So uh, I think this might end up being the year of Mario Kart for me. Idk why but I feel like playing and reviewing them all. Besides Double Dash as I don't own it and can't run it on my craptop. Either way, 64 was one of the big Mario Kart games I missed alongside Double Dash. I really don't know why I never picked this up years ago, cuz after finally playing it, I just know I would have had a blast playing it with friends.

In terms of controls and how your kart feels, this is miles better than Super I think. The drifting doesn't feel like ass anymore and is pretty solid here. Though, it can be a little tricky to pull off and you can spin out if you don't constantly move the control stick, however it feels pretty nice. Honestly a lot of the time you don't even need to drift as you can turn really well without it, and the courses for the most part don't require drifting. This is a huge plus from Super I think.

Another big improvement is the track design. The courses are now fully 3D and they're just so much more fun to play through. There's a couple I'm not the biggest fan of (I'm looking at you Toad's Turnpike and Yoshi Valley) but in general, this is a very solid selection. Also every stage is distinct and doesn't share the same 5 or 6 level themes like Super did so that's a massive improvement.

The items are also improved tho they can be sort of weird. The red shells are actually super effective in this game, as long as they don't hit a wall. Banana bunches come in 5's now, which I found interesting as this is the only Mario Kart game I've played so far which does that. Shells now rotate around you. The addition of other items like the gold mushroom or blue shell are also very nice. But getting these items can be kinda weird. There were a handful of instances where I was in 2nd place and I was just handed stars and lightning bolts which is just really OP. It's weird but I wasn't complaining because the AI in this game can be brutal

I played on every CC (except for Mirror Mode) and got every gold cup, and the CPU's on 150cc can be brutal. In general, the rubber-banding in this game is nuts but on 150cc, a couple wrong moves can completely screw you over unless you get lucky. This combined with the fact you can spin out way easier, made 100cc the ideal engine class to play on. With friends tho, I'm sure 150 is a blast.

That's another thing, I played this alone. I wasn't able to play battle mode but from what I've seen, it looks like an absolute blast. I'm only judging it from videos, but I can say it's definitely a solid battle mode when compared to other Mario Kart games. That plus the actual racing, and I'm sure if I played this when I was younger I'd love it more. I think a big part in me giving it a 7 and not anything lower despite some gripes is my nostalgia for the N64. Even despite not playing it until this year, it does bring me back to the 2013/2014 days where the N64 was my favorite console. I just love the aesthetic what can I say.

So yeah I'm pretty happy I ended up enjoying this game as I thought the controls would be way worse tbh. Back then, I played Diddy Kong Racing and didn't vibe with it much so I figured this would have the same fate. Or maybe I just need to play Diddy Kong Racing again cuz I was probably wrong back then lol. Either way, solid Mario Kart and a big improvement from Super for sure!

Gameplay and graphics are the best in any Fire Emblem game, yet. The weapon triangle is back and using the Emblem Rings are satisfying to use. While I do like the fact that there is one story, it could've been approved on to make it more "engaging". There was also an update recently that allowed you to ranked up support between units in the main hub which is great but why wasn't that in the game to begin with? Just an issue that Nintendo in general has with games after release. This is a long game so you will need to set amount a good enough time to beat it, but I still recommend checking it out, especially if you want to get into Fire Emblem.

Intelligent systems, is this a bit?

As soon as it was announced Engage is a game that was raising a bunch of red flags. Nostalgia baiting, the awful focus on a myunit, gimmicky new mechanics and fucking GACHA? The whole thing really looked like intelligent systems giving into the worst tendancies of post-awakening Fire Emblem.

And y'know, if that was it, i'd probably be at least fine with that. Fates, even revelations, one of the dumbest fucking things i've ever played, are all still at the very least, compelling. I have like 100 hours in Fates, embarassing as that is, because the Fire Emblem formula is still pretty great, conquest has like 5 good maps and the bad stuff is mostly ignorable. I have played fucking Gaiden to completion even after Echoes was out just to see what was up.

With engage ive got 15 hours in it and I can barely stomach a moment more. I want to keep going because I love FE. But I absolutely cannot stand this game.

Yes, like Fates, Engage is a game that falls prey to IS' stupid tendancies. But the real sin with Engage is that what has been cribbed about just does not gel together at all.

Main issue is bloat, on a gameplay level. Part of the genius of Fire Emblem is how really quite simple it all is, and how limited the resources and options really all are. The best section of the entire franchise, and it's not even close, is Thracia 776's Munster arc, a section which truly relies on you making the most of an incredibly limited toolset and pushing it as far as you can against overwhelming odds. Of course, over the years the complexity inevitably increased, to mixed but often positive results. Engage firmly goes too far though.

The big problem is the mixing of the social sim stuff from 3 houses whilst also incorporating its new stuff with the engage system and so on. Being able to boost stats and stuff in a hub was questionable but mosty worked in 3H, a game structured around it. In Engage all the stat boosting, friendship boosting, animal handling(why), minigames (WHY) are mindnumbing roadblocks to the fun strategy. These sorts of things have never really sat right in FE, where the ways damage formulas and speed formulas in particular work make tiny stat boosts often have huge implications, but this goes way too far in a game system very unsuited to it. It essentially stretches the preperations stage, already too long in most FEs, to being the majority of the game. It's unnaceptable.

And it's a real shame as a lot of the changes in the gameplay department are actually really good. Map design is probably the best it's been since radiant dawn, unit balance doesnt seem so overfocused on a small amount of strong units, bosses actually move about and honestly the engage system, regardless of it being insulting to the original characters and whatever, is a pretty neat gimmick honestly. It's a way more balanced version of pair up that gives effectively more burst damage and interesting techniques, which combined with enemies being generally stronger than previous games makes for an interesing loop. Obviously, its in this game so the execution is flubbed - the rings being limited in number kinda undoes the balance improvements on its own, and the skill inheritance, bonding, and gacha ring stuff is yet more pointless fluff to waste your damn time.

If the game just had the engage system over lets say, Radiance series levels of prep and other stuff going on, the gameplay could have been great, probably the best the series had seen in over a decade. But there's way too much going on to waste your time and it does not gel together.

The story and characters are so bafflingly bad I don't know who it's even for. As ludicrously bad as fates' are, at least it's very easy to pinpoint what's going for - the sheer power trip of being infalliable corrin, the stupid golden route both sides-ing and being able to have children with your big booba wyvern riding sister. Engage's is less bad in the "IS is down bad" regard, but it's worse in that it just completely forgets to have anything at all. It's completely hookless, the world and characters feel like they've got nothing going on at all, and it all feels very rote. The mystical/dragon elements feel tappen onto a pretty normal fire emblem plot and all they do is make the MC less personable and relatable. FE has only really had a good story in like 4 games, but it's structure as a series has always made it very easy to connect to characters and it has never dropped the ball this hard, and it's not like it's even trying something.

The whole game is just a confused mess, and doesnt even seem to be sure of who it's appeal is for. It's nostalgia bait to an extreme whilst barely resembling the simple, down to earth nature of those games. It goes for a simpler structure, dropping choice and most of the social sim elements (which people quite liked even if they're not entirely my bag), but keeps just enough of them to be really annoying. Characters are less of a focus for some reason? Romance is less of a thing? I can't even tell who this game is for because it feels like it consciously does something to alienate a fan of every game in the series, and it certaintly isnt for new players. Even as a "we needed 20 more characters to eventually put in heroes" joint it's a complete failure.

I hesitate to say this is the worst FE - Revelations is truly awful - but even Fates had like, an idea of what it was going for, as bad as what that is and as bad as it's execution is. Engage is aimless and awful and for the first time ever, it's easy for me to put an FE down.

Pretty solid game, however pretty short. I was able to finish thing game in about 5-7 hours, thats also with a few deaths in between chapters. Alot of the bosses in this game were pretty unique, personal favorite was the stratosphere boss fight. However these boss fights after the ironhide chapter tend to drag not just because of the gameplay itself but because most of them take a while to defeat (stratosphere, starscream, and shockwave. are good examples). The chapters including lazerbeak and mirage were the most fun.

Gameplay itself is pretty fun and enjoyable and it's easy to get used to, every character has unique abilities that can enhance the gameplay every chapter. Unlike starscream and megatron who play absolute ass due to their size and abilities. Megatron has an ability where he sucks the energon out of an npc and gains hp from it, and as you can tell, it sucks.

If I were to rate it out of 10 it would be a 6.5/10
Would I recommend it? Kinda not sure, this is my first impression on a transformers high moon game, Its pretty decent as is

Danganronpa V3 is probably one of the most disappointing games ever made. The amount of wasted ideas is staggering and it is really upsetting, especially considering how well done the first two games were. It had everything in place to be good too. It had great set-ups for mystery, unique characters with great designs, wonderful music by Masafumi Takada, and so much more. But, every chance it got was squandered. All the cases were abysmally ruined by something whether it be characters acting with zero logic or the mystery element itself making zero sense. This applies to all the chapters (except 4 which was good). The ending is the most controversial point of contention with this game but, it still has tons of problems regardless of just that. However, the end IS truly symbolic of the overarching theme of this games problems; brilliant ideas but a failure to execute.