Why's everyone recommending to play on Super Easy on a first playthrough??? Alien Soldier is excess incarnate! It's the purest form of MDMA in the shape of 2D action! What, all of a sudden you want it to be tame? It's against the very soul of the game! It demands for you to jump into the meat grinder inside its cartridge and come out the other side all mushy, just to hop back into it once again.
Who the hell looks at the two settings "SUPEREASY" or "SUPERHARD" and doesn't instantly get the message!?

In all honesty, I didn't think I would finish it when first picking it up, but woooow, it's so demented that I couldn't stop myself.

Dynamite Headdy is certainly not as addictively action packed as some other Treasure outings on the Mega Drive. What this game does have, however, is one of the most out of this world art directions in any 2D game I've seen. As always, Treasure pushes the hardware to great heights in both graphical effects and outlandish mechanics. Couple that with its sheer visual insanity and Dynamite Headdy manages to stand on the same tier of Mega Drive classics as Gunstar Heroes and Alien Soldier.

I say Mega Drive because I had to play the japanese version with an english patch. The american release is too cheap to bother with, and a lot of its visual mayhem is needlessly tampered with.

On a final note, the credits theme gave me a very melancholic feeling. It was rather beautiful, even if not entirely in tone with the rest of the experience.

I don't know what happened, I went form feeling miserable while playing this game, to actually quite liking it towards the end. It may have been some form of Stockholm syndrome, but either way, it sure took a while for it to click with me. It doesn't live up to X1 or X4, but I still ended up with a deep appreciation for X8, even if it's quite flawed.

X8 has some die-hard fans, but it's hardly the incredible return to form that some make it out to be. It doesn't control nearly as well as the PS1 entries, and it's level design is easily some of the weakest in the entire series, filled with crappy gimmicks that greatly de-emphasise the movement based gameplay the X series is so well known for. No stage sinks as low as some of the worst in X6 and X7, but 90% of them are just mediocre. The interesting thing here is that X8 exhibits much more polish than those two. I can imagine how X6 could have been a great game had it not been so rushed, X8 seems to be as good as it could have been. It's simply had a good execution for poor concepts.

There are a lot of positives to X8, however. All three characters are very distinct and fun to use. There are also a ton of secret items scattered in all stages, and they all require you to use a specific character. The navigators help a great deal too, and give much needed personality to the cast.

Overall, it packs more variety than any other X game, and it has quite a bit of meat to sink your teeth into (I've heard some complain about Mega Man games being too short, so there you go). The combo system is kind of bare bones, but at least it makes stages more interesting when you try to go for a high score.

I will say, the game feels very lacking at the beginning. It takes a few upgrades and weapons for the game to get good, so I suspect that X8 is the kind of game that benefits from a New Game+, I'll have to find out some other time.

Above all I said, the most important thing about X8 is that it feels like it had a purpose of being made, the passion and love behind it shines bright beneath its flaws. It's easily the most unique X game for sure, and although it's quite divisive, anyone who likes the series would do good to check it out.

The first Ninja Gaiden is quite challenging, yeah, but in all honesty the first 90% of the game is not much harder than the average NES game.

It's only the final act that truly showcases the sheer brutality that the series is so well known for. I guatantee you'll spend twice or thrice the time here as you did the rest of the game.

For as much as I like Ninja Gaiden, it's an undeniable mess. I'd say it's one of the most unrefined classics in the NES library, all due to its poor coding. That said, despite the sequels being bastly superior, the original is still a fun time, all due to Ryu's fluent control. In true Ninja fasion, this game rewards precision above all else, and making your way through the maddening enemy placement with a series of calculated sword strikes is so exhilarating.

Is it too pretentious to say I liked the original Metroid II better?
It was a heck of a lot shorter, for starters. The metroid hunt concept worked better as a short experience, because Samus Returns spreads faaar too wide with its map. Traversing it is a chore sometimes, be it because of the abundance of awkward morphball tunnels, or the fact that 90% of all enemies require you to stop and counter their attacks (thank god for the plasma beam and screw attack).
The map's VERY useful, but if you ask me, a good metroidvania should strive to be easy to navigate even without a map.
I don't wanna be too negative tho, the takeaway here should be that the game is fun. Far from the best 2D Metroid, but very solid overall. It makes me very excited for Dread.

Mega Man Xtreme 2 has to be one of the more ambitious titles in the Game Boy's library, and a top tier game for the system. It's certainly a heck of a lot more complex than the original Xtreme, but that comes at a price. While I think this one's the better game, it is undoubtedly a more flawed experience.

Xtreme 2 seems to push the GB to its limits both in terms of performance and control, so it never comes out as smooth as a home console game. Air dashes can happen when you don't want them to, and to my dismay, they added X3's buster upgrade (which already only half worked in that game and is worse here).

The two campaigns now have you playing as either X or Zero, which is neat both gameplay and story-wise. I'll say that the game feels much more balanced towards X, making Zero feel lacking or unequipped to deal with some challenges, but that may just be me.

Bosses are where it gets the worst. There are some awfully cheap mf that feature the poorest coding you'll see in any MMX game, particularly some end-game bosses. Berkana and Gareth are cool tho, certainly cooler antagonists than Zain and whatever the other guy's name was in Xtreme 1. Most bosses also get new attacks in extreme mode, which I wish were standard in other MMX games, at least for the refights.

While Xtreme 2 has a lot more to offer than the original, I also found it to be a more frustrating experience. Its ambitions are admirable tho, so I'm comfortable rating it highly.

I played this one a few years back but never finished it til now.
It's one of the more unique entries for sure. I haven't played much of the remakes (only the first hour or so of AM2R), but I think this game's hasn't aged as much as some may claim.

The controls are very tight and the level design is still very good. There may not be any color, but each area packs an impressively dense atmosphere for a Game Boy title. The vast open areas contribute to making each setting feel more like a long-lost civilization, even if they get kinda annoying when you gotta move a lot to explore it all.

The metroid fights get repetitive, but at least they keep you on your toes at all times. I had already been spoiled some encounters, but there were still more than a few that surprised me. I think the small field of view contributes to the feeling of anxiety.

Over all, it's short and its relative linearity makes it feel quite focused, tho I understand if that's boring to some. In all honesty, I think Metroid II holds up quite better than the original Metroid.

If there's a game in any classic franchise that's been rendered completely obsolete by future instalments, it's deffinitely Star Fox.

It must have been great at the time, and I'll admit I enjoyed my time with it, but it genuinely feels like nothing more than a prototype for Star Fox 64. It's worth going back to if you wanna see where it all started and enjoy some great tunes while you're at it, but you're not missing out on anything if you skip it.

And don't forget: OBEDECE A LA MORSA

I've played the original Super Mario Bros. countless times, but I'd never bothered to go all the way through it til now.
I'll admit, I don't like it very much, all thanks to the control. It's very fluid, yes, but the game's tempo makes me enter into a constant state of panic, and missing a jump or raming into an enemy at high speeds feels a lot more frustrating than in most other Mario games.
My hot take this time is that I actually enjoy Super Mario Bros. 2 (USA) a lot more than this one. I like how focused and elegantly designed SMB is, but the pace in SMB2 is more my style.

Man, this is where the arguments tend to get heated with the X series. People apparently don't like this game, but I gotta be completely honest; this game stands right next to the first MMX as my most played entry on the series.

I don't have much to tell ya'll, I just really, really enjoy this one probably out of nostalgia. It's a great step down from X4 and it shares some of X3's problems of adding a lot of new features without properly figuring out how they'd actually work. In terms of level design, it's not great either. All things considered, X5 is more mediocre than outright bad, but it carries the stigma of being the game that began to lead the X series down a bad path.

My biggest reason for liking X5 is its story. Again, no Megaman X plot is gonna bring you to tears or anything, but credit where credit is due, this game does manage to feel like the conclusion of the X series, as it should have been. The stakes are higher than ever before, all thanks to Sigma altering the course of the Eurasia space colony to set up a collision with Earth. I’ve already said I don’t like the Sigma virus as a plot device, since it over simplifies the plight of the Reploid race, but X5 sets it up in such a catastrophic scenario that it kinda works somehow. The virus is spreading like crazy; Maverick fights usually went without question in earlier games, but now it’s turned quite bleak, as most mavericks here are innocent, but X and Zero have to retire them regardless due to their virus infection.

On a side note, I’m thankful they didn’t make an effort to hide Sigma as the main antagonist like every game after X1; it was poorly handled every time and now it just gets straight to the point (it’s not like X5 doesn’t have other mysteries to unravel).

So far, that may sound like nothing special. However, it all clicks with the relation between the Sigma virus and Zero, as it’s only an evolution of the Zero virus. NOW we have a real conflict on our hands, as Zero has been revealed to be the root cause of all problems, and that puts X and Zero’s relationship on a whole other level. A confrontation between the two had been set up ever since X2, and X5 turns it into the climax of the entire series (X6, 7 and 8 are mere afterthoughts story-wise). It’s surprisingly emotional and extremely rewarding for any Mega Man veteran, as it is also the final battle between Light and Willy through X and Zero.

Throughout the entire Mega Man canon, I don’t think there’s anything more special than the relationship between these two, both challenging their destiny to destroy one another. Their bromance is the most emotional throughline of the series, the Romeo and Juliet of 21XX lol. Likewise, the X vs. Zero is very impactful; it nails the theming required for their battle. The strength of their relationship ultimately leads to the Zero series, as X5 was originally conceived as the ending that would propel us to 22XX. I have to admit, that’s what makes the plot of X5 work, because, by itself, it’s not very well executed. I know it’s a cop-out to justify it through another series entirely, but X5 is simply that important of a cornerstone in Mega Man lore.

Above all, X5 shouldn’t get as much flag for one reason: it’s not X6.

The best thing I can say about Aggelos is that it's extremely solid. It pretty much nails almost all that it aimed to do. That said, it's not a game that particularly excels at anything specific.

The game is a bit of an odd one genre-wise. It has a metroidvania interconnected world, but it lacks a proper map (which mostly works to its own detriment) and it mostly plays like an action platformer full of enemies that respawn all the time. It also takes heavy inspiration from the NES Zelda games and other adventure games from the era.

Aggelos packs super snappy combat. More and more moves are progressively unlocked as you explore. What's great is that, save for a few moves, all combat abilities also enhance your movement and aid you in exploration. All moves feel like their own thing too, so it's not just another of the countless Hollow Knight ripoffs. Now, great movement means nothing without something to use it on. Thankfuly, Aggelos has some excellently designed enemies and bosses. Level design is rather inconsistent, but it features a handful of Zelda II-esque dungeons that offer quite a variety of puzzles and intricate design. They can get a little confusing, but They're the highlights of the game alongside the bosses hidden inside each one.

Its presentation may be its most off-putting aspect. It certainly isn't near the peak of 8-bit aesthetics like Cyber Shadow or Shovel Knight, but Aggelos has more than enough personality in its character design. Its biggest strength is probably its palette selection. It leans heavily on color to give life to most of its areas.
Music on the other hand is nothing special. The dungeon theme in particular is great and would get stuck in my head, but its soundtrack is otherwise a pretty generic NES affair.

In regards to its story, it's completely unimportant. I'm thankful that it takes itself seriously and has a rather effective ending for a game of its kind, but it's totally just an excuse for gameplay. If there is one particular aspect that Aggelos succeeds in stellarly, it's deffinitely its pacing. I had an 8hr playthrough with no down times at all. You constantly visit new areas and unlock new power ups, and they're all useful. It also makes the effort to not make the critical path too obvious as for it to get boring, and it gets creative in the stuff you gotta do to get to your next destination.

In conclusion, I wanna be clear that Aggelos is really fun and really well crafted, but it's probably most suited to hardcore genre fans (whether that is metroidvanias or action platformers). Its short length and great pacing make it work more as a sort of resting stop game between two other bigger releases.