Nintendo Game Reviews
Review Mario Tennis: Ultra Smash (Wii U)
Into the net
Mario's spin-off titles have been integral to Nintendo systems for multiple generations, typically designed to bring families and friends together for light-hearted fun. The tennis spin-off has often found a fascinating middle-ground between depth and accessibility, though the home console entries have often been focused on simple...
Review Nintendo Presents: New Style Boutique 2 - Fashion Forward (3DS)
Back in style
Like high-waisted shorts or the reemergence of leg warmers, some things just come out of nowhere. Syn Sophia's New Style Boutique was a similarly surprising success when it hit the 3DS runways in 2012, giving the fashion sim genre a real gem. After a few seasons off it's back for another appearance (in Europe at least) with this...
Gotta friend 'em all
There's no point beating around the bush: Yo-Kai Watch is a lot like Pokémon. But instead of straight up emulating one of Nintendo's biggest franchises, developer Level-5 has aspired to create something a bit stranger and fresher than Pokémon has done in years. The result is a welcoming RPG that has some highs and some lows,...
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 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 Legend of Zelda: Tri Force Heroes (3DS)
Tri-al and error
The Legend of Zelda: Tri Force Heroes is a remarkably segmented and potentially divisive game from Nintendo. It attempts a similar trick to Four Swords Adventures but, with its totem mechanic and implementation, doesn't accommodate both solo and group players in canny ways; as a result this is a multiplayer game with single player...
Review Project Zero: Maiden of Black Water (Wii U)
Focusing on fear
Like the lashing of rain against a bedroom window, or the sound of a damp footstep outside your door - Project Zero: Maiden of Black Water is coming for you. Also known in North America as Fatal Frame, this latest entry in the cult horror franchise has set its sights on Western shores just in time for Halloween, and while some might...
Review Chibi-Robo!: Zip Lash (3DS)
Robots in plain sight
If you want to be all reductive about it, you can say there are two types of Nintendo mascot games: Biggies and Smallies. Everyone knows the Biggies because they're the company pillars, the keystones keeping Nintendo in the money: your Marios, Pokemons, and so forth. They're polished, beautiful, and ultimately a little safe...
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 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 Animal Crossing: Happy Home Designer (3DS)
Home is where the art is
Animal Crossing, while being one of Nintendo's most beloved franchises of the past decade, has taken on a new level of fame thanks to its first 3DS outing, New Leaf. A massive seller all over the world, this quirky and charming life simulation has been instrumental in selling its host hardware to an entirely fresh sector of...
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 Super Mario Maker (Wii U)
Pixel perfect
In the year of Super Mario's 25th Anniversary Nintendo released Super Mario Galaxy 2, a terrific sequel, and the rather uninspired Super Mario All-Stars 25th Anniversary Edition. Not bad, but a continuation of the norm - an accomplished (almost perfect) slice of platforming heaven and another release designed for little more than...
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...
What devilry is this?
Devil's Third has had a protracted and curious road to the Wii U, with notable gaps between regional releases and the peculiarity of an upcoming free-to-play online version for PC. With its arrival in Japan and Europe we get to see whether it's seductive and alluring or, alternatively, a devilish disappointment. With much...
Review LBX: Little Battlers eXperience (3DS)
Battle-ready or rusting in a corner?
If your first thought when looking at LBX: Little Battlers eXperience was that it's aimed for children you'd be right on the money. From top to toe this is clearly aimed at the older child/young teenager market with its colourful aesthetic, 'kid-friendly' violence and badass robots. The core of the game however...
Review DK: Jungle Climber (Wii U eShop / DS)
Aping the King of Swing
What do you get when you throw away an established series' playbook and try for something new? You get DK: Jungle Climber. Unlike previous entries in the venerable Donkey Kong franchise, DK: Jungle Climber takes a fresh look at the series by focusing on swinging and timing more than precise platforming. The problem? It gets...
Review Mario Tennis (Wii U eShop / N64)
Love All
Some people would say Mario Tennis is worthy of praise solely for the fact it introduces the glorious specimen known as Waluigi into the Nintendo World. These people are right, but you can't write a full review out of that. In all seriousness, Mario Tennis marks a highlight in Nintendo's adaptation of the sport into a fun, casual style...
Review Advance Wars 2: Black Hole Rising (Wii U eShop / GBA)
Just like a black hole, it'll suck up hours of your time
With the first Advance Wars being a hit on the GBA not long after the system launched, it was no wonder that a sequel would eventually follow. Released about two years later, Advance Wars 2: Black Hole Rising feels very much like an expansion pack, but one that is still more than worth the...
Review Star Fox Command (Wii U eShop / DS)
Command and conquer
Fox McCloud and friends are coming back in a big way this Holiday season with Star Fox Zero for the Wii U, and while the jury's still out on whether the title will live up to expectations, Nintendo has given fans a refresher course in barrel rolls by releasing Star Fox Command on the system's Virtual Console in North America...
Review Kirby 64: The Crystal Shards (Wii U eShop / N64)
Kirby Sixty-Phwoar
Like many of Nintendo's properties during the transition from the SNES to the N64, Kirby underwent a shift from a flat 2D sprite to a fully rendered polygon rendition of himself. Rather than taking Kirby down the route of Mario and Link, however, the pink mascot stuck closer to his origins - the mechanics of Kirby 64: The Crystal...
Review Mario & Luigi: Partners In Time (Wii U eShop / DS)
Fun for all ages
It takes quite a lot of star power to be able to co-star with yourself in something. The upcoming Mario & Luigi: Paper Jam is set to show that our favourite plumbers are not lacking in this department, but it's not the first time developer AlphaDream has pulled a similar gimmick! For that we should look to Mario & Luigi:...
Review Kirby Squeak Squad (Wii U eShop / DS)
Squeaky Clean Fun
For a company so often associated as being at the forefront of innovative thinking in the video game industry, Nintendo can have a tendency to stick with a tried and tested formula. The Mario, Zelda and Pokémon franchises have all received their share of criticism for not drastically changing their instalments over the years, and...
Review The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time (Wii U eShop / N64)
A classic for any time
There's little remaining to say that hasn't already been said about The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time. A true masterpiece and a genuine game-changer; what was once revolutionary is today simply one of the greatest action/adventure games ever created. Now available to download from the Wii U eShop, this latest release...
Review WarioWare Twisted! (GBA)
A turn for the best
Mario's diabolical, greedy and slightly-overweight rival Wario is a genius of sorts. After all, why bother with long games when you can make many quick-paced, five-second challenges? The third game in the WarioWare series, entitled WarioWare Twisted!, never made its way to Europe - which is a crying shame, as it's one of the most...
