blueblur98
2010
I'm counting the act of clearing the last stage at the right end of the last Arcade world's puzzle list as "beating" it, but the game doesn't actually give you anything for getting to the end, not even a credits sequence. Lame.
A decent puzzle game, though one that can get downright infuriating at points in juxtaposition to its serene and calming aesthetics. Very detailed visuals, a soothing art style and excellent music give the game a very pleasant and comfortable zen atmosphere, and each new world introduces new mechanics and level gimmicks to keep things fresh, though not every addition quite sticks the landing.
Multiplayer's also a bit of a mixed bag. There's plenty of ways to play with both local and online buddies, and every mode is mechanically sound in of themselves, but having every single Arcade level in the mix, including the hardest and most frustrating ones, hampers this game's potential as a pick-up-and-play party game. If you play this with someone who's not familliar with it, you're gonna have to explain the world-specific gimmicks to them constantly and watch them struggle with the hard stages when the game inevitably pulls those late-game puzzles out of a hat.
Still, it's a good title and very much worth the $8.99 price tag. Just don't expect that calming energy to persist throughout all of these levels.
A decent puzzle game, though one that can get downright infuriating at points in juxtaposition to its serene and calming aesthetics. Very detailed visuals, a soothing art style and excellent music give the game a very pleasant and comfortable zen atmosphere, and each new world introduces new mechanics and level gimmicks to keep things fresh, though not every addition quite sticks the landing.
Multiplayer's also a bit of a mixed bag. There's plenty of ways to play with both local and online buddies, and every mode is mechanically sound in of themselves, but having every single Arcade level in the mix, including the hardest and most frustrating ones, hampers this game's potential as a pick-up-and-play party game. If you play this with someone who's not familliar with it, you're gonna have to explain the world-specific gimmicks to them constantly and watch them struggle with the hard stages when the game inevitably pulls those late-game puzzles out of a hat.
Still, it's a good title and very much worth the $8.99 price tag. Just don't expect that calming energy to persist throughout all of these levels.
2009
Solid enough open-world super hero fun, but also a very flawed game that has aged incredibly poorly. The story is good, with karma choices that feel like they have a distinct effect on the world, and the moment-to-moment gameplay is very fun, with an enjoyable kit of super powers and parkour abilities that make platforming and combat a blast throughout. However, it suffers from an incredibly dull and colorless in-game art style, generally uninteresting side content, some very cumbersome to navigate areas such as the prison in the Warren, and copious amounts of the 7th-generation's specialty: terrible frame rates. Not amazing, but still worth a play.
Also, the fact that the 350 (!!!!!) Blast Shards scattered all across this big-ass game can only be found by clicking in the left stick (which is the most cumbersome button to map to this ability) to ping your mini map just so you can see the little blue dot that indicates its location for five seconds makes the process of collecting all of them absolutely miserable.
P.S.: Silent Melody is a banger.
Also, the fact that the 350 (!!!!!) Blast Shards scattered all across this big-ass game can only be found by clicking in the left stick (which is the most cumbersome button to map to this ability) to ping your mini map just so you can see the little blue dot that indicates its location for five seconds makes the process of collecting all of them absolutely miserable.
P.S.: Silent Melody is a banger.
2018
Fun core gameplay (even if it is just diet Need for Speed), and the addition of split-screen is very much appreciated, but the progression system is absolutely miserable, even for free-to-play standards. It takes no time at all until you hit a brick wall and have to grind in order to get anything done. Reached a point in Chapter 2 where you need every single flag in order to progress and one of them requires you to win with a car that I need like nine more cards to even get, with no clear way to actually get those cards, and yeah, I think I'm done here.
2021
The best part of this game is when a bunch of fruit combine in quick succession. It's like watching a bag of popcorn get cooked.
I have yet to actually make a watermelon. I have not seen a single suika in this game. Therefore, I have yet to reach true enlightenment.
I have yet to actually make a watermelon. I have not seen a single suika in this game. Therefore, I have yet to reach true enlightenment.
2014
I haven't played this in ages, but I remember it being a solid, if unremarkable Mega Man-like. I recall it being really short, though.
1994
Solid 2D platformer with a cool visual style and great atmosphere. The level design is generally solid throughout, and the game introduces a lot of varied mechanics to keep things fresh without straying too far from the core platforming gameplay you're here for in the first place.
There's two things I didn't like here. First is the length. You can beat this in an afternoon, which is not really anything new when it comes to a lot of SNES games, but the levels here feel pretty short in of themselves, which makes the game feel shorter than it actually is. Secondly is the camera. I felt it was just a tad too close to the player in a lot of cases, resulting in several moments where I was blindsided by an enemy or projectile that hit me before I could see it coming. It's not a constant occurence, but it does happen more often than I'd like it to. Just a little bit of extra screen space would have gone a long way here.
Outside of a handful of complaints, Donkey Kong Country is solid and an easy game to recommend for fans of the genre. I might go back to reach 100% completion one day, but I'm satisfied with leaving it here for the time being. Definitely looking forward to playing the second and third games in the future.
There's two things I didn't like here. First is the length. You can beat this in an afternoon, which is not really anything new when it comes to a lot of SNES games, but the levels here feel pretty short in of themselves, which makes the game feel shorter than it actually is. Secondly is the camera. I felt it was just a tad too close to the player in a lot of cases, resulting in several moments where I was blindsided by an enemy or projectile that hit me before I could see it coming. It's not a constant occurence, but it does happen more often than I'd like it to. Just a little bit of extra screen space would have gone a long way here.
Outside of a handful of complaints, Donkey Kong Country is solid and an easy game to recommend for fans of the genre. I might go back to reach 100% completion one day, but I'm satisfied with leaving it here for the time being. Definitely looking forward to playing the second and third games in the future.
1995
Yeah, it's Puyo, alright. Except this time I can't read anything!
This one actually introduced a lot of the series' staple gameplay features such as neutralizing chains, but it does feel pretty vanilla going back to it nowadays, and it's also super short if you're just trying to beat the single-player campaign. Still, it's a good puzzler and a good Puyo game, worth playing as always.
This one actually introduced a lot of the series' staple gameplay features such as neutralizing chains, but it does feel pretty vanilla going back to it nowadays, and it's also super short if you're just trying to beat the single-player campaign. Still, it's a good puzzler and a good Puyo game, worth playing as always.
2023
A relatively novel and very well-made game, just not one I see myself coming back to very often. Maybe I'd be singing a different tune if I was a big F-Zero guy, but as it stands now this didn't really grip me the same way Tetris 99 did. Not bad at all, just not something I'd keep in my online rotation per se.
1992
A very short and sweet introduction to the Kirby series. Kirby's Dream Land is nothing mind-blowing, but it's a simple and enjoyable way to kill a lunch break's worth of time nonetheless. The sprite work and animation give the game a hearty dose of charm and character, and the moment-to-moment gameplay, while very simplistic, is generally satisfying enough to carry the experience despite the very low difficulty. And while it may be incredibly short (you're looking at half an hour, tops), it at the very least does a good job at not overstaying its welcome. A very pleasant time all around.
2019
I HAVEN'T EVEN PUT A BLOCK DOWN YET WHY ARE THREE PEOPLE TARGETING ME
2006
Sonic Riders is an incredibly unique, fresh and rewarding racer hidden to most behind beginner-unfriendly mechanics and a tutorial that just doesn't do its job very well.
Calling this a "Mario Kart clone" is not particularly accurate at all - it shares the surface-level element of being a spin-off of a platforming series, but it plays completely differently. It's not a casual-friendly, pick-up-and-play party game, it's a blazing fast, challenging, technical arcade racer that doesn't pull its punches. There's no randomized item system to help (or hinder) you during races - the only way to fight back is to attack your opponents directly with a well-timed boost. Your racer choice doesn't exclusively affect stats like acceleration or handling, but rather puts you into one of three classes (Speed, Flight or Power) that have their own special ability and shortcuts tailored to them specifically. There's loads of different vehicles that all have wildly different attributes and stats from each other, some even allowing you to mix and match character abilities (such as giving a Speed character like Sonic the ability to fly). You have to keep track of the air supply that fuels your vehicle, and avoid abusing things that consume a lot of it such as boosts to prevent it from running dry.
If their goal was to make this not play like Mario Kart, they definitely did that well. There's a surprising amount of mechanical depth here despite seeming like a silly mascot racer on the surface, and I really do like that about it. It takes some time and learning to get used to, but once it clicks, Sonic Riders feels awesome to play, and it is genuinely very satisfying to get better at it. Learning the ins and outs of the tracks, mastering the controls and trick system and learning better ways to maintain your air tank are all satisfying to learn, practice and execute in races in their own right. Track design is solid for the most part, with every track giving every character class a chance to shine, the trick system provides many opportunities to pull off some sick mid-air stunts, and the game is covered top to bottom in a unique style, from its locales, to all of the characters getting new outfits and designs, to its soundtrack that leans more into techno, trance and drum & bass sounds as opposed to the rock 'n roll that most other Sonic games were adopting at the time.
There is a steep learning curve here, and the game does a pretty bad job at making its mechanics clear. All you get in-game is a handful of tutorial videos tucked away in the extras menu that teach you the most basic of mechanics and that's it. No more videos for the more advanced techniques, no playable tutorial that teaches you in a more hands-on manner, just a single prerendered video that still misses some of the things you'd really want to know in favor of telling you about the completely worthless tornado mechanic instead. The instruction manual does touch on the game's mechanics a bit better, but not everyone's going to have that manual to fall back on, and you really shouldn't need a manual to understand the basics of a game. This is easily the game's biggest sin - you can't pair a game this technical and complex with a tutorial this barebones.
While the barrier for entry here is maybe a bit too steep, and the game does a remarkably poor job teaching people how it's supposed to be played, those who stick with this title and learn its mechanics will find an innovative and satisfying take on the mascot racer with great track design, plenty of bonus content and unlockables, and heaps of style and charm that extends throughout the entire package. It's genuinely a very good game, but one where I can wholly understand why some people bounced off of it. I hope that we see a remaster or new entry in the Sonic Riders series someday - this is a series with a ton of untapped potential, and I think a genuine revival effort from SEGA could see some of that potential get realized.
Calling this a "Mario Kart clone" is not particularly accurate at all - it shares the surface-level element of being a spin-off of a platforming series, but it plays completely differently. It's not a casual-friendly, pick-up-and-play party game, it's a blazing fast, challenging, technical arcade racer that doesn't pull its punches. There's no randomized item system to help (or hinder) you during races - the only way to fight back is to attack your opponents directly with a well-timed boost. Your racer choice doesn't exclusively affect stats like acceleration or handling, but rather puts you into one of three classes (Speed, Flight or Power) that have their own special ability and shortcuts tailored to them specifically. There's loads of different vehicles that all have wildly different attributes and stats from each other, some even allowing you to mix and match character abilities (such as giving a Speed character like Sonic the ability to fly). You have to keep track of the air supply that fuels your vehicle, and avoid abusing things that consume a lot of it such as boosts to prevent it from running dry.
If their goal was to make this not play like Mario Kart, they definitely did that well. There's a surprising amount of mechanical depth here despite seeming like a silly mascot racer on the surface, and I really do like that about it. It takes some time and learning to get used to, but once it clicks, Sonic Riders feels awesome to play, and it is genuinely very satisfying to get better at it. Learning the ins and outs of the tracks, mastering the controls and trick system and learning better ways to maintain your air tank are all satisfying to learn, practice and execute in races in their own right. Track design is solid for the most part, with every track giving every character class a chance to shine, the trick system provides many opportunities to pull off some sick mid-air stunts, and the game is covered top to bottom in a unique style, from its locales, to all of the characters getting new outfits and designs, to its soundtrack that leans more into techno, trance and drum & bass sounds as opposed to the rock 'n roll that most other Sonic games were adopting at the time.
There is a steep learning curve here, and the game does a pretty bad job at making its mechanics clear. All you get in-game is a handful of tutorial videos tucked away in the extras menu that teach you the most basic of mechanics and that's it. No more videos for the more advanced techniques, no playable tutorial that teaches you in a more hands-on manner, just a single prerendered video that still misses some of the things you'd really want to know in favor of telling you about the completely worthless tornado mechanic instead. The instruction manual does touch on the game's mechanics a bit better, but not everyone's going to have that manual to fall back on, and you really shouldn't need a manual to understand the basics of a game. This is easily the game's biggest sin - you can't pair a game this technical and complex with a tutorial this barebones.
While the barrier for entry here is maybe a bit too steep, and the game does a remarkably poor job teaching people how it's supposed to be played, those who stick with this title and learn its mechanics will find an innovative and satisfying take on the mascot racer with great track design, plenty of bonus content and unlockables, and heaps of style and charm that extends throughout the entire package. It's genuinely a very good game, but one where I can wholly understand why some people bounced off of it. I hope that we see a remaster or new entry in the Sonic Riders series someday - this is a series with a ton of untapped potential, and I think a genuine revival effort from SEGA could see some of that potential get realized.
2018
An outlet to play online/local multiplayer Puyo Puyo... and absolutely nothing else. There's no campaign, very little content in general, a real headscratcher of a roster and very little here that'd appeal to casual fans or series newcomers. But just being an outlet to play multiplayer Puyo is all this game was ever meant to be, so I can't really fault it for this I suppose. It's still Puyo, and Puyo's always fun, and for $10 tops, it's not a bad deal at all.
Despite the fact that there's very little to do in this game, I still 100% completed it anyway and I'm not sure what that says about me.
Despite the fact that there's very little to do in this game, I still 100% completed it anyway and I'm not sure what that says about me.
2022
You know, I reviewed every other game in this collection so I might as well review this as well.
This is a very solid collection of PAC-MAN games. The games look great and generally play well, and most of the titles on offer here are enjoyable in their own right, though there are some misses here like Pac-in-Time and 256. The customizable arcade also adds a unique and charming layer of personality to the package's presentation, and was something I consistently found myself screwing around with in between game sessions. Certainly has a lot more character than just a basic game menu.
The game is a bit of a chore to 100% complete, though. Most games have at least one groan-worthy mission, such as getting to very late rounds in the arcade titles (expect to abuse the hell out of pause-saves here), the 20-to-30-hour long PAC-MAN 256 grind, and the just plain absurd ones like having to play all of Pac n' Roll Remix in one sitting. The reward of arcade cabinets no longer consuming coins honestly isn't worth it since the game gives you plenty of coins to begin with. I also wish there was some more historical content related to the games included here, such as concept art. It's not a huge issue, but it would have been nice all the same.
Regardless of some issues with the game, I think this is a very solid package overall, and I really enjoyed exploring a slice of the history of series I kind of wrote off for all this time. If you're looking for a nice sample platter of the PAC-MAN series, you can't get much better than this. And considering how cheap this game is, it's a very easy one to recommend to anyone interested in the series.
This is a very solid collection of PAC-MAN games. The games look great and generally play well, and most of the titles on offer here are enjoyable in their own right, though there are some misses here like Pac-in-Time and 256. The customizable arcade also adds a unique and charming layer of personality to the package's presentation, and was something I consistently found myself screwing around with in between game sessions. Certainly has a lot more character than just a basic game menu.
The game is a bit of a chore to 100% complete, though. Most games have at least one groan-worthy mission, such as getting to very late rounds in the arcade titles (expect to abuse the hell out of pause-saves here), the 20-to-30-hour long PAC-MAN 256 grind, and the just plain absurd ones like having to play all of Pac n' Roll Remix in one sitting. The reward of arcade cabinets no longer consuming coins honestly isn't worth it since the game gives you plenty of coins to begin with. I also wish there was some more historical content related to the games included here, such as concept art. It's not a huge issue, but it would have been nice all the same.
Regardless of some issues with the game, I think this is a very solid package overall, and I really enjoyed exploring a slice of the history of series I kind of wrote off for all this time. If you're looking for a nice sample platter of the PAC-MAN series, you can't get much better than this. And considering how cheap this game is, it's a very easy one to recommend to anyone interested in the series.
2015
[PAC-MAN Museum+ 14/14]
Last game in the collection, and I hate to say that this ain't it.
The game is a good idea on paper - turn PAC-MAN into an endless runner - but it's not executed particularly well. The game just feels like your run is up to really annoying RNG when it comes to ghost spawns and such. I couldn't tell you how many times I died to bad luck with ghosts spawning in a pattern that just corners me in a way I just can't escape from. The only recourse is leveling your power ups until they're totally OP... which is a miserable grind that requires you to grind out randomized missions to get randomized (and usually paltry) coin drops. The whole game just devolves into a randomized slog in no time flat when you're trying to get any decent scores. Also, this is more of an issue with Museum+, but the fact that you need to max out several power ups for some missions literally doubles the time investment to 100% that game and I hated going for those missions immensely.
Speaking of which, why in the fresh hell is this in Museum+ in the first place??? It's free on mobile devices, and had already been available on PlayStation 4, Xbox One and PC by itself for years by now, which is most of the platforms Museum+ was targeting. Sure, it wasn't on Nintendo Switch, but wouldn't it make more sense to just drop that on the eShop as a standalone downloadable title and add an older, less readily available game like Championship Edition DX instead? What a waste of a slot.
Last game in the collection, and I hate to say that this ain't it.
The game is a good idea on paper - turn PAC-MAN into an endless runner - but it's not executed particularly well. The game just feels like your run is up to really annoying RNG when it comes to ghost spawns and such. I couldn't tell you how many times I died to bad luck with ghosts spawning in a pattern that just corners me in a way I just can't escape from. The only recourse is leveling your power ups until they're totally OP... which is a miserable grind that requires you to grind out randomized missions to get randomized (and usually paltry) coin drops. The whole game just devolves into a randomized slog in no time flat when you're trying to get any decent scores. Also, this is more of an issue with Museum+, but the fact that you need to max out several power ups for some missions literally doubles the time investment to 100% that game and I hated going for those missions immensely.
Speaking of which, why in the fresh hell is this in Museum+ in the first place??? It's free on mobile devices, and had already been available on PlayStation 4, Xbox One and PC by itself for years by now, which is most of the platforms Museum+ was targeting. Sure, it wasn't on Nintendo Switch, but wouldn't it make more sense to just drop that on the eShop as a standalone downloadable title and add an older, less readily available game like Championship Edition DX instead? What a waste of a slot.
[PAC-MAN Museum+ 13/14]
I can't judge this properly because I wasn't able to play it in multiplayer. It seems fun when played that way, but in single-player it's obviously a tad boring. You can't play with more than one CPU player when you're going solo for some reason so you're not getting the chaotic energy you'd expect from a 4-player free-for-all.
Maybe I'll re-review when I do get a chance to play some multiplayer games with others but God knows when that'll happen.
I can't judge this properly because I wasn't able to play it in multiplayer. It seems fun when played that way, but in single-player it's obviously a tad boring. You can't play with more than one CPU player when you're going solo for some reason so you're not getting the chaotic energy you'd expect from a 4-player free-for-all.
Maybe I'll re-review when I do get a chance to play some multiplayer games with others but God knows when that'll happen.