Bevr
10 reviews liked by Bevr
Final Fantasy
2021
Upon replaying FFI PR with some friends, my opinion on this game has went up. Not skyrocketed, but certainly worth half a star’s boost. I don’t know if it’s something that took a bit to marinate, or there’s juxtaposition after playing FFIII/FFV/most-of-FFVI, but it became really apparent to me just how easy FFI is to pick up and play. On my second playthrough I used a different team, where I learned that the character differences are fine-tuned just enough to make it so that each composition feels unique, but nothing is detrimental and there’s a mostly-reasonable brute-force solution to everything if you need one. Probably. I’m not going to test that with four white mages anytime soon but for most party compositions I think it’s true.
And while Marsh Cave is still awful, the Pixel Remaster does have the in game map option to press a button and have a map of the entire room you’re in appear. While I did complain in my first review about dungeon design with its empty rooms and stalling so that you’re ground down with encounters being from the Fuck You era of NES game design, and I still think that’s true, you can simply just not go into the empty rooms this time around since you can see where they are, as long as you’re inside a room.
Otherwise, pretty much what I said last time. Play the FF1 Pixel Remaster, it's good.
And while Marsh Cave is still awful, the Pixel Remaster does have the in game map option to press a button and have a map of the entire room you’re in appear. While I did complain in my first review about dungeon design with its empty rooms and stalling so that you’re ground down with encounters being from the Fuck You era of NES game design, and I still think that’s true, you can simply just not go into the empty rooms this time around since you can see where they are, as long as you’re inside a room.
Otherwise, pretty much what I said last time. Play the FF1 Pixel Remaster, it's good.
Final Fantasy VI
2022
This review contains spoilers
I did not grow up with FFVI. I did not play it as a child or as a teenager and I have zero nostalgia for this game. And frankly, this is unfortunate. I want to see what so many people do in this game, but I just couldn’t. I overall did not have a great time playing FFVI and I think it was kind of a bad game.
There are several problems I have with FFVI, and I’ll get into them, but I think it’s main overarching problem that just has tendrils everywhere is that it wants so badly to be taken seriously but fails to present itself in a way that actually warrants that. The plot is painted as high stakes. In World of Balance, there’s a war. In World of Ruin, the world has “ended” (quotation marks that will get an entire paragraph later on) and everyone is in despair. World of Balance is very passive – you never push along the plot, the plot happens to you as you go. Your characters’ actions are virtually never in control and the plot is very reactionary to things other people do. World of Ruin is, on the other hand, kind of just plotless for the most part. Some characters have arcs, for all I complain about the writing I think Terra’s arc is genuinely very good and I did enjoy Strago’s, but you largely go around collecting characters and getting a couple of magicite and items until you are ready for Kefka’s Tower.
The actual details of WoB especially, but also WoR, are frequently undercut by silly and/or cringe moments (special shoutout to Ultros being disgusting. I’m sure they were trying to recapture Gilgamesh but Ultros is just gross), nonsense logic, or important events happening entirely off-screen (such as the fake peace negotiations where the characters you left behind just teehee suddenly dealt with it and met up with you). Multiple times you get lore-dumped at, and then a character suddenly has a big change of heart and does something drastic that ends up in your favor (this happens with both Setzer and Ramuh).
Speaking of Ramuh, the way magic is handled in this game is also sort of nonsense. I’m already bothered by Ramuh watching over Terra and then once you show up, deciding “hey I’m going to kill myself and turn myself into a stone so that you can have magic, rather than directly helping you” – only for it to be revealed later (sort of) that magicite isn’t quite dead but a spirit willing themselves to you. But if they’re not dead, how does the empire turn espers into magicite? And why is magic only part of the world because of the Warring Triad, later Kefka, when there is an entire esper world and also blue magic is separate but “forbidden”, but also not actually forbidden but a secret. Again, the game wants you to take it seriously. It’s deep, but you have to trust that as a vibe and never look into it because it’s actually as shallow as a puddle and completely fails under even the slightest scrutiny.
A non-trivial part of the narrative just completely falling through a sieve is centered around Kefka, who actively makes every scene he’s in worse. This absolute buffoon of a clown is never shown to be taken seriously in World of Balance. All the imperial soldiers hate him. Half the time he’s on screen he’s flopping about and is showing his upside-down sprite or laughing like a madman. You fight him and win on several occasions. Yet somehow he always gains the upper hand through cowardly actions or very contrived scenarios.
And then he “ends the world”. You get a cutscene, and then awaken to Celes on the solitary island. You go to the mainland, seeing the continental plates have all shifted, get Sabin (he’s technically optional but you’d be a fool to skip him if you’re not speedrunning), get Edgar, then get Setzer/the airship. You realize pretty damn quickly between Castle Figaro and Kohlingen that.. everything is mostly fine? Then when you get the airship there are multiple towns which are completely unscathed: Jidoor, Zozo, and Thamasa have not sustained a single scratch of damage. Though NPCs talk about how shit everything is (though funny enough one points out things are actually kinda better because the Imperial soldiers aren’t occupying their town anymore), you only see this really in Mobliz, and in Tzen where Kefka uses the Light of Judgement to… destroy a single house. Really? Then the entire time you are mucking about in the world Kefka just does absolutely nothing about it even though he’s allegedly God now and is all-seeing. Even his last speech, the (thankfully) only time you see him in WoR, is him having a toddler’s tantrum because you still have hope. This isn’t nihilism, that’s a spoiled brat.
But despite all this, FFVI has good gameplay, right? Well, no, actually.
The magic system somewhat fails to be compelling narratively, but mechanically it’s even worse. Early on when only Terra and Celes have magic, it’s okay, but then you unlock espers, and then all of the characters you’re using begin a rather-quick march to become an all-powerful master of All Magic, and realistically by the end of the game you can have your important units all become omniwizards with access to every important spell. Terra and Strago have a bit more going for them – Trance becomes ridiculously overpowered later on and leads to her doing 9999 damage with virtually everything, but is useless at first because it depends on her spell repertoire for some reason. Strago’s blue magic is very useful early on especially if you get Grand Delta & Magic Guard as soon as you’re able to, but eventually you’ll just have Strago using Ultima for 9999 damage too. An honorable mention to Sabin’s blitzes which have very good longevity especially for how early in WoR you get Phantom Rush, but by the time you’re fighting Kefka his time is better spent casting Ultima/Reraise/Curaga.
Most other characters don’t have abilities worth using when they can just use magic instead. Gogo and Umaro are their own things, but things like Edgar’s tools, Relm’s sketch, Shadow’s throw, and Cyan’s bushido all get outclassed by magic earlier than the ones I mentioned above. Some abilities are also not useful at all, like Locke’s Steal/Mug (you do not need to optimize for stealing in this game, there is no point in farming consumables), and Celes’ Runic (can be used to cheese some bosses but has severe drawbacks). Then there’s Mog, who takes the worst parts of FFIII’s evoker and geomancer and combines them into one class.
Then there’s Gau. Holy hell, Gau is abysmally bad. He’s not controllable outside of “selecting a rage”, and acts as a berserker. He learns these rages on a special area of the map, the Veldt, where encounters are selected from “anything you’ve encountered up to now” and everything awards 0 EXP. So to get rages you have to grind out here. For the parts you’re required to use him, and one part you can bring him, you’re actually completely unable to access the Veldt which means he can’t learn anything new. And then for some reason in WoR when you re-recruit him, he doesn’t autolevel at all and joins at whatever you had him at at the end of WoB. Every single thing about Gau is just awfully thought out and awfully implemented where you’d think he’s a joke character.
Dungeons quality is all over the place. Most are okay. Several of them are gimmick dungeons where all enemies can inflict a specific status effect. Awful if you’re unprepared, trivial if you go to the nearest town and buy the relics that prevent against that status effect. The Cultist’s Tower is particularly abysmal, with lots of bs enemies, the reflect status, and only being able to use magic. And you can’t run from enemies or use smoke bombs. Also blue magic doesn’t count for some reason. And you can’t trance. (Which again raises the question “what is magic, exactly?”). Great dungeon. Phoenix Cave and Kefka’s Tower also are multi party dungeons which have their own problem because the game does nothing to encourage you in WoR to rotate or balance your party and level multiple guys (critically, making people you don’t use not gain new magic), so you have to drag characters around who range from not as good as your main team to actively dead weight.
The boss fights also vary wildly in quality, with some real stinkers in there. Many of the same problems with dungeons: some bosses are status-heavy and immunity can cheese them but you’ll get crushed if you’re not prepared. The Tentacle boss in Figaro Castle is bad, unless you have Hermes Sandals. The Ultros fight in the Opera House is awful because of the party you’re supposed to use, and Ultros casting Level 3 confuse which is a right killer at that point in time. Ultima Weapon sometimes just users Mind Blast then you Lose. Any and every boss that can inflict the frozen status on your party, which you can’t protect against.
These things all add up to a game that’s very hard to enjoy even at the best of times. I know this is a really popular Final Fantasy game but I just absolutely could not get into it and didn’t find it any fun. The plot is actively kind of bad and nonsense, but at the same time so heavy. FFVI would be a lot better if it were lighthearted, but it isn’t that, and we have a game that’s story just kind of doesn’t work on its own axioms that it sets up, and without the gameplay to make it worthwhile to play for that alone. Very disappointed in this entry.
There are several problems I have with FFVI, and I’ll get into them, but I think it’s main overarching problem that just has tendrils everywhere is that it wants so badly to be taken seriously but fails to present itself in a way that actually warrants that. The plot is painted as high stakes. In World of Balance, there’s a war. In World of Ruin, the world has “ended” (quotation marks that will get an entire paragraph later on) and everyone is in despair. World of Balance is very passive – you never push along the plot, the plot happens to you as you go. Your characters’ actions are virtually never in control and the plot is very reactionary to things other people do. World of Ruin is, on the other hand, kind of just plotless for the most part. Some characters have arcs, for all I complain about the writing I think Terra’s arc is genuinely very good and I did enjoy Strago’s, but you largely go around collecting characters and getting a couple of magicite and items until you are ready for Kefka’s Tower.
The actual details of WoB especially, but also WoR, are frequently undercut by silly and/or cringe moments (special shoutout to Ultros being disgusting. I’m sure they were trying to recapture Gilgamesh but Ultros is just gross), nonsense logic, or important events happening entirely off-screen (such as the fake peace negotiations where the characters you left behind just teehee suddenly dealt with it and met up with you). Multiple times you get lore-dumped at, and then a character suddenly has a big change of heart and does something drastic that ends up in your favor (this happens with both Setzer and Ramuh).
Speaking of Ramuh, the way magic is handled in this game is also sort of nonsense. I’m already bothered by Ramuh watching over Terra and then once you show up, deciding “hey I’m going to kill myself and turn myself into a stone so that you can have magic, rather than directly helping you” – only for it to be revealed later (sort of) that magicite isn’t quite dead but a spirit willing themselves to you. But if they’re not dead, how does the empire turn espers into magicite? And why is magic only part of the world because of the Warring Triad, later Kefka, when there is an entire esper world and also blue magic is separate but “forbidden”, but also not actually forbidden but a secret. Again, the game wants you to take it seriously. It’s deep, but you have to trust that as a vibe and never look into it because it’s actually as shallow as a puddle and completely fails under even the slightest scrutiny.
A non-trivial part of the narrative just completely falling through a sieve is centered around Kefka, who actively makes every scene he’s in worse. This absolute buffoon of a clown is never shown to be taken seriously in World of Balance. All the imperial soldiers hate him. Half the time he’s on screen he’s flopping about and is showing his upside-down sprite or laughing like a madman. You fight him and win on several occasions. Yet somehow he always gains the upper hand through cowardly actions or very contrived scenarios.
And then he “ends the world”. You get a cutscene, and then awaken to Celes on the solitary island. You go to the mainland, seeing the continental plates have all shifted, get Sabin (he’s technically optional but you’d be a fool to skip him if you’re not speedrunning), get Edgar, then get Setzer/the airship. You realize pretty damn quickly between Castle Figaro and Kohlingen that.. everything is mostly fine? Then when you get the airship there are multiple towns which are completely unscathed: Jidoor, Zozo, and Thamasa have not sustained a single scratch of damage. Though NPCs talk about how shit everything is (though funny enough one points out things are actually kinda better because the Imperial soldiers aren’t occupying their town anymore), you only see this really in Mobliz, and in Tzen where Kefka uses the Light of Judgement to… destroy a single house. Really? Then the entire time you are mucking about in the world Kefka just does absolutely nothing about it even though he’s allegedly God now and is all-seeing. Even his last speech, the (thankfully) only time you see him in WoR, is him having a toddler’s tantrum because you still have hope. This isn’t nihilism, that’s a spoiled brat.
But despite all this, FFVI has good gameplay, right? Well, no, actually.
The magic system somewhat fails to be compelling narratively, but mechanically it’s even worse. Early on when only Terra and Celes have magic, it’s okay, but then you unlock espers, and then all of the characters you’re using begin a rather-quick march to become an all-powerful master of All Magic, and realistically by the end of the game you can have your important units all become omniwizards with access to every important spell. Terra and Strago have a bit more going for them – Trance becomes ridiculously overpowered later on and leads to her doing 9999 damage with virtually everything, but is useless at first because it depends on her spell repertoire for some reason. Strago’s blue magic is very useful early on especially if you get Grand Delta & Magic Guard as soon as you’re able to, but eventually you’ll just have Strago using Ultima for 9999 damage too. An honorable mention to Sabin’s blitzes which have very good longevity especially for how early in WoR you get Phantom Rush, but by the time you’re fighting Kefka his time is better spent casting Ultima/Reraise/Curaga.
Most other characters don’t have abilities worth using when they can just use magic instead. Gogo and Umaro are their own things, but things like Edgar’s tools, Relm’s sketch, Shadow’s throw, and Cyan’s bushido all get outclassed by magic earlier than the ones I mentioned above. Some abilities are also not useful at all, like Locke’s Steal/Mug (you do not need to optimize for stealing in this game, there is no point in farming consumables), and Celes’ Runic (can be used to cheese some bosses but has severe drawbacks). Then there’s Mog, who takes the worst parts of FFIII’s evoker and geomancer and combines them into one class.
Then there’s Gau. Holy hell, Gau is abysmally bad. He’s not controllable outside of “selecting a rage”, and acts as a berserker. He learns these rages on a special area of the map, the Veldt, where encounters are selected from “anything you’ve encountered up to now” and everything awards 0 EXP. So to get rages you have to grind out here. For the parts you’re required to use him, and one part you can bring him, you’re actually completely unable to access the Veldt which means he can’t learn anything new. And then for some reason in WoR when you re-recruit him, he doesn’t autolevel at all and joins at whatever you had him at at the end of WoB. Every single thing about Gau is just awfully thought out and awfully implemented where you’d think he’s a joke character.
Dungeons quality is all over the place. Most are okay. Several of them are gimmick dungeons where all enemies can inflict a specific status effect. Awful if you’re unprepared, trivial if you go to the nearest town and buy the relics that prevent against that status effect. The Cultist’s Tower is particularly abysmal, with lots of bs enemies, the reflect status, and only being able to use magic. And you can’t run from enemies or use smoke bombs. Also blue magic doesn’t count for some reason. And you can’t trance. (Which again raises the question “what is magic, exactly?”). Great dungeon. Phoenix Cave and Kefka’s Tower also are multi party dungeons which have their own problem because the game does nothing to encourage you in WoR to rotate or balance your party and level multiple guys (critically, making people you don’t use not gain new magic), so you have to drag characters around who range from not as good as your main team to actively dead weight.
The boss fights also vary wildly in quality, with some real stinkers in there. Many of the same problems with dungeons: some bosses are status-heavy and immunity can cheese them but you’ll get crushed if you’re not prepared. The Tentacle boss in Figaro Castle is bad, unless you have Hermes Sandals. The Ultros fight in the Opera House is awful because of the party you’re supposed to use, and Ultros casting Level 3 confuse which is a right killer at that point in time. Ultima Weapon sometimes just users Mind Blast then you Lose. Any and every boss that can inflict the frozen status on your party, which you can’t protect against.
These things all add up to a game that’s very hard to enjoy even at the best of times. I know this is a really popular Final Fantasy game but I just absolutely could not get into it and didn’t find it any fun. The plot is actively kind of bad and nonsense, but at the same time so heavy. FFVI would be a lot better if it were lighthearted, but it isn’t that, and we have a game that’s story just kind of doesn’t work on its own axioms that it sets up, and without the gameplay to make it worthwhile to play for that alone. Very disappointed in this entry.
Unicorn Overlord
2024
https://imgur.com/YqULlub
if this wasn't your sole takeaway after playing unicorn overlord, YOU DIDN'T BEAT THE GAME.
if this wasn't your sole takeaway after playing unicorn overlord, YOU DIDN'T BEAT THE GAME.
Throughout the late 80’s and early to mid 90’s, Capcom had a pretty good relationship going with Disney. For many years, they would be the primary developer for a lot of licensed games based on both Disney characters are popular movies and shows at the time, leading to what many consider to be some of the best licensed games of the NES-SNES eras, such as with DuckTales, Goof Troop, and the SNES version of Aladdin. Sure, not all of Disney’s games back in the day were made exclusively by them, but when it came to sorting out the good from the mediocre-bad games, you would just need to see if it was made by Capcom, and you could just go from there… even if their logo didn’t always guarantee a worthwhile product. Looking at you, Adventures in the Magic Kingdom. But either way, when it came to the Disney properties they tackled, they also had a fair amount of shots at giving the big mouse himself his own lineup of titles, including a successful attempt with The Magical Quest Starring Mickey Mouse.
At this point, Mickey Mouse was no stranger when it came to video games, not only getting a few standalone titles at this point like Mickey Mousecapade, but also a set of successful Sega games known as Castle of Illusion. However, some of those earlier titles like Mickey Mousecapade were of the usual quality that you would expect from a licensed game, with the exception of the Castle of Illusion series, which I have yet to play, so I can’t give it my clearly 100% accurate gaming critique yet. So, it was pleasant to find that this first Mickey Mouse title for the SNES was actually a pretty good game. It is pretty standard for what it is, and it isn’t one of the best platformers on the SNES, but for being the first SNES game for Mickey Mouse, it is a great start all around.
The story is pretty simple, about Mickey needing to rescue Pluto from the Big Bad Pete, which is enough to get you going on your way, because you don’t wanna see anything bad happen to Pluto, the graphics are really good, being very bright, colorful, and charming for a Mickey Mouse game, and speaking of which, Mickey himself and all of the other characters and enemies look pretty good, and accurate to the designs we all know and love, the music is very enjoyable, giving off that distinct Capcom vibe, and there are plenty of good tracks to listen to throughout, with my favorite being the one in Stage 3, the control is mostly pretty solid, feeling very smooth most of the time, but some of the actions can be kinda finicky, such as with grabbing objects and using some powerups, and the gameplay is typical of the genre, but it does introduce some features that gives that extra boost of quality that makes it fun.
The game is your typical 2D platformer, where you take control of Mickey Mouse, take on a set of six stages across many different fantastical settings, stomp on many different enemies you will encounter along the way, as well as using plenty of different items to throw at enemies to get an advantage over them, gather plenty of coins, hearts, and powerups to help you out along the way, and take on plenty of appropriately cartoony bosses that will actually provide a good amount of challenge if you aren’t careful. As a platformer on its own, it isn’t anything too special, all things considered, but when it comes to being a Mickey Mouse game, it is pretty well done. The game is challenging enough to where you need to keep on your toes, while also providing plenty of assistance when needed, and any skilled player would be able to have a pleasant enough time with.
One of the things that make this game stand out from other Mickey Mouse games is the use of the various outfits in the game. Upon entering a new stage, Mickey will sometimes gain a brand new outfit that he can swap in and out of anytime, with these items being very useful, which consist of the magician outfit, which lets him shoot out magic projectiles, the firefighter outfit, which lets him shoot water at enemies and other objects, and the mountain-climber outfit, which gives you grappling hook to use to your advantage. What makes these outfits pretty useful aside from the additional firepower was that they also are essential to making progress in the game, such as in instances where you have to put out fires with the firefighter outfit, you have to activate magic carpets with the magician outfit, and you could use the grappling hooks to get over plenty of dangerous gaps and grapple onto plenty of platforms. While the outfits themselves aren’t that exciting, they are extremely helpful in many different instances, and I did like swapping between all of them to my advantage throughout the journey.
Aside from all that though, the game itself doesn’t have that much else going for it. It is still a very typical SNES era platformer, one that does have a good amount to do, but it doesn’t really bring anything new to the genre. That’s not necessarily a bad thing, seeing as it is just a Mickey Mouse game, but it isn’t really doing that much different from other similar games, or even similar licensed games of that time. And of course, since I can never be pleased, there has to be something that bothers me, and for this game, that would be the boss rush in the last stage. Granted, this is one of the least offensive boss rushes I have seen so far, as there are only a few bosses rehashed, and you can pretty much just ignore them and head straight to the final boss, but of course, for first time players, you aren’t going to know which door is a recycled boss and which one isn’t, so have fun with that.
Overall, despite a lack of originality and repeated bosses here and there, this is still one of the better Mickey Mouse games that you can find, and one of the better licensed games to come from Disney and from the SNES era. I would definitely recommend it for those of you who are big fans of Mickey Mouse, as well as those who were a fan of Capcom’s other Disney games, but for everyone else, there are arguably better Disney licensed games out there, and better Mickey Mouse games even. Also, quick little spoiler for the end of the game, but at the end of it all, it turns out that Mickey Mouse was just dreaming the entire time, and Pluto never really got kidnapped. Never thought I would get Mario 2’d by Micheal Fucking Rat, but I guess there is a first time for everything.
Game #383
At this point, Mickey Mouse was no stranger when it came to video games, not only getting a few standalone titles at this point like Mickey Mousecapade, but also a set of successful Sega games known as Castle of Illusion. However, some of those earlier titles like Mickey Mousecapade were of the usual quality that you would expect from a licensed game, with the exception of the Castle of Illusion series, which I have yet to play, so I can’t give it my clearly 100% accurate gaming critique yet. So, it was pleasant to find that this first Mickey Mouse title for the SNES was actually a pretty good game. It is pretty standard for what it is, and it isn’t one of the best platformers on the SNES, but for being the first SNES game for Mickey Mouse, it is a great start all around.
The story is pretty simple, about Mickey needing to rescue Pluto from the Big Bad Pete, which is enough to get you going on your way, because you don’t wanna see anything bad happen to Pluto, the graphics are really good, being very bright, colorful, and charming for a Mickey Mouse game, and speaking of which, Mickey himself and all of the other characters and enemies look pretty good, and accurate to the designs we all know and love, the music is very enjoyable, giving off that distinct Capcom vibe, and there are plenty of good tracks to listen to throughout, with my favorite being the one in Stage 3, the control is mostly pretty solid, feeling very smooth most of the time, but some of the actions can be kinda finicky, such as with grabbing objects and using some powerups, and the gameplay is typical of the genre, but it does introduce some features that gives that extra boost of quality that makes it fun.
The game is your typical 2D platformer, where you take control of Mickey Mouse, take on a set of six stages across many different fantastical settings, stomp on many different enemies you will encounter along the way, as well as using plenty of different items to throw at enemies to get an advantage over them, gather plenty of coins, hearts, and powerups to help you out along the way, and take on plenty of appropriately cartoony bosses that will actually provide a good amount of challenge if you aren’t careful. As a platformer on its own, it isn’t anything too special, all things considered, but when it comes to being a Mickey Mouse game, it is pretty well done. The game is challenging enough to where you need to keep on your toes, while also providing plenty of assistance when needed, and any skilled player would be able to have a pleasant enough time with.
One of the things that make this game stand out from other Mickey Mouse games is the use of the various outfits in the game. Upon entering a new stage, Mickey will sometimes gain a brand new outfit that he can swap in and out of anytime, with these items being very useful, which consist of the magician outfit, which lets him shoot out magic projectiles, the firefighter outfit, which lets him shoot water at enemies and other objects, and the mountain-climber outfit, which gives you grappling hook to use to your advantage. What makes these outfits pretty useful aside from the additional firepower was that they also are essential to making progress in the game, such as in instances where you have to put out fires with the firefighter outfit, you have to activate magic carpets with the magician outfit, and you could use the grappling hooks to get over plenty of dangerous gaps and grapple onto plenty of platforms. While the outfits themselves aren’t that exciting, they are extremely helpful in many different instances, and I did like swapping between all of them to my advantage throughout the journey.
Aside from all that though, the game itself doesn’t have that much else going for it. It is still a very typical SNES era platformer, one that does have a good amount to do, but it doesn’t really bring anything new to the genre. That’s not necessarily a bad thing, seeing as it is just a Mickey Mouse game, but it isn’t really doing that much different from other similar games, or even similar licensed games of that time. And of course, since I can never be pleased, there has to be something that bothers me, and for this game, that would be the boss rush in the last stage. Granted, this is one of the least offensive boss rushes I have seen so far, as there are only a few bosses rehashed, and you can pretty much just ignore them and head straight to the final boss, but of course, for first time players, you aren’t going to know which door is a recycled boss and which one isn’t, so have fun with that.
Overall, despite a lack of originality and repeated bosses here and there, this is still one of the better Mickey Mouse games that you can find, and one of the better licensed games to come from Disney and from the SNES era. I would definitely recommend it for those of you who are big fans of Mickey Mouse, as well as those who were a fan of Capcom’s other Disney games, but for everyone else, there are arguably better Disney licensed games out there, and better Mickey Mouse games even. Also, quick little spoiler for the end of the game, but at the end of it all, it turns out that Mickey Mouse was just dreaming the entire time, and Pluto never really got kidnapped. Never thought I would get Mario 2’d by Micheal Fucking Rat, but I guess there is a first time for everything.
Game #383
Super Mario Kart
1992
As you are probably well aware of at this point, there are a seemingly endless amount of spin-off games in the Mario franchise, whether they continue the traditional platforming style that the original games started, but changed things around, or with most other games that venture into many different genres, like party games, puzzle games, RPGs, and so on. Of course, many fans of this franchise have probably taken a dive into each of these spin-off series at least once to see what they are all about, but, even if you are not a Mario fan, or a fan of video games in general, there is probably only one Mario spin-off series that you have ever played in your entire life. That, my friends, would be Mario Kart. This is, without a doubt, the biggest spin-off series that Mario has ever had, with many different games still being made to this day, and each of them being a critical and commercial success (for the most part), usually being one of, if not THE best selling games on their respective systems. Hell, like I mentioned earlier, even if you don’t play video games all that often, you probably have at least tried out one round of Mario Kart in your life with your friends, just to see what all the fuss is about, it is THAT big. But, of course, all juggernauts have to start somewhere, and for Mario Kart, that starting point would be with the original SNES game, Super Mario Kart.
When it comes to my own personal experiences with Mario Kart, I have mainly stuck to later titles in the series, such as Mario Kart 8 Deluxe and Mario Kart Wii, since these games usually get better with each installment, and if I am gonna play any entry in the series, it would be best to stick with those ones. That’s not to say that I haven’t taken a look into the other games in the series though, as I have played quite a lot of both Mario Kart 64 and Mario Kart: Double Dash, both with friends and by myself. In terms of Super Mario Kart though, I have barely any experience with it whatsoever, aside from one playthrough through all the modes, and occasionally jumping into it sometimes when I am bored. So, based on my own experience with the game, I would argue that Super Mario Kart is a good game… but it doesn’t hold up quite nearly as well as other titles in the series. Despite that, it did lay the groundwork for what the series would eventually become, and for a first attempt, I would say they did a pretty great job here.
The graphics are pretty good, having a distinct style from every other game in the series, and while they haven’t aged too well, and can look weird at times (Yoshi looks like he is in constant agony), I will admit that there is a certain charm to it, the music is pretty good, having this distinct and nostalgic flow about it, even if sometimes it can get drowned out in the main game, the control is good for the most part, with the steering handling pretty well, but when it comes to higher difficulty, that becomes a different story (more on that later), and the gameplay itself is that classic Mario Kart feel that has become a staple of the racing genre, but much more rough then most of you are probably used to.
The game is, obviously, a racing game, where you take control of one of eight racers hailing from the Mario universe (including Donkey Kong Jr., for some reason…), race against the other seven on a good selection of tracks through multiple Grand Prixs, try to get the upper hand on your competition with proper use of drifting, boosts, shortcuts, and items that you will obtain, keep your streak up so that you don’t end up eliminated, and come out on top while celebrating with a bottle of alcohol, as one does in a Mario game. All of the core mechanics and gameplay modes of Mario Kart that will be repeated for most of the rest of the series was introduced here, and when looking back on them, they still work very well, the items are very satisfying to use when you use them at the right time, and there is plenty to do here that will keep you invested.
The main mode is obviously the VS and Grand Prix races, where you can race against either the computer or a friend, competing for first place and rubbing it in your opponents’ faces when you eventually win. This is primarily where I spent most of my time with this game, and I had a pretty good time with it for the most part. It did feel fun going through these tracks most of the time, and the satisfaction I felt when getting first place in a Grand Prix felt as it should for one of these games. Aside from those modes though, we also have Time Trial mode, where you can try to beat these courses as fast as you can while learning all the ins and outs of it. I personally have never really cared about Time Trials, but I can’t deny that they have become a staple of the racing genre, so I can appreciate it for being there, and for those who do wanna get better at the game, it is a good choice to hone your skills. And finally, there is Battle Mode, where you can take on another player in a head-to-head battle, using many items to annihilate your competition, popping all of their balloons, and making you the Ultimate Balloon Warrior (god, that sounded so lame). Again, I myself am not too huge on Battle Mode, but I can’t deny, when you get the right people to play with, it can make for a chaotically wonderful time, even if this Battle Mode is hard to go back to, since there is only a two-player option rather then four.
So, now that we have gotten a lot of the positives out of the way for this game, it’s time that we get into the negatives, as this game definitely shows its age in a lot of ways. Going down the list here, first and foremost, for every race, no matter if you are playing by yourself or not, half of the screen is completely useless, only being used for the map or for the second player. I can kind of understand why this was done, but considering that F-Zero, a great SNES racer that came out two years before this, managed to fill up the whole screen with the main action, why can’t this game do that too, and put the map in the corner or something? Secondly, while the control is solid for the most part, it certainly isn’t the best, as it carries the same problem that F-Zero has where, in certain instances, it feels impossible to turn properly without smashing into walls. Yes, you do have drifting to help you out, but I’m pretty sure plenty can agree with me when I say that the drifting in this game is complete ass, and it doesn’t help that much, especially in courses on 150cc.
Thirdly, this game carries around a dirty term that is a common one with others in the genre: rubber-banding. If you don’t know what that is, it is essentially where, if you are too far ahead of the computer players in a race, they will speed right back up to where you are, and have a high chance of stealing that first place right from under your nose. I swear, the amount of times I have had a perfect run in 150cc mode ruined all because of an opponent snatching that first from me at the last second… it boils my blood just thinking about it. And on top of that, the AI can also use items that are impossible for the player to use, so they are basically cheating, and I hate them all because of that. And for the final issue of the game, one that is pretty obvious at this point… it is incredibly dated. Yeah, I know, it isn’t the game’s fault, but there have been plenty of other games, not just from Mario Kart, that have evolved the genre to places that this game wishes it could reach, such as with faster speed, tighter control, 4 or more players at once, and infinite possibilities for carnage and ways to push racing to the next level. If you were to play any Mario Kart game, this would be one of the last games that I would suggest to you, and many would probably agree with me on that sentiment, even though it still has a lot going for it even to this day.
Overall, despite having plenty of issues and just not being as appealing due to the effect of time, it cannot be denied that Super Mario Kart is still a pivotal point in the Mario franchise, and one of the best racing games on the SNES. It set the foundation for what would become the biggest racing franchise in gaming history, and even nowadays, it is still fun to come back to from time to time and revisit, seeing where it all started, and maybe even getting some friends along to have some fun with. I would definitely recommend it for Mario Kart fans, just so they can experience it at least once, but for those who are only casual fans of the franchise, then you can just stick with the later titles, as you won’t be missing out on too much. And besides, we all know that F-Zero is better than this anyway. It’s not even an opinion at this point, it is a well-known FACT.
Game #344
When it comes to my own personal experiences with Mario Kart, I have mainly stuck to later titles in the series, such as Mario Kart 8 Deluxe and Mario Kart Wii, since these games usually get better with each installment, and if I am gonna play any entry in the series, it would be best to stick with those ones. That’s not to say that I haven’t taken a look into the other games in the series though, as I have played quite a lot of both Mario Kart 64 and Mario Kart: Double Dash, both with friends and by myself. In terms of Super Mario Kart though, I have barely any experience with it whatsoever, aside from one playthrough through all the modes, and occasionally jumping into it sometimes when I am bored. So, based on my own experience with the game, I would argue that Super Mario Kart is a good game… but it doesn’t hold up quite nearly as well as other titles in the series. Despite that, it did lay the groundwork for what the series would eventually become, and for a first attempt, I would say they did a pretty great job here.
The graphics are pretty good, having a distinct style from every other game in the series, and while they haven’t aged too well, and can look weird at times (Yoshi looks like he is in constant agony), I will admit that there is a certain charm to it, the music is pretty good, having this distinct and nostalgic flow about it, even if sometimes it can get drowned out in the main game, the control is good for the most part, with the steering handling pretty well, but when it comes to higher difficulty, that becomes a different story (more on that later), and the gameplay itself is that classic Mario Kart feel that has become a staple of the racing genre, but much more rough then most of you are probably used to.
The game is, obviously, a racing game, where you take control of one of eight racers hailing from the Mario universe (including Donkey Kong Jr., for some reason…), race against the other seven on a good selection of tracks through multiple Grand Prixs, try to get the upper hand on your competition with proper use of drifting, boosts, shortcuts, and items that you will obtain, keep your streak up so that you don’t end up eliminated, and come out on top while celebrating with a bottle of alcohol, as one does in a Mario game. All of the core mechanics and gameplay modes of Mario Kart that will be repeated for most of the rest of the series was introduced here, and when looking back on them, they still work very well, the items are very satisfying to use when you use them at the right time, and there is plenty to do here that will keep you invested.
The main mode is obviously the VS and Grand Prix races, where you can race against either the computer or a friend, competing for first place and rubbing it in your opponents’ faces when you eventually win. This is primarily where I spent most of my time with this game, and I had a pretty good time with it for the most part. It did feel fun going through these tracks most of the time, and the satisfaction I felt when getting first place in a Grand Prix felt as it should for one of these games. Aside from those modes though, we also have Time Trial mode, where you can try to beat these courses as fast as you can while learning all the ins and outs of it. I personally have never really cared about Time Trials, but I can’t deny that they have become a staple of the racing genre, so I can appreciate it for being there, and for those who do wanna get better at the game, it is a good choice to hone your skills. And finally, there is Battle Mode, where you can take on another player in a head-to-head battle, using many items to annihilate your competition, popping all of their balloons, and making you the Ultimate Balloon Warrior (god, that sounded so lame). Again, I myself am not too huge on Battle Mode, but I can’t deny, when you get the right people to play with, it can make for a chaotically wonderful time, even if this Battle Mode is hard to go back to, since there is only a two-player option rather then four.
So, now that we have gotten a lot of the positives out of the way for this game, it’s time that we get into the negatives, as this game definitely shows its age in a lot of ways. Going down the list here, first and foremost, for every race, no matter if you are playing by yourself or not, half of the screen is completely useless, only being used for the map or for the second player. I can kind of understand why this was done, but considering that F-Zero, a great SNES racer that came out two years before this, managed to fill up the whole screen with the main action, why can’t this game do that too, and put the map in the corner or something? Secondly, while the control is solid for the most part, it certainly isn’t the best, as it carries the same problem that F-Zero has where, in certain instances, it feels impossible to turn properly without smashing into walls. Yes, you do have drifting to help you out, but I’m pretty sure plenty can agree with me when I say that the drifting in this game is complete ass, and it doesn’t help that much, especially in courses on 150cc.
Thirdly, this game carries around a dirty term that is a common one with others in the genre: rubber-banding. If you don’t know what that is, it is essentially where, if you are too far ahead of the computer players in a race, they will speed right back up to where you are, and have a high chance of stealing that first place right from under your nose. I swear, the amount of times I have had a perfect run in 150cc mode ruined all because of an opponent snatching that first from me at the last second… it boils my blood just thinking about it. And on top of that, the AI can also use items that are impossible for the player to use, so they are basically cheating, and I hate them all because of that. And for the final issue of the game, one that is pretty obvious at this point… it is incredibly dated. Yeah, I know, it isn’t the game’s fault, but there have been plenty of other games, not just from Mario Kart, that have evolved the genre to places that this game wishes it could reach, such as with faster speed, tighter control, 4 or more players at once, and infinite possibilities for carnage and ways to push racing to the next level. If you were to play any Mario Kart game, this would be one of the last games that I would suggest to you, and many would probably agree with me on that sentiment, even though it still has a lot going for it even to this day.
Overall, despite having plenty of issues and just not being as appealing due to the effect of time, it cannot be denied that Super Mario Kart is still a pivotal point in the Mario franchise, and one of the best racing games on the SNES. It set the foundation for what would become the biggest racing franchise in gaming history, and even nowadays, it is still fun to come back to from time to time and revisit, seeing where it all started, and maybe even getting some friends along to have some fun with. I would definitely recommend it for Mario Kart fans, just so they can experience it at least once, but for those who are only casual fans of the franchise, then you can just stick with the later titles, as you won’t be missing out on too much. And besides, we all know that F-Zero is better than this anyway. It’s not even an opinion at this point, it is a well-known FACT.
Game #344
This is like if Mario Party, D&D and Eldritch Horror had a baby, then dropped that baby several times.
Koikatsu Sunshine
2021
I mean this completely unironically... I actually have way more fun creating characters in this than I do when I jerk off to them later. I will spend literal hours fine tuning each slider, color, and outfit choice on a single character, and then sometimes not even "play" with that character when I'm done.
Operation C
1991
Riding off from the success of both the original Contra and Super C, Konami would then bring the franchise to the handheld scene four years later. And for this installment, unlike with Castlevania, they aren't gonna try to ruin it for their first handheld installment (sorry, but again, it's just too easy). So, after those four years, Konami would then release Operation Contra to the public. Or... I guess Operation C, because, again, letters are just so much cooler then full words.
As the first handheld entry in the Contra series, it does a pretty great job at bringing the standard Contra gameplay to the smaller screen, and it ends up being a pretty good game. It does suffer from some small issues, but they don't get in the way from being a surprisingly good time.
The story is pretty much the exact same as the other two Contra games, which I can excuse, the graphics are Game Boy graphics, but they do a pretty good job at replicating the original NES sprites, the music is just remixed versions of the original Contra music, but it still sounds incredible, the control is pretty solid, even if, again, your movement speed is slower than usual, and the gameplay is what you would expect, but it is carried over extremely well.
The game plays exactly like the previous two Contra games, where you move from left to right, shooting up various enemies and bosses, getting different weapons to fend off enemies with, and taking on different types of stages as well, such as the top down shooter sections, which return from Super C. There isn't too many new elements that are introduced in this game, aside from a few new weapons such as a homing missile shot, which is pretty useful. Despite the lack of new additions, it is still pretty fun to play through all the same.
However, it doesn't get a pass, as it does have its problems. Similarly to Mega Man: Dr. Wily's Revenge, the game reuses a lot of elements from Contra and Super C, with a good chunk of the levels being from Super C, with the layout being changed around, and again, like mentioned earlier, all of the music is just remixed versions of the music from the original Contra. These reused elements aren't really all that bad, and none of them are executed in a poor way, but I would've preferred seeing original levels rather than remixed versions of older ones. Aside from that, the only other complaint I would have would be the short length, but since this is a Game Boy game, that is to be expected.
Overall, while it does reuse elements from previous games, it is still a surprisingly fun entry in the Contra series, and a great start for the series on handheld systems. I would recommend, especially for those Contra fans who haven't played it yet.
Game #142
As the first handheld entry in the Contra series, it does a pretty great job at bringing the standard Contra gameplay to the smaller screen, and it ends up being a pretty good game. It does suffer from some small issues, but they don't get in the way from being a surprisingly good time.
The story is pretty much the exact same as the other two Contra games, which I can excuse, the graphics are Game Boy graphics, but they do a pretty good job at replicating the original NES sprites, the music is just remixed versions of the original Contra music, but it still sounds incredible, the control is pretty solid, even if, again, your movement speed is slower than usual, and the gameplay is what you would expect, but it is carried over extremely well.
The game plays exactly like the previous two Contra games, where you move from left to right, shooting up various enemies and bosses, getting different weapons to fend off enemies with, and taking on different types of stages as well, such as the top down shooter sections, which return from Super C. There isn't too many new elements that are introduced in this game, aside from a few new weapons such as a homing missile shot, which is pretty useful. Despite the lack of new additions, it is still pretty fun to play through all the same.
However, it doesn't get a pass, as it does have its problems. Similarly to Mega Man: Dr. Wily's Revenge, the game reuses a lot of elements from Contra and Super C, with a good chunk of the levels being from Super C, with the layout being changed around, and again, like mentioned earlier, all of the music is just remixed versions of the music from the original Contra. These reused elements aren't really all that bad, and none of them are executed in a poor way, but I would've preferred seeing original levels rather than remixed versions of older ones. Aside from that, the only other complaint I would have would be the short length, but since this is a Game Boy game, that is to be expected.
Overall, while it does reuse elements from previous games, it is still a surprisingly fun entry in the Contra series, and a great start for the series on handheld systems. I would recommend, especially for those Contra fans who haven't played it yet.
Game #142
Visage
2020
What a diamond in the rough. When it's at its best it's the scariest game I've ever played, there were so many moments where I genuinely couldn't bring myself to even walk forward into a new room out of fear. That being said, the inventory system is so unbelievably terrible and one of the chapters is not scary or fun at all. Kinda hurts to not rate it higher since it's one of the most impactful horror experiences I've ever had but it just has so many issues
Octopath Traveler
2018
I do feel a little bad about this. When I decided I Like RPGs Now the other month I dove into this one with the mindset that I'm going to see the story through and not give up when it gets tricky, and here I am doing that.
The battles are fun, or at least they were 30 hours ago. I kind of dread them now but that's probably me getting impatient with the game. The BP and weakness system create good strategies without getting overwhelming. Thing is, I ended up building a party that relies heavily on multi-target elemental attacks to whittle down the enemy defense, and I just ran into a boss whose ability is disabling those specifically.
Not a huge deal, all I have to do is change my party and grind the weaker guys up while figuring out a new angle of attack. Except... in 40+ hours, this game has not managed to make me care about any of these characters. The story is bad. No, worse: the stories are bad. All 8 of them, equally insipid.
I could do the grinding, or I could stop playing.
Oh well. I was only playing this because I heard such good things about the sequel. I established my baseline. Mission accomplished, moving on.
The battles are fun, or at least they were 30 hours ago. I kind of dread them now but that's probably me getting impatient with the game. The BP and weakness system create good strategies without getting overwhelming. Thing is, I ended up building a party that relies heavily on multi-target elemental attacks to whittle down the enemy defense, and I just ran into a boss whose ability is disabling those specifically.
Not a huge deal, all I have to do is change my party and grind the weaker guys up while figuring out a new angle of attack. Except... in 40+ hours, this game has not managed to make me care about any of these characters. The story is bad. No, worse: the stories are bad. All 8 of them, equally insipid.
I could do the grinding, or I could stop playing.
Oh well. I was only playing this because I heard such good things about the sequel. I established my baseline. Mission accomplished, moving on.