Cardeeson
1998
I’ve wanted to play these games for a while, and after playing the first one I’m super impressed by how well it’s aged. The story is a perfect blend of cool and corny, the cast is great, and it still feels fun to play without feeling janky. The only big issue I have is with the backtracking, it sometimes makes sense but mostly feels like unnecessary padding. It’s not that big of a deal though, this game still hits even 25 years after it came out.
Sekiro is a game I’ve appreciated for a while, but never beat until now. The game skill checks you hard in a lot of places and it can sometimes feel frustrating, but once you master it you feel like a god. My only main gripe is how the game constantly surrounds mini bosses with enemies. The game clearly isn’t built for it so it can be annoying to deal with. Outside of that though Sekiro is still a banger game.
2010
If I’m being honest rage games aren’t really my thing. Most of them nowadays feel like they’re chasing a trend, but the biggest issue they have is not being fun. Super Meat Boy is a pretty rare case where its purposeful and unfair difficulty is still mostly fun. I think the controls could be better and the later levels began to get a bit too hard, but you can tell the care they put into this and I respect the hell outta what this game did do gaming as a whole.
Calling Mario Wonder a ‘wonderful’ game is corny af but that doesn’t make it any less true. I played the Wii and Wii U Mario a lot as a kid and while those games are fine, they are pretty stale in its presentation. This game finally has the soul those games needed. With fun gimmicks, a cool badge system, and fresh enemies this game slaps. The only real problems I have is the difficulty most of the time and those damn search party levels. Those were ass, but everything else here is just amazing.
2009
Madworld does an amazing job at having its own identity, the black and white comic book look with red blood looks super cool. Combined with the stage variety, bosses, soundtrack, and those commentators. It has a perfect style.
That doesn’t mean it’s flawless though. Some stages are way too simple or complex, the camera can be awkward, some motion controls feel forced, and the game crashed on me a few times when too much stuff was happening.
Comparing this game to No More Heroes shows some obvious similarities. While I think No More Heroes is better, Madworld is still a great game that deserves more recognition. A remaster would be amazing to see.
That doesn’t mean it’s flawless though. Some stages are way too simple or complex, the camera can be awkward, some motion controls feel forced, and the game crashed on me a few times when too much stuff was happening.
Comparing this game to No More Heroes shows some obvious similarities. While I think No More Heroes is better, Madworld is still a great game that deserves more recognition. A remaster would be amazing to see.
2007
Super Paper Mario is a game I have a ton of nostalgia for. I played it a lot as a kid but I never remember actually beating it. And now after replaying and finally finishing it I can confidently say that it’s an all time favorite for me.
That isn’t to say it’s flawless though, some of the puzzles can be vague, there is a little too much walking, and any kind of map would have been an amazing edition. Speaking personally I can ignore these issues but I can see why someone couldn’t.
The biggest thing the game excels at and what truly resonated with me as a kid were the story and characters along with the art direction. All the worlds have a very distinct feel to them with amazing style. Fueled by charming characters and unique stories that I still really liked (shoutout to the Mario has to pay off debt chapter).
Overall the Super Paper Mario will always be special to me, and I hope it gets the recognition it deserves someday.
That isn’t to say it’s flawless though, some of the puzzles can be vague, there is a little too much walking, and any kind of map would have been an amazing edition. Speaking personally I can ignore these issues but I can see why someone couldn’t.
The biggest thing the game excels at and what truly resonated with me as a kid were the story and characters along with the art direction. All the worlds have a very distinct feel to them with amazing style. Fueled by charming characters and unique stories that I still really liked (shoutout to the Mario has to pay off debt chapter).
Overall the Super Paper Mario will always be special to me, and I hope it gets the recognition it deserves someday.
Now that I’ve replayed the game twice to get the true ending, I can confidently say this game still kicks ass. I thought all the new stuff in each playthrough was cool, but my opinion of everything didn’t really change much. If you want more out of Armored Core VI after beating it once then I think it’s worth it to play it again
Coffee Talk 2 is mostly on par with the first game. I still liked it, but part of me thinks it could have been better.
This feeling mainly stems from the main story lines in this game, the highs do feel higher here but the lows feel a lot lower. It’s never bad, but I think tweaking some of the weaker plot lines or maybe not even including them would make this game a lot more balanced and probably better than the original.
This feeling mainly stems from the main story lines in this game, the highs do feel higher here but the lows feel a lot lower. It’s never bad, but I think tweaking some of the weaker plot lines or maybe not even including them would make this game a lot more balanced and probably better than the original.
2017
It’s been a while since I’ve replayed Cuphead but even 6 years after it came out this game is still timeless. A unique and gorgeous style blended with great boss rush bullet hell action obviously make an amazing game
Seeing Armored Core 6 get relatively big is pretty cool, especially for the type of game it is. Mecha action games are a pretty niche genre and it’s nice that the reputation Fromsoftware has got helped it so much.
The game also slaps tho. The action is smooth and rapid, running super well. It can be sometimes be mindless but lots of the bosses and AC battles require you to think strategically with changing up your build. I don’t think it’s for everyone but trying out new weapons and leg parts helped everything feel fresh most of the time. The story doesn’t have a huge presence, but I liked the characters and lore. It felt very Dune.
I think some of the older stuff here could have been modernize, like the mission structure and character interactions. But I still thought Armored Core kicked ass and I’ll definitely go for the other endings.
The game also slaps tho. The action is smooth and rapid, running super well. It can be sometimes be mindless but lots of the bosses and AC battles require you to think strategically with changing up your build. I don’t think it’s for everyone but trying out new weapons and leg parts helped everything feel fresh most of the time. The story doesn’t have a huge presence, but I liked the characters and lore. It felt very Dune.
I think some of the older stuff here could have been modernize, like the mission structure and character interactions. But I still thought Armored Core kicked ass and I’ll definitely go for the other endings.
2019
very fun and charming. gotta love all the lower case letters
2016
The Silver Case is cool, that’s the simplest way to describe it. You could say that about any Suda 51 game but here it comes together perfectly. The way each chapter has its own feel, the soundtrack, the old ps1 backgrounds with drawn character portraits it’s just amazing. The moody story also supports this, It can be slow and I don’t think it gets going until chapter 3 but once it hits it hits hard. Overall while I don’t think The Silver Case is flawless you can’t deny how good it is.
2012
Hotline Miami’s biggest accomplishment is its style. The trippy pixel graphics and music with its challenging, brutal gameplay complement each other perfectly. The difficulty really stands out, it can be frustrating sometimes but it ties in with the themes of the story nicely. I do have some problems with how vague everything is even if that’s the point, but as a whole I enjoyed Hotline Miami a lot.
2023
Final Fantasy XVI is a spectacle, but it has a lot of big problems.
The best parts for me were the gameplay and presentation. It’s no Nier Automata but I liked how you could customize your playstyle. The bosses are where it really shines. The combat is great, the visuals are gorgeous, and as a whole the game looks and runs great.
Unfortunately this game fails in 3 major areas. Story, characters, and pacing. Most rpgs struggle with pacing but here it was sooo boring, and felt like padding most of the time. The cast is also pretty hit or miss. Clive is a pretty great main character but most of the side cast get shafted insanely hard (Jill). The villains are also mostly interesting but they just don’t get enough time to develop even in a game as long as this. Both these problems really affect the story, too many plot points take up to much time and some don’t take up enough time. It just didn’t fully click for me.
Overall Final Fantasy XVI has all the parts it’s needs to be a masterpiece, it just doesn’t all come together in the right places to go beyond just good.
The best parts for me were the gameplay and presentation. It’s no Nier Automata but I liked how you could customize your playstyle. The bosses are where it really shines. The combat is great, the visuals are gorgeous, and as a whole the game looks and runs great.
Unfortunately this game fails in 3 major areas. Story, characters, and pacing. Most rpgs struggle with pacing but here it was sooo boring, and felt like padding most of the time. The cast is also pretty hit or miss. Clive is a pretty great main character but most of the side cast get shafted insanely hard (Jill). The villains are also mostly interesting but they just don’t get enough time to develop even in a game as long as this. Both these problems really affect the story, too many plot points take up to much time and some don’t take up enough time. It just didn’t fully click for me.
Overall Final Fantasy XVI has all the parts it’s needs to be a masterpiece, it just doesn’t all come together in the right places to go beyond just good.
2023
As a game I think Pikmin 2 is better than Pikmin 1, but as a playing experience it is significantly more frustrating.
You have way more options to deal with the enemies here compared to Pikmin 1, but they added a bunch of insta kill hazards and annoying randomized enemy locations to try and balance it out, but all it does is make the game very frustrating to play.
Despite all that the fundamental improvements made to the game bring it up so much. Having 2 captains is great, the AI for the Pikmin is way better, and not having a time limit helps to make the gameplay outside of the caves less stressful.
Overall even though Pikmin 2 is flawed in a lot of ways, it’s still pretty good. Especially if you love it’s crushing difficulty and treasure hunting.
You have way more options to deal with the enemies here compared to Pikmin 1, but they added a bunch of insta kill hazards and annoying randomized enemy locations to try and balance it out, but all it does is make the game very frustrating to play.
Despite all that the fundamental improvements made to the game bring it up so much. Having 2 captains is great, the AI for the Pikmin is way better, and not having a time limit helps to make the gameplay outside of the caves less stressful.
Overall even though Pikmin 2 is flawed in a lot of ways, it’s still pretty good. Especially if you love it’s crushing difficulty and treasure hunting.