Retro Reviews
Review Shantae (3DS eShop / GBC)
Whip ya hair
Just over 11 years since its original release in 2002, Shantae has finally made it onto the 3DS Virtual Console – and it's the first time that it's been available in Europe too. Despite the long wait, WayForward's tricky 2D platformer is sprinkled with enough genie-magic to keep it fresh and interesting for a modern audience. Shantae...
Review Fashion Tycoon (DSiWare)
Fashion disaster
If there's one thing that Fashion Tycoon truly achieves, it's the way in which it makes you appreciate just how hard retail workers have it at times. Much like in real life, demanding customers, stock shortages and a lack of staff are just some of the problems you find yourself up against in this game — it's a nightmarish...
Review Spelunker (3DS eShop / NES)
Go back to your cave and stay there
Ask a few western gamers about Spelunker and it's likely that barely any of them will have heard of the game, despite it being originally developed by an American company. Ask Japanese gamers, though, and it's a completely different story — the game is very well known to them and is joked about online all the...
Review EarthBound (Wii U eShop / SNES)
An RPG experience unlike any other
EarthBound landed on the SNES in 1995 with a dull thud. While the game didn't exactly light up the sales charts in North America and failed to make it to Europe, it has certainly gone on to become one of the most sought-after games in the second-hand market, selling for upwards of $80 as nothing more than a loose...
Review Donkey Kong (Wii U eShop / NES)
Klassic Kong
This month marks the 30th anniversary of the initial Japanese launch of the Nintendo Family Computer, more popularly known around the world as the Famicom. Among the landmark console’s launch titles was Donkey Kong, a port of the arcade hit that began Nintendo’s launch into video game history. Now, just in time for the anniversary...
Review Rhythm Core Alpha 2 (DSiWare)
Bring life back to music
Musicians both aspiring and experienced have had copious opportunities to break out into song with their DSi thanks to a cornucopia of software suites, including 2010's Rhythm Core Alpha that brought an emphasis on live performances to the table. Developer SoftEgg's sequel Rhythm Core Alpha 2 is the most advanced one yet to...
Review Lost Treasures of Alexandria (DSiWare)
The perfect match?
Lost Treasures Of Alexandria's release on the DSi Shop comes as something of a surprise. That's because it's the first game in a short while to break the trend of poor Match-3 games to which the service has been cruelly subjected. In fact, this latest game rectifies many of the issues that plagued publisher MSL's other recent...
Review Super Mario Bros. 2 (3DS eShop / NES)
Sweet dreams are made of these
By now we all know the story of Super Mario Bros. 2: concerns about the Japanese sequel to the original Super Mario Bros. kept it from release in North America and Europe. Different reasons have been given over time, from the game being too difficult to it simply not demonstrating enough creativity to keep gamers...
Review Metroid (Wii U eShop / NES)
By Zebes, it’s Metroid on the Wii U
The NES section of the Wii U'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 holding your hand...
Review Sonic Drift 2 (3DS eShop / GG)
Super Sonic Racing
Quite a few video game mascots got swept up in the kart racing craze of the 90's, and the world's fastest hedgehog was no exception. Sonic and racing have always seemed like a good fit, and after the success of Super Mario Kart in 1992, SEGA gave the Blue Blur some well-deserved time on the track with Sonic Drift for the Game...
Review G-LOC: Air Battle (3DS eShop / GG)
Crash and burn
Around its initial release in the early '90s, Sega launched G-LOC: Air Battle in several different forms, including an arcade cabinet, a Mega Drive port, and eventually crash-landing it on the portable Game Gear console. The series has been mostly absent since then, finally popping back up on the 3DS’s Virtual Console service. Some...
Review Vampire: Master of Darkness (3DS eShop / GG)
Out for the count
Given its gothic setting, focus on melee combat and inclusion of Dracula as the final boss, it’s little wonder that Vampire: Master of Darkness was compared to the famous Castlevania series when it launched on the Master System and Game Gear back in the early ‘90s. Developed by SIMS — which at the time was a second-party Sega...
Review Pilotwings (Wii U eShop / SNES)
Empty skies
Most readers here will remember the launch titles of the 3DS quite well, and as such they're probably familiar with the existence of Pilotwings Resort. While we certainly enjoyed the title there was a great deal of talk about it essentially feeling like a retail tech demo, more of a proof of concept for the new hardware than a game in...
Review Star Wars Rogue Squadron III: Rebel Strike (GameCube)
Three's a crowd
Factor 5 struck gold when it released the sublime Star Wars: Rogue Squadron for the Nintendo 64 way back in 1998/1999. Then, in 2001/2002, the development studio topped this already impressive feat with the astounding Star Wars Rogue Squadron II: Rogue Leader. So when it announced that it had a third Rogue Squadron game in the works...
Review Crystal Warriors (3DS eShop / GG)
Curiously characterless
One of the Game Gear's earliest RPG titles, Crystal Warriors tries to cherry-pick the best elements of genre classics like Fire Emblem and Shining Force while throwing its own element-driven combat system into the mix, along with the ability to tame monsters and use them in battle. Despite these attempts to do something fresh...
Review Vegas Stakes (Wii U eShop / SNES)
Jackpot winner or total craps?
Nothing says “SNES classic” like a high-stakes trip to a menagerie of Las Vegas casinos. You’re invited to bust open the bank account for a night of potentially irresponsible entertainment as you hop from game to gambling game with your crew of potentially irresponsible friends. Even if a 1993 rendition of...
Review Sonic the Hedgehog 2 (3DS eShop / GG)
Saving your Tails
A year after the runaway success of Sonic the Hedgehog in 1991, SEGA followed up with a sequel that introduced Miles 'Tails' Prower and the iconic Casino Night Zone to the gaming world. This, however, is not that sequel. Rather than leaving its Master System and Game Gear-owning fans with a simple, downsized port of Sonic the...
Review Defenders of Oasis (3DS eShop / GG)
Water way to go
Given the staggering popularity of the RPG genre, it’s amazing that so few titles have broken free of the seemingly obligatory European fantasy setting. Most notable entries tend to feature swords, knights, dragons and all the usual medieval trappings, and as a result some old-school role-playing titles are genuinely difficult to...
Review Tails Adventure (3DS eShop / GG)
Foxtales
Miles 'Tails' Prower has come a long way since his debut as a silent, second-player-controlled sidekick in Sonic the Hedgehog 2, becoming one of SEGA's most beloved mascots and appearing in dozens of games over the past twenty years. It's a bit surprising then that he's only had headlining roles in two titles, both on the Game Gear: the...
Review Jewel Quest 5 - The Sleepless Star (DSiWare)
Jewel Identity
We often complain about the lack of innovation in today's games industry. Publishers and developers tend to take the safe and easy route, making games that stick closely to a tried-and-tested template with the odd tweak here and there. While there's nothing wrong with making a sequel to a popular game, it's not unreasonable for us...
Review Star Wars Rogue Squadron II: Rogue Leader (GameCube)
A force to be reckoned with
In many ways, Star Wars Rogue Squadron II: Rogue Leader is the definitive Star Wars game. That's not to say that it's the best game that's ever been based on the franchise, but rather, it's the best at capturing the pure essence and magic of it. Developed by Factor 5 in collaboration with LucasArts, it's a technical...
Review Wrecking Crew (Wii U eShop / NES)
It's wrecking time!
Mario's claim to fame has often been jumping; a simple skill, but unfailingly entertaining. It can be tough to remember a time when he traded high-flying acrobatics for a hammer and an insatiable appetite for destruction, but that's exactly the case in Wrecking Crew. Smashing things to bits is the straightforward goal, but...
Review Mario Bros. (Wii U eShop / NES)
Definitely not super
If you've ever been curious about Mario and Luigi's actual credibility as plumbers, you'll want to look all the way back to 1983's Mario Bros., the game which established pipe-cleaning as their true vocation and served as something of a bridge between arcade sensation Donkey Kong and early platforming masterpiece Super Mario...
Review Shining Force: The Sword of Hajya (3DS eShop / GG)
Shine on, you crazy portable diamond
The Shining Force series may have retreated from the west of late, but back in the early 1990s it was incredibly popular in both the US and Europe, managing to attract a large audience while Nintendo's rival Fire Emblem franchise remained Japan-exclusive. As well as scoring critically-acclaimed entries on the...
Review Mega Man 6 (3DS eShop / NES)
Mega Man's NES swan song
In 1993, the SNES was already out and Capcom was about to release Mega Man X, but they just couldn't let themselves to say goodbye to the NES and made one last 8-bit Mega Man game for the beloved system. Mega Man 6 was released so late into the system's life that Capcom decided to not even publish the game in Europe — this...
Review Dr Robotnik's Mean Bean Machine (3DS eShop / GG)
Emphasis on the “mean”
Dr. Robotnik's Mean Bean Machine is somewhat of an anomaly. It's a Puyo Puyo puzzle game that takes place in the Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog - a short lived but wildly popular television series from the mid-90s - universe, but the blue blur is completely absent. Instead, the only hero here is you, a presumably...
Review Columns (3DS eShop / GG)
Supporting a good time
Way back in the days when video games in general were often referred to as 'Nintendo' games, a little gem called Tetris was packaged-in with the Game Boy, and it helped catapult the handheld to dominating heights. A couple of years later SEGA released the Game Gear, and in what can only be seen as an attempt to capitalize on...
Review Bakuretsu Muteki Bangaioh (Nintendo 64)
Insanity redefined
Bakuretsu Muteki Bangaioh (which translates as Explosive, Invincible Bangaioh — you might know it as Bangai-O) is a relatively obscure Japanese exclusive for Nintendo 64 that holds a rather interesting history. Released in 1999 and developed by Treasure — the same team that produced the Sin & Punishment games — it is...
Review Sengoku 3 (Wii Virtual Console / Neo Geo)
Third time's the charm
While SNK was far more well known for its one-on-one fighting games, it did toss out a few beat 'em ups along the way. Some of the attempts were better than others: Sengoku 3 is one such example. It basically takes many of the solid gameplay perks of the first two games and amps things up considerably. Toss in a fresh coat of...
Review Sonic the Hedgehog (3DS eShop / GG)
Put a ring on it
As one of gaming's most iconic mammals, Sonic the Hedgehog needs no introduction; he's graced consoles, comic books, crossovers and clothing lines in his double-decade career, and this is where it all began. Well, nearly — Sonic the Hedgehog on the Game Gear isn't a port of the Mega Drive / Genesis classic, but rather of the 8-bit...
