PixelCreek
2023
⭐️ Review: B - Tier ”Good”
Decent game. I love that the caves feel like Zelda (BotW) shrines. Not a fan of the Dandori battles though.
Curing all the leaflings is a bit of a chore and the final challenge you gotta do to get the gold bar treasure is super daunting (god damn purple onion).
Olimar and Louie being in the game is pretty neat. Honestly the best part for me was the Olimar side story.
7/10
100% = ✅ | Sountrack: (not rated)
Decent game. I love that the caves feel like Zelda (BotW) shrines. Not a fan of the Dandori battles though.
Curing all the leaflings is a bit of a chore and the final challenge you gotta do to get the gold bar treasure is super daunting (god damn purple onion).
Olimar and Louie being in the game is pretty neat. Honestly the best part for me was the Olimar side story.
7/10
100% = ✅ | Sountrack: (not rated)
2000
⭐️ Review: S - Tier ”Best”
A few lacklustre worlds, gameplay sections, partners, and story beats, but in every other way this is easily up there among the greats of the (turn based) RPG genre.
I know Thousand Year Door is generally considered to be better than the first, but I think they’re both so wonderful in different ways.
From the ancient temple rising out of the sand in world 2, all the way to the icy palace in world 8, there’s so much character and wonder to this world. Professor Colorado would certainly agree!
Biggest highlight for me is the Invincible Tubba Blubba and that unforgettable chase scene. Child me was both terrified and absolutely enthralled from that moment on. There wasn’t a day that I didn’t spend telling my friends all about the game and drawing the enemies on paper in my room.
This is the game that made me fall in love with Princess Peach as a character. So much so that I have a tattoo of her modern design with the “HP heart” and “FP flower” in loving memory of this outstanding masterpiece.
10/10
100% = ✅ | Soundtrack: 🌕🌕🌕🌕🌗/5
A few lacklustre worlds, gameplay sections, partners, and story beats, but in every other way this is easily up there among the greats of the (turn based) RPG genre.
I know Thousand Year Door is generally considered to be better than the first, but I think they’re both so wonderful in different ways.
From the ancient temple rising out of the sand in world 2, all the way to the icy palace in world 8, there’s so much character and wonder to this world. Professor Colorado would certainly agree!
Biggest highlight for me is the Invincible Tubba Blubba and that unforgettable chase scene. Child me was both terrified and absolutely enthralled from that moment on. There wasn’t a day that I didn’t spend telling my friends all about the game and drawing the enemies on paper in my room.
This is the game that made me fall in love with Princess Peach as a character. So much so that I have a tattoo of her modern design with the “HP heart” and “FP flower” in loving memory of this outstanding masterpiece.
10/10
100% = ✅ | Soundtrack: 🌕🌕🌕🌕🌗/5
2021
⭐️ Review: B - Tier ”Good”
Not nearly as bad as some make it out to be.
The art direction is a bit odd so a lot of the monsters look slimy or super realistic and off putting, but aside from that, everything else looks great. Towns and cities are vibrant and interesting as well.
Gameplay is great throughout, played on hard mode and the difficulty curve felt pretty nice. Some side quests are a bit tedious if you’re going for 100%.
Music isn’t as good as previous titles but still slaps here and there.
The 4 main characters are superb in this one! Gloria is my fave but Elvis and Adelle are a close second. Plot has some really great twists and the lore is interesting too.
Could have been better with a larger story and more interesting villains / monsters. Dungeons are okay at best and the art style takes away from the series 3DS charm.
8/10
100% = ✅ | Sountrack: 🌕🌕🌕🌕🌑/5
Not nearly as bad as some make it out to be.
The art direction is a bit odd so a lot of the monsters look slimy or super realistic and off putting, but aside from that, everything else looks great. Towns and cities are vibrant and interesting as well.
Gameplay is great throughout, played on hard mode and the difficulty curve felt pretty nice. Some side quests are a bit tedious if you’re going for 100%.
Music isn’t as good as previous titles but still slaps here and there.
The 4 main characters are superb in this one! Gloria is my fave but Elvis and Adelle are a close second. Plot has some really great twists and the lore is interesting too.
Could have been better with a larger story and more interesting villains / monsters. Dungeons are okay at best and the art style takes away from the series 3DS charm.
8/10
100% = ✅ | Sountrack: 🌕🌕🌕🌕🌑/5
2020
“⭐️” Review: A - Tier ”Great”
Here we go!!
Masterpiece. Glad Mario has been leaning back more towards this style lately with Odyssey.
Can’t in my right mind give this game 5 stars though. It’s great and all, but it’s just a worse version of Banjo-Kazooie. Excellent, but not perfect.
9/10
100% = ✅ | Sountrack: 🌕🌕🌕🌕🌕/5
Here we go!!
Masterpiece. Glad Mario has been leaning back more towards this style lately with Odyssey.
Can’t in my right mind give this game 5 stars though. It’s great and all, but it’s just a worse version of Banjo-Kazooie. Excellent, but not perfect.
9/10
100% = ✅ | Sountrack: 🌕🌕🌕🌕🌕/5
⭐️ Review: B - Tier ”Good”
Not the greatest Rune Factory title but really good regardless. Still the best farming franchise by far (looking at you Stardew Valley 👀).
This game actually inspired me to start reviewing and making tier lists back when I completed it. Wrote an entire 30+ paragraph review back then but now it’s lost to the world. Just know that I really liked the story, the dungeons, the characters, and the music, but at the same time, all these things are just not quite good enough and could use some work and polish.
Completed on hard difficulty and it was kinda fun grinding between each area. The weapon and armor system is too complicated and bizarre though, probably the worst part of the game.
Farming loop / reward system is as perfect as a multi-decade farming sim franchise can be. Furniture, housing, and decorating is a bit bare bones. Marriage is good and I’m glad they have the alternate gender outfits so you can have the
allusion of an LGBT+ relationship.
8/10
100% = ☑️ | Soundtrack: ”not rated”
(good ^ enough) - don’t want to marry every single character and do all the newlywed modes.
Not the greatest Rune Factory title but really good regardless. Still the best farming franchise by far (looking at you Stardew Valley 👀).
This game actually inspired me to start reviewing and making tier lists back when I completed it. Wrote an entire 30+ paragraph review back then but now it’s lost to the world. Just know that I really liked the story, the dungeons, the characters, and the music, but at the same time, all these things are just not quite good enough and could use some work and polish.
Completed on hard difficulty and it was kinda fun grinding between each area. The weapon and armor system is too complicated and bizarre though, probably the worst part of the game.
Farming loop / reward system is as perfect as a multi-decade farming sim franchise can be. Furniture, housing, and decorating is a bit bare bones. Marriage is good and I’m glad they have the alternate gender outfits so you can have the
allusion of an LGBT+ relationship.
8/10
100% = ☑️ | Soundtrack: ”not rated”
(good ^ enough) - don’t want to marry every single character and do all the newlywed modes.
2022
⭐️ Review: B - Tier ”Good”
Way better than Sword & Shield but still lack lustre for such a huge franchise. Please give your team more time and money to make games GameFreak, I’m begging you.
Open world was a great step forward and being able to see shiny Pokémon on the overworld is always a plus in my books. I do like grinding tho, so kinda sad to not need to do that anymore lately.
New Pokémon designs are really great! Best generation since Black & White in my opinion. I’m glad they give you more of a story and connection to the legendary Pokémon in this Gen unlike a lot of recent ones.
Oh, and Arven is the best.
8/10
100% = ⬇️ | Soundtrack: ”not rated”
(need to complete DLC)
Way better than Sword & Shield but still lack lustre for such a huge franchise. Please give your team more time and money to make games GameFreak, I’m begging you.
Open world was a great step forward and being able to see shiny Pokémon on the overworld is always a plus in my books. I do like grinding tho, so kinda sad to not need to do that anymore lately.
New Pokémon designs are really great! Best generation since Black & White in my opinion. I’m glad they give you more of a story and connection to the legendary Pokémon in this Gen unlike a lot of recent ones.
Oh, and Arven is the best.
8/10
100% = ⬇️ | Soundtrack: ”not rated”
(need to complete DLC)
2023
⭐️ Review: B - Tier ”Good”
Based on box art and trailers I went in to this game thinking it’d be a downgrade for the franchise. Boy was I wrong. So much better than Three Houses and a lot of other predecessors. Honestly, quickly became my 2nd fave.
The difficulty curve is just right and the gameplay is outstanding. For a top down strategy rpg it’s almost flawless. Only downside is the characters are pretty one dimensional (plus there’s way too many of them), and the story is lack lustre.
Sure it’s got some flaws, and if you’re here for a riveting story with unique characters then it can be pretty disappointing. I certainly understand the low ratings, but I personally had a lot of fun.
8/10
100% = ⬇️ | Soundtrack: “not rated”
(need to complete DLC)
Based on box art and trailers I went in to this game thinking it’d be a downgrade for the franchise. Boy was I wrong. So much better than Three Houses and a lot of other predecessors. Honestly, quickly became my 2nd fave.
The difficulty curve is just right and the gameplay is outstanding. For a top down strategy rpg it’s almost flawless. Only downside is the characters are pretty one dimensional (plus there’s way too many of them), and the story is lack lustre.
Sure it’s got some flaws, and if you’re here for a riveting story with unique characters then it can be pretty disappointing. I certainly understand the low ratings, but I personally had a lot of fun.
8/10
100% = ⬇️ | Soundtrack: “not rated”
(need to complete DLC)
⭐️ Review: S - Tier ”Best”
Could be a little longer, but all around this is the best top-down Zelda game of the franchise. Nothing beats old GBA sprites and soundtracks, ultimate nostalgia.
Takes the “two worlds combined” trope of other Zelda titles (past/future, twilight/light, lorule/hyrule) and does something completely unique and so much fun with its shrinking mechanic.
Vaati is under rated as a villain and needs to make a return someday.
Obtaining all the Kinstone pieces and every single figurine can be pretty tedious but I’ll take every extra hour spent in this version of Hyrule with a big smile on my face as I sing along to all the wonderful little tunes (Minish Woods is my personal fave).
10/10
100% = ✅ | Sountrack: 🌕🌕🌕🌕🌗/5
Could be a little longer, but all around this is the best top-down Zelda game of the franchise. Nothing beats old GBA sprites and soundtracks, ultimate nostalgia.
Takes the “two worlds combined” trope of other Zelda titles (past/future, twilight/light, lorule/hyrule) and does something completely unique and so much fun with its shrinking mechanic.
Vaati is under rated as a villain and needs to make a return someday.
Obtaining all the Kinstone pieces and every single figurine can be pretty tedious but I’ll take every extra hour spent in this version of Hyrule with a big smile on my face as I sing along to all the wonderful little tunes (Minish Woods is my personal fave).
10/10
100% = ✅ | Sountrack: 🌕🌕🌕🌕🌗/5
2022
⭐️ Review: S - Tier “Best”
Explored every single nook and cranny, completed every side quest and defeated every boss. This is the best open world game I’ve played so far. The lore is incredible and Malenia is SO COOL 😩🥀
Rani ending is best and I can’t wait for future FromSoft games. Original Dark Souls is still my favourite but this is obviously S-Tier.
10/10
100% = ✅ | Soundtrack: “not rated”
Explored every single nook and cranny, completed every side quest and defeated every boss. This is the best open world game I’ve played so far. The lore is incredible and Malenia is SO COOL 😩🥀
Rani ending is best and I can’t wait for future FromSoft games. Original Dark Souls is still my favourite but this is obviously S-Tier.
10/10
100% = ✅ | Soundtrack: “not rated”