June2023
Review Fire Emblem - The Blazing Blade Is Still As Sharp As Ever
So much to love Lyndis game
This review originally went live in 2015, and we're updating and republishing it to mark the game's arrival in the Nintendo Switch Online Expansion Pack GBA library. Before Fire Emblem: Awakening kicked off 2013 (the Year of Luigi, you'll recall) with a bang, there was a great deal of concern at Nintendo regarding its...
January2023
Review Fire Emblem Engage - Relationships Get Sidelined By A Thrilling Combat-First Focus
School's out
It's been almost four years since the hugely successful Fire Emblem: Three Houses stormed onto Switch and reignited our passion for Intelligent Systems' long-running tactical RPG franchise. Here was a game that deepened the relationship and social sim aspects and captured the hearts of gamers who revelled in three separate campaign...
December2021
Review Paper Mario - A Well-Crafted Creation That Stands Up Beautifully
Historical document
This review originally went live in 2017, and we're updating and republishing it to mark the addition of Paper Mario to the other N64 games on Nintendo Switch Online. Can we take a moment to appreciate just how gloriously wacky it is that a game like Paper Mario exists in the first place? This is an idea that followed in the...
December2020
Review Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon & the Blade of Light - We've Come A Long Way In 30 Years
A burning flame or a dying ember?
It wasn’t until 2003 that western players first got a taste of the Fire Emblem series with the simply named Fire Emblem that launched on the Game Boy Advance. The title seemed to imply that it was the first release in the franchise, but it was in fact the seventh game in the series, while the previous six remained...
July2020
Review Paper Mario: The Origami King - A Puzzling Battle System Can't Kill This Funny Adventure
You'll be creasing with laughter
The Paper Mario series has seen more ups and downs over the years than the lid of Picasso’s pencil case, with Nintendo and developer Intelligent Systems trying their best to nail the formula again. A large number of Paper Mario fans believe GameCube title Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door is the best game in the...
July2019
Review Fire Emblem: Three Houses - The Zenith Of A Legendary SRPG Series
House party
Fire Emblem has been through quite a rollercoaster journey on its path to success. After an initial debut on the Famicom in 1990 with Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon and the Blade of Light, the series remained a niche exclusive of the Land of the Rising Sun for thirteen years until it made its way westward, spurred on by the appearance of...
May2017
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...
February2017
Review Fire Emblem Heroes (Mobile)
Gacha collect 'em all
Nintendo's relationship with mobile games and apps has been slightly awkward to date, as a prolonged period of resistance to the sector eventually turned into a necessary embrace. In its previous efforts on mobile - Miitomo and Super Mario Run - Nintendo has either retained noble intentions (as per the former) or tried to stick...
October2016
Review Paper Mario: Color Splash (Wii U)
Colour us impressed
For any long-running series, innovation is key to keeping fans coming back for more without getting too bored. Gameplay tweaks and changes to the setting can work wonders in refreshing a stale format, but some might argue that if an idea ain't broke, then don't keep trying to fix it. The Paper Mario series has been no stranger to...
March2016
Review Advance Wars: Dual Strike (Wii U eShop / DS)
War has twice before been this much fun
Intelligent Systems' long-running Famicom Wars series didn't arrive in the west until the release of Advance Wars on the Game Boy Advance, but the colourful turn-based tactical gameplay quickly acquired many fans. A GBA sequel arrived, followed by this DS entry. Like the two proceeding GBA instalments Advance...
Review Fire Emblem: Mystery Of The Emblem (SNES)
All Hail Prince Marth! (Yes, that Marth)
Ask any western gamer who Marth is and they will quickly reply something along the lines of "That cool sword-wielding guy from Super Smash Bros." - something that is understandable since the Fire Emblem series that began all the way back to 1990 on the Famicom only reached the West in 2003. But behind his...
February2016
Review Fire Emblem Fates (3DS)
Choose your destiny
Intelligent Systems got itself into a weird predicament after the stellar success of Fire Emblem Awakening a few years ago. Fire Emblem has long been known as one of Nintendo's most hardcore and unforgiving franchises – a turn-based RPG with plenty of variables to keep in mind on the battlefield, and where one wrong move might...
September2015
Review Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon (Wii U eShop / DS)
Emerging from the shadows
Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon is a Nintendo DS remake of the first Fire Emblem game (originally released in 1990 for Famicom in Japan) that's now available to download in Virtual Console form for Wii U. The series staple of strategic turn-based gameplay along with the perma-death possibility for characters would form the...
July2015
Review Advance Wars 2: Black Hole Rising (Wii U eShop / GBA)
Just like a black hole, it'll suck up hours of your time
With the first Advance Wars being a hit on the GBA not long after the system launched, it was no wonder that a sequel would eventually follow. Released about two years later, Advance Wars 2: Black Hole Rising feels very much like an expansion pack, but one that is still more than worth the...
May2015
Pulling the blocks into place
It's arguably one of the key gaming experiences to indulge in some light puzzling on a handheld system. Whether it's Tetris or Picross, nothing makes a morning commute or quiet evening more relaxing than letting grey matter and opposable thumbs work together to solve a problem. Pullblox / Pushmo is one Nintendo 3DS...
Review Paper Mario (Wii U eShop / N64)
Historical document
Can we take a moment to appreciate just how gloriously wacky it is that a game like Paper Mario exists in the first place? This is an idea that followed in the footsteps of Super Mario RPG, the Square/Nintendo collaboration which in itself marked a big departure in genre for the Mario universe. Nintendo would continue down this...
March2015
Review Code Name: S.T.E.A.M. (3DS)
Join the steam team
Nintendo is known for its extensive library of beloved characters, most of which appear in multiple titles on a regular basis; so when an internally developed new intellectual property comes along, there's reason to be excited. Code Name: S.T.E.A.M., a third-person shooter/turn-based strategy title by Intelligent Systems - best...
Review Fire Emblem: The Sacred Stones (Wii U eShop / GBA)
Worth fighting for
While Fire Emblem is a franchise with a long history in Japan, its track record in the West is far more condensed; in fact Fire Emblem: The Sacred Stones on Game Boy Advance was only the second series entry to arrive in the West. The first Western arrival is also available on the Wii U eShop, meaning that there's a useful...
December2014
Review Pokémon Puzzle Challenge (3DS eShop / GBC)
Pokémon! Blocks! What more do you need?
The eShop is rife with puzzle games, and it’s understandable as to why; they’re fairly simple in design and can provide a huge amount of entertainment to an incredibly broad audience. Some of them can be a little bit monotonous or shameless clones of another game, but you’ll sometimes find something...
June2014
Review Pushmo World (Wii U eShop)
Mo Push Mo Problems
Intelligent Systems' Pushmo World (known as Pullblox World in Europe) is exactly what you'd expect it to be: a Wii U sequel to the popular 3DS eShop puzzle titles Pushmo (Pullblox) and Crashmo (Fallblox) that predictably adds shinier graphics, more modes, and way more puzzles. It's a very safe sequel that doesn't take
April2014
Review Advance Wars (Wii U eShop / GBA)
War has never been so much fun
Mention Advance Wars to a seasoned gamer and they're almost guaranteed to have heard of it. One of the earliest major Game Boy Advance titles, it's now also one of the earliest titles from the handheld on the Wii U Virtual Console, giving veterans another chance to pick it up and newcomers an ideal opportunity to see...
June2013
Wario party
Going back a few years, it was something of a tradition for Nintendo to launch a new platform with a WarioWare title in hot pursuit. Charming bundles of micro-games that packed as much personality and gameplay as possible into seconds-long chunks, and perfect for demonstrating the unique capabilities of new hardware, the WarioWare games...
January2013
Review Fire Emblem: Awakening (3DS)
I love the smell of Elfire in the morning
A hint of trepidation arises whenever the "Powers That Be" decide that "Your Cool Thing" needs a bigger audience, primarily because "What They Like" and "Why You Like It" don't always mesh. Take Fire Emblem, possibly the most hardcore of Nintendo's franchises — not "hardcore" in the nonsense term of it...
November2012
Drop 'em like they're blox
Meet Fallblox – a game so clever that its very title could be a brand new synonym for “mindboggling”. Predecessor Pullblox / Pushmo remains one of the best titles on the 3DS eShop, an extremely smart puzzler that's fantastic value for money. Fallblox, known in North America as Crashmo, is no lazy sequel: it takes...
Review Paper Mario: Sticker Star (3DS)
Stuck on you
If there's one thing we can learn from its 3DS catalogue so far, it's that Nintendo is great at the safe sequel. Sure, there are out-there exceptions like Kid Icarus: Uprising, but by and large we've seen a whole lot of remakes or new entries in fan-favourite franchises that are more interested in paddling along leisurely than rocking...
