Muzzmeistor
2017
This is the absolute peak of the Metroidvania genre, an unbelievably polished monster of a game. I am a huge Metroid fan and didn’t think this would top those games but it just does everything so incredibly well. The combat, the exploration, the boss fights, it’s just so satisfying to play. I don’t usually replay games and I’ve gone through this three times so that speaks for itself, you have to play this game!
Heard good things about this and a lot of the praise I would agree with, it has all the charm you expect from a Zelda title and the gameplay is mostly solid. There were a couple of things I didn’t click with though, being able to rent all the items takes away the excitement of dungeon crawling and finding your next new toy and I wasn’t a huge fan of the “painting” mechanic. Despite this I still enjoyed my return to this version of Hyrule and was glad to tick it off my list.
2000
One of the greatest JRPG’s of all time and the series creator’s favourite entry. FFIX is a pivotal title in the genre and it was a celebration of the series. Iconic characters, epic set pieces, outstanding music, the game has just got so much going for it. I’ve played through it in full 5 or 6 times and it just never gets old.
They ripped up the tried and tested Zelda formula for this one and I think it was worse off for it. I wasn’t a fan of the open world and found the content a bit lacklustre in comparison to the usual dungeon format. The itemization is the absolute worst (Link has lost all of his gadgets in favour of a magic iPad?) and durability is such a stupid mechanic. If you’re a Zelda die hard then you’ll want to tick it off but I’ll not be coming back for another playthrough.
My first foray into a tactical RPG as a kid and after revisiting it last year it still holds up well. The story is fairly interesting but not as gripping as its older brother (The original PS1 entry). Combat is decent and pretty fluid, I prefer the way this plays to the original but both have their nuances which may lean you to one side or the other. Music is top notch as per most FF entries and the art style fits the GBA so well. If you’re into turn based or tactical RPG’s then this should definitely be on your radar.
2022
One of the greatest pieces of media ever created.
2024
Spreading democracy has never been this fun.