Retro Reviews
Review Double Dragon III: The Sacred Stones (Wii U eShop / NES)
A tough but enjoyable adventure for Bimmy and friends
Bimmy. If there's one thing people know about Double Dragon III: The Sacred Stones, it's Bimmy – a typo during the game's (multiplayer) intro that humorously renames the main protagonist. There's more to this third NES entry in the Double Dragon series than a small chuckle however. There's a...
Review The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass (Wii U eShop / DS)
An epic sail
When thinking about the best games from the Legend of Zelda series, many automatically jump straight in at the deep end with the big, home console releases; games such as Ocarina of Time and The Wind Waker always seem to make it to the top of peoples' lists. Games often overlooked are those that have appeared on Nintendo's portable...
Review The Adventures of Bayou Billy (Wii U eShop / NES)
Billy's swampland slog
In 2014 Nintendo suddenly realised that it could recreate the experience of a light gun game by using the pointer controls of the Wii Remote. Duck Hunt arrived on the Wii U eShop that Christmas and a few other NES Zapper games have followed since. Now we have Konami's The Adventures of Bayou Billy, although it should be noted...
Review Pac-Man 2: The New Adventures (Wii U eShop / SNES)
Waka-waka, or just plain wak?
If you were to download recent Virtual Console release Pac-Man 2: The New Adventures to your Wii U with no prior knowledge of what to expect, you'd be forgiven for anticipating a spot of maze-based pill-munching entertainment. In reality, this 'sequel' to arcade classic Pac-Man is a bizarre take on the point-and-click...
Review The Mysterious Case of Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde (DSiWare)
"Cor blimey, gu'vnor"
The Mysterious Case of Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde takes us right back to a London morning in 1886. A body is discovered – a wealthy man who was highly regarded by everyone. Why was he murdered? How? What is going to happen next? Your job is to step into the shoes of an inspector, looking for clues and talking to important...
Review Harvest Moon: More Friends of Mineral Town (Wii U eShop / GBA)
Farm Fatale
If you're familiar with the original Harvest Moon: Friends of Mineral Town, released on the Wii U Virtual console earlier in 2015, then you know just about all there is to expect out of its follow-up, Harvest Moon: More Friends of Mineral Town. In fact, you should probably skim the review of the first title if you want a rundown of the...
Review Stinger (Wii U eShop / NES)
Cute, creative and cruel
Most shmups ask you to shoot your way through hordes of enemy ships while dodging gunfire. Stinger asks you to do this while juggling. The cute, goofy exterior of the game hides just how challenging it can be, as while it may be hard to take smiling shoes, flying phones and whirling donuts seriously, they're all highly...
Review Wild Gunman (Wii U eShop / NES)
You mean you have to use your hands?
Just like Duck Hunt and Hogan's Alley, Wild Gunman was one of the first games released to take full advantage of the NES Zapper, and can now be played on the Wii U by using the Wii Remote's pointer instead. Based on Nintendo's light gun arcade machine, you might even remember seeing it in the Cafe 80's in Back to...
Review Zoda's Revenge: StarTropics II (Wii U eShop / NES)
Time for Mike to make his return
For banana fans and island hoppers alike, the original StarTropics stands to this day as an under-appreciated classic of the NES library. It's the kind of imperfect gem that sadly went a little under the radar at the time of its release, but has endured as a cult favourite thanks in large part to its distinctive...
Review Konami Krazy Racers (Wii U eShop / GBA)
Super Konami Kart
Konami Krazy Racers (AKA Konami Wai Wai Racing Advance in Japan) is a largely forgotten Mario Kart clone that was also one of the original launch games for GBA. If you can imagine Mario Kart Super Circuit with Konami-themed characters and courses, you'll be on the right track with what to expect from this decent little kart racer...
Review Hogan's Alley (Wii U eShop / NES)
Not exactly a bullseye
One of the earliest NES games released, Hogan's Alley is also possibly the most well-known Zapper game after the classic Duck Hunt. But does it hold up as well as its lightgun game partner? The premise of Hogan's Alley is fairly simple. You are (seemingly) some sort of police officer or soldier doing shooting practice, with...
Review The Ignition Factor (Wii U eShop / SNES)
A reality show about the lives of hot and steamy firefighters
This is the scripted story of six strangers that are picked to become firefighters, work together and have their lives played by a total stranger with a controller. Find out what happens when they stop being polite... and realize their lives aren't real. There was a time in gaming...
Review Dig Dug II (Wii U eShop / NES)
Dig in
The original Dig Dug was fairly popular, so naturally a sequel had to follow eventually. Dig Dug II ended up being not nearly as widespread as its predecessor, only seeing release in arcades and on the NES, so you'd be forgiven for not even knowing it existed! Dig Dug II takes a massive departure from the first game. True to its title that...
Review Pocky & Rocky with Becky (Wii U eShop / GBA)
Plain & Repetitive with Boredom
There's real promise behind Pocky & Rocky with Becky, far more than the unimaginative title might suggest. Bite-size levels quickly give way to intriguing boss battles, and speedy pacing helps hold your interest throughout the campaign. However, these positive aspects quickly fade in the face of bland enemies,...
Review Medabots: Metabee & Rokusho (Wii U eShop / GBA)
Meh-abots
Medabots has always been a bit of an odd case. Clearly created to hitch a ride on the Pokémon hype train, it's a series about people who - instead of capturing and fighting with creatures - collect machine parts to build and fight with robots. Unlike Digimon, which was also similar in setup, Medabots never really seemed to catch on...
Review Mario vs. Donkey Kong 2: March of the Minis (Wii U eShop / DS)
A toy story
Mario vs. Donkey Kong 2: March of the Minis is the Nintendo DS sequel to the original GBA classic and a new recruit to the ever-growing Wii U Virtual Console library. Rather than being more of the same platforming puzzle action, Nintendo chose to focus this entire game around what is but a small percentage of the previous game - the...
Review Car Battler Joe (Wii U eShop / GBA)
One cup of Speed Racer lore. One cup of Mad Max universe...
Car Battler Joe tells the cliched story of how Joe Todoroki went out of the comfort of his bedroom to drive through the wasteland of Galacia in pursuit of his estranged father. Rumour has it that he joined a band of misfits in order to destroy the same sport that made him the most famous...
Review StarTropics (Wii U eShop / NES)
Sun, sea, sand, and aliens
Winter is slowly creeping up on us, so it's as good a time as ever to explore warmer climates and take your mind off of the bad weather. For some NES-filtered beams of sunshine, why not step into the shoes of young Mike Jones, an American kid who's headed for an alphabetic island on the tropical adventure of a lifetime?...
Review Mario vs. Donkey Kong (Wii U eShop / GBA)
Prophesizing the amiiboom
Mario vs. Donkey Kong is interesting in that it's the only game in the Mario vs DK franchise (to date) that actually allows the player to control Mario; indeed this was originally planned to be a sequel to 1994's Donkey Kong on Game Boy, so arguably those two have more in common than the other games in the series. Mario vs...
Review Tecmo Bowl (Wii U eShop / NES)
Move over Madden 16, Tecmo Bowl is back and stealing the NFL spotlight
1989 wasn't just an amazing year because that's when this writer was born. It's an also amazing year because that's when Tecmo Bowl received its home console release on the Nintendo Entertainment System. Boasting an impressive roster from the 1988 NFL season, players could now...
Review Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon (Wii U eShop / DS)
Emerging from the shadows
Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon is a Nintendo DS remake of the first Fire Emblem game (originally released in 1990 for Famicom in Japan) that's now available to download in Virtual Console form for Wii U. The series staple of strategic turn-based gameplay along with the perma-death possibility for characters would form the...
Review Mario Golf (Wii U eShop / N64)
Serious Golf for Serious Plumbers
You could argue that the best part of many of the Mario sports titles is that they bring goofy, lighthearted aspects to those pastimes. Games like Super Mario Strikers and Mario Hoops: 3 on 3 all make dramatic changes to the sports they're portraying, capturing the attention of players who might not be interested in...
Review VS. Excitebike (Wii U eShop / NES)
Enjoyable interlude
It's undoubtedly a good thing when Nintendo starts releasing older titles on the eShop that are otherwise fairly difficult to find or play. But does VS. Excitebike, originally only released on the Famicom Disk System in Japan in 1988, offer enough extra content compared to the original to justify a purchase? As the core of the...
Review Genghis Khan II: Clan of the Gray Wolf (Wii U eShop / SNES)
Who knew that Genghis Khan was so cool, calculating, and complex?
Genghis Khan II: Clan of the Gray Wolf was originally developed by Koei and released for the PC-8801, PC9801, and the MSX in 1992. The following year, Genghis Khan II saw releases for MS-DOS, Sega Genesis, Sega CD, PC Engine CD, NES, and SNES. Five more years later, and the game would...
Review Sin and Punishment (Wii U eShop / N64)
On the rails and off the hip
It's no secret that many Japanese titles never see the light of day overseas. Countless games have been unreleased for fear of lack of public interest and fear of bad. This was the initial reason Sin and Punishment, released in 2000, never surfaced on the Nintendo 64 outside of Japan. The hectic shoot'em up only made...
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 VECTOR (DSiWare)
Low magnitude
The last title in the G.G Series has come to pass at last, and it concludes the series in a rather anticlimactic and slightly disappointing manner. G.G Series VECTOR attempts to yet again take a crack at the falling block puzzler and it does so with mixed results. While there's an interesting original idea that's executed in a...
Review G.G Series ENERGY CHAIN (DSiWare)
Off the chain
The next title in the G.G series takes us back to the puzzler genre with yet another take on the tried and true block puzzler. Amazingly enough, this is pulled off with a surprising amount of success and is as enjoyable as it is original. If there's any complaint to be levelled against G.G Series ENERGY CHAIN, it's that the overall...
Colourtastic! Colourrific! Colourawesome!
In the words of the late Satoru Iwata - "Above all, video games are meant to just be one thing: Fun for everyone". Runbow embraces this philosophy and runs away with it. The result is a game that is simple in concept and execution, yet it radiates personality from every shade of its palette. In short, Runbow...
Review G.G Series SCORE ATTACKER (DSiWare)
The name says it all
The next title in the G.G series opts to return to the bullet hell genre with generally positive results. Due to the fact it makes little to no effort at creating its own identity, G.G Series SCORE ATTACKER is rather forgettable. That being said the controls are solid, the visuals and sound are suitably old-school, and the...
