Super Mario World might be one of the greatest Platformers ever created. The game feels so incredible to control, it’s got some of my favorite controls in any platformer game ever. The level design continues Mario 3’s obsession with creating new, interesting experiences while also adding so much more in terms of new mechanics and powerups. Yoshi is wonderful and so expanded upon, the cape is an incredible item that makes the lack of other powerups minus the fire flower so miniscule. The secrets are incredible, it feels like every level there’s a new exit to find. The bosses are even better than they were previously, with a really great and interesting Bowser fight that focuses more on his technology than his raw strength. I really wish 2D Mario games felt anything like this nowadays, this is just so fantastic of an experience. Please play it.

Honestly one of the toughest games I’ve ever had to score. This game is both quite fun and extremely annoying at the same time. It’s visually very nice, especially for the time. The soundtrack is consistently great. The game has this wonderful and enriching personality that can’t be beat. The game, on the other hand, lacks content past just racing. There’s very little in the way of unlockables, and Battle Mode is only 2 player. There are also no staff ghosts to beat. It has 20 tracks, but they’re all very short despite the five laps. I actually really enjoy the track design in this game. However, the game has really glaring gameplay issues. Steering is a joke, it’s more like attempting to will your kart to go in the right direction. Everything is so slippy slidey, the only way I could get the game to feel at least a bit more consistent was playing Koopa or Toad. As well, the CPU’s are very frustrating, body blocking, being invulnerable to course obstacles, randomly having stars in first place (fuck you Luigi). The rubber banding is also atrocious, making any kind of lead feel unimportant. The game is fun, but only fun to an extent before the game will drive you mad

This game has gotten much better since I last played it. As a Sonic 3D Racer, it actually feels pretty good in the right circumstances now. However, the hub World is a weird decision when sometimes a basic level select might be preferable. The overall feel of the game can be pretty jank as some collisions and some levels overall feel very unfinished. The animations and effects are kinda janky overall, and the character decisions are really weird. That doesn’t make it not fun, and it’s still in a far better spot than it used to be, but for now it’s pretty janky and hard to be engaged with. Godlike OST though, and I’ll definitely re review it with new updates.

While my favorite puzzle game is Tetris, an extremely close second has always been Nintendo’s Picross series. I was introduced to the series through the My Nintendo Exclusive game Zelda Picross, which I played through again earlier this year. While that game is fun and polished, it’s extremely short. That game has about 50 ish puzzles, whereas Super Picross has 280. This number is just insane to me. The mechanics of the game feel super nice, while it isn’t as forgiving, it’s also very free form. For the Mario mode, you get autocorrected if you get something wrong, although it takes a bit off the timer. For the Wario mode, you don’t get autocorrected and it’s a race finish as fast as possible, with no time limit. The music is quite catchy and the game feels super chill to play. I’m honestly really glad I was just randomly scrolling through SNES NSO one day to see a Japanese Exclusive Mario Picross I didn’t recognize. This game is super fun and I’m having a great time playing through it.

This is possibly the most complete and amazing package of the original Super Mario Bros. and The Lost Levels. The original games are tuned up to a tee, fixing all of my physics issues with the games and adding a save function. There’s extra modes up the ass, with scavenger hunts and challenges a plenty. There’s mountains of extra content, and honestly I’m so impressed this was all on the GBC. The only problem is the screen space. It tries its best to fix the problems by letting you scroll the screen up and down, but that can only fix so much.

Prisoner of Azkaban is a very fun game, that succeeds in growing the fun movement of Chamber of Secrets and making the game feel better than ever to play. However, Prisoner of Azkaban fails in creating as engaging of an ability growth. Due to the fact you can’t switch between the three friends, Ron, Harry, and Hermione, the games environments are forced to be much less creative with their challenges. The game also has an issue of rushing certain things of the story along. The game was very obviously rushed, which can be seen in something as small as Hermione not having a strafe or back walk animation while Harry and Ron do, to the overall environments being only surface level. The game is still fun, looks far better than the older games did, and has some of the best level design of the series in some of its later challenges, but it’s still a slight downgrade from Chamber in almost every way.

This game is quite enjoyable, although it has a bit of jank. The controls are crazy stiff, and jumping feels really wacky. However, the structure and exploration of the game carries it hard. Each individual sections feels very nice and looks very good for the time the game came out in. The voice acting is a tad rough but it’s much better than the PS1 version. Harry’s arsenal isn’t super well explored, but all the standard spells are there. The bosses are a bit lame, and the ending is quite rushed, but the game remains fun throughout the whole thing. Plus it actually included some content from the book that isn’t in the movie, which is nice.

Rivals is one of the best bang for your buck games you can possibly pick up at $30. What the game lacks in real single player content that’s substantial, it absolutely makes up in just how expansive the multiplayer is. With 18 super deep and interesting characters, you’re bound to find a character for you (I personally like all the air characters). The Stage variety is pretty great as well, with something for everyone. But there are a few things the game does overly well, to an extent never seen. The first thing is it’s Rollback Netcode. This game has the best Netcode in any fighting game I’ve ever played, it’s not even close. It feels like LAN, and it lets me region lock myself to just NA. A great online system. The second thing this game has that’s exceptional is it’s soundtrack. This has very quickly become one of my favorite soundtracks to listen to. It’s so good, and each character has their own theme, along with unique stage themes. The most incredible thing this game has, though, is it’s Workshop. The amount of customization the game already has, through skins and control profiles, is astounding, but the workshop is incredible. Stages, Characters, Buddies, full new MODES! The amount possible here is astounding, and it’ll keep the game alive for an extremely long time. Overall, Rivals is the Platform Fighter that keeps on giving, and I hope 2 is just as long lasting and just as good.

FNAF 4 is the scariest game in series to me, and the only one that I still think is scary. Even though the animatronic designs are super try hard, they are terrifying to me because they remind me of my Sleep Paralysis Demons and my Nightmares. The main mechanic of the game being listening makes it so terrifying every time you fail. While the game is a tad sequency at times, the loop adds to the scare factor. The addition of Nightmare Fredbear later on in the game makes it even more terrifying, and overall the game just ups the scare factor 10 fold. As well, the game looks extremely good. The bonus game mechanic is fun, if unfortunate that you can’t try again every time you start a night. The 8-bit mini games between nights reveal a lot more about the universe than we previously new. As well, the Holloween update adds one of my favorite characters I. The series (Nightmarionne) and ultimate I think the whole game’s only really issue with the game is how fast it’s done and that it can get a little repetitive.

In contrast to FNAF 3, this is my favorite in the series. Mario Kart 8 feels the best to control, has the best selection of courses in the series, has my favorite battle mode, introduced cops and robbers which is awesome, looks beautiful, has the best soundtrack in the series, and has one of Nintendo’s best online systems ever. There is one single area Mario Kart 8 has an issue, and it’s purely in its slightly limited character roster. While at the end of the games life cycle we do finally have a lot of the mainstays, we’re still missing a few, and the overuse of Clones, babies, and Koopalings makes the roster feels super bloated.

FNAF 3 is not my favorite game in the series. It dials back a lot in terms of its scope and scale. There’s only one thing that can kill you, everything else just affects your ability to perform tasks. The location is much less iconic and less easy to tell where stuff is. At the same time, Springtrap is easily one of my favorite characters in the series. The game itself is far less of a gameplay loop, and you have to be much more adaptable than the ones that come before it. You constantly feel at risk because you officially have no way to defends yourself. No doors, no masks, and no flashlights. All you can do is try to maneuver Springtrap around the facility like he’s a dog on a leash. While the game is certainly muddy, it’s also extremely iconic visually. No game I’ve ever played looks like FNAF 3. Overall, I find the game more fun than 2, even if it’s less ambitious, and a pretty engaging finale to the original trilogy, and a great introduction to the main antagonist of the series, William Afton.

This is one of the most fun, creative, and enjoyable dumpster fires I’ve ever experienced. This game is so trash yet it’s got some of the most fun horror moments in any game I’ve played this year. The Voice Acting, Music, Modeling, and Animations have all come together for this incredible package that the engineering absolutely fails to deliver. This game has no visual options whatsoever, yet it may be one of the most stuttering games I’ve ever played. I wish they had given this game another year in the oven, this is not a good look.