Over six weeks and one hundred and twenty hours later: I finally defeated Ganondorf.

What do I even say here? They did it. They fucking did it. Somehow they took the same map and created a slew of new content to build upon it. Hyrule is twice, if not three times bigger than it was in BotW and there were new surprises around nearly every corner. Even after all this time I've barely put a dent in the complete package. I've solved maybe half of the shrines and have a third of the Depths lit up. And that's a generous estimate; there's still so much to see and do. I'll undoubtedly be lost in this world for dozens more hours to come.

This game was a pure delight; a clever marriage between the serenity of nature and the stress of impending doom. There's a bit of jank and some annoying 2001 AI, sure, but this plays on Switch exactly how I imagined it would. For its time this is an impressive achievement and one I regret missing out on.

Can't believe I didn't play this twenty years ago. Okay well technically I did, but it was on one of those GameCubes at McDonald's that would reset every ten minutes. Not exactly the most in-depth experience.

"We have Paper Mario at home" but it's actually good. And still funny as hell all these years later! Obsidian and the team at South Park Studios pretty much created a pitch-perfect translation of the TV series. Few, if any, other licenced games capture the look and feel of their properties so exceptionally. Sure, it's a little easy and it still has its share of minor technical shortcomings, but it's a satisfying and hilarious adventure for any fan of the show.

Looking forward to finally playing The Fractured But Whole.

Whether this remake is slightly stronger or weaker compared to the original will be entirely up to personal taste. Either way, it's certainly a worthy addition to its legacy. I loved every minute of it.

There were a couple of major omissions in the main campaign that I noticed, which I assume will split some fans. One of which I didn't care much for in the original so I can't really be upset about it. Although considering this version attempts to intensify the horror elements that the original only slightly leaned into, it's strange that they cut that sequence of all things. But the surprising new additions, QOL improvements, modern control scheme, and the outstanding presentation we've come to expect from the RE Engine make this a must play. They really went above and beyond with the sound design too; it begs to be played with a good pair of headphones. I did, and the experience was all the better for it. My only major problem was that Ada's VA changed; the new actress is noticeably worse and now she just sounds kind of bored in comparison to her previous appearance.

I think the RE2 remake still edges it out for me overall, but Capcom has once again proven they are masters of their craft. This was a fun, satisfying thrill ride from beginning to end. Whatever comes next, whether that be RE9, or remakes of 5, or 6, or Code Veronica, or Dino Crisis...you can bet your sweet ass I'll be there day one.

It might be kind of easy and some chapters have their share of repetitive battles, but there is a ton here to appreciate purely as a work of art. From the deceptively simple yet satisfying combat, to the presentation, to the narrative structure, to the music, there's something here for any JRPG veteran to enjoy while still being accessible enough for new and young players alike. I think Kingdom Hearts fans in particular kind of owe it to themselves to play it, as Yoko Shimomura's first major soundtrack with Square(soft) may very well be her best. I never played the original SNES fan translation so I have little to compare it to, but this remake blew me away on several occasions. Each chapter contains a nice little bite-sized adventure and they never overstay their welcome. Despite any small gripes I have, it's an experience like no other.

But for the love of God, if you make it to the endgame use a guide and save yourself the frustration.

Despite owning a GameCube since 2002 I never played this until now. As a kid I would get lost in Zelda dungeons for hours, if not days on end, so I stayed far away from the Metroid series as a whole for a very long time. Now with Dread and Zero Mission under my belt this re-release was the perfect time to jump in. And I'm happy to say that I was gripped from beginning to end. The atmosphere and sense of isolation in this game is unmatched, even by many modern titles. While I did miss the fluidity and tight control of the 2D titles, exploring a lush and expansive 3D environment as Samus was an absolute joy in its own right. The world is big but it's never too big, and unlike Dread getting from one end of the map to the other never became a chore. Which is a plus because this game has quite a bit of necessary backtracking.

Probably goes without saying that this remaster looks absolutely spectacular, and it's a testament to Nintendo and Retro's work that they can make a Switch game look THIS GOOD on outdated hardware. Let alone a reskin of an already twenty year old game. If this is what Prime 4 is going to look like then it's safe to say that it's in good hands. Now please give us 2 and 3 in the meantime, I'm dying to try them!

Overall I had a great time with Prime, and I seriously regret not playing it sooner. I can easily see my appreciation for it growing more and more with time. One of the best GameCube games is now one of the best games on Switch. And with Nintendo's unusual decision to sell it at a reduced price, this is not one to be missed!

As one of those normies who was introduced to this series through P5, I definitely miss some of the improvements made in that game (i.e. in-depth dungeon design, baton-pass, greater variety of activities, etc). But I still fell in love with Persona 4 all the same. If there's one major qualm I have with P5, it's that its story is pretty cut-and-dry from the very start; there are corrupted adults actively making the world worse and you need to take them down a peg. P4 instead focuses on a murder mystery with intriguing layers to gradually unravel as the story progresses. The game has this cozy, small town feel that I love, which is in contrast to an ever-present sinister undertone. And while I absolutely adore the soundtrack as a whole I can't pretend like some tracks didn't get on my nerves by the 80 hour mark cough cough.

There are plenty of things I could nitpick about the plot but that's par for the course for JRPGs. What matters is that this game was a joy to experience from start to finish; I truly came to see these characters as my friends and family just as I did with P5. It even managed to make me cry at one point, which is something that only a very small handful of games have ever done. I'm so happy I was finally able to experience Persona 4 and I can't wait to give 3 a try...sometime soon. I'm a little burned out right now.

To this day there's a lot I still don't like about this game. The combat can be clunky (especially early on), the Disney worlds present these lackluster abridged versions of their respective movies, boss fights range from super easy to excruciatingly annoying with no consistency to the difficulty, the gummi ship straight up sucks, and navigating some of these worlds can feel completely aimless at times if you don't know exactly where to go or what to do. There were instances where I considered dropping my score to three stars during this playthrough, like that second phase of the Ansem fight. Seriously fuck that shit.

But with that being said, despite its many flaws I still love this game to pieces. I think that largely has to do with the music and atmosphere, both of which Kingdom Hearts excels at with flying colours. Presentation as a whole is stellar across the board and the Final Mix version makes an already beautiful game look even better. The Traverse Town theme is etched deep in my brain and whenever I hear it it's like I'm being transported back in time. And I never owned a PS2; I only ever played it at a friend's house as a kid and never saw past the Tarzan world. It wasn't until I was well into my twenties that I finally experienced the game front to back. So there definitely is some nostalgia playing a part in my enjoyment, and I can totally understand someone jumping into this for the first time today and just finding it painful. Aspects of the story aren't thoroughly fleshed-out but it is deceptively simple; these were the days before this series became a narrative clusterfuck. There's no keyblade war, or nobodies, or clones, or power vacuums, or anything of the sort...it's just a kid searching for his friends while encountering some colourful characters along the way.

I've always loved Disney animation but I've long been hesitant to dive deep into this series as a whole. This is the only KH entry I've completed and now I intend to change that. I absolutely hated Chain of Memories when I played it on PS4 some years ago, but now that I finally have this collection on Series X I'm very eager to just skip that one and jump right into Kingdom Hearts II. I've heard great things.