Psientologist
Sonic Chaos' sequel feels as many steps forwards as it does back.
I'm a fan of Nack the Weasel/Fang the Sniper's design but sadly you barely see them or even, number three of the "triple"; Knuckles at all.
The graphics are a little nicer, the new gimmicks including snowboards and minecart rollers are good but sadly it has more performance issues and a little more in the way of tough bits that feel more format based difficulty than anything to do with skill.
The music is cracking and the third act of zone 2 is still fantastic, I'd almost say "cinematic" at least what a GameGear can pull off.
Overall I had a good time with it but I think a smidgen less than Chaos which is probably the best GameGear Sonic game.
I'm a fan of Nack the Weasel/Fang the Sniper's design but sadly you barely see them or even, number three of the "triple"; Knuckles at all.
The graphics are a little nicer, the new gimmicks including snowboards and minecart rollers are good but sadly it has more performance issues and a little more in the way of tough bits that feel more format based difficulty than anything to do with skill.
The music is cracking and the third act of zone 2 is still fantastic, I'd almost say "cinematic" at least what a GameGear can pull off.
Overall I had a good time with it but I think a smidgen less than Chaos which is probably the best GameGear Sonic game.
My favourite Sonic game on my Game Gear and I can still see why.
Starts off very easy but chucks you in with cool looking enemies, class music and interesting new power ups like jet boots from the go.
The game hits a big difficulty spike in Act 2 of Mecha Green Hill Zone due to death pits and the slight slipperiness of Sonic.
I didn't manage to get all the Emeralds this time around but the gimmick this time being collect 100 rings, get teleported to what I would call a trial stage and get through that is fun.
Probably the most comfortable Sonic game for GameGear, definitely at a point where the devs had learned what works in 8 bit over 16 and what helps on handheld.
Starts off very easy but chucks you in with cool looking enemies, class music and interesting new power ups like jet boots from the go.
The game hits a big difficulty spike in Act 2 of Mecha Green Hill Zone due to death pits and the slight slipperiness of Sonic.
I didn't manage to get all the Emeralds this time around but the gimmick this time being collect 100 rings, get teleported to what I would call a trial stage and get through that is fun.
Probably the most comfortable Sonic game for GameGear, definitely at a point where the devs had learned what works in 8 bit over 16 and what helps on handheld.
For the first time maybe since playing Red on my GameBoy Pocket I can say that I "caught 'em all".
This was helped by the fact the roster in this game isn't the full 1000+ but also because the act of catching is much more fun.
Sneaking through the tall grass in a reverse of roles or running in and chucking something to stun the poor little creature and many other routes mean that the ability to catch is more varied and therefor interesting.
Also the added danger that you as the trainer can be attacked is much more interested than blacking out because your 'mon have.
Even the legendary Pokémon have a variety of tasks to get them and it's not still the same case of Battle - Get to low health and sleep/paralyze - throw tons of balls and cross your fingers.
These new changes to approach are definitely a good way forward for a series that I was not personally tired of but definitely did need a shake up.
I miss having as many trainer battles as the mainline games and I found that due to that and the introduction of mini tasks to 'complete' pokedex entries made me not have a "main squad" as much as I would and not particularly feel like building towards one either.
The world is varied enough with a mix of areas you'd expect in any video game and they truly come to life with the dynamic weather and seeing the Pokémon within their natural environment.
The issue the world has though is at times it looks decent but GameFreak haven't done enough to keep this as a constant.
You've all seen screenshots of PS2 style textures, grass loading in as you walk and mountains terraforming into view but on top of that the game loves and invisible wall or to create extreme fog to block you going over a mountain even if you can get the other side by other means.
The comparison before the game was even out, as is the way right now, was to Breath of the Wild and it's quite embarrassing how much better that game looks than this considering it came out on the Wii U.
Really though the comparisons get worse when you look at the Switch Xenoblade games or even Monster Hunter Rise from last year.
Each of these bring a slightly different aesthetic and none go for deep realism but Pokémon's anime look is not what's holding it back.
During the post game I found the invisible walls, fog and lacking parts of level design really came through as I was being made to more thoroughly look at it and whilst I still enjoyed roaming around for the most part it was sad to have the game fight with me trying to play it.
This isn't the first place the game does this though and the friction between trying to just play and some strange to bad design decisions is why I can't confidently say "this is the best Pokémon, 5 stars".
First simple gripe, the controls.
For the most part they are fine but there are some confusing choices and the silliest of all is that whilst every mount that can go faster does so by pressing B on foot it's clicking in the left stick.
B on foot doing the opposite and making you crouch.
Inventory can be annoying, limited spaces is not the worst but it's feels like too much with the variety of what can be picked up.
Your bag can be made larger, however only by a single slot at a time that costs increasingly more money the more you want.
Playing this I yearned for ye olde Pokémon bags systems with different sections as that could have different sizes and maybe alleviate some of this.
From the minor to the more major, mission tracking is awkward. Markers only appear if there is something new or for the one mission you're tracking.
Within Legends Arceus though heading back to Jubilife (the game's hub) there are usually many townsfolk who want to be spoken to but you won't know which do without either speaking to all of them or looking at each request and hoping it can give you a marker.
That or have an incredible memory of what the mostly barely memorable townsfolk NPCs names are.
There are probably more minor roadblocks this game likes to make but those are just the main offenders.
Regarding NPCs whilst not everyone you do requests for are interesting the game does have a bunch of cool characters and a lot of look-a-likes/possible ancestors of previous Pokémon NPCs which adds a layer of intrigue and everyone's favourite Leo DiCaprio meme moments.
The story is good, not the deepest as you would imagine but an interesting change of pace and one that goes in some slightly surprising directions.
Overall I enjoyed the 50+ hours I've spent with this game catching all the pocket monsters (especially with more cool Ghost ones).
I like most additions, whilst I miss some things from the main series (which I doubt is going anywhere).
Pokémon Legends: Arceus at points gets very close to being a 4 - 4.5 star game if it were not for some poor technical and performance issues and some awkward design choices.
This was helped by the fact the roster in this game isn't the full 1000+ but also because the act of catching is much more fun.
Sneaking through the tall grass in a reverse of roles or running in and chucking something to stun the poor little creature and many other routes mean that the ability to catch is more varied and therefor interesting.
Also the added danger that you as the trainer can be attacked is much more interested than blacking out because your 'mon have.
Even the legendary Pokémon have a variety of tasks to get them and it's not still the same case of Battle - Get to low health and sleep/paralyze - throw tons of balls and cross your fingers.
These new changes to approach are definitely a good way forward for a series that I was not personally tired of but definitely did need a shake up.
I miss having as many trainer battles as the mainline games and I found that due to that and the introduction of mini tasks to 'complete' pokedex entries made me not have a "main squad" as much as I would and not particularly feel like building towards one either.
The world is varied enough with a mix of areas you'd expect in any video game and they truly come to life with the dynamic weather and seeing the Pokémon within their natural environment.
The issue the world has though is at times it looks decent but GameFreak haven't done enough to keep this as a constant.
You've all seen screenshots of PS2 style textures, grass loading in as you walk and mountains terraforming into view but on top of that the game loves and invisible wall or to create extreme fog to block you going over a mountain even if you can get the other side by other means.
The comparison before the game was even out, as is the way right now, was to Breath of the Wild and it's quite embarrassing how much better that game looks than this considering it came out on the Wii U.
Really though the comparisons get worse when you look at the Switch Xenoblade games or even Monster Hunter Rise from last year.
Each of these bring a slightly different aesthetic and none go for deep realism but Pokémon's anime look is not what's holding it back.
During the post game I found the invisible walls, fog and lacking parts of level design really came through as I was being made to more thoroughly look at it and whilst I still enjoyed roaming around for the most part it was sad to have the game fight with me trying to play it.
This isn't the first place the game does this though and the friction between trying to just play and some strange to bad design decisions is why I can't confidently say "this is the best Pokémon, 5 stars".
First simple gripe, the controls.
For the most part they are fine but there are some confusing choices and the silliest of all is that whilst every mount that can go faster does so by pressing B on foot it's clicking in the left stick.
B on foot doing the opposite and making you crouch.
Inventory can be annoying, limited spaces is not the worst but it's feels like too much with the variety of what can be picked up.
Your bag can be made larger, however only by a single slot at a time that costs increasingly more money the more you want.
Playing this I yearned for ye olde Pokémon bags systems with different sections as that could have different sizes and maybe alleviate some of this.
From the minor to the more major, mission tracking is awkward. Markers only appear if there is something new or for the one mission you're tracking.
Within Legends Arceus though heading back to Jubilife (the game's hub) there are usually many townsfolk who want to be spoken to but you won't know which do without either speaking to all of them or looking at each request and hoping it can give you a marker.
That or have an incredible memory of what the mostly barely memorable townsfolk NPCs names are.
There are probably more minor roadblocks this game likes to make but those are just the main offenders.
Regarding NPCs whilst not everyone you do requests for are interesting the game does have a bunch of cool characters and a lot of look-a-likes/possible ancestors of previous Pokémon NPCs which adds a layer of intrigue and everyone's favourite Leo DiCaprio meme moments.
The story is good, not the deepest as you would imagine but an interesting change of pace and one that goes in some slightly surprising directions.
Overall I enjoyed the 50+ hours I've spent with this game catching all the pocket monsters (especially with more cool Ghost ones).
I like most additions, whilst I miss some things from the main series (which I doubt is going anywhere).
Pokémon Legends: Arceus at points gets very close to being a 4 - 4.5 star game if it were not for some poor technical and performance issues and some awkward design choices.
A point and click with modern escape room vibes.
There's a story in it but unlike your classic point n clicks in definitely feels secondary and that's fine.
Plays well and looks lovely on the phone.
Searching rooms for clues is mostly on the right side of fun/tedious with a great hint system that works wonderfully as a reminder of what you were doing if you stop mid chapter.
Which in the later chapters you are going to need.
As the game progresses the levels are larger, more rooms to go back and forth through and there is definitely a line of "that's enough rooms" that it crosses at points.
Warning if you have poor short term memory (codes, patterns) because this game does keep some important information logged but it's inconsistent and I found myself more than once scribbling down a code or some shapes.
There's a story in it but unlike your classic point n clicks in definitely feels secondary and that's fine.
Plays well and looks lovely on the phone.
Searching rooms for clues is mostly on the right side of fun/tedious with a great hint system that works wonderfully as a reminder of what you were doing if you stop mid chapter.
Which in the later chapters you are going to need.
As the game progresses the levels are larger, more rooms to go back and forth through and there is definitely a line of "that's enough rooms" that it crosses at points.
Warning if you have poor short term memory (codes, patterns) because this game does keep some important information logged but it's inconsistent and I found myself more than once scribbling down a code or some shapes.
1992
Still a great time, lots of inventive stuff and great music but it really is the difficult second album.
I know a lot of people look at this as the Empire Strikes Back but in this case I definitely prefer the titles either side.
Playing it now the end game whilst not bad is definitely disappointing. Wing Fortress is maybe the biggest dip for me a big downgrade to look at after Flying Battery in 3 and although the final bosses are great I wish Death Egg was a full zone like Scrap Brain.
Also I do love the special stages but it's less hypnotic than 1's and less tense than 3's, that and Tails is a liability.
Still with all this poor comparisons to it's prequel and sequel it's a great time.
These days just loading it on Switch online and running through it in a couple of hours is a good time, even if you don't go for the Chaos Emeralds or even finish it there's a great cosy feeling with fantastic music and beautiful sprites amongst lovely level design.
I know a lot of people look at this as the Empire Strikes Back but in this case I definitely prefer the titles either side.
Playing it now the end game whilst not bad is definitely disappointing. Wing Fortress is maybe the biggest dip for me a big downgrade to look at after Flying Battery in 3 and although the final bosses are great I wish Death Egg was a full zone like Scrap Brain.
Also I do love the special stages but it's less hypnotic than 1's and less tense than 3's, that and Tails is a liability.
Still with all this poor comparisons to it's prequel and sequel it's a great time.
These days just loading it on Switch online and running through it in a couple of hours is a good time, even if you don't go for the Chaos Emeralds or even finish it there's a great cosy feeling with fantastic music and beautiful sprites amongst lovely level design.
2016
On paper Shephy is a game I should love, a solitaire card game with an extremely strange aesthetic of multiplying sheep while avoiding natural and some less-natural disasters.
A high score chasing mode as well as an extremely strange single player story that includes multiverse hopping and some extreme dread... but with sheep, gives me what I'd want to dip my toes into.
So it's inventive but is it fun?
Well that's why I've binned it off for now.
It's not really.
The game itself is somewhat of a puzzle and figuring that out including interactions between the cards and when to play them is the standard fun you'll get out of most card games, however it all feels quite basic and feels very reliant on your draw.
Variance is a part in card games that puts a lot of people off and who can blame them, most people would like to win because they used skill not luck and the same goes for losing.
The positive thing about variance however is that in a head-to-head game it can give anyone "just a chance" regardless if they're a beginner against a veteran and people love an underdog story.
Your opponent in Shephy is just a timer and being only you have the luck of the draw variance here just leads to bad or even annoying.
I found myself wanting to mulligan(draw a new hand) so often and you can with a pause and a couple of clicks but it felt so needed I wondered why it wasn't just a single tap?
That alone isn't my only gripe with the game.
The presentation is clearly mobile based but bar the unique and cute art for the sheep and what is used to convey the story this game looks extremely basic.
Music is repetitive and doesn't sound looped properly and the few sound effects there are seem extremely obnoxious.
Admittedly these things would be fine on silenced phone sat on the toilet but this is a console release.
Oddly I would say if this in a sale and you have the coins in your Nintendo wallet to grab this for "free" then I'd say you should actually check it out because it's so odd.
Should you use real money on it, even just a couple of quid? I wouldn't bother.
There's so many other card games you could be playing instead some of this.
A high score chasing mode as well as an extremely strange single player story that includes multiverse hopping and some extreme dread... but with sheep, gives me what I'd want to dip my toes into.
So it's inventive but is it fun?
Well that's why I've binned it off for now.
It's not really.
The game itself is somewhat of a puzzle and figuring that out including interactions between the cards and when to play them is the standard fun you'll get out of most card games, however it all feels quite basic and feels very reliant on your draw.
Variance is a part in card games that puts a lot of people off and who can blame them, most people would like to win because they used skill not luck and the same goes for losing.
The positive thing about variance however is that in a head-to-head game it can give anyone "just a chance" regardless if they're a beginner against a veteran and people love an underdog story.
Your opponent in Shephy is just a timer and being only you have the luck of the draw variance here just leads to bad or even annoying.
I found myself wanting to mulligan(draw a new hand) so often and you can with a pause and a couple of clicks but it felt so needed I wondered why it wasn't just a single tap?
That alone isn't my only gripe with the game.
The presentation is clearly mobile based but bar the unique and cute art for the sheep and what is used to convey the story this game looks extremely basic.
Music is repetitive and doesn't sound looped properly and the few sound effects there are seem extremely obnoxious.
Admittedly these things would be fine on silenced phone sat on the toilet but this is a console release.
Oddly I would say if this in a sale and you have the coins in your Nintendo wallet to grab this for "free" then I'd say you should actually check it out because it's so odd.
Should you use real money on it, even just a couple of quid? I wouldn't bother.
There's so many other card games you could be playing instead some of this.
2021
Great writing and a nice twist on the murder mystery formula.
Looking through the achievements I didn't get there does seems to be a decent bit of variety in what you can do path wise within the game which is smart for a game that is based mostly on dialogue decisions.
The score I've given may seem harsh but for what it' aims to do it succeeds it's just that it's not all that exciting, not enough meat on the bone for me.
I'm not one who needs a games length to be long but if a game is short I want it to surprise me with more than just the initial set up and little else.
Presentation wise it's also fine, it looks nice enough and the music choices are good but once again no wow factor.
Sadly time loop games can't completely avoid repetition but being purely text based choices is what makes that con much more apparent even with the smart option to fast forward to make the same choices again this still felt like a lot more of a chore than I would have liked.
Overall I would recommend to give this game a go but I'd either grab it on sale or cross your fingers for it to be in a future bundle of sorts.
Looking through the achievements I didn't get there does seems to be a decent bit of variety in what you can do path wise within the game which is smart for a game that is based mostly on dialogue decisions.
The score I've given may seem harsh but for what it' aims to do it succeeds it's just that it's not all that exciting, not enough meat on the bone for me.
I'm not one who needs a games length to be long but if a game is short I want it to surprise me with more than just the initial set up and little else.
Presentation wise it's also fine, it looks nice enough and the music choices are good but once again no wow factor.
Sadly time loop games can't completely avoid repetition but being purely text based choices is what makes that con much more apparent even with the smart option to fast forward to make the same choices again this still felt like a lot more of a chore than I would have liked.
Overall I would recommend to give this game a go but I'd either grab it on sale or cross your fingers for it to be in a future bundle of sorts.