2021
hitboxes
2022
Hyper Light Drifter meets Fez - the Legend of Zelda with the dials turned up and a bunch of puzzles that feel like homework. Fantastic level design won me over.
2023
bioschlock
2020
Definitely the best-looking Xbox 360 game
The love letter to Shinobi 3 I've been waiting for. In recent years, we've been treated to a wave of nostalgic ninja action platformers. The Messenger harkened back to Tecmo's Ninja Gaiden, Cyber Shadow to Natsume's Shadow of the Ninja. Strider got a reboot in 2014... hell, even Ganryu has a modern sequel. Throughout all this, Hagane and Shinobi fans sat on the sidelines, ignored. Don't get me wrong, those games were fun, but... have you played Shinobi 3?
Thank you Joymasher.
Thank you Joymasher.
2021
overall a solid puzzle game, sort of like sokoban x snake. some clever ideas early on, but it began to feel a bit dull by the end.
2021
Who put Mario in my Resogun?
2020
Another ridiculously beloved game which is really just... fine. Similar to Hollow Knight, Hades is a perfectly well-crafted game which ultimately isn't doing anything I haven't seen before.
2007
Puzzles are a lot more finicky than I remembered.
A bland, colorless imposter assumes the facade of more formidable heroes, but even NPCs can tell it's not the real thing. Funny enough, that's also what happens in the game
2017
Listen, it's fine. It's good. It's a very well made game. It's good enough that I went back for the true ending. I can only be so much of a contrarian.
But at the end of the day, it's just a really big metroidvania. There's nothing here I haven't seen before.
But at the end of the day, it's just a really big metroidvania. There's nothing here I haven't seen before.
2011
Shinobi 3 is one of my favorite games of all time. This game… is not. It’s just okay.
It scratches the itch in a way few other games do, but overall it just misses the mark. I always wanted "Shinobi 3, but harder" but the way this game achieves its difficulty isn't particularly satisfying. The level design is full of blind gotcha moments, enemies attacking from offscreen, and features some long, repetitive autoscroll levels (even for a Shinobi 3 sequel). The controls are okay, reminiscent of the previous title but noticeably looser, less precise.
Honestly some of the biggest issues with the game stem from the fact that it’s a 3DS title. The 3D implementation is uncomfortable with rampant ghosting, even with the near-perfect tracking of the New 3DS. It will probably never get ported - a forgotten title in a neglected franchise - but there's always emulation. On a bigger screen, at higher resolution and with a more ergonomic controller, the game automatically feels significantly better. Presently, it’s only “playable” in Citra, with constant BGM skipping. Unfortunate, but the music is a far cry from the Genesis classics, so you aren't missing much by providing your own soundtrack.
It scratches the itch in a way few other games do, but overall it just misses the mark. I always wanted "Shinobi 3, but harder" but the way this game achieves its difficulty isn't particularly satisfying. The level design is full of blind gotcha moments, enemies attacking from offscreen, and features some long, repetitive autoscroll levels (even for a Shinobi 3 sequel). The controls are okay, reminiscent of the previous title but noticeably looser, less precise.
Honestly some of the biggest issues with the game stem from the fact that it’s a 3DS title. The 3D implementation is uncomfortable with rampant ghosting, even with the near-perfect tracking of the New 3DS. It will probably never get ported - a forgotten title in a neglected franchise - but there's always emulation. On a bigger screen, at higher resolution and with a more ergonomic controller, the game automatically feels significantly better. Presently, it’s only “playable” in Citra, with constant BGM skipping. Unfortunate, but the music is a far cry from the Genesis classics, so you aren't missing much by providing your own soundtrack.
Shatterhand lite, with giant robot fights instead of bosses. Surprisingly easy, and not particularly interesting.
As with any puzzle game with time pressure, there are some fiddly, tedious moments waiting for things to line up. Sometimes you can fast forward, but often you just have to wait it out, which can be frustrating, though there were only a couple times it felt truly obnoxious. Overall, a very clever and charming game.
2019
I actually did all the substories this time, and I was rewarded with some of the worst boss fights I've ever seen