritual successor

Not many people outside Japan are familiar with the Dragon Slayer series. Created by Nihon Falcom, the great minds behind Ys, the first game enjoyed a good deal of popularity and got many sequels, though unfortunately, almost all of them remained exclusive to Japan. The second Dragon Slayer game, Xanadu, actually branched off into a seperate series of its own and also..

Not masterful, but still pretty good

With probably about half of the Neo Geo's library of games consisting of fighting games, it's always nice to see another platformer for the system released on VC. In Spin Master, you take control of either Johnny or Tom as you try to recover five pieces of a lost treasure map and rescue Johnny's girlfriend. It's a pretty straight-forward game, in which you..

Emergency on planet earth

Back in the 16-bit wars, the SNES was unquestionably the comfortable winner when it came to RPGs. Sega’s Mega Drive (or Genesis, depending on where in the world you’re reading this) was completely and utterly outclassed in this area, despite the presence of brilliant titles such as Shining Force, LandStalker and Light Crusader. It’s one of those debates that really..