Unlike the previous volume's extensive 3D remake of Hokuto no Ken, which took the original's bare bones and then teased them out into something more acceptably modern, Sega Ages 2500 Series Vol.12: Puyo Puyo Tsuu Perfect Set has been treated to the very lightest of modern touches, almost as though they were aiming to change or update … Continue reading Sega Ages 2500 Series Vol. 12: Puyo Puyo Tsuu Perfect Set
Korokoro Puzzle: Happy Panechu! is a GBA puzzle game released exclusively in Japan in 2002 and developed by Mobile 21, perhaps best know for their work on a different title for the same handheld: Gradius Generation (AKA Galaxies/Advance). Unlike the seventy billion other puzzle games released for Nintendo's portables over the years (exact quantity possibly a little less than that), … Continue reading Happy! So happy! Mega happy!
I've been looking forward to playing this one, especially after the drastic (and positive) course correction found in Vol. 6: Bonanza Bros. - the Sega Ages 2500 series might have finally found the magical happy spot between the opposing forces of authenticity, modernity, and budget. It's quite hard to muck up Columns anyway - there are just two gem … Continue reading Sega Ages 2500 Series Vol.7 Columns
From an outsider's point of view Sega Ages 2500 Series Vol.6: Ichini no Tant-R to Bonanza Bros has the distinct whiff of OK SO THAT DIDN'T WORK BUT DON'T PANIC I'VE GOT A NEW IDEA about it. There is a conspicuous lack of 3D in this 3D AGES game. There are no new gimmicks, no well-meant attempts to graft … Continue reading Sega Ages 2500 Series Vol.6: Ichini no Tant-R to Bonanza Bros.
Eighting's singularly spinny series started life as the eye-catchingly unusual launch GBA game Kuru Kuru Kururin (Japan/EU only), followed up the year after with another exclusive for Nintendo's not-SNES handheld, Kururin Paradise (Japan only, this time). Kururin Squash! whirled into existence in 2004, the first console entry in the series and to date the final Kururin for anything at all, outside … Continue reading Right round like a helerin, baby
There was a time when it felt like you couldn't move for arcade titles eager to scoot you from one allegedly real-world location to the next, each stage set against a backdrop showing a famous landmark or some focal point that suggests a tourist's idea of the region: Bomb Jack, City Connection, Street Fighter II... … Continue reading Pomping Pang Bros.
Dragon World 2001, available only on the eye-catching red cartridges used with IGS' PGM arcade system, is a title that will feel instantly very familiar to many in spite of its relative obscurity. It's yet another digital variation of solitaire mahjong, the same solitaire mahjong found all over every computer of a certain age and … Continue reading The perfect arcade game to play at home
As you may have already guessed from the photo above, the overly-named Bomberman: Panic Bomber is yet another spinoff of Hudson's evergreen Bomberman franchise - this time a puzzle game where little Bomber-heads fall from the top of the screen in L-shaped clusters of three, the aim being to line up a trio or more of the … Continue reading A bit of a dud
What do you get when you mix Columns with Sakura Taisen? You get something close to my idea of heaven - now on Dreamcast! As you may have guessed from the large yellow "2" plastered on the box (and the title screen) Hanagumi Taisen Columns 2 is a direct sequel to the Saturn/ST-V puzzle hit of very similar name and … Continue reading A match [three] made in heaven
Aconcagua begins with a dramatic explosion sending a small passenger plane hurtling towards the titular real-world mountain the game takes place on, which for the purposes of this 2000 PlayStation title is located within the fictional country of Meruza. This is a country where the people suffering under enforced military rule still harbour faint hopes of democratically-elected … Continue reading When two very different genres collide…
Kimimi The Game-Eating She-Monster 