Tag: Nintendo

SNES Mini tips special (’90s style)

Published on by Chris Scullion4 Comments

What’s the haps, kidz?

The SNES Mini is finally with us, and gamers all over the world are reliving (or discovering for the first time) the glory days of early ‘90s gaming.

Some of these SNES classics can be on the tricky side, though, which is why back in the day every games magazine worth its salt had a tips section.

It doesn’t really happen much these days – partly because simple ‘cheats’ like passwords and controller inputs are rare in modern games – but there was nothing quite like the excitement of buying a new mag, flipping to the tips section and finding a new cheat for a game you owned.

With that in mind, I’ve gone through my own personal archives and dug up some never-before-seen SNES tips I wrote way back in the early ‘90s. Yes, I definitely wrote these 20+ years ago and am not making that up for an inevitable comedic payoff layer. Honest. Continue reading “SNES Mini tips special (’90s style)” →

SNES Mini review

Published on by Chris Scullion6 Comments

The Super Nintendo Entertainment System is one of the finest games consoles ever created.

Of the 783 games officially released for Nintendo’s 16-bit console in the west, an impressively high number are now considered classics.

The SNES Mini takes 20 of these games, adds one that was never released, and bundles them all in a self-contained miniature tribute to that glorious grey box that shaped the ‘90s for so many gamers.

The result is a solid piece of kit that does a good job of showing what the SNES was capable of… even though the number of games included does sort of undersell that a bit.

Continue reading “SNES Mini review” →

VHS Preservation Project #2: Donkey Kong Country Exposed (UK version)

Published on by Chris Scullion3 Comments

The Video Game VHS Preservation Project is an attempt to digitise as many video game VHS tapes as possible for the purposes of preservation. Click here for more information.

The second of my VHS Preservation Project videos is one that will be a little more familiar to US readers than the Super Mario All-Stars Video was.

This Donkey Kong Country VHS was also made available to American subscribers to Nintendo Power magazine, and was called Donkey Kong Country: Exposed.

This UK version is more or less the same, except for a couple of changes. It doesn’t feature the US tape’s hidden ending, which gives a sneak peek at Killer Instinct.

It does, however, include four or five minutes of UK Nintendo TV commercials. Continue reading “VHS Preservation Project #2: Donkey Kong Country Exposed (UK version)” →

VHS Preservation Project #1: The Super Mario All-Stars Video

Published on by Chris Scullion3 Comments

The Video Game VHS Preservation Project is an attempt to digitise as many video game VHS tapes as possible for the purposes of preservation. Click here for more information.

It’s time to finally kick off my VHS Preservation Project, and what better way to start it off than with the Super Mario All-Stars Video?

This was a promotional tape given away by Nintendo UK in 1993, to promote the release of Super Mario All-Stars.

Despite this, it doesn’t really feature much in the video. Instead, most of the time is spent reviewing other games, showing you how the Nintendo Hotline worked and taking you through the making of Nigel Mansell’s World Championship with Gremlin Graphics.

Best of all though, it’s presented by Craig Charles, better known as Lister in legendary British sci-fi sitcom Red Dwarf. Continue reading “VHS Preservation Project #1: The Super Mario All-Stars Video” →

Pokken Tournament DX (Switch) review

Published on by Chris Scullion1 Comment
Nintendo / Bandai Namco Studios
Nintendo Switch

Pokken Tournament was a game that deserved better.

Originally released in Japanese arcades, this odd fighting game eventually made it to the Wii U in March 2016, by which time Nintendo’s system was already hanging onto a cliff edge by its pinky.

Despite this it still managed to shift around 1.3 million copies, which is bloody good going when you consider only 13 million Wii U consoles were sold.

With Pokken Tournament DX, the hope is surely that – as with Mario Kart 8 Deluxe – by porting the game over to Switch it’ll get another chance at reaching a wider audience.

It really does deserve to, mind you, because it’s actually a fun little fighter that makes good use of the Pokemon licence. Continue reading “Pokken Tournament DX (Switch) review” →

The complete history of Nintendo arcade games

Published on by Chris Scullion19 Comments

A couple of days ago Nintendo streamed its latest Nintendo Direct presentation.

For many the most notable announcement was that Doom and Wolfenstein II are coming to the Switch, while the five minutes of new Super Mario Odyssey footage was a great way to wrap things up and get people talking after the Direct had ended.

For massively nerdy Nintendo historians (like me), though, the biggest news of the Direct was that Hamster Corporation – the studio currently responsible for the regular Neo-Geo games appearing on Switch and other consoles – will be bringing some of Nintendo’s old arcade games to the Switch as part of its Arcade Archives series. Continue reading “The complete history of Nintendo arcade games” →

Monster Hunter Stories (3DS) review

Published on by Chris ScullionLeave a comment
Nintendo / Marvelous
Nintendo 3DS

Although the Monster Hunter series has enjoyed a hardcore following over the years, it’s fair to say its particular brand of lengthy boss-type monster battling only appeals to a certain type of gamer.

Monster Hunter Stories appears to be an attempt to branch out a bit and expand the Monster Hunter universe in a way that might be a better fit for fans of other games.

Well, I say “other games”, but I really just mean Pokémon. Because this is basically Pokémonster Hunter. Continue reading “Monster Hunter Stories (3DS) review” →

Mario + Rabbids: Kingdom Battle review

Published on by Chris Scullion2 Comments
Ubisoft / Ubisoft Paris
Nintendo Switch

Contrary to popular belief, the Rabbids haven’t always been irritating, overly French characters who’ve only ever starred in shite games.

There was one underrated Wii game, the now forgotten Rabbids Go Home, in which Ubisoft’s loopy lagomorphs (that’s right) ditched their usual mini-game mediocrity for an adventure game that was genuinely hilarious. I promise.

I’ll talk about Rabbids Go Home some other time: the important thing is that it’s always been proof to me that as annoying as the Rabbids usually are (that ‘funny’ scream cuts right through me), they can be entertaining if used well. It’s just that this has only happened once before.

Well, you can now make that ‘twice’, because Ubisoft has once again managed to pull off a Rabbids game that will genuinely raise a smile. And this time, Nintendo’s along for the ride. Continue reading “Mario + Rabbids: Kingdom Battle review” →

Namco Museum (Switch) review

Published on by Chris ScullionLeave a comment
Bandai Namco
Switch

If there’s one thing you can definitely say about Bandai Namco, it’s that it bloody loves making retro compilations of its older games.

Believe it or not, Namco Museum on the Switch is actually the 19th game to feature the Namco Museum title, meaning Pac-Man, Galaga and chums have been dug up more times over the years than Walt Disney’s grave. Um… I’m guessing.

Still, here we go again with yet another helping of classic Namco arcade gems from back in the day, though this time – to its credit – there are at least a few in here that have never appeared in a Namco Museum title before. Continue reading “Namco Museum (Switch) review” →

Sonic Mania (Switch) review

Published on by Chris Scullion6 Comments
Sega / Christian Whitehead
Switch, PS4, Xbox One, PC (Switch version reviewed)

I fucking hated the Chemical Plant Zone.

If all the zones in Sonic The Hedgehog 2 were like family members, the Chemical Plant Zone was my racist uncle: it was part of a larger group I loved, but any time I encountered it I had a lengthy, uncomfortable time interacting with it.

Even as a young 9-year-old sprog who was obsessed with Sonic and excitedly got his copy of the sequel on what was officially known as Sonic Twosday – Tuesday, 21 November 1992 – the Chemical Plant Zone rubbed me up the wrong way.

Yes, friends, I hated it. But the key word is ‘hated’, in the past tense. Amazingly, nearly 25 years later, I’ve come to peace with it: and it’s thanks to Sonic Mania. Continue reading “Sonic Mania (Switch) review” →