TwinBee (Famicom/NES) Review

With a recent release on 3DS as a 3D remake, I thought I'd dig out my old copy and play it. Now this was released only in Japan as far as the NES version goes. So don't expect to find it on the flea market or yard sales.

It's a fairly simple shooter, similar to that of Galaga and such. It seems like they were targeting a bit of a younger audience since it's far more colorful, it's easier than most in it's genre, and the game moves at a slower pace. 

It throws some decent ideas like boss fights and such, but it's really too old of an shooter for me to recommend. For those somewhat interested in buying the 3DS 3D remake, I'd advise against it. 

Score: 4 out of 10

Nintendo Downloads for September 22: TwinBee and Other Stuff

TwinBee gets remade on 3DS

Break Tactics for DSiware

Escape Trick: Ninja Castle for DSiware

Aya and the Crystal Cubes for WiiWare. 

StarFox 64 3D Will Lack Online Multiplayer

The 3DS remake of the N64 classic is shaping up great. However fans of the multiplayer mode better have some real life friends, because online play is being ditched. The reason? Time and costs. Because remaking short games is really that expensive on it's own? Oh well, I thought the multiplayer in the original was mediocre anyway. 

Metroid: Other M Review

I really tried to give this the best shot I could since I love Metroid and Ninja Gaiden, however I can't stand it. 

They should have done away with the cut-scenes since they're boring and stupid. 

The only thing to look forward to is some Zero-Suit eye candy. 

It tries to combine the Metroid and Ninja Gaiden games but it's not a good mix. Trading katanas for plasma shots was bad enough, but a clunky control system doesn't make things better. It was a neat idea, but the game is horribly executed. It's the worst game in the Metroid series. 

Score: 5 out of 10

Metroid: Other M Impressions

Got this through Blockbuster By Mail. I've played practically every game in the Metroid series except this.

Granted I knew it wasn't a "true" Metroid game, instead a Ninja Gaiden clone co-developed by Tecmo's Team Ninja guys. But it's a kind of mix between Ninja Gaiden, 2D Metroids, and the Metroid Prime series. 

It's the first Metroid to have a considerable deep plot, real cut-scenes, and voice acting. It's all kinda boring though, and they're unskippable so it sucks if you hate them. 

Just got done with my first boss fight, and the game is fun for now. I'm not exactly thrilled about playing the rest, but I'll remain optimistic. 

You Won't Be Playing PSVita For Very Long (Until You Have to Charge It)

Apparently the word out of the Tokyo Game Show is that Sony's new handheld won't even go as far as 4 hours of gameplay before the battery dies. Granted that's about the same as the 3DS. 

10-Yard Fight (NES) Review

10-Yard Fight is yet another sports game in Nintendo's mini-series of NES games. Most of them are bad except Ice Hockey. 

This one plays pretty decent, and I prefer the top down view verses the horizontal view of something like Tecmo Bowl. Except it's more like a Tiger handheld sort of game than a legitimate football title. For some reason you only play offense, if your pass is intercepted you go 20 yards back, and once you score it starts over again.

They had some good ideas, but they kinda flopped in the long-term. It's aged quite a bit, but at least we can look back and say "well at least Madden took some lessons from it" or something. 

Score: 4 out of 10

Mach Rider Review

I guess I'm in the mood for NES games. I usually stay away from NES racers since they usually stink pretty bad, but I heard it was made by Nintendo itself, so I decided to give it a chance. 

It's not really a racing game on the surface. They threw some kind of alien story in there, and you must ride your motorcycle to defeat them. You basically ride around the same dirt track avoiding traps, and whatnot. However even though you have a rear view mirror on the tab bar, it's quite hard to notice the alien bikers. 

Basically before you know it they crash right into you, which stalls your speed run. Then you are forced to stop because you didn't make it to the goal in time. I'm sure the game had it's fans back in the day, however I think there's a reason why nobody talks about racers on NES like they do almost every other system.

Score: 2 out of 10

Donkey Kong 3 (NES) Review

Playing Donkey Kong Jr. got me a little intrigued to try the 3rd game. 

So what's Donkey Kong been doing after he was freed from Mario's cage by his son? Well apparently making trouble with bugs. Stanley The Bug Man must save his greenhouse from the ape menace. How you ask? By spraying the large gorilla with bug poison where the sun don't shine. Makes sense. 

Joking aside, that's all there really is to Donkey Kong 3. You spray Donkey Kong enough to make him hit his head on something to proceed to the next level. The only thing in your way are bugs coming their way to kill you. If the controls weren't so clunky, this might have been an easier task. Doesn't really matter though since the game is so short and repetitive and such a radical departure from the first two games. I have my criticism for the original Donkey Kong games, but they were decent time-killers. This is just an embarrassing title in one of Nintendo's most famous series. 

Score: 2 out of 10

Things I Hate: Donkey Kong Jr. Math

Man this was a bad idea from the start. I actually played this as an easter egg inside Animal Crossing. Why they included the awful math game instead of the original (unless I didn't find it) I'll never know. 

I know they wanted to teach kids math problems and such, but even these basic problems are a struggle. Not because the math is hard, but it takes a long and boring adventure just to gather what you need to solve a problem. 

Donkey Kong Jr. (NES) Review

I remember playing Donkey Kong 64 many moons ago, and I'm pretty sure they included the first game in there as an easter egg for fans to find and enjoy. I found it, and thought it was pretty sweet. I also played the version they included in the Gamecube version of Animal Crossing. 

However despite all that, I never got to play the sequel Donkey Kong Jr. A notable but forgotten classic. While the first game had you playing Mario trying to save his girlfriend, the roles are reversed this time around. You play as Donkey Kong's son, who must save his father from the obviously unforgiving Mario. 

The game plays remarkable similar to the original, yet with a new twist. Instead of being a short Italian dude with concrete shoes, you're a monkey that can barely jump but can grab hold of vines, ropes, and chains. The game has a few levels to enjoy and can be replayed for high score record keeping if you're into that. 

Though I admit it's pretty short game even though you can have fun playing it multiple times. It's 4 levels of fun, but that don't last too long. Yet I can overlook the fact that it's an Arcade-to-NES game and forgive some it's natural faults. 

Score: 7 out of 10

3DS's 2nd Analog Stick Add-on Priced and Dated For Japan

It will cost about $20 and will hit the land of the rising sun December 10th. There's no confirmation about it hitting stateside, but I wouldn't doubt it if we receive it by Christmas time. 

Monster Hunter 4 Coming to 3DS

While the first couple of Monster Hunter games were enjoyed only by people who bought Sony products, Nintendo quickly took notice and helped bring the series over to their turf. It doesn't mean much to Americans, but in Japan it's like their Halo or Call of Duty. It's what the high school boys play when they're out of school. It's hard to believe that Sony let this slip out of their fingers so easily.

Kid Icarus: Uprising Delayed To 2012

Kid Icarus fans will have to wait until next year to see the long awaited sequel hit the 3DS.

3DS Sales Surge After Price Drop

Sales increased about 260% after the much needed price drop. Hopefully Christmas sales will help this promising system out. 

Metallic Rose DSi XL Coming September 18th

Man Nintendo is out of their minds. The DSi XL was a failure, and now they're releasing a new color after the 3DS and guess what? It's the same price of a 3DS. 

Nintendo Downloads for September 8th 2011

We have Golf (Gameboy) for 3DS E-shop

Dotman for DSiware

Puzzle Rocks for DSiware

Paint Splash for Wiiware 

Liight for Wiiware

Hatris (NES) Review

I always look back on Hatris and just wonder what were they thinking when they came up with this. I'm guessing cheap and easy money. 

It's obviously inspired by the amazing puzzle classic, Tetris. However it is not a mere shameless rip-off. 

The game was designed by Alexey Pajitnov, creator of the original Tetris. 

The game is basically Tetris with hats. Except not as fun. Put the right hats on the same hats and hats go bye-bye. That's about as exciting as it gets. 

Let's face it; the game is slow, hats are stupid, and nobody will be making any modern sequel/remake/reboot to Hatris ever. Tetris was and still is King among puzzles, Hatris is more of a jester or  town drunk. 

Score: 4 out of 10

Baseball (NES) Review

The Nintendo sport series on NES was pretty bad, and Baseball is not much different. 

The game really is not that bad in a technical sense. It's baseball....and not much else. It's got different teams and a 2 player mode but that's about it. 

The problem with the game are really three things. The first is the speed of the game, it really goes far too slow for it's own good. The second are the controls which aren't so hot when you're trying to throw it to the right base. Lastly is the difficulty when playing against the computer. It's far too good getting easy home runs while you struggle to get pass any base. 

It may be slightly better in some ways compared to some other sport games on NES, but it's still garbage. Do not buy this game from anywhere. 

Score: 3 out of 10