So many arcane systems and techniques, from meditation to ritual suicide, populate its move list in lieu of more traditional attacks. A lateral move for fighting games, definitely feels like you need to be "in the know."

It's like a Parodius of 90s fighters, but the parody goes beyond visuals and onto its writ-large mechanics, cartoonish launch physics, and hilariously over-warned ultra-super moves. Sunny and fun, a pretty good time.

Irem-tier handsome shmup with unique, deliberate pacing and multi-directional shooting. The submarine premise makes for some clever setups. I wish I had a bomb, though, and that big-ass sub hitbox can really be a pain.

Love the pulpy sci-fi environs, and I think the "stretchy grappler" is a genre we should explore further, but controls are finnicky and the plane-switching mechanic seems poorly-implemented. The health bar's big for a reason.

Neat arcade platformer with a very nice and manageable difficulty curve. Feels satisfying and brisk, with a good selection of weapon pick-ups. Just not extraordinary or remarkable in any way.

Certainly the best golf game ever: packed with mechanical intricacies and subtleties, but wrapped in a 90s Weather-Channel-jazz package that's almost hypnotic with its friendly HUD elements. Super charming.

Few games are confident enough to barrage you with new challenges at Osman's pace, but it gives you enough awesome firepower to make up for it. Its story seems to operate on a mythopoetic level, very unique.

I respect its efforts in introducing 150 new Pokémon and offering a meaty postgame, but the campaign's pacing was seriously off, and I don't think the edgier 2000s aesthetic and themes gel with the series too well.

It's crazy how much better it is to play as Eric than John. The Genesis' incandescent color palette fits the game's aesthetic like a glove and it frequently wows you with visual effects. Stages and bosses are just okay.

The grappling-based gameplay achieves a similar, multi-directional sense of momentum as Sonic, but with more breathing room to wander and explore. Amazing use of the Genesis palette! A bit ruthless at times.

In my mind this is SNK's counterpart to Capcom's Black Tiger. While Black Tiger is a proto "arcade RPG," Magician Lord is a proto "arcade Metroidvania," except it doesn't play very well, and is often outright abusive.

Somewhat unusual. There's no jumping, but you can curb-stomp enemies on the ground. Audiovisually it's unremarkable (bit of a late-80s NARC vibe), but it seems to aim for a gritter realistic look.

In terms of soundtrack and visual presentation, this must be what they use in Heaven in lieu of hold music. Apparently as a Tetris game it's flawed/unremarkable, I'm not good enough at it to tell. Doesn't matter much to me.

I liked this game's approach to open-world exploration, even if the Triforce hunt's a pain. Sailing may be slow, but traversal is the right amount of engaging-versus-relaxing. Zelda fans deserve nothing after rejecting this.

The real summit of the series: constantly ups the ante until it reaches dizzying heights of Ancient Aliens mysticism and world-spiritual crisis. Unfortunately it's a bit too much for one sitting! That final stage is brutal.