Zombies Ate My Neighbors: a cult classic based on cult classics.

Finally released for Virtual Console in North America yesterday, Zombies Ate My Neighbors is a 1993 top-down co-op action game from LucasArts and, to put it in a few words, it’s pretty bloody cool. The basic premise: Zeke and Julie fight horror B-movie monsters.
The execution that makes it great: with an array of unusual weapons [...]

Hive’s ‘Romancing the DS’ Lightning Reviews 10/23/09 (Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow, Metal Slug 7, Contra 4)

Hive’s review system:

Outstanding
Great
Good
Mediocre
Bad

Konami

2005

Platform

1-2 Multi-Card Play

Audio
・Compositions fit in well with each of the Castle’s unique area
・Some of the characters have multiple sound-bytes
Visuals
・Gorgeous detailed backgrounds and sprites
・Anime-styled characters are animated very smoothly
Challenge
・The default game mode starring Soma is an average challenge
・Hard Mode definitely lives up to its name
・Collecting 100% [...]

Hive’s ‘Romancing the DS’ Lightning Reviews 10/16/09 (Hotel Dusk, Animal Crossing: Wild World, Sim City DS)

Hive’s review system:

Outstanding
Great
Good
Mediocre
Bad

Cing

2007

Graphic Adventure

(None)

Audio
・Nice variation of jukebox lounge beats and piano tunes
・Soundtrack provides an ambiance of mystery that’s very suitable for the genre
Visuals
・Cut-scenes do a brilliant job of instilling mystery and intrigue
・Black and white portraits for characters are retro and fantastic
・Environments are rendered well in 3D
Challenge
・The game [...]

Hive’s ‘Romancing the DS’ Lightning Reviews 10/7/09 (Etrian Odyssey, Front Mission, Children of Mana)

Hive’s review system:

Outstanding
Great
Good
Mediocre
Bad

Atlus
Lancarse

2007

First-person Dungeon RPG

(None)

Audio
・Adventurous, and sometimes haunting, compositions
・Emulates the sound of 16-bit console RPGs very effectively
・Soundtrack fits the setting very well
Visuals
・Environments are rendered well in 3D
・Character portraits and locales are vibrant and attractive
Challenge
・Difficulty level is steep, but fair
・Post-game floors are brutal if you aren’t prepared
Gameplay
・Movement [...]

Star Parodier full playthrough video series (PC Engine CD / Wii Virtual Console)

This one’s been a long time in coming—ever since my review back in August—but I finally broke my Star Parodier footage into pieces and uploaded a playthrough in six parts to YouTube. This video will be placed in the review post now too, but whenever we retroactively add something this significant, it’ll usually receive a [...]

Hive’s ‘Romancing the DS’ Lightning Reviews 10/1/09 (Ace Attorney: Phoenix Wright, Ace Attorney: Justice For All, Ace Attorney: Trials and Tribulations)

Hive’s review system:

Outstanding
Great
Good
Mediocre
Bad

Capcom

2005

Adventure

(None)

Audio
・Wide variety of compositions make this an excellent soundtrack
・The bit rate for SFX and music is rather low
Visuals
・Visuals have been strictly ported from the GBA version
・Character portraits are hilarious and very memorable
・Many of the background designs and locales are fascinating
Challenge
・Triggering the next scene may perplex [...]