A big surprise as a sequel to a controvertial game but a welcome one indeed.

I haven't played the original yooka layle but considering the history of the devs, you can feel how much passion and work put was put into this title.

One can expect it to be a classic bootleg take on a classic formula from the classic DKC games and actually this won't make the title justice.

Yooka Laylee and the Impossible Lair does something I have never seen in a game like this: you open the game and it goes "HERE THE FINAL LEVEL! YOU WANT IT! GOOD LUCK" and presents you from the start an incredible endurance match that make you feel like the Path of Pain of Hollow Knight is a slugfest.

It's a tough challenge that you can try to get immediately... or you can explore the rest of the world to save bees that acts as your life stock, able to save you if you fail the overmentioned impossible lair.

THe levels themselves are incredibly creative: each of them lets you enter into a book in the 3D overworld, which on its own is fun to explore in all its corners. But the ability to change the event of the overworld to shaped how the level will look like is such a creative aspect that alone makes you appreaciate how well designed most of the challenges are: you got a level where the entrance is a book floating over water? THe whole level is set over / under water... but if you try to freeze the lake in the overworld- BAM the whole level is frozen in ice and turn into a completely new thing.

This alone makes the levels fun to travers, and it may be fun to explore even if Yooka and Laylee had a weird movement.... luckily they are also fun to play has: they have such a cool and responsive movement that is also able to feel unique, combining elements from the DKC games with the floatyness and gimmicks of Yoshi's Island.... not to mention that you have a lot of customization for the duo, making the adventure more fitting to your liking if you want.

THe cast of characters I feel aren't as memorable as the ones from Banjo or other Rare games of the time (except Trowzer, I love that guy), but the adventure is still able to be incredibly charming.

I admit I still haven't beat it because the Lair DRIVES ME NUTS, but this game still is able to makes so many things that it will be impossible to hate this. Wat a comeback for Platonic. I am happy to see that they really made something great.

I think everyone knows the story of FNAF 1 at this point: it's the result of a game developer with a dream that got treated like shie by reviewers because they found his artstyle "too disturbing", and he just used these critiques to create one of the most successful horror franchises ever made, able to both spawn a new genre of horror titles but also an immense amount of aspiring game developers in an era where horror games went really stale. Scott Cawthon, you absolute chad

What FNAF 1 did was incredibly monumental in terms of a piece of media...... but actually playing the game? Ehhhhh it's not really my thing sorry.

The concept was novel for the time and it still works to this day: you are stuck in a room, with a limited battery to close / open doors to not get killed by creepy robots. SOme of these robots like CHica or BOnnie are kinda predictable in theri movement, but the challenge of FOxy and Freddy as wilder cards, more difficult to predict adds a lot to what it is at the end of the day a really monotone gameplay loop.

What sells you on the title is the atmosphere, like wow this feels like one of the strongest looking locations for a horror game. You can feel it comfy and even nostalgic because of how it is organized and planned, but the amount of rotten parts and disgusting corners adds to the eerieness of it all... and this is even without mentioning the creepyness of the enemy designs and also the different secrets the titles has: new articles talking about 5 murders, wall drawings that starts crying, random children laughs, and the absolute shock secrets like the "Yellow Bear" bring to it all.

It was a really though-out game in many aspects, something that I feel the rest of the series was never been able to recombine. Even though it is not my genre like at all, I can still recognize how big this premise and realization still is able to be stuck in the mind of a lot of people
(I CAN'T SAY THE SAME FOR FNAF2 ONWARD IMO)

Played it on the NSO

Gotta say it is kinda weird that this game was developed by the same guys tha trought us Banjo and Conker

In appearence this can feel too distant to their previous title... but also not really: Rare had a weird talent on combining darker tones with weird sillies and parodies of other titles on the market. Banjo and Conker combined cutsie moments with some more mature jokes and creepries tones, Perfect dark was a goldeney like game but AREA 51 IS REAL, the whole unhinged nature of some of their characters like king K. Rool....

In a way Killer Istinct is like that: you got a really grim tone full of creepy stages and an intimidating announcement, but also got a freaking Raptor fighting a cyborg, a wolfman and a fire guy that keeps screaming with a goofy voice.

Even some of the more threatening characters like Eyedol are actually a parody of something else (his real name is Jimmy and he is a joke about SF Blanka)... even the creepy undead Spinal for his ending decided to become an actor to find a role with enough MEAT (YOU GET IT? BECUASE HE HAS NO MEAT HE IS A SKELETON)
In a way it's similar to Darkstalkers: combine dark tones and monsters with a goofy tone, with a gameplay that is easy to understand to everyone: even by mutton mashing people will be able to make cool things, but actulaally mastering the combos and how to break them becomes harder if yo wanna master it all...... It can be a good time for everyone that tries it, which is already a big accomplishment for a fighting game.
My main issue is that compared to other fighting games, even at the time, kinda drag the OG KI down a bit: there is not a lot of modes or things to do: the gameplay is fun but I don't feel t as deep as other fighting games, and the matchups can become a bit repeptitive.
THe presentation, while innovative for the time and accompanied by a great music, I don't think was able to stand out compared to staff like the original MK and SF

Still, a really nice time: I am glad this series was able to turninto a classic

When I was a kid, most magazine stores and biggers bars had a sections for DVDs, and most of the time most of these DVDs were sold as a collection of game demos.

I tried some of these titles a little bit: there were a demo for the Spongeob movie game, a demo od Shrek Super Slam and one for a odd Scooby Doo title where Shaggy was screaming into a cart or something.... among all of those demos there was Dog's life.

Being a big fan of animals, the idea of roleplaying as a dog, with the ability to go around towns, grab cats, scare guarda and use the weird tFPS nose to find odors was reall exciting. Sure Jake had a weird farting attitude, and the two sinister guys in the opening scene felt kinda weird, but this didn't stop me from asking for a original copy.... And oh my god I remember how kinda boring this all was.

As a whole this game is sort of a collect-a-ton: do different quests around the various parts of town to help people and dogs, to receive enough bones to upgrade your.... "dog chadness" or something and go closer to the dog-nappers that took your friend.

THe issue is for what I rememebr most of these quests were really tedious and not really understandable: you got a guy that wanna rebuild a rocket so you have to bring him all the scattered parts of the broken rocket near the farm

Or you have to POSSESS other dogs with less bones than you to make them go into other people houses and do stuff.
Or sometimes it's just a poop competition (yes there is a comand to escretate on the floor, then you can grab your dung with you mouth and throw it at the opponent.... keep in mind this has a key role during the final level).

The ability to go "Dog vision", probably one of the most interesting parts of younger me, is mostly just limited to "follow the purple smell to get extra things" amd it is never used in really interesting things. Not to mention that you mostly play in the regular bird-like view, and the janky controls and shaky cameras can make kinda weird to make some of the more difficult missions (I remember kind ahating the game from the snow peak onward)

The presentation is also kinda weird: it gives you those early 200 edge that didn't age that well, with and incredible attantion to poop jokes and kinda odd catchphrases.
Jake here is not a bad boy, but I don't think he is the goddesst boi around..... especially considering what happens in the ending.
Like holy shie, the last level of this game is horrifying: you enter this red-painted sky that looks come out of a horror game, and you find out that the villain of the game wants to turn dogs into cat food. with a machine that looks came out of chicken run. ANd THEN YOU KILL HER

It's kind of a cool moment even if left me some scars admittely.... but I feel it wasn't really worth it reach the end of the game to find out.

I am still fond of this weirdo, but I don't know if I can suggest it to somebody else that doesn't have nostalgia for it.

Despite being a Nintendo fan since forever, I just recently played the OG, that many still consider a title that holds up

And in a sense yeah, it still is kinda decent, definitely not a bad time.
But as a platformer especially considering what will come up later... the original SMB is weird.
If we have to compare it to something I wanna say that Super Mario Bros is like..... the Formula 1 car of Mario Games.... lemme explain.

Racing cars tend to go all out: they tend to reach victory as quickly as possible, while also try to make riskier moves to give it all... but once they try to turn around they feel slower than anyone else, meaning that changing direction is kinda stiff, since turning a high speed going car is tough and may take some time.

I know it is a weird comparison, but Mario in SMB feels really similar to me: he is fast and you feel tempted to go forward at higher speed. The game kinda makes you want to sprint forward with less hesitation, for different reasons: you can't go back on the left side of the screen so going forward is your only option: whenever you exit pipes, piranha plants step where you were, as an indirect signal to suggest you to go forward; running at higher speed means you can potentially find hidden passages like the infamous pipes in 1-2, that makes you literally jump worlds. Jumping Cheep cheeps and Lakitus can be completely skipped if you just keep on running,

The issue is that the moment you hesitate..... ehhhh mario feels like a car that is struggling stopping: it's not and immediate top but it's slippery and extremely janky. I feel that enemies like Hammer Bros and Bloopers are so hated mainly because they tend to stop your flow and more likely kills you because of the wackier way you turn around.

Most of the levels are also linear, with the only exception being the castles with labyrinth like paths (which kinda sucks, I can't believe these have been brought back in some instances of NSMB Wii), meaning that you barely get this feeling of turning a car on the highway, but it doesn't mean I felt it kinda too much. I ain't sure if this is because of the version present on the NSO, or the fact I grew up with later titles before jumping on SMB, but regardless I felt the jankier controls way harder.

Not to mention that the variety of the levels, while of course revolutionary at the time, today ust feel too samey. I swear I remmeber playing a level in world 7 and being pretty sure it was the same I found in world 2 or something. Having all levels not changing that much compared to other titles also bland the whole mushroom kingdom together, and you feel kinda like you saw everything the game has to offer around the fourth world or something.

Overall of course SMB is a mile stone that everyone should try at least once, its importance cannot be overstated and so on,... but I feel it didn't age as well as other people may claim. Sorryyy.

Punch out feels like an impossible game if you think about it.

It's the NES port of an arcade title that had to be drastically changed to its bones, so much so that the cardridges at the time had to receive extra space,

It starred one of the most influencal boxers ever, while still be able to portray its playstyle and personality despite the limitations of the NES.

It was able to take what where basically kinda racist caricatures like Glass Joe or Pitson Hondo and able to give them so much charm that are remembered to this day by thousands of people.

And it was able to take a game about boxing and make it so much more: each match and rematch feels like a monster hunter fight, where little mac goes against giants that can crush him in 2 hits.... but it is also a ryhthm game where you gotta tap and dodge to the bit, a series of puzzles where you gotta understand the way to open the enemy, and an endurance atch, both intimidating but addicting and thrilling..... it's sometimes also a propaganda where Doc Louis screams ad a dying Mac to join the nintendo fan club while he gets murdered by mr. Sandman.

Recently replayed on the NSO, and how much it is able to do I feel makes it stand up even to this day. An absolute classic that is still remembered and beloved form more than one reason.

Played it on the NSO despite the lack of english translation

Heard surprisingly good things about this game in the past so I decided to check it out... and oh my god I get it.
This game feels unreal: it's a full on fighting game for the freaking famicom, and one can expect to be a janky attempt with poor content and weak realization....

Especially considering this came out only the years after Street Fighter 2, the results feels like a miracle: one can expect the gameplay to be stiff, both for the stiff controlls of the d-pad, both for the preformance of the famicom, and for the overalljankyness of older fighting games... and yet it is so fluid and intuitive and polished in its performance that it feels like playing an incredibly curated indie game from our time.

The fact that this has more polish and cure than some modern fighting game sin mind blowing to me: a total of 8 playable characters, the same amount as Street Fighter 2, but it adds to those over 20 different combatants that are challenged in the story mode, for a total of I think over 30 characters? This is the MVC2 of the NES.

All of the characters showcase the same skeleton, they are all pretty much Rayman-like doofuses, but each of them has its own identity and set of skills that make stem stand out and create a really creative pantheon of selectable fighters.
Personal favorites of mine are Honou, the fire dude that can flame wheel in different directions and Neo, a literal shoto with a shoryuken and a sort of hadoken.
Sukapon deez niuts is also really fun, although a bit on the slower side.

The presnetation is also immaculate, and able to rivel more modern fighters: thjust the fact that you got an immediate tutorial for every fighter as an option before selecting them already makes it a better fighting game that other arcades titles at the time, but the game doesn't stop there: you got multilayered gorgeous background and stages, an incredible soundtrack for the NES and even a story mode that combines the choice of the next challenge of a megaman title with the progression of a street fighter tournament... all including exclusive bosses shaped like ostriches and an ascension up to heaven and the moon, or something.

One of the biggest surprises in my "gaming career". Please give it a shot, it will surprise you

Just tried it on the NSO
It's a cute little arcade game that does its job decently enough. It has a weird way of level profgression, where you need to collect all the food you find to open the exit and go on the next world / Hawaii / Egypt /some other world location I dunno.

Mappy's jump feels MISERABLE though ngl: the only function it has is just collect the fruit that are slightly above your head. The enemies are mostly predictable but I don't really like how they can just quickly change direction if they jump off the trampolines, something Mappy can't do for what I tried.

The use of trampoline can be tricky but it becomes kinda fun wonce you understand how to reach the higher platforms, though I didn't find it really that accurate.

It's not a terrible time, but probably not the best arcade game I have ever played. At least the presentation is kinda neat.

You know what Pacman needed? GOD

God let's you collect pills, it helps you keep eyed-monsters at bay, it even lets you eat ice cream. It even lets you collect up to four bibles to seal the devil and complete a stage.

Add the fact that the protagonis tis a proto-yoshi and this settings becomes so much more bizzarre. But aside fro this this is a odd but interesting take on Pacman: instead of a stale stage, your room keeps switching and moving according to the devil at the top of the screen: this generates a stage that can easily squash you if you are not careful and you don't plan your course ahead. In a way it remind some of those some Pacman mobile games where you have an infinite maze and you gotta go up for how much you can.
This though doesn't change the fact that the game is kinda clunky: it has some decent ideas but the way you progress to the levels can be kinda repetitive and tedious, and the way the different corridors can create a lot of dead ends, where it becomes tough to find a cross to kill the enemies in your way (basically your super pellets)

Overall it is a good idea for an arcade game, but it feels to janky and not the best especially compared to what pacman did.
SHotout for the samsh team for using the Devil as a assist trophy: legit a genius idea to take from this title.

This is Dig Dug without the DIg... so I guess it' just DUG

The idea of taking this Namco icon with really dstinct gameplay idea nad just... get rid of it almost entirely is indeed weird, but honestly
The final result is not the worst thing in the world.
You got Dug, stuk in a island or something, and e is gonna kill all of the enemies near him, either by pumping them to death, or by literally dig the grounnd around them to make them fall in water. It's a weird blend that combine pump action and enemy swarimng with map manipulation... which in a sense is still the core of OG Digdug

It's a simple concept but the game plays a lot with it: I especially remember Stage 10 (I am pretty sure was that one), where you got an island made of 2 sections: you are on the left alone, and on the right you got a whole squad of like 10 enemies ready to beat you up.... figure how to destroy your own part of the island to trap them all.

But aside from these fun gimmick stages, the game doesn't really evolve from that: enemies never change, challenges are not that impressive after a while and the formula quickly becomes repetitive.

It' not a bad experience, just a bit of a mediocre one.

Also Digdug life icon reminded me of the Amogus crewmate, I dunno why

One of the first game I ever have the memory playing was DK: King of Swing for the GBA. A Donkey kong apinoff that takes the gameplay formula of CLu Clu Land and kind of expands upon it.

So it was my main curiosity to check out the OG and.... yeah it is kind of a divisve title for a reason.

Don't get me wrong: I ADORE how Bubbles moves. Once you get the hang of the weird movement and grabs, you feels like a young fish swimming in the sea at high speed.

The main issue is that the map is less than a sea and more of a tiny fishbowl: the maps feels a little too cramped, full of invisible bouncing walls, claustrophobic wall, and 2 spiny enemies that are Items in Smash for some reason... I feel I was able to enjoy the fast and weird movement only on bonus stages, where you don't have all of these hazards to think about.

Not to mention that, compared to other arcade games like Pacman, the objective of each stage is kinda wierd: basically you gotta "draw" specific things by passing through certains zones of the map, that will glow once you pass through them..... the issue is that you never know what picutre you gotta "draw", and the images themselves don't even have a certain theme. SOmetimes you gotta draw a bird, or a submarine, or a smile.... and other times it's just a bunch of squares that don't really form anything "concrete"

I dunno, I hadn't the wost of times, but I can see why many peeps are not really into the Clu Clu Land..... at least some of its elements were able to survive in other games.

I heard of the reputation of Startropics as one of the hidden gems of the NES era: a title Nintendo made so specifically for american audience that didn't even made it into Japan (even though a japanese team made it).

Honestly japan missed out on it: Startropics is a treasure.
It's a game so different to anything I ever played, a title that combines so many different things and ideas into a package that feels unique to this day...

it's like a bizzarre cocktail of dungeon exploration, rpg overworld with NPCs interactions, environmental puzzle solving, stricht platforming, precise bossfights....

Many compared it with Zelda 1 and I will strongly disagree: the result of this mismash of ideas makes Startropics its own beast, with its own world, charm and overall identity.

Mike, the protagonist, is a weird character to control too: his movements combines the ability to use yoyo and other weapons for ranged attacks, with the ability to rotate and jump around while attacking and moving from one panel of the map to the other. This makes for a peculiar movement, stiff and hard to master... but extremely satisfying if you get the feel of it. Combine this movement and equipment with enemies of various patterns, and dungeons that fully encorporate this weird mechanics, and you got challenges that feel amazingly fun.
Ngl, the game feels kinda unfair sometimes: it's difficult in classic NES fashion, but to this tougher encounters often adds unclear solutions to puzzles, invisible corridors and even routes that will lead to death end without warning (I especially found funny the powerup that lets you get an extra life.... except when it takes a life away from you randomly)
I played this one with save states via the Switch NSO and I honestly feel bad for whoever tried it without those at the time.

In similar ways, the overworld exploration, the other main gameplay form of the title, is a curious blend of ideas. Sometimes it generates some really cool environmental puzzles, like the one with the Parrot in chapter 5, while in other cases is never clear why you have to talk to almost everyone in a town before the guard lets you out for good.

What the game excells at, and the reason why all of these oddness comes well together, is the presentation: the game already does something amazing for an NES title: dividing all of his levels in Chapters, adding cutscenes and more cinematic effects, creating complex sprites and portraits for the bigger NPCs, making towns and secondary character that can rival the ones from a FF town.
The setting is not just a tropical island but a whole dreamy world full of goofy dialogues and characters, always creative settings and events, and a charm that feels timeless. The game is famous even for how it breaks the fourth wall, thanks to the letter of Mike's Uncle, an extra paper that was sold alongside the NES cartridge at the time (let's just say this game did what Kojima made in the MGS saga, which is SO COOL for a NES game).

Startropics really feels like an adventure. You got ups and downs, but a continuous story that caught your attention and lets you keep going, due for either the really charming writing or the curiosity of the challenges ahead.

Definitely one of my favorite NES games. Some of the design choices can feel a little clunky and dated today, but regardless this is an incredible title to check out.

This is one of the first platformers I have ever played.
Even before Mario jumped into my life, Mickey was there.

The presentation alone sold this game for me: the artstyle was amazing, the music was memorable, and the fact that every level was based on specific classic shorts was really nice.
THe fac that the first level starts in Black & White because it is based on Steamboat WIllie, only to slowly gain color as you start meeting different charcaters and setting for later shorts... it is an amazing idea that I wish other similar games based on television would use as inspiration. Even the different levels have a different vibe depending on what they are based on, more specifically Iloved the shift in tone with the second level, based on the Mad Doctor.

This presentation makes for a really magical experience as a kid.... the issue is that even back then I noticed how much the game is just... mediocre... it's incredibly short, only consisting of like 40 minutes of platforming, with a level design that feels sluggish and not exactly that enjoyable.

It is a short experience hat lets you gor for kinda forgettable levels and forgettable bosses in terms of gameplay....... this kinda makes the title a bit devisive, but I am still able to find it slightly enjoyable for the creativity and artstyle.... still I am sure there are better Mickey titles out there.

Is it weird to say this is my favorite classic Megaman game?

I know it is notorious for being a messy rushed title hold together by a couple of coding strings and a bit of luck.... but I dunno I preferred it a lot more than the other classics.

It legit has some of the best OST, with themes of Blues, Snake Man, Spark Man, Hard Man, Top Man.....seriously I do love this soundtrack even more than most of the tracks from Megaman 2.

The leveles are cool and even if janky really fun to traverse.
The addition to the slide give so much more to megaman's movement.
And Rush is a such better companion than ITEM-1 and ITEM-2 from MM2.

The Wily fights can be annoying, especially with the subbosses, and Proto man boss fights can be either frutrating or just boring, with nothing in between... but I dunno I still find the experience really enduring.

I also love how it feels like an "endgame" for the trilogy: it brings back the bosses from 2, even if just as data, and it has a ending that showcases everyone, not just megaman and his siblings, but also every other robot master, with a music that is able to sound emotional even with the soundfont of the NES....

I get why people don't like it as the others, but I feel this is my fave.

Everyone had Crash Bandicoot as kids, except for me, DOnald was my Crash. Unironically this was one of the only videogame that my father respected "as a piece of art".... I honestly don't know what he was smoking, but it is a fun bonding memory I have of him in my youth.

Honestly just a cute little game that doesn't do nothing wrong except legit just copy pasting the mechanics from Crash.... but it does something creative regarding Donald himself: has a platfroming hero, Donald grows anger if hit by an enemy, meaning that for the next seconds he will turn into a cartoony cloud and is able to beat up anyone that meets on his path. That is a really cute way to express the character of Donald and it makes for a cool showcase of the life bar.
The bosses and presentation are also creative too: Beagle boys and Magica De Spell shows up as bosses, Gladstone Gander is your "rival", Gyro Gearloose's lab is the hubworld..... if you are a fan of these older disney character this game will give you a giggle... but in terms of gameplay and overall experience there are longer and better adventures overall.

Also the hand that chases you in those chase levels scared the heck outta me as a kid... I dunno why but screw that hand.