The game you're looking at right now is Wild Guns, and not only is it one of the many games on the Nintendo Switch Online service, but it's one of the many games that I have not covered on the Nintendo Switch Online Review Crew. This summer we're going to fill in the classic Nintendo Entertainment System and Super NES games we missed, including Stunt Race FX, the aforementioned Wild Guns and Super Ghouls ‘N Ghosts. These three games were added to Nintendo's online service years ago, but the question still remains: Are any of them worth playing? To answer that question, I decided to flip through the pages of Electronic Gaming Monthly, Nintendo Power, Super Play and more classic magazines to see what the critics said back when these games first came out. So, go and paint the parking lot full of googly-eyed cars, because this is another bone-chilling episode of the Nintendo Switch Online Review Crew.


When it came to racing games on the Super NES, Nintendo had a real hit-or-miss track record. Sure, we remember the absolute classics, like F-Zero and Mario Kart, but tend to gloss right over Uniracers, a game that was sued into oblivion and never heard from again. And then there's Stunt Race FX, the 1994 racing game that is probably best known for using the Super FX chip. Between the unique polygonal look, the way the action moves and the fact that the cars literally have eyeballs, I think it's safe to say that this is one of Nintendo's most polarizing Super NES games. Was it a hit or a miss? That largely came down to what magazine you were reading at the time.

Let's go ahead and start with the naysayers. This includes Electronic Gaming Monthly, which ended up giving the game an average score of 6.6 out of 10. Giving it a capsule review, EGM concluded that “Nintendo's second FX-chip based game isn't as good as I expected. It just didn't seem to have the overall fun that Star Fox did. It features four racers that have noticeably different handling characteristics, so the purists among you will be happy. The variety of tracks also prove to be challenging. However, the game feels awkward with the touchy steering and the feeling of speed just isn't there. Overall, there are better racing games on the market. It's just too bad since I had high expectations for it.”

Nintendo Power also seemed disappointed with Stunt Race FX, giving it a surprisingly low 3.8 out of 5. They liked that the controls are easy to get a hang of and that it's both fast and fun, but “after crashes, you may find yourself disoriented as the viewpoint of your vehicle may not be what you expected. The stunts aren't quite the loop-to-loop daredevil stuff you might expect.”

While EGM and Nintendo Power may have been underwhelmed, the same cannot be said for the rest of the critics. Die Hard Game Fan went as high as an 88%, with Game Players going even higher with a 90%, making it one of their top-racing games of the year. And then there's Super Play, who called the game “the most playable and varied racing game ever. A Super NES without Stunt Race FX is a Super NES not worth switching on. Almost.” With a score of 93%, Stunt Race FX was Super Play's number 13 Super NES game of all time. You should check out the game for yourself to see which side you agree with.

Now here's something you didn't see a lot of on 16-bit consoles – a third-person shoot ‘em up set in the Wild West. Released all the way back in 1994, Wild Guns is an action-packed shooter that takes inspiration from arcade classics like Cabal and Nam-1975. Set during the days of cowboys and high noon shootouts, this cult classic is filled with memorable location and crazy villains that completely reinvent the Wild West. This game is so good that Natsume decided to revive the series decades later under the name Wild Guns Reloaded, which was just as great as the original. But let's not get ahead of ourselves, because we're here to see what the critics said back in the 1990s.

And every magazine showered Wild Guns with praise, right? Not so fast, Buckaroo, because the scores for this classic shooter are quite a bit lower than you might be expecting. However, this is one of those times where the scores don't tell the full story. Most of the outlets that gave the game a lower score were quick to shower the game with praise. Take VideoGames: The Ultimate Gaming Magazine, as an example. Giving it a 7 out of 10, they called it “straight-forward to the extreme.” However, they also concluded that “Wild Guns succeeds at being fun thanks to the frantic gameplay – things are shooting at you constantly – and the nifty graphics.” Zach even calls it the “sleeper hit of 1994” and “one of the best shooters I've played in a long, long while.” And it got a 7? Huh.

The same was true of Computer & Video Games, who gave the game a 3 out of 5, but praised the “sheer entertainment value” and ended up recommending it to genre fans. Nintendo Power gave Wild Guns a similar 3.1 out of 5, praising the graphics, control and the fact that you can choose between a male or female hero. Their only complaint was that it's “not as much [of a] challenge as some shooting games.” Also, it doesn't use the light gun, which I would argue is a good thing.

Things were a bit better over at Electronic Gaming Monthly, where every single critic in the building gave Wild Guns an 8 out of 10. “One of the best shoot ‘em ups for the Super NES system! The two-player simultaneous play, and very challenging levels, make this one a real blast. It seems to go by a bit too fast, but that is more a tribute to how good the game is.”

The highest score came from Super Play, who gave the game an 87%, ranking it right above Sunset Rider as the 87th best Super NES game of all time. They called it “an arcade-style game with no pretensions to be anything else. This target-led blaster has it over Lethal Enforcers. You don't get a gun; you can't even use a mouse, but it's still great.” I agree, Wild Guns is one of the Super Nintendo's best games, which is why you should check it out on Nintendo Switch Online, if you haven't already.

One of the most recent games to hit the Nintendo Switch Online service was Sega's brilliant port of Ghouls ‘N Ghosts that was released on the Genesis in 1989. This award-winning action game led way to an even better-looking sequel that hit the Super NES two years later. Super Ghouls ‘N Ghosts raises the already high bar with cooler levels, bigger bosses and a longer quest that is somehow even more challenging than the first two games. That said, it also came with a number of drawbacks, such as the typical slowdown problems that plagued so many early Super NES titles. Let's see where the critics landed on Sir Arthur's final 16-bit adventure.

Honestly, there are so many that I don't even know where to begin. Let's go ahead and start with Electronic Gaming Monthly, who gave the previous game a 9 out of 10 and named it the Game of the Year in 1989. Super Ghouls ‘N Ghosts also averaged a 9 out of 10, but don't let that tie fool you, because the editors definitely had a preference. Martin explained that “I never thought that I would look back and think the Genesis version of Ghouls ‘N Ghosts was cheesy. After playing this cart from beginning to end, the difference is like NES and Genesis.” Ed agreed, calling the game “Awesome, awesome, awesome! As the Genesis game did for its system, the Super NES version is truly one of the most impressive carts to date. Everything from screen rotations to blizzard backgrounds to storms at sea are in this cart.”

As you might expect, there were a bunch of magazines that either matched or went even higher than EGM. Video Games & Computer Entertainment gave it a 9 out of 10 in their 36th issue, Nintendo Magazine System gave it a 94% and ACE used their ridiculous one-thousand-point scale to give Super Ghouls ‘N Ghosts a 915. Whatever that means. Thankfully, things were a little clearer at Mean Machines, who gave the game a 94% and called it “another utterly amazing Capcom Super Famicom coin-op conversion.” Julian gushed about the sinking ship, the snow-storm, the erupting ground, the sea swell – “the programmers have utilized many of the Super Famicom's special features to produce some of the most stunning graphical effects yet seen in a console game.” They loved it.

On the lower end of the scale you had Nintendo Power, with a score of 4.1 out of 5. EGM's sister magazine, Super Gaming, could only muster up an 8 out of 10, a full point lower. Even Super Play could only go as high as 85%, making it their 108th best Super NES game of all time. And then there's GamePro, who gave Super Ghouls ‘N Ghosts a score of 4 out of 5. “If you're a hack and dash nut, Ghouls ‘N Ghosts is as close to an SNES sure thing that you're likely to get. It looks outtasight and it's fun. The GNG tried and true game formula works, and the redesigned levels and the Super NES's graphics and sound make it better than ever. Get in the Ghouls ‘N Ghosts spirit.”

This ended up being the lowest score I could find for Super Ghouls ‘N Ghosts, yet another reminder that the critics loved this series back in the day. Some may argue that it hasn't held up in the last thirty years, but I disagree. This remains one of my favorite Super NES games.