Bethesda pulled off something really incredible here. Never once did I think this would work but after 6 years, the game feels complete. It has a few major issues with its lack of storytelling among some other things, but doing random quests with my brother was really fun. I do wish there was more character/enemy variety because it is tiring having to deal with the same thing in every area, but it’s an improvement. Seeing the game at launch compared to now is night and day. While this probably won’t be the way the next installment is, I do hope they add some kind of online component because there is potential here to do even more.

I only bought this because of the QVC coupon and it was honestly incredible. I grew up with the DS titles but never got around to this one. Very fun and easy to get into minus some annoying control issues. Movement isn’t as tight as I’ve come to expect from Switch-era Mario, but that didn’t ruin the game for me. Levels are simple but some took me a few tries, especially when attempting to go flawless against DK. With all of these recent remakes, my hope is that they don’t stop here. Would absolutely love to see a brand new game in this style down the line.

I can’t believe I was almost convinced not to play this game. This was my first true taste of a full Final Fantasy game and it was incredible. Gameplay is the most important thing to me and thankfully the combat was fluid and extremely fun. The more eikon abilities provided, the better it got. Loved that we continued to get new abilities throughout the entire game. Bosses were a clear highlight and I looked forward to each and every one. These were a spectacle and each one felt unique and it was stunning watching them come to life. I don’t usually like time trials, but doing them for the trophy taught me new ways of utilizing the differing eikons. My only issue which is a personal one is the side quests. Despite many of them leading to bigger and better outcomes, getting through the early ones was a drag. The layouts were identical and the stories uninteresting. They did get better in the second half, but I do wish the early ones were better.

Mario will always be my favorite franchise and it’s because of games like this. Creativity, innovation, artistic expression at its finest, this game has everything. Bosses are a little weak but that’s nothing to complain about when the game offers so much more. Level design is the best it’s been since the original entries and the wonder mechanic adds such a fun twist to every level. I will never grow tired of anticipating these games and playing them with my siblings. I completed every challenge and got all six of the medals, it was incredibly entertaining. It’s amazing to be a Mario fan right now.

Another Mario masterpiece. It released at a perfect time for me to binge and it was amazing. The combat, soundtrack, dialogue, and enemies blend so well together. It hardly feels like a Super Mario game because of how unique and diverse the areas/encounters can be. Extremely glad that my first genuine exposure to this game was this remake because they did an outstanding job. It glows on my OLED and I couldn’t be happier. Nothing about it feels outdated besides some action-command timing issues but it’s nothing that takes from the experience.

My biggest wish is for this game to exceed sales expectations and hopefully give us another title down the line.

Nintendo gave us an entire games’ worth of additional courses and all I had to do was subscribe to NSO. This was easily the most value I’ve gotten from any service so I give them major props. In terms of the course selection, I really wish they would’ve given us less Tour courses because they did not translate well to console. Paris Promenade was the standout but the rest are not very good. I’m glad to see a lot of my childhood favorites back and looking better than before. As each pack released we could see the quality improve and there’s a huge difference between the attention to detail given to the first pack vs the final. Despite taking years before giving us anything, I’m extremely glad they decided to bless us with this booster pack.