What a lovely time this was, you don't often get to play a game where it's styled entirely after the old Philips CDi games. It's like the Cuphead of its generation in where we haven't seen someone try to replicate something like it. Still for 20 dollars you're getting a fairly good 2D Adventure Game, it plays exactly what its referencing and quite honestly just the animation quality alone is enough of a reason for you to pick it up. The only reason its not a 5/5 for me is simply because of how easy it is to get lost, and that can have you end up wasting a few minutes searching for what to do next breaking the games overall pacing, other than that I mean it runs well, looks well, and plays well.
Definitely something you should look into if you're ever curious.

Yikes. Ok well before I get into it i'll just stay that the game is fine, It plays roughly the same as the original and anyone who hasn't played the original (go do it) will have an easier time getting into this one. But man... talk about a downgrade.

Let me explain why, this remake removed one of the core components that made the original so replayable in the first place, and that was the high score system. So in the original Mario Vs DK, levels required you to collect all 3 presents and reach the end. Once you beat it they show you a level high-score, and if you reached it, you're rewarded with a golden star signifying you mastered the level. You'd think just getting all 3 presents and reaching the end would be easy enough to get it right? No. There's also a time limit in each level, and based on how fast you do everything it can change everything. If you die even one time during the whole thing you're better off resetting because whenever you finish the first section of a level the timer gets added towards the next sections timer. I think another thing is that fall damage is completely removed in the remake, so you're able to get away with things not possible in the original.

The remake does decide to keep the timer but decides to remove the scoring system and now the requirement for the gold star is just collecting all 3 presents and beating the level. Death means virtually nothing in this game since resetting a level doesn't cost you a life like it did in the original. Things have been made way too safe and forgiving, and because of this one major change, levels are now extremely easy to go through meaning experimentation is barely encouraged. Many of the iconic voice-lines and scenes have been hit with the Nintendo sanitization ray, losing the charm it once had.

It's clear as day this remakes focus is on the accessibility for newer players rather than the fun challenge the original provided. Granted the GBA one wasn't the most difficult game ever but it definitely challenged you if you did go for the gold stars and required you to think outside the box. Which is something I can't really say with this shiny new remake, I'm a bit disappointed with it but it is what it is, the original will always be there at least.

The original Mario vs Donkey Kong was a game I played a lot growing up, I don't know what it was that made me love it as much as I did but I've since replayed it multiple times as an adult now and I can say without doubt this is one of Mario's finest games. I think the overall structure of this game lends well its arcadey nature. I love how getting that gold star requires you to master the level, but also making sure you do it in a fast amount of time also. Sometimes you'll get the gold star no problem, other times, you're gonna be replaying the same level trying to get faster times and thinking up your own solutions. The beauty of this game is that just because there's an intended way to beat a level, doesn't mean you can't improvise. Mario's moveset is so fluid and fun to use in this game, part of the fun is just trying to make the solution yourself. Not every level is like this, but most definitely are and that adds so much to the replayabilty factor.

The main reason I came back to this was to see how my opinions on how the remake would be, but as it stands yeah this is a must play for gameboy advance.

This is really the case of the story/ideas being so damn good that it cancels out how semi-mediocre the gameplay is. It took a different and bold approach to Mario story-telling and honestly, I think it paid off. If the world and overall gameplay were better it may have been the best but as it stands, it still is a solid entry that contains the heart and soul of what a Paper Mario game is supposed to be. Far greater than anything we’ve got after it. This game took so many bold choices that I strongly believe that we’ll never see anything else like it. So, in that way, I can’t help but respect it. The fact that Mario and co. are just back-seating to the REAL protags of this game being blumiere and timpani is not something I’d expect considering previous games had Mario be the star, but it’s a unique take on tradition.

So yeah, definitely great but not amazing if we were to look at the whole package. I think also 100% this game altered my viewpoint a little because when you sit down and do EVERYTHING this game has to offer, it can kind of warp your opinion in a way. For me it didn't do much but I did grow to have a deeper appreciation for this one. I totally get it if someone says this is their favorite of the original trilogy. It does somethings better than the previous and it does things worse than the previous, but what matters at the end of the day is that it's still better than anything we got after this game came out.

The name says it all, this is the definitive way to play the original Xenoblade Chronicles. And what a good ass game this was, I had already beaten this game on the Wii/3DS but getting to play this after many years had passed was so worth it. I fell in love with this game all over again, and the quality of life features this game brings should not be ignored. It truly makes going back to this one more accessible without losing the charm of the original. It's a faithful remaster in every way, and one of my favorite games of all time due to how much this just fixes all the problems the original may have had.

While I still think there's merit in playing the original Wii version you're not missing out on anything by choosing this one, I think you're getting a much better experience actually. I'm only really discussing the remaster as it is cause if I were to talk about the actual game I mean its peak your honor. You don't need me to tell you that, just play it yourself.

This is my favorite game, ever.
I know when people often say this that title can go to alot of other games, but i'm not exaggerating when I say that this is the most 10/10 experience for me and no other game has ever made me feel the highs and lows this game has. It's truly one of Nintendos greatest in their wide catalog of games. It not only got me into the turn based RPG genre, but helped me become the person who I am today.
Without this game I don't know where i'd be in life and its silly to say outloud but we all have our own games that shape us for who we are today, this is my game.
I cannot wait for the remake on switch, when I heard this was getting a remake and it looked beautiful as it did I cried.
I fucking love video games man.
Whether you want to wait for the remake or are in the mood to see why this game is so heavily praised, you can't go wrong with either, you need to experience this gem of a game.

It really is just a better Sticker Star.
Keep in mind what I just said though, Sticker Star, meaning it plays exactly the same and has the same exact shitty battle system that was bad in that game that's bad in here. They're both structured the exact same way and there's still little to no reason to fight in this game. The paint hammers seem like a reason but they don't mean anything when its so easy to get paint in this game.
Man the only thing I realized with this replay is that the ost is one of the best in the series, really catchy tunes and a lot of generally amazing tracks. Other than that though... my opinions haven't changed, if anything, they got a little worse.
I don't ever want to replay this one again.

The biggest thing holding back this game is how some forms just don't work. They either do work sometimes or they don't work at all. Which is the biggest pitfall when you try incorporating things that the wii wasn't able to do like the IR Camera. While being a sequel to smooth moves it definitely hits the mark but I bet it could've been so much greater if the controls were more responsive. Other than that, it's what you'd expect from a Wariorware game, high-score based micro game fun.
And this time they brought back the voice acting cutscenes that were missing in Get it Together. Thank god.

Cuphead is a timeless classic. It's a game i'll never get tired of replaying because every experience is slightly different than the last. I think that's what I like about its often randomized enemy attacks, no refight will feel the same. That layer of uncertainty is what makes me come back constantly, and i've found the game to be even more fun when you decide to create your own difficulty. Many of my replays just involve me not using any powerups or charms and when you've replayed the game like me multiple times it adds on to the existing challenge of this game, i'd recommend it. It's fun.
That being said i don't need to repeat what's already been said a million times before, this game rocks, through and through. Totally worth the wait.

I went into this game completely blind only going off of what friends had to say about it. After finally taking the plunge myself and getting the game I can say without a doubt, this is one of my all time favorite JRPGs. I had no problems with literally anything here, this game was a 40 hour long journey and everything kept me engaged and interested. All the main characters in this game are so damn good and well developed that I care for all of them, it's rare when you find a JRPG where you care about EVERY main character. The last game I can think of is Xenoblade 3. This games OST is so fucking BALLER man, I'm not an idol person nor did I ever care about that kind of stuff but this game made me love all the performances and songs being sung.
Shoutout to my girl Kiria who sings Reincarnation, the song that basically got me interested in this game, and is also the best character in the game both personality and battle wise. Plus I love her :)

I got this game on Christmas and the more I kept playing the more I was invested in this world and its characters. I was so pleasantly surprised with just how much fun I was having. This game sort of taught me that I do, in a way, like fire emblem, but the main problem I have with that series is not so much the characters or the story, but the gameplay. I'm not a tactical RPG person, and i've experimented with enough fire emblem games to know this series just aint for me. Since i'm someone who values gameplay over anything else, that makes it difficult for me to be invested in these worlds and games when I just don't vibe with the gameplay. This games gameplay tho is so fucking fun especially once you understand how it works under the hood. The amount of session combos you can get is pure ecstasy. I never once had any issue with any of the bosses or difficulty because if anything the game actually gets easier the more you play and unlock more and more characters to continue the session combos, which are this games whole gimmick. Couple it in with both Fire Emblem weapon trees and Shin Megami Tensei's signature combat and you have a recipe for a good ass game. Legit I would just stay and grind for hours because of how fun this game is.

So would I recommend this game to anyone who hasn't played it? Not really, as much as I love this game I can see it not being everyones thing, you sort of have to be familiar with both SMT and Fire Emblem enough to really give it a shot, more so SMT. Still though even if 2024 just started this is one of the best games i've played this year and you know if they somehow for whatever reason announce a Tokyo Mirage Sessions sequel in a Nintendo Direct sometime in the future, you bet your ass I'll be there no matter what.
Fucking phenomenal game.

I think as a Remake, its great, but as someone who wasn't a big fan of both the original and now the remake this is just alright time for me. Like I'd say Resi 2 Remake is my preferred game in terms of the Remakes but this is still fun no doubt. I acknowledge this game and all of its accomplishments and everything, but It mainly goes down to personal preference. The main thing I don't really like about Resi4 is just the muted colors and overall lack of striking and engaging environments. You start out in the village, then a castle, then a military base. All very basic areas. I'd argue the Castle is where things start to get interesting since there's actual color instead of just browns and grays. but it doesn't last long. I will commend the Remake for making me care about Ashley as she's gotten the biggest glow up in gaming.
Go white girl go!
Anyways, if you liked the og Resi 4 you're gonna love this.

There's nothing really inherently wrong mechanically with the game other than the fact its just... boring. The music is boring, the platforming is boring, the enemies all die in like 2-3 hits. The whole gimmick this game is based off of isn't even used to its max potential. What I expecially don't like is that powerups must be equipped manually, why not just have them all for going out of your way to collect everything? It seems so tedious to run back and forth just because you don't have the powerup needed to access the secret variant of the level.
Yeah just ignore this one

Love Scott Pilgrim, read the comic books, watched the movie, watched the animated series, played this game, it wasn't good, oh no. Ok I should explain myself, I think on everything that isn't the core game itself, this game is amazing at. The visuals are so eye catching, the sound design and overall ost are among some of the best i've heard, and it's a great game for fans. It's when you start dissecting the game is when it gets really ugly. Once you look past the property and you view it as a beat-em up game it's so disappointing.
Lets start off with the gameplay, the gameplay is what you'd expect from a beat-em up, but did they seriously have to make going to shops one of the most frustrating and annoying things. The way these shops work is that you have to buy the item first before you can actually know what it does. The game gives a vague description but that alone is not enough because all you care about are what it does for you the player. Also lets get the elephant out of the room, this game is unnecessarily hard when you first start out, I don't care if its trying to replicate the old-school style beat-em ups in its punishing difficulty but most of the time it feels like they should've been trying to replicate a fun experience. Even on the Average Joe difficulty this shit is just annoying, I hate how slow the characters are when they get knocked down it takes way too long for them to even get back up and there's no way to decrease the time on that, it's just how it was developed. No I don't think using a coin glitch just to get a bionic arm excuses this games sad excuse of a challenge. Leveling up doesn't even affect your stats it only gives you new moves to bring in the illusion of this game being fun, when it's not. The game only gets fun when you have all the moves but by that point you'd already game over'd multiple times that you're only on the 2nd boyfriend boss.

Man what happened here, I know this game at one point was considered lost media in how you couldn't purchase it anymore, but now that its back its made me realize how overhyped it was. For Scott Pligrim fans I think its a neat novelty, playing this game on your own, good luck.

The black sheep of the Mario and Luigi series, and arguably the most darkest Mario game in the franchise. AlphaDream really stepped up their game here with the overall ambition for the sequel to superstar saga. It's a shame that this one was skipped when it came to getting an HD remake like Superstar and Inside Story did because I think this is one that deserves it the most. Not to say that there's huge flaws with the game but imagining what a Partners in Time Remake would look like is just nothing short of a dream. Considering AlphaDreams bankruptcy who knows if we'll ever get to see this game and the series for that matter in the future.
I will admit though it is a missed opportunity this game never really delved into the future aspect and instead all we got were the Past and Present versions of each area. I think the game would maybe double in length if that were the case but I think of how Sonic CD handled its time travel feature and how much detail was put in the future and past given the criteria you had to fulfil.
Idk i'm just spit balling here, great game still. Definitely worth your time, and its really short too.