Mario Kart Wii showcases what makes Wii motion controls so fun. The versatility in available controllers to use alongside its responsiveness is what makes it memorable, and not just nostalgic.

The progression of the game encourages you to unlock more and more, revealing quirky modes and karts, to peel back the game’s true nature, which is bullshit. But, it’s the best kind of bullshit, the fun kind of bullshit.

While Mario Kart, mostly, is indeed skill based, learn the game and succeed, it’s also a testament to your patience. 1st place? No. So many times when you’re in first place in the middle of a race, you get fucked. It’s not just you, it’s the entire lineup, every CPU. Constant bullets, red and blue shells, lightning, ink, you name it. If something can screw you over when you’re succeeding in this game, it’ll happen. Fortunately, it seems like this dies down in the last third of the third lap, so it’s up to you to play catch-up if you’ve fallen behind.

Things like mirror mode and time trials make for a challenging pastime if the Grand Prix or multiplayer isn’t all you want to do. It’s a game that entices you to play more and more, unknowingly losing time discovering the ins and outs of its paths. The characters, the expansive courses, the karts, it’s… fun… and that’s what games should strive to be.

Mario Kart Wii, in its time, was the pinnacle of the franchise. Even today, it remains my personal go-to. 9/10.

Mario Kart Wii showcases what makes Wii motion controls so fun. The versatility in available controllers to use alongside its responsiveness is what makes it memorable, and not just nostalgic.

The progression of the game encourages you to unlock more and more, revealing quirky modes and karts, to peel back the game’s true nature, which is bullshit. But, it’s the best kind of bullshit, the fun kind of bullshit.

While Mario Kart, mostly, is indeed skill based, learn the game and succeed, it’s also a testament to your patience. 1st place? No. So many times when you’re in first place in the middle of a race, you get fucked. It’s not just you, it’s the entire lineup, every CPU. Constant bullets, red and blue shells, lightning, ink, you name it. If something can screw you over when you’re succeeding in this game, it’ll happen. Fortunately, it seems like this dies down in the last third of the third lap, so it’s up to you to play catch-up if you’ve fallen behind.

Things like mirror mode and time trials make for a challenging pastime if the Grand Prix or multiplayer isn’t all you want to do. It’s a game that entices you to play more and more, unknowingly losing time discovering the ins and outs of its paths. The characters, the expansive courses, the karts, it’s… fun… and that’s what games should strive to be.

Mario Kart Wii, in its time, was the pinnacle of the franchise. Even today, it remains my personal go-to. 9/10.

Super Mario Galaxy 2 might be a slight step up from its predecessor, but it's a step up nonetheless.

My biggest gripe with the first Galaxy game was the fixed camera's inconsistency. It's there for support, yet fails to offer any genuine help more often than it gets in the way. In Galaxy 2, this camera feels more precise in its movement in following Mario, with far less hiccups than I experienced in the first one.

I also find myself vastly preferring the linear game and map design over the "Hub' of the first Galaxy. It makes for a much smoother progression of understanding where and how to advance the easiest, fastest way possible. Although, the lack of available normal level stars from worlds 1-6 can be irritating, as being forced to collect Comet Medals and doing special levels just to beat the base game can get annoying.

I think the music in this sequel is, overall, a tad better as well. Whether it's something as simple as the save file selection screen, or a more complex instrumental like Glamdozer. Production feels more condensed and deeper in this game's whole OST. Which shouldn't discredit the first game's majestic design, since it did come before Galaxy 2. (Obviously, Syrem).

It's kind of unfortunate that the base game doesn't really utilize Yoshi all that much, despite him being on the damn cover art of the game. It feels like I used him in maybe 6 or 7 levels, and he wasn't required for half of said levels. Maybe I made a mistake and he's available more often, but I couldn't seem to find him much.

While Mario Galaxy stands as the staple of 3D platformers by general consensus, I believe its sequel succeeds in improving on the most important areas of what makes a great platformer game. 9/10.

Kirby’s Adventure is a 2 hour showcase of what the NES was truly capable of.

Obviously, this game could’ve just been on the SNES, since it was released in ‘93. But, the consumer wasn’t feeling the SNES just yet, so Nintendo decided it’d be best to put Kirby on the OG.

The reason I say this shows off NES capabilities is because of how detailed and colorful the entire game is. The lengthy health meter, the multitude of copy abilities, the bangin’ soundtrack, it’s practically an 8-bit SNES game.

You aren’t without your shitty NES level design, of course. The worst NES stereotype is the occasional awful enemy placement, but bearable enough to not have to worry about too often. Also, if there’s too many enemies on screen, or an exploding attack, the game dips to, like, 10 FPS, it’s very annoying.

If more NES games were like this, I think the newer generations wouldn’t have has hard of a time going back and enjoying some of the pioneers. 7/10.

Kirby’s Adventure is a 2 hour showcase of what the NES was truly capable of.

Obviously, this game could’ve just been on the SNES, since it was released in ‘93. But, the consumer wasn’t feeling the SNES just yet, so Nintendo decided it’d be best to put Kirby on the OG.

The reason I say this shows off NES capabilities is because of how detailed and colorful the entire game is. The lengthy health meter, the multitude of copy abilities, the bangin’ soundtrack, it’s practically an 8-bit SNES game.

You aren’t without your shitty NES level design, of course. The worst NES stereotype is the occasional awful enemy placement, but bearable enough to not have to worry about too often. Also, if there’s too many enemies on screen, or an exploding attack, the game dips to, like, 10 FPS, it’s very annoying.

If more NES games were like this, I think the newer generations wouldn’t have has hard of a time going back and enjoying some of the pioneers. 7/10.