spyrospy
105 Reviews liked by spyrospy
In the midyear drought of new games, I decided to actually go back into my backlog and complete some stuff.
Now here's a bit of a shameful secret of mine, despite BOTW being one of my favourite games of all time, I've never actually finished any other Zelda games besides Twilight Princess. Ocarina of Time being THE Zelda game, I decided to complete this one first as I officially started my Zelda Marathon.
My history OOT is a brief one. I picked it up as a kid, played to the point of getting to Adult Link, saw a re dead and dropped the game because I was too chicken to continue playing.
I started playing the N64 version on my switch however the 20fps and extremely slow crawling text was making me lose my mind. After hearing the 3ds version fixed all those issues, I played that version instead.
People are definitely right about OOT being THE Zelda game as it has everything you would expect from a Zelda game without any gimmicks that newer Zelda games tend to have. An 8 dungeon romp with a nice little open world with enough puzzles and secrets to keep you entertained for hours and hours. It was quite a masterpiece back then and still is today.
The story of this game is pretty basic, evil man wants the ultimate power to rule the world and you're the chosen hero to stop him. However the strength is not in the story but the world of Hyrule, which the way this is executed continues to make this game a masterpiece to this day. The way how you spend the first half of this game as a child exploring all of Hyrule, meeting characters all over the world and learning about their lives through side quests, and then travelling 7 years into the future after Ganondorf has taken over Hyrule and seeing how this has affected all the character's lives you have met 7 years later is so immersive and masterful.
The gameplay is also fun. The combat isn't anything to write home about however the puzzles and exploration in this game are still unmatched. Dungeons are self explanatory; a series of rooms full of puzzles you need to solve with the items you have acquired throughout the game, which are absolutely so fun to solve and I believe is the core of OOT.
The exploration is Mwah chefs kiss. There is no feeling more rewarding than exploring an open world, seeing a place you can't get to, and then coming back to that place once you realise you have the item to help you get there, only to be rewarded with a new item, or heart piece. This satisfaction of exploration definitely scratches my metroidvania itch.
OOT is a great solid masterpiece that I can recommend to anyone. The N64 version on the Switch is still playable if you don't care about framerate and slow crawling text, however I recommend picking up the 3ds version if you can. I also implore Nintendo to port the 3ds version of this game and Majora's Mask to the switch. I would pay the full $99 for that.
Now here's a bit of a shameful secret of mine, despite BOTW being one of my favourite games of all time, I've never actually finished any other Zelda games besides Twilight Princess. Ocarina of Time being THE Zelda game, I decided to complete this one first as I officially started my Zelda Marathon.
My history OOT is a brief one. I picked it up as a kid, played to the point of getting to Adult Link, saw a re dead and dropped the game because I was too chicken to continue playing.
I started playing the N64 version on my switch however the 20fps and extremely slow crawling text was making me lose my mind. After hearing the 3ds version fixed all those issues, I played that version instead.
People are definitely right about OOT being THE Zelda game as it has everything you would expect from a Zelda game without any gimmicks that newer Zelda games tend to have. An 8 dungeon romp with a nice little open world with enough puzzles and secrets to keep you entertained for hours and hours. It was quite a masterpiece back then and still is today.
The story of this game is pretty basic, evil man wants the ultimate power to rule the world and you're the chosen hero to stop him. However the strength is not in the story but the world of Hyrule, which the way this is executed continues to make this game a masterpiece to this day. The way how you spend the first half of this game as a child exploring all of Hyrule, meeting characters all over the world and learning about their lives through side quests, and then travelling 7 years into the future after Ganondorf has taken over Hyrule and seeing how this has affected all the character's lives you have met 7 years later is so immersive and masterful.
The gameplay is also fun. The combat isn't anything to write home about however the puzzles and exploration in this game are still unmatched. Dungeons are self explanatory; a series of rooms full of puzzles you need to solve with the items you have acquired throughout the game, which are absolutely so fun to solve and I believe is the core of OOT.
The exploration is Mwah chefs kiss. There is no feeling more rewarding than exploring an open world, seeing a place you can't get to, and then coming back to that place once you realise you have the item to help you get there, only to be rewarded with a new item, or heart piece. This satisfaction of exploration definitely scratches my metroidvania itch.
OOT is a great solid masterpiece that I can recommend to anyone. The N64 version on the Switch is still playable if you don't care about framerate and slow crawling text, however I recommend picking up the 3ds version if you can. I also implore Nintendo to port the 3ds version of this game and Majora's Mask to the switch. I would pay the full $99 for that.
Back 4 Blood
2021
A fairly interesting take on the Left 4 Dead formula by part of the original team (granted, essentially the 3rd string on those games, but still). The card system was a fun way to differentiate builds that was unfortunately gutted. I enjoyed my time with it on release, though.
Great game!! Was disappointed at first that its basically just more of Prime 1 without much new besides the light/dark world element, and compared to something like Halo 2 doesn't amp up the production values to make it more blockbuster. But honestly, Prime is already so damn perfect that more of the same still made this such a great game to play, so I can't complain at all.
Sandwiched between the prime trilogy, its honestly hard to say what the legacy of this game will be compared to the other prime games that'll be loved to the end of time. But honestly, I think it deserves to be up there with the rest. Yeah the campaign isn't the same kind of huge planetary adventure like Prime 1-2, but putting the prime formula on a smaller scale to be played in shorter bursts is so fun to see. I've always had a huge respect for NST as a studio, and seeing them push the DS to its boundries, and take risks within the Metroid world to make the game they want to create is so admirable. And being Nintendo's first online multiplayer FPS? Come on, the game deserves to be remembered for that alone.
I wish Lawyers were real
After feeling a little mixed on the first one, I went into the sequel with lower expectations. A bit afraid of more slow pacing and drawn out jury segments. However, Resolve proved me wrong.
The way the whole overarching storyline comes together in this one is simply amazing. Each case in this game is at least good and escalates to great. The last three episodes are all top-notch.
I still felt a little downtime in some parts and despite loving Herlock Sholmes, I don't really care for the detective sequences that don't really require much thinking but overall the pacing felt way more smooth in this game, despite having insanely long cases at times.
Also really fell in love with the cast of characters and will miss them.
The way the whole overarching storyline comes together in this one is simply amazing. Each case in this game is at least good and escalates to great. The last three episodes are all top-notch.
I still felt a little downtime in some parts and despite loving Herlock Sholmes, I don't really care for the detective sequences that don't really require much thinking but overall the pacing felt way more smooth in this game, despite having insanely long cases at times.
Also really fell in love with the cast of characters and will miss them.
Lovely game with fun characters and many plot twists. I however did not feel super satisfied with the final two cases and the mysteries they contain. The animations and court system peaked here in the series however.
it delivers. for better or worse. it pulls apart dgs1, digs through its dirty laundry, nothing unaccounted for. its answers are decent, but it sure does take its time. 25 hours into what is essentially 55 hours of this overarching story, the pacing is at a CRAWL
Excellent narrative. Nails the last case, although sections are very long and it is a slog if you rush through it. Go to sleep come back tomorrow morning and relax while you play it (:
The most complete Ace Attorney game. I think there are multiple great Ace Attorney games, but none quite weave a story throughout the game and bring it together in the end like this one. A great cast, fantastic music, and genuinely thoughtful cases make this what I think is the best Ace Attorney game.
That was absolutely amazing. TGAA2 is a culmination not just of the setup from the previous game, but from all of Shu Takumi's works. It resolves (pun not intended) every mystery set up by its prequel in a satisfying manner through a series of absolute banger cases, accompanied by a wonderful set of mechanics. I can confidently call it my favorite game in the series, as well as my favorite Shu Takumi game, period. I completely understand why, until recently, this was the highest rated standalone game on Backloggd.
Outer Wilds
2019
Very unique gameplay loop that makes it very rewarding to figure out puzzles. Great story and mystery and interesting worlds to explore, it's hard to review this game without spoiling so please just play it, it's a banger.
Outer Wilds
2019
I think about this game every other day
Lethal Company
2023
Amazing game to play with buds. For an early access game, the foundation is already set, and with such a lively modding community, I can see this game being extremely diverse in the coming months.
Super Mario RPG
2023
Super Mario RPG is a remake of a game with the same name originally released on the Super Nintendo. For many years, fans treated this game as a forgotten classic only available on illegal emulators. Now, these remake allows young players to enjoy this important game.
To start this review, I have to say that I never played the original game. Even so, I was able to see that this new version preserves many aspects of the older version. After I finished, I decided to read some reviews, and people were thinking the same. It doesn't make the game dated or bad; the minor changes were enough to make this remake an enjoyable experience for anyone.
As the title suggests, the game is an RPG. The gameplay is the classic turn-based RPG that we were used to in the '90s. To be honest, Super Mario RPG is the easiest RPG game that I have ever played. I never felt weak against any enemy.
Even with not an outblowing story, I can say for sure that it is the best we ever had in the Mario franchise. The characters are charismatic, and it is really fun to see some unexpected alliances.
The graphics are quite good, and the new cinematics are amazing! A significant downside, in my opinion, is the absence of voice acting.
I can say for sure that we finally have this necessary remake. This new version of Super Mario RPG is crucial to bringing back one of the best games from the Super Nintendo. I truly recommend this game to anyone who likes turn-based RPGs, and I can say that you should really give it a chance even if you're not a big fan of this genre of games.
To start this review, I have to say that I never played the original game. Even so, I was able to see that this new version preserves many aspects of the older version. After I finished, I decided to read some reviews, and people were thinking the same. It doesn't make the game dated or bad; the minor changes were enough to make this remake an enjoyable experience for anyone.
As the title suggests, the game is an RPG. The gameplay is the classic turn-based RPG that we were used to in the '90s. To be honest, Super Mario RPG is the easiest RPG game that I have ever played. I never felt weak against any enemy.
Even with not an outblowing story, I can say for sure that it is the best we ever had in the Mario franchise. The characters are charismatic, and it is really fun to see some unexpected alliances.
The graphics are quite good, and the new cinematics are amazing! A significant downside, in my opinion, is the absence of voice acting.
I can say for sure that we finally have this necessary remake. This new version of Super Mario RPG is crucial to bringing back one of the best games from the Super Nintendo. I truly recommend this game to anyone who likes turn-based RPGs, and I can say that you should really give it a chance even if you're not a big fan of this genre of games.