Suzuka
76 Reviews liked by Suzuka
LocoRoco
2006
these blobs can fucking sing!
We lost something culturally when a studio that put a swarm of blobs whose mouths match the vocals in the game music gets shutdown to fund games that poorly ape Hollywood. And hollywood isn't even good in the first place!
This isn't the most fun or innovative or wild game ever made yknow. But it's a game which seeps with joy, acknowledgment of the medium, and totally whips aesthetically.
We lost something culturally when a studio that put a swarm of blobs whose mouths match the vocals in the game music gets shutdown to fund games that poorly ape Hollywood. And hollywood isn't even good in the first place!
This isn't the most fun or innovative or wild game ever made yknow. But it's a game which seeps with joy, acknowledgment of the medium, and totally whips aesthetically.
the environmental storytelling is great!! they just,, kinda forgot about the fact that they needed to show other video-gamey things through it too, like why tf does this look like background art but actually causes me damage instead, and is this supposed to be a point of no return or am i just not platforming well enough? as someone who isn't a big fan of metroidvanias, this showcases that perfectly because more often than not they're just designed poorly in a way that confuses the player.
Fun enough little game that feels a bit more mechanically sound than the first Wario Land, if maybe not a bit more pared back. It's not as daring as what came before or what would come after, but it's solid all the same.
The true sequel to the original Wario Land, this game really feels like an upgrade to the original in every way! And yes even the graphics, to be fair the original Gameboy was just Green and black so the Virtual Boy being only red and black is fair they both look like dogshit in terms of color.
This game went for quality over quantity even though the original was really short too it had a lot of filler and samey stages, while this game only has 10 stages (excluding boss stages) they are way more rememberable than any from the original.
There's not much to talk about the gameplay here it's really similar to the original, almost the same even but with QOL improvement.
The main difference from the original stage-wise is that most stages are open-ended with tons of secret entrances filled with coins and powerups, exploring in this game feels much more rewarding than the original simply because it's more fun to uncover secrets. Another big change is that they removed the key doors so now you can just find the hidden treasure just by exploring the stage.
This game would honestly be a 4.5/5 if Nintendo would make a colored remake of the game, It seriously hurts the eyes to play it for too long.
Like the original, the difficulty is still on point, not too hard not too easy, and really fair. I don't really have any main complaints this game is just really fun to go through, it's short-length plays to its advantage to not make it feel too long, and samey though I wouldn't mind more stages but my eyes might not agree with this.
The final boss is dogshit.
This game went for quality over quantity even though the original was really short too it had a lot of filler and samey stages, while this game only has 10 stages (excluding boss stages) they are way more rememberable than any from the original.
There's not much to talk about the gameplay here it's really similar to the original, almost the same even but with QOL improvement.
The main difference from the original stage-wise is that most stages are open-ended with tons of secret entrances filled with coins and powerups, exploring in this game feels much more rewarding than the original simply because it's more fun to uncover secrets. Another big change is that they removed the key doors so now you can just find the hidden treasure just by exploring the stage.
This game would honestly be a 4.5/5 if Nintendo would make a colored remake of the game, It seriously hurts the eyes to play it for too long.
Like the original, the difficulty is still on point, not too hard not too easy, and really fair. I don't really have any main complaints this game is just really fun to go through, it's short-length plays to its advantage to not make it feel too long, and samey though I wouldn't mind more stages but my eyes might not agree with this.
The final boss is dogshit.
Fantastic game that is really innovative with the control scheme. Walking two characters around at the same time with dual sticks is surprisingly challenging, especially when they cross paths! But beyond that, there's an amazing world here that the game has built, and in just a few hours they had me genuinely caring about the characters, even without any (discernible) dialog. The puzzles are fun and never frustrating. It's an amazing accomplishment and gets a huge recommendation from me.
KartRider: Drift
2023
Cute, snappy, fun, easy to get into, and extremely inoffensive monetization model. A bit barebones on launch but has huge potential for new content along its lifespan (praying we get Sonic crossovers like the mobile game did). Hopefully I can get my friends into this!
I'm always biased towards racing games, but definitely one of the better Battle Pass-centered games to come out in recent, unlike a particular paid kart racer that came out last year modeled as a grand return of a long ago-released fan favorite spinoff to a JRPG that may or may not be called Chocobo GP.
I'm always biased towards racing games, but definitely one of the better Battle Pass-centered games to come out in recent, unlike a particular paid kart racer that came out last year modeled as a grand return of a long ago-released fan favorite spinoff to a JRPG that may or may not be called Chocobo GP.
Pokémon X
2013
I cried because I thought Pokémon was dead after finishing this game. Sometimes I wish it was
Wario Land 3
2000
It's a good lesson on how to do a boring "metroidvania", I try to like the ideas of this game, but the more I play, the more I want to play from the bridge.
A lot of fun, but I don't think it's as good as Seasons. I didn't really care for the story and I felt like the time-jumping mechanic was a little half-baked. Even still, it's a good time and one of the best games on the GBC.
Here is my brutally honest take: this game is too mean to the player. Not in a fun way, not in a "good game design way;" just in a cruel way. This game has no respect for the players time, and while that may be an appeal for many, it is a drawback for me. Especially after spending time with Eldin Ring, there are just too many flaws with the first title that a lot of people over look.
This "Definitive Edition" introduces some nice quality of life changes to what was already a very enjoyable game. I could do without the improved graphics, but it's hard to go back to the version where you can't zoom out as much or customize the UI and hotkeys. Overall, I would say this remake is a complete success in that front.
Other changes which don't affect gameplay have been made for the sake of authenticity, although some are just weird like changing "colonial age" to "commerce age". I'm unsure of what that accomplishes exactly.
I'm also not a fan of the name because "Definitive Edition" is normally reserved for the version that contains the full experience, but they have added more factions to the game as DLC after release. I don't think there's anything wrong with them making more content, far from it, but I would expect the people who don't want to put the word "colony" in their remake to be more careful with words.
Other changes which don't affect gameplay have been made for the sake of authenticity, although some are just weird like changing "colonial age" to "commerce age". I'm unsure of what that accomplishes exactly.
I'm also not a fan of the name because "Definitive Edition" is normally reserved for the version that contains the full experience, but they have added more factions to the game as DLC after release. I don't think there's anything wrong with them making more content, far from it, but I would expect the people who don't want to put the word "colony" in their remake to be more careful with words.
I had so much fun playing this edition with a list that tells you in which order you can play the campaigns/historic battles to get a chronological order (from around 500 tot the 1500s). There are more than 30 campaigns/historical battles so it was a long term project though. It gave me such a clear progression of the middle ages, and some campaigns flow amazingly into each other. It connects everything. In this way i can say that this game taught me a lot about the history of the middle ages
The best way to play Age of Empires 2, there are many versions but this one is definitively the best.
A fantastic casual game. I've would have never thought I would have liked it but I've sunk over 29 hours into it. The story is quite generic but the game play is awesome. The graphics are really good. Most addicting casual game since plants vs. zombies.
Ghost of Tsushima
2020
The game is stunningly beautiful, and offers a rich world you want to explore (and sometimes just stop and admire the scenery). The combat is challenging but never frustrating, you always know how to do better next time. I was driven to upgrade my skills and equipment, and the story made me feel for Jin and the people of Tsushima. A landmark game and easily one of my all time favorites. A+