My feelings about EB are complicated. It's extremely grindy and slow, will often force you to survive with only one or two party members, and deal with all sorts of annoying ailments, massive difficulty spikes, a very cumbersome inventory management and revival system. Despite all that, it's still very alluring. The bizarre way the NPCs are written, the places you'll go and the overall otherworldly atmosphere are fascinating. Visual effects and animated backgrounds are striking and impressive for SNES hardware, as is the sample heavy soundtrack. I adore the creepy undertones that get more full on as Giygas' influence grows, and I'll never forget moments like going to Moonside, or the ending which is one of the best I've ever experienced. I even find myself enjoying combat in a masochistic sorta way. But overall this is an RPG that I love more conceptually, than actually sitting down to play it. I have a lot of respect for it.

Easily the most well crafted Sonic game. SEGA hit a perfect balance between the speed of Sonic 2 and the exploration of Sonic CD with much better layouts than both. It was massive for its time and it still amazes me how much was packed into it.

3 playable characters experience the same zones in totally different ways with pathways only they can access, while also serving as different difficulties (Knuckles = Hard Mode). Everything is connected - each level is huge and branching with their own boss fights, transitioning smoothly into the next. Special stages are entered by finding hidden giant rings and are actually fun and worthwhile now, granting access to two super forms and an extra final fight as Sonic.

I particularly love how Sonic 3 tells two stories without any words, using only the character animations and changes in your surroundings. I also think the visual aesthetic and sound peaked here - wonderful parallax backgrounds and the more detailed threatening robot designs are so badass.

In all aspects the other classics just aren't in the same league. This is a masterpiece of 2D platforming and I credit it for really igniting my interest in video games as a child. It's depressing to think that since they perfected this formula 30 years ago, only one game used it again (Mania).

This series has the most fun Metroidvania gameplay in my opinion and Dawn is simply more of that. The movement and combat are still sick, and so is the feeling of progression absorbing abilities from every enemy and becoming a total killing machine. Being able to switch between 2 sets of fused weapons and stats with a button press made those mechanics even more interesting. Sadly it's an early DS title which means there's some very forced gimmicks in there. Getting a boss to 0 health, messing up drawing the symbol and then dying after is the most frustrating thing. Also one of the worst art style choices I've ever seen... the character portraits are ugly and a massive downgrade from Ayami Kojima's distinctive look. At least the spritework is still really smooth and there are some cool 3D backgrounds. Aria is the better game but this is really worth playing.

A horror masterpiece and shining example of video games as art. After playing through it multiple times it's still so scary and fascinating to me.

SH3 is a non-stop ride of terror that moves from area to area quickly. I can point to so many memorable haunting setpieces in each but they're best discovered for yourself. The puzzles are less cryptic and the gameplay is generally much improved from previous installments. For a 2003 release taking a realistic style, the visuals have aged miraculously - character models still look lifelike and the environments are striking and rich with details. This version of the otherworld has a uniquely horrifying appearance that's unlike anything else I've seen, which the PS2 lofi aesthetic compliments well. That's not to mention the incredible sound design - every playthrough I hear new mysterious distant noises I've never heard before. A lot is left to your imagination like that making every location even scarier. I also think Akira Yamaoka's finest work is found here.

It gets overshadowed by 2 in all discussions regarding horror games today and I think that's sad. Both are very special but I think 3 actually did so many things better. It may not have 2's personal tragic story but for me it's balanced out by having one of the best gaming protagonists, and it still has all the symbolism and depth if you're looking for it. This is one of my favorite pieces of media ever and I'm sure I'll keep discovering things in it for years.

Arthritis Simulator 2005 if you're playing on original hardware. The controls are a little less hand-obliterating on a 3DS. This was an essential multiplayer title in its time: a 3D Mario Kart experience on the go letting you race anyone with a DS and it had online play too. These days though I don't find much reason to go back to this. Even back then I found the tracks to be boring, with graphics so bad I sometimes can't make sense of the road ahead. Certainly not the best MK. (This is my first time actually finishing this, in the past I only played with friends.)

Making a rhythm game out of a series with one of the greatest catalogues of soundtracks ever was genius. Hardcore fans get a lot more out of it with how much it pulls from the whole series history, spinoffs and all, but even with my limited FF experience I still found it addicting and got some new favorite songs. I appreciate how it just gets straight into things and lets you play whatever you want, and the art style and presentation is cute.

The devs clearly have a lot of love for the games represented and now I wish some non-Square series had their own Theatrhythm equivalent...

This is a decent game for people who really liked the Island Flyover mode in Wii Sports Resort (me), it's basically an expanded version of that made to show off the 3DS capabilities. I enjoyed it more than I expected especially in the harder final missions. For some reason there's still a time limit for the "free" flight around the island and it starts even shorter than it was in Resort. It's such a lame decision, it barely gives you any time to do anything and you can't mess around.

If this had been on the eShop at a much lower price point I would've loved it as a kid. As a full price cartridge game in 2011 it wasn't so appealing...

(Played on PS4 not the bad PS3 port)

One of the best character action games ever made that not only rivals DMC but surpasses it at times. It's got a similar intricate stylish combat system but it's unique in being heavily based around long aerial combos and slowing down time with perfect dodges. You spawn torture devices out of thin air and summon demons with your hair to execute your enemies. Of all things, the level design is reminiscent of Mario Galaxy with all its walking on walls and planetoids. It's all very wacky and gory and a non-stop adrenaline rush.

It's also brutally difficult, but it allows you a sense of power if you can keep your enemies in the air and have perfect reflexes. For the most part I think the challenge is fair and the mechanics are balanced, that power is earned with your own skill and spamming will get you nowhere. (I say all this because these are key elements the sequel lost.) I don't care for the story but Bayonetta herself is a very enjoyable character, her English voice actor really brought her to life. I loved all the references to Capcom and SEGA stuff.

In my eyes this is the most consistent and complete game Platinum ever put out, it has so much soul and it meant all their games I've tried since have left me with varying degrees of disappointment. That's not to say it doesn't also have some pretty glaring flaws of its own, such as the instant death QTEs and the obscenely long missile shoot em up level (that's attached to the best boss in the game) but I can overlook them.

If you can ignore the comically shallow plot featuring every single trope in the book, there's probably the best gameplay in the series here. After playing through it again and purely focusing on the battles, I had to up my rating to 9/10. I was so skeptical when it was first revealed and I still can't believe how much fun I've had with it.

The engage mechanics bring so many new strategies to the gameplay and there's a huge variety of unique and tightly designed maps with actually FUN gimmicks... The more aggressive bosses provide a serious challenge this time, and difficulties are well implemented. It features the rewind feature from Three Houses but is not entirely designed around it - it was very possible for me to play without ever using it which I find way more satisfying.

This felt so refreshing after 3H which, despite being a game I love, is ugly as sin... Engage's combat animations are the best we've seen yet and the presentation in general is on an entirely different league. It's much more like a 3DS era title being very streamlined but with less social sim elements, which is just what I wanted. Although the music isn't quite as mind blowing it still really moved me. It might be hard to go back to 3H now.

I enjoyed all the callbacks to older games, ones I'm familiar with and ones I'm not - returning characters, areas and remixes of the best themes. It's literally the Sonic Generations of the FE series but I wouldn't exactly recommend it as your first game.