chemergency
It's drastically different from its predecessor in many ways, but Street Fighter III in-retrospect is one of the most technical and competitive fighting games out there, with a great and diverse roster (particularly in Third Strike), gorgeous sprite animation and pixel art, and a great EDM/hip-hop soundtrack.
A pleasant surprise and a sturdy rebound from the painfully-mediocre Avengers game, Eidos Montreal's Guardians of the Galaxy is a fun adaptation taking influence from both the comics and James Gunn's films, with gameplay that feels like a mixture of Uncharted and Mass Effect, and some light elements borrowed from Metroid Prime and Square's own Final Fantasy VII Remake, making for a simple-yet-compelling story-driven game with impressive visuals and fun writing, even if it gets carried away with quippiness sometimes.
Essentially a standalone expansion for BL2 with a new cast and some gimmicks thrown in, it may not hook you quite like the mainline games do but if you're not burnt-out on the rest of the series I'd say it's polished enough to be worth a look.
1983
A simple, but fun little arcade game that arguably lacks variety compared to Donkey Kong, but manages to leave a memorable impression regardless with its crisp sprites, chunky sound effects, and fun multiplayer that leaves cooperation or competition entirely in players' hands.
1985
Even discounting the game's staggering historical significance and effect on video games as a whole, the original Super Mario Bros. is still an excellent and well-crafted adventure with stellar level design and variety, tons of cool secrets, and a fair amount of challenge for both novice and experienced players.
Also a tip for zoomers and young players who might find the game more difficult than their older peers: the trick to playing SMB1 proficiently and being able to complete it is to take your time and be steady with your jumps- this isn't Sonic the Hedgehog so don't abuse the run button because unless you've memorized the game like speedrunners and other crazy people have, the game will punish you for impatience and lack of precision at moments when you least expect it.
Also a tip for zoomers and young players who might find the game more difficult than their older peers: the trick to playing SMB1 proficiently and being able to complete it is to take your time and be steady with your jumps- this isn't Sonic the Hedgehog so don't abuse the run button because unless you've memorized the game like speedrunners and other crazy people have, the game will punish you for impatience and lack of precision at moments when you least expect it.
1984
For being the great grandfather of Japanese role playing games, Tower of Druaga is an interesting and ambitious arcade game, though at the end of the day it's basically a glorified Pac-Man clone with a fantasy theme and repetitive gameplay. Still worth a look given its historical value though.
2018
Probably the best "Destiny-like" I've played, and easily Rare's best game since the N64 era. Sea of Thieves may have initially launched in a less than ideal state, but it manages to strike a perfect balance between approachable and challenging, it can demand a lot of patience from the player with how harshly it punishes failure, but when everything's firing on all cylinders and you're sailing with buddies it makes you feel like a real pirate on a real adventure. It feels distinctly Rare, with a lot of heart and soul in the presentation, and yet I don't feel like it's something that could have been pulled off on a Nintendo console. It's been a long time coming but I believe Rare's finally proven themselves to be one of Microsoft's best first-party developers, and I can't recommend it enough whether you're on PC or Xbox.
An okay mech shooter on its own terms, but it doesn't have shit on Armored Core nor does it have shit on any of the other games in this franchise (besides the terrible Left Alive).
2011
The mid-2000's cyberpunk setting and art direction has its niche appeal and the core gameplay gimmick sounds neat, but generally this plays like ass and overstays its welcome tenfold.
A drastic departure from past entries in terms of gameplay format... but I'd argue it's paid-off in spades as this could very well be the best Yakuza game yet. The cutscenes are long but the story is kino, the combat is classic turn-based JRPG fair with some fun gimmicks thrown in for good measure, and the atmosphere and attention to detail in the game's environments is unmatched by any other Japanese game. This makes a great starting point for new players thanks to its new cast, and fans of JRPG's and Yakuza games alike will find a lot to love here.
This game doesn't do much to break the mold of other musou games, but there is plenty of nice content for fans of the manga to sink their teeth in and there's nothing wrong with the game structurally. If you've already had your fill of Dynasty Warriors and you're unfamiliar with or don't care for Berserk I'd say pass on this. Buuuuut if you enjoy Berserk and don't mind mashing the X-button a LOT I'd say give it a shot.
A solid sequel to the Dreamcast game that adapts roughly the first half of the manga's Millennium Falcon arc, with tons of crazy monsters to butcher with the Dragonslayer and even more intense boss fights. This one's actually more fleshed-out and polished than its predecessor and certainly longer. It was only released in Japan but luckily an English translation exists for those interested and it plays reasonably well in PCSX2 (but you'll have to hit F9 to get the subtitles to show-up during FMV cutscenes) or you can just burn an ESR-patched disc for your actual console if you got FMCB.
A short, but sweet arcade-style hack & slash that acts as a sort of sidestory set in-between the Conviction and Millennium Falcon arcs of the iconic manga, complete with a soundtrack from Susumu Hirasawa and some challenging, kickass boss fights that'll certainly keep you on your toes. This was allegedly a big influence on the original Devil May Cry so if you're a fan of that series this is certainly worth giving a go (physical copies are expensive so just burn a .cdi or play on Redream).
It's also kind of funny hearing the voice of Raziel from Guts, and a very squeaky, nasally Liquid Snake from Puck.
It's also kind of funny hearing the voice of Raziel from Guts, and a very squeaky, nasally Liquid Snake from Puck.
Some of the new quality of life features (particularly the weapon wheel and manual aiming) are nice, but unfortunately they hardly justify spending $60 on this shoddy remaster due to its inconsistent performance on consoles, infuriating bugs and technical shortcomings, missing or censored content and music, and garish visual effects that clash with the original games' art direction including a godawful rain effect that has to be among the worst I've ever seen in any game. To add insult to injury Take 2's delisted the original versions of the games from digital storefronts so you'll have to mod your console and sail the high seas to get ahold of them now. This release is a disgrace and easily the worst remaster since Silent Hill HD Collection, a tonedeaf hackjob rushed out the door to capitalize on Take 2's draconian legal efforts to kill the legendary modding communities these games have fostered on PC for the sake of profit.
Do. Not. Buy. This.
Do. Not. Buy. This.
1996
A deceptively compelling JRPG that won't hook you with its story, but certainly will with its cozy atmosphere and exploration, and great monster-catching mechanics that provide endless possibilities for progression and overcoming combat encounters, as well as a terrific and truly-innovative multiplayer component that redefined handheld gaming when everyone already thought the near decade-old GameBoy was basically obsolete. An indellible game that singlehandedly gave the GameBoy platform a second wave of success and ushered in an insanely popular franchise spanning generations.