Nintendo EAD Game Reviews
Review Luigi's Mansion (GameCube) - A Spooky Little Romp That Still Sucks You In
It's-a me! Mari— wait, what?
This review was originally published in October 2010. We're updating and republishing it to mark the game's arrival in the Nintendo Switch Online + Expansion Pack GameCube library on Switch 2. Enjoy! Nintendo has always had a dark side. Though it's built up a name for itself as a family-friendly company, every so...
Review The Legend Of Zelda: The Wind Waker (GameCube) - A Timeless Treasure
Cel-da? Is...is that you?
In honour of the game's arrival on Switch 2 as part of the Nintendo Classics GameCube lineup, here's our new retro review of one of Link's most memorable adventures... If I were to put together a list of my favourite pre-Switch-era Zelda games, those that came before the
Review Donkey Kong (GB) - One Of The Game Boy's Very Best
It's on with the King of the Kongs
This review was originally published in June 2011. We're updating and republishing it to mark the arrival of the game in the Nintendo Switch Online Game Boy library. In 1994, Nintendo had a great idea; why not make a true sequel to the original Donkey Kong arcade game? The result is Donkey Kong for the Game Boy,...
Review 1080° Snowboarding - Effortlessly Cool Shredding That Demands Perfection
Shreddin’ the gnar
This review originally went live in 2016, and we're updating and republishing it to celebrate the game's arrival in Switch's N64 library via the Nintendo Switch Online Expansion Pack. Originally released for the Nintendo 64 in 1998, 1080° Snowboarding was Nintendo's attempt to bring the snowboarding experience to its home...
Review Pokémon Stadium 2 - A Sequel Of Gold (& Silver) Standard
Second gen magic
This review originally went live in 2016, and we're updating and republishing it to mark the game's arrival in the Nintendo Switch Online + Expansion Pack N64 library. After all the groundbreaking success that Pokémon's first generation had, it would've only been wise for the powers that be to capitalise on the franchise. How was...
Review Pokémon Stadium - The Original 151 Brought To Life With Style
Your stadium tour awaits
This review originally went live in 2016, and we're updating and republishing it to mark the game's arrival in Switch's N64 library via the Nintendo Switch Online Expansion Pack. With the Pokémon franchise being as super effective as it was during the late '90s due to its handheld games, trading cards, television anime...
Review Pilotwings 64 - A Real Gem, Sparkling In The Shadow Of Mario 64
Top flight
This review originally went live in 2013, and we're updating and republishing it to mark the game's arrival in Switch's N64 library via the Nintendo Switch Online Expansion Pack. Releasing alongside Super Mario 64 when the Nintendo 64 launched back in 1996 (1997 if you're European), it was somewhat inevitable that Pilotwings 64 was...
Review Wave Race 64 - A Thrilling Racer That's Still Deeply Impressive
Splash wave
This review originally went live in 2016, and we're updating and republishing it to mark the game's arrival on Switch as part of the Nintendo Switch Online Expansion Pack. Wave Race was not a well-known series prior to its arrival on the Nintendo 64. Actually, it wasn't a series at all, but rather a single release: a top-down racer on...
Review F-Zero X - The Best The Series Has To Offer
X gonna give it to ya
This review originally went live in 2016, and we're updating and republishing it to mark the release of F-Zero X on Switch, available as part of the Nintendo Switch Online Expansion Pack N64 library. The original F-Zero on the Super Nintendo really blew gamers away with its stunning use of Mode 7 visuals, colourful graphics,...
Review The Legend Of Zelda: Majora's Mask - Magnificent, Unique, And Worth Revisiting
Okay, campers, rise and shine
This review originally went live in 2016, and we're updating and republishing it to mark the release of Majora's Mask on Switch, available as part of the Nintendo Switch Online Expansion Pack N64 library. The Zelda games have a lot of fans and there's also been plenty of opportunities over the years to revisit...
Review Mario Kart 64 (N64) - Frantic, Formative Four-Player Karting Chaos
Welcome to Mario Kart
This review originally went live in 2016, and we're updating and republishing it to mark the arrival of N64 games on Nintendo Switch Online. Taking a bunch of Mario characters and having them speed around race circuits using a range of special items to rush or smash past each other is something that has worked very well since...
Review Yoshi's Story (N64) - Pleasant, But Not A Patch On The Dinosaur's Best
A pretty but short story
This review originally went live in 2016, and we're updating and republishing it to mark the arrival of N64 games on Nintendo Switch Online. There's a lot to love about Yoshi's Story. The presentation is gorgeous, the mechanics are solid, the music is fantastic, and seeing a bunch of Yoshis wandering about remains adorable...
Review Star Fox 64 (N64) - A Cinematic Series High Point
Do another barrel roll
This review originally went live in 2016, and we're updating and republishing it to mark the arrival of N64 games on Nintendo Switch Online. Despite Star Fox 64 (or Lylat Wars in Europe) being only the second (released) game in the series, Nintendo decided it was time for a reboot and so, similarly to the SNES original, this...
Review Super Mario 64 (N64) - The Best Launch Game Ever Made
Mario steps into a whole new dimension
Mario's first foray into the world of 3D is regarded by many — most, even — as one of the greatest video games of all time, and with good reason. It ranks as the first really convincing realisation of a 3D world in a platform game and it introduced the concept of analogue control to a generation of console...
Review Super Mario All-Stars (SNES) - All That Glitters Isn't Necessarily Gold
Has this star begun to fade?
On its mid-1993 bow, Super Mario All-Stars was greeted with the sort of rapturous praise usually reserved for pontiffs, or a new Daft Punk album. This was a compilation of a generosity never-before-seen goodies, packing in the stone-cold classic NES titles Super Mario Bros., Super Mario Bros. 2 and Super Mario Bros. 3...
Review Pilotwings - 16-Bit Flight Simulation, The Nintendo Way
Mode 7 is the wind beneath my Pilotwings
Upon introducing its new Super Famicom console in late 1990 it wasn't just critical for Nintendo to showcase technical advantages over its 16-bit competition, but it was also important to persuade gamers who were clinging on to their 8-bit systems to purchase the new hardware. Considering parents in North...
Review Super Mario World - Phenomenal Platforming Perfection
It's-a Mario masterpiece
Impressive software is vital for a console's launch, and the powerful one-two combination of the Mode 7 razzmatazz in F-Zero and sublime gameplay in Super Mario World ensured that Nintendo's November 1990 Japanese launch of the Super Famicom would sting its Mega Drive and PC Engine competition from the outset. Since then...
Review F-Zero - The Game That Sold Us Mode 7
What a way to launch a console
At their very core, futuristic racing games should have visual flair, and there was already an early history of this sub-genre before F-Zero released – including Nintendo's Mach Rider on NES in 1985, Powerdrome on 16-bit computers, and Atari's arcade S.T.U.N. Runner in 1989. Following these games, late 1990 became an...
Review The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild (Wii U)
Link's latest adventure in its natural home
We've been playing a lot of The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, mostly on Nintendo Switch. Yet not everyone is buying into Nintendo's latest hardware yet, and there have been plenty of fair questions around how this game shapes up on its original home - the Wii U. After all, this title was announced...
Review Pilotwings (New 3DS / SNES)
Enjoyable flying fun
Just as Pilotwings Resort was a good demonstration of the glasses-free 3D visuals offered by the 3DS, the original Pilotwings showcased the impressive (for the time) Mode 7 capabilities of the SNES. This first game in the series is now available as a Virtual Console release for New Nintendo 3DS owners, offering a number of fun...
Review F-Zero (New 3DS / SNES)
Retro future racing fun.
A launch title for the SNES, F-Zero is a game that showed off the system's Mode 7 visuals, provided great racing action and is now available for New Nintendo 3DS; now you can enjoy the high-speed thrills at home, in the park or in the bathroom. There's a lot of love for the futuristic racing series, but not from Nintendo;...
Review Super Mario Kart (New 3DS / SNES)
Classic karting on the small screen
Many Mario Karts later it can be a little disorientating to go back to where it all began. Each cup has five races. Laps are short, but there are five of them. Item boxes are squares laid flat on the ground and put out of use after you've run over them. The CPU characters don't collect items at all, but have a...
Review The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past (New 3DS / SNES)
A gem from the past
With A Link Between Worlds, 3D versions of the Nintendo 64 games and a number of other titles available via the Virtual Console and backwards compatibility, 3DS owners are not exactly short of main series Zelda games to play on their machine. For those with one of the New Nintendo 3DS models The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the...
Review Super Mario World (New 3DS / SNES)
Same great adventure, smaller screen
As everyone knows, the best use of your latest piece of gaming machinery is to play games from yesteryear. Should a Nintendo Direct mention a 'new old' system is joining the Virtual Console line-up there is much excitement, and so it was when it was revealed that SNES titles were going portable. Though limited to...
Review Super Mario 64 DS (Wii U eShop / DS)
D-Pad D-Bate
Super Mario 64 is undeniably one of the most influential games in the industry's history, so it's only natural that Nintendo would attempt to capitalise on its success with a re-release. What nobody expected at the time was for it to not only arrive on a portable console, but also feature Yoshi as the initial protagonist. Super Mario 64...
Review Super Mario Advance 4: Super Mario Bros. 3 (Wii U eShop / GBA)
It's a'me, Mario 3! (again)
We all know about Super Mario Bros. 3 for the NES. It was a fantastic game worthy of all the praise that it received, and that remains true to this day. So, this review won't discuss all the merits of the original game. Instead, it will focus on the unique features of Super Mario Advance 4: Super Mario Bros. 3, released...
Review The Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks (Wii U eShop / DS)
Choo-choo-choose the original format
No doubt partly driven by necessity as much as strategy, Nintendo's Virtual Console efforts on Wii U have been notable for including not only Game Boy Advance titles, but also various releases from the DS library. With the latter only possible courtesy of the Wii U GamePad questions of practicality are fairly...
Review Animal Crossing: Wild World (Wii U eShop / DS)
Why this world?
The very idea of a portable version of Animal Crossing filled this reviewer with glee when he first read about it back in the days of magazines and routers without wi-fi as standard. Animal Crossing: Wild World has always been a very special game to fans as it expanded upon the original GameCube title (for this region at least) but...
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 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...
