This was my first Yakuza game, and I understand it's very different from the rest of the franchise, at least from a gameplay perspective. I really enjoyed it, though. I'm a big fan of RPGs, and the way this game integrated turn-based RPG combat with its setting is hilarious, bombastic, and delightful. The classes based on regular jobs are wild and at high levels I really enjoyed setting up buckwild combos through the hilarious use of everyday objects. The side content is also a lot of fun, particularly the kart racing questline. I found the storyline a bit hard to follow at first when it started diving into the politics of the gang war, but that confusion was definitely sorted out by the end. The only major complaint I had was there were a few major difficulty spikes that really made the game grind to a halt, but overall this game is an absolute delight and I highly recommend it.

Super Mario 3D World was one of my favorite games on the Wii U and I'm really happy to have it back on Nintendo Switch. I was also excited to get my hands on Bowser's Fury, though, and that game is absolutely delightful. The open world design and its seamless level integration is revolutionary and I look forward to seeing what influence it will have on future entries. Bowser's Fury is one of the very few games in my life I've ever gone out of my way to 100% and I do not regret it, the world is rich with secrets, bonus content, and just all around fun. It's also extremely small, but fortunately, it comes packaged with one of the Wii U's best games! Definitely check this one out if you have a Switch and haven't picked up a copy already.

I arrived on the video game scene pretty late in the overall timeline so the original Link's Awakening was definitely before my time. This remake is an absolute gem, though. The art style is adorable and the music and atmosphere are just so charming. Even though the world is much more compact than a lot of other Zelda games, and is further constrained by the overall presentation making it feel like a little toybox, it's remarkable how much content there is and how much there is to discover. There was one boss that briefly stumped me but overall I really have no complaints.

I really enjoyed this game. The characters were great and the combat had some solid mechanics behind it. I generally found myself thinking a lot more strategically than in Persona 5, which was nice. That being said, it's still an inferior game, which really reflects more on how good Persona 5 is than on Soul Hackers 2. The game is dragged down by the late-game Soul Matrix content which, while technically optional, is still a major part of the game. The final levels of the Matrix are an absolute slog, which is a shame, because the late game is really when the rest of the game starts to shine the most. In fact, not to give anything away, but for a variety of reasons I think this game had my favorite final boss fight I've ever seen in a turn-based RPG.

I absolutely adore this game. The level and world design is beautiful, the story is surprisingly twisted (in true Kirby fashion) and the gameplay is very deep. Customizable copy abilities are a godsend for this franchise and I want to see them in the next Kirby game. The only real complaint I have is that I played this one mostly co-op, and my player 2 noted that a lot of the levels were not designed to give Waddle Dee much to do. So overall I very strongly recommend it but I do regretfully recommend it as a primarily singleplayer experience.