There's a ton I could praise about this game: the music, the spritework, the combat, the writing, etc. But the thing that really sticks out to me is how well it does Bowser. Not only is he funny and a great main character, but the game does everything in its power to make him feel like a playable boss. He has free heavy-hitting and AOE attacks, his stats are high, and he straight-up tramples enemies the bros would have trouble with.

TTYD might usurp it once I play the remake later this year, but for the time being, this is my favorite Mario RPG. It does a ton right and very little wrong, and there are enemies called Stonk and Sneed. If that doesn't convince you of this game's quality, I don't know what will.

(Third Playthrough)
...April 30th?

Calling this work of art my favorite video game ever made doesn't do it justice. A lot of people say video games change their lives, but this game actually changed my life. This game isn't just my favorite video game ever, It's my favorite piece of art ever, It's my favorite piece of storytelling ever. It's been about 2 years since I played it for the first time and cemented it as my favorite. This game will always be the most personal piece of art ever created for me and I will continue to cherish this fantastic work of fiction for the rest of my life.

anyway im gonna go play as raiden in fortnite now

If there’s anything in this world worth keeping alive, it’s love.

In the void that is Revachol, we see the light of love and hope slowly fade away. It is up to us to cultivate and nurture that light so it does not die. Love is not dead! As you read this, you are alive and breathing, and it's up to you to seize what remains and fight for it. We can no longer wait for some great revolution that will fix all of our problems. If you truly desire a revolution, you must create the conditions necessary to birth it!

Disco Elysium isn’t just a game about what political faction you align with or finding out who lynched the man behind Whirling-in-Rags; it’s a story about love and why we must hold onto it, even in the darkest of times. I understand that nowadays, with the current state of affairs, it's hard to believe in love and hope. It's difficult to place our hope in a future that seems to have been stolen away from us, yet that's precisely when we need it the most.

I choose to believe in love. I choose to hold on to the hope that a better future is possible, no matter what, because I believe it is. The people we know, the community we live in, and the world we inhabit are worth fighting for. Disco Elysium taught me that fixing the world and making it a better place isn’t just about picking up a gun and waging some violent revolution; it’s about cultivating community and caring for those in it. That’s where the true beauty of Disco Elysium lies.

I believe the way this game conveys that message is quite powerful. Disco doesn't make some grand showy gesture beating you over the head with its message; instead, it laboriously takes the time to show you that the world you live in is beautiful and worth fighting for. It spends the time showing you the inner lives of those around you and has you helping them, one person at a time.

There is one specific character that I feel best embodies this: Cuno. Cuno, at first, is seen to be an irrational, difficult, vulgar, and poorly-behaved child, which leads you to inevitably hate him. As you learn more about Cuno and his home life, however, you realise there’s something greater at play. He doesn’t act out for the hell of it; he is the way he is because his father is a drunk who’s fallen down on his luck due to becoming a victim of the system giving up on him and his son. He’s left with no choice. The system has abandoned Uuno and his son, leaving them both to fend for themselves and pick up the pieces. Which sadly isn’t uncommon in Revachol and the real world as well. It’s perhaps one of the most striking and poignant stories in the game. I eventually went from despising Cuno to feeling empathy for him, as I did for many others in Revachol when I learned their stories.

I believe this approach to storytelling and character writing is incredibly effective, and the best part about Disco Elysium is that these kinds of stories are all over the game. This goes to show how much love and care was put into humanising the inhabitants of Revachol, which helps make the world feel alive. Because of how well the game fleshed out its world and characters Disco Elysium was successful at conveying the message that this world is worth fighting for. Not only was I captivated by this world, but as the game drew to a close, I found myself deeply invested in the wellbeing of these characters and the city.

As I learned about these stories, Revachol’s history, and the many political factions vying for power, I realised that this game was never about solving a murder or finding which faction is "correct." It was about learning to love those around us and working together to create a better world, one step at a time. Creating a better world was never an unattainable goal conjured up in the minds of idealistic and "ignorant" kids. It is a possible reality, but it demands the working toiling masses of the world unite and work hand in hand in creating this future. It is on us to seize the future and lift eachother up when we need it most.

Never give up on fighting for this future. It is only dead when you allow yourself to be convinced that it is.

Chrono Trigger is often considered one of the best games ever made, at least this is what I heard years ago. So I decided to give it a shot and... from the moment I noticed the characters going into a dance animation in the optional side roadof the festival, I knew I was in for a ride.

For a game from 1995, it's incredible how many things this masterpiece achieves: it's presentation is immaculate, able to convey a gorgeous spritework with incredible environments, set pieces and designs. A literal work of art that lives one to this day. Akira's Toriyama's characters are able to remain both simple and incredibly memorable, also because of the incredible characterization that makes you care for them so much (seriously stories and some bits about like Robo and Frog are just... tear-dropping).

The story is also impressivily realized: it's not easy to make a narrative based on time-travel can result so easy to follow, but also enthrilling and full of incredible settings and twists, ableto convey fun, fear and even sadder feelings.

Compared to other jrgps, Final Fantasy especially, it can result less deeper in mechanics, but the amount of combos between allies and the overall presentation makes it stand out even more.

I feel like that final section of the game, which is less linear, can drag a bit, especially because the requirements to get the "Best ending" can be kinda tedious to discover without a guide.

But overall Chrono Trigger is amazing. One of the best jrpgs of all time, and a title that deserves all the praises it gets!

While Pikmin 3 Deluxe is outdone by other Pikmin games in specific areas, like 1's narrative, 2's sense of humor, or 4's level design, it remains my favorite in the series. There are a few reasons why, but more than anything I think it's easily the most fun to master.

Pikmin 3 is, in my opinion, the fully realized version of Pikmin 1's design ethos. It's an exercise in learning the mechanics, learning the levels, and finding out how to do everything as quickly and efficiently as possible. Every Pikmin type remains useful both when completing the main objectives and when revisiting areas for cleanup. The increased size of levels and variety of objectives gives the player plenty of room to figure out what to tackle and when (Tropical Wilds especially is really fun to optimize).

And of course, the introduction of the "Go Here" command is quite possibly the best thing to ever happen to the series, opening up a world of possibilities for multitasking. It allows for simultaneous completion of multiple objectives and management of special objectives requiring multiple captains. All this, on top of managing Pikmin counts and Spicy Spray, gives Pikmin 3 a feeling of "Dandori" its prequels couldn't match and its sequel ironically refused to. It's not perfect; the timer's very lax, the balance scale puzzle in Garden of Hope is a little annoying to speed through, and placing exactly two fruits underwater in Twilight River is a bit of a dick move. But I think it comes closer than any other game in the series.

On top of all that, it has some absolutely phenomenal extras. Mission Mode is a fantastic addition that pushes your time management skills to their absolute limits. Bingo Battle is a really fun multiplayer mode, though I haven't played much of it. The option to take photos is a neat extra, especially with a game this beautiful. And the stuff Deluxe adds is no slouch either. The Piklopedia's back, complete with Louie's cooking logs. Co-op in the main campaign is a blast to play with a buddy (and is such an obvious addition I question why it hasn't been a thing since Pikmin 2). And there are so many charming Easter Eggs and little bits of dialogue that add so much to the experience. It's really good! I don't know what else to say.

I wasn't expecting much from this game, and it's certainly A First Person Dungeon Crawler From 1994 with all that that entails, but I have not stopped thinking about this game since I beat it. I am enamored. The atmosphere is perfect and the combat, while clunky, has a certain rhythm that you pick up on by the time you leave the first floor. If you put in a little time to get used to the way the game is I feel like it's a pretty rewarding experience. The game is also pretty short so it's the perfect game to stay up all night and finish.