I tried. I really tried. After absolutely fucking hating the second game, I came at this one with a fresh mind ready to be blow away again, and it just didn't happen. I played this game for 75 hours, and I can probably count the number of times I enjoyed myself on one hand. The main story was boring, the characters were mediocre at best, the side quests were all boring and samey both narratively and mechanically, and the gameplay was a very mixed back. I have absolutely played worse games, and I might even come back to finish this game one day, but I seriously doubt it.

Skyward sword is truly one of the most mixed games I've ever played. In some ways, it far outshines its predecessors and even some of its successors. It has some of the best dungeons and bosses in the series, one of the best scores, a beautiful art style, one of the only stories in this entire series that's actually worth paying attention to, and some of the best combat in the series when the controls decide to work properly.

But on the other hand, this is one of the worst Zelda games in many other regards. No other Zelda game is this painfully linear with barely any exploration to be seen. No other Zelda game forces this many tutorials and unskippable dialogue from your companion character. No other Zelda game recycles this much content, especially this much BAD content (the imprisoned). No other Zelda game relies this much on gimmicky controls that are annoying at best and downright non-functional at worst.

I fully believe that in spite of all its flaws, there is a truly excellent game to be found here. But I cold absolutely not fault anyone for not pushing past the game's abundant issues to get to that point. For me, it's one of my favorite Zeldas, but I was able to find the fun. Not everyone will.

One of the best Pokémon games out there. I think these remakes really demonstrate how solid the core game design of the originals was, even though they're borderline unplayable by modern standards. It's weird to see debates about non-linearity in pokemon considering how cleanly they worked it into the very first games. The game is really open and the majority of the map can be accessed with just a few badges. This allows for a lot of replay value and flexibility in team building, while still having a competent level curve to provide some good challenge. A surprisingly polished game that still stands as one of the best in the series.

One of the best Pokémon games out there. I think these remakes really demonstrate how solid the core game design of the originals was, even though they're borderline unplayable by modern standards. It's weird to see debates about non-linearity in pokemon considering how cleanly they worked it into the very first games. The game is really open and the majority of the map can be accessed with just a few badges. This allows for a lot of replay value and flexibility in team building, while still having a competent level curve to provide some good challenge. A surprisingly polished game that still stands as one of the best in the series.

This was a return to form for the trails series I really didn't think was possible after the absolute dumpster fire that was Cold Steel 4. I had absolutely no faith in them to make a good game, much less a good game with such a heavy focus on the Cold Steel cast, but they managed to pull it off. There are a lot of small issues with the writing that I think are just going to be permanent fixtures of the series going forward: things like the constant joking about Tita and Agate being a couple and the bizarre apologetics for every single villain. On the whole, though, this was a great way to send off this era of the series that felt like they actually got someone competent in the writer's room.

Despite this game starting many infuriating trends in this series that persist to this day, I find myself strangely fond of it. While the overarching story was slow and uneventful, the individual characters were mostly very charming and fleshed out. The school setting also lends itself well to a series known for its cast of lovable NPCs. The other students at Thor's felt just as memorable to me as the inhabitants of Crossbell or Liberl, maybe even more so. While this game marks the start of a significant downward trend in the series, there's still enough to enjoy here for me to consider it a good entry in the franchise.

This is probably within my top 3 worst games from a series I mostly enjoy. Everything bad about the Cold Steel saga is at its most distilled in this game. The majority of the characters stand around in a circle and do absolutely nothing, the sexual humor is at its most cringe inducing, the villains are completely forgettable, and the plot is boring at best and downright nonsensical at worst. Would be a 1 star game if it wasn't for the excellent way that act 1 kicks off the story. It was the only part of the game where I felt like meaningful things were actually happening, while the entire rest of the game was basically just going through the motions. Easily the least fun I've ever had with a Trails game.

As a big Telltale fan, I was coming into this with high hopes. Those high hopes were, mostly, met in spades. It tells a compelling story with some excellent characters, and your choices feel meaningful even if they don't always lead to huge branching plotlines. Lee and Clementine in particular are fantastic leads, and the game strikes a near impossible balance of making Clem talk and act like a kid while not being obnoxious or making her feel like a burden. I knocked it a little bit for being rough around the edges compared to later telltale games, but if this is your first experience with their brand, you probably won't even notice.