Kirby
A grand artistic achievement
2019
Three hours of nothing but good time
-played on game pass
-played on game pass
I played this game for 70 hours and I found it engaging the entire time and was glad to spend time vibing in that world.
I could complain about the plot contrivances or subpar sidequest structure or the repetitive combat-heavy stretch of the back third, but ultimately, this game had my attention for 70 hours without me even considering stopping. I never got sick of playing around with the combat systems and party layouts, I always had fun poking around the maps and marveling at the effective scale of the art design.
The game also passes the important JRPG test of every major town being a place I wanna hang out in. For as dated as the sidequest structure may be, the affinity-charts between the NPC inhabitants and the schedules they adhere to do a lot to sell you on these towns as real, lived-in spaces, and idle NPC dialogue adds a lot of local flavor. Some best-in-class towns here, I cant overstate how fucking important this is.
Overall, had a great time chilling and hanging out with this game.
I could complain about the plot contrivances or subpar sidequest structure or the repetitive combat-heavy stretch of the back third, but ultimately, this game had my attention for 70 hours without me even considering stopping. I never got sick of playing around with the combat systems and party layouts, I always had fun poking around the maps and marveling at the effective scale of the art design.
The game also passes the important JRPG test of every major town being a place I wanna hang out in. For as dated as the sidequest structure may be, the affinity-charts between the NPC inhabitants and the schedules they adhere to do a lot to sell you on these towns as real, lived-in spaces, and idle NPC dialogue adds a lot of local flavor. Some best-in-class towns here, I cant overstate how fucking important this is.
Overall, had a great time chilling and hanging out with this game.
When I first played No More Heroes, I was 15 years old, and I was immediately taken by the horror of it. As much as the trappings were felt to be a parody of gamer stereotypes of the era, there was an ethereal, purgatorial, mood to the city and it's inhabitants that stuck with me for a long time afterwards. One of the formative media experiences that would lead me to finding David Lynch, Alejandro Jodorowski, a lot of my favorite shit.
So when No More Heroes 2 came out three years later, I was extremely excited to play it, and remember being profoundly disappointed in it, and the "Suda Production" games that followed.
I was under the misconception that Suda had directed No More Heroes 2 for most of my adult life, but the latter revelation that he was not the head director has made a lot of things click. No More Heroes 2 is a pastiche imitation of the first game, only taking it's influence from the most surface level, Deadpool-esque fourth wall elements that are angling for nothing but a quick chuckle.
Even purely aesthetically, none of the boss encounters are anywhere close to the character design of the first game. Backstories for assassins seem to be ripped out entirely, multiple bosses spare only a few sentences or don't speak at all. There are tiny kernels of good ideas within No More Heroes 2's framework that are never handled , and the lack of Suda hurts even more imagining a game where these character-developing moments for Travis could have been successful in their impact.
The combat is better than the first game, but there is too much of it. The level design has you fighting wave after wave of identical enemies, and it grows tiresome very quickly without the in-between buildup between ranked fights that was present in the first game. The fights have no stakes to them, they are just a repetitive task to mash through for a plot that doesn't even seem invested in itself.
The music is fantastic, and I really like the handful of 8-bit games they designed for this thing, but when compared to the other masterpieces surrounding it in the Kill The Past legacy, No More Heroes 2 often has me desperately struggling to find the positives.
So when No More Heroes 2 came out three years later, I was extremely excited to play it, and remember being profoundly disappointed in it, and the "Suda Production" games that followed.
I was under the misconception that Suda had directed No More Heroes 2 for most of my adult life, but the latter revelation that he was not the head director has made a lot of things click. No More Heroes 2 is a pastiche imitation of the first game, only taking it's influence from the most surface level, Deadpool-esque fourth wall elements that are angling for nothing but a quick chuckle.
Even purely aesthetically, none of the boss encounters are anywhere close to the character design of the first game. Backstories for assassins seem to be ripped out entirely, multiple bosses spare only a few sentences or don't speak at all. There are tiny kernels of good ideas within No More Heroes 2's framework that are never handled , and the lack of Suda hurts even more imagining a game where these character-developing moments for Travis could have been successful in their impact.
The combat is better than the first game, but there is too much of it. The level design has you fighting wave after wave of identical enemies, and it grows tiresome very quickly without the in-between buildup between ranked fights that was present in the first game. The fights have no stakes to them, they are just a repetitive task to mash through for a plot that doesn't even seem invested in itself.
The music is fantastic, and I really like the handful of 8-bit games they designed for this thing, but when compared to the other masterpieces surrounding it in the Kill The Past legacy, No More Heroes 2 often has me desperately struggling to find the positives.
Played through on critical for my first playthru
Some people call this the best action RPG of all time.
But i dont think the best action RPG of all time would have attacks that leave you stunlocked for thirty straight seconds with no escape.
I also dont think the best action RPG of all time would have Haley Joel Osment voicing the main character.
Some people call this the best action RPG of all time.
But i dont think the best action RPG of all time would have attacks that leave you stunlocked for thirty straight seconds with no escape.
I also dont think the best action RPG of all time would have Haley Joel Osment voicing the main character.
Quite possibly the best narrative in video games
I loved it; had me completely enraptured from start to finish.
This review contains spoilers
When a late-game dungeon had Kirby appear as a hostile enemy, my jaw hit the fucking floor
I sincerely believe there is more room out there for games like Mafia or LA Noire that use an open world as set dressing moreso than a sandbox/sidequest hub, so as not to distract from the narrative and the main, polished content designed to out the games best foot forward. The best thing to say about Mafia is that it establishes its vibe very well without wasting your time.
2016
I owned this for this for five years and only just finished it
2003
Actually one of the worst games I've ever bothered to see the end of.
Nothing works, it is never fun. This is what a real one-star game looks like. I tried to see the best in this, but there is just nothing good here.
Nothing works, it is never fun. This is what a real one-star game looks like. I tried to see the best in this, but there is just nothing good here.
It's the worst Dark Souls game; I still love it.
This is my first experience with the DLC, which is by far the most quality content of the entire game and makes the standard playthrough go out on a high note, after experiencing many lows.
This is my first experience with the DLC, which is by far the most quality content of the entire game and makes the standard playthrough go out on a high note, after experiencing many lows.
2007
Really was a specific moment in time where a rhythm game lover like myself THRIVED
Still remember playing endless setlist all the way through on expert with three friends.
Still remember playing endless setlist all the way through on expert with three friends.
It's just hard not to feel like Metroid has been outdone by the indie games it inspired in the last decade.
The chunky music doesn't do it for me, Samus's handling feels occasionally stiff, the bosses are all spammy or tedious, and level design often can be a bit obtuse.
But, the charm of the metroid world is still there, and I still had a good time hanging out in it for five hours.
The chunky music doesn't do it for me, Samus's handling feels occasionally stiff, the bosses are all spammy or tedious, and level design often can be a bit obtuse.
But, the charm of the metroid world is still there, and I still had a good time hanging out in it for five hours.
2016
My personal favorite game in the 2010's "rougelite" boom