Probably one of the most impressive solo efforts I've seen since Cave Story, Fight'n Rage is another throwback beat 'em up made by someone who is obviously a genre enthusiast. The combat is fast, satisfying, very flexible and diverse between the 3 characters and there's a good variety of enemies in the mix. The branching story paths lead to a surprisingly wide array of different levels so no one playthrough has to be the same thing every time and the game is loaded with unlockables giving it excellent replay value. It's not perfect though, the very intense and busy visuals can make this game a headache to look at after extended play so I really can't recommend the game for photo-sensitive people. (you can modify the visuals to tone down some of the effects but there is a limit to it) On a more general note, it's a very difficult and not beginner friendly game at all. While it has many modern conveniences, the enemy count is very high, and they can drain your health in a hurry. That can just as easily be a pro for some people though, so I don't count it against the game that much. If you love classic beat 'em ups but would like something that has the control feel of a Vanillaware game, give this one a check.

HUGE improvement over the previous NES outing. Actual differences between the turtles, all attack options are more viable and have a chance to be put to good use, and much improved boss fights with actual strategy to employ against them outside of Jump Kick spam. This about the best the NES can do for a beat em up. The main problems are like the last game some levels and bosses can drag for too long making it feel a little repetitive. It's also remarkably stingy with healing items for a console beat 'em up, with half the levels not having any at all. With the more generous system for extra lives though, this is hardly a problem. Check it out if you're a huge Turtles fan and lover of NES action games.

Sometimes you stumble across games and they really surprise you! Fear and Hunger Termina is a hybrid Survival Horror/RPG with great emphasis on the former. The game is all about resource management, and makes no bones about your first playthroughs falling into guaranteed failure states. Learning the game is a blast though and once you get the hang of things it's very exciting to see the various approaches you can take for every situation in the game. With 8 playable characters with a host of different skills between them, along with 3 endings that have fairly different requirements for reaching them, the game has excellent replay value too! The atmosphere is rich and there are a host of spooks and thrills to keep you on edge most of the way. Particularly note goes to the sound effects and dissonant soundtrack.

On the downsides, as you'd expect of an open world game made by one person, the game is RIFE with bugs, particularly for recruitable characters who are notorious for breaking horribly and just disappearing from the game altogether. It's unlikely you'll complete a playthrough without seeing at least one bug. While I don't consider this a negative, the game is also big on disturbing content and imagery, from drug based to sexual to of course violent. If these things are a bit much for you to stomach, I wouldn't really recommend this game. Lastly, and once again I don't consider this a downside but some might, the game is VERY punishing. Enemies outclass you immensely, so you really need to know what options you have to declaw them for the inevitable encounters you WILL have to fight. Plus, the game has extremely limited save opportunities, so you can see a lot of progress go up in smoke if you aren't cautious. If that doesn't sound like a fun time to you, you'll probably want to pass on this.

All said, if you're a fan of the the horror genre and resource management games, I'd highly recommend this, I had a blast getting through it.

This is one of my all time favorite games, and I'll fully admit there's a nostalgia bias. The balance is terrible, the post game is lacking in some content and certainly the pacing can be a little slow (Though since you can't skip animations they didn't get too carried away with them in this game) but I love it warts and all. Being able to build up your units into certified badasses is super satisfying, the Lift and Throw mechanics give it a super unique play style that most strategy games don't have, and the story is the perfect blend of comedy and tragedy, hitting the right notes at all the right moments. If you love PS2 RPG's, check this one out, I highly recommend it.

The seemingly more dire yet somehow more lighthearted follow up to Devil Survivor, DS2 is a mixed bag. Mechanically and game design-wise, it's much more solid than the first game, with expanded skill options, much improved demon types, and a much larger cast that are more available to use giving you much more interesting and flexible party compositions throughout the game. The story on the other hand is much more lighthearted and often takes the premise as a farce at many times, which can be a dividing factor for people. It is decently funny at times, but I do feel the overall narrative is weaker. Still, there's a lot to like here and it's a good companion to DS Overclocked if you wanted a more polished version of the tactical gameplay present there. Record Breaker ups the bonuses in the transition to the 3DS hardware by giving a whole extra story mode to play, which is very nice.

Hard to say if I like this or Halo 3 more. 3 definitely perfected the game feel, and I liked the enemy variety a bit more, but Reach is just as fun to play and has probably the best level variety of any game in the series. The space battle in particular was a nice addition. This is definitely one of the tougher game in the series, and be prepared to have some restarts tied to getting blown up by concussion rifles. If I were to recommend games in the series to people, this would be towards the top of my list, as in addition to being extremely well made, the game just oozes its own personal style with the actions of the Noble Team.

The home port of the classic Arcade game! Despite what a certain Irate Gamer might tell you, this is pretty decent adaptation of the arcade game, doing the best they could with the hardware. The attacks are slightly stripped down but the original is already pretty simplistic so it's not a huge deal. I appreciate the new levels and unique enemies to this version, making it stand out as its own thing from the cabinet version. That said, the bosses are very repetitive, being bulked up considerably while having less options for looping them. Every boss fight boils down to jump kick spam if you want to survive, with only a handful of shake ups. Still, for the era it's made for it's perfectly serviceable and better than I was expecting.

One thing I noticed which may be a Cowabunga Collection problem is unresponsive controls. I could only find one button config that allowed me to do the Special Attack by pressing jump and attack simultaneously in a consistent fashion. Even using Keyboard controls eliminating the chance I'm not pressing the buttons at the same time still had it be very inconsistent. With all the other available enhancements, it seems odd there isn't a macro for the special attack.

What can I say about Omori? It hits all the high notes in the areas that matter and it probably the most you can hope to do with the RPG maker engine. Excellent art with a lot of visual pop and a surprisingly deep combat system on top of that. Loads of side things to do and lots of flavor text make being thorough with this game a real treat. If I had to say one thing that really holds it back is, like so many other story driven games, Omori lacks in replay value. While there are technically two routes to the game and a random variable that modifies various things in the game, by and large Omori is the same to play every time and the two routes only diverge in a meaningful way in the last quarter of the game. Still, if you're a fan of this style of RPG, this is definitely one of the better ones you could look into. Light horror elements in the vein of Yumi Nikki make it a surprisingly diverse experience as well.

Halo with a fresh coat of paint but you'll likely revert the graphics to the originals anyway. Everything thing good and bad about the original Halo still holds true here, with gorgeous but at times repetitive levels and simple but satisfying FPS gameplay with a good variety in the enemies you face down. One con of playing this on PC is the default keyboard controls are horrible and I had a hard time finding something comfortable for me. It's a great time with or without a friend, and the multiple difficulty levels with added modification options and achievements to unlock give you plenty of reason to replay if you so desire.

You get what you pay for with this, which is probably nothing since you can get it in a bundle with Cthulhu Saves The World at no extra cost. This game is essentially a glorified tech demo for CSTW, and as you'd expect from a freshman outing it's pretty rough. The balance is awful with many dud skills to pick that make the game harder than it needs to be if you play Hard mode, and while it has many modern conveniences I did find myself needing to grind an annoying amount. That said, the game is only about 4 hours long and it moves at a good pace in spite of the grinding due to how short battles are. The writing has also held up pretty poorly, being heavily referential for the sake of it, though there are a few clever bits like the resolution of the Usurper fight.

If you want to see the origin of the Zeboyd-verse then absolutely check it out, but otherwise just go straight to CSTW because it does literally everything this game does but better and more polished.

I'm not about to drop any mind blowing takes for this game. The story is definitely as generic as all get out, though I will give some praise to the supports which kept brevity as the soul of wit and had some good interactions within. Gameplay-wise though, this is the most fun I've had with an FE game since the GBA titles. Everyone is usable with tons of customization options. While the mission objectives are still largely just boss kill objectives, they make this a lot more interesting and difficulty to accomplish than in 3 Houses. Highly recommend this game if you're looking for a more tactically rich experience.

The best RPG's feel like a real journey, and Xenoblade Chronicles 3 nails that bench mark. The story concept is out there enough to be unique, but resonant enough to hook you and keep you playing. The soundtrack pulls out all the stops and really aids in the emotional high notes hitting as hard as they do. The world is tremendous, packed to the brim with nooks and crannies to explore. The team building in gameplay is fantastic, giving you a huge degree of customization to make your dream team of warriors. If you've played any other Xenoblade games and liked them, you absolutely cannot miss this one.

Certainly the game isn't perfect, some things exist just to bloat the hefty run time, and certain aspects seem cool at first but way overstay their welcome (chain attack theme lol), but you can easily work past those. Just go with the flow of the game, and let your sense of adventure take over and you'll have a wonderful time.