CorneliusCob224
1986
I don't really recommend this game if you're starting out/getting interested into the Metroid series. Metroid on the NES isn't a very good game due to the fact that the controls are very clunky and the game has slowdowns on NES hardware. You don't have complete diagonal aiming, so enemies are sometimes difficult to hit, plus I had a much easier time cheating at the game by shooting with turbo rather than genuinely playing with patience.
I don't know if there's any difference playing this version vs. the famicom version, but I really don't care to find out considering how awful of a time I've had with this one.
I've played a little bit of Zero Mission but never formally finished it, so I can easily recommend starting with that if you're interested within the series, or even starting with Super Metroid.
I don't know if there's any difference playing this version vs. the famicom version, but I really don't care to find out considering how awful of a time I've had with this one.
I've played a little bit of Zero Mission but never formally finished it, so I can easily recommend starting with that if you're interested within the series, or even starting with Super Metroid.
1988
SUPER MARIOTHON #3
Played on Nintendo Switch Online emulator
HOLY PEAK!!! You wanna talk about THE Mario game to play, you play Super Mario Bros 3. It deserves all of the credit it gets and then some! Here's my thoughts on it.
What I liked: THE MOVEMENT FEELS SO GOOD!!! Mario Bros 1 & The Lost Levels have very fluid movement, 2 got kinda weird with the movement, but 3 is where they went back to form and improved on the movement. The most important thing about this game is that it uses the NES hardware so well you can GO BACKWARDS!!! Yes, that is a feature in Mario 2, BUT WE'RE RETURNING TO FORM BABY IT'S MARIO AND IT'S REVOLUTIONIZED.
I'm not sure if I talked about the power-ups in the previous reviews, but here's my thoughts: ALL OF THE POWER UPS IN THIS GAME ARE FANTASTIC!! The Super Leaf, Tanooki Suit, Frog Suit, Super Mushroom, all of it is fantastic. You can play through any part of the game with any power-up, and you can still beat it!! The game's style is incredibly open to anything.
What I dislike: It's hard to find dislikes to this game, the game is crafted well on NES hardware and all of the problems I've had were due to skill issues and my overall impatience. The only dislikes that I have were all either from the emulator or the limitations of the hardware. If I played this on the GBA Virtual Console or not on NSW online I likely would've had a better experience. This isn't to discredit Nintendo because they did a fantastic job squeezing every bit out of that hardware.
Other: When I was a kid I always thought Super Mario Bros 3 was a really good game. Playing it now I knew what was up and I knew I was correct; you wanna talk about a Mario game?!?!?! YOU PLAY MARIO BROS 3.
Played on Nintendo Switch Online emulator
HOLY PEAK!!! You wanna talk about THE Mario game to play, you play Super Mario Bros 3. It deserves all of the credit it gets and then some! Here's my thoughts on it.
What I liked: THE MOVEMENT FEELS SO GOOD!!! Mario Bros 1 & The Lost Levels have very fluid movement, 2 got kinda weird with the movement, but 3 is where they went back to form and improved on the movement. The most important thing about this game is that it uses the NES hardware so well you can GO BACKWARDS!!! Yes, that is a feature in Mario 2, BUT WE'RE RETURNING TO FORM BABY IT'S MARIO AND IT'S REVOLUTIONIZED.
I'm not sure if I talked about the power-ups in the previous reviews, but here's my thoughts: ALL OF THE POWER UPS IN THIS GAME ARE FANTASTIC!! The Super Leaf, Tanooki Suit, Frog Suit, Super Mushroom, all of it is fantastic. You can play through any part of the game with any power-up, and you can still beat it!! The game's style is incredibly open to anything.
What I dislike: It's hard to find dislikes to this game, the game is crafted well on NES hardware and all of the problems I've had were due to skill issues and my overall impatience. The only dislikes that I have were all either from the emulator or the limitations of the hardware. If I played this on the GBA Virtual Console or not on NSW online I likely would've had a better experience. This isn't to discredit Nintendo because they did a fantastic job squeezing every bit out of that hardware.
Other: When I was a kid I always thought Super Mario Bros 3 was a really good game. Playing it now I knew what was up and I knew I was correct; you wanna talk about a Mario game?!?!?! YOU PLAY MARIO BROS 3.
1988
SUPER MARIOTHON 2
Super Mario Bros 2 is the black sheep to the NES trilogy. It's an experimental game with a bit of a weird history, as it didn't start as a Mario game and was originally a different game called "Doki-Doki Panic" with much to appreciate about it. Although the style is very fun and we get the introduction of Shy Guy and the theme about dreams, the game has a lot of flaws that stem from it not being a Mario game.
What I like: Super Mario Bros 2 pioneers Toad and Peach as playable characters, and also Luigi as a primary character you could play as. The movement of the characters varying depending on your play-style is a nice part of the game; if you take it more slow then there's Toadstool, if you like speed there's Toad, etc. The game is also fantastic stylistically, which feels wrong to say considering this is more of an official Mario romhack.
What I don't like: The enemies can be frustrating, it's hard to determine the timings in order to beat them. I really missed the traditional Mario power-ups like the fire flower and the ability to just jump on enemies. Birdo was also a frustrating boss to fight because of how quick her eggs are shot at the player, and also the occasional fireball.
Other: Unlike SMB1 and SMB2: TLL, I never had a connection to this game when I was a kid. It's forgotten about and it's just kinda there. I was able to beat all the Mario games so far in one day, but this was just really frustrating as it removed the features that made the games iconic and enjoyable. Maybe I just don't understand it and would need to come back, as that happens with a lot of art I enjoy. I don't feel a need to replay this, but I'm willing to come back to it at a later point that isn't a Mariothon.
Super Mario Bros 2 is the black sheep to the NES trilogy. It's an experimental game with a bit of a weird history, as it didn't start as a Mario game and was originally a different game called "Doki-Doki Panic" with much to appreciate about it. Although the style is very fun and we get the introduction of Shy Guy and the theme about dreams, the game has a lot of flaws that stem from it not being a Mario game.
What I like: Super Mario Bros 2 pioneers Toad and Peach as playable characters, and also Luigi as a primary character you could play as. The movement of the characters varying depending on your play-style is a nice part of the game; if you take it more slow then there's Toadstool, if you like speed there's Toad, etc. The game is also fantastic stylistically, which feels wrong to say considering this is more of an official Mario romhack.
What I don't like: The enemies can be frustrating, it's hard to determine the timings in order to beat them. I really missed the traditional Mario power-ups like the fire flower and the ability to just jump on enemies. Birdo was also a frustrating boss to fight because of how quick her eggs are shot at the player, and also the occasional fireball.
Other: Unlike SMB1 and SMB2: TLL, I never had a connection to this game when I was a kid. It's forgotten about and it's just kinda there. I was able to beat all the Mario games so far in one day, but this was just really frustrating as it removed the features that made the games iconic and enjoyable. Maybe I just don't understand it and would need to come back, as that happens with a lot of art I enjoy. I don't feel a need to replay this, but I'm willing to come back to it at a later point that isn't a Mariothon.
SUPER MARIOTHON #1.5
Played on Nintendo Switch Online Emulator*
Holy Cannoli kids!, I'm Brandon, and I'm telling ya, if you play Super Mario Bros: The Lost Levels without save states or rewinds, you're gonna turn into a goomba!
Joking aside. There's a lot I liked about this game and could actually appreciate without feeling the need to eat my controller. If I was a Japanese child in 1986, I don't know how I would've beaten this came without throwing my console out the window. Luckily I live in the era where we have emulators with save states and rewind, so let's drink to that and as I highlight the pros and cons of this video game!
What I like: In my original Super Mario Bros review, I said that I liked the game due to the progression of creative level design, and this is the game where you take those designs and you really gotta master them. It's a fascinating game to experience and play. Other than that, it's just the classic Mario formula.
What I dislike: The game... is really hard. Like, ridiculously hard. I had to do a LOT of guide searching, and was astonished at the creation in front of me. It's difficult and punishing as you progressed, but I really think Howard Phillips said it best “As I continued to play, I found that Super Mario Bros. 2 asked me again and again to take a leap of faith and that each of those leaps resulted in my immediate death. This was not a fun game to play. It was punishment. Undeserved punishment. I put down my controller astonished that Mr. Miyamoto has chosen to design such a painful game.” (Irwin). The level designs are fun, but the way some of the levels are used in practicality can be very annoying. It's difficult to maintain a mushroom (god forbid you eat one of the poison ones), the game is too reliant on the red piranha plant where moving through pipes is frustrating, and you don't get to use Super Mario or Fire Mario like you could in the original.
Other: When I was a little kid and learned about this game, I kinda scoffed at the idea that a game wouldn't be brought to the states because of it being "Too Difficult", but nowadays I completely understand why. It sucks all of the fun and joy out of you to where it would be easier to constantly cheat so you don't get bored. I am going to put this as 1.5 on the mariothon because of the fact that this feels more of an official Kaizo romhack than a dedicated game.
Works Cited:
Irwin, Jon. Super Mario Bros. 2. Boss Fight Books, 2014.
Played on Nintendo Switch Online Emulator*
Holy Cannoli kids!, I'm Brandon, and I'm telling ya, if you play Super Mario Bros: The Lost Levels without save states or rewinds, you're gonna turn into a goomba!
Joking aside. There's a lot I liked about this game and could actually appreciate without feeling the need to eat my controller. If I was a Japanese child in 1986, I don't know how I would've beaten this came without throwing my console out the window. Luckily I live in the era where we have emulators with save states and rewind, so let's drink to that and as I highlight the pros and cons of this video game!
What I like: In my original Super Mario Bros review, I said that I liked the game due to the progression of creative level design, and this is the game where you take those designs and you really gotta master them. It's a fascinating game to experience and play. Other than that, it's just the classic Mario formula.
What I dislike: The game... is really hard. Like, ridiculously hard. I had to do a LOT of guide searching, and was astonished at the creation in front of me. It's difficult and punishing as you progressed, but I really think Howard Phillips said it best “As I continued to play, I found that Super Mario Bros. 2 asked me again and again to take a leap of faith and that each of those leaps resulted in my immediate death. This was not a fun game to play. It was punishment. Undeserved punishment. I put down my controller astonished that Mr. Miyamoto has chosen to design such a painful game.” (Irwin). The level designs are fun, but the way some of the levels are used in practicality can be very annoying. It's difficult to maintain a mushroom (god forbid you eat one of the poison ones), the game is too reliant on the red piranha plant where moving through pipes is frustrating, and you don't get to use Super Mario or Fire Mario like you could in the original.
Other: When I was a little kid and learned about this game, I kinda scoffed at the idea that a game wouldn't be brought to the states because of it being "Too Difficult", but nowadays I completely understand why. It sucks all of the fun and joy out of you to where it would be easier to constantly cheat so you don't get bored. I am going to put this as 1.5 on the mariothon because of the fact that this feels more of an official Kaizo romhack than a dedicated game.
Works Cited:
Irwin, Jon. Super Mario Bros. 2. Boss Fight Books, 2014.
1985
SUPER MARIOTHON #1
Played on Nintendo Switch Online Emulator
What a pivotal point in gaming! Super Mario Bros is the iconic platformer. If you're somehow new to the series, this is an incredibly easy game to just pick up and instantly start playing!
What I like: The level designs in this is superb! The physics and hitboxes are incredibly easy to learn, and you can do some pretty neat tricks in order to beat your levels. The level design gradually transitions from an easy hands-on simplistic nature to some extreme bounds of creativity that leave you pondering and yearning for more! The music is very repetitive, but it doesn't ever really get old. Unfortunately the death theme is still ingrained in my head from when I was a little kid and didn't understand the game too well at the time. In spite of that, It's a wonderful classic, and it's one-of-a-kind.
What I dislike: My only big gripe with this game has to be that it contains some of the headache that old famicom games had in the 1980s. Repeating levels with no clear distinction made me had to pull up a level guide on YouTube a couple of times. Impressively some of the videos I found were from 2009-2011, which is older than some people who probably use this website!
Other: Speaking about 2009-2011, you can find limitless Mario content from around that time. I remember watching a lot of YouTube around that time and seeing all of the content that you could find. Vinesauce, silly flash animations people were doing with the pixel art, gameplay videos, all the fun stuff you can that's probably still up!
Summary: a must-play classic that everyone should play once in their lives. It suffers from 1980s cheap ways to keep you playing, but it's still an absolute classic you have to play regardless.
Played on Nintendo Switch Online Emulator
What a pivotal point in gaming! Super Mario Bros is the iconic platformer. If you're somehow new to the series, this is an incredibly easy game to just pick up and instantly start playing!
What I like: The level designs in this is superb! The physics and hitboxes are incredibly easy to learn, and you can do some pretty neat tricks in order to beat your levels. The level design gradually transitions from an easy hands-on simplistic nature to some extreme bounds of creativity that leave you pondering and yearning for more! The music is very repetitive, but it doesn't ever really get old. Unfortunately the death theme is still ingrained in my head from when I was a little kid and didn't understand the game too well at the time. In spite of that, It's a wonderful classic, and it's one-of-a-kind.
What I dislike: My only big gripe with this game has to be that it contains some of the headache that old famicom games had in the 1980s. Repeating levels with no clear distinction made me had to pull up a level guide on YouTube a couple of times. Impressively some of the videos I found were from 2009-2011, which is older than some people who probably use this website!
Other: Speaking about 2009-2011, you can find limitless Mario content from around that time. I remember watching a lot of YouTube around that time and seeing all of the content that you could find. Vinesauce, silly flash animations people were doing with the pixel art, gameplay videos, all the fun stuff you can that's probably still up!
Summary: a must-play classic that everyone should play once in their lives. It suffers from 1980s cheap ways to keep you playing, but it's still an absolute classic you have to play regardless.
2020
After playing valorant for awhile, I've decided that there's no hope for this game as this game's design and service flaws are absolutely terrible, so I'm going to talk about them in a dedicated list of what I enjoy and what I dislike:
Pros:
Unique heroes inciting unique ways to play
Fun to do stupid stuff with friends
Cons:
Anyone with vision issue's worst friend
UI is too small to be properly used
Characters blend in with their surroundings where you don't even notice them
Colors are too vibrant
Sound design cannot be properly adjusted to be focused on gunplay, or those of us with auditory sensory issues
Maps are poorly designed to be ridiculously one sided
Not enough maps
I'm lagging every 5 minutes or so
Everyone chooses vandal and not any of the other variety of weapons
Randomized bullet spread, headshots are a 50/50 gamble
I would never recommend this game, please play CS or play another competitive game that includes a better variety of options.
Pros:
Unique heroes inciting unique ways to play
Fun to do stupid stuff with friends
Cons:
Anyone with vision issue's worst friend
UI is too small to be properly used
Characters blend in with their surroundings where you don't even notice them
Colors are too vibrant
Sound design cannot be properly adjusted to be focused on gunplay, or those of us with auditory sensory issues
Maps are poorly designed to be ridiculously one sided
Not enough maps
I'm lagging every 5 minutes or so
Everyone chooses vandal and not any of the other variety of weapons
Randomized bullet spread, headshots are a 50/50 gamble
I would never recommend this game, please play CS or play another competitive game that includes a better variety of options.
Revolutionary - Inciting or causing a complete or dramatic change.
When I think of this word, I think of the Metal Gear Solid series in general, and more specifically Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty.
I am not going to be focusing on the story of this review, one of my friends on this site has done a much more detailed and tear-jerking review of that. Check out his review, his name is scissors61.
MGS2 has aged like fine wine, and considered by many (including myself) to be a PS2 classic. A change within the way stealth games are played.
"What makes this game so revolutionary?"
IN 2000 the PlayStation 2 released, then in November 2001 this game hit shelves. Metal Gear Solid was in realistic 3D graphics! This time with a new plot & story years after the Shadow Moses incident after the first game! You had brand new mechanics, such as rain, footsteps, a proper first person mechanic, first-person aiming, pressure sensitive face buttons, dynamic interactions with your environment, enemies could be damaged on specific limbs, ice cubes melting within their relative position to other ice cubes. FOR FUCK'S SAKE, THIS IS AN IMPROVEMENT COMPARED TO THE PREVIOUS GENERATION OF HOME CONSOLES!
The mechanics seem like something basic you would do today, a small part of a much larger gameplay picture that wouldn't be coined any different than brushing your teeth or combing your hair in the morning. You have to understand that at the time, people had no idea what they were getting themselves into.
The new jump in 3D graphics meant a new jump in the way people understood the medium. The potential for storytelling with less limitations, and a new technology to go along with it, it was just a recipe for something new!
The codec calls weren't 2D sprites anymore, there were new 3D models with more art potential & expressiveness on the line! You could tell stories with more accurate (human) precision.
And precision they have used, and this isn't the only example of precision to come out of this game.
Metal Gear Solid 2 accurately predicts the ideologies and criticisms following modern American politics, which also includes the modern polarization of people's political parties. I will not give too much away, however there are major political themes that live true to themselves in this very day. At least, as of writing.
The story themes/predictions being accurate, more accurate technologies, newer technologies. This game is revolutionary, and you MUST play it if you are a fan of yourself, or are a fan of art. Metal Gear Solid 2 really proves that Video Games can be a work of art.
Although my previous statement is vague, play this for yourself. It is a BLAST. Rest-assured, you will love what you experience!
When I think of this word, I think of the Metal Gear Solid series in general, and more specifically Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty.
I am not going to be focusing on the story of this review, one of my friends on this site has done a much more detailed and tear-jerking review of that. Check out his review, his name is scissors61.
MGS2 has aged like fine wine, and considered by many (including myself) to be a PS2 classic. A change within the way stealth games are played.
"What makes this game so revolutionary?"
IN 2000 the PlayStation 2 released, then in November 2001 this game hit shelves. Metal Gear Solid was in realistic 3D graphics! This time with a new plot & story years after the Shadow Moses incident after the first game! You had brand new mechanics, such as rain, footsteps, a proper first person mechanic, first-person aiming, pressure sensitive face buttons, dynamic interactions with your environment, enemies could be damaged on specific limbs, ice cubes melting within their relative position to other ice cubes. FOR FUCK'S SAKE, THIS IS AN IMPROVEMENT COMPARED TO THE PREVIOUS GENERATION OF HOME CONSOLES!
The mechanics seem like something basic you would do today, a small part of a much larger gameplay picture that wouldn't be coined any different than brushing your teeth or combing your hair in the morning. You have to understand that at the time, people had no idea what they were getting themselves into.
The new jump in 3D graphics meant a new jump in the way people understood the medium. The potential for storytelling with less limitations, and a new technology to go along with it, it was just a recipe for something new!
The codec calls weren't 2D sprites anymore, there were new 3D models with more art potential & expressiveness on the line! You could tell stories with more accurate (human) precision.
And precision they have used, and this isn't the only example of precision to come out of this game.
Metal Gear Solid 2 accurately predicts the ideologies and criticisms following modern American politics, which also includes the modern polarization of people's political parties. I will not give too much away, however there are major political themes that live true to themselves in this very day. At least, as of writing.
The story themes/predictions being accurate, more accurate technologies, newer technologies. This game is revolutionary, and you MUST play it if you are a fan of yourself, or are a fan of art. Metal Gear Solid 2 really proves that Video Games can be a work of art.
Although my previous statement is vague, play this for yourself. It is a BLAST. Rest-assured, you will love what you experience!
Do not play the HD Collection. Emulate the original PS2 releases, or play them on a PS2.
These ports have some issues, and it isn't worth playing because of that. The games may have some strange visual bug due to filters, or will have oftentimes incorrect aspect ratios for menus. Playing the game above 1080p can sometimes pose itself as an issue since nothing was designed for above 1080p. I wouldn't be making much of an issue of the 1080p or other issues if this wasn't a port of a PS3/Xbox 360 release that hasn't been properly adjusted.
Playing the games on an original PS2 -> 5/5, these games are fantastic
Playing the games on an "HD" Collection -> 2/5 or 2.5/5
These ports have some issues, and it isn't worth playing because of that. The games may have some strange visual bug due to filters, or will have oftentimes incorrect aspect ratios for menus. Playing the game above 1080p can sometimes pose itself as an issue since nothing was designed for above 1080p. I wouldn't be making much of an issue of the 1080p or other issues if this wasn't a port of a PS3/Xbox 360 release that hasn't been properly adjusted.
Playing the games on an original PS2 -> 5/5, these games are fantastic
Playing the games on an "HD" Collection -> 2/5 or 2.5/5
2019
i need mental help
2015
September 8th, 2022
2017
vrchat was a game that I love, I loved the social aspect and it was there throughout a really sad part of my life when I felt like I had no one to talk to and was a bit paranoid, I hold this game close to me.
Unfortunately, I can't really say the same about the devs. In 2020 the devs had tried to push a really bad subscription service called "VRChat Plus" where it had really terrible exclusive content plus whatever junk. I don't know but I don't really care about what was in that terrible subscription.
Instead of the devs fixing the game, the devs are a bunch of cunts who can't spend time actually fixing anything, they would rather implement something that hurts the community or never fix the issues that are actually plaguing the game.
People go into lobbies with specific skins that crash other player's games because of a shader issue, which could easily be fixed if they had done the character skins imports and shaders properly. The controls if you're not in VR (I've never had a VR, so I wouldn't know) are really clunky, stiff, and need some better optimization. The community has made a custom launcher with tons of fixes such as sign language inputs for deaf people, shader restrictions, and ton of other stability and quality of life improvements.
Recently, VRChat devs had implemented an anti-cheat which would literally take out all of the quality-of-life improvements and hurt the community more than helping them. Deaf people wouldn't be able to communicate as easily, the shader issues came back, and the game will no longer be stable and rock solid like it used to be.
I miss VRChat, I wish the devs put more time and care into the game. The last time I checked, the devs were looking for someone who was knowledgeable about web3 and NFTs to come work for them. NFTs and Web3 quickly became a dying fad so I'm not sure why they think it would help.
TL;DR: VRChat devs so out-of-touch with their community that it's literally killing their game and hurting their players terribly.
Unfortunately, I can't really say the same about the devs. In 2020 the devs had tried to push a really bad subscription service called "VRChat Plus" where it had really terrible exclusive content plus whatever junk. I don't know but I don't really care about what was in that terrible subscription.
Instead of the devs fixing the game, the devs are a bunch of cunts who can't spend time actually fixing anything, they would rather implement something that hurts the community or never fix the issues that are actually plaguing the game.
People go into lobbies with specific skins that crash other player's games because of a shader issue, which could easily be fixed if they had done the character skins imports and shaders properly. The controls if you're not in VR (I've never had a VR, so I wouldn't know) are really clunky, stiff, and need some better optimization. The community has made a custom launcher with tons of fixes such as sign language inputs for deaf people, shader restrictions, and ton of other stability and quality of life improvements.
Recently, VRChat devs had implemented an anti-cheat which would literally take out all of the quality-of-life improvements and hurt the community more than helping them. Deaf people wouldn't be able to communicate as easily, the shader issues came back, and the game will no longer be stable and rock solid like it used to be.
I miss VRChat, I wish the devs put more time and care into the game. The last time I checked, the devs were looking for someone who was knowledgeable about web3 and NFTs to come work for them. NFTs and Web3 quickly became a dying fad so I'm not sure why they think it would help.
TL;DR: VRChat devs so out-of-touch with their community that it's literally killing their game and hurting their players terribly.