Glover is certainly the magnum opus of humanity. It is a work of art which is simultaneously very enjoyable and deep.

Glover himself is a statement on the upper middle class. He works personally for the wizard, and while powerful, is not nearly as strong as his boss. He also has no mouth, which signifies the fact that despite being richer than most, he is still silenced by the 1%.

Cross-Stitch is a symbol of the statement "the road to hell is paved with good intentions". One could argue that he is victim to circumstance, but if that's the case, the potion the wizard was making was inherently evil, proving the wizard isn't as good as he says. Regardless, Cross-Stitch has a mouth with his new transformation, showing he is making a statement. He wants to give the rest of the world the crystals the wizard has been hoarding, and he has no choice to fight Glover.

The world of glover is by far one of the densest in all of storytelling. Each world represents the past, both the distant and unknown and the very recent. Each world has been reformed, with Cross-Stitch giving power back to the demonized and hated groups. Frankenstein's monster is the best example of this. He is constantly called the monster in fiction, despite the fact he is victim to his evil creator who wanted to play God. However, it's clear that the world has been turned worse because of Cross-Stitch's revolution. Things must be destroyed before they're rebuilt, but is what Cross-Stitch is doing right? That is ultimately left up to the player; Glover only poses the question, it asks the player to answer.

Visually, this is one of the most intelligently designed works of art. I already mentioned the genius character designs, but there's also the draw distance. Many might say this is due to hardware limitations, but in reality it shows how near-sighted Glover truly is, and how he needs to overcome that to become better. The music is just the same. Beautiful orchestras are in every level, and each tell a story themselves, and the seagull rap is still one of the greatest solos in musical history.

The ending is extremely divisive, but the thing is, you as the player ultimately decide it. If you believe Glover is right, you will continue until you bring the future he desires; If you don't think he's right, you simply stop before the ending. This is the true strength of Glover.

Overall, Glover is one of the greatest creations in modern history. I highly recommend it. It will change your life. 10/10

(Outdated review, will make a new one eventually)

I have played many games, and as such, it took me a while to find a game that I could say was truly my favorite of all time. However, after deciding to give the sequel of Anodyne (a game I was lukewarm on due to some underdeveloped gameplay despite having incredible audio and atmosphere) a chance, I found it.

Anodyne 2: Return to Dust is a culmination of everything Analgesic Productions learned in the years after making Anodyne, and it shows. This is a game that draws you in from the title screen alone, and keeps surprising you until the very end. The crux of the game is, of course, the gameplay, and it's outstanding for the most part. There is much more going on than Anodyne 1, yet it still feels simple at its core in terms of controls. You play as a Nanocleaner, who shrinks inside people to remove toxic dust from them. The gameplay is split into two sections: The overworld, which is adventure-oriented with PS1 styled graphics, which you use to find people who need to a Nanocleaning. The Nanocleaning is done in a top-down Zelda style with 16-bit visuals. The dust removed is used to open up new areas along with cards collected from various sources (As a side note, I love how when you shrink, the resolution of the game shrinks from 32-bit to 16-bit styles). The overworld is pretty fun to explore. There's no battles, and you'll mostly just be looking for collectibles. It does have a problem which I'll get to, but the Nano sections really shine. Each level introduces new mechanics that are excessively creative, and many levels do things you would never expect. I don't want to spoil any of it, but it will make you rethink how you play games. I haven't played a game with such a variation of levels that are both interesting and well designed.

There's also the story, which is pretty good, but is elevated by the atmosphere and some subversions. You work for a deity called 'The Center', which supposedly created all life, and the dust you clean sullies the sanctity of life, but this sanctity is seemingly extremely strict. The story is essentially about meaning in life and nihilism, and does some interesting things with your preconcieved notions of videogame stories (Although not on the level of Undertale or the like). As I said, the atmosphere and direction really elevate this aspect, and there was a particularly disturbing moment halfway through. There's also the contained stories of all the people you jump inside to nanoclean. Some are basic, but some are very interesting and are reflected in the levels themselves. The game also has a very meta sense of humor, and can be pretty funny. Another interesting aspect of this game is that it has lore. While you can play this without having played the first, there is a post-game section tied to the first game, and it hints to a possible origin of the world the second game takes place in, New Theland. The next paragraph will be a spoiler, because there's some interesting things I want to talk about.

As I said, the story is about finding meaning and freedom in the world, but halfway through the game, something very interesting happens. You meet a seemingly glitched character named Desert-NPC, and when you try to dive into him, you're sucked in. You then go to this more realistic-looking world where you play as Nora, a normal person working a 9-5 job who is tired of the monotony. It's suggested Anodyne 2 may be a game Nora is playing. Eventually, she is chased by a giant Griffon creature, and the only way to get away is to start playing Anodyne 2 again. Some may see this as nonsense, but I think it's a hyperbolic symbol of escapism, as if to say Nora is avoiding her problems by playing games, and she is rejecting nihilism by thinking that she has purpose in this game world. That's an element of videogames that isn't touched on a lot, so I thought it was a great extra message.

Of course, any great game needs to give reason to keep playing and replaying, and Anodyne 2 has an extensive and interesting post-game, although it may be the one aspect the first Anodyne trumps it in. You have to collect meta coins that are hidden in the overworld, and here's the kicker: Many of the (seemingly) 585 are hidden out of bounds and in level geometry. It's a very cool side quest, and the rewards are great, but it has one big problem: Did you notice that "seemingly"? Well, I actually don't know how many there are in the game. There's an NPC that says I have ALMOST every metacoin, so I guess I'm missing some. There's a metacoin tracker, but it doesn't work in the nanolevels, and there are a select few hidden in some nanolevels. If they would patch the metacoin tracker working in nanolevels, that would be great, because this is the biggest problem with the game. However, there is seemingly no award for collecting them all, and the developers are known to troll, so it's possible I do have them all, especially since I can't find anyone online with more than 585.

The audio and visuals are pretty great too. I already mentioned the meaning behind the visual changes when shrinking, but both styles can be beautiful in their own right. The Pastel Horizon and Outer Sands East stick out especially, and I like how the overworld integrated modern lighting into its retro style. The audio contributes a lot to that atmosphere, and most of the tracks are ambient ones, but there's still a decent amount of variety here.

Overall, Anodyne 2: Return to Dust is a game that hits pretty much every mark. It's a once in a lifetime experience that you need to play, and my favorite game of all time.

Castlevania 3 is my favorite NES game and my second favorite Castlevania game. It perfected the series on the NES and is honestly a must-play for any gamer. It retains everything good about the first, but also has better level design, more replay value, and 3 extra characters. While these characters aren't as beautifully balanced as the Belmont Subweapons, they are balanced pretty well and offer the aforementioned replay value alongside two splitting paths. The level design is more varied as well, and it feels like a perfect blend between the action and platforming, and that includes many bosses.

Not only that, but the audiovisuals are also improved, which might sound crazy considering the excellent sound design of the first, but seriously. They made an entire sound chip and stuff, and the visuals are pushing the NES to its limits.

You should absolutely play this game. I'd recommend the Castlevania Collection, not only because of its value, but because it's the only official release of the Japanese version, which is what I played. The North American version was not only made much harder, but the sound isn't as good. Play the Japanese version.

The Way is a puzzle platformer about a man wanting to revive his dead wife.

I thought this was an interesting experience. I wish there were more games like it. The puzzles are all really good, the locations look great, the music is good, and I think that's what the game really got right.

However, I was kind of disappointed with the story and the other gameplay elements. The story is about as basic as it gets. Man's wife dies, he goes on a quest to an alien planet to bring her back to life. It's not even a big focus, oddly enough. Any development we get on the main character and his wife are minimal, and the story's main goal, it seems, is to just get the main character to new locations. To use a comparison, It's treating the story like a Mario game would, when it should treat it more like a Zelda game (If that makes any sense).

To make more comparisons, on a scale of NES Castlevania to Ori, The Way... runs past Castlevania. The controls are super stiff and you die from jumping like 10 feet down. Now, for the record, Castlevania III is one of my favorite games ever, because its level design and gameplay is built around those controls. While the level design is alright, and the controls work fine for puzzles, when it's trying action, the game is pretty dull. It doesn't go for action too much, but the game should've made all of its action scenes more puzzle-based if it wanted to have it at all.

I'd like to give this game a 6/10, but there's just too much I don't like. I wish there were more puzzle platformers like this that were actually good. I guess there's just not a market for this kind of game. If any of you guys know of games akin to this one, please let me know. Anyway, if The Way looks interesting to you, you might enjoy it, but there's a lot better you could play. If you want a sidescroller with good puzzles and story, play Iconoclasts.

Quite possibly the greatest 2D platformer ever created. Everything here feels so genius and well-made. Whether the effects of an enemy or item is positive or negative is always dependent on the level design, which leads to more thinking on the player's part. The 'hurry up' mechanic where you have to rush back to the beginning highlights this recontextualization of level design and mechanics. The controls suit this frantic energy well, with energetic dashes, throws, and ground pounds that are pushed to their limit in these gauntlet-like puzzle challenge rooms.

The main problem people point to with the game is that it's really short. The game was definitely designed with replayability in mind, but I do agree that a few more levels couldn't have hurt. Then again, all the levels are so well-made and unique that it's almost a moot point that would be counter intuative with the game's strengths. My main problem is with the minigames. At the end of a world, you can spend money to play minigames to earn tokens. These tokens can buy items to use against a boss. A solid idea, but there's only 3 minigames, and they aren't particularly in-depth. You'll be playing the same 3 minigames each time if you really want an item.

That one blemish doesn't mean much though. This is still an absolutely fantastic game you should definitely play.

Usually, I have a really hard time putting into words why I love games I rate 10/10 so much, but I think I can finally, at the very least, explain the genius of Majora's Mask.

You've probably played a really hard game, right? Whether it's cryptic or just unforgiving, a hard game can be really fun- when you get good at it. Sometimes, that takes a while. Sometimes hours. Sometimes you have to play through the game all over again to 'truly enjoy it'. A bit of hyperbole, but point is, many games are better on replay as a result. There's an argument to whether or not the first or subsequent playthroughs are more important when rating a game. Personally, I feel the best games are great on a first play and even better on replay. And what's so genius about Majora's Mask is that it emulates this experience in a single playthrough.

Let's say you're playing the game. You're at the Great Bay Temple. You get near the end, and now the moon is about to kill everyone. You get annoyed, and you play the song of time. Ok, now you gotta restart. You know what to do this time though, and you have a limited amount of time to do it. And you DESTROY the dungeon. And you probably feel really good. Your mileage may vary, of course. AVGN played the game in 2020 and the 3 Day mechanic annoyed him thoroughly. But to me, what should be a tedious mechanic combines with what is a really steep learning curve and creates an extremely satisfying experience!

All of this ignores some great stories, an interesting world, excellent music, NPCs that run on schedules, excellent side content, incredible atmosphere, and some of the best and most creative dungeon design in gaming, and so many other positives. Point being, it's an extremely unique yet still well-made game that I'm happy has recieved the acclaim it deserves.

Well then. I'm sure you all know Kirby (Or, at least, know of him). I certainly have for quite a while. Many people regard it as a series with no bad games. I would say that this game is clear evidence to the contrary.

From the Kirby games I've played, I've noticed that there's two ways to make the gameplay engaging:

1. Small sections that are built around a copy ability that can be easily obtained beforehand. These sections are fun and often reward the player for keeping the copy ability with lives or something else.

2. Pure combat sections in which the player can choose a copy ability to use. Fun here is derived from using varied moves to defeat a boss or something of the sort.

I haven't played every Kirby game, and I'm sure there's another way to make a Kirby game engaging, but regardless, a Kirby game needs to be accessible to children but still pique the interest of adults in some way. Kirby's Dream Land 3 does neither, and is an abject failure in being interesting in any way.

Copy abilities have regressed from Superstar into being the simple one-attack abilities from previous entries. This already greatly limits the potential of Kirby design #2. Not automatically an issue, as I think Kirby's Adventure on the NES is one of the best in the series, because it uses Kirby design #1. Levels feel best when using the copy abilities acquired in them, but are still beatable without them. However, would you believe me if I said Dream Land 3 had LESS THAN A THIRD of the copy abilities from Adventure? Once again, not automatically bad, as the animal buddies that help kirby actually change the way copy abilities are used. But there was one fatal mistake. Everything else aside, one thing doomed this game.

Around 80% of the time, the animal buddies are a worse option than just using Kirby by himself.

Imagine if you were playing as Yoshi in super Mario World, except Yoshi is a bit slower and can't jump as high as Mario. That is a rough equivalent of the animal buddies in Kirby's Dream Land 3. Kirby can float, so why would I use Riki, who can only jump once? Coo and Kine are slower than Kirby, so why use them? Even if one may fit a situation, you have to grapple with the altered copy abilities, which can be ridiculously niche in terms of use compared to Kirby's. The only one who was fairly consistently fun to use was Nago, because he was fairly fast, could jump two times in midair (Which was usually good enough), and usually had good copy abilities. The others are almost always detrimental to use in one way or another. Unfortunately, though, I didn't always get to use Nago, as there's usually only around half of the animal buddies in a given stage placed at checkpoints. Despite this, I rarely ever got the feeling that the levels were designed with the animal buddies in mind. Even when they're designed with copy abilities in mind, it's usually just 'hit this block with this copy ability to break it', the laziest way to do it.

There are several other issues. Kirby often outruns the camera, which results in enemies landing cheap shots. the level select and optional content is barebones compared to even Kirby's Adventure. Gooey, the player 2 character, is useless. The game loves autoscrolling sections for no reason. All of the secrets are super obscure and not fun to find. It only contributes even more to the low quality.

The biggest positive I can give this game is that it's a beautiful game. It has great style and animation. Everything else? Okay at best. This brings us back to the statement, "there are no bad Kirby games". Honestly, as bad as this game was, it was, at the end of the day, really easy. I rarely got actually frustrated as a result. However, I never got particularly happy playing it either. I rarely felt anything. Honestly, I think that's one of the worst things a game can be: Absolutely nothing. This game isn't legendarily bad; It's just... boring bad. And I'll probably never play it again.

This game has some great ideas that are barely expanded upon or executed well. Going into top-down sections for supplies is a great idea, but it's execution is meh. The top-down gun upgrades are lost when you get hit and are extremely sparse in placement, so unless you're really good you probably won't keep it. This problem is made greater by the fact that every boss is in the top-down section. Why half of the bosses aren't in the SOPHIA sections is beyond me, since you also get ammo for SOPHIA from the top-down sections, who controls much better than Jason. In fact, why couldn't every boss be with SOPHIA? The game would instantly be better.

Anyway, you can also play as Jason in the 2D sections, but he's way worse to play as than SOPHIA. There's only two moments where playing as him in the overworld is necessary, and I think there could've been more honestly, because what we got was pretty basic. Still, those two moments were pretty neat.

The backtracking is also a neat idea, but its execution is dumb. You go from stage 1 to 2 to 3 to 4, then back to 1 with new abilities, from there get to 5 and 6, go back to level 1 and then 2, go to level 7, back to 2 and then 3, and then 8. Why was it straightforward for half the game before the developers said, "Now go back to the very beginning"? It should've had level 1 be a center world where you go to each level, get a powerup, go back to 1, then go to the next stage through there. Or, just a completely interconnected map.

And then there's the final level, which it seems was made by someone who hates videogames. Extremely precise jumps, a jank wall climb, and general timewasting is present all throughout. Why? I don't know, I guess developers were still used to arcades where you don't want people to finish your game.

Oh yeah, obligatory 'Play the Japanese Version because they removed unlimited continues in the US versions because of rentals or something'. I actually played the US version, but I used save states. I know, I'm too far gone. Other than that, the game is fine. 6/10 for now, but it could go lower after I play Blaster Master Zero.

Hypnospace Outlaw is one of the best games I've ever played. I wasn't using the internet in the 90's, but aside from a few specific references, Hypnospace Outlaw isn't a game that rides off of the coattails of 90s Nostalgia; It takes what stuck out about that era and uses it as a blueprint for it's own dense world.

Every word of text, every troll page, every crappy drawing serves to characterize HypnOS and its users in a way that makes exploring its many secrets extremely satisfying. I doubt I'll be bored at all returning to this one; I'd be surprised if I ever found everything Hypnospace Outlaw has in store. It's a game that shows the industry does have somewhere else to go besides up: out. Out into incredible experiences not sold by the size of the map, and but by creators trying to make something unique and beautiful.

Play it.

I'll start with negatives: The way coins were handled. The only use they have is to play that dumb golf minigame (That I'll get to). I had 999 coins, the max amount, for a majority of the playthrough. Also, the 8 big coins in each stage reset if you don't collect them all. What do you get if you collect them all? Our friend from about 4 sentences ago, that dumb golf minigame.

The golf minigame isn't particularly hard or detrimental, but it's undeniably poorly designed. The courses seem random; Sometimes they were extremely hard, the next would be extremely easy. Many times you'd have to make a blind shot due to the strict number of shots and the Gameboy's poor visibility. It rarely took me more than three times to beat, but it's a shame that the only minigame in here is bad.

Anyway, let's get into the goods: The game keeps a lot from Wario Land 2. The unconventional 'powerups' and general moveset are the same. However, the general design and structure is very different. In Wario Land 3, you don't lose coins for getting hit. Instead, getting hit is usually punished with one of the 'powerups' or just getting knocked down from a platforming section. Like I said, coins aren't really that valuable here, so I'm fine with that (Although coins COULD'VE been more valuable in a game about Wario). This also let the creators experiment more with the level design. Here's an example: The spring powerup makes Wario constantly jump around for a while. This is a positive for certain platforming sections. However, it can be a negative if put in a bossfight with several platforms above it, because Wario will jump out of the arena in spring form and can't return easily. As such, a button to undo this powerup isn't an option, as it could ruin a boss' difficulty. This could mean the player would have to wait for Wario to exit spring form in many cases, which could be annoying. HOWEVER, spikes knock Wario out of spring form, and they're often conveniently placed near the spring powerup. So now, just like the spring, the spikes can be beneficial or detrimental depending on context. In my opinion, this is brilliant game design that challenges the player to always think about their surroundings and current state.

This doesn't even touch the non-linear structure with powerups earned overtime. That's right, Wario Land 3 is a Castleroid of sorts. I'm not gonna lie, having to wait a good third of the game before being able to pick up stuff irked me a bit after playing WL 1 and 2, but Wario Land 3 did what it needed to do with most of its powerups: Something interesting. Some were pretty unimpressive, like an upgraded charge, but the high jump, throwing, ground pound, and others are all pushed in interesting directions. I imagine the structure of this game would make replays vastly different, as there's a fork in which stages you can tackle pretty early on.

Honestly, I'm almost tempted to give this game a 9/10. However, it has some clear flaws, so an 8/10 for now. Play this game. Play every Wario Land game. The series gets better with every entry (Note: I haven't played Shake It!! yet).

Good game design is eternal. The way all of Mario's moves connect so beautifully, with pretty much all of them contributing to a diverse moveset that is extremely satisfying to master. The variety being a natural extension of the main gameplay, with platforming, sliding, and light combat. The compact maps that (For the most part) use their space to the fullest extent. All of this was good in 1996, and is still good today.

Game design is also subjective, and what works for one game may not work for another. A lot of people say the game shouldn't boot Mario out of the painting after getting a star, but this can work better than the alternative of keeping Mario in the level. In Bob-omb Battlefield, Koopa the Quick is at the beginning of the stage, so being booted back is more convenient.

However, such is not the case in a stage like Tick Tock Clock, where the majority of the stars are in a linear set of obstacles, with each a bit further than the rest. This was bad design in 1996 and is also bad design today, and Tick Tock Clock wasn't the only stage with such issues.

I can forgive a bad camera, some spotty visual design, and even short length, but repetitive content I cannot. Don't take this as a knock against the game; It's aged extremely well for such a pioneer. However, some of the mistakes it made have nothing to do with the new dimension it explored, but instead fundamentals that apply in 2D as well.

Each Wario Land game was better than the last, but I knew not to expect that here coming off of Wario Land 4. Even still, I was kind of disappointed with the game. It was a pretty mixed bag overall.

Speaking of bags, there's a lot of treasure bags in this game. And the only way to get the coins inside is to shake it until money comes out. Problem is, the money flies everywhere, so if you want to get all of it, you better find an enclosed place to shake the bag in. There's another? Better bring it to the same place and shake again. And again. Multiple times in each stage.

This isn't the only instance of unnecessary motion control. Aiming your throws is a pretty solid expansion of Wario Land gameplay, but it's done by tilting the wiimote. I'm fine with motion controls in games like Wii Sports or Metroid Prime because they do something there that Control Sticks either can't do or aren't as well equipped to, but such is not the case with Wario Land: Shake it.

There's other motion control gimmicks, but the worst is the Subwarine levels. My gosh. It's like a perfect storm of bad design. First, it's an unnatural extension of the main gameplay. Then it's an autoscroller. Thirdly, it has motion control to move. But not entirely, no. You tilt to aim your Subwarine, but use the d-pad to move forward and back. It's a tank controls abomination. Also, there are branching paths that, if you want to get a treasure chest, you just have to... guess the right path. All of the Subwarine levels are genuinely awful.

If one was to remove all of the issues I discussed, it would probably be a serviceable platformer, but it still has issues. Not only as a game, but as a Wario Land game. Wario Land 4 backpedaled on many of the unconventional mechanics that Wario Land 2 established, but Wario Land: Shake it goes even further. There's a health bar and besides few exceptions, it has none of the unconventional powerups. It's closest in style to Wario Land 1, really. That's not automatically bad, but aside from motion control, there's no consistent design decisions.

It lifts the 'hurry up' mechanic from Wario Land 4 where one runs through the stages backwards, which I mostly found fine, but it also takes two of the unconventional 'powerups': Fire and Snowball Wario. The problem with this is the mission system. Each stage has multiple missions, one of which is often 'Don't take damage'. Now, Wario Land 4's health system wasn't optimal for a system where enemies hitting you could actually be a powerup (One of the few flaws with that game), but I'd say it's more of a problem in Shake it. There's about 3 levels where these powerups are used, so if this was the first Wario Land game you played and you saw a block that had a flame on it, you may think, "Huh. Maybe I break that block with this fire enemy. I probably shouldn't touch it though, since I want to beat that 'Don't get damaged' mission."

The ironic thing is that if the game wanted to simultaneously have these mechanics and also reward good play while also making the game accessible, It could've just made Wario immortal like in 2 or 3. There are fragments of old Wario Land design, but they go against the game GoodFeel was trying to make: A by-the-books 2D platformer. When it's that and there's little to no motion control, it's fairly good. But those moments are few and far between.

Dang. I started this review thinking the game was a 5/10, but it might actually be a 4/10. But still, there were good elements. The bosses, for the most part, were pretty good. There were a few issues (The final boss at one point combo'd me with unavoidable attacks and I lost half of my health), but they were good regardless.

I also liked the idea of a shop, but it was very half-baked. All you can really by is required maps and health upgrades/restorers. Regardless, making the treasure have value besides and endgame reward is a solid idea and I appreciate the thought.

Visually, the game is pretty good. The animations are nice and the backgrounds are good. In terms of sound, the music was alright. I can't really remember many tracks though.

Point is, this game disappointed me. I may have liked it a bit more if I hadn't played the other Wario Land games, but I stand by my review. However, if this is the first/only Wario Land game you played, tell me how you feel/if my scenario about the fire powerup applied to you. Anyway, Wario Land 2, 3, and 4 are far more worth your time than this.