Bluck
1998
Metal slug 2 is an ambitious sequel
It Definitely improves over the concept of the original metal slug in theory and design, but it feels like the game was not made to run properly in the arcades
It's about as fun as the first one, with some positives and some negatives that balance it out enough for me to rate it about the same as the first game
I like that this game is the first to introduce a more crazy and bizarre ''story'', with the goofy looking aliens towards the end and the unspoken comedy, even better stages than the first game, and the visuals being absolutely beautiful, as an example using some simulated 3d animation for some moving bridges, the background for the stages looks wallpaper worthy and the variety of ambiences is great.
They also added many more little secrets than in the first game, adding some more to the replayability, which is always great, especially for arcade games like this, as not having many things you can do is what i feel like brings down a lot of other great arcade games, that are simply repeat the same thing over and over without any variety, and lastly the bosses are pretty good and have interesting mechanics
But, either due to their ambition, system limitations, or unpolished coding, the game lags a lot, sometimes enough to bring down the experience as you shoot rockets and kill your fps instead of the enemies, and this is not an emulator issue, it's also exactly the case in the arcade version of the game, it simply runs worse and it slows down significantly in some sections, it's not unplayable but it definitely takes away from the experience
A section i specifically dislike is the train section, it's unfairly difficult trying not to die in that section, the train simply pushes too hard, takes too long to destroy and there are too many enemies coming at you, so it feels like it just wants you to put another coin in sometimes
They wanted to go all out with this game's sequel and they did, freed their entire creative minds to it and i can appreciate it, i just wish it was slightly more polished, and luckily, They listened to similar complains, releasing later on Metal slug X a year later, a much less laggy and improved ''remixed'' version of Metal slug 2
In short, play metal slug X instead for the definitive experience, and only play MS2 out of the curiosity for the original game
It Definitely improves over the concept of the original metal slug in theory and design, but it feels like the game was not made to run properly in the arcades
It's about as fun as the first one, with some positives and some negatives that balance it out enough for me to rate it about the same as the first game
I like that this game is the first to introduce a more crazy and bizarre ''story'', with the goofy looking aliens towards the end and the unspoken comedy, even better stages than the first game, and the visuals being absolutely beautiful, as an example using some simulated 3d animation for some moving bridges, the background for the stages looks wallpaper worthy and the variety of ambiences is great.
They also added many more little secrets than in the first game, adding some more to the replayability, which is always great, especially for arcade games like this, as not having many things you can do is what i feel like brings down a lot of other great arcade games, that are simply repeat the same thing over and over without any variety, and lastly the bosses are pretty good and have interesting mechanics
But, either due to their ambition, system limitations, or unpolished coding, the game lags a lot, sometimes enough to bring down the experience as you shoot rockets and kill your fps instead of the enemies, and this is not an emulator issue, it's also exactly the case in the arcade version of the game, it simply runs worse and it slows down significantly in some sections, it's not unplayable but it definitely takes away from the experience
A section i specifically dislike is the train section, it's unfairly difficult trying not to die in that section, the train simply pushes too hard, takes too long to destroy and there are too many enemies coming at you, so it feels like it just wants you to put another coin in sometimes
They wanted to go all out with this game's sequel and they did, freed their entire creative minds to it and i can appreciate it, i just wish it was slightly more polished, and luckily, They listened to similar complains, releasing later on Metal slug X a year later, a much less laggy and improved ''remixed'' version of Metal slug 2
In short, play metal slug X instead for the definitive experience, and only play MS2 out of the curiosity for the original game
1996
Honestly this game is just overall pretty fun for an arcade game, the visuals are pretty great, it has a gritty and dark but also endearing artstyle full of exagerations and the animation is gorgeously well done, it feels smooth and everything has so much character and personality
Metal Slug 1 lays the groundwork for the next games, it's probably the most simple of the series, it does nothing crazy or out of the ordinary like the rest, and for some it might be the reason why they prefer it, a simple military style shoot em up sidescroller that can be played for a good 30 or 40 minutes, in this game in particular there's not much variation on what you can do in the levels so the replayability of it drops in comparison, but as an experience it's pretty good
The controls are simple, but so, so much better than other arcade games (The simpsons arcade and some other beat em ups) that have only two buttons with no real depth, this one has the astonishing amount of 3 buttons, jump, shoot, and grenade, the thing is, the amount does not quite matter that much, but the controls are simply better as the variety in the combat is a lot higher, when you are close to an enemy you automatically stab them melee, when you are far away you can shoot in the direction of your analog stick, and you get a wide variety of weapons and vehicles throughout the level and exploration that is enough to keep the game feeling fresh in comparison to other games, it's enough to make an arcade game not feel like it's a cashgrab with no depth whatsoever.
Also all the metal slug music slaps, they had no reason to make it that good but it's really great
Metal Slug 1 lays the groundwork for the next games, it's probably the most simple of the series, it does nothing crazy or out of the ordinary like the rest, and for some it might be the reason why they prefer it, a simple military style shoot em up sidescroller that can be played for a good 30 or 40 minutes, in this game in particular there's not much variation on what you can do in the levels so the replayability of it drops in comparison, but as an experience it's pretty good
The controls are simple, but so, so much better than other arcade games (The simpsons arcade and some other beat em ups) that have only two buttons with no real depth, this one has the astonishing amount of 3 buttons, jump, shoot, and grenade, the thing is, the amount does not quite matter that much, but the controls are simply better as the variety in the combat is a lot higher, when you are close to an enemy you automatically stab them melee, when you are far away you can shoot in the direction of your analog stick, and you get a wide variety of weapons and vehicles throughout the level and exploration that is enough to keep the game feeling fresh in comparison to other games, it's enough to make an arcade game not feel like it's a cashgrab with no depth whatsoever.
Also all the metal slug music slaps, they had no reason to make it that good but it's really great
I've played this game through Mario all stars + Super Mario world, which was helpful for me since i like keeping my sanity
Replacing this game for the mario bros reskin of doki doki panic called mario bros 2 (US) was the best decision nintendo of america could have done
Super mario bros 2 (japan) or for us Super Mario bros Lost levels is literally the closest an official mario bros game will get to mario kaizo, which for those who don't know is a hack for mario games, mostly mario world, meant to be incredibly difficult and played by those who have absolutely mastered the movement and game mechanics and love to challenge themselves with pixel perfect movement and controls.
And that is exactly the audience this game is going for, which i can respect but i can also criticize.
i myself am not someone who enjoys these types of challenges, i do enjoy some of the hard content in other mario games like the extra world in super mario world
The difference for me is that the extra worlds are optional content for those who already played through the game enough, while in this game that's the entire game
This game is filled with level design that is meant to kill anyone who is not familiar with the levels themselves.
in short, similar to something like ''i wanna be the boy,'' or ''cat mario'' you learn things by dying over and over again until you figure out that there are invisible blocks that require your max height jump to get to while you have only 1 block of space to gather enough speed to do the jump, or sections full of hammerbros which to a normal player seem completely randomized and frustrating to get through
I can see why some people might enjoy it, but it's simply not for me, before playing it i thought, ''there's no way it's worse than mario bros 2 in the us, why would they not publish the game for being difficult? surely it isn't that bad''
turns out It's that bad.
Replacing this game for the mario bros reskin of doki doki panic called mario bros 2 (US) was the best decision nintendo of america could have done
Super mario bros 2 (japan) or for us Super Mario bros Lost levels is literally the closest an official mario bros game will get to mario kaizo, which for those who don't know is a hack for mario games, mostly mario world, meant to be incredibly difficult and played by those who have absolutely mastered the movement and game mechanics and love to challenge themselves with pixel perfect movement and controls.
And that is exactly the audience this game is going for, which i can respect but i can also criticize.
i myself am not someone who enjoys these types of challenges, i do enjoy some of the hard content in other mario games like the extra world in super mario world
The difference for me is that the extra worlds are optional content for those who already played through the game enough, while in this game that's the entire game
This game is filled with level design that is meant to kill anyone who is not familiar with the levels themselves.
in short, similar to something like ''i wanna be the boy,'' or ''cat mario'' you learn things by dying over and over again until you figure out that there are invisible blocks that require your max height jump to get to while you have only 1 block of space to gather enough speed to do the jump, or sections full of hammerbros which to a normal player seem completely randomized and frustrating to get through
I can see why some people might enjoy it, but it's simply not for me, before playing it i thought, ''there's no way it's worse than mario bros 2 in the us, why would they not publish the game for being difficult? surely it isn't that bad''
turns out It's that bad.
1988
This review contains spoilers
This game is currently arguably my favourite game from the original classic 2d mario games, I especially love the design of tiny mario here, it's wonderful and looks so goofy, it's my personal favourite mini mario, and i love being able to start levels with the tons of upgrades that i collected over time
Visually this game is also really damn great and almost impressive, considering it's in the same console as the first mario bros, the music is some of my favourite, and the levels themselves for the most part feel really great and enjoyable
I loved the addition of the map mechanics, the little card game with toad, picking up free items, being able to use them as you please before the stages begin and some exploration by using some of the items in the map, it feels fresh and like actually a lot of care went into it
All the additional powerups were great, frog, tanuki/raccoon whatever it is, and the P speed to go as fast as you can and jump really high, they all played really well with the core gameplay of the Mario itself
And lastly the art direction and creative ideas of the game is what i loved the most, the whole game being a huge play, from the curtains in the intro, to the hanging prompt blocks and leaving the stage at the end of every level
The first time i played the game i wasn't so sure of it, so the ending struck to me as odd, Peach just telling mario:
''Thank you, but our princess is in another castle!... Just kidding! Ha ha ha! Bye bye."
Had me dying from laughter, i thought it was a mistranslation because no way she was that rude to Mario if he just damn saved her, but now i also realize, that it was intended for exactly that, for the audience watching the play, for everyone to laugh at the reference and be surprised by the end of it
The entire game feels so full of a certain charm to me that is so unique of only this game in particular
The sad thing is that the bosses are almost all the same, though with some more variations in comparison to mario 2 at least, and some other levels feel unfairly difficult and feel like the game is completely against the player, some having the same kind of difficulty of figuring out what you even have to do that i felt in Super Mario Bros World 7-4
Overall this game is amazing and holds up incredibly well, it's a significant improvement over the first few games, and is definitely worthy of all the praise it received
Visually this game is also really damn great and almost impressive, considering it's in the same console as the first mario bros, the music is some of my favourite, and the levels themselves for the most part feel really great and enjoyable
I loved the addition of the map mechanics, the little card game with toad, picking up free items, being able to use them as you please before the stages begin and some exploration by using some of the items in the map, it feels fresh and like actually a lot of care went into it
All the additional powerups were great, frog, tanuki/raccoon whatever it is, and the P speed to go as fast as you can and jump really high, they all played really well with the core gameplay of the Mario itself
And lastly the art direction and creative ideas of the game is what i loved the most, the whole game being a huge play, from the curtains in the intro, to the hanging prompt blocks and leaving the stage at the end of every level
The first time i played the game i wasn't so sure of it, so the ending struck to me as odd, Peach just telling mario:
''Thank you, but our princess is in another castle!... Just kidding! Ha ha ha! Bye bye."
Had me dying from laughter, i thought it was a mistranslation because no way she was that rude to Mario if he just damn saved her, but now i also realize, that it was intended for exactly that, for the audience watching the play, for everyone to laugh at the reference and be surprised by the end of it
The entire game feels so full of a certain charm to me that is so unique of only this game in particular
The sad thing is that the bosses are almost all the same, though with some more variations in comparison to mario 2 at least, and some other levels feel unfairly difficult and feel like the game is completely against the player, some having the same kind of difficulty of figuring out what you even have to do that i felt in Super Mario Bros World 7-4
Overall this game is amazing and holds up incredibly well, it's a significant improvement over the first few games, and is definitely worthy of all the praise it received
1988
This review contains spoilers
Honestly this game is the weakest of the original Mario games, in comparison to any of the other games it's basically from a whole another game series, Because it is, this game is a reskin of a game called ''Doki Doki Panic'' from japan
For those who don't know, The original Super Mario bros 2 from Japan is actually Super Mario Bros Lost levels, Nintendo of America thought that the game was too hard and they reskinned Doki Doki Panic to look like a Mario game, slapped the Super Mario Bros 2 label on it and called it a day
Now the game isn't awful but it's not really Mario either, i like some things this game does very well but dislike many others
The good:
First, it looks better than mario 1, you can say that well yeah it's Mario 2, but Lost levels is Mario 2 and looks just like Mario 1 so props to this game for looking much nicer
I like the idea of being able to play as different characters
If it weren't for this game probably we wouldn't have gotten many memorable iconic characters and mechanics in the future, as an example Shy Guy, Birdo, picking up shells, going through doors, etc...
The music is actually great, catchy and fun to listen to as usual, some areas are locked to certain characters giving a nice amount of replayability for its' secrets,
There's a neat Mechanic of HP that is upgradeable through the levels, it's actually cool and i'd be interested to see what they could have done with this mechanic in other games
I liked that potion thing that made a door to another version of the world in the same place as you throw it, which by throwing in the right places you could get some HP ups and more
Picking up all the cherries spawns one of the classic stars, gives you some motivation to pick them up and it feels fun to collect all of the cherries and then zoom through the level
There's also crab boss, i think that's cool
Lastly the ending where it turns out everything was a dream was actually hilarious and a great explanation to why it was so different, found it funny and silly overall
The Bad:
The platforming feels alright but it's a step down from the original, you can't stomp on your enemies, you need to pick them up and throw them against another enemy or to their inevitable death
Some of the levels are annoying to get through or figure out, in some having to jump on top of birds to get you around endless voids as an example, or a really really terrible puzzle where you need to enter one of maaany pots while there are enemies coming out from some of them, and you have no way to tell which one you have to enter unless you check them out one by one
More than the rest of the games this one feels the most repetitive
Fighting Birdo a million times by throwing them their eggs back gets kinda boring, at least i was caught offguard by one time they threw fire instead, and there's like 2 or 3 more bosses that are slightly different versions of that but not much varies
Conclusion
There's a lot to like about the game tbh, and if it weren't labeled as a mainline mario game i think i'd be fine giving it a higher rating, But there are also so many things i simply didn't enjoy about it, 2.5/5 Is literally the best way to describe how it makes me feel, it's average as a game, though a very interesting history behind its' development
For those who don't know, The original Super Mario bros 2 from Japan is actually Super Mario Bros Lost levels, Nintendo of America thought that the game was too hard and they reskinned Doki Doki Panic to look like a Mario game, slapped the Super Mario Bros 2 label on it and called it a day
Now the game isn't awful but it's not really Mario either, i like some things this game does very well but dislike many others
The good:
First, it looks better than mario 1, you can say that well yeah it's Mario 2, but Lost levels is Mario 2 and looks just like Mario 1 so props to this game for looking much nicer
I like the idea of being able to play as different characters
If it weren't for this game probably we wouldn't have gotten many memorable iconic characters and mechanics in the future, as an example Shy Guy, Birdo, picking up shells, going through doors, etc...
The music is actually great, catchy and fun to listen to as usual, some areas are locked to certain characters giving a nice amount of replayability for its' secrets,
There's a neat Mechanic of HP that is upgradeable through the levels, it's actually cool and i'd be interested to see what they could have done with this mechanic in other games
I liked that potion thing that made a door to another version of the world in the same place as you throw it, which by throwing in the right places you could get some HP ups and more
Picking up all the cherries spawns one of the classic stars, gives you some motivation to pick them up and it feels fun to collect all of the cherries and then zoom through the level
There's also crab boss, i think that's cool
Lastly the ending where it turns out everything was a dream was actually hilarious and a great explanation to why it was so different, found it funny and silly overall
The Bad:
The platforming feels alright but it's a step down from the original, you can't stomp on your enemies, you need to pick them up and throw them against another enemy or to their inevitable death
Some of the levels are annoying to get through or figure out, in some having to jump on top of birds to get you around endless voids as an example, or a really really terrible puzzle where you need to enter one of maaany pots while there are enemies coming out from some of them, and you have no way to tell which one you have to enter unless you check them out one by one
More than the rest of the games this one feels the most repetitive
Fighting Birdo a million times by throwing them their eggs back gets kinda boring, at least i was caught offguard by one time they threw fire instead, and there's like 2 or 3 more bosses that are slightly different versions of that but not much varies
Conclusion
There's a lot to like about the game tbh, and if it weren't labeled as a mainline mario game i think i'd be fine giving it a higher rating, But there are also so many things i simply didn't enjoy about it, 2.5/5 Is literally the best way to describe how it makes me feel, it's average as a game, though a very interesting history behind its' development
2002
This review contains spoilers
You can be Monkey 👍🐒
Honestly this game is pretty fun for the hour that it lasts, but there is a miriad of problems with the game in restrospective for its' time
The good:
The characters and the game itself feel full of personality and classic simpsons type humor, i love the little references and the style, art direction, and ideas, i've had an actually fun time playing with my partner, the story is simple but effective enough for an arcade game
The Bad
The gameplay is too simple, 2 buttons, jump and attack, and although you can do a decent variety of attacks based on the movement of the joystick with this one button, most of the time you can just keep mashing it without thinking much of it, technically if you can time it well you can just jump attack through the entire game and beat everything
And even though the gameplay is simple, the difficulty is hard, this game loves to throw at you unavoidable and unexpected attacks, hordes of enemies that i'm sure are intended and attuned for 4 players, and every enemy you attack attacks just as fast as you without any choreography as to what they're about to do so you get out of the way, so every time you get close to an enemy they can instantly hit you and there's nothing you can do about it
Nowadays, with an emulator that does not matter really, but imagine this, this game costed us 25 Coins to beat (just pressing the coin button in the emulator), 25 (enter your currency) back in 1991 must have been worth way more, these arcade games were made to take as much money as they can and be so difficult so that players keep trying and feeding it coins, it's part of the gameplay design to do it so often yes, the difficulty and having to replay it technically balances how short the game is if you do finish it, but a design made to make as much money as possible and gameplay that is meant to be punishing without much of a reward isn't really it for me
playing this on an emulator, the game is really fun, lovely to look at, it's fun to laugh at with other players and just have a nice time, but i'd not want to play this on an actual arcade, and as a game meant for it, i'd highly recommend against it
The good:
The characters and the game itself feel full of personality and classic simpsons type humor, i love the little references and the style, art direction, and ideas, i've had an actually fun time playing with my partner, the story is simple but effective enough for an arcade game
The Bad
The gameplay is too simple, 2 buttons, jump and attack, and although you can do a decent variety of attacks based on the movement of the joystick with this one button, most of the time you can just keep mashing it without thinking much of it, technically if you can time it well you can just jump attack through the entire game and beat everything
And even though the gameplay is simple, the difficulty is hard, this game loves to throw at you unavoidable and unexpected attacks, hordes of enemies that i'm sure are intended and attuned for 4 players, and every enemy you attack attacks just as fast as you without any choreography as to what they're about to do so you get out of the way, so every time you get close to an enemy they can instantly hit you and there's nothing you can do about it
Nowadays, with an emulator that does not matter really, but imagine this, this game costed us 25 Coins to beat (just pressing the coin button in the emulator), 25 (enter your currency) back in 1991 must have been worth way more, these arcade games were made to take as much money as they can and be so difficult so that players keep trying and feeding it coins, it's part of the gameplay design to do it so often yes, the difficulty and having to replay it technically balances how short the game is if you do finish it, but a design made to make as much money as possible and gameplay that is meant to be punishing without much of a reward isn't really it for me
playing this on an emulator, the game is really fun, lovely to look at, it's fun to laugh at with other players and just have a nice time, but i'd not want to play this on an actual arcade, and as a game meant for it, i'd highly recommend against it
First of all, this review is based off of the ps1 release of the game, since it is the one i played, even though it is considered the worst out there
This game is a really great platformer honestly, it's highlight is definitely again that, the platforming feels awesome, i love how precise and clean the controls feel, simply walking and jumping around makes me happy and that's all it needs to do honestly
The songs are pretty good too, a few of them i'd even consider listening outside of the game to be reminded of it just cause they were pretty nice tunes, but nothing in the level of undertale or something like that,
Now i like how goofy the voices sound in the other versions, but honestly, i liked playing the voice acted ps1 version, it's genuinely cool and engaging to hear them talking, sometimes even pretty funny on the delivery of some lines in my opinion.
And related, the story, it's nothing out of this world but it's a pretty decent story that drives the gameplay forwards, which is more than enough tbh, the gameplay is the main dish and the story a side dish, that's how i'd see it, yet some characters and interactions are genuinely funny and memorable (i really love the lil' guys deciding who gets to be king for 3 seconds lmao)
And in terms of visuals, the models look pretty great actually, for its' time, it's actually damn good, looks neat, sounds good, plays good, the style it has has a unique charm to it and i love that about it
The only critique to the gameplay i have directly is the combat (when against the more simple enemies), you can mostly strafe to the sides and spam your shots and will most of the time just kill anything, so you don't have to worry about getting hit that much, while the enemy stands still taking the hits as you're locked on to it
Now later on in the game there are some enemies that make it more engaging, teleporting around and trying to hit you melee, this makes for a much more movement heavy battle that in my opinion feels great
Bossfights are mostly gimmicky but they're different and pretty fun so props to that
The problem is that most of the later levels also become full of gimmicks, there are i believe 2 levels in which you obtain the ability to fully fly freely, but the next level, you somehow lose that ability without any mention of it, and other levels in which 80% of the time is spent riding on a rocket trying not to crash
Lastly the final bossfight is butchered in the ps1 version, which is sad, i wish i could have played the ps2 version instead, since it keeps the ps1 voice acting but it contains changes from the other versions, i will someday replay this game and if the version is a major improvement, rate it 4/5
In the end, make sure you choose the right version of this game, since it has so many releases, carefully pick one, don't just download the first one like i did
This game is a really great platformer honestly, it's highlight is definitely again that, the platforming feels awesome, i love how precise and clean the controls feel, simply walking and jumping around makes me happy and that's all it needs to do honestly
The songs are pretty good too, a few of them i'd even consider listening outside of the game to be reminded of it just cause they were pretty nice tunes, but nothing in the level of undertale or something like that,
Now i like how goofy the voices sound in the other versions, but honestly, i liked playing the voice acted ps1 version, it's genuinely cool and engaging to hear them talking, sometimes even pretty funny on the delivery of some lines in my opinion.
And related, the story, it's nothing out of this world but it's a pretty decent story that drives the gameplay forwards, which is more than enough tbh, the gameplay is the main dish and the story a side dish, that's how i'd see it, yet some characters and interactions are genuinely funny and memorable (i really love the lil' guys deciding who gets to be king for 3 seconds lmao)
And in terms of visuals, the models look pretty great actually, for its' time, it's actually damn good, looks neat, sounds good, plays good, the style it has has a unique charm to it and i love that about it
The only critique to the gameplay i have directly is the combat (when against the more simple enemies), you can mostly strafe to the sides and spam your shots and will most of the time just kill anything, so you don't have to worry about getting hit that much, while the enemy stands still taking the hits as you're locked on to it
Now later on in the game there are some enemies that make it more engaging, teleporting around and trying to hit you melee, this makes for a much more movement heavy battle that in my opinion feels great
Bossfights are mostly gimmicky but they're different and pretty fun so props to that
The problem is that most of the later levels also become full of gimmicks, there are i believe 2 levels in which you obtain the ability to fully fly freely, but the next level, you somehow lose that ability without any mention of it, and other levels in which 80% of the time is spent riding on a rocket trying not to crash
Lastly the final bossfight is butchered in the ps1 version, which is sad, i wish i could have played the ps2 version instead, since it keeps the ps1 voice acting but it contains changes from the other versions, i will someday replay this game and if the version is a major improvement, rate it 4/5
In the end, make sure you choose the right version of this game, since it has so many releases, carefully pick one, don't just download the first one like i did
Sly Cooper and the Thievius Raccoonus is honestly, just a pretty good ps2 platformer game
The characters have a lot of charm to them, moreso do Sly and Carmelita Fox, since they are the protagonist and, one could say rival/antagonist of the game
The premise is simple and so is the gameplay, which is not really a bad thing but i feel like it could be explored upon some more
Sly's story is about recovering his family treasure from some criminal masterminds all the while trying to not be caught by officer Carmelita Fox, which works well for the game and sets a nice tone to it, and even though i wish it did more than what it does, i feel like it has to be this way to make it a great foundation for the next games in the series
The gameplay is supposedly more than anything stealth, what i enjoyed a lot is that, unlocking secrets and obtaining the vaults in the levels gives you new abilities so it encourages you to not miss any, thus making you explore some more and watch out for collectibles.
The sad thing is that asides from two or maybe three abilities you're not really very often in a spot where you feel like you should use your abilities and be stealthy, rather than simply walk up to the enemies and bonk them in the head with your cane before they can shoot at you.
I think the voice acting is really nice, Sly's voice is smooth, like, really smooth, which is a great thing for his fun back and forth smug conversations with other characters, personally i think it's just worth pointing out
the music is pretty good and fitting, but probably not something you'd listen to outside of while playing the game, so nothing out of this world
Visuals are pretty great tho, i love the outlined cartoony characters and comic book style cutscenes
I hope that the other games in the series improve upon it, so far it works just well to set the character and its world, but it's far from a masterpiece, would recommend it if interested in getting into the series and being presented with everyone's backstories
The characters have a lot of charm to them, moreso do Sly and Carmelita Fox, since they are the protagonist and, one could say rival/antagonist of the game
The premise is simple and so is the gameplay, which is not really a bad thing but i feel like it could be explored upon some more
Sly's story is about recovering his family treasure from some criminal masterminds all the while trying to not be caught by officer Carmelita Fox, which works well for the game and sets a nice tone to it, and even though i wish it did more than what it does, i feel like it has to be this way to make it a great foundation for the next games in the series
The gameplay is supposedly more than anything stealth, what i enjoyed a lot is that, unlocking secrets and obtaining the vaults in the levels gives you new abilities so it encourages you to not miss any, thus making you explore some more and watch out for collectibles.
The sad thing is that asides from two or maybe three abilities you're not really very often in a spot where you feel like you should use your abilities and be stealthy, rather than simply walk up to the enemies and bonk them in the head with your cane before they can shoot at you.
I think the voice acting is really nice, Sly's voice is smooth, like, really smooth, which is a great thing for his fun back and forth smug conversations with other characters, personally i think it's just worth pointing out
the music is pretty good and fitting, but probably not something you'd listen to outside of while playing the game, so nothing out of this world
Visuals are pretty great tho, i love the outlined cartoony characters and comic book style cutscenes
I hope that the other games in the series improve upon it, so far it works just well to set the character and its world, but it's far from a masterpiece, would recommend it if interested in getting into the series and being presented with everyone's backstories
I have finished it just recently and it has quickly become one of my favourite games ever made, the wide variety of characters and their strong personalities makes for a really memorable cast and it honestly leaves a nice impression even of the characters that have less screen time
These characters are lovable enough that it's easy to get attached to them, which is actually not something you want in your murder game but makes for a really immersive feeling whenever a murder happens, i genuinely miss some of the characters and at some points it got me kind of emotional
The story is genuinely thrilling and it keeps you thinking while you play, coming up with theories and trying to figure it out is some of the most fun i've had in a story driven game
Voice acting is great, music is wonderful, visuals are good enough for an originally PSP game and the gameplay of the trials is actually pretty engaging
the only downside is whenever you have to walk around the entire school to find some people towards the endgame and looking for specific people to talk to during free time
While most of the game was really damn good and engaging, the ending chapter and explanation to everything was just so good in my opinion that it made me absolutely love the game, even more than i already did
If you are someone who enjoys detective or crime solving stories, this game is a must play with no doubt about it
These characters are lovable enough that it's easy to get attached to them, which is actually not something you want in your murder game but makes for a really immersive feeling whenever a murder happens, i genuinely miss some of the characters and at some points it got me kind of emotional
The story is genuinely thrilling and it keeps you thinking while you play, coming up with theories and trying to figure it out is some of the most fun i've had in a story driven game
Voice acting is great, music is wonderful, visuals are good enough for an originally PSP game and the gameplay of the trials is actually pretty engaging
the only downside is whenever you have to walk around the entire school to find some people towards the endgame and looking for specific people to talk to during free time
While most of the game was really damn good and engaging, the ending chapter and explanation to everything was just so good in my opinion that it made me absolutely love the game, even more than i already did
If you are someone who enjoys detective or crime solving stories, this game is a must play with no doubt about it
2018
Honestly, this game is the kind of game i'd consider more of an experience, in terms of art style, direction and music it's a 10/10, absolutely gorgeous visuals and music paired with the really emotional and somehow personal story makes for a one of a kind experience playing.
I have played Gris probably 3 times, it's one of those games that you should absolutely play if you're feeling down or in a bad moment through your life, it's relaxing and calming and there's a lot about overcoming sorrow and bringing the colors back to life, but nothing stops you from enjoying it thoroughly if you're already doing well, perhaps makes you appreciate the little things
The game has no voicelines, The protagonist sings a little sometimes, but asides from that it's a story purely told visually, and that just makes it so much more beautiful in my opinion, regardless of the language one speaks, everyone can experience the same and enjoy it the way it is intended
More concretely, the controls are simple enough that my mother still played and loved it although she doesn't play videogames ever, the level design is quite linear which helps with the feeling of a sit back and enjoy the ride kind of game, but for those interested there are some collectible side things that you can do that just make it all the more interesting, it's a relatively short game, lasting around 3 or 4 hours, but the sheer art of it compensates the lenght and, in my opinion it's a game that everyone should play at least once
I have played Gris probably 3 times, it's one of those games that you should absolutely play if you're feeling down or in a bad moment through your life, it's relaxing and calming and there's a lot about overcoming sorrow and bringing the colors back to life, but nothing stops you from enjoying it thoroughly if you're already doing well, perhaps makes you appreciate the little things
The game has no voicelines, The protagonist sings a little sometimes, but asides from that it's a story purely told visually, and that just makes it so much more beautiful in my opinion, regardless of the language one speaks, everyone can experience the same and enjoy it the way it is intended
More concretely, the controls are simple enough that my mother still played and loved it although she doesn't play videogames ever, the level design is quite linear which helps with the feeling of a sit back and enjoy the ride kind of game, but for those interested there are some collectible side things that you can do that just make it all the more interesting, it's a relatively short game, lasting around 3 or 4 hours, but the sheer art of it compensates the lenght and, in my opinion it's a game that everyone should play at least once
1998
The charming and funny story of Sir Daniel Fortesque and the interesting action combat gameplay with a wide variety of weapons make for a really enjoyable experience playing this game.
Now the action combat is not the best it could be, it's still ps1 so it is clunky to a degree, but it's still enjoyable enough to the point in which one gets used to it and embraces it.
Asides from the great charming visuals and to a degree the comedy, i believe a strong point of this game is how it encourages people to 100% it, by obtaining chalices you get better and more weapons to use, and you obtain these chalices by defeating a certain amount of enemies in the level, which of course you can do better if you have better weapons. This point stuck out to me the moment i got my first upgrade and made it a goal to fully complete the game
Asides from the main game there are some side quests that give you pretty good rewards for finishing them and figuring it out, so i feel like the system of rewards is incredibly satisfying
The Ost is actually pretty good, it's not something you'd listen to after you finish the game but it adds to the athmosphere and feel of the game for a better experience
The voice acting is kind of iffy sometimes but hilarious in the tone and context of the game
Overall great game, would definitely recommend to play it, regardless of its' time
Now the action combat is not the best it could be, it's still ps1 so it is clunky to a degree, but it's still enjoyable enough to the point in which one gets used to it and embraces it.
Asides from the great charming visuals and to a degree the comedy, i believe a strong point of this game is how it encourages people to 100% it, by obtaining chalices you get better and more weapons to use, and you obtain these chalices by defeating a certain amount of enemies in the level, which of course you can do better if you have better weapons. This point stuck out to me the moment i got my first upgrade and made it a goal to fully complete the game
Asides from the main game there are some side quests that give you pretty good rewards for finishing them and figuring it out, so i feel like the system of rewards is incredibly satisfying
The Ost is actually pretty good, it's not something you'd listen to after you finish the game but it adds to the athmosphere and feel of the game for a better experience
The voice acting is kind of iffy sometimes but hilarious in the tone and context of the game
Overall great game, would definitely recommend to play it, regardless of its' time
1985
Being the origin of the biggest videogame franchises in the world, The original super mario bros from 1985 still holds up suprisingly well even in modern times, asides from the impact it has had in the video game industry, the controls are smooth and actually very precise and maneurable, which in my opinion is the best thing about the game, albeit paired with the classic charming songs and pretty visuals for the time, even though there are six music tracks in the whole game they're all so good you don't get tired of them really
The only thing that does not, however, hold up nowadays, is having a full reset on game over, while i get that there lies most of the replay value, by the time you can finish the game's final level you probably speedran through world 1-1 countless times, and mastering the first few worlds that you go through, which, admitedly, sometimes feels pretty good, it's definitely slow and tedious to get back to where you were, making you feel kind of bad for dying if you do so on early levels, at least in my case that was, took me roughly 5 hours to beat, pretty good game, amazing for its' time but simply a cool retro game nowadays with lots of charm and history
(also warning world 7-4 is the worst how was anyone supposed to figure that loop out, if you're stuck just look it up on youtube)
The only thing that does not, however, hold up nowadays, is having a full reset on game over, while i get that there lies most of the replay value, by the time you can finish the game's final level you probably speedran through world 1-1 countless times, and mastering the first few worlds that you go through, which, admitedly, sometimes feels pretty good, it's definitely slow and tedious to get back to where you were, making you feel kind of bad for dying if you do so on early levels, at least in my case that was, took me roughly 5 hours to beat, pretty good game, amazing for its' time but simply a cool retro game nowadays with lots of charm and history
(also warning world 7-4 is the worst how was anyone supposed to figure that loop out, if you're stuck just look it up on youtube)