GoldenEye 007 is a game that piqued my interest for a pretty long time for a handful of reasons. I've heard this game constantly being referred to as one of the greatest FPS games of all time as well as one of the greatest games ever made. Because of this, its influence on the FPS genre & video games as a whole, and me being the Rare fanboy I am, I decided to finally give GoldenEye 007 a try. When I finally did, I ended up being rather disappointed by it all in the end.

The first thing that made me realize right off the bat this may not be what I was expecting was the objective-based missions for each level. Given its a James Bond game its pretty fitting, but going around trying to figure out what to do before the end of each level just bothered me, especially when I would technically beat the level but still have to do it all over again because I missed something. Something I feel I should clarify is I beat it on Secret Agent difficulty. This issue likely wouldn't be as prevalent if I played Agent difficulty, but whenever I play games I always prefer to play on the normal difficulty and I wasn't changing that tradition for this game. The level design is pretty hit or miss. There are some levels that I thought were fine like the first level, the cave, and the final level, but then there were parts where I wanted to permanently delete the game off my Series X and never play it again with levels such as Control, Bunker 2, and Train. Switching through your weapons feels slower than most other games and for the type of game that GoldenEye 007 is, that isn't good. It's pretty slow in the first two DOOM games but it is usually a bit more tolerable in those because generally you are given more space to move and they have more of a focus on moving around to avoid enemies.

The only other positive thing I can really mention besides the amount of influence this game had on the gaming industry is the multiplayer. It's been a pretty long while since I have played it but I played it at a friend's house once and I remember it being pretty decent. Overall, the game as a whole was a mixed bag for me. I tried to enjoy it but at the end of the day, I couldn't help but feel that it didn't live up to the expectations that I built for it. I do plan on playing Perfect Dark sometime in the near future so I hope that one will be a more enjoyable adventure from Rare Ltd.

As I mentioned in my review for the first Dragon Quest, I bought the mobile versions of the original Dragon Quest trilogy on a whim years ago. Last year I decided to finally finish the first game, and now I've chosen to finish its sequel this year. Dragon Quest II is a sequel that is surprisingly a vast improvement to its predecessor.

In terms of gameplay, its exactly the same as the first game, but considering that Dragon Quest is a series known for following tradition that is no surprise. This time however, you're not alone. You get two party members to assist you on your journey, the Prince of Cannock and the Princess of Moonbrooke. Having these party members is pretty much a necessity as the character you play as doesn't have magic this time and the latter parts of the game, especially the final boss would be much harder without them. The other noteble addition is the ability to sail across the land on your ship which has been included in every other game in the series onward. These additions come a long way in making the game feel fresh and interesting in comparison to the first game.

Dragon Quest II is a massive step forward, but there were some things I didn't like about it. My first issue is something that bothered me with the original as well, and that issue would be the random encounter rate. While I can understand why they were a thing in the RPGs of old, it gets really annoying getting spammed with encounters every two steps I make, especially when I'm lost or trying to traverse a new area. My other issue is that the game can be pretty cryptic at times when it comes to finding all the things you need to progress. I looked up guides significantly more this time than I did for DQ1 mostly just to find out where to go or where to find a certain item.

As for grinding in this game? Surprisingly, it wasn't too bad. Enemies drop reasonable amount of exp to where if you do need to grind, you won't need to for long. It's probably just an improvement they added in later versions they made, but considering that grinding seems to be a gripe that most people seem to have, I expected worse.

Dragon Quest II is in my opinion an underappreciated game that laid a lot of the groundwork for the rest of the series. It felt much more like an adventure in comparison to its predecessor. Considering how the original trilogy is on basically everything these days, I'd suggest either emulating or dropping a couple bucks on either the Switch or mobile versions. It may not be as good as the entries afterwards, but with the amount of improvements it makes its definitely worth a playthrough.

Like my review for the Final Mix version of the original, this review is only going over the added content in this version. I will link the review for the base game for those interested.

Base game review: https://www.backloggd.com/u/BrightGalaxy/review/570304/

Like the first game's Final Mix, this game adds more cutscenes, additional weapons for Sora & the gang, color-swapped heartless, and etc. However, there is a lot more additional content that is added this time.

Similar to proud mode in KH1 Final Mix, KH2 Final Mix adds a new difficulty that is supposed to be even harder called critical mode. This difficulty is one of the few flaws I have with the version it doesn't really feel like the step up in difficulty from proud mode that it was intended to be. Every time I play critical I swear I have an easier time with it than I do with proud mode. Later games do improve upon critical mode's difficulty and make them noticeably harder like it is intended to though, but its still weird they didn't make it less forgiving.

Sora gets a new drive form that brings back some of the iconic moves from the first game such as Sonic Blade, Ares Arcanium, and Ragnarök. Not only is this drive form a blast to use but it is almost as busted if not more so than final form.

Mushroom XIII are new heartless that act very similar to the heartless that were added in KH1 Final Mix. Some of the members function as more refined versions of those and some of them add new gimmicks like that mushroom in the Mysterious Tower that made me want to tear my hair out when I was going for the record needed to complete Jiminy's journal. Minus the few annoying ones, I really like Mushroom XIII and the minigames they bring to the table. Major improvement from the enemies added in the first game.

Unlike KH1 Final Mix, KH2 Final Mix adds a brand new area to Hollow Bastion/Radiant Garden called the Cavern of Remembrance. This area will require you to level up most of your drive forms and will really test your mobility and skill with the number of powerful enemies that also appear as you venture deeper into it. At the end lies a room containing 13 data replicas of each member of Organization XIII.

Onto the main course, the boss fights. They added a lot more this time compared to KH1 FM which only added Xemnas. You get to fight Roxas in the main story which is not only a fun, challenging boss fight but also one of the most kino moments in the series. You get to fight the absent silhouettes of the Organization members that were only in Chain of Memories too which are all pretty easy if you're around mid-level. Then when you're at max level you'll be ready to take on the Organization XIII replica data. The data battles are essentially just more difficult versions of the same boss fights you fought in the story and post-game but more difficult and with a lot more health. These are easily the best part and addition to this version. Lastly, there is the Lingering Will who is basically a teaser for a future game like Xemnas was in the Final Mix version of the first game. He is easily the hardest boss in the game and one of the hardest bosses in the series who requires you to learn his moves and master this game if you want to beat him.

The secret ending added in this game is amazing to watch and a fantastic teaser to Birth by Sleep. With the added theater mode, you are free to enjoy it and any other cutscene you like as many times as you want too.

Kingdom Hearts 2 Final Mix elevates an already fantastic game to easily being one of the greatest games of all-time. If you have a PlayStation console, PC, or even an Xbox One, PLAY THIS MASTERPIECE!

DuckTales Remastered is another example of how remasters and remakes should be done by going out of their way to deliver an experience that surpasses the original. Not only does it look much better than the original, but they also got most if not all of the old voice actors from the cartoon to reprise their roles for the added in-game cutscenes that enhance the experience and make it feel like an authentic continuation of the old TV show. Another addition added that the original did not have was a prologue level that serves as a way to get comfortable with the controls and how the game plays. You can even dive and swim in Scrooge's money bin like he does in the old cartoon. I haven't played many of WayForward's games but if the Shantae games all have the dedication & care that they put into this remaster then I'm definitely in for a great time.

Beat this one on NSO and all I can say is that it's definitely a fantastic on-rails shooter and one of Treasure's best. Gameplay-wise, it's near perfect, the difficulty feels just right and the shooting and swordplay are simple and extremely fun to use. There are only a few things that bring the game down a little bit.

Like the controller for the console this was originally on, the controls are a little unconventional and take a bit of getting used to. However, once you do that, it is pretty much smooth sailing from there. One other thing I'd like to point out is that the aiming is a little too slow. It gets annoying when I'm trying to get rid of a bunch of enemies and it takes five seconds to go around aiming across the screen when the aiming could definitely be just a tad faster. It really becomes a prominent issue during the final boss when you have to shoot down all of those tiny green orbs. The last flaw is just that it's pretty short and could have used a few extra levels.

Even with all of the minor issues aside, it's a fantastic game and easily one of the best games on the N64 and out of Treasure's portfolio.

Back when the Wii U launched there was one game I was looking forward to and curious as to what Nintendo would do with said game, that being whatever 3d Mario game Nintendo was cooking. 3d platformers have always been one of my favorite game genres and with Nintendo's last console 3d Mario game being Super Mario Galaxy 2, I had very high expectations with what they could make with the new hardware. Then E3 13 came around, and I woke up to the news of whatever 3d Mario game being a Mario 3d Land sequel. Needless to say, I was pretty disappointed at the time. Even with said disappointment in mind, I still thought it looked intriguing enough to get when I had my Wii U. Much like everything else that wasn't Smash, I didn't get far in the game and would eventually abandon my playthrough.

In 2020, Nintendo would go on to announce this version of the game that came with a bonus game, Bowser's Fury. Having not finished 3d Land and with the extra game added, I thought purchasing a Switch copy was well worth the money. I completed Super Mario 3d World last year and a few weeks ago I finally got around to finishing Bowser's Fury. Since I have completed both games, I've decided to write this review.

Super Mario 3d World: Aside from Super Mario 64, Super Mario 3d Land was definitely my least favorite 3d Mario game. I still liked it, but in comparison to the other 3d Mario games and other platformers like the Banjo games, it never scratched that itch for me. Super Mario 3d World is a big improvement over its 3DS predecessor and it did not disappoint.

The levels have more variety and are more refined, there are bosses in this game that aren't just Boom-Boom or 11 different variations of Bowser, the double cherries that allow you to clone yourself, and there is the catsuit. For as stupid as Cat Mario sounds and looks, it is easily one of the most fun power-ups in the series. The catsuit allows you to dive into enemies and climb onto walls. The wall climbing alone makes it one of the most useful and fun power-ups as it can save you from a ton of deaths or help you get collectibles easier. The last notable inclusion is co-op. This is also a big deal because it is the only full-fledged 3d Mario to have co-op that isn't just doing tasks for player one. That alone makes this game worth playing if you have friends around.

It may not have been the Super Mario Galaxy 3 I was hoping for, but it is still a fantastic 3d Mario that lives up to the quality of the games that came before it.

Bowser's Fury: This was an interesting one to play through. It reminds me a lot of Mario Odyssey and with how collecting the moons in that game worked, but it also felt fresh. The impression I got from playing this is that they want to make the next 3d Mario open-world with this game as sort of a test for what is to come. In that case, I really enjoyed the freedom that Bowser's Fury gives you in exploring the world and choosing which bells you'll get as opposed to the more linear approach some of the other 3d Mario games have taken.

My only real flaw with Bowser's Fury is that it is rather short and it can easily be completed within a few hours.

If you previously owned Super Mario 3d World then I wouldn't say Bowser's Fury alone is worth dropping $60 for, but if you're one of those who missed it on Wii U then it is a must-have for the Nintendo Switch.

McDonald's Treasure Land Adventure is a Sega Genesis classic that reminds me of a time when going to McDonald's was a treat. The salty fries, crunchy McNuggets, different themed resturants, the toy I'd get when I opened my Happy Meal, the delicious McDonald Land cookies they desperately need to bring back, and lastly seeing Ronald & friends were all what made eating at McDonald's a joyous expirence. McDonald's used to be a happy place during a happy time before they modernized it making most resturants look like a soulless husk of what they used to be. I could go on about my McDonald's nostalgia, but we're not here to talk about a supersized corporation. We're here to talk about a video game using characters made by them. That game being McDonald's Treasure Land Adventure made by the one & only Treasure.

You play as Ronald McDonald who is on a mission to find all the pieces of a map that will lead him to some treasure, hence the name of the game. As far as the gameplay goes, its a pretty simple platformer. You'll run, jump, and climb across the platforms to move onto the next level. At the end of each world, you will fight a boss. You might be wondering, How does Ronald fight enemies? Does he feed them an endless supply of big macs? Nope, he uses magical wizard powers that I did not know he was capable of. A missed opportunity from Treasure, but I digress.

As a platformer and as the first game that Treasure created, its decent. It's no Mario but as far as platfomers & licenced games go around the time this game released, I'd say its one of the better ones. It doesn't overstay its welcome and its relatively easy compared to a majority of games made during the 4th generation of consoles.

In conclusion, I had a fun time playing through it. It may not have anything on Treasure's later games like Gunstar Heroes, Sin & Punishment, and Ikaruga, but its an interesting title in their catalogue definitely worth playing.

Before playing The Silver Case, the most experience I had with visual novels was playing through the original Ace Attorney a few times and then eventually giving up on all of those playthroughs from both boredom and my previous lack of consistency when it came to completing games. I eventually did finish a third playthrough I started of that game late last year, partly thanks to The Silver Case as this was the game that gained both my interest and respect for the genre.

The Silver Case is a great visual novel that will captivate your attention with its interesting story, characters, and its unique presentation. While its story can be a little hard to grasp at times, the game's episodic nature and switching between Matchmaker & Placebo were good ways to give players a better understanding of what happened and at keeping players interested.

The puzzle solving isn't the best in this game, but luckily you have the option to skip through them if you just want to progress through the story. There were also some parts of the game where it is easy to get lost or confused without a guide. I briefly got lost in one part involving the Typhoon apartments and in a previous playthrough I remember spending a lot more time than I should have on those ten towers toward the end of the game. Other than those two gripes, there isn't really anything else I can say bad about the game.

The Silver Case is a great visual novel that not only is one of Suda51's best works but also got me to give a second chance to a genre I previously did not care for.

Deadly Premonition is a game that I've heard is very divisive and you either love it or hate it. I'm on the camp that absolutely loves it. It's a game that is just oozing with personality. All of the characters have their goofy quirks and that is one of the many things that made me fall in love with this game. York quickly became one of my favorite protagonists since I took a liking to his character and how he is the perfect blend of serious and comedic. The story was great and kept me hooked the entire time. The ending was pretty weird but also really captivating and satisfying that gives the game a proper conclusion. I hear the other versions of the game add sequel bait which sucks since this is one of those games where I can safely say it didn't really need one.

Gameplay-wise, it's discount RE4 but even with that in mind, I still had fun shooting down enemies as I explored areas for clues. The driving sections were also enjoyable since hearing York interact with Zach and sometimes a few of the other supporting characters made for some funny moments and we get to see some of York's personality shine too. The only times I was really annoyed with the driving was when you had to drive long distances or when you made a wrong turn and had to go back to a place where you are familiar with. Maybe it's because I played this on an Xbox Series X, but I had very few framerate issues or technical problems during my playthrough. The worst I dealt with was the framerate dropping during the sections where you run from the Raincoat killer but even then it may have been designed that way.

Deadly Premonition was one of the few games I played over the course of 2022 that I absolutely fell in love with and I would definitely recommend it, specifically this version since I hear the other versions perform worse or add unnecessary stuff like the sequel bait. Speaking of the sequel, I really want to get around to playing it and I hope it doesn't disappoint.

Bonus: My favorite cutscene in the game: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-41YUSZ9VAg

The 3ds is a handheld that I have always held a soft spot for and was always looking forward to seeing what games would be coming out for it. This lead me to watching a video that listed and showed gameplay of all sorts of games I'd eventually come to try such as Yokai Watch, Project X Zone, One Piece Umlimited World Red, and of course this. Intrigued by its weird, dreamlike aesthetic and interesting looking gameplay, I really wanted to play this. At the time I saw this video, it was a Japan-only release so when I heard it was getting a localization, I was pretty happy even if I'd be waiting awhile to get enough money to buy it. Time passed and I eventually got a Ps Vita. Already knowing that they announced and released this port I bought it instead of the original 3ds version. I had a lot of fun playing through this even if this game tore me a new one multiple times during the 27 hours I played to get all 5 endings.

I knew well before I started playing Sayonara Umihara Kawase that it was going to be difficult, but even with this knowledge, I was surprised that it was as hard as it was. Even though I found this game to be pretty harsh difficulty-wise, it rarely felt unfair when I died. Beating the game will require a solid understanding of its mechanics, trial & error, and most importantly patience.

The first 10 levels serve as almost a tutorial for what the rest of the game has to offer. There are also some instructions in the gallery you can read that showcase some of the tricks you'll use to move around with your lure. With those two things in mind, the game does its job in teaching you how it works and preparing for the more difficult levels.

This game has a decent amount of content in it too. You get 4 characters Umihara, young Umihara, Noko, and Emiko. Umihara is the default character, Noko has the ability to slow down time for a few seconds, and Emiko and young Umihara have the ability to make a checkpoint if you get to a certain part of a level. The variety not only makes the characters feel a little bit more unique from one another but they also help make the game a little bit easier. This version adds 10 new levels the 3ds version doesn't have and it even throws in the original Umihara Kawase as a bonus. I haven't seriously started a playthrough of the original Umihara Kawase but I probably will eventually down the line.

The only things I can really say bothered me were there were a few times where I'd try to reel the lure back to a jump and I wouldn't be able to get the momentum I should have gotten and that one last part on level 24. Where that tiny gap to door 55 is placed is absolute bullshit and I am convinced I just got lucky on it.

I may have nearly gotten filtered a handful of times, but I never gave up and I'm glad I didn't. This is the first game that I've beaten in a very long time where I am genuinely proud of myself for doing so. If you're looking for a fun platformer that will put your skills to the test then I would definitely recommend this on any available platform.

Good game with a great story but definitely not a game without its flaws. I enjoyed the soundtrack and exploring Lospass Island, but I did not get that DS feeling when I had to constantly go back and forth across the island to do fetch quests. Pretty sure the joke Suda wanted to tell is since video games are considered to be just time wasters, the game decides to literally waste your time by doing the former and with having to do like 30 basic math problems at the end. As annoying as some of the gameplay can be, I still had a good time with the game but think it would have benefited from having more of a visual novel style like The Silver Case did.

The first time I saw this game was at a GameStop inside a mall and thinking to myself that it was "just another shovelware game" on the Wii and either bought something else or nothing at all. How wrong 10-year-old me was. It doesn't surpass the charm of the original game but it is still a quality remake that has its own charm to it.

Klonoa may look like a mix between a Sonic and Kingdom Hearts character in this version, but I still really like his design. The game still looks pretty good even with the graphic overhaul and while the voice acting is reminiscent of a mediocre anime dub, it also gives the remake a little extra charm that helps it stand out from the original. They even took the time to add a few extra costumes too which include his appearances in the original version, Klonoa 2, and an original costume. After playing this, the newer remaster feels a bit lackluster in comparison since in that version there is no option for an English dub, worse graphics, and costumes locked behind a paywall. This remake is a perfect example of how a remake should be done and feels like a labor of love from the developers.

Another day, another One Piece game review from me. This time its the other 3ds game that never left Japan, One Piece Great Pirate Colosseum!

Between Unlimited World Red, Unlimited Cruise SP (the only 3ds OP game I haven't played), Super Grand Battle X, Romance Dawn, and lastly Great Pirate Colosseum, I'd say this one is definitely the most interesting out of Luffy's 3D outings. It's a traditional 2D fighting game which for One Piece is exceptionally rare and it crosses over with a game that plays exactly like it that was also developed by Arc Sys for the 3ds, Dragon Ball Extreme Butoden.

As far as gameplay goes, it plays like any other 2D fighting game. You have your punch & kick buttons and you can press them to create stylish combos, assist characters to summon that can lend you a hand in a variety of ways, a mid-air counter attack, and an ultimate move you can use to dish out big damage once your meter gets to a certain percent. There are plenty of gameplay mechanics to make it interesting and with how different each character's moveset is, it works.

Roster-wise, its nothing too special. Pretty much every playable character in this game is also playable in Burning Blood even if Gild & Lucci were DLC in that game. There are a lot of assist characters though, they consist of pretty much anybody you can think of including some of the characters in the Zou arc which took me by surprise considering how new that arc was at the time. The stages were probably what I found the most interesting. Sure it has the basic predictible ones like Alabasta, Corrida Colosseum, and Marineford, but a few I did not expect like the sea train from Water 7, the Gran Tesoro, and as previously mentioned Zou. Stack all of this on top of cross-play with DB Extreme Butoden and you have a stacked amount of content for a 3ds 2D fighter.

That being said, it definitely has its issues. It felt a bit sluggish and slow which gave the game a janky feeling. I watched footage of both DB Extreme Butoden & Great Pirate Colosseum and this game is definitely slower in comparison to Extreme Butoden. Also, the online mode is locked at the start of the game which is a really strange choice on the developers part.

The story mode was also slightly confusing but still perfectly manageable once I looked up what little info there is on it. Basically from what I gather is that you do some fights till you get to the end, but along the way you have to make choices that will make the characters in your crew happy. Consistent failure to do so will make them leave. This only happened to me once since I had zero understanding of what to do. After knowing how it works and randomly guessing on which answer to choose (I can't read Japanese), it wasn't too bad. Thankfully, the story mode is a lot shorter than Super Grand Battle X because that game's story got repetitive.

If you have Citra or/and a modded 3ds then I'd say its worth a download. Its far from perfect, but its still a fun fighter to mess around with that most likely gets insane when connected with the Dragon Ball game (I never bothered trying to, I don't even think I ended up unlocking the online either). On one final note, Arc Sys, MAKE ONE PIECE FIGHTERZ!!!!!!!!!