Full transparency, I was literally at what I understand to be the very end of this game when I noticed my Switch battery getting puffy. I already clocked in 35 hours so considering I don't have a good way to play anymore I'm just marking it done. I really liked this one though. My experience with Pikmin prior was playing 3 over a decade ago, so I can't speak to the minutiae of this as a sequel. But as a standalone thing it really blew me away. There's a ton of content here and it almost always feels fresh and unique. The gameplay isn't overly complex and never feels very challenging, but it plays into this just being a slower paced game to relax and explore in.

The biggest flaw in my eyes are that the characters and dialogue border too hard on Nick Jr Baby Cartoon vibes. That's subjective so more power to those who could look past it, but I would've loved to see more personality in the Rescue Corps. The last area also weirdly feels like nothing to me. By this point the game has shown all the tricks up its sleeve so it just feels a push to give this game it's "one final area". The caves I was able to do played like lazily reskinned jumbles of the previous ones. There's so much you can do other than that though, I'm bummed out I won't be able to cut my teeth on side quests and unlockable content that randomly pop up left and right. Amazingly good value here. I should be recommending this for how boss Oatchi is alone.

Long Version: Exists at the intersection of simultaneous insane visual, game, and narrative design. Every inch of this project feels completely effortless and authentic, in a way that I would’ve never been able to predict going in. I think it’d be a disservice to Heisei Pistol Show to compare it against other games, especially with the level of transparency there is for its message and development within its text. I don’t think you end up making something like this without having some sort of deep connection to the subject matter, and so I think it’d be disrespectful for me to approach it with a coldly analytical review. So, let me just urge anyone reading this to play the game and see it through. It’s like, around two hours. Someone even made an excellent playthrough you can follow. This is the most a video game has resonated with me in a really long time, I think it’s a special thing that I got to play this.

https://patchy-illusion-team.itch.io/heisei-pistol-show

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qTvwlBeNzxs

Short Version: I Get It

If you’re looking for just the “remaster” part of this, We Love Katamari Reroll is probably the definitive way to play the game now. There are a few areas where I feel the original PS2 version edges it out, like the audio could absolutely use some improvement. But the simultaneous authenticity of the port paired with the QOL improvements make this version the winner. I wish it wasn’t $30, but if it’s anything like the first Reroll it’ll get pretty frequent price cuts. Royal Reverie, for the ten minutes you actually spend in it, is a collage of some of the worst levels in the entire Katamari series. It’s such a minor part of the game that I don’t think it positively or negatively affects the entire package, it’s just a thing that’s there if you want to play it. But as someone who hoped this would give us a taste of a New Next-Gen Katamari Title, I’m pretty disappointed. Oh and also, the classic graphics mode is a nice addition. They should’ve made the music DLC part of the base game. Buy On Sale. Katamari Forever.

"Completed" as in I played the game until I unlocked Cloud Strife and then stopped. But considering that entails finishing the story mode five times, I feel like I experienced the game a suitible amount. Not the most polished and mechanically sound kart racer in the world, but something that obviously had a lot of love poured into it. The way Final Fantasy was weaved into this felt really natural, like going from FF7 to this and recognizing the magic as abilities was really cute. I'm not a massive FF mega fan so I'm sure there are tons more references and sources of inspiration that went over my head. The artstyle of this is fucking amazing, the storybook cutscenes have aged like fine wine. Full oomfie cast. Chocobos are my friends. I wish unlocking characters wasn't in such a repetitive and bland way but it's not that big of a deal. Sucks that I've heard Chocobo GP is this game from a nightmare dimension.

I totally understand why people hate this version of the game but I honestly really fuck with it. It's got these early-3D landscapes that are pretty inspired remakes of the original scenery. More DS 3D than 3DS 3D but I don't think that's a bad thing, it adds to this atmospheric crustiness that I'm in love with. They took the fact this is "Cave" Story and made this shit dark as hell. Pretty good remixed soundtrack also, minus a few tracks that sound too soft now for my taste (Balcony sounds like it was rearranged with the Banjo-Kazooie soundfont). I'd be more okay with the endless ports and remasters of Cave Story if they got to experiment more like this but I get why most people would get turned off by it.

Spiritually, a perfect video game for dredging up Sonic from irony poisoned nostalgia hell and giving him a sincere second chance. Super janky in some regards and not without its fair share of terrible design decisions (I LOVE CHAOS ISLAND LEVEL DESIGN :) :) :) ) but incredibly fun front to back. I'm nineteen now meaning that Generations came out when I was a young kid. That was the last mainline Sonic game I remember being honestly excited for and enjoying on release. I've spent over half of my life waiting for this series to be good again. That wait is finally over. If Sonic Team actually keeps this trajectory and sticks to this formula for the sequel, I think it has a chance at sticking and making big waves. For now though, this is a fantastic start. 10/10 (spiritually). Another fantastic entry to the NieR Automata for kids canon.