I’d always known that this was a game with a really high regard, but I’d never really given it a chance. I’d only played it briefly once or twice and I thought to myself “sure, this is alright.” and that was the full extent of my interactions with it. Later I played the first game in the series – and it was absolutely terrible. Thankfully, I was not deterred and eventually got around to giving this game a proper play through.

If you don’t know anything about it, I’m sure that you can guess that it’s a typical fighting game. A 2D fighting game with a range of unusual characters from around the world fighting each other. Most significantly, you have Ryu – who has become something of a gaming icon. The characters do represent different countries, and in slightly stereotypical ways, but never quite the the extent of the characters in Punch-Out!!, for example, who boarder on the offensive.

Ryu actually may be my favourite character in that I feel he has the most enjoyable fighting style – particularly his hadouken move, which has him shooting a ball of energy out of his hands. Ken is pretty great too (although I think he controls exactly the same), I also enjoyed Blanka (a strange beast with electrical powers), E. Honda (a sumo wrestler) and Chun-Li (the game’s only female fighter).

You play through as each character, who travels the world fighting the others. After that there are a few boss characters and then a little ending sequence for each one. One of the boss characters, Vega, was really tough (I thought) but generally the game always seemed to have a fair level of difficulty (which you could adjust at any time.) There’s a multiplayer mode which can be pretty fun too.

What I enjoyed most about the game was the fact that it was simple and easy to pick up, all while having some fantastic presentation. The bright, vibrant 16-bit graphics are amazing – the wooden cabins of the Brazil stage, the flashy Las Vegas stage, the Japanese bath house… I love them all. There are so many small details and animations which bring them all to life. And the soundtrack is pretty great too. The game is a slice of gaming history and I encourage all gamers to give it a try.

Rating: 8.3/10

When you think of the SNES, you probably imagine 2D side-scrollers and RPGs, but actually it was also a console on which you could find some of the earliest examples of 3D gaming, including Starwing, the first game in the Star Fox series.

You play as Fox McCloud flying through various levels in his Arwing spaceship – shooting at enemy ships and aliens as you do. I’m sure some people will play it and instantly think the game looks terrible – it is very primitive 3D and all of the ships are made up of untextured polygons. But to me, that just adds to its charm. It’s a very unique look.

I’m also very fond of the game’s 16-bit soundtrack. It perfectly captures the feeling of 90s sci-fi video game adventures and really gets me in the mood to play. The old sound effects for explosions and gun shots are also pretty great. I never played this game as a child, but it’s one of those games which has aged in such a charming way and embodies all the good things about retro gaming.

Each level is ‘on rails’ and your ship flies on forward by itself. You then move it around trying to avoid oncoming ships and their shots. Each level ends with a boss battle. It’s a simple formula, but it works – even the controls are alright. I’ll admit I lost on the first level a couple of times, but before long I got the hang of things and I found it all easy enough. Although that’s not to say that the later stages aren’t without their challenges. Also, while you can do all of the game’s levels relatively quickly, there are alternative paths to take, which encourage you to replay.

Overall, it’s a great game. If you like Star Fox and want to see where it started, you should definitely play this. It introduces Fox, Slippy, Falco, Peppy and all the rest and although there’s no voice acting, you still get all the comical interactions between them. It’s an excellent game, full of character.

Rating: 8.4/10

Buy it here.

This week has been the week of E3 and there have been a number of exciting pieces of video game news and announcements. There were a lot of things I was particularly impressed by, but the thing that appealed to me the most was the fact that Banjo-Kazooie will be playable characters in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. It’s delightful for so many reasons.

First of all, I was particularly pleased with that way that they were revealed. Donkey Kong, Diddy and King K. Rool were all really happy to see them, which is satisfying for so many reasons. Banjo came from Diddy Kong Racing, so he is really a part of their world, but with Rare being bought by Microsoft years ago, the connection between the two is rarely acknowledged – some even going so far as to say it’s not legitimate. But I prefer to see the games of Rare as a shared universe and this trailer validates that view. Then there’s the fact that it was originally Duck Hunt Duo in disguise – a clever reference, perhaps, to people who previously suggested that their inclusion meant that Banjo and Kazooie wouldn’t be worth it due to being too similar (I love the Duck Hunt Duo, by the way.)

On a similar note, I’ve always held onto the belief that everything is eventual. People said that Banjo and Kazooie would never again have anything to do with the worlds of Nintendo, but I thought that was very short sighted. In time, everything ends up happening – especially in fiction. I always imagined that there’d be an emotional reunion between Diddy and Banjo in some way or form in the future – and now it has happened! This is something I’ve thought about for well over a decade and its marvellous to see it fully realised.

Secondly, it’s just so nice to see Banjo and Kazooie back and fully animated in 3D again. It’s been almost a decade since they last had a proper appearance and, yes, there have been things like Minecraft where they’re technically there, but none of their personality seeps through whatsoever. As a big fan of them and their series, I am pleased to see them being put to good use.

Finally, I think Super Smash Bros. Ultimate is a pretty great game. The previous two games in the series had felt somewhat lackluster to me and I was starting to lose interesting in the series, but this one was much more enjoyable and the addition of Banjo-Kazooie is something which will make me enjoy it even more. I’m glad they were added to this Smash Bros. and not the previous one.

They said of the game “everybody is here” and I really agree with that now. As a child, I wanted to see Donkey Kong, Banjo and Mario characters coming together and now I have a game that has all of them. But not just all of them – also characters from just about every other game I loved back then. Ocarina of Time and Majora’s Mask were two other favourites of mine – and Young Link, the star of them, is included. You can be Bowser – as a kid, I always wanted a game that let you control him. Wario Land 2 was another favourite and Wario’s there as well. We’ve got various Pokémon, particularly from the first generation, which captivated me so much when I first played it. Super Castlevania IV is another one of those games I have a lot of sentimental memories of – and now Simon Belmont is playable. I could go on. Not only are all of the video games of my childhood now represented, but also those of my adulthood and I can’t think of anything else that brings together so many of the things I love in one place, especially not in such an enjoyable way.

As much as the quality of the series remained relatively high, I have to say that by 2017, Mario’s games had started to become a little predictable. Sure, there’d be a new power-up or something like that, but you’d know what you were in for with each new instalment. Standard platforming fun around the Mushroom Kingdom which you’d grown to know so well over the years. There were never any really exciting surprises, but it was nice, comfortable and familiar. This all changed with Super Mario Odyssey.

Yes, once again Bowser has kidnapped Princess Peach and you have to travel across the lands in order to rescue her, but this time it’s a very different journey. Instead of simply kidnapping Peach, Bowser actually wants to force her to marry him this time and so has steals artifacts from all over the world. As you chase after them and retrieve these items, you head to many corners of the world into which Mario has never ventured before.

But before I get into the worlds that Mario explores, I need to tell you about an important new character: Cappy. Mario’s iconic hat is destroyed in the opening of the game, only for him to then team up with a spirit called Cappy who merges with his old hat. Cappy gives Mario the ability to throw his hat like a boomerang and use his hat in lots of other cool ways – most significantly, he can now throw his hat onto enemies to take control of them.

The ability to ‘capture’ enemies like this, provides a huge amount of variety in gameplay. You can posses a tyrannosaurus rex and go on a rampage, you can possess a Para-Goomba and fly around the stage, you can possess a Cheep-Cheep to explore the ocean without the need for air, you can possess a Bullet Bill and launch yourself into cracked walls to destroy them. There are quite a lot of things you get to possess and it’s really fun to get a feel for playing as all of these different creatures. Later in the game, this is used in some really significant and amazing ways – I’d not like to spoil it, but I was so excited when I first got to these bits…

On top of the new abilities that Cappy brings to the table, you get to explore huge, beautiful worlds quite unlike anything we’ve seen in the series before. There are expansive desserts, open forests, frozen landscapes, beautiful beaches and even a realistic city. It’s not one big open world, but instead you fly between them in a ship called the Odyssey. Each world is filled with Power Moons which you get by completing various tasks and these moons power the Odyssey, so the more you have the further you can fly – opening up more worlds. You can also buy souvenirs along the way to decorate the interior of your ship.

What I like so much about this game is that each world really feels like a ‘world’. You’re not just avoiding enemies and jumping across platforms to reach the end of an obstacle course, you’re exploring locations with a history behind them and interacting with a cast of wacky characters who are just getting on with their lives. It all feels so much more immersive and I love the excitement that exploring these places provides.

My favourite is New Donk City – this is the realistic city I mentioned above. It looks a lot like New York City and is full of references to the Donkey Kong series. There are streets named after Diddy Kong, Dixie Kong and even King K. Rool. Most excitingly, Pauline herself is mayor of the city and it’s implied that this city may even be the location of her kidnapping by the original Donkey Kong all those years ago… it’s a real treat for the fans.

And this whole game is full of delightful references for fans of the series. One other new feature is that Mario is now able to change his clothes. There are so many outfits to unlock and just about every one of them is a reference to one of his past adventures. I was particularly excited when I saw that one of his outfits was a reference to the game Qix – you may never have even heard of it, but it nicely highlights how comprehensive they were in choosing the outfits!

In the past, Super Mario 64 DS had been my favourite 3D Mario adventure. I thought that would probably always be the case, because it had nostalgia on its side, but it has finally been dethroned. This is the Mario game I always wanted. It has a lot in common with games like Banjo-Kazooie and Banjo-Tooie and as I love them enormously, it was no surprise that I loved this too. I think what really says a lot, is that this is a game I can happily play just walking around the levels and doing nothing in particular. Only the best of the best can achieve that.

Rating: 9.8/10

Buy it here.