GuffNFluff
1997
I'm not entirely sure what it is, but something about Starfox 64 is extremely addictive and I enjoy every second of it. The game is just really good, I suppose. It controls well, looks nice, and is just pure fun.
1996
The first of the collectathon platforming type Mario games and Mario's first 3D adventure. It was impressive to see what the N64 could do and exciting to see where Mario games were headed. The game itself did not age incredibly well, but it does still hold up. The only real issue I had with the game was the horrid camera. Since this was the first attempt at a 3D game, I can excuse it somewhat. That doesn't make it any less of a problem though. Despite all of that, it is still enjoyable, the music is great, and still worth it to play.
1999
Super Smash Bros. was a lot of fun, but is not exactly the best and is barely viable for competitive play with conventional rulesets. As the party game it is and indeed all Smash games were intended to be, it is pretty good. Sure the roster is limited and there are only 3 specials instead of the 4 seen in Melee onwards, but it can still be enjoyed. Ness was my main in this one, and looking at who I mained until we get to Ultimate, you can reasonably say I mained trash. And I'm okay with that. Personally, I would place it near tied with Smash 4 in 3rd, just edging out over it.
1998
I do not really remember enough about this game to give it a proper review at present. All I do know is that the PlayStation version is superior to the N64 one in a complete reversal of the South Park game and this game is better than it doubtless.
1996
Another decent start to a legendary series. The game as the first of its kind does have slight problems. The game is quite difficult to beat and even harder to 100%. When I was younger, this was the only Crash game I had not completed. 3D platforming with a d-pad is a bit hard to grasp if you are accustomed to using an analog stick. Since the game is designed around the use of the d-pad, one can figure it out with time. Boxes respawn on death, so in order to get the gem one must break all boxes and get through the level without dying. It is far from easy. Also keep in mind that one can only save after completing a level's bonus stage. Once everything clicked though, I got through it and enjoyed it. There's no harm in going for the original, but some may find it better and easier to play the N. Sane Trilogy version.
Crash Bandicoot 2 is a step above the first game and refined the controls quite a bit. It also introduced some things that became prevalent in the series; Coco was introduced, Dr. Cortex's voice became what it is now, and the macguffin power crystals were introduced to name a few. The game is noticeably easier than the first which is not a bad thing in this case. It is a great game and one I remember fondly.
This one may be my favourite of the Crash games. It is certainly the one that I remember the most from childhood, even down to the design of the disc label remaining vividly in my mind even long after I initially lost the game. I have a new one now. This one introduced further mechanics, made Coco playable, and added the time trials and their relics. I found the game really fun and I return to it on occasion.
1999
This game, for some reason, I absolutely adore. That wording is not meant to imply that the game is bad, 'cos it's not from what I can tell. I've played this game more times than I can count at this point. I have no reference for how this game is rated, so I have no idea if I am alone on this. I do know of one other person who has played this before, but I don't hear many talk about it. I believe it was rereleased at some point under the PlayStation Greatest Hits line, so it must have done well. The soundtrack of this game is one of my absolute favourites. I just love it to bits. Since this game is one of those PS1 games that plays the soundtrack if you put the game disc in a CD player, it works especially in my favour. Unfortunately it's not the full soundtrack, but what's there is nice to have. It is a fun platformer that I'd say is worth a go.
1998
The Spyro games are fun action platformers and this first entry is a good start. The way the game rendered the world at a distance and slowly added more detail as the player got closer was a great way to get around the PlayStation's poor draw distance. The levels were interesting but I did not really like the last world or its levels that much. I didn't enjoy the game as much as the later entries, but I still had fun with it. The music in this one and the others is fantastic, composed by the drummer of The Police: Stuart Copeland.
This one is my favourite of the Spyro games. This one added new mechanics and a different progression system that is more than just "reach the end of the level and move on" adding side missions and minigames to the stages. The gameplay is fun, the game itself looks nice, the levels were interesting with decent variety, the voice-acting is well done, it has a good sense of humour, and the music is great.
Spyro 3 here is one that I have distinct memories of but for the longest time had not played due to losing my original copy. With as much as I do remember, I also seem to recall not liking the game as much when I was younger, but I certainly don't feel that way now. The skateboard stuff I did not really care for, but other interesting little minigames I enjoyed. The addition of new characters to play as was a cool addition and, while something I did not really care for when I was younger, i actually like now. It was fun to 100% and a joy to play.
1998
This review contains spoilers
What's that? An RPG that I've not only played but have completed and am able to review? I shit ye not comrades, it can happen and it did. For those unaware I have several RPGs and have played them all to some extent, but have not finished them. Going by how long my mates take with RPGs, it seems clear that I spend more time with RPGs than most. I take the time to talk to all NPCs at different points throughout the story, I explore places to the fullest, I spend a lot of time grinding, and other things that take up a lot of time. Including the final battle, I believe I'm at 112 hours for this game. A buddy of mine who has much more experience with RPGs and does have an account on here and has reviewed some Final Fantasy games(I'll bring them up again later) said they beat the game after around 70 hours. I do not know what the average playtime is for this game, but that difference alone should put things into perspective.
The game itself has many positives, but there are some problems as well. The battle system on foot is very interesting and a lot of fun. The gear battle system, to me, was not that great. Certain aspects of it were not explained well, some were not explained at all. You can not repair the gear conventionally as any healing abilities only restore defence in a gear and healing items do not work on gears. The only way to restore "health" is through an expensive ability, expensive in the sense of fuel, which is how you do everything in a gear.
The story is engaging and interesting, but it does become hard to follow at times. I learned some interesting information about the game from my mate, the same one mentioned before. I will try to summarise it, but I have not spoken to them about the game like this in some time, so I may get details wrong. Early on, the game. or at least the story, was supposed to be Final Fantasy VII. The story of the game was thought to be too dark for Final Fantasy, and that's saying something considering how dark the actual Final Fantasy VII can get. This game also has heavy religious references, imagery, and undertones. The heavy references and parallels to religion are lost on me, which does not exactly help with story comprehension. The way the second disc handles the story gets messy, 'cos it is clear that they ran out of time while making the game and had to rush the second disc. The second disc is cutscene and reading-heavy broken up by a dungeon or two and boss battles, with every battle being a gear battle.
The characters have depth to them and the protagonist is one of the most interesting characters I've seen. We are getting into serious spoiler territory here, I have marked the review with a spoiler warning in the editor, but I have no idea how it actually works or if it even does at all, so I'm outright warning here. The protagonist has dealt with serious trauma and has developed Dissociative Identity Disorder. The way the game presents his internalised struggle with his other identities and tries to come to terms with his trauma and overcome the disorder is incredibly fascinating to me as a Psychology student with a deep interest in abnormal psychology and is a strong point of the game for me.
The music in this game is fantastic, composed by the legendary Yasunori Mitsuda and the game has an interesting art style. The environments, gears, and bosses were 3D models, the characters themselves were sprites that had a 3D look when they moved or the camera rotated around them and the cutscenes were illustrated animation. In other words, anime. The game was really enjoyable and I wholeheartedly recommend it, but do keep in mind that the story may be hard to follow at times, disc 2 is not as good as it could've been, and it could potentially be a bit much for someone who doesn't play a lot of RPGs to get through. I enjoyed it despite its flaws.
The game itself has many positives, but there are some problems as well. The battle system on foot is very interesting and a lot of fun. The gear battle system, to me, was not that great. Certain aspects of it were not explained well, some were not explained at all. You can not repair the gear conventionally as any healing abilities only restore defence in a gear and healing items do not work on gears. The only way to restore "health" is through an expensive ability, expensive in the sense of fuel, which is how you do everything in a gear.
The story is engaging and interesting, but it does become hard to follow at times. I learned some interesting information about the game from my mate, the same one mentioned before. I will try to summarise it, but I have not spoken to them about the game like this in some time, so I may get details wrong. Early on, the game. or at least the story, was supposed to be Final Fantasy VII. The story of the game was thought to be too dark for Final Fantasy, and that's saying something considering how dark the actual Final Fantasy VII can get. This game also has heavy religious references, imagery, and undertones. The heavy references and parallels to religion are lost on me, which does not exactly help with story comprehension. The way the second disc handles the story gets messy, 'cos it is clear that they ran out of time while making the game and had to rush the second disc. The second disc is cutscene and reading-heavy broken up by a dungeon or two and boss battles, with every battle being a gear battle.
The characters have depth to them and the protagonist is one of the most interesting characters I've seen. We are getting into serious spoiler territory here, I have marked the review with a spoiler warning in the editor, but I have no idea how it actually works or if it even does at all, so I'm outright warning here. The protagonist has dealt with serious trauma and has developed Dissociative Identity Disorder. The way the game presents his internalised struggle with his other identities and tries to come to terms with his trauma and overcome the disorder is incredibly fascinating to me as a Psychology student with a deep interest in abnormal psychology and is a strong point of the game for me.
The music in this game is fantastic, composed by the legendary Yasunori Mitsuda and the game has an interesting art style. The environments, gears, and bosses were 3D models, the characters themselves were sprites that had a 3D look when they moved or the camera rotated around them and the cutscenes were illustrated animation. In other words, anime. The game was really enjoyable and I wholeheartedly recommend it, but do keep in mind that the story may be hard to follow at times, disc 2 is not as good as it could've been, and it could potentially be a bit much for someone who doesn't play a lot of RPGs to get through. I enjoyed it despite its flaws.
2001
The Grand Theft Auto series is one of my favourites, and III may be my favourite of them, at least of the 3D Universe ones. Considering how incredible Vice City and San Andreas are, that may seem strange to say, and it is. It would not surprise me if I am alone on this. Vice City and San Andreas have done many things much better and are superior. I cannot quite explain why I feel this way about III, but the best way I can maybe describe it is that I in a way feel a sense of "comfort" when I play the game. That may not make sense, but I'm struggling here to convey my feelings about it. I feel a great sense of joy in playing it that does not really extend to the others and is not exactly "childlike wonderment and fun" nor is it nostalgia. I feel nostalgia towards Vice City, not III. I just don't know how to explain myself. Anyway, on to the review.
GTA III was revolutionary being among the first 3D open-world games, if not the first. Driver 2 did have an open world of sorts and you were able to have Tanner get out of the car, but it was nothing like GTA III. The freedom you had was amazing for the time, and would get outdone with later GTA games. The story was interesting, but Claude, the protagonist, doesn't really have personality or character. His actions are entirely motivated by revenge and does anything it takes to get it, regardless of any connection or interaction with other characters. Being mute doesn't help the whole "no personality" thing. Even Link has character, despite not speaking in any traditional sense. Player dialogue choices serve as Link's speaking with others, Claude just says nothing. It could be argued that Claude not having character or personality detaches him enough that a player's actions, should they be ruthless in freely slaughtering any and all people they come across be they innocent or not, keeps such actions from running counter to a character who is not like that at all like the way Niko is presented to us through story actions, but I will talk about that when we get to IV. The controls are pretty basic and there is no swimming. The manuals for III and Vice City cite the reason you cannot swim in those is 'cos the water is too polluted and is therefore deadly in III and there are sharks in the water (supposedly) in Vice City. GTA games are known for their licensed music tracks on the radio stations, but GTA III has very few radio stations that I personally would willingly listen to. It comes down to 3 of the 9 stations: Flashback FM is similar to Vice City's Flash FM, even down to having the same DJ, and consists of 80s pop. However, Flashback's music is exclusively from the soundtrack of Scarface. Chatterbox is the talk show station with Lazlow Jones as the DJ, a recurring radio personality throughout the GTA games, and my personal favourite, Double Cleff FM, is an Opera station. The game also has its share of exploitable glitches that I have obsessed over throughout my time playing GTA games. I love easter eggs in games and glitching them, and the GTA ones are the ones I love the most involving these. I even considered learning how to speedrun them.
This game is one that I absolutely adore and is worth playing, just stay away from the mobile ports. They never did anyone any favours.
GTA III was revolutionary being among the first 3D open-world games, if not the first. Driver 2 did have an open world of sorts and you were able to have Tanner get out of the car, but it was nothing like GTA III. The freedom you had was amazing for the time, and would get outdone with later GTA games. The story was interesting, but Claude, the protagonist, doesn't really have personality or character. His actions are entirely motivated by revenge and does anything it takes to get it, regardless of any connection or interaction with other characters. Being mute doesn't help the whole "no personality" thing. Even Link has character, despite not speaking in any traditional sense. Player dialogue choices serve as Link's speaking with others, Claude just says nothing. It could be argued that Claude not having character or personality detaches him enough that a player's actions, should they be ruthless in freely slaughtering any and all people they come across be they innocent or not, keeps such actions from running counter to a character who is not like that at all like the way Niko is presented to us through story actions, but I will talk about that when we get to IV. The controls are pretty basic and there is no swimming. The manuals for III and Vice City cite the reason you cannot swim in those is 'cos the water is too polluted and is therefore deadly in III and there are sharks in the water (supposedly) in Vice City. GTA games are known for their licensed music tracks on the radio stations, but GTA III has very few radio stations that I personally would willingly listen to. It comes down to 3 of the 9 stations: Flashback FM is similar to Vice City's Flash FM, even down to having the same DJ, and consists of 80s pop. However, Flashback's music is exclusively from the soundtrack of Scarface. Chatterbox is the talk show station with Lazlow Jones as the DJ, a recurring radio personality throughout the GTA games, and my personal favourite, Double Cleff FM, is an Opera station. The game also has its share of exploitable glitches that I have obsessed over throughout my time playing GTA games. I love easter eggs in games and glitching them, and the GTA ones are the ones I love the most involving these. I even considered learning how to speedrun them.
This game is one that I absolutely adore and is worth playing, just stay away from the mobile ports. They never did anyone any favours.
Vice City is an all-time classic. There is so much enjoyment to be had with this one. As stated in the GTA III review, this is the one I have the most nostalgia for in terms of playing the game myself. Starting up the game, hearing Billie Jean on the radio, and driving down Ocean Drive along the beach towards Ocean View Hotel transports me back to my first time playing this game, and it is a magical feeling that fills me with a tremendous sense of joy outdone only by GTA III, which I tried to justify (poorly) in its review. Vice City improves on things from III and added new stuff, like motorbikes and scooters as well as an expanded variety of boats.
The story is a fun one and you can see inspiration from films such as Scarface and others. Tommy Vercetti has much more character and personality than Claude did and was voiced by the late great Ray Liotta. Something as simple as insulting the cops as they chase him just gives him so much more character. He is one of my favourite protagonists. A sociopath through and through. There were other well-known voices as well, like Gary Busey, Burt Reynolds, and Danny Trejo to name a few. Property and asset management were also mechanics that Vice City introduced.
The soundtrack for this game is legendary and is by far my favourite of the series. It is a fantastic collection of 80s hits through to '86, the year the game takes place. The game also has its fair share of fun glitches and easter eggs. Definitely worth a go, again just avoid the mobile port.
Here's an interesting thing, later re-releases of this game were censored. Now it's not censored in the way one may think and this is not a hot coffee situation, it is much more tame. Later releases of the game removed or altered any and all dialogue with direct reference to Haitians and Cubans in terms of the gangs in the game. This isn't that noticeable if you don't remember the original release's dialogue since it was masked pretty well. That is except for the starting cutscene of the mission Two-Bit Hit where it is very clear that the audio does not sync up with the video and the cutscene seems to end sooner than it is supposed to. If you are unsure what version you are running, use this info to check.
The story is a fun one and you can see inspiration from films such as Scarface and others. Tommy Vercetti has much more character and personality than Claude did and was voiced by the late great Ray Liotta. Something as simple as insulting the cops as they chase him just gives him so much more character. He is one of my favourite protagonists. A sociopath through and through. There were other well-known voices as well, like Gary Busey, Burt Reynolds, and Danny Trejo to name a few. Property and asset management were also mechanics that Vice City introduced.
The soundtrack for this game is legendary and is by far my favourite of the series. It is a fantastic collection of 80s hits through to '86, the year the game takes place. The game also has its fair share of fun glitches and easter eggs. Definitely worth a go, again just avoid the mobile port.
Here's an interesting thing, later re-releases of this game were censored. Now it's not censored in the way one may think and this is not a hot coffee situation, it is much more tame. Later releases of the game removed or altered any and all dialogue with direct reference to Haitians and Cubans in terms of the gangs in the game. This isn't that noticeable if you don't remember the original release's dialogue since it was masked pretty well. That is except for the starting cutscene of the mission Two-Bit Hit where it is very clear that the audio does not sync up with the video and the cutscene seems to end sooner than it is supposed to. If you are unsure what version you are running, use this info to check.
Whereas Vice City is the one I have nostalgia for playing, this is one that I have nostalgia for watching someone else play. This is one of the many games I watched my cousin play. It wasn't until much later that I played it myself. San Andreas became notorious for its content and was a prime target for those who were strongly opposed to violence and sex in video games such as Jack Thompson. Even Hillary Clinton took issue with the content of the game. The Hot Coffee shit did not help things. What do I mean by Hot Coffee, you ask? Well, to put a long story short, code was left in the game for a sex minigame that was scrapped early. Rather than remove the code entirely, Rockstar did what most developers do and merely altered the code to disable access to the minigame. Modders were able to alter the code and reinstate the minigame, calling it the "Hot Coffee" mod. It was called hot coffee as that is the euphemism the game uses when you reach a high enough relationship with one of CJ's possible girlfriends to go into their house and have sex with them. The existence of this mod attracted a lot of negative attention towards Rockstar, which was only made worse when Rockstar, instead of owning up to it, tried to deny that the content was in the game to begin with, saying that it was created entirely by the modding community and claimed it violated the EULA. They were exposed as liars and accused of hiding the content when the code was found in the PS2 and Xbox versions of the game as well. Eventually the ESRB ordered that the game be reissued with the Adults Only rating, which would deter many video game retailers from even stocking it and cause it to be banned in many countries, or at least the ones in which it wasn't already banned to begin with. Rockstar eventually rereleased the game with the code removed to reinstate the M rating it started with. The unaltered ones that still have the minigame's code are exceedingly rare as Rockstar issued a recall of them (which was unenforceable) and those who never sent them back and know about the hot coffee controversy are not likely to sell them off. Anyway, I should probably stop the history lesson and actually review the game.
San Andreas is a favourite of many, and it is easy to see why. The game added stats for the protagonist (CJ in this case) which added a bit more depth to the gameplay and a more immersive experience. The game also added even more freedom to the open world with a larger map, more variety of vehicles, the ability to fly planes, swimming and diving, gambling, and countless other mechanics. San Andreas for one reason or another has many urban legends surrounding it. Things like Bigfoot, aliens, ghosts and ghost cars, and many others that help contribute to the game's more legendary status. The music choices for this game are fantastic. This is pretty much the only GTA game where I could listen to any of the radio stations and be happy with whatever is playing, no need to switch stations. This game like Vice City before it also had a star-studded voice cast. The game features many characters that have appeared in the other GTA games. Claude is in it and Tommy was meant to appear with a voice cameo but it did not work out. I even considered learning how to speedrun the game, with my love of glitching these games and intimate familiarity with them.
The girlfriend mechanic was not very enjoyable in my opinion, but it is cool how it allows for a very restricted and bare-bones co-op. The gun sound effects are not great. I heard they were made less realistic 'cos controversies around GTA games were starting to get out of hand and it was a form of damage control, but again, hot coffee happened. There are also some story issues but it isn't anything too major. Though it isn't my favourite as I've explained before, it is easily the best of the 3D Universe GTA games and worth your time.
San Andreas is a favourite of many, and it is easy to see why. The game added stats for the protagonist (CJ in this case) which added a bit more depth to the gameplay and a more immersive experience. The game also added even more freedom to the open world with a larger map, more variety of vehicles, the ability to fly planes, swimming and diving, gambling, and countless other mechanics. San Andreas for one reason or another has many urban legends surrounding it. Things like Bigfoot, aliens, ghosts and ghost cars, and many others that help contribute to the game's more legendary status. The music choices for this game are fantastic. This is pretty much the only GTA game where I could listen to any of the radio stations and be happy with whatever is playing, no need to switch stations. This game like Vice City before it also had a star-studded voice cast. The game features many characters that have appeared in the other GTA games. Claude is in it and Tommy was meant to appear with a voice cameo but it did not work out. I even considered learning how to speedrun the game, with my love of glitching these games and intimate familiarity with them.
The girlfriend mechanic was not very enjoyable in my opinion, but it is cool how it allows for a very restricted and bare-bones co-op. The gun sound effects are not great. I heard they were made less realistic 'cos controversies around GTA games were starting to get out of hand and it was a form of damage control, but again, hot coffee happened. There are also some story issues but it isn't anything too major. Though it isn't my favourite as I've explained before, it is easily the best of the 3D Universe GTA games and worth your time.