Satoshi Matrix Reviews - Retro and Contemporary

SatoshiMatrix · Post by **SatoshiMatrix** » Thu Dec 16, 2010 6:45 pm

Hey all, given that there's a great community here around retro gaming and all things NES/Famicom, I figured I should share with you something I've been working on for more than a year now - my series of game reviews!

Now I know, reviewers are dime a dozen. I try to put as much care and detail into each of my reviews to give the reader the most informative outlook on a game I can. Think of it like RetrowareTV in text form.

this isn't really intended as a plug for my work as much as it is just wanting you guys to check out some of my work and generate some discussion. In many cases I write reviews for the games I do because there just aren't any reviews out for some of them and the ones that do have I just felt like voicing my own opinions on. As I'm a student for journalism and I pride myself at writing, hopefully you guys might like my approach. Retro gaming is my true passion.

This is my site: http://satoshimatrix.wordpress.com/

Anyway, this is what I've amassed in written reviews from oldest to newest:

The Great Giana Sisters (Commodore 64)
http://satoshimatrix.wordpress.com/2009 ... ds-review/

Giana Sisters DS (Nintendo DS)
http://satoshimatrix.wordpress.com/2009/09/25/72/

Pocket Monsters HeartGold (Nintendo DS)
http://satoshimatrix.wordpress.com/2009 ... rt-review/

Shantae (Gameboy Color)
http://satoshimatrix.wordpress.com/2010 ... ae-review/

Monster Attack (Playstation 2)
http://satoshimatrix.wordpress.com/2010 ... ck-review/

Dreamfall: The Longest Journey (Xbox 1)
http://satoshimatrix.wordpress.com/2010 ... ew-xboxpc/

Pokémon HeartGold (Nintendo DS)
http://satoshimatrix.wordpress.com/2010 ... er-review/

Heavy Rain (Playstation 3)
http://satoshimatrix.wordpress.com/2010 ... eview-ps3/

Famicom Wars (Famicom)
http://satoshimatrix.wordpress.com/2010 ... review-fc/

Megaman 1 (NES)
http://satoshimatrix.wordpress.com/2010 ... eview-nes/

Global Defense Force (Playstation 2)
http://satoshimatrix.wordpress.com/2010 ... eview-ps2/

Megaman 2 (NES)
http://satoshimatrix.wordpress.com/2010 ... eview-nes/

Scott Pilgrim Vs The World: The Game (PSN)
http://satoshimatrix.wordpress.com/2010 ... eview-psn/

Robot Alchemic Drive (Playstation 2)
http://satoshimatrix.wordpress.com/2010 ... eview-ps2/

Megaman 3 (NES)
http://satoshimatrix.wordpress.com/2010 ... eview-nes/

Katamari Damacy Review (Playstation 2)
http://satoshimatrix.wordpress.com/2010 ... eview-ps2/

Fallout: New Vegas Review (Playstation 3, Xbox 360, PC)
http://satoshimatrix.wordpress.com/2010 ... box-360pc/

Pocket Monsters Black/White Review (Nintendo DS)
http://satoshimatrix.wordpress.com/2010 ... review-ds/

Earth Defense Force 2017 Review (Xbox 360)
http://satoshimatrix.wordpress.com/2010 ... -xbox-360/

VS Super Mario Bros. Review (NES)
http://satoshimatrix.wordpress.com/2010 ... eview-nes/

Megaman 4 Review (NES)
http://satoshimatrix.wordpress.com/2010 ... eview-nes/

RetroN 3 Review (clone multi system)
http://satoshimatrix.wordpress.com/2010 ... -3-review/

Tales of Symphonia Review (GC)
http://satoshimatrix.wordpress.com/2010 ... -gamecube/

Kirby's Adventure Review (NES)
http://satoshimatrix.wordpress.com/2010 ... eview-nes/

Battle Kid Fortress of Peril (NES)
http://satoshimatrix.wordpress.com/2010 ... eview-nes/

Famicom Detective Club Part 2: The Girl in Back (SFC)
http://satoshimatrix.wordpress.com/2010 ... r-famicom/

Air Fortress Review (NES)
http://satoshimatrix.wordpress.com/2010 ... eview-nes/

Let me know what you guys think! Hopefully I'll get a few new subscribers but I'm mostly seeking discussion about these various games.

Thanks for any interest! I love feedback!

Post by **tepples** » Thu Dec 16, 2010 7:07 pm

A minor nitpick about ESRB ratings: You say Mega Man 1 and 2 and Vs. SMB are "N/A but would be E". For anything that has been rereleased without modification on Animal Crossing (GCN), Classic NES Series (GBA), Mega Man Anniversary Collection (PS2), or Virtual Console (Wii), you can just use that version's ESRB rating.

SatoshiMatrix · Post by **SatoshiMatrix** » Thu Dec 16, 2010 7:49 pm

I completely agree.

SatoshiMatrix · Post by **SatoshiMatrix** » Tue Dec 21, 2010 9:40 pm

Ho ho ho nesdev guys.

Time for another review, this time for Retrozone's RetroPort controller adapters for using NES/SNES controllers on your Wii. Are they worth picking up? you bet they are!

http://satoshimatrix.wordpress.com/2010 ... ne-review/

Thanks for the support as always.

Dwedit · Post by **Dwedit** » Tue Dec 21, 2010 9:57 pm

The real reason to use the Retroport SNES adapter is Snes9x Gx.

SatoshiMatrix · Post by **SatoshiMatrix** » Tue Dec 21, 2010 9:59 pm

Of course, but I don't want to actively promote that to all the kiddies who view my blog.

SatoshiMatrix · Post by **SatoshiMatrix** » Sat Dec 25, 2010 1:48 pm

Merry Christmas, nesdev

http://satoshimatrix.wordpress.com/2010 ... ition-nes/

SatoshiMatrix · Post by **SatoshiMatrix** » Mon Dec 27, 2010 4:46 am

Bet a lot of you guys have been waiting for this one, here's Megaman 5 for the NES/Famicom.

Enjoy!

http://satoshimatrix.wordpress.com/2010 ... eview-nes/

SatoshiMatrix · Post by **SatoshiMatrix** » Sat Jan 08, 2011 12:31 am

After some delays, here's another one for you guys to read and hopefully love, Gradius 1 for the NES/Famicom.

http://satoshimatrix.wordpress.com/2011 ... eview-nes/

Dwedit · Post by **Dwedit** » Sat Jan 08, 2011 8:11 am

The first video on that review has completely fake music, far too many channels for a game known to use three channels initially, then reduce down to 2 channels. It even has fading triangle waves!
Might want to replace it with the real NSF with the flash-based NSF player.

tokumaru · Post by **tokumaru** » Sat Jan 08, 2011 8:54 am

I never played Gradius before, and while looking at your review I saw some very interesting screenshots, so I was very confused when I decided to look up the game and realized that it looked much worse than in your screens.

Then I read about the hack at the end and everything made sense. It would be better if you mentioned this fact sooner, because at the very beginning you say you're reviewing "the version that most of us probably would associate with" and then proceed to show unfamiliar graphics... doesn't make much sense if you ask me.

As a matter of fact, if you are reviewing the NES game you should show screenshots of the actual game, and dedicate a section at the end to talk about the hack and show a couple of screens. It's very misleading to pass the hack off as the real thing during the whole review, specially in the "Graphics" section.

SatoshiMatrix · Post by **SatoshiMatrix** » Sat Jan 08, 2011 1:34 pm

hm, you do have a point. I'll see about correcting this.

Bregalad · Post by **Bregalad** » Sat Jan 08, 2011 2:58 pm

You know there is a lot of other versions of Gradius, the music might have been from the arcade, or some other platform.

SatoshiMatrix · Post by **SatoshiMatrix** » Sat Jan 08, 2011 3:00 pm

indeed. The stage 4 sample is directly from the arcade cab.

SatoshiMatrix · Post by **SatoshiMatrix** » Sun Jan 09, 2011 5:40 am

okay guys, I updated the screenshots to more accurately represent the Famicom build.