Pros: Let me first say... what the hell happened? Why is there so much less, and so many removed features from Gold & Silver? It's like this generation was a reboot of the series, which, is not necessarily a bad thing! In fact, this generation was a great introduction to a whole new age of Pokémon fans. And also, this is our first 16-bit Pokémon game, with detailed sprites, lots of color, and an art style that's super easy on the eyes. It's as if we received a Pokémon game for the Super NES. And while not everything from the previous generation returns, there are some new features to the series here, particularly 2-on-2 "double" battles (which took advantage of the GBA's new four player link cables), and a simple but very useful new mechanic, the run button, yeah, you can just run anywhere on the overworld, which is a nice in-between walking and biking. Also, battle mechanics with new abilities, are refined in this game for the most part, and other new gameplay modes like events such as Contests are pretty neat, where you can build Pokémon stats for beauty, toughness, cuteness, smartness, etc, and put them in a contest where they're judged upon, it's alright. But in general, these new additions didn't hit nearly as hard as the new additions in Gold & Silver did.

Cons: Like I said previously, what the hell happened. In so many ways, this game killed Pokémania for the generation of people that grew up with Red & Blue and moving on to Gold & Silver, such as myself. But the ways it did that, were, one, there was no connecting to the prior generations, no link cable trading, nothing, it was like a hard reset. Which, that just cut the cord for those of us who built upon our journey going from Red to Gold, expecting to go from Gold to Ruby... But nah... And two, no day and night cycles, the real time clock features felt like a significant step down here, not to mention other new features that Gold & Silver introduced were not really expanded in significant ways, like new types or breeding. Gold & Silver introduced so much to the series, that to see this new generation introduce one or two major things, and remove other major elements really sucked... man, what a kick in the gut it was upon first playing. And then comes the Pokémon themselves, and I know this is a very subjective thing, but... I'm not a fan of their new designs here, a lot of new patterns, stripes, zig-zag shapes, somethin' was changing in the way new Pokémon started to look starting with this game, and I'm not sure if it's because the new console power allowed them to showcase more complex designs or what, but I wasn't a fan. Like, what the heck is going on with Blaziken? Why are their legs so long, and standing up like a human person? That whole thing started a bad trend in my opinion for third stage starter Pokémon that's still felt in the series to this day. And the region itself, I don't wanna say too much water, but the land of Hoenn wasn't really doin' it for me either, and another step down from Gold & Silver that allowed us to travel to other regions. Just, time after time, this game paled in comparison to Gold & Silver, and I would not call it an improvement whatsoever.

What it means to me: If you couldn't tell, this was not my Pokémon, and it absolutely killed all hype I had for the series for, I don't know, decades. The gameplay is fine in a vacuum, it's an alright game on its own, but when put up against previous games in the series, it was an awkward reset... If you were someone who grew up with this one, I could see how you'd enjoy it the most, I mean, it's essentially an SNES caliber Pokémon game, that's not a bad quality to have.

Pros: Let me first say... what the hell happened? Why is there so much less, and so many removed features from Gold & Silver? It's like this generation was a reboot of the series, which, is not necessarily a bad thing! In fact, this generation was a great introduction to a whole new age of Pokémon fans. And also, this is our first 16-bit Pokémon game, with detailed sprites, lots of color, and an art style that's super easy on the eyes. It's as if we received a Pokémon game for the Super NES. And while not everything from the previous generation returns, there are some new features to the series here, particularly 2-on-2 "double" battles (which took advantage of the GBA's new four player link cables), and a simple but very useful new mechanic, the run button, yeah, you can just run anywhere on the overworld, which is a nice in-between walking and biking. Also, battle mechanics with new abilities, are refined in this game for the most part, and other new gameplay modes like events such as Contests are pretty neat, where you can build Pokémon stats for beauty, toughness, cuteness, smartness, etc, and put them in a contest where they're judged upon, it's alright. But in general, these new additions didn't hit nearly as hard as the new additions in Gold & Silver did.

Cons: Like I said previously, what the hell happened. In so many ways, this game killed Pokémania for the generation of people that grew up with Red & Blue and moving on to Gold & Silver, such as myself. But the ways it did that, were, one, there was no connecting to the prior generations, no link cable trading, nothing, it was like a hard reset. Which, that just cut the cord for those of us who built upon our journey going from Blue to Silver, expecting to go from Silver to Sapphire... But nah... And two, no day and night cycles, the real time clock features felt like a significant step down here, not to mention other new features that Gold & Silver introduced were not really expanded in significant ways, like new types or breeding. Gold & Silver introduced so much to the series, that to see this new generation introduce one or two major things, and remove other major elements really sucked... man, what a kick in the gut it was upon first playing. And then comes the Pokémon themselves, and I know this is a very subjective thing, but... I'm not a fan of their new designs here, a lot of new patterns, stripes, zig-zag shapes, somethin' was changing in the way new Pokémon started to look starting with this game, and I'm not sure if it's because the new console power allowed them to showcase more complex designs or what, but I wasn't a fan. Like, what the heck is going on with Blaziken? Why are their legs so long, and standing up like a human person? That whole thing started a bad trend in my opinion for third stage starter Pokémon that's still felt in the series to this day. And the region itself, I don't wanna say too much water, but the land of Hoenn wasn't really doin' it for me either, and another step down from Gold & Silver that allowed us to travel to other regions. Just, time after time, this game paled in comparison to Gold & Silver, and I would not call it an improvement whatsoever.

What it means to me: If you couldn't tell, this was not my Pokémon, and it absolutely killed all hype I had for the series for, I don't know, decades. The gameplay is fine in a vacuum, it's an alright game on its own, but when put up against previous games in the series, it was an awkward reset... If you were someone who grew up with this one, I could see how you'd enjoy it the most, I mean, it's essentially an SNES caliber Pokémon game, that's not a bad quality to have.

Pros: A semi-sequel to Donkey Kong Country on the SNES, this was a brand new game, completely unique, and it went out of its way to show you just how unique it was! Firstly though, this game was visually impressive as hell, getting a game that looked like Donkey Kong Country running on an 8-bit black and white handheld couldn't' have been easy, large sprites, fully animated, smooth framed, it was a stunner! DKC on SNES blew all of our minds with its visuals, and they did again here on Game Boy. It plays like DKC, with the gameplay staples like barrel cannons, rope swinging, animal buddies (just two here, Rambi and Expresso, but hey, you can still ride them!) roll jumping, tag-teaming, the works, this is solid DKC style gameplay! This game featured four big worlds full of 30 levels, with brand new enemies like Hogwash the Flying Pig, Nemo, Swirlwind, and new bosses like Hard Hat the mole. It also featured new archetypes for stages, like pirate ships, mountainsides, crazy cloud lands, underwater sunken temples, and last but not least, the CITY. Beautiful way to end the game, going back to the city where DK started, with construction sites, skyscrapers, blimps, the world acted as a great finale. And this game, in my opinion, stood on its own and succeeded, with creative levels and a good amount of effort. The design here is stronger than it is in the sequels on Game Boy, from beginning to end, this was its own adventure worth having.

Cons: Infamously, it's sometimes difficult to distinguish active objects from the background, as the entire screen can look a bit busy. They did at the very least fix this element in the GB sequels. The physics are also ever so slightly altered, and falling happens a bit faster... Can take some time to get used to, and sometimes the camera can't keep up with your movement, and you may just die by falling to an area that should have ground beneath it... And lastly, the ending of the game, there is no ending, after you defeat K. Rool, the credits immediately start rolling! That's it! But, none of that was able to deter me from having a great time.

What it means to me: This was my Donkey Kong Country, this is the one that was mine and mine alone. The first DKC, my older brother got that one, sure it belonged to the family, but he was the keeper of it. Once this game came along, I used my saved up money in a piggy bank, and took it to the store and purchased my very own Donkey Kong, hell, probably my first video game purchase with my own money ever! And man, did I love this game, obsessed over the new characters (Hogwash, my beloved... ahh), the worlds, the music! I recall taking a tape recorder up to my game boy and making a mixtape of the Donkey Kong Land OST, haha! It was a game I always had in my Game Boy when I was on the go, and on the Super Game Boy at home. Heck, I even got a Banana Yellow colored brick Game Boy to match this beautiful banana yellow game pak. This game was my world, and I can say with certainty, that it is my favorite game on the Game Boy.

This is the highest 4.5/5 rating I can possibly give a game. As much as I absolutely adore this game to death, I cannot justify giving it a 5/5 because there are certain flaws that shouldn't be ignored.

First, the good. This might be my favorite story ever told in a video game. It's at least up there in my top 5. Benedict, Frederica, and Roland are phenomenal characters and they perfectly evolve alongside the growing politics of Norzelia. Decision-making in this game is incredible. The combat, while weird at first for someone more used to games like Fire Emblem, is very engaging. I especially like how each character is given a specific niche so that it's worth bringing in a more gimmicky character for a particularly tough chapter.

Tragically, though, this game has some missteps that made me reconsider giving this game a perfect score. Some voice performances are far from stellar. Even Serenoa, the main character and one you will hear talking constantly, has several very stilted lines. Serenoa is actually written very well, but it's harder to see that when he sounds so...wrong at times.

I played this game on hard mode, which was a very fair and fun challenge for about 70% of the game. For the remaining 30%, I wondered if those chapters were even playtested on hard mode. They genuinely seemed impossible - maybe hard mode is meant for a new game plus playthrough, but on a standard new game it was a fairly uneven and frustrating experience.

Still, solely for the phenomenal story, characters, and decision-making, this game is a masterpiece. I can't wait to do another playthrough once 2022 stops bombarding me with other masterpieces.

Putrid. This game doesn't get ANYTHING right. It's so bad I struggled mightily with how to begin this review, because I could start anywhere. I think I'll start with the physics, one of the MOST important things in any 2D Platformer. They're too slippery! You don't really have any good "stopping power" (think turning back in Super Mario Bros 1 or 3 to slow your momentum) and you slide pretty wildly when landing unless you take them very slowly. It isn't tooooooo bad early because at least a decent amount of the platforms are large, but as soon as the game starts throwing single block platforms at you it gets actively miserable to try and land on the damn things without just sliding off. Alex Kidd is also pretty slide-y on the ground, which leads to the annoyance of sliding into enemies while trying to punch them with your punch attack. You COULD use the jump attack but the hitbox on it feels very inconsistent and you can't do it in all situations. Fortunately most enemies are actually pathetically easy to deal with, so you just spam the punch button, instead most of your deaths will come from how poor it controls.

Speaking of controls, why is the jump mapped the way it is? I wondered if I was missing something, but when you jump you go right into the jump kick attack as you rise, UNLESS you hold down the jump button as you rise. If you do THAT, then you will only kick when you let go. It felt incredibly weird holding down the jump button to make jumps like that, doubly so because for some reason blocks on the ground can only be broken with a jump kick. Enjoy jumping in place like an idiot trying to get them to actually break. And yes, this is required at certain points. I think you can use the pogo to break them, but it was mostly frustrating. Anyway, why not make it so you just tap the jump button in the air to attack? Or that tapping A is jump but holding A is attack or something? It feels very unnatural.

Then you get into stuff like the second to last level, which is a mini-shmup style level with a pedicopter you need to CONSTANTLY tap A to fly around with and will begin to dip on the screen if you stop tapping for even a moment. Firing off an attack is NOT on A and you WILL be forced down quite a bit on the screen if you use it, which sucks even more because the downward momentum from falling makes it harder to fly back up. I beat the level pretty quickly and my thumb was soooore. But, look, there's platforms you can sit down and take a moment to rest your thumb! Oh as if the game would be so kind, this is Alex Kidd in the Enchanted Castle motherfucker, the platforms instantly drop off and you'll be stuck with downwards momentum if you weren't prepared! You get luck-based Rock-Paper-Scissor bosses, a final stage that feels like it drags on forever and burns its mediocre music into your skull for eternity, it also ends with a luck-based RPS fight! But then you get an actual fight that is completely pathetic, literally just crouch, walk up to them and mash the attack button, you'll hit them casually and dodge every attack.

Did I mention this game looks absolutely rancid? Alex Kidd himself is NOT nice to look at, various textures are grainy even for 8 bit, there's eye searing colors at various points and the final level is endless sandy brown blocks with endless light grey blocks that blend into a nightmare. Stage transitions are entirely in eye searing blue like a VCR tape, which also happens when you die. There's no visual cohesion or identity to the enemies or stages, feeling like highly disconnected levels and the two "city" levels are half palette swaps of each other when the game only has 11 stages. The entire thing is butt ugly aside from the woodcutting enemy with a Jason mask that gave me a chuckle.

At least Sonic Blast let you play as Sonic.

This game is a whole half hour long or so (It took me 27 minutes), so there isn't a lot to say here. I commend Rare for trying to give this game some meat with a unique boss at the end of each world in a bit of a Mega Man style, but it wasn't exactly uncommon on the original Game Boy (Super Mario Land 1 had this as a launch title, let alone many other games) and the fights are fairly bad. They range from stupid simple (stand to the far right vs. Green Goblin and unless you miss hitting him on the pattern you cannot be hit) to extremely frustrating (The final boss, my god). Probably the most annoying thing is that this was a beat 'em up / platformer hybrid, but your attack range feels tiny: I particularly found it difficult to hit bosses without taking damage back, sometimes without it even being during their attack but just due to the hitbox of it being so small that I got too close and got hit. I would not have beaten this game were it not for the fact that when you die and get to full health, boss HPs retain their damage. I was on my very last continue when I won.

Basic enemies have this issue where due to your range, all fights are one of two things: The enemies just run into your fist (the bats in the subway level and some other flying enemies) OR they come at you and due to your range you either have to hit during a small window before they ever attack or get hit, there's very few alternative attacks and the jumping is too chunky to reliably dodge opponents. The low enemy variety also makes it overall boring. The wall climbing segments I think are actually a neat idea, the spidey-sense warning of falling objects as a kind of obstacle course dodging is a good implementation of the idea but they make the obstacles fast enough that you really can't react to it and some randomness in the patterns led to parts where I think I had no choice but to take a hit. It's also too easy to one hit kill yourself by jumping on these parts and I don't know why you have to jump into a window when you reach the top to finish the stage...especially since you always then end up on the rooftop rather than inside. Web-slinging was also inconsistent even once I realized the odd control scheme and led to a pair of unfortunate deaths.

There's only two good things about this game: The music with David Wise on the team is kinda boppin' and the cutscenes are cheesy in an intentional, old Spidey cartoon way that frankly makes them pretty funny. Why does Spider-Man answer the phone in his house dressed as Spider-Man? It's not worth playing the game for but, hey, it is something!