Third GOTM finished for August 2023. Beat with the Unworked Designs patch to avoid the usual "Working Designs increased the difficulty for no reason" problem. The gameplay itself wasn't much to call home about, as it's mostly a slippery and clunky action-platformer with a good amount of unnecessary backtracking and bad level design. Movement in the game suffers from a head-scratching move to have two-thirds of the screen behind you, and the other one-third of the screen in front of you, often leading to running into enemies and potentially being hit from off-screen (though you can turn that around in your favor with some bosses). A later level in the game makes this particularly infuriating. The bosses were interesting, but once you got a certain party member in the group they primarily handled all of them, so they didn't feel all that cleverly designed or executed. In some cases, they were downright laughable. The schlocky 90's anime dialogue, while often given through terrible voice acting, was pretty funny and honestly felt like a strength of the game. One of the regular NPCs had me chortling on multiple occasions. It's not a great game, but it does have some charm in its characters and dialogue and the gameplay is serviceable enough to package that all up as an overall fun experience.

Third GOTM finished for October 2023. This game would've been downright miserable without a guide, as the mansion is easily the most difficult monster in the game. This building was designed by a lunatic. I genuinely disliked the constant back and forth traipsing through this terrible building, but the atmosphere definitely felt like a proper horror game. Playing this in October for "spooky season" felt appropriate. The alternate control style is definitely appreciated, as are the stunning visuals and redone environments. While I think it has plenty of flaws, I can see why this defined a genre.

Did not play as part of GOTM or GOTW. Super gorgeous little Game Gear game. Baby's first tactics, with little in the way of complexity or scaling difficulty, so perfect for nearly anyone to play with little trouble. Element triangle is really important in this one. You're not doing much damage against enemies going against the triangle, and you'll do a ton going with it. Some elements, like unit promotion, are not explained at all, but it's a simple enough tactics game that it doesn't really change much if missed or not utilized fully. Overall, a great little game that was fun to play!

First GOTM finished for February 2022. A mostly enjoyable Zelda experience. The dungeons and bosses were fun, and the items were neat and fun to use. There is a TON to do in the overworld of this game, so that was fun to spend time wandering and experiencing many things. Most of all, the game is gorgeous, especially the parts where you are mini and the world becomes big around you. Unbelievable pixel beauty with this game. The Kinstone system, while an interesting way to interact with NPCs in the world, is way overused and poorly implemented as a reward system for many challenges and hidden areas. It's a neat idea, but leaves a bad taste in the mouth when used as a chest reward at the end of a mini-dungeon.