January2015
Review Street Fighter 2010: The Final Fight (Wii U eShop / NES)
Planet Hopper 1990
Capcom's Street Fighter 2010: The Final Fight is an interesting game, arriving on the NES after the release of the first Street Fighter, but before its sequel hit arcades and caused an explosion of interest in one-on-one brawlers. The game's story was changed for the western release to at least try and justify the use of the name...
December2014
Review Mega Man Zero (Wii U eShop / GBA)
A side character gets a great spotlight
The Classic Mega Man Series was popular enough to warrant its own spin-off series, Mega Man X. That, in turn, proved strong enough for a spin-off series of its own, and in 2002 it arrived in the form of Mega Man Zero The Zero series spans four titles — all released exclusively for the Game Boy Advance —...
Review Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney Trilogy (3DS eShop)
No appeal needed
The Ace Attorney franchise is well known but, when considered in isolation, it's a bit of an oddity. With its exaggerated characters, stilted animations and a tendency to be as wordy as a Tolstoy novel — not really, but there's a lot of reading — we'd have perhaps expected it to be a one off release in the West before being...
Review Mighty Final Fight (Wii U eShop / NES)
Looks can be deceiving
At first glance, it would be easy to mistake Capcom's Mighty Final Fight as a cheap cash-in of a superior arcade beat 'em up, with its chibi-styled characters and its seemingly limited 8-bit presentation. But while Mighty Final Fight may appear simpler than other entries in the series — game history buffs would be interested...
November2014
Review Gargoyle's Quest II: The Demon Darkness (3DS eShop / NES)
Little monsters
It might not be too off kilter to think that, in some alternate universe, things could have shaken out differently in Capcom’s stable and Firebrand the Red Arremer/Gargoyle would have become a bigger star. The company could have been associated more with crimson than true blue, and fans today could be crying out over the absence of...
October2014
Review Demon's Crest (Wii U eShop / SNES)
Fire-grand
Fans of the Ghosts 'n Goblins series should be familiar with the rather annoying little demon Firebrand; he would be the main reason Arthur would spend his time walking around the many levels of the games in his underwear. Capcom obviously thought enough of the guy to give him a series of his own, which began life on the Game Boy systems...
Review Mighty Final Fight (3DS eShop / NES)
Haggard by time or as mighty as ever?
Originally released for the NES in 1993, Mighty Final Fight is a home console spin-off of the original arcade classic, Final Fight. Interestingly, it came out a year after the technically superior home console port that appeared on the SNES and, furthermore, is quite a departure from the other games in the...
September2014
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 7 (Wii U eShop / SNES)
Bigger sprites, bigger fun?
Mega Man 7 is in an awkward place; while most big NES franchises made huge leaps to the Super Nintendo, the mainline Mega Man series' 16-bit thunder was stolen by its Serious Business spin-off, Mega Man X. Released after X and its sequel Mega Man X2, Mega Man 7 is Capcom's attempt to bring its classic platforming roots to...
Review Street Fighter 2010: The Final Fight (3DS eShop / NES)
Back to the future
Capcom's Street Fighter 2010: The Final Fight is not a typical Street Fighter game. If you go into this relatively obscure NES action title knowing you won't hear "Hadouken!" shouted once, you may be able to enjoy the experience. However, Street Fighter 2010's depth and surprisingly intricate gameplay will likely be lost on all...
Review Mega Man X3 (Wii U eShop / SNES)
A less than fitting farewell
In 1996, the Mega Man X series parted ways with Nintendo hardware. Mega Man X3 is how it ends. Not with a bang, but a whimper. The first Mega Man X game got things off to such a solid start that it was almost inevitable that a letdown would come sooner rather than later. After all, with so little room for improvement,...
August2014
Review Mega Man Battle Chip Challenge (Wii U eShop / GBA)
The chips are bringing us down
Adding RPG elements to a beloved side-scrolling franchise may seem like a stroke of insanity, but Mega Man has enjoyed more than a few titles that play off this idea while still retaining the atmosphere and challenge of the core series. Even a certain red plumber has proved that the transition can pay off, fleshing out...
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...
July2014
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...
June2014
Review Mega Man Xtreme 2 (3DS eShop / GBC)
An Xtreme Improvement
Mega Man Xtreme left us feeling a bit underwhelmed. While its intentions were certainly good, the execution was lacking and the experience felt like a far clunkier retread of levels we've already played before, rather than much of a game in its own right. However it's worth noting that the game was originally released for the...
May2014
Review Mega Man V (3DS eShop / GB)
There's a Stardroid waiting in the sky
The handheld Mega Man games, up until now, have been remixed mashups of two NES titles each. Some of them hewed more or less closely to the source material, while others were emboldened to evolve the original ideas is exciting new directions. Mega Man V, however, throws the very concept of "source material"...
Review Street Fighter Alpha 2 (Wii U eShop / SNES)
Akuma Matata
Street Fighter II casts an indelibly long shadow over the rest of Capcom's fighting games from the 1990s. First launched in 1991, SFII in all its Super and Turbo varieties has become synonymous with the Street Fighter franchise, a cultural touchstone the series wasn't truly able to move past until the launch of the successful Street...
Review Mega Man IV (3DS eShop / GB)
Great things in small packages
With one exception, which is also making its way to the 3DS Virtual Console, all of the Game Boy Mega Man games take two of the NES titles and rework them a bit. Some old faces in new places, so to speak. A sprinkling of unique bosses and weapons help to carve out identities for these portable experiences but, by and...
Review Mega Man III (3DS eShop / GB)
Third time's the charm
After the fun but flawed Dr. Wily's Revenge and the almost thoroughly disappointing Mega Man II on Game Boy, Capcom made a serious and substantial course correction. The result is Mega Man III, and we couldn't be happier about that. Retaining the template from Dr. Wily's Revenge (two sets of Robot Masters, a new Mega Man...
Review Mega Man II (3DS eShop / GB)
Get equipped with tarnished legacy
Ask any fan of the Blue Bomber to name their favourite game in the series and the odds are good that they will say either Mega Man 2 or Mega Man 3. That's to be expected, though; both of those games are among the best on the NES, a system that had no shortage of great platformers and action games. What's less...
Review Mega Man Xtreme (3DS eShop / GBC)
Xtreme Mediocrity
Mega Man X is often touted as one of the best games the SNES had to offer, which is certainly saying something. Its first sequel is further from consensus, but it's still safe to say that it's a great followup to its predecessor. If you've played either of these games — and, if you haven't, stop reading right now and do that —...
November2013
Review Mega Man X2 (Wii U eShop / SNES)
A mega effort
Capcom has really been on the ball with the Wii U Virtual Console — in just about one year, it has managed to release every single Mega Man game that saw the light of day on the Wii Virtual Console — and more — with Mega Man X2 being the latest release. Much like the original Mega Man series before it, the X series doesn't seem...
Review Goof Troop (Super Nintendo)
Gawrsh!
In the late '80s and early '90s Capcom created a range of games, based on Disney franchises, for the NES and SNES. The likes of Darkwing Duck, Chip 'n' Dale Rescue Rangers and DuckTales all made appearances, the latter of which has even been given the HD treatment for modern systems, including Wii U. One of the more interesting titles was...
October2013
Review Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney - Dual Destinies (3DS eShop)
Say hello to Justice
It's time to warm up those CHORDS OF STEEL, locate your magic panties and don the blue suit — Ace Attorney is back and it's as wacky as ever. Introducing a new cast of zany characters, as well as your old favourites, Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney - Dual Destinies is a welcome return to the franchise, complete with a fresh,...
