Giantsazando
2004
Pikmin is a game I really loved, and I've been meaning for a long time now to play its sequel. I've heard it's an absolutely amazing game, and since I loved the first game, it would make sense that I would love this one too. And of course, that's exactly what happened, I loved the new direction that this game took, and I love how this game really tried experimenting with things.
Pikmin 2 feels a lot more open than the first game. While the levels have the same general size in both Pikmin 1 and 2, it's how you go about going through the game that makes it feel thus. Since this game doesn't feature the 30-day limit of the first game, it's allows you to plan more freely, without having that looming time limit over your head. While that 30-day time limit was amazing in the first game, I'm glad they changed it up for the sequel. Pikmin 2 instead gives you a basic goal, "get enough money to pay off a debt", and how you go about doing that is entirely up to you. I mean simply that just means collecting treasures, but what treasures you get, where you find them, and the exact order of which you do so is entirely up to you, and I adore that. Though of course the big way of getting treasures is exploring Caves.
Caves are dungeons where you can bring your Pikmin into to find treasures, and there is some really interesting choices in how caves work. The fact you can only use the Pikmin you bring in to the caves creates an interesting challenge, especially the further you get into the game, and the harder the caves become. One thing I noticed about the caves as I was playing is that some of the floors seemed to have randomly generated layouts, though not every floor has this. I also really adore how a lot of the caves seem to have bosses unique to them, though I know I didn't see all of them. You don't need to go to every cave to beat the game, so I did miss out on some. Caves are definitely a bit challenging because you have that limited number of Pikmin to use. However at the same time, they're also really forgiving due to being able to reload back to the start of the specific floor.
I also really love the addition of the brand new Pikmin found in the game. The Purple Pikmin are extremely powerful, and easily the best Pikmin in the game. They can stun enemies, deal massive damage, and a singular Purple Pikmin counts as 10 regular Pikmin when carrying items. Because of this, it's arguable that they're a bit too powerful, but I still really adore them. The White Pikmin are also rather neat, they resist Poison and they find things that are completely buried underground. While as I mentioned, the Purple Pikmin are really powerful, the 2 new Pikmin introduced create a great dynamic with the already existing Red, Blue, and Yellow Pikmin. And on top of that, you have to be more decisive with how many you have, as now with 5 types of Pikmin, but you can still only hold 100 Pikmin maximum.
I really enjoyed Pikmin 2. But I feel like I love it the same amount as the first one, and I really love the new approach Pikmin 2 goes for. I could definitely try to 100% the game in the future, but I'm content with the amount that I played.
Pikmin 2 feels a lot more open than the first game. While the levels have the same general size in both Pikmin 1 and 2, it's how you go about going through the game that makes it feel thus. Since this game doesn't feature the 30-day limit of the first game, it's allows you to plan more freely, without having that looming time limit over your head. While that 30-day time limit was amazing in the first game, I'm glad they changed it up for the sequel. Pikmin 2 instead gives you a basic goal, "get enough money to pay off a debt", and how you go about doing that is entirely up to you. I mean simply that just means collecting treasures, but what treasures you get, where you find them, and the exact order of which you do so is entirely up to you, and I adore that. Though of course the big way of getting treasures is exploring Caves.
Caves are dungeons where you can bring your Pikmin into to find treasures, and there is some really interesting choices in how caves work. The fact you can only use the Pikmin you bring in to the caves creates an interesting challenge, especially the further you get into the game, and the harder the caves become. One thing I noticed about the caves as I was playing is that some of the floors seemed to have randomly generated layouts, though not every floor has this. I also really adore how a lot of the caves seem to have bosses unique to them, though I know I didn't see all of them. You don't need to go to every cave to beat the game, so I did miss out on some. Caves are definitely a bit challenging because you have that limited number of Pikmin to use. However at the same time, they're also really forgiving due to being able to reload back to the start of the specific floor.
I also really love the addition of the brand new Pikmin found in the game. The Purple Pikmin are extremely powerful, and easily the best Pikmin in the game. They can stun enemies, deal massive damage, and a singular Purple Pikmin counts as 10 regular Pikmin when carrying items. Because of this, it's arguable that they're a bit too powerful, but I still really adore them. The White Pikmin are also rather neat, they resist Poison and they find things that are completely buried underground. While as I mentioned, the Purple Pikmin are really powerful, the 2 new Pikmin introduced create a great dynamic with the already existing Red, Blue, and Yellow Pikmin. And on top of that, you have to be more decisive with how many you have, as now with 5 types of Pikmin, but you can still only hold 100 Pikmin maximum.
I really enjoyed Pikmin 2. But I feel like I love it the same amount as the first one, and I really love the new approach Pikmin 2 goes for. I could definitely try to 100% the game in the future, but I'm content with the amount that I played.
1989
It's rather funny, really. I've played both Earthbound and Mother 3, but only now have I gotten around to playing Mother proper. And while I think it's a good game, it's definitely got a lot of rough patches that keep it from being much higher.
This game from what I remember was a very late Famicom/NES game, coming out only a year before the Super Famicom, and for what it is, Mother is a really impressive game. And while it definitely has its shortcomings and limitations, I find it really impressive. While this game isn't a massive RPG, I beat it in about 10-11 hours total, the sense of scale that Mother has is really cool!
I really love the aesthetic of Mother, the idea of a turn based RPG set in some midwest US state is really cool. The mundanity mixed with the fantastical nature of evil monsters and magic PSI abilities. It creates a really charming aesthetic, and one that persists throughout the entire game, even when you get to the ending. I also absolutely love the music, easily my favorite being Snowman.
The actual combat of Mother is rather fun as well, though probably the simplest of the series from what I remember. The PSI abilities are fun, but I never really used many of them. I pretty much only used them to heal, and use PK Beam when I needed a good offensive option. Though I never found the game too difficult, I probably would've had an easier time with the game if I used more of the PSI abilities. But at the same time, I never felt the need to.
Compared to its later games, Mother isn't as story heavy from what I experienced. However, the story it does have is really good, and the actual emotional core of Mother is very strong. The final moments of the game are super impactful, especially.
But, even though the game is really good in the previously mentioned aspects, it's got some noticeable problems, I feel. While I do compliment the scale of Mother's world, god it so difficult to navigate. The overworld and dungeons feel like mazes, and it's really hard to find your way around. This definitely lead to times where I was just completely lost, having no way to get my bearings. I remember this especially when I was in Duncan's Factory, where the entire area blended together and I just had no idea where to go. Eventually I just pulled a guide and followed it all the way to the end, and I don't think I could've beaten the game without it. The level layout I think is the general issue here, as I had the idea of where I needed to go, just not how to get there.
The other, and definitely more glaring issue is the rate of Random Encounters. In particular, random encounters occur so often in Mother, sometimes just taking a single step brings about one. Now, while that's passable early on, as enemies could be beaten easily, and it's good for level grinding, the further you get, the worse it becomes. Enemies often have noticeable spikes in difficulty, and can often appear in groups of 2-4, and because of how long these battles can take, it proves easier to try and run from them instead of fighting them. However, that leads into one of my personal pet peeves that appear in many RPGs, which is failing to flee from a battle. Failing to run away is often a punishment to the player, however, there's already an innate punishment in running away already, as you wont gain experience at all, thus, you'll ultimately be weaker. But regardless of that, the chance of failing the run away feels way too high, and while there is a PSI ability to ensure a success flee, it costs 16 PP to use, so you get at best about 10 uses of it at the end of the game. And with how often random encounters occur, you're likely to run out of PP before getting to the end of a dungeon. Though I think this issue wouldn't be as big of an issue here if the encounter rate was significantly lower.
But I still really appreciate Mother for what it is. It's definitely got its shortcomings, and it's probably my least favorite of the trilogy, but there's a lot of heart here. I think it was definitely worth playing, but I don't think I'd replay it any time soon.
This game from what I remember was a very late Famicom/NES game, coming out only a year before the Super Famicom, and for what it is, Mother is a really impressive game. And while it definitely has its shortcomings and limitations, I find it really impressive. While this game isn't a massive RPG, I beat it in about 10-11 hours total, the sense of scale that Mother has is really cool!
I really love the aesthetic of Mother, the idea of a turn based RPG set in some midwest US state is really cool. The mundanity mixed with the fantastical nature of evil monsters and magic PSI abilities. It creates a really charming aesthetic, and one that persists throughout the entire game, even when you get to the ending. I also absolutely love the music, easily my favorite being Snowman.
The actual combat of Mother is rather fun as well, though probably the simplest of the series from what I remember. The PSI abilities are fun, but I never really used many of them. I pretty much only used them to heal, and use PK Beam when I needed a good offensive option. Though I never found the game too difficult, I probably would've had an easier time with the game if I used more of the PSI abilities. But at the same time, I never felt the need to.
Compared to its later games, Mother isn't as story heavy from what I experienced. However, the story it does have is really good, and the actual emotional core of Mother is very strong. The final moments of the game are super impactful, especially.
But, even though the game is really good in the previously mentioned aspects, it's got some noticeable problems, I feel. While I do compliment the scale of Mother's world, god it so difficult to navigate. The overworld and dungeons feel like mazes, and it's really hard to find your way around. This definitely lead to times where I was just completely lost, having no way to get my bearings. I remember this especially when I was in Duncan's Factory, where the entire area blended together and I just had no idea where to go. Eventually I just pulled a guide and followed it all the way to the end, and I don't think I could've beaten the game without it. The level layout I think is the general issue here, as I had the idea of where I needed to go, just not how to get there.
The other, and definitely more glaring issue is the rate of Random Encounters. In particular, random encounters occur so often in Mother, sometimes just taking a single step brings about one. Now, while that's passable early on, as enemies could be beaten easily, and it's good for level grinding, the further you get, the worse it becomes. Enemies often have noticeable spikes in difficulty, and can often appear in groups of 2-4, and because of how long these battles can take, it proves easier to try and run from them instead of fighting them. However, that leads into one of my personal pet peeves that appear in many RPGs, which is failing to flee from a battle. Failing to run away is often a punishment to the player, however, there's already an innate punishment in running away already, as you wont gain experience at all, thus, you'll ultimately be weaker. But regardless of that, the chance of failing the run away feels way too high, and while there is a PSI ability to ensure a success flee, it costs 16 PP to use, so you get at best about 10 uses of it at the end of the game. And with how often random encounters occur, you're likely to run out of PP before getting to the end of a dungeon. Though I think this issue wouldn't be as big of an issue here if the encounter rate was significantly lower.
But I still really appreciate Mother for what it is. It's definitely got its shortcomings, and it's probably my least favorite of the trilogy, but there's a lot of heart here. I think it was definitely worth playing, but I don't think I'd replay it any time soon.
God. Xenoblade Chronicles 2 is... an odd game. I can't say for certain whether or not I like it, and I don't think any game has made me feel this way. It's a game of very high highs, but excruciatingly low lows. In that regard, I suppose Xenoblade Chronicles 2 is a unique game, for better or for worse.
I started up my semi-binge of Xeno series games due to my love of the story of Xenosaga. And, Xenoblade Chronicles 2's story is rough. The first half of the story drags on, and it struggles to find out what kind of story it wants to be. Does it want to be a Romantic Comedy, or does it want to be a Philosophical War story? This constant clash with what the story wants to be is really jarring, especially with how most of the game's comedy falls flat. In particular, it's either just plainly unfunny, or weirdly uncomfortable. And this bring to not care about certain characters, and hate a specific character that the game probably doesn't want me to. But I find this all frustrating knowing how much better the game gets in the last couple chapters. Around the start of Chapter 7, the game really figures out what it wants to be, and it's genuinely amazing. I absolutely love the game's final chapter, it was an amazing ending to a game that doesn't deserve it. But... with how good the game's story gets later on, it makes that first half of the game far worse in comparison. It just makes me ask, "why did I have to spend 25+ hours in order to get here?". I genuinely can't imagine replaying this game because of that, I don't want to play 25 hours of bad story just to get back to the stuff that is good.
And god, this game's tutorial is just way too long. Not only that, but the game has just, too many tutorials. The game interrupted itself to inform you of things that you could probably figure out on your own just by looking through the menus. While some tutorials are definitely helpful, it didn't feel like I was allowed to learn for myself, which is a bit frustrating to me, especially as it stops the whole game in order to tell me whatever it wants me to know at that time. This issue goes into the Torna DLC as well, since they repeat a lot of information you would already know if you played the original game. And there isn't an option to turn these tutorials off.
And a bit of side tangent here, but Rex is... odd. Now, specifically I'm not talking about his personality. In particular, his model just doesn't fit in with the rest of the game. It's as if they took a model from a different game, and put it into this one, and it's odd because it's really only Rex that has this issue. Especially with how Rex looks so different compared to every other character in the game, it just becomes really jarring to me.
And, I'll be honest here, I almost gave up on this game at a specific point. In particular, it was near the end of Chapter 4, and I was fighting that chapter's end boss. When the game was supposed to trigger a cutscene, but it never did. I had to re-do that entire dungeon all over again, and god it really sucked. And I wish I could say that this was the only time the game crashed like this, but it wasn't. I was just lucky that the first crash made me start saving a lot more frequently.
But, what really allowed me to stick through with this game was the actual combat. God, that combat loop was so addictive. Being able to switch between 3 blades while in combat, all with unique artes and elements is super fun. And boss fights especially are amazing, the flow of combat is really addicting.
But that comes with a noticeable drawback. In particular, most of the Blades you can obtain in game require you go through a Gacha System. And, innately, this is already a problem. Xenoblade Chronicles 2 is a 50 hour Single Player RPG, not a mobile game, why is one of the most important parts of the gameplay tied to a Gacha System? Now, if the Gacha System was just alternate skins, that'd be one thing, sure, but they're not!
Each Blade has 1-3 Field Abilities, and these abilities can do certain things in the overworld. Now, with that in mind, sometimes you'll have to have specific field abilities in order to make progress in the game, and you're never guaranteed to have every field ability you need! That means, in order to progress in the game, sometimes you have to hope the Gacha System gives you the thing you need, which often doesn't happen. This then leads to Field Abilities really just being artificial roadblocks, as a way to make the game that much longer by forcing you to grind the gacha system.
I find it hard to navigate in this game. I absolutely love how the world looks in Xenoblade Chronicles 2, it's set-pieces are amazing. But actively trying to figure out where you're supposed to go is dreadful. The destination marker is often difficult to follow, and the actual geometry of the overall world makes it hard to traverse.
And Torna is interesting. Torna changes the gameplay to switching between the Blade and Driver, which yet again is a really fun combat loop! The synergy that can come with the switch attacks makes it even more engaging than before. And the story itself is far smoother than the original game's, though keep in mind it's about a quarter the length. I just personally dont like how the game requires you to do numerous side quests in order to open up the ending. But yet again, the ending of Torna is really good, and I'm glad I was able to see it.
And, I'm sorry for talking as much I have here. Xenoblade Chronicles 2 does not deserve the amount of time I've spent typing this review, but I have so much to say about it. I... I don't think I hate it, but it's far from the quality of the previous titles of the Xeno series. While I don't love it, I'm glad I played a game that made me feel this confused about it. It really a unique experience because of that, even if it's not an amazing game, but Xenoblade Chronicles 2 really is... something.
I started up my semi-binge of Xeno series games due to my love of the story of Xenosaga. And, Xenoblade Chronicles 2's story is rough. The first half of the story drags on, and it struggles to find out what kind of story it wants to be. Does it want to be a Romantic Comedy, or does it want to be a Philosophical War story? This constant clash with what the story wants to be is really jarring, especially with how most of the game's comedy falls flat. In particular, it's either just plainly unfunny, or weirdly uncomfortable. And this bring to not care about certain characters, and hate a specific character that the game probably doesn't want me to. But I find this all frustrating knowing how much better the game gets in the last couple chapters. Around the start of Chapter 7, the game really figures out what it wants to be, and it's genuinely amazing. I absolutely love the game's final chapter, it was an amazing ending to a game that doesn't deserve it. But... with how good the game's story gets later on, it makes that first half of the game far worse in comparison. It just makes me ask, "why did I have to spend 25+ hours in order to get here?". I genuinely can't imagine replaying this game because of that, I don't want to play 25 hours of bad story just to get back to the stuff that is good.
And god, this game's tutorial is just way too long. Not only that, but the game has just, too many tutorials. The game interrupted itself to inform you of things that you could probably figure out on your own just by looking through the menus. While some tutorials are definitely helpful, it didn't feel like I was allowed to learn for myself, which is a bit frustrating to me, especially as it stops the whole game in order to tell me whatever it wants me to know at that time. This issue goes into the Torna DLC as well, since they repeat a lot of information you would already know if you played the original game. And there isn't an option to turn these tutorials off.
And a bit of side tangent here, but Rex is... odd. Now, specifically I'm not talking about his personality. In particular, his model just doesn't fit in with the rest of the game. It's as if they took a model from a different game, and put it into this one, and it's odd because it's really only Rex that has this issue. Especially with how Rex looks so different compared to every other character in the game, it just becomes really jarring to me.
And, I'll be honest here, I almost gave up on this game at a specific point. In particular, it was near the end of Chapter 4, and I was fighting that chapter's end boss. When the game was supposed to trigger a cutscene, but it never did. I had to re-do that entire dungeon all over again, and god it really sucked. And I wish I could say that this was the only time the game crashed like this, but it wasn't. I was just lucky that the first crash made me start saving a lot more frequently.
But, what really allowed me to stick through with this game was the actual combat. God, that combat loop was so addictive. Being able to switch between 3 blades while in combat, all with unique artes and elements is super fun. And boss fights especially are amazing, the flow of combat is really addicting.
But that comes with a noticeable drawback. In particular, most of the Blades you can obtain in game require you go through a Gacha System. And, innately, this is already a problem. Xenoblade Chronicles 2 is a 50 hour Single Player RPG, not a mobile game, why is one of the most important parts of the gameplay tied to a Gacha System? Now, if the Gacha System was just alternate skins, that'd be one thing, sure, but they're not!
Each Blade has 1-3 Field Abilities, and these abilities can do certain things in the overworld. Now, with that in mind, sometimes you'll have to have specific field abilities in order to make progress in the game, and you're never guaranteed to have every field ability you need! That means, in order to progress in the game, sometimes you have to hope the Gacha System gives you the thing you need, which often doesn't happen. This then leads to Field Abilities really just being artificial roadblocks, as a way to make the game that much longer by forcing you to grind the gacha system.
I find it hard to navigate in this game. I absolutely love how the world looks in Xenoblade Chronicles 2, it's set-pieces are amazing. But actively trying to figure out where you're supposed to go is dreadful. The destination marker is often difficult to follow, and the actual geometry of the overall world makes it hard to traverse.
And Torna is interesting. Torna changes the gameplay to switching between the Blade and Driver, which yet again is a really fun combat loop! The synergy that can come with the switch attacks makes it even more engaging than before. And the story itself is far smoother than the original game's, though keep in mind it's about a quarter the length. I just personally dont like how the game requires you to do numerous side quests in order to open up the ending. But yet again, the ending of Torna is really good, and I'm glad I was able to see it.
And, I'm sorry for talking as much I have here. Xenoblade Chronicles 2 does not deserve the amount of time I've spent typing this review, but I have so much to say about it. I... I don't think I hate it, but it's far from the quality of the previous titles of the Xeno series. While I don't love it, I'm glad I played a game that made me feel this confused about it. It really a unique experience because of that, even if it's not an amazing game, but Xenoblade Chronicles 2 really is... something.
2013
Pokemon Y is an odd game. Of the mainline Pokemon games, it was the first to be in 3D, and because of that, it has some issues. It's far from the best Pokemon game, but I think it's still a pretty fun one.
For the sake of simplicity, I'm going to talk about Pokemon X and Y here, since both games are about the same. And Pokemon X and Y have a lot of firsts to their name, the first 3D mainline pokemon, mega evolution, the fairy type, mega evolutions, etc. I think it's probably best to start with them.
The fairy type is one of the most notable things introduced in Pokemon X and Y, for reference, the last time a new type was introduced was back in the Generation 2 games. And genuinely, I can't imagine Pokemon without the fairy typing now, it creates a great balancing change, making dragon, dark, and fighting types a bit weaker, while giving more spotlight to steel and poison types. It's also crazy how many pokemon actually changed their typing to either have the fairy type added, or just becoming a fairy type exclusively. It's really cool!
Next, when it comes to the transition to 3D models, it's so-so, I would say. Not the fault of the game of course, but I find it unfortunate that these were the 3D models going forward. For the new pokemon introduced in the game, I do think the 3D models were really good! But some Pokemon I don't think got the same treatment, and a lot of shiny pokemon lost their luster. My first immediate thought of this is a Pokemon like Lanturn. But when it comes to the environment and player characters, I find them really charming!
Trainer Customization is introduced in this game, and while I really love it, it's also quite limited. See, the outfits in the game that you can buy rotate each day, which I personally don't like. It basically means you have to hope that you get the outfit you want on a specific day, and if not, who knows when next it'll appear. The hair customization as well has some weird limitations. If you don't know what the hair styles or colors look like, you have to take a leap of faith to find the one that you prefer the most, as there's no way to see what it is before you pay for it. Alongside that, the hair colors you get only go to natural shades, and while that's fine, since later games allow for a larger variety of hair color, this feels noticeably limited in comparison.
Now, I think Mega Evolution is cool! Giving new upgrades to older pokemon in the form of kinda evolutions that occur only in battle is really neat! It also gave a lot of weaker Pokemon ways to actually be strong, pokemon like Kangaskhan, Mawile, or Absol for examples. However, in the main campaign of X and Y, there's a noticeable lack of mega evolutions. Not only did 3 trainers in the entire main story have a mega evolved Pokemon, you can only find a small handful of the mega stones until postgame. And even with all of that, how I typically play Pokemon meant that I wouldn't encounter any opportunity to use a Mega Evolution in my main team. For reference, whenever I play a Pokemon game, I like to use Pokemon introduced in that game's respective region, X and Y, I would only use Gen 6 Pokemon. The issues comes with the fact that no Gen 6 Pokemon get mega evolutions during the entirety of X and Y, and only did one Gen 6 Pokemon ever get a mega evolution, and that was the event Pokemon Diancie. While this ultimately doesn't lower the quality of the game all that much, I think it was a baffling choice that I want to mention here.
Now, getting into the main campaign of X and Y, there's one change that I've yet to mention solely as it's really relevant to the general campaign as a whole. And the reason is because it makes X and Y's campaign just too easy. Now, you might be thinking this change might be how the Experience Share works, as instead of giving additional XP to one pokemon, it gives to everyone Pokemon. And, you'd be technically correct, that is part of why X and Y are so easy, but I don't think that's the big issue. What change I think made X and Y as easy as they were is how they changed the XP formula. In the previous games, specifically Black and White, alongside Black 2 and White 2, Experience took into account the level of your pokemon, and the pokemon you're fighting. What that means is that the higher level the pokemon you're fighting is compared to your pokemon, the more XP you would get, and the inverse is also true. The higher level your pokemon is, compared to the one you're fighting, the less experience you get. And this was an amazing design choice, as it allowed you to stay relatively on par with the pokemon you were fighting, while ensuring you were never overleveled. In X and Y, they do not use this Experience Formula, instead, each pokemon gives a specific amount of experience, regardless of the level range. So that, coinciding with how the Exp Share works now makes the game so much easier, thusly, so much faster to beat. And for reference, while most Pokemon games take me about 30-40 hours to beat usually, this replay of Pokemon Y took me under 20 hours to beat in full.
And while a typical Pokemon campaign at least fun, I wish I could say the same about X and Y's story. To me, most of it just feels underwhelming, and at times just forgettable. There is some cool stuff that happens, sure, but I'm gonna be honest, I don't really have a strong opinion on it overall. At best, the villainous team is mildly interesting, but you can never take them seriously because they're designs are kinda bad, though I do like the visors (I would say the visors are the one good part of their designs, in the case of the admins). And I made an odd realization during my replay of Pokemon Y, in that, I think the story was altered, and Team Flare specifically was just spliced into it, which could explain why they're just... like that. Especially because the game's ending scene in isolation is so powerful, but the game never feels like it justifies having it, like it just comes out of nowhere.
And while in this particular replay, I never did the postgame, I always felt like X and Y's postgame is rather lacking. Particularly, the most the game gives you is one town, and a short 2 hour mini-campaign. And while that's fine, it's such a minuscule postgame in comparison to postgames we see back in the generation 4 and 5 games. It's just kinda sad to me.
But, ultimately Pokemon X and Y aren't bad games, they're just okay. I still had fun with them, and I really enjoyed my replay through Pokemon Y, but at the end of the day, this game could've been a lot more. And I just find that unfortunate.
For the sake of simplicity, I'm going to talk about Pokemon X and Y here, since both games are about the same. And Pokemon X and Y have a lot of firsts to their name, the first 3D mainline pokemon, mega evolution, the fairy type, mega evolutions, etc. I think it's probably best to start with them.
The fairy type is one of the most notable things introduced in Pokemon X and Y, for reference, the last time a new type was introduced was back in the Generation 2 games. And genuinely, I can't imagine Pokemon without the fairy typing now, it creates a great balancing change, making dragon, dark, and fighting types a bit weaker, while giving more spotlight to steel and poison types. It's also crazy how many pokemon actually changed their typing to either have the fairy type added, or just becoming a fairy type exclusively. It's really cool!
Next, when it comes to the transition to 3D models, it's so-so, I would say. Not the fault of the game of course, but I find it unfortunate that these were the 3D models going forward. For the new pokemon introduced in the game, I do think the 3D models were really good! But some Pokemon I don't think got the same treatment, and a lot of shiny pokemon lost their luster. My first immediate thought of this is a Pokemon like Lanturn. But when it comes to the environment and player characters, I find them really charming!
Trainer Customization is introduced in this game, and while I really love it, it's also quite limited. See, the outfits in the game that you can buy rotate each day, which I personally don't like. It basically means you have to hope that you get the outfit you want on a specific day, and if not, who knows when next it'll appear. The hair customization as well has some weird limitations. If you don't know what the hair styles or colors look like, you have to take a leap of faith to find the one that you prefer the most, as there's no way to see what it is before you pay for it. Alongside that, the hair colors you get only go to natural shades, and while that's fine, since later games allow for a larger variety of hair color, this feels noticeably limited in comparison.
Now, I think Mega Evolution is cool! Giving new upgrades to older pokemon in the form of kinda evolutions that occur only in battle is really neat! It also gave a lot of weaker Pokemon ways to actually be strong, pokemon like Kangaskhan, Mawile, or Absol for examples. However, in the main campaign of X and Y, there's a noticeable lack of mega evolutions. Not only did 3 trainers in the entire main story have a mega evolved Pokemon, you can only find a small handful of the mega stones until postgame. And even with all of that, how I typically play Pokemon meant that I wouldn't encounter any opportunity to use a Mega Evolution in my main team. For reference, whenever I play a Pokemon game, I like to use Pokemon introduced in that game's respective region, X and Y, I would only use Gen 6 Pokemon. The issues comes with the fact that no Gen 6 Pokemon get mega evolutions during the entirety of X and Y, and only did one Gen 6 Pokemon ever get a mega evolution, and that was the event Pokemon Diancie. While this ultimately doesn't lower the quality of the game all that much, I think it was a baffling choice that I want to mention here.
Now, getting into the main campaign of X and Y, there's one change that I've yet to mention solely as it's really relevant to the general campaign as a whole. And the reason is because it makes X and Y's campaign just too easy. Now, you might be thinking this change might be how the Experience Share works, as instead of giving additional XP to one pokemon, it gives to everyone Pokemon. And, you'd be technically correct, that is part of why X and Y are so easy, but I don't think that's the big issue. What change I think made X and Y as easy as they were is how they changed the XP formula. In the previous games, specifically Black and White, alongside Black 2 and White 2, Experience took into account the level of your pokemon, and the pokemon you're fighting. What that means is that the higher level the pokemon you're fighting is compared to your pokemon, the more XP you would get, and the inverse is also true. The higher level your pokemon is, compared to the one you're fighting, the less experience you get. And this was an amazing design choice, as it allowed you to stay relatively on par with the pokemon you were fighting, while ensuring you were never overleveled. In X and Y, they do not use this Experience Formula, instead, each pokemon gives a specific amount of experience, regardless of the level range. So that, coinciding with how the Exp Share works now makes the game so much easier, thusly, so much faster to beat. And for reference, while most Pokemon games take me about 30-40 hours to beat usually, this replay of Pokemon Y took me under 20 hours to beat in full.
And while a typical Pokemon campaign at least fun, I wish I could say the same about X and Y's story. To me, most of it just feels underwhelming, and at times just forgettable. There is some cool stuff that happens, sure, but I'm gonna be honest, I don't really have a strong opinion on it overall. At best, the villainous team is mildly interesting, but you can never take them seriously because they're designs are kinda bad, though I do like the visors (I would say the visors are the one good part of their designs, in the case of the admins). And I made an odd realization during my replay of Pokemon Y, in that, I think the story was altered, and Team Flare specifically was just spliced into it, which could explain why they're just... like that. Especially because the game's ending scene in isolation is so powerful, but the game never feels like it justifies having it, like it just comes out of nowhere.
And while in this particular replay, I never did the postgame, I always felt like X and Y's postgame is rather lacking. Particularly, the most the game gives you is one town, and a short 2 hour mini-campaign. And while that's fine, it's such a minuscule postgame in comparison to postgames we see back in the generation 4 and 5 games. It's just kinda sad to me.
But, ultimately Pokemon X and Y aren't bad games, they're just okay. I still had fun with them, and I really enjoyed my replay through Pokemon Y, but at the end of the day, this game could've been a lot more. And I just find that unfortunate.
Pokemon Ranger is a series I hold a lot of nostalgia for, especially as the last of game of the trilogy, Guardian Signs, was the first game I ever beat. Back about 2 months ago, I chose to revisit the series, starting with the original Ranger, and I struggled. The original ranger's game design wasn't something I was particular for, as I found its main gameplay loop to be frustrating. The reason I give this whole preamble is cause I want to explain my general apprehension to playing Pokemon Ranger: Shadows of Almia. But I am glad I stuck through it to the end.
One reason why I was bothered by the original Pokemon Ranger so much was the general gameplay loop. In order to befriend a pokemon in the original Ranger, you had to do consecutive loops around it. And for bosses, that means upwards of 20 or 30 loops, without messing up once. In Shadows of Almia however, each loop around a pokemon fills up a bar, and a pokemon is befriended once the bar is filled. And I really appreciate this change! I find the game to be better balanced around this kind of system, providing a great gameplay loop, without the issues that pervaded the original game. And in fact, some of the later bosses were really fun!
Pokemon Assists are still a really fun mechanic, and can especially help in certain situations. From what I've used, they feel a bit more fleshed out in concept, though I rarely needed to use them. They probably would've made certain bosses easier for me if I did use them, but I never felt like I needed them. For me, I only ever needed to use it in one boss fight.
I really love the Partner Pokemon, much like the Pokemon Assists, I never really used them, but the fact they exist is still amazing. I love being able to run around with a specific Pokemon I was able to become partners with, and trying to collecting all that I can was really fun! The fact that Partner Pokemon act as a free use of a specific Pokemon Assist is also really nice, and it can help adapt to certain situations, if you know what's about to happen. I particularly chose to make Misdreavus my main partner, as that has always been one of my personal favorites.
Quests are another great addition that helps make the game a lot better. Obviously, they're optional missions you can take, and you can probably beat the game without even doing one. However, it's super beneficial to do them! They give you boosts to either your styler strength, or grant you defense to certain attacks, and I found them coming in clutch so often.
Shadows of Almia is a really fun game, and it's nice that I finally got around to replaying it. Aside from it being vastly better mechanically, it's story is fun and charming overall. Guardian Signs will be an interesting time when I get around to it.
One reason why I was bothered by the original Pokemon Ranger so much was the general gameplay loop. In order to befriend a pokemon in the original Ranger, you had to do consecutive loops around it. And for bosses, that means upwards of 20 or 30 loops, without messing up once. In Shadows of Almia however, each loop around a pokemon fills up a bar, and a pokemon is befriended once the bar is filled. And I really appreciate this change! I find the game to be better balanced around this kind of system, providing a great gameplay loop, without the issues that pervaded the original game. And in fact, some of the later bosses were really fun!
Pokemon Assists are still a really fun mechanic, and can especially help in certain situations. From what I've used, they feel a bit more fleshed out in concept, though I rarely needed to use them. They probably would've made certain bosses easier for me if I did use them, but I never felt like I needed them. For me, I only ever needed to use it in one boss fight.
I really love the Partner Pokemon, much like the Pokemon Assists, I never really used them, but the fact they exist is still amazing. I love being able to run around with a specific Pokemon I was able to become partners with, and trying to collecting all that I can was really fun! The fact that Partner Pokemon act as a free use of a specific Pokemon Assist is also really nice, and it can help adapt to certain situations, if you know what's about to happen. I particularly chose to make Misdreavus my main partner, as that has always been one of my personal favorites.
Quests are another great addition that helps make the game a lot better. Obviously, they're optional missions you can take, and you can probably beat the game without even doing one. However, it's super beneficial to do them! They give you boosts to either your styler strength, or grant you defense to certain attacks, and I found them coming in clutch so often.
Shadows of Almia is a really fun game, and it's nice that I finally got around to replaying it. Aside from it being vastly better mechanically, it's story is fun and charming overall. Guardian Signs will be an interesting time when I get around to it.
2006
I've played a good number of Final Fantasy games, but I've also been needing to replay a good number of them. Final Fantasy III has always been one of my personal favorites, there's a lot I really enjoy of it!
I've never played the original Final Fantasy III, however I know that there have been changes to this version of the game. The main reason why I played this version of the game is cause I like the 3D models of the game! My first Final Fantasy was Final Fantasy IV for the DS, so I have a love for the look of this game, it's really cute and charming. Another thing of note is that the game changes the order of certain jobs you can obtain, and there have been some balancing differences as well. But the last and major difference this version of Final Fantasy III is that they try and give the playable characters actual character, and more than just avatars for the player. And, I really like the attempt, I wouldn't say it's perfect, and at a time they go back to just being avatars, but when they do show their characterization, it's nice!
Final Fantasy III features one of my absolute favorite features in RPGs, that being a job system. And, I don't know if this is correct or not, but Final Fantasy III may be one of the first to feature it. I absolutely love being able to switch jobs and classes on the fly, though, Final Fantasy III has some issues with it, I'd say. For one, aside from one job in particular, the game doesn't really require you to experiment, and I find that some jobs are just objectively better than others. Why use a White Mage or a Black Mage when you have a Devout and a Magus for example. And the other big issue is that switching jobs on characters make those characters weaker for a set number of turns. Though in concept it makes sense why, it makes you focus on specific jobs you've already been using, instead of experimenting with other jobs. Though with that in mind, I like how each job has its own set of levels on top of your own, and how those levels effect your over all stats.
The spell system of Final Fantasy III is something I want to take general note of. In a sense, Final Fantasy III's spell system functions in the sense of Spell Slots. And by that, I mean you get 8 levels of spells, and each level has a certain amount of times you can use that level of spell. So for example, you can use a 6th level spell about 16 times or so. And I think it's an interesting way of going about things! You don't have to worry about MP, but you do have to think about how many times you can cast a specific level spell. And with how there's so little spell use recovery items, you have to think really smart about it, which is cool!
The story of early Final Fantasies is rather minimal. I remember hearing that Final Fantasy IV was the first that they really tried to go hard with the story. However with the story there is in Final Fantasy III, it's really cool! However I will say, Final Fantasy III's most interesting aspects are learned through speaking with NPCs, and learning the lore through that. But one aspect of the game that I love is that about halfway through, you get a proper airship. You then learn that the map you were exploring was only a small fraction of the entire world as a whole, and the world opens up massively. It's so cool, and I love how it's done.
One thing I remember when I first played Final Fantasy III years ago was I found it difficult. Yet again in this playthrough, I did have some difficult moments as well. I feel Final Fantasy III's difficulty is a bit of a downward slope, while it's a bit hard early on, once you get more jobs, more levels, and more job levels, it just gets a lot easier. Especially if you use a Monk or a Black Belt, you can do massive damage rather easily. When I first played Final Fantasy III, though I did beat the final boss on my first try, I had a lot of difficulty with it. Though at the same time, I recognized I was severely under-leveled, and under-equipped. This time though, I was properly prepared, and the final boss was quite easy this time around! And with that, that's why I describe Final Fantasy III's difficulty as a downward slope. The more options you have, and the better items you get, it just becomes so much easier.
While I adore Final Fantasy III, it's far from the best of the series. The jobs system, though not perfect, is a system I love, and as said prior, I love the 3D models used in this version of the game. I'm glad I finally got around to replaying it though, so that I can better describe my opinions on it.
I've never played the original Final Fantasy III, however I know that there have been changes to this version of the game. The main reason why I played this version of the game is cause I like the 3D models of the game! My first Final Fantasy was Final Fantasy IV for the DS, so I have a love for the look of this game, it's really cute and charming. Another thing of note is that the game changes the order of certain jobs you can obtain, and there have been some balancing differences as well. But the last and major difference this version of Final Fantasy III is that they try and give the playable characters actual character, and more than just avatars for the player. And, I really like the attempt, I wouldn't say it's perfect, and at a time they go back to just being avatars, but when they do show their characterization, it's nice!
Final Fantasy III features one of my absolute favorite features in RPGs, that being a job system. And, I don't know if this is correct or not, but Final Fantasy III may be one of the first to feature it. I absolutely love being able to switch jobs and classes on the fly, though, Final Fantasy III has some issues with it, I'd say. For one, aside from one job in particular, the game doesn't really require you to experiment, and I find that some jobs are just objectively better than others. Why use a White Mage or a Black Mage when you have a Devout and a Magus for example. And the other big issue is that switching jobs on characters make those characters weaker for a set number of turns. Though in concept it makes sense why, it makes you focus on specific jobs you've already been using, instead of experimenting with other jobs. Though with that in mind, I like how each job has its own set of levels on top of your own, and how those levels effect your over all stats.
The spell system of Final Fantasy III is something I want to take general note of. In a sense, Final Fantasy III's spell system functions in the sense of Spell Slots. And by that, I mean you get 8 levels of spells, and each level has a certain amount of times you can use that level of spell. So for example, you can use a 6th level spell about 16 times or so. And I think it's an interesting way of going about things! You don't have to worry about MP, but you do have to think about how many times you can cast a specific level spell. And with how there's so little spell use recovery items, you have to think really smart about it, which is cool!
The story of early Final Fantasies is rather minimal. I remember hearing that Final Fantasy IV was the first that they really tried to go hard with the story. However with the story there is in Final Fantasy III, it's really cool! However I will say, Final Fantasy III's most interesting aspects are learned through speaking with NPCs, and learning the lore through that. But one aspect of the game that I love is that about halfway through, you get a proper airship. You then learn that the map you were exploring was only a small fraction of the entire world as a whole, and the world opens up massively. It's so cool, and I love how it's done.
One thing I remember when I first played Final Fantasy III years ago was I found it difficult. Yet again in this playthrough, I did have some difficult moments as well. I feel Final Fantasy III's difficulty is a bit of a downward slope, while it's a bit hard early on, once you get more jobs, more levels, and more job levels, it just gets a lot easier. Especially if you use a Monk or a Black Belt, you can do massive damage rather easily. When I first played Final Fantasy III, though I did beat the final boss on my first try, I had a lot of difficulty with it. Though at the same time, I recognized I was severely under-leveled, and under-equipped. This time though, I was properly prepared, and the final boss was quite easy this time around! And with that, that's why I describe Final Fantasy III's difficulty as a downward slope. The more options you have, and the better items you get, it just becomes so much easier.
While I adore Final Fantasy III, it's far from the best of the series. The jobs system, though not perfect, is a system I love, and as said prior, I love the 3D models used in this version of the game. I'm glad I finally got around to replaying it though, so that I can better describe my opinions on it.
Finally getting around to Travis Strikes Again, and this game was an absolute blast. I already knew I would love it, since up to this point I've loved all of Suda51's works. And this game feels like a tribute, a love letter to all of Suda's past works, and to the history of video games as a whole. And not only that, it's also a damn fun co-op game, with some really good levels.
Each level in Travis Strikes Again is themed around specific types of games, which I think is really cool. One level had a Resident Evil style mansion while also having platforming sections. Another was this neon racing game, contrasted by a normal looking outside world. And because of this, each level really stands out, and makes each of them really memorable. And not only that, but the soundtrack each area has is just so damn good. I still remember one level in particular made me laugh so hard, and I loved just the pure hilarity of it.
And god, the combat is really fun. There's of course, the basic heavy and light attacks, alongside some jump and dash abilities. However the skills you can unlock allow for some really fun ways to how you want to build your character. The BCB skill chip was easily one of the best in the game, but I also know I didn't experiment all that much. I think if anything, I didn't like certain enemies that I had to fight, but that's pretty much it.
Travis Strikes Again allows for 2 player co-op, and this is easily what made the experience as good as it was for me. I was able to play from beginning to end with a friend, and it was a blast. Co-Op is interesting as well because there are fun choices made to it as well. For one, while characters can level up in the game, both players use the same pool of experience points. So, if you have enough experience points to level up one player, you might not have enough to level up the other. And some skill chips can actually effect the other player in some way, the Shining Chip for example is a grab, and you have the ability to grab the other player and throw them around. It was all around just super fun.
This leads into something I mentioned at the beginning of the review, that being that this game feels like a love letter to Suda51's works, while also to the history of video games. And I still feel like that's true. Travis Strikes Again feels very personal, as it feels like it really shows a lot of Suda51's journey as a game developer. Hell, one of the levels is entirely based around the issues that arose around his time with EA, and how that ended up creating Shadows of the Damned. And it's really unbelievable how many references to Suda's past works appear in this singular game. I'm certain there's some I've definitely missed. It's so damn impressive how each game features an article that looks like how it would in an early gaming magazine, with cheat codes and those odd metrics too. There's so much love and attention properly crafted into Travis Strikes Again, and I really appreciate it for that.
And as a sort of culmination of Suda's life and work, I really love Travis Strikes Again. It's not my favorite of Suda's works, but it's definitely high up there. There's so much love and care put into this one package, and I really appreciate it. All I have left is No More Heroes 3, and I can't wait to see what it all leads up to.
Each level in Travis Strikes Again is themed around specific types of games, which I think is really cool. One level had a Resident Evil style mansion while also having platforming sections. Another was this neon racing game, contrasted by a normal looking outside world. And because of this, each level really stands out, and makes each of them really memorable. And not only that, but the soundtrack each area has is just so damn good. I still remember one level in particular made me laugh so hard, and I loved just the pure hilarity of it.
And god, the combat is really fun. There's of course, the basic heavy and light attacks, alongside some jump and dash abilities. However the skills you can unlock allow for some really fun ways to how you want to build your character. The BCB skill chip was easily one of the best in the game, but I also know I didn't experiment all that much. I think if anything, I didn't like certain enemies that I had to fight, but that's pretty much it.
Travis Strikes Again allows for 2 player co-op, and this is easily what made the experience as good as it was for me. I was able to play from beginning to end with a friend, and it was a blast. Co-Op is interesting as well because there are fun choices made to it as well. For one, while characters can level up in the game, both players use the same pool of experience points. So, if you have enough experience points to level up one player, you might not have enough to level up the other. And some skill chips can actually effect the other player in some way, the Shining Chip for example is a grab, and you have the ability to grab the other player and throw them around. It was all around just super fun.
This leads into something I mentioned at the beginning of the review, that being that this game feels like a love letter to Suda51's works, while also to the history of video games. And I still feel like that's true. Travis Strikes Again feels very personal, as it feels like it really shows a lot of Suda51's journey as a game developer. Hell, one of the levels is entirely based around the issues that arose around his time with EA, and how that ended up creating Shadows of the Damned. And it's really unbelievable how many references to Suda's past works appear in this singular game. I'm certain there's some I've definitely missed. It's so damn impressive how each game features an article that looks like how it would in an early gaming magazine, with cheat codes and those odd metrics too. There's so much love and attention properly crafted into Travis Strikes Again, and I really appreciate it for that.
And as a sort of culmination of Suda's life and work, I really love Travis Strikes Again. It's not my favorite of Suda's works, but it's definitely high up there. There's so much love and care put into this one package, and I really appreciate it. All I have left is No More Heroes 3, and I can't wait to see what it all leads up to.
I've only recently gotten into the Mario & Luigi series, I first played Superstar Saga about 2 months ago, and now I've finally gotten around to playing its sequel, Partners in Time. And while I had a whole lot of fun with this game, I don't think I enjoy it as much as Superstar Saga.
Partners in Time's combat is as good as the original I'd say. Action Commands have always been really fun to pull off, finding the right timing to make your moves even better. Once you're in the groove of things, combat is so damn fun. And with the introduction of Baby Mario and Baby Luigi as playable characters, you have to focus on 4 buttons, instead of 2 like in Superstar Saga. While most enemies can be beaten rather quickly, when you get to the boss fights, that rhythm becomes so more noticeable.
One big change to the combat is the removal of the Bros Attacks, and in place of them are the Bros Items. Bros Items are really fun! Working in tandem between the characters to power up attacks is really good. Though with that in mind, I think the Bros Items tend to be too powerful. The Mix Flowers, though the final Bros Item you can obtain, can easily do between 300-400 damage normally, which destroys practically anything that comes in your way. I wouldn't say they absolutely break the game, but they give you a noticeable advantage.
The world is rather linear in comparison to Superstar Saga, and I personally miss the more open design of Superstar Saga. There isn't anything wrong with the game's level design though, this is just what I prefer. Though, I really like how each area is connected to Princess Peach's Castle, as a form of a hub world. And the main areas of the game have some really fun puzzles! The puzzles where Mario and Luigi are separated from the Babies are really fun, especially as some require use of both the top and bottom screens.
The story of Partners In Time is an interesting change to that of Superstar Saga. While still goofy with some charming characters, Partners In Time takes a bit of a darker approach. Not only is Time Travel a major aspect of the story, but there's also the worry of alien invasion. I think though that Superstar Saga had more memorable characters to me. But characters like the major villain of Partners In Time is still a memorable character, and I like how they characterize her.
All in all though, I absolutely had a blast with Partners In Time! I've said it many times before, but I still prefer Superstar Saga over this game, but Partners In Time is still a really damn good game.
Partners in Time's combat is as good as the original I'd say. Action Commands have always been really fun to pull off, finding the right timing to make your moves even better. Once you're in the groove of things, combat is so damn fun. And with the introduction of Baby Mario and Baby Luigi as playable characters, you have to focus on 4 buttons, instead of 2 like in Superstar Saga. While most enemies can be beaten rather quickly, when you get to the boss fights, that rhythm becomes so more noticeable.
One big change to the combat is the removal of the Bros Attacks, and in place of them are the Bros Items. Bros Items are really fun! Working in tandem between the characters to power up attacks is really good. Though with that in mind, I think the Bros Items tend to be too powerful. The Mix Flowers, though the final Bros Item you can obtain, can easily do between 300-400 damage normally, which destroys practically anything that comes in your way. I wouldn't say they absolutely break the game, but they give you a noticeable advantage.
The world is rather linear in comparison to Superstar Saga, and I personally miss the more open design of Superstar Saga. There isn't anything wrong with the game's level design though, this is just what I prefer. Though, I really like how each area is connected to Princess Peach's Castle, as a form of a hub world. And the main areas of the game have some really fun puzzles! The puzzles where Mario and Luigi are separated from the Babies are really fun, especially as some require use of both the top and bottom screens.
The story of Partners In Time is an interesting change to that of Superstar Saga. While still goofy with some charming characters, Partners In Time takes a bit of a darker approach. Not only is Time Travel a major aspect of the story, but there's also the worry of alien invasion. I think though that Superstar Saga had more memorable characters to me. But characters like the major villain of Partners In Time is still a memorable character, and I like how they characterize her.
All in all though, I absolutely had a blast with Partners In Time! I've said it many times before, but I still prefer Superstar Saga over this game, but Partners In Time is still a really damn good game.
2013
Bravely Default may just be one of my favorite RPGs I've ever played. At the time of this review, I've played through and beaten this game 4 times now, and it's far from my last. I first played Bravely Default in 2015, and my life changed ever since. This one 3DS game is probably one of the games that has the biggest influence on my life.
Bravely Default's strongest selling point is its Jobs System, and it is one of the most engaging systems I've encountered. The Jobs System basically functions as classes for your characters to choose from, and there's 24 jobs in total, each with unique affinities, abilities, and support skills tied to them. While there's a lot of customization that can be done with that alone, you can select a secondary job for each of your characters! With that, you can produce an outrageous amount of unique party combinations, allowing for individual playthroughs to have wildly different parties. While some combinations are definitely better than others, it's really fun to try and experiment what could work. And on top of all of this, each job grants support skills that you can then add to your characters. These can be specific stat modifiers, unique abilities, or certain in-battle quirks. While I also would say some support skills are definitely better than others, I wouldn't say it to the same extent as job combinations. But this all comes together to create some of the most interesting and open customization in any game I've ever played! There are noticeable limits, but there doesn't feel like there is any.
Combat is also really fun! The game takes such a simple mechanic, but polishes it to such an amazing extent, that of course being the game's namesake, Brave, and Default. Defaulting is the game's guard, but every time you Default, you gain a Brave Point. This leads into Brave, where you can Brave up to 3 times, allowing a specific character to act 4 times per turn. There's a back and forth of building up your Brave Points, and using them to act more often. However, it's not as basic as that. Some abilities are dependent on BP amount, and some use BP to be used. Sometimes you'll have to use your Brave Points early in order to respond to a boss' attacks. And you also don't need Brave Points in order to use Brave, though that comes with the risk of not being able to act for a number of turns. This all leads into a beautiful balancing act of knowing when the stockpiling your Brave Points, and when to use them! This is neglecting the fact that every enemy also have Brave Points of their own to use!
Now, I love the story. But I can't really talk about it in this review. I tend to keep my reviews relatively spoiler-free, and for a game like this, I don't want to spoil it at all. But having now played through this game in full 4 times, the story is so much smarter each time. The game really is able to throw you for a loop, there's some really good red herrings in this game, and some great foreshadows that you probably will only notice on a repeat playthrough. I really think Bravely Default's story is well crafted. And on top of that, I really love the characters. Of course all of the major bosses you come across are really fun characters, but the main four are so fun. They have an amazing chemistry between them, and it makes all their interactions so worthwhile to me.
And this leads into what Bravely Default has been most criticized for, which is the game's second half. Now, I constantly see criticism about Bravely Default's second half, and how it is both tedious and repetitive. And yeah, it is, but it's used in such a way that I can't help but compliment for that. I think the game wants you to be frustrated and annoyed, because I think the game is purposefully testing the player. In the absolute start of the game, a characters says to you, the player "say that you'll stay, 'till the very end". And with the first half of the game, that half of the game tests the resolve of the main cast. I feel like it then evolves in the second half to be a test of resolve for the player. And though I won't describe how, the game tries to convince you to stop playing it, which I think works in tandem with the tedium and repetition. While I see where people are coming from with their criticism, I can't help but see it in a positive light, as a really good design choice.
And speaking on that, Bravely Default has so many amazing Quality of Life choices that I think other RPGs really should take from. For one, Bravely Default allows you to control the odds of random encounters! It ranges from double the encounter rate to no random encounter at all. And it's so nice because when needing to level grind, double the encounter rate is perfect, but if you're already far enough leveled, you can turn off random encounters to not have to deal with them! Level Grinding is so easy as well, I was able to max out every single job, and get to level 99 for each character rather easily. For one, depending on what occurs in battle, you can get some bonuses, and the more you fulfill those parameters per each battle, the boost gets larger and larger, meaning you can gain levels super easily. And on top of that, a certain support skill you can obtain in the later half of the game makes grinding an absolute JOKE. Bravely Default has some of the best Quality of Life choices in any RPG I've played, and it kinda sucks that neither of its sequels really have the same choices made.
And there's so much more I could talk about for Bravely Default. I could talk about the game's story for hours on end, especially with the game's ending, which I still get hyped over in every playthrough. And I've yet to even mention the amazing soundtrack made by REVO! Bravely Default to this day is still one of my favorite games of all time, and I beg for people to give this game a chance. I absolutely love this game.
Bravely Default's strongest selling point is its Jobs System, and it is one of the most engaging systems I've encountered. The Jobs System basically functions as classes for your characters to choose from, and there's 24 jobs in total, each with unique affinities, abilities, and support skills tied to them. While there's a lot of customization that can be done with that alone, you can select a secondary job for each of your characters! With that, you can produce an outrageous amount of unique party combinations, allowing for individual playthroughs to have wildly different parties. While some combinations are definitely better than others, it's really fun to try and experiment what could work. And on top of all of this, each job grants support skills that you can then add to your characters. These can be specific stat modifiers, unique abilities, or certain in-battle quirks. While I also would say some support skills are definitely better than others, I wouldn't say it to the same extent as job combinations. But this all comes together to create some of the most interesting and open customization in any game I've ever played! There are noticeable limits, but there doesn't feel like there is any.
Combat is also really fun! The game takes such a simple mechanic, but polishes it to such an amazing extent, that of course being the game's namesake, Brave, and Default. Defaulting is the game's guard, but every time you Default, you gain a Brave Point. This leads into Brave, where you can Brave up to 3 times, allowing a specific character to act 4 times per turn. There's a back and forth of building up your Brave Points, and using them to act more often. However, it's not as basic as that. Some abilities are dependent on BP amount, and some use BP to be used. Sometimes you'll have to use your Brave Points early in order to respond to a boss' attacks. And you also don't need Brave Points in order to use Brave, though that comes with the risk of not being able to act for a number of turns. This all leads into a beautiful balancing act of knowing when the stockpiling your Brave Points, and when to use them! This is neglecting the fact that every enemy also have Brave Points of their own to use!
Now, I love the story. But I can't really talk about it in this review. I tend to keep my reviews relatively spoiler-free, and for a game like this, I don't want to spoil it at all. But having now played through this game in full 4 times, the story is so much smarter each time. The game really is able to throw you for a loop, there's some really good red herrings in this game, and some great foreshadows that you probably will only notice on a repeat playthrough. I really think Bravely Default's story is well crafted. And on top of that, I really love the characters. Of course all of the major bosses you come across are really fun characters, but the main four are so fun. They have an amazing chemistry between them, and it makes all their interactions so worthwhile to me.
And this leads into what Bravely Default has been most criticized for, which is the game's second half. Now, I constantly see criticism about Bravely Default's second half, and how it is both tedious and repetitive. And yeah, it is, but it's used in such a way that I can't help but compliment for that. I think the game wants you to be frustrated and annoyed, because I think the game is purposefully testing the player. In the absolute start of the game, a characters says to you, the player "say that you'll stay, 'till the very end". And with the first half of the game, that half of the game tests the resolve of the main cast. I feel like it then evolves in the second half to be a test of resolve for the player. And though I won't describe how, the game tries to convince you to stop playing it, which I think works in tandem with the tedium and repetition. While I see where people are coming from with their criticism, I can't help but see it in a positive light, as a really good design choice.
And speaking on that, Bravely Default has so many amazing Quality of Life choices that I think other RPGs really should take from. For one, Bravely Default allows you to control the odds of random encounters! It ranges from double the encounter rate to no random encounter at all. And it's so nice because when needing to level grind, double the encounter rate is perfect, but if you're already far enough leveled, you can turn off random encounters to not have to deal with them! Level Grinding is so easy as well, I was able to max out every single job, and get to level 99 for each character rather easily. For one, depending on what occurs in battle, you can get some bonuses, and the more you fulfill those parameters per each battle, the boost gets larger and larger, meaning you can gain levels super easily. And on top of that, a certain support skill you can obtain in the later half of the game makes grinding an absolute JOKE. Bravely Default has some of the best Quality of Life choices in any RPG I've played, and it kinda sucks that neither of its sequels really have the same choices made.
And there's so much more I could talk about for Bravely Default. I could talk about the game's story for hours on end, especially with the game's ending, which I still get hyped over in every playthrough. And I've yet to even mention the amazing soundtrack made by REVO! Bravely Default to this day is still one of my favorite games of all time, and I beg for people to give this game a chance. I absolutely love this game.
the original Spyro the Dragon was the first ever PlayStation game I've ever played. I think I played it back in May of 2022? It's a little silly it took me over a year to finally get to Spyro 2. Now that I've finally got around to it, while I had a couple issues with it, I really did enjoy it!
It's hard for me to properly compare this to the original Spyro. That's mainly because it's been over a year since I played it, and I don't remember much about it. I remember certain things, I mean, I 100%'d it after all! But it's interesting then that I just don't remember much of it. But that being said, I do think Spyro 2 is an improvement to the original.
God, the main levels of Spyro 2 are pretty damn fun! They're mini-overworlds where you can do quests and platforming, and conceptually, they're pretty fun! Another review puts it nicely, where it's not just a "get to the end of the level" design. The actual platforming was pretty good, and worked really well in tandem with Spyro's moveset. I also like how there's both collectables in both the end-of-level talismans, and within-the-level orbs.
But this sort of leads into what is probably my biggest problem with Spyro 2, which is that a lot of the orbs you can get are gained from mini-games. I've mentioned this in numerous other reviews I've made, but I've never been a fan of mandatory mini-games. To beat the game normally, you need 40 orbs, which means you'll probably need to do a handful of mini-games. Most of the time, these mini-games just felt rough. These Mini-Games ultimately feel like they're padding out the run time to me, and taking away from what is a really good 3D platformer. In that regard, I would love if this game was shorter, and just relied around the platforming.
But one big positive that this game has is the bosses. The bosses from what I remember in the original Spyro were just chases. They were really uninteresting because of it. Spyro 2 however has actually bosses, and I loved them! I beat the final boss on my first try and it was the tensest thing I've done in a while.
Spyro 2: Ripto's Rage is definitely an improvement upon the original, and while I did have some issues, I still really enjoyed it! Much like the first game, the game has some absolutely great platforming, but I do wish they toned down on the mini-games. Still a really solid game though.
It's hard for me to properly compare this to the original Spyro. That's mainly because it's been over a year since I played it, and I don't remember much about it. I remember certain things, I mean, I 100%'d it after all! But it's interesting then that I just don't remember much of it. But that being said, I do think Spyro 2 is an improvement to the original.
God, the main levels of Spyro 2 are pretty damn fun! They're mini-overworlds where you can do quests and platforming, and conceptually, they're pretty fun! Another review puts it nicely, where it's not just a "get to the end of the level" design. The actual platforming was pretty good, and worked really well in tandem with Spyro's moveset. I also like how there's both collectables in both the end-of-level talismans, and within-the-level orbs.
But this sort of leads into what is probably my biggest problem with Spyro 2, which is that a lot of the orbs you can get are gained from mini-games. I've mentioned this in numerous other reviews I've made, but I've never been a fan of mandatory mini-games. To beat the game normally, you need 40 orbs, which means you'll probably need to do a handful of mini-games. Most of the time, these mini-games just felt rough. These Mini-Games ultimately feel like they're padding out the run time to me, and taking away from what is a really good 3D platformer. In that regard, I would love if this game was shorter, and just relied around the platforming.
But one big positive that this game has is the bosses. The bosses from what I remember in the original Spyro were just chases. They were really uninteresting because of it. Spyro 2 however has actually bosses, and I loved them! I beat the final boss on my first try and it was the tensest thing I've done in a while.
Spyro 2: Ripto's Rage is definitely an improvement upon the original, and while I did have some issues, I still really enjoyed it! Much like the first game, the game has some absolutely great platforming, but I do wish they toned down on the mini-games. Still a really solid game though.
2012
I first got into Resident Evil about a year and a half ago, when I first played 7. Since then I've been slowly going through every Resident Evil title, and I knew one day I'd have to play Resident Evil 6. I already knew of the general perception of Resident Evil 6 going in, that's why I tried to hold it off for as long as possible. But at the same time, I never knew why it was so despised, and now having played through it all, I completely understand.
If there were any positives I could give to this game, much like RE5, the multiplayer was pretty good, and the actual combat was decently fun. They fixed the issues I had with the partner AI and managing the inventory in RE5, which was one of my biggest issues with RE5 in particular. I also enjoyed all the melee combos, they felt nice to perform.
While I listed those as positives, those elements are also the reason why Resident Evil 6 is just bad. In a vacuum, Resident Evil 6 is an average co-op shooter. But this is the sixth installment in one of the most famous Horror franchises. It's a factor I can't simply ignore. It feels watered down, stripped of any interesting factors. It's far from a horror game, and there's very little inventory management which made other Resident Evil games so memorable. While the new combat was fun, the game ultimately suffers from its inclusion as it removes any actual tension. It leads me to simply believe that this isn't a Resident Evil game.
And I'll be honest, if that was the only issue, I'd probably rate this a bit higher. But Resident Evil 6 has multiple other problems that just make it even worse. An obvious example is that of the ridiculous amount of QTEs this game has. QTEs as a once-in-a-while type thing is fine, however with games like Resident Evil 6, expect to be doing them a lot.
Another issue is that of the UI. While the UI looks nice, and I like how each campaign has unique UIs, it's also terrible. UI should look nice, yes, but it's also meant to convey information to the player, and RE6's UI just doesn't do that. It took me until playing the second campaign before I understood that I had a stamina meter. That should've been something conveyed during the tutorial.
And easily the biggest issue this game has is that it's just too damn long. On average this game takes approximately 20 hours to beat, and it took me about 18 hours total to beat the game. The game is also split into four campaigns, each approximately 5 hours in length. Out of every Resident Evil I've played, this is by far the longest, and it simply should not be. Especially during Ada's story, I noticed so much padding just to make the campaigns last longer. The story isn't even that good to justify all the padding in between. I feel confident in saying that you could cut out 1-2 hours from each campaign, and probably have a better time with them.
I feel drained. While sure, It's good to be done, I don't feel joy in having beaten Resident Evil 6. There's no sense in satisfaction here. While the game was playable at the very least, this game is just so boring, that any fulfillment that would come from beating a boss or a campaign was entirely lost. Anything I play next has got to be better than this right?
If there were any positives I could give to this game, much like RE5, the multiplayer was pretty good, and the actual combat was decently fun. They fixed the issues I had with the partner AI and managing the inventory in RE5, which was one of my biggest issues with RE5 in particular. I also enjoyed all the melee combos, they felt nice to perform.
While I listed those as positives, those elements are also the reason why Resident Evil 6 is just bad. In a vacuum, Resident Evil 6 is an average co-op shooter. But this is the sixth installment in one of the most famous Horror franchises. It's a factor I can't simply ignore. It feels watered down, stripped of any interesting factors. It's far from a horror game, and there's very little inventory management which made other Resident Evil games so memorable. While the new combat was fun, the game ultimately suffers from its inclusion as it removes any actual tension. It leads me to simply believe that this isn't a Resident Evil game.
And I'll be honest, if that was the only issue, I'd probably rate this a bit higher. But Resident Evil 6 has multiple other problems that just make it even worse. An obvious example is that of the ridiculous amount of QTEs this game has. QTEs as a once-in-a-while type thing is fine, however with games like Resident Evil 6, expect to be doing them a lot.
Another issue is that of the UI. While the UI looks nice, and I like how each campaign has unique UIs, it's also terrible. UI should look nice, yes, but it's also meant to convey information to the player, and RE6's UI just doesn't do that. It took me until playing the second campaign before I understood that I had a stamina meter. That should've been something conveyed during the tutorial.
And easily the biggest issue this game has is that it's just too damn long. On average this game takes approximately 20 hours to beat, and it took me about 18 hours total to beat the game. The game is also split into four campaigns, each approximately 5 hours in length. Out of every Resident Evil I've played, this is by far the longest, and it simply should not be. Especially during Ada's story, I noticed so much padding just to make the campaigns last longer. The story isn't even that good to justify all the padding in between. I feel confident in saying that you could cut out 1-2 hours from each campaign, and probably have a better time with them.
I feel drained. While sure, It's good to be done, I don't feel joy in having beaten Resident Evil 6. There's no sense in satisfaction here. While the game was playable at the very least, this game is just so boring, that any fulfillment that would come from beating a boss or a campaign was entirely lost. Anything I play next has got to be better than this right?
2010
Okami is a game I never expected would get a sequel. I know I'm saying this 13 years after this game's release, but my point still stands. Okamiden however is an interesting title, and there's a lot of what I can really say about it.
Okamiden could be best described as "Okami Lite". It's a much smaller version of Okami, with the same mechanics and world, but shrunk down to fit into a DS. And I think it does it quite well! It's commendable how well this game tries to replicate the original Okami's art style. Combat is very akin to how it was in the original Okami, though it's definitely a lot more simplified.
The dungeons and puzzles are really fresh, and I enjoyed going through them! I'm a sucker for good dungeons, and Okamiden's dungeons are well executed. The mechanics tied to partners is really fun, and I love how each partner has unique mechanics. The brush mechanics are transferred to the touch screen, and work pretty well. Sometimes it doesn't seem to work properly, but I'd say it works about 95% of the time.
I described Okamiden as "Okami Lite" earlier, and while I said that with praise earlier, it's also Okamiden's greatest flaw. For a lot of the game, Okamiden feels like a repeat of the original game. It's as if the game is afraid of stepping out of Okami's shadow. You'll go to the same areas, in the same order, with the same motivation. Sure the dungeons and bosses are unique, but the way to get there isn't. The most notable moment was of course, when you had to fight Orochi twice again.
But I say that to reiterate that when Okamiden steps out of Okami's shadow, it shines! There's so much heart and care put into this game. The dungeons, and puzzles as previously mentioned are well crafted. The characters and story though are really well written, and I honestly really loved the game's ending.
Okamiden definitely has issues, but I can't help but love it. It's super cute, and it has some absolutely fun dungeons. While it struggles to get out of Okami's shadow, it's really good when it does. For what it is, it's a really nice game.
Okamiden could be best described as "Okami Lite". It's a much smaller version of Okami, with the same mechanics and world, but shrunk down to fit into a DS. And I think it does it quite well! It's commendable how well this game tries to replicate the original Okami's art style. Combat is very akin to how it was in the original Okami, though it's definitely a lot more simplified.
The dungeons and puzzles are really fresh, and I enjoyed going through them! I'm a sucker for good dungeons, and Okamiden's dungeons are well executed. The mechanics tied to partners is really fun, and I love how each partner has unique mechanics. The brush mechanics are transferred to the touch screen, and work pretty well. Sometimes it doesn't seem to work properly, but I'd say it works about 95% of the time.
I described Okamiden as "Okami Lite" earlier, and while I said that with praise earlier, it's also Okamiden's greatest flaw. For a lot of the game, Okamiden feels like a repeat of the original game. It's as if the game is afraid of stepping out of Okami's shadow. You'll go to the same areas, in the same order, with the same motivation. Sure the dungeons and bosses are unique, but the way to get there isn't. The most notable moment was of course, when you had to fight Orochi twice again.
But I say that to reiterate that when Okamiden steps out of Okami's shadow, it shines! There's so much heart and care put into this game. The dungeons, and puzzles as previously mentioned are well crafted. The characters and story though are really well written, and I honestly really loved the game's ending.
Okamiden definitely has issues, but I can't help but love it. It's super cute, and it has some absolutely fun dungeons. While it struggles to get out of Okami's shadow, it's really good when it does. For what it is, it's a really nice game.
1996
Super Mario 64 is, to this day, one of the most influential videogames of all time. One of the first ever 3D videogames, and paved the way for countless games to release afterwards. However, I've just never played it until now. Finally though, I've gotten a chance to play it, and it's an amazing title.
Mario's controls to me are an interesting case. Now, that's not me saying they're bad, in fact they're really well designed. I find interest in how Mario controls because he has a lot of interesting quirks to him. Oftentimes, it feels like he does what you don't want him to do, but you can use that to create some unique movement. It's an interesting double edged sword then, as while that unique movement is good, if you don't know how Mario moves, you'll find his controls to be more of a hindrance. Alongside that, the wall jumps, somersaults, and long jumps feel so fun to pull off.
I said this to myself after beating the game, but I feel like of the 70 stars, I did, there was a 75/25 split of level quality. 75% of levels were really well designed, and I enjoyed getting them, while the other 25% were frustrating to me. I can't bring myself to say that the 25% of levels were bad, though, so that's why I described them as frustrating. I will say for a good bit of it though, the reason why was because I didn't have a legitimate N64 controller. Some sections were built with the notched joystick of the N64 controller in mind, and if I had one, the frustration would overall be less.
The only general criticism I have to give is that I feel like the camera could be better. For one, I found the camera to zoom way far out on numerous occasions, especially during the Bowser fights. And the other point about the camera is that I wish the camera could rotate in a full circle, as it would eventually stop rotating at some point.
My issues aside though, Super Mario 64 is still one of the most influential games just, ever. It's an amazing game, and I understand why it is so beloved. While I did enjoy my time playing it, I wouldn't rate it as my favorite 3D Mario, but it's still an easy second place.
Mario's controls to me are an interesting case. Now, that's not me saying they're bad, in fact they're really well designed. I find interest in how Mario controls because he has a lot of interesting quirks to him. Oftentimes, it feels like he does what you don't want him to do, but you can use that to create some unique movement. It's an interesting double edged sword then, as while that unique movement is good, if you don't know how Mario moves, you'll find his controls to be more of a hindrance. Alongside that, the wall jumps, somersaults, and long jumps feel so fun to pull off.
I said this to myself after beating the game, but I feel like of the 70 stars, I did, there was a 75/25 split of level quality. 75% of levels were really well designed, and I enjoyed getting them, while the other 25% were frustrating to me. I can't bring myself to say that the 25% of levels were bad, though, so that's why I described them as frustrating. I will say for a good bit of it though, the reason why was because I didn't have a legitimate N64 controller. Some sections were built with the notched joystick of the N64 controller in mind, and if I had one, the frustration would overall be less.
The only general criticism I have to give is that I feel like the camera could be better. For one, I found the camera to zoom way far out on numerous occasions, especially during the Bowser fights. And the other point about the camera is that I wish the camera could rotate in a full circle, as it would eventually stop rotating at some point.
My issues aside though, Super Mario 64 is still one of the most influential games just, ever. It's an amazing game, and I understand why it is so beloved. While I did enjoy my time playing it, I wouldn't rate it as my favorite 3D Mario, but it's still an easy second place.
Even though I've never played Super Star Ultra, this game has always been around in my mind. I always wanted it as a kid, but I was never able to get it. And after all this time, I finally was able to experience this game, and god, I loved it.
I love how this game is structured. Instead of one large game, it's split into 8 smaller games, each with fun spins on the general formula. And because of that, I think it's best to structure this review by looking at each individual game.
Spring Breeze is reminiscent to the original Kirby game for me, 4 levels with bosses at the end of each. I found it to be simple, but really fun! I love how you can create buddies based on the copy abilities you can obtain. And for something that feels reminiscent to the original Kirby that has Copy Abilities included is really fun.
Gourmet Race, is as its name implies, a racing minigame. And I found it to be pretty fun! I really enjoyed how it wasn't just "get to the end to win", as you had to collect more food than King Dedede on top of it. It's pretty quick to beat, but I enjoyed the about ~5 minutes it took me.
Dyna Blade is also like other Kirby titles, but instead of going immediately to the next level, you have an overworld. It was really nice too! You can find secrets in levels to unlock copy ability rooms, and sometimes enemies appear on the overworld. It was pretty neat, and the fight against Dyna Blade herself was really fun.
The Great Cave Offensive is the first that really takes things into a wildly different direction. Instead of going through specific levels, you're in one massive level looking for treasures. And I absolutely love it! I tried my best to get every treasure I came across, and that resulted in me finding 33 of the 60 total treasures. There was a lot I didn't find, and that sense of exploration is amazing to me.
Revenge of Meta Knight has such a small change, but that change entirely changes how you interact with the game. That one change is just giving this game a time limit. It creates this sense of tension, as you need to finish the level as quickly as possible. And the bosses, especially Meta Knight, were all really fun. The Halberd was a great set piece too.
In the original Super Star, Milky Way Wishes was the last game you could play. And god, it has such an interesting idea to boot. The fact you can't copy abilities from enemies, and instead you have to find copy abilities in levels is really fun! The remixed ideas of previously fought bosses is really good, and god. Marx is so cool.
Now, originally I was planning to stop here, as I thought the things after Milky Way Wishes was postgame. However, a friend properly convinced me to continue, and god, I'm glad they did.
Revenge of the King is in the best way to describe it, a remixed, and harder version of Spring Breeze. I really like the remixed versions of previously explored levels, and I love the new versions of the bosses in each level too. Though without a doubt, what made this segment for me was the fight against Masked Dedede, the general presentation of it was so good, it really put the cherry on the cake.
And last but not least, the creme de la creme, is Meta Knightmare Ultra. Playing through the levels of Spring Breeze, Dyna Blade, Great Cave Offensive, Revenge of Meta Knight, and Milky Way Wishes, all back to back, as Meta Knight. Meta Knight feels so damn good to control, and the stuff you can use with Meta Points is so cool, though I really only used them to heal. Trying to beat each level as quickly as possible was really fun. And god, Galacta Knight was so damn worth it. Meta Knightmare Ultra and The Revenge of the King easily pushed this game from a 9 to a 10 for me.
I absolutely loved Kirby Super Star Ultra. I think this may just be my favorite Kirby game. I love the unique ideas each segment of this game has, especially the ones added within Ultra. I can't recommend this game enough.
I love how this game is structured. Instead of one large game, it's split into 8 smaller games, each with fun spins on the general formula. And because of that, I think it's best to structure this review by looking at each individual game.
Spring Breeze is reminiscent to the original Kirby game for me, 4 levels with bosses at the end of each. I found it to be simple, but really fun! I love how you can create buddies based on the copy abilities you can obtain. And for something that feels reminiscent to the original Kirby that has Copy Abilities included is really fun.
Gourmet Race, is as its name implies, a racing minigame. And I found it to be pretty fun! I really enjoyed how it wasn't just "get to the end to win", as you had to collect more food than King Dedede on top of it. It's pretty quick to beat, but I enjoyed the about ~5 minutes it took me.
Dyna Blade is also like other Kirby titles, but instead of going immediately to the next level, you have an overworld. It was really nice too! You can find secrets in levels to unlock copy ability rooms, and sometimes enemies appear on the overworld. It was pretty neat, and the fight against Dyna Blade herself was really fun.
The Great Cave Offensive is the first that really takes things into a wildly different direction. Instead of going through specific levels, you're in one massive level looking for treasures. And I absolutely love it! I tried my best to get every treasure I came across, and that resulted in me finding 33 of the 60 total treasures. There was a lot I didn't find, and that sense of exploration is amazing to me.
Revenge of Meta Knight has such a small change, but that change entirely changes how you interact with the game. That one change is just giving this game a time limit. It creates this sense of tension, as you need to finish the level as quickly as possible. And the bosses, especially Meta Knight, were all really fun. The Halberd was a great set piece too.
In the original Super Star, Milky Way Wishes was the last game you could play. And god, it has such an interesting idea to boot. The fact you can't copy abilities from enemies, and instead you have to find copy abilities in levels is really fun! The remixed ideas of previously fought bosses is really good, and god. Marx is so cool.
Now, originally I was planning to stop here, as I thought the things after Milky Way Wishes was postgame. However, a friend properly convinced me to continue, and god, I'm glad they did.
Revenge of the King is in the best way to describe it, a remixed, and harder version of Spring Breeze. I really like the remixed versions of previously explored levels, and I love the new versions of the bosses in each level too. Though without a doubt, what made this segment for me was the fight against Masked Dedede, the general presentation of it was so good, it really put the cherry on the cake.
And last but not least, the creme de la creme, is Meta Knightmare Ultra. Playing through the levels of Spring Breeze, Dyna Blade, Great Cave Offensive, Revenge of Meta Knight, and Milky Way Wishes, all back to back, as Meta Knight. Meta Knight feels so damn good to control, and the stuff you can use with Meta Points is so cool, though I really only used them to heal. Trying to beat each level as quickly as possible was really fun. And god, Galacta Knight was so damn worth it. Meta Knightmare Ultra and The Revenge of the King easily pushed this game from a 9 to a 10 for me.
I absolutely loved Kirby Super Star Ultra. I think this may just be my favorite Kirby game. I love the unique ideas each segment of this game has, especially the ones added within Ultra. I can't recommend this game enough.
I think this may be my favorite Zelda game.
I wouldn't consider this my first attempt at playing Twilight Princess. When I was a kid, my stepdad had a copy of the game for the Wii, and while I did make it past the first dungeon, I never picked it back up afterwards. Finally, probably over a decade later I returned to Twilight Princess to finally give it its due. And god, I loved it.
Zelda dungeons have always been some of my favorite things to come across, and Twilight Princess genuinely has some of the best. The puzzles are great as always, I loved stuff like the magnetism in the Goron Mine, or the Statue Puzzles in Temple of Time. They feel so well designed, and I loved trying to clear out every single dungeon I came across. I think if anything, I didn't particularly was one segment in Palace of Twilight. I found the Zant's Hand to be too punishing, but that's how I view it.
And the bosses were so fun. When it comes to most bosses, they're pretty easy to understand, and I wouldn't say any were difficult at all. I never died to any of the bosses. However, while understanding a boss is one thing, the execution of fighting it is another, and I love it here. There's oftentimes a sense of spectacle that I love here, especially for some of the later bosses too. I think the only boss I had any issue with was Morpheel, but that's mainly because I could never understand the swimming controls all that well.
The general combat is really fun too. I will say at first, the general combat is your basic fair. It's what you would typically expect from other Zelda games, right? But as you progress further and further, you can obtain new types of attacks that allows Link to fight enemies in more different ways. It really fleshes Link out I'd say, and I really enjoyed it.
And listen, I've praised this game so much, and I have yet to address the elephant in the room here, being Wolf Link. Wolf Link is such a neat idea, being able to transform into a Wolf and have new ways of interacting with the world is so cool. I love how you can say, track specific scents, or sense things that can't normally be seen by the naked eye. Wolf Link is such a fun idea and I think they did it really well.
The story is really interesting. While Zelda has been dark before, no game really comes close to how dark Twilight Princess is. But, at the same time, I would say it's incorrect to describe Twilight Princess as the "dark" Zelda game. While dark stuff does happen, the game always is able to balance things out. But don't get me wrong, this game can be genuinely scary at times, and when it does, oh is it memorable. Those parts are easily some of my favorites for just how bizarre they are, and no other Zelda game has replicated that for me.
I can't say Twilight Princess is for everyone, but it will most likely remain as my favorite Zelda title. There's so much that I absolutely loved, and I'm glad I finally was able to do what child me just forgot to do.
I wouldn't consider this my first attempt at playing Twilight Princess. When I was a kid, my stepdad had a copy of the game for the Wii, and while I did make it past the first dungeon, I never picked it back up afterwards. Finally, probably over a decade later I returned to Twilight Princess to finally give it its due. And god, I loved it.
Zelda dungeons have always been some of my favorite things to come across, and Twilight Princess genuinely has some of the best. The puzzles are great as always, I loved stuff like the magnetism in the Goron Mine, or the Statue Puzzles in Temple of Time. They feel so well designed, and I loved trying to clear out every single dungeon I came across. I think if anything, I didn't particularly was one segment in Palace of Twilight. I found the Zant's Hand to be too punishing, but that's how I view it.
And the bosses were so fun. When it comes to most bosses, they're pretty easy to understand, and I wouldn't say any were difficult at all. I never died to any of the bosses. However, while understanding a boss is one thing, the execution of fighting it is another, and I love it here. There's oftentimes a sense of spectacle that I love here, especially for some of the later bosses too. I think the only boss I had any issue with was Morpheel, but that's mainly because I could never understand the swimming controls all that well.
The general combat is really fun too. I will say at first, the general combat is your basic fair. It's what you would typically expect from other Zelda games, right? But as you progress further and further, you can obtain new types of attacks that allows Link to fight enemies in more different ways. It really fleshes Link out I'd say, and I really enjoyed it.
And listen, I've praised this game so much, and I have yet to address the elephant in the room here, being Wolf Link. Wolf Link is such a neat idea, being able to transform into a Wolf and have new ways of interacting with the world is so cool. I love how you can say, track specific scents, or sense things that can't normally be seen by the naked eye. Wolf Link is such a fun idea and I think they did it really well.
The story is really interesting. While Zelda has been dark before, no game really comes close to how dark Twilight Princess is. But, at the same time, I would say it's incorrect to describe Twilight Princess as the "dark" Zelda game. While dark stuff does happen, the game always is able to balance things out. But don't get me wrong, this game can be genuinely scary at times, and when it does, oh is it memorable. Those parts are easily some of my favorites for just how bizarre they are, and no other Zelda game has replicated that for me.
I can't say Twilight Princess is for everyone, but it will most likely remain as my favorite Zelda title. There's so much that I absolutely loved, and I'm glad I finally was able to do what child me just forgot to do.