I loved the story in this game so much. The cast of characters was excellent, and the world and plot were very engaging. This game made me feel so many things. I'd go as far as to say that I could feel it in my soul at times.
However, the gameplay could be (deliberately?) tedious at times and regardless of any creative intent, I do think that brought the experience down quite a bit. You just spend a lot of time replaying pretty much the exact same content. But I think it'd bother me a lot less if text and turn speeds were a bit faster. With that being said though, I do think that the core battle system here is fun.
Regardless of the tedious aspects, I really do think that this game is worth playing. Please do not let the time loops alone turn you away from the game entirely. When it's good, it's GREAT.

A really great 3D metroidvania with very satisfying platforming. I think my only big issue with the platforming/moment to moment gameplay is that there's a late game ability that doesn't feel as consistent as it probably should. Otherwise though, the movement is immensely satisfying.
The exploration is great too. There's a lot of potential for those "I don't know if I should be here" moments that are a high point for pretty much any game in the genre. I didn't start my full playthrough until after the map update released, and I'm glad I waited. I'm not sure I would've made it through without it. The world is pretty complex. Which can be nice, but it's also a bit hard to navigate at times. Kinda wish there was a compass or something too so that I could get a better feel for where in a room I am, but it wasn't game ruining or anything.
Overall it's just a really solid translation of the genre into 3D. Yeah, it suffers from some of the same issues as many other 3D MVs. But really, I don't think I've enjoyed a metroidvania this much in quite a while.

I wanted to like this game a lot more than I did. But there were two main issues that got in the way for me.
1) Ability gating felt super arbitrary at times. There were objects that I'd look at and go "do I have the ability to do something with this?" and sometimes I would just not know. Same thing with some of the platforming sequences. Although fortunately some of them have an NPC who tells you if you have everything you need.
2) (and this is the main one) I can't quite tell if this is a me issue or what, but the bosses feel like they have a lot more health than they should. I get the impression that I was supposed to be using the spin jump a lot more (since you do more damage when spin jumping), but it puts you at such a significantly greater risk of getting hit that I kinda brushed off using it for boss fights (especially since some of the ones right after aren't great for that ability). It just feels very unreliable and hard to control in comparison to your normal slashes and I feel that it should have been left as a tool that more advanced players can use to make fights go faster rather than an expectation for any player hoping to finish the game.

This is a fantastic remake of one of my childhood favorites. Given that I never actually finished it as a kid (but have seen the rest through let's plays), my thoughts here are gonna be a mix of "how does it stack up to the game I remember it being?" and "how well does this remake do, as a game?" In the end, I think it does a really great job at both.
The plot is a fairly basic "get the seven things as some guys get in your way", but I think that's all it really needs to be here. Things happen quite quickly, but the story never feels like it's moving so fast that you don't get to enjoy anything. I honestly forgot how short-lived the actual plot presence of certain bosses was, considering how memorable they are.
The battle system is pretty good too. Just as good as I remember it being in the original, but in different ways. Like the other Mario RPGs, this one focuses on timed button presses as you hit enemies. However, SMRPG is a bit more traditional in some ways due to the relative importance of non-damaging spells and its "pick three out of the five" party setup. Overall, the game feels like what it is: an old Square game with a Mario twist.
Battles are where the bulk of the game's changes are, but I can't say that the changes are necessarily bad. I think one of the main ones that I'm a bit mixed on is that there's now a new "perfect timing" window in which basic attacks will do damage to all enemies instead of just the one. This makes both normal enemy encounters and a few bosses go by quite a bit faster. It also gives you a good source of cheap spread damage outside of just Mallow (who gets a new niche in this remake with the Thought Peek log). However, while learning how to take advantage of this is fun, it does ultimately mean that you're going to be using your spells a bit less often outside of bosses. I don't think it's a good or bad thing. It's just different.
The new action command combo system is also really cool. You get more stat boosts the more action commands you succeed on in a row, which can be super rewarding. It makes the action commands as a whole feel a lot more impactful while also providing a very good incentive to try to guard even against attacks that wouldn't do much damage.
Another new change is mid-battle character switching. Honestly, I love this one. It makes things feel so much more dynamic, especially considering that you can switch characters and use the new one in a single move. It's great. While it does mean that you don't have to worry as much about party composition, it makes it so that you end up using every character a bit more evenly because you can switch someone else in if you feel like you need to. My only real issue with this change is that if all three active party members are downed, then the game force switches the other two back in. I would have much rather this have just been a game over.
You may have noticed that the gameplay changes all make the remake a much faster experience. However, I think that actually plays to one of the strengths of the original. It's always been a pretty fast-paced game. Super Mario RPG is not a game that's interested in wasting your time. While yes, the original is harder, and the visual and musical changes do alter the atmosphere, this is a very worthy version of the game in its own right. The 2023 remake turns what has always been a great game into a condensed can of Mario RPG goodness, and I imagine that even if it won't completely replace the original for me, I will be coming back to this version as well.

This might be my new favorite 2D Mario. Not 100% sure how I'd say it stacks up to World since I feel like that one is a bit faster and a bit harder, but it's definitely a close competition either way.
Wonder is full of character. There are so many nice little visual touches and I love all the new enemy designs. It's just an incredibly pleasant and joyful experience from an audiovisual and atmospheric standpoint.
This is also the game I'd say Mario controls the best in. I've got some minor issues with the controls, sure, but for the most part it feels like I'm always doing exactly what I'm trying to do. On top of that, it's got solid level design, and some really cool level gimmicks that shake things up quite a bit while rarely feeling intrusive. (Note the "rarely". There were some wonder effects that I didn't always love.)
Really though, I think level design-wise, my two main issues are that it's a little too easy at times, and it's almost too compelling to 100% (which I did). Trying to get everything in one go can slow things down a bit, especially if you're as thorough in exploring games as I often am. But the wonder effects were so intriguing that I frequently felt compelled to do just that. But really, the levels are fun enough to replay that it isn't a massive problem. Just something to get used to.
Overall, I think Super Mario Bros. Wonder is a great game that just needs a few more opportunities for players to express a higher degree of skill without worrying that they'll miss the main event.

Super Mario Bros. 2 is a weird one because as we all know, it was never really a Mario game, which means that it has some odd mechanical differences compared to the rest. But it’s still a decent game in its own right, albeit one that could use some major balancing tweaks.
The controls feel pretty nice for the most part, and the throwing mechanic can be quite satisfying. However, there are times when things can be a bit too touchy, like how easy it is to slip off of vines and chains, or how small characters still have to duck to avoid enemies.
The level design ranges from really cool to rather irritating. It has a lot more verticality and a few more non-platforming elements, which is a nice change of pace from what 2D Mario usually offers. There’s a decent amount of enemy variety too, and foes are often placed together in interesting ways. However, sometimes enemy placement can be a bit too harsh, and some level features (like the sand you dig through) slow the game to a crawl.
Really though, I thought the game’s biggest issue was its lives and health system. 1-ups and health pickups are pretty sparse, which makes it pretty frustrating that you have to restart a whole world when you get a game over. Even getting hit once can feel like a massive blow. While it adds a bit more tension, and really forces you to learn earlier levels in a world, it just isn’t fun that certain segments can feel impossible to get past and force you to lose significant progress.

I'm rather conflicted on this game honestly. I definitely really enjoyed the story, although it takes longer than it should for it to be anything exciting.
The gameplay on the other hand, I am very mixed on. The pacing isn't always great, and it takes a while for your moveset to get interesting. Plus, there are a lot of RPG elements that feel a little out of place, and the encounter design can be tedious at times. But at its best, the game can be a lot of fun. There are a few really cool boss fights, as well as some encounters that are really well integrated into the story. The puzzles and environments are pretty neat sometimes too.
It's a game that has a lot going for it in terms of presentation, and it's clearly very high budget. But I feel that maybe it would've been better if it had been scoped down a bit.

This game takes my favorite open world in a video game and adds so much more to do in it through the addition of caves, more involved sidequests, and a greater number of shrines.
Elements such as dungeons are significantly improved as well, with more diverse theming and more organically integrated puzzles that often make decent use of the dungeon as a space.
Link's abilities in this game are fantastic too. The Ultrahand allows for a lot of creativity, Fuse makes the weapon system feel more customizable, and Ascend allows for clever use of vertical space. (Recall is cool too, but it's more puzzle focused than the rest.)
If I had one major criticism with TotK's new concepts, I would say that the Depths don't live up to their full potential. They're a bit lacking in variety, and there isn't too much to do there aside from fighting enemies and gathering resources to help you on the surface. They're a cool concept with some good atmosphere, and if you enjoy exploration (which I do), it's nice to have more of the world to see, but it certainly isn't as exciting of a place as the surface.
While I do think Tears of the Kingdom is generally a clear improvement over Breath of the Wild, there are a couple areas that feel a bit purposeless in TotK compared to its predecessor. In combination with the difference in abilities, this leaves both games feeling distinct despite TotK having more content and better core gameplay.
Make no mistake though, this game is one of the best I've played due to its wonderful world, engaging core mechanics, and solid puzzle design.

This is a game that is incredibly important to me due to the role it played in my childhood, but despite that, I don't think nostalgia does the heavy lifting for my opinion on it today. This is a wonderful game with great music, a fun story with a good sense of humor, one of my favorite battle systems in an RPG, and a pleasant art style that helped its visuals age incredibly well.
To comment on the battle system: I think it provides a great mix of strategy, puzzle solving, and timing. Due to the low numbers and simple math used in combat, you can figure out how to "optimize" certain encounters. However, there are often many different ways to go about this, and battles aren't entirely predictable. They can be pretty challenging at times.
My only real issues with the game are that a couple chapters aren't quite there in terms of story, some short segments are a bit slow, and there are a handful of relatively minor gameplay problems. (For example: you don't have quite enough good combat choices when battling single opponents with high defense, and a few areas could use some work level-design wise)

Given its current technical state, this game should not have been released. However, it is a very solid execution of the idea of an open world Pokémon game. You're given the opportunity to make your own difficulty (at the cost of making other parts of the game easier) by tackling areas before you're really meant to which makes for a really fun experience. The story is also pretty decent for the most part, although I wouldn't say its anything amazing. I also found myself a bit tired of catching Pokémon by the end due to the slower battles, and I didn't think there was quite enough variety in side content to keep exploration interesting the whole way through. Overall though, it's my favorite Pokémon game in a while (since Sun and Moon). Given how much could have been improved, I think another year of development time could have gone a long way.