HyperSonic1134
2005
I've been playing every Sonic game in release order so far, and this game really is a breath of fresh air compared to the previous entries. Shadow was absolutely miserable to play, but this game is simple, fun, and has a good length despite needing to play the game twice. Replaying the game multiple times was a big part of what made Shadow much more tedious, but as opposed to ten times with different missions required to beat it, this game only makes you play once as Sonic and once as Blaze. Special stages are exclusive to Sonic, which are honestly one of the best special stages next to Blue Spheres because you have a lot of control with where Sonic goes due to the use of the touch screen. Meanwhile with Blaze, there are no special stages as you only need to beat the bosses, so it makes playing through so much easier and getting the True Ending is more accessible to casual players. Blaze doesn't feel too different from Sonic, but has enough changes that, while it doesn't feel like a different gameplay experience, it feels like you have more movement options. The levels are the same in both acts, but in a 2D setting where levels are five minutes at most, this isn't really too much of a problem. While Shadow took me over 10 hours long at the minimum, Rush is only about a 5 to 6 hour game. That isn't to excuse the fact that the levels are literally the same, but it doesn't feel as bad unless you're playing levels you didn't like the first time. Speaking of, this game isn't exactly perfect. There are segments with very questionable level designs, such as the slow platforms at the end of both Mirage Road levels, the rooms where you have to defeat x amount of enemies to progress (there game doesn't have many combat options). the slowly descending platforms at the end of both Altitude Limit levels, etc. While I do appreciate that the game makes it so holding boost will screw you over, some of the ways they do that make little sense and either slow the game down completely, or aren't visually clear with how they punish you. Bosses are also very annoying in this game, since most of them have instant kill moves, attacks where you can't hit them until the animation is done, or both. For example: Egg Hammer Fortress (boss of Huge Crisis) has an instant kill move, but also has an attack where it goes to an unreachable area and does a long range bomb attack that takes quite a bit to finish, dragging out the boss to a longer length than it needed to be, especially since the earlier iteration of the boss (Egg Hammer Mega from Leaf Storm) was much quicker to beat despite only having one different move and a variation of another. Even with that, the game has a lot of stuff going for it, like the soundtrack, which is honestly probably one of my favouirte Sonic OST's so far (I think Adventure 2 or Unleashed is still my favourite). Overall, I'd say this game is definitely worth checking out and I would say it's one of the best games to start with for a new Sonic fan in the 2D realm.
2005
This review contains spoilers
Oh boy, this is one hell of a game. I'll go ahead and get the elephant out of the room, this game COULD have been good IF they added the option to go back to levels instead of replaying the ENTIRE GAME to get each ending. All you would have to do is start at Stage 4, get two of the Stage 5 levels, and you can get all Stage 6's from there and replay the Stage 6's until you get every ending. Instead, they force you to replay the game EVERY SINGLE TIME you want a new ending. For a game where you need to get ten different endings, this is such a bad idea. The story isn't even that good either, some plot points get jumbled together due to the morality system, so the story ends up not being cohesive anyway. For example, in the Pure Dark route, the army general guy sends out Diablon to fight Shadow, which makes sense as to why you would fight him. However, I did a Pure Hero run and got the Dark ending, but there was no mention of Diablon for a while, so his appearance made no sense whatsoever. The gameplay itself isn't terrible, but the boss battles are absolutely horrid. The only boss I unironically liked was Egg Dealer, which says a lot because that boss is literally "spam A to win." Getting all of the endings didn't feel that rewarding either, since Last Story wasn't even that fun or different, it was the same map as Final Haunt and Black Comet but you need Chaos Control every two minutes, plus the final boss is terrible to play. The soundtrack isn't bad, but for Sonic standards, it's on the lower side. Other games like Unleashed, Rush, both Adventure games, and the Classic games have soundtracks that stick in your head, but this game's soundtrack didn't really have that for me, maybe it's because the gun and explosion sound effects are too overbearing. Speaking of, when you do the Hero or Dark missions, your partner will be telling you what to do at every single moment whether or not you press the hint button or not, which gets very annoying depending on the character. Some of them are fine like Sonic and Espio, but characters like Tails and Charmy can really get on my nerves at times (still love Tails though). At the very least though, the special stages don't exist and the levels are shorter, though only in the Neutral missions. The Hero and Dark missions can be very annoying at times, since a majority of them are "kill x amount of enemies" or "find x amount of collectibles" which gets really tedious very fast. Some missions can be unclear as to what to do, and for a platformer that relies on speed, these missions can really slow down gameplay and ruin that aspect. At least the game is ironically funny, with stupid lines like the iconic "fourth Chaos Emerald," "find the computer room" and my personal favourite "this is like taking candy from a baby, which is fine by me." Other than that. this game is a drag to play through and has very little going for it. Overall, I would say this game isn't really worth your time unless you want to make fun of it with your friends (though I apologize to whoever plays it).
1996
Playing this game has made me appreciate the quality of life changes that came in the later entries of the series. There's a lot of things that are tedious and annoying such as the limited item space, going into the menu to use HM's (example: having to go into the menu to use Surf as opposed to pressing A in the water), and no running shoes. I understand that this is because the game is old and doesn't have quality of life features that other entries have, but those are still things I would critique about the game regardless. The story is generic, but due to the time and the fact that it was the first in the series, certain elements work (Mainly the twists with Giovanni and Blue). Sometimes the game can be a little confusing about where to go next since the map, while somewhat linear, makes you go around certain areas and come back later (example: Saffron City). The only issue combat wise is that Psychic types (aka Alakazam) are way too overtuned. The game is still fine though it does have it's issues. It's Pokémon, so I enjoy it, but the fact that it's an older game means it's somewhat less enjoyable. Overall, I'd say while not a terrible start to the series, it lacks quality of life things that are desperately needed. My team was:
Bonus - My team was:
Ena (Charizard)
Minori (Butterfree)
Tsukasa (Electrode)
Kanade (Snorlax)
Akito (Cloyster)
Leo/need (Exeggutor)
(Yes, they were named after Project SEKAI characters, blame my friend)
Bonus - My team was:
Ena (Charizard)
Minori (Butterfree)
Tsukasa (Electrode)
Kanade (Snorlax)
Akito (Cloyster)
Leo/need (Exeggutor)
(Yes, they were named after Project SEKAI characters, blame my friend)
2000
I really tried to like this game, especially since I heard this is one of the best along with The Thousand Year Door, but this game ended up being a massive disappointment for me. The two main things that bothered me were the combat and the backtracking. I'll start with the latter since I have less to say about it. This game has so much backtracking, it feels like instead of having more unique areas, they have smaller areas that take you back to a hub world. This is more apparent in certain parts of the game, such as Shy Guy's Toy Box, Lavalava Land, and Flower Fields. It felt like a lot of the time spent in this game was going back to a previous area and trying to figure out where to go next. For the combat, I'll start with enemies. Certain enemies are extremely annoying to fight and unfortunately it's a majority, especially the further you go in the game. The game starts off simple with hitting A at the right time to block and take less damage, but it starts adding enemies that require you to spam A while they drain your HP or use an attack where you need to block multiple times which feels clunky. This is a problem because the game never makes you feel like you have enough HP, FP, or BP despite the fact that I would fight almost every enemy I would encounter. I started having to avoid combat at times because I would be low HP very quickly especially early game. Even at the end when I had max HP and FP, combat would feel like a close call. The bosses in this game are a great example of this. Some of the bosses like Huff N' Puff and the Crystal King feel either not fun or not fair at times. For Bowser, it makes sense and he was the only boss in the second half of the game I actually liked. Status effects feel really unfair at times, since they either prevent you from using Mario or prevent you from using your partner, which slows down gameplay a lot especially in bosses like the Crystal King. It especially sucks that when Mario is hit by a status effect, he can't block meaning he needs to take every hit and has no opportunity to block. I found that the further the game went, the more annoyed I was getting at the combat, and I just can't stand it. If I have to say something good about the game, I at least liked the humour of the game, since it was a lot different than I expected, though the story is pretty generic and not that interesting for the most part. The soundtrack was kind of bad near the beginning but the further in the game the better it was getting so that part gets a mixed rating as well. Overall, I would say while this game isn't the absolute worst game I've played, it definitely is one of, if not the most disappointing in a while.
I went into this game with low expectations and came out very content with what I got. It took me a while to finish it because I dubbed the whole game with my friend, but that only added to the experience. I think what makes me like this game so much is the overall atmosphere. The courtroom has a darker colour scheme, the music focuses more on the mysterious vibe, and character designs such as Phoenix and Ema help set up the atmosphere of the game well. As for the cases themselves, while I didn't particularly care for Turnabout Corner, I surprisingly like Turnabout Serenade and I absolutely adore Turnabout Trump and Turnabout Succession. I don't want to go too deep into the cases due to spoilers, but I feel like the only issues with this game are that the killers are pretty obvious most of the time (Turnabout Corner and Serenade), and the killer's motivations can be weak at times as well. Either way, it doesn't change how much fun this game can be. The humour is probably the best in the series so far and the one off characters are actually pretty good for the most part (I actually like Spark Brushel). Overall, while I'd say this game had flaws, I would say I had too much fun with the game to care. I know it wouldn't be for everyone, but I think it's an enjoyable experience for myself.
2019
This review contains spoilers
I've heard a lot about this game, whether it was from my best friends or finding silly memes about "delicious pancakes" on social medias. After finally playing it for myself, I have a lot to say. I'd like to go over the bad stuff first. I would like to note that the good outweighs the bad enough to still give it a 5/5, if anything I would've given it a score above the max if I could and these problems didn't exist. The main issue I have with this game comes from two characters: Morgana and Kasumi. The former is simple, he's annoying and I hate him, especially during the Okumura arc. As for Kasumi, I hate that the game does so much to hype up this character just for her to be so unimportant and uninteresting in every way. I was told "You need to treat her as a different character in the third semester." That shouldn't be the case, she's on the poster and she's the face of the Royal content, yet she lacks so much. Anyway, the story and Palaces are very good--expect Okumura's Palace. Everything from the story, to the Palace, to the infamous boss fight sucks until the very last segment which is fine but there's so much more they could've done. With those out of the way, the good of the game is--well, everything else. A majority of the characters feel like real people I could meet in real life, such as main characters like Ann or the Confidants like Yoshida. These characters have personalities and struggles that make them feel so real and the chemistry they have with not just the MC, but everyone else in the game really adds a lot to the story and the world building. I love when you invite friends to hang out and you bump into someone else. Seeing scenarios like that makes the world feel more real than just a game, it's immersive at times. Other than Okumura's, all of the other Palaces are really fun to navigate and have good puzzles and enemies that are fun but challenging to fight at times. Bosses are pretty good for the most part though some battles feel scripted and others are underwhelming or have annoying gimmicks. Most of the arcs in the game are S-tier except for Okumura and Madarame which felt underwhelming after Kamoshida's arc. My favourite aspect of this game has to be the OST though. Some of my favourite songs include: Price, When Mother Was There, Life Will Change, Rivers in the Desert, Gentle Madman, and I believe. As someone who played Persona 4 Golden many times, the quality of life changes in terms of gameplay really improve the experience and make me want to return for New Game Plus a lot more later down the line. Overall, I would say just like Persona 4 Golden, this game was one of the best gaming experiences I've had and I would recommend it to just about anyone.
Beat the whole DLC in one session. The game is really hard to put down here because of how great the levels are. I could describe it as the feeling of playing Battle of the Birds for the first time, which is a huge compliment since I love that chapter to death. The open world is fun to explore and it really is just what I wanted from Alpine Skyline's open world. None of the levels are a pain to get through and none of them really drag on too long. The new customization options are really good and you can make Hat Kid looks different with the bat instead of the umbrella or a cozy sweater instead of the traditional outfit. Each part of the open world is colourful and vibrant and it's fun to explore each new area. The only thing holding this back from a perfect 5 stars is the final act. The very end is really underwhelming as I thought the level would be a bit longer but it kind of just ended somewhat abruptly in my opinion. Overall, I'd say this is definitely worth checking out if you loved the base game as it really feels like the perfect way to end a run of the game.
So the Arctic Cruise was underwhelming. It's not horrible, but each level has their own pros and cons, though I'd say the cons outweigh the pros. The main issue is how huge the map is for how cramped some areas feel. The first level takes a long time when you're unfamiliar with the map, the second level has markers and arrows that show you where to go but don't really work well sometimes, and the third level has a different version of the map that can be annoying to navigate. The Time Rift was genuinely painful and made me stop playing for a little bit. Death Wish is a mixed bag for me as well. The main missions are fine, but the bonus missions ramp up the difficulty to a point where I wouldn't want to continue the level. Truthfully, I didn't actually finish Death Wish; I gave up when I got to "Wound-Up Windmill" and "Rift Collapse: Deep Sea." I think the saving grace of this DLC is that it still has the charm that A Hat in Time always had, so it wasn't super painful to play. I feel like if the game wasn't as naturally fun as it was, I'd rank this DLC lower. Overall, I would say this DLC is only worth playing if you're okay with challenging missions that can really test your patience.
2017
I've played the game multiple times prior to this review, but I decided to play it again in order to go through the game with the DLC's. Now that I'm done said DLC's, I'm logging them all. This game is still great, I love almost everything about it. Mafia Town is a great introduction to the game that's short but sweet and contains fun bonus missions. Battle of the Birds is my favourite part of the base game and the system of ratings to decide the winner of the award is really creative and unique. Subcon Forest is a close runner up, the contract system is interesting and exploring the haunted place is fun. However, Alpine Skyline is the odd one out for me. I think the game drops in quality here as the open area is long and tedious to explore. I liked it the first time I played years ago, but every time I come back to this game I find myself dreading Alpine Skyline. Though the quality does go back up for Time's End, a great way to end the game. The game's characters are funny and likeable and the voice acting is super strong. Overall, I'd say this game is definitely worth checking out as it has a lot of great aspects that make it fun for any player.
1990
Anyone who's played this game probably knows how good it is. The level design is probably the best in any 2D Mario game I've played, and honestly one of the best 2D platformers I've ever played as well. The sprites are very charming and still hold up to this day, and the game has a lot of stuff that I can sum up with one word: unique. The levels don't follow the basic themes like desert or ocean or ice land and instead try and do more unique things, like the Forest of Illusion that requires you to find a secret exit in a level to escape. The bosses have different ways of beating them like pushing them into the lava or jumping on them when they appear on the right pipe. The difficulty of the game is just right, some levels feel really hard but not impossible. The only frustrating levels other than some later ones are the Ghost Houses, but those are usually frustrating anyway. Overall, I'd definitely recommend playing this game as it does live up to the hype it gets.
1988
Out of the four NES Mario games, this one is easily the best. The other games have aspects that bother me but this one doesn't have too many. The main issues are how long some of the worlds get, which sucks because I don't like a handful, namely the water and ice lands. The dark land is short, but it's more frustrating than fun. The rest of the game is still good, the dark land is the only one I truly don't like. The new power ups add so much more to the typical Mario formula that really paves the way to future games. Overall, I'd say this game is definitely worth checking out to see how the games evolve over time.
1988
Here's the thing, the game is fine, but it doesn't feel like a Mario game which is my biggest issue. I know the game is a reskin of Doki Doki Panic, but they tried to make it feel like Mario right? It just doesn't seem like that worked at all. Yeah the iconic enemies like Shy Guy and Birdo (named Ostro in this game) exist, but they also originated from Doki Doki Panic. It just feels like there's nothing to really identify this game as a Mario game except for the fact that Mario, Luigi, Toad, and Peach are playable. Besides that, the game isn't bad. Some of the levels feel kind of tricky, but the game isn't cheap like how Super Mario Bros. and The Lost Levels were (those stupid levels that looped until you took the right path are what I'm referring to). The only levels I didn't really like were the desert levels since you had to dig into the ground and it felt awkward. There's no variety with the bosses as it's either Ostro (Birdo) or the boss at the end of the world which you would beat in the same way. I don't like how you can't jump on enemies to kill them in this game since it, again, doesn't make the game feel like a Mario game. The plus side is the different characters because Luigi and Princess Toadstool are fun to play (I didn't figure out what Toad did prior to the review, oops). Those make beating levels more unique since you can use different characters to solve the same problems. Overall, the game isn't bad by itself, but as a Mario game, it doesn't really fill the quota.
2003
I've been a Sonic fan for a long time, Generations was the most recent game and Lost World was coming out around the time I was first becoming a Sonic fan. Out of all the games I've played, I've never been disappointed by one, until now. There are just so many issues I have with this game that I don't know where to start, so I'll pick the most significant. First of all, the physics are horrible. There are so many ways to fall of the map since everything feels so slippery. Not only that, but you need to deal with those physics in four different stories: Team Sonic, Team Dark, Team Rose, and Team Chaotix. Speaking of, the four teams don't add enough to have to play the game four different times to justify playing through with each. Sonic is the standard, Dark is harder, Rose is easier, Chaotix is mission based. It really isn't worth it in my opinion. The payoff to beating all of these stories is fighting a secret final boss in "Last Story" which also requires you to get the Chaos Emeralds. Speaking of the Chaos Emeralds, to get them, you need to get a key from a cage in every second act and bring it to the end of the level. To do so, you need to beat the level without dying or taking damage as you'll drop the key. It's easier with Team Rose since their levels are shorter, but it's not worth it considering what the final boss is. The special stages aren't much better, imagine Sonic 2's pipe stages but slippery and annoying. I watched a video of the final boss again and it's underwhelming now compared to when I saw it as a kid. Also, the game doesn't really utilize Sonic well. Each team has the Speed, Fly, and Power characters, and yet you don't really need your Speed character for anything. For example: Most combat is done with your Fly or Power characters. Speaking of combat, the bosses are terrible and once again don't require the Speed character at all. One of the bosses is an upgraded version of another, two "bosses" are just waves of enemies, and two other bosses are just fighting one of the other Teams, meaning that there are only two original bosses, the first and the last. It's honestly disappointing to me how many issues I have with this game, especially since I was looking forward to playing it for the longest time. The only good parts of the game I can mention are the soundtrack and the Ocean and Metropolis levels. Those four stages were fine and I quite enjoyed them. I didn't hate the Casino stages, but as I mentioned earlier with the physics, it's quite slippery especially with the pinball boards. The remaining stages are awful in their own ways and make the game feel terrible to return to. Overall, I would say this game is worth skipping unless you're patient, but I don't think I myself am patient enough, so I'll pass on finishing this sad game.
First I'd like to mention that this review is based off of a casual single-player experience. I didn't collect all the Star Coins, but I plan to whenever I come back to this game. The level design is much better than the other two Mario games I recently played (Super Mario Bros. and The Lost Levels), though there are a few levels or gimmicks I didn't like, such as any gimmick from World 2 or the wall climbing in World 6. The difficulty is just fine, simple when you want to run through levels but harder when you want to collect the Star Coins. This isn't a complaint that would dock any points, but the world design is really boring since it follows the generic pattern of having a desert, ice world, water world, etc. I understand that this game is really old, but I wish the Mushroom Kingdom just had more unique scenery especially since the other 2D Mario games do the same thing. I would like to see a NSMB game with a world design like in the 3D games like Sunshine or Galaxy. Overall, very simple yet fun game that I definitely see myself returning to.
I can say the exact same thing as I did in the Super Mario Bros. review, but there's one thing I want to add: The level design. It's absolutely horrid and I would've gone mad without save states (played with Nintendo Switch Online), especially since it feels like you can't predict what's to come. There were some levels I had to look up how to solve because the solutions felt unreasonable. The original Super Mario Bros. was at least fun, but this one doesn't really do it for me. It's only going to get half a star lower since it's basically a hard mode in my eyes. Overall, frustrating game without save states and not really a good sequel.
Edit: I'm lowering the score because I feel like my original score is too high compared to some other games in its original rating and is slightly under Super Mario Land for me.
Edit: I'm lowering the score because I feel like my original score is too high compared to some other games in its original rating and is slightly under Super Mario Land for me.