ArabiWasabi
Noah Copeland singlehandedly remakes one of the best if not the best 2D Sonic game you can experience. He's not only bringing justice to the overshadowed and sometimes forgotten 2D Sonic game Sonic the Hedgehog: Triple Trouble (1994) but also bringing it into the spotlight it deserved but never got (until now). Sega's lucky to have such a passionate fanbase. If Sega ain't gon do it, the fans will.
Everything I wrote in the Sonic the Hedgehog 3 & Knuckles (1994) review can be applied here except for the music which unfortunately isn't as jammy as CD or the Genesis titles. Music is incredibly important but in terms of platforming, it's the crème de la crème of the genre, and what ultimately makes this a masterpiece.
Don't miss this, it's downloadable for free.
Everything I wrote in the Sonic the Hedgehog 3 & Knuckles (1994) review can be applied here except for the music which unfortunately isn't as jammy as CD or the Genesis titles. Music is incredibly important but in terms of platforming, it's the crème de la crème of the genre, and what ultimately makes this a masterpiece.
Don't miss this, it's downloadable for free.
1989
~ 3DS Homebrew Journey - Game 11 ~
The whole reason as to why I started playing this old-fart of a game in the first place was thanks to AutomaticPause’s video “Wario Land Series Retrospective” (2022), which is a very enjoyable 3h+ in-depth video about pretty much everything revolving our favorite nose-picking, motorcycle riding, chunky Mario wannabe — Wario, and his Wario Land series. So what does Wario have to do with Super Mario Land one might ask? Well, the third instalment in the series was weirdly named: Wario Land: Super Mario Land 3 (1994). This makes it the third instalment of the Super Mario Land series but also the first of the brand new Wario Land series. As someone who has recently been playing a lot of WarioWare have I grown to really like the guy. I wanted to give Wario Land a shot, but also Super Mario Land. So instead of just jumping into the third Mario Land, I thought I’d start from the top with Super Mario Land(1989)
I heard people talking about platforming being floaty. What. Are. They. Talking. Bout. ? I mean, a little float, but it’s barely noticeable. I guess I was too busy being mesmerised by the soundtrack. Which evolved into this. Thanks @lasagnaloverleo for bringing it to my attention. Aside from those bangers, when receiving a star power-up you don’t get the iconic Star Theme but instead this, which I think is a sample from the classical masterpiece Infernal Galop, which is odd but fun. It took me less time to beat the game than to write this review, so not much bang for the buck if one bought the game back when it was released. It has some simple yet somewhat challenging platforming with no Mega Man bullshit platforming. It strikes a good balance, including its world themes. The auto-sidescrolling plane sections are great and a good way to implement some variety — something most other 2D Mario games lack. The final boss being a plane section was also a really good way to end things. It sure isn’t the prettiest game but it gets the job done and then some. The zoomed-out view making everything look a little smaller may make for some more challenging platforming, as it is harder to see but it also gives the game a picturesque and unique feel, unlike any other 2D Mario.
The whole reason as to why I started playing this old-fart of a game in the first place was thanks to AutomaticPause’s video “Wario Land Series Retrospective” (2022), which is a very enjoyable 3h+ in-depth video about pretty much everything revolving our favorite nose-picking, motorcycle riding, chunky Mario wannabe — Wario, and his Wario Land series. So what does Wario have to do with Super Mario Land one might ask? Well, the third instalment in the series was weirdly named: Wario Land: Super Mario Land 3 (1994). This makes it the third instalment of the Super Mario Land series but also the first of the brand new Wario Land series. As someone who has recently been playing a lot of WarioWare have I grown to really like the guy. I wanted to give Wario Land a shot, but also Super Mario Land. So instead of just jumping into the third Mario Land, I thought I’d start from the top with Super Mario Land(1989)
I heard people talking about platforming being floaty. What. Are. They. Talking. Bout. ? I mean, a little float, but it’s barely noticeable. I guess I was too busy being mesmerised by the soundtrack. Which evolved into this. Thanks @lasagnaloverleo for bringing it to my attention. Aside from those bangers, when receiving a star power-up you don’t get the iconic Star Theme but instead this, which I think is a sample from the classical masterpiece Infernal Galop, which is odd but fun. It took me less time to beat the game than to write this review, so not much bang for the buck if one bought the game back when it was released. It has some simple yet somewhat challenging platforming with no Mega Man bullshit platforming. It strikes a good balance, including its world themes. The auto-sidescrolling plane sections are great and a good way to implement some variety — something most other 2D Mario games lack. The final boss being a plane section was also a really good way to end things. It sure isn’t the prettiest game but it gets the job done and then some. The zoomed-out view making everything look a little smaller may make for some more challenging platforming, as it is harder to see but it also gives the game a picturesque and unique feel, unlike any other 2D Mario.
This review was written before the game released
In honor of an incredible sportsman
Rest in peace — Wii Sports Matt <3
Rest in peace — Wii Sports Matt <3
As someone who completed both Klonoa: Door to Phantomile (2022) and Klonoa: Door to Phantomile (1997) back to back, I can confirm the superiority of the original to this new half assed “Phantasy Reverie Series” version.
Klonoa: Door to Phantomile (1997) is a very charming game. Much of that charm lies in its art direction. The 2.5D makes everything look different, unique and unlike anything else. All of that is lost in this version and in Klonoa (2009) from which this Phantasy Reverie version is supposedly based on. It instead looks plain, generic and like any other platformer, but with the addition of over-saturated & -exaggerated lighting and colours.
How is it possible that no-one on the entire development team ever thought of maybe removing the gigantic ”SKIP” & ”5x SPEED” buttons which smudges itself on every cutscene. It’s so distracting and it’s almost as if they want you to skip the cutscenes because of how lacklustre they are. Sometimes the dialogue can feel sluggish, other times dialogue is too fast to be able to read. In the original PS1 version you manually went through the dialogue — that way you could read it at your own pace, without being bored out or stressed about following with.
The game has some incredible music, but that’s something I didn’t realise until playing the original. There must be some odd mixing going on it the new game which prevents it from popping like it does in Door to Phantomile (1997)
It does the job and it’s undeniably fun despite its flaws. 50$ for two games you could emulate for free and at the same time be made looking and running better is what ultimately makes this bundle not worth being bought, unless you’re a console-only gamer.
Klonoa: Door to Phantomile (1997) is a very charming game. Much of that charm lies in its art direction. The 2.5D makes everything look different, unique and unlike anything else. All of that is lost in this version and in Klonoa (2009) from which this Phantasy Reverie version is supposedly based on. It instead looks plain, generic and like any other platformer, but with the addition of over-saturated & -exaggerated lighting and colours.
How is it possible that no-one on the entire development team ever thought of maybe removing the gigantic ”SKIP” & ”5x SPEED” buttons which smudges itself on every cutscene. It’s so distracting and it’s almost as if they want you to skip the cutscenes because of how lacklustre they are. Sometimes the dialogue can feel sluggish, other times dialogue is too fast to be able to read. In the original PS1 version you manually went through the dialogue — that way you could read it at your own pace, without being bored out or stressed about following with.
The game has some incredible music, but that’s something I didn’t realise until playing the original. There must be some odd mixing going on it the new game which prevents it from popping like it does in Door to Phantomile (1997)
It does the job and it’s undeniably fun despite its flaws. 50$ for two games you could emulate for free and at the same time be made looking and running better is what ultimately makes this bundle not worth being bought, unless you’re a console-only gamer.
2014
I know that it might be part of the aesthetic but come on, couldn't instant-kill pits and spikes have been left in the old-school retro era? It ruins an otherwise amazing and beautiful-looking platformer.
This game used to look so good people thought that it was leaked GTA VI footage, despite being released before GTA V.
2021
Paid labor > Pay for labor (this game)
2022
What an incredibly wholesome game!! If you're ever in the mood of not playing anything demanding, this is THE easygoing and laid-back game it is you're after. Nothing is at stake, just an imaginary* world of paper-cut-out monsters and everyone wanting to be your friend. Fuck, why isn't real life more like this? :((
People make strong connections to Zelda, and yes, that is very much the case to put it lightly. Most other games that draw heavy inspiration from Breath of The Wild try to sweep the influence under the rug. What makes Lil Gator Game on the other hand so likable is that it's so upfront about its heavy inspiration and even goes its way to reference it as much as possible.
This whimsical world of silly animals and their silly quests kept me engaged at all times, well maybe not at all times. What maybe held it back at times were the ever-ending dialogues. To be fair, it only happened on a few occasions. I just wanted to keep exploring and break every pot I could get my hands on. While exploring I wished there'd be some better songs to go along. The music felt a little flat and not very unique. I kept being reminded of the Slime Rancher OST which has of what I remember: a very mid soundtrack. Don't let the nitpicks I mentioned influence your decision to play this game. It's amazing and if it sounds like a you-game, I really recommend it. Lemme just advise you to play the game whenever you're in that one mood and is tired of overexaggerated action titles.
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I think Immana link to every recorded part in every review I do going forward, so here are the recorded parts from this game:
{1}, {2} & {3}
People make strong connections to Zelda, and yes, that is very much the case to put it lightly. Most other games that draw heavy inspiration from Breath of The Wild try to sweep the influence under the rug. What makes Lil Gator Game on the other hand so likable is that it's so upfront about its heavy inspiration and even goes its way to reference it as much as possible.
This whimsical world of silly animals and their silly quests kept me engaged at all times, well maybe not at all times. What maybe held it back at times were the ever-ending dialogues. To be fair, it only happened on a few occasions. I just wanted to keep exploring and break every pot I could get my hands on. While exploring I wished there'd be some better songs to go along. The music felt a little flat and not very unique. I kept being reminded of the Slime Rancher OST which has of what I remember: a very mid soundtrack. Don't let the nitpicks I mentioned influence your decision to play this game. It's amazing and if it sounds like a you-game, I really recommend it. Lemme just advise you to play the game whenever you're in that one mood and is tired of overexaggerated action titles.
_ _ _ _ _
I think Immana link to every recorded part in every review I do going forward, so here are the recorded parts from this game:
{1}, {2} & {3}
Sonic the Hedgehog 3 & Knuckles (1994) is through and through the most solid and consistent of all the classic Genesis titles. It's not only peak Sonic but peak platforming. For being the longest of the classic Sonic games, it still manages to have the most diverse and fleshed-out level design, gimmicks, and story*.
As someone whose favorite genre is platforming, I still find it hard to really compare it to any other 2d platformer. Sonic was in his own league back in the day and became a household name for a good reason.
THE FUCKING MUSIC! Incredible like every other Sonic game I've played. I refuse to believe there's a Sonic game without jammer slammers.
All in all, this is probably one of the most enjoyable games I've ever played.
As this is the beginning of my journey through the Sonic library I cannot compare it to much else, what I can say is though that I'm very excited to see what it has in store (especially 3D Sonic). I grew up watching Sonic X, so even though I never played the games (up until now), Sonic is still dear to me. Also, the Jetix Sonic X European intro is so much better than the North American one. If you do not agree, you are objectively wrong.
As someone whose favorite genre is platforming, I still find it hard to really compare it to any other 2d platformer. Sonic was in his own league back in the day and became a household name for a good reason.
THE FUCKING MUSIC! Incredible like every other Sonic game I've played. I refuse to believe there's a Sonic game without jammer slammers.
All in all, this is probably one of the most enjoyable games I've ever played.
As this is the beginning of my journey through the Sonic library I cannot compare it to much else, what I can say is though that I'm very excited to see what it has in store (especially 3D Sonic). I grew up watching Sonic X, so even though I never played the games (up until now), Sonic is still dear to me. Also, the Jetix Sonic X European intro is so much better than the North American one. If you do not agree, you are objectively wrong.
2013
I can’t believe myself, that I start of the new year 2022 by re-playing fucking Knack. A universal claim is that Knack is smellier than dog shit, which something I now agree with. But once I used to like Knack because I used to be a degenerate child. Also, I’m very proud that I beat this childrens game in ”hard”.
1991
Sonic the Hedgehog is a tight platformer for those that are more accustomed to precise platforming. At times I just wanted to run as fast as possible but the number of obstacles and enemies make it very hard to react without taking damage. What I find sad is that once you die, you die and will have to redo everything. I guess this is reasonable since it gave some replayability back in the day. Nowadays it feels cheap and it's just annoying.
It has some pretty good jammers as well.
It has some pretty good jammers as well.
It does not matter how many times I play this game, after all this time it still feels fresh and there are always new things to discover and find out about. I roam the realm of Hyrule for hours upon hours yet my curiosity for this world never valleys. This game is truly a breath of fresh air, not only in terms of the Zelda foundation but also in its influence on games made throughout the generation. This game gives me hope that despite the sad state of the gaming world, there's still hope. Art will prevail and prosper.
~ 3DS Homebrew Journey - Game 2 ~
Right before playing A Link Between Worlds (2013), I gave A Link to the Past (1991) a shot, which gave some good first impressions. I will most certainly complete that game too in the time coming. What surprised me when I played this game though was how similar everything felt. Same overworld and a similar opening. Whilst I learned it was in fact "something of a sequel", it still felt kinda cheap re-using the exact same map. It being an old 2D map shows in a few ways. It's a little awkward at times to navigate through the world because many places feel cramped. I really have nothing against them re-using the map since it's a sequel, but I think the overall atmosphere could've been improved if the developers took some liberties in changing a few things up.
The controls feel smooth and snappy and it helps a lot that it runs in a much-appreciated 60fps, though with minor stuttering. One-on-one encounters with the overworld enemies feel quite bad unless you have any Ravio items since you just spam sword attacks in hopes of landing a hit. The main gimmick of this game with Link being able to go into walls is brilliant and works great in both discovering hidden items and collectibles. I only wish it had a bigger impact on dungeon puzzle-solving instead of Ravio items.
In terms of story, this game hit me in the feels. A predictable story isn't always a bad one and it's shown here. I can't say how good the 3D effect was during gameplay but during cutscenes, the 3D effect looked amazing. It almost felt like I got sucked into the screen.
Dungeons were overall great but I ended up with the two darkest ones at the end. I kinda despise dark environments in games. I think it's cool that you can tackle the dungeons in any order you want (if you have the equipment needed that is). I felt like I picked quite a bad order since I felt underpowered most of the time. I got more powerful by the end and could handle the later dungeons with zero hardship.
At this point, I can't expect to be disappointed by any Zelda game. Nintendo nails both 2D and 3D Zelda, not maybe to the same extent, but still. I can't wait to see how it compares with A Link to the Past whenever I get around to completing that game!
Right before playing A Link Between Worlds (2013), I gave A Link to the Past (1991) a shot, which gave some good first impressions. I will most certainly complete that game too in the time coming. What surprised me when I played this game though was how similar everything felt. Same overworld and a similar opening. Whilst I learned it was in fact "something of a sequel", it still felt kinda cheap re-using the exact same map. It being an old 2D map shows in a few ways. It's a little awkward at times to navigate through the world because many places feel cramped. I really have nothing against them re-using the map since it's a sequel, but I think the overall atmosphere could've been improved if the developers took some liberties in changing a few things up.
The controls feel smooth and snappy and it helps a lot that it runs in a much-appreciated 60fps, though with minor stuttering. One-on-one encounters with the overworld enemies feel quite bad unless you have any Ravio items since you just spam sword attacks in hopes of landing a hit. The main gimmick of this game with Link being able to go into walls is brilliant and works great in both discovering hidden items and collectibles. I only wish it had a bigger impact on dungeon puzzle-solving instead of Ravio items.
In terms of story, this game hit me in the feels. A predictable story isn't always a bad one and it's shown here. I can't say how good the 3D effect was during gameplay but during cutscenes, the 3D effect looked amazing. It almost felt like I got sucked into the screen.
Dungeons were overall great but I ended up with the two darkest ones at the end. I kinda despise dark environments in games. I think it's cool that you can tackle the dungeons in any order you want (if you have the equipment needed that is). I felt like I picked quite a bad order since I felt underpowered most of the time. I got more powerful by the end and could handle the later dungeons with zero hardship.
At this point, I can't expect to be disappointed by any Zelda game. Nintendo nails both 2D and 3D Zelda, not maybe to the same extent, but still. I can't wait to see how it compares with A Link to the Past whenever I get around to completing that game!
2022
The game tries to be so many things at once that it loses track of the main theme and in the process fucks up the whole experience. It wants you to run through the level as fast as possible, but also collect all these fucking coins which is impossible to do at the same time if you want to be rewarded for being fast. If you want to collect everything then fuck you too because every time you lose a life, ALL collectibles are reset unless you come to a checkpoint that is far too few and far away from one another.
Oh, are you speedrunning through this level? Well now we want you to read what this stupid frog says at the same time, and he doesn't ever shut up. Gl m8
There's little sense of depth in the environment so platforming is easily misjudged. The 'Frogun' grappling hook from which this game got its name from, never felt good to use, I also kinda hate how you only get one shot at using it, and if you miss, it'll most likely end up with you in demise, aaand back at one of those stupidly sparsely put checkpoints to recollect all of those mf collectibles. Nothing is particularly fleshed out and it feels more like a beta version of what could've been a great and light-hearted platforming experience.
Oh, are you speedrunning through this level? Well now we want you to read what this stupid frog says at the same time, and he doesn't ever shut up. Gl m8
There's little sense of depth in the environment so platforming is easily misjudged. The 'Frogun' grappling hook from which this game got its name from, never felt good to use, I also kinda hate how you only get one shot at using it, and if you miss, it'll most likely end up with you in demise, aaand back at one of those stupidly sparsely put checkpoints to recollect all of those mf collectibles. Nothing is particularly fleshed out and it feels more like a beta version of what could've been a great and light-hearted platforming experience.
The only complaint I have is the controls which does not actually matter that much when it's as fun as it is. Pure joy with amazing music that got me to bob my head through my whole playthrough. Some of my favorite tracks are - The Moon and the Prince, Katamari Mambo, Que Sera Sera and Cherry Tree Times.