March2020
Review SEGA AGES Puyo Puyo 2 - A Fun But Ultimately Forgettable Puzzler
Same Pu, different game
When we reviewed the Sega Ages version of Puyo Puyo, we wondered why Sega had decided to go with the very first game in the series, and not one of the numerous better sequels. Seven months later, Sega has responded – not to us, we’re not that big-headed – by going back to the Puyo Puyo well and this time giving us a...
February2020
Review SEGA AGES Sonic The Hedgehog 2 - A Fantastic Game, But Who Hasn't Played It By Now?
Hogging the limelight
The Sega Ages series can evoke some strange reactions when it comes to game selection. There can be little denial that the series is at its best when it’s bringing us fantastic ports of Sega classics that don’t usually get the attention they deserve; the likes of Virtua Racing and Fantasy Zone are clear highlights so far...
Review Two Point Hospital - Arguably The Best Version Of An Acclaimed Modern Classic
A spoonful of sugar helps the medicine go down
Harkening back to the “good old days” of Theme Hospital from Bullfrog in the '90s, Two Point Hospital wraps the same irreverent humour into a modern game that introduces a whole new generation to the joys of medicine. This is a game about managing expectations. Patients expect to be treated and...
January2020
Review SEGA AGES Fantasy Zone - Classic Cute-Em-Up Action With A Great New Mode
Welcome to the Fantasy Zone
Bet you don’t know who Sega’s mascot was for a brief time during the '80s. No, we’re not talking about Alex Kidd – we mean Opa-Opa, the slightly bizarre living spaceship from Sega’s oft-overlooked classic shooter Fantasy Zone. And that game is exactly what we have here, thanks to those gurus at Tokyo-based M2...
Review SEGA AGES Shinobi - A True Arcade Classic Comes To Switch
Ninja skills
Arguably one of the most eagerly-awaited entries in M2’s acclaimed Sega Ages series, Sega’s classic ninja side-scroller Shinobi has pounced from the trees like a sneaky ninja to finally hit the Switch in its glorious arcade form. However, is one of Sega’s most beloved games still as awesome as we remember it? We're about to find...
December2019
Review Football Manager 2020 Touch - A Great Soccer Sim, But The Old Problems Remain
We've had it up De Gea with these controls
It’s fair to say that so far, Football Manager on Switch has been a bit like the Arsenal squad this season: there’s clearly some top quality in there but for some reason, it just doesn’t come together and work in a cohesive, seamless manner. That’s mainly because the Switch versions of Football...
November2019
Review Alien: Isolation - One Of The Greatest Horror Games Of All Time Comes To Switch
Get away from her, you Switch!
Straight off the back of a fantastic port of Grid Autosport on Switch, Feral Interactive is back with Creative Assembly's survival horror masterpiece, Alien: Isolation. The game's been out and receiving rave reviews since 2014 so we guess the first thing you'll want to know is have they managed to squeeze all of this...
To the Vector go the spoils
With the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang cruelly overlooked for some reason, fans of the Mario & Sonic series haven’t had a new entry for nearly four years now. Given that the 2020 Olympic Games are being held in Tokyo, the home of video games, it would have been truly bizarre for Sega to pass on that one too...
October2019
Review Super Monkey Ball: Banana Blitz HD - Improved Controls Ruined By Some Odd Design Choices
Gorillas in our mitts
The Wii Remote strap was allegedly added to stop controllers slipping from sweaty palms. But could it be that someone at Nintendo had actually played Super Monkey Ball: Banana Blitz – a Wii launch game – and predicted a wave of fury-induced Remote tossings? Back on Wii, Monkey Ball swapped its traditional analogue stick for...
August2019
Review SEGA AGES Puyo Puyo - You Can't Polish A Puyo This Plain
Less ‘yo’, more ‘pu’
We’ve now reached the tenth game in the Sega Ages series, and it’s safe to say the project has been a resounding success. Over the course of the past year, Sega and the retro wizards at M2 have released a steady stream of old-school ports that have had us using the phrase ‘definitive version’ more times than...
Review SEGA AGES Space Harrier - A Tremendous Port Of An Okay Coin-Op
The real dragon quest
We’ll spare you the usual spiel about how the Sega Ages series is offering definitive versions of Sega classics on the Switch: given we’re approaching the 10th release in the series, you probably get the idea by now. Game number 9 is Space Harrier, Sega’s 1985 coin-op that blew arcade-goers away back in the day with its...
July2019
Review SolSeraph - A God-Like Disappointment That Proves What A Classic Actraiser Really Is
Sol Sacrifice
Ace Team’s SolSeraph immediately grabbed our attention when it was surprise-announced at the end of last month. Here, finally, was a spiritual successor to SNES classic Actraiser that looked to head back to the roots of the franchise by reinstating the winning combination of platforming action and Populous-lite strategy that was...
Review SEGA AGES Wonder Boy: Monster Land - When RPG Meets Arcade Platformer
The boy is back in town
By this point, anyone familiar with the Sega Ages series should already know what to expect: a flawless port of a single game from Sega’s history, complete with a few tweaks and updates here and there to provide the ultimate version of that game. Wonder Boy: Monster Land is the latest offering from Sega and developer M2,...
June2019
Review Citizens of Space - Fans Of The Super Mario RPGs, Take Note
Higher, further, faster, baby
Four years ago, the 3DS and Wii U were graced with a JRPG from Eden Industries called Citizens of Earth, which emulated the offbeat style of Nintendo’s cult-classic EarthBound to wonderful effect. Still, it was a bit of an uneven experience at times, with a series of niggling little issues that a sequel would likely...
Review SEGA AGES Virtua Racing - A Truly Historic Remaster Effort By M2
It’s hip to be square
The Sega Ages series has quickly established itself as the premium name when it comes to retro gaming on the Switch. While each release is generally more expensive than other old-school offerings on the system, it’s worth it for the pristine emulation, the extreme attention to detail and the way developer M2 improves each...
Review Persona Q2: New Cinema Labyrinth - The Last Picture Show
You'll find me in the matinée, the dark of the matinée...
Atlus has been one of the strongest supporters of Nintendo’s 3DS handheld over the years, keeping RPG fans busy with a total of seventeen stellar RPGs from the company. These releases have been coming at a consistent and reliable pace since the 3DS’ first year, so it's only fitting that...
May2019
Review Team Sonic Racing - A Safe Effort Which Lags Well Behind Mario Kart 8
Triple Trouble
It’s all well and good releasing karting games on Sony and Microsoft’s consoles, but it takes a big old set of Sonic Spinballs to try launching one on Mario’s home turf. If anyone’s shown it’s capable of this, though, it’s Sheffield-based studio Sumo Digital. Very few developers have perfected the art of arcade-style...
Review Rock Of Ages 2: Bigger & Boulder - An eShop Oddity That's Perfect For Switch
You've got to roll with it
Back in 2011, a little studio from Chile decided it wanted to take an unusual stab at the popular tower defence genre. Choosing to embrace oddity and quirkiness over any sense of seriousness or consistency, the result mixed traditional defensive mechanics with a ball-rolling system that had more in common with Super Monkey...
Review Puyo Puyo Champions - A Fine Puzzler That's More For Veterans Than Newcomers
No time for losers?
After decades of largely being overlooked for localisation, the Puyo Puyo series is gaining some long-deserved recognition. Puyo Puyo Tetris was an early highlight in the Switch’s library, and a Sonic Mania nod to the game’s original western release (Dr. Robotnik’s Mean Bean Machine) was a highlight in a game packed full of...
April2019
Review SEGA AGES Gain Ground - A Commendable Failure, But A Failure Nonetheless
No gains to be made
For some unfathomable reason, Gain Ground has something of a cult following with Sega fans. Originally released in arcades in 1988, it gained notoriety largely down to the fact that it was quite unlike anything that had appeared before; while it looked like Atari's Gauntlet, the gameplay was actually totally different, requiring...
Review SEGA AGES Alex Kidd In Miracle World - A Cult Platforming Classic, Tastefully Reimagined
Can’t Kidd a kidder
In an alternate timeline, Alex Kidd could have remained Sega’s mascot, instead of being unceremoniously dumped by Sega in favour of the much cooler Sonic the Hedgehog and forced into early retirement (a retirement that’s now lasted nearly three decades). Just think: if things had been different and Sonic had never been...
January2019
Review SEGA AGES Out Run - A Fantastic Update Of One Of Arcade Gaming's True Greats
The allure of the open road
Out Run is the greatest, most influential arcade racing game ever made. There, we said it. Yes, there have been other classics over the years: Daytona USA, Ridge Racer, Virtua Racing, Let’s Go! Jungle and the like. (Okay, maybe not that last one.) But no game has meant as much to the genre as Out Run. Back in 2015,...
December2018
Review Football Manager 2019 Touch - A Truly Great Sports Sim That Still Feels Awkward On Switch
Still working out the system
Back in April, we likened Football Manager Touch 2018 on Switch to playing Ronaldo at centre back. It was an absolutely brilliant game, but one that was being showcased relatively poorly by the host system. What chance is there, then, that Sports Interactive has managed to make the necessary tactical tweaks in time for...
November2018
Review SEGA Mega Drive Classics - A Welcome Stroll Down Memory Lane
Sonic! Golden Axe! Phantasy Star! Streets of Rage!
The Sega Mega Drive (or Genesis, if you're in North America) is a console that needs no introduction, even on a site devoted to Nintendo. During the early '90s, Sega and Nintendo were mortal enemies and their respective 16-bit systems were locked in an epic struggle which has since gone down as one...
October2018
Review Valkyria Chronicles - SEGA's Strategy Classic Still Shines Ten Years Later
Democracy is non-negotiable
For many Nintendo fans, last month’s Valkyria Chronicles 4 was their first experience with the franchise, and it no doubt was a pleasant one at that. Valkyria Chronicles 4 acted as a lovely return to form for SEGA's strategy series, but this was largely due to how the game essentially went back to the gameplay template...
