I am a big fan of the phrase “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it”, and having this mentality when it comes to making anything is usually the best to have, but at the same time, sometimes the product in question, like a sequel to a popular video game, needs to have a little kick in the ass, or one or two changes here or there, to really make it feel justified in its existence. This can directly be applied to Final Fight 2, which in all aspects was still a good game, and a decent follow-up to the original game, but it introduced pretty much nothing to change up the gameplay from the original game, which could be good for those that loved the original game to death, but for those that didn’t, it wouldn’t give them much of a reason to seek that, or any of the other FF games, out. But hey, the game still sold pretty well, so it was naturally gonna get a follow-up regardless, and we would get that follow-up just two years later with Final Fight 3.

I was actually pretty excited to come to this game, cause it has been quite a bit now since I last played one of these games, and I was curious to see how this one would turn out. I didn’t think it was necessarily gonna be too special, but I have been in a big beat-’em-up mood lately, and I was curious to see if they were actually gonna do more with this rather than just being “another Final Fight again”. So, I played through the thing, and as it turns out, it is just another Final Fight again!......... but only kinda. It does feel like somewhat of a proper follow-up to the previous games, since this one does actually offer some new additions compared to the previous game, but most of it is still your typical Final Fight beat-’em-up action, which is all good for me, yet it could be tiring for others.

The story is fairly straightforward, where after the defeat of the Mad Gear Gang in the previous game, the streets of Metro City have grown rampant with crime groups terrorizing the place, with the new Skull Cross Gang taking over as the dominant gang of the city, leading to a large riot being started in the prospect of taking over said city, so it is up to Mike Haggar and Guy, along with newcomers Lucia and Dean, to set out to defeat this new gang once and for all, and to save Metro City once again. Once again, it is a pretty straightforward story, one that we have seen plenty of times in beat-’em-up games, and like with most beat-’em-ups, you don’t need that complex of a plot to go out and start kicking ass all over again, so it is fine by me.

The graphics are good, looking almost identical to that from the previous two games, yet having just enough differences when it comes to the character sprites that you can at least tell something has changed….. barely, the music is also good, having plenty of decent tracks throughout, but nothing that is gonna get me raving and bobbing my head like the tracks you would hear from Streets of Rage 3 (random example, but it works, cause beat-’em-up), and the gameplay/control is pretty much what you think it is if you have played any of the previous Final Fight games, with there being some new additions sprinkled in to spice up your Final Fighting, but it is pretty much another Tuesday for fanatics of the genre.

The game is your typical beat-’em-up romp, where you take control of one of four characters, but if you know me at this point, you already know that I am gonna play as Mike Haggar, while refusing to play as anybody else for even a fraction of a second, go through six different levels through many different locations throughout Metro City, beat down a seemingly endless horde of thugs from the Skull Cross Gang using a plethora of moves at your disposal, gather plenty of weapons to help lay the smackdown on your foes while also gathering plenty of food and point items to assist you along the way, and take on plenty of big, beefy bosses that are relatively easy to defeat, just as long as you don’t mind the giant health bars that a lot of them have. You know the drill, ya punch people, they die, and you can have even more fun punching said people with a buddy, which is all well and good in my book, even if I wouldn’t be so quick to try to get anyone to play this with me, especially if they have already played any of the other Final Fights.

New to the series in this game is that now, instead of having the basic movesets that we have had, we now have additional moves that you can pull off while facing opponents, such as a dash manuver, a charging attack for that dash, throwing attacks, and unique techniques that can be performed for specific characters. This doesn’t change up the gameplay too much from what you are used to, but it is enough to make this game feel like the series is progressing forward, giving the player more to work with and making for a much more fun and versatile experience, so I can definitely appreciate that. Also new in this game is the addition of Super Moves, which pretty much work exactly how they would in a Street Fighter game: you go around, beat dudes up, and when it is charged, you enter a button combination and use it to absolutely ANNIHILATE an opponent. I didn’t really use these all too often, cause the difficulty wasn’t extreme enough to the point where I felt it was a necessity, but it did come in handy against plenty of boss fights, so it is definitely a much welcomed edition.

Now, for this next new feature, I have to ask those Final Fight 3 experts a question real quick….. am I a fucking idiot? Cause I didn’t notice this shit at all when I was playing the game. Apparently, according to what I have read online, there are multiple pathways that you can take in the game, to reach new areas and potentially hidden goodies, but I for the life of me didn’t see that at all in the main game. Yeah, I know there are hidden bonus stages that you can find in order to get more points, but most of the game seems like a clear straight shot from beginning to end, just like with the first two games, so either these branching paths are really well hidden, or I am just incredibly stupid. I will let you all in the comment section decide for yourself why it is the latter option rather than the former.

With all that out of the way though, most of the game is still your basic beat-’em-up through and through at the end of the day, meaning there isn’t really that much here for you to be excited about or want to try out if you weren’t too big into the previous two games. Yeah, the new moves and branching paths do make the game more fun and replayable, but in an era were there were already so many different beat-’em-ups out there, this one doesn’t do anything to make itself stand out from the crowd other than being “another Final Fight”, which is fine for me, but it probably wouldn’t be for others. Also, in terms of actual problems with the game, the dialogue that shows up in the cutscenes in this game is TERRIBLE, holy shit! Like, I am well aware that plenty of games back in the day had mistranslations up the whazoo, which is fine, but I don’t remember this ever being an issue for Final Fight before, yet it is plain as day here. Seriously, it even goes as far as being Mega Man and SNK levels of bad, it is hilarious. Look up the cutscenes at some point later, and you’ll see exactly what I mean.

Overall, despite its lack of major change and some horrible translations for the dialogue, Final Fight 3 is still a decent beat-’em-up and entry in this series all around, with plenty of stages to go through with a buddy, while also not feeling like they last forever (cough, Final Fight 2, cough), plenty of new moves to try out, and just that overall energy and sense of fun that these games haven’t failed to deliver on just yet. I would recommend it for those who were big fans of the previous two games, as well as those who are big beat-’em-up fans in general, because while it isn’t too revolutionary or unique, it can still provide a decent hour of entertainment, especially with a buddy along for the ride. After all that though, I’m just wondering what the next game in the series is gonna- AAAAAAAND it’s a fighting game, GODDAMMIT, CAPCOM! Look, I get it, the games take place in the Street Fighter universe, so it makes sense, but not everything needs to be a fighting game! There’s only so much punching and kicking and killing one can do before they grow completely numb to it, I swear….

Game #597

Oh, how the mighty have fallen.

For the longest time, this was in my top 5 Kirby games. I got this on the Wii U virtual console back in the day, and remember enjoying it a lot. I also remember that I used save states on certain parts and was annoyed at other parts of the game but I generally loved the game's aesthetic and vibe, I guess those aspects overshadowed the bad parts in my mind. What do I think of the game now though? It's not bad at all, but it does have some really annoying issues that nowadays do hamper my experience.

Let's talk about the gameplay first and foremost. Compared to Superstar, it's a big downgrade. Kirby's running speed is very fast, but his walking speed is incredibly slow. This wouldn't usually be an issue however, a lot of them the camera won't pan at the start of a new area until you've gotten until the edge of the screen. Unless you're as careful as can be, if an enemy is there it will hit you. This never happened at all in Superstar. When Kirby floats and gets out of a float, he loses all momentum he's gained and will basically stop in place. Maybe this is so you don't spam the float but it ruins the flow of the gameplay a bit and is an annoyance since Superstar also never did this. It's also incredibly easy to get hit in this game, not only because or the whole screen having to catch up with Kirby, but because the invincibility frames last like a second or less so it's so easy to just get comboed if you're unlucky. This is something I noticed even back in the day, you get hit A LOT in this game and it's quite annoying. One last thing this game downgraded from Superstar, and this one isn't as bad as the other things I mentioned (at least for me) is Kirby's moveset. Kirby goes back to only having one basic move per copy ability. While this is naturally a downgrade compared to Superstar, the animal friends return from Dreamland 2 and do make up for this a bit I think.

Not only are Rick, Kine and Coo back from Dreamland 2, this game adds three new animal friends as well. Nago the cat, Pitch the bird and ChuChu the octopus are the new additions and they're all very solid. Nago is actually my favorite of the six, cuz he feels the best to control but also because he has a very helpful triple jump. Pitch doesn't really have any abilities but he is a cute little guy. ChuChu can only float a couple of times at once but she has the ability to hang from ceilings (it only really gets used once tho lol). Anyways, like Dreamland 2, Dreamland 3 gives each animal friend their own specific take on the copy abilities. With six animal friends now, and 8 copy abilities, that's 48 unique animal friend abilities. There are way less copy abilities in this game compared to Superstar, however with this many animal friend abilities, I feel like it never gets boring since you're more than likely always discovering new ones throughout the game which is fun.

Going into the level's themselves, they aren't great tbh. A good chunk of them are very simple with enemies littered throughout. The level design is way too basic and can get boring some of the time (mostly some of world 3 and 4). They try to combat this with the game's main collectable, the heart-stars, but this can also be a mixed bag. Early on they aren't bad. Each world has six stages, and each of the six stages use the same heart-star conventions. The first always deals with flowers. The second always has you bringing a specific copy ability or animal friend to some part of the stage and interacting with whatever. The third has you playing a minigame a way into the stage. The fourth has you collecting a single object in the stage and bringing it to the end. The fifth has you bringing a specific animal friend to the end of the stage so they can be with their girlfriend/boyfriend. And the 6th has you collecting several objects in the level and bringing them to the end character. Yeah, you get a heart-star from a character at the end of the stage..and they can be pretty fun to see. Mostly because this game cross overed with other Nintendo properties like ROB the Robot and Metroid. Anyways, heart-stars aren't usually too bad to get but the endgame has some really annoying ones. The last couple minigames are like annoying as balls to do without save stating, otherwise you have to redo the stage each time you lose, so I decided to just save state again like I did all the way back in the day. That plus others can just be plain cryptic, and yeah..the collectables aren't super fun to get some of the time.

I know I've spent most of this review complaining so far, and yeah, the gameplay probably is the weakest part of this game, but some of the other aspects are fantastic and make up for the gameplay a bit. The visuals for example are amazing in this game. I still think Yoshi's Island is the best-looking Super Nintendo game, however this is right next to that. This game is a coloring book come to life and it's so nice to look at. It fits Kirby perfectly too and I really wish the modern games tried to do something like this again. Besides the amazing art style, this game is just really charming in general. Whether it's all the animal friend's reactions to Kirby picking other friends instead of them, or the bosses of each world standing idle not fighting you after you purified them by getting every heart-star in the world. Gameplay be damned, it's clear the Kirby3 team were passionate about the actual world and characters. I also always loved the atmosphere in this game. Idk if it's because of the cutesy art style combined with Dark Matter as an antagonist, but this game always felt a bit off in a way I really liked. I don't know how to describe it, but Dreamland 3 fans will probably understand what I mean.

The bosses in general are solid. You have the usual Wispy Woods and some other cool ones. Besides the introduction of Ado (who is basically just Adeline before Adeline), Dark Matter and Zero are great final bosses to the Dreamland trilogy. Dark Matter is cool ofc but Zero is very creepy especially for a Kirby game. The fact it's a giant white sphere that bleeds as you attack it, and the fact its last final form is its eyeball ripped out of the sphere, all bloody and everything, it's so unlike Kirby and just gives the game this eerie feeling I love.

The music in this game is also super good and drives the atmosphere home even more. My favorite songs were probably Grass Land 1, Grass Land 4 and Ripple Field 1. The entire soundtrack is really solid though and like I said, really helps with game feeling atmospheric.

I'm sad this isn't in my top 5 Kirby's anymore. This game has a lot of charm and heart to it but on the gameplay side, it just has too many issues for me to rate it super high. My judgement was clouded back then by the art style and atmosphere, and while those are still great now, I can't deny this game isn't as good as I once thought. I still like it overall, but I will kneel to all the Superstar fans despite not loving that game's structure...that is the superior Kirby game. If they took the gameplay from Superstar and the art style, atmosphere and single campaign structure from this game...I may have gotten my perfect Kirby game. Ah well, a man can dream. I will say tho, I do like this more than Dreamland 2. There isn't a level as bullshit as that trial and error in 2 and this game visually just looks so much better of course. That and I have more nostalgia for it haha. Anyways, next is Donkey Kong Country 3 so look forward to that!

6.5/10

It's an amazing art exhibit and I'll never stop being thankful that folks just make things that feel different. It's a toy, it's a museum, it is a game not in the sense we've grown accustomed to, but in the traditional sense: it centers PLAY. Nour is a synesthetic burst of color and sound, trying the senses together in fun ways, and taking excellent advantage of platform specific features (like the dualshock speakers) to draw the player's sensory experience into the screen.

It's not to be played through all at once, it's not to be mastered or perfected. It's a painting you can count on being there if you need to mess around without having to eat the result or tidy up the dishes.

Is it good? Hell if I know. It's not really the point. It's a really soulful tech demo that can exist in the background of your home to make you think about that noodle place you like.

It was exactly what I expected when I wishlisted it ages ago and I was very thankful to have an experience for a few hours that didn't require anything but my attention.

Gonna try not to be biased as this one of the games I played for hours on end through the years until now as well!
I speedrun this, so I'm always happy for a buggy glitchy game, But the glitches in this are beyond me.

Achievements did not appear for the game on release week, one is currently unobtainable, and its mostly just grinding. How fun, lots of missed opportunities for some creative ones.
The loading sound was removed and changed for the 1st game, everything else worked fine on that, Now the second game, that's where the problems come in.

Missing assets on Naboo, like an entire wall is see through, Enemies and allies Even myself would spawn out of bounds on Naboo.
The new hero hunt mode for all maps completely breaks AI, on Kamino every enemy had no idea where to go, so they resorted to spinning in a circle then running off the edge.

Galactic conquest is broken if you play as the Empire and try to buy a new upgrade I was greeted with a crash every time, meaning I could not play that mode unless I was CIS, Rebels or Clones :(

Apart from that, the game is basically the same (if its not broke why fix it) In this case it was the company trying to add new things like the mode that broke it :(

Wait for Sale on this, or just buy the old ones on the xbox store. Much better.

(Part 5 of the Half Century Challenge, created by C_F. You can find their fifth review here)

You know what, I am getting SICK and TIRED of reviewing video games, or hell, even just playing them for that matter! I mean, seriously, who even really likes these things anyway? They are full of nothing but dumbass battle royales, microtransactions, IPs being milked to the bone as we speak, and they are all made by a bunch of incompetent TWATS who should be ashamed of themselves for even thinking about taking part in this industry in the first place! And quite frankly, I have had it up to HERE with them, so I’m gonna be stopping right here. I’m gonna move onto reviewing actual games from now on, you know, ones that are actually FUN, and people actually put proper time and heart into, just so that I can get away from all of that other FILTH……………… but hey, I’m sure this all seems very sudden for a lot of you, so I will go ahead and ease you into this new period of my reviewing “career” by reviewing one last video game, one that is essentially an electronic version of an actual, proper game! It’s perfect! So, let us take this final journey by talking about the not-at-all-awkwardly named Touch Me.

For those who are unaware as to what this game is, it is essentially an electronic version of the classic game that we all know and love, Simon Says, or just Simon, for those of you who care about that kind of stuff. It was originally released in 1974 as an arcade title, which you can see through this video, where you have these different buttons, they will light up and go BRZT in a determined sequence, and you have to repeat that sequence until you ultimately lose and feel dead inside as a result. It’s a very simple game that I’m sure that we have all played at some point in our lives, and you can see here just from this one simple arcade machine how effective it really is. The simple design, the simple colors, the infectious sound effects, as well as the natural skills that you can develop from playing Simon Says, such as motor skills and body awareness, makes this an unmistakable gem that most other games over the years can never match, just from its timeless quality alone. Not to mention, the machine even allows you multiple chances, just in case you fuck up, so if you do inevitably mess up, it lets you try again, just to remind you that there is always a way to pick yourself back up and have at it again, even when you feel like you have exhausted every option available.

However, that is not the version of the game that I played, since it is literally impossible for me to play it unless I actually go out and try to find one of these machines. So, instead, I tried out the 1979 version of the game, which was a completely separate handheld version of the game that you could take anywhere! You could play it at home, at the park, at work, even at your wife’s funeral! There can now be plenty of Touch Me fun wherever you go (I’m losing my mind)! And thankfully, it works just as well as the original version of the game, with bright colors to be seen and plenty of BRZTS to add to the experience! However, according to what it says on the box, you better not even THINK about giving this shit to anyone under 7 years old, or anyone past the stage of adult, because if you do, they will have a heart attack right on the spot, as they just can’t handle the INTENSITY of a game like Simon Says!

But if you think that this version is just a straight port of the original Touch Me with no extra bells or whistles to it, then you better sit down, because what I’m about to tell you is gonna blow your fucking mind:..... THERE’S MORE GAME NOW! With this version, you can now set different levels of skill, from as low as 8 all the way up to 99, challenging the player to follow along the pattern a specific amount of times, even rewarding the player with a nice jingle at the end, and OOH BOY, is that jingle ever so sweet. You may think these modes might not mean all that much, but when you think about it, it seems like a pretty daunting task. I mean, seriously, have you ever heard about anyone being able to complete an entire 99 rounds of Simon Says without messing up once? I certainly haven’t, especially not with this version of the game, and I am convinced that nobody has truly reached their full potential in life unless they have completed said 99 rounds in this game. Why else would I be here right now talking about it?

Yes, ladies and gentlemen, all of the wonders of the classic game Simon are here and accounted for, for you to get lost in for hours, having the most amount of fun you have ever had in your……… in your………. uh………. sigh............ what am I doing? No, really, WHAT am I doing right now? I’m making a multi-paragraph review about Simon Fucking Says… what has my life come to?! Who the fuck even actually likes Simon Says, anyway? It’s the most boring-ass game in the world, and there’s no way anyone could ever make the game more fun than it actually is…….. unless…… wait… there have been ways that people have made the game more fun! Like, look here in this video, and skip to the 1:28:31 mark! Look at how they took something boring and monotonous and turned it into something more charming and energetic… that makes the game more fun!... to a degree. And look, over here, at the 11:38 mark… they managed to take Simon Says and add a crude, yet oddly hilarious spin on it that makes it even more fun than it was before! Hell, even in a bad game like this one, they managed to take this simple game and make it that much more enjoyable, even by adding extra urgency for whenever you fuck up!

I think I get it now…. yes! I was wrong all along! Video games aren’t filth or terrible in any way… they’re actually wonderful! Sure, there is definitely a lot, and I mean A LOT, wrong with them, and the industry as a whole, but look at all of the wondrous things that we have made from these things! So many different worlds that we can explore, so many fun challenges that we can take on, so many different characters that we grow to love as if they were actual, living people, and so many different ways that they have been able to bring us together, to connect with one another, and to make many different kinds of relationships that, if lucky, could last forever. Making Simon Says a better game is just one small, insignificant fraction of what video games can truly do, and I feel ashamed that I ever threw this medium under the bus, even if it was all meant for a joke! I’m sorry, video games, and I promise, I will never ever leave your side again…

Overall, Touch Me was an interesting way of making a fun, more interactable and replayable version of Simon Says, but really, there is only so much you can get out of it not just because of how one-note and rudimentary it is, especially with many, MANY different versions of the game out there that do make it much better and more replayable. It is a neat little novelty for its time, and it is somewhat fun to go back to for the sake of remembering history, but there isn’t many other reasons as to why you would want to go back to it in the first place. Also, they REALLY couldn’t think of a better title for this thing? I mean, seriously, they could’ve just named it “Simon” or “Memorization”, or something like that, but no, instead we get a name that I feel very uncomfortable saying out loud, especially when I’m around most other people. Keep that shit to yourself, Atari, cause I ain’t interested.

Game #596

Not as bad as I assumed but certainly not a hidden gem. The most interesting part of the experience comes from the game's stamina system, which has both enemies and the player being knocked down when out of stamina. This knocked down state is the only state in which either can take damage, making the combat itself far more interesting than that of most Game Boy Color titles.

However the strict memory limitations and finicky jump controls make a lot of the visuals rough and the most platforming-heavy levels a chore. This one's mostly for the scooby-obsessive, but even then, the plot, while full of reference to the show, is sparse as expected.

Have you ever played a game that, despite all the good or bad things that it does, made you feel completely numb to it at the end of the day? Like, you can definitely form opinions on all of the things that it does, what it does right and wrong, how you think it could improve itself, and what you love about it, but at the end of the day, you just simply… don’t really care about it at all? I would argue that this is probably the worst kind of reaction you could have to any kind of game, even more so than straight up anger or hatred, because at least you can feel genuine, proper emotion from that rage, as you could if you end up loving a game, but if you don’t feel anything at all towards a game at all to the point of it being mind-numbing to you, then it’s probably gonna end up being less memorable to you, and you will probably forget it ever existed in the first place. This is essentially how I felt after I had beat the forgotten 90s arcade platformer known as Blue’s Journey.

I had never heard of this game until quite recently, where I was looking for another game from ADK to play and make fun of, since that is a running theme that I have built up for myself at this point. Out of their selection, I found this title, and based on how the poster looked, I thought it looked stupid, yet charming enough to where I would probably end up liking what I played. So, I decided to give it a shot, and I would say that it is a good-ish game, but… man, is it one of the most “whatever” games I have played in some time. It does have quite a bit going for it, and if it was somewhat more polished and refined, we could have ourselves a bonafide hidden gem on our hands here, but instead, we have a game with good elements and ideas that is extremely rough around the edges that I couldn’t give two shits about once it was all over.

The story is standard for this kind of game, where the insect kingdom of Raguy is taken over suddenly by the evil Daruma Empire, who seek to spread pollution and chaos throughout the land, so it is up to Blue to set out to not only stop the Daruma Empire from doing their evil deeds, but to also save the fair Princess Fa as well, which feels like a story that fits right in with typical video games stories of this era, not only because of how generic it is, but also because it’s a pollution PSA, and you know how they LOVED making those around this time. The graphics are good, having that cheap, yet still impressive looking style that Neo Geo games were known for at the time, but it doesn’t have that much of a distinct or impressive art style for me to like it too much, the music is alright, having plenty of upbeat tunes to listen to while you’re murdering all these innocent creatures, but nothing stands out as too original, catchy, or infectious, and the gameplay/control is somewhat standard for the kind of game this is, implementing some features that could be seen as innovative for this genre…. you know, if it hadn’t already been done before, and if this game did anything more with these concepts, but hey, A for effort.

The game is a 2D platformer, where you take control of Blue, go through plenty of different stages throughout the expansive kingdom of Raguy, defeat the many foes you will encounter with the various weapons that you will find, or just by throwing them at other enemies, gather plenty of different weapons, money, and health items to assist you along the way and give you more points, enter various buildings to either speak with the inhabitants who will assist you on your journey, or to browse a shop full of many helpful items, and take on several bosses that can be a bit tricky at first, until you realize just how pathetically easy they are. There is a lot of typical fun, arcade platforming to be had here, with a lot of neat different gimmicks and traits that do make the game feel like it is actually somewhat trying, but then, when you take a step back, you will find that a lot of what this game does has been done once or twice before in plenty of other games, and in comparison, this game doesn’t do that much at all to make it stand out or feel unique.

With that being said though, there are some elements about the game that do make it stand out, with said elements going back to what the main character can do. Along with all of the different weapons you can use to defend yourself, you also have the power to shrink yourself down to size, allowing you access previously inaccessible areas and find some neat secrets. This is a pretty interesting concept and mechanic… at least it is IN THEORY, but here, this ability is useless to me. The only time I ever actually used this ability was in the second-to-last or last level, where I actually could not proceed without using the ability. I’m sure I probably could’ve gotten more use out of it through experimenting with several of the areas I went through, but most instances of this coming into play would only help me in getting extra points and shit like that, which I don’t really care about in this case.

Other than that though, there isn’t that much here to make the game stand out from others of its kind. There are alternating pathways that will require you to do multiple playthroughs to see all the levels, so that’s pretty cool for those who are completionists, and there are shops that you can often visit in order to purchase goodies, but most of the time for me, either I didn’t have enough money to get anything, or the stuff that they had on sale wasn’t really worth spending anything on at all. And lastly, after beating each boss, you get the chance to participate in a lottery in order to gain permanent upgrades like extra health, which was really helpful whenever I got the chance to take on that. The rest of the game is your basic arcade platformer through and through, having all the typical ups and downs of one, and while I still consider the game to be good in its own regard, it all just feels so… artificial to me, to the point where I just can’t even be bothered to care too much about it. Then again, I could also say this for a lot of the games I have played from ADK.

But of course, since this is a typical arcade platformer, it also comes with the typical arcade platformer problems you have come to expect. First and foremost, arcade syndrome does rear its disgusting, grease-covered face around the corner, with plenty of enemies being thrown at you in many different areas, but unlike something like Athena, it doesn’t feel mindless, and all the enemies feel like they belong in the places where they do spawn. It can just be a little hectic with how many there can be at once in one given area. Secondly, while most of the platformer is serviceable, there are specific parts of the game that can just straight up BLOW ME for all I care. There were at least two different times where I encountered a section where you need to jump on these moving platforms that were going from the right to the left, each row having different speeds to them, and these sections are ASS. Not only can the platforms be spaced out enough to where you need PIXEL-PERFECT jumps in order to land on them at times, but also, in terms of the second of these sections, you have barely any time to get on these platforms before either being pushed off an edge, or blocked from getting anywhere, making all of these feel like a crap shoot that isn’t fun to deal with in the slightest. Thankfully though, this only applies to these two sections, as the rest of the platforming is serviceable enough to where I can get by without complaining like a little bitch more than I already am.

Overall, despite arcade syndrome still being a blight on this Earth and some bullshit sections here or there, Blue’s Journey fits perfectly alongside plenty of the other ADK titles I have played, being a very run-of-the-mill arcade platformer that does take plenty of inspiration and ideas from plenty of different places, and has its own interesting ideas as well, but it doesn’t do enough with said ideas or inspiration to where it feels that useful or substantial, making for a decent experience, but one that I myself couldn’t care too much about. I would recommend it for those that are big into old-school arcade games, and just want something to play through in about an hour or so, but for everyone else, there are plenty of better options out there that you could go with aside from this. But, before I go, I may as well show you all what the game over screen in this game looks like, because it is guilt-trippy as FUCK. Seriously, they try their hardest to coerce you into putting more money into the machine, and when you don’t do it, not only do they call you a bad guy, but they also show the polluted wasteland that YOU caused by not putting another quarter into that machine. Well, gee, SORRY, Mr. Game, but if I want to be talked down to like I’m a tiny child, I would just go re-watch the Avatar films, ok? I don’t gotta put up your shit too.

Game #594

Was initially really worn down by the repetition but a nice curve-ball in the game's second half was not only incredibly welcome, but made the otherwise flat premise pop a good bit. It sits neatly in the collect-a-thon horror sub-genre like Slender and it's many clones, but uses recipes found throughout the house to add in some mechanical variance.

I will also say, I was a big fan of the rough assembly style of the game, mixing a lot of mediums together well to make an almost dadaist ransom note aesthetic? The style is absolutely the star here.

It's a clickable playground full of silly animations and secrets. It has small arcade games, it has non-sense spatial layout, it's got a bunch of very polite animals who give you tea and let you watch their televisions.

If you grew up on visual-gag-heavy point and clicks like Pajama Sam or Putt-Putt it's a must, but even if not The Manhole deserves attention both for its willingness to engage in play "without purpose" and its historical status as the first computer game available via CD, paving the way for other Cyan smash hit MYST to come to be.

Ghost Trick was one of the first games I put in my Amazon wish list back when I made an account in 2017. I remember a Youtuber I liked, Nintendocaprisun, streamed the game and the little I watched from the stream looked really cool. It sat in that wishlist for ages, eventually skyrocketing in price. It wasn't until last year, that I decided to bite the bullet and buy the game physically off eBay. It was expensive but it was a game I wanted to own for a while now, and I figured playing it on the DS would have been awesome. By this time, I was already a big Ace Attorney Fan, and knowing that this was another Shu Takumi game..I was pretty excited to play it. While I personally still prefer AA1 and AA3 over this, this was still a great time overall.

This game makes great use of the touch-screen. So, the basic premise of the game without going into story details, you the main character have died. You are a ghost and find out you have the ability to go back to the past, four minutes before someone has died, and have the potential to save them. You also have the ability to move to different objects and control them. You do this by going into ghost mode and moving your little wisp icon from object to object. The catch is, you can only move it a specific distance away. If something is too far away, you have to figure out how to get there by possibly interacting with the object you're on. This is called "tricking" and it can vary depending on the section of the story you're on. Some can be very simple while others you need to time specific actions in the real world. It might seem a bit confusing with how I explained however, it's very easy to understand in game. Either way, this gameplay loop is really fun and is perfect for a DS game. Near the end of the game, it also throws another character at you with some different mechanics. And it even combines the two at once and it can lead to some really fun puzzles. The game was never that hard, I never even had to look up a guide, however I never found them super easy.

Story-wise, like I said the premise is you die at the start. You play as Sissel, someone we know nothing about, and not even he knows who he is. His main goal from the start is to figure out who he is and how he dies, but along the way he meets a colorful cast of characters, and the game gets more complicated from there. Overall, I enjoyed the story and cast of characters for sure. Like Ace Attorney, they're all very distinct and can be very goofy. The main cast is very good tho I have to say I didn't connect to them as much as I do with the main cast of Ace Attorney. Probably because this game is shorter than your average AA game, and I was able to connect to that game's cast through the span of three games! Either way, while I didn't love any character here, Sissel..Lynne..Jowd..Cabanela..Missile..the entire cast is memorable and entertaining. The story is also full of twists and turns throughout. The ending may be a little convoluted imo but I think it was executed well and I did not see it coming at all. While not mind-blowing overall, I can at least commend the story and overall concept of the game for being unique. Always love seeing really out there stories like this.

This may be weird to here, but I don't think the absolute best aspect of this game is the story or the gameplay. It's the visuals. Honestly, some of the best sprite-work I've ever seen in a game. Every animation is so buttery smooth and really gives the game a lot of character. The look of each character sprite too, idk how they did it, but it has this very distinct look to it. Since the game is very goofy at times, the characters animations are goofy as well. The art style on the portraits is very distinct too tho those aren't animated. They're nice but it would have been cool if they had little animations as well, like Ace Attorney. Along with the sprites being full of personality, so is the dialogue. If you played Ace Attorney before this, you'd be right at home here. It feels just like Ace Attorney. Goofy and witty when it wants to be, serious when it wants to be, and full of heart throughout. In this regard, it may be better than Ace Attorney because I didn't notice any spelling errors lol.

The OST is probably my biggest disappointment compared to Ace Attorney tbh, especially since the AA1 composer did this game. The first Ace Attorney's ost is now in my top 10 OSTS of all time. I just love it so much, so I might've hyped myself up too much with this game. That's not to say this game has a bad soundtrack, I just don't find it comparable to the Ace Attorney games personally. Maybe I just haven't listened to the OST enough, as I know this is probably a hot take and others will disagree. Still, there were songs I did like. Four Minutes Before Death probably being my favorite since it reminded me of Ace Attorney the most haha.

I do wish I ended up liking this a bit more, especially since this game is praised so much and has a 4.5 average, however in this case I can totally see why it is as this game is really great. I guess maybe it just comes down to my personal preferences. Or maybe I'll like this even more on replay, who knows. Either way, while it seems I do prefer the Ace Attorney series more (sorry I keep comparing them, it's just hard not to with the type of game this is), this is still must-play DS game imo and worth all the praise it gets.