324 Reviews liked by Neo64


Yup. I did it. I never thought I'd ever beat this thing back in 2019 when I attempted it (wavedashing filtered me) but not only did I learn that mechanic totally, not only did I beat Farewell...I got the moonberry baby! It took me over 8 hours and almost 3000 deaths but I did everything the DLC has to offer (besides the golden strawberry ofc).

I mentioned the visuals being lovely for the base game and in farewell it's on another level. I love the use of color used in this stage and the cosmic jellyfish look is super awesome. I also think the mixtapes floating through space was a really nice touch aesthetically.

The OST is still solid but it actually has my favorite song in all of Celeste and it's right near the end too. The song that plays on the last screen is so so good and fits really well. It's the end of a super hard super long final chapter and the song is all triumphant and emotional it's so good.

Speaking of that final screen, I honestly didn't think it was too bad. The fact I had to do it several more times after beating it to attempt the moonberry run made it actually quite easy. There's another infamous room where you have to wavedash into a wall bounce off a moving block and that one was definitely hard but it didn't take me long...only like 15 mins I think? The final screen from 7-C was still hands down the hardest and most time consuming screen imo. Either way, besides some really difficult screens, farewell wasn't absolutely soul crushing like I was expecting but it was definitely a lot of fun.

The story this time around has Madeline having to cope with the loss of granny and I think it was really well done. It was emotional, especially near the end, and the reveal that Theo's grandpa and granny were friends was a great reveal. I also loved how young granny looked just like Madeline, that and the fact they both went to climb Celeste made them being friends more believable.

So yeah, this DLC chapter was awesome and I still can't believe I beat it and got the moonberry! I was thinking an 8 at first but like the base game will give it a 9 for now. This one has a higher chance of me bumping it down but like I said, for now it's a 9. Also, sick ass game cover btw, it's awesome.

I promise this is the last Celeste related review I'm putting out (unless I decide to play Celeste Classic 2). I played this on the Pico-8 machine in the full length version of Celeste. There's not much to say really, it's just Celeste but without all the more complex mechanics or the emotional story. It's a fun little time, it only took me 15 mins, but there really isn't much to it. Cool prototype but that's about it. Also I got all but one strawberry but I don't feel like going back and getting them all.

Back in 2017, around when the game first came out, I was a Junior in High School. I remember watching YouTube videos on all the bosses in the game while I was in my computer class and thinking it looked awesome. Only problem is, I didn't own an Xbox (and still don't). Fast forward to 2019, the game comes out on the Switch and I buy it. Now I rarely buy digital games but I figured it was a big game I've always wanted to play and that it might not get a physical for a while, so I purchased it. Me and my girlfriend at the time played it for a bit and I myself got up to Grimm Matchstick but eventually dropped it. Fast forward again to 2022, on a whim I decide I want to play it again. I restarted the game and went and beat it for the first time finally. I thought it was really awesome! Once I heard they were coming out with a physical copy, and with the DLC included..I knew I had to buy it again. And that's what I did, so I decided to replay it once again. Not only did I beat it again, I beat every boss with an A- or higher and not only that, I beat every boss on expert difficulty and got the platinum trophy!

I'm just gonna start with the absolute best aspect of the game. You all know what it is, the presentation and art style. It's the main reason this game is loved, it's immaculate. The attention to detail in replicating old rubber hose cartoons is just amazing. The game is just pure eye candy and it's wonderful. This game will always hold the test of time because of this one aspect alone...but luckily there are other great aspects about the game as well.

Accompanying the amazing artstyle is the soundtrack. Now, it may not be an OST I'd listen to a ton outside of the game but wow it's a treat. It's upbeat, it's jazzy, and it's all orchestrated. It just makes the game feel more grand and way more authentic in it's homage to the time period these cartoons came from. My personal favorite songs would have to be the the Isle Three theme, Murine Corps and Floral Fury. The Isle three theme especially is my standout favorite. Idk man it's sooo jazzy I love it.

Now were onto the real meat and potatoes, the gameplay. It's a run and gun shooter and it's pretty simple. You have your normal attacks, your special move, your maxed out special, a dodge and a parry. Pretty simple move set but it works well with how chaotic the game can be. You can choose from several different normal attacks, special moves and charms. Charms just give you an extra ability. For most of the game I just had the charge shot and crackshot, the 1st special and the smoke bomb charm. I feel like a ton of people love the charge shot and smoke bomb especially since I've seen a ton of people have those in their arsenal.

What levels do you use these moves on? Let's start with the run and gun stages. They're alright! They are not the main focus of the game, and apparently were only added because of fan outcry but they're decent overall. If the game was just composed of these, it probably wouldn't be nearly as well liked as it is cuz people seem to not really dig these stages. Which I can see, they are definitely the weakest part of the game I think. However, they aren't the main focus of the game. Those would be the bosses.

The bosses on the other hand are awesome. These were gonna be the main and only focus of the game and it makes sense. They're pretty much all well done and a lot of fun to go against. Here's where the visuals are at their peak too because one of the most fun things is to just see all the different boss animations. This is why I wanted to play this game so bad back in 2017, the bosses are a sight the behold. This is also why I'm so excited for the DLC because I've barely seen any of it as of now so I'm ecstatic to see all the new animations contained in it. Anyways back to the bosses, like I said they're awesome. Some of my favorites were Captain Brineybeard, Werner Werman and Sally Stageplay. I guess I just really like Isle three lol. There were also some very brutal bosses. Back in 2019, Bippi the Clown gave me the hardest time and he was still tough nowadays. Dr. Kahl's robot can be brutal for newcomers and he gave me a hard time. However, the hardest for me still was the devil. I dont think I died quite as many times as I did back in 2022, but it wasn't far off. However in expert mode, he was absolutely ridiculous. Expert mode in general could be really crazy, mostly the plane bosses, but the devil was on another level at least for me. Either way, I beat em all and got the platinum in the end which I still can't believe. Never doing expert mode again lol. Also never ever doing the one pacifist trophy again fuck that one.

Glad I replayed this again cuz it was still an amazing time, even if going for the platinum made me lose my sanity at points lol. Definitely one of my favorite indie games now. Can't wait to dive into The Delicious Last Course!

When I first booted up Cuphead a few days ago, I was greeted with a brand-new title screen and song. It was for The Delicious Last Course and honestly, I like it a lot more than the new title screen. This was a sign of good things to come with the new DLC and I'm happy to say it's pretty great.

I actually used one of the new weapons a ton in my replay of the base game but crackshot really is amazing. It's basically chaser but better and it was my primary weapon in this DLC alongside charge shot. Converge and Twist-up were the other two new weapons and I wasn't really a fan of either so I barely used them. There were also some new charms that were added as well. Astral cookie let's you play as Ms. Chalice, the ghost that awards you your different supers in the base game. She can be kinda broken since she has 4 health, an invincible role and a dash that parries. I also found it kind of weird to use her so I used Cuphead for the most part. The divine relic is one you need to put a bit of work into. It starts as a broken relic which you can basically activate by defeating this weird secret graveyard boss. Once you do, you can start defeating other bosses to eventually turn it into the divine relic. While you do, all sorts of effects happen like starting at 1 HP, having your normal attack change constantly and having an in-consistent smoke bomb. Once you defeat enough bosses tho, you get the divine relic which can be incredibly OP if you're skilled enough. The changing normal attacks are still a thing, which is why you need to be skilled enough I said, but you get a normal smoke bomb, the axe parry move and you have an ability where you get health on your 1st, 3rd and 6th parry which can be crazy broken. The last charm is basically just that last parry effect on its own and its the one I stuck with throughout the DLC, it can make A and S ranks stupid easy to get.

Speaking of Ms. Chalice again, I did use her a lot in one area of the game. The king's leap is a series of parry challenges and she is super useful with her dash parry. This one one of my favorite parts of the DLC ngl, it was really fun. I even did The Gauntlet which has you doing all of the challenges in a row without a break in between. It wasn't too bad and the executioner was definitely my favorite of the bunch. Also the presentation of the castle and it looking like it's made out of clay was amazing.

Now onto the meat and potatoes once again, the bosses. Yeah, there's only bosses now and no Run and Gun stages. While I do prefer the bosses a bunch, with there only being 6 total this DLC just flies by and is one of my biggest criticisms tbh. Idk, I just wish this was a little longer because what's here is great, you can just beat it in no time is the problem. Anyways onto the bosses. It has some of the best bosses in the entire game and some alright ones. The Howling Aces was easily my least favorite when I first played and that was all because of the last phase where the screen rotates. It felt cheap at the time and I really did not like it but now after S ranking it (yes this is the one and only S rank I got funnily enough) if you turn your head and understand that the dog bowl color lets you know what they will do, it's not that bad. I'm still not the biggest fan of it tho. Esther Winchester was the only flying stage and I thought it was okay. I just found some of the later stages really annoying but again funnily enough, it was another one I was able to expert in the end. Mortimer Freeze and Glumstone the Giant I don't really have much to say besides they were both pretty good. I didn't expert either, Mortimer especially is a pain in the ass on expert. Chef Saltbaker was definitely one of the best in the game even though his fight can be a real bullet hell at times. The spectacle of it really did it for me and he was another one I didn't expert. I saved the best for last and while the fight is fun, the presentation alone made this my favorite. Moonshine Mob was easily my favorite fight just because it was so creative. It's a mob of bugs that all play a part in the fight. First off the announcer was different this time and it was one of the members of the mob which was great. The spider and the light bug were both fun and very expressive. The music is also sung by the light bug which is a nice touch. Then near the end of the fight, we find out the head of the mob was actually the announcer from the beginning..the snail. He's teaming up with an anteater which is so brilliant because you know he uses the anteater to scare or even kill other bugs. Then when you defeat the anteater there's a fucking fake knock out screen that can actually trip you up since I thought it was just a quirky little change up like the initial announcer was but the fact it's a fake out from the snail, it was the cherry on top of the already incredible presentation in this fight. Like I said, easily the best in this DLC and may even be the best in the game. This was another fight I was able to expert as well.

I got all trophies which only required me to S rank one boss so I didn't expert everything like I said. I just don't find expert mode too fun so I don't think it's a huge deal. Either way, great DLC overall. I think I do like the base game more just because this DLC was really short and I didn't love every boss here, but what was good was really damn good so I definitely recommend every Cuphead fan plays it.

Okay I swear my next review will be Chrono Trigger. I keep putting it off and I really got to get back to it 😭

Couples therapy.
Please come back Guppy

im biased cause i like tower defense games

This game literally changed my life outlook. PEAK

HONG KONG POLICE 👮‍♂️ STOP

tony stewart is the best part of this game.

Platinum games always strive to make interesting and stylish games. Bayonetta is their best known game on the system which managed to combine style and substance with its excellent combat. Vanquish came next with is substance but not much style, which makes it still a fun game to play. Anarchy Reigns is the third offering on the console and while it ticks the stylish box, it doesn't hold up in terms of substance. Gameplay wise AR is a 3D brawler set in a post apocalyptic future. A spiritual successor to the better Madworld, the game features 2 different but very short campaigns with different characters Jack and Leo. The story for each character is intertwined and works quite well, with some suitably cheesy dialogue between fights. It's a shame then that it's enjoyable on a very superficial level. The combat, while fun at first, quickly becomes repetitive and the lack of enemy variety later on in the game becomes a big issue. I found myself repeating similar combos all the way throughout the game and you are really given one set option to handle each enemy type which leaves you little space for creativity. Each level is set in a different area which seems interesting at first, there are different sections to each area and some special areas too, yet it all feels very superficial as when you spend a bit of time in a level you realise how small and dull they are. A lot of these problems are probably due to the fact the game wants to be a multiplayer brawler and maybe it did succeed in that, but i doubt you will be able to find any matches nowadays. A game which, while fun for a short while, looks more interesting than it actually is. Bonus points for the excellent music though.

Harley Quinn is the most unique playstyle of all the characters in the Arkham series. Instead of sneaking around and taking down enemies from the shadows, she had no silent takedowns and instead can only take people down in ways that will alert every other enemy in the vicinity. On top of that, she has a special ability that puts her into a rage state, able to take out an enemy with the press of a button (for three or four enemies). Both of these together makes Harley a much more blitz approach to stealth, which can be a welcome change of pace.

It kind of stinks, though, that she's only really able to put this to the test in a DLC that takes no more than 20 minutes if you really take your time/struggle, otherwise only really being able to use her in maps that were clearly not made with her in mind. Her combat is also the most shallow of the lot. Her three gadgets are more or less clones of Batman's freeze grenade, explosive gel, and smoke pellets, and none of those are notably great in combat, so you're really just left with the bare necessities.

The story DLC is... not much to write home about. Harley goes to Blüdhaven to break Poison Ivy out of prison so she can join them in Scarecrow's plans to bring Gotham and Batman down, all the while she has Penguin in her ear. There's a lot of witty dialogue with Harley playing dumb (or... I think playing dumb? It's hard to tell with Arkham Harley) to Penguin, Penguin trying to get her to work with him or just insulting her, and Harley making various cop jokes, but it's none too special, really. The DLC ends with a fight against Nightwing which is actually pretty good and caps off the story well. I think it's hilarious that Harley canonically kicks Nightwing's ass.

Shame that they didn't even try to show Blüdhaven off at all. Not that it surprises me, especially with such a short story, but it all takes place within the police department, nary a glimpse of the city beyond. Oh well, it's kind of just Gotham 2 from what I know, so it's no big deal.

Overall, Harley is an appreciated addition to the Arkham cast when it comes to stealth, but lacking in combat, and it very much feels like she was not intended to be played outside of this very short story originally.

A creative vision where the gameplay and controls were improved this time, snake eater is very close to being in the top 10 games of all time list but it has its issues so I can't give it that.
My biggest complaint is the level design, a confusing mess that I constantly get turned around in and have to keep readjusting myself. My other issues aren't that big and I could maybe look past them, But The way Eva is sexualized creeps me out alot. I feel this could have been a bit more subtle and still worked out however the team wanted it to. The camo feature feels very useless at times, like it was tacked on last minute, I'm sure it's somewhat useful but it's never made clear enough to me to understand if it's actually working.
This game is fantastic and might be one of the best PS2 games ever made, I just wish this was the last one.