Super Mario Galaxy is one of those rare games that makes children of us all, that'll have you straight on the phone to your gaming comrades, throwing out terms such as 'best game in years' or - gasp! - 'Mario 64 beater.' [Christmas 2007, p.32]

You'll be slowing down through the final spectacular dungeons because you won't want it to end... The best Zelda ever made. Wii's off to a stunning start. [Jan 2007, p.32]

Deep, gorgeous and inventive, World of Goo is not only the most striking title on WiiWare, it's also one of the finest puzzle games around. [Feb 2008, p.72]

If Ocarina is gaming's Citizen Kane, this is the Blu-ray edition. [July 2011, p.53]

Nintendo love spills from every pore and the multiplayer can't be beat, but Smash Bros risks growing too familiar. It never breeds contempt, but it doesn't quite muster that Galaxy magic.

Technically brilliant, well written, loads of fun to play, maybe a little bit naughty, maybe the best thing on DS. [May 2009, p.68]

A huge departure for Zelda and a proper arrival for motion controls. Link's latest is rule-breaking, dream-weaving, tech-loving, heart-soaring stuff. [Dec 2011, p.45]

Not as perfect as grandad remembers, but its design quirks fade under an onslaught of unrelenting brilliance. [Mar 2009, p.68]

That you won't find a better RPG this year goes without saying. From gameplay mechanics to storyline to visual flair, Xenoblade is an amazing piece of work. [Sept 2011, p.60]

Insert ear plugs and dust off those reflexes: 2D platforming is back. [Christmas 2011, p.62]

One of the last GBA games is also one of the best - it's the only GBA game you'll need in 2007. [Apr 2007, p.58]

We wish it was cheaper, but Rock Band 3 is the ultimate music game on Wii even if you don't re-mortgage the house to buy the new instruments. [Issue#56, p.59]

There's a seriously massive amount of gameplay per pound here. [Oct 2009, p.58]

RIP boredom. A Resi package that melds ace visuals, controls and features into a fine Wii game. If you've never played before there's simply no excuse not to. [Aug 2007, p.42]

With a swing of his fist Bowser barges his way into the pantheon of classic Ninty heroes. Expect a wide grin from start to finish.

20 of the finest gaming hours of the year. [Dec 2007, p.42]

You'll laugh, you'll cry, you'll spend 50 unforgettable hours in one of the most vibrant worlds ever created. [July 2008, p.50]

As conflicted a Mario game as we've ever played, but an undeniable 3DS achievement. [Dec 2011, p.58]

Retro take everything they've learnt over the last two games, strip out all the bad bits, and deliver a nigh-on perfect Metroid experience. And the controls are just magical. [Nov 2007, p.32]

A suitably reverential tribute to the world's most enduringly lucrative band. [Dec 2009, p.53]

Up there with the very best that WiiWare has to offer. Essential playing. [May 2010, p.72]

The party features raise the bar for multiplayer gaming. [Dec 2009, p.65]

A welcome return to top form for the world's most exhausted videogame hero. [Aug 2006, p.52]

Clean but not particularly exciting presentation aside, this is a more than capable little paining app - you need to be good at art to get the most from it though. [June 2012, p.106]

Still the arcadiest music game around, with a few nice moments to express yourself. [Issue#56, p.46]

If golf's your game, this will keep you busy for ages. Decent new control modes, some good minigames, online play and real-time weather. [Aug 2009, p.70]

The most exciting ds game we've played in ages. [June 2008, p.56]

A simple idea perfectly executed. It deserves a place among your favourite Wii Channels. [May 2010, p.75]

Strip away the unmanageable bulk and Pokémon is a truly great RPG. Add it back on later and it remains a flashy, if conventional, entry in the franchise.

Life-consuming, epic entertainment. [July 2010, p.44]

The Pokemon formula stays unchanged, but Gold and Silver remain our favourites. Essential for Johto newcomers and veterans. [Mar 2010, p.94]

Curiously forgettable and throwaway compared to the Mario platforming standard, but as a social experience ti's up there with the best on Wii. [Winter 2009, p.46]

The crappy songs don't help, but this remains a decent rhythm action game for the DS. And it makes no more sense for being in English. It's no "Rhythm Tengoku," of course. [January 2007, p.73]

Top-class music game with great tunes and difficulty levels to suit beginners and experts alike. Shame about the 'aspirational' pricing. [Winter 2009, p.50]

A relatively superficial, flashy platformer elevated by raucous level design and heaps of bonus goals. [Christmas 2010, p.54]

The thrill of the eureka moment is Zack And Wiki's currency. Combine this with a control scheme that puts even first-party efforts to shame, and you've got the easiest Zack And Wiki conundrum to solve: should you buy it? The score's a hint.

Peril, puzzles, laughs and rabbits - everything you'd want for a cracking Christmas romp. [Christmas 2009, p.42]

The Pokemon formula stays unchanged, but Gold and Silver remain our favourites. Essential for Johto newcomers and veterans. [Mar 2010, p.94]

Funny, exciting, intelligent, weird and rewarding. This is what happens when great minds dare to be different. [May 2009, p.42]

Strip away the unmanageable bulk and Pokémon is a truly great RPG. Add it back on later and it remains a flashy, if conventional, entry in the franchise.

A rollercoaster straight to Bullet Hell. [Christmas 2009, p.58]

There's no way you coudn't call it a good buy. [Dec 2008, p.72]

The lack of challenge will annoy some, but it's a game that anyone can enjoy, and most will love. [Issue#56, p.42]

If you've ever delighted in kicking down a sandcastle, demolishing a house of toy bricks or, indeed, playing Jenga, you'll love this. Creatively destructive. [July 2009, p.56]

A life-consuming wonder-gem. [Winter 2009, p.65]

A cracking idea done almost flawlessly. Tied with World Of Goo as WiiWare's best.

Punch-Out!! is an odd choice for a revival, but it suits the Wii perfectly. Thumpy and brash but not without brains. It's time to get reacquainted.

A solid follow-up to one of the best eShop games. It's obviously not quite as revolutionary as its predecessor and the new freedom it gives may put off some people but it's another impressive puzzler.

If only the MIDI tech were better, and the song list tighter, this would be utterly essential. [Jan 2009, p.52]

Lovely. [Oct 2010, p.47]

Advance Wars: Dark Conflict is outrageously good, taking a simple formula and tuning it to perfection. This is a console-defining game.

An incomparable gaming experience, well worth the expense. And Wi-Fi (co-op and competitive) means no need to splash out on a second guitar. Deserves to be a rocking hit. [Christmas 2007, p.40]

It's one hell of a block party, but Tetris has always lost a little of its lustre on the big screen. [Jan 2009, p.74]

Fun story and great combat. [Apr 2011, p.73]

Not a huge game but an intricate, sumptuous and reassuringly old-fashioned one. [Mar 2011, p.76]

Excellent for beginners, looks great, has masses to do, but doesn't really improve on previous games. Shame, really, with some adjustment this could have been a work of art. [Feb 2007, p.70]

Loads of variety, some of the most spectacular moves we've seen and a control system that lets everyone get the best out of it. Aces.! [Jan 2010, p.70]

A staggering port of an exceptional fighting game, but for all its accomplishments this is not the definitive version of the game. [Mar 2011, p.47]

With Wi-Fi battles and Global Trade, D/P is essential. [Sept 2007, p.81]

Will the Large Hadron Collider end the world? Probably not. Ignoring MaBoShi on the other hand... that's a totally different story. You must get this. [Dec 2008, p.75]

Potent Mario magic, and, by God, that 2D-3D idea is brilliant. But it's got what we call the Pikmin effect: the sense that it'll take a sequel to really bring the concept to full fruition. [July 2007, p.36]

Lots of variety, good use of the touch screen. [May 2008, p.73]

As complete a racing game as you could hope to play. [Christmas 2011, p.54]

The perfect package for Metallica fans, though putting together a full set of instruments could be costly. [July 2009, p.90]

The best puzzle game on Wii and one of the most satisfying things we've played in ages. Smashing stuff is good. Very good. [July 2008, p.54]

With Wi-Fi battles and Global Trade, D/P is essential. [Sept 2007, p.81]

A brilliantly made challenge, but rarely much fun. [Jan 2009, p.64]

It's brilliant, compelling, and the Wi-Fi score stakes are high. [May 2008, p.65]

Lacking only an RPG mode and the option to wander off into the woods and play a Duck Hunt minigame. [Apr 2011, p.55]

A brilliant portable fix for PC Peggle-heads and a treat for newcomers to the world of peg-toppling. [June 2009, p.63]

Fully featured and complex, this could well keep you busy until next year's game. [July 2010, p.64]

FC Konami deliver another excellent game of football. The additions and on-pitch improvements mean this is well worth forking out for. The lads done good.

A deep, dark role-playing title with an unusually excellent story. [Oct 2009, p.65]

Adds brains to action fans' brawn, and brawn to obsessive collectors' brains. Ignore the first few clunky hours, and get ready to enjoy the next 300.

A Suda51 game anyone can enjoy. [Mar 2010, p.44]

If you can crack our ultra-difficult score riddle, this is definitely a game for you. [Nov 2009, p.61]

A stern memory and reflex test. [Nov 2011, p.69]

Another strong offering for RPG fans to sink their teeth into, with some great graphical updates, but be warned: this is two parts work, one part play.

Builds (hoho) on the brilliance of its predecessor with improved flying, busier levels - and all the best bits from the only Star Wars trilogy worth bothering with. Pure gaming. [Oct 2006, p.52]

The extra dimension brings more generalised puzzling, but the game is more satisfying all round. Three-dimensional nonogram? Yesyesgram, we think. [Feb 2010, p.64]

A daring reinvention of a hero too long on the subs bench. [Apr 2012, p.85]

Like the Wii, none of it should work, but like the Wii, everything does. Brilliantly... No More Heroes is a love letter to videogames that never grows old, tired, or dull. All games deserve to be designed with such lunacy. [JPN Import; Feb 2008, p.56]

Like a supercharged Ace Attorney, Ghost Trick positively thunders forwards with an awesome narrative drive. Dead clever. Dead pretty. Dead good.

You'll get your money's worth if you put in the hours, but some would say that life's too short. [Dec 2008, p.73]

Gives you the freedom to keep the game going indefinitely, if that's your thing. [June 2008, p.60]

Works really well within the sometimes frustrating limitations of the DSi, providing reasonably user-friendly access to a set of fun, creative, flexible animation tools. [July 2012, p.106]

You turn on the DS at 5pm. Next thing you know, it's 11:30pm and the stylus has worn a bloody groove into your finger. Forget The Matrix: it's Picross's grids that'll enslave us all. [JPN Import]

A hefty online-enabled super-retro collection. [Dec 2006, p.38]

Smooth Moves has the best and worst of WarioWare. What can be done with the remote will amaze you, but the games are a bit lightweight and you'll miss the mad multiplayer of old. [Feb 2007, p.50]

Probably best to play the other ones first, but still a fine puzzler if you haven't. [Nov 2011, p.54]

Proves, once again, that the stylus is god's gift to control schemes. Ludicrously well done. [June 2008, p.59]

Sparkling brilliance, gleeful insanity - just needs more remixes. [June 2012, p.89]

This is pretty good fun, with so-bad-it's-hilarious dialogue and cute bestiary, but the cannon fights are just a little too repetitive to stay interesting long. [Dec 2006, p.68]

We haven't played a game this demanding in some time... a refreshing kick in the teeth. [Feb 2008, p.67]

Brilliantly odd music game made slightly less good by the replacement of four of the best tracks. not fair! [July 2009, p.75]

The "game" itself is entirely unchanged, with the same old firsbee competititions, agility and obedience trials. [Aug 2006, p.66]

For the completist, a must-have. For the rest of us, an entertaining history lesson that's just about weathered the passage of years. [Apr 2007, p.49]

As thrilling to complete the first time as the fifth. [July 2012, p.105]