It's easy to see why this often gets labeled as a tech demo for the PS1. The console had just come out in America, and 3D platformers were still in their infancy. Heck, Super Mario 64 was still a year away to introduce the mainstream audience just how well platformers can translate to the 3rd dimension.

With that said, this was certainly the time for developers to experiment and see what could stick. While not the zaniest game I've played, it's certainly one of the quirkiest as far platformers go. Fever dream induced imagery aside, the novel approach to the gameplay is honestly pretty solidly implemented. The game is presented in a first-person perspective. You can move around and shoot at enemies with your laser projectiles or expendable fireworks you collect. Upon performing a double jump, the camera automatically pans downwards, so the player can see where they will land and adjust their movement accordingly. It just works, despite the mish mash of polygonal landscapes. In fact, I'm surprised it didn't give me as much of a headache as I expected.

That's really all there is to its unique approach. Levels are fairly standard. 6 worlds. 3 levels each. 2 of which require collecting 4 "jet pods" before proceeding to the exit to finish. They're pretty easy for the most part, though the standout good time for me were the boss fights (level 3 of each world for the most part). Granted, these aren't anything too crazy or difficult, but they were pretty fun to exploit with the jumping mechanic. Bouncing and unleashing hell (with fireworks) on them was pretty satisfying.

It's quite a short, albeit fun little game that I'm glad I got to check out. I remember reading somewhere that the developers were hoping that Robbit would be the next big mascot, competing against the likes of Mario and Sonic. Yeah... that was never going to happen. Still, it's a bit sad that this game has been lost to the bowels of gaming history, and I do recommend giving it a shot, especially if you're a fan of platformers.

It's crazy to think that it's been a decade since this game came out. Indies were starting to gain a lot more traction and attention and Hotline Miami had its time in the spotlight. I attempted to get into it back then, but I found it frustratingly difficult to the point that I shelved it within the first half hour.

As part of someone's suggestion, I decided to revisit it again with an open mind. I certainly got farther this time, and I will say, I was actually enjoying it. But the satisfaction that came with the fast-paced mayhem did not last. Even as early as Chapter 3, the game's difficulty started to rear its ugly head again. And yeah, I know a lot of people will just say "get gud," but as someone who enjoys a good challenge from time to time, I don't feel like this game does it fairly.

Maybe it's just me, but aiming is a constant struggle in this game. Even when I try to sneak behind an enemy to line up my shot perfectly, I still somehow miss half the time. Spraying and praying is not an option either because that usually leads to every enemy being alerted of my position, and one of them is bound to kill me. And even if I manage to down a large group, it's hard to tell if one of them survived among the pile of bodies until it's too late and you have no time to react. Apart from that, you also have the really aggressive AI which often comes for you off screen...

I spent almost half an hour trying to beat Chapter 4 and when I got close to clearing the first area, some enemy sniped me from the very edge of the screen through a window. I didn't even know it was a window at first. That was pretty much when I threw in the towel. I just couldn't stand to persevere through the frustration.

Hotline Miami is definitely a game which shows its appeal. But between the janky aim controls and ridiculous difficulty, I find it hard to enjoy. I might never finish it, but I don't mind admitting that I'm probably just not good enough at its mechanics.

The original Mega Man is the only one in the series I really have any nostalgia for. Finishing it as a kid with no save states is still probably my proudest achievement in gaming. Still, its easy to see how its difficulty and general unpolish keeps it from being a fan favorite. On the other hand, it seems that MM2 tends to always get brought up on the topic of "best Mega Man games," and it's easy to see why.

Gameplay remains relatively unchanged, but the difficulty (save for a few late games sections) has been greatly reduced through better enemy placement/spawns and less tedious level design. The boss count has also been increased, though most of them were perhaps too easy, I think.

It may shock you, but I still prefer MM1 on an overall first playthrough. However, first impressions aren't everything, and while I appreciate the hours of fun that MM1 provided me as a kid, I'm not sure I can stomach another playthrough of it (without save states) anytime soon. On the other hand, I have just finished MM2 for a second time shortly before typing up this review, and I can safely say that it has great replay value. It's just an overall breezy, fun platformer; one which I can definitely understand its enduring appeal.

A game I decided to start playing alongside New Super Mario Bros. What I didn't expect is finishing this one first. While I was more invested, that's not to say that I think this game is better, per se, but sometimes you just need to change up your routine a bit.

In a franchise with such a repetitive premise that has been going strong for nearly 40 years, it's easy to experience burnout or outright boredom at times, even as a fan of platformers. Super Princess Peach isn't exactly a shining example of great level design, but its simple gameplay gimmicks and twist on the classic "save the princess" trope were enough to keep me entertained throughout.

Across the game's 8 worlds, you play as Princess Peach, rescuing Toads hidden inside of pink ! boxes, with the ultimate goal of saving Mario from Bowser. The game's main gimmick is that you can switch between 4 emotions to solve basic puzzles or defeat certain bosses. Just to make it slightly annoying, these emotions are tied to a depletable gauge. Sometimes I found myself running out and having to scavenge the area for enemies to "consume" to refill it. But that said, there's nothing all that deep about this mechanic, and there's a point well before the final boss where you've pretty much seen most, if not all of the gimmicks the game throws at you. But that's ok, because there's something kind of soothing about the game.

Mario games, even if most aren't known for being a huge challenge, still usually require focus to navigate tricky sections of platforming while avoiding enemies. SPP makes away with lives, and its slower pace of gameplay makes for a more relaxed experience. Definitely a pretty easy game overall, but I loved its charm. Boss battles were especially fun, as they actually required some level of strategy when compared to the usual Mario tradition of just jumping on them a few times.

My biggest complaint? Finding every Toad is mandatory if you wanna fight the final boss and beat the game, which for the most part isn't too bad, but some of the later stages can be tedious to navigate as you search for them. No shame in using a guide if you're missing a few.

When I first started playing this, I couldn't help but feel like I was setting myself up for disappointment. Resident Evil 2 is one of my absolute favorite games of all time (despite me being terrible at survival horror). The initial hour or so I spent with this game was mostly very stressful and confusing. The city setting just wasn't as fun to navigate as the police station in 2; not to mention I was getting my ass handed to me constantly with the narrow alleyways and annoying enemy placements. I mean, it's certainly just a "git gud" moment, but even when I was learning the ropes with RE2, I was still having fun learning. Not here. And so, I shelved the game, hoping to come back to it later with a newfound sense of appreciation.

Fast forward a few months to June 2nd, 2022 - Sony's State of Play. Among the reveals, we got our first look at the RE4 remake. It was hype and exactly the motivation boost I needed to return to the series. I figured I should cross this one off the backlog before moving on to RE4 again (which I had shelved as well). I ended up going through the rest of the game in a single day.

Now, it needs to be said, I still have some gripes with this one. In particular, I think the city portion is still vastly inferior to the police station. I ended up enjoying it for the most part, but it's still the primary reason I'm not planning on replaying this anytime soon. It feels a bit too large. Backtracking is a given in these games, but it felt particularly grueling in these early sections. But the clock tower and factory? Those were really fun.

As for Nemesis, there is one fight with him in particular that is just straight up broken. If ya know, ya know. Aside from that, I was dreading the random encounters with him. I don't mind the tank controls of these early RE games, but when you are trying to haul ass in the opposite direction because you suddenly get jumped by disfigured Thanos wanting to erase your progress, it's slightly annoying and terrifying. Thankfully, it didn't happen as often as I expected, so I'll give it a pass.

While gameplay is nearly identical to the previous 2 games, there does seem to be less puzzle solving here, with some added combat experimentation through the ability of crafting special ammunition through various gunpowder combinations. I hoarded most of the ones I found until the endgame so I can tear ass in the final fight. And let me tell you, that was a deliciously satisfying time. Oh, and they added a dodge mechanic but, I can barely execute it when I try. Most of the time I do, it's on accident. Another "git gud" moment, for sure.

Overall, it's a fantastic game. One which I kind of lament not loving at first. But I have to admit that RE2 really spoiled me. I'm aware of this game's rushed development, and I have no doubt that this game could have been a masterpiece if they had just spent a while longer working on it.

Imagine Breakout, but the ball kills you if you don't parry it with a button press. I beat the Makai route on Easy with nearly 100 continues mainly because of the final boss. I felt like I was hot shit. But apparently, you have to beat the game without using a single continue for the two possible true endings. I thought people being scared of Touhou players was just a meme. But now I understand completely. Some people really do be out here doing no damage runs on these games at the highest difficulty. Apparently, this is one of the easier games too. I'm terrified of what awaits me with the proper bullet hell games...

As a Mega Man copycat, it gets the job done. You get a new special ability after completing each stage, some of which are necessary to traverse certain obstacles and make some bosses easier (most of which are easy enough as is, though). You can also find heart containers to increase your hit points from 3 to a maximum of 5. The game overall is fairly easy until you get to Stage 7, and that's where you really start to notice the cracks in the level design and mechanics.

Stage 7 is straight up broken. A vertically scrolling level of platform jumping that seems longer than it actually is because of annoyingly difficult it is. Like with a lot of other platformers of this era, there is a knockback effect when you take damage, which basically requires you to get through this level without getting hit because that knockback will just knock you off the platform and out of bounds. Trying to hit enemies while making some of these jumps is way harder than it should be. To add insult to injury, they later add these rockets that come from below which explode and also damage you. If you somehow manage to make it to the top without save states, prepare to do it all over again, because the boss will probably destroy you on your first few attempts as you try to learn its attack patterns. There's a password system, but it only takes you to level 7, so good luck trying to beat this game legit. Losing to the final boss in Stage 9 just takes you back to the start of the level, which is probably the second hardest stage in the game. So yeah, fun... But what about lives?

This game has a very strange way of earning lives. Instead of having them placed in certain spots in each level like Mega Man, you have to win them in these mini games at the end of each stage. Sounds simple in concept, but you can only take a crack at these mini games if you have enough coins. These coins can only be earned from defeating enemies with a charged shot. You basically just gotta play each stage holding that fire button waiting for an enemy to pop up. And playing these mini games doesn't guarantee that you will win anything. It's just a gambling system and it sucks. I only ever managed to play any of these mini games three times. The first two times won me nothing. Then I got 6 lives on my third attempt. I would have had more coins to try more times, but I was too busy trying to survive by spamming my attack sometimes that I didn't want to risk trying to land charged shots on most enemies.

Also tangent, but why in the unholy mother of Alucard does touching any surface when in bat form cause you to revert back? I can't tell you how many times I died just trying to fly over some obstacles only to touch a wall and fall to my death because bat form controls like you're on invisible ice. Also, would have been nice to select abilities from a pause menu like Mega Man, because sometimes you want to switch in the middle of battle, and you'll take damage trying to scroll through it.

At least levels 1-6 are mostly fair. Some still have some annoying sections, but nothing too bad. I would say I enjoyed these levels. They're not great, but they're competent enough. But all the issues I had with its design, along with the rage factor that comes with the stages afterwards, downgrades this game from what would otherwise be a solid Mega Man clone to a mediocre platformer.

Well, this is awkward. I just beat Kid Dracula a couple of days ago and basically talked about how it is just a mediocre Mega Man knockoff. I had done a second playthrough of Mega Man 2 not long before that, so I had that fresh in my head as I drew comparisons. Now here I am, having just finished Mega Man 3 for the first time, and some parts of it made me wish I was playing Kid Dracula again instead. Perhaps this is just early on-set fatigue with this series. After all, I still have 3 more NES games to go through and it's already getting stale. But it's not so much the repetitiveness of the gameplay, but more so how a lot of things here feel like a step down from MM2. Still, there are some obvious QOL improvements here such as:

- Images in the weapon selection menu so you're not scratching your head on what the initials stand for
- Free control of Rush Jet
- Weapon energy gets refilled after each stage
- Slide mechanic

But these are just minor things and don't make up for its other shortcomings. I feel like this is when they started running out of ideas. Weapons are worse than in MM2. They just aren't as interesting. Stages for the most part aren't as good, either. They're still fun, but the second half of the game is a somewhat miserable experience. A gauntlet of boss after boss that leaves you praying that the next one will be the last. Seriously, why the hell are there so many bosses? Most of them are re-used, no less. We even get a variant of the Yellow Devil from the first game. It doesn't help that this game turned up the difficulty dial way up again. Sure, maybe I got spoiled with MM2, but hey, I beat MM1 without save states. I don't mind a challenge, but did the devs really have to make you go through this many hoops in the second half?

This game is still decent for what it is, but it's oversaturation of boss fights in the second half makes it drag more than it should. And I am aware that the "Robot Masters Revisited" stage is a recurring thing, but then they should have cut the part where we had to revisit all the MM2 Robot Masters. If MM4 makes me revisit the MM3 robot masters, I will have a stroke.

Let me get this out of the way first... breathes in... - THEY ADDED AN ACTUAL WEAPON SELECT SCREEN! I don't know why that excited me so much, but it did. No more dumb initials on the lower half of the screen. A full screen menu with actual weapon names this time. Anyway, moving on...

I'm happy to report that MM3 was not just simply a case of series fatigue, but rather just a case of subpar level design. MM4 doesn't feature as much innovation, but that's okay, because the level design here is pretty darn good - maybe even surpassing MM2's for me. I like how the second half was divided into two castle stages. Sure, it's still a test of endurance, but unlike MM3, I really liked the bosses in these castle stages for the most part.

This game features the addition of the upgraded Mega Buster, which allows you to charge up a more powerful shot. This was pretty helpful for taking down a handful of bosses more quickly if you happen to run out of energy on another weapon. But there's actually one thing I wish they had kept from MM3... free movement with Rush Jet is no longer a thing. Terrible. Disgusting. If I was a spiteful person, I'd take away an entire star just for that. But I digress, this is a great game. Definitely has similar replay value to 2, but overall this is the better game, I feel.

I think this is a step down from the previous game, but not by much. Dr. Wily is on his bullshit again, except now he led you to believe it was Protoman doing the dirty deeds, as MM4 teased at the end. But no, it was a fake Protoman this whole time. Wow, what a shocker. I mean, it's nice how the series started developing more of a story with the 3rd classic entry, and even more so with the 4th, but do people really play these games for the plot?

Anyway, you also get a bird now. His name is Beat. Probably cuz he can lay the beatdown on bosses. Frankly, he's kind of OP, especially the final boss. You need to collect all of the letters that spell out MEGAMANV throughout the 8 main stages to unlock him, but they're all pretty easy to spot and collect.

It's a solid game with some great bosses. Some of the weapons are pretty stinky, but that's a given at this point. The second half is a bit exhausting, as usual, but once again, it was actually fun, unlike MM3. Not much to say really, as I'm mainly just cranking out these MM reviews out for the sake of consistency now. Just one more game on the NES. I'm hoping that it ends on a bang... or at least some confetti poppers.

Here I am, at the end of my NES MM journey. I was hoping this game would be a great conclusion to the hexalogy, but sadly, it wasn't. With this being my 2nd least favorite, I still found enough to enjoy here, but nothing really stood out. Yep, it's just more of the same. You get your classic MM gameplay with the ocassional annoying stage antics and boss shenanigans. Also, this time, the story takes a bit of a turn as the mysterious Mr.X informs you that he was the one pulling the strings the whole time and that Dr. Wily was just a pawn... But in a shocking twist that literally everyone saw coming, Mr.X was just Wily in disguise. Honestly, Wily should have retired long ago. This is just embarassing.

One cool update in this game is that Rush powers are no longer tied to a depletable meter that you need to refill. Now, Rush can fuse with Mega Man like armor. You only get 2, one of which lets you smash blocks or enemies, and a jetpack which you can use for a couple of seconds, followed by a negligeable cooldown.

Oh yeah, Beat is in this game again. He got nerfed, though. The letters, or plates as they are called here, that you need to collect to spell out BEAT and unlock him are also harder to obtain here than in the previous game, if you're playing blind, as they are tied to progressing through alternate routes in certain stages. I went out of my way to get them just to realize he got nerfed to the point where he doesn't even attack bosses now. I guess he's there if you wanna breeze through stages, but for the most part, I feel like levels in this game are easy enough as is. Kinda makes me wish he wasn't even on the cover. Thankfully, unlike MM5, the final boss is piss easy. Just keep chucking that Silver Tomahawk at Wily, and you're golden.

Fans really be out here hating on MM1 for being too difficult but put MMX up on a high pedestal.

???

I don't know, most likely another "git gud" moment at my expense, but a lot of things in this game just rub me the wrong way. Some background, though: I first played this when I was younger (maybe 14?) and I remember enjoying it for a bit and then losing interest. The only other MM I had played at that point was MM1. Anyway, I couldn't remember exactly what it was that made me stop playing, but I figured that revisiting it anew would help me gain some appreciation for it. Nah, I was wrong.

For one, I do not particularly like the new upgrade system, which as far as I'm aware, seems to be a staple of the X series, which makes me somewhat hesitant to jump into the others. This game wants you to find every single upgrade, because without them, it's just way too difficult. The Maverick stages become a lot more manageable with these upgrades, which gives you a false sense of relief, because once the Sigma stages start, I just wanted to break my monitor.

You have to fight like 3 or 4 bosses in these Sigma stages, often with some annoying enemies in between with horrendous respawns. Dying here before reaching the next boss gate means you'll have to start from before the previous boss. Even with save states, some bosses took quite a few attempts and thinking about beating this game without them just gave me a migraine. Sigma Stage 1 with all upgrades felt like I was playing with 0 upgrades. It's that bad.

The Maverick stages themselves also left a lot to be desired. This is something that I just can't describe. The levels just weren't that good, personally. Though, having certain stages change based on the order you tackle them is a really cool concept. For example, going through Flame Mammoth's stage after I already beat Chill Penguin meant that the lava in the stage was completely frozen, which made it easier to traverse. It's something that definitely gives it some extra replay value, but it's not enough for me.

It's a shame I feel this way, because the core gameplay is actually quite competent. Wall jumping is a great mechanic, and the dash ability is fun to spam. I kinda wish this game kept the slide mechanic I got so used to with MM3-6. But new series, new changes. I get it. The point is, movement feels great here. Something must be said about the soundtrack as well. Absolute banger. It's probably one of my favorite soundtracks of the 16-bit era. The level selection screen music in particular has no right being as good as it is.

But at the end of the day, I just didn't have all that much fun with this one, and it kind of bums me out that I don't see in it what many others do. Maybe in another few years I can revisit this game and it will suddenly click with me, but even if that doesn't happen, at least there's plenty more MM games to check out.

Preface: The following letter makes more sense when you realize I originally rated this game a 3.5.

Dear Gamers,

It is with a heavy heart that I write this letter of resignation from the Worldwide Gamers Association. Due to my recent first playthrough of DMC 2, I have concluded that my opinions are not of any worth and that the label of "gamer" should not apply to someone with any sort of appreciation towards this game, such as myself. It was a short journey. One with brainless combat involving continuous pistol spamming, lack of interesting enemy variety, and bullet sponge bosses that just wanted to waste your time. But dammit if I didn't still have fun with it.

Honestly, it's a shame that this game wasn't longer, because maybe then I would have truly come to hate it. I mean, by Mission 14, I was starting to get a bit tired of it.... But then the game ended not long after. So yeah, I like this game. Hell, I was actually loving it at first. I am fully aware of the consequences in life that this public confession may lead to, but I hope this letter of resignation at the very least alleviates some peoples' anger and disgust.

Sincerely, SwitSwat (Former Based Gamer)

P.S. - Sorry, not sorry lmao

Update: Now that I have finished Lucia's playthrough, I'll lower my overall rating of the game. Playing as Lucia was definitely a more mediocre experience for me overall, though part of it is that it's just more of the same. However, in retrospect, it made me realize that Dante's playthrough wasn't as good, either. Lucia's underwater missions are especially bad. That one underwater boss (if yk, yk) is so annoying.

Honestly, if I had started with Lucia, I might have not been so quick to play through Dante's route, as it made the game's faults that much clearer to me. I'll go ahead and accept that DMC2 is a bad game, but I still think it gets too much hate. Its short playtime makes for an inoffensively OK and silly time for me. Of course, compared to the first game, it may as well amount to steaming garbage.