LithOrbane
2000
1998
I remember renting this game from Blockbuster as a kid and me and my brother being unable to make any real progress in it. The controls are easily some of the worst in gaming history. Grating sound effects, no real story, bad graphics; I could go on, but everything bad about this game has already been said.
In high school, I got sick with walking pneumonia and was out of school for two weeks. During that time, I downloaded a ROM of this game and played it again for the meme. While I never beat it, I got STUPIDLY good at the ring flying sections without even using a controller, just keyboard. One of my most useless gaming talents for sure.
In high school, I got sick with walking pneumonia and was out of school for two weeks. During that time, I downloaded a ROM of this game and played it again for the meme. While I never beat it, I got STUPIDLY good at the ring flying sections without even using a controller, just keyboard. One of my most useless gaming talents for sure.
2014
2022
I was, admittedly, not very excited for this game when it was announced. Besides Sonic Mania, which I did not touch until years after release, I had not been keeping up with Sonic games in about a decade or so. As more of the game was shown off, I was intrigued. Slowly, I warmed up to it. I wasn't expecting a masterpiece, but I was cautiously optimistic that it would at least be a fun time. It felt good to be even mildly looking forward to a Sonic release. It had been a long time.
I'm happy to say that the game lived up to my optimistic wishes. I had a lot of fun with this one. It feels really good to just run around big environments as Sonic. The 'open world', while not the most complex or in-depth, offers some bursts of fun with puzzles, grind rails, and little platforming sections that break up what might otherwise be monotonous, and I think that's a big strength of this game. Bored of platforming in the open world? Go tackle a Cyberspace level, and get some keys. Looking for something less high octane? Go fishing. Ready for more excitement? There's an open world boss monster over there to kill. All of these different systems always kept me engaged in the game, in some form or another. Sure, some enemies might be less fun to fight than others, not all Cyberspace levels are created equal, but just the fact that you can change up what you want to do on a whim really did a lot for keeping me having fun. It helps that the core experience was fun for me; I really enjoy the feel of running in this game, the combat system was a nice addition, and the boss fights are, for the most part, fantastic. Easily some of my favorites in the series.
The game is not perfect, by any means. Some islands are definitely better than others, some of the puzzles/minigames to progress the story are mediocre, and the story, while I know many people liked it, did nothing for me. I didn't actively dislike it, but it was almost a non-factor for me in my opinion of the game. No strong feelings one way or another. The game does also have some visual rendering issues on the Switch. They did not personally bother me, and I never experienced any kind of detrimental performance issues, but they are nonetheless present.
All things considered though, I'm really glad I got this game. It has helped spark my interest in a new generation of Sonic games, and I truly think that if the development team takes this game as a base, build on its strengths while trimming away the weak points, they'll have something really special on their hands. On a more personal note, this game has reignited enjoyment for a character and franchise that meant so much to me growing up, making me remember how cool it felt to rush through the streets of City Escape for the first time, or battle against Perfect Chaos in the flooded ruins of Station Square, and for that I'm thankful.
I'm happy to say that the game lived up to my optimistic wishes. I had a lot of fun with this one. It feels really good to just run around big environments as Sonic. The 'open world', while not the most complex or in-depth, offers some bursts of fun with puzzles, grind rails, and little platforming sections that break up what might otherwise be monotonous, and I think that's a big strength of this game. Bored of platforming in the open world? Go tackle a Cyberspace level, and get some keys. Looking for something less high octane? Go fishing. Ready for more excitement? There's an open world boss monster over there to kill. All of these different systems always kept me engaged in the game, in some form or another. Sure, some enemies might be less fun to fight than others, not all Cyberspace levels are created equal, but just the fact that you can change up what you want to do on a whim really did a lot for keeping me having fun. It helps that the core experience was fun for me; I really enjoy the feel of running in this game, the combat system was a nice addition, and the boss fights are, for the most part, fantastic. Easily some of my favorites in the series.
The game is not perfect, by any means. Some islands are definitely better than others, some of the puzzles/minigames to progress the story are mediocre, and the story, while I know many people liked it, did nothing for me. I didn't actively dislike it, but it was almost a non-factor for me in my opinion of the game. No strong feelings one way or another. The game does also have some visual rendering issues on the Switch. They did not personally bother me, and I never experienced any kind of detrimental performance issues, but they are nonetheless present.
All things considered though, I'm really glad I got this game. It has helped spark my interest in a new generation of Sonic games, and I truly think that if the development team takes this game as a base, build on its strengths while trimming away the weak points, they'll have something really special on their hands. On a more personal note, this game has reignited enjoyment for a character and franchise that meant so much to me growing up, making me remember how cool it felt to rush through the streets of City Escape for the first time, or battle against Perfect Chaos in the flooded ruins of Station Square, and for that I'm thankful.
Finally beat every route.
I really appreciate that this Warriors game is actually putting some thought and care into the story for a change. Say what you will about how the stories ultimately play out, but I appreciate the attempt at trying to tell something with a similar level of complexity and care as the game it spun off from. The character interactions are, for the most part, just as strong, and new character interactions are very welcome. Some were ones I hoped we would get in Three Houses and never did, others were wholly unexpected, but ones I'm thankful were in the game.
The gameplay is solid, as always. I feel like it's generally on par with the other Nintendo Warriors games. The class system, in addition to the unique personal skills of each character, makes experimenting with class combinations fun, and can make two characters of the same class feel vastly different in playstyle. While there are no class playstyles in this game that I feel reach the heights of enjoyment I got from characters in some other games (Young Link and Teba come to mind), there are no classes that I absolutely despise playing as, unlike some characters in the other Nintendo Warriors games. The co-op isn't nearly as laggy as it was in Age of Calamity, which is a huge bonus.
Probably going to be poking away at this one for awhile, trying to S Rank all of the missions, but for now I'm glad to have all routes completed.
I really wish Arval wasn't in this game. Probably the worst character in modern Fire Emblem.
I really appreciate that this Warriors game is actually putting some thought and care into the story for a change. Say what you will about how the stories ultimately play out, but I appreciate the attempt at trying to tell something with a similar level of complexity and care as the game it spun off from. The character interactions are, for the most part, just as strong, and new character interactions are very welcome. Some were ones I hoped we would get in Three Houses and never did, others were wholly unexpected, but ones I'm thankful were in the game.
The gameplay is solid, as always. I feel like it's generally on par with the other Nintendo Warriors games. The class system, in addition to the unique personal skills of each character, makes experimenting with class combinations fun, and can make two characters of the same class feel vastly different in playstyle. While there are no class playstyles in this game that I feel reach the heights of enjoyment I got from characters in some other games (Young Link and Teba come to mind), there are no classes that I absolutely despise playing as, unlike some characters in the other Nintendo Warriors games. The co-op isn't nearly as laggy as it was in Age of Calamity, which is a huge bonus.
Probably going to be poking away at this one for awhile, trying to S Rank all of the missions, but for now I'm glad to have all routes completed.
I really wish Arval wasn't in this game. Probably the worst character in modern Fire Emblem.
Really great retro-throwback game, it takes some of my favorite elements across the classic Castlevania games and blends them together in a really satisfying way. Not a terribly long game but I think that actually works to its advantage, some games of this genre can get tiring to me when they become too long. I think for this game especially, given the difficulty and old school sensibilities, I would grow frustrated with it if it were much longer. I never played the game on casual mode but I think it's nice the difficulty option is there, the knockback in this game can be brutal and could be a total turn off for some people.
Going to work my way through Nightmare Mode, and eventually will move on to Bloodstained: Curse of the Moon 2 and Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night.
Going to work my way through Nightmare Mode, and eventually will move on to Bloodstained: Curse of the Moon 2 and Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night.
Pretty much the perfect DLC to compliment Three Houses. The restricted classes and small selection of characters allow for really solid map design and a very different, refreshing experience from the main game. The characters are great, and the inclusion of the new classes is very welcome. Chapter 4 is genuinely one of my favorite chapters in the franchise.
1999
1998