Ethan Zack

Nintendo Life

Ethan Zack·Nov 28, 2025

Critic80/100

Agreement—

Having more content does not necessarily equal a better game, but there's no denying that Inazuma Eleven: Victory Road's massive wealth of modes, options, and gameplay variety make it feel like the franchise's most premium experience yet. Between a fun and heartfelt story mode, a second story mode that includes the highlights of all previous games, and a bunch of additional side content along with robust PvP systems for longevity, it really does feel like you could play Victory Road forever.At the end of the day, though, it all comes down to that core loop of teambuilding and playing football matches, and Victory Road's take on the series' trademark RPG-esque customisability and intuitive action on the pitch feels just as fresh and stylish as ever. Perhaps all those delays really were worth it.

Nintendo Life

Ethan Zack·Oct 11, 2025

Critic80/100

Agreement—

Between a restrained scope and structure that harkens back to the Atelier games of old, a bevvy of fresh gameplay twists to call its own, and a metric ton of fanservice for veterans, Atelier Resleriana: The Red Alchemist & the White Guardian feels like a triumphant celebration of the entire series' legacy.More importantly, it's just a really great RPG experience. Appropriately, it mixes together a bunch of quality ingredients - a heartwarming narrative, strategic and dynamic turn-based combat, complex crafting systems - and synthesises them into a jolly little romp of an adventure. There's certainly a bump in the road or two, but the ride is too enjoyable to linger on those for long.

Nintendo Life

Ethan Zack·Oct 3, 2025

Critic80/100

Agreement—

With how stellar a package the Vows of the Virtueless proved to be upon release, the expanded and feature-packed Disgaea 7 Complete should be a slam dunk of a recommendation to any tactical RPG fan - but re-releases are rarely that simple. For anyone who missed out on the original the first time around, this version is every bit as great and stands tall as the ultimate, feature-complete iteration of the game.At the same time, there's no denying that the handful of brand-new content additions fall on the niche side and mostly serve those who want to live and breathe Disgaea 7 for their next hundred-plus hours of game time. Even stalwart fans who loved the base game may want to think twice before dropping the price of admission on this updated version and starting from scratch for a couple of post-game goodies.

Nintendo Life

Ethan Zack·Jun 8, 2025

Critic60/100

Agreement—

More than most, Puyo Puyo Tetris 2S is a tough release to put a score on. Under no circumstances is it a bad game - in fact, it's a pretty darn decent game that's filled to the brim with modes and features to tide puzzle lovers over for the long haul. However, that has everything to do with the solid skeleton of the original Puyo Puyo Tetris 2 and barely anything to do with the minimal additions made to this Switch 2 re-release.For newcomers to the series or those who missed its original release, there's plenty of fun to be had here. For fans who already have the original version on Switch, I struggle to think of a greater waste of Switch 2 gaming funds than this.

Nintendo Life

Ethan Zack·Jan 15, 2025

Critic90/100

Agreement—

Blade Chimera is an ode to a very specific kind of Metroidvania - the sort that eschews cryptic puzzles and an open-ended structure and revels in the simple joys of ultra-fluid movement and blasting through enemies with an ever-growing arsenal of powerful weapons and equipment. It may not particularly impress with its explorative or narrative aspects, but its striking, stylish identity and endlessly entertaining shoot-and-slash combat loop elevate this to the heights of the classics it's so clearly inspired by.