I had a rough time with Tomb Raider II, I am not gonna lie. Mainly, my expectations and other persons nostalgia was the main reason why I felt like I was betrayed by Core Design.

Tomb Raider II seemingly loved by many, and hated by few, is considered a worthy follow up, to the legendary platformer that was the original game. I had a rough time with that one too, mainly because of the controls, but I finished that game and I had my fun at the end. Tomb Raider II however is not just a poor sequel, but a rushed one.

The second entry seemingly forgot what made the original an enjoyable experience, despite being a janky PS1 platformer. The overall atmoshpere was the reason that everyone remembers fondly to those PS1 days of raiding tombs with Lara, and while II certainly has it's own charm, the open levels and the combat filled gameplay drags it down to the mud.

The game introduces human enemies, who are either useless or terribly overpowered compared to Lara, as they have very precise aim and can kill you in seconds. Focusing on the combat was a big mistake here, as the game's combat mechanics were never good in the first place, even the original knew this and only featured small fight sequences with bats or bears.

Not only that, but the actual tomb raiding was shrinked down to feature varied locations and settings that are just not that charming. The occasional vehicle segments were appreciated, but they were not fun at all.

Core Design seemingly wanted to make an action game, but they also threw in some puzzles to make you feel like you are playing a Tomb Raider game.

Despite this, the soundtrack is still awesome and some of the charm of the original is still here. I do not think that Tomb Raider II is that good of a game, or a worthy sequel as it does not improve on the original, but to be honest, knowing the history of the franchise, this led to the eventual downfall of Core Design.

The GBA port for ALTTP is one of the first few games I got on the system when I was younger. I'd always just get all three pendants, and get lost on what to do next. I think I might have rescued one or two of the maidens, but that was always where the game stopped for me.

I decided to finally take the time to play through it start to finish on an emulator, since I was feeling a little bit "sour grapesy" from my inability to afford the new shiny Zelda game. I had a decently good time with it, and it definitely still holds up very well. I've never been too big of a Zelda fan, all things considered, but it held my attention all throughout. Maybe I should start giving the series a more thorough look.

Unfortunately, while I tried to play without a guide, I did cave during certain sections and had to look up how to proceed. These retro games can be pretty obtuse, man...

If you grew up on Pokemon Platinum, then you are required by some form of law to have some form of unhealthy attachment to it. It has, and will likely always will be my favourite Pokemon game. It is something that can't really be replicated, the way this game captures its region through the incredible sprite work and music is truly second to none. And the nicest thing I can say about Renegade Platinum is that it made me feel like I was playing it again for the first time.

Don't think this game gets enough credit for how it adds just enough extra stuff to make the pacing of a regular Platinum playthrough that much more exciting. This is still Platinum at the end of the day, but the changes here are just enough to make it fresh and exciting again. Building a big team of newly revamped mons, as well as Platinum staples was a blast, and playing with a bunch of friends watching really highlighted the experience. This is the best way of playing the best Pokemon game, and I think the fact that a rom hack is so high quality that many pull from it before the base game speaks to how great this is. Superb stuff.

Cool systems, Fantastic world with lovely graphics.

Dull story, detached main character and a bloated mmo level design.
Job system is an improvement but you can tell the game wasn't really designed around it.

Combat is serviceable, not very dynamic but a stepping stone to modern games in the series.

Overall the game gets boring rather fast, a shame because the world is very inviting otherwise.