Have you ever played a game that, despite all the good or bad things that it does, made you feel completely numb to it at the end of the day? Like, you can definitely form opinions on all of the things that it does, what it does right and wrong, how you think it could improve itself, and what you love about it, but at the end of the day, you just simply… don’t really care about it at all? I would argue that this is probably the worst kind of reaction you could have to any kind of game, even more so than straight up anger or hatred, because at least you can feel genuine, proper emotion from that rage, as you could if you end up loving a game, but if you don’t feel anything at all towards a game at all to the point of it being mind-numbing to you, then it’s probably gonna end up being less memorable to you, and you will probably forget it ever existed in the first place. This is essentially how I felt after I had beat the forgotten 90s arcade platformer known as Blue’s Journey.

I had never heard of this game until quite recently, where I was looking for another game from ADK to play and make fun of, since that is a running theme that I have built up for myself at this point. Out of their selection, I found this title, and based on how the poster looked, I thought it looked stupid, yet charming enough to where I would probably end up liking what I played. So, I decided to give it a shot, and I would say that it is a good-ish game, but… man, is it one of the most “whatever” games I have played in some time. It does have quite a bit going for it, and if it was somewhat more polished and refined, we could have ourselves a bonafide hidden gem on our hands here, but instead, we have a game with good elements and ideas that is extremely rough around the edges that I couldn’t give two shits about once it was all over.

The story is standard for this kind of game, where the insect kingdom of Raguy is taken over suddenly by the evil Daruma Empire, who seek to spread pollution and chaos throughout the land, so it is up to Blue to set out to not only stop the Daruma Empire from doing their evil deeds, but to also save the fair Princess Fa as well, which feels like a story that fits right in with typical video games stories of this era, not only because of how generic it is, but also because it’s a pollution PSA, and you know how they LOVED making those around this time. The graphics are good, having that cheap, yet still impressive looking style that Neo Geo games were known for at the time, but it doesn’t have that much of a distinct or impressive art style for me to like it too much, the music is alright, having plenty of upbeat tunes to listen to while you’re murdering all these innocent creatures, but nothing stands out as too original, catchy, or infectious, and the gameplay/control is somewhat standard for the kind of game this is, implementing some features that could be seen as innovative for this genre…. you know, if it hadn’t already been done before, and if this game did anything more with these concepts, but hey, A for effort.

The game is a 2D platformer, where you take control of Blue, go through plenty of different stages throughout the expansive kingdom of Raguy, defeat the many foes you will encounter with the various weapons that you will find, or just by throwing them at other enemies, gather plenty of different weapons, money, and health items to assist you along the way and give you more points, enter various buildings to either speak with the inhabitants who will assist you on your journey, or to browse a shop full of many helpful items, and take on several bosses that can be a bit tricky at first, until you realize just how pathetically easy they are. There is a lot of typical fun, arcade platforming to be had here, with a lot of neat different gimmicks and traits that do make the game feel like it is actually somewhat trying, but then, when you take a step back, you will find that a lot of what this game does has been done once or twice before in plenty of other games, and in comparison, this game doesn’t do that much at all to make it stand out or feel unique.

With that being said though, there are some elements about the game that do make it stand out, with said elements going back to what the main character can do. Along with all of the different weapons you can use to defend yourself, you also have the power to shrink yourself down to size, allowing you access previously inaccessible areas and find some neat secrets. This is a pretty interesting concept and mechanic… at least it is IN THEORY, but here, this ability is useless to me. The only time I ever actually used this ability was in the second-to-last or last level, where I actually could not proceed without using the ability. I’m sure I probably could’ve gotten more use out of it through experimenting with several of the areas I went through, but most instances of this coming into play would only help me in getting extra points and shit like that, which I don’t really care about in this case.

Other than that though, there isn’t that much here to make the game stand out from others of its kind. There are alternating pathways that will require you to do multiple playthroughs to see all the levels, so that’s pretty cool for those who are completionists, and there are shops that you can often visit in order to purchase goodies, but most of the time for me, either I didn’t have enough money to get anything, or the stuff that they had on sale wasn’t really worth spending anything on at all. And lastly, after beating each boss, you get the chance to participate in a lottery in order to gain permanent upgrades like extra health, which was really helpful whenever I got the chance to take on that. The rest of the game is your basic arcade platformer through and through, having all the typical ups and downs of one, and while I still consider the game to be good in its own regard, it all just feels so… artificial to me, to the point where I just can’t even be bothered to care too much about it. Then again, I could also say this for a lot of the games I have played from ADK.

But of course, since this is a typical arcade platformer, it also comes with the typical arcade platformer problems you have come to expect. First and foremost, arcade syndrome does rear its disgusting, grease-covered face around the corner, with plenty of enemies being thrown at you in many different areas, but unlike something like Athena, it doesn’t feel mindless, and all the enemies feel like they belong in the places where they do spawn. It can just be a little hectic with how many there can be at once in one given area. Secondly, while most of the platformer is serviceable, there are specific parts of the game that can just straight up BLOW ME for all I care. There were at least two different times where I encountered a section where you need to jump on these moving platforms that were going from the right to the left, each row having different speeds to them, and these sections are ASS. Not only can the platforms be spaced out enough to where you need PIXEL-PERFECT jumps in order to land on them at times, but also, in terms of the second of these sections, you have barely any time to get on these platforms before either being pushed off an edge, or blocked from getting anywhere, making all of these feel like a crap shoot that isn’t fun to deal with in the slightest. Thankfully though, this only applies to these two sections, as the rest of the platforming is serviceable enough to where I can get by without complaining like a little bitch more than I already am.

Overall, despite arcade syndrome still being a blight on this Earth and some bullshit sections here or there, Blue’s Journey fits perfectly alongside plenty of the other ADK titles I have played, being a very run-of-the-mill arcade platformer that does take plenty of inspiration and ideas from plenty of different places, and has its own interesting ideas as well, but it doesn’t do enough with said ideas or inspiration to where it feels that useful or substantial, making for a decent experience, but one that I myself couldn’t care too much about. I would recommend it for those that are big into old-school arcade games, and just want something to play through in about an hour or so, but for everyone else, there are plenty of better options out there that you could go with aside from this. But, before I go, I may as well show you all what the game over screen in this game looks like, because it is guilt-trippy as FUCK. Seriously, they try their hardest to coerce you into putting more money into the machine, and when you don’t do it, not only do they call you a bad guy, but they also show the polluted wasteland that YOU caused by not putting another quarter into that machine. Well, gee, SORRY, Mr. Game, but if I want to be talked down to like I’m a tiny child, I would just go re-watch the Avatar films, ok? I don’t gotta put up your shit too.

Game #594

Super Mario Kart, but better.

I’ve always had a soft spot for this one, but I haven’t even touched it in a decade, so I was curious to see if it held up at all. Despite being simplistic (this ain’t Mario Kart 8), I find Super Circuit more visually attractive and overall enjoyable to play than Super Mario Kart.

Gameplay and scale-wise it feels like a cross between SMK and MK64, although the drift feels wrong at first. Item balance and AI rubber-banding is fairer than both of its predecessors. Obviously they’re mode 7 style tracks so the courses can’t really be as dynamic as Mario Kart 64, but the backgrounds and environmental themes are gorgeous and relatively varied.

The new levels are also way better than SMK, but including remastered versions of every Super Mario Kart track is a huge W.

Age of Advent is a collection of four minigames, one based on each member of hololive's group Advent. It's free, so I just decided to check it out to kill some time.

After booting up the game, you're greeted with a very stylish title screen: a big neon sign with the title on the left, various hololive references are scattered in the background. It pains me to say that this title screen was, in fact, my highlight of the game. I played the minigames in order - right off the bat, Bijou's Bejeweled was fun a few minutes, until the initial novelty ran out and it just became Bejewled with a fancy skin. Nerissa's cooking minigames features movement similar to Crypt of the Necrodancer, while also having the mechanics of Snake at the same time, as the ingredients you collect follow your lead until you dump them into the pot. It was alright. The next game was the most boring out of the bunch for me, Shiori's horror farming simulator. The PS1 styled aesthetic of this mode is well done and fits the vibe they were going for, however the actual gameplay here is... not fun. It's a walking simulator, where you can ironically barely see where you're walking, because of the darkness and amount of treestumps everywhere. The fourth and final minigame in Age of Advent is based on the twins and controls like a two-player Donkey Kong minecart section. This one is actually my favorite of the bunch, because it's so simple in execution, but the two-player perspective keeps you on your toes. (I actually don't know if you're supposed to play it by yourself, but it was a fun challenge nonetheless.)

While it wasn't as enjoyable as I would have hoped it to be, Age of Advent clearly has a lot of love put into it from the fans who made it and in the end it's ultimately a passion project - which I respect a lot.

[Revisitation of my Childhood, Part 2]

Okay, what..? This was honestly a crazy experience for me because my whole life, I was thinking that this game was definitely the better out of the two LEGO Indiana Jones games. But this is...much worse. Not saying it's actually bad, but there is a clear drop in quality from the first game. The best way I can describe it is "undercooked additions and confusing exclusions." Example: Hub world. Definitely the most notable new feature of this game from it's predecessor, the hub world is probably the biggest example of an undercooked addition. Everything besides playing levels, including unlocking characters, vehicles, bonus levels, and actually going to the story/treasure levels is done in the hub world. And uh...it's not fun. The minikit equivalents are basically dropped, and everything is unlocked through the hub world, which gets VERY annoying after a while, because of how much slow transportation you have to do during it. Another example of this game's motto of sorts is the shorter levels. All of the levels in the game are shorter than they are in the previous game, and while many would argue that doesn't mean a drop in quality of those levels, in this case, it most certainly does. Oh, also, after you beat the story of an episode, in the hub world there is now treasure levels(basically replaying the story levels with changes to the level design and sometimes appearance of the stage) and bonus levels(custom levels made in the level builder VERY LOOSELY based off of moments in the story not in the story levels, which just comes off as lazy of all things) to do as well, which means a total of NINETY levels to do, EXCLUDING the stupid million stud levels. Other examples of this are the level builder, and the vehicle levels. Oh god, the vehicle levels. Not only are they super annoying to actually play, but the True Adventurer stud counts are stretched SO FAR that you're better off just going for that after you've gotten stud multiplying red bricks. The only new additions that I actually enjoy are end-of-episode boss battles. Most of them ROCK, like Raiders, Temple of Doom, and Crystal Skull 2 and 3. Also the Green Brick extra "Snake Whip", all my homies love Snake Whip.
Also, THERE'S NO BOULDER TEMPLE LEVEL IN RAIDERS STORY. HOW DO YOU HAVE RAIDERS WITHOUT BOULDER TEMPLE

Well, the start of a loong journey begins. Ratchet & Clank is a game series that really needs no introduction, and the first game was always something I used to play as a child but never fully finished. For some reason I always used to get to Quark’s Fortress and stop, but (15 years or so later) I’ve finally been able to complete it! So, here are my thoughts:

With this being the first Ratchet & Clank game, it's key to see Ratchet’s development. He initially starts out as very self centred, quite cocky & uncaring towards Clank, giving a certain edge to him that isn’t seen in later titles. Clank sadly doesn't have much of an arc with his character, minus one scene that was pretty touching, but he still has a lot of charm! The story isn’t something that hasn’t been done before, but it's the personalities of all of the characters you interact with that help flesh out the story that's being told, which is mostly trying to show how corporate & greedy most of the inhabitants are. This is what makes Chairman Drek an enticing villain to the storyline as he’s basically the epitome of said greed, and this is all told through great storytelling that doesn't treat kids that would’ve been playing this like idiots.

I can imagine being in LOVE with something this ambitious back in 2002, as I still am now. The scope of this game is no small feat, and they did an amazing job at making unique worlds that vary enough from one another that really sells that idea of exploring a galaxy of planets, even having multiple paths you could take in each level. Even the backtracking to previous worlds when you possibly didn’t have the gear yet never felt annoying either because it always opened up a new path that wasn’t explorable before. This great design paired with the gunplay and platforming, it feels like it opened up the genre to more experimentation than what was previously tried with Crash, Spyro & Jak & Daxter up to this point.

And ooo boy the game's soundtrack is a chef's futuristic kiss, it really does feel like every loop was built around trying to fit the atmosphere each world was going for. There are genuinely haunting soundscapes for Planet Orxon & the Gemlik Base but when going to Planet Kerwan I'm surprised at how well it fits the bustling city of Metropolis, EVERY world has their own distinct sound that compliments so so well. I also loved how separate paths sometimes included a deviation of the original song depending on what you were doing. David Bergeaud knocked it out the park with these tracks, and it's a shame that the modern Ratchet & Clank OST’s don’t have that same level of specialty he brought to the table.

So I think looking at the good, it’s clear R&C does a fantastic job at unique level designs, solid writing, & great exploration, but there are definitely some mechanics that could’ve been tweaked to be smoother or, well, maybe haven’t aged the greatest personally.

Speaking of the gear, it’s decent, but isn’t Insomniac's most creative collection like you see in the more modern titles. You have your typical machine gun, rocket launcher, bombs, etc etc, which whilst fun to use, especially weapons like the Visibomb, aren’t very distinctive. Some even feel pretty useless compared to others as well, I’m pretty sure in my whole playthrough I never used the decoy glove or the mine glove once, so whilst there are various ways you can tackle something, some lack the punch others do. But overall, it's a pretty solid collection to start things off alongside the gadgets (even though I wish they were on their own separate wheel).

I think depending on how much I enjoy the weapons also has something to do with how this game’s controls. For starters, the aiming can be awkward depending on what you’re trying to use, and whilst I give respect to Ratchet & Clank for being the first to merge shooter mechanics with platforming, it doesn’t feel as smooth as what I’d like it to sometimes, especially getting into the later worlds where it can start to push these mechanics to their limits, which can even start to hinder the platforming and make you realise how floaty it all feels. I also wish selecting items on the weapon wheel was a little faster as sometimes I try to switch weapons mid-fight and since the game doesn’t pause or slow down I end up taking damage in the process which always got on my nerves.

Another annoyance, grinding for bolts! Now I know the RYNO is meant to be obtained through multiple playthroughs, but that aside there were still a considerable amount needed for the more expensive weapons/upgrades like the tesla claw and the improved health, so I ended up doing grinding the giant clank fight for the most bolts which was definitely the most tiring part of this game.

Honestly though, whilst these complaints did dampen my experience they’re very minimal when looking at the entire journey which I'm very impressed by for a first outing. I can definitely understand why people were underwhelmed with the 2016 remake as whilst it might feel better to control and have better weapon progression, I think it lost the charm and style that made the original what it was (especially on the writing side where they made some very weird changes to the story) and doesn’t stand out near as much as what it did 20 years ago.

Overall, I highly recommend checking this out if you can, I think out of all the PS2 platformer mascots Ratchet & Clank to me had the strongest first entry from what I can gather, even with some bumps it has along the way. I’m very excited to continue playing through the series and seeing how the others stack up as I’ve only heard greater things!