EverydayOtter
2013
Popcap is one of those developers that just really resonates with me. I think everybody has one of those game studios that just put out a ton of games that they like, where their way of designing games just really gels with what they like. For me, that's Popcap games. I've played all of their classics, such as Bejeweled, the ever present Plants vs Zombies, the slept-on Bookworm Adventures, and of course, the focus of this review, Peggle.
Peggle 2 is arguably one of the last good games that Popcap ever developed. Still post EA buyout, but not yet to the Plants vs Zombies 3 brainrot just yet, they still had enough creative power to push out a great game like Peggle 2.
Peggle 2 makes some strides forward in certain areas, while regressing in some, so I'll talk about what I liked first. The new graphics style is very charming in my opinion, but I could see why it would be divisive. The characters have a very very cartoonified style as compared to the first game, which isn't everybody's cup of tea, but this allows them to have much more in depth animation this time around. The characters stand to the side of the screen rather than being in the ball-shooter, which gives them a chance to really show life, where the original portraits could feel lifeless. This visual charm permeates throughout the game, with backgrounds being in a style that matches the characters art style, while still not sacrificing on any detail from the original game. They very much look like promo art from a cartoon, which looks great in my opinion. The UI also looks great, although I don't necessarily think it beats out the original Peggle, it just goes for something different. More geometric, less futuristic but more "modern" if that makes any sense?
The music also has taken a huge step up in my opinion. Now, the original Peggle OST is a great listen, but this game gives each playable character their own suite of background music when playing a level, each based on their own royalty free stock melody. This feels like a great extension of the original game's use of 'Ode to Joy' when clearing a level, and also gives each character their own leitmotifs. Examples are Bjorn's song being 'Ode to Joy', Windy's being 'Hallelujah', and Gnorman's being 'In the Hall of the Mountain King'. The game's soundtrack was performed by an actual orchestra, which is kind of crazy to think about Peggle getting that kind of production value, but it's the kind of silly thing that I can just get down with if that makes sense. Each character ALSO has their own peg-hit sound effects to make playing each one feel even more distinct.
Another sound-related thing I feel compelled to mention is that the Menu sound effects (when you flick between buttons) are to the tune of 'Morning Mood', the Peggle title theme. This is a SUPER nice touch and just shows that extra level of devotion that I love to see from games in general. Also the multiplayer lobby theme is a great jazz rendition of 'Ode to Joy' and it honestly goes insanely hard.
The new masters are also great, although they definitely feel power-crept from the first version (aside from poor old Bjorn, unchanged from Peggle 1). This leads the game to rely more on the green pegs as they are more powerful, and the levels have been designed in a slightly more difficult manner to compensate. This isn't necessarily a negative change, but it's something to note if you really enjoyed the balance from the original Peggle. I also appreciate how the majority of characters are new to this game with new powers, giving a reason for both games to exist on their own. Gnorman is a bit overpowered, but it's not like the original game had the best balance between characters.
A large place where I feel this game regressed from the original, however, is in terms of the number of playable characters. For some reason, this game only has 7 (if you buy the 2 DLC packs, we'll get to it) playable characters, which is a pretty steep drop off from the last game's 11. Each character has double the levels to offset this, but in terms of character action, there's fewer options, which is strictly a downgrade in my opinion for a game like this. So much of the appeal is in the wide variety of characters and ways to tackle a situation, so it's sad to see that removed in part.
Now, two of those characters are locked behind DLC. Womp womp. EA got their hands on this one I suppose. I can't hate too much on the level pack DLC though, as it does come with a full level pack and new character, so I believe it justifies the $5 price tag. When compared to the original Peggle though, it's hard to not feel like you're paying more to get less. The costume pack DLC for the characters is honestly kind of insulting though, the costumes actually don't even look good.
The original charm of Peggle and its Nights counterpart is maintained in this sequel in my opinion, and arguably surpassed in the art and music department, despite a short list of pitfalls. This is one of the last real Popcap games out there, and unfortunately it's exclusive to consoles, so you can't pick this up on PC, but I'd recommend it if you have a Xbox or Playstation console. Even if the crowd doesn't cheer for this game (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sr57Je1fVvM), it's my favorite installment in one of my favorite game series. I can only hope to see EA or Popcap revisit this franchise (in a not free-to-play mobile game) someday in the near future.
Peggle 2 is arguably one of the last good games that Popcap ever developed. Still post EA buyout, but not yet to the Plants vs Zombies 3 brainrot just yet, they still had enough creative power to push out a great game like Peggle 2.
Peggle 2 makes some strides forward in certain areas, while regressing in some, so I'll talk about what I liked first. The new graphics style is very charming in my opinion, but I could see why it would be divisive. The characters have a very very cartoonified style as compared to the first game, which isn't everybody's cup of tea, but this allows them to have much more in depth animation this time around. The characters stand to the side of the screen rather than being in the ball-shooter, which gives them a chance to really show life, where the original portraits could feel lifeless. This visual charm permeates throughout the game, with backgrounds being in a style that matches the characters art style, while still not sacrificing on any detail from the original game. They very much look like promo art from a cartoon, which looks great in my opinion. The UI also looks great, although I don't necessarily think it beats out the original Peggle, it just goes for something different. More geometric, less futuristic but more "modern" if that makes any sense?
The music also has taken a huge step up in my opinion. Now, the original Peggle OST is a great listen, but this game gives each playable character their own suite of background music when playing a level, each based on their own royalty free stock melody. This feels like a great extension of the original game's use of 'Ode to Joy' when clearing a level, and also gives each character their own leitmotifs. Examples are Bjorn's song being 'Ode to Joy', Windy's being 'Hallelujah', and Gnorman's being 'In the Hall of the Mountain King'. The game's soundtrack was performed by an actual orchestra, which is kind of crazy to think about Peggle getting that kind of production value, but it's the kind of silly thing that I can just get down with if that makes sense. Each character ALSO has their own peg-hit sound effects to make playing each one feel even more distinct.
Another sound-related thing I feel compelled to mention is that the Menu sound effects (when you flick between buttons) are to the tune of 'Morning Mood', the Peggle title theme. This is a SUPER nice touch and just shows that extra level of devotion that I love to see from games in general. Also the multiplayer lobby theme is a great jazz rendition of 'Ode to Joy' and it honestly goes insanely hard.
The new masters are also great, although they definitely feel power-crept from the first version (aside from poor old Bjorn, unchanged from Peggle 1). This leads the game to rely more on the green pegs as they are more powerful, and the levels have been designed in a slightly more difficult manner to compensate. This isn't necessarily a negative change, but it's something to note if you really enjoyed the balance from the original Peggle. I also appreciate how the majority of characters are new to this game with new powers, giving a reason for both games to exist on their own. Gnorman is a bit overpowered, but it's not like the original game had the best balance between characters.
A large place where I feel this game regressed from the original, however, is in terms of the number of playable characters. For some reason, this game only has 7 (if you buy the 2 DLC packs, we'll get to it) playable characters, which is a pretty steep drop off from the last game's 11. Each character has double the levels to offset this, but in terms of character action, there's fewer options, which is strictly a downgrade in my opinion for a game like this. So much of the appeal is in the wide variety of characters and ways to tackle a situation, so it's sad to see that removed in part.
Now, two of those characters are locked behind DLC. Womp womp. EA got their hands on this one I suppose. I can't hate too much on the level pack DLC though, as it does come with a full level pack and new character, so I believe it justifies the $5 price tag. When compared to the original Peggle though, it's hard to not feel like you're paying more to get less. The costume pack DLC for the characters is honestly kind of insulting though, the costumes actually don't even look good.
The original charm of Peggle and its Nights counterpart is maintained in this sequel in my opinion, and arguably surpassed in the art and music department, despite a short list of pitfalls. This is one of the last real Popcap games out there, and unfortunately it's exclusive to consoles, so you can't pick this up on PC, but I'd recommend it if you have a Xbox or Playstation console. Even if the crowd doesn't cheer for this game (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sr57Je1fVvM), it's my favorite installment in one of my favorite game series. I can only hope to see EA or Popcap revisit this franchise (in a not free-to-play mobile game) someday in the near future.
2019
Pikuniku feels like it defines what a standard modern day indie game is. It's designed in a way that it would likely have never been green-lit by a larger studio, but with an amount of polish that would make those same studios blush. These indie games tend to excel in certain categories that it doesn't feel like these larger studios put much care into, at the expense of shorter playtime and smaller ambitions.
The first thing that jumps out to me about this game was its sound design. Part of this is due to the fact that I played the co-op mode (featuring a set of 9 levels unique from the story mode) before anything else, and was struck by how great some of the level background songs are. This in tandem with the well-done sound effects for kicking, jumping, dialogue, and collecting items just lends this game to have audio that sounds polished to a mirror shine.
The visuals also have a similar polish, although I feel they don't 'stand out' as much as they are just unique. Not in some sort of game-changing way or anything, they're just not your standard fare. They appear more as if they're designed in some sort of vector-based design program rather than a pixel-based one, with almost everything being constructed of circles and rectangles lined up in certain ways. This style lends itself well to the game's nonchalant tone, feeling confident and well done, while not trying to reinvent the wheel.
The structure of the story mode is pretty standard, being narrative based with the player accomplishing objectives by moving from one area to another with a puzzles and platforming challenges sprinkled throughout. None of the puzzles are particularly challenging, nor the platforming, but even then this game still has a generous checkpoint system that seems to respect the player's time. Some backtracking is required, but I'd argue that the dialogue more than makes up for this. I was cracking up a ton playing this game due to some of the options you can use to respond to NPCs, and their responses. This humor even comes in to impact certain parts of how the game story progresses, which I enjoy seeing, because it shows that the story and game design were done in tandem.
I'd also like to give a little credit to the devs for adding the side content they did, this including a co-op, basketball, and rhythm minigame to name a few.
The main thing that I'd want to see from this game would be a larger emphasis on what its good at, the narrative. I feel the developer's sense of humor could go great in lots of projects, maybe ones that went a bit further to do something interesting. As it is though, this game is definitely worth the 4 or so hours it took me to play it, and it had me smiling for pretty much the whole runtime. At the end of the day, what else can you really ask a game for?
The first thing that jumps out to me about this game was its sound design. Part of this is due to the fact that I played the co-op mode (featuring a set of 9 levels unique from the story mode) before anything else, and was struck by how great some of the level background songs are. This in tandem with the well-done sound effects for kicking, jumping, dialogue, and collecting items just lends this game to have audio that sounds polished to a mirror shine.
The visuals also have a similar polish, although I feel they don't 'stand out' as much as they are just unique. Not in some sort of game-changing way or anything, they're just not your standard fare. They appear more as if they're designed in some sort of vector-based design program rather than a pixel-based one, with almost everything being constructed of circles and rectangles lined up in certain ways. This style lends itself well to the game's nonchalant tone, feeling confident and well done, while not trying to reinvent the wheel.
The structure of the story mode is pretty standard, being narrative based with the player accomplishing objectives by moving from one area to another with a puzzles and platforming challenges sprinkled throughout. None of the puzzles are particularly challenging, nor the platforming, but even then this game still has a generous checkpoint system that seems to respect the player's time. Some backtracking is required, but I'd argue that the dialogue more than makes up for this. I was cracking up a ton playing this game due to some of the options you can use to respond to NPCs, and their responses. This humor even comes in to impact certain parts of how the game story progresses, which I enjoy seeing, because it shows that the story and game design were done in tandem.
I'd also like to give a little credit to the devs for adding the side content they did, this including a co-op, basketball, and rhythm minigame to name a few.
The main thing that I'd want to see from this game would be a larger emphasis on what its good at, the narrative. I feel the developer's sense of humor could go great in lots of projects, maybe ones that went a bit further to do something interesting. As it is though, this game is definitely worth the 4 or so hours it took me to play it, and it had me smiling for pretty much the whole runtime. At the end of the day, what else can you really ask a game for?
Now this game is an absolute CLASSIC from the Adobe Flash days. For those unfamiliar, The Fancy Pants Adventures is a series of (formerly) Adobe Flash browser games developed by Brad Borne.
This is a new game inspired by those flash games, so we'll be treating it as a relatively standalone project just for the sake of argument.
The first thing that might strike you about this game is the art style. It's very simple, sort of playing on that early Flash animation 'Newgrounds' style of stick figure. The main character (the Fancy Pants man?) is animated frame by frame by hand, leading to this super fluid looking character, whose movement is accentuated by his flowing hair and pants. It all leans into this smooth, slick look that the whole game has going on, looking like strokes of a digital pen.
The controls that those animations are helping are also butter smooth. The closest frame of reference for somebody like me (a deranged Sonic the Hedgehog fan) would be the classic Sonic games, with how they handle gradual buildup of speed, slopes, and the ways that you can jump off of ramps at different points to get different velocities in those jumps. I'd argue that it's even more smooth than those games in ways, the wall jumping and running makes the game all flow together seamlessly. It truly is a joy to control, and I'd personally really like to see just what goes on inside of that engine.
The levels are probably the most lacking part of this game, as I find some of the themes just kind of blend together, but the visuals are still very nice overall, and some areas have some rather good tunes to accompany them, and have gotten themselves lodged in my head over the years. The dialogue throughout the game is also just a good time. It doesn't take itself too seriously and knows when to crack a good joke, but it isn't a comedy by any means. It very much taps into that 'internet humor' of the early 2010s, in the nicest way possible. For a game that started life on the web, I can think of no more fitting a style.
The support for four player co-op is also a great perk to this version of the game. Each player is also able to customize their character with over 100 cosmetic items, all of which feel genuinely fun and creative (personal combo is the classic hair, cyan pants, and the pointy finger as my weapon). Nailing co-op is a tough task, but this game is very loose with both controls and the camera, so you don't tend to run into the same issues you might with shoving co-op into other games.
This game leaves me wanting a sequel so badly, it's simple fun that's a good time almost all the way through! I didn't even talk about how it includes the entirety of the first two Flash games in the series as unlockables!
As a final note, I played this game on Xbox 360, and as this is a digital only title, it will become unplayable on that platform following the 360's digital marketplace shutdown in July of this year. This game and likely hundreds of others will be lost in that shuffle, and although this game is thankfully preserved through a Flash demake and a mobile port (that could also get taken down at any point the publisher would like), many other games don't even have that luxury. If you'd like to try this game out on the 360, just know you have a limited time to do so.
With all that said, I do absolutely think you should give this game a try, although you'll get much the same experience playing the Flash version of this game or its predecessors. Even if not this specific game though, the Fancy Pants series is worth keeping an eye on, and I have the newest game 'Super Fancy Pants Adventures' on my backlog as we speak! Maybe you'll hear from that soon!
This is a new game inspired by those flash games, so we'll be treating it as a relatively standalone project just for the sake of argument.
The first thing that might strike you about this game is the art style. It's very simple, sort of playing on that early Flash animation 'Newgrounds' style of stick figure. The main character (the Fancy Pants man?) is animated frame by frame by hand, leading to this super fluid looking character, whose movement is accentuated by his flowing hair and pants. It all leans into this smooth, slick look that the whole game has going on, looking like strokes of a digital pen.
The controls that those animations are helping are also butter smooth. The closest frame of reference for somebody like me (a deranged Sonic the Hedgehog fan) would be the classic Sonic games, with how they handle gradual buildup of speed, slopes, and the ways that you can jump off of ramps at different points to get different velocities in those jumps. I'd argue that it's even more smooth than those games in ways, the wall jumping and running makes the game all flow together seamlessly. It truly is a joy to control, and I'd personally really like to see just what goes on inside of that engine.
The levels are probably the most lacking part of this game, as I find some of the themes just kind of blend together, but the visuals are still very nice overall, and some areas have some rather good tunes to accompany them, and have gotten themselves lodged in my head over the years. The dialogue throughout the game is also just a good time. It doesn't take itself too seriously and knows when to crack a good joke, but it isn't a comedy by any means. It very much taps into that 'internet humor' of the early 2010s, in the nicest way possible. For a game that started life on the web, I can think of no more fitting a style.
The support for four player co-op is also a great perk to this version of the game. Each player is also able to customize their character with over 100 cosmetic items, all of which feel genuinely fun and creative (personal combo is the classic hair, cyan pants, and the pointy finger as my weapon). Nailing co-op is a tough task, but this game is very loose with both controls and the camera, so you don't tend to run into the same issues you might with shoving co-op into other games.
This game leaves me wanting a sequel so badly, it's simple fun that's a good time almost all the way through! I didn't even talk about how it includes the entirety of the first two Flash games in the series as unlockables!
As a final note, I played this game on Xbox 360, and as this is a digital only title, it will become unplayable on that platform following the 360's digital marketplace shutdown in July of this year. This game and likely hundreds of others will be lost in that shuffle, and although this game is thankfully preserved through a Flash demake and a mobile port (that could also get taken down at any point the publisher would like), many other games don't even have that luxury. If you'd like to try this game out on the 360, just know you have a limited time to do so.
With all that said, I do absolutely think you should give this game a try, although you'll get much the same experience playing the Flash version of this game or its predecessors. Even if not this specific game though, the Fancy Pants series is worth keeping an eye on, and I have the newest game 'Super Fancy Pants Adventures' on my backlog as we speak! Maybe you'll hear from that soon!
2003
Man, I'm just a sucker for these types of games. This is one that I never actually finished as a kid, so some of this is new to me!
Just generally, this game is great at its purpose. The environments look great, and the objects are cleverly hidden. I've noticed this time around that the I SPY riddles get slightly more difficult as you progress through the game, expecting more comprehension out of the (intended child) player. For example, the game will go from telling you to find a duck, to asking you to find four birds, of which a duck would be one. This helps to solidify some of those good ol' critical thinking skills that children's games are trying to build, and it takes a good amount of thought and cleverness from the author of the riddle to embed that, so hats off to them.
Compared to I SPY: Spooky Mansion, I don't think this one's quite on that same level of design. To be fair, the theme just isn't as interesting, and they don't have as much room to stretch it, given they 'subdivide' the game into three sections. None of the themes get quite as developed as Spooky Mansion's due to the split. The sections do have their own UI design, sound design, and narratives, which is a really nice touch. It very much leans into that 'I'm a child playing with toys in my bedroom' theme that they're going for.
Each of the three themes (underwater, castle, outerspace) have a few different sets of puzzles in the same area to spread out playtime, which is a great feature for a game designed for very young kids... who don't generally get to buy many video games. The ending changes with each time the area is played as well, just a neat touch.
I will say that for me there's a little too much waiting, as in just waiting for the hidden object to do its little animation to play before I can click another one. Not a big deal by any means, and this way kids know what part of the object they clicked on was correct, and also potentially convey some information about how this potentially unknown object works (like a yo-yo, do kids still use those?).
I find it a shame these games don't really get made anymore. They were a staple of my childhood and I spent genuine hours replaying them as a kid. They are full of passion and creativity and effort, but in that weird CD-ROM game kind of way that you only truly understand if you've played one before.
If you're looking at playing one of these games, please do, as I genuinely find them a lot of fun, although I'd recommend I SPY: Spooky Mansion Deluxe as the best starting point.
Just generally, this game is great at its purpose. The environments look great, and the objects are cleverly hidden. I've noticed this time around that the I SPY riddles get slightly more difficult as you progress through the game, expecting more comprehension out of the (intended child) player. For example, the game will go from telling you to find a duck, to asking you to find four birds, of which a duck would be one. This helps to solidify some of those good ol' critical thinking skills that children's games are trying to build, and it takes a good amount of thought and cleverness from the author of the riddle to embed that, so hats off to them.
Compared to I SPY: Spooky Mansion, I don't think this one's quite on that same level of design. To be fair, the theme just isn't as interesting, and they don't have as much room to stretch it, given they 'subdivide' the game into three sections. None of the themes get quite as developed as Spooky Mansion's due to the split. The sections do have their own UI design, sound design, and narratives, which is a really nice touch. It very much leans into that 'I'm a child playing with toys in my bedroom' theme that they're going for.
Each of the three themes (underwater, castle, outerspace) have a few different sets of puzzles in the same area to spread out playtime, which is a great feature for a game designed for very young kids... who don't generally get to buy many video games. The ending changes with each time the area is played as well, just a neat touch.
I will say that for me there's a little too much waiting, as in just waiting for the hidden object to do its little animation to play before I can click another one. Not a big deal by any means, and this way kids know what part of the object they clicked on was correct, and also potentially convey some information about how this potentially unknown object works (like a yo-yo, do kids still use those?).
I find it a shame these games don't really get made anymore. They were a staple of my childhood and I spent genuine hours replaying them as a kid. They are full of passion and creativity and effort, but in that weird CD-ROM game kind of way that you only truly understand if you've played one before.
If you're looking at playing one of these games, please do, as I genuinely find them a lot of fun, although I'd recommend I SPY: Spooky Mansion Deluxe as the best starting point.
2023
Honestly, I just want more from this game.
It's very visually unique and the art is well crafted, making each area feel unique, not only in art style, but also theme. Each area feels like it's been designed with a theme and story in mind, and have their own unique mechanics and narrative.
The worst part about this game is that it hooked me too much and I want more of it. I'm rarely one to complain that a game is too short, but this is an exception because I feel the idea here is GOLDEN. I want the platforming and gimmicks for each area expanded, and I hope that this game gets a sequel to expand on its mechanics.
Overall, this game is still a good time, and I'd recommend it. Also the branding (logo, key art, menus) are AMAZINGLY well done and catch the eye so quickly. I just can't help but feel like the game could have been so much more.
It's very visually unique and the art is well crafted, making each area feel unique, not only in art style, but also theme. Each area feels like it's been designed with a theme and story in mind, and have their own unique mechanics and narrative.
The worst part about this game is that it hooked me too much and I want more of it. I'm rarely one to complain that a game is too short, but this is an exception because I feel the idea here is GOLDEN. I want the platforming and gimmicks for each area expanded, and I hope that this game gets a sequel to expand on its mechanics.
Overall, this game is still a good time, and I'd recommend it. Also the branding (logo, key art, menus) are AMAZINGLY well done and catch the eye so quickly. I just can't help but feel like the game could have been so much more.
Now THIS game is my real childhood. Before I was ever able to get my hands on a game console, or even a real game for PC, I had this I SPY game for my mom's old Windows Vista desktop.
It holds up shockingly well today, despite a couple of hiccups on modern hardware, specifically with playing the end-of-route cutscenes. The charm of the visuals is fully intact, and you can see just how much care went into designing each of the puzzles. The sound design is fun and strange, and the voice of the skeleton is on point.
There's just a few parts of the game that definitely show its age, like the inability to skip past the animations that play with every object you click on. This is of course a nitpick, but it does get in the way a bit when you're finding objects faster than the animations will let you click on them.
With this game being so easily available on the web today, it's a short 2 hour little adventure that's sure to put a smile on your face if you're anything like me. Give it a shot.
It holds up shockingly well today, despite a couple of hiccups on modern hardware, specifically with playing the end-of-route cutscenes. The charm of the visuals is fully intact, and you can see just how much care went into designing each of the puzzles. The sound design is fun and strange, and the voice of the skeleton is on point.
There's just a few parts of the game that definitely show its age, like the inability to skip past the animations that play with every object you click on. This is of course a nitpick, but it does get in the way a bit when you're finding objects faster than the animations will let you click on them.
With this game being so easily available on the web today, it's a short 2 hour little adventure that's sure to put a smile on your face if you're anything like me. Give it a shot.
2021
This is a pretty fun game overall! Very nice and peaceful, more of an experience than a game. The achievements and 100% are very fun, and the game is also available on Game Pass!
The visuals are perfect and the controls are intuitive, even on a controller and not a keyboard. The audio gets the job done well and the subtle narrative woven throughout is nice to have.
Overall, this game is definitely worth playing and, even though it's not life changing or anything, it's a good time and puts a smile on my face.
The visuals are perfect and the controls are intuitive, even on a controller and not a keyboard. The audio gets the job done well and the subtle narrative woven throughout is nice to have.
Overall, this game is definitely worth playing and, even though it's not life changing or anything, it's a good time and puts a smile on my face.
2000
Man, this really is just the same as last time.
Same upsides as the original Pokemon Stadium, it's awesome getting to battle your teams from the GBC games on the N64. Most of the models are super high quality for the time and visually the game looks about as anything did on the platform. Audio design is also perfectly fine.
Personally, I just take some amount of issue with the way the game is designed. Generally, you either have a team that you built, that will absolutely smash the competition, or the competition is spamming accuracy dropping, confusion causing moves. It makes it very hard to plan a good, well balanced team, when you could always just lose to random luck. So many enemy trainers fall into this camp and it's just frustrating to lose to, especially whenever there isn't really counter moves for those things in the older generations of Pokemon.
Additions I liked were the Academy which helped teach players about the mechanics that the Game Boy games OBJECTIVELY do NOT teach the players, and the Challenge cup forcing you to work with Random Pokemon was a very fun time, although it may have been more fun if the Pokemon you got were randomized every round.
Overall, this game is alright, and it's best to just burn some time in as opposed to a full completion experience. Worth a shot if you're already into the series, but definitely skippable if not.
Same upsides as the original Pokemon Stadium, it's awesome getting to battle your teams from the GBC games on the N64. Most of the models are super high quality for the time and visually the game looks about as anything did on the platform. Audio design is also perfectly fine.
Personally, I just take some amount of issue with the way the game is designed. Generally, you either have a team that you built, that will absolutely smash the competition, or the competition is spamming accuracy dropping, confusion causing moves. It makes it very hard to plan a good, well balanced team, when you could always just lose to random luck. So many enemy trainers fall into this camp and it's just frustrating to lose to, especially whenever there isn't really counter moves for those things in the older generations of Pokemon.
Additions I liked were the Academy which helped teach players about the mechanics that the Game Boy games OBJECTIVELY do NOT teach the players, and the Challenge cup forcing you to work with Random Pokemon was a very fun time, although it may have been more fun if the Pokemon you got were randomized every round.
Overall, this game is alright, and it's best to just burn some time in as opposed to a full completion experience. Worth a shot if you're already into the series, but definitely skippable if not.
This is one of those games that is nearly perfect in every way. Throughout the entire playtime of the game I was constantly shocked, impressed, and surprised at all of the ways that this game innovated on the standard Mario formula to create something truly unique.
The visuals and audio quality are top notch, finally moving past the bland NSMB style into something more lively and animated, leaning more into its two dimensional cartoon roots. Expressive animations and facial expressions, a slick, fun UI, and beautiful environment designs and backgrounds make this game have one of the most well executed visual styles I have ever seen in a video game. The music as well is much of what you'd expect, but it uses a different suite of instruments than any game before to evolve Mario's sound to his new location.
I thought the unique Wonder Flower effects for many levels were a welcome way to shake up the formula, and many could have entire worlds of a game dedicated to expanding on their concepts. Similarly, the badges (although being more hit or miss), brought tons of depth to the gameplay, and could similarly carry an entire segment of a game on their backs alone. Levels are well paced, perfectly designed for multiplayer and single player, and almost all of them left me feeling good after playing them.
The post-game levels did get a bit challenging for my taste, especially the last of the bunch, taking me around 2 hours to finally nail, but I know this is a level of challenge many people enjoy. The rest of the game had perfect levels of difficulty in my opinion, even the much more challenging special world stages felt perfectly paced.
Expanding the playable character cast was also an amazing addition, and the newly introduced power-ups shake up the monotony of the previous NSMB games. I loved that when other players were Yoshis that you could ride on their back, and that Nabbit is available as an easy mode option, while having enough characters to not force one player to have to play easy mode (like New Super Luigi U, or NSMBU Deluxe).
Gosh, what else to say about this game? Other than play it, of course. This game is genuinely near perfect, and everything about it makes me smile, it's such a good-time and well designed game all around. Full marks.
The visuals and audio quality are top notch, finally moving past the bland NSMB style into something more lively and animated, leaning more into its two dimensional cartoon roots. Expressive animations and facial expressions, a slick, fun UI, and beautiful environment designs and backgrounds make this game have one of the most well executed visual styles I have ever seen in a video game. The music as well is much of what you'd expect, but it uses a different suite of instruments than any game before to evolve Mario's sound to his new location.
I thought the unique Wonder Flower effects for many levels were a welcome way to shake up the formula, and many could have entire worlds of a game dedicated to expanding on their concepts. Similarly, the badges (although being more hit or miss), brought tons of depth to the gameplay, and could similarly carry an entire segment of a game on their backs alone. Levels are well paced, perfectly designed for multiplayer and single player, and almost all of them left me feeling good after playing them.
The post-game levels did get a bit challenging for my taste, especially the last of the bunch, taking me around 2 hours to finally nail, but I know this is a level of challenge many people enjoy. The rest of the game had perfect levels of difficulty in my opinion, even the much more challenging special world stages felt perfectly paced.
Expanding the playable character cast was also an amazing addition, and the newly introduced power-ups shake up the monotony of the previous NSMB games. I loved that when other players were Yoshis that you could ride on their back, and that Nabbit is available as an easy mode option, while having enough characters to not force one player to have to play easy mode (like New Super Luigi U, or NSMBU Deluxe).
Gosh, what else to say about this game? Other than play it, of course. This game is genuinely near perfect, and everything about it makes me smile, it's such a good-time and well designed game all around. Full marks.
This is one of the most perfectly designed games of all time. Visuals, soundtrack, gameplay design, everything is perfect. If you haven't played this game before, please rectify your mistake.
The gameplay loop is extremely addicting and does a great job of having each tool you get helping to counter a new threat. The game behaves logically, and mostly without any reading necessary due to the design of each of the plants implying what they do.
I could talk about the creativity behind this concept, but I believe it is evident. The premise is simple but captivating, the character designs and environment designs are perfect, and the soundtrack is among the best in all of gaming.
Post-game, this has some of the most compelling content I could possibly imagine. The mini-games that are so fun and entertaining that I could play a whole game full of them, and the puzzle/survival modes extend the life even further in ways that aren't simply replaying the adventure mode.
Truly, a masterclass in game design, and something that I wish the modern studio that holds PopCap's name could ever hope to replicate. Do yourself a favor and play this game if you haven't already.
The gameplay loop is extremely addicting and does a great job of having each tool you get helping to counter a new threat. The game behaves logically, and mostly without any reading necessary due to the design of each of the plants implying what they do.
I could talk about the creativity behind this concept, but I believe it is evident. The premise is simple but captivating, the character designs and environment designs are perfect, and the soundtrack is among the best in all of gaming.
Post-game, this has some of the most compelling content I could possibly imagine. The mini-games that are so fun and entertaining that I could play a whole game full of them, and the puzzle/survival modes extend the life even further in ways that aren't simply replaying the adventure mode.
Truly, a masterclass in game design, and something that I wish the modern studio that holds PopCap's name could ever hope to replicate. Do yourself a favor and play this game if you haven't already.
This game has me very mixed on how I feel about it, and it's largely down to how difficult it was to get the 100% completion vs. how difficult it was to beat the game.
On its own, this game has great visuals, plays like a dream, has fun character archetypes, well balanced characters, and lots of fun concepts throughout. This game had a lot of heart put into it and I respect it a great deal. Some of the fights felt overwhelmingly challenging compared to other parts of the game, but that was limited to one or two encounters overall.
The real issue with this game for me comes down to some of the requirements in game to get 100%. Some of the levels have extremely low "par" turn counts to get the perfect rating, leading to hours of restarting levels and having to use guides to figure out how to begin with not getting my team wiped in one turn. The post-game ultimate challenges were all pains in the neck, every last one of them, and it made going for the last 10% of completion take nearly the length of the rest of the game.
If you plan on just playing the story and a few post-game things, then this score should be read as much higher, likely an 8, but if you're going for 100%, just know you'll be in for a good bit of tedium on top of what is ultimately still quite a good game.
On its own, this game has great visuals, plays like a dream, has fun character archetypes, well balanced characters, and lots of fun concepts throughout. This game had a lot of heart put into it and I respect it a great deal. Some of the fights felt overwhelmingly challenging compared to other parts of the game, but that was limited to one or two encounters overall.
The real issue with this game for me comes down to some of the requirements in game to get 100%. Some of the levels have extremely low "par" turn counts to get the perfect rating, leading to hours of restarting levels and having to use guides to figure out how to begin with not getting my team wiped in one turn. The post-game ultimate challenges were all pains in the neck, every last one of them, and it made going for the last 10% of completion take nearly the length of the rest of the game.
If you plan on just playing the story and a few post-game things, then this score should be read as much higher, likely an 8, but if you're going for 100%, just know you'll be in for a good bit of tedium on top of what is ultimately still quite a good game.
Honestly the Gen 1 Pokemon games are such historic games that it's difficult to critically look at them. If you've ever played them, you know that they're barely functioning game spaghetti, with so many exploits that it's harder not to run into a glitch than it is to do so.
As a Pokemon game, I think a lot of the important parts of the formula have already been nailed perfectly from the start. The base of the battle system, most of the Pokemon designs, the design of the region and progression are all very good for what is a first attempt, and one that pushes the GameBoy to its absolute limits. I have to commend the technical marvel that this game even works at all on the system.
This is, however, a VERY technically flawed game. Bugs and exploits persist throughout, Pokemon movesets are about as barebones as they could be, the types themselves are terribly imbalanced, a lot of the sprite art is very rough around the edges (although thankfully not NEARLY as bad as Red/Blue/Green, those games are atrocious), and the need for multiple games (in this case, both Red AND Blue are needed to complete this game's Pokedex) hold this game back from the heights this formula will go on to succeed at.
The story is light but gives the player a lot of agency, with some parts of the game being non-linear in progression, and the twist rival at the end must have shocked those kids back in 1998. The sprinkled lore about Mewtwo helps to add a tone of mystery, and places like Lavender town aren't afraid to go all in on unsettling tones. Also, for the first games in the series, the soundtrack has become iconic and that's for good reason.
I know this is just a long ramble about random parts of this game, but I think this is a great game for fans of the series to go back to, even if it isn't a good 'game' by today's standards. Probably play Red/Blue though, the rough edges are even more present and exploits make the game even more fun, plus you aren't saddled with a literal Pikachu as your starter.
As a Pokemon game, I think a lot of the important parts of the formula have already been nailed perfectly from the start. The base of the battle system, most of the Pokemon designs, the design of the region and progression are all very good for what is a first attempt, and one that pushes the GameBoy to its absolute limits. I have to commend the technical marvel that this game even works at all on the system.
This is, however, a VERY technically flawed game. Bugs and exploits persist throughout, Pokemon movesets are about as barebones as they could be, the types themselves are terribly imbalanced, a lot of the sprite art is very rough around the edges (although thankfully not NEARLY as bad as Red/Blue/Green, those games are atrocious), and the need for multiple games (in this case, both Red AND Blue are needed to complete this game's Pokedex) hold this game back from the heights this formula will go on to succeed at.
The story is light but gives the player a lot of agency, with some parts of the game being non-linear in progression, and the twist rival at the end must have shocked those kids back in 1998. The sprinkled lore about Mewtwo helps to add a tone of mystery, and places like Lavender town aren't afraid to go all in on unsettling tones. Also, for the first games in the series, the soundtrack has become iconic and that's for good reason.
I know this is just a long ramble about random parts of this game, but I think this is a great game for fans of the series to go back to, even if it isn't a good 'game' by today's standards. Probably play Red/Blue though, the rough edges are even more present and exploits make the game even more fun, plus you aren't saddled with a literal Pikachu as your starter.
Honestly there really isn't much to say about this game, it's kind of just solid overall. As somebody who never played the original version of this game as a kid, I have always heard people praise this as a great 3D platformer. Now having played this myself, I'm sure part of that opinion is just baked-in nostalgia, but it's not like this game is bad or even mediocre.
As a fan of the show, I feel like this game did a great job of capturing the aesthetic and spirit of the show. Committing to actual jokes in the cutscenes isn't something super common in licensed kids games, so I was glad to see an effort made there to bring this in line closer with the show.
The progression has slight elements of a 'collectathon', but largely I'd say this game acts mostly as a linear platformer, with solid, easily understood level design. The level themes blend together a bit, but that's down to all trying to maintain consistency with the show if I had to pin it on anything. Only a very small number of times was I ever frustrated with anything in this game, which is always a good sign. Still, not much stood out as really outstanding or creative in terms of game design. It really is the definition of a 7/10 game.
Also that Mr. Krabs voice actor!! Who let him in the booth!! Bro sounds like a random person off the street doing a pirate voice!!
As a fan of the show, I feel like this game did a great job of capturing the aesthetic and spirit of the show. Committing to actual jokes in the cutscenes isn't something super common in licensed kids games, so I was glad to see an effort made there to bring this in line closer with the show.
The progression has slight elements of a 'collectathon', but largely I'd say this game acts mostly as a linear platformer, with solid, easily understood level design. The level themes blend together a bit, but that's down to all trying to maintain consistency with the show if I had to pin it on anything. Only a very small number of times was I ever frustrated with anything in this game, which is always a good sign. Still, not much stood out as really outstanding or creative in terms of game design. It really is the definition of a 7/10 game.
Also that Mr. Krabs voice actor!! Who let him in the booth!! Bro sounds like a random person off the street doing a pirate voice!!
As somebody who has never played any amount of the Pokemon Trading Card game before, this game was a fun introduction to the world of the tcg!!
One of the things that stuck out as rougher was the overall production value. All character sprites are constantly in their walking animation, and there's no connection between the areas in the game, just a map. There's also no real sense of progression throughout the game, as I felt just as powerful after about 3 hours of the game as I did with 16.
Nonetheless, the core game here was fun. The art on the cards is expressive and lively, and actually playing the game had me very engaged with strategy and planning a good deck for each fight. I was pleasantly surprised with how engaged I was with this game throughout. I do wish that some of the animations (like pulling cards from the deck) could be skipped though.
Overall, this certainly isn't a perfect game, but it does make me wish that we had a modern Pokemon TCG game with modern day styling (that isn't a free-to-play pile of garbage), one that took the base concept of this game and made it a real, engaging GAME, just more fully featured overall.
In it's current state, this game is still a lot of fun though, and I would recommend it to anybody that can get past the outdated visuals and pacing.
One of the things that stuck out as rougher was the overall production value. All character sprites are constantly in their walking animation, and there's no connection between the areas in the game, just a map. There's also no real sense of progression throughout the game, as I felt just as powerful after about 3 hours of the game as I did with 16.
Nonetheless, the core game here was fun. The art on the cards is expressive and lively, and actually playing the game had me very engaged with strategy and planning a good deck for each fight. I was pleasantly surprised with how engaged I was with this game throughout. I do wish that some of the animations (like pulling cards from the deck) could be skipped though.
Overall, this certainly isn't a perfect game, but it does make me wish that we had a modern Pokemon TCG game with modern day styling (that isn't a free-to-play pile of garbage), one that took the base concept of this game and made it a real, engaging GAME, just more fully featured overall.
In it's current state, this game is still a lot of fun though, and I would recommend it to anybody that can get past the outdated visuals and pacing.
Honestly this is just a fantastic game all around. I know saying that about Nintendo games (most of the time) is like saying that grass is green, but this game really does go above and beyond what I could have expected of it.
As a 3D adaptation of the Kirby series, it performs a similar conversion to that of Super Mario 3D World's adaptation of Super Mario. The stages remain linear, with a focus on copy abilities, and Kirby controls largely the exact same as you would expect him to. The places where this game innovates on the Kirby formula are largely in theming, with the game taking a bold turn towards a dystopian art style (that still feels uniquely Kirby of course). The game's mouthful mode is also a new addition, although one that isn't a huge drawing feature in my opinion.
The game's level of difficulty is also insanely fair, with players having the option between difficulty at any point in the game, in addition to genuinely challenging post-game fights in the battle arena of the game. Some of the hidden objectives are difficult to sort out without the help of a guide, but there are plenty of good ones out there to help should you get in a tough spot. The bosses in this game are also very well designed, feeling like a proper fight rather than a waiting game to get a single hit in. Overall, just a very good level of difficulty where nothing felt overly long or challenging for no reason.
Going all the way for 100% was also a great time! Tons of the things that contribute to completion are simple side tasks in the Waddle-Dee village which give this game a very distinct charm. None took too long or were overly difficult, and it feels like this game truly respects the player and their time.
Also, the visuals are great and the audio is fun and catchy as always, no shock there!
Overall I was very impressed with the way this game adapted the series to the third dimension, as if it feels like the series has been this way for years. This is one of the best games that I've played in a long time, and I cannot recommend it enough.
As a 3D adaptation of the Kirby series, it performs a similar conversion to that of Super Mario 3D World's adaptation of Super Mario. The stages remain linear, with a focus on copy abilities, and Kirby controls largely the exact same as you would expect him to. The places where this game innovates on the Kirby formula are largely in theming, with the game taking a bold turn towards a dystopian art style (that still feels uniquely Kirby of course). The game's mouthful mode is also a new addition, although one that isn't a huge drawing feature in my opinion.
The game's level of difficulty is also insanely fair, with players having the option between difficulty at any point in the game, in addition to genuinely challenging post-game fights in the battle arena of the game. Some of the hidden objectives are difficult to sort out without the help of a guide, but there are plenty of good ones out there to help should you get in a tough spot. The bosses in this game are also very well designed, feeling like a proper fight rather than a waiting game to get a single hit in. Overall, just a very good level of difficulty where nothing felt overly long or challenging for no reason.
Going all the way for 100% was also a great time! Tons of the things that contribute to completion are simple side tasks in the Waddle-Dee village which give this game a very distinct charm. None took too long or were overly difficult, and it feels like this game truly respects the player and their time.
Also, the visuals are great and the audio is fun and catchy as always, no shock there!
Overall I was very impressed with the way this game adapted the series to the third dimension, as if it feels like the series has been this way for years. This is one of the best games that I've played in a long time, and I cannot recommend it enough.