Rising Star Games Game Reviews
Review Deadly Premonition 2: A Blessing In Disguise (Switch) - A Fun Game, In Disguise
That game you like is going to come back in style
Let’s get the bad (though perhaps unsurprising) news out of the way first: from a pure technical perspective, Deadly Premonition 2: A Blessing in Disguise is a train wreck. Anyone who can't handle unstable frame rates, crude character animation, moiré-like patterns and other visual artifacts, or...
Review Decay Of Logos (Switch) - An Epic Mess Of A Game, Despite The Lengthy Delay On Switch
Soulless
Originally planned for release back in August on Switch, Decay of Logos was delayed by its developers in order to fix some issues with the game on Nintendo's platform. We played this original version back at the time and found it seriously lacking, suffering from a crushing number of gameplay bugs, some terribly muddy graphics and a dire...
Review Hello Kitty Kruisers (Switch) - If Your Age Is In The Double Digits, This Is Best Avoided
So easy an actual cat could play it
It’s odd what passes for rare these days. Take Hello KItty Kruisers, for example; released physically on the Wii U in limited numbers, it can be bought on the Wii U eShop for a mere ten bucks and yet the boxed version regularly sells to collectors for upwards of $60 online. Thankfully, the game has now...
Review Giga Wrecker Alt. (Switch) - A Puzzle-Solving Mega Man-alike From Pokémon Masters Game Freak
She's gonna wreck it!
Despite the fact it's often working on the next entry in the eternal cultural phenomenon that is Pokémon, Game Freak every so often takes the time to cleanse its creative palette with something that doesn't involve pocket-based monsters. The most recent of its side forays was Giga Wrecker, which smashed its way onto PC two...
Review RICO (Switch) - A Great Tactical Shooter That Truly Comes Alive In Co-Op
Breach and cheer
‘Kick doors, kill men.’ These four seemingly simple words, which appear on-screen while you patiently wait for one of RICO’s procedurally generated levels to load, might seem like a throwaway line – and yet they perfectly sum up its bombastic simplicity. For all the extra objectives and features, everything boils down to...
Review Red's Kingdom (Switch eShop)
A tough nut to crack
Red’s Kingdom is one of those games that, despite being released on iOS devices originally, really does lend itself to the Switch’s slightly beefier portable setup. Almost everything about this puzzle adventure appears to have been designed for portable play, but the package is strong and well polished enough to make the...
Review Holy Potatoes! A Weapon Shop?! (Switch eShop)
Behind every hero is a potato
Published by Rising Star Games and developed by Daylight Studios, Holy Potatoes! A Weapon Shop?! is the first entry in the trilogy series to come to the Nintendo Switch. Originally released in 2015 on PC and later on mobile, the title has been inspired by games such as Weapon Shop De Omasse and Recettear: An Item Shop's...
Triumphant return of a lost genre
Upon launching a Switch game you don’t expect to see a ZX Spectrum loading screen, but that’s precisely what happens with Triple Eh? Ltd’s Lumo. It’s entirely appropriate for this isometric platformer, however, as the 8-bit computer featured a number of classic examples of the genre. As well as being fun to...
Review 88 Heroes: 98 Heroes Edition (Switch)
I've got 98 problems but a Switch ain't one
Apparently these new-fangled superhero movies are all the rage nowadays! People seem to really connect with demi-gods fighting insectoid aliens while destroying cities, and with such memorable characters how could you not? There's Wonder Woman, Thor, The Incredible Hulk, Batman, Glass Girl, Jim Nastics,...
Review Ninja Shodown (Switch eShop)
Bad for your stealth
Ninjas by their very nature are an elegant and elusive group - patiently lurking in shadows in order to dispatch foes without anyone ever realising they were there. Their grace and efficiency have become legendary over hundreds of years. In the medium of video games, however, ninjas have a somewhat 'varied' depiction, none more...
Review Conga Master Party! (Switch eShop)
Please conga responsibly
Have you ever dreamed about lighting up the dance floor the same way John Travolta did in the 1977 film, Saturday Night Fever? If this has been a lifelong goal you are yet to fulfil, perhaps you’ll just have to remain hopeful, and in the meantime gather your family or a group of friends to instead play Conga Master Party!...
Review Cooking Mama: Sweet Shop (3DS)
Crack crack crack the egg into the bowl
Of all the heroes of the DS’ Touch Generations era, Office Create’s Cooking Mama has been one of the most enduring — and prolific. Starting out from her humble beginnings as a short-order chef, using quick WarioWare-style touchscreen minigames to simulate the in-kitchen experience, she’s expanded...
Can one robot bring humanity back to life?
Poncho is a puzzle platform game by Delve Interactive (published by Rising Star Games) that explores what life would be like without the existence of humanity. Players take on the role of Poncho, a robot wearing a poncho (naturally), who wakes up to discover humanity has been extinct for several centuries...
Fated for fun
The name 'Intergrow' might not mean much to most gamers in Europe or North America, but if you've spent much time with a Japanese 3DS it should ring a bell as it's the publisher responsible for bringing Western Nindie titles like SteamWorld Dig and Mighty Switch Force! to Nintendo's home country. Now Intergrow's teamed up with Rising...
Review Girls' Fashion Shoot (3DS)
Fashionably fun
It's apparently every young girl's dream to become a model - wearing the latest clothing trend, looking fabulous walking down the catwalk with photographers on the sidewalk capturing the moment. Girls' Fashion Shoot provides just that, but substituting the catwalk for magazine photo shoots while sitting comfortably at home. As the...
Review Hakuoki: Memories of the Shinsengumi (3DS)
Ronin with the homies
Hakuoki: Memories of the Shinsengumi combines standard dating-sim tropes with a captivating setting and fantastic writing to provide an experience that is surprisingly greater than the sum of its parts — even if it may fall far out of the comfort zone of most players. When meek protagonist Chizuru ventures to Kyoto in search...
Review Beyblade: Evolution (3DS)
Worth taking for a spin?
Despite the original anime TV series coming to an end almost a decade ago, it seems that Beyblade is still very much a thing. It’s curious to think that the concept of pitting spinning top toys against one another would prove so exciting for so many in this technologically enhanced day and age, but then the world...
Review Around the World with Hello Kitty and Friends (3DS)
Bonjour, Kitty
Hello Kitty first burst onto the scene in 1974 courtesy of Japanese company Sanrio, which designs and produces products solely aimed at the kawaii – meaning cute in Japanese – section of popular culture in the country. Since then, Hello Kitty has become one of the most recognised and successful brands in the world, appearing on...
Review Jewel Master: Cradle of Egypt 2 (DS)
Is history repeating itself?
In these risk-averse times, publishers are increasingly relying on sequels to existing IPs to ensure that they turn over a profit. The problem doesn’t stem so much from a dearth of creativity in the industry, but rather as consumers we have a horrible habit of sticking with what we know. Much like the video game...
Review Harvest Moon: Sunshine Islands (DS)
Farming fun in the sun
Harvest Moon’s power to enthral and entrap gamers is often underestimated by those who have yet to experience the unbridled thrill of growing a crop of healthy tomatoes, but nearly 15 years after the original Super NES Harvest Moon the series continues to sell well to experienced farmers and newcomers alike. Now Harvest...
Review Pang: Magical Michael (DS)
It's showtime!
Everyone loves Magical Michael, 'cause the tricks that he does are ever so cool. However, at the moment, no one is particularly loving him, as a failed experiment on his part has caused hundreds of dangerous bubbles to be released across the world. Now it's his task to venture across the planet and eliminate the threat. If you've...
Review Rune Factory: Frontier (Wii)
Everyone could use a good plough
If there’s one thing guaranteed to liven up a good hack-and-slash dungeon crawler, it’s a bit of farming. There’s many a Zelda game that could have been saved with a bit of ploughing, yet the combination has been mostly ignored by cultivators of digital goods, with only the snack-sized Rune Factory on DS...
Not a code breaker
Role playing games are rapidly becoming a staple genre for the Nintendo DS, with more and more quality titles arriving on the handheld. With Final Fantasy games, Dragon Quest releases and even new titles in the form of Nostalgia and Sands of Destruction, there is a lot of competition among a crowded market so
Review Fragile Dreams: Farewell Ruins of the Moon (Wii)
Diamond in the rough
There’s a sincerity to Fragile Dreams that’s very appealing, but that weighs heavily on the game over time. After burying his grandfather in his front garden, main character Seto explores the post-apocalyptic world with a heaviness of step that should make clear this isn’t a game full of sunshine and rainbows. If you like...
Review Little King's Story (Wii)
Fit for a King!
We've all dreamed of being King or Queen of our own miniature Kingdom: sat upon our thrones, dishing out orders from on high, pleasing our loyal subjects and amassing loads and loads of money. Sadly, for anyone other than the bosses of Nintendo Life, this is destined never to come true, but don't despair, regal wannabes! Little...
A dark and twisted adventure that takes the player deep into the depths of the human psyche - both a truly rewarding and at times painful experience.
Lux-Pain has a tried and tested set-up common in many Japanese visual novels; an idyllic suburb of a Japanese city where all is not what it seems. Fans of the genre will be pleased by the wealth of...
Review Flower, Sun and Rain (DS)
Flower? Nope. Sun? Very little. Rain? In buckets.
Flower, Sun and Rain is the first DS game from game director Goichi Suda, aka Suda51. It started life as a Japanese PS2 game, but it's been ported over to DS presumably to take advantage of the feature-rich console. Or so you'd think... Known by many as the mastermind behind classic style-driven...
Handheld heaven or a portable pariah?
A few years ago, EA tapped a rich vein of old-school strategy games by revamping Theme Park and Sim City for the DS's touch screens. A few years later, Bullfrog's famed God game has received similar treatment, but is it the second coming or just a slap-headed Samson? The DS's twin screens are a natural fit for...
It’s a blast!
I promise that’s the first and only pun you’ll see in this review - If you’ve played any of the popular Geometry Wars games on Xbox 360, Wii or DS you’ll be perfectly at home when you fire up XG Blast. From its instantly gratifying action and futuristic aesthetic, it borrows from any one of a dozen classic shooters, but does...
Review Rune Factory: A Fantasy Harvest Moon (DS)
Use the hoe!
For years, Natsume’s Harvest Moon series has been repeating the same old formula – grow crops, brush cows, get married and live happily ever after. The first DS release was the snappy Harvest Moon DS, which lazily reused graphics from GBA’s Friends of Mineral Town (FoMT) and the town and characters from the Cube’s A Wonderful...
