Game Reviews8.4/10
The Legend of Zelda Endures Because It Never Explains Itself
An ancient adventure of secrets, no guide, and a solitary sword against an unknown realm — still worthy after all these years.
CLAY TRIBUNE / THE ARCHIVE
Category: Game Reviews
Every game we have scored, from the NES library to current releases.
Game Reviews9.2/10
Tanooki Suits and a World Map Pushed Nintendo’s 8-Bit Hardware as Far as It Could Go
A chart of eight worlds, four suits, and seven guardians stand before one final foe — a marvel of the console age, worthy of highest praise.
Game Reviews7.5/10
Super Mario Bros. 2 Trades Stomping for Throwing, and Four Heroes Make It Worth the Return
A singular game wherein four companions gather and cast what strange foes have wrought upon them.
Game Reviews8.9/10
Super Mario Bros. Review: Simple Rules, Sharp Design
A hero springs through eight kingdoms toward a distant fortress to save a princess, in a tale of perfect motion and fair peril.
Game Reviews6.1/10
Super C: More Contra, Little More
Super C returns two soldiers to the battlefield against wave after wave of foes, a solid but familiar follower to Contra on the NES.
Game Reviews7.5/10
Ryu’s Return Sharpens the Action but Keeps the Cheap Deaths
A hero bears a dark sword of chaos, his path beset by many foes and open gulfs, in this tale of trial and steel.
Game Reviews7.4/10
Ninja Gaiden Mixes Story Scenes With Harsh Levels on the NES — 7.4 of 10
A fighter seeks the truth of his father's death, between hard stages of springing, striking, and swift, fatal foes.
Game Reviews8.1/10
Metroid hands players no map and makes discovery the reward — 8.1/10
A buried world of dark passages and terror, wherein a fighter seeks the dread Metroid, guided by nothing save memory and courage.
Game Reviews7.2/10
Familiar to a Fault, the Blue Bomber’s Final NES Outing Plays It Safe
A steady, familiar close to the blue robot hero's console years, with eight stages, a new Rush part, and gentler trial than before.
Game Reviews9.6/10
Mega Man 5 Polishes the Series Formula — and Adds Beat the Bird
A chronicle of Mega Man 5, wherein eight masters, a bird companion, and stages of trial prove the series holds its old promise still.