July2019
Review God Eater 3 - A Great Port Of A Fine Monster Hunter Alternative
Aragami killer
While simply describing God Eater 3 as a Monster Hunter clone might be a little disingenuous, it does comfortably sum up the core tenets of its gameplay. Much like Capcom’s seminal slaying series, you’ll explore pre-defined areas and face off against monsters of varying sizes. You’ll hack off body parts and use the resources you...
June2019
Nothing hollow about this one
Sword Art Online has been around for quite a while now; what started in 2002 as a simple light novel series has gone on to span a multimedia franchise including several books, manga adaptations, video games, movies, and – yes – an impending live-action Netflix series. It was only a matter of time before the...
May2019
Review Super Robot Wars T - Enjoyable Tactical Mecha Goodness For Returning Fans And Newcomers Alike
The T is for ‘Terrific’
Super Robot Wars T is the most recent entry (and the first on Switch) in Bandai Namco's very successful series of tactical mecha adventures that stretch all the way back to deepest darkest 1991. With dozens upon dozens of previous entries under their belt you'd imagine they'd have exhausted Japan's supply of pilotable...
April2019
Review Super Dragon Ball Heroes: World Mission - A Shallow But Satisfying Arcade-Style Card Battler
Card-carrying heroes
By now there have been so many Dragon Ball games that they’ve practically ticked off every genre there is. So it shouldn’t come as much of a surprise to know that this isn’t the first time Goku and co. have taken their war of fisticuffs to the world of card-based battles. The franchise has one of the most successful TCG...
January2019
Review Tales of Vesperia: Definitive Edition - An Aptly-Named Refresh Of A True JRPG Classic
Blastia from the past
If you’ve owned a console in the last two decades – and have a passing interest in Japanese RPGs – there’s a very good chance you’ve played at least one of the Tales games on your travels. There are so many entries (not counting the ludicrous number of spin-offs) it’s a surprise it’s taken this long for one to...
December2018
Review Katamari Damacy REROLL - A Timely Remaster Of A True Modern Classic
Keep rollin'
Games are often at their best when they embrace the truly weird and wonderful. In an era where so much emphasis is placed on gritty realism, life-like character models and terrifyingly accurate simulations, it’s nice to punctuate that authenticity with oddity or two. Thankfully, the peculiar world of Katamari has returned in the form...
November2018
Review Taiko no Tatsujin: Drum'n'Fun! - Worth The Wait, But Don't Forget That Drum Controller
1-2-3-4, I declare a drum war
From the searing colour of the menu icon to the lively title screen, Taiko no Tatsujin: Drum 'n' Fun! arrives on Switch with a spring in its step. And with good reason – alongside sister title Drum Session! on PS4, it’s the first Drum Master ever to arrive in Europe, and only the second to come to the US. In the...
October2018
Review My Hero One's Justice - In-Your-Face Fighting Fun That Might Be Too Shallow For Some
Quirks of the job
2018 hasn’t just been a golden year for fighting games - with everything from Blade Strangers to the upcoming Super Smash Bros. Ultimate laying the smacketh down on consoles - it’s also been a cracker for anime adaptations making themselves welcome on Nintendo Switch. So what happens when these two potent streams collide? Well,...
Review Dark Souls: Remastered - Perfect Portable Punishment
Git gud on the go
The Nintendo Switch has played host to countless ports in the relatively brief 18 months it’s been on the market, but every so often one comes along that brings with it all the prestige and reverence that made it such a touchstone elsewhere. Last year, that game was arguably The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, a port that was made all...
Review Dragon Ball FighterZ - A Stunning Switch Port That Will Leave You Breathless
What you Super Saiyan?
Nine months after release on competing platforms, Dragon Ball FighterZ has finally made its way to Switch. Back in January, when our sister site Push Square reviewed the original release, they gave it a glowing 9/10 score, and for good reason. Even by PlayStation 4 standards, FighterZ is breathtaking. So, how does one of...
July2018
Long haul flight
Everything from Go Vacation’s appearance, style, gameplay, and pure existence hark back to those strangely repetitive days of the Wii, where everyone and their cat was releasing a party-type sports game for Nintendo’s remote-waggling sensation. There’s good reason for that, too, as the game is an HD port of the original Go...
June2018
Review One Piece: Pirate Warriors 3 Deluxe Edition
A Pirate's Life For Mii
In terms of sheer longevity, it’s hard to beat Eiichiro Oda’s One Piece. The long-running adventure started out as a manga in 1997 — still running today! — and along the way has picked up every form of cross-licensing known to humankind, with anime, video games, novels and even theme parks retelling the tale of Monkey...
May2018
Review Little Nightmares: Complete Edition
A little bit Maw
Bestowed with a disquieting atmosphere and visual imagination, Little Nightmares makes a terrific first impression. A side-on platform-puzzler in the vein of Playdead’s exceptional Limbo and Inside - with a similarly dark palette - the game casts the player as Six, a nine-year-old girl who must navigate her way from the depths of...
Review Naruto Shippuden: Ultimate Ninja Storm Trilogy
Naruto on the Switch? Believe it!
Naruto and Nintendo have long been cozy with each other. The earliest Naruto games appeared some 15 years ago on the GameCube and Gameboy Advance, but the Ultimate Ninja series of Naruto games skipped Nintendo’s consoles in favour of other platforms, but all that has changed with the release of Naruto Shippuden:...
February2018
Review Pac-Man Championship Edition 2 Plus
I've got a fever, and the only prescription is more Pac-Man
In 1980, Pac-Man took the world by storm, introducing arcade players to an entirely new kind of gameplay style. The titular pill muncher went on to become a universally recognised icon of gaming, while also spawning numerous sequels and spinoffs to the inaugural debut over the decades that...
September2017
Review One Piece Unlimited World Red - Deluxe Edition
Shōnen Switch
There aren’t many licensed properties that can claim to have a game on both the Bandai Wonderswan and Nintendo’s Switch, but that’s the case with Eiichiro Oda’s One Piece — this evergreen manga megahit has had a steady stream of video game adaptations over its 20-year-plus run, with One Piece Unlimited World Red - Deluxe...
Review Dragon Ball Xenoverse 2
We gotta (portable) power
To those of us in the West it may not seem like it, but Dragon Ball and Nintendo have always been cozy. Nearly every Nintendo console, home or portable, has been host to at least one if not several Dragon Ball games. Unfortunately, the Wii U was one of the few Nintendo consoles not to receive a Dragon Ball game. Bandai aims...
Nintendo used Double-Dip!
The unholy lovechild of Tekken and Pokémon, Pokkén Tournament caused quite a stir when it was first announced, yet Bandai Namco's one-on-one fighter exceeded expectations when it eventually arrived on the Wii U last year following a successful run in arcades. Given that almost all Pokémon games focus on...
July2017
"It belongs in a Museum!"
With arcade hits such as Pac-Man, Galaga and Ridge Racer to its name, it's fair to say that Nakamura Manufacturing Company – better known as Namco – has a proud history behind it. Founded in 1955 with ride-on mechanical toys as its main focus, Namco would find global fame with the arrival of the arcade video game in the...
January2017
Better together
There have been many Dragon Ball games over the years, and one universal truth exists: they seem to get better as time goes by. Early efforts on the SNES, Mega Drive, PlayStation and Saturn left a bad taste in the mouths of series fans, but lately Bandai Namco's Dragon Ball Xenoverse sub-series has redressed the balance neatly...
October2016
Disney World in your own home... sort of
What happens when you combine life in a fantasy world, lots of the most recognisable fictional characters on the planet, some bonus magic, sparkles and cheery songs into a tiny 3DS cartridge? Theoretically, the answer you're looking for is "success". Luckily in the case of Disney Magical World 2 this is also...
May2016
Keeping up with the Indiana Joneses
Nestled away in the busy excitement of a Nintendo Direct last January, Bandai Namco first announced Project Treasure; a 4 player co-op title set to release exclusively for Wii U. With famed Tekken producer Katsuhiro Harada and a team of young developers on board, their admirable goal was to create a game that...
March2016
Nintendo used Smash Hit. It's super effective!
Pokkén Tournament: it's not quite what a select few may have imagined when they dared to concoct a Pokémon / Tekken crossover game in the recesses of their wildest dreams, but few had even considered such a ludicrous idea until it actually came to fruition. Nevertheless, it's a real thing that...
Review Dragon Ball Z: Super Butoden 2
Just Saiyan
Dragon Ball Z fever was very much a real thing in the '90s, but this blonde hair, Kamehameha-throwing insanity hit the UK and America much later than the rest of Europe. As such, it might still not be common knowledge that all four of Super Famicom's Dragon Ball Z one-on-one fighting games received PAL localization and distribution -...
February2016
Super Smash Zone
It's difficult to know what to expect out of such a massive crossover like Project X Zone 2. When one game includes characters, places and references to dozens of franchises from across five different companies, one must wonder whether there will be balance to all of the different parts at play. Fortunately, Project X Zone 2 pulls...
