Ocarina of Time was my first game in the Zelda franchise. Not this version tho, Ocarina of Time 3D. I won't get into the details with that version, but I very much enjoyed it and wanted to play other games in the series. The same year, or the year after, my one uncle gave me his N64. I'm pretty sure there was only two games that came with it. Star Wars: Episode 1 - Racer and this game. Barely touched Star Wars at but OOT, well I already really enjoyed the 3D remake so I was excited to actually give the original a try. I loved it. At least I'm assuming I did, for some reason I replayed this version so many times back in the day..it became my most replayed game ever for a while. I memorized the entire game, every major bombable hole location, every gold skulltula. I don't know why I played this game so much but I think I ended up overplaying it to the point I started not loving it as much. With this Zelda marathon, I was able to replay this once again after not replaying it in like 10 years. Even now, I still felt some of those overplayed woes I had back then, but mostly in the early game. Even now, 90% of the collectables came right back to me. Even now, it was still fun playing this game and I still love it for getting me into Zelda and into other Nintendo games in general. This game is not perfect, and I do have some criticisms for sure, but this is an important game in regard to the history of gaming and an important game to me.

One of the best aspects of this game is its story and world-building in comparison to past games. The main plot is actually pretty similar to ALTTP. You are tasked with collecting 3 Spiritual Stones (pendants), have to obtain the Master Sword in the Temple of Time (the Lost Woods) and then you must awaken the seven sages (seven maidens) so you can destroy the barrier in Ganondorf's castle and defeat him. Very similar to ALTTP, except instead of traveling between the Light and Dark world, you must travel between the present and future. See, you actually start as young link but when you obtain the Master Sword, Link is sealed in it for seven years and becomes an adult. In terms of the story, this is much more interesting than the light and dark world was. The world changes around you as you travel to the future, and so do the characters. Speaking of them, this game is chalk full of em and they're way more interesting this time around. Link himself has way more personality than he ever did in past games. I still definitely prefer future iterations of him but he's solid here. Zelda is MUCH better here and actually plays a big part in the story. She has way more scenes and due to that and her Shiek persona, she's absolutely one of the best if not the best character in the game. Ganondorf is actually seen with his non-pig design here and there's a reason this game made his human form iconic. The sages, unlike the unnamed maidens, are actual characters here. Not just throughout their temples, you meet pretty much all of them as young Link throughout Hyrule and you help them out along the way. This helps in making them memorable and let me tell you they very much are. Whether it's your childhood friend Saria to the rough and tough Goron Darunia, they're all pretty different characters and again are actually characters this time around. The little side characters you meet in each location are memorable to as the dialogue they are given is translated much better. ALTTP I found to a decently plain and straight-forward English translation. Here tho, they like to be quirky and make a lot of the side characters say weird and interesting things which helps the world feel alive. Something else that makes the game feel alive is the many races that are found in this world. ALTTP had Hylians and Zora. Not only does OOT have those (and they're more fleshed out) it added Kokiri, Shiekah, Gerudo, Deku, and Goron's. All of these helps add to the world-building immensely. Something that would make the dialogue better in this version of the game is if you could skip to the end of single textboxes. You either have to read each one slowly or if you try to make it go faster, it skips to the very end of a set of textboxes. Majora's Mask fixed this and so did the 3DS remake, but I thought it was worth pointing out here because it can be a tad bit irksome.

The combat in this game is very different from ALTTP, simply because it's 3D now instead of 2D. This game introduces Z-Targeting. When you hold the Z button in front of an enemy, you will automatically target and face their direction the entire time. This is incredibly helpful and is almost needed with a game like this. Because this game is in 3D, this changes Link's moveset dramatically. You still swing your sword but now depending on your button inputs, you'll do different swings. You can do a vertical, horizontal swing and a jab. If you z target, have your sword out and press the a button, you do a jump attack. You can backflips, you can do side jumps. Link now auto-jumps whenever you go off a platform or a ledge. Just your basic move set is fun and imo more fun than 2D Zelda. This isn't even getting into other items like the hook-shot which had an amazing transition into 3D. That and the bow puts you into first person and it just works marvelously. The slingshot and boomerang puts you into like a over the shoulder third person view. Funnily enough, each set of items I mentioned are exclusive to each form of Link. Young Link can only use certain items and vice versa for Adult Link. Along with the enemies being more fun and interesting in a 3D environment, the combat in this game was improved from past games and it's honestly amazing for a game from 1998 and amazing for Zelda's first foray into 3D.

The overworld honestly is not the best, I think. It was their first 3D game, I'll cut them some slack but I don't care for Hyrule Field. The size was most certainly impressive back in the day, however now I just see it as wasted potential. It's pretty empty, not very interesting to look at and it's "secrets" are lame. Basically any secrets it has are holes under boulders or completely invisible holes you bomb to unlock. You can find these with the stone of agony but you need a rumble pak to even use it. Otherwise, you either have to randomly guess where they are like Zelda 1 or memorize where they, are after looking them up, on future playthroughs like I did. Wouldn't be much of an issue if some of them didn't have important stuff like gold skulltulas or a heart piece. Outside of that, you have a tedious big poe quest and a single NPC that's used in quest. Honestly if the secrets were just a little better, it was more visually appealing and there were a couple more NPC's, this main overworld, that's connected to every area, would be so much better to me. Honestly I feel like Majora's Mask fixed this issue with Termina Field, which is way better imo, but as it stands this is my least favorite part of the game imo. The area's connected to Hyrule Field are good however, Visually distinct and they have plenty of actually good secrets and collectables to find. However, actual side quests in this game aren't too great imo. The Biggoron one is memorable, but all the others aren't too great imo and are very much overshadowed by Majora Mask's fantastic side quests. Like there's literally a mask side quest where you have to obtain masks and sell them to NPC's. The reward isn't great, another mask, and it just reminds me of how MM handled its mask items way better. Tho alas, I should not be comparing it to a future game like that so I will stop.

My least favorite part of them game, besides Hyrule field, is young Link's portion. Don't get me wrong, it's not bad but the dungeons you go through don't compare to Adult Link's Temples. The Great Deku tree is a solid starting dungeon but it's also very simple. Same with Dodongo's Cavern and Jabu-Jabu's Belly. None of them are bad, they're just very simple compared to temples. Something that is great tho, and this applies to every dungeon in the game, is how visually distinct and memorable they are. 2D Zelda dungeons are great and all but they just don't compare to 3D ones. The type of stuff you can do in 3D dungeons can't be replicated in 2D ones. Jumping from the top of a tree and feeling the full depth of your fall as you land on a spider-web and bust through it due to gravity. Just can't work in 2D. I can see why people might prefer 2D ones tho. As long as they're well designed, they're usually more complicated and technically better "dungeons" where its easy to get lost. However, they lack the spectacle that I prefer in 3D ones. The first 3 young Link dungeons are very linear for example. They have puzzles ofc but it's hard to get lost in them unlike 2D ones. However, I don't mind that (tho in these first 3 dungeons case I guess I do cuz they're a bit TOO simple) and that's proven by the five temples in this game. Adult Link temples, while still probably more linear than some 2D Zelda dungeons, rock my socks. I'll just get into this now, Water temple is not bad. It was my least favorite temple this playthrough, but it's not bad..just can be a little tedious. It's the most complex and backtracky dungeon in the game, and feels kinda like a 2D dungeon but that's at the cost of being a little more tedious than the others (not only due to the design of the place but the iron boots ofc). It can be tough to figure out but I can apprecauet that. Fire temple is also good but just doesn't stick out as much as the other three. Shadow has a very disturbing atmosphere and relies on tricks and traps. Forest and Spirit temple are easily the best dungeons in the game. Forest is very atmospheric and is a very nicely designed dungeon with a great temple theme. Spirit temple is the only one to make use of both young and adult Link, and it does it well, as well as having the best dungeon boss in the game. Not every dungeon in this game is like amazing, but when it hits..IT HITS. Oh also the dungeon bosses vary in quality. Twinrova is the best boss in the game I think. She makes great use of the mirror shield and the witch sisters have actual dialogue and are actual characters that make the boss that much better. Phantom Ganon is cool as well and Ganondorf/Ganon himself is ofc badass. There are some weaker bosses like King Dodongo being piss easy or Morpha being very easy to cheese, however even these weaker bosses are cool to see now that the games in 3D.

Quick thing on the visuals. They don't look bad but they can be a bit ugly at times. Obviously, this is a game from 1998, so I can let it slide somewhat. I played on an actual N64 so the resolution and framerate are pretty bad. They had to be to even run this game at the time, so with knowledge of that and how the game looks its impressive. Still, I know I'd say I wouldn't compare it to Majora's Mask again...but that game is on the same system and looks way more vibrant to me. I know it's using the expansion pass but still..

The soundtrack is absolutely iconic. ALTTP is where Zelda's Lullaby originated, howevrr this version is way more iconic to me. Same with Kakariko Village tho I honestly might like ALTTP's version of it hehe. As for original songs, Lost Woods, Song of Storms, Gerudo Valley, Lon Lon Ranch are all bangers and are super duper iconic for good reasons. The Ocarina songs are all really good, and I actually like how the Ocarina plays a much bigger part in this game compared to the last two games it was in. My absolute favorite song in the game funnily enough, is Requiem of Spirit. Always has been, always will be. Something about it is kinda eerie yet mysterious. It's such a short song yet it's my favorite, idk why lol.

I was honestly very conflicted while playing this. Due to my complaints with Hyrule field/sidequests and me overplaying this game back in the day, part of me wanted to keep this at an 8. However, this game really was important in expanding my taste in games and is just an important landmark of a game in general. What really pushed me to bump it to a 9 though, was the ending. I've already seen it before, but I teared up. Not just teared up, I actually started to cry a bit. I don't know if it's just because the ending is very sweet and emotional, or because it reminded me the days I'd used to play this game a ton (insert anology of how I longed for my days of being a child just like Adult Link does at the end of the game or something idk). Either way, yeah I'll bump it to a 9. Game's not perfect but it is awesome, that's all that needs to be said.

I'm going to play Katamari Damacy after this and then move on to my personal favorite Zelda, Majora's Mask. Look forward to those reviews in the near future!

It's not exactly a grand revelation that the retro market has been balls-deep in shit even prior to Covid making all the bored New York gangsters take all the copies of Silent Hill, there's always been special cases regardless of quality.

If I can hand Acclaim one thing, it's that they at least had the sense to add "the arcade game" to the titles of their console ports to ease the pain of all future duckduckgo searchers and Ask Jeeves users in needing to potentially look through even more games named "Batman Forever". To sum this up, it's essentially an incomprehensible beat'em up where two players can play as a duo of AI-generated Val Kilmers murdering thugs out on the street, then powering up like Broly and exploding everything around them by exposing their nitroglycerin-fueled batnipples on their batsuits. You can also get shrunk and turn into action-figure sized wee Batmen, which is humorous to watch as these little Batmen clobber normal-sized mooks. It's already better than it's 16-bit contemporaries in that gameplay won't be brought to a screeching halt as you try to solve the mystery of how jumping through holes works. It's utterly mindless, and combat is essentially divekicking all over the place and smacking the buttons in a positioning war to keep yourself from getting wombo combo'd by the CPU. It's something you boot up to play with your buddy and shoot the shit with for 30+ minutes, while making dumb remarks about the nonsense happening on screen and then you promptly don't bother playing again anytime soon, since the depth is as shallow as the person writing this review.

This is something that's incredibly stupid that I wouldn't mind buying under the context of finding at my local store's wire rack for five or eight bucks. However, this may shock you, but while the Saturn port is predictably expensive, the PS1 port is actually even more ridiculously pricey on the market and demands almost a whole Klonoa. I'm not entirely sure what happened here, but something is smelly in Pittsburgh or however the saying goes. It's at this point that if I really wanted to have this on my shelf for some insane reason, I'd feel better just going down to Big Dick's Disc Emporium and have him give me his totally legitimate copy while I print out some artwork to slap into some disposable sports game's jewel case. I mean, it's not like I'm gonna be able to tell once it's on the shelf, and it's not like some snitch is spying on me through the windows and getting ready to swat me with the Fake Ass Police to come in and try and frisk my shelf for bootleg copies. It's anything to keep me from being able to answer the question:

"Wow, you really paid an entire Klonoa for a beat'em up where Batman explodes people with batnipples and some numbnuts defaulted the jump button to L1?"

I decline this insinuation, and I hope that you do too. By the by, did you know that a Greatest Hits copy of NFL Blitz 2000 apparently sold for $2500 a few months back? Yeah.

There it is! Great dungeon designs and puzzles.This is exactly why i love the zelda games.The 3D design makes the dungeons much more interesting to explore.I also find the wall merge mechanic to be one of the best in the zelda series.New items were fun to use and the gameplay is near perfect! This is also the only zelda where i was kinda hooked with the mini games lol.

Now which one did i enjoy playing more? This one or its prequel? As my first played zelda,and for nostalgia reasons,i will still choose A Link To The Past over this one. But i do think this is the definitive zelda experience. It takes everything from its predecessor and does it even better. Also worth mentioning,I do think A Link Between Worlds has the best story out of all the zelda games.Its nothing too crazy but does feel more engaging than the other zelda games.Both og fans and people new to the series will like this game.

Gameplay and visuals considered,I really think The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds is the best 2D zelda to exist as of 2024.

"The sea, once it casts its spell, holds one in its net of wonder forever." - Jacques Yves Cousteau

It is estimated that we as a species have only explored about 5% of the world's oceans. On the other hand, I estimate that the average Backloggd user hasn't even cleared that much of their backlog. Hell, mapping the entire ocean floor probably sounds like a more probable inevitability than ever getting through your backlog. Well, what's one more gonna hurt? Though, I would like it if you actually played it.

Endless Ocean 2 (known as Blue World in North America) is a game that probably flew under most peoples' radar even on release. With about 870,000 lifetime sales globally for this title specifically, it's safe to say that the series is pretty niche. I'm surprised that we even got a third game recently, despite apparently not being all that great. But that's another review for another time. EO2 molded a strong core memory within me that fits neatly amongst only a handful of other vivid and emotionally meaningful gaming experiences I experienced in my youth. Mind you, I was always fascinated with marine biology and oceanography. There's something truly fascinating but also chilling about the deep ocean. So many areas that have yet to be explored and species that are yet to be discovered. This game feeds on that childlike curiosity and excels at immersing you in the beauty of nature's waters.

Yes, there is a story, and it's actually a lot more involved than you would expect for a game who's main selling point is its exploration-driven gameplay and educational merit. It takes a page out of Tomb Raider and Uncharted, placing you in the shoes of a college student studying folklore who becomes entranced in a certain Pacific legend, travelling to the South Pacific to investigate further. You take a job at a local diving company, and adventure ensues. Throughout the campaign, you will be tasked with exploring various locales that include shallow coral reefs, muddy rivers, arctic waters, and the deep ocean, at times even exploring abandoned ancient ruins. It's semi-open world nature gives it a sense of scale that has yet to be matched in terms of immersion. Maybe Subnautica? But that game is nowhere near as good, methinks.

Between uncovering and appraising lost treasures, discovering new species to add to the marine encyclopedia, and mapping uncharted waters, it feels like there's so much to do. I actually wouldn't be surprised if this was the only single-player game I've played where I've surpassed the 100-hour playtime mark. As someone who rarely replays games, I never really considered having a comfort game, but sitting here writing this review has made me re-evaluate that. In fact, I have the sudden urge to replay this.

Following Helldivers 2, Stellar Blade marks a streak in Sony published games that actually stand out from all the rest of them. Now how do these two stand out you might ask? My answer would be that they are made by people who are proud to make games.

The most popular PlayStation exclusives since the launch of the PS5 have been The Last of Us Part 2, God of War Ragnarök, and Spider-Man 2. When they want to be a good game they can be good. But there are very frequent moments where they completely take control away from the player and become basically a tv show or something. I’m not talking about cutscenes, I’m talking about those moments where it’s just you following someone for some exposition for like 20 minutes. This shows that many in charge of those game’s development would rather be making something else. That they’re ashamed to be making a game. Shift Up is a team of developers who truly appreciate video games and what they’re meant to be.

Stellar Blade shines brightest with its combat, exploration, soundtrack, and art direction. The high octane burst of energy you get when you charge at an enemy and pelt them with a flurry of attacks is unmatched, while still not feeling overpowered as Eve really is quite the glass cannon. Fights are always a good time. I never really found myself trying to outright avoid a confrontation, they’re that fun.

Exploration harkens back to something like Super Mario Odyssey with it’s open areas, minimal invisible walls, and Eve’s acrobatic skills, but that’s not to say exploring the linear areas is boring, far from it. This game uses the dreaded yellow paint incredibly well by having it grab your attention away from the beaten path and towards something that you may have seen just out of reach along the way. This is probably the best use of yellow paint I’ve seen in any game actually.

The soundtrack is full of incredible tracks that elevate each of their accompanying moments into something truly special and memorable with its combination of synthetic beats and live orchestral performances. It won’t be surprising at all to see this pop up as a lot of people’s best soundtracks at the end of the year.

Now for art direction. This game is fucking gorgeous. Every character model and environment was so beautifully detailed and lush (the final few areas of the game are especially jaw dropping) that it actually blew my mind to see that this game maintain 60fps (aside from a few areas where if you stay for a while it’ll dip to like 40) across gameplay and cutscenes and is only like 30gb big and runs on Unreal engine. Many, MANY developers struggle to make their games under like 80gb on Unreal or anything else really while still looking and performing worse than this game. I really wanna know how Shift Up did it. They might just have optimization skills great enough to rival Nintendo. Also yes Eve is very attractive, but I found my favorite outfits to be the ones that incorporated much more casual clothing. All of them are great, though. Makes me think they got actual fashion designers to work on them.

I gotta agree with the general public here though. The story and characters are the weakest parts, but they still kept things engaging with some great twists and turns. Definitely keep a look out for text logs and all that to get a better understanding and enjoyment out of the story.

Stellar Blade is an absolute triumph of a game. Shift Up clearly shows their inspirations, but they show them with pride and admiration while still making this game wholly unique. This feels like the first true game to make actual use of next generation (we’re almost 4 years in actually. Might as well call it current generation) hardware and is a must play for anyone who is a fan of games being great.