Game Reviews6.6/10
Nintendo’s Dr. Mario Was a Game & Watch Title Before It Was a Puzzle Game
A 1992 Mani Industries Dr. Mario game watch shares a name with Nintendo's classic puzzle game but almost nothing else — and a 6.6 score floats free of both.
CLAY TRIBUNE / THE ARCHIVE
Tag: Nintendo
Game Reviews7.2/10
Nintendo Hid a Game’s Climax in a Physical Letter, and Emulators Had to Reverse-Engineer It
StarTropics shipped in 1990 for NES but never reached Japan. The letter you had to dip in water, the code 747, and why the game still holds up.
Game Reviews7.7/10
Kirby’s Adventure Gave the Pink Blob His Defining Power
Kirby's Adventure hit the NES in 1993 and introduced the Copy Ability, the pink hero's color debut, and 41 levels across seven worlds.
Game Reviews6.6/10
The Mountain Doesn’t Care How Many Times You Jump
A deep dive into Ice Climber, the 1985 NES classic with Popo, Nana, and the condor, plus VS. Ice Climber and a 2009 clone.
Game Reviews7.8/10
Excitebike: The 1984 Racer Whose Engine Later Powered Super Mario Bros.
Excitebike review: Miyamoto's 1984 NES motocross classic, its engine-heat turbo, landing physics, and how its scrolling engine powered Super Mario Bros.
Game Reviews7.1/10
Duck Hunt Made the Zapper Worth Owning, and That Was the Problem
Duck Hunt gave the NES Zapper its reason to exist, sold 28 million copies, and hid a kill screen at Round 99. A look back at Nintendo's light gun classic.
Game Reviews7.1/10
Zelda II’s reputation problem is really a design problem
Zelda II: The Adventure of Link reviewed — the side-scrolling black sheep of the series, its magic meter, Dark Link, and why it scores 7.1 of 10.
Game Reviews8.4/10
The Legend of Zelda Review: Nintendo’s 8.4-Rated Blueprint for Adventure
A retrospective on The Legend of Zelda, Nintendo's 1986 adventure that taught a generation to explore, save their progress, and trust the unknown.
Game Reviews9.2/10
Mario’s Raccoon Suit and the Level Design That Outlasted Its Console
Super Mario Bros. 3 hit Japan in 1988, not 1993 — that was the All-Stars remaster. A look at Miyamoto's stage-play platformer and why it still holds.
Game Reviews7.5/10
Mario’s Oddest Sequel Holds Up Better Than Its Reputation Suggests
A review of Super Mario Bros. 2 as remastered in Super Mario All-Stars, covering Subcon, Wart, four characters, 20 levels, and its Doki Doki Panic origins.
Game Reviews8.9/10
Super Mario Bros.: World 1-1 Taught the World How to Play, and It Still Does
Super Mario Bros. (1985) review: how Shigeru Miyamoto's NES classic saved the console business and built the template every platformer still follows.
Game Reviews8.1/10
Metroid Review: Alone on Zebes, and Better for It
Metroid (1986) review: Samus Aran alone on Zebes, the power-up loop that invented the Metroidvania, and why the ending still lands. 8.1/10.