BlueKunai
TWEWY is the quintessential DS RPG that is just incapable of being replicated on other platforms from both a presentation and gameplay perspective. The Pin-based combat system allows for a massive amount of customization, the story and characters are leagues above anything else Tetsuya Nomura's name has been attached to and the visual design and soundtrack embrace the mid-late 2000s in such a charming way.
An expansion of Spyro 2s gameplay but with the side activities dialled up to 11. The core gameplay is as great as ever and it features some of the funniest writing in the series, but the side content is such a mixed bag that it kinda drags it down. For every fun gameplay style like the skateboard and Sgt Byrd, there's the asinine like Bentley and Hunter's speedway challenges and the downright annoying like Agent 9 and the catacomb tanks.
Crash 3 with none of the soul. A perfectly passable platformer with a pretty good OST, but it lacks any real ideas of its own, has none of the polish and visual fidelity Naughty Dog were capable of and doubles down with even more vehicles that control worse than the ones in Warped three years prior on inferior hardware.
Simple but satisfying gameplay enhanced by constantly evolving levels and enemies, a charming and adorable exterior that belies a surprisingly heavy story and a great OST from start to finish.
1999
CTR doesn't get nearly the credit it deserves for how satisfying the boost system is to learn and master. The rich mechanics and track designs elevate it far above all the other Mario Kart clones of the time even comparing it to the 2019 remake.
Satisfyingly weighty controls and challenging gameplay, beautiful visual design with peerless FMVs for the era, and some of the best audio design on the PS1. Biggest drawback is the frustrating checkpoint save system that was thankfully rectified in the sequel.
A cut above most of the other licensed platformers of the time. Not the masterpiece many rose-tinted glasses will to to sell it to you as, but still a very good time. Varied and interesting level design, ozzing with Toy Story charm and a soundtrack that goes way harder than it has any right to.
A sequel done right. Building off the foundation of the original while controlling better and streamlining in all the right ways.
2000
Playing with friends really is the only way to get the most out of this game. The minigames are fantastic where they work but utterly frustrating where they don't, and the story mode is an exercise in misery if you plan on collecting everything due to some crippling handicaps and the often stupidly over-buffed AI.
Another in the myriad of license platformers I played in the early 2000s, but one of the handful I've still gone out of my way to play multiple times. Nothing groundbreaking, but pretty enjoyable and with plenty of laughs not just lifted straight from the movie.
1998
Essentially a prototype of what would become the much beloved Toy Story 2 licensed game. While it doesn't have the level of polish, interesting level design or charm of Toy Story 2 it's still worth checking out if you were a fan of TS2. The dynamic seed-based puzzle solving and platforming are good enough for it to not be entirely overlooked.
The criminally overlooked sequel to Oddworld: Abe's Oddysee. While I prefer the stages and story of the original, this one takes the gameplay of the first and polishes it to a mirror sheen. The difficulty is ramped right up but balanced out with the new Quick-save system that alleviates Oddysee's frustrating checkpoint-based saves. The selection of hazards and creatures is greatly expanded and provides all matter of creative and challenging gauntlets. The Magog on the March segments are also the height of the comedy in this series.
2005
General gameplay is pretty rough around the edges for DoubleFine's first whack at a the action platformers of the 2000s with a little mix of adventure game design that Tim Schafer is known for. It's well and truly made up for with its memorable cast of characters, inventive worlds, striking visual design and top notch writing.
A servicable albiet clunky collectathon platformer with an impressive amount of content and really captures the Looney Tunes energy.
2002
A mildly enjoyable platformer with a striking visual design and surprisingly banging soundtrack for something so obscure. Almost insultingly short though.