Game Reviews scoring 9/10
Review Pokkén Tournament (Wii U)
Nintendo used Smash Hit. It's super effective!
Pokkén Tournament: it's not quite what a select few may have imagined when they dared to concoct a Pokémon / Tekken crossover game in the recesses of their wildest dreams, but few had even considered such a ludicrous idea until it actually came to fruition. Nevertheless, it's a real thing that...
Review Pokémon Red and Blue (3DS / GB)
Twenty years ahead of their time
When these games were released back in the late nineties, the air around younger Game Boy owners was one of excitement and rivalry. Nintendo is clearly trying to capitalise on the nostalgia factor for all of us who were within the target age group (and some who weren't) when these titles were originally released,...
Review Return to Popolocrois: A Story of Seasons Fairytale (3DS)
A heartwarming harvest
As a crossover between Yohsuke Tamori's PopoloCrois (an enduringly popular fantasy manga from 1978) and the evergreen Bokujō Monogatari series (formerly known as Harvest Moon and now Story of Seasons in the West), Return to PopoloCrois: A Story of Seasons Fairytale stands out, even in the 3DS' impressively varied RPG garden...
Review 6180 the moon (Wii U eShop)
You are my sunshine, my only sunshine
Many games are based around a quest to restore the light. Normally it's a kind of metaphorical light used to symbolize peace and hope; an attempt to fight back against the darkness and restore balance. 6180 the moon does away with pretense and sets up the most universally pivotal journey of all - bringing the...
Review The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess HD (Wii U)
I have come to play!
It's been the generation of remakes for The Legend of Zelda. The main entries from the N64 and GameCube have now all been given the remaster treatment, though many will think of this title as a Wii game. A decade on from its original waggle-heavy release, The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess HD gives a second chance to one of...
Crows of Metal, Soldiers of Sorrow
War never changes. Unless someone replaces tanks with giant walking robots, then it looks much, much cooler yet is still quite tragic. That is exactly the point of Squaresoft's 1995 mech tactical RPG Front Mission. How does a man survive on the battlefield of the future? Canny strategy, pots of money and making...
Review Mega Man Legacy Collection (3DS)
In the year 20XX...
In the year 20XX, the robot hero Mega Man is in a strange place. For whatever reason, Capcom seems to think of the storied series as something of a relic of the past - something that inspires nostalgia and reverence, sure, but not a franchise that could compete in today's world of gritty shooters and action titles. Mega Man...
Review Bravely Second: End Layer (3DS)
This’ll ring a bell
When JRPG giant Square Enix brought Bravely Default to the 3DS back in 2013, it took an old-is-new-again approach, bringing the feel of golden age Final Fantasies — four heroes, airships, crystals and castles included — to Nintendo's newest handheld. The result felt like a truly classic adventure with all mod cons, and it...
Review Fire Emblem Fates (3DS)
Choose your destiny
Intelligent Systems got itself into a weird predicament after the stellar success of Fire Emblem Awakening a few years ago. Fire Emblem has long been known as one of Nintendo's most hardcore and unforgiving franchises – a turn-based RPG with plenty of variables to keep in mind on the battlefield, and where one wrong move might...
Heaven and Hell
There are hundreds of amazing games for the Super Famicom that remain a mystery to Western gamers. Dark Half is one such game, published by Enix in 1996. It is a late generation Super Famicom title that at first glance seems to be your typical JRPG, with the player taking control of Falco, the Paladin (not to be confused with the...
Review Super Mario RPG: Legend Of The Seven Stars (SNES)
The Mario RPG that started it all
There are very few areas of life the Mario franchise hasn't at some point explored. Mario himself has been a doctor, an amateur kart racer, and later on in his career was recognised as a professional athlete when he competed at the Olympic Games in the 100-metre dash against Sonic. Quite simply, he's a jack of all...
Review Trauma Team (Wii U eShop / Wii)
Trauma Drama
Back in the early days of the Nintendo DS, Trauma Center: Under the Knife was a standout example of how the then-new touch screen controls could provide a fresh experience on the go. Atlus would then take its anime-pumped surgery games to the Wii, translating touch controls to motion controls, and found a winning combination there as...
Review SteamWorld Heist (3DS eShop)
You feelin' lucky, steampunk?
When a studio has a surprise hit such as SteamWorld Dig, it would likely be forgiven if a straightforward sequel rapidly followed. That doesn't seem to be the norm on the eShop, however, and Image & Form has produced an ambitious follow-up in the form of a turn-based strategy game with a twist, placing trick shots...
Review FAST Racing NEO (Wii U eShop)
Christmas comes early for race fans
FAST Racing NEO is a game that seeks to fill the F-Zero-sized hole in every Nintendo fan's heart. Shin'en's racer is quite different from Nintendo's classic franchise, but it still does a great job at giving that high speed racing fix that some Wii U owners are desiring the most. The first thing we should note...
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 Xenoblade Chronicles X (Wii U)
A Mira-culous discovery
Monolith Soft has made plenty of bold claims about Xenoblade Chronicles X. It's talked up the size of the planet as being five times that of Xenoblade Chronicles, stated that any landscape you see is there to be explored, and promised that there are not only dozens of hours of legitimate gameplay, but hundreds. Often that...
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...
Stellar
Though they've had a hand in games as diverse as Yoshi's New Island and Time and Eternity, the name 'imageepoch' will forever be linked with Luminous Arc, the studio's successful strategy RPG series that debuted on the DS back in 2007. As a spiritual successor to those titles, as well as imageepoch's last release following their bankruptcy...
Review 3D Sonic The Hedgehog 2 (3DS eShop)
Hogging the limelight
It's difficult to believe now, but there was a time when Sonic the Hedgehog games were good. Like, really good. Sega's recent efforts have been average at best, tragically bad at their worst (with a few exceptions here and there, mostly on handheld formats). Sonic the Hedgehog 2 falls into the series 'really good' period and so...
Review Skylanders SuperChargers (Wii U)
Articulation, That’s What You Need
While other toy-game hybrid makers are moving on from older Nintendo hardware this year, Activision has doubled down on Wii, 3DS and Wii U Skylanders with bespoke versions and cross-over dual action Skylander-amiibo. This year's Skylanders Superchargers novelty is a good one. The articulated vehicles not only...
Exploring Space, One Turn at a Time
Oh to be lost in space, exploring strange new worlds with a plethora of rocks. Lots and lots of space rocks. Enjoying the thrill of combat from dangerous, colourful and stinky creatures at your fuel tanks. Rescuing your fellow scientists, some unwillingly and others affected by the loneliness that is space...
Out of this world
There is something to be said about the power of some good ol' fashioned couch multiplayer in this age of online gaming. There's a certain degree of delightful chaos in the experience of competing head to head with friends that are physically present that can't be replicated by voice chat or matchmaking. Nowhere is this more...
Review Hatsune Miku: Project MIRAI DX (3DS)
Chart-topper
To those who know her, she needs no introduction: Hatsune Miku is a star. To those who don't, she definitely requires some explanation: Hatsune Miku is a 'virtual idol' and the world's most popular Vocaloid, a personification of a software synthesizer given background, personality, and a constant stream of songs to sing by composers and...
Review Gunman Clive HD Collection (Wii U eShop)
An excellent tribute to retro gaming
Early in 2013, the world was graced with Gunman Clive, a short and sweet action platformer that was praised for its simplistic art style and solid mechanics. Almost exactly two years later we received Gunman Clive 2, a sequel that built upon and expanded the original in nearly every way possible. Now, both...
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 3D Gunstar Heroes (3DS eShop)
Holding out for a hero
Gunstar Heroes charged onto the Sega Mega Drive in 1993, significantly marking the début of quirky developer Treasure - having been formed from ex-Konami staff wanting to go it their own way. Often seen floating near to the top of many 'best game ever' lists, Gunstar Heroes is a bona-fide classic of the 16-bit era that's now...
Review Etrian Odyssey 2 Untold: The Fafnir Knight (3DS)
A Knight to Remember
Atlus' evergreen Etrian Odyssey series got its start on the DS with a trilogy of excellent map-making adventures, and it's found similar success on Nintendo's newest handheld, with Etrian Odyssey IV: Legends of the Titan and spinoffs Etrian Mystery Dungeon and Persona Q all right at home on the 3DS. Thanks to 2013's
Review 3D Streets of Rage 2 (3DS eShop)
Grand Upper
There was a time when playground arguments didn't revolve around resolutions, framerates or what PewDiePie's favourite toast topping is. In the early '90s it was simple; which is the best: Final Fight or Streets of Rage? Final Fight was, for a time, exclusive to Nintendo and jealous Mega Drive owners glared with envy at their smug...
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 G.G Series THE HIDDEN NINJA KAGEMARU (DSiWare)
The way of the ninja
The next game in the G.G series opts to return to the platformer genre yet again, and the end result is surprisingly engaging. G.G Series THE HIDDEN NINJA KAGEMARU is a unique arcade focused, 2D stealth platformer that manages to put forth a distinct and compelling gameplay system that'll keep gamers coming back again and again...
