Month: April 2026

StarTropics review

This one has been a long time coming. I’ve had “StarTropics” on my to-do list pretty much since it was released for the NES in 1990.

I can’t explain very well why I hadn’t committed to sit down and finish it in all that time, though I believe that conversation begins with the notion of “NES hard” and an aversion to the time commitment of an RPG. Regardless, I’ve now finally completed it.

(The RPG hang up was probably a little misplaced, because this game leans into adventurey, Zelda-like tendencies.)

But a proper review of the game needs to address firstly its charm, which is downright irresistible. The island setting surely helps in that, imbuing a sense of spirit and tone from the jump. The humor only helps, contributing to the light mood, and the action and plot are satisfying to navigate.

Having all of those points in its favor serves StarTropics well, because the game has a series of knocks against it well before it flies completely off the rails in the final act.

The sluggish controls and unforgiving enemies/easy deaths are a smidge too much. This game earns its reputation for being tough. And there’s a lot of silly backtracking and fetch-questing that irritates. And oh yeah, some of the puzzles sorta suck.

The last level definitely sucks, at least until you get properly leveled up. But I bring all this up to emphasize just how much heavy lifting the aforementioned charm has to do. It’s like this clumsy baby deer sliding around on the ice. You find it adorable despite, nay, because of its missteps. That this game ultimately succeeds is wild to me.

I can’t give it an 8, but this is a very high 7, flirting with must-play status for NES fans.

Dave’s Score: 7/10

Pinball review

One of the original releases on the old Nintendo Entertainment System was “Pinball,” which wasn’t much for wowing people. It was there strictly for variety, like those doughy donuts at the Chinese buffet. No one goes to the buffet for those doughy donuts. But them being there give you something else to munch on that doesn’t much resemble anything else there. And they’re comforting.

That’s Pinball. Nintendo’s effort, spearheaded by HAL, is low on frills (no music at all) and suffers from some floaty physics that irk purists. The theming is weirdly mismatched, featuring ducks, penguins, and casino playing cards. No, I do not understand what is going on here.

It’s not a landmark title within the genre, though it deserves a look for the sheer “Nintendo-ness” of it all. Mario makes a nonsensical appearance in the bonus area, and for console gaming pinball enthusiasts circa the mid 1980s, this was about as well as one could do.

The Internet told me that clearing 250,000 points qualifies as having given the game its proper paces. That’s a good thing, because I’m not sure I’d have the patience for the full million. I do recommend trying to hit 100,000 at minimum, as you’re greeted by a supremely wonky surprise at that point. It’s so strange, I had to pause the game and look up if it was intentional or some kind of glitch. That experience kind of made the game for me, if I’m honest. I found it charming.

In the final analysis, the game provides that sort of trance-like getaway that video pinball needs to provide, earning it a passing grade and my patented “tepid thumbs up” ranking.

Dave’s Score: 7/10

The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker review

I think most people already know a fair bit about this one. But for those who don’t, “Wind Waker” continues the tradition of 3D Zelda established in “Ocarina of Time,” bumping up the graphical output for the GameCube and building a much larger adventure in the process.

People were mixed on the cartoonish visuals at the time (and some still are I suppose), though frankly the thing is gorgeous, a better-looking Zelda than probably anything other than the two newer Switch titles.

It also boasts a killer soundtrack, a great sense of design and style, solid bosses and weaponry, a fairly unique story, and its sense of scale and exploration again only take a backseat to the two modern Zelda entries.

I think the sailing and digging for treasure bits are super repetitive, though I suppose I had more fun there than I would have expected. The bigger issue to me is how confusing some of the side quests are. That on the face of it could be okay … but the “side quests“ are actually tied into the main game. You’re required to complete them. So, them being cryptic is a frigging problem.

I’ve come to appreciate modern Zelda for its lack of these roadblocks. And yet, I think there’s a place for traditional 3D Zelda too. We can all point to our favorites within that. This one is below Ocarina and “Majora’s Mask” for me. Beyond that? Kind of a grab bag. These are great games, but mileage will vary some from title to title.

If you want a beautiful, longer Zelda, this might be your huckleberry.

Dave’s Score: 9/10