First Impressions Running Wild in Runner3
Sprinting to Switch
An early hit on WiiWare, BIT.TRIP Runner was a favourite at Nintendo Life, combining auto-running rhythm gameplay with retro-styled visuals and hypnotic chiptune music. Its sequel Runner2 was equally well-received, and now developer Choice Provisions is bringing a third installment — Runner3 — to the Switch. We were able to...
First Impressions Finding Our Roots in Harvest Moon: Light of Hope
Bucolic beacon
Natsume’s booth at this year’s E3 was a farmland oasis from the wider chaos of the showfloor, decked out in pastoral charm and filled with flowers and plenty of plush cows, chickens, and sheep. It’s a familiar scene, but it seemed particularly pleasant this year, and the cause of the celebration was clear: it’s Harvest...
First Impressions Slicing Our Way Through Fire Emblem Warriors
Class change
First unveiled in a jam-packed January Nintendo Direct earlier this year, Fire Emblem Warriors is one of two Fire Emblems currently scheduled to hit Nintendo’s Switch. And while the still-untitled mainline adventure announced alongside it will likely continue with the grid-based strategy-RPG gameplay the series is known for, Warriors...
Review Cooking Mama: Sweet Shop (3DS)
Crack crack crack the egg into the bowl
Of all the heroes of the DS’ Touch Generations era, Office Create’s Cooking Mama has been one of the most enduring — and prolific. Starting out from her humble beginnings as a short-order chef, using quick WarioWare-style touchscreen minigames to simulate the in-kitchen experience, she’s expanded...
Review Fire Emblem Echoes: Shadows of Valentia (3DS)
Alms for the War
Nintendo has a habit of switching things up in sequels, and especially in the NES days that tendency resulted in some gloriously divergent sophomore installments. Zelda II: The Adventure of Link famously swapped overhead adventuring for side-scrolling action, Super Mario Bros. 2 (in the West, at least) exchanged running-and-jumping...
Shrine Get!
eShop veterans CIRCLE Entertainment have kicked off the Switch era with a bang, starting with the excellent rhythm game VOEZ and continuing with the colourful overhead action of Kamiko. Developed by Japanese indie team Skipmore — responsible for Fairune and its sequel on the 3DS eShop — Kamiko sports a gorgeous pixel-art aesthetic,...
Review Blue-Collar Astronaut (Wii U eShop)
In space, no one seems to tip
Are you tired of dead-end, earthbound employment? Do you long to break free of the crushing gravity of workaday life? Are you finally ready to float freely in the high-salary stratosphere? Well, dear reader, if you're dead set on those lofty goals, we don't have anything to offer; but if you're after a more modest...
Live Blog Watch the ARMS & Splatoon 2 Nintendo Direct - Live!
Also featuring other 3DS and Switch games
Ladies and gentlemen, we...are...live! This is the main event of the day, this is the moment you've all been waiting for... It's time! In the blue corner we have the undefeated, undisputed, freshest champion, Splatoon 2! In the red corner we have the rookie, the new challenger, the new kid on the block,...
As goo'd as ever
It's hard to believe it's been nearly a decade since World of Goo first glopped its way onto the then-new WiiWare service. A smart, squishy puzzle adventure from indie developers 2D Boy — with some of that team now known as Tomorrow Corporation — it raised the bar on downloadable Wii games and ran off with the hearts of puzzle...
Review New Frontier Days: Founding Pioneers (Switch eShop)
SimSettlers
Along with the epic adventure of The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, explosive action of Super Bomberman R, and one-on-one battles of 1-2-Switch, the Switch's launch lineup hosts some smaller surprises and gentler pursuits. New Frontier Days: Founding Pioneers — a cheery town-building simulation from ArcSystemWorks — fits nicely...
Review Legna Tactica (3DS eShop)
Tactica Generica
Kemco has been steadily supplying gamers with a glut of RPGs through the 3DS eShop over the past few years, all ported from mobile and mostly middling in the truest sense of the word — decent but forgettable games that riff off of classics. As the company's latest release, Legna Tactica is a dependable continuation of that policy,...
Hands On Creating a Quest in RPG Maker Fes
World-building
It's no secret that the 3DS is an RPG paradise, with new entries in both fresh and familiar franchises coming out faster than most fans can keep up with. It's an almost infinite bounty of adventure. But could it be more infinite? Enter RPG Maker Fes. A portable version of the long-running RPG-creation toolkit that lets players...
Review Mercenaries Saga 3 (3DS eShop)
Fun for hire
The 3DS eShop is no stranger to strategy RPGs; aside from retail heavy hitters like Fire Emblem: Awakening and Fates and Stella Glow, it's also been blessed with smaller but still eminently enjoyable experiences like Ambition of the Slimes, and the surprisingly solid Mercenaries Saga 2. CIRCLE Entertainment was responsible for
Review Dragon Quest VIII: Journey of the Cursed King (3DS)
Return of the King
In addition to a steady stream of top-quality games, the 3DS' RPG library is filled with the sort of lifetime achievements most consoles can only dream of: a hat trick of Monster Hunters, two to four Fire Emblems (depending on your perspective), scores of Shin Megami Tensei titles, and enough Etrian Odysseys to field a curling...
Review Unlucky Mage (3DS eShop)
Ill-fated Illusionist
From Dragon Quests and Shin Megami Tenseis to Pokémon and Fire Emblems, the 3DS is an RPG powerhouse. It's a testament to the eShop's offerings, however, that those famous names are flanked by a flurry of mid-tier RPGs of every persuasion, some of which are certainly worthy of your time. Kemco has been a prolific publisher in...
Feature Best Nintendo 3DS RPGs
A quest for the best
As the 3DS's sixth year in the world draws to a close, we can already look back on its impressively varied library with wonder; along with plenty of standout platformers, life sims, rhythm games, and puzzlers, it's also carved out a particular niche by delivering an almost non-stop barrage of first class RPGs. Responsible for...
Review Ambition of the Slimes (3DS eShop)
Slimes' Time
One of our favourite trends in the eShop has been seeing titles that turn tried-and-true gaming experiences on their heads by putting the player in a new perspective. From Weapon Shop de Omasse's comedic take on the day-to-day drudgery of an RPG smithy to The Legend of Kusakari turning Zelda's grass-cutting mechanic into a laser-focused...
Review Shin Megami Tensei IV: Apocalypse (3DS)
Waiting for the End of the World
Whether you know it from its earliest Famicom days, the immensely popular PlayStation-bound Persona spinoffs, or crossover efforts like Tokyo Mirage Sessions #FE, ATLUS' Shin Megami Tensei is one of gaming's most enduring and recognizable series, full of top-shelf JRPGs with deep combat systems and intriguing...
Review Dragon Quest VII: Fragments of the Forgotten Past (3DS)
Islands in the Sun
Whether you know it as Dragon Quest or Dragon Warrior, Yuji Horii's enduring role-playing series has been delighting fans and inspiring adventurers consistently since 1986. Like its Square-Enix stablemate Final Fantasy, each Dragon Quest is a standalone story, with shared elements and lore connecting it to other entries; in...
Review Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney - Spirit of Justice (3DS eShop)
Turnabout Traveller
There's never been a lawyer who's captured the hearts of gamers quite like Phoenix Wright, Ace Attorney. That's not only because Capcom's Ace Attorney is perhaps the only Bar-based game to hit the big time, but also because of the excellent writing, memorable characters, satisfying gameplay, and fast-flying 'Objection!'s that...
Review Adventure Labyrinth Story (3DS eShop)
Average Labyrinth Story
Last year's Adventure Bar Story put a new twist on the RPG experience, breaking it down into a tasty combination of two addicting elements: battling monsters, and cooking up a storm. Now publisher CIRCLE's back with Adventure Labyrinth Story, a spin-off of that title which focuses on putting a different facet of RPGs front...
Review Zero Time Dilemma (3DS)
Closing time
Imagine you're out jogging, near home, on your usual route. You come to a fork in the path where you always turn right, but just before you do you spot a snail making its way across the sidewalk. You swerve left to avoid it, and head down the left route for the first time. What would you find there? What could happen to you? How could...
Review Style Savvy (Wii U eShop / DS)
Retro Chic
If there's one thing that's true in style, it's that what's old is new again. That's as true in fashion games as it is on the runway, and now, after two excellent turns on the 3DS in Style Savvy: Trendsetters and Fashion Forward, Nintendo's going back to basics by bringing the DS original Style Savvy to the Wii U's Virtual Console. Style...
Review Langrisser Re:Incarnation Tensei (3DS)
Languid
With a string of well-loved strategy RPGs spanning the glory days of the Mega Drive, Super Famicom and Sega Saturn, Masaya's Langriser is a storied series. Its unique art style, large-scale battles and Germanic-inspired lore earned it a passionate following; now, nearly two decades after 1998's Langrisser V, Aksys has delivered a new entry...
