The Purring Quest

The Purring Quest

The Purring Quest has a few flaws, including a rather limited number of levels, but it is hard not to be charmed by the delightful protagonist and moving story. The hand-drawn visuals and animations definitely stand out, but the game is genuinely fun as well. It might not feature many innovations in terms of gameplay or puzzles, but there is no doubt that it was a labor of love for the creators and something all cat fans will enjoy.

Gameplay: The controls are a little stiff, but this doesn’t detract too much from the fun.

Graphics: The game features beautiful hand-drawn visuals and some stellar animations.

Sound: The orchestral soundtrack is quite epic

Castlevania: Circle of the Moon

Castlevania: Circle of the Moon

Circle Of The Moon is a great start to the series on Gameboy Advance and has plenty of fun to offer. There are some small annoyances that drag it down but nothing too serious and while it doesn’t eclipse Symphony Of The Night it is still a very worthy game.

Gameplay: Similar to Symphony Of The Night but a lot harder with some very unfair sections.

Graphics: Nice as far as Gameboy Advance games go but a bit dark and could do with more animations.

Sound: Does not disappoint

Jak & Daxter: The Precursor Legacy

Jak & Daxter: The Precursor Legacy

Jak & Daxter is a good game that checks all the right boxes on the platform 101 list but fails to really captivate. Stages involve collecting the same things over and over while the story will only keep you hooked if you are very young or easily amused. While it does nothing spectacularly wrong it does little to set itself apart.

Gameplay: This is a solid platform title in the vein of Super Mario 64 and similar titles, but unfortunately there’s not much to set it apart.

Graphics: Good draw distance and vibrant colors, but cliched locations.

Sound: The voice acting is good and the music decent, but unmemorable

Tiny Barbarian DX

Tiny Barbarian DX

Tiny Barbarian DX does not set out to revolutionize the genre but instead offers a solid and enjoyable platform romp steeped in 8-bit nostalgia. The game is a joy to play, especially if you can remember the heyday of the NES platform era. It also packs quite a challenge but remains fun throughout.

Gameplay: The game features platforming action with a hefty dose of nostalgia.

Graphics: The visuals look like they are straight out of the 8-bit era.

Sound: Tiny Barbarian DX features a rocking chiptune soundtrack

Albert and Otto: The Adventure Begins

Albert and Otto: The Adventure Begins

Albert and Otto offers stylish visuals, interesting puzzles and platforming sections that will leave even veterans with sweaty palms. The story is a little vague, but traversing the bleak, trap-filled gameworld is a lot of fun. The game is a little on the short side, but makes up for it with a low price and with three more episodes to come there is a lot to look forward to.

Gameplay: Quite challenging in places, but conquering the tricky parts is immensely satisfying.

Graphics: The bleak, monochrome art direction is nothing new, but still looks very stylish.

Sound: No speech, but features a suitably eerie soundtrack

Kirby: Power Paintbrush

Kirby: Power Paintbrush

With so many DS titles feeling like rehashed Gameboy Advance games it is great to see this ones like this finally start to emerge. It uses the same formula first seen in Yoshi Touch N Go but evolves it into a full fledged game. It comes highly recommended to all platform fans.

Gameplay: Full stylus control throughout makes for an interesting challenge.

Graphics: Very nice 2D visuals.

Sound: Cheerful and uplifting

Pac ‘N Roll

Pac ‘N Roll

Pac N Roll is not a game that is going to set your world on fire and astound you with its innovative new concepts but it is fun while it lasts. The controls work well and the levels become quite challenging later on. Repetition does start to creep in after a while so you might want to try before you buy.

Gameplay: An interesting take on the genre.

Graphics: Bold and cheerful.

Sound: Apart from the horrible voice samples not too bad

Robots

Robots

Even if you are a fan of the movie I would be hard pressed to recommend this game to anyone. This would have felt boring and dated on the Gameboy Advance and it certainly has no place on the Nintendo DS. There are way better offerings than this out there.

Gameplay: This is a lazy port of a cheap movie cash-in.

Graphics: Barely better than on the Gameboy Advance.

Sound: Nothing to write home about

Terrian Saga: KR-17

Terrian Saga: KR-17

If you enjoy classic platforming action where some exploration and puzzle solving is required you will love KR-17. The developers have managed to perfectly capture the audio and visual style of a 90s era title, but made the gameplay accessible enough for modern players. The game still packs a challenge, but keeps things varied to prevent repetition. It is also priced very low, so there is no excuse to not try it out.

Gameplay: A great mixture of platforming, puzzle solving and enemy blasting.

Graphics: The game looks like it was ripped straight out of the 90s.

Sound: A great soundtrack with some nice sound effects thrown in too

Yoshi Touch & Go

Yoshi Touch & Go

As launch titles go Yoshi Touch N Go does a good job of showing off the new features that the DS sports but overall it never feels like it is more than two mini-games. It is definitely fun while it lasts but once you’ve broken the high-scores and played it a few times you’ll find how limited it is.

Gameplay: Addictive but the novelty wears off very quickly.

Graphics: Bright, clear and very colorful.

Sound: Some very “tropical” sounding tunes