Satjams1
Peach's second solo outing is a pretty unique concept, as Peach must perform the lead roles of many plays within a theatre invaded by the "Sour Bunch" hoping to enact their "ultimate tragedy". The story isn't deep, new characters don't get much spotlight and the animation isn't the best Nintendo has put out there.
But damn I do love the stage setting, the way the stages rotate, the background elements held up by strings and the spotlight focusing on Peach, it's all very stylised and when paired with this games very dreamy soundtrack, there's an almost Disney like nostalgia about the whole thing.
Gameplay is very scattered, as Peach must don 10 roles and therefore 10 gameplay styles. It's like a grab bag, we have stealth,
platforming, combat, cake making, a rhythm game, a detective game... the variety is there but none of these styles are particularly deep and never get more complex than the basics.
Each style gets 3 stages, which isn't enough time to flesh them out or introduce much new, and while some styles are better than others, nothing is outstanding.
There are collectibles in every level, they can be fun to collect, but if you miss one the game often locks you into the next section, forcing a replay, which in stages this long and linear isn't very fun.
It's a charming game for sure and the bosses are surprisingly good, but it could do with more consistency - 6/10
But damn I do love the stage setting, the way the stages rotate, the background elements held up by strings and the spotlight focusing on Peach, it's all very stylised and when paired with this games very dreamy soundtrack, there's an almost Disney like nostalgia about the whole thing.
Gameplay is very scattered, as Peach must don 10 roles and therefore 10 gameplay styles. It's like a grab bag, we have stealth,
platforming, combat, cake making, a rhythm game, a detective game... the variety is there but none of these styles are particularly deep and never get more complex than the basics.
Each style gets 3 stages, which isn't enough time to flesh them out or introduce much new, and while some styles are better than others, nothing is outstanding.
There are collectibles in every level, they can be fun to collect, but if you miss one the game often locks you into the next section, forcing a replay, which in stages this long and linear isn't very fun.
It's a charming game for sure and the bosses are surprisingly good, but it could do with more consistency - 6/10
Set inbetween Banjo 1 and 2, this game involves the witch Gruntilda escaping.. before getting put back where she started in time for Banjo Tooie, so yeah nothing of value happens.
I get it though it's the GBA spin-off that's main aim was to try and bring the Banjo experience to the game boy.
And that's exactly what they did, you know what this wasn't actually half bad. The isometric perspective isn't much of a hindrance as the game is built around it, and with enough time Banjo can learn a ton of skills from the other games which all feel smooth to control.
The game is basically Banjo 1 on GBA, while the levels are different they don't stray too far from what you expect, though the levels were actually quite memorable.
There's tons of collectibles to be found, mini games to play, transformations for Banjo and bosses to fight.
It's a Banjo game, a very simple and short one, it only took me a few hours to beat this 100% but for the handheld it's perfect.
It's just, in 2023 when the console games are even more readily available than this, there isn't much point to play this now. Don't get me wrong it's a solid game, but it's purpose is sort of lost to time. It looks good for the system, and has an upbeat ost.
It's a good game. Just don't go out of your way to play this unless your Banjo mad - 6/10
I get it though it's the GBA spin-off that's main aim was to try and bring the Banjo experience to the game boy.
And that's exactly what they did, you know what this wasn't actually half bad. The isometric perspective isn't much of a hindrance as the game is built around it, and with enough time Banjo can learn a ton of skills from the other games which all feel smooth to control.
The game is basically Banjo 1 on GBA, while the levels are different they don't stray too far from what you expect, though the levels were actually quite memorable.
There's tons of collectibles to be found, mini games to play, transformations for Banjo and bosses to fight.
It's a Banjo game, a very simple and short one, it only took me a few hours to beat this 100% but for the handheld it's perfect.
It's just, in 2023 when the console games are even more readily available than this, there isn't much point to play this now. Don't get me wrong it's a solid game, but it's purpose is sort of lost to time. It looks good for the system, and has an upbeat ost.
It's a good game. Just don't go out of your way to play this unless your Banjo mad - 6/10
I think when people complained about the issues Frontiers had, Sonic Team were like "hold my rings" and went and added a whole loads of updates plus an entire DLC chapter totally for free.
This included tons of little fixes, as well as making Tails,
Knuckles and Amy playable in 3D for the first time in 10+ years! And for Tails and Amy, it's their best playable appearance to date, with Knuckles still being great but he has some room to improve. The story is essentially an alternative ending to the base game, with these other characters getting far more spotlight.
The giant final island is crammed with platforming challenges for every character and they are easily some of the best in the series. Sonics new linear stages are a huge step up.. however.. if there's one thing they took personally, was that the base game was too easy. This is one of the most difficult Sonic sections ever, and some of it is amazing.
The platforming that takes advantage of Momentum is incredible, but enemies are now extreme damage sponges. There are missions in sonic's levels which are literally huge pace breakers, as well as a fair bit of jank overall.
The new final boss is an absolute spectacle, giving us one of the coolest moments for Sonic ever, with the boss being hard but much more consistent than the original final boss.
However I will say some elements are just too difficult for a Sonic game, and it makes this a cautious reccomened - 7/10
This included tons of little fixes, as well as making Tails,
Knuckles and Amy playable in 3D for the first time in 10+ years! And for Tails and Amy, it's their best playable appearance to date, with Knuckles still being great but he has some room to improve. The story is essentially an alternative ending to the base game, with these other characters getting far more spotlight.
The giant final island is crammed with platforming challenges for every character and they are easily some of the best in the series. Sonics new linear stages are a huge step up.. however.. if there's one thing they took personally, was that the base game was too easy. This is one of the most difficult Sonic sections ever, and some of it is amazing.
The platforming that takes advantage of Momentum is incredible, but enemies are now extreme damage sponges. There are missions in sonic's levels which are literally huge pace breakers, as well as a fair bit of jank overall.
The new final boss is an absolute spectacle, giving us one of the coolest moments for Sonic ever, with the boss being hard but much more consistent than the original final boss.
However I will say some elements are just too difficult for a Sonic game, and it makes this a cautious reccomened - 7/10
2004
After Olimar's company ends up bankrupt, it's realised that artifacts from the previous game could get them out of debt, so Olimar sets off with newcomer Louis to find as much treasure as possible and save the company
Despite the higher emphasis on cutscenes and messages from other characters, I actually didn't like this story as much, it's more upbeat and loses the atmosphere the first game had.
Pikmin 2 is very similar gameplay wise, however now there's 2
Characters and 2 new types of Pikmin which allow for more strategy and multitasking. However you don't really need to worry about efficiency this time around, as the 30 day limit was removed. You have as much time as you want, removing the tension from each day.
Instead the focus is more on combat and dungeons, the main worlds are just as detailed and complex as before, and this is where I had the most fun multitasking. But most of the game is spent in underground caverns which are
Sort of random, the layout is often similar it just shuffles enemies around.
The dungeons are homogeneous, and even when they do get more visually interesting.. your doing the same thing on every floor, kill the enemies, find the treasure.
There's no puzzie solving down here and with no time limit, it can get mindless. Yeah the later ones get brutal, which I actually sorta liked, but the shift in focus leads to a lesser experience overall, despite being fun it it's own ways - 7/10
Despite the higher emphasis on cutscenes and messages from other characters, I actually didn't like this story as much, it's more upbeat and loses the atmosphere the first game had.
Pikmin 2 is very similar gameplay wise, however now there's 2
Characters and 2 new types of Pikmin which allow for more strategy and multitasking. However you don't really need to worry about efficiency this time around, as the 30 day limit was removed. You have as much time as you want, removing the tension from each day.
Instead the focus is more on combat and dungeons, the main worlds are just as detailed and complex as before, and this is where I had the most fun multitasking. But most of the game is spent in underground caverns which are
Sort of random, the layout is often similar it just shuffles enemies around.
The dungeons are homogeneous, and even when they do get more visually interesting.. your doing the same thing on every floor, kill the enemies, find the treasure.
There's no puzzie solving down here and with no time limit, it can get mindless. Yeah the later ones get brutal, which I actually sorta liked, but the shift in focus leads to a lesser experience overall, despite being fun it it's own ways - 7/10
2006
1 of 2 attempts at making the Megaman formula work as a Metroidvania, ZX is a game with fantastic ideas, fast paced combat and amazing level design, all combined into a game that doesn't know how to put all these parts togther seamlessly.
The story follows on from the end of the Zero games, but is pretty light throughout, not taking advantage of the characters presented. But the setup allows for one of the most versatile characters in the series in terms of gameplay, you essentially can switch between different playable modes at any time, some which focus, on combat, some on movement, some excel in certain scenarios, the variety is there.
It's so annoying that the game just doesn't do enough with these abilities, despite how cool they are, I ended up not using a few of them due to a lack of obstacles requiring specific abilities.
However when it comes to general level design, it's fantastic, every area is set up like a traditional stage, and the flow is spot on. But the areas all interconnect, not always giving you an easy way to fast travel around them. This leads to you retreading your steps a lot, especially when doing side quests that can only be taken on one at a time... it's stupid.
But despite that, the game is so much fun when it's just being a Megaman game. The bosses are great, I love the music, and despite the obvious missed potential, this is still a top pick from the series - 7.5/10
The story follows on from the end of the Zero games, but is pretty light throughout, not taking advantage of the characters presented. But the setup allows for one of the most versatile characters in the series in terms of gameplay, you essentially can switch between different playable modes at any time, some which focus, on combat, some on movement, some excel in certain scenarios, the variety is there.
It's so annoying that the game just doesn't do enough with these abilities, despite how cool they are, I ended up not using a few of them due to a lack of obstacles requiring specific abilities.
However when it comes to general level design, it's fantastic, every area is set up like a traditional stage, and the flow is spot on. But the areas all interconnect, not always giving you an easy way to fast travel around them. This leads to you retreading your steps a lot, especially when doing side quests that can only be taken on one at a time... it's stupid.
But despite that, the game is so much fun when it's just being a Megaman game. The bosses are great, I love the music, and despite the obvious missed potential, this is still a top pick from the series - 7.5/10
A sequel to the 3DS original, this game follows on from the game, though it's amazing how much the 2019 film spoiled the plot of this 2023 game. While events don't pan out exactly the same, the ending is similar enough that it really makes me think this game was supposed to release years ago, especially considering how no gen 9 Pokémon are present at all, this is clearly a gen 8 game, one that's development must have been strained.
Many cutscenes in this cutscene heavy game were clearly rushed, with lip syncing not matching the English dialouge and cut corners galore. When they do go the extra mile, it's some of the best animation Pokémon has put out there, and the voice acting isn't half bad. The story is predictabie, but heartwarming and i enjoy the cast as a whole.
The game is a very railroaded detective game, where you collect evidence, build a case and find a suspect. As you are able to interact with people and Pokémon to Collect statements, there's plenty of opportunity for fun character moments. Side quests are abundant for some variety and I love how the results of these are published in the next days newspaper, that's great detail.
The new thing for this game is rideable Pokémon to allow for some puzzle solving, and this is okay, it's not very deep, but it works.
This game definitely needed more time in the oven, but it is still a fun distraction with plenty of charm - 6.5/10
Many cutscenes in this cutscene heavy game were clearly rushed, with lip syncing not matching the English dialouge and cut corners galore. When they do go the extra mile, it's some of the best animation Pokémon has put out there, and the voice acting isn't half bad. The story is predictabie, but heartwarming and i enjoy the cast as a whole.
The game is a very railroaded detective game, where you collect evidence, build a case and find a suspect. As you are able to interact with people and Pokémon to Collect statements, there's plenty of opportunity for fun character moments. Side quests are abundant for some variety and I love how the results of these are published in the next days newspaper, that's great detail.
The new thing for this game is rideable Pokémon to allow for some puzzle solving, and this is okay, it's not very deep, but it works.
This game definitely needed more time in the oven, but it is still a fun distraction with plenty of charm - 6.5/10
2023
A return to the classic formula with a fresh look and full multiplayer, Sonic Superstars is essentially Sonic 5, in a good way. Not only does it look fantastic and wonderfully cartoony, but it brings completely new stages to the series for the first time in years! And most of these stages are fantastic, with a great sense of flow that only feels better the more you improve.
There's several playable characters which is fantastic for replayability, and tons of secrets to discover in every stage. It also introduced Emerald powers, abilities each character can use after collecting chaos emeralds, and I love this. It gives you more incentive than ever to find the special stages and unlock these powers.. which isn't hard because the special stages are absolutely piss easy, weirdly so.
The levels are honestly great and the music is pretty brillaint, though some tracks are clearly better than others.
The place the game loses the most points are the boss fights, they really missed the mark here. Some are easy pickings, but many of them just go on way too long, dragging out with long periods of invulnerability, and too many phases. Now quite a few bosses can be cheesed using emerald powers - and I like that, but the final bosses are awful. The final boss of hard mode is so drawn out with no checkpoints, and the true final boss isn't hard but goes on for an enternity.
That aside though, Sonic Superstars has a great energy, and i enjoyed it a lot - 8/10
There's several playable characters which is fantastic for replayability, and tons of secrets to discover in every stage. It also introduced Emerald powers, abilities each character can use after collecting chaos emeralds, and I love this. It gives you more incentive than ever to find the special stages and unlock these powers.. which isn't hard because the special stages are absolutely piss easy, weirdly so.
The levels are honestly great and the music is pretty brillaint, though some tracks are clearly better than others.
The place the game loses the most points are the boss fights, they really missed the mark here. Some are easy pickings, but many of them just go on way too long, dragging out with long periods of invulnerability, and too many phases. Now quite a few bosses can be cheesed using emerald powers - and I like that, but the final bosses are awful. The final boss of hard mode is so drawn out with no checkpoints, and the true final boss isn't hard but goes on for an enternity.
That aside though, Sonic Superstars has a great energy, and i enjoyed it a lot - 8/10
Finally moving away from the sterile 2D adventures, Wonder is an absolute delight of a game that had me none stop smiling from beginning to end.
Firstly, the new art style is absolutely gorgeous and the characters are animated better than ever before, there's so much detail put into every aspect of this game's presentation.. including full voice acting for the first time in 2D Mario, adding some real personality to this world.
The story of course is extremely simple, but the excuse to bring so many playable characters to the table is a welcome one.
This game controls perfectly, like no exaggeration every movement is smooth, and while character exclusive abilities aren't really a thing, the new badges can help add spice to the moveset depending on your playstyle.
Every single level brings a new obstacle to the table, especially when factoring in the Wonder flowers, which essentially cause an acid trip in the best way. These sections send the game in some crazy directions but it always made me smile, and constantly added variety to the gameplay.
The bosses were a let down, mainly for the lack of creativity that the rest of the game relishes in, but they are just a small factor. The music is fantastic, and with plenty of stages to play, tons of secrets to find and harder levels to challenge yourself with, this truly is Wonderful - 9/10
Firstly, the new art style is absolutely gorgeous and the characters are animated better than ever before, there's so much detail put into every aspect of this game's presentation.. including full voice acting for the first time in 2D Mario, adding some real personality to this world.
The story of course is extremely simple, but the excuse to bring so many playable characters to the table is a welcome one.
This game controls perfectly, like no exaggeration every movement is smooth, and while character exclusive abilities aren't really a thing, the new badges can help add spice to the moveset depending on your playstyle.
Every single level brings a new obstacle to the table, especially when factoring in the Wonder flowers, which essentially cause an acid trip in the best way. These sections send the game in some crazy directions but it always made me smile, and constantly added variety to the gameplay.
The bosses were a let down, mainly for the lack of creativity that the rest of the game relishes in, but they are just a small factor. The music is fantastic, and with plenty of stages to play, tons of secrets to find and harder levels to challenge yourself with, this truly is Wonderful - 9/10
The very first handled Castle Vania game and...
Yikes this game is terrible.
The classic formula is brought back and with it is every problem this style brings times 100. The control is unbelievably stiff and unresponsive due to the amount of lag, the enemies are way too nimble and platforming asks for way more than you are realistically cape-able of. There's no sub-weapons, so you are relying entirely on the whip, which can be upgraded as usual throughout the level. But for some baffling reason, you lose a stage of power every time you get hit! And the lowest power whip barely has any range and pitiful attack power so it sucks when your stuck with this.
There's only 4 stages but they are all awful. While some gimmicks are fairly unique, they are implemented so poorly that it takes away any interest I had in the game. I mean I know it's a very primative system, but it's no excuse for how this game is designed, constantly forcing you to take damage and lose any chance of surviving the bosses. To be honest untill the final boss, they really aren't that bad, but if your whip is at its weakest you will stand no chance.
The final boss is extremely cheap, and is easily the worst l've faced so far... I mean my god.
The graphics are poor by the gameboys standards and I can't say I remember the music, god get it away, this is easily one of the worst games I have ever played - 1/10
Yikes this game is terrible.
The classic formula is brought back and with it is every problem this style brings times 100. The control is unbelievably stiff and unresponsive due to the amount of lag, the enemies are way too nimble and platforming asks for way more than you are realistically cape-able of. There's no sub-weapons, so you are relying entirely on the whip, which can be upgraded as usual throughout the level. But for some baffling reason, you lose a stage of power every time you get hit! And the lowest power whip barely has any range and pitiful attack power so it sucks when your stuck with this.
There's only 4 stages but they are all awful. While some gimmicks are fairly unique, they are implemented so poorly that it takes away any interest I had in the game. I mean I know it's a very primative system, but it's no excuse for how this game is designed, constantly forcing you to take damage and lose any chance of surviving the bosses. To be honest untill the final boss, they really aren't that bad, but if your whip is at its weakest you will stand no chance.
The final boss is extremely cheap, and is easily the worst l've faced so far... I mean my god.
The graphics are poor by the gameboys standards and I can't say I remember the music, god get it away, this is easily one of the worst games I have ever played - 1/10
Part 2 of the remake series, this covers a much larger section of the game than part 1, and absolutely nailed this part of the story. From the antics at the seaside resort Costa Del Sol, to the events of the lost city, Rebirth’s tone and writing is absolutely spot on, and it plays with your expectations frequently, especially in the finale.
There are some changes to the story, but most of it is to further expand upon the pre-existing plot, making side characters such as Yuffie far more vital to the bigger
picture. The animation is absolutely incredible, the acting is perfect, they just understand these characters so well. The ending truly enhanced the tradgey of the events, and it was so impactful.
Gameplay is expanded from Remake, with more characters to play as and a semi open world setting. It's much more open in terms of content than Remake, though sticking to the main story will take you on a linear path through dungeons and awesome boss fights. This game is huge, yet I found the
Pacing to be miles better than Remake. The open world gives you plenty to do as well as a ton of side games, which remarkably are mostly fun. You know your having a good time when you feel like completing it all. Traversal methods constantly change within these beautiful environments, from Chocobo that can glide to a dune buggy, and exploring is supplemented by the magnificent OST...
The battles are an expansion of the first game, bringing in a proper parry, as well as synergy abilities which are total game changers and were super fun to execute.
Rebirth really is the full package. Not all of the content is perfect, but I loved every second of it - 9.5/10
There are some changes to the story, but most of it is to further expand upon the pre-existing plot, making side characters such as Yuffie far more vital to the bigger
picture. The animation is absolutely incredible, the acting is perfect, they just understand these characters so well. The ending truly enhanced the tradgey of the events, and it was so impactful.
Gameplay is expanded from Remake, with more characters to play as and a semi open world setting. It's much more open in terms of content than Remake, though sticking to the main story will take you on a linear path through dungeons and awesome boss fights. This game is huge, yet I found the
Pacing to be miles better than Remake. The open world gives you plenty to do as well as a ton of side games, which remarkably are mostly fun. You know your having a good time when you feel like completing it all. Traversal methods constantly change within these beautiful environments, from Chocobo that can glide to a dune buggy, and exploring is supplemented by the magnificent OST...
The battles are an expansion of the first game, bringing in a proper parry, as well as synergy abilities which are total game changers and were super fun to execute.
Rebirth really is the full package. Not all of the content is perfect, but I loved every second of it - 9.5/10
The final expansion that actually feels like an expansion compared to last time, TRT expands the world by adding a new area to explore filled with new story elements, side quests to complete and an entirely new ability set to master.
The story revolves around the last Eikon that was mentioned but never found in the base game, Leviathan. It cleverly expands the lore, answering questions which were left hanging originally, and the whole scenario was very creative and visually stunning. However I did find it a shame that there wasn’t any further character development for the main cast, besides Ultima anyway.
The gameplay is standard FF16 except you have a new area to run around in and an entirely new ability granted by Leviathan which greatly expands your long distance combat and dodging ability. I personally loved it, for something that’s been added in later, it feels like a very natural expansion of the moveset, and led to some exhilarating combat encounters and of course brilliant boss fights.
The final fight against Leviathan is incredible, the fight is not only challenging, but a visual marvel that I couldn’t take my eyes off. Side content is fairly lacking here but I wasn’t really expecting much, side quests are the same sort of stuff you’d see in the base game, and while they do expand the world, they aren’t much special.
I suppose my only real complaint is the length, while a good 6-7 hours doing everything, I was hoping it would be a little longer. Still this was great, and was a fitting end to FF16 - 8/10
The story revolves around the last Eikon that was mentioned but never found in the base game, Leviathan. It cleverly expands the lore, answering questions which were left hanging originally, and the whole scenario was very creative and visually stunning. However I did find it a shame that there wasn’t any further character development for the main cast, besides Ultima anyway.
The gameplay is standard FF16 except you have a new area to run around in and an entirely new ability granted by Leviathan which greatly expands your long distance combat and dodging ability. I personally loved it, for something that’s been added in later, it feels like a very natural expansion of the moveset, and led to some exhilarating combat encounters and of course brilliant boss fights.
The final fight against Leviathan is incredible, the fight is not only challenging, but a visual marvel that I couldn’t take my eyes off. Side content is fairly lacking here but I wasn’t really expecting much, side quests are the same sort of stuff you’d see in the base game, and while they do expand the world, they aren’t much special.
I suppose my only real complaint is the length, while a good 6-7 hours doing everything, I was hoping it would be a little longer. Still this was great, and was a fitting end to FF16 - 8/10
This is an extremely influential game, Konamis first attempt at the metroidvania concept they would define later.… but this is clearly a first attempt because Simons Quest is.. honestly awful.
Okay I like the sprite work and the music is banging, but this game is literally next to impossible to play without a guide. Despite the open ended level design, the game doesn’t feel the need to give you any real guidance, a map, area names, item descriptions, or anything that could potentially help you figure out where to go.
The aim is to “prossess” the 5 pieces of Dracula and kill him again in Castlevania. The world isn’t huge but many areas will require certain items to progress, and even then you need to know how to actually use them, like crouching by a wall with an item equipped so a small tornado will carry you to the other side? What’s the correlation?
The actual dungeons are simpler, but still expect you to defy logic and walk through walls.
It’s not as hard as the first game in terms of enemies, but combat is pretty braindead, I didn’t like the sub weapons because they cost hearts to use.. which are also currency needed to get better weapons…
The game has a day and night system which can literally lock you out of progression, and serves very little purpose… yeah this game sucks, don’t play this unless your as curious as me - 2/10
Okay I like the sprite work and the music is banging, but this game is literally next to impossible to play without a guide. Despite the open ended level design, the game doesn’t feel the need to give you any real guidance, a map, area names, item descriptions, or anything that could potentially help you figure out where to go.
The aim is to “prossess” the 5 pieces of Dracula and kill him again in Castlevania. The world isn’t huge but many areas will require certain items to progress, and even then you need to know how to actually use them, like crouching by a wall with an item equipped so a small tornado will carry you to the other side? What’s the correlation?
The actual dungeons are simpler, but still expect you to defy logic and walk through walls.
It’s not as hard as the first game in terms of enemies, but combat is pretty braindead, I didn’t like the sub weapons because they cost hearts to use.. which are also currency needed to get better weapons…
The game has a day and night system which can literally lock you out of progression, and serves very little purpose… yeah this game sucks, don’t play this unless your as curious as me - 2/10
This story is so good. A plot that spends time building characters up leading to fantastic payoffs. Things are less predictable than previously and performances across the board are fantastic. Only thing I have to say is that the focus of the story is not balanced between the 2 Spider-Men at all, however without both the best moments couldn’t happen so…
The game is the best of the 3, just to say that outright. Combat is at its best when it comes down to grunts and especially bosses, and traversal has been significantly improved by adding one thing - webwings.
These are so much fun and make travelling even better than before. They alone make this the better time. Side content has also been made a lot more varied… at times, but overall this has been improved from before.
There’s also a better flow as there’s no mandatory pace breaking puzzle sections. However, this game does strip back a lot of options in its combat. Gone are the gadget wheels and we now have 4 okay gadgets which work, but lack the experimental factor of before. Because of this stealth is barebones, and combat can get pretty samey.
Your also not really challenged much, it’s a comfy ride, but I wish the side challenges asked a little more.
The game looks incredible, and the ost aint bad, Spider-Man 2 is a fantastic time, and not one to be missed - 8.5/10
The game is the best of the 3, just to say that outright. Combat is at its best when it comes down to grunts and especially bosses, and traversal has been significantly improved by adding one thing - webwings.
These are so much fun and make travelling even better than before. They alone make this the better time. Side content has also been made a lot more varied… at times, but overall this has been improved from before.
There’s also a better flow as there’s no mandatory pace breaking puzzle sections. However, this game does strip back a lot of options in its combat. Gone are the gadget wheels and we now have 4 okay gadgets which work, but lack the experimental factor of before. Because of this stealth is barebones, and combat can get pretty samey.
Your also not really challenged much, it’s a comfy ride, but I wish the side challenges asked a little more.
The game looks incredible, and the ost aint bad, Spider-Man 2 is a fantastic time, and not one to be missed - 8.5/10
After the… deviation of last time, CastleVania 3 goes back to basics and builds upon the first games more linear structure.
To get this out the way, this game is once again, brutal. And just like the first game it’s down to the stiff controls, pain in the ass enemies and bosses, though generally I think boss fights are better this time around, giving you slightly more room to breathe and having more distinguishable patterns to learn.
However this doesn’t stop the game kerb stomping you. Luckily there are some additions which can help, namely 3 other playable characters you can find and recruit by choosing optional pathways after some levels. You can only use 1 at a time, but you can switch between Trevor and whoever you pick at any point. This adds plenty of replayability and can make your life easier as most of these guys are awesome. One has smoother control, one can use devastating magic spells, the variety is great and experimentation is encouraged.
But level design is still chaotic and often not very fair, mostly due to the amount of things thrown at you while you’re climbing stairs, where you can barely defend yourself. Stages can get out of hand fast, and despite some more interesting platforming, this game is too difficult for its own good.
The music is phenomenal though, I don’t know why we’re killing Dracula again.. but hey it’s consistent. Not a bad time, just a tough one - 6.7/10
To get this out the way, this game is once again, brutal. And just like the first game it’s down to the stiff controls, pain in the ass enemies and bosses, though generally I think boss fights are better this time around, giving you slightly more room to breathe and having more distinguishable patterns to learn.
However this doesn’t stop the game kerb stomping you. Luckily there are some additions which can help, namely 3 other playable characters you can find and recruit by choosing optional pathways after some levels. You can only use 1 at a time, but you can switch between Trevor and whoever you pick at any point. This adds plenty of replayability and can make your life easier as most of these guys are awesome. One has smoother control, one can use devastating magic spells, the variety is great and experimentation is encouraged.
But level design is still chaotic and often not very fair, mostly due to the amount of things thrown at you while you’re climbing stairs, where you can barely defend yourself. Stages can get out of hand fast, and despite some more interesting platforming, this game is too difficult for its own good.
The music is phenomenal though, I don’t know why we’re killing Dracula again.. but hey it’s consistent. Not a bad time, just a tough one - 6.7/10
A remake of the beginning of the original game, FF7R aims to greatly expand this part, and it does an absolutely incredible job of bringing new life into this classic storyline.
They nailed everything about the tone and made me care for characters who were barely an entity before. It adds some new elements, which may go on to change the course of the story.. we will see.
The thing is, this is all a small part of a bigger picture. And while it’s entertaining stand-alone, some parts are rediculously drawn out just to make this feel like an equal part of the whole story. I didn’t mind overall, as the acting and animation carried it, but it’s something I hope the next game improves on.
The gameplay is absolutely incredible, combat takes beats from the original while being its own thing, it’s fast paced and chaotic, making any encounter blood pumping.
There’s plenty of variety in how characters play, and the amount of customisation you can get is insane.
The world is well designed and side quests are often short distractions that can only benefit you. It’s mostly linear, but opens up in an extremely clever way towards the end.
The game looks insane on the PS5 especially and the music is something else, beautifully remastered by the original composer, just wow. FF7R is an extremely enjoyable time, and while it’s clearly part of something bigger, it’s still great - 8.5/10
They nailed everything about the tone and made me care for characters who were barely an entity before. It adds some new elements, which may go on to change the course of the story.. we will see.
The thing is, this is all a small part of a bigger picture. And while it’s entertaining stand-alone, some parts are rediculously drawn out just to make this feel like an equal part of the whole story. I didn’t mind overall, as the acting and animation carried it, but it’s something I hope the next game improves on.
The gameplay is absolutely incredible, combat takes beats from the original while being its own thing, it’s fast paced and chaotic, making any encounter blood pumping.
There’s plenty of variety in how characters play, and the amount of customisation you can get is insane.
The world is well designed and side quests are often short distractions that can only benefit you. It’s mostly linear, but opens up in an extremely clever way towards the end.
The game looks insane on the PS5 especially and the music is something else, beautifully remastered by the original composer, just wow. FF7R is an extremely enjoyable time, and while it’s clearly part of something bigger, it’s still great - 8.5/10