Retro Reviews
Review Waku Waku 7 (Switch eShop / Neo Geo)
Seventh heaven
The Neo Geo was a system blessed with more than its fair share of one-on-one fighters, which is perhaps why Sunsoft felt it was necessary to take a slightly different approach with Waku Waku 7, the sequel to the rather more serious Galaxy Fight, which launched a year beforehand in 1995. This release not only allowed Sunsoft to create...
Review NAM-1975 (Switch eShop / Neo Geo)
Back to the nightmare
As one of the earliest Neo Geo releases, NAM-1975 occupies a rather unusual place in the console's library. It's relatively well-known because it was the first glimpse many of us saw of the raw power contained within SNK's arcade (and home) hardware, but like so many launch titles it hasn't aged all that gracefully in the...
Review The King of Fighters '98 (Switch eShop / Neo Geo)
The return of the king
While many associate the one-on-one fighting genre with Capcom's legendary Street Fighter franchise, there was a point in the '90s when SNK was arguably at the vanguard of this particular game style. Its King of Fighters series became a firm favourite in arcades all over the world, with yearly updates satisfying the desire and...
Review Metal Slug 3 (Switch eShop / Neo Geo)
Arcade anarchy
As we write this we still await the Nintendo Switch Virtual Console, but courtesy of HAMSTER we have the 'ACA' Neo Geo range on Nintendo's latest console. These are essentially faithful ports, designed to emulate the original Neo Geo experience on modern hardware while throwing in a broad range of features and customisation options...
Review Shock Troopers (Switch eShop / Neo Geo)
Run and gun for fun
Capcom's top-down shooter Commando was something of a trendsetter when it arrived in the '80s, and was quickly imitated by a host of clones. The appeal of the concept isn't hard to grasp; you're one guy against many, shooting your way through a series of levels and generally causing as much destruction as possible along the way...
Review Gradius (Wii U eShop / TG-16)
Arcade-style pew-pew
Gradius will forever be considered a definitive game in the shoot 'em up genre, held up as a key example of what makes these kind of games truly special. It's a game familiar for its iconic NES version, of course, but the release of the TurboGrafx-16 iteration on the Wii U Virtual Console is a welcome one - after all, it was a...
Not your average Joe
It is not uncommon for a game's critical appeal to far outweigh its selling power. Throughout the history of gaming there have been many cult hits that now go for ridiculous prices on the second hand market, EarthBound and the original Shantae being a couple of notorious examples. However, few games can boast the extreme rarity...
Review Super Castlevania IV (3DS eShop / SNES)
The (Belmont) Boys Are Back in Town
The Super NES is, for many, Nintendo's greatest console. It boasted a software library that was an envy of competitors and had more than enough power to stave off unfavourable comparisons to arcade games of its age. Unlike many of Nintendo's more recent home consoles, the SNES is remembered just as much for its...
Review The Legend of the Mystical Ninja (3DS eShop / SNES)
Still hanging in there
The Legend of the Mystical Ninja is a perfect throwback to the '90s: a time when Konami was still revered among gamers, games were heavily edited for Western markets, and Nintendo reigned supreme. If you haven't heard of the Mystical Ninja series, we won't hold it against you. It's something of a cult-classic in the Western...
Review Picross 3D Round 2 (3DS)
Pleasantly puzzling
A wise gentleman once said that every puzzle has a solution. In Picross 3D Round 2, finding those answers may have players tearing out their hair while simultaneously cracking a smile. Picross 3D Round 2 is a game that is as addictive as they come. Like its predecessor puzzles are in 3D (as the name so helpfully points out) and...
Review Final Fight 3 (New 3DS / SNES)
Metro City rampage
It was a mistake to come back to Metro City, Guy realised. With the Mad Gear gang defeated he'd hoped for a pleasant day where he could catch up with people, but instead he finds himself in a tricky situation. Stood in the Mayor's office, he's trying desperately not to comment on Haggar's ridiculous ponytail. He can't take it any...
Review Final Fight 2 (New 3DS / SNES)
Samey sequel (sans selling point)
When Final Fight arrived on the SNES it had problems. The port of the side-scrolling beat 'em up classic looked reasonably close to the arcade title, but it cut out the industrial area, the two-player option and playable character Guy as well. A second attempt was made with Final Fight Guy that saw the Bushin ninja...
Review Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Sky (DS)
The sky's the limit
Though the core series still delivers by far the most popular kind of Pokémon games, the Mystery Dungeon series has still done a good job of establishing its own identity and setting itself apart. As the third and final game in the DS set of games for the series, Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Sky provides a charming...
Review Mega Man X3 (New 3DS / SNES)
Flawed finale
It was 1995 or 1996 (depending on where you lived) and for the third year running Capcom released a Mega Man X game on the SNES. Further games in the series would follow but whilst X's 1-6 would arrive on the GameCube in Mega Man X Collection, Mega Man X3 would be the last in the series for the SNES and now presumably the New Nintendo...
Review Mega Man X2 (New 3DS / SNES)
Extra X
Thanks to 16-bit visual loveliness and some new moves, the first Mega Man X stood out from the many 8-bit Mega Man games that had popped up on the NES and Game Boy. Released the following year, this sequel may lack the freshness of that first title, but Mega Man X2 still provides the expected action-platforming fun, backed by some great...
Review Final Fight (3DS eShop / SNES)
Not quite the final word
In the late '80s and early '90s gamers gathered around arcade cabinets instead of playing from the comfort of their own homes, and one of the biggest draws in arcades of the day was undoubtedly Capcom's Final Fight. When Final Fight released for the Super Nintendo in the early '90s, some gamers weren't very pleased with it,...
Review R-Type (Wii U eShop / TG-16)
More like our type
You can't have a conversation about shoot-'em-ups, or shmups, without mentioning R-Type. Back in the late '80s and early '90s the game was synonymous with the genre. Unfortunately for Nintendo fans at the time one of the best ports of the arcade classic was on the TurboGrafx-16, an also-ran console that never found its place in...
Review Metroid Prime: Hunters (Wii U eShop / DS)
A bit past its Prime
The year was 2004. The Metroid series had been brought roaring back to relevance a couple years prior with the excellent Metroid Prime, and its sequel was due out soon. At E3, Nintendo opted to unveil its newest platform, a bizarre device that featured two screens. Many were skeptical as to whether or not the device would be...
Review Street Fighter Alpha 2 (New 3DS / SNES)
The eShop has Alpha too
There are a few Virtual Console options for New Nintendo 3DS-owning Street Fighter fans such as a speedy Street Fighter II, a sixteen-character Street Fighter II and this eShop release that stands out on account of not being Street Fighter II. Released in 1996 this SNES port of Street Fighter Alpha 2 may have been overlooked...
Review Super Street Fighter II: The New Challengers (New 3DS / SNES)
Super solo fighter
The New Nintendo 3DS is a nifty device with a number of great games available, but as everyone knows something cannot be considered a true games machine unless you can play Street Fighter II on it. Thankfully Capcom has stepped in to save New 3DS owners from the taunts of ZX Spectrum, Atari ST and CD32 gamers by bringing the game...
Review Street Fighter II' Turbo: Hyper Fighting (New 3DS / SNES)
Speedy fighting on the go
Ever since SNES games were announced as coming to the New Nintendo 3DS it seemed inevitable that Capcom would jump at the chance to flog us Street Fighter II again and - sure enough - here it is. In a surprise move they've skipped the World Warrior port and moved straight to Street Fighter II Turbo: Hyper Fighting, released...
Review New Adventure Island (Wii U / TG-16)
An old-school endless runner
It's often said that there's no such thing as a bad idea, that it just needs the right moment to shine. More than any other medium video games like to rehash what's come before, retrofitting old concepts into new titles for something that can feel wholly unique while paying tribute to what's come before. For instance,...
Review Style Savvy (Wii U eShop / DS)
Retro Chic
If there's one thing that's true in style, it's that what's old is new again. That's as true in fashion games as it is on the runway, and now, after two excellent turns on the 3DS in Style Savvy: Trendsetters and Fashion Forward, Nintendo's going back to basics by bringing the DS original Style Savvy to the Wii U's Virtual Console. Style...
Review Mega Man X (New 3DS / SNES)
Mega Xcitement
The Mega Man games provided people with enjoyable action-platforming and Capcom was happy to keep producing more and more of them to be purchased and played. 1993 (at least in Japan) saw the release of the sixth NES game in the series, but also the start of something new. Following Virtual Console releases (and a compilation) of the...
Review Front Mission Series: Gun Hazard (SNES)
Out Of This Valken World
The original Front Mission raised the bar very high indeed for what we have come to expect from mecha games on Super Nintendo. Just one year later, Square released a sequel - but don't be fooled, Front Mission Series: Gun Hazard is everything but a traditional follow-up. In fact, it's not even in the same timeline as the...
Review Pokémon Ranger: Guardian Signs (Wii U eShop / DS)
New features and more circle-capture adventures
The Oblivia region has tidy beaches, clear seas and lots of sunshine; it's a pleasant place to be whether a human or one of the many free-roaming Pokémon. Things have changed recently, however, with many Pokémon abducted by a villainous gang known as the Pokémon Pinchers (no, really) and it's up to...
Review Bonk's Adventure (Wii U eShop / TG-16)
The third (stone) wheel
Woe is the child who grew up with a TurboGrafx-16. Whereas battles of words and wills cropped up endlessly in the schoolyard by stalwart Nintendo and Sega fans in the great console wars of the early 90s, anybody with NEC's home rendition of the PC Engine was the gaming equivalent of Switzerland, a neutral entity that was more...
Review Super Boss Gaiden (SNES)
Bad Day At Sony Headquarters
The retro gaming world came to a halt on Sunday when Chrono Moogle and Dieter von Laser released this game to the unsuspecting Super Nintendo-loving crowd. Understandably only one person in the world will be able to play Super Boss Gaiden on the SNES Playstation prototype, but for the rest of us the
Review Kirby's Dream Course (New 3DS / SNES)
Kirby's Krazy Golf
Super NES title Kirby's Dream Course has made it to the New Nintendo 3DS, and we had to see how this non-conventional Kirby title has held up since its initial release in 1994. Kirby's Dream Course is effectively crazy golf with our little pink pal acting as the ball. Kirby has three lives with four attempts each, and unless...
AKA: Xandra, the legendary klutz gummy hero
You might have stumbled upon Namco's love letter to Norse mythology, the Valkyrie series, in the past. Of the few games released, there is one rather noteworthy entry for the arcade named Walküre no Densetsu, a one or two player overhead shmup/platformer hybrid with a lot of impressive scaling effects...
