Pretty solid DLC. New characters have some interesting mechanics, I love the new character palettes, and the survival mode is more fun than I expected. Just wish there was new main game content, or at least a reason to play through the story mode again with the new characters.
It's video games, baby. I've had a deep love of Smash Bros. since the N64 title, and my favorite gaming memories involve long nights with friends and hours of Smash. This lives up to its name by taking the best parts of all the prior games and putting them all together. Will come back to it again and again forever.
This quest line has a real rough start, but once you're inside the main dungeon area, the hits keep coming. A great expansion on the lore of the main game with a killer boss fight and a banger of a soundtrack.
2023
They really got my number with this one.
I found the world, story, and characters of FF16 very compelling, and for me it all came together pretty well. The combat was equally as fun, so I never minded that many of the quests were "go over here and fight this thing."
I played every side quest and read every lore entry, and credit those two things with my appreciation of the overall story. Yes, one could easily argue that some of the information you get from random side quests or reading lore entries should've been woven into the main narrative, and you'd be fair to do so. It's all there, though, should you desire to find it.
There is plenty to critique in FF16's narrative, as well as its mechanics — it doesn't really do justice to the slavery story, and some of its systems (like crafting, and loot) feel under-considered, to name two big things — I nonetheless loved both the game's lore and its moment-to-moment action.
Imperfect though it may be, I enjoyed the heck out of it.
I found the world, story, and characters of FF16 very compelling, and for me it all came together pretty well. The combat was equally as fun, so I never minded that many of the quests were "go over here and fight this thing."
I played every side quest and read every lore entry, and credit those two things with my appreciation of the overall story. Yes, one could easily argue that some of the information you get from random side quests or reading lore entries should've been woven into the main narrative, and you'd be fair to do so. It's all there, though, should you desire to find it.
There is plenty to critique in FF16's narrative, as well as its mechanics — it doesn't really do justice to the slavery story, and some of its systems (like crafting, and loot) feel under-considered, to name two big things — I nonetheless loved both the game's lore and its moment-to-moment action.
Imperfect though it may be, I enjoyed the heck out of it.
It is interesting that this exists, but it's not really good even ignoring that it's a simpler, more difficult version of a much better game. RIP to those who bought a cart on the aftermarket at its peak value looking to experience a rare Castlevania.
I really, really wanted to like this game. I loved BOTW, but this didn't do it for me. I spent 50+ hours, and still felt like I was missing some crucial pieces of information or gear at every turn. A good open-world game should always make you feel like you're on the right path, but I never once felt that way here. Just felt like I was always doing the wrong things in the wrong order, and it made me not want to play. Maybe it's me, but it was a far cry from the wonder that was BOTW for me. Biggest disappointment of the year for me.
Kirby's Adventure is pretty close to a perfect game. The GBA remake is fine. I prefer the visuals of the NES original, and they removed the rotating tower part of Butter Building in this one which is unforgivable.
A tremendously good game in all respects, though not quite as perfect as its predecessor. I actually don't mind the touch screen elements when played on an actual DS, but I found the castle and enemy layout to be a little rougher compared to Aria. The extra Julius Mode is a lot of fun too, having its own story and basically being "Castlevania 3" mode.
It’s remarkable how immediate the quality of Aria of Sorrow is demonstrated. 20 minutes in, you know it’s going to be a much higher caliber of game than the prior GBA-vanias. Spritework is better, music is an enormous improvement, and the layout and flow of the castle is much improved. Not the longest game, but everything works together in perfect harmony and it's a banger from start to finish. A high mark for Castlevania, and just might be my favorite one.
I didn't hate this, but I didn't love it! The randomized card system is not that fun. It's not a bad game, really, but was totally eclipsed by the games that followed.
It really wants to be Symphony of the Night. It's not, but it's fine. A cromulent Castlevania. Terrible music and an absolutely bonkers color palette, though.
2023
A difficult game to judge objectively. It's pretty simple, but it was never intended to be anything other than a breezy, charming entry point for RPG beginners. Had I played the original during its release, it likely would've captivated me and set me down a path of loving RPGs — something that in this timeline was reserved for Final Fantasy VII many years later. It doesn't have the depth of even some of its contemporaries, let alone games that followed, but I had fun with it.
That said, the changes made in this remake are all fairly detrimental to the whole package. The additions made to the battle system (splash damage, team attacks, swapping characters mid-battle) are neat, but they make an already easy game even less dependent on strategy. I would've loved to see an optional hard mode in addition to the even-easier mode they added.
Aesthetically, I'm glad they resisted any temptation to bring the character models closer to the modern Mario style guide, but things still feel a little sanitized. It's technically a very faithful adaptation of the original graphics, but it doesn't quite capture the game's atmosphere. And don't even get me started on the dialogue font, which is a problem in nearly every Square remaster/rerelease of the last several years and continues to be a huge sore spot for me.
Still, it's a good time, and the fact that Nintendo can sell what is essentially an SNES game in 2023 is a testament to its quality. Even if I would rather play that original.
That said, the changes made in this remake are all fairly detrimental to the whole package. The additions made to the battle system (splash damage, team attacks, swapping characters mid-battle) are neat, but they make an already easy game even less dependent on strategy. I would've loved to see an optional hard mode in addition to the even-easier mode they added.
Aesthetically, I'm glad they resisted any temptation to bring the character models closer to the modern Mario style guide, but things still feel a little sanitized. It's technically a very faithful adaptation of the original graphics, but it doesn't quite capture the game's atmosphere. And don't even get me started on the dialogue font, which is a problem in nearly every Square remaster/rerelease of the last several years and continues to be a huge sore spot for me.
Still, it's a good time, and the fact that Nintendo can sell what is essentially an SNES game in 2023 is a testament to its quality. Even if I would rather play that original.
2023
It's fine? I still don't think they needed to make this, and I couldn't actually tell you from memory what's different from the original. I also can't remember now if I finished it or not, which certainly says something. I wish they'd done Code: Veronica instead.
2023
A pretty alright experience that is very frustratingly close to being better. The boss fights are really atrocious — long, drawn out slogs that go against the design philosophy of every other classic Sonic game. The developers clearly played a lot of classic Sonic, so the refusal to design bosses in the spirit of those games is bewildering. It really drags down the whole experience.
The music is also pretty middling, which is a crime in a classic Sonic game, and while the levels are generally solid there are a few standout terrible ones. Press Factory Act 2 in particular is a disaster.
Still, it's alright, and frankly much better than I could have possibly hoped for. It's no Sonic Mania of course, but it gently scratches the itch for more classic Sonic. I'd much rather play another one of these than another Sonic Frontiers. Hopefully they find someone else to design the boss fights in it, though.
The music is also pretty middling, which is a crime in a classic Sonic game, and while the levels are generally solid there are a few standout terrible ones. Press Factory Act 2 in particular is a disaster.
Still, it's alright, and frankly much better than I could have possibly hoped for. It's no Sonic Mania of course, but it gently scratches the itch for more classic Sonic. I'd much rather play another one of these than another Sonic Frontiers. Hopefully they find someone else to design the boss fights in it, though.
I don't hate the NSMB series of games — they've got some solid 2D Mario action in them — but they are aesthetically revolting. I was so excited to see Wonder allowed to have some style, and the work they did to make the models look and feel more like sprites is a tremendous visual upgrade. The game looks great.
It is also, thankfully, a great playing game as well. It's the truest successor to Super Mario World yet. There are a few challenges, but it's not a particularly difficult game. That said, neither is Super Mario World, and that never stopped me from loving it.
If I had a few nitpicks, it's the lack of end-world bosses in a few worlds, lack of boss variety overall (this game should've really had the Koopa Kids, not a handful of Bowser Jr. fights), and the lack of commitment to the flower coin challenges. You keep flower coins even if you die while collecting them, which feels like it robs the challenge of its teeth. I would've liked to see an optional challenge layer that was allowed to be challenging.
It is also, thankfully, a great playing game as well. It's the truest successor to Super Mario World yet. There are a few challenges, but it's not a particularly difficult game. That said, neither is Super Mario World, and that never stopped me from loving it.
If I had a few nitpicks, it's the lack of end-world bosses in a few worlds, lack of boss variety overall (this game should've really had the Koopa Kids, not a handful of Bowser Jr. fights), and the lack of commitment to the flower coin challenges. You keep flower coins even if you die while collecting them, which feels like it robs the challenge of its teeth. I would've liked to see an optional challenge layer that was allowed to be challenging.