Now this is more like it!

Compared to the previous Donkey Kong Land game, this one does a much better job at recreating both the feel and the quality of the SNES DKC games. The physics are improved, the level design is more polished, the save system works like the original game, the NPC Kongs are back... this is essentially a portable version of DKC2! And it kinda works!

With that said, this is still a Game Boy game. Just like the first DKL game, the small screen size is the dealbreaker here. It's especially awful in vertically-scrolling levels, like the ones that require climbing ropes or using Squawks. You just KNOW that if you move upwards a second too hastily you're gonna bash your head into a fucking wasp enemy you had no way of seeing. And good freaking luck beating the King Zing boss. Additionally, the absence of the SNES's extra buttons is felt. The team throw is sadly absent, and the animal buddies' special moves require pressing the select button for some reason. I had to search up a walkthrough to even find out the animal buddies' special moves were in this game at all.

Compared to the first DKL game, this is much more like a straight port of the SNES game than its own thing. It's so similar (and directly inferior) to DKC2 that there's no real reason to play this game today for any reason other than curiosity. So unlike DKL1, this doesn't even have that "diehard fans might get something out of it" appeal going for it. But deciding between DKL1 and DKL2 is essentially deciding between a game that's a unique experience but utter shit, and a game that's solid but something you've seen before. I'd personally take the latter game any day. Unnecessary to play today, but for what it is, it's perfectly adequate.

What might initially seem like a simple port of Donkey Kong Country turns out to be a whole new experience which, while borrowing heavily from the SNES game, still manages to validate it's own existence.

The best thing I can liken this game to is it's own soundtrack, which while being very reminiscent of Donkey Kong Country, has melodies often diverge slightly or entirely from their original versions.

The game looks good for a Gameboy game, and it sounds great too. But the platforming is unfortunately clunky and often results in some frustrating deaths that never entirely feel fair. The screen size can also add some artificial difficulty, though the levels are usually designed around the small screen.

Speaking of level design, I think the game definitely holds up in this regard, save for a few levels in particular. The last world even features a completely original (and very fresh) world theme.

I enjoyed collecting 'KONG' letters to save, I feel like it made them seem more valuable beyond secret-hunting. But there were definitely instances where I either couldn't find or reliably access a KONG letter and had to accept that I couldn't save after completing a given level.

In short, if you're looking for a fun little gameboy platformer, or are just desperate for more DKC, I think it's worth your time so long as you can overlook some funky controls and compromised visuals.

I haven’t actually heard of Undertale Yellow until it released this week, but finding out something like this was made over 7 whole years made me really curious. And since it’s free figured why not

It’s honestly very impressive, to start it emulates the original game really closely but very much tries to stand on its own. Aside for Flowey and Toriel (she’s only in for like 5 minutes), Yellow has entirely different characters and you explore both existing areas of the Underground like Snowdin and new places like a desert or western town. The music has a mix of remixes from Undertale and new songs, and the quality is really good too especially for the boss tracks. The art/sprite animations are actually nice too. Despite being a fan project, you can tell a lot of effort was poured into it as not much even gives an impression that it’s unofficial

The only gripe really is this uses the same combat system as Undertale but the addition of new mechanics to it sometimes felt janky. It’s also more difficult, so if you weren’t good at dodging before then oof. But honestly this is just coming from Deltarune which made more welcome changes on it as is (somehow Chapter 2 is already over 2 years old… 😭)

Has one of the better antagonists and endings in a Yakuza game but is otherwise a side game in every sense. Going back to playing as Kiryu after Yagami is a sharp downgrade and the story is really padded out by bland sidequests that don't even meet the average for the series. Yakuza 6 might have not been a great game overall but it was a great ending for Kiryu so I'm kinda bummed they felt the need to make this game at all. That being said, it is nice to get a few more personal moments with Kiryu after a whole series of his character taking a backseat to political struggles and schemes. Wasn't necessarily bad, but definitely underwhelming.

It took me three tries over the years for this game to finally click, but wow did it ever. Even if the dungeon gameplay was a low point, I couldn't stop playing.

The cast makes this game what it is. Every character in the main cast is incredible, and their individual story moments all had me engaged and interested to see what came next.

The story itself surprised me multiple times throughout. The twists kept me on my toes throughout, all the while having great moments to showcase.

The game definitely shows its age in some respects, but overall I'm glad I finally got around to getting through this game and understanding the appeal. What a ride.