🎈That Balloon pop sound gives me PTSD 20+ years later 🎈

Donkey Kong Country for the Super Nintendo is an absolute classic that stands the test of time. Its addictive gameplay, quickly became one of the most beloved platformers for me almost superseding Super Mario. From its stunning visuals using pre-rendered 3D graphics, the game boasts charm and vibrant colors, and often overlooked character animations that were not present much in SNES games but Rareware were the top dogs in the 90s.

DKC solid gameplay always had me coming back for more. Being both Donkey Kong and Diddy Kong offered a extra layer of gameplay without you ever realizing it as DK is more Brute and Diddy is fight and fast. As I navigated through the in game world "DK Island" It provided alot of challenging levels filled with enemies, obstacles, and secrets to discover. As I played this game so many times I am always learning new things and locations about the levels. Which brings me to the level design; It is top notch. Each level has its challenge or gimmick but just amps up the difficulty just enough that players of all skill levels can enjoy the game. Also adding a two-player co-op mode adds another layer of gameplay that really makes you work together to beat each level as each Kong is controlled by a different person.

The music in this game is top tier! It perfectly complements the action on screen, immersing you in the world and also giving each world and level its own identity.

Now while the game is excellent, it is not without its drawbacks. Some people that are not familiar with these types of games may experience frustrating difficulty spikes While the game generally strikes a good balance in challenge, there are a few levels that can feel unfairly difficult, leading to frustration for some players. The usual consensus is "git gud" when this happens but some people may be turned off due to some unfairness which doesn't really relate to skill IMO. Another drawback I had was the variety in Boss Battles. While each boss are fun and memorable, there isn't a huge variety in the types of bosses you face often repeating enemies you have already seen. Many of them follow similar patterns, which can make them feel repetitive after a while. In retrospect it makes the them easier than the levels themselves.

Overall, I think Donkey Kong Country holds up as one of the greatest platformers ever made. It's a timeless classic and really accessible if you have the Nintendo Switch Online. Give it shot you will not be disappointed. Donkey Kong Country is an absolute must-play for anyone.

THere's is a reason this is one of the most beloved titles ever released. The creator of the metroid-vania genre is a game that is able to stand out the test of time, no matter the circumnstances.

Super Metroid was an ambitious title: it took the atmosphere and the Alien-inspiration of the previous games in the series and turns a new leaf on it, creating a new atmospheric planet full of secret and dangers, that makes for an incredible exploration and it's able to amaze even years later.

There are some flaws: Samus' movement can be seen as clunky at times, the controls are not as refined as later entries in the franchise and there are some instances where you feel entirely lost just because you didn't notice the small hole on the ground that suggest the use of a bomb to open the new passage.

But aside from it it's a blast from start to finish: the environment are xtremely memorable, the upgrades always add a new spin to the explorations, all the bosses are memorable and are able to play with the respective stages phenomenally.... and the story while easy, it's incredibly moving, and able to convey a lot of emotions without the need of dialogue or facial expressions. It so much makes you want to hug the baby intergalactic parasyte you are sent to save.
The animals are to me one of the most underrappreciated things about this title: they are able to add a lot to the world, while also providing one of the first memorable instances of a Good and Bad ending (Save the animals or not save them?)

Super Metroid is a classic: there is a reason it's talked and replayed to this day. Other titles of the series are able to evolve its gimmicks and gameplay, but the charm and fun the original metroidvania provides is not to be underappreciated!

A Sonic pinball game, on paper, makes sense. Casino Night Zone is often cited by fans as one of the most memorable levels in Sonic 2 and that had plenty of flippers and bumpers that were a joy to navigate. Surely Sonic Spinball will be just as laid back and fun as Casino Night Zone, right? Well....not quite. Sonic Spinball is like a less friendly, gloves-off approach to the pinball genre that is punishingly hard, easily the hardest Sonic game I've played.

What I admire about the game is it's ambition. The level's are designed to be more interesting than your run-of-the-mill licensed pinball game, sprawling in scope with visuals more akin to a platformer game than a flashy pinball game. The first level, Toxic Caves, is really fun and satisfying to vertically scale...but the difficulty starts getting ridiculous in Lava Powerhouse with some very finickity jumps and some brutal bottomless pits. I've never completed the game without the help of modern save and rewind features, the final level always defeated me as a kid.

More than anything else though I have a soft spot for Sonic Spinball because of it's design is informed by an American perspective and it's the only game in the series to incorporate elements of the SatAM cartoon series (Princess Sally and co make cameo appearances) which is pretty rad. Honestly, the soundtrack slaps hard as well. That distinctly grimy, industrial sound the Mega Drive sound chip was known for works perfectly work and compliments the slightly grittier style of the game's graphics.

Truly a great game. Fun, smooth innovative and has that special sausce that makes a great game. It never feels to tedious and I found myself replaying levels to 100% without any sense of time wasted. Music is great but not the best the series has to offer. The remixes are better than Super Castlevania IV. I got a little confused first when I didn't realize that in the main menu you could go back to levels to try different paths and I was woried of a repeat of Castlevania 3 and having to replay the whole game to get the full experience.
What I really liked:
The multiple endings and cut scenes were really nice.
What I wish was different:
A way to go to change levels and characters mid game without a system restart.
What I didn't like:
I didn't like the movement controls going backwards. No whip tricks, crawling.
I felt the backflip was cool but Maria proved they could have had a cool movement set for both characters.
Next review I am going to try a new format.