January2014

  • Review Super Mario Bros.: The Lost Levels (Wii U eShop / NES)

    Super Masochist Bros.

    Super Mario Bros.: The Lost Levels is the famously difficult, Japan-only sequel to the titular plumber's breakout NES hit, expanding on the original formula with deviously challenging level design and obstacles. Western audiences were instead given the comparatively easy 'Super Mario USA' (a re-skinned translation of Nintendo's...

  • Review Mario Bros. (3DS eShop / NES)

    Subpar Mario

    Mario and Luigi’s adventures have been nothing short of fantastical over the years, to the point where you could be forgiven for questioning their occupations as plumbers. But despite the brothers’ incredibly varied employment history as doctors, sportsmen and racing drivers — in which they’ve rarely called upon their supposed...

  • Review Super Mario Bros. 3 (3DS eShop / NES)

    Pixel-perfect platforming

    Many old-school Nintendo titles are remembered fondly and adored by nostalgic fans; The Legend of Zelda, Metroid, Kirby’s Adventure and more still receive heaps of praise and see frequent re-releases to this day. Few games, however, received the unanimous commendations lavished upon Super Mario Bros. 3 on its release, an...

  • Review Dr. Luigi (Wii U eShop)

    Just what the doctor ordered?

    Nintendo ends the Year of Luigi with Dr. Luigi, a puzzler that feels more like a green, L-shaped re-skin of the Dr. Mario series than a true sequel, due to its identical gameplay, much of the same music, and simplistic visuals. Fortunately, Luigi proves to be just as good a doctor as his more experienced brother, and...

  • Review Super Mario Bros. 3 (Wii U eShop / NES)

    A truly super Mario game

    Super Mario Bros. 3’s recent arrival on the Wii U eShop seemed like a conspicuously low-key affair compared to the considerable hype that surrounded its hugely anticipated original release back the early nineties. However, that doesn't mean that the lack of booming fanfare should be interpreted as a cause for concern; over...

  • Review Super Punch-Out!! (Wii U eShop / SNES)

    Brain over brawn

    Whereas Punch-Out!! Featuring Mr. Dream is consistently considered to be one of the best games on the NES, console sequel Super Punch-Out!! seldom appears in the top 10 when recalling the best games on the SNES. Did the puzzle-fight formula not hold up as well for the second time around at home, or was 16-bit competition just that...

December2013

  • Review Wii Sports Club: Golf (Wii U eShop)

    Definitely under par (that's a good thing)

    It seems slightly odd that, nearly two-and-a-half years after it made an appearance in the big reveal of Wii U at E3 2011, we now finally get to play Wii Sports Club: Golf. Perhaps unlike its contemporaries to date — Bowling and Tennis — this is the first of the new download-only series that feels like...

  • Review NES Remix (Wii U eShop)

    Mixing it up

    During what is likely to be the final Nintendo Direct of 2013, there were a few surprise game announcements. One of these was a bit more surprising than the rest, because it was available immediately after its announcement — NES Remix. At first glance, NES Remix might just seem like a collection of NES games, but in truth it's more...

  • Review The Legend Of Zelda: A Link To The Past (SNES)

    A link to perfection

    It's no accident that when Nintendo first decided to do a direct 3DS sequel to a Zelda title, it chose The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past as its reference point. A Link Between Worlds is set some years after the events of the 1991 SNES classic, but it uses a very similar map layout and very effectively tickles that...

  • Review Donkey Kong 3 (3DS eShop / NES)

    Third time's the swarm

    Nintendo has a bit of a tradition of mixing things up for game number three. Super Mario Bros. 3 added a world map and the famous Tanooki Suit, Super Mario Land 3 nonchalantly swapped Mario for his arch-rival Wario, and Starfy's third adventure saw him graciously sharing the spotlight with his little sister. It should come as...

November2013

  • Review Mario Party: Island Tour (3DS)

    Rolling the dice

    Back in 1999, Mario and his crew could have taught Prince a thing or two about how to celebrate the coming of a new millennium. Establishing itself as a mainstay on the Nintendo 64, the Mario Party series showed up three times to blister hands and bring friends and family together to yell at each other at the top of their lungs...

  • Review Super Mario 3D World (Wii U)

    A purrfect blend

    Super Mario 3D World is a brave release as it strives, without any hint of apology, to hit on a formula to satisfy the majority of 2D platforming fans and the smaller — but still sizeable — legion of 3D Mario devotees. Many enjoy both, of course, yet they’ve always been distinct experiences that often lead to a clear...

  • Review Wario's Woods (Wii U eShop / NES)

    Kinopio's Canopy

    Wario's Woods has had quite a storied legacy over the last few decades, standing not only as the last officially licensed game released on Nintendo's legendary NES in North America in 1994, but also one of the very first titles available on the Wii's Virtual Console service. In-between those impressive milestones, it made an...

  • Review The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds (3DS)

    A classic series gets a fresh new coat of paint

    Much like everyone's favourite green-garbed hero Link, Eiji Aonuma, current producer of The Legend of Zelda series, is also on a quest of his own. However, Aonuma-san isn't tasked with saving Hyrule, nor is he desperately searching for the sacred Triforce; in fact, his personal mission isn't nearly as...

  • Review Wii Sports Club: Bowling (Wii U eShop)

    No splits here

    When it comes to the games in the original Wii Sports that felt the most realistic and compelling, Bowling would have to be a candidate as the best of the lot. Golf and Baseball may have a say, too, while Tennis and Boxing — most definitely the latter — perhaps had the greatest degree of waggle. The fact Bowling reappeared in...

  • Review Wii Sports Club: Tennis (Wii U eShop)

    What the deuce?

    Way back at E3 2011, in that Wii U reveal that rather bizarrely confused half of those watching, Nintendo showed remixes of Wii Sports events that showed the GamePad being utilised in creative ways. It's perhaps surprising that over two years after that visual demo, we're just now seeing the iconic Wii pack-in make its way to...

  • Review Wii Fit U (Wii U)

    Fit for purpose

    It’s astonishing just how successful the Wii Fit franchise has been for Nintendo since it first graced our living rooms in 2008. In fact, both Wii Fit and its expanded sequel Wii Fit Plus have each sold more than 20 million copies, which is staggering when you take into account that a good number of those purchases would have...

  • Review Baseball (Wii U eShop / NES)

    Not quite a grand slam

    Originally released alongside the launch of the Nintendo Entertainment System in the 1980s, Nintendo's Baseball is one of several simple, lean titles that, while primitive and slow by today's standards, still show a special Nintendo pedigree. Ideally these games would be released as a compilation; the content in Baseball,...

  • Review Donkey Kong 3 (Wii U eShop / NES)

    Bugging you?

    When the original Donkey Kong proved immensely popular, Nintendo decided to ride off its success and create a sequel changing the roles, making Mario the villain and Donkey Kong Jr. the hero. What is surprisingly not well known, however, is that there was a third game after that. While the next logical next might have been to allow you...

October2013

  • Review Wario's Woods (3DS eShop / NES)

    It's back like you wooden believe

    Originally released in 1994, Wario's Woods holds the prestigious honour of being the last officially licensed game to release for the NES in North America; that's a remarkably long time after the console itself launched in the mid-eighties. Yet while it's impressive that the legendary system received a first-party...

  • Review Pinball (Wii U eShop / NES)

    Ball out?

    Back in 1985, when Nintendo launched the NES in North America, there were a slew of games released with to-the-point titles like Baseball, Golf, and the game of the hour, Pinball. At the time, inviting these simple, accessible games into your home was almost life changing, and we have great memories bouncing around our heads of how they...

  • Review Professor Layton and the Azran Legacy (3DS)

    A final puzzle to savour

    The arrival of Professor Layton and the Azran Legacy is an occasion both exciting and tinged with sadness. For dedicated fans of the franchise across DS and 3DS there's the promise of hundreds of puzzles and a generous dosage of gentlemanly charm, offset by the knowledge that — for now at least — this is the last...

  • Review Urban Champion (Wii U eShop / NES)

    Won't somebody think of the children?

    Urban Champion is back, and is a menace to society. It's a danger to young gamers for two reasons. If you're the type of gamer that thinks brutality and violence has no place in a title played by children, this tale of brawling 8-bit thugs bringing mayhem to the streets is a primitive but potent example of those...

  • Review Clu Clu Land (Wii U eShop / NES)

    Clu Clu Bland

    Back in the NES days, Nintendo had a lot of experimental, arcade-like games, many of which never quite made it into the big leagues in order to get sequels and the like. Perhaps one of the most often forgotten of these games is Clu Clu Land. Similarly to Kuru Kuru Kururin, you need to know a bit of Japanese in order to understand the...

  • Review Wii Party U (Wii U)

    Don't be tardy for this party

    It's no secret that Nintendo has struggled with getting the word out about the Wii U. Unclear branding and messaging — not to mention a lack of consumer awareness and hard-hitting software in the first half of 2013 — have resulted in a lot of confusion and missed opportunities. More importantly, the company itself...