Earningcone1442
1986
Please do not start with this game if you want to get into metroid! If you want to experience the first game in the timeline, play Zero Mission (the remake of this game), or if you want to start with a more linear experience start with Fusion. The only reason anyone should play this game today is if you are already a metroid fan and you really wanna see how the series started cause this game is not good. Plus if you play Zero Mission and you still feel the need to play this game, Zero Mission includes an emulation of the original metroid with its only unlock requirement being beating an actual good metroid game.
The lag and sprite flickering are annoying and slow down the pace of the game even more than its already slow gameplay. Being unable to shoot downward or crouch also make actually hitting enemies really obnoxious to the point where it's not worth trying to hit anything until you get either the screw attack or the wave beam. I haven't played the og metroid 2 yet, but I am pretty confidant that the simple addition of being about the crouch and shoot downward already make it much better than NEStroid.
The screw attack is by far the best upgrade in the game and greatly improves its playability but its also really janky. It feels like it doesn't work about 30% of the time which really adds up in a game that will require you to grind for health or missiles at some point if you are going for 100% like I did. The drop rates for health and missiles especially are also terrible. The missile drop rate is randomly decided when you entire a room and once you hit that random cap, no more missiles will drop until you enter a new room. This random number can be as low as 0, so if you're really unlucky with the rng you can spend as long as 30-40 minutes grinding for missiles and health.
Exploration is pretty bad as well. I didn't have trouble navigating without a map since I've played Zero Mission many times, but NEStroid has so many "hidden" paths that lead nowhere and there are many areas which would have greatly benefited from some sort of hidden shortcut to reduce the amount of backtracking or taking overly long routes to what should be an easy to reach destination or item. A bunch of the rooms have the exact same layout too which can get confusing if you're not keeping track of where you're going or if you're unfamiliar with the general metroid 1 map layout.
As far as positives go, most of the music still holds up really well. Brinstar and Kraid are obvious highlights, but tracks like Norfair and the escape sequence are also pretty solid. The only track I really don't like is Ridley since I think the loop is too short so it gets really annoying.
I cannot stress enough, do not play this unless you really need to know how the series started. That's the only reason why I finally got myself through it after multiple attempts over the years. It's a game a have a lot of respect for since it started one of my favorite videogames series, but I'm never playing it again since Zero Mission completely replaces this game.
The lag and sprite flickering are annoying and slow down the pace of the game even more than its already slow gameplay. Being unable to shoot downward or crouch also make actually hitting enemies really obnoxious to the point where it's not worth trying to hit anything until you get either the screw attack or the wave beam. I haven't played the og metroid 2 yet, but I am pretty confidant that the simple addition of being about the crouch and shoot downward already make it much better than NEStroid.
The screw attack is by far the best upgrade in the game and greatly improves its playability but its also really janky. It feels like it doesn't work about 30% of the time which really adds up in a game that will require you to grind for health or missiles at some point if you are going for 100% like I did. The drop rates for health and missiles especially are also terrible. The missile drop rate is randomly decided when you entire a room and once you hit that random cap, no more missiles will drop until you enter a new room. This random number can be as low as 0, so if you're really unlucky with the rng you can spend as long as 30-40 minutes grinding for missiles and health.
Exploration is pretty bad as well. I didn't have trouble navigating without a map since I've played Zero Mission many times, but NEStroid has so many "hidden" paths that lead nowhere and there are many areas which would have greatly benefited from some sort of hidden shortcut to reduce the amount of backtracking or taking overly long routes to what should be an easy to reach destination or item. A bunch of the rooms have the exact same layout too which can get confusing if you're not keeping track of where you're going or if you're unfamiliar with the general metroid 1 map layout.
As far as positives go, most of the music still holds up really well. Brinstar and Kraid are obvious highlights, but tracks like Norfair and the escape sequence are also pretty solid. The only track I really don't like is Ridley since I think the loop is too short so it gets really annoying.
I cannot stress enough, do not play this unless you really need to know how the series started. That's the only reason why I finally got myself through it after multiple attempts over the years. It's a game a have a lot of respect for since it started one of my favorite videogames series, but I'm never playing it again since Zero Mission completely replaces this game.
Retro did the impossible with DKC returns. They not only managed to revive a 2D platforming franchise, but they also made DK fun to play as. With tropical freeze retro did the impossible again. They managed to fine tune the new DKC formula and gameplay to the point of tropical freeze becoming one of the best 2D platformers of all time.
I love Tropical freeze. Between the original Wii U release and the switch port, it's one of the 2D platformers I've put the most time into. I've 100% this game too many times to count, I know where every puzzle piece is, I've 100% the game on the unlockable hard mode with every kong and I like the game enough to have gotten the max rank on the time trials for each level and even briefly having a world record (or at least number 1 on the online leader board) for an individual level for a very brief time. This is one of my favorite 2D platformers.
The returns style gameplay is back and more fine tuned to make for an even better experience. DK has a nice feeling of weight to him and it feels really good to keep a fast momentum throughout the stages. The SFX also contribute to this feeling. It just feels really good bouncing off enemies or rolling through a line of snowmads.
The stages are all amazing. These are some of the most well designed and creative stages in any 2D platformer. The stages play around with the foreground and background in new and creative ways compared to returns as well. The OST is great as well with a nice mix of amazing new tracks and remixes of classic DKC tracks. The enemies are also a step up from returns. They're more expressive and integrated into the stage layouts in more creative ways than the tikis were in returns. They're still not as memorable as the kremlings in the original series, but they're still a big improvement over the last games'.
I'm very happy that some of the previous kongs have been reintroduced to the series and each of them provides a nice difference in gameplay. Dixie is still great with her helicopter twirl, cranky is great for blasting through levels since his pogo conserves momentum, and diddy is just kind there to help you keep an even height with a short hover. I do wish that diddy had more unique style since he is consistently my least used kong in each playthrough. I only really find him useful for lining up hits on the final boss and I actively skip his barrels in levels if I have another kong with me.
I don't think the game is perfect, and there are a few small things that hold it back from being my favorite DKC game. The bosses can go on a little too long at times (although none of them are anywhere near as long as the endurance tests that were returns' bosses). I still like most of them and a lot of the bosses I didn't initially like have grown on me since they have fun time trial strats, but none of the bosses are as good as the best bosses from DKC 2 or 3 in my opinion. The final boss in particular is also really underwhelming and kind of mediocre. All the other bosses have a better sense of increasing stakes with new attack patterns as they go on, but the final boss just kind does most of the same initial moves with a few new easy to dodge attacks.
Some of the puzzle pieces can be very cryptic for a first time player as well. Generally speaking, I don't think going for 100% is too daunting and you'll get most of the puzzle pieces on your first run through a level as long as you're collecting suspicious looking groups of bananas. There are a few were you have to line up with something in the foreground or background which isn't super intuitive for a first time player or if you haven't 100% returns.
I also wish there was more variety to the bonus rooms. They're all some version of "collect all the bananas within the time limit" which isn't bad and there is a nice variety of different stages, but the original trilogy had multiple different type of mini games for the bonus rooms and this lack of variety is felt a bit towards the end of a 100% route. It's nowhere near burnout inducing, but it's something that could be added to a future game.
I also really wish retro would utilize more of the animal buddies. I love Rambi, but he's still the only buddy to return (besides Squawks but he's not playable). With the return of underwater levels, I wish Enguarde would return and I think retro could design some good Rattly or Winky stages since they play with verticality in a few of tropical freeze's stages (or even adding a Sqidder section to a bee stage would be fun).
The absence of a memorable big bad guy is also felt towards the end. K Rool was just so weird and memorable in the original rare games and his final bosses were highlights of those games. I hope that retro will either bring the Kremlings back or make the big bad of the next DKC game more engaging.
I'm hopeful that these small issues will be fixed in a previous game. The changes to the formula between tropical freeze and returns show that retro really loves the DKC series and is willing to celebrate and integrate what worked well in those games into their new series while still keeping the core returns formula. I'm confidant that they have what it takes to make the perfect DKC game if given the chance.
The small issues I have with the game are enough to keep me from giving it a full 5 stars, but tropical freeze is by far the highest 4.5/5 I can give to a game and a serious contender for one of the best platformers of all time.
I love Tropical freeze. Between the original Wii U release and the switch port, it's one of the 2D platformers I've put the most time into. I've 100% this game too many times to count, I know where every puzzle piece is, I've 100% the game on the unlockable hard mode with every kong and I like the game enough to have gotten the max rank on the time trials for each level and even briefly having a world record (or at least number 1 on the online leader board) for an individual level for a very brief time. This is one of my favorite 2D platformers.
The returns style gameplay is back and more fine tuned to make for an even better experience. DK has a nice feeling of weight to him and it feels really good to keep a fast momentum throughout the stages. The SFX also contribute to this feeling. It just feels really good bouncing off enemies or rolling through a line of snowmads.
The stages are all amazing. These are some of the most well designed and creative stages in any 2D platformer. The stages play around with the foreground and background in new and creative ways compared to returns as well. The OST is great as well with a nice mix of amazing new tracks and remixes of classic DKC tracks. The enemies are also a step up from returns. They're more expressive and integrated into the stage layouts in more creative ways than the tikis were in returns. They're still not as memorable as the kremlings in the original series, but they're still a big improvement over the last games'.
I'm very happy that some of the previous kongs have been reintroduced to the series and each of them provides a nice difference in gameplay. Dixie is still great with her helicopter twirl, cranky is great for blasting through levels since his pogo conserves momentum, and diddy is just kind there to help you keep an even height with a short hover. I do wish that diddy had more unique style since he is consistently my least used kong in each playthrough. I only really find him useful for lining up hits on the final boss and I actively skip his barrels in levels if I have another kong with me.
I don't think the game is perfect, and there are a few small things that hold it back from being my favorite DKC game. The bosses can go on a little too long at times (although none of them are anywhere near as long as the endurance tests that were returns' bosses). I still like most of them and a lot of the bosses I didn't initially like have grown on me since they have fun time trial strats, but none of the bosses are as good as the best bosses from DKC 2 or 3 in my opinion. The final boss in particular is also really underwhelming and kind of mediocre. All the other bosses have a better sense of increasing stakes with new attack patterns as they go on, but the final boss just kind does most of the same initial moves with a few new easy to dodge attacks.
Some of the puzzle pieces can be very cryptic for a first time player as well. Generally speaking, I don't think going for 100% is too daunting and you'll get most of the puzzle pieces on your first run through a level as long as you're collecting suspicious looking groups of bananas. There are a few were you have to line up with something in the foreground or background which isn't super intuitive for a first time player or if you haven't 100% returns.
I also wish there was more variety to the bonus rooms. They're all some version of "collect all the bananas within the time limit" which isn't bad and there is a nice variety of different stages, but the original trilogy had multiple different type of mini games for the bonus rooms and this lack of variety is felt a bit towards the end of a 100% route. It's nowhere near burnout inducing, but it's something that could be added to a future game.
I also really wish retro would utilize more of the animal buddies. I love Rambi, but he's still the only buddy to return (besides Squawks but he's not playable). With the return of underwater levels, I wish Enguarde would return and I think retro could design some good Rattly or Winky stages since they play with verticality in a few of tropical freeze's stages (or even adding a Sqidder section to a bee stage would be fun).
The absence of a memorable big bad guy is also felt towards the end. K Rool was just so weird and memorable in the original rare games and his final bosses were highlights of those games. I hope that retro will either bring the Kremlings back or make the big bad of the next DKC game more engaging.
I'm hopeful that these small issues will be fixed in a previous game. The changes to the formula between tropical freeze and returns show that retro really loves the DKC series and is willing to celebrate and integrate what worked well in those games into their new series while still keeping the core returns formula. I'm confidant that they have what it takes to make the perfect DKC game if given the chance.
The small issues I have with the game are enough to keep me from giving it a full 5 stars, but tropical freeze is by far the highest 4.5/5 I can give to a game and a serious contender for one of the best platformers of all time.
My first thoughts when I finished wonder were, "wow, that was a pretty solid platformer."
I feel like it goes without saying at this point, but wonder feels like a breath of fresh air compared to the more recent 2D mario games and honestly feels like the next logical step forward for the 2D mario franchise. The level design finally feels creative and unique again and the occasional nonlinear approach to level selection was appreciated. I really loved all the music levels in particular and this might be my favorite bowser fight in the 2D mario series.
Wonder feels like it took a lot of the best aspects of previous 2D mario games and combined them all together while also bringing it's own unique mechanics and gimmicks to the table. Movement feels really good. If I had to describe it, it feels like a mix of the new super mario bros series and mario world and the two styles mesh surprisingly well.
The new powerups were all really fun and I liked the added utility and variety they provided to movement. It was really satisfying using them to traverse the levels in creative and unintended ways (I got way more use of the drill power up than I thought I would in this regard) or to creative new shortcuts to collectibles.
I was also a really big fan of most of the "break" and mini badge challenge levels. I think these brought a nice palate cleanser from the usual levels while providing engaging and unique platforming challenges that at their best, really made the most of the new movement system.
The only mini challenges I was not a fan of were the enemy gauntlets and a few of the find the hidden object challenges. The find worst find the hidden object challenges felt like a terrible mario maker level where you had to find the exact right spot to jump to find the invisible block which felt more tedious than engaging. I've also never really been a fan of time trials in games, mostly cause it brings out my inner perfectionist and I end up resetting way more often than I need to and the time trial enemy gauntlets were no exception to this for me.
My only other nitpick has to do with the games difficulty. I've always valued challenge in platformers (which is a big reason why I love the DKC series). If the platformer isn't particularly challenging, then I need to have a fun moveset to mess around with to get really engaged with it. Wonder isn't braindead easy or anything like that (I'd say difficulty wise, it's maybe a notch higher than new super mario bros ds), but it is definitely easier than the classic 2D mario games. Fortunately, the movement is super fun and polished so I wasn't ever bored playing the game, but I wish some of the levels (particularly the special world and later world levels) provided more of a challenge. However, I will say that I really like the new trend of making the 100% reward in these modern mario games a really tough challenge level and wonder is no exception to this.
Overall, I had a really good time with wonder. I feel like my thoughts on nintendo's modern 2D platformers tend to go up on replays since they tend to be super comfy games for me, so I'm interested to see how my thoughts on the game change on future playthroughs. As for now though, I'm happy a played it and I felt satisfied with my overall experience with the game, even if it is a bit on the easy side.
I feel like it goes without saying at this point, but wonder feels like a breath of fresh air compared to the more recent 2D mario games and honestly feels like the next logical step forward for the 2D mario franchise. The level design finally feels creative and unique again and the occasional nonlinear approach to level selection was appreciated. I really loved all the music levels in particular and this might be my favorite bowser fight in the 2D mario series.
Wonder feels like it took a lot of the best aspects of previous 2D mario games and combined them all together while also bringing it's own unique mechanics and gimmicks to the table. Movement feels really good. If I had to describe it, it feels like a mix of the new super mario bros series and mario world and the two styles mesh surprisingly well.
The new powerups were all really fun and I liked the added utility and variety they provided to movement. It was really satisfying using them to traverse the levels in creative and unintended ways (I got way more use of the drill power up than I thought I would in this regard) or to creative new shortcuts to collectibles.
I was also a really big fan of most of the "break" and mini badge challenge levels. I think these brought a nice palate cleanser from the usual levels while providing engaging and unique platforming challenges that at their best, really made the most of the new movement system.
The only mini challenges I was not a fan of were the enemy gauntlets and a few of the find the hidden object challenges. The find worst find the hidden object challenges felt like a terrible mario maker level where you had to find the exact right spot to jump to find the invisible block which felt more tedious than engaging. I've also never really been a fan of time trials in games, mostly cause it brings out my inner perfectionist and I end up resetting way more often than I need to and the time trial enemy gauntlets were no exception to this for me.
My only other nitpick has to do with the games difficulty. I've always valued challenge in platformers (which is a big reason why I love the DKC series). If the platformer isn't particularly challenging, then I need to have a fun moveset to mess around with to get really engaged with it. Wonder isn't braindead easy or anything like that (I'd say difficulty wise, it's maybe a notch higher than new super mario bros ds), but it is definitely easier than the classic 2D mario games. Fortunately, the movement is super fun and polished so I wasn't ever bored playing the game, but I wish some of the levels (particularly the special world and later world levels) provided more of a challenge. However, I will say that I really like the new trend of making the 100% reward in these modern mario games a really tough challenge level and wonder is no exception to this.
Overall, I had a really good time with wonder. I feel like my thoughts on nintendo's modern 2D platformers tend to go up on replays since they tend to be super comfy games for me, so I'm interested to see how my thoughts on the game change on future playthroughs. As for now though, I'm happy a played it and I felt satisfied with my overall experience with the game, even if it is a bit on the easy side.
Needed to take a break from the other games I'm playing so I figured I'd just play my favorite game of all time again.
Played it on NSO for the first time and the game is still amazing, but it doesn't feel the same as playing it on the actual SNES (also why is the button mapping normal for the dkc games on NSO, but weird for the 2D mario games??). Not the worst way to experience the game if you haven't played it before, but I'm probably gonna stick to playing the actual cart in the future.
If you haven't played DKC 2 before, you should (as well as the entire trilogy) as soon as possible. I always recommend going for 102% (or at least going for all the bonus rooms) since you unlock the secret world and secret final boss. Just a heads up though, if you're new to the game, don't save all the secret world levels for after the non-secret final boss. You gotta reload your save after that fight and you start with 5 lives vs however many you would normally accumulate throughout a normal playthrough and you don't want to try those levels with so few lives on your first time.
Played it on NSO for the first time and the game is still amazing, but it doesn't feel the same as playing it on the actual SNES (also why is the button mapping normal for the dkc games on NSO, but weird for the 2D mario games??). Not the worst way to experience the game if you haven't played it before, but I'm probably gonna stick to playing the actual cart in the future.
If you haven't played DKC 2 before, you should (as well as the entire trilogy) as soon as possible. I always recommend going for 102% (or at least going for all the bonus rooms) since you unlock the secret world and secret final boss. Just a heads up though, if you're new to the game, don't save all the secret world levels for after the non-secret final boss. You gotta reload your save after that fight and you start with 5 lives vs however many you would normally accumulate throughout a normal playthrough and you don't want to try those levels with so few lives on your first time.
This is my favorite game of all time!
Improves on DKC 1 in every way! The music is better, the levels are better, the bosses are actually good, going for 100% actually has a purpose and is fun and rewarding and both the characters are actually fun to play as.
The game is super fast paced and fun. It's harder than the first game and is super rewarding to play through!
Improves on DKC 1 in every way! The music is better, the levels are better, the bosses are actually good, going for 100% actually has a purpose and is fun and rewarding and both the characters are actually fun to play as.
The game is super fast paced and fun. It's harder than the first game and is super rewarding to play through!
Very solid way to experience SH2. I would not recommend you play it via 360 backwards compatibility though. There are a lot of visual glitches that can be very distracting. On my last playthrough, Eddie's face didn't properly render in and he looked like the pillsbury doughboy for the entire second half of the game which made his scenes really funny.
Born from a wish is a good addition which develops one of the characters in an interesting way.
The only other differences that are worse than the original ps2 version or the enhanced edition are that the cutscenes are lower quality and run at a slower framerate and the lighting system is different (although its not noticeable if you haven't played the original).
It's still Silent Hill 2, so the game is still amazing. There really isn't a bad way to play this game besides the hd collection.
Born from a wish is a good addition which develops one of the characters in an interesting way.
The only other differences that are worse than the original ps2 version or the enhanced edition are that the cutscenes are lower quality and run at a slower framerate and the lighting system is different (although its not noticeable if you haven't played the original).
It's still Silent Hill 2, so the game is still amazing. There really isn't a bad way to play this game besides the hd collection.
Fantastic game that fixes pretty much all my problems with BOTW. It's not my favorite Zelda game (it's gonna take a lot surpass Majora's Mask), but I can admit that it's the best one released so far.
Running around and exploring everything is still just as satisfying as BOTW and there's so much more to find now. It's easier than ever to approach a puzzle in a unique and unintended way.
I had more fun going for 100% in TOTK than in BOTW. Everything just felt like it went by faster. The ending actually has proper build up too unlike BOTW and the final boss doesn't feel underwhelming and easy even after going for 100%.
Running around and exploring everything is still just as satisfying as BOTW and there's so much more to find now. It's easier than ever to approach a puzzle in a unique and unintended way.
I had more fun going for 100% in TOTK than in BOTW. Everything just felt like it went by faster. The ending actually has proper build up too unlike BOTW and the final boss doesn't feel underwhelming and easy even after going for 100%.
I wasted so much time and money on this game as a kid before I learned about free donuts...
Has some charm as a lifelong simpsons fan, but thankful I freed myself from that rabbit hole.
Has some charm as a lifelong simpsons fan, but thankful I freed myself from that rabbit hole.
2018
One of the best platformers I've ever played. Maybe the best mix of storytelling and gameplay in any game I've played as well.
Controls are super precise and satisfying and every death felt like my fault. Going for 100% was fun, and left me feeling very satisfied where my journey with celeste ended.
Still need to finish Farewell, but looking forward to finally conquering this last mountain.
Controls are super precise and satisfying and every death felt like my fault. Going for 100% was fun, and left me feeling very satisfied where my journey with celeste ended.
Still need to finish Farewell, but looking forward to finally conquering this last mountain.
Why was this considered the black sheep of the series? Metroid 2 holds up a lot better than expected and is way more fun to play than NEStroid. Going for 100% is satisfying and feels rewarding since it makes the later metroids much more manageable.
I really liked the environmental storytelling. I already knew metroid 2's story going in, but the way the planet works and interacts with you throughout is engaging and still provides a nice level of mystery. The ending is really good too, but it felt a little underwhelming without the little additions made is Super's recap. It's still effective, but I'm not sure it would have the same effect on someone going into the game blind and without any prior knowledge of Super's opening.
The controls are a lot better and Samus is starting to feel a lot closer to how she did in super and fusion. Samus is still a little slow but she's just the right amount of floaty and weighty that was missing from the NES original. It's really cool seeing how many series staple upgrades came from this game (even if they can be a little janky). Being able to crouch and shoot downward make the game so much more fun than NEStroid and help fix a lot of those games' issues that should never have been present in the first place.
There are a few little controls quirks that annoyed me but nothing overly frustrating or game ruining. I never fully got used to not being able to activate the morph ball in midair and activating/deactivating the spider ball can be a little janky. The space jump timing feels pickier than later games and took some time to get used to. I also didn't like how if you messed up the space jump timing or were in the air for too long, Samus would uncrouch and you couldn't do anything to recover. This made using the screw attack to deflect bosses a little janky at times and is something that NEStroid does better. It was also a little awkward trying to short hop to shoot enemies at first since samus crouches mid air and you end up shooting a little lower than you'd initially expect. This only happens during the ascending part of the jump and isn't a big deal overall, but I'm happy future games fixed it.
The multiple missile and health recharge stations are very much appreciated and provide a nice way to reward exploration and eliminate the need for tedious grinding sessions.
The bosses are about on par with the NES original since they're all pretty much just missile sponges in those games. The bosses in metroid 2 have a few different attack patterns which makes them a little more engaging than NEStroid's bosses but none of them are as engaging as the bosses in the future entries.
The soundtrack is alright, but definitely a downgrade from the first games. The only track I really like is the SR388 surface theme which is one of the best themes in the entire series. The soundtrack tries to be more atmospheric and contribute to the storytelling and it's very effective towards the end of the game with the final area and the final walk to the surface, but tracks like the ruins were a little too short and repetitive for me.
Overall, Mettroid 2 is a decent time. It feels like a really big improvement on the first and there was never a point where I had to force myself to keep playing like with NEStroid. It's really interesting to see the series develop, but future entries do a lot of what it does better.
I really liked the environmental storytelling. I already knew metroid 2's story going in, but the way the planet works and interacts with you throughout is engaging and still provides a nice level of mystery. The ending is really good too, but it felt a little underwhelming without the little additions made is Super's recap. It's still effective, but I'm not sure it would have the same effect on someone going into the game blind and without any prior knowledge of Super's opening.
The controls are a lot better and Samus is starting to feel a lot closer to how she did in super and fusion. Samus is still a little slow but she's just the right amount of floaty and weighty that was missing from the NES original. It's really cool seeing how many series staple upgrades came from this game (even if they can be a little janky). Being able to crouch and shoot downward make the game so much more fun than NEStroid and help fix a lot of those games' issues that should never have been present in the first place.
There are a few little controls quirks that annoyed me but nothing overly frustrating or game ruining. I never fully got used to not being able to activate the morph ball in midair and activating/deactivating the spider ball can be a little janky. The space jump timing feels pickier than later games and took some time to get used to. I also didn't like how if you messed up the space jump timing or were in the air for too long, Samus would uncrouch and you couldn't do anything to recover. This made using the screw attack to deflect bosses a little janky at times and is something that NEStroid does better. It was also a little awkward trying to short hop to shoot enemies at first since samus crouches mid air and you end up shooting a little lower than you'd initially expect. This only happens during the ascending part of the jump and isn't a big deal overall, but I'm happy future games fixed it.
The multiple missile and health recharge stations are very much appreciated and provide a nice way to reward exploration and eliminate the need for tedious grinding sessions.
The bosses are about on par with the NES original since they're all pretty much just missile sponges in those games. The bosses in metroid 2 have a few different attack patterns which makes them a little more engaging than NEStroid's bosses but none of them are as engaging as the bosses in the future entries.
The soundtrack is alright, but definitely a downgrade from the first games. The only track I really like is the SR388 surface theme which is one of the best themes in the entire series. The soundtrack tries to be more atmospheric and contribute to the storytelling and it's very effective towards the end of the game with the final area and the final walk to the surface, but tracks like the ruins were a little too short and repetitive for me.
Overall, Mettroid 2 is a decent time. It feels like a really big improvement on the first and there was never a point where I had to force myself to keep playing like with NEStroid. It's really interesting to see the series develop, but future entries do a lot of what it does better.
This one is the best of the GBA ports. It looks the best and is the most similar to the original SNES version in both looks/color and gameplay.
The new soundtrack is pretty good but doesn't match some of the level set pieces (the happy forest music should not be playing when you're being chased by a giant saw lmao)
The new bonus world is pretty solid too. I'll never complain about getting more DKC content.
The new soundtrack is pretty good but doesn't match some of the level set pieces (the happy forest music should not be playing when you're being chased by a giant saw lmao)
The new bonus world is pretty solid too. I'll never complain about getting more DKC content.
I played the original Re4 on gamecube so I never got to play the original separate ways. Based on what I'd heard, the original was alright but felt kind of tacked on as a way to justify people buying the game again on new platforms, so I was really interested to see how the remake would handle the SW content.
For $10, this is a steal. The DLC was surprisingly lengthy (for reference HLTB has it listed as about the same length as RE3 remake). I was really impressed with the new separate ways. I figured I would like it since at the very least it would provide more fun RE4R content, but they really went above and beyond with this and added some new fun mechanics and really flushed out Ada's story.
I really like the way that separate ways reintroduced (and in my opinion, improved upon) a lot of the content cut from the original game. The new U3 stuff is great and I like all the little changes they made to some of the original setpieces to mess with veteran players. The new content introduced is great too and fits right in with the tone/feel of RE4R and everything keeps that improved pacing from the base RE4R.
The ost is great too. It really enhanced the action scenes and the little spy guitar riffs were really fun and charming in that RE4 way.
The other characters the story chose to focus on were great too. I will die on the hill that remake Luis is so much better than the original and it's always nice seeing more Wesker (although as a hispanic person, I died a little inside every time he called Luis "Lewis").
It's not perfect, but the core RE4 formula is just so fun that I can't help but give it 5 stars. I wanted to jump right back in and start a new RE4R and SW playthrough immediately after I finished, which I've never really felt with any of the other RE mainline games.
For $10, this is a steal. The DLC was surprisingly lengthy (for reference HLTB has it listed as about the same length as RE3 remake). I was really impressed with the new separate ways. I figured I would like it since at the very least it would provide more fun RE4R content, but they really went above and beyond with this and added some new fun mechanics and really flushed out Ada's story.
I really like the way that separate ways reintroduced (and in my opinion, improved upon) a lot of the content cut from the original game. The new U3 stuff is great and I like all the little changes they made to some of the original setpieces to mess with veteran players. The new content introduced is great too and fits right in with the tone/feel of RE4R and everything keeps that improved pacing from the base RE4R.
The ost is great too. It really enhanced the action scenes and the little spy guitar riffs were really fun and charming in that RE4 way.
The other characters the story chose to focus on were great too. I will die on the hill that remake Luis is so much better than the original and it's always nice seeing more Wesker (although as a hispanic person, I died a little inside every time he called Luis "Lewis").
It's not perfect, but the core RE4 formula is just so fun that I can't help but give it 5 stars. I wanted to jump right back in and start a new RE4R and SW playthrough immediately after I finished, which I've never really felt with any of the other RE mainline games.
Ocarina of time is truly one of the video games of all time.
If you want to check it out, play the 3DS remake. It completely replaces the original and is better in every way.
OOT is a good game, but is underwhelming if you go into it with the mindset of it being one of the greatest games of all time. The whole game feels very bare bones and simplistic which makes it harder to revisit. I also think the pacing of the initial child section is too slow and these are what often kill my attempted replays of the game. Also the stupid owl is terrible and won't shut up!
Also 100% is not worth it and feels more like busy work since the open world is so bare bones. OOT is still a fine game, but it's definitely overrated. I don't consider it to be the greatest game of all time and it's nowhere near my favorite zelda game (Majora does everything this game does, but better).
If you want to check it out, play the 3DS remake. It completely replaces the original and is better in every way.
OOT is a good game, but is underwhelming if you go into it with the mindset of it being one of the greatest games of all time. The whole game feels very bare bones and simplistic which makes it harder to revisit. I also think the pacing of the initial child section is too slow and these are what often kill my attempted replays of the game. Also the stupid owl is terrible and won't shut up!
Also 100% is not worth it and feels more like busy work since the open world is so bare bones. OOT is still a fine game, but it's definitely overrated. I don't consider it to be the greatest game of all time and it's nowhere near my favorite zelda game (Majora does everything this game does, but better).
1994
This game is so good! It still holds up and it's easy to see why so many people still consider it to be their favorite 2D metroid (I constantly go back and forth in my rankings).
Gameplay is still super fun, I think super has the most satisfying wall jumps and mastering the movement feels super rewarding. The atmosphere is great, the exploration feels super rewarding and all the little random extras are fun to discover.
Sequence breaking makes it super fun to replay as well. I still feel like there's so many different ways I could play through the game.
Gameplay is still super fun, I think super has the most satisfying wall jumps and mastering the movement feels super rewarding. The atmosphere is great, the exploration feels super rewarding and all the little random extras are fun to discover.
Sequence breaking makes it super fun to replay as well. I still feel like there's so many different ways I could play through the game.
This might be one of the first cozy platformers ever made.
Yoshi's island probably has my favorite art style of any SNES game and it's got one of my favorite videogame soundtracks ever.
I've started Yoshi's island multiple times, and I loved playing it every time. Unfortunately, something would always come up and cause me to drop the game before I could make significant progress. I recently managed to find a cart for pretty cheap and decided to finally finish it.
The controls feel just right, and the level design provides a good variety of different platforming challenges without the need to resort to gimmicks that drastically change the gameplay style, that games like Crash 3 suffer from. The bosses are also super creative and fun little puzzles to figure out and the final boss is really good and surprisingly tense.
Going for 100% wasn't as bad as I thought it would be considering how much I've heard people complain about it. However, I'm not sure I'd say it's worth it in the end since you don't get much for it, but if you find a particular level to be too easy, I'd recommend trying to 100% it to add a good challenge. The only times the 100% experience didn't work for me were the instances where an enemy holding a red coin would spawn off screen and fly away by the time I reached it (which wasn't super often) and missing a secret in one of the big nonlinear cave levels because I stood a few pixels off from the spot that reveals the secret.
Yoshi's island is still very worth playing and one of the comfiest and most charming 2D platformers out there. I'd say it's better than Mario World, cause the controls clicked for me more.
Yoshi's island probably has my favorite art style of any SNES game and it's got one of my favorite videogame soundtracks ever.
I've started Yoshi's island multiple times, and I loved playing it every time. Unfortunately, something would always come up and cause me to drop the game before I could make significant progress. I recently managed to find a cart for pretty cheap and decided to finally finish it.
The controls feel just right, and the level design provides a good variety of different platforming challenges without the need to resort to gimmicks that drastically change the gameplay style, that games like Crash 3 suffer from. The bosses are also super creative and fun little puzzles to figure out and the final boss is really good and surprisingly tense.
Going for 100% wasn't as bad as I thought it would be considering how much I've heard people complain about it. However, I'm not sure I'd say it's worth it in the end since you don't get much for it, but if you find a particular level to be too easy, I'd recommend trying to 100% it to add a good challenge. The only times the 100% experience didn't work for me were the instances where an enemy holding a red coin would spawn off screen and fly away by the time I reached it (which wasn't super often) and missing a secret in one of the big nonlinear cave levels because I stood a few pixels off from the spot that reveals the secret.
Yoshi's island is still very worth playing and one of the comfiest and most charming 2D platformers out there. I'd say it's better than Mario World, cause the controls clicked for me more.