Latest Reviews of Suzak Games
Review F-Zero: GP Legend (GBA) - A Great Handheld Entry That Nails The Series' Spirit
Dare you to blink
This review was originally published in January 2015. We're updating and republishing it to mark the arrival of GP Legend (and Climax, which was never released in the West) in the Nintendo Switch Online + Expansion Pack GBA library. The F-Zero series has often dished out a steep challenge, and in GP Legend the uninitiated will be...
Review Wario: Master of Disguise (Wii U eShop / DS)
Master of Mediocrity
After WarioWare took off, it seemed like that was all everybody's favourite antihero was up to, save for a Wii instalment of the Wario Land series. In truth, there was also an attempt at a Wario platformer on the DS, though it is quite easy to see why not many seem to remember this outing. Developed by Suzak, the company...
Review G.G Series: Drift Circuit (DSiWare)
Slow-motion sickness
When it comes to the G.G Series, the plan is simple: choose a particular genre of gaming and produce an entertaining playing experience using not only a simplified musical and visual theme, but also a very basic set of play controls. So far that formula has worked well enough, but now this idea has been incorporated into the...
Review G.G Series: Z-ONE (DSiWare)
Ride into the danger zone
As the variety of shoot-‘em-up games on the DSiWare service continues to expand, it’s expected that some titles are going to stand out better than others. With releases such as Metal Torrent and Paul’s Shooting Adventure already available and rated highly, being a new contender is no easy feat. The G.G Series of...
Review GO Series: Dark Spirits (DSiWare)
In good spirits
The latest in Gamebridge's line-up of localised Japanese budget titles is GO Series: Dark Spirits, a horizontal shoot 'em up again courtesy of developer Suzak. It's not exactly a bullet hell shooter like Metal Torrent, but the difficulty can still get pretty high. You play the game as some sort of wizard who can only fire one rather...
Review GO Series: D-Tank (DSiWare)
Tank Defence
The GO Series already had a tower defence-esque game with tanks, but there's already another one now in the form of D-Tank. In Defence Wars you got a bunch of turrets, cannons and tanks to defend you against oncoming armies, but D-Tank takes its name quite seriously and only has one of those, the tanks. You control one single tank at a...
Review GO Series: Let's Swing! (DSiWare)
Not exactly the king of the swingers
The GO Series will be a familiar sight to DSiWare gamers. First seeing release in the West back in September, the quirky series has been a hit among gamers with its emphasis on gameplay over graphics. So from 10 Second Run, Defence Wars and Pinball Attack, we now have Let's Swing, a take on the gymnastic sport...
Review G.G Series: Super Hero Ogre (DSiWare)
An exercise in frustration
In late August, the North American DSiWare service saw the release of Genterprise's G.G Series: Ninja Karakuri Den, the first title in its G.G Series of games to make it across the ocean from Japan. Now, two months later, the second instalment in the series of inexplicably titled games has made it stateside as G.G Series:...
Review G.G Series: Ninja Karakuri Den (DSiWare)
A good time that will leave you wanting more
After quite a few Japanese DSiWare downloads and a retail cartridge, the inexpensive G.G Series finally leaves Japan with the release of G.G Series: Ninja Karakuri Den. The complete lack of a storyline may make this adventure seem odd, but it is a fun play nonetheless; reminiscent of old releases such as...
Review Wario: Master of Disguise (DS)
Not even a master could disguise this mess
Wario games have always stood out as being excellent venues for experimental game design. He challenged death in games by going immortal for a spell, helped Nintendo test the waters with motion control across multiple games and platforms and for the most part boldly goes where Mario dares not. He's seen a...
Latest Suzak Articles
News F-Zero Climax For GBA Now Has A "Complete" Fan-Made Translation Patch
The Japan exclusive with "everything" localised in English
You might remember F-Zero Climax, hmm...perhaps not! It was a game released on Nintendo's Game Boy Advance way back in 2004 and has never been localised outside of Japan. It also happens to be the most recent entry in the series, which is now over 17 years ago. While an official...
News F-Zero: GP Legend Rated For North America Wii U Virtual Console, Arrives This Week
You got boost power!
The Wii U Virtual Console iteration of the GBA title, F-Zero: GP Legend, was already released in Europe earlier this year, and now it's speeding its way towards North America this week, after an official ESRB rating was locked in. The original title released in the west in 2004 took F-Zero on Nintendo's portable device of the...
News Four More G.G Series Titles Headed to North America
Localised Japanese budget fun to continue in the new year
If you've enjoyed Genterprise's G.G Series of low-priced localised Japanese titles, you'll be happy to hear that four more have recently received ratings from the ESRB and thus will be heading to the North American DSiWare Shop soon. Three of the games have already hit Europe as part of the...
Nintendo Download 27th December 2010 (North America)
Catch-up titles and more
There are plenty of ways to ring in the new year in this Nintendo Download update, including a quality WiiWare demo, a couple of NeoGeo titles for virtual console, a portable slot machine and the newest entry in the G.G Series. Will you spend your holiday cash on any of these titles? Virtual Console: Fighter's History...
First Impressions Shinobi Karakuri-den 2
Double the ninjas, double the fun
Retro gaming fans surely enjoyed the first Ninja Karakuri Den (as it's known outside of Japan), playing like a cutsey combination of Ninja Jajamaru Kun and Mappy. This sequel is pretty much the same game with a few tweaks to the formula, as with the other G.G. Series sequels we've seen thus far, continuing the...
Nintendo Download 7th & 8th September 2010 (Japan)
The gang's all here: WiiWare, Virtual Console and DSiWare next week in Japan
WiiWare: Surinuke Anatōsu (800pts - Nintendo) -- Though we've gotten the distinct impression that third parties have abandoned WiiWare in Japan, Nintendo certainly hasn't. Keys Factory is credited as the developer – a bit odd since all they seem to make are Wii and DSi...
First Impressions G.G Series Chō Hero Ōga 2
This sequel is MIGHTY difficult
Having collected the first wave of G.G Series titles, Genterprise and Suzak have decided to go back to the well and release their sequels. As with ZONE 2, Chō Hero Ōga 2 takes the fundamentals of the original and extends them whilst maintaining the same level of fun. The transition is not unlike moving from early...
First Impressions G.G Series Collection+
The arcade collection you never knew about
Genterprise certainly appears to be a big fan of the Nintendo DSi, having released nearly a score of titles under the G.G Series banner, all of which have been previewed on this very site. Having them collected into a DS retail release to reach a broader audience makes sense, but even if you've already...
News Nintendo Download 25th August 2010 (Japan)
The Wii takes a break with just two new DSiWare games as the only downloads next week
Apparently Nintendo has nothing new up their sleeve for the Wii at the end of August – odd, considering the 2nd week of the month was a holiday and we still haven't seen Mario Tennis published, which was previously announced for release this month. In any event,...
First Impressions G.G. Series Z・ONE 2
More budget side-scrolling shooting for your Japanese DSi
You might think with the release of the G.G. Series Collection+, Genterprise and Suzak would be done releasing budget games for the DSi. After all, the collection includes all the G.G. Series DSiWare releases to-date, plus another 15 games never released to the DSi Shop, but apparently it's...
First Impressions G.G. Series Exciting River
Burt Reynolds not included
Whilst a game based on Deliverance probably would be very cool, Exciting River is about kayaking to a goal in the quickest time possible, rather than surviving a weekend river-rafting amongst crazed banjo-duelling hillbillies out for blood. Still, exciting it is thanks to good controls and fast-paced gameplay. There are a...
First Impressions G.G. Series Throw Out
Fancy a game of 4-on-4 Cyberball?
Although "proper" sports video games have been more successful at home and in the arcades, there's something to be said for the made up ones that have less focus on player stats and more on just playing the game. Suzak's Throw Out, a more recent entry in the G.G. Series of budget arcade-style games, is...
First Impressions G.G Series: Drift Circuit
Drift on outta here
Nothing is perfect, not even the G.G. Series. We figured there had to be at least one dud in this assortment of budget-priced slices of arcade fun and this is definitely it. From the screenshots you'd think you're going to be playing a fun overhead racer like Moto Roader or Super Sprint – a notion reinforced by the fact that...
First Impressions G.G. Series Dark Spirits
Side-scrolling bullet hell magic
One good thing about the Japanese DSi Shop for retro-gaming fans is the availability of old-school sprite-based shooters, with several decent ones to choose from. The G.G. Series already has a few among its number, but they're all different enough that it cannot hurt to add another one: enter Dark Spirts, of the...
First Impressions G.G. Series Shinobi Karakuri-Den
Mappy Ninja Gaiden
Ninja have been a fixture of video games for a long time, so it's only fitting that Suzak have created a game for the G.G. Series featuring one that bears more than a passing resemblance to Ryu from Ninja Gaiden. Though his inspiration may run around beating up street toughs, the hero of Shinobi Karakuri-Den bounces around like a...
First Impressions G.G. Series Black × Block
For fans of mind-bending only
Most of the G.G. Series previewed to-date have been pretty accessible puzzlers or arcade style games from various genres, but here's the first one that's probably only going to be a hit with a small audience due to the nature and level of the challenge on offer. The gameplay is essentially similar to Toki Tori and...
First Impressions G.G Series: Tetsubou
Arcade gymnastics
You have to give credit to developer Suzak for the work it's done with the G.G. Series. Whilst most of the games are interesting takes on traditional genres, it also likes to throw out the occasional brand-new concept, like Tetsubou: a game which could be best termed a "gymnastic puzzler." Players are presented with a...
First Impressions G.G. Series Conveyor Kombō
A refreshingly novel take on the "match three" puzzler
There have been many variations on the "match three" puzzle game, often involving adding another item to complete a matching set, but it's rare to see a truly new and novel mechanic used in what has become something of a cliched puzzle game style. For this reason G.G. Series Conveyor...
First Impressions G.G. Series Drilling Attack
Not a mad dentist, just more arcade fun!
It's not hard to see why we keep on downloading G.G. Series games to preview because as many as there are, they all seem to have been made by people who care about delivering a quality slice of simple gaming fun. That they're only 200 Points each is just icing on the electron cake of arcade goodness. Drilling...
First Impressions G.G Series: D-Tank
Tank-tastic arcade fun!
Tanks feature in some of the earliest arcade games, from vector graphics classics like Battle Zone and Armor Attack to "newer" sprite-based games like Vindicators and Tank Force. As with the latter D-Tank sees players controlling a tank and trying to defend a base from attack by incoming waves of enemy tanks: a...
First Impressions G.G. Series Assault Buster
Arcade action the G.G. Series way
The G.G. Series of games in the Japanese DSi Shop really are a little slice of arcade heaven. Not just because they offer some good old-fashioned fun, but because they're such well-crafted titles generally. Assault Buster is certainly one to put into the "pretty good" column, offering an interesting...
First Impressions G.G. Series Vertex
More budget puzzling fun from Suzak
Vertex is another take on the puzzle genre in the G.G. Series and like Energy Chain it's a competent and fairly original concept, but not necessarily an addictive one. Players move a small glowing green dot at the bottom which is projecting a guide line to the top of the screen. The object is to press buttons to...
Nintendo Download 16 & 17 March 2010 (Japan)
Racing punch-up, Zombie Wonderland and karate
The Virtual Console Arcade gets a surprise release (always nice) and there's a couple of interesting WiiWare games to tide over Wii owners; add in some intesting titles on the DSi and you get a pretty good week for Nintendo downloading overall. WiiWare: Pokosuka Racing (500pts - Recom) – At first we...
First Impressions G.G. Series Energy Chain
Budget puzzling from the budget DSiWare machine
We have to figure that Suzak is porting games they originally developed for mobile phones for the G.G. Series, because it just doesn't seem possible that they could have made so many games in so short a span of time and actually had this many of them turn out to be worthwhile. Energy Chain is a puzzle...
First Impressions G.G. Series Chō Hero Ōga
"There's a super-man coming, there's a super-man coming..."
This entry in the G.G. Series is a nice little brawler with a superhero theme. As with other games in the series, there's no menu options to worry about, game modes or story: instead you just use the D-Pad and a couple of buttons to pound on some costumed freaks until they get the better of...
News F-Zero Climax For GBA Now Has A "Complete" Fan-Made Translation Patch
The Japan exclusive with "everything" localised in English
You might remember F-Zero Climax, hmm...perhaps not! It was a game released on Nintendo's Game Boy Advance way back in 2004 and has never been localised outside of Japan. It also happens to be the most recent entry in the series, which is now over 17 years ago. While an official...
News F-Zero: GP Legend Rated For North America Wii U Virtual Console, Arrives This Week
You got boost power!
The Wii U Virtual Console iteration of the GBA title, F-Zero: GP Legend, was already released in Europe earlier this year, and now it's speeding its way towards North America this week, after an official ESRB rating was locked in. The original title released in the west in 2004 took F-Zero on Nintendo's portable device of the...
News Four More G.G Series Titles Headed to North America
Localised Japanese budget fun to continue in the new year
If you've enjoyed Genterprise's G.G Series of low-priced localised Japanese titles, you'll be happy to hear that four more have recently received ratings from the ESRB and thus will be heading to the North American DSiWare Shop soon. Three of the games have already hit Europe as part of the...
Nintendo Download 27th December 2010 (North America)
Catch-up titles and more
There are plenty of ways to ring in the new year in this Nintendo Download update, including a quality WiiWare demo, a couple of NeoGeo titles for virtual console, a portable slot machine and the newest entry in the G.G Series. Will you spend your holiday cash on any of these titles? Virtual Console: Fighter's History...
First Impressions Shinobi Karakuri-den 2
Double the ninjas, double the fun
Retro gaming fans surely enjoyed the first Ninja Karakuri Den (as it's known outside of Japan), playing like a cutsey combination of Ninja Jajamaru Kun and Mappy. This sequel is pretty much the same game with a few tweaks to the formula, as with the other G.G. Series sequels we've seen thus far, continuing the...
Nintendo Download 7th & 8th September 2010 (Japan)
The gang's all here: WiiWare, Virtual Console and DSiWare next week in Japan
WiiWare: Surinuke Anatōsu (800pts - Nintendo) -- Though we've gotten the distinct impression that third parties have abandoned WiiWare in Japan, Nintendo certainly hasn't. Keys Factory is credited as the developer – a bit odd since all they seem to make are Wii and DSi...
First Impressions G.G Series Chō Hero Ōga 2
This sequel is MIGHTY difficult
Having collected the first wave of G.G Series titles, Genterprise and Suzak have decided to go back to the well and release their sequels. As with ZONE 2, Chō Hero Ōga 2 takes the fundamentals of the original and extends them whilst maintaining the same level of fun. The transition is not unlike moving from early...
First Impressions G.G Series Collection+
The arcade collection you never knew about
Genterprise certainly appears to be a big fan of the Nintendo DSi, having released nearly a score of titles under the G.G Series banner, all of which have been previewed on this very site. Having them collected into a DS retail release to reach a broader audience makes sense, but even if you've already...
News Nintendo Download 25th August 2010 (Japan)
The Wii takes a break with just two new DSiWare games as the only downloads next week
Apparently Nintendo has nothing new up their sleeve for the Wii at the end of August – odd, considering the 2nd week of the month was a holiday and we still haven't seen Mario Tennis published, which was previously announced for release this month. In any event,...
First Impressions G.G. Series Z・ONE 2
More budget side-scrolling shooting for your Japanese DSi
You might think with the release of the G.G. Series Collection+, Genterprise and Suzak would be done releasing budget games for the DSi. After all, the collection includes all the G.G. Series DSiWare releases to-date, plus another 15 games never released to the DSi Shop, but apparently it's...
First Impressions G.G. Series Exciting River
Burt Reynolds not included
Whilst a game based on Deliverance probably would be very cool, Exciting River is about kayaking to a goal in the quickest time possible, rather than surviving a weekend river-rafting amongst crazed banjo-duelling hillbillies out for blood. Still, exciting it is thanks to good controls and fast-paced gameplay. There are a...
First Impressions G.G. Series Throw Out
Fancy a game of 4-on-4 Cyberball?
Although "proper" sports video games have been more successful at home and in the arcades, there's something to be said for the made up ones that have less focus on player stats and more on just playing the game. Suzak's Throw Out, a more recent entry in the G.G. Series of budget arcade-style games, is...
First Impressions G.G Series: Drift Circuit
Drift on outta here
Nothing is perfect, not even the G.G. Series. We figured there had to be at least one dud in this assortment of budget-priced slices of arcade fun and this is definitely it. From the screenshots you'd think you're going to be playing a fun overhead racer like Moto Roader or Super Sprint – a notion reinforced by the fact that...
First Impressions G.G. Series Dark Spirits
Side-scrolling bullet hell magic
One good thing about the Japanese DSi Shop for retro-gaming fans is the availability of old-school sprite-based shooters, with several decent ones to choose from. The G.G. Series already has a few among its number, but they're all different enough that it cannot hurt to add another one: enter Dark Spirts, of the...
First Impressions G.G. Series Shinobi Karakuri-Den
Mappy Ninja Gaiden
Ninja have been a fixture of video games for a long time, so it's only fitting that Suzak have created a game for the G.G. Series featuring one that bears more than a passing resemblance to Ryu from Ninja Gaiden. Though his inspiration may run around beating up street toughs, the hero of Shinobi Karakuri-Den bounces around like a...
First Impressions G.G. Series Black × Block
For fans of mind-bending only
Most of the G.G. Series previewed to-date have been pretty accessible puzzlers or arcade style games from various genres, but here's the first one that's probably only going to be a hit with a small audience due to the nature and level of the challenge on offer. The gameplay is essentially similar to Toki Tori and...
First Impressions G.G Series: Tetsubou
Arcade gymnastics
You have to give credit to developer Suzak for the work it's done with the G.G. Series. Whilst most of the games are interesting takes on traditional genres, it also likes to throw out the occasional brand-new concept, like Tetsubou: a game which could be best termed a "gymnastic puzzler." Players are presented with a...
First Impressions G.G. Series Conveyor Kombō
A refreshingly novel take on the "match three" puzzler
There have been many variations on the "match three" puzzle game, often involving adding another item to complete a matching set, but it's rare to see a truly new and novel mechanic used in what has become something of a cliched puzzle game style. For this reason G.G. Series Conveyor...
First Impressions G.G. Series Drilling Attack
Not a mad dentist, just more arcade fun!
It's not hard to see why we keep on downloading G.G. Series games to preview because as many as there are, they all seem to have been made by people who care about delivering a quality slice of simple gaming fun. That they're only 200 Points each is just icing on the electron cake of arcade goodness. Drilling...
First Impressions G.G Series: D-Tank
Tank-tastic arcade fun!
Tanks feature in some of the earliest arcade games, from vector graphics classics like Battle Zone and Armor Attack to "newer" sprite-based games like Vindicators and Tank Force. As with the latter D-Tank sees players controlling a tank and trying to defend a base from attack by incoming waves of enemy tanks: a...
First Impressions G.G. Series Assault Buster
Arcade action the G.G. Series way
The G.G. Series of games in the Japanese DSi Shop really are a little slice of arcade heaven. Not just because they offer some good old-fashioned fun, but because they're such well-crafted titles generally. Assault Buster is certainly one to put into the "pretty good" column, offering an interesting...
First Impressions G.G. Series Vertex
More budget puzzling fun from Suzak
Vertex is another take on the puzzle genre in the G.G. Series and like Energy Chain it's a competent and fairly original concept, but not necessarily an addictive one. Players move a small glowing green dot at the bottom which is projecting a guide line to the top of the screen. The object is to press buttons to...
Nintendo Download 16 & 17 March 2010 (Japan)
Racing punch-up, Zombie Wonderland and karate
The Virtual Console Arcade gets a surprise release (always nice) and there's a couple of interesting WiiWare games to tide over Wii owners; add in some intesting titles on the DSi and you get a pretty good week for Nintendo downloading overall. WiiWare: Pokosuka Racing (500pts - Recom) – At first we...
First Impressions G.G. Series Energy Chain
Budget puzzling from the budget DSiWare machine
We have to figure that Suzak is porting games they originally developed for mobile phones for the G.G. Series, because it just doesn't seem possible that they could have made so many games in so short a span of time and actually had this many of them turn out to be worthwhile. Energy Chain is a puzzle...
First Impressions G.G. Series Chō Hero Ōga
"There's a super-man coming, there's a super-man coming..."
This entry in the G.G. Series is a nice little brawler with a superhero theme. As with other games in the series, there's no menu options to worry about, game modes or story: instead you just use the D-Pad and a couple of buttons to pound on some costumed freaks until they get the better of...