Mario vs. Donkey Kong: Tipping Stars is enjoyable but rather easy, even in later stages. The main attraction here is the stage builder where after unlocking everything you can build practically any kind of stage you wish. While some people tend to make stages simply to give easy stars in the hopes of getting easy stars in return, there are stages where a lot of thought was put into them and are challenging. If you like the series, you'll enjoy Tipping Stars, but you might find it a bit too easy.
Out of the Park '16 proves once again why it's the go-to series for baseball management simulators. With the new license to use real MLB players and the other additions and improvements, there's not much you can't do in this year's edition. If you're looking for a great baseball management simulator, you'll be hard pressed to find something better.
Titan Souls is a pretty solid game, but I can see where it may not gel with some players. There is quite a bit of difficulty to it as you have to learn each titan's patterns and figure out how to expose and attack their weak points, and others may just see this as a rip-off of Shadow of the Colossus. If you can get past that, Titan Souls provides quite a bit of challenge, but admittedly could have gone on a bit longer for a $15 price point.
Crypt of the Necrodancer is an awesome rhythm game you don't want to pass up if you're into the genre. It solidly blends dungeon crawling with moving in time to the rhythm and the soundtrack is great. Putting in your own soundtrack is a huge plus for me as well as I have a lot of classic NES music I can use to match the retro-style look of the game. If you like rhythm games, definitely pick this one up.
Swords and Soldiers II is an entertaining RTS game that doesn't take itself too seriously. That being said hardcore RTS players might find this one a bit too "silly" for their tastes, though players new to RTS games might find it enjoyable, especially with the option to go through any stage on Easy Mode. Either way, while not the best RTS game out there, it is an enjoyable one.
Dr. Mario: Miracle Cure doesn't offer too many improvements outside of the Miracle Cures and graphical updates, but that's kind of expected with certain puzzle games. The game still provides a solid Dr. Mario experience with the Dr. Luigi and Virus Buster game modes thrown in and the addition of the Miracle Cures shakes things up a bit, both online and off, but the lack of an overall high score for your game session seems like a step backwards for a standard puzzle game. While not perfect, if you're looking for some Dr. Mario on the go, Miracle Cure is still worth a shot.
Roving Rogue is okay, but I got bored after awhile. Once you learn how teleportation works, there's not a lot of challenge, as any enemies introduced as the game progresses are easy to either defeat or avoid entirely. If it ever goes on sale in the eShop I'd say give it a shot, but if you're looking for a challenge, you'll want to look elsewhere.
Runbow has a fairly unique concept in its playstyle that I don't believe I've seen in any other game before. While the single player modes provide quite a bit of challenge on their own, I feel the multiplayer modes are where this game shines. While AI opponents would have been nice so anyone could experience those modes, this is an excellent game for quick play on your own or for when you have lots of friends over.
Lovers in a Dangerous Spacetime is a fun and enjoyable take on the shooter genre, focusing on exploration of each area instead of vertical or horizontal scrolling. While the game seems better suited for two players working together, playing alone with an AI companion brings a bit more challenge to the game. With the ability to change difficulties on the fly, this is a game that can be enjoyed alone or with a friend.
Might & Magic Heroes VII is an okay game overall, but seems like it's more for existing fans of the series and doesn't cater to new comers at all. With no tutorial whatsoever it took me a good hour or so just to get started. Outside of that the difficulty can be adjusted, but the ability to auto-play battles makes things a tad easier than expected. This one is definitely not for newcomers to the series unless you don't mind fumbling around on your own for a bit while you get your bearings.
Pokemon Super Mystery Dungeon is a fun game, but it still has its frustrating moments. The tutorials seem to drag on forever, the leveling system is kind of imbalanced, and the difficulty can go from normal to frustrating depending on who you encounter where. However, if you can get past those shortcomings you'll find a pretty fun game and a fairly solid entry into the Pokemon Mystery Dungeon series.
Pokemon Picross is a fun and interesting way of playing Picross, but I can see how some elements might turn a player off to the game. If you opt to not spend any money, the experience can get rather boring as you can only do so much at a time before you have to wait a while to continue. Still, the fact that you can get close to a third of the way through the game at no cost makes it worth at least checking it out, but I feel that things could have been done better.
Fans who enjoyed the F-Zero series won't want to pass up FAST Racing Neo. While a bit more difficult than the classic Nintendo series, most of the core gameplay is very similar while adding a couple of new mechanics. While the multiplayer is a bit lackluster in customization, there's a lot of single player racing to challenge players for quite a while. Fans of fast-paced racers won't want to miss this one.
Minecraft Wii U Edition is a fun game, but I feel that the additional $10 over its other console counterparts isn't quite justified. Sadly the game pad isn't put to much more use other than just being another controller to use and I don't feel that additional textures and skins warrants another $10. It's still a fun game but if you already have another console version, this might be one to skip unless you have friends who also pick up this version.
While not quite as good as Tales From the Borderlands was, Minecraft: Story Mode Episode 1 is a pretty solid start to the series. The story is off to a pretty good start, the characters interact with each other nicely, and the voice acting is quite good as well. There aren't many puzzle interactions in the episode and the ones that are there are rather easy to solve, but hopefully that and the combat will improve in later episodes.
Shadow Puppeteer is an enjoyable game—if you can get past a few frustrations. The platforming is tedious at times, with you controlling both the boy and his shadow, though figuring out how to get through each area isn't all that difficult. Sadly, the game is somewhat short, only taking a few hours to get through. But if you're playing with someone, it can make for a fun afternoon.
Return to PopoloCrois: A Story of Seasons Fairytale is a nice blend of RPG and farming simulation. While it can be a bit on the easy side at times, it didn't get to the point where I was getting bored or felt it was too easy. The occasional difficulty spike with bosses can be frustrating, but nothing too bad.If you enjoyed previous games in the PopoloCrois series and don't mind a little Harvest Moon mixed in, this one's worth picking up.
Mega Man Legacy Collection on the 3DS is a great collection of games and extras, but players who already have the Virtual Console games might be hard pressed to spend $30 on 54 challenges that have little replayability without any online functionality and leaderboards.
For trainers wanting a true one-on-one real time Pokemon experience, Pokken Tournament delivers rather well. There are a few things here and there that could use some improvement, most notably some online features and how ranking up works with the Ferrum League, but overall a rather enjoyable game for Pokemon and fighting game fans alike.
Out of the Park 17 continues to add improvements to each new version and while some of the changes this year may seem small, they’re still quite noticeable, especially the player markers showing the action during a game and the ability to have any two teams in history square off against one another. As it’s done in the past, Out of the Park 17 shows why it’s the go-to simulation series for someone wanting to manage a baseball team, historical or present day.