ZeeNotZed
1992
One of my first gaming experiences as a child, so I have a nostalgia bias. That being said, the game is so punishing to play with extremely difficult steering mechanics and a huge amount of downtime when you're hit by a hazard or item. Easily the hardest game in the series and Mario Kart fans who go back to play this one are in for a severe shock because playing this game for the first time is the most "what the f***" experience.
That being said there is an allure and charm to the game's style and characters and its a hilarious time with friends who are particularly competitive as with most MK games. An iconic, foundational beginning for the franchise.
That being said there is an allure and charm to the game's style and characters and its a hilarious time with friends who are particularly competitive as with most MK games. An iconic, foundational beginning for the franchise.
2002
The pacing and classic Micro Machines birds-eye perspective combine to make this a fairly difficult Micro Machines game (though nothing on the level of Turbo Tournament). You can barely see where you're going before falling off somewhere, which was less of an issue I encountered when I played V3. The beauty of the game is it respawns you very quickly and any setback you face gets remedied pretty fast due to the fast pace. The tracks and powerups do feel fairly thoughtless and uninspired even for their time, though some tracks are more fun than others. The characters and their unique vehicles were a fun and campier avenue for the franchise.
2005
While 4 is usually the favourite from what I've seen, for me the clear peak of the musou formula is in DW5 and its expansions. Even further tweaks to gameplay were made that saw the removal of the lock-on effect during combos (the best change) giving you more fluidity in your combos which were extended to like 9 hits or so. This provides more options and a more dynamic gameplay experience which, lets face it, does become a little mundane even for hack and slash enjoyers. The movesets are so tight and feel so unique to each of the characters. The way they're executed is reflected really appropriately for the character's personalities which all feel very fully realised in 5 as well as their look and design. In spite of these gameplay elevations it is really the story that takes centre stage in 5 for me. While it clearly follows the same narrative throughout the franchise over and over again, the presentation of the storyline feels fully realised here.
There are some gimmicks like the god-mode powerup thingy I don't even know what its called, and the joint-musou attack with your bodyguard, that do make this game substantially easier just across the board. Though, I don't mind it as for me bearing witness to this game's iteration of the characters and story always made this Dynasty Warriors the real treat for me.
To discuss some flaws, mounted combat still sucks and going into the arrow shooting mode feels as trivial and pointless as usual. Also the artstyle in this game is great albeit very dusty(?) Honestly if you've played the game before you'll know what I mean. It just looks very dusty all the time lolllll. This will always be my game though <3
There are some gimmicks like the god-mode powerup thingy I don't even know what its called, and the joint-musou attack with your bodyguard, that do make this game substantially easier just across the board. Though, I don't mind it as for me bearing witness to this game's iteration of the characters and story always made this Dynasty Warriors the real treat for me.
To discuss some flaws, mounted combat still sucks and going into the arrow shooting mode feels as trivial and pointless as usual. Also the artstyle in this game is great albeit very dusty(?) Honestly if you've played the game before you'll know what I mean. It just looks very dusty all the time lolllll. This will always be my game though <3
2007
A strong contender for the best game in the series. The minigames were very fun and made great use of the unique functionalities of the DS. The map designs, power-ups and objectives felt very streamlined and not as gimmicky or power-imbalanced as most of the other titles making this one a favourable choice to play with friends. Though in a post-DS world any extra brownie points for multiplayer can't really be strongly considered.
Iconic and memorable only for how dreadful it is. The cutscenes are campy but interesting, and overall it's a fun game to have a laugh at. The actual play experience is mundane at the best of times but mostly frustrating.
2019
The billion gigabyte updates every season are so ridiculous and literally wholly prevent me from wanting to play this game, which I otherwise find quite enjoyable to play with friends.
2003
Significant quality of life changes were made coming into the 4th installment of the franchise and the gameplay had become finetuned to a point where it remained fairly consistent for many DW titles to come. The artstyle and music in 4 gives this game a sense of intensity and heavy metal that ignites something in you as you hack away, or get hacked at (as the difficulty in 4 certainly doesn't diminish from 3)
The story of Mortal Kombat, until its reboot after this game, felt really perfect for me... Except for the storyline and lore introduced in this game... Nonsensical, contrived and just so far removed from all the previous lore that it just feels out of place to put it lightly.
It is great to have the entire cast back, doing it before it was cool - and it felt appropriate to the premise of the game to bring everyone back. However, its the double-edged sword that defines this game. As with having such a large cast (which, for the last few games of the series all rely on having unique fighting stances) it led to the homogenisation of pretty much the entire cast. A significant number of them play the same and each character feels a bit lost in the storm with few getting much of a chance to shine.
The Kreate a Fighter idea isn't bad but it's not great either. It's quite fun to mess around with though. The same concept has been done better in other fighters of the time.
Being a karting fanatic, the Motor Kombat mode was what I was partial to and even it needed some serious finetuning (but for a side mode, what could I expect?) The controls and steering just feel horrific, but it is fun that the characters all have their own unique move to use as a powerup rather than relying on item pickups which was a wise choice. It obviously features a limited cast of the same eight characters if I'm remembering correctly. It has some great features like a live leaderboard and acceleration meter, it's just let down dramatically by its unwieldiness.
It is great to have the entire cast back, doing it before it was cool - and it felt appropriate to the premise of the game to bring everyone back. However, its the double-edged sword that defines this game. As with having such a large cast (which, for the last few games of the series all rely on having unique fighting stances) it led to the homogenisation of pretty much the entire cast. A significant number of them play the same and each character feels a bit lost in the storm with few getting much of a chance to shine.
The Kreate a Fighter idea isn't bad but it's not great either. It's quite fun to mess around with though. The same concept has been done better in other fighters of the time.
Being a karting fanatic, the Motor Kombat mode was what I was partial to and even it needed some serious finetuning (but for a side mode, what could I expect?) The controls and steering just feel horrific, but it is fun that the characters all have their own unique move to use as a powerup rather than relying on item pickups which was a wise choice. It obviously features a limited cast of the same eight characters if I'm remembering correctly. It has some great features like a live leaderboard and acceleration meter, it's just let down dramatically by its unwieldiness.
2004
Everyone has pretty strong opinions about this game and all of its versions, and I won't have anything thoughtful to add that hasn't been said but I will add my 2 cents anyway why not! At least just about vanilla WoW as its the only version I have an overwhelmingly positive opinion of.
Since its release, the original version of World of Warcraft has been one of the greatest online games ever made. The further you advance through the game, the more your appreciation for it is solidified. Like in the comedic pop culture Easter Eggs in many quest chains that today evoke a sense of nostalgia for the kind of things we all thought were funny in the early 2000s, honestly its a bit like a time capsule in that way. Or appreciating how thoughtfully some quests have been designed to interact with other areas, maybe by giving you the good ol' breadcrumb quest to follow to a new questing hub.
Nothing feels here "just because it is", every location has purpose and genuinely interesting story and it isn't just the cliche "this is the dwarf kingdom", "this is the night elf kingdom" etc that you see in a lot of similar games. There are diverse settlements across the world for one reason or another and it all just makes sense together and there's like a reason for everything. The point is there was real heart and thought behind the development of the game and it shows itself plainly.
The mechanics and combat system in WoW were so beyond good for their time and to this day make other MMORPGs look painfully mediocre by comparison. Even the titles that are beginning to supersede WoW in popularity today have pretty uninspired gameplay and usually appeal for different reasons, which is of course valid, because today's version of the game is a shadow of its former glory anyway.
But until subsequent expansions dropped the ball for one reason or another, this game ruled the roost in the online multiplayer landscape for very good reason.
It also goes without saying that the aesthetics of WoW are extremely good looking for their time and one of the few praises I'll grant to today's version is that the artstyle has certainly kept up to date and the game today looks visually unreal.
Unfortunately, every expansion since the original release hasn't captured the whimsy and heart (and even the lovable janky-ness) of the vanilla version. Vanilla WoW will always be one of the best online games ever in spite of some of its inconveniences or flaws (or the painful monthly sub) because during its time in the sun it raised the bar to heights unforeseen.
Since its release, the original version of World of Warcraft has been one of the greatest online games ever made. The further you advance through the game, the more your appreciation for it is solidified. Like in the comedic pop culture Easter Eggs in many quest chains that today evoke a sense of nostalgia for the kind of things we all thought were funny in the early 2000s, honestly its a bit like a time capsule in that way. Or appreciating how thoughtfully some quests have been designed to interact with other areas, maybe by giving you the good ol' breadcrumb quest to follow to a new questing hub.
Nothing feels here "just because it is", every location has purpose and genuinely interesting story and it isn't just the cliche "this is the dwarf kingdom", "this is the night elf kingdom" etc that you see in a lot of similar games. There are diverse settlements across the world for one reason or another and it all just makes sense together and there's like a reason for everything. The point is there was real heart and thought behind the development of the game and it shows itself plainly.
The mechanics and combat system in WoW were so beyond good for their time and to this day make other MMORPGs look painfully mediocre by comparison. Even the titles that are beginning to supersede WoW in popularity today have pretty uninspired gameplay and usually appeal for different reasons, which is of course valid, because today's version of the game is a shadow of its former glory anyway.
But until subsequent expansions dropped the ball for one reason or another, this game ruled the roost in the online multiplayer landscape for very good reason.
It also goes without saying that the aesthetics of WoW are extremely good looking for their time and one of the few praises I'll grant to today's version is that the artstyle has certainly kept up to date and the game today looks visually unreal.
Unfortunately, every expansion since the original release hasn't captured the whimsy and heart (and even the lovable janky-ness) of the vanilla version. Vanilla WoW will always be one of the best online games ever in spite of some of its inconveniences or flaws (or the painful monthly sub) because during its time in the sun it raised the bar to heights unforeseen.
2019
As someone who is fairly hit/miss with FPS games (and pretty lame at them) this actually felt amazing to play. The mechanics were really streamlined and unencumbering. The portal stuff is an absolute treat and is beyond rewarding when you pull off a sick play with it.
Deserved to do sooo much better than it did.
Deserved to do sooo much better than it did.
A complaint I heard often about this game is that it's hard. (among other fairly irrational complaints that it sucks because Bubsy just sucks.)
I remember as a kid, my Auntie (a late teen/young adult at the time) was an absolute boss at this game on the family SNES and the only person we knew who was any good at it.
We had a modest SNES game collection yet nobody else gave this game the time of day. But my auntie loved it and moved about as Bubsy fast and effortlessly while the rest of my fam could barely complete the early levels briskly despite a number of attempts to pick it up.
So yes, it's pretty challenging and mainly frustrating, but the game looked pretty fun when I could watch her breeze through it.
That being said, to me it seemed like the levels were packed with hazards and tricky traps and because of the faster pace of the game at times, you fall prey to them very often.
While I've only heard and not witnessed the failures of follow-up Bubsy titles, all I can say is that I think people are too caught up in believing that Bubsy sucks in its entirety and neglect this pretty whimsical albeit hard-to-maneuver series debut.
I think it's senselessly overhated, worth trying, a unique experience, but not exactly a great platformer in any sense.
I remember as a kid, my Auntie (a late teen/young adult at the time) was an absolute boss at this game on the family SNES and the only person we knew who was any good at it.
We had a modest SNES game collection yet nobody else gave this game the time of day. But my auntie loved it and moved about as Bubsy fast and effortlessly while the rest of my fam could barely complete the early levels briskly despite a number of attempts to pick it up.
So yes, it's pretty challenging and mainly frustrating, but the game looked pretty fun when I could watch her breeze through it.
That being said, to me it seemed like the levels were packed with hazards and tricky traps and because of the faster pace of the game at times, you fall prey to them very often.
While I've only heard and not witnessed the failures of follow-up Bubsy titles, all I can say is that I think people are too caught up in believing that Bubsy sucks in its entirety and neglect this pretty whimsical albeit hard-to-maneuver series debut.
I think it's senselessly overhated, worth trying, a unique experience, but not exactly a great platformer in any sense.
Despite the fact that this doesn't control very well its a fairly decent karting game.
The big standout to me is the hilarious unique vehicles each of the characters have. The tracks aren't the most exciting, but they do have some unique features on them.
An issue with the game lies with the powerups which come across as fairly thoughtless and half of them have the similar function of being some kind of missile, while others like the pixie dust speed booster thingy which you can somehow get in first place, sends you absolutely flying if you hold the use item button. The items truly feel like they were made just so the game would have items.
I'm always a huge fan of karting games that have a live leaderboard where they can't implement a live map, this one is extra neat because it also shows when someone has been hit by a certain item used by another racer. It also has an acceleration meter, another highly preferably feature.
One of the funniest mechanics in the game is that your character still goes sliding forward when they're hit by an obstacle, you don't really lose any momentum as with most other karters.
Not super polished but quite enjoyable nonetheless.
The big standout to me is the hilarious unique vehicles each of the characters have. The tracks aren't the most exciting, but they do have some unique features on them.
An issue with the game lies with the powerups which come across as fairly thoughtless and half of them have the similar function of being some kind of missile, while others like the pixie dust speed booster thingy which you can somehow get in first place, sends you absolutely flying if you hold the use item button. The items truly feel like they were made just so the game would have items.
I'm always a huge fan of karting games that have a live leaderboard where they can't implement a live map, this one is extra neat because it also shows when someone has been hit by a certain item used by another racer. It also has an acceleration meter, another highly preferably feature.
One of the funniest mechanics in the game is that your character still goes sliding forward when they're hit by an obstacle, you don't really lose any momentum as with most other karters.
Not super polished but quite enjoyable nonetheless.
2015
Amazing atmosphere.
Making a settlement was fun but needed refining.
The story was pretty unenticing for most of it and I genuinely had to force myself to care and go power through it at times, rather than make my own way and enjoy some of the RPG elements. Which admittedly, are lacking here too.
Getting attacked by random shit out of nowhere just for existing has always bugged me too.
The combat feels weird, I wasn't a fan.
Something about the atmosphere and the setting had me coming back for a while though..
Making a settlement was fun but needed refining.
The story was pretty unenticing for most of it and I genuinely had to force myself to care and go power through it at times, rather than make my own way and enjoy some of the RPG elements. Which admittedly, are lacking here too.
Getting attacked by random shit out of nowhere just for existing has always bugged me too.
The combat feels weird, I wasn't a fan.
Something about the atmosphere and the setting had me coming back for a while though..
2003
By no means the best karting game in the Crash series. However it's a very fun playthrough nonetheless. The premise of the story is honestly very funny and the cutscenes are quite enjoyable.
The art style of the game is quite good looking and the mechanic of being able to hop/jump in your vehicle in the game always felt like a clever choice so that the game could incorporate elements of the series' classic platformer playstyle.
The live leaderboard and accel. meter are nice ubiquitous features across karters of the time. The live map with coloured dots to indicate certain characters wasn't perfectly implemented in this game and is hard to see and comprehend while also driving, and is done far better by its follow up CTTR as with just about everything else.
The primary issue with this game for me is how SLOW it is. Like, seriously. Among the slowest karters I've played (Probably a big plus for beginners, young kids or people who struggle with faster-paced racing.)
The art style of the game is quite good looking and the mechanic of being able to hop/jump in your vehicle in the game always felt like a clever choice so that the game could incorporate elements of the series' classic platformer playstyle.
The live leaderboard and accel. meter are nice ubiquitous features across karters of the time. The live map with coloured dots to indicate certain characters wasn't perfectly implemented in this game and is hard to see and comprehend while also driving, and is done far better by its follow up CTTR as with just about everything else.
The primary issue with this game for me is how SLOW it is. Like, seriously. Among the slowest karters I've played (Probably a big plus for beginners, young kids or people who struggle with faster-paced racing.)
A really big game with lots to explore and do but the game feels pretty bad to play even for its time, which is a pretty extreme roadblock to getting to enjoy any of what Daggerfall has to offer. The aesthetics are pretty nice too though all things considered.