March2012
Review Kid Icarus: Uprising (3DS)
Pit’s flying high
When Nintendo unveiled the 3DS in 2010 it also teased Kid Icarus: Uprising, a return of a franchise that, a few cameos aside, had long remained dormant. While the original NES title was a conventional 2D action platformer, Masahiro Sakurai, most famous for his Super Smash Bros. series, has given Pit new life in an arcade action...
Review Kid Icarus: Of Myths and Monsters (3DS eShop / GB)
Heavenly
When the original Kid Icarus hit the NES, many gamers weren't sure exactly what to think of it. For starters the game's protagonist was a cute little winged angel (at least we thought so) who ran around shooting tiny arrows at mythological enemies. Of course it didn't help matters that the game was released around the same time Nintendo's...
Review Punch-Out!! Featuring Mr. Dream (3DS eShop / NES)
Dreamy
With ten NES titles originally released on the 3DS for Ambassadors only, it wasn't much of a stretch to expect the first ten put up for sale to be the same games. But we've already received a title that actually wasn't part of the Ambassador batch, and Nintendo has picked one of the best possible games. Originally released in 1987,...
Review Metroid (3DS eShop / NES)
The classic that inspired so many still holds up today
The NES section of the 3DS's Virtual Console expands by another notch with the addition of Metroid, regarded by many as one of the best entries that amazing series has to offer. The great news is that it's every bit as wonderful as you remember; the bad news is that it's no more interested in...
Life and soul
Nintendo's never been afraid to capitalise on the success of its franchises or, as some would say, beat its successful games to within an inch of their lives. Who knew when the very first Mario Party hit N64 in 1998 that, 14 years later, we'd be staring at the 11th — 12th if you count Mario Party-e — instalment in the series? After...
Review Super Mario Bros. (3DS eShop / NES)
Yet another way to experience a masterpiece
Mario. Say it loud and there's music playing. Say it soft, and it's almost like praying. Super Mario Bros. was, is, and will always be one of gaming's great masterpieces, and its availability on any additional format is a good thing. Now it's come to the 3DS Virtual Console, and we couldn't be happier. For...
February2012
Review Dillon's Rolling Western (3DSWare)
On a roll
After an initial launch period when the 3DS eShop was struggling for exclusive software, it’s now gaining genuine momentum. As well as some excellent third-party efforts, Nintendo itself has jumped into the fray with its latest title, Dillon’s Rolling Western, arriving to some fanfare. This title continues the trend set by Pullblox,...
A memorable tale
As the Wii prepares to be usurped by its successor, you could argue the console's getting some exceptional adventures in its twilight. European gamers had the pleasure of working through epics such as The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword and Xenoblade Chronicles in 2011, with North America due to receive the latter soon. For those...
Review Rhythm Heaven Fever (Wii)
Fever pitch
Rhythm Heaven games are the kind whose sole purpose is to make you smile. You might even say that it's a lot like a not-terrifying clown at a kid's party, actually: colourful and light, uncomplicated and wacky yet determined in its mission to entertain the masses. With Rhythm Heaven Fever marking the series' home console debut, Rhythm...
Review Wario Land: Super Mario Land 3 (3DS eShop / GB)
Third time’s a charm?
While Nintendo kept things fairly standard with the first two Super Mario Land releases, it obviously decided to make some changes when it got ready to create this third title in the series on Game Boy. Instead of featuring Mario, it decided to give players a chance to shake things up and take on the role of its newest bad...
Review Kirby's Block Ball (3DS eShop / GB)
Ball breaker
Outside of the popular platformers for which he was first known, Nintendo is always more than happy to take advantage of Kirby’s robust, rotund appearance for spin-offs. In the past the happy little chap has been flipped and lobbed about in Kirby’s Pinball Land and abused with golf clubs in Kirby’s Dream Course. It was never a...
January2012
Review Sakura Samurai: Art of the Sword (3DSWare)
Patience, young grasshopper
We're only a month into 2012 and the eShop's offerings this year are already weighted heavily with samurai-themed games. In truth, the two couldn't be more different: whereas UFO Interactive's Samurai Sword Destiny favours the straightforward button-mashing approach, Nintendo's own Sakura Samurai: Art of the Sword puts...
Review Fire Emblem: The Sacred Stones (3DS eShop / GBA)
Once more, to arms!
For such a long-running series, it's hard to believe Fire Emblem: The Sacred Stones was only the second game to leave Japan after GBA predecessor Fire Emblem. Since then the series has had a far bigger presence in the West, a fact underlined by Sacred Stones' status as a 3DS Ambassador title. If Sacred Stones is your first Fire...
Review Super Mario Advance 3: Yoshi's Island (3DS eShop / GBA)
Drawing you in
Super Mario Advance 3: Yoshi’s Island joined a Nintendo tradition of re-releasing classic titles for a new audience. Bringing an iconic Super Nintendo platformer to the Game Boy Advance seemed perfectly apt, with the handheld more than capable of 16-bit standard visuals. The question remains, is this port worth playing today?...
Review WarioWare, Inc.: Mega Microgame$! (3DS eShop / GBA)
No time to catch your breath
Nintendo has made its name in the games industry by providing tightly focused and highly polished experiences for over 20 years. Its games are always regarded as some of the best in their respective genres, so what to do when it's conquered all charted territory? Invent new ones, of course. WarioWare, Inc.: Mega...
Review Mario vs. Donkey Kong (3DS eShop / GBA)
A worthy successor
The Mario vs. Donkey Kong series has been going for quite a while now, with four entries under its belt. If you've never played the original, you'd be forgiven for thinking that it's not much more than a fun Lemmings clone, but that's actually not true. In fact, Mario vs. Donkey Kong is closer to the Game Boy version of Donkey...
Review 3D Classics: Kid Icarus (3DSWare)
Pit of class
Kid Icarus was always a bit of a weird game. Originally released alongside Metroid and using an almost identical game engine, it was quickly overshadowed by the popularity of Metroid's giant game world full of areas to explore and, save for a (more entertaining) Game Boy sequel, the series was never heard from again until Pit suddenly...
Review Nintendo Letter Box (3DSWare)
A note to remember
Until mid-December, the only online communication built into the 3DS was a 16-character status message on your friends list. Even by Nintendo standards, that's extremely constrictive. Now we all have the chance to download Nintendo Letter Box — aka Swapnote — for free. The first thing to note about Nintendo Letter Box is it is...
December2011
Review Wario Land 4 (3DS eShop / GBA)
A treasure
Wario is pretty good, for a bad guy. To look at him you wouldn’t think he’d have a heroic streak at all; he’s got the squiggly moustache of a pantomime villain and a nose that would put any alcoholic to shame. Despite all this he’s secretly a sweetheart: considering that the rotund treasure hunter started life as an antagonist to...
Review Tetris (3DS eShop / GB)
From Russia with fun
Saying that Tetris shifted a few Game Boys is like saying caffeine sold a few energy drinks. Already an established favourite by the time Nintendo's handheld hit the market in 1989, Tetris proved to be the perfect pick-up-and-play experience to go along with the fledgling portable system; while many people initially questioned...
Review F-Zero Maximum Velocity (3DS eShop / GBA)
Gotta go fast
F-Zero has always been Nintendo’s way of flaunting how on the cutting-edge of technology it can be when it so chooses. Like a bat out of Hell, the original F-Zero launched alongside the Super NES to draw a clear distinction between where 16-bit Nintendid and SEGagged. Later on N64, F-Zero X boasted 30 on-screen polygonal racers and...
Review Mario Kart Super Circuit (3DS eShop / GBA)
Short circuit
It’s hard to believe that the Mario Kart franchise has been around for nearly 20 years and appeared on eight different consoles. Mario Kart: Super Circuit may have been first released in 2001, but now it’s back for a whole new generation of players ten years after release through the 3DS Ambassador program. There are four cups to...
Review Metroid Fusion (3DS eShop / GBA)
Like cold fusion, only cooler
Metroid Fusion slipped out of the airlock between two behemoths, simultaneously having to live up to the legacy of its predecessor Super Metroid, which is a big Power Suit to fill, and keep the advancing Metroid Prime at arm cannon's length. It would have been easy for Fusion to have become lost in the vacuum created by...
Review The Legend of Zelda: The Minish Cap (3DS eShop / GBA)
Small but mighty
Those poor Hylians just can't have any fun, can they? Just when everything seems to be all well and good, some creep with bad skin comes along, unleashes a whirlwind of evil and shrouds the land in darkness. It's tough for us to feel too bad for them, though. Because as history has shown, bad news for Hyrule means great news for...
Mega blox
Intelligent Systems is mostly known for its work on the Advance Wars, Fire Emblem and WarioWare series, but occasionally, when it's not too busy, it develops some unique games: it's created titles like Cubivore on the GameCube and Eco Shooter Plant 530 on WiiWare. Now it's back with another original creation for the eShop, and it can quite...
