Wii U eShop Game Reviews
Review Cosmophony (Wii U eShop)
Off the beaten track
We can’t help but think that a parallel universe exists in which Cosmophony plays a central, cruel role in deciding a person’s fate. In this somewhat dystopian, yet oddly hip and cool universe where drum and bass is the norm, a technocratic regime (made up of original developer, Bento–Studio, and Wii U porting pros,...
Review Arrow Time U (Wii U eShop)
Let us point you in the direction of something more fun
Back in 1994, a company called Clickteam debuted Klik n Play, an amateur development program that allowed anyone to participate in the process of creating and sharing their own video games. One of the best parts of the software was its simplicity, which forewent complex coding in favor of a...
Review Castlevania: Circle of the Moon (Wii U eShop / GBA)
Over the moon
Konami's Castlevania has changed directions in recent years, with the Lords of Shadow titles polarizing fans of the long-running series. That's why fans of the "Metroidvania" outings should flock to the Wii U eShop and download the Game Boy Advance Castlevania titles, which feature the series' signature exploration-based, semi-linear...
Review Namco Museum (Wii U eShop / GBA)
Does it deserve to be exhibited on your Wii U?
Originally released for the Game Boy Advance in 2001, Namco Museum is part of a long-running series (which goes by the same name) that saw regular releases over a 15-year period all the way up until 2010. This game is a compilation, featuring five classic arcade games: Ms. PAC-MAN, Galaga, Galaxian,...
Review Ballpoint Universe: Infinite (Wii U eShop)
Scribbles and bits
Creatively, the world of Ballpoint Universe: Infinite possesses an enchantingly bizarre kind of beauty that sets it apart. It truly feels like a tribute to the underappreciated act of doodling, where both mind and pen wander to create wide, rolling swaths of who knows what. This is only the visual part of Ballpoint’s design,...
Review Donkey Kong Country (Wii U eShop / SNES)
Hasn't aged a day
Back in 1994, before 3D games had taken off, a little UK-based games developer called Rare decided that if it couldn’t have good looking 3D models in a game, it'd have to get creative. Donkey Kong Country used a pioneering new technique for the time that took images of pre-rendered three dimensional models and turned these...
Review Turtle Tale (Wii U eShop)
Half-shelled
Retro-styled platformers have become very common in the current generation of games, thanks to download platforms and readily available, inexpensive development tools. Some titles, such as the insanely difficult, finely crafted 1001 Spikes, show an immediate artistry and sense of game design. Others, unfortunately, are bare experiences...
Review 99Seconds (Wii U eShop)
A twitch in time saves 99
Time is a very valuable commodity. At least that’s what people say, but there always seems to be time for sneaking a quick little game of something between tasks. 99Seconds seeks to fill those blips in your life, and perhaps a few more, with a classic dodge ‘em style of gameplay. The Wii U version of 99seconds is...
Review Paper Monsters Recut (Wii U eShop)
The power of papercraft
In an increasingly busy eShop with titles that are wildly inconsistent in quality, download games have to make an immediate impression to get noticed. With a lovely visual style, Mobot Studios' Paper Monsters Recut instantly stands out among the crowd — an enhanced port of a mobile game, Paper Monsters Recut is a fun,...
Review Nobunaga's Ambition (Wii U eShop / SNES)
Feud of dreams
Nobunaga’s Ambition, long one of publisher Koei’s flagship series, deserves its rightful place in the history of strategy titles. This SNES iteration, like many of its brethren, has an engaging setup that rewards careful planning and execution once the learning curve is cleared. Actually, “curve” might be too gentle a term...
Review Mon Premier Karaoké (Wii U eShop)
Should you take a chanson this?
Rarely is it possible to describe a game in a single word, yet after mere minutes of playing Mon Premier Karaoké you can aptly sum it up as “niche”. After all, this is a game that’s aimed squarely at young, French-speaking children, and so to be able to use a word of French origin to describe it is...
Review Castlevania: Dracula X (Wii U eShop / SNES)
Tainted blood
When you think of the definitive side-scrolling Castlevania experience, we imagine for most people it’s imagery of Symphony of the Night or Super Castlevania IV that first creeps into the ol’ noggin. But while those might be the most popular of responses, there’s a slightly more obscure game in the franchise that many die-hards...
Review Red Riding Hood (Wii U eShop)
All the better to bore you with, my dear
Clearly aimed at children, Brave Rock Games' Red Riding Hood is a vaguely interactive storybook that, while certainly not a scam at the inexpensive asking price of $1 USD, will take users no more than 15 minutes to play through. With bare-bones presentation, narration that moves at a snail's pace and nearly...
Review Art of Balance (Wii U eShop)
The perfect balance
Art of Balance is a game that was first released on WiiWare, and was easily one of the best titles to grace the platform. Soon after a portable version was released on the 3DS, and now we get the biggest iteration yet on the Wii U eShop; as it's the third title you’d expect it to pull out all the stops, and Shin’en Multimedia...
Review Cubemen 2 (Wii U eShop)
Multi-sided gameplay
While Pure Chess became the first cross-platform multiplayer title on Nintendo eShop stores, Cubemen 2 arrives with a far more complex and potentially rewarding setup. Developer 3 Sprockets and publisher Nnooo have done an admirable job on a technical level, but importantly have also served up an entertaining real-time strategy...
Review KickBeat: Special Edition (Wii U eShop)
The first Wii U title to feature Papa Roach!
After reviewing the newest tables for its meticulously-detailed Zen Pinball 2, we were in for a totally different experience from Budapest-based Zen Studios when KickBeat: Special Edition hit the eShop. Rather than a realistic recreation of a real-life activity, KickBeat is a zany martial arts rhythm
Bully for you
Many reading this may be aware that this title was previously released on the 3DS as Darts Up 3D, and you might be expecting a more fleshed-out experience on the Wii U’s considerably more powerful hardware. As it stands, this version of the pub-game simulator is largely the same as the portable instalment. You aim with the...
Review Wild Guns (Wii U eShop / SNES)
True Bit
The Wild West is a fantastic setting for a video game. Rugged gunslingers, drunken shootouts, limited presence of the law and a surplus of criminals lend to a volatile and rowdy backdrop for a tense, controller-gripping time. In the case of Wild Guns it takes the Steampunk route, injecting hostile machinery and advanced weaponry into the...
Review Gargoyle's Quest II: The Demon Darkness (Wii U eShop / NES)
It's good to be bad
Although many people are familiar with the Red Arremers, the notoriously persistent enemies from the Ghosts 'n Goblins games, not many seem to be aware that one particular Arremer also starred in several games of his own. The first Gargoyle's Quest was released on the 3DS Virtual Console a while back, and now we've finally...
Review SPIKEY WALLS (Wii U eShop)
Feeling a bit Flappy
It's difficult to review RCMADIAX's new title SPIKEY WALLS in a rational fashion – without any context, one could easily write, "This is a Flappy Bird clone," and it would be exactly correct. SPIKEY WALLS accomplishes everything it sets out to do. You control a flappy bug by pressing the A button to navigate a never-ending...
Review Bayonetta (Wii U eShop)
Back to the start
With Bayonetta 2 around the corner as a Wii U exclusive, a reality that caused quite a stir when announced in 2012, it may be important for Nintendo-focused gamers to consider diving into the fresh port of the original Bayonetta, a title that skipped Wii when released in the last generation. Whether it's a worthwhile double-dip...
Review Chimpuzzle Pro (Wii U eShop)
Monkeying around
Chimpuzzle Pro is CW-Games’ first offering on the Nintendo Wii U eShop, building on the company’s previous Chimpuzzle (for PC/Mac/Linux) by adding five new levels. In Chimpuzzle Pro, the object is to save the auto-walking monkey Bobo from hazards by building up a partially completed obstacle course using Tetris-style block...
Review Mega Man 7 (Wii U eShop / SNES)
Bigger sprites, bigger fun?
Mega Man 7 is in an awkward place; while most big NES franchises made huge leaps to the Super Nintendo, the mainline Mega Man series' 16-bit thunder was stolen by its Serious Business spin-off, Mega Man X. Released after X and its sequel Mega Man X2, Mega Man 7 is Capcom's attempt to bring its classic platforming roots to...
Review Super Mario Ball (Wii U eShop / GBA)
Balls to the wall
It's no secret that Nintendo's iconic red-wearing plumber has had a number of vocations. From referee to painter to kart racer to hotelier, Mario's been through a lot and shows no sign of actually doing some plumbing. Keeping that in mind, let's take a look at a game where he becomes a pinball. Super Mario Ball's plot revolves...
Review Teslagrad (Wii U eShop)
Alternating current, direct fun
We seem to love Scandinavian games here at Nintendo Life. We began our glowing SteamWorld Dig review last month by espousing the virtues of the Swedish indie gaming scene, but Sweden's neighbour to the west is not to be forgotten: hot on the heels of SteamWorld comes Teslagrad, an equally impressive Metroidvania-style...
"I get knocked down, but I get up again..."
The Wii U has had a diverse range of artistically-driven download games ported to its eShop lately, from Another World to Master Reboot to the news that the critically-acclaimed Gone Home will be arriving later this year, and Vancouver-based
Review Mario Golf: Advance Tour (Wii U eShop / GBA)
Like Golden Sun, if all the weapons were golf clubs
Mario is a surprisingly active fellow. We've said it before and we'll say it again — the doughy little guy is a total sports nut, and he owes much of this to the kind developers at Camelot, who have a gift for creating really solid titles that allow him to strut his stuff. Like previous titles in...
Review Mega Man X3 (Wii U eShop / SNES)
A less than fitting farewell
In 1996, the Mega Man X series parted ways with Nintendo hardware. Mega Man X3 is how it ends. Not with a bang, but a whimper. The first Mega Man X game got things off to such a solid start that it was almost inevitable that a letdown would come sooner rather than later. After all, with so little room for improvement,...
Review Donkey Kong Jr. Math (Wii U eShop / NES)
Summin' it
In among the Excitebikes, Super Mario Bros., and Ice Climbers of the NES’s North American launch sat Donkey Kong Jr. Math, an edutainment title seemingly designed so that hopeful tots could point to it on the shelf and Trojan-horse Nintendo’s new Duck Hunt-playing powerhouse into the family home, parents unsuspecting, under the guise...
Review Jett Tailfin (Wii U eShop)
The art of drowning
So far this year, the Wii U eShop has allowed us to submerge our imaginations in the ocean with titles like Squids Odyssey and Abyss, two games we found to be rather charming and worthy of your investment. Yet, as we all should know, the ocean and the eShop are also filled with predators ready to take a big juicy bite out of your...
