LunaEndlessWitch
This is by in large probably the game I detested playing the most in the past several years.
Nothing works here, it's a complete gen 7 cover shooter where nothing is kinesthetically satisfying to do and all the enemies are hitscanners that pad out time with very little strategy other than stop and pop. There's entire sections built around going as slow as possible, especially the notorious jet ski bullshit. The zombie section is equivalently jarring as it is more busywork, not even doing a decent job of giving pacing to the enemy designs.
Every climbing section is a bore, every setpiece underbaked, this is Naughty Dog's concept game through and through and it's made up by design pillars all of which I just detest from the offset. Don't get me wrong, I love UC4 and they've managed to salvage the series from the next installment but this one is just so utterly awful.
I didn't even chuckle a single time to the banter, so uninspired and lifeless I felt myself in limbo as I crossed every hour.
If you are absolutely interested in the Uncharted series at all, you start from 2. ANYTHING is better than playing this one. (1/10)
Nothing works here, it's a complete gen 7 cover shooter where nothing is kinesthetically satisfying to do and all the enemies are hitscanners that pad out time with very little strategy other than stop and pop. There's entire sections built around going as slow as possible, especially the notorious jet ski bullshit. The zombie section is equivalently jarring as it is more busywork, not even doing a decent job of giving pacing to the enemy designs.
Every climbing section is a bore, every setpiece underbaked, this is Naughty Dog's concept game through and through and it's made up by design pillars all of which I just detest from the offset. Don't get me wrong, I love UC4 and they've managed to salvage the series from the next installment but this one is just so utterly awful.
I didn't even chuckle a single time to the banter, so uninspired and lifeless I felt myself in limbo as I crossed every hour.
If you are absolutely interested in the Uncharted series at all, you start from 2. ANYTHING is better than playing this one. (1/10)
2017
Nintendo tries a fighting game other than Smash and it doesn't turn out well.
I think a lot of it has to do with how they shot themselves in the foot, neutral is set solely around two commands that while used in modular ways and can be done in combination to each other already gives a very small skill ceiling to get to. To make matters worse, neutral game is far more about poking rather than mind games. You're attempting to get the luckiest frame advantage possible before you can either set them up for a grab or attack into a super.
There's no real interest here after an hour, it's a poor fighting game on its own and the singleplayer content doesn't really fix that either. It's no Shaq Fu for sure, there's some competency here to the kinesthetics and the aesthetics themselves pop (although, i found the soundtrack forgettable). There's definitely an idea of where fun is had here but the competitive mindset these kind of games bring just end in tedium. Go pick up something else really, rather than the bottom of the barrel of the Switch lineup.
I think a lot of it has to do with how they shot themselves in the foot, neutral is set solely around two commands that while used in modular ways and can be done in combination to each other already gives a very small skill ceiling to get to. To make matters worse, neutral game is far more about poking rather than mind games. You're attempting to get the luckiest frame advantage possible before you can either set them up for a grab or attack into a super.
There's no real interest here after an hour, it's a poor fighting game on its own and the singleplayer content doesn't really fix that either. It's no Shaq Fu for sure, there's some competency here to the kinesthetics and the aesthetics themselves pop (although, i found the soundtrack forgettable). There's definitely an idea of where fun is had here but the competitive mindset these kind of games bring just end in tedium. Go pick up something else really, rather than the bottom of the barrel of the Switch lineup.
Infinity Ward's foray and VERY brief experimental phase ends up with a competent fps multiplayer and a just barely meets average campaign that to be fair holds a sweet surprise in its anti-imperialism sentiment.
For the campaign, you have stop and pop shooting done ad nauseam, but with decent setpieces and some cinematic wonders like the mission All Ghillied Up. I found the campaign to still be more of a monotonous grind but credit where it's due the writers snuck in some gold with the nuclear bomb, fiercely pinning down the Bush presidency's major foreign policy.
The multiplayer is good, but it's more like good in spite of a plethora of disgusting design elements. For one, killstreaks was never an interesting mechanic, it rewards snowballing and gives no counterplay for the enemy team. Awful trash that has spawned even worse incarnations later. That being said, the map design is top notch and there's incredible care into the perk and weapon system. It overall ends in a fps multiplayer that while has an almost too high TTK, still holds elements of strategy and interesting engagement.
Overall, COD4 is a middling affair, but it's certainly aged better than most of the other games in its series have.
For the campaign, you have stop and pop shooting done ad nauseam, but with decent setpieces and some cinematic wonders like the mission All Ghillied Up. I found the campaign to still be more of a monotonous grind but credit where it's due the writers snuck in some gold with the nuclear bomb, fiercely pinning down the Bush presidency's major foreign policy.
The multiplayer is good, but it's more like good in spite of a plethora of disgusting design elements. For one, killstreaks was never an interesting mechanic, it rewards snowballing and gives no counterplay for the enemy team. Awful trash that has spawned even worse incarnations later. That being said, the map design is top notch and there's incredible care into the perk and weapon system. It overall ends in a fps multiplayer that while has an almost too high TTK, still holds elements of strategy and interesting engagement.
Overall, COD4 is a middling affair, but it's certainly aged better than most of the other games in its series have.
2011
Mario works off a very solid foundation, especially in this incarnation. Super Mario 3D Land still has a good structure when it comes to level design but the real issue here is that there's nothing interesting. It's very boneless, in a sense that every particular level doesn't bring anything remotely engaging that hasn't either been done before in the series or on its own doesn't work that well to be remotely interesting. Iteration isn't by itself bad, but I struggle to find what exactly this is iterating on that is good.
It's a super stretched out easy platforming romp. It's comfy for a few hours and then overly outstays its welcome. It's ok at best but I just don't recommend playing it and go play 3D World instead.
It's a super stretched out easy platforming romp. It's comfy for a few hours and then overly outstays its welcome. It's ok at best but I just don't recommend playing it and go play 3D World instead.
I'll be the first to admit that other than a few exceptions I haven't been a huge fan of Spike Chunsoft's writing. That applies especially here, Danganronpa as a VN primarily falters on its leading appeals. The storytelling on its own is disgustingly shallow, characters are fumbling archetypes with only two characters getting even a decent chance at characterization. The final chapter especially blows the entire thing on its head, making it clear how ridiculous it disregards logic, which while wouldn't be an issue for a thematically heavy VN, Danganronpa's other half literally works on case logic.
Which, speaking of the cases themselves, are fine. Case 3 is pretty bad, but Case 1, 2, and especially 4 all make good use of logical points at contradictions while slowly constructing how every murder went. The only real pressing issue to these cases structurally is that the "why" for most of the cases is so shallow and neglects the heart that the game enforces in the last chapter. With exception of Case 4, anyway.
What keeps the game alright to me, however, is the atmosphere. The academy in of itself is a strong cohesive place, which sounds off when it slowly gets more and more surreal, but it really works here. Going about it for every case and finding the history of it is pretty interesting (to a point, where the story rears its ugly head).
Despite how I take a hammer to Danganronpa, I still managed to enjoy myself overall. It has a lot to do with the signature aesthetic that is etched into my mind at this point, and the very few strong moments of the story still stick with me far beyond my playtime. For that, I recommend Danganronpa just a tad, for anyone interested in the series on that alone, despite its issues.
Also game's transphobic y'all. I don't want to see you fuckers stanning that.
Which, speaking of the cases themselves, are fine. Case 3 is pretty bad, but Case 1, 2, and especially 4 all make good use of logical points at contradictions while slowly constructing how every murder went. The only real pressing issue to these cases structurally is that the "why" for most of the cases is so shallow and neglects the heart that the game enforces in the last chapter. With exception of Case 4, anyway.
What keeps the game alright to me, however, is the atmosphere. The academy in of itself is a strong cohesive place, which sounds off when it slowly gets more and more surreal, but it really works here. Going about it for every case and finding the history of it is pretty interesting (to a point, where the story rears its ugly head).
Despite how I take a hammer to Danganronpa, I still managed to enjoy myself overall. It has a lot to do with the signature aesthetic that is etched into my mind at this point, and the very few strong moments of the story still stick with me far beyond my playtime. For that, I recommend Danganronpa just a tad, for anyone interested in the series on that alone, despite its issues.
Also game's transphobic y'all. I don't want to see you fuckers stanning that.
I really really enjoy S3&K level design, it's incredibly good just in terms of level density and smart use of building up momentum and utilizing downtime. The 2D Sonic games really find their rhythm here, ironing out the issues like enemies within the pathway that you have to outright memorize to not take hits and making sure the downtime where you're not speeding through is effective.
The speedruns of the game elegantly show how strong the levels get, and the exploration element to find the chaos emeralds is pretty fun this time around too. The minigame to get it itself is still ok at best but at this point I've come to expect it. The bosses this time around are also pretty strong, and not much needs to be said on the game's excellent soundtrack.
It's great, everything from Mushroom Hill to IceCap to Sky Sanctuary is strong and consistent. Sure, you do have a couple stinker levels and the platforming in of itself doesn't get to anywhere where I'd call it amazing, but I definitely enjoyed my time through the whole thing.
The speedruns of the game elegantly show how strong the levels get, and the exploration element to find the chaos emeralds is pretty fun this time around too. The minigame to get it itself is still ok at best but at this point I've come to expect it. The bosses this time around are also pretty strong, and not much needs to be said on the game's excellent soundtrack.
It's great, everything from Mushroom Hill to IceCap to Sky Sanctuary is strong and consistent. Sure, you do have a couple stinker levels and the platforming in of itself doesn't get to anywhere where I'd call it amazing, but I definitely enjoyed my time through the whole thing.
2006
Shigesato Itoi's ending to the Mother series leaves off on its strongest messages to take home. I'm of a family of brothers and sisters, but most importantly I have a twin brother of my own. That made the story around Lucas and Claus that much stronger and poignant to me, not to discredit that the writing in general isn't already incredible.
From the slow corruption of Tazmily village as it conforms into a capitalist society that comes with less pros than it does take away familial strengths and bonds within the community, to the surrealist hero's journey of the seven needles, Mother 3 fantastically paces itself out and keeps the core message of family ever so strung through the whole thing.
The characters, while not so much riveting examples of three dimensional characterization, each found their way into my heart as I played through. This is a game where, though it has its lows, had a profound effect on my life for a very long time. Even when you dig to its core, to where you find that it's simple in scope and works off of a fine tightrope of emotional beats, I still think it's a shining example of video games I've ever played. I can hum most of the soundtrack to this day.
The combat may not be riveting, it taking up a huge percentage of the time playing the game and just barely good enough thanks to some great boss design, some solid enemy encounters, and the cohesive rhythm system. But still, I never lost my engagement for a single moment. I was gripped until the credits rolled and the game came up and told me that it wants the very best of my life as I did the characters at the end. And I think, I wish everyone here the best too, and that maybe if these words find you that you also play Mother 3. (10/10)
From the slow corruption of Tazmily village as it conforms into a capitalist society that comes with less pros than it does take away familial strengths and bonds within the community, to the surrealist hero's journey of the seven needles, Mother 3 fantastically paces itself out and keeps the core message of family ever so strung through the whole thing.
The characters, while not so much riveting examples of three dimensional characterization, each found their way into my heart as I played through. This is a game where, though it has its lows, had a profound effect on my life for a very long time. Even when you dig to its core, to where you find that it's simple in scope and works off of a fine tightrope of emotional beats, I still think it's a shining example of video games I've ever played. I can hum most of the soundtrack to this day.
The combat may not be riveting, it taking up a huge percentage of the time playing the game and just barely good enough thanks to some great boss design, some solid enemy encounters, and the cohesive rhythm system. But still, I never lost my engagement for a single moment. I was gripped until the credits rolled and the game came up and told me that it wants the very best of my life as I did the characters at the end. And I think, I wish everyone here the best too, and that maybe if these words find you that you also play Mother 3. (10/10)
Utterly disgusted that this uses the exact same themes as Pathologic 2, came out in the same year, revolves around the most standard storyline structure and dialogue, and somehow managed to win an award for Best Narrative of the Year in three different awards shows.
And when I mean standard I seriously mean every sense of the word, let's hear it for our #1 companions:
-Budget stealth mechanics
-Upgrade mechanics that add very little to anything
-Uncharted gift style items to get as you play
-Walking sim that spends too much time making you go through fake loading screens
I probably wouldn't be so frustrated if the story wasn't so asinine in its construction, you have a family who gets killed with a sister who doesn't get to see her brother often at all immediately come together with melodrama sprinkled throughout with writing so borderline on bad that I really rolled my eyes a few times.
The one positive I can give to the game at all is the aesthetic. It LOOKS pretty I guess???? The dialogue delivery is really strung awfully, and the poor lipsyncing doesn't help.
Man just go play Pathologic 2 why the fuck would you touch this. (5/10)
And when I mean standard I seriously mean every sense of the word, let's hear it for our #1 companions:
-Budget stealth mechanics
-Upgrade mechanics that add very little to anything
-Uncharted gift style items to get as you play
-Walking sim that spends too much time making you go through fake loading screens
I probably wouldn't be so frustrated if the story wasn't so asinine in its construction, you have a family who gets killed with a sister who doesn't get to see her brother often at all immediately come together with melodrama sprinkled throughout with writing so borderline on bad that I really rolled my eyes a few times.
The one positive I can give to the game at all is the aesthetic. It LOOKS pretty I guess???? The dialogue delivery is really strung awfully, and the poor lipsyncing doesn't help.
Man just go play Pathologic 2 why the fuck would you touch this. (5/10)
2018
Nigoro really knows their shit when it comes to level and puzzle design. La-Mulana 2 while a significant step down from the previous game (I mean seriously, how the hell do you match the world design of La-Mulana 1) still holds the same pillars of incredible area design in terms of a metroidvania, each room still holding secrets and significance in the overall puzzle box structure. Biggest highlights were Heaven's Labyrinth which was a rotating area completely in your control, as well as the whole mantra system in general which makes for some interesting riddle deciphering, and Ancient Chaos which can go fuck itself (but also it's just a fantastic challenge).
La-Mulana 2 also asks for the same amount of attention, traps and punishing platforming requiring your upmost engagement lest you get completely destroyed. It unfortunately has more of an emphasis on combat this time around to match the warring conflicts in Eg-Lana and I really believe it is to its detriment, since LM2's combat isn't deep enough to justify being fun on its own and relies solely on its enemy design, of which for the most part La-Mulana 2 fails at in miniboss and boss design. There's a couple highlights of course, but I found a lot of it to be really dull going through the motions.
The one thing La-Mulana 2 improves on its predecessor however, is in terms of lore and storybuilding. It's not a particularly deep story, but every single enemy, boss, and tablet ties neatly into the lore of the 7 past children of the Mother. It ends up combining several different cultures to make a ridiculously cohesive whole, with everything from Norse mythology to Egyptian, Hindu, and Japanese. There's even some Babylonian DNA here, giving LM2 a real cultural mythos highlights feel. It works really well atop of LM1's lore, which makes sense considering the simplicity of the previous game's story, where as LM2 is kneedeep in generational conflict and quest for power.
Overall, La-Mulana 2 is still an amazing experience even if it is inferior to its predecessor in most ways. Still one of the best metroidvanias I've played, and a worthy recommendation for anyone looking to spend time taking 32 pages of notes and looking like you're attempting to find Pepe Silvia. (9/10)
La-Mulana 2 also asks for the same amount of attention, traps and punishing platforming requiring your upmost engagement lest you get completely destroyed. It unfortunately has more of an emphasis on combat this time around to match the warring conflicts in Eg-Lana and I really believe it is to its detriment, since LM2's combat isn't deep enough to justify being fun on its own and relies solely on its enemy design, of which for the most part La-Mulana 2 fails at in miniboss and boss design. There's a couple highlights of course, but I found a lot of it to be really dull going through the motions.
The one thing La-Mulana 2 improves on its predecessor however, is in terms of lore and storybuilding. It's not a particularly deep story, but every single enemy, boss, and tablet ties neatly into the lore of the 7 past children of the Mother. It ends up combining several different cultures to make a ridiculously cohesive whole, with everything from Norse mythology to Egyptian, Hindu, and Japanese. There's even some Babylonian DNA here, giving LM2 a real cultural mythos highlights feel. It works really well atop of LM1's lore, which makes sense considering the simplicity of the previous game's story, where as LM2 is kneedeep in generational conflict and quest for power.
Overall, La-Mulana 2 is still an amazing experience even if it is inferior to its predecessor in most ways. Still one of the best metroidvanias I've played, and a worthy recommendation for anyone looking to spend time taking 32 pages of notes and looking like you're attempting to find Pepe Silvia. (9/10)
2018
I had to play this twice so I could be sure, but Fireteam Raven is one of those arcade games specifically designed to quarter munch. I say this as an avid defender that you can 1cc them without them taking your credits, but here it's entirely intended.
That might seem like only one focal issue, but issues like this tend to define the entire game's structure which it does here. Fireteam Raven neither has good rail shooter design nor does it offer anything to the table, instead leaving a really slow uninteresting Halo experience that you could find better literally anywhere else, while also managing to ruin key "Halo-like" moments. It's best to leave this one alone to be forgotten about, like most people have. (3/10)
That might seem like only one focal issue, but issues like this tend to define the entire game's structure which it does here. Fireteam Raven neither has good rail shooter design nor does it offer anything to the table, instead leaving a really slow uninteresting Halo experience that you could find better literally anywhere else, while also managing to ruin key "Halo-like" moments. It's best to leave this one alone to be forgotten about, like most people have. (3/10)
2010
I genuinely hate Rockstar mission structure, it is a scourge of poor narrative pacing and game design that I hope whoever coined it first gets fired off a cliff. That being said, Red Dead Redemption is an alright time overall, mostly because when the narrative actually decides to hit, it does.
Red Dead Redemption is one part really weak open world with middling side stuff, one part gameplay that just barely passes, and one part great narrative poking fun at Wild West revisionism and revisionism in general that is somewhat taken apart by shitty pacing thanks to its meandering structure. That ends up all combining to make something cohesive and somewhat immersive, not really a match of gameplay and story because the mission mechanics undercut the freedom you can have (hey there's a NakeyJakey vid on this you should see for RDR2). But it works, at least.
I really do find however, that the story elements it offers are genuinely great and competent to be worth the venture. Rockstar's writing while not perfect does end up generally understanding and evaluating the culture and time period it works with, putting up heralded ideals of Wild West storytelling and then cutting its limbs, pointing out the issues of its supposed "freedom" as you go from Mexican war where both sides are narcissists, wanted lists that give no real glory, the old guard completely exploited by the police and government as capitalism decides the real truth. And even with all of that subtext, RDR still manages to bring out a last act that hits home with core family tenants. Again though, a lot of this is terribly paced, with a shitload of "do this favor for x so you can get to y, and then do another favor for x or maybe even y this time! And then after you've done this 5 times we'll actually continue the fucking story." It's grating, but I think the heart of it shines through over time.
Overall, it's an alright game where the positives while strong are cut under by the scope and structure it works with. It's fine, worth trying out at least but maybe not finishing. (6/10)
Red Dead Redemption is one part really weak open world with middling side stuff, one part gameplay that just barely passes, and one part great narrative poking fun at Wild West revisionism and revisionism in general that is somewhat taken apart by shitty pacing thanks to its meandering structure. That ends up all combining to make something cohesive and somewhat immersive, not really a match of gameplay and story because the mission mechanics undercut the freedom you can have (hey there's a NakeyJakey vid on this you should see for RDR2). But it works, at least.
I really do find however, that the story elements it offers are genuinely great and competent to be worth the venture. Rockstar's writing while not perfect does end up generally understanding and evaluating the culture and time period it works with, putting up heralded ideals of Wild West storytelling and then cutting its limbs, pointing out the issues of its supposed "freedom" as you go from Mexican war where both sides are narcissists, wanted lists that give no real glory, the old guard completely exploited by the police and government as capitalism decides the real truth. And even with all of that subtext, RDR still manages to bring out a last act that hits home with core family tenants. Again though, a lot of this is terribly paced, with a shitload of "do this favor for x so you can get to y, and then do another favor for x or maybe even y this time! And then after you've done this 5 times we'll actually continue the fucking story." It's grating, but I think the heart of it shines through over time.
Overall, it's an alright game where the positives while strong are cut under by the scope and structure it works with. It's fine, worth trying out at least but maybe not finishing. (6/10)
Arc System Works really knows how to make a competent anime fighter, but Guilty Gear especially just has some great setplay and okizeme (for those who don't play fighters, basically setting up attacks after knocking down your opponent) as well as interesting neutral game that's very unique. Most of the characters are really fun to play, with particular setplay dynamics ranging from Venom's pool ball setups to Kum's moving ball setup to Millia's loops. Roman cancels are also still in and while they aren't perfect (YRC slowing down time is shit) they add another dimension to meter management and decisionmaking that's just incredibly deep and fun to play around with.
The music is also great, giving a huge metal power to each character with their themes and just being kickass to listen to while fighting. And even if you don't approve of the new soundtrack, you can queue up tracks of old like Guilty Gear XX's. The character designs are anime as hell and they're great as well, it is an aesthetic feat to watch even if you can't get into the base gameplay.
The only real issues are more personal, as in setplay is cool for a solid 20-30 hours and then not so cool when that's all neutral becomes at times. Also the netcode is some real trash to work with, and Danger Time is still a terrible mechanic. It's a great fighting game and I highly recommend trying it even if you're not a big fan of anime fighters. (8/10)
The music is also great, giving a huge metal power to each character with their themes and just being kickass to listen to while fighting. And even if you don't approve of the new soundtrack, you can queue up tracks of old like Guilty Gear XX's. The character designs are anime as hell and they're great as well, it is an aesthetic feat to watch even if you can't get into the base gameplay.
The only real issues are more personal, as in setplay is cool for a solid 20-30 hours and then not so cool when that's all neutral becomes at times. Also the netcode is some real trash to work with, and Danger Time is still a terrible mechanic. It's a great fighting game and I highly recommend trying it even if you're not a big fan of anime fighters. (8/10)
2006
Hand-to-hand or fist-to-fist
Kicking nuts or twist your wrist.
God power keep my pimp hand strong
So trust me or you won't last very longggggg.
There is not much that's as good as God Hand. It's the quintessential stylish action game, featuring an incredible amount of depth in enemy design and exhaustive movelist. Every single level is an intricate weaving of evading moves and doing counterhits. Every enemy combination is an amazing fight to behold and to work around, the pace going fast and strong as you stand on the precipice of absolute destruction to your enemy or being hit by a string down to the ground. And tying it all together is a nonsense story keeping the comedy strong as you punch Elvis into a tombstone and then dragon fist him up into the air.
To this day, I still haven't found an action game that kicks ass as much as this game does.
It's hard to put into words what has really been said often, I recommend watching this video at least
https://youtu.be/rUAclnNiusw
He puts it in much better words than I will.
Please try God Hand, you won't regret it. (10/10)
Kicking nuts or twist your wrist.
God power keep my pimp hand strong
So trust me or you won't last very longggggg.
There is not much that's as good as God Hand. It's the quintessential stylish action game, featuring an incredible amount of depth in enemy design and exhaustive movelist. Every single level is an intricate weaving of evading moves and doing counterhits. Every enemy combination is an amazing fight to behold and to work around, the pace going fast and strong as you stand on the precipice of absolute destruction to your enemy or being hit by a string down to the ground. And tying it all together is a nonsense story keeping the comedy strong as you punch Elvis into a tombstone and then dragon fist him up into the air.
To this day, I still haven't found an action game that kicks ass as much as this game does.
It's hard to put into words what has really been said often, I recommend watching this video at least
https://youtu.be/rUAclnNiusw
He puts it in much better words than I will.
Please try God Hand, you won't regret it. (10/10)
The first Ace Attorney game is timeless in its charm, and generally what it's known for is exactly that plus the concepts it sets up for the rest of the trilogy. Some of it holds up to scrutiny, but there are certainly cracks and dusty structural issues in the writing mold.
Primarily, AA1's biggest issues are pacing and the investigations. It's endemic to all but the fourth case, that the pacing will be bloated in ridiculous filler that adds nothing, and goes far too slow working on red herrings and trivial information that most people could easily glean to be falsehoods or fucking about. The investigations are also just never fun, the railroading structure is fine but having such obtuse event triggers that don't make sense or just information drips that only end up making a difference at the trial kind of leaves it with a hanging half that could use trimming.
But, I'd still say AA1 is goodish, and that's primarily because of my feelings with Case 3 and 4. Case 3 may be a terribly paced, contradictory plot mysteries (the head blocks everything BUT THE VAN???? what??), and frontrunner for worst event triggers, but it offers such a strong message on deconstructing idol culture tied to a goodish villain, interesting motive, and humanized people surrounding the villain. Case 4 on the other hand builds off the previous by working on "dealing with the past", with multiple characters all stemming from one incident that are characterized by their relationships between each other. It really works best to the entire game, and while 1-3's final day is my favorite moment, 1-4 is genuinely the best constructed.
The charm as I said is also really beneficial, with each emotional hype moment resonating probably due to how much condensed Capcom energy it is. The music is also excellent, with each time something like Cornered playing firing on all cylinders, getting me giddy every time.
Overall, it's a goodish start that I still recommend trying if you can get past the blech stuff. The series (to my memory) gets better from here anyway. (6.5/10)
Primarily, AA1's biggest issues are pacing and the investigations. It's endemic to all but the fourth case, that the pacing will be bloated in ridiculous filler that adds nothing, and goes far too slow working on red herrings and trivial information that most people could easily glean to be falsehoods or fucking about. The investigations are also just never fun, the railroading structure is fine but having such obtuse event triggers that don't make sense or just information drips that only end up making a difference at the trial kind of leaves it with a hanging half that could use trimming.
But, I'd still say AA1 is goodish, and that's primarily because of my feelings with Case 3 and 4. Case 3 may be a terribly paced, contradictory plot mysteries (the head blocks everything BUT THE VAN???? what??), and frontrunner for worst event triggers, but it offers such a strong message on deconstructing idol culture tied to a goodish villain, interesting motive, and humanized people surrounding the villain. Case 4 on the other hand builds off the previous by working on "dealing with the past", with multiple characters all stemming from one incident that are characterized by their relationships between each other. It really works best to the entire game, and while 1-3's final day is my favorite moment, 1-4 is genuinely the best constructed.
The charm as I said is also really beneficial, with each emotional hype moment resonating probably due to how much condensed Capcom energy it is. The music is also excellent, with each time something like Cornered playing firing on all cylinders, getting me giddy every time.
Overall, it's a goodish start that I still recommend trying if you can get past the blech stuff. The series (to my memory) gets better from here anyway. (6.5/10)
1991
Uhhhhh it's got a neat speedrun??
That's all I've got. Sonic 1 neither has good level design nor capitalizes on its mechanics in any meaningful way. It is the developer's first step forward and understandably so but that first step isn't graceful or holds up well at all, unless you like incredibly intermittent slow periods that are more derivative of other platformers that came before it than actual tests of speed the game advertises, or dickish enemy placement that makes platforming more risk averse, or maybe you like dated music and 90s aesthetic, which is perfectly fine. If you enjoy those things cool, I think it really puts Sonic 1 into the slow and decrepit lane rather than the fast lane.
That's all I've got. Sonic 1 neither has good level design nor capitalizes on its mechanics in any meaningful way. It is the developer's first step forward and understandably so but that first step isn't graceful or holds up well at all, unless you like incredibly intermittent slow periods that are more derivative of other platformers that came before it than actual tests of speed the game advertises, or dickish enemy placement that makes platforming more risk averse, or maybe you like dated music and 90s aesthetic, which is perfectly fine. If you enjoy those things cool, I think it really puts Sonic 1 into the slow and decrepit lane rather than the fast lane.