MacBlank
Excellent newbie-friendly strategy game. Deceptively simple mechanics and system lends itself to a surprising amount of depth and strategy by presenting the player with a wide array of options. Feels like a power trip at all times due to how many options the cast has, but it's actually very well-balanced to accommodate, and the player never truly breaks the game over their knee - the hallmarks of a good, balanced power-trip. Very rewarding to watch a plan come together.
1993
Simple but fun run-&-gun. Excellent spectacle piece, weapon combos and enemy tossing makes for fun, kinetic gameplay. Lighting+Chaser sort-of trivializes everything, but it's at least fun to watch it do so. Not fond of the long rooftop level, but I can accept it as less "bad" and more "not my thing". Every other level is cooooool.
2018
2008
Really strong fangame! Less a translation of the Game Gear game and more a Sonic 3&K romhack with Tripe Trouble's theming and lessons learned from Mania. Not a bad thing - S3&K is a great template, and the most interesting things from Triple Trouble were expanded upon in all the right places. Feels short (but it's based on a Game Gear game), glitchier than the base game (but it's a fan game), and I don't love the pinball Bonus game. Still, highly recommended!
1982
2010
Once my least-favorite game. Now... eh. Basic platformer that mostly exists as a mood and spectacle piece. I find its misanthropy more unpleasant than compellingly melancholy (its abrupt violence is jarringly cartoony for the tone it's going for). Other games since have done far more interesting things conveying mood through the silhouette aesthetic, esp. Retro's Donkey Kong Country games.
But I get why people are pulled in by this, even if I am not.
But I get why people are pulled in by this, even if I am not.
1990
Solid little arcade title! Open-ended levels lend themselves to a decent amount of exploration and experimentation. Wish I'd played it co-op - the game naturally lends itself to it. Occupies a fairly unique space for co-op in the Genesis era; a remake would do well these days in the indie co-op space.
2003
Heart's in the right place. Great animation for the era, and Punch-Out's a great template to work with. In practice, very basic. Enemy gimmicks are very surface level with little complexity, and most characters are made or broken by the strength of their aesthetic rather than their fights; there's little mechanical difference between the second-best fight (Mimi Li) and the worst fight (Sweetness). Additional game mechanics (hired help, super moves, challenges) are very unbalanced. In a lot of respects, its unpolished nature underlines Punch-Out's strengths.
But not bad. Would've loved to see a sequel apply lessons learned.
But not bad. Would've loved to see a sequel apply lessons learned.
2001
Good! Not my preferred speed for Wario Land; a faster game makes this adventure feel smaller compared to previous titles. But there's lots to love - fun animations, whacked-out character designs, good music and level design experimentation, typical Wario dadaism. Escape sequences are a fun twist, but I wish they were more than a slap on the wrist here. Kind of easy to screw yourself out of the best ending or the boss weapons while learning the game.
"A'ight" platformer that eventually "clicks". A lot of the game is figuring out how to talk to it the way it wants to be talked to (a common problem for touch screen-heavy DS games). Even when you "get" the game, you still run into issues of mixing up symbols for transformations. But as the game comes together, there's a lot to love: great writing, kick-ass music, some really solid challenges in the late- and post-game. You even come around on the mini-games, tedious as they are, once it comes to the Special Episodes. A remake for this would do well.
Simple budget Arkham City. Very basic, a bit repetitive, doesn't really experiment with the format until the last few levels. That said: has all the makings of a great speedrun game. Open nature of most levels lends itself to decent experimentation along its basic mechanics, animations add variety to simple gameplay, fairly short overall. Would love to see something happen to this game as the generation currently playing it grows up.