Review Dr. Mario: Miracle Cure (3DS eShop)
The cure for boredom
Nintendo seems to have been following a pattern with Dr. Mario in recent years. First, it releases a new title in the series for its current console which adds a new gameplay mechanic. Then, sometime later, it releases a new handheld entry, which plays it a bit more safe and doesn't really do anything new. The latest game, Dr...
Review Mega Man Zero 4 (Wii U eShop / Game Boy Advance)
The battle for Neo Arcadia
After three enjoyable Mega Man Zero entries, Capcom just had to sneak in one more. Released extremely late into the Game Boy Advance's life - after the Nintendo DS had already been released, in fact - Mega Man Zero 4 is the final game in the series and mostly follows along with the previous three titles. Once again...
Review Mega Man Zero 3 (Wii U eShop / GBA)
(Mostly) Zero changes
After releasing the previous two Mega Man Zero titles and having them almost universally liked, it would've been crazy to end the series there; so, naturally, Capcom produced Mega Man Zero 3 for the Game Boy Advance. Just as before, the game follows the events of the previous instalments pretty directly. Picking up two months...
Interview IRONFALL Invasion's Developers on Bringing Third-Person Shooting to the 3DS Masses
"We love doing games for Nintendo's handheld consoles"
IRONFALL Invasion was a notable arrival in Europe on 13th February, heavily promoted as the eShop accompaniment for the region's #Nintendo3DSDay social media campaign. Though pitched as a game to show off the New Nintendo 3DS, it supports all versions of Nintendo's portable hardware and breaks...
Review IRONFALL Invasion (3DS eShop)
Iron Man
Announced briefly last year and shown off in a recent Nintendo Direct, IRONFALL Invasion certainly turned some heads. It's one of the very few third person shooters available on the 3DS, developed by the relatively unknown VD-Dev - although it's been around for almost two decades and has developed several good games, it's yet to truly...
Review Monster Combine TD (3DS eShop)
Plants vs. Monsters
When you think of a tower defence game, what usually comes to mind is a long, winding path, with various build spots situated around it. As you defeat enemies, you earn more money to place units on these spots, and they will automatically attack any enemies that come within range. However, while that might be the most common...
An Ys-y purchase
The RPG genre is still rather popular, with several big-name releases arriving every year. While these are usually grand spectacles, Fairune keeps things quite simple. As with many "retro-esque" games these days, it attempts to emulate the look and feel of a classic '80s game, and that comes with matching game mechanics. Combat is...
Another pack of Picross
While the first few Picross e games mixed things up a little with slightly different modes each time, the previous game in the series — Picross e4 — didn't do anything unique; it simply brought back all of those previous special modes. Picross e5 also plays it safe and is essentially an expansion of the previous game,...
Review Ultimate NES Remix (3DS)
Not as ultimate as you'd think
Almost a year ago, the Wii U received some excellent download titles in the form of NES Remix and NES Remix 2, each taking a set of classic (and not so classic) NES games and making short challenges based on sections from each game, or in some cases creating entirely original scenarios. Curiously, the producer of the...
Preview Going Retro On The Go With Ultimate NES Remix
The ultimate collection?
Stealthily announced a month or two ago, there is still some uncertainty about what exactly Ultimate NES Remix contains. Is it a new game, is it NES Remix and NES Remix 2 stuck together in one package, like the Wii U retail release, or is it something else entirely?
Review Game & Watch Gallery 3 (3DS eShop / GBC)
A gallery worth visiting
As over 50 different Game & Watch titles were released during the eighties, Nintendo had the clever idea to give a select few a fresh coat of paint, giving them a visual makeover, adding music, turning them into Mario-themed titles and then putting them together in a collection which allowed you to play both the new and...
Review Donkey Kong: Original Edition (3DS eShop / NES)
Whole once again
The legendary arcade title Donkey Kong is slightly infamous for receiving a rather botched NES conversion. Lacking several screens, animations and even an entire stage, it wasn't exactly one of Nintendo's finer porting jobs, especially when other home versions by different companies did manage to include all of the original content...
Review Gargoyle's Quest II: The Demon Darkness (Wii U eShop / NES)
It's good to be bad
Although many people are familiar with the Red Arremers, the notoriously persistent enemies from the Ghosts 'n Goblins games, not many seem to be aware that one particular Arremer also starred in several games of his own. The first Gargoyle's Quest was released on the 3DS Virtual Console a while back, and now we've finally...
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 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 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 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 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 GAIABREAKER (Wii U eShop)
Shoot meh up
Although there are plenty of shoot 'em ups to pick from on the Wii Virtual Console, new games in the genre tend to be quite rare; as a result it's always exciting to see a new addition to a challenging field. Developed by a relatively unknown developer that's only dabbled in mobile phone games before, this particular shoot 'em up is of...
Review Pop'n TwinBee (Wii U eShop / SNES)
WinBee
It's not particularly well known outside Japan, but for a while TwinBee was one of Konami's main shoot 'em up series. A lot more cutesy than Gradius and the like, its colourful graphics and characters were its biggest appeal. A while back the original TwinBee was remade as a 3D Classic, but now here we have Pop'n Twinbee, one of the few...
Guide All You Need to Know on Mario Kart 8 Characters and Kart Customisations
The finer details
Mario Kart 8 is now well-established on the Wii U, shifting plenty of copies and attracting a sizeable and dedicated online audience. Whether trying to beat every Grand Prix with three stars or tackling the increasingly skilful opponents online, securing top spot is not becoming a tricky challenge of fine margins. This is a title...
Super Sonic Puzzle Galaxy
There's been a lot of great eShop content as of late, but not many examples have been in the works for as long as Armillo, which was first announced way back in 2011. Now that it's finally here, were those years in development well spent? In Armillo, you take the role of the titular character, a space armadillo, who is...
Review Dr. Kawashima's Brain Training: How Old is Your Brain? (Wii U eShop / DS)
Brain food
It seems like only yesterday that we got Game Boy Advance games on the Wii U Virtual Console, but now DS games have also joined the party. Curiously enough, Nintendo has chosen not to start off with one of their classic franchises, like Mario or Zelda, but has instead opted to go with one of their best-selling titles, the original Brain...
Review Super Dodge Ball (3DS eShop / NES)
Super Lag Ball
Many people are familiar with River City Ransom, the cult classic NES game, but what you might not know is that it's actually part of a series with many, many more titles. Of course, that can be hard to figure out when those that were localized all got completely unrelated names. Interestingly, while the series is mostly known in the...
