This was a short and sweet romp that was a total loveletter to the N64, so I was practically guaranteed to think its the cutest thing ever. There's something about the aesthetic of the N64 era that I find so mesmerizing, and this game was a real reminder of that. Games had gotten bigger, deeper, and way more advanced than any of what had been seen in the generations before it, but they were also comically limited in comparison to what would come soon after (or in some ways, what was released alongside it on the PS1); it almost feels like this uncanny valley area between them but like, in a positive way. The extremely limited attempts at cutscenes and more cinematic moments, the scungy soundfonts, and the muddy-as-heck textures just all come together into this fuzzy, beautiful mess that feels totally dreamlike.

The heavy usage of reference humor and homage might be a point of contention for some people, and if that sorta thing isn't your cup of tea, I can't imagine it doing a lot else for you. The gameplay, while fun, is very simplistic, and works more as a vehicle for the player to explore the various setpieces with rather than provide a particularly engaging platforming challenge. For me, there's just something so charming about the way it wears its heart on its sleeve and shows so much adoration for the video games of the era that inspired it. Added together, the levels almost feel like a scrapbook of the developer's favorite bits in video games, and there's such an earnestness to it all makes it impossible for me not to love.