KalKeg
BACKER
1992
So, I had never played a dungeon crawler before, much less an SMT game. Decided to start here, and was completely taken by surprise. What an awesome game! It's a SNES game, so hasn't aged perfectly, but the gameplay was excellent and the difficulty enough to make it feel challenging with feeling cheap or unfair. The story wasn't anything spectacular, but was certainly good enough to keep my attention throughout the game. That last dungeon was a SLOG, but didn't detract from my overall enjoyment of the game. Looking forward to continuing my journey with this series!
2000
Fifth GOTW finished for 2022. Short and fun game, beat it all the way through with two characters and each felt completely different. Looking forward to playing through again with the other characters. As others have mentioned, the lock-on is pretty terrible, but spent most of my time punching heads anyway. Had a blast!
Second GOTM finished for April 2022. Enjoyed this one, especially in color. Potentially the easiest and fastest Mario game I have ever played, and didn't really leave a lasting impression, but it was enjoyable nonetheless.
First GOTM finished for May 2022. Simple, quick to pick up and play game. It wasn't amazing, but it was fun while I played it. Lots of silly, childish humor, and some clever minigames throughout.
Fourth GOTW finished for 2022. This game was HARD, even on children's/easy mode. However, it was still a really fun ride. The music was pretty good, the gameplay was great, and while hard it didn't feel cheap or mean. Really enjoyed this one!
Second GOTM finished for April 2022. How has it taken me this long to step into this series!? This game is great, and if this is the first entry I can't wait to see what the others have to offer. Some places dragged here and there, but overall I was impressed with how much I enjoyed this one. The writing is great, the characters are quirky and fun, and even when it goes a little over-the-top it feels fun to experience. Great game!
1990
Third GOTW finished for 2022. What a game! I don't like beat-em-ups, and that came through with this one, but I had a fun time with this game. The difficulty is definitely there, so it took a couple of tries, but it's not very long. It's a wild wacky ride, going from a bmup, to a gallery shooter, to a side-shooter, and back again. Entertaining!
1991
Second GOTW finished for 2022. Pretty below average shmup. Played on the GBA, which seems to be the superior version, but still didn't have much fun with this one. I mean, even the creators knew they didn't have much with this one, which is why they put an old man with a banjo on the front to try and stand out.
1990
First GOTW completed for 2022. Had a blast with this one, what a great little game! Only took a couple hours, though area 8 ramps the difficulty up exponentially. Would definitely play again, great game.
1992
Third GOTM finished for March 2022. Great game written and designed by Hideo Kojima of Metal Gear Solid fame. Engaging story, interesting menu-based gameplay, and gorgeous pixel graphics. It was a joy to play this one, even though it's not a style of game I usually play, and would recommend to anyone looking for a mystery/adventure style game.
Second GOTM finished for March 2022. I quite enjoyed my time with this one. It suffers from some clunky platforming and wonky camera angles (as did most of the earlier 3D platformers) but there's plenty of charm and fun to be had with this one. Be warned, it's a dark game, so don't be afraid to turn up the brightness on this one.
2005
First GOTM finished for March 2022. The characters were charming, and the art style and music fun, but the game was pretty middling overall. There were a few great parts, and likewise a few infuriating parts (chapter 4-2...), but for the most part this game was just okay. Still enjoyed playing it, but won't be returning anytime soon.
Third GOTM finished for February 2022. An enjoyable remaster of a classic! I actually ended up playing both the SNES and DS versions, and found the DS version to be superior in every way. Better sprites, more intuitive controls, better support system, and easier to tell a platform from the background. While I enjoyed the other levels, I hated the Arena. Probably a case of just needing to "git gud", but it nearly soured the overall experience for me. There are many different styles of gameplay to enjoy here, so you're likely to find something that you enjoy. Except the Arena.
1993
Second GOTM finished for February 2022. Got some wicked Gun Slug vibes from this one, scroll right and kill things. The different combinations of weapon orbs are interesting, and give some depth to the game, but one of them is way broken. Deceptively hard game, beat it on Easy and even then was sweating the final boss. Enjoyable, but not likely to ever play again.
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.