Tokkudon
2018
Difficulty: Extremely Difficult
Gameplay (4.5/5) - The game can most often be frustrating due to it's difficulty, but it constantly drives you to persevere until you finish a section of the level due to it's incredibly designed levels that keeps you on your toes, and the satisfaction you get when you finally get it right is extremely rewarding. Controls are simple and easy to learn, yet mastery is difficult. The movement is exceedingly smooth and the strawberry collectables taunt you and make the detour all the more worth it.
Narrative (4/5) - Although it may seem like a cute straightforward innocent story, the deeper meaning beneath it all makes it all too relatable, and seeing the character growth over the journey is very touching and endearing.
Art Direction/Graphics (4/5) - I have a soft spot for 8/16-bit games, solely due to nostalgia and the atmosphere that it captures. Celeste nails it with it's simplicity and adorable characters which brim with personality.
Music (4/5) - Absolutely stunning music. However in the long run, none of them stuck with me & I did not have an absolute favourite among the OST. It still did an amazing job to express the hope and ambition within the cold icy mountain full of despair and challenges.
Creativity (3/5) - Nothing overly unique that breaks the boundary of the genre itself, but still did an incredible job that will easily become a classic in the 2D platforming genre.
Overall Score: 4/5
Gameplay (4.5/5) - The game can most often be frustrating due to it's difficulty, but it constantly drives you to persevere until you finish a section of the level due to it's incredibly designed levels that keeps you on your toes, and the satisfaction you get when you finally get it right is extremely rewarding. Controls are simple and easy to learn, yet mastery is difficult. The movement is exceedingly smooth and the strawberry collectables taunt you and make the detour all the more worth it.
Narrative (4/5) - Although it may seem like a cute straightforward innocent story, the deeper meaning beneath it all makes it all too relatable, and seeing the character growth over the journey is very touching and endearing.
Art Direction/Graphics (4/5) - I have a soft spot for 8/16-bit games, solely due to nostalgia and the atmosphere that it captures. Celeste nails it with it's simplicity and adorable characters which brim with personality.
Music (4/5) - Absolutely stunning music. However in the long run, none of them stuck with me & I did not have an absolute favourite among the OST. It still did an amazing job to express the hope and ambition within the cold icy mountain full of despair and challenges.
Creativity (3/5) - Nothing overly unique that breaks the boundary of the genre itself, but still did an incredible job that will easily become a classic in the 2D platforming genre.
Overall Score: 4/5
2022
Difficulty: Easy
Overall Playtime: 25+ hours
100% Main Storyline
Dave the Diver is a simple yet charming game which is most enjoyable when playing to relax. The gameplay starts off simplistic, which helps you dive straight into the game (pun intended) without any confusion over unnecessary long tutorials. The game soon introduces new equipment, new areas, farming, characters & upgrades which slowly build the world Dave resides in and ultimately enhances the gameplay. The sushi restaurant and other mini games in between makes the game feel like a two-in-one deal and keeps the gameplay quite refreshing. However, once you discover new fish in each area, the spark is quickly lost as most of the fish stay in that specific area & makes the diving aspect somewhat repetitive and uninspiring.
The story is linear but gets interesting once the sea people & the mystery behind the history between them and the humans are introduced. Furthermore, the story is escalated when we encounter the existence of gadons. It would have added to the lore if these creatures were expanded upon, especially as they felt disregarded once the giant Gadon was eliminated. Nevertheless, the bosses were a delight to battle against and each monster had its unique characteristics.
Each character also has their charm and it was amazing watching each and every character’s reaction to consuming the sushi made by Bancho or upgrading equipment for you. It reminded me of reaction scenes from anime such as Yakitate Japan and Food Wars.
Overall, I enjoyed most of the 25 hours of playtime I engaged in with Dave the Diver. However, I don’t know if it is enough for me to come back to or replay the game.
Gameplay: 4/5
Narrative: 3/5
Art Direction/Graphics: 4.5/5
Music: 3.5/5
Creativity: 3/5
Overall: 3.5/5
Overall Playtime: 25+ hours
100% Main Storyline
Dave the Diver is a simple yet charming game which is most enjoyable when playing to relax. The gameplay starts off simplistic, which helps you dive straight into the game (pun intended) without any confusion over unnecessary long tutorials. The game soon introduces new equipment, new areas, farming, characters & upgrades which slowly build the world Dave resides in and ultimately enhances the gameplay. The sushi restaurant and other mini games in between makes the game feel like a two-in-one deal and keeps the gameplay quite refreshing. However, once you discover new fish in each area, the spark is quickly lost as most of the fish stay in that specific area & makes the diving aspect somewhat repetitive and uninspiring.
The story is linear but gets interesting once the sea people & the mystery behind the history between them and the humans are introduced. Furthermore, the story is escalated when we encounter the existence of gadons. It would have added to the lore if these creatures were expanded upon, especially as they felt disregarded once the giant Gadon was eliminated. Nevertheless, the bosses were a delight to battle against and each monster had its unique characteristics.
Each character also has their charm and it was amazing watching each and every character’s reaction to consuming the sushi made by Bancho or upgrading equipment for you. It reminded me of reaction scenes from anime such as Yakitate Japan and Food Wars.
Overall, I enjoyed most of the 25 hours of playtime I engaged in with Dave the Diver. However, I don’t know if it is enough for me to come back to or replay the game.
Gameplay: 4/5
Narrative: 3/5
Art Direction/Graphics: 4.5/5
Music: 3.5/5
Creativity: 3/5
Overall: 3.5/5
2017
Difficulty: Easy
Overall Playtime: 50+ hours
100% Playthrough & Collectables
Gameplay:
Super Mario Odyssey was a very strong title to launch the Nintendo Switch system and this game was one of my main reasons for purchasing one.
I have grown up with Super Mario games and in particular, 3D Mario games have always been my favourite. To put it briefly, the movement and control of Mario are well polished compared to its previous titles and the gameplay feels extremely smooth and satisfying. From classic jumps and movements to new Cappy hops and rolls, it was a delight to traverse across the different locations in the game.
For someone who loves 100% completing games, every moon was a joy to collect and I never felt any boredom trying to collect them all (except grinding for coins to get every collectable and moons).
Narrative:
Classic Mario storyline of Princess Peach being captured and in need of rescue. I just wish they switched up the objectives a bit more or have a twist to make the story more interesting or intriguing. We have seen time and time again that Princess Peach could handle her own so there is no need for the same storyline every game.
Music:
As expected from a Mario game, the soundtrack is excellent! (Although not my favourite in the Mario games). There’s no way you can listen to ‘Jump Up, Super Star!’ without bopping or singing along.
Art Direction/Graphics:
Although the Nintendo Switch graphics are outdated, I thoroughly enjoyed the refined graphics of the game. The design of the enemies and characters that you encounter in each area have a lot of personality and characteristics that make them memorable. Each area you explore also differs in many interesting ways and stand out from each other. As you don’t stay in one area for too long, the anticipation to progress into the next area is exciting.
Creativity:
Each and every costume that is acquirable looks incredible, with each outfit capturing the theme of each area while also throwing back to old costumes of Mario in previous games. I would have personally liked for other playable characters to change the tone of the game a bit, especially when many characters do not even make an appearance in this game.
The capture system is nothing new in games in general, but it adds a riveting element to the gameplay mechanics.
It has been around 7 years since the game was released and it is still one of my favourite Nintendo Switch games I have played. This gets me excited for a new 3D Mario game in the next generation console.
Gameplay: 5/5
Narrative: 3.5/5
Art Direction/Graphics: 4.5/5
Music: 4.5/5
Creativity: 5/5
Overall: 4.5/5
Overall Playtime: 50+ hours
100% Playthrough & Collectables
Gameplay:
Super Mario Odyssey was a very strong title to launch the Nintendo Switch system and this game was one of my main reasons for purchasing one.
I have grown up with Super Mario games and in particular, 3D Mario games have always been my favourite. To put it briefly, the movement and control of Mario are well polished compared to its previous titles and the gameplay feels extremely smooth and satisfying. From classic jumps and movements to new Cappy hops and rolls, it was a delight to traverse across the different locations in the game.
For someone who loves 100% completing games, every moon was a joy to collect and I never felt any boredom trying to collect them all (except grinding for coins to get every collectable and moons).
Narrative:
Classic Mario storyline of Princess Peach being captured and in need of rescue. I just wish they switched up the objectives a bit more or have a twist to make the story more interesting or intriguing. We have seen time and time again that Princess Peach could handle her own so there is no need for the same storyline every game.
Music:
As expected from a Mario game, the soundtrack is excellent! (Although not my favourite in the Mario games). There’s no way you can listen to ‘Jump Up, Super Star!’ without bopping or singing along.
Art Direction/Graphics:
Although the Nintendo Switch graphics are outdated, I thoroughly enjoyed the refined graphics of the game. The design of the enemies and characters that you encounter in each area have a lot of personality and characteristics that make them memorable. Each area you explore also differs in many interesting ways and stand out from each other. As you don’t stay in one area for too long, the anticipation to progress into the next area is exciting.
Creativity:
Each and every costume that is acquirable looks incredible, with each outfit capturing the theme of each area while also throwing back to old costumes of Mario in previous games. I would have personally liked for other playable characters to change the tone of the game a bit, especially when many characters do not even make an appearance in this game.
The capture system is nothing new in games in general, but it adds a riveting element to the gameplay mechanics.
It has been around 7 years since the game was released and it is still one of my favourite Nintendo Switch games I have played. This gets me excited for a new 3D Mario game in the next generation console.
Gameplay: 5/5
Narrative: 3.5/5
Art Direction/Graphics: 4.5/5
Music: 4.5/5
Creativity: 5/5
Overall: 4.5/5