3DS eShop Game Reviews
Review Witch & Hero (3DS eShop)
A curse upon the eShop
CIRCLE Entertainment has been a prolific publisher on DSiWare, bringing to the fore its own titles and also helping small developers share their work with the DSi/3DS audience. With so many titles against its name there are some that are excellent, as well as others that we'd sooner forget. Witch & Hero arrives on the 3DS...
Review Harvest Moon (3DS eShop / GBC)
Under thresher
The Harvest Moon series has always promoted the ideals of hard work and patience over the instant gratification found by more recent prods at gaming agriculture like Farmville. This attitude is even more apparent in Harvest Moon on the Game Boy Color than other iterations, as the handheld game crops the series down to its very roots...
Review HarmoKnight (3DS eShop)
Big beat
When you think Game Freak, you instinctively think Pokémon. It’s hardly surprising; the Japanese studio has been behind the million-selling franchise since day one, and the evergreen popularity of “catching 'em all” has ensured that the firm has little reason — or time — to explore other avenues. Apart from side-projects like...
Review Jewel Master Atlantis 3D (3DS eShop)
A diamond in the rough?
For years now, Cerasus Media has been pumping out game after game in the Jewel Master series, and very little has changed in that time. Each instalment is usually playable and entertaining enough, but in most instances the gameplay formula and overall presentation have remained the same. And while the classic phrase "If it...
Review Lola's Math Train (3DS eShop)
I choo-choo-choose you!
Lola’s Math Train, the follow-up to the pleasantly surprising Lola’s Alphabet Train, isn’t quite a game as much as it’s a learning application. In this instalment Lola, the jubilant panda, is here to help kids learn about math, numbers and logical problem solving through various interactive challenges. This is a...
Review Mega Man 3 (3DS eShop / NES)
Sibling rivalry
It's fitting that Mega Man 3 introduces our hero's antagonistic, cocksure older brother Proto Man, as the game itself seems to eternally duke it out with its own brother Mega Man 2 for the coveted title of Best in Series. But wherever you may fall on the question, there's no doubt that this third installment in the classic franchise...
Review Wrecking Crew (3DS eShop / NES)
I'm gonna wreck it!
It’s common knowledge for most gamers that Mario has been in countless games over the years, in which he has taken on a bevy of different roles and occupations. From race-car driver to boxing referee, Mario has done it all. Curiously enough, just about the only job Mario hasn’t performed in a video game is that of a plumber,...
Review Legend of the River King (3DS eShop / GBC)
Nothing smells fishy here
Natsume is mostly known for its Harvest Moon games, but what you might not know is that there is another long-running series from the same developer - in fact, its first game predates the first Harvest Moon by 6 years. Legend of the River King is one of only four games in this series released outside Japan, and it's now...
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...
Review ATV Wild Ride 3D (3DS eShop)
A game of hills and valleys
Bringing online racing to the 3DS eShop in any form is a pretty ambitious undertaking, but we'll say up front that ATV Wild Ride 3D gets that part exactly right. In our experience the online racing is fast, smooth, and reliable. As far as that goes, we genuinely couldn't ask for anything more, and the simple fact that it...
Review Coaster Creator 3D (3DS eShop)
Layin' down tracks
Anyone who's ever stepped off of a roller coaster with a huge grin and an idea for a ride of their own will appreciate the immense appeal of Coaster Creator 3D's concept. It combines the classic video game experience of going really fast with the medium's unique ability to let you do things you wouldn't necessarily be able to in...
Review Splash or Crash (3DS eShop)
All's well that ends well
Simple though it might be, dropping things from a huge height is still pretty entertaining. There's the catharsis of just letting something go, the satisfying sound when gravity takes its hold and an object plummets to its final destination. The plop as a stone reaches the bottom of a well can be deeply gratifying, for...
Review Viking Invasion 2 - Tower Defense (3DS eShop)
A-Viking we will go
Just like its DSiWare predecessor, Viking Invasion 2 - Tower Defense is a, yep, tower defense game that has you taking on the role of protector. As hordes of enemies draw near the castle that you’ve been gracious enough to defend, you must build towers to attack the oncoming assault. It’s a pretty standard affair for the...
Review Picdun 2: Witch's Curse (3DS eShop)
Dungeons & Drawings
As a part of INTENSE CO's GO series, the original Picdun brought a unique take on first-person dungeon crawling to DSiWare. A portmanteau of the words "Picture" and "Dungeon", the game turned the genre's traditional map into a pixel art canvas, where players would fill in a picture as they explored their environment. Picdun 2:...
Review Yoshi (3DS eShop / NES)
Soft boiled
Mario's loyal dinosaur companion Yoshi may have made his debut in the Super Nintendo classic Super Mario World, but one year later Nintendo gave him his own title on the rapidly fading NES. That game was Yoshi, and it's now come to non-Ambassadors on the 3DS eShop. It's a falling block puzzler, which is a genre every video game...
Review Castlevania (3DS eShop / NES)
Drac attack
A while back we were "graced" with the arrival of Castlevania: The Adventure on 3DS Virtual Console, an overly simplistic attempt to bring the series to handhelds. Now the NES original has arrived on the service as well, but is it still worth going batty over? If you've played almost any other "classic-style" Castlevania game, you'll be...
Review Dig Dug (3DS eShop / NES)
Slightly soiled
In 1982, Namco released Dig Dug. By that point in time the company had already cemented its place in the gaming history books with enduring classics like Pac-Man and Galaga. Their younger brother Dig Dug never quite reached their heights of popularity, but it's still quite fun in its own right. As with many early arcade games, your...
Review Mega Man 2 (3DS eShop / NES)
Get Equipped With an All-Time Classic
In 1987, Capcom released the original Mega Man. It was well-received by both gamers and critics, but it was not much of a financial success. Over the course of the next year, however, Mega Man 2 was developed as a labour of love by Keiji Inafune and his team, alongside other projects that were expected to be...
Review Bloody Vampire (3DS eShop)
Bloody fun
Joining Witch's Cat in Agetec's recent duo of playfully spooky eShop releases, Bloody Vampire is a stylish, side-scrolling adventure in the Metroidvania vein. It tells the story of Latis, an exquisitely pigtailed half-vampire / half-human, who sets off to investigate the coming conflict between her two bloodlines with Cereza, her loyal...
Review Super C (3DS eShop / NES)
I think you’re a Contra
Originally released as an arcade game titled Super Contra, Super C — or Probotector II — is the NES-ported sequel to the now infamously difficult action game Contra. With the continuing story of alien invaders, and most of the same gameplay elements, Super C shares many similarities with its predecessor, but that...
Review Ice Climber (3DS eShop / NES)
Cold Mountain
What makes a video game a classic? Is it enjoyable gameplay that never feels old? Is it an engaging storyline that draws players into its universe? Or is it simply the inclusion of some characters and stages in the latest Super Smash Bros. title? Ice Climber is the latest “classic” NES game to hit the 3DS Virtual Console, but if it...
Review Witch's Cat (3DS eShop)
Tabby Laby
Not many puzzle games are lucky enough to boast spin-offs, let alone side-stories - and though you wouldn't guess it from the title, that's exactly what Agetec has conjured up in Witch's Cat: a side-story in the ongoing Rabi Laby series. This eShop entry picks up where Rabi Laby 2 left off on DSiWare, but where the previous games' puzzles...
Review 35 Junior Games (3DS eShop)
Why buy one when you can have 35?
When it comes to games that put Nintendo enthusiasts on alert, compilations of mini-games are probably up there with movie licensed cash-ins. If a bold claim is made that a game offers dozens of games for the price of one download, eyebrows are raised and the final package will either be the greatest value ever...
More picture crossword goodness
A few months ago, Nintendo released Picross e on the eShop, the first new Picross game in a while and quite an enjoyable - if rather short - package. Thankfully, if you felt a little short-changed you can delve straight back into puzzle-solving with the sequel, Picross e2. Is it anywhere near as good as its...
Review Cocoto Alien Brick Breaker (3DS eShop)
Devil vs Alien
In 2008 and 2009, Neko entertainment's would-be mascot Cocoto made two appearances on the WiiWare service. Cocoto Fishing Master and Cocoto Platform Jumper weren't total write-offs, but neither were they particularly impressive. They were competent but unmemorable dips into genres revealed by their titles. Cocoto Alien Brick Breaker...
Squids today...
While most people know Pixel's work from the excellent Cave Story, that's not the only game he's ever made, and exploring his lesser known titles can be a lot of fun in itself. Ikachan is one such title, released as freeware for the PC in 2000. That's four years before Cave Story, and you'll definitely see some overlap in terms of...
Review Mahjong Mysteries - Ancient Athena (3DS eShop)
Mah-tch two
We'll be honest, while some members of the Nintendo Life team are clever and cultured enough to know all about the intricacies of Mahjong, some of us have to consult Wikipedia to learn the rules. It shouldn't have surprised us, however, that when we opened Mahjong Mysteries - Ancient Athena the variation on offer was basically a single...
Review Wild Adventures: Ultimate Deer Hunt 3D (3DS eShop)
Familiar Hunting Grounds
Do you remember last year when Outdoors Unleashed: Africa 3D was released on the 3DS eShop and it got people talking about the ethics of video games? Many were up in arms and offended by the idea of a game featuring the hunting of wildlife on an African safari, but that didn’t stop it from being a fun arcade shooter. Now...
Review Blaster Master (3DS eShop / NES)
Master of blasters
When it was originally released in Japan as Meta Fight, Blaster Master failed to make much of an impact. In the west, however, it was retooled slightly and given a new story about a boy and his pet frog, and became a cult classic that spawned multiple sequels - several of which ended up not even being released in Japan. On the...
Review Tokyo Crash Mobs (3DS eShop)
Almost at the front of the queue
Although many people assume that Zuma was the first game to feature match-three marble shooting, the honour actually goes to Puzz Loop, a 1998 arcade release by Pang creator Mitchell Corporation. Sequels on the DS and WiiWare have since followed, and now there’s a fresh entry in the series on the 3DS eShop - not...
