ArcadeFlower587
2006
Mother 3 is a game that I have wanted to play for such a long time now. When I first played Earthbound back in 2016, I wanted to immediately jump into this game. However, with no official release and no way to smoothly emulate it back then, Mother 3 would sit on the back burner for a while. It's been 7 years since then and I now have finally sat down and played this game beginning to end. I have no idea what took me so long, I mean this game has been in my backlog before I even had an actual backlog that I kept track of, but I'll be honest. I am so glad I didn't play this until now. If it took me playing Earthbound again as an adult to truly understand it, I definitely would not have given Mother 3 the credit it deserves as a young teenager. That would have been a disservice, because Mother 3 is the most brilliant game I have ever played, no exaggeration.
Earthbound Beginnings was a dissection of the RPG genre. At the time it was something entirely new, taking the standard RPG but instead of the fantasy setting, it was in modern day, with the protagonists being kids exploring the world together. Earthbound was this same idea, just more fleshed out. It felt like what the team wanted to do with that original game, now fully realized. However, where do you go after that? Earthbound would be pretty difficult to top, and going for a similar setup again would be pretty redundant, wouldn't it?
I made comparisons to Super Metroid in my Earthbound review, but I think that still holds true here. Mother 3 is the Metroid Fusion to Earthbound's Super Metroid. It's a GBA followup to an SNES classic so highly regarded, that it only makes sense to go for something entirely different. While I wasn't the biggest fan of Metroid Fusion though, Mother 3 is a different story.
Rather than a dissection of the RPG genre, Mother 3 is a dissection of Earthbound. That's the best way I can describe it. You still have that comedic edge, funny characters to run into, and some very memorable and fun moments throughout the story, but Earthbound this is not. This game is a story about humanity and our role in the world. It's about how loving and caring we can be, coming together and forming communities, cultures, supporting one another, being at peace with the world around us. It's about how cruel we can be, how our greed and selfish desires can affect others and our world, how thirsting for power leads to destruction. It's about different types of people, how everyone, adults, children, parents, siblings, strong, weak, accepted, outcasted, able-bodied, disabled, male, female, or neither, everyone has their place. Everyone has their story. But at the end of the day, we have to make sure those stories live on, we have to do our part to keep our world thriving. A huge component of this game is a commentary on capitalism and its inevitable downfall. It's quite shocking to see how blunt the game is about this. Earthbound has jokes about this idea, sure, but Mother 3 doesn't hold anything back.
Unlike the previous games, Mother 3 doesn't immediately throw you into the action with minimal explanation of its story. Rather, the first several hours are spent fleshing out this world, the characters. When I finally did begin the adventure proper, I felt so much more invested than I did with the other games and it's not even a competition.
Its presentation is remarkable too. Just like Earthbound, characters don't talk or emote all that much once you begin the adventure proper. There is plenty of that in the beginning but once you're off, a lot is left open to interpretation. In fact, in the entirety of the game, the character in the lead of your party will never speak. This is something that bothered me a bit at first, but I grew to love this as it really lets me invest myself into a lot of the story's moments. How do these characters react? Well, how do I react? It's probably something along those lines.
However, when something happens that DOES cause a character to react, it's that much more powerful. The game is really good about using its presentation to its advantage. Compare this to Earthbound where party members just didn't emote or react to anything at all. Not even a little bit.
I won't talk about Mother 3's overarching story here as I want to avoid spoilers, but just know that it is fantastic across the board, one of the best narratives I have ever seen without a doubt.
On a gameplay front, Mother 3 is very similar to Earthbound, but more streamlined. There aren't any big cities or towns, so rather than having to run to shops, hospitals, and hotels, Mother 3 has everything laid out in a much more convenient way. There are plenty of hot springs on the map which will fully restore your party's HP and PP AND revive anyone who was knocked out, I very much like that.
There are also frogs scattered everywhere which act as both save points and ATMs, and the game tends to place these before boss encounters so you never have to worry about wasting PP on normal enemies, only to screw yourself over come time for a tough battle. Earthbound was pretty bad about this on a couple occasions.
Combat is much more strategic than before. Not only are buff and debuff abilities much more useful here, dare I say required for some encounters, but there is also a new rhythm mechanic here. When doing a standard attack, timing your button presses to the beat of the music will result in your character dealing extra damage on their turn. Combine this with the rolling HP mechanic returning from Earthbound and now you have to think carefully about how you go about your turn. If a party member takes mortal damage, do you risk trying to get in that extra bit of damage, or do you bypass that to try and heal them as quickly as possible? It's great stuff, and just like before, each party member has their strengths and you'll want to use those as optimally as possible. Lucas and Kumatora may be the only ones with PSI abilities but don't underestimate Boney's insane speed or Duster's ability to tank a lot of hits as well as his never ending supply of thief tools.
Honestly though, even with all that said, I don't think Mother 3 is the end all be all best Mother/Earthbound game. It all comes down to taste. Mother 3 is just the one I gravitate towards more. Earthbound is great if you prefer to just jump in and play and enjoy the comedic ride and fun environments. Earthbound also has a lot of charm in its world. I mentioned how not having big cities or towns makes Mother 3 more convenient, but exploring those areas was a big part of what made Earthbound so fun and memorable. Mother 3 is a more streamlined experience in a lot of ways but with the game taking a long time to get going as the first several hours are spent on mostly world building, as well as the game's more serious storytelling, I completely understand why some would prefer Earthbound over this. They're both fantastic games that achieve what they were going for amazingly well. As for me though, Mother 3 is now one of my favorite games of all time, and I'm so happy I finally played it after all these years.
Earthbound Beginnings was a dissection of the RPG genre. At the time it was something entirely new, taking the standard RPG but instead of the fantasy setting, it was in modern day, with the protagonists being kids exploring the world together. Earthbound was this same idea, just more fleshed out. It felt like what the team wanted to do with that original game, now fully realized. However, where do you go after that? Earthbound would be pretty difficult to top, and going for a similar setup again would be pretty redundant, wouldn't it?
I made comparisons to Super Metroid in my Earthbound review, but I think that still holds true here. Mother 3 is the Metroid Fusion to Earthbound's Super Metroid. It's a GBA followup to an SNES classic so highly regarded, that it only makes sense to go for something entirely different. While I wasn't the biggest fan of Metroid Fusion though, Mother 3 is a different story.
Rather than a dissection of the RPG genre, Mother 3 is a dissection of Earthbound. That's the best way I can describe it. You still have that comedic edge, funny characters to run into, and some very memorable and fun moments throughout the story, but Earthbound this is not. This game is a story about humanity and our role in the world. It's about how loving and caring we can be, coming together and forming communities, cultures, supporting one another, being at peace with the world around us. It's about how cruel we can be, how our greed and selfish desires can affect others and our world, how thirsting for power leads to destruction. It's about different types of people, how everyone, adults, children, parents, siblings, strong, weak, accepted, outcasted, able-bodied, disabled, male, female, or neither, everyone has their place. Everyone has their story. But at the end of the day, we have to make sure those stories live on, we have to do our part to keep our world thriving. A huge component of this game is a commentary on capitalism and its inevitable downfall. It's quite shocking to see how blunt the game is about this. Earthbound has jokes about this idea, sure, but Mother 3 doesn't hold anything back.
Unlike the previous games, Mother 3 doesn't immediately throw you into the action with minimal explanation of its story. Rather, the first several hours are spent fleshing out this world, the characters. When I finally did begin the adventure proper, I felt so much more invested than I did with the other games and it's not even a competition.
Its presentation is remarkable too. Just like Earthbound, characters don't talk or emote all that much once you begin the adventure proper. There is plenty of that in the beginning but once you're off, a lot is left open to interpretation. In fact, in the entirety of the game, the character in the lead of your party will never speak. This is something that bothered me a bit at first, but I grew to love this as it really lets me invest myself into a lot of the story's moments. How do these characters react? Well, how do I react? It's probably something along those lines.
However, when something happens that DOES cause a character to react, it's that much more powerful. The game is really good about using its presentation to its advantage. Compare this to Earthbound where party members just didn't emote or react to anything at all. Not even a little bit.
I won't talk about Mother 3's overarching story here as I want to avoid spoilers, but just know that it is fantastic across the board, one of the best narratives I have ever seen without a doubt.
On a gameplay front, Mother 3 is very similar to Earthbound, but more streamlined. There aren't any big cities or towns, so rather than having to run to shops, hospitals, and hotels, Mother 3 has everything laid out in a much more convenient way. There are plenty of hot springs on the map which will fully restore your party's HP and PP AND revive anyone who was knocked out, I very much like that.
There are also frogs scattered everywhere which act as both save points and ATMs, and the game tends to place these before boss encounters so you never have to worry about wasting PP on normal enemies, only to screw yourself over come time for a tough battle. Earthbound was pretty bad about this on a couple occasions.
Combat is much more strategic than before. Not only are buff and debuff abilities much more useful here, dare I say required for some encounters, but there is also a new rhythm mechanic here. When doing a standard attack, timing your button presses to the beat of the music will result in your character dealing extra damage on their turn. Combine this with the rolling HP mechanic returning from Earthbound and now you have to think carefully about how you go about your turn. If a party member takes mortal damage, do you risk trying to get in that extra bit of damage, or do you bypass that to try and heal them as quickly as possible? It's great stuff, and just like before, each party member has their strengths and you'll want to use those as optimally as possible. Lucas and Kumatora may be the only ones with PSI abilities but don't underestimate Boney's insane speed or Duster's ability to tank a lot of hits as well as his never ending supply of thief tools.
Honestly though, even with all that said, I don't think Mother 3 is the end all be all best Mother/Earthbound game. It all comes down to taste. Mother 3 is just the one I gravitate towards more. Earthbound is great if you prefer to just jump in and play and enjoy the comedic ride and fun environments. Earthbound also has a lot of charm in its world. I mentioned how not having big cities or towns makes Mother 3 more convenient, but exploring those areas was a big part of what made Earthbound so fun and memorable. Mother 3 is a more streamlined experience in a lot of ways but with the game taking a long time to get going as the first several hours are spent on mostly world building, as well as the game's more serious storytelling, I completely understand why some would prefer Earthbound over this. They're both fantastic games that achieve what they were going for amazingly well. As for me though, Mother 3 is now one of my favorite games of all time, and I'm so happy I finally played it after all these years.
1994
I first played Earthbound in 2016, and at the time I really didn't appreciate it. I didn't get it. I constantly found myself lost and having to look to the internet for help. I didn't find myself really caring much about the world or the characters, and when I did beat the game, my takeaway was just "That was a good game" and that's it. I liked it, and didn't feel strong about it in any particular way.
At the time I hadn't really played RPGs, I was a big Pokémon fan but that's about it. And I tried to play this game with that mindset, and Earthbound does not work in that way. Since then I have fallen in love with Undertale and Deltarune, and got into another big RPG series, being Xenoblade Chronicles. And with my recent playthrough of the original Mother, I had to give this game another go, and man, did I absolutely love it.
Similar to the original Mother, you're left to immerse yourself in this world and use your imagination to fill in the gaps, an aspect I absolutely adore about these games. I am typically one to dislike silent protagonists but I don't really see Ness or Ninten in that way, and there's a key difference as to why. Earthbound is all about the experience of growing up, experiencing the world for the first time. Who are these kids? What are they like, what do they do? Well, how many kids knew those answers for themselves at that age? That's what makes this work so well. I just immerse myself in this world, talk to tons of NPCs, see what hidden goodies I can find, see what these towns are like, how these folks go about their day to day lives. It's great stuff and in my opinion handled even better here than in the first game.
Speaking of which, this game on the surface seems pretty familiar doesn't it? Giygas is attacking the earth, and Ness must learn to master his psychic abilities with the help of 3 friends while gathering 8 magical melodies? Yeah, that's all Mother 1 again.
But here's the thing. Mother 1 felt like your own adventure. You could go about the journey in any way you liked, really see these characters however best fit for your experience. Earthbound however, is a different story. This is Ness's journey, one that feels specifically tailored to him. While the beats are similar, they are handled in very different ways. For example, just like in the original, you end up in Magicant for a while. While before it was a central hub area and where you would go for crucial story beats regarding to solving a mystery, here, this is Ness's Magicant. It's where he goes to battle his inner fears and accept that he is a hero. There are 8 melodies again, sure, but while before they were the key to helping the queen and reaching the final area, here, they're especially meant for Ness. Each time you get one Ness has a weird vision or memory. These melodies are what allow him into Magicant in the first place.
The game really reminds me of Super Metroid in this way. Yes there is familiar ground being treaded here from the series' NES entries, but expanded upon in many ways, that flesh out the world.
Beyond all that though, the game actually plays MUCH better than before. The battle system is so much more expanded upon and each character has their own strengths while also not RELYING on that strength. How did Mother 1 handle this? Ninten was for support, Ana was for offensive PSI, Lloyd relied on gadgets and weapons, and Teddy just hit really really hard. Here? Ness is your tank while also being great for support, Paula is a great PSI user for both offensive AND defensive, Jeff not only has much better gadgets but also can hold his own in normal combat as well as laying out enemy weaknesses, and Poo is your glass cannon, having the most offensive options while also being fairly frail. This all makes combat a lot more fun and involved, rather than the original game where the same strategy tended to work over and over and over again. Also, PK Starstorm is in this game and I think that speaks for itself!
I think this goes without saying but this game is also very funny. It had me laughing out loud many times. Mother 1 had some humorous dialogue here and there but they really nailed it here. Everywhere you turn there's a good joke to find. This game is just fun, ya know? I just had a blast playing it.
Earthbound just improves on Mother 1 in so many ways while also doing its own thing, and for that I love both of these games. I am so glad I played this again so I can give it the credit it properly deserves!
Ok but seriously what WAS the deal with that cameraman???
At the time I hadn't really played RPGs, I was a big Pokémon fan but that's about it. And I tried to play this game with that mindset, and Earthbound does not work in that way. Since then I have fallen in love with Undertale and Deltarune, and got into another big RPG series, being Xenoblade Chronicles. And with my recent playthrough of the original Mother, I had to give this game another go, and man, did I absolutely love it.
Similar to the original Mother, you're left to immerse yourself in this world and use your imagination to fill in the gaps, an aspect I absolutely adore about these games. I am typically one to dislike silent protagonists but I don't really see Ness or Ninten in that way, and there's a key difference as to why. Earthbound is all about the experience of growing up, experiencing the world for the first time. Who are these kids? What are they like, what do they do? Well, how many kids knew those answers for themselves at that age? That's what makes this work so well. I just immerse myself in this world, talk to tons of NPCs, see what hidden goodies I can find, see what these towns are like, how these folks go about their day to day lives. It's great stuff and in my opinion handled even better here than in the first game.
Speaking of which, this game on the surface seems pretty familiar doesn't it? Giygas is attacking the earth, and Ness must learn to master his psychic abilities with the help of 3 friends while gathering 8 magical melodies? Yeah, that's all Mother 1 again.
But here's the thing. Mother 1 felt like your own adventure. You could go about the journey in any way you liked, really see these characters however best fit for your experience. Earthbound however, is a different story. This is Ness's journey, one that feels specifically tailored to him. While the beats are similar, they are handled in very different ways. For example, just like in the original, you end up in Magicant for a while. While before it was a central hub area and where you would go for crucial story beats regarding to solving a mystery, here, this is Ness's Magicant. It's where he goes to battle his inner fears and accept that he is a hero. There are 8 melodies again, sure, but while before they were the key to helping the queen and reaching the final area, here, they're especially meant for Ness. Each time you get one Ness has a weird vision or memory. These melodies are what allow him into Magicant in the first place.
The game really reminds me of Super Metroid in this way. Yes there is familiar ground being treaded here from the series' NES entries, but expanded upon in many ways, that flesh out the world.
Beyond all that though, the game actually plays MUCH better than before. The battle system is so much more expanded upon and each character has their own strengths while also not RELYING on that strength. How did Mother 1 handle this? Ninten was for support, Ana was for offensive PSI, Lloyd relied on gadgets and weapons, and Teddy just hit really really hard. Here? Ness is your tank while also being great for support, Paula is a great PSI user for both offensive AND defensive, Jeff not only has much better gadgets but also can hold his own in normal combat as well as laying out enemy weaknesses, and Poo is your glass cannon, having the most offensive options while also being fairly frail. This all makes combat a lot more fun and involved, rather than the original game where the same strategy tended to work over and over and over again. Also, PK Starstorm is in this game and I think that speaks for itself!
I think this goes without saying but this game is also very funny. It had me laughing out loud many times. Mother 1 had some humorous dialogue here and there but they really nailed it here. Everywhere you turn there's a good joke to find. This game is just fun, ya know? I just had a blast playing it.
Earthbound just improves on Mother 1 in so many ways while also doing its own thing, and for that I love both of these games. I am so glad I played this again so I can give it the credit it properly deserves!
Ok but seriously what WAS the deal with that cameraman???
What a surprise this was!
I couldn't get into the original Mother game, I found it to be one of the worst examples of NES difficulty I've ever seen. With this version though, every issue I had is fixed now! I had a comfortable and fun experience.
When you take away all the annoying grinding and absurd difficulty, I'm actually really impressed with how much was done here for an NES game. The game lets you explore how you want, you can change how things play out by going about events in a different order. The combat system is pretty in-depth for its time, and there are so many fun areas to explore! I like all the characters in the party, and as you explore you'll come across some really funny writing from NPC dialogue. This game (and Earthbound as well) leave so much up to the imagination when you play, I love it. No other games give quite the feeling that the Mother games do.
The final section of the game, Mt Itoi, was infamously difficult in the original game. And while bits of that are still here (looking at you PK Beam Gamma, why can enemies have an instant kill move), it mostly felt like a good final challenge, with some character moments I absolutely loved. And without spoilers, I absolutely love the ending of this game, final boss included. It's amazing.
The game does still have its quirks though. For one, it's terrible at guiding you. It can be fun to explore around and find the 8 melodies on your own, but some of these are pretty obtuse if you ask me. Some areas are also just not designed well to the point where it's easy to get lost. The second factory and the cave underneath Magicant come to mind. So there were unfortunately a few bits where I had to use the internet to help me out. It didn't bring the experience down for me too much, but it's still worth bringing up.
Overall though, yeah I really liked this game! Or at least, this version of the game. I'm glad I got to experience it, it's not just a neat little piece of Nintendo history, although yes it is that, but it's also a really memorable and fun experience in its own right.
I couldn't get into the original Mother game, I found it to be one of the worst examples of NES difficulty I've ever seen. With this version though, every issue I had is fixed now! I had a comfortable and fun experience.
When you take away all the annoying grinding and absurd difficulty, I'm actually really impressed with how much was done here for an NES game. The game lets you explore how you want, you can change how things play out by going about events in a different order. The combat system is pretty in-depth for its time, and there are so many fun areas to explore! I like all the characters in the party, and as you explore you'll come across some really funny writing from NPC dialogue. This game (and Earthbound as well) leave so much up to the imagination when you play, I love it. No other games give quite the feeling that the Mother games do.
The final section of the game, Mt Itoi, was infamously difficult in the original game. And while bits of that are still here (looking at you PK Beam Gamma, why can enemies have an instant kill move), it mostly felt like a good final challenge, with some character moments I absolutely loved. And without spoilers, I absolutely love the ending of this game, final boss included. It's amazing.
The game does still have its quirks though. For one, it's terrible at guiding you. It can be fun to explore around and find the 8 melodies on your own, but some of these are pretty obtuse if you ask me. Some areas are also just not designed well to the point where it's easy to get lost. The second factory and the cave underneath Magicant come to mind. So there were unfortunately a few bits where I had to use the internet to help me out. It didn't bring the experience down for me too much, but it's still worth bringing up.
Overall though, yeah I really liked this game! Or at least, this version of the game. I'm glad I got to experience it, it's not just a neat little piece of Nintendo history, although yes it is that, but it's also a really memorable and fun experience in its own right.
Buckle in, this is gonna be a long rant.
The Last of Us is a game that has alluded me for damn near a decade now. As someone who didn't have a Playstation, I kept hearing about how legendary the game was, how it's story was unlike anything else for the time.
Fast forward to now and the game finally comes to a platform that I can play it on! Granted I expected it to not run as smooth as it would on console, but I was excited to experience the story nonetheless.
I want to make it very clear right now, as far as I got in the game, the story is really good, it's worth all the praise that it gets. Actually playing the game though? Oh dear god where do I begin...
I couldn't finish this game, because it's DREADFUL. I wanted to give the game the benefit of the doubt as glitches and bugs are obviously a PC only issue and most people who play this game no matter the version won't have to deal with that. But jesus christ this is inexcusable. The characters that travel alongside you are dumb as rocks, and constantly caused me issues. Events just wouldn't trigger when they were supposed to and I had to waste a lot of time just waiting around. Enemies are glitchy as hell and do whatever they want, including shooting through walls, and killing me without even firing their weapons! Character models glitch into terrain all the time. I have fallen through the map twice, and the game has crashed my whole system twice!
The more of this game I played the more miserable it made me, and not in the way that it's supposed to. I can see how the game is SUPPOSED to work but I couldn't tell you how much I'd enjoy the game if it worked properly, because this port never does, I never actually experienced that. And I played this game for 10 hours!
Even if I eventually get to play a version of this game that works, my first experience of most of this story is ruined by this broken pile of garbage and I will never get to properly experience it blind. I don't know if Iron Galaxy is just bad at porting or if Sony rushed the game out the door, or both. But either way, thanks guys, I'm glad I finally got to see what the fuss was about!
Should've just watched the TV show.
The Last of Us is a game that has alluded me for damn near a decade now. As someone who didn't have a Playstation, I kept hearing about how legendary the game was, how it's story was unlike anything else for the time.
Fast forward to now and the game finally comes to a platform that I can play it on! Granted I expected it to not run as smooth as it would on console, but I was excited to experience the story nonetheless.
I want to make it very clear right now, as far as I got in the game, the story is really good, it's worth all the praise that it gets. Actually playing the game though? Oh dear god where do I begin...
I couldn't finish this game, because it's DREADFUL. I wanted to give the game the benefit of the doubt as glitches and bugs are obviously a PC only issue and most people who play this game no matter the version won't have to deal with that. But jesus christ this is inexcusable. The characters that travel alongside you are dumb as rocks, and constantly caused me issues. Events just wouldn't trigger when they were supposed to and I had to waste a lot of time just waiting around. Enemies are glitchy as hell and do whatever they want, including shooting through walls, and killing me without even firing their weapons! Character models glitch into terrain all the time. I have fallen through the map twice, and the game has crashed my whole system twice!
The more of this game I played the more miserable it made me, and not in the way that it's supposed to. I can see how the game is SUPPOSED to work but I couldn't tell you how much I'd enjoy the game if it worked properly, because this port never does, I never actually experienced that. And I played this game for 10 hours!
Even if I eventually get to play a version of this game that works, my first experience of most of this story is ruined by this broken pile of garbage and I will never get to properly experience it blind. I don't know if Iron Galaxy is just bad at porting or if Sony rushed the game out the door, or both. But either way, thanks guys, I'm glad I finally got to see what the fuss was about!
Should've just watched the TV show.
1996
Can't say I enjoyed this as much as Pac-Man or Galaga Arrangement. I don't think Dig Dug works as well in this kind of game. By the later levels I was dying at a frankly stupid pace, there are just too many enemies as the game turns into a button mashing simulator, and the new enemies that this version introduces are just downright stupid, they break the game.
Still though I do like the presentation here. The game looks and sounds nice, having different locations and level layouts is fun, and I like the new powerups and boss levels. I just wish this felt more like a proper video game and not unapologetically an arcade money vacuum.
Still though I do like the presentation here. The game looks and sounds nice, having different locations and level layouts is fun, and I like the new powerups and boss levels. I just wish this felt more like a proper video game and not unapologetically an arcade money vacuum.
2016
I played about 6 hours of this before I gave up. The game has a really strong start but before long it just felt like a chore to play.
I can't believe I finally got to play this. Felt like I was being taunted by not having a Playstation all this time.
This game has an absolutely incredible story with really fun combat that unlocks more and more as you play. Along with that, the amount of customization is ridiculous, there's so much here.
Boss fights are without question the best part of the game. From Kingpin to Shocker to the Sinister Six themselves they're all super fun to go against.
That said though, the gameplay did feel old by the time I got close to the end. After a while I just stopped caring about doing side content because it's all too samey. While swinging through the world is very fun, sometimes I would just aimlessly wander around just because, the game gets obnoxious near the end. There end up being so many enemies scattered all over the map that you will be targeted no matter where you are and it's so annoying.
Also, the stealth missions. They're fun...when you're actually playing as Spider-Man. Sneaking around as MJ or Miles is not fun, at all. I did not like any of these missions whatsoever. They're boring.
The game is great, absolutely a blast to play, but the more of the game I played the more I was getting tired of it. Thankfully the main missions are pretty good for the most part and if you just stick to those the game isn't very long either. However, side content is a chore more than anything else. As much as I would love to see what other costumes I haven't unlocked in the game, I can't be asked to actually put in the effort. And that's a shame because unlocking more customization options is the most exciting part of the game. Who wouldn't wanna swing around as Spider-Punk or Spider-Man 2099 or with one of the movie suits? It's awesome! I wish I could've enjoyed that aspect more, but oh well. It's hard to complain when the story this game tells is as good as it is. When the narrative was actually moving along I was always very invested and that's what matters most I think.
This game has an absolutely incredible story with really fun combat that unlocks more and more as you play. Along with that, the amount of customization is ridiculous, there's so much here.
Boss fights are without question the best part of the game. From Kingpin to Shocker to the Sinister Six themselves they're all super fun to go against.
That said though, the gameplay did feel old by the time I got close to the end. After a while I just stopped caring about doing side content because it's all too samey. While swinging through the world is very fun, sometimes I would just aimlessly wander around just because, the game gets obnoxious near the end. There end up being so many enemies scattered all over the map that you will be targeted no matter where you are and it's so annoying.
Also, the stealth missions. They're fun...when you're actually playing as Spider-Man. Sneaking around as MJ or Miles is not fun, at all. I did not like any of these missions whatsoever. They're boring.
The game is great, absolutely a blast to play, but the more of the game I played the more I was getting tired of it. Thankfully the main missions are pretty good for the most part and if you just stick to those the game isn't very long either. However, side content is a chore more than anything else. As much as I would love to see what other costumes I haven't unlocked in the game, I can't be asked to actually put in the effort. And that's a shame because unlocking more customization options is the most exciting part of the game. Who wouldn't wanna swing around as Spider-Punk or Spider-Man 2099 or with one of the movie suits? It's awesome! I wish I could've enjoyed that aspect more, but oh well. It's hard to complain when the story this game tells is as good as it is. When the narrative was actually moving along I was always very invested and that's what matters most I think.
2006
So this is an interesting one.
This was one of my favorite games when I was a kid, I'm talking like 5 years old. We had an Xbox 360 and just the demo for this game. I can't tell you why, but I replayed that demo endlessly. I loved it so much. I never was able to play the full game but that didn't matter to me.
Fast forward to now, randomly stumbling across this game on the Xbox store. I'm honestly baffled that this game is still available at all given how it was clearly only made just to throw something small onto Xbox Live Arcade back in the day. I was so surprised and the nostalgia immediately hit me like a truck.
So I finally played the game for the first time. And yeah it's exactly what I expected it to be, just a simple puzzle game with dumb jokes, which never failed to make me smile.
There's really not much to it, solve simple puzzles by either cloning yourself, mutating into an animal, or a combination of both. Find the exit as quickly as possible while also trying to help every clone escape. That's really about it. That's what I love about it though, it's not trying to do anything too crazy, it just delivers a silly little experience that never overstays its welcome.
There's also a versus mode which is very basic but a decent distraction, and cheats which completely change your character model, which I love so much. You never see that kind of thing nowadays.
The game took me barely any time at all to finish but for what it is, I really enjoyed it! I'm glad I took this nostalgia trip.
This was one of my favorite games when I was a kid, I'm talking like 5 years old. We had an Xbox 360 and just the demo for this game. I can't tell you why, but I replayed that demo endlessly. I loved it so much. I never was able to play the full game but that didn't matter to me.
Fast forward to now, randomly stumbling across this game on the Xbox store. I'm honestly baffled that this game is still available at all given how it was clearly only made just to throw something small onto Xbox Live Arcade back in the day. I was so surprised and the nostalgia immediately hit me like a truck.
So I finally played the game for the first time. And yeah it's exactly what I expected it to be, just a simple puzzle game with dumb jokes, which never failed to make me smile.
There's really not much to it, solve simple puzzles by either cloning yourself, mutating into an animal, or a combination of both. Find the exit as quickly as possible while also trying to help every clone escape. That's really about it. That's what I love about it though, it's not trying to do anything too crazy, it just delivers a silly little experience that never overstays its welcome.
There's also a versus mode which is very basic but a decent distraction, and cheats which completely change your character model, which I love so much. You never see that kind of thing nowadays.
The game took me barely any time at all to finish but for what it is, I really enjoyed it! I'm glad I took this nostalgia trip.
I've never been able to get into Kirby games. I always just find them dull and never have the motivation to finish them.
I couldn't tell you what it is about Kirby 64 that clicked for me. This one is just, fun?
I love the 2.5D aesthetic. I love the different stage gimmicks. I love how Kirby's friends feel involved here and they all actively help you. I love the copy ability mechanics. The music kicks ass! This is just a fun time!
I also had a hard time with some parts, particularly boss encounters, but hey I appreciate that. I never like when a game feels too easy.
If I had one major complaint, it's that the game feels a little slow. From what little I've played of other Kirby games I know they're usually much faster than this. It's not a huge deal though, I do enjoy the levels either way.
I haven't beaten the secret final boss yet because the process of collecting all the crystals is kind of time consuming and I'm not a huge fan of it, but I will do that for sure. I enjoyed this too much to not see the real ending.
I couldn't tell you what it is about Kirby 64 that clicked for me. This one is just, fun?
I love the 2.5D aesthetic. I love the different stage gimmicks. I love how Kirby's friends feel involved here and they all actively help you. I love the copy ability mechanics. The music kicks ass! This is just a fun time!
I also had a hard time with some parts, particularly boss encounters, but hey I appreciate that. I never like when a game feels too easy.
If I had one major complaint, it's that the game feels a little slow. From what little I've played of other Kirby games I know they're usually much faster than this. It's not a huge deal though, I do enjoy the levels either way.
I haven't beaten the secret final boss yet because the process of collecting all the crystals is kind of time consuming and I'm not a huge fan of it, but I will do that for sure. I enjoyed this too much to not see the real ending.
2021
Full disclosure, I did not play Samus Returns, so I went straight from Fusion to this game. And my goodness what an insane leap in quality this is. I absolutely love this game.
The controls feel perfect, this game just feels amazing to play, and it takes full advantage of how many movement options you have and integrates the upgrades you pick up in fun ways. Bosses are tough as nails, but are so fun to fight and it's when the controls feel the best, requiring quick reaction time and constant adjustment of Samus's position.
Speaking of Samus, this is her best appearance no question. In every other Metroid game apart from maybe Fusion, that I've played anyway, Samus doesn't have much of a character at all, she's pretty much a blank slate. Here though, she actually feels like a character and one I want to see succeed with her mission, adding to this is the finale of the game which I wouldn't dare spoil here.
Exploring feels pretty nice in Dread. The game is great at naturally guiding you in the right direction and it always feels like progress is being made. Enemies are fun to take down, for the most part.
I do have some little gripes.
Firstly, while the game is very straightforward as long as you stay on the beaten path that the game lays out for you, should you step away from that path and explore, remembering where to go is the worst. The map is information overload to the point where figuring out what's what is kind of overwhelming, even with a key.
Secondly, the map just isn't memorable, it's really cool how the map will change after making progress through the game, but areas just blend together, they don't stick out at all. There's no memorable music either outside of returning tunes and some boss encounters.
And speaking of boss encounters, the Chozo warriors are not fun to fight with how many times they're thrown at you. It gets old.
Finally, EMMI zones. I'm mixed on these. At first, they are very stressful and bring back that feeling of fear from Fusion but even more intense. After a while though, they get kind of old. They're more annoying to get around than they are scary once you're used to how they work. That said, that feeling of narrowly escaping an EMMI and making it out of its zone is unparalleled. On top of that, finally getting the omega beam is super satisfying.
So I do have my gripes with this game, but I do still love it and had a blast with it. It's not my favorite Metroid, that goes to Super, but this is definitely my second favorite!
The controls feel perfect, this game just feels amazing to play, and it takes full advantage of how many movement options you have and integrates the upgrades you pick up in fun ways. Bosses are tough as nails, but are so fun to fight and it's when the controls feel the best, requiring quick reaction time and constant adjustment of Samus's position.
Speaking of Samus, this is her best appearance no question. In every other Metroid game apart from maybe Fusion, that I've played anyway, Samus doesn't have much of a character at all, she's pretty much a blank slate. Here though, she actually feels like a character and one I want to see succeed with her mission, adding to this is the finale of the game which I wouldn't dare spoil here.
Exploring feels pretty nice in Dread. The game is great at naturally guiding you in the right direction and it always feels like progress is being made. Enemies are fun to take down, for the most part.
I do have some little gripes.
Firstly, while the game is very straightforward as long as you stay on the beaten path that the game lays out for you, should you step away from that path and explore, remembering where to go is the worst. The map is information overload to the point where figuring out what's what is kind of overwhelming, even with a key.
Secondly, the map just isn't memorable, it's really cool how the map will change after making progress through the game, but areas just blend together, they don't stick out at all. There's no memorable music either outside of returning tunes and some boss encounters.
And speaking of boss encounters, the Chozo warriors are not fun to fight with how many times they're thrown at you. It gets old.
Finally, EMMI zones. I'm mixed on these. At first, they are very stressful and bring back that feeling of fear from Fusion but even more intense. After a while though, they get kind of old. They're more annoying to get around than they are scary once you're used to how they work. That said, that feeling of narrowly escaping an EMMI and making it out of its zone is unparalleled. On top of that, finally getting the omega beam is super satisfying.
So I do have my gripes with this game, but I do still love it and had a blast with it. It's not my favorite Metroid, that goes to Super, but this is definitely my second favorite!
Katamari Demacy but even better. There's much more variety in the levels, while the first game had a small handful of levels with different objectives, they really expand on that here.
The cutscenes between levels are cute and add more to the king's character, much better than the first game where they were just there for the sake of dumb laughs.
The fourth wall breaking is just great. I love the commentary the fans give you on your performance after each level, and the king is so determined to keep the fans happy by trying to appease all of them, while they often are let down or disappointed in the outcome of the katamari. It feels like Takahashi was letting out some frustration there. At the same time though, it's written in a way that makes it humorous rather than annoying.
The teaser for the final stage that you can access very early on is genius, and while I haven't tried it myself, being able to play co-op in all stages on top of the vs mode returning is fantastic.
I just had a blast with this one, and I'll definitely open up the game more in the near future to see all the extra content.
The cutscenes between levels are cute and add more to the king's character, much better than the first game where they were just there for the sake of dumb laughs.
The fourth wall breaking is just great. I love the commentary the fans give you on your performance after each level, and the king is so determined to keep the fans happy by trying to appease all of them, while they often are let down or disappointed in the outcome of the katamari. It feels like Takahashi was letting out some frustration there. At the same time though, it's written in a way that makes it humorous rather than annoying.
The teaser for the final stage that you can access very early on is genius, and while I haven't tried it myself, being able to play co-op in all stages on top of the vs mode returning is fantastic.
I just had a blast with this one, and I'll definitely open up the game more in the near future to see all the extra content.
2021
I am a huge fan of classic Namco arcade games, so when I saw screenshots of this game, I was already sold. Paying homage to arcade classics, Annalynn is the perfect game to jump into when you just need to kill some time. It's super easy to get into thanks to its score system, and it's really charming with its sprites, character animations, and little in-between level scenes. It also has an s tier soundtrack, it's amazing.
There's plenty to keep you playing too with both the random mode to test your skills and plenty of alternate colors for Annalynn to wear that you can unlock.
For a $5 eshop game you can't ask for anything better than this, I feel like I got too good of a deal here!
There's plenty to keep you playing too with both the random mode to test your skills and plenty of alternate colors for Annalynn to wear that you can unlock.
For a $5 eshop game you can't ask for anything better than this, I feel like I got too good of a deal here!
I can't bring myself to finish this one, I'm sorry.
I love the first Prime game, even with all the issues it has, but this is just too much.
The dark world mechanic doesn't add anything interesting to the game, it just makes each area take twice as long for no good reason. Areas drag on for so long, and fighting the same enemies again and again gets old so fast it didn't take long for me to start just ignoring enemies altogether.
Speaking of the areas in this game, planet Aether sucks. EVERYTHING looks the same, there is no fun to be had exploring. I know that's kind of the point considering the planet is at war with itself and dying, but that doesn't change the fact that Tallon IV was way more interesting to traverse.
I do really like the darker tone this game is going for, but once you get used to that, you realize that this game is just Metroid with all the best elements ripped out of it. Upgrades aren't even that interesting in this, as far as I got anyway. Light and dark versions of weapons is a stupid gimmick that wears out its welcome quickly, especially when everything but your basic power and charge beams have an ammo count that runs out in no time at all. This is another reason I don't want to fight anything. If my basic beams take longer than I'd like to kill things and my other options result in just wasting my ammo, why bother?
I don't know, I appreciate the new approach, I can understand Retro not wanting to just make Prime 1 but a bit different. I just can not get behind this game as it is though.
I love the first Prime game, even with all the issues it has, but this is just too much.
The dark world mechanic doesn't add anything interesting to the game, it just makes each area take twice as long for no good reason. Areas drag on for so long, and fighting the same enemies again and again gets old so fast it didn't take long for me to start just ignoring enemies altogether.
Speaking of the areas in this game, planet Aether sucks. EVERYTHING looks the same, there is no fun to be had exploring. I know that's kind of the point considering the planet is at war with itself and dying, but that doesn't change the fact that Tallon IV was way more interesting to traverse.
I do really like the darker tone this game is going for, but once you get used to that, you realize that this game is just Metroid with all the best elements ripped out of it. Upgrades aren't even that interesting in this, as far as I got anyway. Light and dark versions of weapons is a stupid gimmick that wears out its welcome quickly, especially when everything but your basic power and charge beams have an ammo count that runs out in no time at all. This is another reason I don't want to fight anything. If my basic beams take longer than I'd like to kill things and my other options result in just wasting my ammo, why bother?
I don't know, I appreciate the new approach, I can understand Retro not wanting to just make Prime 1 but a bit different. I just can not get behind this game as it is though.
I had zero expectations for this, but honestly, for its time and given its limitations, this game is pretty good!
I like the focus on puzzle solving and some levels can be pretty tough to figure out.
The plot is pretty much nonexistent though which is a little disappointing, and the music made me wanna rip off my own ears.
So while not amazing or anything, yeah this game is solid, that's about it. I'm glad I played it.
I like the focus on puzzle solving and some levels can be pretty tough to figure out.
The plot is pretty much nonexistent though which is a little disappointing, and the music made me wanna rip off my own ears.
So while not amazing or anything, yeah this game is solid, that's about it. I'm glad I played it.
Oh boy, this one
Look, if I were to be "objective," I would not be rating this game this high. As the first 3D game in the series, it of course has its fair share of issues, just like Mario 64 or Ocarina of Time do. Backtracking is tedious because traversal is much slower in this game. Phazon Mines is a huge difficulty spike and super stingy with save stations for some reason. The Chozo artifact hunt, while not a bad idea, overstays its welcome and a couple of them are obnoxious to find.
Here's the thing though, I don't care.
This game is so fun that these issues barely even bother me if I'm being honest. It's clear that Super Metroid had the biggest influence when making this because Prime's structure is quite literally Super Metroid in 3D. Each area is fun to explore, and combat keeps you on your toes. Upgrades are more satisfying to get here than in any other Metroid game I've played. Switching between different beams and visors sounds like a terrible idea but it really works, it makes fighting so much fun.
Just like Super, this game is great at telling its plot entirely through gameplay as there's no cutscenes outside of boss encounters and you discover what went down on Tallon IV as Samus does. While you can scan a lot of things for your logbook to get all the lore, you don't need that to understand what's going on, it's there if you wanna dive into it and I appreciate that.
And I don't think I even need to say anything about the soundtrack, wow...
The atmosphere in this game throughout the whole thing is so immersive, I love it.
So, while Prime isn't a perfect game, far from it, its good elements significantly outweigh the bad in my opinion.
Look, if I were to be "objective," I would not be rating this game this high. As the first 3D game in the series, it of course has its fair share of issues, just like Mario 64 or Ocarina of Time do. Backtracking is tedious because traversal is much slower in this game. Phazon Mines is a huge difficulty spike and super stingy with save stations for some reason. The Chozo artifact hunt, while not a bad idea, overstays its welcome and a couple of them are obnoxious to find.
Here's the thing though, I don't care.
This game is so fun that these issues barely even bother me if I'm being honest. It's clear that Super Metroid had the biggest influence when making this because Prime's structure is quite literally Super Metroid in 3D. Each area is fun to explore, and combat keeps you on your toes. Upgrades are more satisfying to get here than in any other Metroid game I've played. Switching between different beams and visors sounds like a terrible idea but it really works, it makes fighting so much fun.
Just like Super, this game is great at telling its plot entirely through gameplay as there's no cutscenes outside of boss encounters and you discover what went down on Tallon IV as Samus does. While you can scan a lot of things for your logbook to get all the lore, you don't need that to understand what's going on, it's there if you wanna dive into it and I appreciate that.
And I don't think I even need to say anything about the soundtrack, wow...
The atmosphere in this game throughout the whole thing is so immersive, I love it.
So, while Prime isn't a perfect game, far from it, its good elements significantly outweigh the bad in my opinion.