Xarr
342 reviews liked by Xarr
Revolution X
1994
I beat the game, then Steven Tyler told me to piss off and can't watch the concert because I didn't save the other band members. No Steven, I do not want to replay your boring slog of a game just to see your band play.
On that day, my opinion of Aerosmith has changed.
On that day, my opinion of Aerosmith has changed.
This review contains spoilers
Fire Emblem is the absolute peak video game power fantasy because it lets you cut down corrupt politicians who abuse the poor, subjugate neighboring nations, and recklessly get their own citizens killed while enriching themselves.
I marked this review as spoilers, but I need to give a second warning. I am going to slightly spoil this game by discussing how its mechanics differ from the franchise norm, and then I am going to severely spoil the story after that. If you have any intention of playing Radiant Dawn, PLEASE close this review (or at most, read the next two paragraphs) and make sure to play Path of Radiance first. Both games are very good! Don’t let me ruin the experience for you!
// GAMEPLAY SPOILERS // GAMEPLAY SPOILERS // GAMEPLAY SPOILERS //GAMEPLAY SPOILERS // GAMEPLAY SPOILERS //
Okay, first, let’s talk gameplay. Radiant Dawn is hard! It’s my 6th Fire Emblem title, and I’ve never had this much difficulty keeping everyone alive (which is how I have played ever since abandoning my first playthrough of Path of Radiance where I found myself with like 5 characters left), to the point where near the end of Part 3 I had to start allowing losses. But only characters I didn’t like! And I especially don’t like Makalov!!
I couldn’t tell you if the AI is more aggressive or intelligent than other games in the franchise, but they sure did kick my butt pretty regularly. It was very rare for me to complete a stage in a single attempt, and some battles got restarted 10 or 15 times. JUST STOP KILLING MY HERONS, YOU GUYS. The most noticeable difference here, however, is that the game constantly swaps out the groups you’re controlling. This was definitely annoying at first, since standard FE games treat your army like any normal RPG party, where you keep adding characters and leveling them up over the course of the game. In Radiant Dawn, there are several different outfits that you’ll be leading (sometimes even against each other!!), so you can’t be sure that any unit will still be under your control in the next level. It’s definitely a novel approach which lends a sense of massive scale to the story, and it does make an impact when Part 4 finally lets you use everyone, but it does come at the cost of feeling like your investments in your favorite characters will pay off. Once I accepted it for what it was, just working with whichever characters I had instead of planning who I wanted to buff for the long game, I was all in.
Lastly, there are some odd changes when it comes to how useful returning characters are. Suddenly, Astrid is terrible, and I actually used Boyd. He ended up in my top 5 units at the end of the game! I wasn’t a fan of all the ways that characters have been altered (what is the deal with Devdan???), but it did feel like they’ve continued existing and changing in the years since Path of Radiance, which is always crucial for a story-heavy sequel. This leads directly into my next point in the story section, so if you haven’t played it, GET OUT NOW WHILE YOU STILL CAN.
// STORY SPOILERS // STORY SPOILERS // STORY SPOILERS // STORY SPOILERS // STORY SPOILERS //
In real life, Path of Radiance and Radiant Dawn only released two years apart, but while I played POR in 2007, this was my first time touching RD at all. That’s a 17 year gap! That’s longer than the time between Return of the Jedi and The Phantom Menace! For me, this game felt like a legacy sequel, even though I’m fully aware it absolutely is not. That being said, no matter how long the period of time is between these games, Radiant Dawn is a fantastic sequel story, and you would be doing yourself a MASSIVE disservice to play this without playing POR first. Pretty frequently, returning characters will show up, seemingly out of nowhere, with little to introduction. If you came into this story blind, you’d be more than a little lost.
But if you’ve got that previous knowledge? The callbacks and big moments hit so hard. When the Greil Mercenaries first showed up? That was more hype for me than any blockbuster I’ve seen in years. When 1-9 brought the Black Knight back, I was shaken. That must have been what Terminator 2 felt like in theaters, seeing a near-invincible villain from the previous story show up as an ally this time. It honestly floored me. And the notice the game gives you in 3-6, when it says that even though you’re fighting against characters that you’ve been playing as, your job is to keep your current units alive no matter what? It’s incredibly rare to experience something so emotionally conflicting in a game.
Ultimately, the majority of conflicts in Radiant Dawn are the result of politicians and bureaucrats getting people to kill each other when they shouldn’t even be enemies in the first place, and the late-game shift away from being their pawns, and instead eliminating the oppressors, feels… righteous. Really makes you wish that kind of refocusing could happen on a larger scale in real life!
And can we give props to Ike real quick? He’s such a bro. He doesn’t care about political allegiance or diplomacy, he’s just here to do what he thinks is right. There’s no such thing as a Sub-Human to my boy Ike. What a guy.
Now, there are a few issues, but they’re minor. The English voice acting budget must have been tight, because uhhhh it’s not good most of the time! Dheginsea’s voice in particular is just… oof. Kind of undercut a big moment, but it didn’t ruin the game for me. The one legitimate issue I have with this game is the reveal of the Black Knight’s identity. The actual information of who is under that helmet is great, I didn’t expect it and it fully makes sense. But the way the reveal is handled is just awful. This is one of the biggest moments in the story, it should have been a fully animated cutscene. But instead, Ranulf just walks up to Ike after a level is finished and goes, “Hey, I found out who the Black Knight is!”, and that’s it. It’s really dumb!
But overall, the game is a fantastic experience, and for the first half of my playthrough, I kept thinking, “Wow, it is such a shame I waited so long to pick this one up.” However, by the end, I’m kind of glad I did. In an age of endless legacy sequels, reboots, and retreads, most stories that we’ve long held dear are being tainted by underwhelming (or absolutely awful) continuations. In a post-TRoS world, it felt incredible to have a meaningful and impactful sequel to something I loved as a teenager, even if the wait was self-inflicted. Can’t recommend this one enough.
I marked this review as spoilers, but I need to give a second warning. I am going to slightly spoil this game by discussing how its mechanics differ from the franchise norm, and then I am going to severely spoil the story after that. If you have any intention of playing Radiant Dawn, PLEASE close this review (or at most, read the next two paragraphs) and make sure to play Path of Radiance first. Both games are very good! Don’t let me ruin the experience for you!
// GAMEPLAY SPOILERS // GAMEPLAY SPOILERS // GAMEPLAY SPOILERS //GAMEPLAY SPOILERS // GAMEPLAY SPOILERS //
Okay, first, let’s talk gameplay. Radiant Dawn is hard! It’s my 6th Fire Emblem title, and I’ve never had this much difficulty keeping everyone alive (which is how I have played ever since abandoning my first playthrough of Path of Radiance where I found myself with like 5 characters left), to the point where near the end of Part 3 I had to start allowing losses. But only characters I didn’t like! And I especially don’t like Makalov!!
I couldn’t tell you if the AI is more aggressive or intelligent than other games in the franchise, but they sure did kick my butt pretty regularly. It was very rare for me to complete a stage in a single attempt, and some battles got restarted 10 or 15 times. JUST STOP KILLING MY HERONS, YOU GUYS. The most noticeable difference here, however, is that the game constantly swaps out the groups you’re controlling. This was definitely annoying at first, since standard FE games treat your army like any normal RPG party, where you keep adding characters and leveling them up over the course of the game. In Radiant Dawn, there are several different outfits that you’ll be leading (sometimes even against each other!!), so you can’t be sure that any unit will still be under your control in the next level. It’s definitely a novel approach which lends a sense of massive scale to the story, and it does make an impact when Part 4 finally lets you use everyone, but it does come at the cost of feeling like your investments in your favorite characters will pay off. Once I accepted it for what it was, just working with whichever characters I had instead of planning who I wanted to buff for the long game, I was all in.
Lastly, there are some odd changes when it comes to how useful returning characters are. Suddenly, Astrid is terrible, and I actually used Boyd. He ended up in my top 5 units at the end of the game! I wasn’t a fan of all the ways that characters have been altered (what is the deal with Devdan???), but it did feel like they’ve continued existing and changing in the years since Path of Radiance, which is always crucial for a story-heavy sequel. This leads directly into my next point in the story section, so if you haven’t played it, GET OUT NOW WHILE YOU STILL CAN.
// STORY SPOILERS // STORY SPOILERS // STORY SPOILERS // STORY SPOILERS // STORY SPOILERS //
In real life, Path of Radiance and Radiant Dawn only released two years apart, but while I played POR in 2007, this was my first time touching RD at all. That’s a 17 year gap! That’s longer than the time between Return of the Jedi and The Phantom Menace! For me, this game felt like a legacy sequel, even though I’m fully aware it absolutely is not. That being said, no matter how long the period of time is between these games, Radiant Dawn is a fantastic sequel story, and you would be doing yourself a MASSIVE disservice to play this without playing POR first. Pretty frequently, returning characters will show up, seemingly out of nowhere, with little to introduction. If you came into this story blind, you’d be more than a little lost.
But if you’ve got that previous knowledge? The callbacks and big moments hit so hard. When the Greil Mercenaries first showed up? That was more hype for me than any blockbuster I’ve seen in years. When 1-9 brought the Black Knight back, I was shaken. That must have been what Terminator 2 felt like in theaters, seeing a near-invincible villain from the previous story show up as an ally this time. It honestly floored me. And the notice the game gives you in 3-6, when it says that even though you’re fighting against characters that you’ve been playing as, your job is to keep your current units alive no matter what? It’s incredibly rare to experience something so emotionally conflicting in a game.
Ultimately, the majority of conflicts in Radiant Dawn are the result of politicians and bureaucrats getting people to kill each other when they shouldn’t even be enemies in the first place, and the late-game shift away from being their pawns, and instead eliminating the oppressors, feels… righteous. Really makes you wish that kind of refocusing could happen on a larger scale in real life!
And can we give props to Ike real quick? He’s such a bro. He doesn’t care about political allegiance or diplomacy, he’s just here to do what he thinks is right. There’s no such thing as a Sub-Human to my boy Ike. What a guy.
Now, there are a few issues, but they’re minor. The English voice acting budget must have been tight, because uhhhh it’s not good most of the time! Dheginsea’s voice in particular is just… oof. Kind of undercut a big moment, but it didn’t ruin the game for me. The one legitimate issue I have with this game is the reveal of the Black Knight’s identity. The actual information of who is under that helmet is great, I didn’t expect it and it fully makes sense. But the way the reveal is handled is just awful. This is one of the biggest moments in the story, it should have been a fully animated cutscene. But instead, Ranulf just walks up to Ike after a level is finished and goes, “Hey, I found out who the Black Knight is!”, and that’s it. It’s really dumb!
But overall, the game is a fantastic experience, and for the first half of my playthrough, I kept thinking, “Wow, it is such a shame I waited so long to pick this one up.” However, by the end, I’m kind of glad I did. In an age of endless legacy sequels, reboots, and retreads, most stories that we’ve long held dear are being tainted by underwhelming (or absolutely awful) continuations. In a post-TRoS world, it felt incredible to have a meaningful and impactful sequel to something I loved as a teenager, even if the wait was self-inflicted. Can’t recommend this one enough.
Screaming, crying, yelling in pain and anguish over the most basic gacha card browser game getting axed because it's my thinly veiled and barely hidden fetish personality trait.
Jokes aside, I genuinely enjoyed the game for what it was, being a fan of the original franchise, but as it came out and it being almost instantly sold as a clone to other successful gachas, it was over. 2015-2016 was a time for browser games, not necessarily good but constitutive, at least.
Lest we forget, the Genshins and the Arknights' of today walk over the corpses of Monster Musume and the likes.
Jokes aside, I genuinely enjoyed the game for what it was, being a fan of the original franchise, but as it came out and it being almost instantly sold as a clone to other successful gachas, it was over. 2015-2016 was a time for browser games, not necessarily good but constitutive, at least.
Lest we forget, the Genshins and the Arknights' of today walk over the corpses of Monster Musume and the likes.
Kirby's Avalanche
1995
It’s just Puyo Puyo, except now with Kirby characters, which automatically makes the game a masterpiece as a result.
Port #3
Port #3
Any Nintendo fan, if you were to bring up the topic, would most likely talk your ear off about how great or bad Nintendo’s lineup of consoles has been from the NES all the way up to now, with the possibility that you may even get some people who will go out of their way to defend some of their more apparent blunders like the Wii U (it’s me, I’m one of those people). However, if there is one universal fact that most fans of Nintendo can agree on is that, out of all their consoles, the Virtual Boy was the absolute worst one of the bunch. For those that somehow don’t know, this was the placeholder console that was released in-between the SNES and the N64 around the mid-90s, and as you could probably tell by the name, this was meant to be a… ahem, REVOLUTIONARY system! It was gonna implement 3D and VR technology into console games, bringing capabilities that consoles like the SNES and Genesis could only DREAM of pulling off……………. or at least, it was, if it didn’t immediately crash and burn right out the starting gate.
Most of the games that were released for the thing barely took advantage of these capabilities whatsoever, which makes one question why you would even play these games in the first place, and given the fact that every single one of these games could only be played with this garbage red and black color scheme that would do a real number on your eyes, it becomes all too clear as to why this thing only lasted a year before being thrown away by Nintendo themselves. But hey, I will give the system credit, as not everything that it did was completely awful. For one thing, it gave everybody a clear idea on not how to make a video game system, and we did end up getting one or two decent games from the machine, such as with what I would consider the best game ever to be released on the platform, Virtual Boy Wario Land.
It only made sense that we were gonna be seeing more Wario Land games soon after the original game, considering how successful it was, but I never would’ve guessed that the next game in the series would be made exclusively for the Virtual Boy. Granted, that doesn’t make me wanna play it any less, but it definitely makes it hard to recommend to anyone given that fact alone, hence why I never played the game for the longest time until earlier this year when I decided to check it out. It wasn’t that hard for me to get into it, but HOO BOY, you think that staring at the red and black graphics were bad, then you should try what I did, and stare at a bunch of purple, blue, and red graphics that clash horribly with each other for hours at a time, so that was a lot of fun to go through. But anyway, obvious flaws aside, I actually ended up having a lot of fun with the game, and I would say it is really good. I wouldn’t say it is better then the original Wario Land, nor anywhere near as good as future games in the series, but it still manages to be a pretty solid platformer, and definitely the best game that was ever released on the Virtual Boy.
The story is pretty basic for a Mario spin-off like this, where while Wario is chilling inside of a cave in the Awazon region (yes, you read that correctly), he is disturbed by a gang of evil baddies who go on and take all of the treasure of the land for themselves, with Wario giving chase towards them, only to end up getting thrown down through the floor, so it is up to him to fight his way back up, get many treasures along the way, and maybe take down some bad guys as well. Again, pretty standard stuff going on here, but it is still charming and simple enough to where you can easily get invested in Wario’s plight, because not only can most of us relate to wanting to get millions of dollars through any means necessary, but you do wanna see him beat the fuck out of these creatures as well.
The graphics are… well, take a wild guess how they are, but even if we ignore the obvious elephant in the room, we got some really great sprite work going on here, with all the different levels, characters, enemies and so on looking pretty damn great, which makes the game that little more appealing to look at, the music is really good, having plenty of great tracks to hear in there such as this one, but I dunno, something about it doesn’t quite come close to what we had in the original game for me, and the gameplay/control is pretty standard for a Wario game, having everything that you would expect, with a few more bells and whistles attached as well, making for a pretty entertaining time all throughout.
The game is a 2D action platformer, where you take control of Wario once again, go through a set of fourteen different levels that’ll lead you all the way up through this tower, defeat plenty of enemies using your natural brute strength or whatever tools you have at your disposal, gather several different powerups, rare treasures, and LOTS of coins throughout your journey to get as rich as ever and for extra bonuses, and take on several bosses that can actually prove to be quite a challenge, not just because some of their gimmicks can take some time to getting used to, but you will also need to fight to see whatever is happening because of the goddamn screen. Once again, we have all heard this song and dance before, usually without any graphical nonsense holding it back, but it manages to make up for it in plenty of different ways, such as its overall tight design, its infectious energy, and having plenty of genuinely fun platforming challenges to see throughout.
If you had played the original Wario Land, then you pretty much know almost everything to expect out of this game: you run around, you bash these tiny fuckers around to take their money, you find MANY riches hiding around every corner, and you even find plenty of secret treasures along the way, which can change up the type of ending you get. That is pretty cool and all, with all of these elements blending together in beautiful, red-painted harmony, being very fun to play through, exploring around to get all of the treasures, solving the puzzles, finding these different hats that can help you out, even to the point of completely cheesing levels at some points, and even playing the minigames for the chance of getting more coins and extra lives. Most of it sticks pretty closely to the original game, but there is one thing that definitely does set it apart from that other game: the 3D aspect.
Given how this game was released on Virtual Boy, it definitely needed some sort of 3D or “VR” gimmick to make it stand out, and the way that this game does this is by introducing backgrounds, which you can jump to and from whenever you please using these arrow pads that you will find throughout many of the levels. It’s a very simple idea by today’s standards, but it is fun to explore both parts of each level to see what each might be hiding, encouraging even more exploration to see how you can go to and from that background, along with finding all of those hidden goodies. Not only that, but the game does also make sure to challenge you with this gimmick as well, with there being plenty of obstacles that can either sway to and from the background, or even send you to and from it as well whenever you aren’t quick on your feet. Hell, there are even plenty of enemies and bosses that take full advantage of this, leading you to pay close attention to who is gonna do what next, and what you should do from there, making for some somewhat tricky, yet still fun enemy encounters.
Unfortunately though, despite all of the good that is being done with this game, there are definitely some things that hold it back from being as good as the original Wario Land. For one thing, like I mentioned earlier, this game sticks WAY too closely to its roots, not introducing that many new gameplay mechanics, gimmicks, or enhancements on previous formulas whatsoever, with the only exception to this being with the 3D aspect, which can only really get you so far at the end of the day. Not to mention, the game is also pretty short, even shorter than the original game, where four of the 14 stages that I previously mentioned are just boss fights, and it doesn’t take too much time to clear out the other stages either, making the journey over much sooner then you would hope it would be.
And finally, the one last issue I have with it that probably triumphs over everything else…….. the fact that it was released on Virtual Boy. Now, don’t get me wrong, I don’t think that the game is any worse for being exclusive to the VB even to this day, but for a system that primarily advertised itself on being a 3D VR headset in the 90s, having a 2D platformer on it with VERY SLIGHT 3D elements just seems very… out of place. You could’ve probably made this game for the SNES, changed up the 3D element in some way, and ended up with a much more successful and widely beloved product at the end of the day, and yet, here we are. Not to mention, again, given how the game is always constantly black, red, or whatever color your emulator decides to be, it makes me never want to go back to play this again, and instead just watch it on YouTube instead, which is a huge shame, especially considering how wonderful this game really is beyond all that.
Overall, despite a lack of major change, its short length, and the platform it was released on, VB Wario Land is definitely a hidden gem from Nintendo’s library, and a pretty good followup to the original Wario Land as a whole, having very tight and fun platforming challenges to take on, lots of money for you to find in many different places with the powerups, and fun fights all throughout that, when you beat them, makes you feel like you really conquered something……. even if the something in question is the VB’s graphics. I would definitely recommend it for those who are big fans of the Wario Land games, as well as those who are just THAT curious enough to see what kind of titles the Virtual Boy has to offer, because, in my own personal opinion, there is no better option you can choose from other then this one. Not really sure what kind of joke I could end on with this review, so rather then trying to make one, I’m just gonna show you all what the final boss is like here, because he is absolutely terrifying. I would say that he probably scared a lot of kids back in the day, but in order to do that, that would imply that people actually bought this game and a Virtual Boy back in the day, and uh, ha ha………….. that didn’t happen.
Game #588
Most of the games that were released for the thing barely took advantage of these capabilities whatsoever, which makes one question why you would even play these games in the first place, and given the fact that every single one of these games could only be played with this garbage red and black color scheme that would do a real number on your eyes, it becomes all too clear as to why this thing only lasted a year before being thrown away by Nintendo themselves. But hey, I will give the system credit, as not everything that it did was completely awful. For one thing, it gave everybody a clear idea on not how to make a video game system, and we did end up getting one or two decent games from the machine, such as with what I would consider the best game ever to be released on the platform, Virtual Boy Wario Land.
It only made sense that we were gonna be seeing more Wario Land games soon after the original game, considering how successful it was, but I never would’ve guessed that the next game in the series would be made exclusively for the Virtual Boy. Granted, that doesn’t make me wanna play it any less, but it definitely makes it hard to recommend to anyone given that fact alone, hence why I never played the game for the longest time until earlier this year when I decided to check it out. It wasn’t that hard for me to get into it, but HOO BOY, you think that staring at the red and black graphics were bad, then you should try what I did, and stare at a bunch of purple, blue, and red graphics that clash horribly with each other for hours at a time, so that was a lot of fun to go through. But anyway, obvious flaws aside, I actually ended up having a lot of fun with the game, and I would say it is really good. I wouldn’t say it is better then the original Wario Land, nor anywhere near as good as future games in the series, but it still manages to be a pretty solid platformer, and definitely the best game that was ever released on the Virtual Boy.
The story is pretty basic for a Mario spin-off like this, where while Wario is chilling inside of a cave in the Awazon region (yes, you read that correctly), he is disturbed by a gang of evil baddies who go on and take all of the treasure of the land for themselves, with Wario giving chase towards them, only to end up getting thrown down through the floor, so it is up to him to fight his way back up, get many treasures along the way, and maybe take down some bad guys as well. Again, pretty standard stuff going on here, but it is still charming and simple enough to where you can easily get invested in Wario’s plight, because not only can most of us relate to wanting to get millions of dollars through any means necessary, but you do wanna see him beat the fuck out of these creatures as well.
The graphics are… well, take a wild guess how they are, but even if we ignore the obvious elephant in the room, we got some really great sprite work going on here, with all the different levels, characters, enemies and so on looking pretty damn great, which makes the game that little more appealing to look at, the music is really good, having plenty of great tracks to hear in there such as this one, but I dunno, something about it doesn’t quite come close to what we had in the original game for me, and the gameplay/control is pretty standard for a Wario game, having everything that you would expect, with a few more bells and whistles attached as well, making for a pretty entertaining time all throughout.
The game is a 2D action platformer, where you take control of Wario once again, go through a set of fourteen different levels that’ll lead you all the way up through this tower, defeat plenty of enemies using your natural brute strength or whatever tools you have at your disposal, gather several different powerups, rare treasures, and LOTS of coins throughout your journey to get as rich as ever and for extra bonuses, and take on several bosses that can actually prove to be quite a challenge, not just because some of their gimmicks can take some time to getting used to, but you will also need to fight to see whatever is happening because of the goddamn screen. Once again, we have all heard this song and dance before, usually without any graphical nonsense holding it back, but it manages to make up for it in plenty of different ways, such as its overall tight design, its infectious energy, and having plenty of genuinely fun platforming challenges to see throughout.
If you had played the original Wario Land, then you pretty much know almost everything to expect out of this game: you run around, you bash these tiny fuckers around to take their money, you find MANY riches hiding around every corner, and you even find plenty of secret treasures along the way, which can change up the type of ending you get. That is pretty cool and all, with all of these elements blending together in beautiful, red-painted harmony, being very fun to play through, exploring around to get all of the treasures, solving the puzzles, finding these different hats that can help you out, even to the point of completely cheesing levels at some points, and even playing the minigames for the chance of getting more coins and extra lives. Most of it sticks pretty closely to the original game, but there is one thing that definitely does set it apart from that other game: the 3D aspect.
Given how this game was released on Virtual Boy, it definitely needed some sort of 3D or “VR” gimmick to make it stand out, and the way that this game does this is by introducing backgrounds, which you can jump to and from whenever you please using these arrow pads that you will find throughout many of the levels. It’s a very simple idea by today’s standards, but it is fun to explore both parts of each level to see what each might be hiding, encouraging even more exploration to see how you can go to and from that background, along with finding all of those hidden goodies. Not only that, but the game does also make sure to challenge you with this gimmick as well, with there being plenty of obstacles that can either sway to and from the background, or even send you to and from it as well whenever you aren’t quick on your feet. Hell, there are even plenty of enemies and bosses that take full advantage of this, leading you to pay close attention to who is gonna do what next, and what you should do from there, making for some somewhat tricky, yet still fun enemy encounters.
Unfortunately though, despite all of the good that is being done with this game, there are definitely some things that hold it back from being as good as the original Wario Land. For one thing, like I mentioned earlier, this game sticks WAY too closely to its roots, not introducing that many new gameplay mechanics, gimmicks, or enhancements on previous formulas whatsoever, with the only exception to this being with the 3D aspect, which can only really get you so far at the end of the day. Not to mention, the game is also pretty short, even shorter than the original game, where four of the 14 stages that I previously mentioned are just boss fights, and it doesn’t take too much time to clear out the other stages either, making the journey over much sooner then you would hope it would be.
And finally, the one last issue I have with it that probably triumphs over everything else…….. the fact that it was released on Virtual Boy. Now, don’t get me wrong, I don’t think that the game is any worse for being exclusive to the VB even to this day, but for a system that primarily advertised itself on being a 3D VR headset in the 90s, having a 2D platformer on it with VERY SLIGHT 3D elements just seems very… out of place. You could’ve probably made this game for the SNES, changed up the 3D element in some way, and ended up with a much more successful and widely beloved product at the end of the day, and yet, here we are. Not to mention, again, given how the game is always constantly black, red, or whatever color your emulator decides to be, it makes me never want to go back to play this again, and instead just watch it on YouTube instead, which is a huge shame, especially considering how wonderful this game really is beyond all that.
Overall, despite a lack of major change, its short length, and the platform it was released on, VB Wario Land is definitely a hidden gem from Nintendo’s library, and a pretty good followup to the original Wario Land as a whole, having very tight and fun platforming challenges to take on, lots of money for you to find in many different places with the powerups, and fun fights all throughout that, when you beat them, makes you feel like you really conquered something……. even if the something in question is the VB’s graphics. I would definitely recommend it for those who are big fans of the Wario Land games, as well as those who are just THAT curious enough to see what kind of titles the Virtual Boy has to offer, because, in my own personal opinion, there is no better option you can choose from other then this one. Not really sure what kind of joke I could end on with this review, so rather then trying to make one, I’m just gonna show you all what the final boss is like here, because he is absolutely terrifying. I would say that he probably scared a lot of kids back in the day, but in order to do that, that would imply that people actually bought this game and a Virtual Boy back in the day, and uh, ha ha………….. that didn’t happen.
Game #588
Sonic Generations
2011
Fanservice Sensory Overload
In the light of Sonic x Shadow Generations' release later this year, there's a good chance the original Generations would get delisted from Steam, so I went ahead and grabbed it as long as I still could, but waited until finishing Origins, as I wanted to see as many references as possible - wise choice!
As I've already mentioned in the opener, Sonic Generations is fanservice incarnate. Every stage present here is a reimagining of an already existing one and you're going through them in release order. Each level has two acts, with the first one always being 2D and the second one being a mixture of 3D and 2.5D - although I think it would have been better if Modern Sonic's stages were just 3D, since the 2D sections take out the speed from the levels they were built around, but also because there are cases like Planet Wisp's Act 2, where the 2D segments end up being a lot longer than the 3D ones, despite the latter being the main draw of Modern Sonic's levels. However, Classic Sonic is not all sunshine and rainbows either, as his physics feel a bit off compared to the original games, but I can turn a blind eye to this, as Generations runs on an entirely different engine. It's also worth noting that the 2D level structure generally feels a bit strange and half-baked at times, City Escape Act 1 stands out especially in that regard to me. YMMV.
In terms of presentation, Generations still looks fantastic 13 years later and is the prettiest Sonic game I've played so far. It's the type of game to leave a smile on your face as you rush through those familiar levels with newly composed remixes and experience them from a different perspective - 2D zones in 3D and the other way around. Seeing Speed Highway for the first time on the hub world gave me joy, the same can also be said for the revamped Shadow chase (good lord, that fight was messy in SA2) and the second boss in Generations. But I've already said enough, some of those surprises are just better if you see them with your own eyes.
Despite being rather short compared to the Adventure duology, Sonic Generations doesn't overstay its welcome with the main story and still has enough side content for those who want to play it a bit more. As an anniversary game, it completed its task successfully - celebrating 20 years of Sonic with a really fun time.
In the light of Sonic x Shadow Generations' release later this year, there's a good chance the original Generations would get delisted from Steam, so I went ahead and grabbed it as long as I still could, but waited until finishing Origins, as I wanted to see as many references as possible - wise choice!
As I've already mentioned in the opener, Sonic Generations is fanservice incarnate. Every stage present here is a reimagining of an already existing one and you're going through them in release order. Each level has two acts, with the first one always being 2D and the second one being a mixture of 3D and 2.5D - although I think it would have been better if Modern Sonic's stages were just 3D, since the 2D sections take out the speed from the levels they were built around, but also because there are cases like Planet Wisp's Act 2, where the 2D segments end up being a lot longer than the 3D ones, despite the latter being the main draw of Modern Sonic's levels. However, Classic Sonic is not all sunshine and rainbows either, as his physics feel a bit off compared to the original games, but I can turn a blind eye to this, as Generations runs on an entirely different engine. It's also worth noting that the 2D level structure generally feels a bit strange and half-baked at times, City Escape Act 1 stands out especially in that regard to me. YMMV.
In terms of presentation, Generations still looks fantastic 13 years later and is the prettiest Sonic game I've played so far. It's the type of game to leave a smile on your face as you rush through those familiar levels with newly composed remixes and experience them from a different perspective - 2D zones in 3D and the other way around. Seeing Speed Highway for the first time on the hub world gave me joy, the same can also be said for the revamped Shadow chase (good lord, that fight was messy in SA2) and the second boss in Generations. But I've already said enough, some of those surprises are just better if you see them with your own eyes.
Despite being rather short compared to the Adventure duology, Sonic Generations doesn't overstay its welcome with the main story and still has enough side content for those who want to play it a bit more. As an anniversary game, it completed its task successfully - celebrating 20 years of Sonic with a really fun time.
God what I would give to play this game as a guy named Jim.
The Forgotten City
2021
"The enemy of this place is not the Golden Rule, but human failings"
I first heard of this game when it got released as there was a positive word of mouth spreading around it but I was very surprised to find out it had in fact started out as a Skyrim mod before expanding into a game in it's own right. Even with the positive reviews around it I still hesitated due to my dislike of the Elder Scrolls games but fortunately due to a user here duhnunuh and his perpetual steam giveaway I was given the chance to try this out. Having finished it 100% in two days my reservations were extremely unfounded. It's fantastic. I found myself absolutely engrossed in the city and story around it's Groundhog day time loop premise.
The Forgotten City is a hard game to actually discuss though as much of the joy of playing it is making the discoveries as the narrative unfolds. A couple of parts really made me go "well dam!" as I played through it. The short spoiler free version is that you wake up next to a river in modern times before stumbling into an underground Roman ruin whilst searching for a man who had entered it prior to you. Once in there you realise it's a one way entrance and you are now stuck inside except for a portal that takes you back 2000 years before when the city was still a vibrant community. To get out you need to find out why it became the ruin it was in your time and prevent it from happening.
Though it does have plenty of options, branches and endings the game is actually more linear than it appears overall with talking to all the residents of this ancient Roman city to unlock more information, items and quests to constantly progress with loop shortcuts built in once enough progress is made. It's a clever little game but the cast of characters and usage of history and myths is what really makes it such a winner for me. I love historical settings and though Rome is often used in large scale war games and gladiator titles it rarely gets as intimate a background as this. Conversations of normal people of the period, gods and politics all mixed in but each conversation actually serving a purpose to push the story along towards it's conclusion. The characters all have their own lives and backgrounds and although some are more important to the overall narrative than others they all feel like people rather than background models in the world. The small setting allows for the characters to each have their own personality, worries, history and flaws.
Outside of the dialogue and conversations you will spend your time exploring the location. The game is called the Forgotten City but it's more a small village or town than a city. There is still plenty to explore and see however with temples, markets, forums, caves and secrets. There is some occasional basic combat in first person which is kind of weak though extremely limited with only one section really requiring it as the main point is the mystery. If I'm really nit-picking flaws, some of the animations for their faces and how characters stand can pull you out of the immersion a little as they stare at you cross eyed. The thing is I actually do think it's a fantastic looking and sounding title overall. It has great art design, vistas, music and voice acting to pull it all together cohesively, especially for a game made by a core group of only 3 people from scratch off the back of a mod idea.
Overall I think this is a game that will stay with me for a long time that occasionally I will just think about. Whilst I like a great many games in a variety of genres there are only a few for their story that really stand out to me for the overall experience. Games like Soma, Mass Effect, 13 Sentinels and now, The Forgotten City. "The many shall suffer for the sins of the one?" No, no, no. The many shall enjoy due to the work of a few.
Recommended.
+ Great historical references, narrative and characters.
+ Gorgeous art design.
+ Just an engrossing experience.
- Combat though limited isn't that fun.
I first heard of this game when it got released as there was a positive word of mouth spreading around it but I was very surprised to find out it had in fact started out as a Skyrim mod before expanding into a game in it's own right. Even with the positive reviews around it I still hesitated due to my dislike of the Elder Scrolls games but fortunately due to a user here duhnunuh and his perpetual steam giveaway I was given the chance to try this out. Having finished it 100% in two days my reservations were extremely unfounded. It's fantastic. I found myself absolutely engrossed in the city and story around it's Groundhog day time loop premise.
The Forgotten City is a hard game to actually discuss though as much of the joy of playing it is making the discoveries as the narrative unfolds. A couple of parts really made me go "well dam!" as I played through it. The short spoiler free version is that you wake up next to a river in modern times before stumbling into an underground Roman ruin whilst searching for a man who had entered it prior to you. Once in there you realise it's a one way entrance and you are now stuck inside except for a portal that takes you back 2000 years before when the city was still a vibrant community. To get out you need to find out why it became the ruin it was in your time and prevent it from happening.
Though it does have plenty of options, branches and endings the game is actually more linear than it appears overall with talking to all the residents of this ancient Roman city to unlock more information, items and quests to constantly progress with loop shortcuts built in once enough progress is made. It's a clever little game but the cast of characters and usage of history and myths is what really makes it such a winner for me. I love historical settings and though Rome is often used in large scale war games and gladiator titles it rarely gets as intimate a background as this. Conversations of normal people of the period, gods and politics all mixed in but each conversation actually serving a purpose to push the story along towards it's conclusion. The characters all have their own lives and backgrounds and although some are more important to the overall narrative than others they all feel like people rather than background models in the world. The small setting allows for the characters to each have their own personality, worries, history and flaws.
Outside of the dialogue and conversations you will spend your time exploring the location. The game is called the Forgotten City but it's more a small village or town than a city. There is still plenty to explore and see however with temples, markets, forums, caves and secrets. There is some occasional basic combat in first person which is kind of weak though extremely limited with only one section really requiring it as the main point is the mystery. If I'm really nit-picking flaws, some of the animations for their faces and how characters stand can pull you out of the immersion a little as they stare at you cross eyed. The thing is I actually do think it's a fantastic looking and sounding title overall. It has great art design, vistas, music and voice acting to pull it all together cohesively, especially for a game made by a core group of only 3 people from scratch off the back of a mod idea.
Overall I think this is a game that will stay with me for a long time that occasionally I will just think about. Whilst I like a great many games in a variety of genres there are only a few for their story that really stand out to me for the overall experience. Games like Soma, Mass Effect, 13 Sentinels and now, The Forgotten City. "The many shall suffer for the sins of the one?" No, no, no. The many shall enjoy due to the work of a few.
Recommended.
+ Great historical references, narrative and characters.
+ Gorgeous art design.
+ Just an engrossing experience.
- Combat though limited isn't that fun.
Crow Country
2024
Despite wearing it's influences very openly, Crow Country manages to set itself apart from other survival horror revival projects; mostly due to it's comparably lighthearted nature, the diorama-like presentation, it's peculiar theme park setting, and the overall immaculate pacing. While neither the combat nor the puzzles were especially revolutionary for the genre, the captivating atmosphere and engrossing mystery had me hooked throughout this game's welcomingly modest runtime.
Alleyway
1989
A simple Breakout clone, where you go through 24 stages and 8 bonus stages.
It's not anything to write home about, and it can get a bit repetitive after a while, so I'd recommend playing this game in short bursts, which is probably what the devs intended, considering its arcade-like structure.
The lack of music makes it kinda empty, not gonna lie. I wish they had gone the Dr. Mario or Tetris route, where they give the option of selecting from a few songs before you start the game.
Alleyway is an alright game. Play it if you're curious.
It's not anything to write home about, and it can get a bit repetitive after a while, so I'd recommend playing this game in short bursts, which is probably what the devs intended, considering its arcade-like structure.
The lack of music makes it kinda empty, not gonna lie. I wish they had gone the Dr. Mario or Tetris route, where they give the option of selecting from a few songs before you start the game.
Alleyway is an alright game. Play it if you're curious.