This week's Nintendo Direct was full of brand-new games, including Mario & Luigi: Brothership, a new Zelda-led adventure game and even the return of Metroid Prime. Best of all, they announced four massive games for the Nintendo Switch Online – The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past w/ Four Swords and Metroid: Zero Mission on Game Boy Advance, and Nintendo 64 classics Turok: Dinosaur Hunter and Perfect Dark. That's cool and exciting news, but are any of these games actually worth playing? To answer that question, I decided to flip through the pages of Electronic Gaming Monthly, Computer & Video Games, Next Generation and more classic magazines to see what the critics said when these games first came out. So, go and grab your favorite spy gadget, because it's time for another hard-hitting episode o Nintendo Switch Online Review Crew.


More than a decade after A Link to the Past was first released on the Super NES, The Legend of Zelda was in a much different place. The series had gone from simply being one of many great Nintendo franchises, to it fundamentally changing the adventure game genre, both in 2D and 3D. And Nintendo was smart, because they allowed both styles thrive on their various consoles. While the 3D games dominated home consoles like the Nintendo 64 and GameCube, 2D entries still had a home on the Game Boy. As a result, it wasn't all that jarring when Nintendo decided to port A Link to the Past to the Game Boy Advance. And to sweeten the deal, Nintendo decided to add a multi-player focused side quest called Four Swords to give players a reason to revisit this twelve-year-old Zelda game. Did this sway the critics in favor of this re-release? I have a hunch you won't be too surprised by the results.

When Electronic Gaming Monthly reviewed the game in issue 162, they were quick to call Four Swords a highlight of the package. Phil summed up the core game by saying, “If you've ever played the Super Nintendo version of A Link to the Poast, then you've already played this portable version. Sure, the classic 16-bit Zelda is here in all its glory, and that alone would earn this title a high score, but the inclusion of a fabulous new multiplayer game, Four Swords, adds major replay value. It's a wicked-cool blend of Zelda and Gauntlet, and you'll have to use some clever cooperation to defeat enemies and solve puzzles.” CJ agreed, calling Four Swords “the most fun I've ever had with a four-player GBA game. If you own a Game Boy Advance, this Zelda should be in your collection.” EGM gave The Legend of Zelda an average score of 9.5 out of 10.

Believe it or not, that's one of the game's lower scores. Just about the only magazine lower than that is Game Informer, who gave this Game Boy Advance port a still-stellar score of 9.3. Pretty much everywhere else opted to give the game a perfect score. That's certainly what you saw from GamePro. And when Australia's own GBA World reviewed the game in their fifth issue, they too gave it a flawless 5 out of 5. “The real joy comes from solving the many puzzles in the dungeons you traverse – most of which require cooperation with other players and the clever use of the many different items strategically placed throughout. With random game areas each time you play, this is a game that you can replay over and over – and it's such a blast that you'll want to. This is one GBA title you need to own.”

Through and through the critics loved Four Swords, so even if you've already beaten A Link to the Past multiple times before, perhaps give this GBA port a look just for the multiplayer fun. You won't regret it.

Having already proven that Metroid was a great fit on the Game Boy Advance with the 2002 release of Fusion, Nintendo followed that up with a real treat – a remake of the original 8-bit game that started it all. This was a great idea, as the series really found its groove with the critically-acclaimed 16-bit sequel, Super Metroid, so Nintendo going back to that first entry all these years later allowed fans to experience the game in a whole new way. And for a whole generation who missed out on the first Metroid back in 1986, this really was the best way to fill in that gap.

When it came to the critics, pretty much everybody agreed that this was another winner for Nintendo and the Metroid franchise. Electronic Gaming Monthly managed to give the remake an average score of 9.2 out of 10, with Mark arguing that “Remake almost doesn't seem like the right word for Zero Mission. Besides the basic structure and a few known winks, it's a very different game from the original Metroid. Even more than its famous 2D predecessors, Zero does a great job of working puzzles seamlessly into gameplay and giving you the general idea of what to do next while leaving you free to explore.” Crispin largely agreed, though is the one dragging the score down with his 9 out of 10: “If you managed to dodge citrus-colored she-warrior Samus Aran's grapple-beam pull over the years and have never played a Metroid game, this is your chance to finally suit up and get sucked up. Everything that makes the series a classic is here. And if you're already a Metroid maniac, you'll love Zero Mission even more, regardless of whether you played the original NES game. It's certainly a more fleshed-out experience, with more bosses, new sticky spots and very cool surprises.”

EGM's 9.2 is pretty much in line with where most critics were at the time. For example, you saw GBA World in Australia give the game a 4.5 out of 5 and GMR gave it essentially the exact same score when they went with a 9 out of 10. On the lower end, Computer & Video Games couldn't muster up anything higher than an 84%, but I couldn't get my hands on that issue, so instead we're going to look at what NGC Magazine said in their 92nd issue. Giving it an 89%, NGC complained that about the game's short length: “Still, as we said, it's a bit on the short side, and Metroid veterans will probably see this off in a couple of days playing it on and off. On the normal setting, we managed to see it off in about five and a half hours' continuous play – and that was with the vast majority of items collected. So the question remains, should you buy it? Well, simply because of the quality, we'd say ‘yes' – but next time Nintendo, please, make the experience last longer.”

On the higher end of the scale, you saw Game Informer give the game a strong 9.5 out of 10. If you're looking for an even higher score, then look no further than GamePro, who gave it a perfect 5 out of 5: “Metroid is a classic, but nostalgia doesn't make great games ... knowing what to do with it does. Rarely does a game (much less a GBA one) keep the player so constantly surprised. Bring on more, more, more.”

To be fair, the critics are right to complain about the short length, but I doubt you'll see that as a problem when you play through the game on the Switch.

Coming out half-a-year after the launch of the Nintendo 64, Turok: Dinosaur Hunter was the system's first big first-person shooter (beating Doom 64 to retail by just a few weeks). Based on a long-running comic book, Turok had an irresistible premise that seemed perfect for the 1990s. It was a shooter filled with large levels full of man-eating dinosaurs. Who could possibly resist that?

Believe it or not, Turok: Dinosaur Hunter is by far the most polarizing game we're going to talk about in this episode. Everybody agreed that the concept was good, but there were some serious doubts about the execution. You saw both opinions represented in Electronic Gaming Monthly. Dan gave the game a 5.5, complaining that “first-person shooters are way too commonplace today. Turok is just another one in the masses. The only things that make it stand out are the weapons, the enemies and the levels. The levels are wide-open outdoor areas, as opposed to tunnels and hallways. But in the end, these fluffy features don't help Turok stay afloat. It's still a boring shooter at heart. How many Doom games can gamers take before they are fed up?” On the other hand, Shawn gave it an 8, raving that “the graphics in Turok are simply stunning, and the animation is so impressive that I just sit there in awe. For a first-person style action game, Turok is leaps and bounds above practically every other one I've seen (as far as looks go), but when we get into the area of control, my thoughts change a little. The control definitely takes some getting used to – if only gamers could customize the controls.” With so many wildly different scores, EGM gave Turok an average of 6.9 out of 10.

There were other magazines that were disappointed by the Dinosaur Hunter, such as Nintendo Power, who gave the game a 3.8 out of 5. Next Generation gave it a very middle-of-the-road score of 3 out of 5, arguing that “for a system that has not yet proven itself with realistic action, Turok is a potentially positive sign of things to come. The game looks good from start to finish, boasts some pretty spectacular special effects and, at times, even manages to create that uneasy but enjoyable feeling of impending doom. Unfortunately, for die-hard action fans, there are still too many holes in the gameplay to warrant any kind of victory dance.”

That said, these lower scores only tell half of the story. For each critic who was disappointed in Turok, there was one that absolutely loved it. For example, Next Generation's sister magazine, Edge, gave it a 9 out of 10. They concluded that “with Turok, Iguana exploits the N64 to create a believable, stunningly detailed environment that's second to none, convincingly vindicating its membership, through Acclaim, of the so-called ‘Dream Team'.”

You also saw a high score from N64 magazine, who gave the game a 91%. The similarly-themed 64 Extreme went even higher, handing down a 97%, one of the year's highest scores. And then there's GamePro, who once again opted for the all-too-familiar 5 out of 5. And they weren't alone, because that's the same score you saw from Computer & Video Games. “I'll admit that I was skeptical about Turok, even after I'd played an early version last year. While I'm a big fan of Doom/Quake-style games, I don't like rip-offs – which is what Turok looked like it was going to be. Thankfully, while it's similar to Quake in a way, it's definitely not a copy. It's also nice to see one of the first Nintendo 64 games which does something which the CD-based machines can't do, with levels far, far bigger than any other 3D shooting game ever. Turok is atmospheric, challenging, massive, fun and very, very cleverly designed. Along with Super Mario 64, this is the best reason to buy a Nintendo 64.”

The question is, should you play Turok: Dinosaur Hunter in 2024? Obviously, the answer is yes, but I would probably recommend you stick with the Nightdive remaster of that game that came out a few years ago. It's really hard going back to this 1997 version when the updated version is right there.

GoldenEye 007 didn't just land on the Nintendo 64, it crashed into it like one of those meteors in a disaster movie. It absolutely changed the landscape around it and players couldn't get enough. After the dust had cleared and the hype had died down, everybody had the same thought – how the hell are Rare and Nintendo going to top 007? The answer came in the form of Perfect Dark, a similarly-themed action game set in a futuristic world full of new-fangled gadget and technological enemies. It wasn't a Bond game, but it had all of the same hallmarks and was even compatible with Nintendo's RAM expansion pack. Surely, everybody would like Perfect Dark just as much as GoldenEye, right?

When it comes to the critics, they may have liked Joanna even more than James. But before we dive into the many, MANY high scores, let's first check in with Next Generation, who gave Perfect Dark the lowest score, a 4 out of 5. “If the game has any faults, it's solely in the frame rates. Perfect Dark supports the Expansion Pack for high-resolution graphics, but this definitely slows it down. In fact, you should probably leave it in low-res mode – in most cases, you won't even be able to tell the difference graphically. The frame rates are particularly bad in multiplayer. Four players on the screen slows the game quite a bit, especially if some simulants are thrown in. However, the slow rates don't make it unplayable, and to fix the jittery view, you can just reduce the number of simulants.”

Of course, Next Generation was the outlier, as every other magazine gave the game much higher scores. GMR, for example, gave it a straight 9 out of 10. That's the same score we saw over at Edge. Yes, they complained about the hardware limitation issues Next Generation brought up, but they were able to overlook them. “Perfect Dark refines GoldenEye's phenomenal gameplay while massively developing its multiplayer components. It fails to be as revolutionary on as many levels as its predecessor, but if you're a N64 owner, consider this utterly indispensable entertainment. And if you don't already possess Nintendo's console, then you really no longer have an excuse not to.”

As you might expect, Nintendo Power liked the game even more, giving it a 9.6 out of 10. That pales in comparison to the 99% we saw from N64 magazine, and the perfect 5 out of 5 given out by Incite Video Gaming. Electronic Gaming Monthly also gave out some perfect scores, including Mark. “As someone who thought GoldenEye was overrated, and as a big fan of PC first-person shooters, I was extremely skeptical of Perfect Dark, but once I tried it I was hooked. This isn't the kind of great game you play for a week or two, finish and never pick up again – it's the kind of incredible game you live with for months, trying all the different play modes and difficulties, opening up new secrets, and inviting friends over to fight with and against.” Kraig, on the other hand, gave it a slightly lower 9.5 out of 10, but still gushed over it. “Hello Joanna, good riddance Bond. Perfect Dark is everything I'd hoped for, I just hoped it'd get here sooner. As usual, Rare has pushed the Nintendo 64 to the limits – this game is absolutely gorgeous. The first-person mode usually moves pretty smoothly, but if you try any of the multiplayer modes, the slowdown often gets to be a little unbearable. But that's been one of Rare's annoying trademarks. Fortunately, that's my only complaint – the story, atmosphere and level designs are meticulously put-together, and the amount of game modes is simply unbelievable.” EGM gave Perfect Dark an average score of 9.8 out of 10.

This is yet another great addition on the Switch, even if some of the gameplay quirks are a little hard to go back to in 2024. With a new Perfect Dark in the works, now is a great time to go back and see what made the first game so much fun.