Holy octorok (sorry), the Oracle series is amazing. I went into Seasons thinking it would be quite similar to Ages, but they are entirely two different games.

I played Seasons as a linked game with Ages, and the way these two games piece together is incredibly impressive even in 2024. They seamlessly work together to earn upgrades and complete side quests in a way I haven't experienced in gaming otherwise. I thought the password system was clever as heck, and it's so so satisfying to finally get that master sword after completing the two games. The dungeons and bosses in Seasons are very creative and rarely become tedious. The final boss sequence was also extremely gratifying and worth working your way through both of the games. if you haven't played Oracle of Seasons (and ages of course), these games are a piece of history, and they think WAY outside the box.

Also the ring system rules, I love punching things. thank you Capcom <3

As someone who played the original Mario RPG for the first time as an adult only recently, the Mario RPG Remake blew even me away with feelings of nostalgia. It is such a faithful reimagining of a game that means so much to so many people. The visuals of the game felt so true to the original and it added such a spark of magic to see all the beloved characters from 1996 come to life in the HD cutscenes. The remade soundtrack had such care and thought put into it as well. Veterans of the series may be left with a want for a hard-mode option though, as the game still hedges on the easy side. Overall this game was a delight to play from beginning to end, and I look forward to checking out some of the post-game content.

the beginning of this game is great! nostalgic, colorful as heck, straightforward, honestly no complaints.

HOWEVERrrrrrr after zone 5 this game falls off, and it falls off hard. it is clear to me that the devs really didn't want you to pick amy. there are several sections of the game designed to have spin dash, but amy doesn't have that. so you just kinda have to jank your way through it and hope for the best. the level design of zones 5 & 6 are abysmal, and they leave you asking "why am i even playing this?"

if you do decide to play this, and you pick amy, good luck warrior. i believe in you. o7

I don't know why I waited so long to finally 100% Banjo-Tooie. I grew up playing this game here and there, but never made it very far. Banjo-Kazooie has always been one of my all-time favorites, but as an adult, I never took the plunge into tooie until recently. And wow, am I glad I did. <3

This game is just as charming as the first, and it will make you realize just how small the worlds of BK are. The interconnectedness of Banjo-Tooie is mind boggling. Some folks find this to be a tedious venture, but in my opinion, it's where the game truly shines. The jiggies and objectives get harder as the game progresses, and some of the challenges really make you work for a single jiggy. But that being said, the satisfaction I felt after finishing a tough section (lookin at you, Grunty Industries) made it well worth the effort. The cheato-pages definitely helped alleviate some of the pressure of the final boss as well, which improved the pacing at the end of the game significantly from BK.

I love how this game reignites that spark of wonder that you feel while playing a game for the first time as a child. Where is the secret Glowbo? What will it do? Will I ever find the alleged Ice Key from BK? What will the Stop n Swop eggs hatch into? There are just so many little mysteries in this game that keep the player returning to discover. Not many games can do that, and for that, this game deserves a perfect score.

I hope someday we see a true Banjo-Threeie, and I hope it feels a lot like this game. 5/5, I love this series so, so much. <3

You know what? I don't hate it, but it is kinda stinky. If we really are of the belief that games are an art form, then games should be attempting to tackle tough subject matter when it's in an appropriate setting. Passive medium is just unable to create the same level of uncomfiness that the more active role a player takes in a video game ever could, in my personal opinion. However, the execution needs to be done well. I think this game falters a good portion of it's ideas, but there were bits that I found to be quite interesting buried underneath it all.

Had the game focused more on the 2nd half where the environmental storytelling in the apartment was front in center, I think it would have faired a lot better. They could have easily still made an entire Silent Hill mental unrest and anguish fun time run around scary monster game with the huge overflowing baggage of shit built into that part of the game without the bullying arc. I can't really talk about the latter half section without the use of a spoiler tag, but it was fairly unsettling way to convey neglect and the negative feelings surrounding it without hitting you in the face with a car. Had it been fleshed out a lot more and not rushed to oblivion, it would have been more effective. Part of it may have been uneasiness by seeing an environment like this in real life, maybe it hit a little close to home for me. But, it really seemed like they played around a lot more in this segment and it came across a lot better in my eyes. It is however, the shortest segment, which kind of sucks.

As others have pointed out, the bullying aspect of the game is quite too literal, too surface level, too on the nose. These are important themes to talk about, but it's done in such a ham-fisted way that it comes across as goofy at times, with some unstellar voice acting to add onto it. It has nothing really to do with how cringe the teenagers are in this game, because teenagers are indeed cringe. And if you say that you weren't cringe as a teenager, you're just lying, man. Just because kids today call each other Ohio as an insult, doesn't mean we weren't gallivanting around in our own emo tumblr phases worshiping Let's Play Youtubers who are still working and streaming this game as we speak. Social media and how it can affect someone with a need for validation is a very real issue that definitely still affects adults, but it's an issue that has been fumbled so many times in other media already, in the same traps that this game falls into. It's personally more than just receiving mean comments in a Xitter reply and could have been much more explored as to why It affects Anita specifically. Instead, they just used the most generic insults ever and skirt over the issue almost entirely to get to the better stuff, where you're meant to just jam Anita's isolated feelings into her trauma together like putting a hot dog into a sandwich bun. I have played cute indie games that were able to convey these messages about isolation and communication in a much better, more subtle way. It's obvious to see what they were going for and the ending is okay for what it is, but it's basically just a smiley face platitude. The game just can't get more than a box cake version of the "You Tried" cake from me.

It plays mostly fine, but chugs in some areas where the walls around you are morphing into scary game goop, which is unfortunate as I'm sure it would look neat had it worked properly. The monster is fairly cool, but the monster is also the bane of my existence. The last chase scene might as well have had Benny Hill music playing over it for the same effect, since it's so hard to navigate and the whole segment has to be redone if you die. It loses the scariness of it quite quickly and becomes a nuisance instead. While I was sighing in frustration, Anita was having a full on asthma attack the entire time until I muted the dialogue and lived in peace and tranquility for the rest of the section.

I feel like if this was a game I paid for, I would be a lot harsher for sure, but it is free and extremely short so it's not like it super wasted my time. Now please like this review, it would make me very sad if you did not do so.

If you liked Celeste or you liked N64 platformers (or both), then I recommend you check it out. Its short, cute, and a lot of fun.

First thing in this game's favor: it's free! This was a gift from the Celeste team honoring the game's anniversary and you can really feel the original team in this game. All the mechanics from the original game are here but with a 3D platformer spin. The challenges get progressively more difficult, but nothing here is insanely hard. If I can beat it in 3 hours, anyone can.

Second, its a cute game. While not much of a story, the bits that are there are enjoyable and bring you back to the old Celeste world. A few familiar faces pop up throughout and each time its a real joy.

But (and of course there is a but) this is still probably only a 3 out of 5 game overall. As far as free games made over a week or two - yeah it's a five. This is a great game hitting exactly the beats it wants too in exactly the ways it intended. But this is also a very niche game for a niche audience and it does struggle at parts. For instance, the camera can be a real pain. I'd also hoped for a few more story beats, I don't think it would have been too hard to add in a few more characters from the game for you to meet with and slowly progress the story to the ending. Finally, I didn't really like the way it "ends". The goal isn't clear at all and when I got to the ending I didn't even realize it. I think they could have advertised a path or a purpose a bit more clearly.

Still, what a great cute game that I really enjoyed. Thank you Celeste team for this!

I'll preface this by saying I've played a total of like three 2D sonic games. (more of a 3D sonic girly myself) HOWEVER this game was rad, and I genuinely think it improved quite a bit from the first Sonic. (I drowned far less, yay!) Some of the levels were a bit redundant, but the killer music and fun bosses made up for it.

The game isn't too hard until the final stages, and overall the pacing felt super reasonable. Looking forward to trying to find some of the hidden chaos emeralds in the future!

I have spent many, many hours in this game and have spent a lot of my money on it. This is probably the game that consumed the majority of my time between 2005 and 2015. I have a ton of memories made in it that I get incredibly nostalgic for. The soundtrack slaps harder than a brick to my face, but there is no denying that Nexon absolutely destroyed everything great about this game.

The cracks began to form in 2012 after the Big Bang update completely overhauled the game. The maps changed, entire class structures changed, monster levels were randomly boosted or nerfed, a lot of content was removed, and it began to really chip away at what I thought was the pure joy this game gave. It slowly started shifting towards becoming a pay to win model, where people willing to spend billions of mesos always fared way better than people who couldn't, ruining the casual playerbase.

Anyone not able to play often were suddenly left behind by their now overleveled friends and guildmates. Party quests and traveling shut down and the social aspect died with them. Grinding for forever to get to max level and having the best equipment became normal gameplay.

I have tried several times to randomly get back into this game, but it's just a husk of what it once was. You barely run into anyone anymore and the only thing to do in it is to just grind levels out forever. Nexon is still an awful company, so I am done trying to get back into this game even as a meme. Very disheartening, but the soundtrack at least lives on.