People that know me for at least a year would know I didn't like Jak 1 as a kid. In fact one of my first reviews on this site is just me saying it's boring and that I'd stop to play either a Sly game I had or Ratchet & Clank 2 since that was the only game from it I had.

Well after a random bout of setting up the PC port... I got caught in its grasp and finished it for the first time ever. It would've been two days if I didn't have work on Thursday, even. So... yea, consider me a fan of the game after all these years.

Compared to the aforementioned PS2 platformer series, this one definitely focuses more on a very simplistic story where things just kinda happen and it's all connected to a narrative. Now I am NOT saying this as criticism, just that in contrast to Sly and R&C, which were story-driven platformers in different ways, Jak 1 is focused purely on platforming and collecting the power cells in a sandbox environment I'd say is comparable to the Ape Escape and Spyro series. Outside the double jump feeling pretty bad, every aspect of the controls are fluid and responsive, making it so that a majority of my falls were on me and not the game. The Zoomer (poor unfortunate ageing due to modern lingo) and Flut Flut, surprisingly enough, also feel really good, or at least more than I expected since this was during the time where vehicle gimmicks in games were becoming more commonplace. It's also nice that, while mainly using the same structure, there's a bit of variety in terms of objectives and what to do, coupled with each area feeling as long as they should at that.

Really, a lot of the core gameplay is simple yet very well executed, the only bad thing I have to say about it is that bosses are way too simple to be anything memorable. So what makes this go from a "good" to a "great" experience for me? The atmosphere and worldbuilding. Even after 21 years this game holds up so well in terms of art direction, like each area having its own sense of weather and art direction, as well as graphical looks like character models and texture works, bearing in mind some of the little details and lighting touches aren't fully available in the PC decomp (though do not worry, it's 100% playable from start to finish and I faced little to no major issues, otherwise I wouldn't be logging this now would I?). As contentious as Naughty Dog is nowadays, you can't knock their technical capabilities, such as there being a seamless world where you don't really "see" a loading screen, all tied together with a VERY good OST. I wouldn't say it's been a while since I played a game for the first time and got such an awe as to what I was doing, but it's still something that continuously impressed me as I went along.

So... yea. I can finally understand how and why this game has held itself to so many people's hearts and memories. I'm always gonna be a Sly Cooper fan, but I'm definitely raring to see what 2 and 3 are like, and maybe the games after if I'm up for it.

Following Majora's Mask I decided to replay Minish Cap, since it was a game I was thinking about replaying for the first time in years and cause I've seen some people express ambivalence to it for a couple of years... and after finishing it 100%^, I can see why that is the case, and also why I only really remember the story and setting.

Now granted, it's easy to see how this is one of the stronger cult hit (would it be right to describe it as that?) in the franchise. The aesthetics still hold up so strongly today, the setting and use of Minish and this iteration of Hyrule are very cool and make for some really nice worldbuilding, and both Vaati and Ezlo are some of the more interesting and cool characters in the series, even if they're a bit underutilized in the grand scheme. The shrinking gimmick said Minish provides is something I oddly found to be pretty good, they use it for most cases and there was rarely a time I thought it was pretty arbitrary. It's also nice to play another Zelda game where item usage is very recurring, whether or not that's cause of the 2D nature

Outside of that though... idk, I like it and it provided a decent time, but I can't say anything more than that. The ideas are there, and there's nothing truly awful, but likewise nothing really struck out to me as "wow that was great!" like the past few Zelda games. You could say it's because I'm playing a 2D game now instead of a 3D one, but even then from what I've seen from AlttP, Link's Awakening and the Oracle duology, they play around with the 2D aspect in a much more fun and rewarding way.

I thought Kinstone fusions would suck big-time since that's a go-to criticism, but honestly they're OK. I do hate how the rewards are generally more rupees, shells, or Kinstone pieces, but considering they pretty much loop back to finding another person and fusing them together, also how abundant they are in dungeon and side activities, it's fine, plus Red and Blue fusions more or less being regulated to upgrades and a general growth to the world made that tedium a little easier to digest. Shells are awful though, having to spend several minutes using them for a slot machine to get 130 items necessary for a Heart Piece is the most tedious and aggravating aspect I faced in these 100%^ runs so far, and the fact that my options are to either grind or save scum just made it worse.

All that, coupled with other annoyances like how handholdy this game gets (seriously I did not remember how much obvious dialog was forced onto the player), aside, I still like the game, but it's definitely not one I feel strongly in revisiting.

^ = TECHNICALLY I didn't do 100%, there's medals for getting every Kinstone Fusions, and post-game unlocks like the Mirror Shield and more figurines needed for a medal, but considering those are mainly there for bragging rights, I think I'm fine in saying I at least "mastered" it w/ every Heart, every Tiger Scroll, and every upgrades collected.

After nearly completing everything since the release of the game, I can hereby say that yea this game's pretty dope.

It genuinely does feel like Sonic Team is making an honest to god effort to move the franchise forward from a writing standpoint, Ian Flynn being on board this time instead of the Happy Tree Friends people was already a good indicator but the way references and callbacks to aspects of the series (mainly) feel natural and as a way to bridge in the character development of the core people is great. Tails is an obvious one, but Knuckles actually lamenting how he's pretty much the last of his tribe and is reflecting on how important and alone he is cause of it caught me off guard big time, same with Amy having something to do and ponder over which hasn't been a thing since... Adventure 2, I wanna say? It's fun stuff. I'm also glad the stuff that gets nodded at outside of plot relevancy is cool too, they referenced something from Team Sonic Racing which I didn't expect. It isn't perfect, mind, sometimes it does get into "you remember thing, yes? Wasn't thing cool?" territory, but for the most part it feels sincere.

Even the story is like, actually cool and interesting this time, which hasn't been done since Black Knight, or perhaps Unleashed if we're strictly talking mainline entries. The Ancients and what they are, how Cyber Space works, the real threat, it's all pretty cool and gets just the right amount of buildup. My only problems with it, is that Sage really could've used more development. Since she does appear in a majority of the locations and gets an arc for her, it disappoints me her motivations and ties to Eggman are regulated to Secret Report ass memos you get as a purchasable item during the fishing trips. Pacing wise, this could've been fine-tuned as well, having cutscenes that can sometimes appear back-to-back, or just randomly lead into a minigame that range from neat to mundane. Still, at the end of the day, I'm at least glad we're getting something that feels like it gives a shit about both its characters, as well as its audience. Love me some Indomitable Human Spirit shit alongside obvious Evangelion parallels.

Gameplay wise, I like it but it definitely could've used from work, especially since it got a five-year cycle as well as a delay to work off of. The controls for Sonic are good enough for the open zone sections, letting you zip and jump by without that much hassle, but the upgrade process is odd. You can tell this was something made to give you another activity to do outside of Cyber Space and the side stories, since mini-bosses require a fair bit more effort and time into them early game, compared to mid stage where you can beat them with ease. Also doesn't help some of them just, suck ass, either by taking so long to beat regardless of the Power level, or the jank getting in the way. Speaking of, yea unfortunately the jank can be pretty obnoxious at times too. Broken camera when it shifts into the 2D planes, rail-grinding being finnicky at certain spots of the map, collision shit, which admittedly ended up being more fun than annoying, it disappoints me it gets rather noticeable as you go on cause again, it had a lengthy development period finally. Yet, despite all this, this is one of few open world games in recent memory I actually found enjoyment from than boredom. When it all works, it offers a great zen-like experience just trying to go and do everything needed, and it's not like you're spending too much time doing one or two things. Plus, I appreciate the approach with fishing here, it's pretty easy to max out on everything thanks to how the tokens work, but even then you can just appreciate and engage with it from a casual level and be fulfilled anyway.

I dunno if this is a hot take or not already, but I actually like Cyber Space. Granted, the physics and control issues get more noticeable here, but in terms of the core content they serve as great breaks and gaps for what you're doing. Now, I understand the point of the reuse of themes and stages is cause of memory fragments and whatnot, but I do feel like we should've at least had more level theming on offer instead of just Green Hill, Chemical Plant, the various City aesthetics, or Sky Sanctuary, since they tend to meld together in my mind on recollection. That being said, I don't really mind the obvious reuse of past levels funnily enough, mainly cause they were already good to begin with + it's easy to get into that speedrun aspect Sonic games tend to offer. I dunno if this is supposed to be the last we'll see of the Boost formula in action, but if it is, then it's a nice hurrah for (actually) good offerings during this period of 3D Sonic.

I uh, don't really have much else to say. As someone that's played and replayed most of the 3D Sonic outings before this released, I'm thankful this ended up on the good end of the spectrum. It hasn't beaten out the Adventure Duology, Generations, or even Black Knight, but hopefully whatever the team decides next will be able to.

Easily the best Final Fantasy of all time. The memorable cast of characters (Except Amarant) carry a narrative of genuine weight. The world is impeccably well realized and there is plenty of side-content for the explorer to get comfortably lost in. This game is bursting with things to discover and despite the slow battle speed the narrative pacing is comfortably brisk and alleviates any frustration.

The music is in a class of its own and visually it is stunning, especially if you have a taste for the pre-rendered style.

Both an homage of the series to date while pushing things forward in equal measure, FF9 is a true timeless classic.

its tracklist kinda sucks tbh
wheres kagekiyo? where's tombeau de couperin?
at least there's natsumatsuri and the free dlc was good

but party mode is honestly really fun

sep 10 edit: after spending more time with it, the online multiplayer really feels like the heart of the game, but the tournament mode is a ghost town