Author Profile
- Username
- daveisbored
- Articles
- 173 (171 reviews)
- First Article
- Wed 8th, April 2009
- Avg. Review Score
- 7.0
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Review Arcade Archives Moon Patrol (Switch eShop)
The bright side of the moon
Irem’s Moon Patrol is a simple game across two auto-scrolling levels. Control is limited to adjusting the speed of your vehicle (forwards to accelerate, back to decelerate) as it trundles along the surprisingly colourful surface of the moon. There are two cannons that fire upon pressing this button (one vertical, one...
Review World Heroes 2 Jet (Switch eShop / Neo Geo)
Woo-oo-oo oo-oo-ooo
Unsurprisingly, World Heroes 2 Jet is a lot like the regular World Heroes 2. Utilising the same two-button setup (one punch, one kick; hold for a stronger attack), the same 14 playable characters return along with two newcomers: the clawed Jack and halberd-wielding Ryofu. There’s also been a speed bump and the addition of...
Review Aero Fighters 3 (Switch eShop / Neo Geo)
Another fun shmup for Switch
Having recently announced it will be adding Video System titles to its Arcade Archives series, it seems likely that HAMSTER will make the original Aero Fighters available on Switch at some point. Before then we have Aero Fighters 3, offering similar shooting action to the excellent (and already available) second title...
Review Arcade Archives Star Force (Switch eShop)
A shooter from older and tougher times
Released in 1984, Star Force sticks you in control of a space ship as you go through levels blasting a variety of enemy types. Yes, it’s yet another retro shmup on Switch, this time set across 25 levels and offering quite a stripped down shooting experience. In Arcade Archives Star Force your ship (the Final...
Review Real Bout Fatal Fury (Switch eShop / Neo Geo)
Keeping it real
The third Fatal Fury game may have been subtitled 'Road To The Final Victory' but the Legend of the Hungry Wolf was far from over. The first game to follow that third instalment (released in the same year, in fact) was Real Bout Fatal Fury, a game that feels in part like an upgraded Fatal Fury 3. Using the same three-plane fighting...
Review Sengoku 2 (Switch eShop / Neo Geo)
Test your might
You fight of waves of attackers, warp somewhere to fight some more, then back again where of course you find yet more people trying to end your existence. Along with the nifty ability to switch between characters during play, Sengoku 2 offers similar gameplay to the first title, but some tweaks have been made to offer a more...
Review Arcade Archives Heroic Episode (Switch eShop)
Middling experience
HAMSTER may not release titles in its Arcade Archives series as frequently as with its ACA Neo Geo one, but it does similarly seem determined to release whatever it can. R-Type is on the way, but before then there’s this lesser-known Irem title. Originally released in Japan as Yōjūden, Arcade Archives Heroic Episode puts you...
Review Magical Drop III (Switch eShop / Neo Geo)
Simple, frantic fun with balloons
The lineup of retro offerings on Switch may largely be comprised of fighting games and shmups, but other genres feature too, such as platformers, sports titles and - in the case of Magical Drop III - a highly enjoyable puzzle games. With the second game in the series already receiving the ACA Neo Geo treatment,...
Review Samurai Aces (Switch eShop)
Sengoku Strikers
Following the release of the shmup Aero Fighters, several members of developer Video Systems left and formed a new company: Psikyo. Aero Fighters 2 still turned out rather well without them, but Psikyo would release some high-quality titles itself. Zerodiv has already brought some of those to Switch, but now it's bringing Psikyo’s...
Review Fatal Fury 3: Road To The Final Victory (Switch eShop / Neo Geo)
Similar, but a bit different fighting thrills
Nintendo Switch is not short of one-on-one fighting games, but here’s another ACA Neo Geo release anyway. Fatal Fury 3: Road To The Final Victory again provides the typical best of three rounds fighting action as you beat up a variety of people en route to an ending. Compared to previous instalment...
Review 2020 Super Baseball (Switch eShop / Neo Geo)
Baseball with a twist
The Neo Geo sports games that have so far appeared on Switch offer up simple quick-to-play arcade experiences, but 2020 Super Baseball is a bit different. It’s not because it’s predicting some radical rule changes in a couple of years time (we’ve already had futuristic takes on football and volleyball), but because games...
Review Arcade Archives Crazy Climber (Switch eShop)
Hi-rise hi-score chaser
HAMSTER has brought numerous retro titles to Switch, but Arcade Archives Crazy Climber is the furthest it's gone back in time yet, with a game that actually predates Nintendo’s first console. Arriving in 1980, the year before Jumpman climbed ladders to rescue Pauline from Donkey Kong, an unnamed climber scaled the sides of...
Review Samurai Shodown II (Switch eShop / Neo Geo)
Sensational samurai
With its weapon-based combat and gameplay that often rewarded patience, Samurai Shodown was a different type of fighting game, but a very good one. SNK thought they could do better however, so went away and came up with Samurai Shodown II, a game similar to its predecessor but with some additions to the lineup and gameplay...
Review World Heroes 2 (Switch eShop)
An improvement over the first game, but it's not Perfect
Of the many one-on-one fighters released on Neo Geo (and now filling up the Switch eShop), World Heroes was far from top of the pile. It could still entertain however, and its colourful cast of characters inspired by historical figures helped it stand out. World Heroes 2 provides the same best...
Review Arcade Archives Kid Niki Radical Ninja (Switch eShop)
A ninja throwback
Kid Niki: Radical Ninja is a bright cartoony platformer that has you run and jump through levels, dispatching a range of foes with your spinning sword attack before a showdown against a boss character. This Arcade Archives release also offers those thrills and adds in HAMSTER’s usual options and extra modes, but the interesting...
Review Sky Force Reloaded (Switch eShop)
Repetitive, enjoyable shooter
Starting on mobile before turning up on Wii U, the first Sky Force game was a decent shmup and now the sequel arrives on Switch. As you would expect, the aim of the game in Sky Force Reloaded is to blow away waves of enemy forces and take down the tricky boss characters. Soon after you boot it up the camera sweeps down...
Review Strikers 1945 II (Switch eShop)
Superb shmup action
Thanks to HAMSTER’s Arcade Archives and ACA Neo Geo series there are a number of retro titles available on Switch, but they’re not the only company providing games from yesteryear. Zerodiv have slowly been adding high quality titles from Psikyo’s back catalogue such as Gunbird and Zero Gunner 2. One of their first releases...
Review Power Spikes II (Switch eShop / Neo Geo)
Underpowered volleyball action
In among the Neo Geo library of games there are a number of titles (some already on Switch) that take a sport and rework it into a simple, quick-to-play arcade experience. The latest arrival on the eShop is Video System’s Power Spikes II, a volleyball game that gives you a choice of eight four-person teams and then...
Review Arcade Archives Double Dragon (Switch eShop)
Brief, flawed but enjoyable arcade action
Scrolling beat ‘em ups may be simple affairs that just have you moving along smacking groups of thugs in the face, but when they are done right they can be hugely entertaining. Before Streets Of Rage, before Final Fight the game that got people excited was Technos’ Double Dragon, which put you in control...
Review Art Of Fighting 2 (Switch eShop / Neo Geo)
Like before, but a bit better
After bringing the first Art Of Fighting game to Switch, HAMSTER made the typically HAMSTER move of skipping ahead to Art Of Fighting 3: The Path Of The Warrior. That instalment offered a different, but more accomplished fighting experience and now the gap between those two is plugged with Art Of Fighting 2 which...
Review King Of The Monsters (Switch eShop / Neo Geo)
Fun for a few rounds
Thanks to HAMSTER’s ACA Neo Geo series there are plenty of options for Switch owners looking to engage in some virtual fisticuffs. SNK’s King Of The Monsters offers something a bit different to the other choices however, as it is essentially a wrestling game, albeit a wrestling game with giant monsters duking it out and...
Review The King Of Fighters '96 (Switch eShop / Neo Geo)
Or, the one with Geese Howard
Much like the first two instalments, The King Of Fighters '96 gives you a diverse roster of 2D fighters to pick from as you assemble a team of three to punch, kick, throw and brag your way to victory. The third instalment in the series also sees the sprites of old discarded for an instantly familiar hand-drawn...
Review Pulstar (Switch eShop / Neo Geo)
Not just a pretty face
The lush pre-rendered visuals of Donkey Kong Country certainly impressed in 1994, so it seemed inevitable that other companies would employ the technique in an attempt to draw admiring glances. So it was that Aicom released Pulstar the following year on Neo Geo. The end results was both visually impressive and lots of fun...
Review The Last Blade (Switch eShop / Neo Geo)
The king of fighters?
Kaede is fighting Yuki and weapons slash quickly as the two leap about the screen. Quick strikes from both, the action is fast as each looks to string together a series of moves to end the battle. Another day, another fight between Kaede and Yuki, but this time things are playing out differently. This time the combatants have...
