This has been a blind spot in my Mario Kart experiences for a long time (alongside MKDS & MK7), so I’m glad I finally got around to trying it. That said, I can’t say I had much fun. I’m sure it was a big deal back in the day to have Mario Kart in your pocket, but the control just isn’t there, you get almost no traction when you attempt to drift & there were times where boosts didn’t even help me cross certain gaps correctly. The admittedly halfway-decent GBA pixel art can only carry it so far.
2022
I enjoyed my time with this one. Pretty good modern take on the classic 16-bit RPG with an absolutely gorgeous pixel art aesthetic. Combat's pretty cool too ---- there was something about the Overdrive mechanic & trying to keep it properly balanced while I was battling that just clicked for me. Several folks think the narrative was kind of a mess and...yeah, I gotta agree to an extent. But it did keep me interested till the credits rolled, so there's that.
Hard to go wrong when you're trying to emulate the feel of a classic top-down Zelda title & you pull it off fairly well. I've always been a fan of Zelda: Oracle of Ages/Seasons in particular when it comes to that formula & Blossom Tales is essentially that with a touch of modern flair. Fun exploration, interesting dungeons, alright combat, cute pixel art ---- it's not bad overall. It's not perfect but succeeds in what it sets out to do.
2019
Unironically my personal 2019 game of the year. This game brings me so much joy & keeps me smiling like a goof the whole time. There's not too much to it ---- you're just a goose who needs to systematically annoy a small village ---- but it's well made & oozing with charm. The art is perfect, the piano in the OST syncing up with your shenanigans is priceless & puzzling out how to mess with the townsfolk efficiently is a good time both solo & in co-op. A true indie game gem.
2012
A fun little time waster for a song or two I suppose, but that's about it. I guess the gameplay just isn't for me. It's not bad, but definitely doesn't feel like Rock Band. Switching between lanes of music & tapping the buttons in rhythm is mildly entertaining, but at the same time, I can achieve a similar feeling just tapping my fingers on a table while the radio's playing. It's worth a peek, but didn't keep me engaged.
You may or may not have already seen my joke review for BOTW on this site, but yes, all kidding aside, I can assure you both that game & its sequel are excellent. In fact, I think it's safe to say that this game is "BOTW but better." Same great exploration vibe, improved dungeons, Ultrahand shenanigans ---- it all shines here. Part of me is gonna miss the Zelda formula that came before this & BOTW, but these latest Zeldas are still very well done & densely packed with entertainment value.
A game that kinda got lost in the background. Obscure the moment it hit store shelves. To be honest, I doubt very many people have even heard of this game, much less played it. But I encourage you to give it a go ---- we're talking a Switch hidden gem here. You venture forth as main character Zelda on a fantasy adventure where the main goal is to take deep, calming breaths. It's pretty wild.
2021
GBG is obviously not as robust or feature-filled as most of the game development tools folks use nowadays. But for what it’s worth, I had fun with it. Using Nodons is a cute, effective “Nintendo” way of teaching programming basics, especially for complete coding scrubs like myself. I was able to get some things working, complete with gameplay, goals & custom artwork. It’s a good time, but would've stayed relevant much longer if it had game-sharing work similarly to Mario Maker.
2019
I didn't know how much better it could've gotten than finally being able to make my own official Mario levels in SMM1 ---- and then they drop this game. A new game style, new editor elements, new story mode, an entire mode dedicated to making your own world-by-world games ---- SMM2 is everything the OG was & more. This probably sounds lame, but the first Mario Maker was a dream come true for me, and this game is even better.
2015
Simply put, this game was a dream come true for me. I was well aware ROM hacking existed, custom fangames existed & all that ---- but being able to create my own official Mario levels? That was something childhood me absolutely yearned for. And through an easy-to-learn, intuitive interface & a myriad of options, Mario Maker made that possible. It's a bummer the Wii U servers are down now, but believe me when I say, it was great while it lasted.
As you'd probably expect, it's a game made to help educate kids ---- and even then it's not an amazingly fun game or anything like that. But I can't help but give it an extra star or so simply because I tried speedrunning it for a while in 2023. Just the idea of speedrunning a Sesame Street game puts a smile on my face. Gameplay though? Nothing too special. Jump & hit the numbers. I do appreciate The Count's voice clips though.
Yes, the NSMB shtick was getting tired by this point & it did feel like Nintendo was just kinda going through the motions. But a solid 2D Mario is still a solid 2D Mario. Sick of the series by this point or not, NSMBU is, at the end of the day, still inoffensive. The level design’s still entertaining, the world map is even more expansive, baby Yoshis' abilities added a fresh twist to the formula & everything looks, plays, feels & sounds as you’d expect. Feels recycled? Sure. But definitely not bad.
My apologies, but I have a heaping plateful of nostalgia for this one. Played through it together with my sister & a longtime childhood friend of ours & thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. The NSMB formula didn't feel dull at this point & introducing 4-player co-op, even if it can get messy sometimes in terms of gameplay, was a fantastic move. Great new additions too including Yoshi & a slightly more involved world map. NSMBW, especially in co-op, brings a fun change of pace to an already fun franchise.
Another solid 2D Mario outing. Yes, the NSMB games went on to become stale as time progressed, but the first two hit just right as far as I'm concerned. I remember being pleased as punch when I heard 2D Mario was finally coming back after & the wait was worth it. A slew of great new songs (the overworld theme may be the best in the NSMB series), fresh ideas & the quintessential responsive control Mario platformers are known for.
2011
What an awesome concept for a game. And to top it all off, it’s well-made too. If you’re looking to celebrate 20 years of your franchise’s history, this is the way to do it. Both the 2D & 3D Sonic gameplay is high-octane & well-implemented, the mix of throwbacks & remixes in the soundtrack hit all the right notes & it’s simply a good time reliving highlights of a game series this way. I wasn’t a huge fan of the final boss, but that’d just be a nitpick at this point. Great game.