Faye
Downloaded it because my idol-obsessed buddy wanted to give it a go with friends. I was so quick to uninstall that I don't even remember the home screen.
I think I got through all of one (1) tutorial sequence before I uninstalled this one.
2023
This one is very egregious with its ads.
I played it in another life, once. But it's gone now, and all I have are scant memories.
2023
In a good way, I don't even know where to start with this one. It has everything. It's definitely the best Pikmin game. Sure, there's some things I don't like so much - the way it automatically picks your Pikmin for you for caves rather than letting you strategize, and the way everything is tilting toward action adventure, to list a few - but, wow! The sheer amount of content in this game is staggering. It's such an engaging title, and they somehow managed to include features that would satisfy both Pikmin 1/3 and Pikmin 2 fans. The future of Pikmin is very bright.
My favourite Kirby platformer. It knows its premise and it really goes all in on it! Every level is a blast, and the story is pretty cute, and the lore... Please play this game.
I think this game excels in presentation. People mention it a lot in the circles I tend to hang out in; and while I think it lives up to the praise, there are definitely better Kirby games out there. Still, if you're looking for a starting point, this is as good as any.
2003
Blessed Kirby Air Ride; how on Earth did you get made? One of the more unique and interesting titles in a franchise full of unique and interesting titles. I grew up playing this, and one may even argue it was my first roleplaying-within-a-video-game experience via City Trial's Free Run. Young me walked so modern me could collaboratively write JRPGs inside of MMOs.
2008
I have fond memories of trying to unlock new characters with my cousin late into the night. As far as the modern Mario Kart Wii experience goes, there are some frighteningly high quality mods out there.
2005
Yes, Mario Kart DS, I love you too, but you're overshadowed by both your older and younger brothers.
2011
Very charming. I find that Mario Kart 7 is strangely underrepresented among people's favourite Mario Karts. Maybe everyone's favourite is just the one they played as a child - in which case, I clearly have too many friends who grew up playing the Wii and DS.
There are better Mario Karts from a party game perspective, but Double Dash is the one I think of when I think of "the best Mario Kart." Part of it is, no doubt, childhood nostalgia peeking from behind the curtain. Still, I find the physics of this Mario Kart the most bombastic and fun to play. Additionally the fact that you get to choose your power-ups and that they're tied to character (and as such, a vehicle for characterization) is such a cool system; I'm a bit disappointed it never makes a return in some way.
2001
Luigi's Mansion is an interesting game. It's small in scope, and I do wonder if the development team for it was small as well. I get the vibe of a cozy band of programmers working away at their cheeky and unorthodox launch title deep within the Nintendo HQ.
In any case, the result is marvelous. They managed to capture the essence of what makes a haunted mansion setting so compelling; ghosts, yes, and supernatural pranks, but most compelling to me is the inclusion of not just "ghosts" as an entity, but ghosts as a haunting. Many of the spirits in this game are named characters. Most of them speak and give you a general sense of what they might've been like when they were actual people. For child me, it was a fascinating brush with the idea of death and undeath, and as far as a Nintendo game's themes can go I still find it very cool.
In any case, the result is marvelous. They managed to capture the essence of what makes a haunted mansion setting so compelling; ghosts, yes, and supernatural pranks, but most compelling to me is the inclusion of not just "ghosts" as an entity, but ghosts as a haunting. Many of the spirits in this game are named characters. Most of them speak and give you a general sense of what they might've been like when they were actual people. For child me, it was a fascinating brush with the idea of death and undeath, and as far as a Nintendo game's themes can go I still find it very cool.
The haunting vibe of the original is lost completely. Alternate titles might be Luigi's Mansion: Ghostbusters or Luigi's Mansion Goes Corporate. I'd still say it's worth playing, and the soundtrack is very catchy, but it's clear this series has gone down a different direction than I'd have preferred. Say no to Halloweenification!
Fun, and more feature-packed than any of the others... But I don't like playing god, and I don't like how much time this game likes to waste.