Itchy_Sideburns
1999
A great game both in spite and because of its connections to the masterful Chrono Trigger. While it took me a little while to come to grips with the combat system, I wound up liking it a lot once I did. The story's really existential and fascinating, if clunky and convoluted. Absolutely excellent music and art direction, with its bright colors saturating coral reefs and coastal towns. It may not be Chrono Trigger, but it makes a statement all its own
Pretty fun, those puzzles in the Atlantean maze are kind of a slog, though
2022
I legitimately liked Her Story and Telling Lies and had heard that this game was supposed to be even better. So, color me surprised that I didn't care for this game very much at all. The acting's a lot worse than either of those games, the gameplay's been simplified to just haphazardly clicking on stuff and rewinding clips instead of any actual investigation, and the "actual" story is laughably bad.
2022
A very strong story with pretty mature themes for video games about culture and religion, with some great characters that you get to watch as they age and their personalities and viewpoints change over time. Gameplay can be a little repetitive at times, namely in the latter two acts that are both more linear (especially in the third act) than the first one.
A pretty solid improvement on the original Metroid II and a good foundation for what MercurySteam would continue to do in Metroid Dread (that is, fluid movement and combat). But, it is a step down from other more modern Metroid games, thanks to the repetitiveness of fighting Metroids over and over again and that same fluidity not really done the best service with 3DS controls.
2022
Gravitated to this a lot, thanks to some really nuanced writing that can bounce surprisingly easily between funny to somber. Also, it helps that, as someone who lives relatively near to New Orleans, that I really appreciated the developers' knowledge of the local culture, while adding their own unique and weird spins.
2019
Honestly, I think this game gets a bit of a bad wrap. Admittedly, it might be a bit of the high of the Crown Tundra DLC, which I think sets up open world Pokemon better than the main game (and sets up pretty well for Legends: Arceus and, hopefully when I get to it, Scarlet/Violet). Even the main game's pretty decent, though, even if the routes are very linear, and the story's rough, even by Pokemon standards. The gym challenge itself is handled pretty well, with fun characters and a real sense of atmosphere during gym battles.
My team: Cinderace, Corviknight, Toxtricity, Barraskewda, Grimmsnarl, and Dragapult
My team: Cinderace, Corviknight, Toxtricity, Barraskewda, Grimmsnarl, and Dragapult
One of the best 2d platformers in recent memory. Always impressed at how kinetic all of the levels are
Despite the heavier emphasis on Halo-esque action and setpieces over puzzles, especially in the odd first two levels, it is really well-done once it actually gets into the main Metroid "meat" of the game.
When I first played this, I liked it a lot, but was rather frustrated with going back-and-forth through the light and dark worlds and the ammo system. After this playthrough, I'm pleased to say that those are not as much of an issue as I remembered. It really is an amazing game; it just lives in the shadow of Metroid Prime. While Prime is still my favorite game to this day, Echoes does a lot right, especially with its puzzle and boss design.
2017
Can't speak to the quality of the original Pokemon Sun, but I personally quite like Ultra Sun. I think it's due to a variety of factors, like better characters than most Pokemon games, the fun setting of Alola, great Pokemon designs, and finally getting rid of HMs. Admittedly, it might have the worst pacing of any Pokemon game, but I'd rather take this game's slowness instead of how barebones Pokemon Y was any day.
My team: Decidueye, Vikavolt, Mudsdale, Golisopod, Bewear, and Alolan Muk
My team: Decidueye, Vikavolt, Mudsdale, Golisopod, Bewear, and Alolan Muk
A pretty big jump in quality from the first Metroid, certainly less confusing and frustrating. In comparison to the previous 2D entry in Metroid Fusion, I appreciate that it's less linear than Fusion, but I do feel that game had a better grip when it came to atmosphere and bosses.
2013
sigh I mean, honestly, it's a pretty good introduction/re-introduction for newcomers or people who haven't played in a while. It's just that, it's a very back to basics Pokemon, especially compared to the more interesting Black and White games. It feels like in the rush to go to 3D, implement a new type, and start focusing more and more on gimmicks, that other things faltered here (still the least amount of Pokemon added in a new game outside of Legends: Arceus and a bad and lazy plot even by Pokemon standards.)
My team: Greninja, Venusaur, Pangoro, Aegislash, Heliolisk, and Sylveon
My team: Greninja, Venusaur, Pangoro, Aegislash, Heliolisk, and Sylveon
2002
Still my favorite game ever! I get into a nostalgic zen state whenever I'm traipsing through Magmoor Caverns and Phendrana Drifts, whenever I'm listening to the excellent music, or whenever some effect happens with Samus's visor like mist or water or Samus's reflection. It's just the best.
Before this marathon, the only main Pokemon game I had never played at all. I was worried that I might get tired of wandering around Unova after two straight games, but this game shows how interesting of a setting it is. There's less going on in the narrative as the first game, but it visits its repercussions often. The increased diversity in Pokemon gives a wealth of options to use in a playthrough, and the amount of post-game content rivals even that of HeartGold. I think this might be my favorite Pokemon yet.
My team for this playthrough: Samurott, Magnezone, Flygon, Heracross, Zoroark, and Volcarona
My team for this playthrough: Samurott, Magnezone, Flygon, Heracross, Zoroark, and Volcarona