Virtual Console Reviews - Page 7

Does the original Super Smash Bros. still knock out the competition these days?

Nintendo's most popular (and only!) fighting franchise started off quite strangely - in fact, it originally didn't even have any existing Nintendo characters! Created by Kirby Creator Masahiro Sakurai of HAL Laboratory and Satoru Iwata, the game was originally called...

Khaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaan!

Koei’s ‘Universal Ruler’ simulator lets you live the life of the Mongol legend himself. You’ll go where he goes, defile what he defiles and eat who he eats. But before you misjudge this game as an indecipherable Japanese take on medieval Mongolian life, understand that Genghis Khan II is actually a conquer the world style game (think Risk meets Civilization) in..

An interesting slice of gaming history for fans of early 3D games.

Space Harrier is notable for being one of the first arcade games to use a motorised cabinet in its sit-down version, and in the realms of sprite-based third-person 3D shooters it's certainly at the more advanced end of the scale. It was highly popular back when it was released in the mid-80s - a fact borne out by the numerous ports..

Does Opa-Opa's second adventure feature the same unique charm of the original?

The original Fantasy Zone release kicked off a series of shooters that's still quite popular to this day. When the game was released on the Sega Master System, it immediately became one of the more beloved titles for the console so it was pretty much a given that a sequel would come sooner or later. Fantasy Zone 2: The..

Galaxy Force II is another classic Sega arcade shooter that hasn't aged very well.

Galaxy Force II debuted as a Sega arcade release, using the same type of sprite scaling seen in Sega's other arcade title Space Harrier, and basically mimicked 3-D scrolling without the use of actual polygon graphics. While Sega's Saturn console would later get a nearly arcade perfect rendition of the game, Mega..

An ambitious strategy game from a nobler time.

It is hard to imagine now, but there was once a time when strategy games were the primary style of play on home computers. Japanese game developer Koei made it their mission to bring this style of game to consoles. And by appearances, they were successful given the sheer volume of games they were able...

Secret Command takes you back to an era when run 'n gun titles ruled arcades.

With overhead run 'n gun titles like Ikari Warriors and Commando snatching up large numbers of tokens in arcades, it comes as no real surprise that Sega would have to create one of their own for their Sega Master System. The game was originally released under the name "Secret Command" in Europe, where the Sega..

Can Harry Jr. fill his father's boots?

The two original Pitfall games for the Atari 2600 have become quite dated now – walking across a handful of endlessly repeating screens in the hope of finding treasure has lost its appeal. Activision once tried to "upgrade" the formula by allowing the Japanese developer Pony Canyon to make Super Pitfall for the NES, but that turned out so terrible..

Uncharted Waters: New Horizons is yet another Koei strategy title that features an almost endless amount of playability.

Koei released quite an arsenal of strategy titles during the 16-bit era, many of them on the Super Nintendo console. While the original Uncharted Waters laid the foundation, its sequel New Horizons picked up right where it left off and managed to add quite a few new game play..

After ending the terror in Hyrule, Link sets out to find another quest to complete, but on his way he stumbles into the wait of another evil force.

Ocarina of Time proved that the Zelda series was even more captivating in 3D than it was in 2D. It is still regarded as one of the greatest games ever made, but despite this, at the very end of the N64's...

Scale a skyscraper to rescue your lost love in The Tower of Druaga.

The Tower of Druaga is a moderately infamous arcade game. As the knight Gil (Who is really Gilgamesh) you must work your way up a gigantic 60-floor tower to rescue your beloved princess Ki from the clutches of the evil Druaga. Each floor is quite literally a maze - Your objective on every single floor is to locate the key and then..

Remember the timeless classic, Galaga? Say hello to its successor, as the arcade version of Gaplus hits Virtual Console!

When Galaga first burst onto the scene back in 1981, it garnered almost instant popularity due to its intense shooting action and almost endless level of variety and challenge. Gone were the days where a fixed group of aliens...

It's a cat-and-mouse game like no other as you take control of Mappy, a brave police-mouse.

Arguably the most popular game in the first batch of arcade releases, Mappy follows the formula of other succesful titles of the time, including Namco's own Pac-Man - Your job is to collect objects while avoiding all enemies. The premise is that a gang of cats, called the Mewkies, have stolen a bunch of..

A huge global hit at the arcades, this classic shooter blasts its way back on Virtual Console!

Star Force was originally released in arcades in 1984 by Tecmo. It was yet another title in the rapidly growing crop of vertical scrolling shooters that were gaining in popularity during the time period. While the game play was still quite basic and didn't show some of the more advanced firepower of later..

It's the popular vertical-scrolling shooter renowned for its cute and comical world.

The Twinbee series of shooters hasn't seen a lot of action outside of Japan, so it should come as no surprise that this PC Engine version of Detana!! Twinbee was never released outside of Japan and marks yet another import release for Hudson on the Wii Virtual Console. Detana!! Twinbee first appeared in Japanese..

Bomberman has arrived to restore peace on the planet, which has been split into five parts by an evil hand.

Bomberman has seen a release on just about every console out there over the years, and while you'll definitely get contrasting opinions on which version of the game is the best, it's pretty indisputable that Bomberman '94 is one of them...

This sequel to the NES classic sees Little Mac return to the ring once again.

Punch-Out!! on the NES has a ton of fans. For some reason, though, a lot of them seem to be completely unaware that there’s a second game in the series available on home consoles – This is fairly weird, because Super Punch-Out!! is easily as good, if not better than...

In this platformer from the 1980s, help Alex Kidd in a race against time to find the 12 missing zodiac signs.

Before Sonic came along and propelled them into the big time, the world identified a big eared lad by the name of Alex Kidd as Sega’s answer to Mario. Alex Kidd in Miracle World was a worthy alternative to Super Mario Bros in the mid 80s and when bundled with the Sega Master System in..

The once quiet town of Xenobia is under attack by fierce, gruesome monsters and no one can stop them!

Wonder Boy III: Monster Lair might seem incredibly familiar to Virtual Console addicts because the game has technically already been released on Nintendo’s download service – in the guise of Monster Lair on the TG-16! The complexities of the deal regarding codehouse Westone and Sega have never..