Nintendo R&D1 Game Reviews
Sticking him in a go-kart worked out well. What else can we try?
Mario’s Tennis does exactly what it says on the cartridge. It takes Mario and six other characters and places them in a Tennis game. Singles and doubles matches are available as either one-off matches or a Tournament, and standard tennis rules apply. A launch game in Japan and the...
Review Devil World (Wii Virtual Console / NES)
A devilish Pac-Man clone from Miyamoto
Devil World is one of extremely few Nintendo titles that was released in Europe, but not the US. Most likely this was due to Nintendo of America's strict rule not to feature any "religious" factors in games, and seeing as the game includes a devil, that just wouldn't slide with them. It's actually a pretty fun...
Review Clu Clu Land (Wii Virtual Console / NES)
Clu Clu a choo
First, a lesson in linguistics – ‘Kurukuru’ in Japanese means ‘turning around’. Why are we telling you this? Well, it neatly explains Clu Clu Land’s rather unusual title, and also gives some insight into the mechanics of the game. You assume the role of a funny-looking fish called Bubbles, who due to some cruel...
Review Donkey Kong 3 (Wii Virtual Console / NES)
Bug off
Poor old Stanley the Bugman, not only have all the bugs got into his greenhouse, there’s a big ape pestering him too. To add insult to injury, he would never feature as a playable character in another Nintendo game again and be forgotten forever, whilst Mario went on to international stardom. Donkey Kong 3 started out life in the arcades...
Review Wrecking Crew (Wii Virtual Console / NES)
Wreck, not dreck
Wrecking Crew's a bit of an oddball. Despite starring Mario, it flies under many peoples' radars, partly because it launched simultaneous with the legendary Super Mario Bros. and several other titles, thus meaning it was quickly overshadowed. Wrecking Crew's genre is hard to nail down, but is essentially a mix of a platformer and...
Review Super Metroid (Wii Virtual Console / Super Nintendo)
A true classic
Metroid was very popular in the late 80s and early 90s. Despite only two games being released, players loved it for its unique atmosphere and construction: the whole game consisted of one gigantic overworld with many places to explore and items to find. On top of that, there were plenty of secrets: who can forget the fact that you get...
Review Volleyball (Wii Virtual Console / NES)
Not volley good
Volleyball represents yet another of Nintendo’s dated sport sims. Comparing to Soccer, Baseball, Ice Hockey, Tennis on the NES this game is the worst of the bunch. Considering it was released in 1986 it is understandable that the graphics and sound are nothing to write home about. The players continually bop up and down all...
Review Metroid (Wii Virtual Console / NES)
Where it all started
More than 20 years have past since Metroid first blew away NES owners with its clever mixture of platforming, exploration and character upgrades. It went on to become spawn many sequels over the years, becoming a much-loved franchise for Nintendo fans – but nostalgia aside, is Metroid still high-quality by today’s standards?...
Review Balloon Fight (Wii Virtual Console / NES)
Balloon Light
Before games like Metroid and The Legend of Zelda, Nintendo's NES console relied on simple arcade titles to keep itself afloat. Balloon Fight used an already-successful gameplay mechanic similar to that of William's Joust arcade release, and while it offers up some simple arcade enjoyment, the repetitive gameplay keeps it from lasting,...
Review Mach Rider (Wii Virtual Console / NES)
Return of the Mach
The action is fast and furious in this crazy motorbiking game. You have to blast your way through enemy vehicles and barrels on the track in addition to avoiding oil slicks. The pressure is always on to keep going fast to avoid enemies ramming into you from behind! Getting to the end of each course before the timer runs out adds...
Review Donkey Kong Jr. Math (Wii Virtual Console / NES)
10 minus 9 equals?
'Edutainment' titles are a strange lot. They're usually poor attempts to shoehorn some 'learning' in videogames, possibly out of fear that games rot the brains of kiddies. Donkey Kong Jr Math is no exception. The game features one player and two player modes. In the one player mode, the objective is to enter math answers in order...
Review Ice Climber (Wii Virtual Console / NES)
Ice Ice Baby
Ice Climber is another classic NES title for the Virtual Console — and thankfully, it's decent enough to be worth considering for download. Ice Climber is a fantastic little game, if somewhat basic. Graphically it's exactly what you'd expect an 8-bit game from 1985 to look like — simple. The premise of the game is pretty bizarre. A...
Review Kid Icarus (Wii Virtual Console / NES)
Is Pit a hit?
Kid Icarus is one of those games that makes you think 'they sure don't make them like they used to'. Graphically it's very basic - this is from 1986 after all - but the charm simply shines through regardless. This is a game from an era where developers had to really make an effort and use what simple technology they had available to...
Review Baseball (Wii Virtual Console / NES)
Batter up!
Nintendo’s Baseball was actually a launch title for the NES way back in 1985. With unknown brands like Ice Climber and Gyromite it made perfect sense for Nintendo to have a representation of a popular sports game to attract sceptics to their new console. Predictably enough, it’s now horribly dated. The gameplay itself just focuses on...
Review Tennis (Wii Virtual Console / NES)
Anyone for Tennis?
Tennis was one of the launch titles for the NES way back in 1985, and it succeeded in winning new gamers to the system in much the same way as Wii Sports. That begs the question, of course, why bother with this if you already have Wii Sports Tennis, which you got as a freebie with your Wii? Well for a start you control the...
Review Urban Champion (Wii Virtual Console / NES)
More like Urban chump!
It's impossible to overlook the fact that many of the earlier NES releases were extremely simple in design and took very few chances when it came to gameplay design and visual substance. While many of the games were classic arcade titles from Nintendo, there were a handful of original releases that tried to up the ante. Urban...
Review Donkey Kong Jr. (Wii Virtual Console / NES)
Donkey Kong has finally been captured by Mario!
Donkey Kong is one of Nintendo's quintessential characters; pre-dating even the illustrious Mario as a video game lead, the goofy simian was enthralling arcade-goers the world over during the early '80s. However, once the Italian plumber decided to star in his own game, Donkey Kong's appeal started to...
Review Donkey Kong (Wii Virtual Console / NES)
It's on like Donkey Kong
As many will know, the mighty Miyamoto made his mark at Nintendo and indeed the world with this very game in the arcades. Donkey Kong was quite unique for its day; in arcades full of Space Invaders and Pac-Man clones, a platform game like was something new. Playing as Jumpman — who would later become known as Mario —...
Review Mario Bros. (Wii Virtual Console / NES)
Will it clean your pipes?
When Mario Bros. hit arcades in 1983, most Nintendo fans were expecting yet another Donkey Kong release and weren't quite prepared for the spin-off Nintendo served up. Now it was Mario and his brother Luigi who were at war with a constant flow of pests coming though their sewer pipes. The game was yet another hit with...
Review Pinball (Wii Virtual Console / NES)
Pinball wizard
Back in the '80s, pinball simulations became quite popular on home game consoles of the time period. Pinball for the NES takes a very basic approach with its presentation, but still manages to include just enough variety to keep it interesting. Toss in a Mario mini-game to spice things up and what you have is a fun little pinball romp...
Review Soccer (Wii Virtual Console / NES)
This is most definitely not super soccer
Soccer is one of the earlier titles in the NES Sports series, it also ranks amongst the worst. Back in 1987 it might have cut the mustard, but in this day and age it is too dated to be worthy of splashing the virtual cash on. Rather than support a full team of eleven players you only get five players, and a...
Review Wario's Woods (Wii Virtual Console / NES)
If you go down to the woods today...
Toad, the hero of this story (or Mushroom-head to his mates) gets to show off his muscles in this Tetris-style falling block game by lifting and stacking bombs and monsters. Our friend Toad cleverly discovered that if he puts monsters of the same colour in a row along with a bomb of the same colour that they will...
