Nintendo 3DS Reviews

If you have ever played a game with a guy in a green costume, who is generally always sleeping at the beginning of his adventure, then you've probably played a Legend of Zelda game at some point. Nintendo's latest Zelda release for the 3DS has received much attention since being released, including a number of Game of the Year nominations from multiple prominent media outlets. So what makes yet another Zelda game so appealing and fun?

The Wii U version of Sonic Lost World was a little bit weird. It blended, with varying degrees of success, the main staples of Sonic with a more exploratory, slower paced level design. It has been met with mixed reaction by fans. The 3DS version is much of the same, although the little changes that have been made make this the superior outing for the Blue Blur.

2013 has been a big year full of big releases. We've had the open-world Goliath that is Grand Theft Auto V. We've received The Last of Us from Sony's wunderkind Naughty Dog. We'll soon be graced with the presence of next-gen gaming from the titans Microsoft and Sony. And now, Nintendo has sent forth their king of handheld games – ladies and gentlemen, the next generation is here. The next Pokemon generation, of course.

I've always been fond of games that can take a seemingly dull aspect of life and make it interesting. During the Summer, Lucas Pope managed to make stamping documents thrilling in Papers, Please (one of my favorites this year), but in 2012 the hectic job of sorting luggage at an airport was turned into addicting entertainment with Aero Porter on the 3DS.

Goichi Suda (or Suda51, as he's most commonly known) has to be one of the oddest developers in the industry. His games, like Killer7 and No More Heroes, are filled with unique ideas, subversive and absurd writing, and gameplay that isn't exactly the easiest to grasp. Even when he takes a straight-forward approach there's always a little something off, which is exactly the case with his contribution to Level-5's Guild01 game compilation, Liberation Maiden.

In the gaming days of yore, things like tutorials, objective markers, and pop-up hints were very uncommon. For some, these forms of guidance take away exploration, self-discovery, and challenge, and they yearn for more titles to be like those of old. The developer duo Kazuya Asano and Takemaru Abiko apparently agree, because that's the basis for Starship Damrey, their entry in Level-5's Guild02 compilation.

Remember what it was like being a kid? Playing outside, making up weird games with friends, being confused by everything that grown ups do, and having an overactive imagination? If so, good, because that's exactly the nostalgia Japanese developer Millennium Kitchen taps into in Attack of the Friday Monsters! A Tokyo Tale.

Level-5's Guild series is an interesting concept. Released in physical format for the Nintendo 3DS in Japan, both Guild01 and Guild02 contain games developed by famous Japanese developers. Strangely, none of the games go together, and each offers a completely different experience. It's an eclectic assortment of titles, to be sure, and thankfully most are available in the West via the 3DS eShop. All are worth playing, but the worst of the bunch is easily Keiji Inafune's Bugs vs. Tanks.

Platform games are having something of a return to popularity, and it's about time. While Mario and Sonic remained regular parts of the gaming community, the likes of Rayman disappeared completely for a while. Even Donkey Kong - one of Nintendo's most recognisable characters- was resigned to guest appearances, mini-games, bongo playing and Super Smash Brothers.

Ridge Racer 3D - now over a couple of years old - is staunch reminder of two things. First, arcade racers are awesome. More titles should drop the realism and rap music of recent racing titles and should instead employ someone to shout down the speakers at you.