In some fairness to the game, it’s probably more fun when you’re not under a massive time crunch to finish before the servers shut down forever. Fuck Nintendo!

This one is tough bc stylistically I kinda love this game honestly, Hytopia’s obsession with fashion is so dumb but in the cutest way and it leads to some really silly moments that are perfectly self aware and charming. But actually playing it… wow this is so much worse than I remember.

The structure is an immediate red flag, instead of full on dungeons the game is split into 128 mini-levels, 16 per area. They can be fun, but just like the shrines in BotW, their extremely short length makes it impossible to get any real substance out of them, ideas come and go way too quickly to be worthwhile and the game never really has any good moments where you really have to think.

I think this was intentional bc of the way that you’re incentivized to grind these levels over and over for materials to make all the extra costumes in this game, so they make the challenge more about execution instead of figuring out tricky solutions. Fair enough I guess but… wow these levels suck!

They’re either boring or frustrating with very few being genuinely fun. They also get super repetitive before long, making this game a nightmare to marathon for long sessions (again, fuck Nintendo!). There were plenty of moments where me and the friends I was playing with all asked each other how some of these levels could’ve possible been approved.

The most memorable examples include a minecart chase that’s hectic in the worst way and a room with a redead, an enemy you can only damage with fire, despite the fact that only one team member has the fire item, and then when you kill it it spawns four more, despite the fact that they all have an AOE attacks that takes up half the room. It’s not all this bad, but there is some baffling game design at points. Also who tf decided to implement limited lives in a Zelda game??

I played this as a kid but never had anyone to play with so I never made it far, I thought now that I was playing with friends I’d enjoy it properly this time but no this game is just flat out not good. Makes me really want to try out Four Swords Adventure though!

Coming from a lifelong Guitar Hero/Rock Band fan, this is incredibly frustrating.

Mechanically the game is just a watered down version of previous titles, the standard instruments don’t have HOPOs, whammying, chords are relegated to exclusively two notes split across a line, and overdrive has been significantly simplified as well. But whatever, it’s a more casual version of the real instrument support that we always knew was coming, and that was supposed to satisfy fans like me.

I am NOT impressed… holy shit how did they fumble this so badly?? It’s only guitar, which is already a big downgrade from any of the Rock Band series. The vast majority of controllers ever produced for the series aren’t compatible. The engine is pretty wonky with awkward strum mechanics. And worst of all, the calibration is damn near unusable. I have no idea what happened but I have NEVER had to spend so long tweaking settings to get a setup that’s even remotely playable in one of these games.

Besides the mechanics, the game is a soulless husk. Fuck Fortnite and its bland ass corporate artstyle, its ugly animations, its total lack of identity aside from sucking up things that people already liked. Fuck this games as a platform bullshit where everything it has to offer is just a lesser version of something else. There’s SO much lost here from the older games in terms of personality, charm, and unique memorable moments.

And I haven’t even mentioned the worst part yet which is this god awful live service bullshit that it forces on you. There is NO base setlist! No modes other than quickplay either! Instead you have a selection of 15-20 songs that rotate like they’re Splatoon maps, making each one frustratingly impermanent. And plenty of those slots will inevitably be taken up by boring picks that aren’t fun to play on any instrument. But don’t worry, take a quick detour to the in game store and you’ll see dozens of songs you’d much rather play, for $5 each!!! Rock Band’s dlc songs were $2 by the way, and that was after an expansive and diverse catalog of fun songs included with the game.

And to whoever wants to tell me “the old games will always be there,” that’s not true!! Rock Band is dead! The servers and music stores for the first three games have been offline for ages, it’s only a matter of time before the same happens to 4, they’ve already stopped adding dlc specifically because they’re focused on Festival now. Any chance I had of getting a real Rock Band 5 is completely gone now.

This would be a 2/10 if the charts weren’t admittedly very good. Nothing else about this game works, it’s a much MUCH worse version of the guitar/bass parts of Rock Band 4 which was already a worse version of Rock Band 2/3. I’m so mad that I had expectations for this at all, I will continue enjoying these charts in Clone Hero.

Simply put, the best feeling GH-like you will ever play. This engine feels perfect, it’s so easy to set up and calibrate, and so customizable that there’s really nothing to complain about here.

Combine that with the ludicrous amounts of custom content (that’s often better than anything from the official games) available for this game thanks to the incredibly talented and constantly active community, and you have a package that’s damn near impossible to turn down.

I gotta say I still miss the animated backgrounds from the base games (tho there is a workaround using pre-rendered videos, but it’s just not the same imo) and the career modes (no workaround for these as far as I know), and that alone is good enough reason for me to continue to go back to the official games.

If this game were able to mimic those features it would be a 10 for me, at the very least it’s without a doubt the most comprehensive experience for quickplay, and the easiest to slip into on a whim. Extremely accessible and perfectly caters to every level of player, thank god for the fan community

Just about the most “classic” you can get from this era, this game finally strikes that golden formula that makes for a good balance of story and gameplay. The customization from III is lost but battles are now way more involved which is cool, and the story/gameplay play into each other way more than was ever possible before. The story is not that good tbh but it’s got some really good moments. The whole thing is just so comfortable to slip into and get absorbed in, very accessible and fun. Pales in comparison to what comes later but it’s still a game I like a lot, more than I should honestly, it’s equal to III for me.

Not my first time playing this game, but this playthrough really made me appreciate just how incredible this game is. Daytime stages are pretty much the best a 3D platformer can get, the blistering high speeds and memorable level designs make for an infinitely replayable experience that gives you the overwhelming urge to get better at the game. Nighttime stages aren’t the pinnacle of action games or anything, but I still find them all enjoyable. This game can get quite difficult at points, but that’s honestly one of my favorite things about it, it’s not afraid to push you to your absolute limit. Unleashed really was the perfect title here. There’s a ton of content here too, one of the longest Sonic games and it earns it. Aesthetically, it’s the peak of the series. The game looks fantastic even 15 years later, voice acting is top notch, and it has arguably the most well developed soundtrack in the whole series. This is now neck and neck for being my absolute favorite Sonic game, it really doesn’t get much better than this. Every single part of the Unleashed playthrough experience is fun.

Never been the biggest fan of 2D Mario, but this is a great time! The creativity bleeding through the levels in this game is definitely the reason it’s been drawing so much praise. These rarely change much of the actual gameplay, much of the game is still quite vanilla in that sense, but presentation wise it’s constantly surprising and has a ton of charm. The wonder seed transformations are easily the highlights of the game and are so much fun to seek out. The badges are a bit of a missed opportunity imo bc you can only equip one at a time and I can’t help but feel that really limits Mario’s potential moveset, and the level design doesn’t do much to encourage consistently experimenting with these either, but for what it’s worth Mario still does feel really good to control no matter what you have equipped. I don’t agree with this game being compared with the all time greats of the genre like Rayman Legends or Tropical Freeze, but I absolutely can recommend this game as a remarkably solid 2D platformer that never really gets stale.

Had pretty high expectations with this and they were totally surpassed, this is a really fantastic sequel that innovates and expands on the original game’s ideas in the perfect way while trimming the fat and making for an immensely smooth gameplay experience. I didn’t realize just how much better traversal would feel here, you can move unbelievably fast at points and it’s super impressive. The added movement options and ability to disable swing assist made me have so much fun with the movement in this game, it’s some of the best traversal I’ve ever seen across the entire medium. Combat is also a pretty solid upgrade, they finally struck the right balance between gadgets and abilities to make it satisfying and even a decent amount harder than the first game without resulting to obnoxious damage sponge enemies. The bosses are way more fun this time too, more dynamic with much more interesting move sets. The action setpieces here are truly remarkable, this game is just proof that Insomniac is now the best in the industry when it comes to these. The story doesn’t hit the same emotional peaks as the original, but it’s still a really great Spider-Man story with what might be my favorite incarnation of the symbiote yet. I love this version of the world so much and I love that Insomniac is still interested in taking creative risks with the storytelling. This game made me like this version of Miles a lot more too, he really comes into his own here. Having a game where you’re constantly switching between two distinct Spider-Men is so much fun, I seriously loved almost every second of this. Well worth the wait, one of the best games I’ve played all year.

Fun time, had no idea what to expect as a friend had me play this blind but pleasantly surprised by what ended up being a relatively unique experience.

The use of roguelike elements surprised me most, but the most impressive part of this game I think is the way that each choice you make ends up branching off so drastically and so naturally. And there’s lots of branches too! Honestly a bit overwhelming just how many different paths there are, but I guess that’s where the replay value comes from.

Very creative “endings” here, and the game as a whole is quite well written, especially as you get to the end. Gorgeous artstyle as well.

Can’t say I expected this at all… I honestly don’t know what possessed me to replay this bc I hated it when I first tried it three years ago but I’m glad I did bc I feel my perspective on this game has softened a good deal. There are still parts of this game that I find unforgivably atrocious, especially in the second half, and to be honest there are very few things I find all that good either. Combat is clunky and the game is one of the mashiest I’ve ever played, level progression is arbitrarily confusing and there’s so much unnecessary back and forth in each world. But underneath all that is a game with a lot of heart, even if it’s corny and easy to make fun of. I get a strange sense of nostalgia from this game, I love the presentation and especially the soundtrack. There are small bits of the story I latch onto and find enjoyable. And while the gameplay certainly isn’t good, I can enjoy some mindless button mashing every one in a while, especially when it’s accompanied by such a fun world. I can’t bring myself to call this a good game… but I have a soft spot for it now.

What an amazing remake, takes everything that made the original special and modernizes it. I still think it’s worth playing the original alongside this bc they do feel different in areas, but this feels more like a modern adaptation than anything. RE4 was a fantastic game for 2005 standards, and now RE4R is a fantastic game for 2023 standards. They’ve expanded the story in some cool ways, still nothing crazy but I enjoyed seeing the additions. I like most of the characters a lot more here, especially Ashley. The movement feels fantastic here and this is honestly probably the most fun I’ve ever had with a shooter, even if that’s not this game’s primary genre. It’s tense as hell with resources at points, but it’s always possible to just barely scrape by and it feels amazing every time. It keeps the same horror action balance as the original but increases both sides of the equation, so it’s scarier and even more action packed than the original, all while maintaining a fun and campy tone that somehow doesn’t feel out of place. The whole thing is a super delicate balancing act but they pull it off so perfectly you hardly even notice. It’s just an amazing time start to finish, it definitely lived up to all my expectations and surprised me in ways I didn’t even expect.

It’s a guilty pleasure idc, Sonic with a sword is cool af and I won’t pretend otherwise

Gameplay wise this is perfectly competent at best, mediocre at worst, I find it mindless fun honestly. But the reason I love this game definitely isn’t the gameplay… this is the end of an era in many ways. The last game to have Crush 40 on the soundtrack, the last game with the best voice cast Sonic has ever had, and the last game to genuinely take itself seriously. It’s the embodiment of everything missing from the soul of the series today and it’s got a surprisingly good story, won’t blow your mind but it’s very heartfelt especially at the end.

One of the coolest final bosses in the series btw and arguably the best selection of vocal tracks

When I was in middle school, this was very rapidly becoming one of my favorite games, and I would play the mobile port any chance I got. Eventually it got to a point where every day after school I would do one no save run of the game. Most days I wouldn’t finish. I only ever made it to the end of the game one time, and I remember vividly how great it felt.

But even then, I was aware of how much easier the mobile port was due to things like widescreen support, smoother framerate, no pit of death, etc. I always wondered how people playing on Genesis ever made it through the game with no save files.

Well tonight I booted up Sonic 2 through the Mega Collection on GameCube to see how 16-bit games look on a CRT, and I was just having so much fun with the game that test run quickly evolved into a full playthrough. I still get really tense around the final levels. But I did it: all on the original version, no save states.

This probably isn’t impressive to most people reading this, but I wanted to leave this accomplishment here as a monument to all the time I sunk into this game as a kid. I love this game so much.

This was better than I remember, I didn’t really like this game much at all last time I played it but I had a good amount of fun this time. I can’t help but feel that gameplay wise it’s a big downgrade from Unleashed in every way… most of that is probably due to the Wii’s hardware. This is a much slower paced game, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing. It’s generally pretty fun, although over way too fast. It’s easy to look at this game now as the beginning of many of the trends that would end up leading this series into one of its worst eras, especially in regards to the writing and tone of it all, and while I don’t like those aspects, I don’t think that should undermine the fact that this particular installment is a pretty pleasant playthrough from start to finish. Could be a lot better… but could be a lot worse. I like it enough and wouldn’t mind coming back to it