2 STARS: I LIKED A COUPLE THINGS

Playing it alongside Resident Evil, both for the first time, this was definitely more to my tastes.

Pretty cool how they made a fully 3D town, but as a spooky setting for the player to explore, it doesn't compare to the RE mansion. Even though I got lost in there way more, you can't deny the design and intended pacing of the mansion.

Soundtrack is incredible, obviously unique for a game even today. I didn't care for the opening movie track but everything in the "other world" was kickass.

Sounds like the good Silent Hill games are pretty distinct, so I would recommend this first game if you intend to look into the series. You might have more fun without one, but keep a guide nearby just in case.

2 STARS: I LIKED A COUPLE THINGS

Impressed with the loading screens between areas, really helps set the tone for those beginning hours.

Appreciate the novel attempt to make what was for all intents and purposes the first "survival horror" game. In retrospect it seems as though it was very experimental and took a lot of chances. Not just with the controls or the mansion itself, but to give it so much replay value as well, and with branching endings to boot.

The physical playing I didn't mind, the controls are straightforward enough. My issue was getting lost (and not in the fun way) several times, each taking me up to an hour to get back on track. I often put the game down in boredom, returning later as though it were a chore. Looking back I suppose keeping notes on hand is the best way to enjoy the experience, but I preferred to keep my hands on the controller.

I wouldn't recommend playing it now, not unless you're intent on simply getting some context like I was. It's a type of fun you can find elsewhere, the legacy exists in more refined forms.

4 STARS: EVERYONE SHOULD PLAY THIS

Released mid-90s and still one of the best examples of world building and intrigue in a video game. It goes into great detail explaining not only the rules and hierarchy of the setting, but also some fundamental rules and consequences of living in space. Something you see little to no mention of in other narrative space games.

Exhausting options and exploring different sequences of interactions are typically very rewarding, with lots of reading and learning available should you want it. If you're the kind of player who likes to squeeze every bit of possible text from a game, this should satisfy.
It takes full advantage of every screen, letting you interact with everything, sometimes to the main character's (and arguably the game's) detriment.

Players coming for a chill point & click story might be soured on some of the later combat sections, which ask for speed and dexterity otherwise absent from the rest of the game. It's wise to look up the full range of controls in those sections, to help take any edge off.

3 STARS: RECOMMENDED

I loved playing it. The tools and abilities this time around were really fun and clever, really rewarding. When you do something smart it feels natural, rather than that usual "aha! moment".

Loved ascend for the unconventional shortcuts, loved ultrahand for the infinite applications and how it works with recall. They all felt natural to use and I could always picture what to do with them before I did it. Fuse bandaged the issue with weapon durability pretty well, but fusing to a shield was the real star, it kept surprising me with the amount of combat and traversal options it allows for.

Other stuff like the zonai tools, they fit into the BotW mold pretty seamlessly. Making them finite was a good choice, adding an extra layer of consideration when trying to make the most of them.

Not sure if anything is different but I was really good at the combat this time? Like the basic attack, parry and dodging stuff? I finished this game at 360 hours and I think I died in combat maybe three times? Regardless, the combat was arguably my favorite part in the game for how well I grasped it.

As for complaints, any I have with this game I would sooner blame BotW for. Handfuls of obvious highlights aside, the Hyrule of this era is one of the worst open worlds I've ever played in. For content it's a little too sparse and lacking in satisfying treasure. For immersion time moves a little too quickly, weather changes a little too sporadically and I think the skeleton bokoblin are a great idea, but getting ambushed was only ever annoying.

Also found the game ugly as often as I found it beautiful, but this I would blame squarely on the hardware.
Thankfully it's way better this time around. It was a drastic addition but it really needed those sky and depths maps, and more travelling NPCs is also welcome.

Temples were really neat, incredible music for all of them. Unfortunately I played Skyward Sword HD right before this, which has the best dungeons in the whole series. I wasn't disappointed, I had a great time, but I would have taken some of the shrine puzzles and put them into the temples instead.

As for the shrines, like a 100% improvement over the last game's. They look better, the music is better and the abilities here lend to far more engaging puzzles.

After how miserable I felt after BotW's story and characters, I kept my expectations low for this game and thank god I did. Just a terrible cast of old and new characters, I hate everyone in this game except Link, Zelda and Ganondorf. Changed the voice language around for each temple which was fun to listen to. I'm not an outright English dub hater, just think those poor actors were given nothing to work with here, their voices with this game are oil and water for me.

Last couple criticisms, I actually don't mind the inventory here, but there really should have been a storage option available at some point. Weapon displays do not count, I needed a place to store my clothing. And speaking of, I think all the clothing from BotW should have gotten some alterations, similar to the Champion's Tunic and Hylian Hood. And Link's hair should have stayed loose with headwear. I think it's a real bummer how easy it is to look the exact same as you did in BotW.

In terms of scope and player expression, this is the kind of game they should have released in 2017. But only so they could have a sequel better than this. I really hope they go with something different in the next game. Not completely different, just with less in common. It doesn't even need to go back to old Zelda necessarily, but unless they make a new setting entirely, this one is busted.

2 STARS: I LIKED A COUPLE THINGS

Probably my first introduction to the concept of an open-world, the jet pack gave me a sense of freedom to explore and to see something in the distance and being able to go there. Also interesting how the game requires so much gentle input from a player, that would have been difficult to come to grips with as a kid, but I really tried the best I could at the time and I think that precision helped me in other games.

The jet pack is great, as is the human cannonball, but the hang glider, autogyro and sky diving weren't as fun and expressive. Also the N64's notorious performance issues really got in the way, even as a kid I knew it was junk.

Soundtrack is probably carrying the game to most, I love it, and never really heard anything like it. Arguably in the Top 100 game soundtracks ever.

5 STARS: THEY MADE IT FOR ME

I played this on my grandmother's PC when I was around 6 or 7, I loved how it looked and I'd mimick the sound effects as I played outside afterward. I didn't know the game had music until primary school, about five or six years later.

I haven't played it in a while but I'm not in any rush. Sometimes if its a Sunday afternoon and I need a nap, I'll pull up a video of it on youtube and go to sleep to those sounds I loved so much, with the music off, of course.

4 STARS: EVERYONE SHOULD PLAY THIS

Following EarthBound, this was the next game I sunk into on emulator as a teenager. I can't remember what drew me to it, maybe seeing the name on too many Top 10 lists, maybe the fact it looked like Goku on the cover. My RPG experience prior to it had been Pokémon and Golden Sun, not any Final Fantasy and definitely not any Dragon Quest. It must have felt similar to the games I'd played by that point because I had no complaints with any of it. Credit all goes to the presentation. From the opening, up to when you see the time travel transition screen, the game makes a legendary first impression.

I played it to completion on DS as well in 2010, alongside Persona 4. I found both a newfound appreciation for what had become an old favorite, and a new exposure to what an RPG could be. I wonder what I'll find the next time.

3 STARS: RECOMMENDED

I didn't grow up with Doom. I enjoyed them for what they were, but my FPS darlings will always be the Half-Life 2 and Modern Warfare 2 campaigns.
Playing this on my switch, I've been slowly ticking away at the wads that were added, and for me that's where the real fun has been. For a game like this, fan levels are more interesting to poke around in than what was in the original, credit to those originals of course, if it weren't for those we wouldn't have so many geniuses making their own Dooms today.

4 STARS: EVERYONE SHOULD PLAY THIS

I played this at 14 on emulator, I first learned about it watching a youtube video "Top 10 Scariest Video Game Bosses", with Giygas of course being number one. I already knew Ness, and the Melee trophy descriptions were intriguing, so learning about the final boss here had sort of confirmed something in the back of my head.
I'm thankful I played it, it was the first instance of me going back to something old purely out of my own curiosity. I finished it, became very familiar with the use of save states and what one can do with a computer. I saught out information about the game, looking for articles or forum posts from others who played it. I got into game podcasts, young and old adults talking about games and why they mattered to them. These discoveries taught me a lot about my hobby, how I can convey my thoughts and feelings about them, and that there were more classics for me to experience.

Almost 20 years later.

2 STARS: I LIKED A COUPLE THINGS

Really don't dig the jumping, feels bad and never completely works the way you want.
I bet even the most experienced player of this will still mess up a jump or two each playthrough. Yep, that's worth a 2 star score.

Music is great, looks excellent.