Still the king, baby.

Now, I already reviewed Super Mario World in the past and feel that I said everything I needed to say about this game there. However, as I replayed this game over and over throughout my life, I have yearned for ways to make each new playthrough feel unique. For a while, the randomizer did just that for me, and later on I would experience the joys and hilarity of the ROM hack where the game's stages and music were remade from memory. Now, I return to Super Mario World once more for another twist, focusing entirely on the soundtrack.

For this playthrough, I implemented a ROM hack titled Super Mario World MSU-1 Plus Ultra. For those unaware, MSU-1 is a custom coprocessor designed by the late Near that allows Super Nintendo games to play CD quality audio and full-motion videos. Many modders have taken advantage of this coprocessor to do insanely impressive things with Super Nintendo games. Look at this video of The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past, for example. This is what the coprocessor looks and sounds like in action!

Many games have been given MSU-1 upgrades over the years, and Super Mario World is no exception to this. In fact, MSU-1 mods for this game have had an interesting development history. At first, there were just mods that swapped the music for more orchestral sounding remixes of the music tracks, which is the standard protocol for these mods. Following these would come a more ambitious mod, titled Super Mario World MSU+, which not only swaps the original tracks for CD quality music, but also introduces voice clips for characters and implements the use of different remixes of the overworld music depending on which region of the map you're currently in. I've played that version and loved it, finding it to be a refreshing way to experience this game.

Years later after the release of this mod, however, we would be gifted with an even more ambitious mod in the form of Super Mario World MSU-1 Plus Ultra. Not only did this mod implement everything from Super Mario World MSU+. It also made it possible for every stage in the game to have its own unique remix. This means that the soundtrack of Super Mario World has been expanded to 130 unique tracks!

Needless to say, I've been dying to get into this mod and hear all the music within, and after a breezy 96 exit run of this game, I can say genuinely that this is an amazing way to experience (or re-experience) Super Mario World. It's exciting to drop into a stage and hear an entirely new remix. It could be orchestral, jazzy, rock, or something else! Your ears are certainly in for a treat with this mod!

The best part of this and other MSU-1 mods is that they are fully playable on the most recent models of flash carts, such as the FXPak Pro, for example. You're going to be hearing CD quality music and voice lines from characters in a day 1 Super Nintendo game all on real hardware! It's beyond impressive, and every so often as I play mods like these, I can't help but think of how much these advancements blow me away.

If you love the Super Nintendo and want to see what their games would be like if they had a bit of that Sega CD energy (complimentary) in them, I highly implore you to check out the MSU-1 Hacks Database and try some of these mods for yourself! They take a bit more of set-up to get running than your usual ROM hack, but the extra work is worth it to see and hear how these games get enhanced by this technology!

Sonic fans will always want a game that plays like what they expect from a Sonic game. Momentum physics, stunning set pieces, continuously flowing platforming, high speed action, you know the formula by now.

But has there ever been a game that plays like Sonic?

Super speed is undoubtedly a coveted superpower most people yearn for - but do they really understand the mastery it demands to make split-second decisions in the blink of an eye? Indeed, limitless speed is extremely useful, but it is simultaneously an untamed beast that can drive you headfirst into a barrier at mach speeds. This is how Sonic always views the world, as a disfigured blur of colourful masses where a split-second glimpse of a hazard may be the last image he ever witnesses.

Across every single game in the franchise, Sonic Advance 2 is consistently the best representation of how it feels to be Sonic.

Of course, the most accurate Sonic experience cannot be completed without suiting music and visuals to back up the gameplay. Thankfully, Advance 2 delivers on both aspects, with the sharpest, most striking 2D Sonic sprite to date, complete with cool-looking afterimages to express your dominance and control over the game’s pace. The environments themselves have a sharp edge to them, with contrasting color palettes littering the terrain and background to further push the cool vibes Advance 2 goes for. The visuals go well with the constant high-octane, high adrenaline music, which leaves its mark with a consistent and prominently featured rhythmic pulse beat that constantly urges the player to rush past everything around them.

It has been commonly theorised that the Dimps GBA trilogy is modeled from the mainline Adventure trilogy that was released around the same timeframe, and I personally agree with this standpoint. Advance 1 takes a more tamer, simplistic approach that introduces Modern elements into 2D Sonic, much as Adventure brought about the origins of the Modern classification in general. Later on, Advance 3 would also take inspiration from Heroes’ team-based gameplay mechanics with its Tag Action gimmick. This leaves Advance 2 as the 2D counterpart of Adventure 2, and if you observe the design of SA2’s speed stages, you’d notice similarities in how both games play. They both implement a trick system that incentivises players to storm through the level in style, and both have specialised attention to the speed and spectacle of their levels. Heck, SA2’s most iconic set piece has Sonic skateboarding on a constant downhill slope, just like literally every level in Advance 2! That being said, while I do disagree with Dimps’ approach to making every level share the exact same geographical structure, and acknowledge it as a flaw present within the game, the design intention is still apparent. A fast-paced, non-stop hurdle of an obstacle course that offers high rewards in exchange for high skill, filled to the brim with cool set pieces to make Sonic’s conquest of the area as cool as humanly possible.

What sets Advance 2 apart from SA2, however, as well as every other game in the franchise, is its insurmountable yet satisfying to achieve skill ceiling.

While SA2’s trick system focuses on the player’s skill to chain together attacks and usage of the B button, Advance 2’s trick system retains that feel of being Cool As Shit while also focusing on something far more important - movement. Each trick is designed to grant Sonic that extra push of aerial movement he needs to reach a distant platform, and allows him to keep momentum going as soon as he lands on his feet. Combined with the fact that you get much higher vertical jump height by pressing the jump button before a grind rail/ramp launch, aerial movement with the trick system is versatile and incredibly precise to master. The trick system also has the unspoken niche of giving Sonic the ability to interrupt his aerial trajectory, allowing him almost complete control over where he wishes to go without sacrificing boost mode in the process.

Oh yeah boost mode

Boost mode is, in my own personal opinion, the single most innovative addition to 2D Sonic as a formula. Unlike later iterations that made the Boost immediately available and invulnerable towards most enemies, Boost Mode is a reward for expert gameplay, demanding a high level of skill, smart memorisation of the level layout, quick decision-making and free-flowing platforming in order to earn it, while still being vulnerable to enemies to prevent complacency from the players’ end. And much like the later boost games, Advance 2’s obstacle course level design also constantly hurls itself at the player, challenging their ability to maintain this wildly uncontrollable form of speed against wave after wave of hazards and enemies. The ring system also gets some much-needed love beyond being a recognition of the player’s ability to not take damage (an incredibly easy feat if you go slow SMH), with higher ring counts making attainment of Boost Mode quicker. In a way, Boost Mode fully embraces the speedrunning nature of video games, requiring players to master their craft of the trick system, recognise the ideal route for optimum speed, be constantly aware of their surroundings and the hazards ahead, and discovering dash pads that allow them to maintain Boost Mode while weaving past the complexity of the level design.

All three mechanics come together to form an unprecedented sense of resonance and harmony with one another, forming a satisfying feedback loop that constantly intertwines within itself in a short timeframe. Get rings. Faster activation of boost mode. Utilise trick system to maintain boost mode. Up to this point I’ve yet to mention Sonic’s Air Dash, which, with its (admittedly flawed) difficult input, further raises the bar required to master the high speeds of Advance 2. When everything blends together, the end result is a thrilling adrenaline rush which pushes you to the absolute limit. A perfect middle line between Classic Sonic's focus on momentum, fluidity and earning speed, and Modern Sonic's focus on decision-making, adrenaline-fueling thrills and maintaining speed.

In Advance 2, every action and decision is a commitment from the player that can either see them passing with flying colours or crash and burn. With its notoriously high skill ceiling, the average players’ experience is extremely divisive. You either fail miserably, or you run like the coolest motherfucker on the planet. Just like Sonic. Just like those split-second decisions that often decide life or death.

To me, Sonic Advance 2 represents the pinnacle of Sonic as a control character. It simply feels like Sonic. Nothing else comes quite as close.

Never fear the fall.

Final score: 8.5/10
Focus: How Advance 2 represents the peak of Sonic as a playable character.

...but definitely fear the random monkey obscured by the tiny GBA screen.

The hero we needed AND deserved. The one to save them all, as they say. Super Mario Bros.' legend has been retold countless times. It took part in reviving the video game industry as a whole and instantly became a timeless classic.

Super Mario Bros. is about as simple as you can get. Upon this most recent playthrough of mine, I was surprised at just how much fun I was having despite the game's simplicity. Every time I play this game, I feel a thrill that I can't say I feel with many other games. This game puts me on the edge of my seat in the best way possible.

The physics, while not seeming like much by today's standards, were revolutionary at the time. Coming off of Mario Bros., what I feel is a slippery mess in terms of its control, Super Mario Bros. controls like a dream. The advent of analog control with the jump button is a game changer. Combine that with the tight turn controls, and you set yourself up for a fun platforming adventure ahead of you. One minor issue I have with Mario's controls is how he gains speed. You'll notice that Mario goes from 1 to 100 on a dime, and if you're near bottomless pits or some other hazard, it's usually too late before you take damage, as Mario takes quite a bit to slow down/turn around.

Being one of the first of its kind, I can understand that the level designs weren't necessarily out there aiming to leave much of an impression on players save for 1-1. Most of the levels mold together in my head, due to the very small amount of level themes the game presents as well as the reusing of layouts at times. I'm also of the opinion that the inability to backtrack hurts this game a lot. There are a number of times where I'm either caught between a rock and a hard place, or I miss out on a mushroom because it ends up traveling in the opposite direction.

It amazes me just how much fun I had with Super Mario Bros. with the bias of hindsight being prevalent. It's a fun pick up and play game that can be beaten under an hour, and I rarely ever get tired of it. It's no wonder this game gets the praise and legendary status that it has, as I can only imagine how amazing it must have been to be able to play this game back in 1985.

8/10

This is literally just Sonic Forces Speed Battle except they're in cars now.

I managed to get a free trial to Apple Arcade specifically to try out Sonic Dream Team. After finishing it I thought to myself, "Yeah might as well", and played a bit of Sonic Racing before I went and cancelled it. Good thing I decided to do this too, because...woof, this ain't much of a game I'll tell you that much.

I've already said it in the intro statement but Sonic Racing really is just Sonic Forces Speed Battle again. Only this time, you're in a car. You collect and upgrade your weapons through lootcrates or by the tickets you earn, you progress by racing and unlock new characters and tracks by gaining trophies (though for a huge chunk of the game you're facing nothing but bots), and the gameplay is very, VERY simple. It's a weird mishmash of a typical watered-down mobile racing game and trying to cram Team Sonic Racing's teamwork mechanics into an experience that cannot take advantage of it. Slipstreams, Skimboosts, Item Transferring, etc are not universal mechanics anymore; instead, they're single abilities given to individual characters you can add to your team. Even if you wanted to try and effectively support your allies like you could in TSR, you can't, because the AI in this game is genuinely dumb as rocks and the mechanics are too simplistic to be engaged with dynamically. As far as I'm aware, you can't even fire items backward. Not helping things is the track design being so laughably basic to accommodate for the fact that this is a mobile game.

This is better than Mario Kart Tour at least, but that's not exactly saying a whole lot now, is it?

The people stating that this is better than Frontiers are on massive copium I'm sorry LOL.

Hardlight's newest mobile endeavor is indeed an ambitious title for a mobile game. A fully 3D platforming-focused Sonic game is something I'm kind of surprised hasn't already been attempted at this point...though considering most of Hardlight's other titles are more simple pick-up-and-play arcade-y high score-based affairs, it's easy to see why this hasn't been attempted before. I've seen a lot of backlash against this game being Apple Arcade exclusive, and while I do agree that offering the title to more people that can play it is a good thing to do, those asking for a legitimate console port...guys, c'mon...it's a mobile game.

Should start there before I talk about anything else I suppose. Sonic Dream Team is a mobile game at its core and it is fundamentally hindered by being an experience crafted for mobile. What do I mean by this you may ask? Imagine a typical 3D Boost game (the kind that's roughly similar to Frontiers, Colors, Gens, etc) except with a pathetically weak boost, no airboost, no stomp or slide, no wall jumping, and a free camera that fights against you most of the time. That's Sonic Dream Team. It's a boost game but worse. The only things it has going for it movement-wise are the ridiculous range on the homing attack and uh...slope jumping I guess. That's really about it. It's still kinda fun to play on a basic level but like, would I rather play this if I pitted it against any of the other boost games besides Unleashed and Forces? Absolutely not lmao. Seriously, the lack of a stomp really hurts this game more than it should. Precise platforming is a chore because you don't have an effective way to stop quickly enough. And I know they couldn't add these elements in because, again, it's a mobile game. Everything needs to be extremely simple otherwise your fingers would become a pretzel trying to chain all of these different actions together. I played on a controller during my playthrough, and while it is...marginally better than using the touch screen, it only further reminded me of how much lesser this game is than the other boost titles, but I digress. You can also play as multiple different characters but their unique attributes aren't anything to write home about. Amy and Sonic can lightspeed dash, Tails and Cream can fly with a clunky feeling stamina meter, and Knuckles and Rouge can glide (heavily nerfed and plummets like a rock) and climb walls. You can also swap characters on the fly once you've unlocked them but doing so requires you to come to a complete standstill halting the pace of the stage completely. What's worse is that this is even mandatory for specific acts to complete them.

Despite this, the main levels (I'm talking like, the first stage of the act with the red rings and the blue coins) can be pretty fun and well-designed, once you get the task of “collect 3 keys to progress” taken care of anyway. I particularly had a lot of fun with Ego City and the final couple of acts with Nightmare Maze. Scrambled Shores is...fine as a starting level, does what it needs to do. Dream Factory is...also fine. Aesthetically it looked too much like Sweet Mountain and the most interesting aspect it has to offer is rising and lowering platforms. Wooo. Much like Secret Rings (and because, again, it's a mobile game), Dream Team has multiple missions within each act offering various objectives, from time trials to checkpoint gate races. These wildly vary in terms of actual quality. The "get the dream orb" challenges are pretty good. They typically involve completing a satisfying platforming obstacle gauntlet challenge to get a single dream orb. Short, sweet, and to the point. The time trials and the checkpoint gate races are mainly just an excuse to play the same level again with a slightly different goal. The crystal hunt missions are just bad. I don't have anything positive to say about them. Imagine bumbling around a giant closed-off maze looking for a set number of trinkets. It's about as exhilarating as it sounds. The game at least looks pretty nice for a mobile game and the animated intro is fantastic. The animated cutscenes are surprisingly really REALLY impressive and invoke an expressive fluid style of animation we haven't seen since...geez, Rise of Lyric on the Wii U. The problem is that there are only like, 5 cutscenes in the game and the rest of the game's story presentation is in comic book slide show mode with voice over. Hearing Michelle Ruff as Cream again was kinda jarring but I guess it's mainly due to how long she's been from this character. Sadly I don't have much to say on the soundtrack aside from the main theme and the final boss theme. It's fine I guess, nothing terrible to listen to but it just feels like background noise a lot of the time.

Again, for a mobile game, it's pretty interesting and a good step for Hardlight to develop something truly special; but as is, I dunno if I'd ever want to go back to it instead of replaying the dozens of other Sonic games I already have a lot of fun with. Such is the mobile curse.

Insomniac come up with substantial extra content that isn’t just recycled tired busywork challenge: impossible.

Jeez man what a complete and utter waste of time. I will say this; if you liked the original game (and I mean, REALLY liked it), then you’ll like this DLC, as it’s just…more of the original game. It has the same production values as the base game with all the really high quality cutscenes and whatnot so you’re not being skimped on that department. However, as someone who didn’t like the base game, having to play more of it in the most repetitive and unimaginative way isn’t exactly what I’m frothing at the mouth for. None of the stories were interesting (in fact I outright hated the first part with Black Cat) and all of the content presented is more of the same copy pasted open world schlock that I already hated in the first game. More enemy base assaults, more bland collectables to find, more challenge arenas, it’s like they’ve learned absolutely nothing and just went full steam ahead by doubling down. And it’s like this for every single DLC. Sure there are the introductions of like, 1 new enemy type per DLC part but apart from the kinda annoying brutes with miniguns none of them are anything to write home about either. The Screwball challenges have a somewhat interesting spin on them compared to the Taskmaster challenges but I swear the scoring thresholds change on a whim whenever they feel like it. One combat challenge had me get a perfect rank by stringing together a long continuous combo and using photobomb areas whenever I could, but another in part 2 demanded that I only KO people in photobomb sections to maximize score and it didn’t care about combo strings at all, or even if I took damage. Not to mention Screwball as a character is about as endearing as doing a cannonball dive onto a cactus. I swear to god if I have to hear her utter the phrase “photobomb!!!!!!!” one more time, I am personally going to develop an EMP that deletes Twitch off of the internet permanently.

This DLC in general is just exhausting to complete. Nothing interesting or worthwhile happens throughout any of it. Not exactly the best sign when the highlights of this entire package are the off camera phone conversations between Peter and Miles. And I know what you’re gonna say, “well why did you go ahead and play/beat the DLC if you didn’t like it?”. You know what? That’s a great question. I guess maybe it’s just very rare for me to abandon games I don’t like. I usually end up finishing everything I play no matter what.

Hearing Keith Silverstein as Hammerhead was very funny though. It’s literally just his Torbjörn voice except without the Swedish accent.

Y'know, I think I finally figured out why I have this massive distaste for Fortnite and why I'll likely never truly get into it.

It starts by luring you with all these big events and crazy wacky crossovers. "WHOOA LOOK EVERYBODY, PETER GRIFFIN AND MIGUEL O'HARA ARE DOING THE CHUNGUS SHUFFLE, ISN'T THAT COOL AND WACKY?!?! COME AND JOIN THE PARTY!!!". You see all these characters from across various media coming together and doing silly dances. It's enticing, to say the least. Heck, The Weeknd got added in somehow, so I was already more tempted than ever to return...

...and then when you actually get to playing the game it's filled with some of the most splatty and unsatisfying gunplay I think I've ever seen in a multiplayer shooter and unlocking any cosmetics worth anything either takes an obscene amount of grinding or is locked by an actual paywall. Most of my victory royales came from hiding in remote corners and waiting for everyone else to finish killing each other before picking off the rest.

Can't say I'm not surprised I guess.