Haha coin slot goes brrr.

All in all, it's a pretty entertaining game. Levels, enemies and vehicles have nice variety and while it's challenging, all that challenge can be bypassed pretty easily with just mashing more coins in and pushing through, which I can't help but to feel is intentional for an arcade cabinet game.

This is one of those games that are perfect when you don't care for the story and just want shooting action from start to finish.

It's good. I never really got into Sonic until I tried this one out and I was immediately impressed. The story, while pretty simple, is told pretty well for a sidescrolling platformer and the platforming action has been done beautifully. I always expect some jank from older games, but here controls were solid and I didn't have to fight against my own thumbs.

However, some of the levels felt way longer than they needed to be, even without looking for all the secrets and crystals. I know the motto is "Gotta go fast", but at some points it just didn't feel possible due to how precise the platforming had to be and I ended up running out of time during couple bosses. At least there's usually a checkpoint right before the boss room but I still feel some of the levels could've been shorter.

I think it's an iconic game everyone should try at least once.

I'm not a huge RPG guy, but this game managed to pull me in pretty easily. The turn-based combat is streamlined so even a total beginner would master the process, gameplay is actually fun, there are tons of upgrades and companions to suit different focuses and playstyles and the humour and writing are in their own class.

The story is still the usual "save the princess from the bad guy" the Mario series has done countless of times again, but at least we get to play as Peach for a change and she isn't just a setpiece for us to win over at the end of the game.

I was actually surprised how well this game managed to pull me in. I'm not really a big fan of traditional RPGs like Star Ocean, but something in it just clicked right with me.

It has a good premise and a solid starting point with decent core cast and the combat, while not exactly fantastic, still tried something new and I would say it succeeded most of the time. There is still some weight with builds, positioning and strategy but the combat is not turn-based, which makes it more streamlined and arcade-like. At certain point it might get pretty dull as mashing just one button or just letting your party nuke take care of the whole encounter seem more like a slowdowns in your adventure than actual challenge, but I would say most of the time the combat serves it purpose.

Then there is the story. While I praise and appreciate the starting point and the scifi premise, for a game called "Star Ocean: First Departure", there is surprisingly little space travel and scifi action involved. It might have some scifi scenes and elements here and there, but in reality it's just a medieval fantasy RPG in disguise. The characters are also bit bland and generic. Some characters feel like they're just stand-ins for some character trope.

Overall it's a decent game I enjoyed.

Gameplay-wise, this game is decent. I see lots of similarities with some Zelda games, but this game still manages to get it's own unique feel and have fun with the concept. Getting friends and mixing their powers is pretty fun, but the game fails to provide any meaningful challenge. The bosses are pretty easy and the puzzles are pretty obvious, especially if they require some friend's power. The only challenge this game can offer is to be lost maybe 80% of the time. I tried my best without any guides but the story makes little sense and at times fails to point you to the right direction and some of the late-game levels are literal mazes I stumbled around way longer than I felt was needed.

In the end, I very much enjoyed myself. It's not a Zelda killer, but it's still managed to deliver an interesting adventure with some quirky humour.

Well, it managed to be an experience to say at least. I feel like I could've appreciated this game more had I played it when it first came out, but I never did and now over 20 years later it's showing it's age pretty badly.

Mushashi starts out really solid, the first chapter is truly a blast to play through. There's some basic high-action platforming, easing into the game's unique assimilation-mechanic, cool robot boss and a kickass soundtrack. However, after the tutorial ends you find yourself in a somewhat open world with day/night - cycle, exhaustion bar and a goal to save the world.

Now, the RPG elements didn't bother me that much. They were hindrances at times, but it was easy to play around them and the game didn't really punish you for taking some prolonged tlc breaks. It kinda left them feel pointless if I'm completely honest, but at least it was nice to have an option to skip the time until the village's fishmonger does his midday butt-scratching and progresses story.

What really annoyed me was the platforming. Musashi really suffers from the early 3D-platforming with stupid camera angles and confusing hitboxes. On top of that, every time you jump in this game, the character does this little slide upon landing, which can sometimes throw you off the platform completely. Then, just as you're ready to pass on the game, it gives you double jumping, which makes platforming so easy you wonder if the devs realized how janky it was and decided to give you a break.

Musashi also really drags during the middle parts, especially in chapter 4 and 5. The story introduces new characters for the sake of introducing new characters to the plot and the fetch quests are really starting to grind at that point. Fortunately the last level brings it all around with the same type of action you saw in the first chapter and manages to make the game end on a high note. Musashi also has a banger of a soundtrack worth checking out.

Another "I'm not an RPG guy, but..." - review. Golden sun was pretty fun and engaging and apparently seriously ambitious project at the time. Of course, this left us with only a half a game story-wise, but I think the game did it's best with what little time it had. The puzzles in dungeons were fun to solve and the game's main gimmick with the djinns was fun to play around. It didn't really have any slow spots or droughts anywhere and remained challenging the whole way through.

The story itself is pretty simple, collect 4 (2 in this game) thingamagicks around the world and stop the evil calamity. The cutscenes themselves got pretty lengthy and even boring at times because there wasn't really any expressive input from our main protagonist. Just having yes/no-options to have our main interaction with the story really limited my own investment and immersion to the world, making this more of a game to run through instead of a journey for me to experience. Still, it was a fun pastime and I'm definitely going to check out the sequel eventually.

I tried my best to like this game, but in the end I just couldn't bring myself to finish it. The concept itself is intriguing, the mech designs are cool and the weapon upgrades make you feel like a powerhouse and gives you the incentive to invest money and plan your team strategically. The story, while really simple, got me surprisingly invested early on and most of the characters are charming enough for me to care about their stories.

The gameplay is your standard turn-based strategy, where you place your units on the battlemap and try to eradicate the enemy. The game is quite challenging and makes you think different tactics so you won't get totally curbstomped.

For me, it all falls apart outside missions. Everything else but the main gameplay revolves around tedious menus, cutscenes, upgrading your mechs, comparing stats and buying equipment. For every 15 minutes of robot action you spend like 40 minutes in menus. I like the core gameplay itself, but this loop isn't just fun for me and I had to drop the game. I might return to this on DS and see if the QoL changes made this game any better.

It's pretty basic run&gun-style game, just hold the shooting button and press right until your problems disappear. Gunstar Heroes is one of those games that have a pretty simple idea, but the execution is solid enough to leave a lasting impression. What sets this co-op run&gun apart from the rest is the weapon combinations. They are fun to experiment with and gives the game some replay value as you can go back and try out other combinations on levels you beat already.

There is some challenge, but the game is pretty easy to cheese with the right weapon combinations and has unlimited continues, so even the challenging spots are just the matter of banging your head on the wall until it starts giving in.

What I really can commend is the level design. Most of the levels are pretty standard deal where you just clear enemies and press right, nothing too fancy but never a hindrance, some levels even manage to have memorable and interesting visuals without sacrificing from the action. There are also levels where the gameplay is spiced up a bit with autoscrollers where you control some vehicles including a space ship and a minecart. These are probably the most memorable levels to me.

In the end, it's a good way to spend an evening, maybe you got a mate or a SO and you've already played Contra, in which case you should give this a try.

I have never really gotten into Kirby, but damn this is cute. As a platformer, it's a really solid game. It's not really a one cohesive game, but more like multiple smaller Kirby games bundled together, each one of them with their own mechanics, goals and quirks to change the pace every now and then. In it's core, it's running around as a pink blob and sucking up enemies to steal their powers.

It's surprisingly difficult. As I looked at the cover, I was expecting something a child could beat easily, but either children have actually gotten good since my time of being one or some of the bosses are actually quite hard, not to mention the boss rushes at the end of the game took me probably over 10 tries to beat. Thankfully, it's not difficult in an unfair way and you can eventually beat every challenge by persevering and learning patterns.

The only part I wasn't exactly a fan of was the Great Cave Offensive. It's mostly on par with the other game modes, but I wasn't just too keen to run around in the level trying to find everything. Some people like the exploration, but I just didn't see it the same way in that particular episode. Mostly it just felt like I was running around aimlessly and after a while, it stopped being fun. I'm all for exploration and finding secrets and puzzles, but something there just didn't click with me.

This was my first Kirby game and I really like it as a starting point.

The normal Zelda formula is tried and true, even on GBA. I really liked this game from the start. The combat, the movement, imaginative enemies and even the main gameplay gimmick are all almost all well implemented and used to offer an enjoyable adventure. Shrinking in size for puzzles and dungeons is generally an underutilized idea in video games, but the Minish Cap does it well. One of my favourite moments in the game was in the first dungeon, when the boss of the dungeon was just a normal fodder enemy, but you were smaller in size so it actually became a challenge to dispose the guy. The rest of the game mostly passes the bar easily as well, the rest of the dungeons are a breeze to get through and while the last boss is a bit on the easier side, I still can say I enjoyed myself with this game.

The only minus I have to give is the kinstone system, the game's other little gimmick. I don't like it. At first, it might seem like a novel idea, but soon it becomes clear that outside of the main questline, most of the required kinstones are randomized and the reward for getting these kinstones are just rupees and more kinstones so the payoff isn't really what I could call great. It's mostly fine enough, but really irks you if your progression in a sidequest is locked behind a random kinstone you just don't have with you at the moment. I was in a situation like that and it wasn't fun to try and look for the right thing that drops randomly to progress.

Outside of kinstones, it's a great Zelda adventure. I like it on GBA because you can just pick it up and lay it back down easily.

I rarely like fps-games, so for me to fall in love with Siege as hard as I did was a small miracle. It was more tactical than other fps games at the time and gameplay heavily leaned on teamwork and communication so you could more efficiently use your character's unique gadgets. Soloing this game is a nightmare and usually the best fun I had was with a preformed group. We liked to play Siege regularly up until the autumn of 2021, but fell off the wagon over the winter.

The game has seen numerous changes and additions over the years, some good and some less good. I cannot pinpoint exact reason why we felt that way, but Siege just stopped feeling fun any longer. Maybe it was the fact that Ubisoft had put the game in the backburner in favor of other projects but still tried to push esport scene for the sweet profits, the growing feeling of cash-grabbing with battlepass while removing the season pass (which given, they brought back, but the sentiment is still there) or maybe the game had just ran it's course and it was time for us to move on.

The gameplay itself is fun, but Siege has one of the most toxic communities in online gaming, on par with something like Dota or LoL. Finding teammates is hard for a game like this but it's miles better than solo queue, where you're put in a team with 4 total strangers that need to start pretending are your best friends for the next half an hour or your chances of actually winning the game are depending on if the enemy team has a similar composition or not. Most often the people I got put together with were the lone wolves that wanted to do their own thing and hunt for the enemy team alone like it was some sort of deathmatch game. I get it, roaming is an effective tactic for the defending team the attackers need to suppress fast, but if 3-4 people of your 5 man group are doing nothing else than roaming or hunting roamers, the actual objective of the match starts to look surprisingly difficult. Occasionally, you would get some good and coordinated teammates but those are somewhat on the same odds than those absolute nutcases who only exist to ruin other people's fun and send you hate mail afterwards.

So, if you decide to get in on Siege in 2022 (for whatever reason), just get yourself at least 3 friends to play it with. The game will be much more enjoyable with a full stack, trust me.