Philip_J_Fry
Comparing this to the original Nights, there are definitely many improvements and this feels a lot more complete. The original is still better and genuinely captures a very specific emotion for me personally that means a lot to me, but this game is still a very very very good sequel.
I sort of feel like Nights on the Saturn could be compared to, like, Super Monkey Ball 1 and 2- tighter, less story, less hand holding, infinitely repayable. This game is more like Banana Blitz, a few new added things and ideas that sometimes work really well, still a really great time but the original always reigns supreme while being a little simpler.
The fact we never got a third Nights game makes me mad 😠
I sort of feel like Nights on the Saturn could be compared to, like, Super Monkey Ball 1 and 2- tighter, less story, less hand holding, infinitely repayable. This game is more like Banana Blitz, a few new added things and ideas that sometimes work really well, still a really great time but the original always reigns supreme while being a little simpler.
The fact we never got a third Nights game makes me mad 😠
2001
Growing up surrounded by all the Parappa memes (chinese), all the music (Big, Toasty Buns, Noodles Can't Be Beat, etc), and the colorful artstyle... I guess you can say I've been Parappa pilled since I was very young. However, I only recently got my hands on a copy Parappa The Rapper 2 (so expensive... oh man) and finally experienced the game for myself.
Before this, all I had played was the brutally unfair first stage of Umjammer Lammy (on an old PS1 Jampack demo disc) and maybe tried the PSP version of Parappa 1, but I was blown away at how much this game helps the player adjust to the button mashing playstyle. Practice mode is extremely helpful and fun, and having the inputs get simpler during a song when you're ranking BAD/AWFUL feels less like an insult (like in the older entries) and more like the game itself is trying to help you. It makes it so much easier to pick up and play.
The soundtrack is, in my opinion, easily better than the first game. Whereas the first game did have some bangers (❗️❗️) I feel like a lot of those songs' lyrics emphasized actions (kick punch chop crack crack left right Blah blah), something that they do a whole lot less in here. I find that it makes the songs WAY more listen-able and they stand strong even as standalone songs. The instrumentals are genuinely godlike, the production is so good that even the BAD/AWFUL versions of each track are worth listening to.
The whole noodle story is so goofy, I wouldn't have it any other way. 2 player mode is so much fun, even if it is just button mashing. I really really miss when games were this colorful, silly, groovy, and fun.
Before this, all I had played was the brutally unfair first stage of Umjammer Lammy (on an old PS1 Jampack demo disc) and maybe tried the PSP version of Parappa 1, but I was blown away at how much this game helps the player adjust to the button mashing playstyle. Practice mode is extremely helpful and fun, and having the inputs get simpler during a song when you're ranking BAD/AWFUL feels less like an insult (like in the older entries) and more like the game itself is trying to help you. It makes it so much easier to pick up and play.
The soundtrack is, in my opinion, easily better than the first game. Whereas the first game did have some bangers (❗️❗️) I feel like a lot of those songs' lyrics emphasized actions (kick punch chop crack crack left right Blah blah), something that they do a whole lot less in here. I find that it makes the songs WAY more listen-able and they stand strong even as standalone songs. The instrumentals are genuinely godlike, the production is so good that even the BAD/AWFUL versions of each track are worth listening to.
The whole noodle story is so goofy, I wouldn't have it any other way. 2 player mode is so much fun, even if it is just button mashing. I really really miss when games were this colorful, silly, groovy, and fun.
2003
I am in this game
This review contains spoilers
Played on the 360, but I was in Sega Saturn mode, so I'm logging it under here. Was feeling a little down and I thought this may be a good pick-me-up. After a few minutes of not understanding what the hell to do, I started to get the hang of it... and it started working it's magic on me. The music, the colors, the game just being SO SATISFYING to control, I was swept up in the experience I also did not realize how short it was (seven levels!) but it still felt so complete.
Despite it being just an incredibly creative and fun ride, I was NOT expecting the final twist of this game. I wish I could re-live the feeling I had seeing Claris/Elliot jump off the stage, and then gaining the ability to fly. It sounds so silly, but it felt so profound to me and almost symbolic of living up to their dream, which made me smile so hard. After the final boss, I was also not expecting to actually have final cutscenes of each respective character actually ACHIEVING their dreams!
As those credits rolled, I couldn't help but tear up a little. That song, paired with me just witnessing Claris crush that audition was too heartwarming. The whole experience was just so sweet and uplifting, and truly special. A dream-world styled game about playing inside these dreams, and them then taking YOUR victory to propel them to achieve their dreams-- all of which is never explicitly explained but is left up to interpretation (this is mine).
This is everything I love about Sega-- The colorful aesthetic, incredible music, incredibly unique and impactful. Hell, even MIYAMOTO said he wished he made this game. I don't think there's any higher praise than that. I really do think this is the original Sonic team at their peak.
Despite it being just an incredibly creative and fun ride, I was NOT expecting the final twist of this game. I wish I could re-live the feeling I had seeing Claris/Elliot jump off the stage, and then gaining the ability to fly. It sounds so silly, but it felt so profound to me and almost symbolic of living up to their dream, which made me smile so hard. After the final boss, I was also not expecting to actually have final cutscenes of each respective character actually ACHIEVING their dreams!
As those credits rolled, I couldn't help but tear up a little. That song, paired with me just witnessing Claris crush that audition was too heartwarming. The whole experience was just so sweet and uplifting, and truly special. A dream-world styled game about playing inside these dreams, and them then taking YOUR victory to propel them to achieve their dreams-- all of which is never explicitly explained but is left up to interpretation (this is mine).
This is everything I love about Sega-- The colorful aesthetic, incredible music, incredibly unique and impactful. Hell, even MIYAMOTO said he wished he made this game. I don't think there's any higher praise than that. I really do think this is the original Sonic team at their peak.
Got surprised with a Simpsons 1up arcade recently. Got to play through this with a friend. This game is wildly creative and has a soundtrack that rings in my mind constantly (thanks to the Talking Simpsons Podcast)
The 1Up arcade is pretty good! I've played this on an original cabinet too, and the 1Up arcade does a good job capturing that energy.
The 1Up arcade is pretty good! I've played this on an original cabinet too, and the 1Up arcade does a good job capturing that energy.
2023
I cannot believe how this perfected the Jet Set Radio formula (both games of which, are all time favorites) but also introduced so many new mechanics that make this experience feel extremely fresh and unique. The Jet Set games are not without their faults-- they can be unforgiving in their controls, brutal missions, and janky as hell, but this game addresses that and improves upon it
I was blown away at the new combo system, the phone, the boosting, those funny little robots you hi-five to get unlockables, the fact you NEVER LOSE MOMENTUM, OR RUN OUT OF PAINT, OR TAKE FALL DAMAGE, the fact you can TAKE OFF THE SKATES/BOARD/BIKE. It's all a GAME CHANGER.
They nailed the soundtrack and style, while also making it modernized. The ongoing plot kept me hooked in the way that Jet Set Radio's plots never had (and is a lot more dynamic than those stories to).
Potentially one of the best games I've ever played, absolutely a new favorite. I was (and still am) very excited for the upcoming Jet Set Radio 3, and I have no doubt in my mind that this game taking off the way it did with fans is the reason Sega brought it back. But, I honestly am having a hard time understanding how a new Jet Set Radio will ever get better than this.
I was blown away at the new combo system, the phone, the boosting, those funny little robots you hi-five to get unlockables, the fact you NEVER LOSE MOMENTUM, OR RUN OUT OF PAINT, OR TAKE FALL DAMAGE, the fact you can TAKE OFF THE SKATES/BOARD/BIKE. It's all a GAME CHANGER.
They nailed the soundtrack and style, while also making it modernized. The ongoing plot kept me hooked in the way that Jet Set Radio's plots never had (and is a lot more dynamic than those stories to).
Potentially one of the best games I've ever played, absolutely a new favorite. I was (and still am) very excited for the upcoming Jet Set Radio 3, and I have no doubt in my mind that this game taking off the way it did with fans is the reason Sega brought it back. But, I honestly am having a hard time understanding how a new Jet Set Radio will ever get better than this.
This game is definitely a little bit stronger than the first. I think the firefighter angle is so much better than the more cliché'd shooter style of the first game, and the pixel style makes this game look and age a lot better than the style of the first game. That being said, a huge reason I love the first game so much is because of the soundtrack, and that was a hard soundtrack to top. This game bangs, don't get me wrong, but not on the same level as the first for me
2000
Been fascinated with this since I was a kid, and it took until now for me to finally get a Dreamcast and track down a copy. Some of the most clunky controls of all time aside, this is a thrilling feelgood artistic masterpiece and no game (besides Future) has EVER been this full of personality. It also has what I will crown as my favorite video game soundtrack of all time, and singlehandedly got me into hip hop.
Very few games mean as much to me and my development as this and Future. Despite being a chore to control and play sometimes, I love this game and I always will.
Very few games mean as much to me and my development as this and Future. Despite being a chore to control and play sometimes, I love this game and I always will.
Was skeptical all the way up to release, but what I thought was gonna be a weird gimmicky mess ended up being one of the most enlightening, joyful, and purely fun video games I've ever played. Man... nothing else could have recaptured the joy I felt when I was a kid finding secrets in the New Super Mario Bros games. I played them all to death, but THIS is another level. They were my childhood, and this felt like the natural evolution with the creativity (that was already there previously, it was just more subtle) cranked to the MAX. There are one off Wonder Flower gimmicks that are so well done I hope they get re-worked to being entire standalone games. I've never played a final stage like this one. All platformers going forward should have an online mode like this one.
Incredibly charming. A little less tight than I'd wish it was but it's still a short good time. The final Incident stage is way more frustrating than the rest, which put me off. Soundtrack absolutely rules.
Beat the main game. Banger soundtrack. Super fun to control. Didn't care as much for the plot stuff but shovel knight definitely deserves all the acclaim it's gotten since its release
First review here! I have a lot of nostalgia for the Mutant mudds games, being a kid from the 3DS/Wii U era. Never actually beat them, though, until now. Definitely a little frustrating at points but the experience was so tight that I could never call it unfair. Great, great underrated platformers