I've loved Metroid Prime since it first blew my mind on my cousin's TV in 2002. It has always been an incredible exploration-focused game, and the shadow drop during this February's Direct was HYPE. I had been holding off on revisiting Prime ever since those Metroid Prime Trilogy rumors started in like 2020, so I was beyond ready for this release.

After having considered this a masterpiece for a couple decades, I'm happy to say that it mostly holds up! What's even better is that every change in this remaster is for the better; Gyro is a huge improvement, alternate control schemes all work well, and the re-done textures make this one of the most beautiful games on the Switch.

I didn't want to score/review it right after finishing (I beat the game a week and a half ago) because I wanted to sit with it for a bit. It's still a killer game, but I don't think it quite sits amongst my all-time favorites anymore. The ending really did drag a bit more than I realized. I'd heard people complain about the backtracking in Prime for 20 years, but it never really bothered me until now. Going back and forth for Artifacts and the last few Missile Expansions really kills the momentum right before the finale, and ultimately holds this back from a perfect score. I'd compare it to the Triforce quest at the end of Wind Waker, but I actually kind of like that. Anyhow, there was no way I wasn't going to 100% this game, just like I do with every Metroid title (except the first one), it's just a shame that going back through the world for all the last items wasn't as enjoyable as the other Metroid games. I'd largely say that it's because elevators between regions felt more remote than in other games. I've never actually finished Echoes or Corruption, so I'm hoping that's handled a bit better in the sequels. (How long do I wait to see if they're getting Switch ports before I just play them on my Wii U??)

Anyhow, none of that stops Metroid Prime from being an incredible game. It may not completely stack up against my teenage memories, but it still cannot be overstated how incredible the atmosphere of Metroid Prime is. What a rad world to get lost in. Phenomenal game.

Replaying this game and beating every boss except the Ancient Dragon and Vendrick, both of which aren't fights they are just gigantic health bars with legs, in under a week made me realize that not only am I a fucking freak of nature with no time management but that this game is in a weird middle ground where everyone's opinion on it is simultaneously wrong and right.

I still love this game though and I'm definitely on the more forgiving side because I see everything this game gives and takes in comparison to Dark Souls 1 as different rather than bad. Not in the "oh they experimented and therefore they can't be blamed but I find enjoyment in alot of the changes they made on it's own merit.

The only thing I really think this game deserves to be ragged on, is for existing in the first place. Dark Souls 1 and it's story was completely wrapped up with minor loose ends here and there. It was a was a story with a world that had a definitive ending and Dark Souls 2, even if it's not on purpose, made that ending lose it's impact. It sucks that FromSoft was contractually obligated to make sequels even though Dark Souls 1 and it's ending was about finality and the ending of things.

Still the best souls :)

Recently I've been on a mission to rediscover the GB/GBC and its library, not just for research purposes (I'm working on a zine project that will hopefully come to fruition soon), but to sorta bring me out of a gaming slump I've been in recently. Somehow this journey brought me here, a childhood favorite that I received with my Game Boy Color, along with Super Mario Bros. Deluxe and Pokemon Red. It was my first handheld and is wholly responsible for my continued love of handheld consoles in general.

As for Tetris DX, it's Tetris! If you're looking for classic Tetris with no frills, this one and the NES one are great. I feel weird marking this as "completed" because there's not much to complete per se, but I played through the available modes enough that I feel content with my time spent.

A pretty disappointing Assassin's Creed game that I spent almost 80 hours 100%ing because I hate myself.
This was my first memorable experience with "video games can just launch completely broken now and it's apparently OK". Some of the bugs were funny but most were annoying. Even if you strip away all the bugs, what you're left with is a bloated video game that does little to justify its length. It really sounds like I hate this game but honestly, it's not terrible. I had enough fun playing it that I at least wanted to 100% it even if I ended up deeply regretting that decision.

AC: Unity taught me what Ubisoft open world fatigue was and after playing it, I took a multi-year break on one of my favorite game franchises of all time before eventually calling it quits completely with AC: Origins.

Disclaimer: These are my brief thoughts based on my memory of playing this 8 years ago:

A Metroid game where every 15 minutes you’re hit with either one of those clever scripted bits from Super Metroid or that bullshit hidden wall on the way to Ridley’s in that same game. It’s more linear than the other Metroids I’ve played so far, it’s kind of annoying to be arbitrarily gated off from areas so frequently, but I wouldn’t go so far as to call it handholdy, you still have a fair amount of freedom to explore within a level. And it has more control over how things are paced and built up, this game has some of the thickest atmosphere and most effective suspense building in the series, every time the SA-X is on screen my heart stops, and I especially love the buildup to Nightmare. The problem is your progress is often halted by some unreasonably obtuse obstacles. It gets better later in the game when you unlock the power bomb (which are generous in quantity this time around) and you can just nuke the screen to reveal what breaks what, but still, such frequent roadblocks feel like padding to an already short game. I also think the bosses are mixed. I love the aforementioned Nightmare and the SA-X, but then I hate, hate, HATE the spider boss, which if it grabs you once, it’s over, you’re about to be stun locked to death.

Overall, a very different kind of Metroid game. I don’t like it as much as Prime, Super or Dread, but it’s a worthy outing.