December2014

November2014

  • Review Natsume Championship Wrestling (Wii U eShop / SNES)

    Tapped out

    Let's be honest here: wrestling is essentially one big television drama, and that's no way an attempt to belittle the incredible athleticism of the men and women involved. It's Eastenders with a mullet and tight pants, complete with plot twists and a cast of larger than life characters to root for. These heels and faces are the reason we...

  • Review Lufia: The Legend Returns (3DS eShop / GBC)

    The legend isn't feeling so good

    Young Wain is the protector of his small village; it’s not a tough gig, with just the occasional blob-creature to slash on the outskirts, but things are about to change. As a spiritual force awakens inside him, the powerful Sinistrels re-emerge to release a threat of “unseen terror on the land”. His bloodline...

  • Review Harvest Moon 2 (3DS eShop / GBC)

    Crop ‘til you drop

    Clearly a testament to the popularity of the genre, the 3DS as a platform has been flooded with life simulation games. Ranging from the cutesy and calm world of Animal Crossing: New Leaf to the adventurous Fantasy Life, the surplus of games has spanned a plethora of sub genres, but they all come down to one thing: allowing their...

October2014

September2014

  • Review Wild Guns (Wii U eShop / SNES)

    True Bit

    The Wild West is a fantastic setting for a video game. Rugged gunslingers, drunken shootouts, limited presence of the law and a surplus of criminals lend to a volatile and rowdy backdrop for a tense, controller-gripping time. In the case of Wild Guns it takes the Steampunk route, injecting hostile machinery and advanced weaponry into the...

May2014

  • Review Hometown Story (3DS)

    Harvest Merchant

    Released in North America and Japan last year, Hometown Story has now hit European shores at long last, thanks to the efforts of Rising Star Games. You play as a young boy — or girl, if you wish — who takes over a shop in a small town after his grandmother, who previously owned it, passes away. If this sounds in any way similar...

March2014

  • Review Yumi's Odd Odyssey (3DS eShop)

    Ocean Belly River's back!

    In some games, just moving around is a joy. Soaring through the skies in Pilotwings, loop-de-looping in NiGHTS into Dreams, wet-jetting around Isle Delfino in Super Mario Sunshine, and tumbling through town in Gravity Rush are all exhilarating experiences in their own right, as memorable as the games built around them.

August2013

  • Review Harvest Moon (Wii U eShop / SNES)

    Barnstorming

    Early wake ups, extensive hours, back-breaking labour and ever-vulnerable to unpredictable weather patterns – farming doesn't sound like the most tantalising profession on paper. Way back when, however, developer Natsume clearly caught a glimpse of the positive aspects of the job and was inspired to create one of gaming's most beloved...

June2013

  • Review Gabrielle's Ghostly Groove Mini (3DS eShop)

    A lot less gabby

    We at Nintendo Life have enjoyed the various Gabrielle's Ghostly Groove games, but so far we've tended to like them more for their charm and visual appeal than for their gameplay or for anything they do particularly well. This is a trend that goes back to the WiiWare incarnation of the series, Gabrielle's Ghostly Groove: Monster...

May2013

  • Review Harvest Moon: A New Beginning (3DS)

    Cream of the crop

    It may come as a surprise to some that a series of farming simulation games could become so popular and beloved by such a large audience, yet here we are, more than 15 years after the launch of the maiden game, with the release of Harvest Moon: A New Beginning. In celebration of this milestone anniversary, Marvelous AQL has decided...

April2013

  • Review Harvest Moon (3DS eShop / GBC)

    Under thresher

    The Harvest Moon series has always promoted the ideals of hard work and patience over the instant gratification found by more recent prods at gaming agriculture like Farmville. This attitude is even more apparent in Harvest Moon on the Game Boy Color than other iterations, as the handheld game crops the series down to its very roots...

March2013

  • Review Legend of the River King (3DS eShop / GBC)

    Nothing smells fishy here

    Natsume is mostly known for its Harvest Moon games, but what you might not know is that there is another long-running series from the same developer - in fact, its first game predates the first Harvest Moon by 6 years. Legend of the River King is one of only four games in this series released outside Japan, and it's now...

January2013

  • Review Reel Fishing 3D Paradise Mini (3DS eShop)

    A bassing fancy

    Natsume might be most famous as the house that Harvest Moon built, but fishing fans will know the name from its Legend of the River King and Reel Fishing series. Reel Fishing takes a more realistic approach to the angling action, and saw several installments on WiiWare with decidedly mixed results. Reel Fishing 3D Paradise Mini...

October2012

  • Review Reel Fishing Ocean Challenge (WiiWare)

    Pain in the bass

    It’s been about two years since the last Reel Fishing game was released for WiiWare, and you’d think that that was enough time to figure out how to improve on the formula. Unfortunately, that isn't at all what has happened. Instead, a series of games based on an activity as simple as fishing has somehow managed to sink deeper...

July2012

  • Review Harvest Moon 3D: The Tale of Two Towns (3DS)

    Come a cropper

    Marvelous, Natsume and Rising Star Games certainly feel like they're onto a high-yield crop with Harvest Moon; Harvest Moon 3D: The Tale of Two Towns might be the first 3DS entry but it's the eighth HM game in five years. Any concerns that the creative well is running dry are understandable — after all, it's only farming — but...

November2011

  • Review Gabrielle's Ghostly Groove 3D (3DS)

    The story of the ghost

    This past May saw the release of Gabrielle's Ghostly Groove: Monster Mix. We enjoyed it more than we expected to, and you can read why right here in our Gabrielle’s Ghostly Groove: Monster Mix review. In fact, you'd better read that review, because the retail sequel, Gabrielle's Ghostly Groove 3D, doesn't deviate much...

October2011

  • Review Rune Factory 3: A Fantasy Harvest Moon (DS)

    Farm-assured prime cut

    Thanks to Rising Star Games, gamers in Europe have finally caught up on the Rune Factory series — until Rune Factory: Tides of Destiny launches on Wii in North America next week, that is. Rune Factory 3: A Fantasy Harvest Moon on DS is the third and so far final portable instalment in the Harvest Moon spin-off, and the...

May2011

  • Review Gabrielle's Ghostly Groove: Monster Mix (WiiWare)

    Don't give up the ghost

    Gabrielle's Ghostly Groove: Monster Mix. You really only have to read the title to figure out who the intended audience is for this game: younger gamers. Kids. And that's not intended to be a jab, by the way; gamers often use the “kids’ game” moniker as a way of implying shallow game design, but that's not an entirely...

February2011

November2010

  • Review Harvest Moon: Grand Bazaar (DS)

    Top of the crops

    Harvest Moon games have remained largely the same since the series made its debut on the Super Nintendo all those years ago. You get up, tend to crops, care for animals, get married, raise a sprog, and continue forever. However, the latest title to hit North American shores, Harvest Moon: Grand Bazaar, strays from the template...

October2010

  • Review Lufia: Curse of the Sinistrals (DS)

    A brilliant retelling of a classic RPG

    When the original Lufia 2 was released on the Super Nintendo, it came rather late in the console's lifespan and with very little fanfare. Sadly, this meant that many gamers missed out on one of the true RPG gems to come out of the 16-bit era. Lufia: Curse of the Sinistrals is a complete re-imagining of Lufia 2,...