September2011
Review Super Mario Land 2: 6 Golden Coins (3DS eShop / GB)
Monochrome Mario is back in style
Nintendo managed to squeeze quite a bit of the Super Mario experience into the original Super Mario Land, but many gamers felt like the game was a bit too scaled down to feel like a true adventure from the series. Nintendo obviously sensed this when they sat down to create Super Mario Land 2: 6 Golden Coins, as this...
July2011
Review Game & Watch Gallery (3DS eShop / GB)
More than a fresh coat of paint
Most fans of the Game & Watch series likely enjoy it for its simplicity. The nature of the original devices meant that certain allowances had to be made for the primitive visuals, sounds and rigid controls. All three of these things are charming in their own right, but what really made people fall in love was the...
Review Baseball (3DS eShop / GB)
The Babe Ruth of bad games
Hey, kids! How would you like to revisit a game from the Game Boy's early years that wasn't very good to begin with and, in addition, has aged horribly? Sounds exciting, we know, but it gets better: the only marginally redeeming feature of the game – the ability to play it with your friends – has been disabled,...
June2011
Review Radar Mission (3DS eShop / GB)
Sonar, so good?
Miyamoto's latest pet-project, Steel Diver, released to mixed critical reception; some found its slow-paced, strategic gameplay fun and refreshing, while others found it...well, boring. Suffice it to say that if you fall into the latter camp, you likely won't get a whole lot of enjoyment out of Nintendo's 1990 Gameboy title, Radar...
Review Tennis (3DS eShop / GB)
8-bit balls
Remember Tennis on the NES? Well, it's back, and this time it's in portable format! The Game Boy version of Tennis is pretty much a remake of the NES game: it's got the same extremely basic setup, but it has been polished it up slightly. Just like with its predecessor, there's not really much on offer here aside from essentially playing...
Review Alleyway (3DS eShop / GB)
The poor man's Arkanoid
The most well-known block-breaking game, Arkanoid, became quite popular after its release in arcades in 1986. Many companies have created clones, and even to this day new low-budget ones show up all the time. Even Nintendo tried their hand at a clone with Alleyway for the Game Boy. Alleyway keeps things to the bare basics. No...
Review Super Mario Land (3DS eShop / GB)
Mario's first Game Boy adventure is short, but sweet.
Given the popularity of the Super Mario Bros. series at the time of the Game Boy's release, it came as no real surprise that Nintendo would release a Super Mario title for its brand new portable game system. Now the 3DS eShop is available, it makes just as much sense for Super Mario Land to be...
May2009
Review Mario Clash (Virtual Boy)
Is this overlooked title worthy of a second chance?
Many reasons have been given for why the Virtual Boy failed so badly when it was released in the mid '90s. One of the more convincing arguments is that the lack of a 'proper' Mario game meant that hardcore Nintendo fans ignored the console; while it's hard to accept that this is the only reason, it...
Review Teleroboxer (Virtual Boy)
Rock 'Em Sock 'Em Robots
Teleroboxer is a boxing game that puts you in control of a giant fighting machine as you face a series of weird and wonderful opponents in a bid to become the champion. The game uses a first person perspective with your fists visible on screen. The left d-pad and L control your left fist and the right d-pad and R control...
Review Virtual Boy Wario Land (Virtual Boy)
The Virtual Boy's best game?
It's hard to talk about the Virtual Boy without mentioning Virtual Boy Wario Land; the ill-fated system only experienced 22 games throughout its short lifespan and this lack of software has resulted in some VB games getting a better reputation than they deserve purely because there's so little else to play on the...
April2009
Sticking him in a go-kart worked out well. What else can we try?
Mario’s Tennis does exactly what it says on the cartridge. It takes Mario and six other characters and places them in a Tennis game. Singles and doubles matches are available as either one-off matches or a Tournament, and standard tennis rules apply. A launch game in Japan and the...
November2008
Review Devil World (Wii Virtual Console / NES)
A devilish Pac-Man clone from Miyamoto
Devil World is one of extremely few Nintendo titles that was released in Europe, but not the US. Most likely this was due to Nintendo of America's strict rule not to feature any "religious" factors in games, and seeing as the game includes a devil, that just wouldn't slide with them. It's actually a pretty fun...
September2008
Review Clu Clu Land (Wii Virtual Console / NES)
Clu Clu a choo
First, a lesson in linguistics – ‘Kurukuru’ in Japanese means ‘turning around’. Why are we telling you this? Well, it neatly explains Clu Clu Land’s rather unusual title, and also gives some insight into the mechanics of the game. You assume the role of a funny-looking fish called Bubbles, who due to some cruel...
July2008
Review Donkey Kong 3 (Wii Virtual Console / NES)
Bug off
Poor old Stanley the Bugman, not only have all the bugs got into his greenhouse, there’s a big ape pestering him too. To add insult to injury, he would never feature as a playable character in another Nintendo game again and be forgotten forever, whilst Mario went on to international stardom. Donkey Kong 3 started out life in the arcades...
August2007
Review Wrecking Crew (Wii Virtual Console / NES)
Wreck, not dreck
Wrecking Crew's a bit of an oddball. Despite starring Mario, it flies under many peoples' radars, partly because it launched simultaneous with the legendary Super Mario Bros. and several other titles, thus meaning it was quickly overshadowed. Wrecking Crew's genre is hard to nail down, but is essentially a mix of a platformer and...
Review Super Metroid (Wii Virtual Console / Super Nintendo)
A true classic
Metroid was very popular in the late 80s and early 90s. Despite only two games being released, players loved it for its unique atmosphere and construction: the whole game consisted of one gigantic overworld with many places to explore and items to find. On top of that, there were plenty of secrets: who can forget the fact that you get...
Review Volleyball (Wii Virtual Console / NES)
Not volley good
Volleyball represents yet another of Nintendo’s dated sport sims. Comparing to Soccer, Baseball, Ice Hockey, Tennis on the NES this game is the worst of the bunch. Considering it was released in 1986 it is understandable that the graphics and sound are nothing to write home about. The players continually bop up and down all...
July2007
Review Metroid (Wii Virtual Console / NES)
Where it all started
More than 20 years have past since Metroid first blew away NES owners with its clever mixture of platforming, exploration and character upgrades. It went on to become spawn many sequels over the years, becoming a much-loved franchise for Nintendo fans – but nostalgia aside, is Metroid still high-quality by today’s standards?...
June2007
Review Balloon Fight (Wii Virtual Console / NES)
Balloon Light
Before games like Metroid and The Legend of Zelda, Nintendo's NES console relied on simple arcade titles to keep itself afloat. Balloon Fight used an already-successful gameplay mechanic similar to that of William's Joust arcade release, and while it offers up some simple arcade enjoyment, the repetitive gameplay keeps it from lasting,...
May2007
Review Mach Rider (Wii Virtual Console / NES)
Return of the Mach
The action is fast and furious in this crazy motorbiking game. You have to blast your way through enemy vehicles and barrels on the track in addition to avoiding oil slicks. The pressure is always on to keep going fast to avoid enemies ramming into you from behind! Getting to the end of each course before the timer runs out adds...
April2007
Review Donkey Kong Jr. Math (Wii Virtual Console / NES)
10 minus 9 equals?
'Edutainment' titles are a strange lot. They're usually poor attempts to shoehorn some 'learning' in videogames, possibly out of fear that games rot the brains of kiddies. Donkey Kong Jr Math is no exception. The game features one player and two player modes. In the one player mode, the objective is to enter math answers in order...
February2007
Review Ice Climber (Wii Virtual Console / NES)
Ice Ice Baby
Ice Climber is another classic NES title for the Virtual Console — and thankfully, it's decent enough to be worth considering for download. Ice Climber is a fantastic little game, if somewhat basic. Graphically it's exactly what you'd expect an 8-bit game from 1985 to look like — simple. The premise of the game is pretty bizarre. A...
Review Kid Icarus (Wii Virtual Console / NES)
Is Pit a hit?
Kid Icarus is one of those games that makes you think 'they sure don't make them like they used to'. Graphically it's very basic - this is from 1986 after all - but the charm simply shines through regardless. This is a game from an era where developers had to really make an effort and use what simple technology they had available to...
December2006
Review Baseball (Wii Virtual Console / NES)
Batter up!
Nintendo’s Baseball was actually a launch title for the NES way back in 1985. With unknown brands like Ice Climber and Gyromite it made perfect sense for Nintendo to have a representation of a popular sports game to attract sceptics to their new console. Predictably enough, it’s now horribly dated. The gameplay itself just focuses on...
Review Tennis (Wii Virtual Console / NES)
Anyone for Tennis?
Tennis was one of the launch titles for the NES way back in 1985, and it succeeded in winning new gamers to the system in much the same way as Wii Sports. That begs the question, of course, why bother with this if you already have Wii Sports Tennis, which you got as a freebie with your Wii? Well for a start you control the...
