Never been interested in VNs, so this was my first one.

and it may be one of my new favorite games. If Sega's idea of april fools jokes is really fucking good and charming side games, keep 'em coming please!

edit: i bought the ace attorney trilogy because of this game

I was originally going to review a different game this weekend, but after randomly stumbling across the existence of this last night I knew I had to play it instead. Because seriously, WTF(ladoodle) lol? Look at that name! It sounds like it would be some fan meme crap, but it’s actually officially licensed by Sega! I was honestly so baffled until I remembered what day it was and realized this had to be some sort of early April Fools’ Day joke. To my surprise though, that only turned out to be half-true.

Let’s get this out of the way, the title is total clickbait. Nothing crazy, ridiculous, or lore breaking happens. It all plays very safely to be as canon-friendly as possible. While it’s a little disappointing that they didn’t just go full nonsense with this like I, probably foolishly, hoped they would, I still ended up having a good time with it. It’s a cute, charming, and legitimately funny visual novel that somehow manages to unironically be one of the better Sonic games I’ve played. The people behind it seriously tried to make a worthwhile addition to the franchise and they totally succeeded!

Overall, it’s pretty short clocking in at a couple of hours at most and the lack of any alternate endings means there’s no real reason to ever replay it once you’re finished outside of a quick refresher in a few years down the line. There are also some gameplay segments that consist of more than merely clicking through text scattered throughout. These are honestly pretty terrible. You’re basically just guiding Sonic down short tracks infinite runner style, dodging obstacles and trying to collect a set amount of rings before reaching the end. They suck because the keyboard controls leave a little to be desired in terms of precision and I resorted to using one of the assist features to lower the ring requirements around the midpoint of the adventure simply to hurry up and get past these parts as quickly as possible.

Ultimately however, these problems are largely offset by the fact that this was released completely for free. It’s a generous holiday gift that’s far better than it has any right to be. You can feel the care, effort, and quality that was put into it by the development team, who were clearly genuinely excited for the project (they thank Sega in the credits for letting them make it). I would truly love it if they would do more of these small, experimental surprise treats every once in a while, even if I have to pay for them here and there. There’s no reason for Sonic fans or the simply curious in general to not check this out.

GOTY 2023

8/10

There are two games that can be pointed out as the culprits as why I love the videogame medium as much as I do today, one of them is Super Smash Bros. Brawl, which introduced to many of the franchises I love to this day (And I'll probably talk about it another time), and the other one was Kirby's Adventure Wii, as it was known here in Europe. Funny thing is, I didn't even know this game existed before I bought it, I was barely 8 years old and didn't pay much atention to TV ads, so imagine my surprise when I walked into the game store with my parents, with the idea of getting Epic mickey for my birthday, and seing the funny pink ball from Smash in a box art. I don't know why, but for some reason I changed my mind, and I ended up asking my parents to buy that game, and honestly, I will forever thank my past self for that decision, because it resulted in one of the best possible proper introductions to the platformer genre I could have had, and the mos fun moments I had with a game in all of my life.

So, yeah, after that chunk of background, I think you could guess that I got pretty excited when this game was announced, I mean, a remake of my favourite game when I was a kid? with an oncredibly beautiful art-style? with more Maglor? AND THEY GOT EGG CATCHER ON THIS SHIT?! Sign me up! So now the question is, is it any good?.... I mean yeah the original was awesome so of course it's good.

The game as it released on 2011 had one goal in mind: offer a fun but simple platformer that everyone can pick up and have fun both alone or with friends, and my god it delivers. All of the levels are devided by rooms, are while most levels do have some mechanic or platforming obstacle accross all the rooms, in general terms, each room is its own little puzzle, with its secrets that give either lives or the collectables, and some levels end with a ''Super-ability'' section which can grant access to challenge room that ends on a mini-boss. A faily simple gampley loop, one that becomes almost ACDICTING, this is how most Kirby games operate, but this in particular just stands out, and even tho it's an easy game, everytime you complete a puzzle or defeat one of the really fun final bosses, you feel like you achieved something great, a reward sensation that few other games match, and the fact a game like this can give such feeling is incredible.

Honestly, I think that the game as it is holds up extremely well, so it makes sense that the only changes made to the main campaign are visual (also two brand new abilities, both extremely cool, albeit one of them is pretty damn overpowered), and speaking of visuals...

I understand why some people dislike Dedede's new design and the outlines, I really do, but I just don't agree. The presentation id jaw-dropping, is a bit of a shame that because of Metroid Prime Remastered dropping this month I can't call this the best Remaster Nintendo has put out, but holy hell does it come close. The new artstyle injects new life to every corner of the game: the colors pop out even more and it looks gorgeous, the backgrounds are all amazing, there are some new animations and details that add a lot to the experience,... It's probablu one of the best looking non pixel-art 2D platformers I've played; keep in mind, I'm not saying the original looks bad, it still looks amazing, but this is just another level, it may be nostalgia be playing tricks on me, but I just love it too much.

On top of ALL of this, on top of all the incredible base game and visual overhaul... YOU ALSO GET FUCKING EGG CATCHER LET'S GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO. I really like the adition of Magoland , it just add so much content and fun that it's almost surreal; a TON of minigames, some new, some returning, and all really fun; the hub that changes as you progress in the story and in Magoland's missions (yeah, there are over 100 missions in Magoland alone, this shit is crazy) PLUS the mask, a really cute collectable with references across the series, wich at this point I feel spoiled with tha amaount of Kirby love. There's also Magolor's Epilogue, and... I don't really want to talk about it a whole lot, is a great adition and creative one at that, tho the level design can feel a bit ''arcadie'' and not as great or fun as the base game, but the progression sensation is awesome thanks to the RPG elements and, the ending is batshit insane, I'm not saying more so I don't spoil anybody, but it goes so fucking hard.

Oof... so, here you are, you just read a random guy on the internet gushing about a game he loves, and honestly, first of all, thank you for lending your time into reading this, and also, yeah, I just really love this game; it's far from being perfect, there are some minor problems here and there already present on the original release and some of the Magoland missions do feel like padding and in some cases straight up bullshit, but... I just can't bring myself to not love this game. Again, nostalgia doesn't blind me from its shortcomings, and Robobot surprasses it in both design and what it has to tell as a story, but I really recommend this game, it's a lovely time both alone and in co-op, it has love oozing from every part and it ahs a ton to offer, trust me, is a good one, and it has some secrets to show... so might as well discover them...




oh yeah I almost forgot, the music fucKING SLAPS HOLY MOTHER OF DEDEDE THIS SHIT IS A CONSTANT BOP WHAT THE ACTUAL FU- ok that's enough, again thanks for reading, and have a good day or night :).

The game has had one massive rebalance patch which addressed most of the issues with the game so its definitely a better experience and easier to recommend. It still has a least one major patch which would address the rest of the flaws (too many upgrades not enough points, no quick turn, no controller rebinding) before it would be the best version of what its trying to be. Which is a very faithful sequel to the first game. Art direction feels like nintendo hire this man with store bought unreal assets. But overall i am glad this game exists and that i got to play it

DMC sheds its RE-adjacent, castle-creeping, no-rest-for-the-weak skin. In any other franchise, abandoning trunks of its series's aesthetic legacy would feel like a compromise for an increasingly stubborn western-dominated market. But for DMC, this distancing allows for a narrative and mechanical cleansing - if not just to streamline the series' combat into its absolute peak, but to exercise introspection and rebirth, culminating in a truly heartfelt send-off to Dante and Vergil's legacy.

Also you can use the megabuster

Absolute pain to play through, a chore even.
But the soundtrack ("Lost Love" for example) is GREAT.
And the story, especially in the second act is VERY GOOD???

SO LIKE

IM EVEN MORE PISSED NOW BECAUSE THERE'S SO MUCH POTENTIAL HERE BUT I JUST CANT BEAR THIS GAMEPLAY.
Would rather recommend watching a playthrough.

Damn they weren't lying. That Kirby's Return to Dreamland really is Deluxe!

There's not too much to say about the bulk of the game cus.. it's Return to Dreamland. It's an already really great game that just got better. It's kinda like the Metroid Prime remaster in that way, only this time there's a bit of extra shit here to discuss.

Firstly, the visual overhaul looks really really good, and while it may be a little mixed, I honestly think the outlines helps make this game look super distinct and It looks really nice! It definitely is a way to visually update a Wii game to look distinct. This game looks great.

Now, in terms of extra content, there are two main things added to this game. The first is this little mini-island filled with the different minigames from across the series. Not much to say on those except that they're all pretty fun and it gives me something extra to collect during the main game.

Now, the MAGOLOR EPILOGUE is definitely a lot more interesting for me personally. While the Magolor Epilogue is not that long, similar to something like Meta Knightmare Returns, it's a really nice epilogue with improved Level Design, Progression, and ESPECIALLY Boss Fights since the original Return to Dreamland and the last 2D kirby. It's a really fun package with some really cool and surprising moments.

Overall, a nice, if simple remaster to one of the best wii games out there. The only thing I'd say is missing from this remaster is online multiplayer but I think beyond that, this game is just a really fun alternative to Forgotten Land. A simple, yet really well designed 2D Platformer that is good for some straightforward fun.