Nepiki
2017
Full review over at my website: https://www.nepikigaming.com/reviews/cosmic-star-heroine/
''Cosmic Star Heroine is a fresh sci-fi JRPG with an especially good battle system that kept me engaged throughout the entire game, constantly desiring to try out different team builds from the wide array of characters. All of them feel very different from each other with their own abilities and specialities that often compliment other characters as well. Not only that, but the battle system tests your strategic mind as well due to monsters getting stronger the longer a battle goes on, and your main form of attack going on cooldown after a single use. If this sounds overwhelming, you have nothing to fear as the title is very approachable with difficulties that can be changed at any point, grinding being obsolete and other quality-of-life improvements. But the amount of characters are also the game’s biggest flaw, as they usually have a single characteristic that does not get developed over the course of the game. Most characters aren’t even directly important to the plot and just happened to join the party by chance, which results in them having a lot less screentime as they usually don’t have a relation to any of the other characters in the party. The story is not really noteworthy either but granted, most of the issues surrounding the characters and the story are softened by the overall charm the game has, with Zeboyd Games’ trademark humour shining in the writing as always.''
''Cosmic Star Heroine is a fresh sci-fi JRPG with an especially good battle system that kept me engaged throughout the entire game, constantly desiring to try out different team builds from the wide array of characters. All of them feel very different from each other with their own abilities and specialities that often compliment other characters as well. Not only that, but the battle system tests your strategic mind as well due to monsters getting stronger the longer a battle goes on, and your main form of attack going on cooldown after a single use. If this sounds overwhelming, you have nothing to fear as the title is very approachable with difficulties that can be changed at any point, grinding being obsolete and other quality-of-life improvements. But the amount of characters are also the game’s biggest flaw, as they usually have a single characteristic that does not get developed over the course of the game. Most characters aren’t even directly important to the plot and just happened to join the party by chance, which results in them having a lot less screentime as they usually don’t have a relation to any of the other characters in the party. The story is not really noteworthy either but granted, most of the issues surrounding the characters and the story are softened by the overall charm the game has, with Zeboyd Games’ trademark humour shining in the writing as always.''
2014
Full review on my website: https://www.nepikigaming.com/reviews/toybox-turbos/
''Toybox Turbos is not a bad game regardless of how critical I was throughout this review, but your expectations should not be higher than a budget Micro Machines. The game controls good and the maps are lively and fun to go through albeit short, but it’s also extremely limited in what you can do. There is literally only the campaign for single player; no single races or time trials. And while online plays seamlessly from what I’ve tried, the only mode you can play is elimination races in a very barebones setup. You can have a fun time with Toybox Turbos as the core game works well, but you should match your expectations to what the game is priced at. I’ll only recommend this game if you’re looking for an easy game to complete or to have fun with friends for a short amount of time.''
''Toybox Turbos is not a bad game regardless of how critical I was throughout this review, but your expectations should not be higher than a budget Micro Machines. The game controls good and the maps are lively and fun to go through albeit short, but it’s also extremely limited in what you can do. There is literally only the campaign for single player; no single races or time trials. And while online plays seamlessly from what I’ve tried, the only mode you can play is elimination races in a very barebones setup. You can have a fun time with Toybox Turbos as the core game works well, but you should match your expectations to what the game is priced at. I’ll only recommend this game if you’re looking for an easy game to complete or to have fun with friends for a short amount of time.''
Spyro 1 full review: https://www.nepikigaming.com/reviews/spyro-the-dragon/
''The start of this legendary platformer franchise was definitely a strong one, already making Spyro one of the most satisfying protagonists to control with more to come in future instalments. Gliding around feels good, and the fire breath will take care of most adversaries with ease. This control scheme makes obtaining all collectables a non-issue as well, even if there is little reason given to do so aside from the minimum required amount due to them serving no purpose until the very end with an admittedly satisfying reward waiting for the player. I can’t stress enough how much fun I had trying to find all the collectables though, since I feel that’s what makes 3D Platformers special. Spyro the Dragon does lose a few points in level design due to a formulaic setup however, with almost none standing out from the other due to the objectives being the same for every stage: get the collectables and get out. Even if the themes and enemies are unique to each stage, they are hard to remember due to simplicity. The boss stages have it even worse with them being pathetic in an already easy game, which is saying something because the low difficulty has not come at the cost of enjoyment throughout the entire game for me. The free-roaming flight stages do balance out the bosses fortunately, and are definitely some of the most fun levels I’ve experienced in this game.''
Spyro 2: Ripto's Rage full review: https://www.nepikigaming.com/reviews/spyro-2-riptos-rage/
''While I tried my best to give Spyro 2: Ripto’s Rage its independent review without comparisons towards the first game, most of the arguments I’ve made directly show how much the developers have taken critique into account. Some elements feel like a natural evolution such as Spyro’s improved mobility and the much-improved boss battles, but most of my praises go to the original ideas made to further distinguish each level from each other. Not only have they gotten more personality by having unique enemies- and NPCs for each as well as starting- and ending cutscenes, but they are more memorable due to the multiple objectives each stage has. You could be playing ice hockey in one while shooting down UFOs in the other, with all of the objectives complimenting Spyro’s standard gameplay. Collectables now also have more purpose, as gems are more commonly used to unlock parts of a level or even new abilities, though the latter also leads me to what can be considered my sole negative: stages resetting upon entrance. While this doesn’t matter in some stages, a linear path has to be followed in others which results in unnecessary padding–especially if an ability is needed that you didn’t have beforehand. All in all though, even this nitpick was not able to harm my overall enjoyment of the game.''
Spyro: Year of the Dragon full review: https://www.nepikigaming.com/reviews/spyro-year-of-the-dragon/
''Spyro: Year of the Dragon definitely took some risk with the introduction of a lot of different gameplay styles, but with the exception of a few, the results were definitely favourable. Unfortunately with most negatives, they are remembered more often when reminiscing about the game, and I am not looking forward to playing as Bentley again or going through the several skateboarding sections. This is arguably the biggest issue with this game as several of the unique gameplay styles just don’t compliment Spyro’s moveset, but the majority of these different objectives at least control nicely so it merely depends on personal preference. I genuinely enjoyed playing as Agent Nine who takes on all variations of the Shooter genre, but I also understand other people will not. Fortunately for them and arguably for me, Spyro himself remains the main character and everything about him and the stage design remains consistent throughout the entire game. There is a slight loss in personality as the bosses don’t really feel memorable and there are no cutscenes before- and after stages anymore but that’s just a slight nitpick, as everything else about the game lives up to the quality we’ve seen thus far from our favourite purple dragon.''
''The start of this legendary platformer franchise was definitely a strong one, already making Spyro one of the most satisfying protagonists to control with more to come in future instalments. Gliding around feels good, and the fire breath will take care of most adversaries with ease. This control scheme makes obtaining all collectables a non-issue as well, even if there is little reason given to do so aside from the minimum required amount due to them serving no purpose until the very end with an admittedly satisfying reward waiting for the player. I can’t stress enough how much fun I had trying to find all the collectables though, since I feel that’s what makes 3D Platformers special. Spyro the Dragon does lose a few points in level design due to a formulaic setup however, with almost none standing out from the other due to the objectives being the same for every stage: get the collectables and get out. Even if the themes and enemies are unique to each stage, they are hard to remember due to simplicity. The boss stages have it even worse with them being pathetic in an already easy game, which is saying something because the low difficulty has not come at the cost of enjoyment throughout the entire game for me. The free-roaming flight stages do balance out the bosses fortunately, and are definitely some of the most fun levels I’ve experienced in this game.''
Spyro 2: Ripto's Rage full review: https://www.nepikigaming.com/reviews/spyro-2-riptos-rage/
''While I tried my best to give Spyro 2: Ripto’s Rage its independent review without comparisons towards the first game, most of the arguments I’ve made directly show how much the developers have taken critique into account. Some elements feel like a natural evolution such as Spyro’s improved mobility and the much-improved boss battles, but most of my praises go to the original ideas made to further distinguish each level from each other. Not only have they gotten more personality by having unique enemies- and NPCs for each as well as starting- and ending cutscenes, but they are more memorable due to the multiple objectives each stage has. You could be playing ice hockey in one while shooting down UFOs in the other, with all of the objectives complimenting Spyro’s standard gameplay. Collectables now also have more purpose, as gems are more commonly used to unlock parts of a level or even new abilities, though the latter also leads me to what can be considered my sole negative: stages resetting upon entrance. While this doesn’t matter in some stages, a linear path has to be followed in others which results in unnecessary padding–especially if an ability is needed that you didn’t have beforehand. All in all though, even this nitpick was not able to harm my overall enjoyment of the game.''
Spyro: Year of the Dragon full review: https://www.nepikigaming.com/reviews/spyro-year-of-the-dragon/
''Spyro: Year of the Dragon definitely took some risk with the introduction of a lot of different gameplay styles, but with the exception of a few, the results were definitely favourable. Unfortunately with most negatives, they are remembered more often when reminiscing about the game, and I am not looking forward to playing as Bentley again or going through the several skateboarding sections. This is arguably the biggest issue with this game as several of the unique gameplay styles just don’t compliment Spyro’s moveset, but the majority of these different objectives at least control nicely so it merely depends on personal preference. I genuinely enjoyed playing as Agent Nine who takes on all variations of the Shooter genre, but I also understand other people will not. Fortunately for them and arguably for me, Spyro himself remains the main character and everything about him and the stage design remains consistent throughout the entire game. There is a slight loss in personality as the bosses don’t really feel memorable and there are no cutscenes before- and after stages anymore but that’s just a slight nitpick, as everything else about the game lives up to the quality we’ve seen thus far from our favourite purple dragon.''
Full review over at my website: https://www.nepikigaming.com/reviews/avencast-rise-of-the-mage/
''The area where Avencast suffers the most is an inconsistent pace–the story goes by like a bullet train, but the gameplay feels like a slow chore. Personally, I think a slower pace to give more attention to world-building and the characters would definitely help in that regard, but that would only solve one problem. Areas are massive, but not in a good way. They are often empty, with rewards for exploration often feeling disappointing due to gear never feeling like that much of an improvement–if they are an improvement to begin with. What also doesn’t help is that some enemies can feel like genuine damage sponges, with a combat system that can potentially be uninteresting as I never had to worry about dying when casting spells from a distance as that was the magic school I specialized in. Changing skilltrees is possible for sure, but points spent are in no way able to be refunded so experimentation comes with a risk. That said, I definitely don’t think Avencast is a bad game at its core. While areas are massive, they did often have fun puzzles to offer for the invested gamers checking every nook and cranny. And while it wasn’t a story that deserves an oscar, it was one I could laugh at due to how cliché it is.''
''The area where Avencast suffers the most is an inconsistent pace–the story goes by like a bullet train, but the gameplay feels like a slow chore. Personally, I think a slower pace to give more attention to world-building and the characters would definitely help in that regard, but that would only solve one problem. Areas are massive, but not in a good way. They are often empty, with rewards for exploration often feeling disappointing due to gear never feeling like that much of an improvement–if they are an improvement to begin with. What also doesn’t help is that some enemies can feel like genuine damage sponges, with a combat system that can potentially be uninteresting as I never had to worry about dying when casting spells from a distance as that was the magic school I specialized in. Changing skilltrees is possible for sure, but points spent are in no way able to be refunded so experimentation comes with a risk. That said, I definitely don’t think Avencast is a bad game at its core. While areas are massive, they did often have fun puzzles to offer for the invested gamers checking every nook and cranny. And while it wasn’t a story that deserves an oscar, it was one I could laugh at due to how cliché it is.''
2011
Full review on my website: https://www.nepikigaming.com/reviews/super-mario-3d-land/
''I’ve been positive- and negative towards this game, mostly about the level design- and structure. I did have a blast with this game since the levels were at least good designed though, but I didn’t feel the need to play through it more than once. Spoiler alert, I had to. But at the end of the day, we still have a good Mario game here that I’m confident every 3ds owner that enjoys Mario should own. But um, probably think about it twice (heh, spoiler alert 2.0) if you want to complete it or not. Overall, it gets an 7.5 out of 10 from me!''
''I’ve been positive- and negative towards this game, mostly about the level design- and structure. I did have a blast with this game since the levels were at least good designed though, but I didn’t feel the need to play through it more than once. Spoiler alert, I had to. But at the end of the day, we still have a good Mario game here that I’m confident every 3ds owner that enjoys Mario should own. But um, probably think about it twice (heh, spoiler alert 2.0) if you want to complete it or not. Overall, it gets an 7.5 out of 10 from me!''
Full review over at my website: https://www.nepikigaming.com/reviews/ori-and-the-blind-forest/
''Just me telling you how beautiful Ori and the Blind Forest is in both graphics- and storytelling would not do it justice, but I can assure you not a single word here is a lie. The latter is definitely mention-worthy, as the emotional story of loss and revenge is told mostly through expressions and movements. Fortunately, the game is not just a visual marvel to look at. Ori controls very smoothly in a game where platforming is definitely the main appeal, with challenging aspects but not necessarily unforgiving ones. Especially with the ability to place checkpoints anywhere you want given you have the energy, but also with the flexible- yet optional skill trees. Combat is definitely on the weaker side though; it does the job, but nothing more as you’re basically just mashing a button with no regard to positioning. The world is also not my favourite due to it being slightly more restrictive in terms of linearity, and also less interconnected than other pioneers in the genre. Fortunately, the Definitive Version did fix an issue with the latter part and has many fast-travel points as well as unique abilities that make backtracking far easier to do.''
''Just me telling you how beautiful Ori and the Blind Forest is in both graphics- and storytelling would not do it justice, but I can assure you not a single word here is a lie. The latter is definitely mention-worthy, as the emotional story of loss and revenge is told mostly through expressions and movements. Fortunately, the game is not just a visual marvel to look at. Ori controls very smoothly in a game where platforming is definitely the main appeal, with challenging aspects but not necessarily unforgiving ones. Especially with the ability to place checkpoints anywhere you want given you have the energy, but also with the flexible- yet optional skill trees. Combat is definitely on the weaker side though; it does the job, but nothing more as you’re basically just mashing a button with no regard to positioning. The world is also not my favourite due to it being slightly more restrictive in terms of linearity, and also less interconnected than other pioneers in the genre. Fortunately, the Definitive Version did fix an issue with the latter part and has many fast-travel points as well as unique abilities that make backtracking far easier to do.''
2014
Full review on my website: https://www.nepikigaming.com/reviews/xeodrifter/
''Before going into Xeodrifter, you should realise that what you’re about to play is a budget Metroidvania. Describing it as a budget game does not necessarily mean it’s bad as it isn’t; it’s enjoyable to play and the main protagonist controls pretty well despite having a fixed jump height and a very weak gun at first that is unable to shoot in multiple directions. But the Metroidvania part of the game is lacklustre, always having forced progress instead of giving you multiple options where to go. It’s also a shame that you don’t unlock shortcuts with newly-obtained upgrades, meaning that you have to go through the same sections more often than not. This is further emphasised by the world not being connected, but separated into four different levels. Boss fights are constantly repeated as well and while they function well as a ”get to learn the boss’ patterns” boss, it just gets boring after the fourth or fifth encounter. Xeodrifter is a fine game for the amount of hours it lasts (which is not long), but don’t set your expectations too high; this game isn’t going to change your viewpoint on the Metroidvania genre. I give Xeodrifter 6 unoriginal bosses out of 10!''
''Before going into Xeodrifter, you should realise that what you’re about to play is a budget Metroidvania. Describing it as a budget game does not necessarily mean it’s bad as it isn’t; it’s enjoyable to play and the main protagonist controls pretty well despite having a fixed jump height and a very weak gun at first that is unable to shoot in multiple directions. But the Metroidvania part of the game is lacklustre, always having forced progress instead of giving you multiple options where to go. It’s also a shame that you don’t unlock shortcuts with newly-obtained upgrades, meaning that you have to go through the same sections more often than not. This is further emphasised by the world not being connected, but separated into four different levels. Boss fights are constantly repeated as well and while they function well as a ”get to learn the boss’ patterns” boss, it just gets boring after the fourth or fifth encounter. Xeodrifter is a fine game for the amount of hours it lasts (which is not long), but don’t set your expectations too high; this game isn’t going to change your viewpoint on the Metroidvania genre. I give Xeodrifter 6 unoriginal bosses out of 10!''
2003
Full review over at my website: https://www.nepikigaming.com/reviews/sonic-heroes/
''It was great revisiting the title in the Sonic franchise I’m probably most nostalgic for, but my opinion has slightly changed due to seeing the game through the eyes of a critic. The reason for that slight change is pretty simple: the controls. Sonic Heroes is a game that punishes you for going fast with the speed character, because any momentum is killed when very slightly tilting the joystick. And that’s not the only part of the game that can kill momentum, as the enemies found later on in the game can end that pace quite easily as well with how long it takes to beat them. Couple this with awful pinball controls in Bingo Highway, rail grinding being unreliable, and power characters sliding five feet ahead while on the ground and you got a game that’s not fun to control… for 10 to 20% of the time. These are definitely issues, but I don’t feel like they impact my overall fun too much. The team mechanic itself was fun to work with after all, with every class having their own strengths- and weaknesses, and switching between them being immediate. And of course, the game uses the team mechanic to its full advantage, resulting in really fun level design overall. That said, I would have liked to see more differences between each campaign as they are virtually the same, with the only changes being how long the levels are. I’m not objected to playing all of these campaigns, but unless you are a completionist, you’ve practically seen everything the game has to offer with just one playthough. And really, I feel that’s the approach you should have with Sonic Heroes: if one campaign is satisfactory for you, don’t force yourself to play the others. ''
''It was great revisiting the title in the Sonic franchise I’m probably most nostalgic for, but my opinion has slightly changed due to seeing the game through the eyes of a critic. The reason for that slight change is pretty simple: the controls. Sonic Heroes is a game that punishes you for going fast with the speed character, because any momentum is killed when very slightly tilting the joystick. And that’s not the only part of the game that can kill momentum, as the enemies found later on in the game can end that pace quite easily as well with how long it takes to beat them. Couple this with awful pinball controls in Bingo Highway, rail grinding being unreliable, and power characters sliding five feet ahead while on the ground and you got a game that’s not fun to control… for 10 to 20% of the time. These are definitely issues, but I don’t feel like they impact my overall fun too much. The team mechanic itself was fun to work with after all, with every class having their own strengths- and weaknesses, and switching between them being immediate. And of course, the game uses the team mechanic to its full advantage, resulting in really fun level design overall. That said, I would have liked to see more differences between each campaign as they are virtually the same, with the only changes being how long the levels are. I’m not objected to playing all of these campaigns, but unless you are a completionist, you’ve practically seen everything the game has to offer with just one playthough. And really, I feel that’s the approach you should have with Sonic Heroes: if one campaign is satisfactory for you, don’t force yourself to play the others. ''
1999
Positives:
- Great amount of fanservice to the Chocobo/Final Fantasy franchise.
- The controls are good overall, with characters making a difference.
- Lots- and lots of unlockables.
Negatives:
- Unbalanced when it comes to (upgraded) magic and Magicite of opponents.
- The magic system is fun, but racing against someone like Goblin makes it irrelevant.
- No indication ever when it comes to unlockables.
-----------------------------------
''Chocobo Racing is a Kart Racing game set in the Chocobo series, a spin-off of the Final Fantasy franchise as a whole. This game is actually my first endeavor into the Chocobo games, a series that has a surprising amount of games underneath its belt, such as Mystery Dungeon games and more. As a result, I'm not too familiar with all of the named characters in this game, but since the series as a whole is a spin-off of one of my favourite franchises ever, all of the fanservice and mechanics all made me very happy. Almost all of the music tracks are remixes from all across the Final Fantasy franchise, like Mysidia from Final Fantasy 4 and the Town theme from Final Fantasy 1. They even teased me with Kefka's theme but he was nowhere to be seen, and that was a sin. But it's not just limited to music either, as some of the tracks themselves are love-letters to the games too. I'm specifically talking about the very final one called Fantasia, a track set in the Esper world with summons on the side of the track from all across the franchise. It made my Final Fantasy heart melt to say the least.
But that's cool and all, but fanservice alone won't make a game. Though fortunately, I had a good time playing Chocobo Racing aside from just the fanservice. There are several modes to choose from, like a short story featuring all of the characters that also goes through all of the game mechanics and items, to a Grand Prix where you can select which races you want to go through instead of having pre-defined cups. The story itself is more aimed at children and therefore not really anything noteworthy, but a story is the last thing I'm looking for in a kart racer anyway. There are also a few other modes which can be played alone, but are obviously geared towards multiplayer which I unfortunately couldn't really do.
As for the controls themselves, I like them. That said, there are a few aspects that can make- or break the game for some people. First of would be drifting, which can be tough to master. I personally found it easier to tap the X button a few times instead of holding it, which made drifting far more comfortable for me. Also, while not shown in-game, what character you choose definitely matters, as they all have invisible stats like handling and speed. The Fat Chocobo, even though they may not look like it, is easily one of the best characters when it comes to handling for example.
And characters also matter when it comes to the Magicite they come with as opponents--special moves that can vary from a boost to stealing magic of other racers. And this is a nice segue into what I consider to be Chocobo Racing's biggest flaw: the balancing issues. Aside from these Magicite, the tracks themselves have magic orbs that function as this game's items. They are all a direct representation of Final Fantasy's spells, like Fire, Mini and Reflect. What's more, all of these can be upgraded up to three times by picking up the same coloured magic orbs again, upgrading them to Fira and Firaga for example. While this is a very cool system that I love... it's almost completely pointless because of the fact that if you're racing against Goblin, he'll just keep stealing your orbs before you can even get three. If you're not racing against him, then you're probably facing someone like Bahamut who can use an unavoidable Megaflare at least two times per race that leaves you uncontrollable in place for at least 5 seconds while he speeds by. Upgraded magic leaving you immobile for at least 5 seconds are very common in general--especially that forsaken Blizzaga. Being hit by multiple of these upgraded spells back to back is not too uncommon, and being unable to move for 15 seconds? Yeah, that's not fun. But at the very least, the game is not too difficult and you can ruin their day as hard as they ruin yours. Rubber banding is not a thing in this game at all.
Finally, I wanted to cover some slight spoilers when it comes to unlockables. The game may not seem very long because of the short story and the Grand Prix being a customizable one, but that's surprisingly far from the truth... kinda. There are a lot of unlockable characters--and I mean a lot. Not only that, but there's a complete bonus setting that unlocks after racing on all difficulties on the Grand Prix. And while I love this a lot, it's also very unknown. You can play story mode again for a total of 10 times and each time you do, you unlock a new character. The first one is actually very obvious as you're racing against that character, but from there onward, there is no indication at all that you unlocked a new character. Not a simple screen, not any instructions, nothing. The same goes for the unlockable bonus setting. And I know, this is the 90s, schoolyard rumours are the way to go. And for how completely random these characters are, yeah, I can definitely see the rumours happening. But a simple visual indication would have been nice, because who even thinks of replaying story mode for a total of 10 times? And it's not like these characters appear on the selection screen, as you have to hover over the first bonus character and then press a button combination you're somehow supposed to know. I'm probably nitpicking here, but I am a completionist so that's a given.''
- Great amount of fanservice to the Chocobo/Final Fantasy franchise.
- The controls are good overall, with characters making a difference.
- Lots- and lots of unlockables.
Negatives:
- Unbalanced when it comes to (upgraded) magic and Magicite of opponents.
- The magic system is fun, but racing against someone like Goblin makes it irrelevant.
- No indication ever when it comes to unlockables.
-----------------------------------
''Chocobo Racing is a Kart Racing game set in the Chocobo series, a spin-off of the Final Fantasy franchise as a whole. This game is actually my first endeavor into the Chocobo games, a series that has a surprising amount of games underneath its belt, such as Mystery Dungeon games and more. As a result, I'm not too familiar with all of the named characters in this game, but since the series as a whole is a spin-off of one of my favourite franchises ever, all of the fanservice and mechanics all made me very happy. Almost all of the music tracks are remixes from all across the Final Fantasy franchise, like Mysidia from Final Fantasy 4 and the Town theme from Final Fantasy 1. They even teased me with Kefka's theme but he was nowhere to be seen, and that was a sin. But it's not just limited to music either, as some of the tracks themselves are love-letters to the games too. I'm specifically talking about the very final one called Fantasia, a track set in the Esper world with summons on the side of the track from all across the franchise. It made my Final Fantasy heart melt to say the least.
But that's cool and all, but fanservice alone won't make a game. Though fortunately, I had a good time playing Chocobo Racing aside from just the fanservice. There are several modes to choose from, like a short story featuring all of the characters that also goes through all of the game mechanics and items, to a Grand Prix where you can select which races you want to go through instead of having pre-defined cups. The story itself is more aimed at children and therefore not really anything noteworthy, but a story is the last thing I'm looking for in a kart racer anyway. There are also a few other modes which can be played alone, but are obviously geared towards multiplayer which I unfortunately couldn't really do.
As for the controls themselves, I like them. That said, there are a few aspects that can make- or break the game for some people. First of would be drifting, which can be tough to master. I personally found it easier to tap the X button a few times instead of holding it, which made drifting far more comfortable for me. Also, while not shown in-game, what character you choose definitely matters, as they all have invisible stats like handling and speed. The Fat Chocobo, even though they may not look like it, is easily one of the best characters when it comes to handling for example.
And characters also matter when it comes to the Magicite they come with as opponents--special moves that can vary from a boost to stealing magic of other racers. And this is a nice segue into what I consider to be Chocobo Racing's biggest flaw: the balancing issues. Aside from these Magicite, the tracks themselves have magic orbs that function as this game's items. They are all a direct representation of Final Fantasy's spells, like Fire, Mini and Reflect. What's more, all of these can be upgraded up to three times by picking up the same coloured magic orbs again, upgrading them to Fira and Firaga for example. While this is a very cool system that I love... it's almost completely pointless because of the fact that if you're racing against Goblin, he'll just keep stealing your orbs before you can even get three. If you're not racing against him, then you're probably facing someone like Bahamut who can use an unavoidable Megaflare at least two times per race that leaves you uncontrollable in place for at least 5 seconds while he speeds by. Upgraded magic leaving you immobile for at least 5 seconds are very common in general--especially that forsaken Blizzaga. Being hit by multiple of these upgraded spells back to back is not too uncommon, and being unable to move for 15 seconds? Yeah, that's not fun. But at the very least, the game is not too difficult and you can ruin their day as hard as they ruin yours. Rubber banding is not a thing in this game at all.
Finally, I wanted to cover some slight spoilers when it comes to unlockables. The game may not seem very long because of the short story and the Grand Prix being a customizable one, but that's surprisingly far from the truth... kinda. There are a lot of unlockable characters--and I mean a lot. Not only that, but there's a complete bonus setting that unlocks after racing on all difficulties on the Grand Prix. And while I love this a lot, it's also very unknown. You can play story mode again for a total of 10 times and each time you do, you unlock a new character. The first one is actually very obvious as you're racing against that character, but from there onward, there is no indication at all that you unlocked a new character. Not a simple screen, not any instructions, nothing. The same goes for the unlockable bonus setting. And I know, this is the 90s, schoolyard rumours are the way to go. And for how completely random these characters are, yeah, I can definitely see the rumours happening. But a simple visual indication would have been nice, because who even thinks of replaying story mode for a total of 10 times? And it's not like these characters appear on the selection screen, as you have to hover over the first bonus character and then press a button combination you're somehow supposed to know. I'm probably nitpicking here, but I am a completionist so that's a given.''
2017
Positives:
- Three distinctly different characters to play as.
- High-speed action makes it a satisfying game to speedrun.
- Good presentation overall.
Negatives:
- (PC-only) Refresh rate higher than 60hz makes the game unbeatable. Unforgivable.
- Every replay is the exact same, with only the characters making the difference... if it wasn't so easy.
- Puzzles are really bad, losing the key item on just one hit.
-----------------------------------
''Okay so, before this review starts, I'm going to go on a quick rant. Note that this only applies to PC players (I think?), and also only those with higher-end monitors. You can probably already guess where I'm going with this but yes, we are living in the year 2022 (or 2019 when the game came out), and this game is entirely unbeatable depending on the refresh rate your monitor has. I was running around the second level for almost half an hour with no idea what to do, and then I looked up guides on the internet on what other people did and they moved way faster, but for no explainable reason. It wasn't until I found a deep buried Steam post until I realized that apparently anything above 60hz causes the character to move way slower. Frankly, that's just an unforgivable flaw and yes, I will judge the game for that--even if it is something that may not apply to everyone. But for now, rant over, let's actually talk about the game.
KAMIKO is an action game starring three different characters; a fighter specialized in melee, one in distance fighting (archery), and one who does both. I appreciate the variety between the three because of the gameplay styles also enforcing how their gameplay should be--either take it up close and hack away, or care more about your positioning. Not like it really matters that much in the end since the game is really easy, only giving me one death on my very first playthrough of about six. And I can hear you thinking "...wait, six playthroughs?!" and yeah, that's indeed what I did. Not that surprising either when a single playthrough doesn't last more than half an hour, aside from maybe the first one since you need to get the hang of how the game works. And if a game is that short, is really needs to have good replayability for people to want to play it more. Given that every playthrough is the exact same with no differences, the characters here really are more important than just a preference in gameplay style.
I liked playing as two characters, being the melee fighter who goes in for quick slashes and a beyblade spin as special attack, and the jack-of-both-trades who throws her surprisingly high-damaging shield and then goes in for pokes with her tiny sword. The only reason I don't like the otherwise powerful archer character is because of her vulnerability while attacking. While the other two characters can move around all the time without any issues, the archer just can't move at all when aiming her bow. It makes sense and like I said, it makes positioning more important, but there are many enemies on screen at pretty much all times and if there's an enemy not standing straight in front of her, she's kinda screwed. But like I said, the game is really easy so it's more just her not being fun to play as rather than her being bad to play as.
With the characters out of the way, time to talk about that very short playthrough. There are a total of four stages to go through, with a high emphasis on the before-mentioned combat and a very slight emphasis on puzzles. The basic gist is to find four gates, cleanse them, and then beat the boss of the level. All stages are visually distinct but there isn't really anything making them actually distinct from each other, aside from maybe enemies but even they have very generic attacking patterns. The other objective is to just find chests for upgrades and unlock the path to the gates or the boss and... that's where my biggest annoyance lies with this game. Be it a door or a pedestal, you need to carry the item that unlocks it over your head to it. The problem is that if you get hit even once, you immediately lose the item and you have to go back to where it was placed. Given how many enemies there can be on screen or how narrow some paths can be while you cannot attack them, this is surprisingly the most difficult part about the game--but absolutely not in a good way.
I wanted to talk about the bosses too but given how easy the rest of the game is, I couldn't really find the motivation to do so. The idea behind them is at least fun but that's all I really have to say. And with that, we have a surprisingly negative review for this game... which is something I really didn't want to do, but it is what it is. But I at least wanted to end on a positive note since my time with KAMIKO wasn't necessarily a bad one. I like the presentation of the game, and also that there is an emphasis on combo's that break whenever you take too long or get hit. Everything like unlocking chests- or cleansing gates, as well as using special moves requires a specific currency dropped by enemies, and they are easier to get with combo's. Given that this game also places an emphasis on speedrunning due to it's length, making bigger combo's results in less time spent grinding for them. And hey, since this game is so short, it makes for a fun game to speedrun... except that there is no global leaderboard. So we're still ending this review negatively after all huh. Oh well, it was a decent fun experience for how long it lasted, but the characters being the only difference each playthrough makes it a really tough sell unfortunately.''
- Three distinctly different characters to play as.
- High-speed action makes it a satisfying game to speedrun.
- Good presentation overall.
Negatives:
- (PC-only) Refresh rate higher than 60hz makes the game unbeatable. Unforgivable.
- Every replay is the exact same, with only the characters making the difference... if it wasn't so easy.
- Puzzles are really bad, losing the key item on just one hit.
-----------------------------------
''Okay so, before this review starts, I'm going to go on a quick rant. Note that this only applies to PC players (I think?), and also only those with higher-end monitors. You can probably already guess where I'm going with this but yes, we are living in the year 2022 (or 2019 when the game came out), and this game is entirely unbeatable depending on the refresh rate your monitor has. I was running around the second level for almost half an hour with no idea what to do, and then I looked up guides on the internet on what other people did and they moved way faster, but for no explainable reason. It wasn't until I found a deep buried Steam post until I realized that apparently anything above 60hz causes the character to move way slower. Frankly, that's just an unforgivable flaw and yes, I will judge the game for that--even if it is something that may not apply to everyone. But for now, rant over, let's actually talk about the game.
KAMIKO is an action game starring three different characters; a fighter specialized in melee, one in distance fighting (archery), and one who does both. I appreciate the variety between the three because of the gameplay styles also enforcing how their gameplay should be--either take it up close and hack away, or care more about your positioning. Not like it really matters that much in the end since the game is really easy, only giving me one death on my very first playthrough of about six. And I can hear you thinking "...wait, six playthroughs?!" and yeah, that's indeed what I did. Not that surprising either when a single playthrough doesn't last more than half an hour, aside from maybe the first one since you need to get the hang of how the game works. And if a game is that short, is really needs to have good replayability for people to want to play it more. Given that every playthrough is the exact same with no differences, the characters here really are more important than just a preference in gameplay style.
I liked playing as two characters, being the melee fighter who goes in for quick slashes and a beyblade spin as special attack, and the jack-of-both-trades who throws her surprisingly high-damaging shield and then goes in for pokes with her tiny sword. The only reason I don't like the otherwise powerful archer character is because of her vulnerability while attacking. While the other two characters can move around all the time without any issues, the archer just can't move at all when aiming her bow. It makes sense and like I said, it makes positioning more important, but there are many enemies on screen at pretty much all times and if there's an enemy not standing straight in front of her, she's kinda screwed. But like I said, the game is really easy so it's more just her not being fun to play as rather than her being bad to play as.
With the characters out of the way, time to talk about that very short playthrough. There are a total of four stages to go through, with a high emphasis on the before-mentioned combat and a very slight emphasis on puzzles. The basic gist is to find four gates, cleanse them, and then beat the boss of the level. All stages are visually distinct but there isn't really anything making them actually distinct from each other, aside from maybe enemies but even they have very generic attacking patterns. The other objective is to just find chests for upgrades and unlock the path to the gates or the boss and... that's where my biggest annoyance lies with this game. Be it a door or a pedestal, you need to carry the item that unlocks it over your head to it. The problem is that if you get hit even once, you immediately lose the item and you have to go back to where it was placed. Given how many enemies there can be on screen or how narrow some paths can be while you cannot attack them, this is surprisingly the most difficult part about the game--but absolutely not in a good way.
I wanted to talk about the bosses too but given how easy the rest of the game is, I couldn't really find the motivation to do so. The idea behind them is at least fun but that's all I really have to say. And with that, we have a surprisingly negative review for this game... which is something I really didn't want to do, but it is what it is. But I at least wanted to end on a positive note since my time with KAMIKO wasn't necessarily a bad one. I like the presentation of the game, and also that there is an emphasis on combo's that break whenever you take too long or get hit. Everything like unlocking chests- or cleansing gates, as well as using special moves requires a specific currency dropped by enemies, and they are easier to get with combo's. Given that this game also places an emphasis on speedrunning due to it's length, making bigger combo's results in less time spent grinding for them. And hey, since this game is so short, it makes for a fun game to speedrun... except that there is no global leaderboard. So we're still ending this review negatively after all huh. Oh well, it was a decent fun experience for how long it lasted, but the characters being the only difference each playthrough makes it a really tough sell unfortunately.''
Positives:
- The driving overall controls good with solid drifting mechanics.
- 21 different race tracks to choose from.
Negatives:
- Items are mostly garbage and have almost no effect on the races.
- Enemy AI is close to rubber banding, making it almost impossible to win as the slower racers.
- Doesn't do anything at all to stand out from the competition.
-----------------------------------
''Kart Racers were really popular in the late 90's and early 2000's. Every mascot- and brand needed their own game in this genre, and Disney was no exception to the rule--so much so that the big mouse himself even got a game developed by Rare of all studios. But in a time period with so many great kart racers, Mickey's Speedway USA manages to be good... but not good enough to be anything special. It's as basic as a kart racer can possibly be, and that unfortunately results in it not being the first game of this genre on that platform I can recommend. But I want my reviews to be independent from its competition so I'm not going to compare it to the other racers of this time. Comparing it to Diddy Kong Racing--a game made by the same developer a few years before--is obviously going to have a clear winner that dunks on the other, but that's not what I'm here to do.
The game has your usual modes like Time Trial, Battle Mode and of course, the main Grand Prix where most of the time is spent (unless you are a time trial maniac). The Grand Prix is split up into multiple cups with four races each, all on different difficulties. Aside from the speed increase with each cup, I can't really say there was an actual difficulty increase since the AI is always very... uh, specific. It's actually tough to describe because they're not really those kind of AI that keep bombarding you with items, but they are always somehow very close behind in a nerve-wrecking way and are literal masters of avoiding your items. Close to rubber banding, but I also never really lost to them--that is, unless I picked slower characters like Minnie and Daisy who genuinely could not win against the AI unless they were really lucky with items. Problem is that the items in this game? They are really, really bad. The homing items only worked if you were far behind them but not close to corners, the non-homing item was surprisingly tough to aim, and everything else... exists. And the items being so bad is a double-sided coin because the enemies can't really use it against you, but you also can't really use it against them. Once you're behind, it's a literal coin-flip on whether you can surpass them again or not. Also, the boost item not working over grass and the like triggers me more than it should.
I do really like the controls though, and that was often more than enough for me to win the races. Drifting felt satisfying to do, albeit a bit tougher for characters with less handling but that makes sense. There is actually a character with absolutely terrible handling but if you can somehow manage to stay on the road with him, he actually becomes the most broken character in the game. Definitely a necessity for the staff ghost times in the Time Trial mode because they are very pixel-perfect and sadistic. No idea who got hurt so badly as a kid on the schoolyard but maybe tone it down a bit.
Anyhow, I'm getting off-track, even though there is surprisingly not that much to talk about. I guess I could talk about the tracks themselves but just like the game as a whole, they are very basic. None are really bad, but for a game that is inspired after USA cities, there are surprisingly few tracks that actually take advantage of the themeing. Washington D.C. has the White House to race in and is therefore also one of the better tracks, but Los Angeles is just a figure-8 track. Now, I'm not a expert on the continent of freedom but I'm pretty sure Los Angeles is known for anything but just being a figure-8. I guess I like the latter tracks more in general because they actually had a bit more drifting involved, like the snowy mountains of Colorado. Early tracks on the other hand are a lot of just driving forward. But to not sound too negative, there aren't really any bad tracks; none just stand out. And that brings me back to my opinion on the game as a whole being very generic. It definitely works and you can have fun with it, but it's too basic for me to remember it long after I've last played it.''
- The driving overall controls good with solid drifting mechanics.
- 21 different race tracks to choose from.
Negatives:
- Items are mostly garbage and have almost no effect on the races.
- Enemy AI is close to rubber banding, making it almost impossible to win as the slower racers.
- Doesn't do anything at all to stand out from the competition.
-----------------------------------
''Kart Racers were really popular in the late 90's and early 2000's. Every mascot- and brand needed their own game in this genre, and Disney was no exception to the rule--so much so that the big mouse himself even got a game developed by Rare of all studios. But in a time period with so many great kart racers, Mickey's Speedway USA manages to be good... but not good enough to be anything special. It's as basic as a kart racer can possibly be, and that unfortunately results in it not being the first game of this genre on that platform I can recommend. But I want my reviews to be independent from its competition so I'm not going to compare it to the other racers of this time. Comparing it to Diddy Kong Racing--a game made by the same developer a few years before--is obviously going to have a clear winner that dunks on the other, but that's not what I'm here to do.
The game has your usual modes like Time Trial, Battle Mode and of course, the main Grand Prix where most of the time is spent (unless you are a time trial maniac). The Grand Prix is split up into multiple cups with four races each, all on different difficulties. Aside from the speed increase with each cup, I can't really say there was an actual difficulty increase since the AI is always very... uh, specific. It's actually tough to describe because they're not really those kind of AI that keep bombarding you with items, but they are always somehow very close behind in a nerve-wrecking way and are literal masters of avoiding your items. Close to rubber banding, but I also never really lost to them--that is, unless I picked slower characters like Minnie and Daisy who genuinely could not win against the AI unless they were really lucky with items. Problem is that the items in this game? They are really, really bad. The homing items only worked if you were far behind them but not close to corners, the non-homing item was surprisingly tough to aim, and everything else... exists. And the items being so bad is a double-sided coin because the enemies can't really use it against you, but you also can't really use it against them. Once you're behind, it's a literal coin-flip on whether you can surpass them again or not. Also, the boost item not working over grass and the like triggers me more than it should.
I do really like the controls though, and that was often more than enough for me to win the races. Drifting felt satisfying to do, albeit a bit tougher for characters with less handling but that makes sense. There is actually a character with absolutely terrible handling but if you can somehow manage to stay on the road with him, he actually becomes the most broken character in the game. Definitely a necessity for the staff ghost times in the Time Trial mode because they are very pixel-perfect and sadistic. No idea who got hurt so badly as a kid on the schoolyard but maybe tone it down a bit.
Anyhow, I'm getting off-track, even though there is surprisingly not that much to talk about. I guess I could talk about the tracks themselves but just like the game as a whole, they are very basic. None are really bad, but for a game that is inspired after USA cities, there are surprisingly few tracks that actually take advantage of the themeing. Washington D.C. has the White House to race in and is therefore also one of the better tracks, but Los Angeles is just a figure-8 track. Now, I'm not a expert on the continent of freedom but I'm pretty sure Los Angeles is known for anything but just being a figure-8. I guess I like the latter tracks more in general because they actually had a bit more drifting involved, like the snowy mountains of Colorado. Early tracks on the other hand are a lot of just driving forward. But to not sound too negative, there aren't really any bad tracks; none just stand out. And that brings me back to my opinion on the game as a whole being very generic. It definitely works and you can have fun with it, but it's too basic for me to remember it long after I've last played it.''
1994
Positives:
- Doesn't fix what isn't broken, making it very similar to X but still very good too.
- Overall good set of Mavericks... aside from Crystal Snail.
- One of the best upgrades to the armour the X series has seen.
Negatives:
- The X-buster being so strong reduces the effectiveness of all other weapons, making them almost pointless to get.
- No actual different ending gained from the X-Hunters.
-----------------------------------
''After a very successful game, the Mega Man X series of games continuing was pretty much an inevitability. And as it goes with the Blue Bomber's previous adventures, sequels would never really mess too much with the established formula. Mega Man X2 is no such exception, being a new game with new stages, new mavericks, and a few quality of life improvements. So perhaps unsurprisingly, I'm not really going to talk about the core game mechanics since they are literally no different from Mega Man X, and instead focus on what this game does differently. That will probably be a disappointment to some as that means you need to be familiar with how Mega Man X plays, but there's only so many times I can say that X can dash, jump and shoot without me wanting to lose it. I can definitely recommend you to read my Mega Man X review for that. This is totally not a shameless plug, I swear.
Mega Man X2 has another set of 8 Mavericks to deal with, following the trend of the first game by designing them after animals like an ostrich and a centipede. It's a good set of mavericks overall, with some nice highs like Magna Centipede and Morph Moth being my favourites. But... it also has Crystal Snail. The less I say about Crystal Snail, the better. They all have good battles too with none really suffering from the ''Spark Mandrill Syndrome'', meaning that they definitely take massive damage from their weakness but won't end up staggered... well, aside from Crystal Snail. Stop ruining my compliments Crystal Snail, I swear. But aside from Mavericks, there are now also a few other robots running amok, namely the X hunters. They are additional bosses that randomly appear in any still-unfinished stage after two mavericks have been defeated, and they need to be defeated to get a uhh... slightly better ending? It changes literally nothing aside from an extra boss battle near the end if you don't defeat them, which arguably makes them fun not to defeat. I usually defeat them just because I like to though, and I'd rather take three unique boss battles over one right before the final boss.
Them randomly deciding in what stage they appear might annoy some people as it gives them the idea that they can't charter their own road, because they stop appearing after every Maverick is defeated, but I personally never really cared too much about it. I always forget the weakness chart for this game anyway, and often a charged buster is just as strong as the weakness of the boss. Actually, Mega Man X2 probably has some of my favourite armour upgrades in general, since the Mega Buster becomes so good with its two consecutive powerful shots, and the boots now give a dash in the air that can be chained together with Flame Stag's charged-up weapon for an extra dose of fun. The helmet reveals secrets which is not bad, although I prefer the X3 incarnation of that upgrade which I'll get to next review. Meanwhile, all other collectables like heart containers and sub-tanks are still available right from the get-go, continuing the trend of making X stronger through means other than just defeating the bosses and stealing their weapon.
The X-buster being this strong does reduce the effectiveness of the weapons gained from bosses, which is kind of a shame. If I don't use them in the stages themselves (which I generally don't anyway unless they have traversal options) and also not for the bosses, then... what purpose do they even have? I normally don't really talk about the weapons unless there are some very good ones that I would use outside of boss battles, like the Metal Blades from Mega Man 2, or just complete garbage weapons. Admittedly, I forgot to talk about them in Mega Man X for the exact same reason, but that game actually has some really nice charged-up variants like Sting Chameleon's weapon. This game though... I mean, I like Flame Stag's charged-up variant because it can be chained together with the dash for extra airtime, but that situation happens so infrequent to the point where the dash simply is all I need. Aside from that, I can't say I've really bothered using any of them. And yes, before you ask: Crystal Snail, yet again, has the worst charged up variant. It slows time which sounds great! ...But it slows X down too. Wow.
And just like last time, I can still assure you that the music is good. I prefer X's soundtrack personally, but the opening stage in this game as well as X-Hunters stage 1 are really good. Could play them on endless repeat and still not get tired of them.'
- Doesn't fix what isn't broken, making it very similar to X but still very good too.
- Overall good set of Mavericks... aside from Crystal Snail.
- One of the best upgrades to the armour the X series has seen.
Negatives:
- The X-buster being so strong reduces the effectiveness of all other weapons, making them almost pointless to get.
- No actual different ending gained from the X-Hunters.
-----------------------------------
''After a very successful game, the Mega Man X series of games continuing was pretty much an inevitability. And as it goes with the Blue Bomber's previous adventures, sequels would never really mess too much with the established formula. Mega Man X2 is no such exception, being a new game with new stages, new mavericks, and a few quality of life improvements. So perhaps unsurprisingly, I'm not really going to talk about the core game mechanics since they are literally no different from Mega Man X, and instead focus on what this game does differently. That will probably be a disappointment to some as that means you need to be familiar with how Mega Man X plays, but there's only so many times I can say that X can dash, jump and shoot without me wanting to lose it. I can definitely recommend you to read my Mega Man X review for that. This is totally not a shameless plug, I swear.
Mega Man X2 has another set of 8 Mavericks to deal with, following the trend of the first game by designing them after animals like an ostrich and a centipede. It's a good set of mavericks overall, with some nice highs like Magna Centipede and Morph Moth being my favourites. But... it also has Crystal Snail. The less I say about Crystal Snail, the better. They all have good battles too with none really suffering from the ''Spark Mandrill Syndrome'', meaning that they definitely take massive damage from their weakness but won't end up staggered... well, aside from Crystal Snail. Stop ruining my compliments Crystal Snail, I swear. But aside from Mavericks, there are now also a few other robots running amok, namely the X hunters. They are additional bosses that randomly appear in any still-unfinished stage after two mavericks have been defeated, and they need to be defeated to get a uhh... slightly better ending? It changes literally nothing aside from an extra boss battle near the end if you don't defeat them, which arguably makes them fun not to defeat. I usually defeat them just because I like to though, and I'd rather take three unique boss battles over one right before the final boss.
Them randomly deciding in what stage they appear might annoy some people as it gives them the idea that they can't charter their own road, because they stop appearing after every Maverick is defeated, but I personally never really cared too much about it. I always forget the weakness chart for this game anyway, and often a charged buster is just as strong as the weakness of the boss. Actually, Mega Man X2 probably has some of my favourite armour upgrades in general, since the Mega Buster becomes so good with its two consecutive powerful shots, and the boots now give a dash in the air that can be chained together with Flame Stag's charged-up weapon for an extra dose of fun. The helmet reveals secrets which is not bad, although I prefer the X3 incarnation of that upgrade which I'll get to next review. Meanwhile, all other collectables like heart containers and sub-tanks are still available right from the get-go, continuing the trend of making X stronger through means other than just defeating the bosses and stealing their weapon.
The X-buster being this strong does reduce the effectiveness of the weapons gained from bosses, which is kind of a shame. If I don't use them in the stages themselves (which I generally don't anyway unless they have traversal options) and also not for the bosses, then... what purpose do they even have? I normally don't really talk about the weapons unless there are some very good ones that I would use outside of boss battles, like the Metal Blades from Mega Man 2, or just complete garbage weapons. Admittedly, I forgot to talk about them in Mega Man X for the exact same reason, but that game actually has some really nice charged-up variants like Sting Chameleon's weapon. This game though... I mean, I like Flame Stag's charged-up variant because it can be chained together with the dash for extra airtime, but that situation happens so infrequent to the point where the dash simply is all I need. Aside from that, I can't say I've really bothered using any of them. And yes, before you ask: Crystal Snail, yet again, has the worst charged up variant. It slows time which sounds great! ...But it slows X down too. Wow.
And just like last time, I can still assure you that the music is good. I prefer X's soundtrack personally, but the opening stage in this game as well as X-Hunters stage 1 are really good. Could play them on endless repeat and still not get tired of them.'
1997
Full review over at my website: https://www.nepikigaming.com/reviews/pocket-bomberman/
''There unfortunately isn’t a lot to say about Pocket Bomberman. If you are familiar with the mechanics from the normal Bomberman games, you just have to convert it into a 2D Platformer and there is your game. Good ol’ Bomberman can still drop bombs with a short radius that can be upgraded to more bombs with a bigger radius, or special variants such as the Remote Bomb. The formula works surprisingly well in a 2D Platformer, with the only seldom frustrations being screen crunch. I can’t say the same about bosses unfortunately, which are big, have attacks that cover most of the screen and since Bomberman is a feeble man, he dies within one hit. At the same time, they’re pathetic when you have the Remote Bomb, so there isn’t a good balance to be found with the bosses. Other than that, it’s a fine but very short platformer with an additional mode that is also very short.''
''There unfortunately isn’t a lot to say about Pocket Bomberman. If you are familiar with the mechanics from the normal Bomberman games, you just have to convert it into a 2D Platformer and there is your game. Good ol’ Bomberman can still drop bombs with a short radius that can be upgraded to more bombs with a bigger radius, or special variants such as the Remote Bomb. The formula works surprisingly well in a 2D Platformer, with the only seldom frustrations being screen crunch. I can’t say the same about bosses unfortunately, which are big, have attacks that cover most of the screen and since Bomberman is a feeble man, he dies within one hit. At the same time, they’re pathetic when you have the Remote Bomb, so there isn’t a good balance to be found with the bosses. Other than that, it’s a fine but very short platformer with an additional mode that is also very short.''
2016
Full review on my website: https://www.nepikigaming.com/reviews/doom-2016/
''My first journey into the DOOM franchise has left me very satisfied, and that’s because playing DOOM itself has been made very satisfying. It is such a thrill to become a one-man army, able to slaughter any enemy in your path in the most gruesome of ways. Doomguy controls very well mechanically and has a lot up his arsenal. Eventually it does get slightly repetitive due to the variation in demons not being too big, but there are enough modes next to the main campaign to indulge yourself in. I’m afraid the multiplayer aspect won’t be very active much longer after the release of DOOM Eternal, but there’s still the map creator and arcade mode to mess around with. DOOM is great fun, and it definitely deserves my score of a 9 out of 10!''
''My first journey into the DOOM franchise has left me very satisfied, and that’s because playing DOOM itself has been made very satisfying. It is such a thrill to become a one-man army, able to slaughter any enemy in your path in the most gruesome of ways. Doomguy controls very well mechanically and has a lot up his arsenal. Eventually it does get slightly repetitive due to the variation in demons not being too big, but there are enough modes next to the main campaign to indulge yourself in. I’m afraid the multiplayer aspect won’t be very active much longer after the release of DOOM Eternal, but there’s still the map creator and arcade mode to mess around with. DOOM is great fun, and it definitely deserves my score of a 9 out of 10!''
Full review on my website: https://www.nepikigaming.com/reviews/mega-man-maverick-hunter-x/
''Mega Man: Maverick Hunter X is a remake in the truest sense of the word. It does not change a lot, neither is it a replacement of the original. Instead, it’s a love letter to the original game that fans of the franchise that enhances the experience even further. Fair warning in advance though: don’t expect your knowledge about chronological power-up locations to work here, because it won’t. I’m still sort-of conflicted on that point but for now, I’ll say it doesn’t do that much harm. Vile was very fun to play around with as well despite having the same theme song every. single. stage. His wide arsenal of different weapons does certainly make up for that. On top of that, some quality-of-life updates and a 30-minutes animated short make this a remake no Mega Man X fan should miss out on. For being a solid remake, Mega Man: Maverick Hunter X gets a solid 9.0 out of 10!''
''Mega Man: Maverick Hunter X is a remake in the truest sense of the word. It does not change a lot, neither is it a replacement of the original. Instead, it’s a love letter to the original game that fans of the franchise that enhances the experience even further. Fair warning in advance though: don’t expect your knowledge about chronological power-up locations to work here, because it won’t. I’m still sort-of conflicted on that point but for now, I’ll say it doesn’t do that much harm. Vile was very fun to play around with as well despite having the same theme song every. single. stage. His wide arsenal of different weapons does certainly make up for that. On top of that, some quality-of-life updates and a 30-minutes animated short make this a remake no Mega Man X fan should miss out on. For being a solid remake, Mega Man: Maverick Hunter X gets a solid 9.0 out of 10!''