Nilichi
1981
One of the games that got me into arcade machines. Still worth blasting through a few screens as part of a history tour on STGs. Pretty sure my boyhood namco plug&play is still lying in a box somewhere.
1994
I'm convinced this is one of the best STGs ever made. Simple clean action with scoring revolving around landing cluster kills with your sub-weapon. Saturn port has an arranged soundtrack, but personally I prefer the arcade original. Sounds punchier to me.
2002
From the moment the title music starts, Metroid Prime promises excellence. Delivering on this promise with a moody action-adventure through beautifully modeled locales. Neither particularly long nor overtly difficult, Prime should be approachable by the overwhelming majority of gamers. Whether or not one enjoys reading in-universe descriptions will likely affect one's enjoyment of the experience though.
I've cleared Prime 1 in its original form on the gamecube, with motion controls via the trilogy edition, and finally uprezzed via dolphin. It's been great every time. One of the few games I consider to be Essential.
Personally I prefer the original script for the scan logs, and consider the GCN version uprezzed to be the definitive version of the game.
I've cleared Prime 1 in its original form on the gamecube, with motion controls via the trilogy edition, and finally uprezzed via dolphin. It's been great every time. One of the few games I consider to be Essential.
Personally I prefer the original script for the scan logs, and consider the GCN version uprezzed to be the definitive version of the game.
An excellent game overall marred slightly by a few difficulty-spike bosses. Otherwise I consider the first two primes to be on par with each other.
Edit: I now quite certainly dislike this game on Hard/Hypermode. Similar problem as Prime 1 where the bosses are just uninteresting bullshit healthsponges. The final boss encounter for a game shouldn't be a trial upon the players patience waiting for their opportunity to do damage with the only threat of defeat, even on Hard, being from the boss wasting so much time that the escape timer expires. The greatest challenge in the game shouldn't be a result of the penultimate boss having a dogshit hurtbox that can only take damage from specific angles on the model that said boss routinely plays peekaboo with.
- - -
The trek all the way back to Torvus Bog from Sancutary Fortress to get the power bombs then immediately head back is laughable and annoying.
Also: "What if we made the chozo ghosts even more annoying and forced players to fight them over and over when they re-tread through rooms by locking the doors? Yeah we should do that!"
Emperor Ing on Hypermode is one of the most infuriating things I've suffered through in gaming. Retro is really good at creating absolute dogshit bosses for their games.
The beam ammo is cool and good and allows for all the beams to be powerful. This is not sarcasm I actually believe this. Crate management is clearly too much for ammo haters for whatever reason.
Edit: I now quite certainly dislike this game on Hard/Hypermode. Similar problem as Prime 1 where the bosses are just uninteresting bullshit healthsponges. The final boss encounter for a game shouldn't be a trial upon the players patience waiting for their opportunity to do damage with the only threat of defeat, even on Hard, being from the boss wasting so much time that the escape timer expires. The greatest challenge in the game shouldn't be a result of the penultimate boss having a dogshit hurtbox that can only take damage from specific angles on the model that said boss routinely plays peekaboo with.
- - -
The trek all the way back to Torvus Bog from Sancutary Fortress to get the power bombs then immediately head back is laughable and annoying.
Also: "What if we made the chozo ghosts even more annoying and forced players to fight them over and over when they re-tread through rooms by locking the doors? Yeah we should do that!"
Emperor Ing on Hypermode is one of the most infuriating things I've suffered through in gaming. Retro is really good at creating absolute dogshit bosses for their games.
The beam ammo is cool and good and allows for all the beams to be powerful. This is not sarcasm I actually believe this. Crate management is clearly too much for ammo haters for whatever reason.
Saved from being the worst Prime by the existence of Hunters, Corruption is an overall enjoyable adventure marred by trivial difficulty due to the new gimmick "Hyper Mode" which renders Samus functionally invincible for most combat encounters. Ignoring gameplay, the presentation is topnotch and saves the title from true mediocrity. Worth at least a once-through if you're marathoning the series.
What if the early concerns about Metroid Prime turning Metroid into a boring FPS were warranted?
Honestly just skip this one.
Though I feel I should mention I'm left handed, which likely hampered my enjoyment. Not a comfortable game to play on top of being monotonous.
- - -
Recently replayed via emulation, and my opinion has softened somewhat. Turns out there is actually a left handed stylus option. But as I only ever had the loose cart and never checked the options like a dolt, I didn't know better.
Hunters upscales very well. On PC it's a serviceable Metroid themed action game. However collecting the full scanlog without a guide is inadviseable. Every miscellaneous scan object in the game is part of the log. Many of these "objects" are identical to surrounding level geo, except one in particular will have a scan-square attached to it. Lore scans are also often unmarked in the levels and only appear with the scan visor equipped.
Sylux is admittedly a cool design, and I'm wondering what Prime 4 has in store regarding him now.
Honestly just skip this one.
Though I feel I should mention I'm left handed, which likely hampered my enjoyment. Not a comfortable game to play on top of being monotonous.
- - -
Recently replayed via emulation, and my opinion has softened somewhat. Turns out there is actually a left handed stylus option. But as I only ever had the loose cart and never checked the options like a dolt, I didn't know better.
Hunters upscales very well. On PC it's a serviceable Metroid themed action game. However collecting the full scanlog without a guide is inadviseable. Every miscellaneous scan object in the game is part of the log. Many of these "objects" are identical to surrounding level geo, except one in particular will have a scan-square attached to it. Lore scans are also often unmarked in the levels and only appear with the scan visor equipped.
Sylux is admittedly a cool design, and I'm wondering what Prime 4 has in store regarding him now.
2023
I had to borrow my housemate's switch to play this and now have a 60$ paperweight sitting in my sock drawer since they ended up gifting their switch to a relative.
Worth it.
More seriously, I think this would be a 5 star game without the night missions. They're worthless padding. Don't expect a difficult game by any means either. The only challenge is from route optimization. Try to get that day count as low as possible!
Worth it.
More seriously, I think this would be a 5 star game without the night missions. They're worthless padding. Don't expect a difficult game by any means either. The only challenge is from route optimization. Try to get that day count as low as possible!
2013
This game is the reason I bought a Wii U. I was initially disappointed by the campaign's brevity. However the real meat of Pikmin 3 is to be found in the 1p & 2p challenge mode and 2p VS mode. This is a wonderful 2 player game in that respect, as the co-op and versus modes provided are unlike anything else out there.
Motion controls are highly recommended. I tried clearing it for the first time without them this year and I was noticeably slower than before.
Motion controls are highly recommended. I tried clearing it for the first time without them this year and I was noticeably slower than before.
2004
I recently cleared this one again after feeling that Pikmin 4 might've been too short. I promptly realized that my dandori is sufficient to perform a 9 day clear (not counting post-game, which I haven't felt like doing again yet).
Anyway this game is great. It's one of the worlds that utterly captivated my younger self.
Anyway this game is great. It's one of the worlds that utterly captivated my younger self.
2001
The only reason I knew about this game growing up was due to Nintendo's self advertising tucked away in a menu in Luigi's Mansion. In my eyes this is one of Nintendo's core defining franchises. A splendid hybridization of action-adventure and real-time-strategy. I believe the entire Pikmin series is worthy of a place in any gaming addict's library.
Like the later games in the series, Pikmin 1 can conceivably be cleared for the first time in a single session, depending on player skill.
So long as you're pulling in an average of 1.5 ship parts per day, the time limit may as well not exist. So don't sweat it.
Like the later games in the series, Pikmin 1 can conceivably be cleared for the first time in a single session, depending on player skill.
So long as you're pulling in an average of 1.5 ship parts per day, the time limit may as well not exist. So don't sweat it.
2001
This is the best toy commercial ever made.
Quite possibly even worth playing for any fan of point&clicks.
Quite possibly even worth playing for any fan of point&clicks.
2021
There were a few moments while playing I swear I could feel the cool mist on my cheeks. Northern Journey is a deeply atmospheric FPS with value as an exploratory walking sim. Some of the combat encounters require some real precision and movement skills! I highly recommend giving Northern Journey at least a once through.
2012
Play this at least once in your life. Preferably after a big seasonal sale or whatever so you've a real chance of bumping into a newbie player on your Journey.
1995
One of the best soundtracks in STG history that just so happens to be attached to an excellent game.
FYI the windows port runs slightly faster than the X68000 original.
(psst, the composer has a bandcamp)
FYI the windows port runs slightly faster than the X68000 original.
(psst, the composer has a bandcamp)
Pretty sure this is my most played DS game. As it turns out, crossing space invaders with bingo and rhythmatizing your shots to a crazy ost is an excellent idea. Oh, and there's Darius style branching level selection.