[REVIEW] Oceanhorn: Monster of Uncharted Seas (Switch)

Oceanhorn: Monster of Uncharted Seas
Played on: Switch
Genre: Top-down action-adventure
Developer: Cornfox & Bros.
Publisher: FDG Entertainment

Originally released on mobile platforms, Oceanhorn is a title that has been on my radar for a while now. That's because it's impossible to not get the feeling that this is a game majorly inspired by The Legend of Zelda: Wind Waker, which is one of my favorite games on one of my favorite franchises. After spending twenty hours to 100% the game, I came out impressed, even if, as expected, originality isn't really something that's all that present here.

[REVIEW] Mighty Gunvolt Burst (Switch)

Mighty Gunvolt Burst
Played on: Switch
Genre: 2D Action Platformer
Developer: Inti Creates
Publisher: Yacht Club Games

It's fair to say Mighty No. 9, Keiji Inafune's spiritual successor to the dormant Mega Man franchise, was a disappointment. A successful Kickstarter campaign was followed by numerous delays and bad game design decisions. Mighty Gunvolt Burst, then, is an attempt to salvage the franchise by making a crossover with Inti Creates' well-received 3DS series Azure Striker Gunvolt. The result, surprisingly enough, feels like the game Mighty No. 9 should have been all along.

[REVIEW] Wonder Boy: The Dragon's Trap (Switch)

Wonder Boy: The Dragon's Trap
Played on: Switch
Genre: 2D Metroidvania Platformer
Developer: Lizardcube
Publisher: DotEmu

As a Brazilian, it should come as no surprise I have a keen sense of nostalgia for the Master System. It was my second ever console, after the NES, and it went on to be a staple of my childhood. The Wonder Boy franchise (which was localized in Brazil as Turma da Mônica, after a popular comic book series) has always stood tall among the console's library, and now one of its best titles has received a loving remaster for a new era.

[REVIEW] Axiom Verge (Wii U)

Axiom Verge
Played on: Wii U
Genre: Action-adventure / 2D "Metroidvania" Platformer
Developer / Publisher: Thomas Happ Games

It's ironic that Axiom Verge was released on Wii U on the same day Metroid Prime: Federation Force hit the 3DS. That's because, while Nintendo's own portable title largely failed to entice those clamoring for more Metroid, Thomas Happ's indie homage to Samus Aran's adventures is nothing short of a masterpiece.

[REVIEW] Mighty No. 9 (Wii U)

Mighty No. 9
Played on: Wii U
Genre: Action platformer
By: Comcept / Inti Creates / Deep Silver

After a protracted development period that saw many early supporters turn to non-believers, Keiji Inafune's spiritual successor to Mega Man proves it wasn't really worth the wait after all.

[REVIEW] Chronicles of Teddy: Harmony of Exidus (Wii U)

Chronicles of Teddy: Harmony of Exidus
Played on: Wii U
Genre: 2D adventure-platformer
Developer: Look at my Game / Storybird
Publisher: Aksys Games

The indie game scene has become pretty much the only place to get your fix of 2D metroidvanias, with quite a few excellent titles in the genre released over the past few years. Chronicles of Teddy, the latest of them to reach Wii U, is an interesting game to review, as its absolute excellence in adventure design is almost matched in intensity by the numerous development problems that used to plague the game upon release.

[REVIEW] FreezeME (Wii U)

FreezeME
Played on: Wii U
Genre: 3D adventure-platformer
Developer / Publisher: Rainy Night Creations

I'm not sure why 3D platformers have fallen so out of favor with the mainstream, but I sure wish it wasn't so. Thankfully, more and more indie developers have been taking up the mantle in recent years, and the lastest result of that effort is FreezeME, a fun title that has genuinely surprised me.

[REVIEW] Year Walk

Year Walk
Played on: Wii U
Genre: Adventure, Horror
Developer: Simogo / Dakko Dakko
Publisher: Simogo

[REVIEW] Mercenaries Saga 2: Order of the Silver Eagle

Mercenaries Saga 2: Order of the Silver Eagle
Played on: 3DS
Genre: Strategy RPG
Developer: Rideon, Inc
Publisher: CIRCLE

3DS-owning fans of strategy RPGs have a cool new way to scratch that waiting-for-Fire-Emblem-Fates itch: Mercenaries Saga 2, a well-designed little package that's as addictive as one would hope for an entry in the genre. Better yet, it's a title that's as large in gameplay time as it is cheap to get.

[REVIEW] Don't Starve: Giant Edition

Don't Starve: Giant Edition
Played on: Wii U
Genre: Action-adventure, sandbox, survival
Developer: Klei Entertainment


Originally released for PC two years ago (and, subsequently, for the Playstation 4 and Vita), Don't Starve is a gem of a game that stands as one of the most unique titles in the Wii U e-Shop. From the get-go, it drops the player into a Tim Burton-esque fantasy wilderness filled with resources, animals, monsters, and what seems like an endless string of open-ended gameplay possibilities. Your goal is to find a way survive, one day at a time, and perhaps some day build your very own one-man empire to rule these lands. Before that, though you'll die. A lot.

[REVIEW] Donkey Kong 64

Donkey Kong 64
Played on: Wii U (Virtual Console)
Originally available on: Nintendo 64
Genre: 3D platformer, collect-a-thon
Developer: Rare
Publisher: Nintendo

The epic adventures of the Kong family were Nintendo's last trump card for the 16-bit generation. As such, it was pretty obvious they would eventually get a 64-bit outing. Rather than rest on its laurels, though, developer Rare decided to take the series into a bold new direction, and the result is probably the most hardcore 3D collect-a-thon game there ever was. Given that collecting stuff in video games is a passion first instilled in me by the Donkey Kong Country series on the SNES, the prospect of an open-world, 3D, fully explorable DK Isle with collectibles galore sounds like heaven. A few significant flaws aside, that's exactly what it felt like throughout my adventure.

[REVIEW] Elliot Quest

Elliot Quest
Played on: Wii U (e-Shop)
Genre: 2D platformer, open-world adventure
Developer: Ansimuz Games
Publisher: PlayEveryWare

Recently, I decided to give another try to Zelda II: Adventure of Link, the NES game which took the beloved series in an interesting new direction. Sadly, I realized there was a small detail I had forgotten since I played it as a kid: the game is frustratingly, unfairly difficult, even with the advent of save states. I still love its structure, however, so I was quite pleased by the announcement of Elliot Quest, a game directly inspired by Link's second 8-bit outing. After playing it for much longer than I anticipated (over 20 hours), I was left pleasantly surprised by the sheer quality of its design.

[REVIEW] Donkey Kong Country 3: Dixie Kong's Double Trouble

 Donkey Kong Country 3: Dixie Kong's Double Trouble
Played on: Wii U (Virtual Console)
Originally available on: SNES
Genre: 2D platformer
Developer: Rare
Publisher: Nintendo   

The third Donkey Kong Country game for the SNES is truly the end of an era. This is because it's not only the final entry in this beloved series up until Donkey Kong Country Returns on the Wii, but also the last major first-party release for the SNES, in an era when Nintendo's (and Rare's) attention was finally shifting to the N64. It follows in the footsteps of its predecessors when it comes to pleasant and challenging platforming, but also introduces neat new ideas to the formula.

[REVIEW] Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest

Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest
Played on: Wii U (Virtual Console)
Originally available on: SNES
Genre: 2D platformer
Developer: Rare
Publisher: Nintendo   

So, what do you do when you release a game that turns out to be one of the defining killer apps for an entire console generation? For good old Rare of the nineties, you immediately start working on a sequel to improve every single aspect of the original. This is pretty much Donkey Kong Country 2 in a nutshell: a bolder, prettier and significantly better-designed follow-up that is breathtaking in its restlessness to set the standard of unforgettable 2D platforming.

[REVIEW] Donkey Kong Country

Donkey Kong Country
Played on: Wii U (Virtual Console)
Originally available on: SNES
Genre: 2D platformer
Developer: Rare
Publisher: Nintendo 

As impossible as it may have seemed a year ago, the original SNES Donkey Kong Country trilogy was finally released on the Wii U Virtual Console. This should be great news for fans of platforming, as the series is certainly one of the most memorable the genre has ever produced. It all started with this title, which was a very big deal when it was released back in the latter half of the SNES's lifetime, helping that console to establish its ultimate leadership over the Mega Drive (a.k.a. Sega Genesis) in the console wars of the time.

[REVIEW] Stealth Inc. 2: A Game of Clones

 Stealth Inc. 2: A Game of Clones
Played on: Wii U
Genre: Metroidvania platformer, puzzle platformer
Developer / Publisher: Curve Digital

You're supposed to be a mindless clone inside a huge, mysterious facility. But, as luck would have it, you ended up defective in a crucial way: yearning for your freedom. This is the rather intriguing premise for Stealth Inc. 2, a sprawling Wii U-exclusive platformer that mixes metroidvania exploration with focused, self-contained (and sometimes super-hard) puzzle levels.

[REVIEW] Gunman Clive 2

Gunman Clive 2
Played on: 3DS
Genre: 2D platformer
Developer / Publisher: Höberg Productions

The first Gunman Clive was a pleasant surprise on the 3DS e-Shop, with its peculiar aesthetics, tight platforming, and budget price point. This sequel is everything a fan of the original could hope for, keeping what worked and bringing about some excellent new features.

[REVIEW] Shantae and the Pirate's Curse

Shantae and the Pirate's Curse
Played on: Wii U (e-Shop)
Also available on: 3DS
Genre: Metroidvania platformer
Developer: WayForward / IntiCreates
Publisher: WayForward

WayForward’s Shantae is one of those series I’ve heard a lot of good things about over the years, but never actually got to play until now. Luckily for me, it seems Pirate’s Curse is the most ambitious game in the franchise so far, with a vast archipelago of quasi-seamless, differently-themed islands to explore. It’s one of those games that manage to strike the elusive balance between tight platforming, exciting exploration, and a very fair difficulty curve.

[REVIEW] Paper Monsters Recut (Wii U)

Paper Monsters Recut
Platform: Wii U (e-Shop)
Genre: 2D Platformer
Developer and publisher: Mobot Studios / Crescent Moon Games

Originally released for mobile platforms, Paper Monsters has received a new coat of paint and several new features to make its console debut. The result is Paper Monsters Recut, a game that boasts a lot of charm and, a few problems aside, makes for a fun little adventure.

[REVIEW] Costume Quest 2 (Wii U)

Costume Quest 2
Platform: Wii U (e-Shop)
Genre: RPG
Developer: Double Fine
Publisher: Midnight City

One of the things I miss the most about the golden age of the SNES is the abundance of great RPGs available for Nintendo players. With the absence of AAA titles in that genre for the Wii U, we turn our hopes to the system's increasingly excellent array of e-Shop offerings. And when it comes to bite-sized RPGs, Costume Quest 2 is at the top of the class.