Tag Archives: nintendo

Nintendo eShop, Nintendo Switch, Reviews

Picross: Lord of the Nazarick [Switch] – Review

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I won’t lie. After more than forty hours with Picross: Lord of the Nazarick, I still have no idea what’s up with Overlord, the game’s underlying source material. In fairness, I’ve been slowly whittling away the more than 500 picture crossword puzzles for over a year, so of course the brief text conversations that occurred at the beginning of a particular character’s section didn’t stick with me. And hey, who cares anyway? My original intent wasn’t to familiarize myself with Overlord, it was to find a new well of Picross puzzles to solve at bedtime and on that account, it was a… well, a mundane success.

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Nintendo Switch, Reviews

Yoshi’s Crafted World [Switch] – Review

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Yoshi's Crafted World - Switch - North American Box Art

Released for the Switch on March 29, 2019, Yoshi’s Crafted World is the most recent collaboration between Nintendo and Good-Feel, whose partnership goes back to the latter’s 2005 founding. While the studio doesn’t work exclusively with Nintendo, they’ve collaborated on a number of titles between then and now, such as this game’s predecessors: Kirby’s Epic Yarn and Yoshi’s Woolly World. Of the common threads that bind these games together, none is more pronounced than the remarkable art design that adapts real-world materials with side-scrolling platforming gameplay. Taking inspiration from crafting in general, this entry features the broadest and most inventive environments of the trio. But the stage design itself, speaking from a gameplay perspective, is the least inspired of the bunch. In writing this review, I had a hard time thinking of stages or sequences that left an impression on me; a far cry from the excellence of the previous games. I still had fun playing Yoshi’s Crafted World cooperatively with a friend, but it didn’t rise to the level of its precursors. Continue reading Yoshi’s Crafted World [Switch] – Review →

Reviews, Wii U

Yoshi’s Woolly World [Wii U] – Review

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Yoshi's Woolly World - Wii U - North American Box Art

When a friend and I beat Kirby’s Epic Yarn about a month ago, the decision on what we’d play next was pretty easy. Kirby’s Epic Yarn was a relatively simple side-scrolling platformer with enjoyable co-operative gameplay, some inventive stages, and an incredible design aesthetic. It was a game that just emanated happiness. Yeah, we wanted more of that. And so, we tracked down a copy of Yoshi’s Woolly World, the spiritual successor to Kirby’s Epic Yarn. Structurally, the two games weren’t awfully different, and mechanically, the stars in both functioned similarly. But the abilities unique to Yoshi, namely tossing eggs, allowed for a broader range of platforming challenges and additional ways to interact within stages; it was slightly tougher, and more engaging. These considerations, in partnership with the remarkable art design, resonated with me; Yoshi’s Woolly World was an outstanding video game! Continue reading Yoshi’s Woolly World [Wii U] – Review →

Reviews, Super Nintendo Entertainment System, Wii U

EarthBound [Super Nintendo] – Review

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EarthBound - Super Nintendo - North American Box Art

Probably the quintessential example of a cult classic in the video game industry, at least here in the United States, the Super Nintendo RPG EarthBound had an underwhelming debut when Nintendo released it June 5, 1995. The SNES was reaching the end of its commercial lifecycle, and RPGs on the system had matured to include ever more complex gameplay systems and grandiose visuals. Heck, the Sega Saturn had released a month prior, Sony’s PlayStation was on the horizon, and Nintendo was already discussing the next generation Ultra 64 publicly, so it seemed 2D graphics were on their way out. Yet here comes this simplistic looking game based in a reality not unlike our own instead of an imaginative fantasy or sci-fi backdrop. Similarly, the plain combat system could’ve been considered a throwback, even then. But, there was an audience for the game, and in the years since its debut, that audience has grown into a thriving fandom. Now that I’ve experienced firsthand the charming, unique adventure that EarthBound offers, a fandom so vibrant is well deserved, I’d say. Continue reading EarthBound [Super Nintendo] – Review →

Reviews, Wii

Kirby’s Epic Yarn [Wii] – Review

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Kirby's Epic Yarn - Wii - North American Box Art

As a character, Kirby is well-known for his youthful innocence and delight in simple pleasures, like eating. Simple is also an apt descriptor for the majority of games he’s starred in, generally platformers; simple, but often inventive, in one way or another. In the case of Kirby’s Epic Yarn, the game is a pretty basic side-scrolling platformer with a remarkable visual identity. The yarn and felt visuals were more than just window dressing though, as they influenced the gameplay in creative and subversive ways. Continue reading Kirby’s Epic Yarn [Wii] – Review →

Nintendo Switch, Reviews

The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening [Switch] – Review

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The Legend of Zelda Link's Awakening - Switch - North American Box Art

I mentioned in my review of Pokémon Sword how much that game has captivated me, perhaps more so than any previous installment in the series. Yearning feels like too strong of an adjective to describe my daily thoughts of playing it, but it’s truly become an obligation to pop into the region of Galar and make headway with breeding or just complete a few routine tasks. This borderline need to play Pokémon Sword hasn’t taken priority over my desire to start new games though. Unfortunately, with regards to my recent playthrough of The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening, I found that I was unable to devote the attention necessary to really enjoy anything else while Pokémon seemed to beckon me. Continue reading The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening [Switch] – Review →

Nintendo Switch, Reviews

Pokemon Sword and Shield [Switch] – Review

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Pokemon Sword and Shield - North American Box Art

It’s January 2020 and I think I’m hooked on a Pokémon game more than I ever have been, which is kind of wild considering I was obsessed with the series when it was all the rage in the late nineties, and from 2013-2017 I played nearly every iteration in the series as part of a “grand ambition” to, literally, catch ‘em all. Pokémon Sword and Shield, the newest entries and the ones I find myself wanting to play every night, are just fantastic. Their foundational mechanics aren’t all that different from previous games in the series (a blessing and a curse) but Game Freak has introduced engaging new features and implemented smart quality of life improvements. The games aren’t perfect; performance and network issues bog down some of the cooler features for instance, but on the whole they’re masterfully refined and endlessly addictive. Continue reading Pokemon Sword and Shield [Switch] – Review →

Nintendo Switch, Reviews

Fire Emblem: Three Houses [Switch] – Review

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Fire Emblem Three Houses - Switch - North American Box Art

Why don’t I play MMORPGs? It’s a question that’ll come up in conversation every now and then, and one worthy of asking considering my soft spot for games like Final Fantasy XII and Xenoblade Chronicles, games which are essentially single-player MMORPGs. I know I’d love a game like Final Fantasy XIV, especially having watched my wife play it and witnessed firsthand the ludicrous amount of things to do and places to go. But that’s the thing. I know my completionist tendencies would require me to devote so much time to the game, time I’m sure I’d enjoy, but time that would be monopolized by a single game. I’d much rather experience a variety of diverse games. That’s the theory in my head, at least. And it sounds good, too, until a game like Fire Emblem: Three Houses comes along. Continue reading Fire Emblem: Three Houses [Switch] – Review →

Nintendo Switch, Reviews

Travis Strikes Again: No More Heroes [Switch] – Review

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Travis Strikes Again - Nintendo Switch - North American Box Art

After completing Travis Strikes Again: No More Heroes, it’s apparent the game is just an appetizer, a taste of what’s to come for the cult favorite series. As a massive fan of the previous entries, this was a relief. Whereas those games were absurd, comically violent character action romps set in pseudo open world environments, the scale of this entry was decidedly smaller. It played like a straightforward beat ‘em up, and had more in common with Streets of Rage than the frenetic action of its predecessors. When the gameplay failed to captivate, as it often did, the trademark Suda51 kitsch succeeded. Despite a pared down budget, this was still a title with a vulgar script and memorable scenarios. Continue reading Travis Strikes Again: No More Heroes [Switch] – Review →

Nintendo 3DS, Reviews

My Nintendo Picross: The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess [Nintendo 3DS] – Review

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my nintendo picross...

The demise of Club Nintendo, the decade-old loyalty program, was a sad moment for fans of the Big N. It’s made worse by the fact that the successor program, My Nintendo, offers chintzy rewards and a distinct lack of physical products. Well, save for one. As Stephen Totilo highlighted in a recent Kotaku article, My Nintendo Picross: The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess, a digital 3DS game, is available to those who have accrued 1,000 Platinum Points through My Nintendo. In his story, he articulated the simple, yet tedious process, of earning these points. Seeing as I’m such a big sucker for both Nintendo and Picross, I followed his lead and got the “free” game. Continue reading My Nintendo Picross: The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess [Nintendo 3DS] – Review →