I think the high esteem this game is held in, maybe raised my expectations a bit too much, but this is a fun time. Maybe if I'd played this before the advance games I'd have enjoyed it more? It does seem like a lot of this is recycled in those games. Not just the game play, but everything from the areas to the bosses were very similar if not the same.

I liked the music, some of it was really good, I could've just left that particular screen on and chilled out. The voice acting is pretty notorious I suppose. What is a man etc... Pretty standard for the time I suppose.

Certainly one of my favourite types of game to play through in recent years. Not sure why I've left this one so long though, considering I've had it for ages.

I can't quite put my finger on what it is, but there's something equally appealing and repellent about this. It's got the foundations of a great collectathon platformer. Clearly it's a spiritual follow up to Banjo Kazooie, and a lot of it what made those games fun to play is present, but I find myself hitting a wall after about an hour.

I've played this on and off several times over the last 12 months or so, with my immediate thoughts being that it's quite fun and I'm having a good time, but it's not long before I get fed up and I really have to fight the urge to turn it off.

It could be the ridiculous amount of tasks and things to do. Or the abilities locked behind Trowser snakes annoying conversations. Or that some parts of the gameplay feel slow and meandering. And some platforming areas being really fiddly and if you mess up a run you have to go back to the start. Or it could be that I'm not as into these types of games anymore (and if that's the case, why did you enjoy Tinykin so much?).

It definitely isn't the lovely visuals. Bright and colourful for the most part and everything looks great. And I do enjoy playing a lot of the sections. Maybe it's the way the game is structured. Lots of little annoyances accumulating into a big one.

I've tried, I wanted to stick with it. But maybe I should just play Banjo Kazooie again?

One of those games that I've been meaning to get round to for years. The game being 89p on the Switch eshop certainly convinced me to go for it.

A really nice little time waster this one. Just keep digging for jewels and to see where you end up. The upgrades can't come soon enough, as getting that double jump and negating fall damage were a god send, and made the game as fun as it was.

It took me 5 hours to complete. That's 5 hours of digging, jumping and blowing shit up, in a really fun and fairly laid back manner. Some of the baddies can be a pain in the arse, and all the laser cannons near the bottom were a ball ache, but otherwise, it was just a lot of fun digging.

I'm probably gonna have to pick up the sequel now, as I had a very good time with this. A perfect length, too. It being inexpensive, and the great gameplay make this an excellent value game, that I honestly wish I'd played sooner. But I've played it now and I'm pretty thrilled how far that 89p got me.

A tough, but fun action platformer. A lot of the time playing through this, I was just having a great time. Some of the levels are driven by some cracking music. Couple that with some fun hack and slash action, and I had a really good time.

I struggled with the first boss for a wee while, but when it clicked, it was pretty much full steam ahead. When you figure out each one, it soon becomes pretty straight forward, and you just have to stick to the pattern. The levels can be quite hit and miss, especially towards the end, but I enjoyed the boss fights and music enough for me to get a lot out of this.

However, playing this on Evercade (on the Renovation Products cart, it's really good), means that I had save states at my disposal. I did use them sparingly though. Save scumming my way through each section would've taken the fun our of it.

I'm quite keen to check out the second game, however I may have to get that on Switch as the only other Valis on the cart is III (also the Megadrive version). Though I do have Valis IV on the snes switch app so I'm gonna go back to that if and when I beat Valis III.

An enjoyable action platformer, with some neat little cut scenes, and a really fun score. Lots to enjoy.

This starts off great. A nice little action rpg that feels like it blends Dark Souls and Zelda, having quite a chill atmosphere. The expansion of your little base camp is nice to watch as it grows every time you have someone back, or progress the game. It's really good seeing how things improve.

But then I hit a wall after a few hours. It started to feel like a real slog and a grind. With a dungeon that seems endless, and there's no spawn point/shrines or whatever, and it's fucking infuriating if you get killed in a cheap way, like getting knocked off a narrow platform, then having to go all the way to the beginning again. Nah, get fucked. At least Dark Souls had bonfires on runs that long.

Otherwise, it's a really nice game to play, and I enjoyed exploring the world with my pal, and kicking in bad guys, rescuing folk, expanding the base. All good things, let down by a crappy big dungeon that I can't beat.

And then I started playing a better, and I was done with this for the time being.

After reading the Retro Gamer Super Metroid 30th anniversary feature, funnily enough, I fancied playing it. And play it I did. Absolutely soaked in unsettling atmosphere, and some great action platforming, it's a game that is not only brilliant in its own right, but actually made better by sequels like Prime and Dread.

I did have a few moments where I found it to be a little laborious. Some of the backtracking was a chore, and the wall jump and space jump were inconsistent, but I can overlook those as minor gripes in a game that I had a lot of fun with.

I don't really need to go over what's been said a zillion times already. Game good.

I played through this when it was added to NSO last year and I was a little underwhelmed. Clearly 2023 me was on something. This is a cracking wee Metroid, perfectly formed for the system it was made for. Imagine any other wee 2D handheld game absolutely dripping with this kind of atmosphere and dread. And it looks great. Playing handheld on Switch looks great (not so good playing docked, but it's still lovely), and really is the best way to experience the NSO handheld library.

I really appreciated this time around, how suited it is as a GBA Metroid. Not too long that you've got to commit hours on end staring at that tiny screen, and there's still plenty there to keep the spirit of Super Metroid going. And I don't know how I never noticed how much Metroid Dread takes from this one in terms of overall tone and sound.

These games are flipping great, and we really need Zero Mission adding to the GBA library now. And the other Prime games should be on Switch, too. Not that I don't have the Trilogy on Wii and 2 on Gamecube, but that's beside the point! 😅

Back on point, I don't think I'd have stuck with this if I had it back in the day. The Nightmare boss made me break my self imposed no save state rule, the annoying bastard, and I did find myself turning the air blue a couple of times, but overall, this is some top Metroid, and perfect for an hour or so here and there.

I decided to play Prime, again. Only I thought I'd try hard mode, as I did the same on my 2nd Dread playthrough and I had a great time. Of course they are the same thing...

It was pretty much business as usual until I got to the Phazon Mines. That soon started to give me a kicking. But once I picked up the plasma beam, it felt like I was in god mode. And then I got to Ridley. Spent the last 3 days basically doing 2 (3 if you count the 2 stages of Metroid Prime, the boss, not the game itself) bosses. Ridley took more attempts than the final boss, but it was just a case of repetition and grinding it out. If you get complacent or greedy, you get punished for it. Safe to say I did both several times. What, am I supposed to learn from my mistakes?

But it was a rewarding playthrough, and finishing it felt great. I was in two minds just to fuck it off, but I'd come this far, and surely to give up at the last boss would be pathetic. So I soldiered on. Overran on my lunch break, but it was worth it.

This might have overtaken Dread as my favourite Metroid.

Thus ends my wee run of Metroid playthroughs. Had a great time, once again. The thrill of exploring in this is fantastic. I left it long enough from my previous run that I couldn't quite remember half of what was coming, so that was pretty cool. Unless it's my age, in which case, uh oh!

Like Prime, I decided to run this one through in hard mode, and I have to say I did struggle at some points, which is a different story to last time, where I breezed through it, but that was coming straight off my original completion back at release. It was just as rewarding, however, and by the time I got to the final boss, I was fine with taking as many attempts as necessary to get there. I couldn't be arsed with 100% completion however and I managed to do it in a few minutes shy of 10 hours.

A very good game, that I have enjoyed coming back to at least 3 times now. And I doubt it'll be the last.

Trying and trying to get better. I manage to stay completely the same for the majority of my attempts. Slight adjustment in the way I use breaks and drifts etc, but the best I fiiiiiiiiiiiiiii-nish, is always 5th. Part of me wants to knock the difficulty down, just to get that 1st place, but when it's this fun, do you even need to?

I even tried playing in manual transmission and still had the same results; a great time. I decided to watch the replay after several attempts at coming 5th, and I could have happily sat there for a while listening to the music.

I might try it in 3 lap mode next time, see how badly that goes.

I wish I had more Saturn games, but this is by far and away, my favourite so far.

I was quite keen to give this one a go. As mid 90s as they come. Digitised sprites. The future! The first level was alright. Immediately disappointing when you compare it to the previous Shinobi games, but I was compelled to keep going.

Come level 3, despite the amusing FMV cut scenes and daft time capsule of a game, it's not very good and I didn't really want to keep playing. The big dinosaur was quite amusing. The more fantastical the game gets, the sillier it becomes.

But there's a reason this is pretty much forgotten. Fun as a curiosity, but nothing more.