Nintendo World Report staffers dig into the Virtual Console back catalog this week for their recommendations. Are these titles timeless classics suited for everyone and anyone to play? Unique experiences that fans will be delighted to rediscover? Or just some really old games?

Pedro Hernandez goes first with a recommendation for the TurboGrafx-16 game Bomberman '93. This Virtual Console release actually supports five players by utilizing all four Wii Remotes plus a connected GameCube controller. The question is, are five players is a party, or a crowd?

Then James Dawson gets his twitch on for Golden Axe from the Sega Genesis. Is saving the kingdom from a baddie called "Death Adder" all it's cracked up to be?

Finally, Pedro chimes in one last time for Dr. Robotnik's Mean Bean Machine. The game is a Genesis reskin of the Puyo Puyo puzzle series, so is it puzzlingly good or just puzzling?

The Bomberman games' quirky gameplay is at its best in the multiplayer matches, and Bomberman '93 for the Turbografx-16 is just as fun as any other game of the series. For those not in the know, you start off each game in a maze, and use timed bombs to destroy obstacles and enemies that are in your way. But much like the best simple game concepts, Bomberman has a hidden depth and a layer of strategy. You can find power up items that will extend the length of his blasts, make Bomberman run faster, and place more bombs across the screen.

Admittedly, playing this on single player mode against the computer can be slow and boring. That's why Bomberman '93 features an excellent multiplayer mode for up to five players (using four Wii Remotes and an attached GameCube controller). Matches in that game mode will quickly become hectic, manic, and just flat-out fun. It's a great, classic, multiplayer title. The concepts are very easy to learn, but there is depth to be discovered through unadulterated social gaming fun.

Golden Axe is an arcade style beat ’em up for the Genesis where you take the role of one of three heroes tasked to slay the evil villain Death Adder and save the land of Yuria. Each hero can trigger different magic spells and uses slightly different attacks, though each feels more like a reskin than an entirely different character. Like most beat ’em ups, all of Golden Axe’s battles takes place on a horizontal battlefield where the screen won't progress until all current enemies are defeated. However, because the game was designed for two players, the game’s enemies often feel cheap while playing alone. Golden Axe also allows you knock enemies off dragons and other beasts so you can ride and attack with the steeds yourself, but doing so can be a distraction and slow you down. The game is also plagued with sluggish controls that do not feel responsive enough.

With its bland characters, cheap difficulty, and sluggish controls, Golden Axe is a game that should be avoided at all costs. Despite positive reactions from fans, there are just too many good alternatives on the Virtual Console (including this game's two sequels) to recommend an archaic beat’em up that survives on nostalgia alone.

What's curious about this title is that while it has been labeled as an official Sonic game, it stars the franchise's main baddie, Dr. Robotnik in his “The Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog” incarnation. Players will do battle with several of his robots, and eventually Robotnik himself, via the game's titular Mean Bean-Steaming machine.

The concept of Puyo Pop is that players position falling colored blobs and try to connect three of more of the same color in order to clear them from the screen and score points. One of Robotnik's henchmen will be competing with you on the other half of the screen. The best way to defeat them is to create constant combo chains, littering the opponent's space with blank blobs that will making it harder to match and eliminate the colored blobs. It's a proven formula that always delights in any of its iterations.

Mean Bean Machine is harder than the typical puzzler and the colorless blobs alone will force you to think outside the box. The more complex mechanics make it less accessible than the common Tetris clone. Not only that, but there have been better, more substantial Puyo Pop releases since Mean Bean Machine that serve as better introduction to this style of puzzle gaming. Regardless, it offers Puyo Pop with a cartoony and fun rendition of the Sonic universe.