The movement is stiff and limited compared to 64 and Sunshine, which wouldn't be an issue if the level design was mostly linear challenges like the 2D Marios.

The levels are all over the place. There's clearly a step in the linear direction of Galaxy 2/3D Land/3D World, but many galaxies in 1 are these wide open areas like in 64/Sunshine. These feel so much less satisfying to traverse since the fastest method is usually just running. The long jump feels too floaty, and the spin jump - while useful - halts all momentum. A not insignificant portion of the game is spent not doing platforming, instead gimmicky Wii motion sections which are too simple to be more than a one-time distraction. Some of them are just not that fun at all. I would much rather play Sunshine's lilypad level than do Bubble Blast Galaxy again.

I also really dislike the liberal use of launch stars to travel between areas. They're cool the first few times, but after that they really irritated me. They take too long, often deliberately taking roundabout paths to provide better vistas, and the most you can do during these is collect starbits. It makes replaying missions a chore.

Of course, it's a Mario game, so when Galaxy does stick to linear platforming, it's excellent. Toy Time, Dreadnaught, and Matter Splatter are standouts. The controls are very precise as expected. Really, everything feels and works as it should, I just think the level design doesn't compliment the simplified control scheme most of the game.

Also, the soundtrack is one of the best, if not the best, of the main Super Mario series. I appreciate that, while a live orchestra was used, the compositions still show restraint and aren't, for lack of a better word, generically "epic" orchestra music. There's a lot of variety in texture and instrumentation, and plenty of electronic sounds are layered in to great effect.

My thoughts on this are largely the same as on the vanilla version, which you can read here.

Deluxe adds, changes, and removes a few things, and overall it's the very slightly better version. The Smash Bros.-style custom item options for vs. races is something I'd been wanting in the series for many years.

New characters and vehicle parts have been added, and there are more distinct stat classes for all of them which is an appreciated touch.

Battle Mode has proper arenas now, but most of them seem a tad too large for 12-player matches. Balloon Battle is still missing a traditional elimination-style, no-timer option in offline play, but the addition of the excellent Renegade Roundup mode makes up for that for me anyway.

Fire-hopping has been removed, but it was such a lame and inconsequential technique compared to the crazy stuff you can pull off in Double Dash or Wii, so 8DX doesn't really suffer much from it's removal.

Standard Online matches now cycle between 150cc, 150cc Mirror, and 200cc, which is more irritating than anything, but I suppose it's not a big deal.

I didn't touch on it in my Mario Kart 8 review, but Time Trials still has coins and I wish they removed that. Time Trials should be about finding the fastest lines through a track, not routing for coins.

The DLC is underwhelming and lazy, but I'll write my complete thoughts later in a dedicated DLC review.

This is another one of those games that's really strange to think about for me. This is obviously the highest-quality Mario Kart game to date, in terms of mechanics, physics, track design, item balance, sound design, music - literally everything. Nintendo was on their A-game with this to try and keep the Wii U afloat, and it shows. Mario Kart no longer was a budget side-series, but a showpiece with the best graphics on the console (and even their subsequent console) and a lavish live-recorded soundtrack (a series-first) featuring big Japanese jazz talent like Yoichi Murata and Eric Miyashiro. It's really a sight to behold, and an excellently-designed game aside from the Battle Mode. I put hundreds of hours into this in Time Trials and Online.

But it feels too good. It's too smooth. All the edges have been sanded off. It feels too natural to drift along each and every curve with ease, even on 200cc. Lakitu will get you back on track immediately, and track hazards aren't as punishing. Items aren't as much of a hindrance compared to Wii or before, but there aren't any fancy techniques to gain huge leads either. The ones that are there, like fire-hopping, are mostly inconsequential. It's a remarkably even experience with little frustration or elation. It may feel like there are surprising things happening sometimes, but it's never pronounced. Eventually, I reached the point where the game felt like it was playing itself.

The chaos has been polished away, leaving behind merely a very simple, balanced, fun kart-racing game. Double Dash, DS, and Wii I think are much more interesting despite their more rough design. The trickier, sometimes awkward, driving mechanics give more room for skill expression, and the bad item balancing makes casual racing much more intense and frantic than anything in 8.

One of, if not the most disappointing games I've ever played. As a life simulation, it fails to reach anywhere near the heights of Doubutsu no Mori +, e+, and Wild World. As a social game, New Leaf has got it beat in every way. As a decorating game, it has less to decorate with than any previous game and less features than Happy Home Designer. Even after several updates, it fails on every level.

The villagers are still disappointing husks of their former selves. On paper, they have a lot more animations and activities they can partake in compared to any previous AC game, which I actually appreciate quite a bit. But there's no depth to any of it, it's all for show. Interactions with you are shallow, and interactions between other villagers are nonexistent. Pictures are handed out like candy, you don't need put much work into being a good friend. Not that you'd want to anyway, because the dialogue is just as bland and uninteresting as in City Folk and New Leaf. They'll rarely get upset at you, and if they do you can just apologize and they'll act as if nothing happened. You can move their houses at will, you can order them at the town hall to stop doing things. They don't have any autonomy anymore, instead simply acting as dolls for you to display and take screenshots of.

Many core features weren't present at launch, instead slowly drip fed as live service updates. This included gyroids, Redd's shop, the Roost, swimming, and most events/holidays (which were reduced to simply gathering materials to craft seasonal items). Many features, buildings, and characters still have never been added, and the game feels incredibly empty even compared to the N64/GC iterations.

In an effort to make the game more "convenient," interesting quirks and charming NPCs were removed or replaced with lifeless menus. No longer do you take personality tests to determine your facial appearance and hairstyle, no longer is there a character who customizes furniture, no longer is there a dedicated post office, no longer do you need to ask people for tasks to do. Nope, all that stuff was stupid and wasted everyone's time, let's just make it a menu so you can just instantly do whatever you want with a press of a button. It's true that all these things took more time and effort in older entries, but that was the entire point. Animal Crossing wasn't a game about rushing to the end, it was about learning to enjoy the small pleasures and struggles of daily life, one second at a time. There is no simple pleasure anymore, just farm your daily Nook Miles tasks before they expire tomorrow.

Worse still, genuine QOL features that would actually make the game better were never implemented, like mass crafting and a condensed inventory system. The individual-slot pocket system from the old games makes less sense in a resource-gathering focused game like this. Those 40 slots fill up quick when you have to carry multiple of each tool because they all break now. You can't just sit and enjoy anything because you're constantly interrupted by your tools breaking.

The game forces a rather lengthy introductory sequence upon you, which is mostly mindless farming for materials. Core features shouldn't be unlocked through a linear questline. I like the general idea of slowly building up a deserted island, but the game stops after only a few buildings and features. Main Street alone in New Leaf had much more going on.

New Leaf had bland villagers too, but that was more than made up for with the sheer amount of fun features. From Club LOL, to the ID with achievement medals, to Tortmer Island with minigames, to the various StreetPass features, NL was simply a more well-rounded, complete multiplayer experience. There's barely anything to do in New Horizons.

NH's biggest new feature is the expanded decorating... but most stuff you can buy is rather bland. Most furniture from previous games was cut, so there isn't as much of the more silly, outlandish stuff. Not even the Froggy Chair was included at launch, only added later on because of all the then-current dumb memes. Ceiling furniture, which first appeared in HHD, was missing at launch. You can move furniture in half-tile increments again, but there are no half-tile-sized furniture and you can't squeeze through tight spaces, both of which were in HHD as well. Like with everything else, half the furniture was added in later updates.

And yet, somehow, development of this game started directly after the launch of New Leaf. Almost 8 years of development, and nothing to show for it but missing features, half-baked new ideas, and paid DLC. NH may not be as awful as amiibo Festival or Plaza, but it's by far the most disappointing, underwhelming Animal Crossing game to date. The updates couldn't save it, and they gave up after only a couple years.

Wild World is a very special, unique game within the Animal Crossing series in that it focuses on one singular aspect the rest neglect, even the N64/GC ones. That being, interpersonal relationships. Every addition and change to the game systems from Doubutsu no Mori e+ contribute to this goal.

For starters, there is a massive amount of dialogue here, much, much more than any other Animal Crossing game. Some villagers even have unique dialogue, albeit rarely. Most importantly, the dialogue is consistently well-written and interesting, giving you insight into villagers' lives in a way not seen before or since.

Villagers are portrayed more convincingly as independent, living beings. They will often speak of their friendships and rivalries, and they may comment on some of the major NPCs like Tom Nook and Blathers (more on that later). These comments aren't arbitrary, either. If Villager A likes Villager B, Villager C will notice and comment on it. If A and B meet outside and have a conversation, it will reflect their thoughts and feelings. They'll invite their best friend over for their birthday party; birthdays were stated on e-Reader cards before but never acknowledged in-game until Wild World.

They can also form deeper relationships with you, the player. Sickness, greetings, and friendship gifts were brought back from e+ with some changes. You can wave hi on command now by tapping on a villager, and their response will be different depending on your friendship with them. Upon becoming close with a villager, they will gift you a picture of themselves which you can keep and display in your house to always remember them. They'll ask to visit your house. They'll place gifts you send them in the mail in their home. They'll have hobbies they partake in, asking you for help with more specific tasks in addition to then N64/GC-style fetch quests. Perhaps the most important change facilitating this is the added ability to chat with villagers indefinitely without them becoming upset, as long as they're home. It makes so much sense logically, yet you can only do that in this game.

While there are still only six personality types, and therefore only six pools of dialogue, among all 156 villagers, these additions help to diversify them.

In addition, major NPCs including Tom Nook, Mabel, Sable, Pelly, Phyllis, and Blathers get special events throughout the year that give insight into their personal troubles and history before moving to the town. It's really something special, and it's a shame these characters were made shallower in later entries.

A lot of the conversations in Wild World center on the past, actually. Learning to accept the past, move on, and learn seems to be major theme of the game. To match this tone, the music is more subdued and melancholic this time around, with standout tracks being the title theme, 2AM and 3AM.

While it's very unfortunate most events and holidays from previous games were cut, and the new ones added are lame, I feel it ultimately isn't a big deal. Unlike the N64/GC games, Wild World is focused on dealing with the daily lives and interactions of its characters rather than bonding as a community. To that end, it succeeds very well. Very, very few games simulate the minute details of life as well as this game does.

The melee combat is unresponsive, inputs get eaten, the camera is obnoxious, enemies have no hitstun, it all just feels so weightless and unsatisfying. It's especially disappointing because this game has actual level design and cool encounter setups that go to waste because of how it feels to move around and hit stuff. Most of the dragon segments are more on-rails this time, but on the handful of times you do get full-range motion, you'll wish you didn't. It's a major step down from Drakengard 1 and 2, which despite their reputations have servicable combat mechanics and feel fun to play.

The game's pretty buggy as well. Enemies will fall through the floor and clip into walls, light artifacts will smear across the screen and stay there even over menus until you reset the game, maybe you'll even get a few crashes.

The environments all have this bland UE look to them. While they were drab in the first game too, they had atmosphere that's simply missing here. There's also substantially less variety between locales and much more level reuse among the game's missions. The music isn't that memorable, apart from the boss themes. And then of course, the frame rate is wildly inconsistent, famously so. I almost feel like you need to play this on a real PS3 to see the authentic experience.

The book club missions are where all the problems of the game converge into one mess. The cramped levels filled with dozens of enemies means it's super easy to just get stunlocked, if you can even tell what's happening at all. Thankfully however, most of them aren't required for Ending D.

Of course, pointing all this stuff out might just be missing the point. Although I refuse to believe it was intentionally this poorly made, I suppose you're supposed to suffer through all of it to experience the story... but I personally didn't think it was all that interesting even compared to Drakengard 1. It's certainly unique, definitely one of those things that would resonate with specific people, just not really for me.

There's really nothing else like it, so I'd say it's worth checking out even if you're just a little bit curious. It runs well on RPCS3, which is the best way to play it currently. Especially since, in the international versions, the story DLCs don't get Japanese voices for some reason.