Surprise! Nintendo dropped three more games on the Nintendo Switch Online service without any warning. This week we're getting the early Nintendo Entertainment System version of Pinball, as well as the half-monkey, half-human antics of Congo's Caper and the beat 'em up thrills of Rival Turf, both on the Super NES. That's cool, but are any of these games actually worth playing? In order to answer that question, I decided to flip through the pages of classic magazines like Electronic Gaming Monthly, GamePro, Video Games & Computer Entertainment and more to see what critics said when these games first came out. Brace yourself, because it's time for another jam-packed episode of the Nintendo Switch Online Review Crew.


We're going to start off this episode with an incredibly brief look at Pinball. Why so short? Well, it's because this was a first-generation game for the Nintendo Entertainment System back in 1985, long before the likes of Electronic Gaming Monthly or GamePro published their first issue. And while there were other magazines on the newsstand at the time, none of them were using a proper scoring system. The truth is, of the hundreds of magazines I have archived, I was only able find one that bothered to review the original Pinball.

That magazine was the UK's own Nintendo Magazine System, which wrote a capsule review for Pinball in their very first issue ... seven years after the game first came out. Needless to say, they weren't impressed: "This is a real Nintendo oldie, and has been completely eclipsed by the immeasurably superior Pinbot, which is based on a real pinball table. Unless you're after a particularly sub-standard pinball game for your Nintendo, avoid." Pinbot isn't on the Nintendo Switch Online, but I agree with this review, avoid.

After seeing the success of prehistoric platformer Joe & Mac, Data East decided to try their luck again with Congo's Caper, an action game starring a half-human, half-monkey boy who goes on an epic quest to save his girlfriend from demons. While not directly connected to the Cavemen Ninjas, Joe & Mac, this Super NES game shares a lot of similarities, including the locations and bosses. In fact, the games are so similar that when Retro-Bit packaged all of the Joe & Mac games together into one super-sized cartridge, they included Congo's Caper.

Retro-Bit wasn't the only one to make that connection, as Die Hard Game Fan's Tom Slick started his review by noting that he initially thought of Joe & Mac. "Wrong! This game has some bright, crisp graphics with awesome character control. This side-scrolling action game breaks from the norm and delivers a type of fun not found in other games of this kind." Brody also liked the game, expanding on his colleague's thoughts: "Besides looking similar to Data East's earlier entry Joe & Mac, this game is totally new and unique. Your character has a wide assortment of moves and the graphics are bright and colorful. Great game."

Of the critics who reviewed Congo's Caper back in the day, Video Games & Computer Entertainment was the least impressed, giving it a 7 out of 10. While Die Hard Game Fan compared it to Joe & Mac, VG&CE argued that it was little more than a Mario rip-off. They concluded that "Congo's Caper earns low marks for originally, sound and game length, but good marks for graphics, challenge and fun." Congo's highest score came from GamePro, who gave it a perfect 5 out of 5. "Step back in time to have a good time. Congo's Caper is a lengthy game that's long on fun. This cart will make you go ape!" Yeah, you didn't think you were going to escape this segment without a monkey pun, did you?

Born out of the success of beat 'em ups like Final Fight and Streets of Rage, Rival Turf is the first game in the Rushing Beat trilogy, which also includes both Brawl Brothers and The Peace Keepers. Now, if those names sound familiar, it might be because Brawl Brothers was one of the first Super NES games added to the Nintendo Switch Online service, and Nintendo added The Peace Keepers back in 2020. For whatever reason, they've released these games completely out of order, with the first installment coming out last. But let's not get hung up on the weird release strategy, because Rival Turf is a solid enough brawler that is probably best remembered for its questionable cover art and magazine ads.

Compared to the likes of Final Fight and Streets of Rage, the critics were not as kind to Rival Turf. Electronic Gaming Monthly's resident fake ninja Sushi-X went as low as a 5 out of 10, complaining that he is sorely disappointed. "The graphics aren't the best ever seen and the music lacks variety. The two-player mode is OK, but not spectacular. Just having a two-player mode is good enough, as it can be a fun game when playing with a friend. As a one-player fighting game, it is only average. Ed gave it a slightly higher 7 out of 10, but agreed with a lot of the criticisms: "While there could be more moves, the ones that are there are very effective once mastered. Pounding up your friends as you play can be fun, and I guarantee a few laughs in an otherwise serious type game."

As I look around at the different critics, I can't help but see a variety of middling scores for Rival Turf. Nintendo Power gave it a 3 out of 5, Super Play gave it a pitiful 58%, N-Force went with a very nice 69% and Video Games & Computer Entertainment handed out yet another 7, which is on the higher side of things. The lowest score I could find was from Nintendo Magazine System, who gave it a 48% and complained that "originally obviously wasn't high on the list of priorities as far as the design of Rival Turf went. Just about every idea, including all the moves, weapons and levels, have been seen before somewhere. This is the Jive Bunny of beat 'em ups, a pale pastiche of other games with all the real enjoyment and challenge washed out."

In case you're wondering, GamePro once again gave Rival Turf the highest score of the bunch. Giving it a 4 out of 5, they concluded that "Rival Turf's a stimulating Saturday night SNES fight that'll jack you up. It might not blow you away, but you'll have a good time blowing it away." They were especially impressed with the two-player support, something that you didn't see in a lot of Super NES brawlers at the time. Of course, that's not a problem you'll have when it comes to the Nintendo Switch Online service, so your mileage may vary. Rival Turf is fine, but you're better off replaying one of the far superior sequels.