Tetris is my favourite puzzle game ever and while I generally consider the version for the original Game Boy to be the definitive edition, most other editions still have something unique to offer. I find that Tetris DS is one of the only ones which is able to rival my high opinion of the Game Boy game.

What makes Tetris DS unique is that it is themed around NES games. This means that throughout the game, you get cameos from Donkey Kong, Link, Mario, Samus and lots of other classic Nintendo heroes. Not only do you get the pleasure of seeing them in their old 8-bit forms, but virtually the entire soundtrack is made up of superb remixes of classic pieces of NES music. While you play the regular kind of Tetris on the bottom screen, you get to see scenes from various famous NES games paying out on the top; you start to look forward to what you’re going to see next.

There are other non-standard versions of Tetris available to play too; there is a ‘mission mode’ based around The Legend of Zelda where you’re asked to meet certain criteria while playing, one called ‘Catch Tetris’ based around Metroid where you control a block that moves onward through the planet Zebes (you need to collect pieces and make squares while avoiding Metroids), one called ‘Push Tetris’ based around Donkey Kong which has one player controlling pieces which fall upward while another (potentially CPU) player controls ones which fall down and other different modes too. These add some nice variation and I had fun playing them every now and then, but the majority of the time was spent paying the regular mode.

In the past, there was an online mode, which was nice, but which is not available due to the discontinuation of the Nintendo Wi Fi service. There is also a multiplayer mode which is quite fun, and, interestingly, you can use items in a way which is somewhat reminiscent of Mario Kart. Overall it’s a fun experience with lots of nice additions, but ultimately, the classic Tetris gameplay is unbeatable.

Rating: 9.4/10

Buy it here.

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Kid Icarus had been remembered as a cult classic and one of the best games on the NES. Pit himself was considered something of a Nintendo icon. But the fact is that after it’s fairly similar sequel, there wasn’t another new Kid Icarus game for twenty-one years!

Kid Icarus: Uprising was a triumphant return for the series and one which outdid both of the previous instalments quite significantly! The previous two games had been 2D sidescrolling games, but this game is made up of 3D flying segments and 3D on-foot combat segments. Both have fairly different kinds of gameplay and both are equally fun. There are several different missions that Pit is sent on by the goddess Palutena; they all start with him having to fly somewhere (rapidly shooting at airborne enemies on the way) and then landing somewhere and fighting through enemies until you find a boss. It’s a fun and satisfying.

What I especially like about Kid Icarus: Uprising though, is its story and characters. The story initially seems to be fairly straightforward (the kind of thing you’d expect from Nintendo games) but takes several unexpected twists and turns and becomes something extremely unique: What makes this especially interesting is the fact that it is full of well-developed characters: Pit and Palutena are both given full personalities for the first time and the way that they interact with one another makes their friendship feel very real. There are also several brand new characters introduced, such as Dark Pit and Viridi, the goddess of nature. Virid was definitely my favourite character as she’s very funny, likeable and interesting. I certainly hope that we will get to see more of her in future. It’s the strong characters that give the story emotion; it’s no exaggeration to say I found it very moving at times.

There’s a lot of additional content beyond the main story too: a fun multiplayer battle mode, an enemy and weapon gallery to fill in, a huge range of difficulties, alternate paths through certain levels and a large number of achievements to unlock. All of these things combine to add a high level of replayability; especially if you’re a completionist! There are also a lot of treats for the fans: as well as lots of nostalgic connections to the first game (none to the second though, which was disappointing) there are also loads of Easter Eggs which make reference to Nintendo’s many other franchises, so this game will be quite a treat for big Nintendo fans. On the whole, there are not many bad things to say about Kid Icarus: Uprising.

Rating: 9.5/10

Buy it here.

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The Mega Man series is one of the most iconic in the world of gaming and the several Mega Man games that appeared on the NES are remembered as some of the best titles on the console. This, of course, is the game that started it all. But does this game live up to the reputation of the series it spawned?

A big thing that will affect your enjoyment is its difficulty. I am not ashamed to say that I made heavy use of save states when I played through it; it would take you a very, very long time to get good enough to win at this game without the aid of save states… Unless I am just a terrible gamer. So, if you don’t appreciate tough games, this might not be for you. I have to admit though, that while it did get frustrating sometimes, I also sometimes found myself laughing at it; the level design was just hilariously obnoxious at certain points.

The game is made up of several 2D side-scrolling stages which involve a combination of platforming and shooting enemies. What’s quite interesting is that, other than the first and last stages, you can play through all of the game’s levels in whatever order you want. Each level has a Robot Master in it who acts as a boss; each Robot Master you defeat will leave behind a power-up which you can use to give Mega Man a new ability/power; this is pretty handy since without any of them he is not exactly mega! I always looked forward to acquiring the new abilities. Back onto the subject of difficulty: every level is full of very hard to dodge enemies and projectiles which fly all over the screen and since Mega Man isn’t very mobile, things always feel very unfair.

In the end, it’s quite hard for me to say how I felt about this game: it’s very unfair and has a cheap level of difficulty. However, I was amused with how hard the game was; do I like it because it’s bad? Maybe. But maybe that’s how you were supposed to enjoy it? Also, I was legitimately frustrated and annoyed with the game at times (especially one boss battle near the end) and that’s not in its favour. It had very nice music on some of it’s levels: some of the best 8-bit tracks I have ever heard. It’s a mixture of feelings, good and bad, so please take my final score with a grain of salt.

Rating: 6/10

Buy it here.

(Sorry for the delay with this blog post, it was supposed to go up yesterday, but was prevented from doing so by a technological error.)

(Don’t miss today’s Finger Puppet Show!)