As I stated in my Kazooie review, I replayed the game two times back in September of 2023. With Kazooie, that doesn't seem too crazy because it's about half the length of Tooie. However, I also replayed this game twice as well. And with it being twice as long, or maybe even longer for some people, as Kazooie? Seems a bit nuts right? Well, I really went Banjo crazy that month because after beating both games once, I couldn't stop thinking about them which led to me replaying them again right away. The thing is, that whole time I couldn't stop thinking about playing them again...I was thinking about Tooie pretty much. I don't know what happened to me because I went from thinking this game was just decent and definitely worse than Kazooie, to thinking it was amazing and super addicting and better than Kazooie overall. After replaying both games yet again, do I still think this? Probably, tho it's a bit complicated.

If you played Kazooie prior, the first thing you'll notice with Tooie is just how much Banjo and Kazooie's moveset has improved. The roll attack lasts longer, is more mobile and has a nice visual of Kazooie shielding Banjo. The normal attack you perform by standing still, which before was a simple claw move by Banjo, is now replaced by a more effective stationary rat-a-tat rap. The swimming is now WAY better naturally and doesn't require you to hold the R button for it to be good. In fact I don't think the R button does anything when swimming lol. You can now flip-flap directly out of a talon trot. When you do a beak buster, you can now move forward while you're doing rather than staying in place. This change can actually lead to some exploits you can perform too which is rad. These along with some non move-set changes like how whenever you speed up the text it makes the characters talk faster and doesn't pitch up their voices (which was an issue I had forgot to mention in Kazooie), the camera is slower but smoother to use and is overall an improvement, Banjo's backpack animates now when he walks and something about it is incredibly satisfying to me idk why, and the biggest thing is now notes don't get reset when you die (for a reason I'll get into later). All of these improvements drastically enhance the basic gameplay and I honestly miss a ton of these whenever I go back to Kazooie.

That's all fine and dandy, but how about new moves? Well, Tooie's got you covered because it's got like double the amount of moves in Kazooie. The biggest addition is the split-up mechanic. Now you can play as Banjo and Kazooie separately which makes for some clever puzzles. Each singular character gets their own specific moves and while Kazooie's are generally really fun, Banjo's are mostly situational. Kazooie's consist of moves that aren't as context-specific like the ability to glide on her own, her own backflip that's better than the normal one, and the ability to hatch eggs which gets used quite a bit. Banjo's however, besides the first one that lets him pick up and move objects which can lead to some fun puzzles, aren't used that much. He has an ability that let's him recover HP which is nice but only gets used a couple times overall and isn't as helpful as you think because lives aren't an issue anymore. I actually forgot to say they don't exist anymore and it's actually better to die sometimes because it respawns you at the last split-ip bad/beginning of the world which can work in your favor. But anyways, his other two abilities which let him go in dangerous liquids and the other let's him go in his backpack like a burlap sack to cross dangerous obstacles, just aren't used much and are incredibly situational. They all feel pretty samey too unlike Kazooie's, so overall I'd say Kazooie had the better new moves overall. This isn't even getting into all the new moves they both got together. There's 4 new egg types: Fire, Grenade, Ice and Clockwork. All have various uses and are fun additions. There are two new shoes, the claw clamber boots and the springy step shoes. The springy step shoes feel a little derivative because of the jump pads but they're still cool. The claw clamber boots however let you walk on designated parts of walls and it's awesome. There's the bill drill which is also kind of situational but is super satisfying to use. You can now fire eggs in first-person, which can be a little tricky at first with the N64 joystick but is also fun. Because of this, the game also added egg shooting in the air and water when going in first-person mode. The first-person shooting also leads into this FPS mode where you use Kazooie as a gun, certainly riding on the success of Goldeneye, and they can be super fun as well. All of these additions, plus the split-up stuff just really add to their whole move set and makes traversing through worlds a ton of fun.

Speaking of the worlds in this game, they're overall a lot bigger than Kazooie's. The first couple are kinda comparable in size to the first game's but by the time you get to Terrydactyland, they become just massive in size. You'd think this would be super annoying compared to Kazooie, but the game added warp pads that can warp you all over the level. These are the reason I never found the game tedious, if the game didn't have them or if they were awful like DK 64's warps, then the game would be way worse than it is. Anyways, the world's are much bigger in size and there's a lot more things you can do in each world. Though, overall there are less collectables because notes are now in bundles of 5 and 20. So overall the game has less of a focus on tons of collectables like the notes and more of a focus on the jiggys themselves. Jiggy's require way more steps than they did in Kazooie and this turns a lot of people off of the game. A bit understandable but the game is clearly trying to be more of a slower paced adventure platformer rather than Kazooie's brisk pace. I like both approaches but when it comes to Tooie's unique world themes like a run-down amusement park, a dinosaur world and a combined fire and ice world, I definitely prefer just how creative Tooie gets.

I mentioned how Jiggy's take longer to get because more steps are involved, and that's partly because of Mumbo Jumbo and Humba Wumba. In this game, Humba is the one that transforms you and Mumbo is actually a playable character. It greatly depends on the world but overall, I think this is a fun change. Mumbo has a very basic moveset compared to BK but his whole deal is using his magic on specific Mumbo pads. This is incredibly situational ofc and depending on the world it can be a bit tedious, but it can also lead to some interesting puzzles where you have to switch back and forth between BK and Mumbo. Same thing with Humba, sometimes you actually have to switch between Mumbo and then the Humba transformation. Mostly in the later levels do they make these portions kinda puzzling. In terms of everything new they added, this is probably the weakest addition just because it can lead to some tedium, I'll admit that, however I personally never had much of an issue with it tho I also have the whole game memorized at this point so take that as you will.

Besides all that, one of my absolute favorite additions was the fact a lot of the world's are interconnected. Early on, you'll help this mayan cat character out in recovering this idol. Well, you obtain it from this caveman in a weird looking cave and bring it back to him. That's strange though, you're in a world called Mayahem Temple and you just saw a caveman. What gives? Well it turns out, you just entered Terrydactyland when you did that, the aformentioned dinosaur world. This happens a lot in this game where you'll briefly cross over from one world into another or even unlock paths to directly travel between each one. The most memorable one is where you have to feed a different tribe of (good) cavemen this time, and to do so, you unlock a shortcut between Terrydactyland and WitchyWorld. You pick up some burgers from this one character, use the claw clamber boots you get from Grunty Industries and walk along the wall to feed them. All these working parts and interconnectivity just make the world feel alive and I love it.

I mentioned how you had to get the claw clamber boots from Grunty Industries, which is world 6, and use them for a jiggy in Terrydactyland which is world 5. Banjo Kazooie did this exact same thing only once, where you had to backtrack with an ability from another world. Tooie does this way more often and because of that and the interconnectivity of the world, it kind of feels like a 3D metroidvania at points which is awesome. Anyways, people seem to have an issue with backtracking in this game and I don't get it. The more complex jiggy's I understand, but the backtracking is not required as there's enough jiggy's in the game for you to beat the final boss. And even then, there really aren't that many backtracking jiggy's in general. Maybe like 12 or 13 of the 90 jiggy's require backtracking I think? Either way I think that complaint is majorly overblown and is not an issue at all to me, again the Mumbo and Humba stuff I can understand but backtracking to old levels with future abilities? Never even crossed my mind as an issue.

Something else this game added was a boss for every world and they're all really fun. Some are better than others, Lord Woo Fak Fak for example is probably the worst, but I really like how almost every single one of them are large in scope. They really feel menacing even if some of them are pathetically easy.

The game is also way funnier and a lot more cynical in general which I dig. Kazooie was both of these things as well but Tooie cranks it up to the max. The game literally starts off with Bottles dying and Kazooie going "well, he wasnt the most popular character anyways". The game is just full of this tongue-in cheese cynicism. The cast of side characters is not only WAY larger, they're more distinct and memorable just because the dialogue is so much better. There's literally an immigration joke when BK have to help some actual aliens, it's amazing. I think this, plus the interconnected worlds and more unique world themes, are THE main things I like over Kazooie. That plus the improved move set ofc.
The OST is again wondeful just like the first game, but instead of being upbeat, catchy tunes..Grant went for a more atmospheric darker ost this time around. Because worlds are much larger and take more time to beat, I think this change is for the better since the music track won't get old at all. Some of my favorite songs were Grunty Industries, Weldar's Theme and Mr Patch's Theme.

Yes I know two of those are from Grunty Industries. I honestly don't get the hate at all for that world. Something like Terrydactyland I can get, even if I still like it, because it's a massive world with empty space in a lot of it. However, Grunty Industries is a complex, zelda dungeon-like world and it's amazingly designed. I guess if you went into Tooie expecting it to just be like Kazooie, you'd hate it however it's very fun to explore and again super well-designed. It's not even that easy to get lost imo, it's a multi-layered world with distinct set-pieces rather than a super large open world. Sorry for the rant, I just don't get Grunty Industries hate lol. Something I did end up feeling a tiny bit sour on this time around was Hailfire Peaks. I still really like that world, and think the theming is awesome. However the fire side is a little too big for its bridges I will admit and the lag gets really bad sometimes there. The game can get laggy throughout portions of the game, which is only a thing on the N64 version, but there especially it's pretty bad.

One more thing before I mention the endgame and close out the review, is Canary Mary. Canary Mary has methods that make her very doable but she's still easily the worst part of the game and the only part I straight up dislike and dread doing. Her first button mashing races in Glittergulch Mine are perfectly fine. Her races in Cloud CuckooLand tho are insane. If you aren't doing the pause trick, idk how it's humenaly possible to win without using a turbo controller or something. The 2nd race isn't as bad because you can stay near her until the very end and then button mash to hell to pass her right before she can catch up. These races are easily doable with the right methods but the fact you have to do them this way, it just stinks man. But luckily this is only for 100% and only a tiny portion of the actual game so it's not the worst thing in the world.

I talked about a lot of improvements this game has over Kazooie. If there's one thing Kazooie destroys Tooie on however, it's the quiz section and final boss. Gone is the charming board game aesthetic of Kazooie, now you have a typical game show-esque quiz game where you have to answer enough questions to beat Grunty's sisters. It's not bad but it pales in comparison to Kazooie's version as it's less charming and even has less question types. Yeah, I won't miss the Gruntilda specific questions but no sound/music quizzes? That's kinda lame. Again, it's not bad and is only disappointing when compared to Kazooie. The final boss is also not nearly as good as Kazooie's. Is the Hag 1 harder? Most definitely but it's not as memorable as the Gruntilda fight from Kazooie and isn't as fun. It's a solid fight overall but compared to Kazooie's, just a bit lackluster.

So do I like Tooie more than Kazooie? In many ways, hell yes. It improves on many things like the duo's moveset, the writing is way funnier and the interconnectivity between worlds felt like a logical step to take after Kazooie. It may have the weaker end boss and quiz show, it's definitely and easier game to replay/100% and the Canary Mary rematch race is the worst thing between both games, however I'm still feeling like I may like this just slightly more than Kazooie just because of how ambitious and fun it is. It's kinda like Mario Galaxy 1 and 2 where each game has is own strengths over the other and it's just hard to choose what's better. Either way, it's still a 10/10 like the first game and one of my favorite games ever now. Easily in my top 3 N64 games, alongside the first game and Majora's Mask of course. Either way, if you see people saying you shouldn't play this game after you've beaten Kazooie. Don't listen to them, give this a try and you might fall become infatuated with it like I have.

This Banjo double feature was fun but I reckon it's time to play some Kirby again. Stay tuned for a Dreamland 2 review coming soon!

It is a miracle that I got to finish this brilliant game, and now people can stop bullying me because I haven't played it before.

My rating criteria for this game are games released in 2010 and prior. 
I had so many technical difficulties. Even by the standards of that time, this game has so many bugs that softlock you, tons of crashes, and buggy graphics settings. Also, controls got bugged, and I couldn't press the ESC key at all. I had to Alt-Tab every time to pause the game. These technical problems made me finish the game in a week, in about 25 sessions.

However, the story was intriguing, and the horror elements were used in such an amazing way that I got scared of my own shadow multiple times. The library part was made because they hate us players and they want us to have a heart attack. Plus. I liked the funny Ulman jokes.

Oh, the ending was also crazy! Here is footage of me during the ending!

Twisted Metal already made a stunning, triumphant return with TM Black on the PS2, having most of the original crew handle that game's development. However, the team would struggle to properly keep that momentum going, likely due to the game's director --David Jaffe-- leaving the team in order to pursue a huge project with Sony's full support that would become "God of War." An opportunity he couldn't pass up.

Thus, this is the most straight-forward continuation of where Twisted Metal 2 left off, even bringing back a lot of the characters. However, much of the edge from the original game seems to have been sanded down in order to provide a slightly cleaner, less explicit vibe. Jaffe has gone on the record to say that has always been Singletrac/Incognito's natural path when he isn't the one steering the ship. More family-friendly stuff that he doesn't vibe with at all.

Even so, the presentation is good! This was a launch title for PSP, and it really boasted how good games can look on that little rectangle back in 2005. Level design's great, really sporting that world tour feel again, and I love the overall character designs as they went with the comic book feel once again.

The overall gameplay, however, is kind of lackluster. Not awful by any stretch of the word but felt like a snail's crawl after the ultra-tight, fast, rambunctious nature of TM Black I was used to. They stuck to their guns and left most of the design unchanged from TM2 and Black, but the speed of the gameplay is just not that crazy. It could be due to the PSP's own limitations, though, I can't be sure. Even so, neat little game to this day. As an early PSP adopter, I thought it was awesome back then! These days . . . still not too shabby.

Having to make my own decisions was a terrifying experience. I will never do it again. And before anyone asks, I did it, everyone! I fixed her! (I got the good ending)
It was one of the best visual novels I have ever played. Great voice acting, great story, and the voices in my head are accurate. It's impressive that they are still updating the game, and a big update that'll extend the game by 25% is on its way. It's also not a very long game; I finished it in 5 hours because I took my sweet time and wandered around.
There was a sequence where I refused to continue doing what I was told, and the game shut down after the entity told me, "I will be here when you are ready" or something. I was flabbergasted. Next time I opened the game, that same entity welcomed me, and I continued where I left off.
I just wished that the Voice of the Hero and the Narrator's voice wasn't so identical.
It is truly a unique experience and a must-play.

I can think of few Yakuza games with as much issues as Yakuza 5. From the messy storyline; to the weak main antagonists, to its unwillingness to fully explore some of its subject matter. But I can also think of few Yakuza games I enjoyed as much as Yakuza 5. In terms of combat it's my favorite game behind Zero, the variety of its movesets and improved boss design from 4 made for so many enjoyable encounters. And the minigames are some of my favorites in the series. Taxi driving as Kiryu, hunting as Saejima, idol industry work as Haruka, baseball as Shinada; not only being mechanically enjoyable but are able to give some genuinely heartwarming stories that furthered my appreciation of the characters. But as I mentioned earlier I don't feel that positive when it comes to the main plot. Yakuza 5 has one of the most inconsistent plots in the series, having some of Yakuza’s best scenes along with some of its worst. Kiryu and Saejima’s parts have some great character work, but Saejima’s part suffers from pacing issues and the convoluted nature of the storyline. Haruka and Akiyama’s part was really fun to play, but is brought down by inconsistent character writing (Mrs Park and those two cunts from T-Set) and an unwillingness to fully explore the dark side of the idol industry. Shinada’s part was good because of how much I like Shinada and his relationship with Takasugi, but I didn't like a certain plot twist and the home run subplot started to bore me around the end. The final part puts on display a lot of these issues I mentioned, yet when I played that final chapter I left the game feeling really satisfied. It's a touching resolution for the main characters that puts on display what makes each of them so great, and gave me two of my favorite boss fights of the series so far. This game is such a perfect encapsulation of what Yakuza is, flaws and all. And while I wish some things about it were different, I still had a great time playing it, and it reminded me yet again what makes these games so special.

Yakuza 4 aged better than the third episode, that's for sure. Like all the previous games it's still a solid entry in the series, which I enjoyed for the most part. Personally, I liked that the story is full of betrayals and that we got bombarded with plot twist after plot twist. And the soap opera quality of the emotions that run through it made for yet another great Yakuza experience. But the last 2 hours or so felt really rushed.

Introducing several new main characters was quite ambitious back then, but still well done. Though, Akiyama was really the only new addition I grew quite fond of.

However, there is one thing I have to nitpick because it kind of soured the experience for me a bit. Let me preface this by saying that I absolutely adore the Yakuza franchise and that it's one of my favorites of all time..

...so with that out of the way, I need to talk about -that- scene. Yes, it's about Saejima and Haruka’s introduction scene. I understand what the writers were trying to do, but using Haruka for that was just wrong on so many levels. The excuse, “he hasn’t been around a woman in years”, is terrible because Haruka is a child, not a woman. It's gross and it made it very difficult to like Saejima afterward (I eventually did though). The idea that we're supposed to applaud Saejima for having the strength of will to not rape a child, like that isn't the base level of behaviour we expect out of anyone who wants to participate in human society, is laughable. There's literally nothing to applaud in that scene. It was neither deep nor well written, it was just bad in taste. Like I said, I love Yakuza but I will never excuse that scene like so many other fans did. It was unnecessary.

Destroy All Humans! is a delightfully silly game that lets you indulge in outrageous antics like abducting people, throwing cows with telekinesis, flying through donuts with your jetpack, and reducing people to atoms.

One of the things I love most about Destroy All Humans! is that it doesn't take itself seriously. Instead, it embraces a comical and satirical approach to human behavior and society. The game's humor and lighthearted tone provide a refreshing escape from more serious and realistic games.
This comical satire makes the game stand out, offering a unique and enjoyable experience that doesn't aim to be profound but rather to provide pure, unadulterated fun.

When i was younger i remember starting many videogames that i have never finished because i used to really suck at videogames, and i always gave up very easily. Sonic 1 is one of those games, so i decided to grow a pair of dingleberries and actually finish the game.

I was actually quite surprised to learn that sonic 1 is considered a mid game, because i remember having a lot of fun with it, even tho my younger self never got past marble zone.

Sonic 1 has a total of 7 zones that each has 3 acts except for the final zone. The game throws you the best zone right at the start, which is the one and only green hill zone, and why is it the best? Well its because sonic gets the chance to go fast which is yk the main gimmick of the game?

Marble zone and spring yard zone are pretty decent, sonic isn't very fast here but that's my only complaint about these 2 zones.


Labyrinth zone fucking sucks

Star light zone: wow going through this zone right after labyrinth is like eating a 5 star meal after eating school food. Sonic isn't always slow in this zone and all the acts are fun as hell. Ths is on par with green hill zone in my opinion.

Scrap brain zone: pretty fun! Honestly this zone is very underrated, and it's the 3rd best zone in the game for me.


The bosses are very very very ok, except the one in labyrinth zone fuck that one.

The graphics are very awesome and brightly coloured.

The music is obviously great as hell, like cmon is there a single person in the world who hasn't listened to green hill zone? There's other great tracks aswell such as spring yard zone and scrap brain zone.

Sonic 1 has without a doubt many problems, but i got some nostalgia for this game so i can't help but like it a lot, and it still does many things right.
8/10

Absolute blast to play. A great cast of characters even if some have elements or running jokes that go on for too long (cough-Yosuke-cough) fun dungeon crawling gameplay and probably the only modern persona game to have a good main villain (royal too I guess but that was a rerelease) Great themes of self-discovery with social links that are greatly enjoyable and tie in very well to it. Only real flaw is the game's secret final dungeon which feels tacked on and doesn't really tie into anything. Highly recommended to any JRPG fan