Tom Massey

Nintendo Life

Tom Massey·Nov 14, 2024

Critic90/100

Agreement—

Rage of the Dragons Neo is a peach of a game. Plucked from the Neo Geo library, it's been brought back to life with a smooth online experience and a comprehensive package stuffed with bonuses. It's not for everyone, and don't be surprised if you get beasted online initially, but for those willing to eke out the depths of its tag team strategy and combo extension methods, it's a furious, flashy, adrenaline-fuelled affair that looks great, sounds great, and plays even better.

Nintendo Life

Tom Massey·Nov 9, 2024

Critic70/100

Agreement—

Vengeance Hunters does many things well. Its pixel art is superb across the board, with some very cool-looking enemies. It also has a lot of interesting ideas in its combat mechanics that allow seasoned gamers to dig deep. It's a game that ranges from the impressive to the occasionally dubious. Enemy repetition starts to grate a little, but then excellent and imaginative boss battles redress the balance. We don't feel quite so comfortable with the omission of grabs, the odd format of its sub-weaponry, or its rather overbearing number of explosive obstacles, but we can't ignore that it's competent and well-executed in many other key areas. Essential? Perhaps it falls just short of that, but for fans of the genre and those who get a thrill out of mining combo possibilities, there's a bright, solid, and at times rather clever belt scroller here.

Nintendo Life

Tom Massey·Oct 28, 2024

Critic80/100

Agreement—

One may consider that, being programmed in Unity, Blazing Strike is a feat in and of itself; but the fact that it's largely built by one person is nothing short of remarkable. Original and beautiful-looking, the possibility in its broad character roster feels fresh and exciting. It isn't a game for absolute novices, but dabblers and aficionados will find its Rush system an intriguing and well-implemented combo tether. Whether or not it can draw the community away from the current Marvel vs. Capcom online boom, and if so, for how long, remains to be seen. Regardless, it's a title that deserves attention, and would perform well at a professional tournament level. Like most first iterations of fighting games, there are areas that can use some tweaking, but such an impressive first attempt certainly bodes well for the future.

Nintendo Life

Tom Massey·Sep 20, 2024

Critic70/100

Agreement—

For those who enjoy the Karate Kid movies and Cobra Kai TV series, there's fun to be had with this. It's simple but fairly effective, looks really nice, and has a few minigames to break up the action. Its combat can be an enjoyable economy of building gauges and pounding out super attacks amidst tap combos - but it tends to simmer rather than cook. The boss battles (with mostly Johnny Lawrence) are a little too placid for our liking, although the set-ups are pretty cool, especially when you find yourself in familiar movie territory. On the whole, it's nice to rumble with hordes of high school bullies, but once it's finished there's not a great deal to encourage repeat plays except the local multiplayer. Wax on, wax off, it's up to you.

Nintendo Life

Tom Massey·Sep 9, 2024

Critic90/100

Agreement—

There is a decade of gaming evolution here, including what is arguably the pinnacle of Capcom's fighting game craft. Perfectly preserved and presented, everything is beautifully formed and wonderful to play. Assembled with real clarity in regards to fan expectation, Capcom has thoroughly delivered the goods, from its ton of bonus features to its rollback netcode, with years' worth of combative nuance to explore, learn, and exact in the online arena. Oh, and The Punisher is awesome, too.

Nintendo Life

Tom Massey·Sep 9, 2024

Critic70/100

Agreement—

Rugrats: Adventures in Gameland is a well-made platformer that captures the heart of what made the TV show tick, and that's perhaps its greatest achievement. The character swapping system isn't unique, but it works well owing to some clever and occasionally quite challenging stage design; and, while it doesn't reinvent the wheel, there's a fun action game here with a good level of exploration. Whether you're drawn to the HD or retro aesthetic variants is down to which of your nostalgic sentiments is strongest. Either way, the 8-bit representation is so accurate to hardware of that era we can't believe it wasn't actually released three decades ago.

Nintendo Life

Tom Massey·Jul 10, 2024

Critic80/100

Agreement—

Fading Afternoon is a very ambitious game that improves on Technos' decades-old Kunio-kun formula in almost every way. It's certainly the most accomplished of Yeo's works to date, and impressive in its polish. What really shines, though, is the way it expands on its life-simulator elements and those all-important details. It keeps things fresh, interesting, and compelling. Although regularly punctuated by satisfying gangland violence, it's not a fast game by any means. With its downbeat plotline and melancholic motifs, it's more an experience to become absorbed in, to be explored and tapped for all its little surprises and diverging paths on subsequent playthroughs. For everything it strives to achieve, beyond anything else, Fading Afternoon is incredibly charming.

Nintendo Life

Tom Massey·May 8, 2024

Critic70/100

Agreement—

Although there's room for improvement in ININ's presentation, and it would have been nice to get a few more bonus unlockables, this is still the best version of Rainbow Cotton around thanks to its silky smooth frame rate, lovely upscaling, widescreen formatting, and all-important gameplay enhancements. It's a fun, at times spectacular, novelty adventure in the Cotton universe, that can occasionally feel confusing and cluttered. Stick with it, though, and an enjoyable and genuinely charming rail shooter bubbles to the surface.

Nintendo Life

Tom Massey·Apr 26, 2024

Critic80/100

Agreement—

El Shaddai feels genuinely more creative and interesting than a lot of the titles it would consider bedfellows today. It shares a place with the likes of ICO, Nier, and Panzer Dragoon in its arcane design and historically inspired symbolism. Elsewhere, it borrows from the likes of Okami and Mizuguchi's Rez for its abstract, acid-trip beauty. It's true that the combat can become routine, the platforming occasionally frustrate, and some of the boss encounters appear slightly samey, but it runs smoothly and assuredly across 11 visually astounding stages. El Shaddai, more than anything else, is a game of moments, and a lot of them. It's certainly one of the most intriguing titles in the action-adventure, hack-and-slash genre, and deserves the attention this time around that it never achieved on its original release.

Nintendo Life

Tom Massey·Mar 11, 2024

Critic60/100

Agreement—

WayForward has done god's work in design and execution, and in rekindling the feel of Konami's blistering run-and-gun IP. It's all expertly assembled: an adrenaline-fuelled bullet ballet that knows exactly what Contra is and should be, borrowing key elements from the series' back catalogue and elevating the action with an original moveset that feels fresh, fun, and exciting to toy with. It's this undeniable accomplishment that makes the Switch version somewhat deflating. There's a great game here, and yes, it is playable, it is fun, and it can be learned. But it's damaged by so many technical setbacks that one weeps for what should have been. Unity-coded titles on the Switch don't have a great track record, but WayForward can't really blame the tools and should have ironed it out considerably. Contra: Operation Galuga stands tall amongst its peers - just not this version. If you're a serious Contra fan, we're going to drop something utterly perverse for a Nintendo-focused publication, lay down a suppressing fire, and tell you to head straight over to Steam.

Nintendo Life

Tom Massey·Mar 5, 2024

Critic80/100

Agreement—

Its very reasonable price tag isn't the main selling point of Berserk Boy. Rather, it's a very competently made indie action adventure that has the feel of a 16-bit title, powered by the oomph of current-day consoles. It's far more arcadey than both Mega Man and Gunvolt; faster, and altogether more interesting owing to its multiple character forms and deft stage design. Its hub world is easily navigable, and the upgrade shop, Metroidvania backtracking, and prisoner liberating side-missions encourage players to squeeze the most from the experience. There are minor, trivial aspects that could have been tightened up slightly, and the independent development aspect isn't entirely in the background. For what it attempts, however, Berserk Boy is very successful, regularly showing up larger development studios with its creativity, and comes easy to recommend to 2D action enthusiasts.

Nintendo Life

Tom Massey·Feb 28, 2024

Critic70/100

Agreement—

If you're a fan of '90s action platform games, there's something mildly magical about this. Ufouria 2's sunny world of papercraft and textile-built apparatus is endearing and fun. Its playfulness and zanier elements more recall the era of the Super Nintendo than the NES, and its laid-back approach to linear Metroid-style adventuring is plainly fun. It doesn't ask much from you except to enjoy a little exploration, a very moderate amount of backtracking through very short zones, and an undemanding task of coin collecting as you go. But its reward cycle has an addictive quality, if little else. It's not going to fulfil everyone's desires, and its ease might feel underwhelming to some, but those looking for a new adventure in a very 16-bit fashion will feel well served.

Nintendo Life

Tom Massey·Jan 12, 2024

Critic50/100

Agreement—

The saving grace is that Shinorubi works far better in handheld mode. It doesn’t look as displeasing, the boss designs are pretty heavy-duty, the frame rate doesn’t seem to be as messy, and your ship, while still overly quick, can travel the screen with greater ease. If you’re playing it portable, there’s some fun to be had with its various modes, of which it’s stuffed to bursting: boss rushes, caravan trials, a Muchi Muchi Pork-inspired rebounding pig score game (more interesting than the default, honestly), and a three-loop Journey event. The music, too, if you enjoy endless guitar solos, is well-executed and appropriately heavy.