An adequate starting point for the series, but not the greatest aged game of all time. Some great storytelling throughout and overall fun gameplay, however not enough is done to keep the gameplay loop fresh. This is particularly evident in combat and enemy variety, with a lot of mini-bosses returning as basic enemies time and time again. There is a lot of fun to be had upgrading and testing the skills and different combos however, more often than not you'll find yourself sticking to a set few which are most effective. Puzzles ranged from either intricately designed with incredibly satisfying solutions to frustratingly tedious with no clear solution at times but overall there was an enjoyable level of charm and challenge in solving them. The final Boss was quite fun however with so much narrative build up I can't help but feel a little disappointed by the lack of new mechanics or challenges presented by it.

Mario Land is a short but sweet game, that manages to hold a strong sense of individuality thanks to unique themes, enemies and bosses; which are always welcome in the ever so repetitive Mario franchise. With this being the first Mario game on the Gameboy system it's clear that Nintendo were still getting a feel of how to best utilize the console to the best of it's ability. Consequently the main drawbacks of this game are it's unnatural feeling physics and questionable artstyle, however I feel that the core gameplay is not significantly held back by this, leaving an overall enjoyable experience that holds up decently today.

As far as first entries go Kirby's Dream land is a good enough starting point as any for one of the most beloved characters in gaming. It's clear that this game utilises every ounce of potential in the Gameboy's hardware to the point where often the gameplay is nearly indistinguishable from Kirby's adventure for the NES. You'll be hard pressed to find another franchise that had such a seamless transition from handheld to home console whilst maintaining enjoyable and fairly sophisticated gameplay on both. Now the elephant in the room of course; Kirby's copy abilities aren't present in the first game. As such a core aspect of the character (and how well suited would have been for the gameplay) Kirby's Dream Land does feel largely incomplete without it. Despite that, it's beautifly meticulous level design, ambitious bosses, sense of humour and theming all in combination set a precedent for future titles. The fact so much
from this game is carried fourth in the series to date speaks volumes for its own achievement.

Kirby's Dream Land 2 is a perfectly fine game in its own right. By building off the back of DL1 and Kirby's adventure this game provides a well rounded Gameboy Kirby experience complete with transform abilities and a familiar hub-world. DL2 is much more expensive than its predecessor, with a longer campaign, more bosses areas and levels. New additions in the title are the inclusion of stars, a new collectable which grants the player a 1up every time 7 are collected. The biggest change in this game is the inclusion of partners that assist Kirby. The hamster, fish and owl each possess unique abilities and controls so it's fun and refreshing to use them to traverse the level and discover how the transform abilities change with each. However, the game's main flaw is that it's most unique elements don't build upon Kirby's gameplay, they just alter it. Although the partners are initially a nice change of pace, it is quickly evident that they are nothing more than a gimmick. Levels that are especially designed to work with the animals movement are very fun, but more often than not don't really feel like Kirby. Using the animal in levels designed from Kirby can range from absurdly overpowred (owl) to painful useless (fish). My general sentiment of this game is disappointment. It fails to utilise a character and world so unique and creative and instead favourite new concepts that ultimately let it down. I've shelved for now, in future I may find the desire to complete it.

Ambiguous storytelling at its greatest.
My favourite game of all time, had me hooked from start to finish with it's incredible pixel artstyle, fluid movement and impactful combat. The game is challenging but fair, no death feels unjustified and payoff when you succeed is all the more rewarding. In the same way the puzzle aspects as well as hidden secrets feel perfectly crafted and incredibly satisfying to crack. Finally the sound design: Disasterpeace, the artist behind the OST conveys every story beat with perfection and has you on the edge of your seat at all points. All these things bring the world of hyperlight drifter to life and inspire the imaginations of players in ways that stick with you even years down the line.

A must-play mario adventure

SML2 is the perfect successor to SML building upon its wacky and wonderful locations, enemies and bosses.This time however the teams vision feels fully realised with a game that is on par with a true fully fledged 2D home console Mario. As opposed to the shoot-em-up sections in it's predecessor, SML2 keeps gameplay fresh through a variety of changes to Mario's movement and the environment that offer unique challenges whilst ensuring the game remains a platformer. Examples range from zero or low gravity in Space zone, Water in Turtle Zone to sticky honey in Tree zone. Throughout my playthrough my favourite moments we're always anticipating what new enemies I might stumble across next and the excitement of uncovering something you least expect. The overall difficulty is fairly easy, letting you breeze through the short story and majority of bosses with ease for the most part. However the challenge suddenly ramps up on the last stage; Wario's Castle which plays like a kaizo-mario level. I found this to be both infuriating and delightfully challenging, taking me several hours to beat but all the more satisfying in the end. Unfortunately, the platforming itself poses more of a threat than the actual final boss, who (despite his 3 forms) was one of the more simplistic and easy to navigate fights. Overall I thoroughly enjoyed my time with this game and for me it ranks in the top 3 Mario 2D platformers, I really wished modern Mario was packed full with such charm, individuality and unique gameplay systems.

My entire childhood I dreamed of playing Mario on mobile, it seemed like such a no-brainer. Mario was perfectly suited for a "pick up and play" style as has been proven time and time again by it's huge success on handheld devices. What better way to experience it then than on the most universally accessable and portable form factor, the smart phone?

I'm still waiting for that game though because Super Mario Run fails miserably at all that. It's a watered down, micro-transaction heavy auto runner that strips back a beloved platformer into something that's not worth your time of day, let alone the cost that the majority of the content is locked behind. As usual Nintendo shows that their only goal in the mobile market is greed, however this is one of the worst offenders.

Kirby's Appetiser That You regret Buying When The Main Course Comes Out

This isn't a full Kirby experience my any stretch of the imagination, it doesn't pretend to be and therefore I won't review it as such. This game is just a neat little spin off party game to be enjoyed with friends.

Even with that in mind though the game fails to meet the modest expectations I had for it. As someone who has countless hours on Super Mario Party, I can often look past a pretty soulless party game so long as it's got sufficient co-op support. With the right people even the most shallowest party games can be a blast. But Kirby's Dream Buffet doesn't even give itself the chance to shine by only supporting 2 players locally in a 4 player oriented party game. This ultimately causes the games other flaws such as lack of gameplay variety to stand out even further because there really is only so many times you can compete against 1 friend and 2 robots before you've exhausted all possible outcomes.

Sadly I think this game might actually be a blast with 4 players (which annoyingly is only supported in online co-op) but I certainly won't be suggesting any of my friends pick it up (despite its reasonable price tag) because it's clear to me that this targets much more of a casual family audience. I have to issue with family oriented party games, in fact I love them but the the absolute bare minimum for that genre is sufficient couch co-op support.

Unfortunately this game falls short in a few too many ways to make it worthwhile, which is a real shame because the core concept and gameplay systems are really fun and the visuals are beautiful charming. I'm really fond of the idea of small affordable party games, I just hope Nintendo learns from this and flashes out the replayability and accessibility in future.