All the way back in 2017 on Christmas, I got an SNES classic. I already owned an actual SNES before that, but I figured since they were big that year and it had a buncha game I did not own, a classic would be a fun gift to ask for Christmas. One of the games on there was Mega man X. Before this, I had only played both Mega man 1 and 2 that same year but didn't really enjoy them. So, while I did play a bit of the first stage in X, I didn't really give it much of a chance and quit. Fast forward to 2021, and I decide to actually go back and beat the game. I do so and enjoy it but thought it was just good overall but not great. However, last year I decided to do a classic Mega man marathon which then turned into a Mega man X marathon. I of course wanted to replay X1 before going into the other games, and what do ya know, I ended up loving it. I figured since I played it two years in a row, why not make it a tradition and go for a third year. So, I indeed did fit in one more game this year, and luckily it ended off with a bang.

If I'm gonna be really upfront, the number one reason I love this game is it's OST. It's the difference between giving the game a 7 or 8, it's that damn good. Every single song is a banger, which I can't say for any of the other X games personally. Some of my absolute favorite songs are Sting Chameleon's stage theme, Boomer Kuwanger's stage theme, Spark Mandrill's stage theme, the opening stage theme, the password screen and more. It's all just so masterful, can never get enough of it.

Another reason this one is my favorite is probably the level design. Besides X4 which has some of the best level design in the series too, none of the other X game's I played were as solid in that department, I think. The addition of levels changing based on the player defeating certain Mavericks was very awesome..and the backtracking in this game is way more manageable compared to future games (I'm looking at you X3). Also, I initially did like this more than any classic game and while I still do, a big reason for that is having a dash just makes the X series way more fun I think. This is the one that introduced that mechanic obviously, so I definitely have to praise it for that.

I gotta say as well, the X series on the SNES specifically looks amazing visually. It may have some of my favorite pixel art in any game, it's so visually appealing.

I was originally gonna give this a 10 because I do love this game a lot...but going through it again I did forget how bleh those Sigma stages can be. Apparently in my last playthrough I had no problem with them but this time around, I did notice how shitty they could be. Definitely the worst part of the game and a downgrade from the regular levels but at least the final fight is good.

This was fun to replay as it always is. Maybe the next time I replay it, I'll feel like bumping it up to a 10? Who knows, either way..I'm posting this on New Year's Eve and won't have another review out until after the New Year so I want to wish all my followers and anyone who sees this a very happy New Year. I also want to thank everyone that supported me this year. My account grew an absolutely insane amount these past couple months specifically... and I still just can't believe it! Thank you all so much, I love you guys! I hope everyone that sees this has an amazing 2024, keep on gaming gamers and decrease that backlog!

A bigger, more ambitious game than Castlevania 1, with a much wider variety of challenges, split paths and extra characters for a decent amount of replayability, and some truly amazing art for the NES. It's also a far worse game than Castlevania 1. It's no secret that Dracula's Curse is the most difficult of the OG trilogy, and in this case, I'd say the game suffers for it pretty harshly. There's nothing inherently wrong with the game being as tough as it is, the problem is that the ways in which it's difficult throws out a lot of the finer details of level design that made Castlevania 1 so engaging and instead repeatedly throws the player into awkward situations that don't quite feel like they were made with the intent of being able to get out unscathed even if you knew what to do.

There's a much greater focus on sections that require a more reflex heavy style of play that doesn't quite mesh with the intentionally sluggish movement of your character, with there being multiple sections that feel as intense as the axe thrower hallway in CV1 without the telegraphing that made it feel fair still. This gets particularly egregious when put up against certain obstacles like the falling block tower or the multiple sections that have the player climb up a ton of stairs while getting pelted with fireballs, using your relative lack of mobility as a way to get cheap shots in, rather than encourage a more carefully considered approach to whatever situation you find yourself in. The fact that the game is like this specifically because they were trying to make sure that people couldn't beat the entire game within a couple of days to encourage buying instead of renting leaves an especially bad taste in my mouth, because it really does compromise the experience as a whole. There's enough good here for me to have still mostly enjoyed my time with Castlevania III however, as there is a good variety of genuinely clever sections, and the music and atmosphere is fantastic as usual, I just wish it wasn't so frustrating.

Throughout the years, there have been a number of GTA-like games such as the Mafia and Saints Row series, but Sleeping Dogs is a personal favorite of mine. Sleeping Dogs in set in modern day (at the time) Hong Kong, a refreshing change from the American centered setting in most organized crime games.

You take the role of Wei Shen who is an undercover cop that has infiltrated the ranks of the Triad. The story explores the struggle of balancing his role as cop and with the friendships he cultivates within the Triad that he would ultimately have to betray. I don't want to go to deep into it, but it is a very compelling story that had me gripped from beginning to end.

Gameplay is about what you would expect from a game similar to GTA, though it is done in a bit more arcadey style here. The biggest difference is that there is far more hand-to-hand combat here. Being set in Hong Kong, firearms are a bit of a rarity and are mostly featured in the later missions. The excellent hand-to-hand combat system more than makes up for it with a large array of moves and combos to pull off.

There's collectibles scattered across the map that are admittedly uninspired but a lot of open world games at the time were littered with these unfortunately. Unless you're a completionist, you can pretty much ignore them.

If you're looking for something to tickle that GTA itch, but in a fresh setting, I highly recommend Sleeping Dogs. It has arguably one of the best stories in its genre outside of GTA series and the departure from a gun focused combat system is quite fun.

Don't think there have been many cases where I've been entirely sold on a game based on the opening cutscene along but this is absolutely one of them. Kinda crazy too that the first game in the series that really makes me think "alright here's where Devil May Cry truly starts" is the 3rd entry, especially since I do think that the first game is a masterpiece, it just doesn't quite vibe as the kind of game that the series would eventually become. So many rough edges smoothed out while also adding a ton of its own, so many new systems and ideas to play around with while also having a lot of issues that arise from the increased complexity, a constant give and take scenario that ends up being amazing by virtue of just how damn fun it is even when it occasionally just doesn't work properly.

The combat is where this shines the most, really honing into the combo system and making it something that feels actually fun and usable, feeling so badass that you're actually encouraged to string together these massive, flashy combos. A lot of extra tools were added to aid in this process, giving the player the ability to seamlessly switch between weapons with the push of a button while also having the option for a few different styles that change up the playstyle pretty significantly without feeling at odds with the experience at all. Combine this with the far better enemy design that aims to force the player to take better advantage of the tools at their disposal and keep them on their toes and you've got yourself a game that rarely falls flat in terms of being an exhilarating time. Even during sections that are basically just seemingly endless waves of enemies approaching you, it never really feels like a big problem simply because of how fun it is to be messing around with such a robust combat system.

A lot of other changes come into play as well to further improve how this all feels, with the biggest one being the change of the camera to a more mobile one. While this does come with the downside of losing a great deal of the vibe that DMC1 had, the trade-off is being able to fight things without the camera blatantly screwing you over with frequency. This also contributes in ways such as making the dodge roll a more consistent manoeuvre to pull off, and actually letting you more reliably chain attacks together. The only real issue I have with all of this is that I feel it doesn't always translate so smoothly to larger targets, especially those with attacks that cover a lot of ground. This mostly affects the boss fights, where quite a few of them, while still being fun, have certain elements that just absolutely suck to deal with, whether it's attacks that are too big and too quick, the camera being an absolute pain to deal with during them, or just feeling awkward to actually approach properly. Very few of the bosses I'd actually consider outright bad, but there is once again, a certain sense of give and take with them, even if you also have your standout amazing moments like the Vergil fights or the absolute goofiness of the Jester which I just wholeheartedly adore.

I really like the atmosphere this has too, as while I preferred the more gothic, eerie vibes of 1, there's something about the unbridled badass edginess that this game embodies that I cannot get enough of. Balancing these aspects of hacking down waves of demons while metal music blasts in the background is the wonderfully lighthearted dialogue and the ridiculous sense of spectacle from the action sequences in the cutscenes. The massive, stupid grin I got on my face every time Dante said another silly quip or used an entire motorcycle as a weapon, or whenever the Jester did literally anything, is something unmatched from most games to the point where these scenes ended up being the biggest thing I was looking forward to in the game despite the actual gameplay being absolutely top notch as well.

If there was any complaint with the whole vibe and setting of the place, it's that I do wish that depending on the mission, certain areas were just gated off or something, as there were a few too many cases of accidentally getting led down the wrong path and going way too far off course just because there was nothing stopping me or even guiding me from these wrong paths in a game that does ask you to retread your steps at multiple points throughout the game. This wasn't really a dealbreaker I'll admit, and sometimes it ended up being annoying purely because I was a bit stupid or unobservant, but it still undoubtedly felt a bit off to me, especially since there's blatantly just, nothing of value at all on these paths ever. I also felt like certain bits of the mid to late game ended up being a bit much with the amount of reused content, having the player trek through the same areas they already had, sometimes not even adding anything meaningfully new, making bits and pieces of the later few missions feel a bit repetitive, even if it gets amended in the final couple with the bigger focus on some awesome setpieces.

Despite the issues though, this game has absolutely given me some mild brainrot already that I just know will accelerate the moment I go in for my 2nd playthrough, not only better mastering the game, but experimenting with the other tools that I didn't really get much of a chance to use. There's just so much personality in almost everything here and the game is hellbent on utilising all of it to its absolute fullest potential to make for one of the most fun games I've played.

A game basically just as bad as everyone said it was going to be unfortunately, but not even in a way that I could really appreciate because it's not even a failure in any big, bombastic ways or anything, it's just a few hours of pure nothingness. The roughness of this game feels almost entirely opposite to the roughness of the first DMC game, rather than going out of its way to have a bunch of wild ideas that felt thrown in with a bit of reckless abandon, all tied together with some truly glorious cutscenes and atmosphere, DMC 2 just feels like it took almost all the safest routes but also was incapable of executing even these ideas with a modicum of grace. It's not a total trainwreck, but it's just an absolute slog through and through that feels hopelessly misguided, or just, barely guided at all.

Nothing here functions properly, but nothing feels entirely broken either, just a collection of half baked ideas that simply don't seem to properly work. I actually like the changes to the controls in theory, making things feel generally far more intuitive and fluid to use (being able to roll in 4 directions is especially nice), but even so, I just feel like you control horribly in the game. Everything feels off and clunky, especially with the endlag on all of your attacks essentially meaning that you have to prepare to dodge a full second or two earlier than feels natural completely kills any sense of momentum it could have. The enemy AI technically works but is utterly worthless most of the time, enemies often only having one or two attacks at most and being dealt with in the exact same way. This isn't even taking into account the fact that guns are just broken here, with almost the entire cast having no proper countermeasures to the player just standing back and mashing square for a few minutes until they win, being able to take down even the spongiest of enemies with ease.

In that regard though, this worthless AI provides one shred of mercy in the game, as it's a very easy time for the most part, making things a tedious and mindless slog, but not really forcing the player to actually have to get to grips with the various awful systems. Being able to breeze through most situations allows things to at least go by pretty quickly and see a wide variety of ideas packed into a very short amount of time. Can't say much good about the level design either unfortunately, since everything looks so drab and devoid of colour, with it pulling off the miraculous feat of even making a huge ruined city feel totally uninteresting. Probably doesn't help that the story is largely a scattershot mess that doesn't really attempt to contextualise anything that's happening most of the time, making your travels through these different locations feel less interesting because they just feel like game constructs instead of a part of some sort of world, stringing you along from bland location to bland location without a care in the world.

Despite basically everything going wrong with this, I still do like bits and pieces of what's present here however. The aforementioned control changes are a genuinely cool thing even if they feel horribly implemented here, as It really does just flow a bit smoother in those rare instances where everything works. I also appreciate the changes to the combo system here compared to DMC 1, with keeping up your streak by interspersing gunshots in with your main attacks being far more engaging to me than the guns essentially resulting in the end of it in the first game. It's all a bit mindless in that regard here, but it's definitely the one thing that made a lot of the combat in this almost bearable, seeing if I could properly chain together these useless punching bags. The 2nd phase of the final boss was also cool I guess, came out of nowhere, but was a fun time, unlike all the rest of them which were once again either useless punching bags that would take a million years to kill thanks to being only really hittable consistently with guns, or just absolute nonsense with a tendency to hit you with some pretty silly, out of nowhere attacks. It's just a lame and extremely drab game that feels horribly barebones and barely functional at the end of the day, has some cool things going for it and is both mercifully very short and easy, but I'm happy that I won't have to be touching this one again anytime soon.

The first Wario Land was essentially Mario Land But As Wario and was overall a good but incredibly short game. Once Wario Land became established as a series, its first sequel, Wario Land 2, did more to differentiate itself from Super Mario by changing the core gameplay; You're in an open-ended course where you can go both left and right. Solve platforming puzzles by getting yourself hurt and collect the things. It worked, it was fun, and extended its game time by granting you what is essentially an entire second game on top by playing differently.

Wario Land 3 probably takes the series' biggest step in deviation by being completely open in design. You quickly open up entire stages to be entered and exited at will across an entire game map, moving from area to area and unlocking more of each level by collecting items and powerups throughout them. It's a cycle of starting a level, reaching a point where you can no longer progress, going back to other levels to collect more items and eventually gain the powerup to continue. It's compared a lot to Metroid but I don't think that necessarily does it justice, it feels like a much different concept when you're experiencing it.

On paper this actually sounds like a great way to play Wario Land; just the idea of open stage design seems like it would lend itself well to Wario's moveset. Unfortunately it's a good concept the game seems to fumble hard for me.

Starting out, Wario's initial moveset is stripped up and out. All of his more mechanical moves like swimming and ground-pounding aren't immediately available and right off the bat the game feels lesser because of it. Maybe starting off weak in a game like Metroid works because you ALWAYS start out that way, but this being the third entry in a series doesn't really lend itself to be particularly inviting when series staples become unlockables. The levels are designed to be returned to, but for the longest time you'll be going through water you can't swim through and passing breakable floors you can't pound. The game starts off with an immediate sense of frustration rather than making me feel like I want to.. UNLOCK the ability.. to SWIM?

The initial frustration of your stripped moveset is only the beginning, because Wario Land 3 is an absolute asshole of a game with time-wasting obstacles. Starting with Wario Land 2, it's been tradition for Wario to be practically unkillable, as his reactions to different traps and elements are actually used to solve puzzles. Get stung by a bee, inflate and rise to meet high platforms. Get set ablaze, and run your ignited ass through wooden walls to bash right through them. Wario Land 2 used these traps as gotch-a moments for you to realize that these traps are actually crucial to solving puzzles and not just hinderances.

In Wario Land 3? They're mostly just hinderances.

This game just does not play nice or fair at all. When Wario becomes indestructable to the abuse the world throws at him, the game difficulty and general stakes become much lower than your standard platformer. Wario Land 2 solved this problem by making every coin and treasure you grab crucial. Getting hit means spilling out a portion of your huge wad of cash, which you are going to need to hang on to and hoard hard to get the ending you want. In Wario Land 3, coins are much more sparse and don't mean much to the overall gameplay, so the game seems fit to make your punishment for getting hit simply wasting your time. Enemies and traps are placed strategically and frustratingly so slight missteps are penalized with being sent back, usually to ludicrous distances back. Screen size becomes an apparent issue very quickly, as Wario takes up a huge portion of real estate on the screen, leaving very little to be seen ahead. It feels like you're almost guaranteed to hit every single trap the first time around.

I actually played this and restarted it multiple times, always got a bit over halfway and finally shelved it a few months ago. My initial plan was to play the entire series but this left such a bad taste in my mouth I didn't want to play Wario Land 4 for a while. Now that I'm actually playing Wario Land 4 I am loving it and it's helped me contextualize why I had such a bad experience with this game. I loved the concept of an open-designed Wario Land game and I think my interest in that idea kept me returning to give it shot after shot after shot. It's an unfortunate realization, as it's been way too long since the last Wario Land game and the horizon doesn't seem to be leading us into another one for a very long time, if at all.