December2022
Review The Punchuin (Switch) - A Pleasant, Punchy Puzzler That's Light On Content
Fists of Furious Feathers
In a world of annual releases and mandated sequels, The Punchuin, the latest release from Shin'en (Fast RMX, The Touryst), feels like a real passion project. It's a charming love letter to puzzle game fans with an incredible amount of heart put into it. But despite that, once you start peeling back the layers, you’re left...
November2019
Review The Touryst - A Visually Stunning Island-Hop That's Loads Of Fun
We're Going To Ybiza
Shin'en Multimedia seem to wield some sort of superpower when it comes to pulling perfect performance out of the Switch. Fast RMX, Its superb Wipeout-style future racer – which helped fill a gap in the console's launch when Mario Kart 8 Deluxe arrived late – was, and still is, a dazzlingly handsome beast that runs at a...
March2017
Review Fast RMX (Switch eShop)
FAST just got BETTER
FAST RMX was a lovely surprise for the launch of the Switch, and one that this reviewer was very excited for. With a number in our team having played FAST Racing NEO to death on the Wii U, we were intrigued by Shin'en's promises of 1080p and 60fps performance. But could it live up to these expectations? There's only one way to...
December2015
Review FAST Racing NEO (Wii U eShop)
Christmas comes early for race fans
FAST Racing NEO is a game that seeks to fill the F-Zero-sized hole in every Nintendo fan's heart. Shin'en's racer is quite different from Nintendo's classic franchise, but it still does a great job at giving that high speed racing fix that some Wii U owners are desiring the most. The first thing we should note...
January2015
Review Family Tennis SP (Wii U eShop)
Not without its faults
If there's one thing that Arc System Works - with this game published by Shin'en Multimedia - can't be accused of, it's of sticking to one genre. Over the years it has displayed a competent ability to develop quality beat 'em ups, side scrolling fighters and even racing games, such as Final Lap, a game that dates as far back...
October2014
Review Art of Balance (Wii U eShop)
The perfect balance
Art of Balance is a game that was first released on WiiWare, and was easily one of the best titles to grace the platform. Soon after a portable version was released on the 3DS, and now we get the biggest iteration yet on the Wii U eShop; as it's the third title you’d expect it to pull out all the stops, and Shin’en Multimedia...
November2013
Review Jett Rocket II - The Wrath of Taikai (3DS eShop)
A rocketing success?
It’s crazy to think that it’s been three years since we last saw Jett Rocket. Three years may not seem like it was that long ago, but a lot has changed during this time. As a result, not only is the planetary inspector only just making his handheld début on 3DS, but his creators at Shin’en Multimedia no longer have to...
March2013
Review Nano Assault EX (3DS eShop)
EXceptional
Shin'en is certainly no stranger to the shoot 'em up genre, having already had some solid success with its Iridion releases on Game Boy Advance and Nanostray titles on DS. For those who don't remember, it was just a little over a year ago when the developer released Nano Assault on Nintendo's 3DS system and showed just how amazing the...
November2012
Review Nano Assault Neo (Wii U eShop)
Bullet hell on a cell
Much like the its 3DS predecessor, Nano Assault Neo is an arcade-style shoot 'em up that’s all about piloting a microscopic spacecraft and blasting molecular baddies. There isn’t actually a plot present in this game, so there’s no need to worry about being bogged down by unnecessary story. What we have instead is a...
May2012
Review Art of Balance TOUCH! (3DS eShop)
Art of brilliance
WiiWare puzzler Art of Balance is one of the best games on the service: instinctive and addictive, it made the well-worn act of stacking shapes feel fresh again. Now on the 3DS eShop, Art of Balance TOUCH! keeps the winning formula going. The premise to Art of Balance is simple. In each stage you're given blocks of various shapes,...
March2012
Review Fun! Fun! Minigolf TOUCH! (3DS eShop)
Put some putt in your strut
The second 3D golf title to hit the eShop, Fun! Fun! Minigolf TOUCH! offers a miniaturized approach compared to its counterpart Let’s Golf! 3D, but promises at least three times the level of exclamation points. A close cousin to the pricier WiiWare game Fun! Fun! Minigolf, this title delivers short, simple courses...
Tiny ship, big adventure
There's a new threat to civilization, and this time it's something we can't see: the Nanostray virus, which is deadly enough to serve as an immediate threat to humanity as we know it. The solution? Well, as anyone who's seen Fantastic Voyage (or, erm...Innerspace) knows, it's time to shrink a spacecraft down to microscopic...
June2011
Review FAST - Racing League (WiiWare)
FAST and furious
It's been a long time since the last F-Zero game. The last one to make its way to the West, F-Zero GP Legend, was released outside Japan in 2003, and we haven't heard a word from the series since, other than its character inclusions in Super Smash Bros. Brawl. While we wait for Nintendo to finally announce something, we're more...
August2010
Shooting star
Shoot 'em ups are a rare thing on the DS. Even with the rise of DSiWare last year, we have still seen little in the way of more traditional shooters for the console. Early release Nanostray was one of the first games to step up to the challenge and fortunately, it doesn't disappoint. Published back in 2005 by Majesco, the game is a...
July2010
WiiWare gets pushed to the limit in this fun 3D platformer
It’s clear that Shin’en Multimedia knows their way around WiiWare. After delivering the lovely Art of Balance, the German studio’s follow-up is a platformer with unparallelled looks on the service. Jett Rocket looks excellent, yes, and we’re happy to say that it plays well too and...
February2010
Review Art of Balance (WiiWare)
Who would have thought stacking could be so much fun?
Shin'en, probably best known for their Nanostray shooters on the Nintendo DS, decided to toss their hat in the increasingly crowded ring of WiiWare puzzlers. Instead of rehashing another dumbed-down clone of an existing idea, however, they've instead taken the basic idea of stacking and built one...
December2008
Review Fun! Fun! Minigolf (WiiWare)
So much fun they named it twice, but it is really up to par?
Wii Sports golf - which, lest we forget, comes bundled for free with the Wii console - offers a taste of what playing golf with a Wii Remote can be like. However, with only nine holes and a clunky putting mechanism that can often feel inaccurate, the game is just not satisfying enough to...
