The cover art for Yokai Yashiki seems to promise a spooky supernatural romp, and on that end, it delivers. The premise is also sound: a platform shooter where you have to navigate a maze-like environment, collecting hidden talisman before you can unlock the level's boss. Like a Metroidvania-lite. But like many short games of this era (5 levels), the developers have extended gameplay by gating progress with oblique and unintuitive "secrets" that make navigating aimless, boring, and frustrating.

Incredible in that it almost feels like a modern roguelite. I found myself in a cycle of traversing maze-like levels, finding hidden powerups, dying a lot, and starting over until I'd mastered it. If the levels were randomly generated, it'd be hard to tell the difference between a modern game, I think. But that's what could have been, what it is, is a tight, satisfying, action game. Short but sweet, and worth checking out if only as a historical novelty.

This isn't just Tetris, this is Tetsuya Mizugishi's Tetris, and if you know, you know. Fans of his previous work have undoubtedly already played this and loved it; if you didn't love his previous work, this won't change your mind; but if you loved this game, and have never played another of Tetsuya Mizugishi's games, then, please, add them to your backlog.

Bionic Commando is definitively one of the best games the NES has to offer; that may be a low bar by modern standards, but in 1988, it was incredible. Playing it now, if you're willing to engage with it on its own terms, you'll find that it's still a fun and unique game. And [spoilers] Hitler's head explosion is true pixel art—put that in a museum.

Likely the best RPG on the SNES. A must play for fans of the genre. For as legendary as Chrono Trigger is though, it lacks some of the polish of some of the more established franchises of the time. Still, as a debut, it's utterly impressive.

Just a cute, little, 16-bit RPG. Has enough charm, humor, and challenge to remain engaging throughout. Just a delight, and no doubt one of the best games the SNES has to offer.

It's quality work. Naughty Dog has done a great job with production, writing, casting... all facets, really. But when it comes down to it, this a straightforward—utterly linear—cinematic experience interwoven with the bare minimum of what can be considered "gameplay". It's a small series of traversal scenarios, puzzles, traversal-puzzles, and glorified shooting galleries. And if you're up for it, some hidden object gameplay. A fun romp, sure, but mostly vapid. Maybe the multiplayer was good?

As a nascent example of videogames becoming more filmic in presentation and design Silent Hill is at least interesting. If the goal here was horror, then I think it hits the mark. The direction is probably its strongest point, but just aesthetically and maybe even narratively it's great. So, if you're looking for a horror experience, it should satisfy, but as a game, it's quite compromised—gameplay is often shallow or simply not fun.

Fun, challenging, and stylish. Still, the old school gameplay loop of breezing through easy levels and dying at the overly difficult level boss, just to repeat it all until you master it, can get a little old. A design meant to pad out a pretty short game.

An incredibly well-designed game. Complex, deep, and skill testing (whether against the AI or another player), while still being accessible. If you're up for the challenge and are ready to engage with some deep gameplay, go for it, because it can feel deeply rewarding. The things surrounding the periphery of the gameplay (single-player; character customization/micro-transactions) are inoffensive at best, but if you end up liking them, a bonus.

Short, simple, and utterly charming. ActRaiser was unique for its time, and surprisingly, still is. An excellent example of a game that's more than the sum of its parts. That said, it is somewhat half-baked and the concepts are not fully realized, it seems. If you're churning through the 16-bit era though, it's worth a visit.

In truth, this is essentially a tech demo for Nintendo's speech synthesizer, with just enough dressing around it to justify charging for it. But I'm so glad they went ahead with its release. While more of a toy (like a digital pet) than a game, it's still an utter delight to play with. Sure, the novelty of it all is doing a lot of the work to get the ol' dopamine flowing, but the laugh out loud humor of it all is priceless. I wish everyone could at least try it. Miitomo could never.

When directly compared to its contemporaries, it's no wonder Auto Modelista was critically panned. However, after all this time, I'd argue that it's held up better than any other racer. Sure, visually and stylistically, nothing compares, but also—to this day—no other game captures the thrill of drifting down Mt. Akagi like Auto Modelista. And make no mistake, it's all about drifting; if you're in for that, then adding this game to your collection makes it a joy to revisit over and over.

Though innovative and unique for its time, Majora's Mask is far from perfect. Its old design feels bloated and meandering, and it's often frustrating or just plain not fun. That said, it is still a Zelda game, and the dungeons are as good as ever. Beyond that, its spirit and presentation have a kind of specialness that makes it very easy to like. Ultimately, for fans, it's worth experiencing, and the 3DS version is the definitive unemulated version.

Probably the best game on GBA. I mean, it has a full drum kit?!