LeSoSCL
Let's be honest, the DLC had a very rough start, with stages essentially ported from Mario Kart Tour and only given new music, but as time passed the next waves became way closer to the ones present in the base game, this meaning ACTUAL grass textures, more attention to detail and even bringing brand new balance changes and features to the table. Here are a few of my favorite tracks in the whole pass:
- Ninja Hideaway
- Waluigi Pinball
- Berlin Byways (BANGER OST BTW)
- Rainbow Road 3DS
- DK Summit
- Yoshi's Island
- Rainbow Road Wii
Also the new characters added are great too: Petey Piranha, Birdo and Wiggler are back again, Kamek finally gets his chance to shine as part of the roster, Diddy and Funky Kong make this game three times better by themselves and even Pauline is an awesome addition to the cast!
Although, I will say this: I never really understood the hate towards Peachette, she literally did nothing wrong y'all ðŸ˜
Detouring a little here, we also got some extra thingies as well: Mii Suits with their own stunts, a jukebox, customizable random item mode, the balance changes making the meta stray very far away from the Wiggler Waluigi combo days. The list goes on, it's actually pretty nice QoL stuff all in all.
Oh and a huge RIP to Piranha Plant Pipeline (Tour), the only stage that will become lost media as of now, in case MKT ceases to exist :(
- Ninja Hideaway
- Waluigi Pinball
- Berlin Byways (BANGER OST BTW)
- Rainbow Road 3DS
- DK Summit
- Yoshi's Island
- Rainbow Road Wii
Also the new characters added are great too: Petey Piranha, Birdo and Wiggler are back again, Kamek finally gets his chance to shine as part of the roster, Diddy and Funky Kong make this game three times better by themselves and even Pauline is an awesome addition to the cast!
Although, I will say this: I never really understood the hate towards Peachette, she literally did nothing wrong y'all ðŸ˜
Detouring a little here, we also got some extra thingies as well: Mii Suits with their own stunts, a jukebox, customizable random item mode, the balance changes making the meta stray very far away from the Wiggler Waluigi combo days. The list goes on, it's actually pretty nice QoL stuff all in all.
Oh and a huge RIP to Piranha Plant Pipeline (Tour), the only stage that will become lost media as of now, in case MKT ceases to exist :(
2022
My friends bought me this for my birthday??? 💀💀💀💀💀
1988
Certified classic that tipped the scales back in the day and still a very enjoyable and accessible title nowadays. I've played it so many times on different points of my life, and it manages to put a smile on my face every single time!
The beginning of the safe era of Paper Mario games.
I remember having a nice time playing this game, mainly because of the music tracks and the funny "real life items" gimmick, but everything else is a huge step back from what was established in the series.
- Bland story (Save princess peach from bowser, no catches at all).
- Great combat system replaced with a mediocre, sticker dependant one.
- All NPCs and enemies are normal toads and goombas, koopas, etc.
- Kersti's existence as a whole.
- No creative world themes (Grass, Snow, Jungle and so on...)
At its core, Paper Mario: Sticker Star was stripped away from what made prior games in the series so great in the first place, both creativity and the RPG element (a.k.a from all dignity). You know it's bad when even the Beta/E3 footage of the game looks more interesting than what we actually got.
I remember having a nice time playing this game, mainly because of the music tracks and the funny "real life items" gimmick, but everything else is a huge step back from what was established in the series.
- Bland story (Save princess peach from bowser, no catches at all).
- Great combat system replaced with a mediocre, sticker dependant one.
- All NPCs and enemies are normal toads and goombas, koopas, etc.
- Kersti's existence as a whole.
- No creative world themes (Grass, Snow, Jungle and so on...)
At its core, Paper Mario: Sticker Star was stripped away from what made prior games in the series so great in the first place, both creativity and the RPG element (a.k.a from all dignity). You know it's bad when even the Beta/E3 footage of the game looks more interesting than what we actually got.
2004
It looks/sounds good and the physics are quite accurate to a pinball cabin, but the problem resides in how the stages themselves play...
The star challenges are some of the most tedious and time constrained stuff I've ever played because of the precision they demand from the player to hit objectives, all while:
a. The ball won't go exactly where you want it to most of the time.
b. The enemies are in constant movement and/or airborne, making more room for errors.
c. There's the chance you leave the room accidentally by losing or aiming Mario towards a normal/secret route.
d. All the above.
Also, in case you get the star to lie there in the center of the room you better touch it, because everytime you get out of the room where the star is, THE WHOLE ROOM RESETS INCLUDING THE DAMN STAR! WTF WERE THEY THINKING???
Oh, and the blue coin minigames are even worse, since each of them are on a time limit to complete to destroy all enemies, and with the whiffy nature of pinball you can guess where that goes.
TL;DR it's fun for the first 5 minutes, but going for story completion is SO not worth it, let alone a 100% completion.
The star challenges are some of the most tedious and time constrained stuff I've ever played because of the precision they demand from the player to hit objectives, all while:
a. The ball won't go exactly where you want it to most of the time.
b. The enemies are in constant movement and/or airborne, making more room for errors.
c. There's the chance you leave the room accidentally by losing or aiming Mario towards a normal/secret route.
d. All the above.
Also, in case you get the star to lie there in the center of the room you better touch it, because everytime you get out of the room where the star is, THE WHOLE ROOM RESETS INCLUDING THE DAMN STAR! WTF WERE THEY THINKING???
Oh, and the blue coin minigames are even worse, since each of them are on a time limit to complete to destroy all enemies, and with the whiffy nature of pinball you can guess where that goes.
TL;DR it's fun for the first 5 minutes, but going for story completion is SO not worth it, let alone a 100% completion.
2023
"Princess Daisy likes p o r p o l :)" - Luigi
A close to 1:1 recreation of the original Purble Place on Windows Vista/7 and nothing else. No QoL features, no extra content, a bug that softlocks the bakery minigame, it's really barebones all things considered. Although it attempts to emulate the charming aesthetic from back then, something feels off, but I can't quite put my finger on what it is...
I would be completely fine with this and give it 2 stars if it didn't cost $2 to get, while the original only costed navigating two interfaces. I can't really recommend it unless it was given to you as a gift by any chance, just play the OG Purble Place.
A close to 1:1 recreation of the original Purble Place on Windows Vista/7 and nothing else. No QoL features, no extra content, a bug that softlocks the bakery minigame, it's really barebones all things considered. Although it attempts to emulate the charming aesthetic from back then, something feels off, but I can't quite put my finger on what it is...
I would be completely fine with this and give it 2 stars if it didn't cost $2 to get, while the original only costed navigating two interfaces. I can't really recommend it unless it was given to you as a gift by any chance, just play the OG Purble Place.
This review contains spoilers
Great expansion DLC in my book, essentially an alternate take on the events on Ouranos Island, and the canon one for me idc LOL
I adore the amount of details the put into this: Amy's card abilities and Tails' Cyclone are great stuff and are very fun to mess around, and while Knuckles brought back a lot of his attacks from 06' (which I appreciate a lot), he controlled the roughest in terms of overall sluggish movement and his glide maneuvering.
In terms of difficulty, this DLC is clearly an answer towards the base game being called "too easy" and it shows. The map challenges take more effort to complete, there are upgraded versions of previous guardians spread all across the island (Spider+, Master Hammer, etc.), and the obstacles to obtain collectibles like skill tree points require a lot of precision from the player, most of the time. Personally, I never found the main story too little demanding, but still it feels kind of refreshing to have tricky challenges like these.
Now onto the aspects people talk the most about: The Trial Towers. There are five in total, the last one being available after Sonic's friends get cybercorrupted. These are a completely different beast compared to the ones from Rhea, since climbing them require even more precise timings, faster reaction times and a lot of perseverence. I didn't have much problem on this aspect (besides the Dragon Trial one making me want to tear my hair out trying to reach the top xd). The trials themselves are very straight to the point, mainly defeating enemies with a specific ability while Sonic is temporarily nerfed, the lot. The most interesting of them all is Master Koco's since you fight every previous Titan with a limited amount of rings you're forced to use strategies to beat them the fastest way possible. I like that one a lot despite being frustrating at the moment, I'm sorry 💀
There are new cyberspace levels too, although basically refurbishes of the ones found in the base game, but they are good one nonetheless. These contain new challenges, like collecting Moon Rings, Number Rings and even finding little animals and taking them to safe spots, it's all really cool. Oh yeah, they also have remixes of the cyberspace OST and they're ABSOLUTE FIRE.
And finally, my absolute favorite part: The End boss fight. Hot DAMN, was that an experience! Seeing Sonic transform into Super Sonic 2 and hearing Kellin Quinn singing "I'm Here" was absolutely raw, from the way he fucking slaps away the missiles on parry, to him faking losing the transformation, to the QTE beating Supreme's ass wide open, to stealing the goddamn shotgun to be used by Eggman, the gang helping Sage with her shield AND THEN UNLEASHING CYBER SONIC TO PIERCE THROUGH THE DOGGONE MOON AGAIN WTFFFFFFFF IT WAS FUCKING AWESOME!!!!
At least Sage didn't have to sacrifice herself this time around :)
I love this update for what it is and all the great stuff it brought into the table, even if it feels bullshit sometimes because of the increased difficulty in general. What a great time to be a Sonic fan 🦔
I adore the amount of details the put into this: Amy's card abilities and Tails' Cyclone are great stuff and are very fun to mess around, and while Knuckles brought back a lot of his attacks from 06' (which I appreciate a lot), he controlled the roughest in terms of overall sluggish movement and his glide maneuvering.
In terms of difficulty, this DLC is clearly an answer towards the base game being called "too easy" and it shows. The map challenges take more effort to complete, there are upgraded versions of previous guardians spread all across the island (Spider+, Master Hammer, etc.), and the obstacles to obtain collectibles like skill tree points require a lot of precision from the player, most of the time. Personally, I never found the main story too little demanding, but still it feels kind of refreshing to have tricky challenges like these.
Now onto the aspects people talk the most about: The Trial Towers. There are five in total, the last one being available after Sonic's friends get cybercorrupted. These are a completely different beast compared to the ones from Rhea, since climbing them require even more precise timings, faster reaction times and a lot of perseverence. I didn't have much problem on this aspect (besides the Dragon Trial one making me want to tear my hair out trying to reach the top xd). The trials themselves are very straight to the point, mainly defeating enemies with a specific ability while Sonic is temporarily nerfed, the lot. The most interesting of them all is Master Koco's since you fight every previous Titan with a limited amount of rings you're forced to use strategies to beat them the fastest way possible. I like that one a lot despite being frustrating at the moment, I'm sorry 💀
There are new cyberspace levels too, although basically refurbishes of the ones found in the base game, but they are good one nonetheless. These contain new challenges, like collecting Moon Rings, Number Rings and even finding little animals and taking them to safe spots, it's all really cool. Oh yeah, they also have remixes of the cyberspace OST and they're ABSOLUTE FIRE.
And finally, my absolute favorite part: The End boss fight. Hot DAMN, was that an experience! Seeing Sonic transform into Super Sonic 2 and hearing Kellin Quinn singing "I'm Here" was absolutely raw, from the way he fucking slaps away the missiles on parry, to him faking losing the transformation, to the QTE beating Supreme's ass wide open, to stealing the goddamn shotgun to be used by Eggman, the gang helping Sage with her shield AND THEN UNLEASHING CYBER SONIC TO PIERCE THROUGH THE DOGGONE MOON AGAIN WTFFFFFFFF IT WAS FUCKING AWESOME!!!!
At least Sage didn't have to sacrifice herself this time around :)
I love this update for what it is and all the great stuff it brought into the table, even if it feels bullshit sometimes because of the increased difficulty in general. What a great time to be a Sonic fan 🦔
2017
One of the best platformers I've played, and definitely one of the hardest!
Both the soundtrack and the artstyle do such a good job in making you feel like you're actually playing a cartoon film from the 80's, especially when every sprite in the whole game is fully hand-drawn just like back in the day, giving a very genuine experience on that behalf.
Also, the bosses in this game are some of the most creative concepts ever, both characters-wise and execution-wise, and the level design is great overall on the Run-N-Gun stages, with a few bullshit moments when it comes to enemy placement and timings, but it's expectable given the difficulty.
My only real problem with Cuphead (the base game) is that it can become a mildly short adventure if you're good enough, even being able to beat the game in one day. Then again, this is a little more relieved with the DLC out nowadays, but I'm still seeing them as separate things for this review LOL
I remember back in 2017 hearing rumors about the developers being forced to mortgage their house in order to finish the game, and if that was the case then GOOD LORD it was worth it in the end. Congratulations to the team behind this masterpiece!
Both the soundtrack and the artstyle do such a good job in making you feel like you're actually playing a cartoon film from the 80's, especially when every sprite in the whole game is fully hand-drawn just like back in the day, giving a very genuine experience on that behalf.
Also, the bosses in this game are some of the most creative concepts ever, both characters-wise and execution-wise, and the level design is great overall on the Run-N-Gun stages, with a few bullshit moments when it comes to enemy placement and timings, but it's expectable given the difficulty.
My only real problem with Cuphead (the base game) is that it can become a mildly short adventure if you're good enough, even being able to beat the game in one day. Then again, this is a little more relieved with the DLC out nowadays, but I'm still seeing them as separate things for this review LOL
I remember back in 2017 hearing rumors about the developers being forced to mortgage their house in order to finish the game, and if that was the case then GOOD LORD it was worth it in the end. Congratulations to the team behind this masterpiece!
A more worthy fourth entry to the Crash Bandicoot series compared to the one that came out 19 years prior.
Amazing level and character design, really solid and responsive gameplay, and a very decent soundtrack despite not having as many catchy tunes as the original trilogy.
It was a very fun trip from start to finish... when it comes to the casual run, that is. I, and I really mean it when saying this, EXTREMELY don't recommend going for full completion in this game, unless you wanna have one of the most ridiculously tedious, repetitive and stressful chores in the world of platformers due to the overload of individual collectibles per stage. Trust me, I really tried to do it myself but it was just too dreadful, man :(
Amazing level and character design, really solid and responsive gameplay, and a very decent soundtrack despite not having as many catchy tunes as the original trilogy.
It was a very fun trip from start to finish... when it comes to the casual run, that is. I, and I really mean it when saying this, EXTREMELY don't recommend going for full completion in this game, unless you wanna have one of the most ridiculously tedious, repetitive and stressful chores in the world of platformers due to the overload of individual collectibles per stage. Trust me, I really tried to do it myself but it was just too dreadful, man :(
One of the ugliest, most insipid and boring games I've ever played. The graphics look like they came from the sewers, the gameplay in general is really sluggish and uneventful, the platforming sequences feel quite repetitive and/or tedious, and the puzzles are fine but can sometimes repeat themselves with minimal changes in the solution.
At least the music feels adequate to each stage, despite being forgettable at best.
The story here, to my surprise, is a lot different to the one presented by the movie, only focusing on Gru, Dr. Nefario, the Minions, Vector and building the rocket to stealing the moon, and shafting other key plot points, like the existence of the Girls and Gru's change of heart, exactly the things that made the movie have a motif, while also not doing much to compensate these aspects (other than weightless collectibles, I guess). Also, the cutscenes gag, feel like an eternity to finish and recycle the same animations every time.
By the way, can I take a moment to point at the fact that among the collectible family portraits, FUCKING MISS HATTIE IS IN ONE OF THEM?????? LMFAOOOOOOOOOO
Idek why I'm doing this review so long over a rushed, unpolished tie-in game obviously made for a quick buck, and even having that on mind I was still dissapointed. Just please don't play it if you respect yourself and your precious time.
At least the music feels adequate to each stage, despite being forgettable at best.
The story here, to my surprise, is a lot different to the one presented by the movie, only focusing on Gru, Dr. Nefario, the Minions, Vector and building the rocket to stealing the moon, and shafting other key plot points, like the existence of the Girls and Gru's change of heart, exactly the things that made the movie have a motif, while also not doing much to compensate these aspects (other than weightless collectibles, I guess). Also, the cutscenes gag, feel like an eternity to finish and recycle the same animations every time.
By the way, can I take a moment to point at the fact that among the collectible family portraits, FUCKING MISS HATTIE IS IN ONE OF THEM?????? LMFAOOOOOOOOOO
Idek why I'm doing this review so long over a rushed, unpolished tie-in game obviously made for a quick buck, and even having that on mind I was still dissapointed. Just please don't play it if you respect yourself and your precious time.
After remembering having a good time playing Crash of the Titans, I was looking forward to try its succesor, and it was... kind of an experience, huh.
Besides many of the mutants from Titants making a comeback while being redesigned in the process (some of them even getting an overhaul, i.e Stench), there are also new ones here... only two though, TK and Grimly, which coincidentally are some of my favorites because of how goofy, eccentric and fun to use they are. I also like how all of them can now jump, climb ledges and have more attacks on their movesets to further improve the combat dynamic, a really welcome move on that behalf. Some of them can even use their powers to affect your surroundings and open new paths, which is very cool. Still, fuck Magmadon man, shit is too slow doing anything!
However, every other aspect of the game has been dumbed down from my perspective: The controls scheme and new combat mechanics are less intuitive than before, the environments look dull and empty most of the time, the story is more basic and very little imaginative, and many of the main characters got redesigned again, and they look even worse than they did on Titans.
The "open world" aspect this time around is also a negative for me, they mostly expect you to know exactly where to go to complete a story mission, while also not giving you any kind of guidance beyond the tutorial mission. May I add that """world map""" (if it can even be called that) is the poorest piece of shit I've ever seen??? I'm think I'm staying with episodic format from Titans, thank you very much...
With all these big issues on mind, I see myself obligated to give credit where it's due. The cutscenes in this game are some of the best I've seen in the whole franchise, the different artstyles and references are very charming and funny. Another thing I'm glad I can call a positive is the OST, which I really enjoyed because of how upbeat it is while exploring, but then it knows when to go dummy during combat. My favorites are definitely "Bandicoot Sanctuary", "Big Fight #2" and "The Wastelands".
Besides many of the mutants from Titants making a comeback while being redesigned in the process (some of them even getting an overhaul, i.e Stench), there are also new ones here... only two though, TK and Grimly, which coincidentally are some of my favorites because of how goofy, eccentric and fun to use they are. I also like how all of them can now jump, climb ledges and have more attacks on their movesets to further improve the combat dynamic, a really welcome move on that behalf. Some of them can even use their powers to affect your surroundings and open new paths, which is very cool. Still, fuck Magmadon man, shit is too slow doing anything!
However, every other aspect of the game has been dumbed down from my perspective: The controls scheme and new combat mechanics are less intuitive than before, the environments look dull and empty most of the time, the story is more basic and very little imaginative, and many of the main characters got redesigned again, and they look even worse than they did on Titans.
The "open world" aspect this time around is also a negative for me, they mostly expect you to know exactly where to go to complete a story mission, while also not giving you any kind of guidance beyond the tutorial mission. May I add that """world map""" (if it can even be called that) is the poorest piece of shit I've ever seen??? I'm think I'm staying with episodic format from Titans, thank you very much...
With all these big issues on mind, I see myself obligated to give credit where it's due. The cutscenes in this game are some of the best I've seen in the whole franchise, the different artstyles and references are very charming and funny. Another thing I'm glad I can call a positive is the OST, which I really enjoyed because of how upbeat it is while exploring, but then it knows when to go dummy during combat. My favorites are definitely "Bandicoot Sanctuary", "Big Fight #2" and "The Wastelands".
2018
Absolute masterpiece right here, I don't even know why I didn't play this before!
Celeste is definitely one of the most incredibly polished 2D platformers out there. The music is amazing, the graphics are very detailed while also keeping the pixel art simple and appealing, and also has a very good sense of humor.
Of all the aspects of the game, I think the storytelling takes the cake for me. The game takes itself very seriously when it comes to topics like mental health, something that's heavily related to Madeline and the Celeste mountain during the whole journey. In the end, she was climbing the mountain to conquer her own insecurities (reflected on the Badeline character), while also treating her depression and anxiety so she could prove herself "she can do this".
I got to beat all chapters from 1 through 9, and also obtaining all blue crystal hearts and the red ones from the B-Sides, but there's no way I can beat the C-Sides, let alone get the golden strawberries LOL
I VERY highly recommend it, especially for those who are looking for a challenging experience. You are not going to regret it :)
Celeste is definitely one of the most incredibly polished 2D platformers out there. The music is amazing, the graphics are very detailed while also keeping the pixel art simple and appealing, and also has a very good sense of humor.
Of all the aspects of the game, I think the storytelling takes the cake for me. The game takes itself very seriously when it comes to topics like mental health, something that's heavily related to Madeline and the Celeste mountain during the whole journey. In the end, she was climbing the mountain to conquer her own insecurities (reflected on the Badeline character), while also treating her depression and anxiety so she could prove herself "she can do this".
I got to beat all chapters from 1 through 9, and also obtaining all blue crystal hearts and the red ones from the B-Sides, but there's no way I can beat the C-Sides, let alone get the golden strawberries LOL
I VERY highly recommend it, especially for those who are looking for a challenging experience. You are not going to regret it :)
A surprisingly neat ROM hack with a lot of heart put into it, at least way more than the vanilla NSMB games nowadays, anyways.
The level design here is definitely one of the biggest highlights of the game, they are really varied in terms of structure, and many of them have an exclusive gimmick per world, which are really good considering the limited editing tools back in the day.
The music was pretty okay most of the time, but sadly not much past that imo. There were some pretty nice original tunes like "Underwater" or "Fire" but even then, they are not very memorable. Other than that, I also detected a lot of rearrangements of soundtracks from other mario games, like Yoshi's Island, NSMB DS and even damn Wario World, and they are... not that good, I'm sorry :(
Overall, definitely the best New SMB Wii ROMhack out there, and also one I have a lot of respect for, even though I'm not in love with everything it has to offer. Hopefully there will be more updates about the upcoming Newer Deluxe version soon!
The level design here is definitely one of the biggest highlights of the game, they are really varied in terms of structure, and many of them have an exclusive gimmick per world, which are really good considering the limited editing tools back in the day.
The music was pretty okay most of the time, but sadly not much past that imo. There were some pretty nice original tunes like "Underwater" or "Fire" but even then, they are not very memorable. Other than that, I also detected a lot of rearrangements of soundtracks from other mario games, like Yoshi's Island, NSMB DS and even damn Wario World, and they are... not that good, I'm sorry :(
Overall, definitely the best New SMB Wii ROMhack out there, and also one I have a lot of respect for, even though I'm not in love with everything it has to offer. Hopefully there will be more updates about the upcoming Newer Deluxe version soon!
2022
Pretty good Pac-Man collection if you ask me, and the selection of games isn't bad either. There are many bangers one can really get a fun time out of, like Pac-Mania, Arrangement and my guilty pleasure, Pac-Man 256.
There are some other games to which this collection also helps to come out of obscurity a little bit such as Pac-Land or Pac & Pal, both very interesting takes on the original formula IMO, and Pac-Land, which I love for its uniqueness compared to the rest of games in the collection.
Oh and yeah, Pac In Time can suck it LOL
In technical terms of the games themselves, it's really lackluster overall. No video modes (beyond a CRT filter), DIP switches, button mapping or even save states for games that really need them (i.e OG Pac-Man). Most of the achievements are pretty fine too, although there are some instances which are either too challenging or require a lot of grinding, making it annoying at times. Also, the emulation sometimes can take a dive in FPS, so it's not too good either.
Now, I quite liked the game's presentation. I love the concept of the game giving you the chance to customize your own arcade with guest characters appearing over time, that's a nice detail.
I'm not getting everything for the moment because normally I play Pac-Man for the nobility's sake. I recommend it still, but it could have been so much better...
There are some other games to which this collection also helps to come out of obscurity a little bit such as Pac-Land or Pac & Pal, both very interesting takes on the original formula IMO, and Pac-Land, which I love for its uniqueness compared to the rest of games in the collection.
Oh and yeah, Pac In Time can suck it LOL
In technical terms of the games themselves, it's really lackluster overall. No video modes (beyond a CRT filter), DIP switches, button mapping or even save states for games that really need them (i.e OG Pac-Man). Most of the achievements are pretty fine too, although there are some instances which are either too challenging or require a lot of grinding, making it annoying at times. Also, the emulation sometimes can take a dive in FPS, so it's not too good either.
Now, I quite liked the game's presentation. I love the concept of the game giving you the chance to customize your own arcade with guest characters appearing over time, that's a nice detail.
I'm not getting everything for the moment because normally I play Pac-Man for the nobility's sake. I recommend it still, but it could have been so much better...
2017
wea mala