The very first Lego game is still my favorite. It hit at exactly the perfect time- right as Revenge of the Sith was coming out. While changes have been made to the formula here and there the long running franchise remains shockingly close to this initial title. Destroying everything in a level to get all the studs and hunting for mini kits gave the game lots of replayability.

Everything from the Dexter's Diner hub world where you could pick fights with NPCs, to the charm of the cutscene retellings of key moments gave Lego Star Wars all the personality you could want. Also, you guys are cowards for calling the podracing level too difficult, that was one of my favorites.

I'll be honest, I didn't enjoy my time with Super Mario 64. In fact, it felt more like a frustrating chore to push through than an entertaining game.

I get it. This is one of the first 3D platformers to stabilize the genre for what it is...but that doesn't mean it holds up well nowadays. The camera is an obvious complaint, but I also found myself irritated at the lack of simple explanation for things.
For example, just to name a small detail that makes a big difference: I had to use an online guide to find out that the towers in Shifting Sand Land were climbable. (In fact, I had to use a guide in order to figure out MOST of these ridiculous puzzle names.) Even a small sign post for little things like this would've made the level and puzzle designs for this game much more bearable, but we obviously don't have that here. Hell, why is it that I get booted out in front of a level portal when I die, but am booted back to the castle entrance when I choose to leave the level? I think Super Mario World and the 2D platformers before this had better quality-of-life designs than Super Mario 64.

It must've been the overall praise and resignation that this game gets that overhyped things for me (which is understandable for a game from the late 90s). However... they really should've just remade this one. It doesn't feel good.

It's been 10+ years since I've played this game and it honestly is much better than I remember. I think the Legendary Edition has to take some of the credit (this game plays so much better than the original release) but I think I appreciated the story and world-building more this time around. This is an excellent start to the trilogy--it sets the stakes for the larger conflict, introduces us to some key characters and begins to build the large universe that they inhabit. I definitely appreciated the music this time around more as well--the synth is the perfect complement to the sci-fi setting. Already excited to dig into ME2.

After 15 years of playing Pokémon games, I can finally say that I've played through the one that started it all (kinda).

My final thoughts are that it feels simultaneously very familiar, very much like the first game in the series, and very fun. It does a lot well despite the fact that many of its successors have exceeded it in basically every way in my opinion, and unlike a certain other pair of remakes of game boy Pokémon games, I don't think that the glow up of this remake detracts from the experience or reveals its age.

I think it's cool to go back to this game after being so familiar with the future of this franchise and see how much it's grown. Going from an average of 300-400 monsters in each game's regional dexes for the past decade to only 150 was a huge jump that hampered team building, but that used to be all there was, which is fascinating to think about. And even within those 150 there's not that much diversity; your pickings from type to type vary drastically, and especially in a pre-physical/special split game you have to consider more carefully what types are worth having both offensively and defensively, and how to have synergy in a team with way fewer options. Even the roughly 150 in Black and White have a lot more diversity and a lot more mons that are viable compared to here.

Kanto is a very interesting region as well, and surprisingly unlike any other region in the series. It's very labyrinthian in design, with multiple different pathways to get to multiple different places (Rock Tunnel, Diglett Cave, Cycling Road, undergrounds paths, etc.). Especially in the middle of the game, I found myself opening up the town map more than I have in all other Pokémon games combined, which was really fun. It felt like I was actually charting my way through a new region, like I was actually on an adventure.

That being said, just because Kanto is fun to traverse doesn't necessarily mean it's a particularly interesting place. Besides the series' conventions of a casino and a cemetery and some other staples, there's hardly anything interesting to see or explore, not to mention there's very little visual diversity. I think it's better in that regard than Johto, but every game gen III and afterwards has more things to see and explore, as well as a more cohesive identity as a region.

But what Kanto lacks in locales it makes up for in things to do. There's always something happening, whether that be boarding the S.S. Anne, infiltrating Team Rocket's gambling operation, taking a trek to visit Bill, discovering the secrets hidden in the Pokémon mansion, and more. I was never bored going through Kanto, and even today, not many regions can match it in that sense. Most other games are carried by other aspects that work well for their respective games, but only give me that sense of excitement of seeing something new sporadically.

This game also stumbles in other regions. This was one of the more challenging games in the series, and I averaged close to 10 levels under my opponents for most of the game; I really liked this, but by the time I got to the elite four, I knew my team of all lv 39s wouldn't stand a chance against some trainers who got up past 60, and I had to grind. A lot. Your mileage on this point will vary undoubtedly, but I think future games balance challenge with a steady level curve better than this one does. But still, I'd take this over Johto in a heartbeat.

Its story and characters are also something that's been exceeded. Oak is a lovable doofus, and Gary is an interesting concept for an antagonist who constantly taunts you and inadvertently pushes you to get better. But those are the only things this has going for it. Other games have more fleshed out and interesting characters and stories that further your journey. Say what you want about the meaning or meaninglessness of stories in Pokémon games, but they play a crucial part in progressing you to the end of the game and establishing the vibe of each entry, which this game is clearly not that interested in.

But with all this being said, I still had a lot of fun with this, and I'm glad that I can recognize these elements. All this comparison to future generations proves to me that the series was a success, that Game Freak had a great formula and improved upon it and made something better. I enjoyed this game a lot, and I may come back to it later down the line.

But I'm definitely not bothering with the Sevii Islands post-game, no thank you.

Before 2022, if you asked me what the cutest post-apocalytic game was, it would have obviously been Pikmin 3. But now we've got Kirby and the Forgotten Land AND Stray??

Stray is great! It felt at first like it was going to be a straightforward exploration-focused game, but there's a lot more Early 90s Sierra influence than I expected. The world is beautiful and just the right size; each time I started to feel like an area was too big to not get lost in, I would suddenly start to get my bearings. The environments are well laid-out enough that I could now point you towards any location of interest from memory. I still wouldn't have said no to a Metroid Prime-esque map, but it's not as harmful of an omission here as it was in something like Supraland or The Gunk.

Anyhow. Stray emphasizes that it's nice to go outside. That there's a need to escape from the city now and then. Which means THIS banger kept popping into my head during my playthrough (sorry @Alexizaki it's not what you're thinking): https://youtu.be/Yvg8p0wKiJo

I did not care for cats until like 5 weeks ago, when my girlfriend decided to extend our family (we have a dog and kids) with not one, but two cats. I still have my reservations with those predators and would consider myself a dog person, but it definitely affected the hype (i already had) for this game. Playing a cat is a cool pitch, but this game didn't even need that for me. When you know me, you know that the pitch could've just been: yada yada cyberpunk something. And on that cyberpunk part this game devlivers beautifully. Stray pretty much feels like a polished first party playstation game, just on a way smaller scale and budget. The visuals are absolutely stunning and yet another showcase for the capable PS5. It's traversal and light puzzling sometimes feels a bit like exploring the beautiful environments of an Uncharted game. But it's not just that, the creators clearly saw the potential in the clutteredness and verticality of cyberpunk settings and amplified the great exploration options with giving you the perspective of a stray feline. The world is built with great attention to detail and its an absolute joy to traverse those narrow streets, the insides of buildings and rooftops. I'd go as far as to say that it's predestined to have a place like this ready to be explored by a cat, reminding me of my early childhood memories of stray cats in Istanbul. Stray doesn't do much new, heck it doesn't even do much period. There are passages that feel more like a walking simulator, the engagement with the world and its inhabitants is rather limited, but that is totally fine and also makes a lot of sense (you're a cat, dude). Still, the game manages to create a place with a history, and inhabitants with drives and dreams. The story is heartfelt and cute, but has the right amount of nudge into critical thinking about some of the things it foreshadows. I thoroughly enjoyed my time with Stray and I don't say too often nowadays, but I wish I could've spent more time in it.

Pokemon continues a real breakneck release schedule with another title little over a year after the last DLC for Sword & Shield and apparently the same year as the next generation. I wish Game Freak would take their foot off the pedal for a slower, more considered game.

Legends Arceus is at the same time a successful expansion of the mechanics in Sword & Shield while showing off painful limitations in those mechanics- at least with GameFreak's vision and resources. I found it fantastic fun for the first few hours to run out into the wild and pelt pokeballs at all around me, catching Starlies and Shinx with wild abandon. But as the game went on I found myself becoming disinterested in pokemon. All pokemon were just something to chuck balls at. The unique qualities of the pokemon faded into the background, especially with infrequent and unchallenging combat. In previous generations I spent hours searching for a rare Gible, and prized the one I found. In this game I saw a wild Garchomp and passed over it immediately; it wasnt' Alpha.

The new Hisuian Forms and the brand new evolutions for old pokemon are all good, I'm a big fan. Maybe a little less-so for the starter evolutions. They all have fun typings, but none of them really do it for me. I have more mixed feelings on Alphas- extra-large versions of any given pokemon. They look cool, but they're sufficiently common that they server to make non-Alphas feel lame.

There are some other new ideas on show- a series of boss fight pokemon where you run around a large arena clumsily dodging and chucking little stinky bags at them (this calms their raging aramitama, for some reason). It's a solid idea and the first couple of fights are fine, but the flimsiness of the system shows through. The camera is a mess, you need to see the ground underneath you to dodge, but you can't while you're throwing things. There's no way to recover health while in combat, and the game isn't shy about just lamping you across the back of the head while you're in the recovery animation for another move. It becomes truly unbearable in the postgame when you have to fight four fast moving legendary pokemon who shoot out untelegraphed tornado attacks at random positions, in areas populated with dozens of regular pokemon. Some more time and care might have saved these mechanics but they didn't get any.

The story, however, never had any potential. Pokemon's absolute nosedive into interminable cutscenes with unlikeable jerks continues unabaited. I'd say this is the absolute nadir but I've learned not to underestimate these games. In PLA you're tasked with singlehandedly supporting an entire colony of workshy cowards, catching hundreds upon hundreds of pokemon for these idle twits who are too thick to catch their own bloody Buizels. I absolutely dreaded going back to town, knowing that the absolute worst of them, Professor Laventon, was going to spend 5 minutes force feeding me potato mochi before allowing me to proceed to the next area. I was only ever interested in getting new ride pokemon and accessing new areas, but these guys talk endlessly about the paper thin plot- there are 5 very angry pokemon, punch them until they stop being angry, and then punch even more pokemon into submission after that.

One element of the story I feel a little reticent to comment on is the colonial theme and the representation of the Ainu people. The game is set in Hisui/Sinnoh, an analogue for Hokkaido, the northernmost of Japan's four main islands. The Ainu are an indiginous ethnic group native to Hokkaido. In the game, the Galaxy Team are colonising Hisui which is currently inhabitted by the Diamond & Pearl clans. I haven't been able to find any Ainu commentary on the game so I don't have a strong feel for if the portrayal in the game is good or not. I'm personally not nuts about the depiction of the Japanese establishment as peacefully and happily agglomerating the native peoples into their society (by the "present day" of Diamond/Pearl, there isn't much identifiable heritage left). There's also a very weird implication, buried deep in the game's lore, that there is another even-more native group of blonds who predate even the Diamond & Pearl clans. I'd love to hear a more informed reading of the plot, I have anxiety that there might be dog whistles going off that I can't hear.

The game was sweet at first, but left a bad taste in my mouth by the end. It feels rushed, half baked, in the same way that Sword & Shield felt underdeveloped. I wish the Pokemon Company weren't committed to this pace of releases. I would rather wait a Zelda length of time, or a Mario length of time for a new pokemon if it meant getting titles as good as Black & White, but instead year after year I see new titles that dillute my love for the series. For the love of Arceus, slow down.

Moment-to-Moment Gameplay: Fantastic! Great twist on the regular formula. Fun to sneak around and throw balls at the back of Teddiursa's head. It's unfortunate then that this is constantly interrupted by the...

Story: Dumb and repetitive! There's a million characters and I only remember like two of their names. You do the same shit over and over until the last hour where you do different shit over and over.

Boss Fights: Cool, but a little same-y. Wish there was more variety and more fights in general.

Difficulty: It's a Pokemon game... My team was like 15 levels below the final guys I was fighting.

Post-Game: Wouldn't know yet. Not all that inclined at the moment, but I have to imagine that this is where I can finally enjoy the moment-to-moment gameplay in peace.

Nitpick: Why would the button that opens the map not close it? Stupid! Dumb!

Overall: Worth playing if you're a pokemon fan, and even if you're not you might enjoy it more than the regular titles. I appreciate the step in the right direction in terms of doing something new, but it leaves a lot to be desired.

Good example of a game that is badly in need of both design craft and narrative theme. On paper, the game sounds interesting enough: revive a town through shops and farming, adventure the nearby landscape with shopkeepers, dive into dungeons..

Customizing the town (at least a few hours in) only involved placing a few shops and some other items to optimize their income. Restocking shops involves a process of farming for particular materials, walking into the shop and restocking. As the game gets bigger you have more shops to restock. I guess the idea is that the player was supposed to be sort of a supplier for the town, but the NPCs' dialogue didn't feel particularly interesting.

Made worse is that grinding for these items is a little boring. The combat isn't that interesting, the environment you find enemies in ranges from empty large maps to dungeons filled with boring mechanics reminiscent of the 3D Zeldas' boring puzzles. So if you need to restock, it means going to a dungeon and finding an enemy that you easily kill. Because there's SO MANY materials, I would assume this kind of gameplay loop would occur a lot through the game.

The dungeons are bad - for some reason the Zelda Items needed to do the (boring) puzzles are tied to party members, so you need to bring a mining person to mine ore, etc... puzzles seem simplistic or perfunctory, the combat doesn't really use 3D in an interesting way...

So overall, you have a combat/exploration loop whose combat isn't fun, nor exploration interesting. And that feeds into a town management loop, which is tedious, simplistic and slow (to farm you have to walk to the farm screen...load.. etc). The Town is 3D and explorable, but there isn't much to explore or see (like in a harvest moon town), it would have felt more efficient to merely make everything into menus? Or to shrink the size a lot more or improve fast travel.

Simple town management could be cool, but it would only work if it was feeding into an adventure experience with more well-designed and interesting things, or narrative hooks. But Ever Oasis feels like spending time in one flat system in order to make the numbers in another flat system go up.

I think the number of shopkeepers could be way lower. Lean into making them actually interesting characters, tie them to the environment in some way so that there's a desire to go out into the world. Create some kind of motion that makes it actually interesting to run around. Make the shops interface in more interesting ways with the combat/exploration systems, etc...

Ever Oasis reminds me of why 'lots of game systems!' games can fail, in that if none of them are given ample design thought, there's a risk of nothing interesting happening - sure, the systems feed into each other and make numbers go up, but there's not much meaningful outside of that. (And there's already a genre for 'number go up' that streamlines and gives lots of thought into making number go up - clicker and idle games!)

Anyways yeah. I guess I like the spirit of this game, but it doesn't do anything particularly well, which is sad. I think the setting of exploring outwards from a town, going to the countryside, etc, is really interesting!

27 hours and 49 minutes of the most underwhelming Pokémon adventure I've ever had.

Early reactions to these Sinnoh remakes were mixed, so I thought I'd make my playthrough more interesting for myself by FINALLY committing to a Nuzlocke. I had never completed one, so I figured this was the perfect opportunity!

With minimal effort and no grinding, I had absolutely zero casualties until Cynthia, and I only lost two Pokémon in that championship battle. It wasn't just the easiest Pokémon game I've played, it also was the most boring.

If I were a big Gen IV fan, this would have been a huge disappointment. Instead, it was merely forgettable. I had completely forgotten that I hadn't actually finished it until after I 100%ed Legends Arceus. Coming back to complete the final hour or two of Shining Pearl after the surprisingly fresh experience of Arceus emphasized how dated and uninspired this release was. A real shame, as the previous Pokémon remakes (FRLG, HGSS, ORAS) were all vast improvements on their originals. This felt like it only exists due to an obligation to keep doing a remake every few years.

Here's hoping the positive response to Arceus means we never get a weak entry like this again.