April2009

  • Review Eledees: The Adventures of Kai and Zero (DS)

    The Elebits head to the Nintendo DS in this action-packed sequel.

    Shortly after the Wii was launched in 2006, Konami released one of the most bizarre and enjoyable third-party games that year. Entitled Elebits, the game showcased the new functionally of the Wii Remote. Played from a first-person perspective, players explored the land looking for...

March2009

  • Review Detana!! Twinbee (TG-16)

    It's the popular vertical-scrolling shooter renowned for its cute and comical world.

    The Twinbee series of shooters hasn't seen a lot of action outside of Japan, so it should come as no surprise that this PC Engine version of Detana!! Twinbee was never released outside of Japan and marks yet another import release for Hudson on the Wii Virtual...

  • Review Suikoden: Tierkreis (DS)

    Is the first handheld instalment in Konami's classic RPG series as fun to play as it is to pronounce?

    Who could have guessed that the current console generation's go-to platform for RPGs both old and new would turn out to be the humble DS? It's a hand-held, it's manufactured by Nintendo and the hardware leaves a lot to be desired in comparison to...

  • Review Gradius ReBirth (WiiWare)

    Does Konami's old-school Gradius formula still hold up all these years later?

    The original Gradius arcade release was one of the first truly great side-scrolling shooters and, along with R-Type, spawned a legion of copycat video games back in the 80s and 90s. The Gradius titles have been copied and cloned more times than can be counted and, much...

February2009

  • Review Life Force (Wii Virtual Console / NES)

    Use the force!

    For those not in the know, Life Force started out life known as Salamander in Japan and was renamed for Western audiences. The Salamander series is a spin off to Konami’s famous Gradius franchise of shooters; the main differences in Salamander are the introduction of a simultaneous 2 player mode, vertically scrolling stages in...

January2009

  • Review Sandy Beach (WiiWare)

    Hopefully that’s just sand in your pants and not crabs…

    Konami is well known in the gaming world and is a much larger game company than the typical WiiWare studio. With their resources, a simple budget title should be something they could throw together in a weekend. Unfortunately, Sandy Beach (developed by Frozen Codebase and published by...

November2008

June2008

  • Review Bio Miracle Bokutte Upa (Wii Virtual Console / NES)

    Oh baby!

    Let's be honest, a platformer built around a tiny baby and his rattle doesn't exactly beam with potential from the start, so it's no small wonder that this game was originally rejected by Nintendo of America at the time it was submitted for release in the US. But if you look at screenshots of Bio Miracle Bokutte Upa and prematurely dismiss...

May2008

  • Review Critter Round-Up (WiiWare)

    The animals aren't the only thing that stink in this mediocre WiiWare release.

    Critter Round-Up has been branded by many people as an animal-themed version of the classic arcade game Qix. While that description isn't too far off the mark, there's more to it than simply boxing in area on the screen, but unfortunately it's not enough to keep this...

  • Review Gradius II: Gofer no Yabou (Virtual Console / TurboGrafx-16)

    Gordon the Gofer

    This is an almost arcade-perfect port of the arcade version of Gradius II, which was also known as Vulcan Adventure. Konami made no compromises in choosing the PC Engine’s Super CD format to release this game on, and the music sounds better than ever as a result. Sadly this never made it to the west as a TurboGrafx-CD game, so...

April2008

  • Review Pro Evolution Soccer 2008 (Wii)

    Right on target, or way off the mark?

    Konami's flagship Pro Evolution Soccer (Winning Eleven in other territories) series really caught the gaming world's attention with its fourth release, a beautifully playable and engrossing take on football. Since then it's become even more popular, and now rivals EA's FIFA brand in the sales stakes. However,...

January2008

  • Review Contra 4 (DS)

    Some of us have waited nearly two decades for this game - does Konami's latest 2D effort match the brilliance of the SNES Contra III?

    Konami’s Contra (AKA Gryzor, Probotector) is one of those franchises that has struggled to make the transition from 2D to 3D. After the excellent arcade and 8-bit editions, lucky SNES and Megadrive owners were...

December2007

  • Review Skate or Die! (Virtual Console / NES)

    Hop on your board and take part in five extreme skate events!

    Long before the Tony Hawk’s franchise made skateboarding games mainstream the cool kids got their kicks on Skate or Die for the NES. The action begins in Rodney Recloose’s skateboard shop. He’s a crazy middle-aged dude with a blue Mohawk who organises different event such as...

  • Review Blades of Steel (Virtual Console / NES)

    With sharpened blades and a lethal stick, you slash into a rink surrounded by thousands of screaming fans.

    Blades of Steel, much like one of Konami's other NES sports games, Double Dribble, was loved all over the world back in the day. Double Dribble didn't hold up that well, so you may wonder how its ice hockey has fared. Actually, it has aged...

  • Review Cybernator (Wii Virtual Console / Super Nintendo)

    Don't be a Cybernator hater

    The Japanese have a real love for big robots that hasn't entirely crossed over into the West. Thankfully Cybernator (AKA: Assault Suit Valken) - a follow up to the Megadrive Assault Suit Leynos/Target Earth - made the jump from East to West and remains one of the more memorable SNES shooters. After the mission-based...

November2007

  • Review Double Dribble (Virtual Console / NES)

    Double Dribble is a 5-on-5 basketball game for the NES, based on the 1986 arcade game of the same name.

    This is the first basketball game to come to VC, and unfortunately for us, it's not very good. While Double Dribble was fairly popular back in the day due to the graphics (There are some cutscenes with fairly detailed stuff, like a crowd marching...

  • Review Axelay ( / Super Nintendo)

    Who said the SNES couldn't handle shmups?

    Regardless of the fact that it was released fairly early on in the life of Nintendo's 16-bit console, Axelay remains one of the best looking and most impressive shooters available for the format. Employing a similar format to Konami stable mate Lifeforce, Axelay switches between a vertical and horizontal...

October2007

August2007

  • Review Super C (Wii Virtual Console / NES)

    Super Charged

    After Konami's maddeningly hard Contra/Probotector proved immensely popular, obviously it wasn't going to sit around and not make a sequel. Super C/Probotector II puts you in the role of the same heroes once again as you try to take out alien scum. This time they're possessing humans to attack you. The game's got practically the same...

April2007

  • Review Gradius III (Virtual Console / Super Nintendo)

    Vic Viper is back to rid the galaxy of evil.

    Gradius III was one of the first SNES shooters and to be perfectly honest, it shows. Graphically the game is fairly bland (although the same could be said of the coin op original), the sound is nothing special and when things get hectic there's some terrible slowdown. Regardless of these points, the...

March2007

  • Review The Legend of the Mystical Ninja (Wii Virtual Console / Super Nintendo)

    Go go Goemon

    You might be forgiven for dismissing this mysterious game at first glance, but give it a chance and you might find a fantastic game with amazing depth. Kid Ying and Dr. Yang are on an adventure to save Princess Yuki who has been kidnapped by counterfeiters. By traveling through different Warlock Zones in Japan, Kid Ying and Dr. Yang are...

  • Review Castlevania (Wii Virtual Console / NES)

    Introducing Belmont

    The first NES Castlevania was like a breath of fresh air when it was first released. Capcom's spooky, but cartoon-like Ghost 'n' Goblins was the closest thing on the market, but Konami's game was a little more mature and serious. The gothic feel for which the series has become famous for is all present and correct, and the...

  • Review Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (Virtual Console / NES)

    T-U-R-T-L-E POWER!

    Turtle mania was sweeping the world when this came out in 1989. That's probably why this game was so popular despite it being an unfair bag of dog's droppings! So popular was the franchise that Nintendo even bundled the NES with this game in Europe replacing the mighty Super Mario Bros cart. It's easy to see why so many...

  • Review Castlevania: Portrait of Ruin (DS)

    Konami's evergreen vampire hunting series drops by for a second bite on the Nintendo DS, but can it maintain the blistering pace set by Dawn of Sorrow?

    Those of you lucky enough to have experienced the sublime Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow will no doubt be very excited by this latest release for the Nintendo DS. Once again Konami have settled on the...

January2007

  • Review Elebits (Wii)

    Would you like to use a device that could lift up objects beyond your reach? Konami thought you would..

    It's an interesting concept, an anti-gravity 'gun' that can lift heavy objects and throw them about the place. In Konami's first game for the Wii, you can cause havoc in a house and then start trashing the streets! In the game's world, there are...