A fast paced beat em up with a lot of movies for each character. the enemy variety is strong keeping things interesting till the end. This is a hard game due to the high priority enemies have on attacks. I wouldn't say this is a beat em up for beginners since enemies will feel unapproachable if you don't know how to bait attacks and properly plane shift. On top of that the two hardest enemies in the game are really fast and hard to hit. When you do hit them they often just fall over and you can't get a full combo. Its one of those game that could be an all time classic if they just tweaked some things.

The only time product placement actually enhanced an experience. This game is a time management, real time strategy, dungeon crawler. I can't think of another game like it even the other Pikmin games. Its kind of mean and fucked up, but you can save constantly so its not unforgiving. Combat is supersizing deep once get a hang of it. It's not a numbers game, if you are just swarming monsters know there is a more effective way. Thowing pikmin, learning counter timing, and knowing when to call pikmin back before monster thrash. The elephant in the room is purple pikmin. People over state thier power, yes they are good at combat cus that's their roll. Every pikmin has a roll and you can't beat the game with nothing but purples. (And I'm not just saying that cus they are rare.) They are a power piece that needs to be managed like everything else and to those who say they invalidate reds, no the fact that they nerfed fire did that.

Contra is hard, Contra Hard Corps is hard by Contra standards. This game will filter people even if they play the JP version that gives you a health bar. If you are ready for the challenge and a fair bit of trial and error you will find an absolutely fantastic game. Four unique characters and four branching paths makes the game highly repayable. The pace of the game is really good each run will only take you around 20 minutes (deaths not inculcated.) Some of the best boss fights in the series and the best OST in the series. You also have a completely invincible slide to get you out of touch spots. That slide feels really damn good and its a shame its the only Contra with it. The only problems I have with the game has more to due with the Genesis. Its a three button game that should really be a five button game. Having a six button controller helps a little, but it still would have been better if they built the game from the start with a six button controller in mind. Also the graphics can be a little crusty sometimes with the final boss of the rocket path becoming a mess of pixels during its first phase. Rather minor issues that otherwise doesn't bring down this masterpiece.

Really, why hasn't any other Contra done unique weapon load outs for characters and branching paths?

Just exploding with creativity. Huge levels split up into belt scrolling beat em up-esque town sections and 2D platforming areas. Each town has it's own identity and is loaded with things to do and secrets to find. The platforming sections always have some new gimmick to throw at you to keep things fresh. Mystical Ninja also has some really outstanding boss fights. The bosses can be really challenging as your base weapon range is rather pathetic and you rank down your weapon every time you get hit. This is offset by the fact that you can throw money as a projectile. Money however is an incredibly valuable resource as you will need a minimum of 1960 Yen to beat the game. Recourse management is the name of the game, Mystical Ninja is a game where if you put the time in to learn the game you will get much better. From knowing what gear to buy when, picking up tricks to make fast cash, and knowing where to find golden cats the game is quite deep.

The most "I didn't pay $60 dollars to block" souls game of all time. It feels like a lot of the depth has been stripped away to be more aggressive. The in and out dance with the enemies is what makes the souls games good. Read the patterns. dodge, counter, pick good times to heal. It just feels like its not really there in Bloodborne. Healing is so quick I would often just pop a heal right in a bosses face, or half the time I would just start massing R1 and get my health back. The blood vial is just awful its both a grind and makes the game too easy. This game was just so forgettable, outside of the DLC most of the bosses are kind of a joke and each area is just gray snaking corridors. It all really just started blending together. Also half of the game is gated off in randomly generated dungeons that you have to craft. There is just so many baffling design choices.

Best fights Mergo's Wet Nurse and Orphan of Kos

Worst fights Micolash and Ludwig