Game Reviews7/10
Gradius III Cut the Arcade Port Down to Fit the Console, and the Compromises Still Show
Gradius III, Konami's 1989 arcade shooter, came to the SNES in 1991. Its reputation rests on Edit Mode, Stage 4 and a brutal no-continue rule.
CLAY TRIBUNE / THE ARCHIVE
Category: Game Reviews
Every game we have scored, from the NES library to current releases.
Game Reviews8.7/10
Firebrand Earned His Own Game, and Time Has Been Kind to It
Gargoyle's Quest, Capcom's 1990 Game Boy spin-off of Ghosts 'n Goblins starring Firebrand, still holds up as a platformer-RPG hybrid.
Game Reviews8.7/10
Demon’s Crest Is Worth Remembering Even If Capcom Would Rather Forget It
Capcom's 1994 SNES cult classic Demon's Crest gets a retrospective: Firebrand's transformations, three endings, and why it still holds up.
Game Reviews7.5/10
Axelay: Konami’s 1992 SNES Shooter Still Stands Out
Axelay, Konami's 1992 SNES shooter, mixed vertical and horizontal stages with weapons that double as shields. Here's why it still holds up.
Game Reviews8.3/10
Zombies Ate My Neighbors wastes no time explaining itself
Zombies Ate My Neighbors review: LucasArts' 1993 horror-comedy shooter still earns its 8.3, thanks to a brutal rescue rule and co-op chaos.
Game Reviews7.7/10
Uniracers turns a stunt racer into a game about momentum
Uniracers, DMA Design's riderless-unicycle racer for the SNES, turned stunts into speed. A lawsuit ended production, and it never came back.
Game Reviews7.6/10
Blizzard’s First Great Game Was a Puzzle Platformer About Three Vikings You Had to Swap Between
The Lost Vikings, Silicon & Synapse's 1993 puzzle-platformer, let you control three Vikings at once. A look at its skills, ports and long re-release history.
Game Reviews8.8/10
The SNES Action RPG That Never Came Out in America Is Playable Again
Terranigma finally gets an official North American release in 2027 after 30 years of rights limbo, bringing Quintet's SNES classic to modern platforms.
Game Reviews8.5/10
Tactics Ogre: Let Us Cling Together — The 1995 Strategy Classic That Still Demands Everything
Tactics Ogre: Let Us Cling Together review — the 1995 Super Famicom strategy RPG with eight endings, hard moral choices, and a 2010 remake that softened them.
Game Reviews8.6/10
Soul Blazer Review: Quintet’s 1992 Action RPG Still Teaches the Art of Rebuilding a World
A deep dive into Quintet's 1992 SNES action RPG Soul Blazer, where every monster lair you break frees a soul and rebuilds the world.
Game Reviews7.8/10
SimCity on the SNES: Will Wright’s City Builder, With Nintendo Holding the Blueprints
SimCity on the Super NES brought Will Wright's city builder to consoles in the early 1990s, with Nintendo advisors, disasters and a gamepad. Score: 7.8/10.
Game Reviews8.2/10
SimCity 2000’s console port asks more of players than the PC original did
SimCity 2000 on SNES reviewed: nine power plants, underground pipes, brutal budgets, and the query tool that made Maxis' city-builder a lasting template.