I don't even have anything to say about this game, really. It's just great vibes.
I loved the characters and the humour. I liked the stupidly convoluted, batshit story. It honestly has some of the most hype cutscenes and set pieces I've seen in this franchise. I liked the unique battle system and the Junctioning function to switch up your gameplay style as needed.
I will say, I'm actually surprised we never got a Laguna spin-off game. He was definitely my favourite character in the game and I would love to see more of his (mis)adventures.

Man, Nintendo was REALLY leaning in hard on these pointless puzzle games for the Mario franchise, weren’t they? They had something going there with Dr. Mario, I’ll give them that, but then they made Yoshi, a fine enough puzzle game, but one that isn’t engaging enough to where I wanna play it for more then five minutes, and Yoshi’s Cookie, the one that will probably give Yoshi diabetes while also STILL not being engaging enough to make me wanna play for even more than five minutes! There comes a time when, after trying time and time again, you gotta take a step back and realize you have already peaked, and you will never be able to reach that success again. But nonetheless, that didn’t stop them from trying, so for their next attempt, they decided to give the green dino a break, and instead use their good ol’ yellow fat man instead for another experiment, and thus, they created Wario’s Woods.

Like with Yoshi and Yoshi’s Cookie, I never had any real interest to give this game a proper shot beforehand, primarily because it was another Mario puzzle game from the NES, and I wasn’t really wanting to try it out for fear that it would just be another mid puzzler with nothing to show for it. I have been curious about it for a while though, not just because it is a Wario puzzle game, but also because it is the last officially licensed NES game ever released for us in the states, so I wondered how exactly were they going to end off the legacy of such an industry-changing console. Well, now that I have played it, let me tell you then that, they ended it off with… another mid puzzler with nothing to show for it. For what we got here, I would say it is a good game, and you could have some fun with it with the right people, but it does fall into a lot of the same problems that both Yoshi and Yoshi’s Cookie had, with not much else to show for it.

The story is appropriately simple, where Wario takes over the all-too-perfect Peaceful Woods and turns all of the creatures that inhabit them into sinister beasts, so it is up to some random Toad from the Mushroom Kingdom to go in and stop anymore destruction from happening, which is an incredibly stupid premise, but I feel it fits right at home with the game as a whole. The graphics are pretty good, having plenty of great sprites and animations for all the characters and enemies, all feeling like a good way to send off the system it was made for, the music is good enough, having cheery and sinister tracks for whatever is going on at the moment, but none of the tracks are all that memorable, the control is a bit different from what you usually expect in a puzzle game, and it does take some getting used to, which I never really did at the end of it all, and the gameplay is simple enough for a puzzler, taking elements from other puzzle games and sprinkling them all together, for a perfectly average experience.

The game is a mostly typical puzzle game, where you take control of that random Toad that I mentioned earlier, go through plenty of different rounds through plenty of different tree trunks, match up plenty of different monsters together while trying to connect them to the falling bombs, gather up plenty of the coins that will fall down when you win so you could feel better about yourself, then turn off the game and go back to playing Tetris, because why would you bother playing this when Tetris is right there. It is a very simple puzzle game with some neat ideas, and its got the visuals and music to back it up for a good while, but like I mentioned before, not only is the game not really exciting or rewarding enough to where you wanna keep going for hours on end, but there are also somethings in general that are just holding it back.

Unlike many other puzzle games, where you take control of either the pieces or some other aspect of the game to get the pieces to match up, you actually take control of Toad himself, running around in these tree trunks and matching up all of the monsters and bombs yourself. This, in all honesty, is actually a pretty neat idea, and it does make you think differently about how to approach this type of game, since before things start falling down on top of you, you can actually move around the monsters that you are trying to clear out so that you can get rid of them pretty quickly, which is very helpful at times. It also helps that you can also do several things with Toad that you wouldn’t be able to do in other puzzle games, like climbing up columns of monsters to get to the other side of them, or kicking certain pieces across the board, which is neat. And of course, like any good puzzle game, there is a two player vs. mode, where you and a friend can battle it out to see which one of you is the best monster exterminator of them all, and while I myself didn’t try out this mode, I imagine it is the best way to experience a game like this.

Unfortunately, just like with some of the other Mario spin-off puzzle games I have covered on this website, there just isn’t that much here for me to really call this a bonafide classic puzzle game for the NES. It just doesn’t have that same kind of addicting and engaging feel that other puzzle games like Tetris or Dr. Mario has, and as such, it once again can’t keep me really all that interested or excited to play it for more than five minutes. Not to mention, while the idea of controlling an actual character in a puzzle game like this is neat in theory, but in practice, it is kinda sloppy. Sure, you can pull off a lot of maneuvers you wouldn’t be able to otherwise, but you also get plenty of restrictions, like not being able to climb up monsters while you are holding something, which makes the gameplay even more tedious, and the direction in which you pick up things can also take some getting used to. It isn’t impossible to get a handle of, but it is just a little frustrating to do so.

Overall, despite some neat ideas and having all of the elements present for a great time, Wario’s Woods is yet another incredibly forgettable puzzle game from the NES, doing the bare minimum for a title from this genre, and providing a good amount of fun for the time that it lasts, but there just isn’t enough there to keep the average puzzle enthusiast entertained for too long before wanting to move onto something else. I would recommend it for those who are fans of puzzle games, as well as those who were fans of games like Yoshi or Yoshi’s Cookie, but other than that, you would be much better off sticking to much better alternatives that were already out by this point. Not only that, but Wario should also stick to platforming, as he just isn’t cut out for the puzzle lifestyle. I mean, what other kind of weird, out of pocket shit could he pull off other than that? I guess it will remain a mystery… anyway, I wonder what Bomberman is up to?

Game #534

Man, gamers these days are so goddamn needy when it comes to what a video game should have, aren’t they? They’re always wanting big, epic stories, graphics so good that it will make live-action footage look inferior in comparison , a million customizables, 9999fps or some garbage at all times, it’s all too much! Don’t they know that you don’t need all of that in order to make a good game? As long as you have a good foundation to work off of, some creative ideas, and enough content to leave the player satisfied, that should do the trick just fine. Hell, there are plenty of games that were released in them good ol’ days that were able to become classics not by being crammed with too much stuff, but with taking a swing at the fences, creating something that was familiar for some, yet featured new twists to make it more interesting. Take, for instance, a game I definitely should’ve played a lot sooner than later, Wild Guns.

I had known about this game for a long time before I first checked it out, I wanna say since around 2015-2016, when I had watched a video of it on YouTube, and based on what I saw, it looked pretty fun and unique. However, because old habits die hard, it took me way too long to eventually decide to try the game myself, and from what I played back then, I ended up really liking it. It has been a hot minute though, so while I am waiting for the chance to replay through Doom II for a review (real life is a bitch), I figured I would replay this game to see if it still holds up, and unsurprisingly, it absolutely does. It is one of the most fun and unique co-op games that you could find on the SNES, and while it isn’t perfect, with some parts feeling unnecessary or lackluster, it is a joy ride from start to finish that deserves all the praise it can get.

The story is fairly simple, where a woman by the name of Annie loses her family due to the Kid Family abducting and killing them, so after seeking the help of a space bounty hunter known as Clint, the two of them go off to get revenge on the family in the most explosive and brutal way possible, which is almost as basic as a revenge story can get, but it doesn’t waste any time and gets you into the action right away, so I can get behind that. The graphics are pretty great, with all of the levels and enemies fitting both the western and steampunk aesthetic very well, and all of the enemies, characters, and bosses are full of life with animations galore that are pretty great to witness, the music is wonderful, matching the tone of the settings flawlessly and fitting for all of the gunplay that will be happening all throughout the game, the control can take a bit to get used to for those who have never played the game before, but they can get used to it fairly quickly, and it works well enough, and the gameplay, on the surface, is pretty typical, but the way that it is carried out makes it stand out from all other games at the time, and it works wonders.

The game is a shooting gallery title, where you take control of either Clint or Annie, go through six different levels full of plenty of different sections you can blast through, shoot up anything and everything that appears on screen, making sure to grab items by shooting them (makes sense to me) and dodge any bullets that are fired your way, gather plenty of different money items, bombs, and different weapons that can help you out against your foes along the way, and fight against plenty of bosses, ranging from the big and ruthless, to the small and fast, all of them being a joy to face for plenty of reasons. In any other title, all of this could be seen as typical for this era, with nothing else to show for itself, but the fact that it chooses this style of gameplay makes it a lot more unique and fun to blast through, especially with a friend.

Since you don’t need to worry about trying to reach the end of any kind of stage, or really any goal that isn’t right in front of you, the game prioritizes the gunplay over everything else, and it feels appropriately immensely satisfying, allowing to mow down plenty of enemies before you while making sure to apply the perfect dodging maneuvers. Not only that, but the different weapons you can acquire make it even more satisfying to annihilate whatever lays before you, having a much bigger range of fire then before, along with, of course, dealing much more damage. This especially rings true with the Vulcan Gun, which doesn’t last all too long, but whenever you have it, you feel UNSTOPPABLE, as everything seemingly goes down with just a few shots, and you can cover a lot of ground with it. And finally, one more noteworthy thing to note about the game is, again, the theme it has. It isn’t necessarily original, having a bombastic western setting with a whole lot of shit going on at once, but the inclusion of robots does, ironically, add a bit more life and charm to it, along with each blending into each other flawlessly, to the point where you can’t imagine it without either of those things.

With that being said though, the game isn’t perfect. While I do praise the main gameplay for being incredibly addicting and fun to mess around with, it doesn’t really change up at all throughout the whole game, aside from the places you go to and the enemies you fight, which can turn some people away if they aren’t drawn into this immediately like others. Secondly, while most of the bosses are completely original, there are quite a few that are repeated several times, which can make them tiring to fight whenever you run into them again. And finally, this is just a personal complaint myself, but it does kinda suck that all of the powerups that you do get throughout the game each have limited ammunition. Sure, it would probably be too unbalanced if they didn’t have ammo limits, but you could still take them away whenever you get hit by anything and be fine, because trust me, given the way this game works, you WILL get hit by something sooner or later.

Overall, despite its lack of variety and repeating bosses, Wild Guns is a fantastic title that has aged incredibly well over the past 30 years, one that manages to keep the gameplay fast and satisfying at all times, while not being too long to the point where you are just hoping it would end at some point. I would highly recommend it for those of you who love old-school co-op games, or any game for that matter with this level of energy and style, because with the right person beside you, I guarantee that you will have a blast with this title. It’s just a shame though that this never got any kind of sequel later down the line. Yeah, it did get a remaster with additional content, but that can only go so far! MAKE WILD GUNS 2, COWARDS!

Game #494

It's a game of abstractions and endless complexity, but the way those integrate might seem confusing to one unfamiliar. Morrowind, if anything, is the greatest simulator of living in a fictional world ever devised. It might not care as much about the monotonies of day-to-day life in a setting like this, unlike some other games, but it immerses you in the culture and land in a way unlike any other.

Everyone hates you, everywhere pushes you away, everything is too strong to be fought and nothing makes a lick of sense. To successfully integrate into the culture of Morrowind is to basically become a scholar of your own; it's highly advisable to just explore towns, do little errands for people and read books, not only because they provide skill-checks, but often the written information is genuinely useful. What you'll find is one part metaphysical mindfuck once you dig too deep, but another part that's a world that characterizes itself perfectly. Most quests you do are just random tasks you're doing for folks, and you're not typically treated like a legendary figure just for engaging in questlines, but you become more intimately familiar with Morrowind itself, and when you've gone around doing enough quests, reading enough books, plundering enough dungeons and stealing enough herbs (like you should) for the right amount of time, you've breathed in the culture of Vvardenfell. When you fulfill the ancient prophecy, it means something; because you've already learned why and how the ancient prophecy matters. Being able to meet a member of the Tribunal or Sixth House is about as impactful as it should be in the lore, and If it isn't painfully clear already, Morrowind's immersion is excellent and it's the iceing on the exploratory cake of the gameplay. Wandering over a hill and finding something enlightening or just plain fucking weird is great, and the game offers you a million ways to deal with it. It's not a game about dialogue choices per-say, but a game of more general choice. There's nothing the game tells you that you can't do due to your build, just stuff you're not as good at, so preparative thinking before every quest can be essential to make the most of your abilities and minimize the worst. Often, you'll find completely unexpected solutions for quests that came solely as a result of your usage of the mechanics, and it always feels rewarding seeing it happen. There's a point in the game where you'll notice there's buildings that you have to levitate up to, just because: hey, there's genuine wizards in this world! That's Morrowind at its best, and it's up to you to see what will work out... or maybe not, cause you can just go explore elsewhere!

Where it loses people is in muddied abstraction; the game doesn't give many dialogue choices, conversations are treated like browsing wikipedia, it's extremely vague about what some things are supposed to represent in animation terms and, while this is all a flaw of not utilizing the visual part of the medium more, it's easily fixable by letting your mind do the work. Walking up as a newcomer and asking about key-questions to random people in the street, often things they won't know about, feels like the equivalent of asking around in a genuine new place, just scrambling to get clues on the area. Having your character not be visually shown missing hits or dodging them might seem tacky, but mentally fill in the blanks and realize that it serves to convey the dangers of Morrowind, and furthermore, that you can reach a point where you're able to dodge thousands of hits hurdling at you; it's just straight up awesome. There's lots of places that really needed more detail, and the AI can be downright laughable, but by the endgame you're hardly thinking of that because it fed into your growth so well the whole time. For all these abstractions, weirdly complicated mechanics, missed opportunities or immersion-killers, it's incredible that you can still feel perfectly immersed as an outlander at the start being beaten down by shitty insects, and be equally immersed as a CHIM-enlightened Telvanni super-mage who can jump across the continent, blast down fireballs strong enough to eviscerate entire cities and summon armies of otherworldly invaders to do your bidding. It's all immersive, and it all makes perfect canonical sense in Kirkbride's Godhead fever-dream; including console commands! It's an unmatched sense of immersion, it's got unmatched storytelling, it's got an unmatched power curve, the exploration is wonderful, and it has a setting more fascinating than any other fantasy world... well, barring maybe one exception. Praise the Sixth House, and play Morrowind. Try not to view the slow-walking and missing hits as a negative, but as a necessary part of the games mechanically nuanced RPG mechanics; it's all meant to convey the dream, and you're the Nerevarine, not the sharmat. Go forth on your adventure, unless you happen to not be the one, in which case, your time may come again, Moon-and-Star.

There is no such thing as a perfect video game. No matter how good a video game could be, or how much it is beloved by the general gaming public, it will never be able to reach the status of truly being beloved by everybody, to where nobody could find a single flaw in it, or everybody could love it as equally as another. However, even if there will never be a perfect video game, there will always be… our perfect video games. The ones that we hold near and dear to our hearts, ones that we love everything about and will continue to love about all the way until we die, no matter what anyone else says, or even if another video game comes along to take its place as your own perfect video game. So, I figured it was about time that, for my 500th review, I would go ahead and talk about my absolute favorite game of all time, without question: the original Mega Man X.

But, before I get into gushing about this masterpiece, we may as well lay down some history for those that somehow aren’t in the loop as to what this is. At this point, it was 1993, and people were getting FUCKING SICK of Mega Man. There were 13 different Mega Man titles that had been released so far, and while there were some different, unique titles of this bunch that we don’t like to talk about, most of them played exactly the same. Yeah, they each had their own set of differences that made them stand out for hardcore fans of the series, but to the general public, they all just seemed to be the same game over and over and over and OVER again, to the point where franchise fatigue set in pretty goddamn early. So, if Capcom was gonna continue making these games, or even take the series to the next generation of consoles, they were going to have to step up their game a bit. They were going to need to add a bit more attitude, a bit more color, a bit more to do, a bit more to find, and more of this universe to explore. To sum it all up, they were going to need to take Mega Man… to the Xtreme (no, not that Xtreme...not that one either).

Needless to say, this experiment with the series managed to become a major success. This singular game would go onto being widely praised by critics and fans alike, selling over a million copies in its original release, and it is now considered to be one of the greatest video games of all time. Not only that, but it would also lead to creating another separate series alongside the original Mega Man series, one that would continue getting games all the way up to this day, whether it be through main entries that would progress this game’s story and mechanics, side games that would take the series in new and interesting directions, or even things like… Mega Man X Dive… (oh trust me, I have some choice words for that game whenever I get to it… you know, in 5 years). As for what I personally think of it myself… I mean, I think my profile page on this website says everything I need to, but I will go ahead and continue showering this game with all kinds of praise either way. You may as well get a drink or some snacks, because if you couldn’t tell already, this review is gonna be a long one.

I don’t remember specifically when I first learned about Mega Man X, but I do know for a fact that, at that point, I was quite familiar with the Mega Man series, having played quite a bit of the NES games in the past, and falling in love with them enough to where I had become obsessed with them. The first exposure I had to the game was with the original video on it made by The CharityFraudist before it was removed from the internet, and from that first impression I got from the game, I was… mildly interested in it. It did look pretty good, but it just looked like another Mega Man game that just so happened to be made for the SNES. Nothing that I felt like I needed to get my hands on immediately. However, as time would go on… that mild interest I had in the game would only grow from there. I would watch more videos about the game, more videos that would go deeper into it, explaining how it advanced the series further, how it was designed so intricately, and how these decisions made turned it into the classic that we knew and loved today, which got me more eager to get my hands on it then ever before. It was only when I had gotten my Dad’s permission to download it on my Wii U that I finally got the chance to play it for myself, and needless to say… it was love at first sight.

The story of the game is one that is somewhat familiar for the Mega Man series, but at the same time, it takes it to places it had never been before. The game takes place 100 years in the future after the classic series, where an archaeologist by the name of Dr. Cain would discover a capsule within the remains of a robotic facility, one that contains a robot created by the late, great Dr. Light. This new robot, known as Mega Man X, was different from all the other ones, able to feel complex emotions, have human-level intelligence, and even its own free will to do whatever it feels. This type of technology was then replicated by Dr. Cain over the years, in order to create a new set of robots that would also carry these same traits, which would go onto be known as Reploids. Over the years, Reploids and humanity would then co-exist with each other, learning to help each other out and make the world a better place. That is, until some of the reploids started going haywire, starting to cause destruction and commit crimes all over the world, now being labeled as Mavericks.

In response to this, a group of Reploids would be formed to take care of these rogue robots, including Mega Man X, known as the Maverick Hunters. However, eventually, the leader of the Maverick Hunters, Sigma, would end up going maverick himself, and with the help of eight other different mavericks, would go onto spread a level of chaos across the world that nobody had seen before. Feeling partially responsible for this, Mega Man X, or just simply X, decided to set out to take out all of these mavericks, as well as Sigma himself, to ultimately save the world. Again, like I mentioned earlier, it is very similar to the original Mega Man if you only look at it on the surface level, but there is a lot more going on here in comparison, which I can really appreciate and love.

The graphics are fantastic, having the perfect fit for a Mega Man game made for a new generation, while also having plenty of life, energy, and personality through all the stages, characters, enemies, and bosses, the music is some of the best that I have ever heard in all of video game history, having plenty of BANGERS to accompany you through the many different stages present in the game, while also managing to fit the tone for whatever is happening in the game, the control is just right, being mostly what you would expect from a Mega Man title, but also integrating new mechanics that feel buttery-smooth to pull off, making playing the game just that much more satisfying, and the gameplay is, once again, mostly what you would expect from a Mega Man title, but it adds enough to where it feels like a completely new experience, one that many would go to love and adore for years.

The game is a 2D action platformer, where you take control of X, go through many different levels in plenty of different locations, with a good majority of them you can choose to go through in any order you want, run, jump, and shoot your way through many different obstacles and enemies that stand in your way, gather plenty of different health and ammo pickups that will assist you along the way, fight many different bosses and Mavericks of varying types and sizes, and gain plenty of different power ups from these Mavericks that you can use against other enemies and bosses to your advantage. On the surface, it is pretty much what you would expect from your typical Mega Man title, which could cause some who were sick of the series to be drawn away immediately, but when you actually get into the game, not only does it have plenty of new features that would become a staple part of the series, but also that X-factor that breathes new life into this series that it desperately needed at the time.

For starters, aside from the many weapons that you can get from the Mavericks in this game, there are also now many different new, optional goodies that you can find which will greatly benefit you on your journey forward. From the start of the game, you may notice that your health bar is significantly smaller than the life bar from the NES games, which may seem like quite the downgrade at first, but then as you go along the game, you will then find the Heart Tanks, which will increase your health till it is at its proper size. Some may call this completely unnecessary, but I love this change, since it allows for a sense of progression not only for yourself, but also for X as a character, which I will get more into later. Alongside this are the Sub-Tanks, which are the replacement for the Energy Tanks in this game. Unlike E-Tanks, which you could only use once before they go away forever, you are able to use these tanks an infinite amount of times, as long as you are able to store plenty of energy in them to fill you up. Once again, this could be seen as a bit of an unnecessary change for some, but I greatly prefer having a few E-Tanks that I can refill rather than a bunch that I can only use once, so this change is all good in my book.

From the beginning of the game, you can also see that, as an upgraded version of the original Mega Man, X has plenty of new moves and capabilities that the original Mega Man never had. On his own, he is taller, faster, stronger, and he has the ability to jump up walls repeatedly, which is a fantastic enough addition to your moveset already, but that is only the beginning of what X is truly capable of. Throughout the game, you can find many capsules laid around the stage, each one containing a brand new piece of armor for X to use, as well as a message from Dr. Light on how to use it. Of course, there are ones that are pretty situational or typical, such as the helmet upgrade, which lets you break blocks, as well as the body upgrade, which allows you to take less damage when hit, but then you get the GOOD shit, such as the Buster upgrade, where you are able to charge your X Buster even further to fire an extremely powerful shot and to charge up your weapons, and the leg upgrade, which lets you dash along the ground and move through stages a lot faster than before, which would become a staple ability of X for future games in the series.

All of these upgrades and optional goodies that you can acquire are all fantastic in their own way, and they do a great job at making both X and the player much stronger than ever before, able to take on anything that stands in your way with the amount of style and aggression that feels just right. Sure, not all of them are too useful, and you could just view them as a means of completing the game, but not only does it feel satisfy to find a good chunk of these goodies, which are actually pretty cleverly hidden among the stages, but they do add to your character in numerous ways, and they don’t feel like just simple “things to collect”.

Not to mention, they all contribute towards you getting the ultimate reward for your effort, which you can gain from Armored Armadillo’s stage before the end of the game. After performing a cryptic sequence of events, you can then find a final capsule on the edge of a cliff, containing another message from Dr. Light, who just so happens to be wearing a very… familiar costume. You then get the upgrade, and it turns out to be the Hadoken, straight from Street Fighter II, which you not only perform in the exact same manner as in that game, but it also is your most powerful weapon, able to one-shot any enemy and boss no matter what. This, in my opinion, is the PERFECT reward for getting all of the items in the game, not just as a Street Fighter fan, but also just in general, as it feels incredible to nuke every single boss after this with this weapon, but not to the point where it feels broken, since you can only use it if you have full health.

Ignoring all the new additions, the game itself still remains incredibly satisfying, even if you disregard all of the different goodies you can find. This can all be seen as early as the intro stage of the game, which is one of the best intros of any game in video game history, even more so than World 1-1 in the original Super Mario Bros. Upon pressing start, you get thrown right into the game, without any kind of intro cutscene or instructions screen to hold you back, and you can learn all of the basic controls right off the bat, blasting through the many different enemies that you are faced with. Not only that, but it also places you in unavoidable situations where it also teaches you how to use your new abilities, such as when you get thrown down into a pit upon destroying a giant bee robot, forcing you to climb back up the cliff to get back in action.

It not only does a great job at setting you up for the gameplay, but it also manages to integrate the game’s story and theme in perfectly. Upon reaching the end of the stage, you are then stopped in your tracks by a brand new foe: a purple-Boba-Fett-reject in a mech suit known as Vile, and upon fighting him, he seems practically unstoppable! None of your attacks seem to be doing any damage, and he proceeds to wipe the floor with you, with there being seemingly nothing that you can do to counter him whatsoever. It eventually leads to a point where you get trapped in an energy shot, grabbed by the fist of Vile’s mech, and taunted as you face what could be your final moments in the game. That is, until… you hear something from off-screen start to charge up.

All of a sudden, an energy blast is fired from off-screen, ripping through the arm on Vile’s mech suit, and freeing you from his clutches. Vile then flees the scene, as a new ally comes in to chase him off, known simply as Zero. And let me tell you, when you first see this guy in action in this scene, you think he is BADASS. He’s got the style, the power, the attitude of a warrior, and… flowing, blonde locks, which is kinda weird, but he is still cool! Infinitely cooler than you, that is. It is then at this point that X starts to doubt his capabilities as a Maverick Hunter, being unable to defeat this one foe, who seemed to overpower him in every way imaginable. However, Zero then gives both X and the player reassurance, saying that you are destined to take him out, and that you will get stronger as you press forward… maybe even stronger than him.

It is then, from that point on, that your goal is clear. You then proceed to take on all the different stages, defeating all of the Mavericks, gaining all of their powers, finding all of the upgrades, and getting stronger, faster, smarter, and overall better throughout the whole game. You then feel this power fully envelop you as you take on Sigma’s Fortress, defeating the many different enemies, bosses, and even all the Mavericks again with all of your newfound powers and abilities, even going as far as to fully come back around and defeat Vile after all this time. This, right here, is what makes this game perfect in my eyes: that feeling of growth, the immense satisfaction of achieving these goals, the hidden potential you have right from the start, and seeing it through all the way to the end in the best and most timeless manner a game could ever manage. It’s just like real life, when you think about it: just when you are at your lowest point, all you need to do is to just simply pick yourself up and keep on going, trying new things and going down different paths, until you can ultimately find the right path for you, and having the ability to prove all of the nay-sayers wrong. I’m sure we have all felt that at some point. I certainly have, believe me.

Overall, there are some things about the game that I could nitpick here or there, such as the helmet upgrade being useless after a certain point, some points of the game being somewhat annoying to go through, and the boss rush of the game going back to how it was in the original Mega Man, but at this point, none of that matters to me, and none of that ever will matter to me. This is, without a doubt in my mind, my favorite game of all time, one that I loved from the moment I first pressed that start button all those years ago, and one that I will forever continue to love, enjoy, praise, and remember for many, many years to come. I would absolutely recommend it, not just for fans of Mega Man or 2D platformers in general, but for EVERYBODY to play at least once in their lives, as it truly is that great on its own, and it is that special to me. There may come a time where I find a game that will manage to surpass this in terms of… well, everything that I had just mentioned, and when it does, I will gladly welcome it with open arms, but until then, I will always forever love Mega Man X, and I don’t see that changing anytime soon……………………….. so that means it is all downhill from here, folks! No, I kid, I kid, but it is a shame that Zero, Vile, and Sigma are now dead, and that they will never come back after this……………. nope, never. Nope nope nope nope. Certainly not in the next game, no. Certainly not in the third game either, nope.

Game #485

Very early thoughts of course. Might review this again once it has a couple years in.

This game is extremely cool. It's surprising how much this works, and they take great lengths to make the game more hectic but also feel like classic F-Zero.

I think the fusion of modern f-zero and classic F-Zero is really cool to see, and I like how it informs the battle royal gameplay. Boosting feels like a precious resource that is a big risk when you do it even once. The spin feels more like a defensive move here rather than an offensive one. I really like how the rival system of previous games is interpreted here, allowing you to attain goals other than getting first.

This game actually kinda feels like Mario Kart in some ways. The new Super boost mechanic feels like the mario kart item equivalent. It's not as useful and attainable when you are in first place but people near last place have an easier time catching up. But they do a good job of making the more hectic gameplay still fit in an f-zero mold. The alternate modes are really fun as well. The two Grand Prix modes are really cool in a battle royal context.

I do have some gripes though. I think this game controls well but I do feel like the gaining of momentum is less felt here. But im gonna chalk it up to just how many players are on screen at once. It feels a tad different from the SNES game overall. So the game is gonna have more tracks as the first Gran Prix's roll out, but I'm uncertain that the f-zero 1 roster of stages is gonna be enough. I think it would be great if we could get some 'BS F-Zero 2' stages as well as maybe some of the GBA ones? I also feel the red cars that blow up immediately are a little unfair considering how they get mixed up with so many other racers.

I mean I'd rather have a port of F-Zero GX with a map editor and more stages, but I'm quite taken by this. It's already some of the most fun I've had with nintendo online multiplayer. The net code is also really good (though I'm on ethernet and my internet is good overall) and it's fun to just jump in and play.