ReeseyPuffy
1000 Reviews liked by ReeseyPuffy
Sonic Advance 2
2002
Has it ever happened to you that you're working on a sequel to your 2D handheld platformer for a beloved and iconic IP, and everything is going great because you're fixing a bunch of problems the first game had and designing really cool movement tech and levels that are fun to play, but this guy you don't know keeps sneaking in at night and programming the most dogshit bosses imaginable and adding bottomless pits to ruin all of your levels? What do you mean you gotta collect seven rings in a zone to unlock the special stage AND it's the worst one in the whole entire series!? Somebody needs to stop this guy!!
The Pony Factory
2024
Would be twice as good if it didn't had this void trollface sigma tiktok filter.
The lost media is...found media...!!!
I'm just gonna start out by saying that this game is definitely not for everyone. Spoiler alert but even for how much I liked the game, it does have a bit of a learning curve to it and it did take me a little while of playing for everything to really 'click'. I would definitely say that if you are at all interested in this game, it's one you are going to want to try the demo of before purchasing to really get a taste of the gameplay and determine whether you like it or not.
With that said... I can't deny I really liked this game lol. I was definitely interested in it since it was being developed by a studio comprised of the devs of Sonic Mania (including Christian Whitehead himself!) and after playing it, while I wouldn't say it feels any more like a 3D classic Sonic game than any of the, well, actual 3D Sonic games, I definitely see a lot of that 'style' here. The visuals and art style are really colorful, in a lot of ways feeling like a modern take on the Sega Saturn style (both in terms of the system's limitations and the kinds of games on it) with it's characters and environments. Everything just kinda 'pops' with color, and on top of that the occasional 2D animated cutscenes look quite nice as well. Plus there's some rather creative use of level theming here - the main example that stood out to me was Pengoville (the seventh 'world' in the game) which is sort of a run-of-the-mill snow level but also has this running background gag of a party going on between everything else and I can't help but love stuff like that.
Gameplay-wise, like I said, I wouldn't really describe as any more of a 3D 'classic Sonic' game than most 3D Sonic titles - if anything I found it pretty comparable to Super Mario 3D World with a higher emphasis on movement - but those classic Sonic elements are definitely there. The main 'gimmick' for lack of a better word is Penny's Yo-Yo abilities in which you have a pretty significant moveset to utilize throughout each stage that you can combine together to build up combos which adds towards your level score. Admittedly, at first, I did have a hard time understanding how the controls and moves worked (hence my whole spiel at the beginning of this review), but once it 'clicked', everything just felt satisfying between stacking up combos and utilizing the moveset to access different parts of the level to get collectibles, perform certain "missions" within levels to help the Denizens, or just traverse the level in faster ways. I think the level design generally compliments the movement in this game well, with elements like slopes and ramps to increase your speed and different paths you can take that often have collectibles that also add to your level score. And that's something the game emphasizes too, as getting a minimum score in each level rewards the player with a postcard containing concept art. Which admittedly isn't really that big of a deal on it's own but does feel like a nice little way to reward mastering the game's movement. Plus the giant coin tokens that unlock extra 'Star Globe' levels, again emphasizing replayability and mastering of the game's moveset.
Though, a lot of people have been pointing out that the game is somewhat janky and... yeah I do have to admit I did run into some weirdness on that front. There were definitely quite a few times where I found myself clipping through walls when especially when performing certain moves in rapid succession and while it wasn't necessarily a constant thing that I ran into in each level, it was definitely often enough to be noticeable as a major issue. Even outside of that there were moments of the penguin enemies photobombing the 'level complete' screen and, although it's possible this is just a certified skill issue on my part, I did feel like the targeting system (which was 'home in' on certain areas) felt pretty inconsistent at times with how it worked.
Other than a somewhat steep learning curve and some jankiness, I do have to say overall I just had a lot of fun with this title. Might be my favorite game of 2024 so far even if that's not a really high bar lol.
With that said... I can't deny I really liked this game lol. I was definitely interested in it since it was being developed by a studio comprised of the devs of Sonic Mania (including Christian Whitehead himself!) and after playing it, while I wouldn't say it feels any more like a 3D classic Sonic game than any of the, well, actual 3D Sonic games, I definitely see a lot of that 'style' here. The visuals and art style are really colorful, in a lot of ways feeling like a modern take on the Sega Saturn style (both in terms of the system's limitations and the kinds of games on it) with it's characters and environments. Everything just kinda 'pops' with color, and on top of that the occasional 2D animated cutscenes look quite nice as well. Plus there's some rather creative use of level theming here - the main example that stood out to me was Pengoville (the seventh 'world' in the game) which is sort of a run-of-the-mill snow level but also has this running background gag of a party going on between everything else and I can't help but love stuff like that.
Gameplay-wise, like I said, I wouldn't really describe as any more of a 3D 'classic Sonic' game than most 3D Sonic titles - if anything I found it pretty comparable to Super Mario 3D World with a higher emphasis on movement - but those classic Sonic elements are definitely there. The main 'gimmick' for lack of a better word is Penny's Yo-Yo abilities in which you have a pretty significant moveset to utilize throughout each stage that you can combine together to build up combos which adds towards your level score. Admittedly, at first, I did have a hard time understanding how the controls and moves worked (hence my whole spiel at the beginning of this review), but once it 'clicked', everything just felt satisfying between stacking up combos and utilizing the moveset to access different parts of the level to get collectibles, perform certain "missions" within levels to help the Denizens, or just traverse the level in faster ways. I think the level design generally compliments the movement in this game well, with elements like slopes and ramps to increase your speed and different paths you can take that often have collectibles that also add to your level score. And that's something the game emphasizes too, as getting a minimum score in each level rewards the player with a postcard containing concept art. Which admittedly isn't really that big of a deal on it's own but does feel like a nice little way to reward mastering the game's movement. Plus the giant coin tokens that unlock extra 'Star Globe' levels, again emphasizing replayability and mastering of the game's moveset.
Though, a lot of people have been pointing out that the game is somewhat janky and... yeah I do have to admit I did run into some weirdness on that front. There were definitely quite a few times where I found myself clipping through walls when especially when performing certain moves in rapid succession and while it wasn't necessarily a constant thing that I ran into in each level, it was definitely often enough to be noticeable as a major issue. Even outside of that there were moments of the penguin enemies photobombing the 'level complete' screen and, although it's possible this is just a certified skill issue on my part, I did feel like the targeting system (which was 'home in' on certain areas) felt pretty inconsistent at times with how it worked.
Other than a somewhat steep learning curve and some jankiness, I do have to say overall I just had a lot of fun with this title. Might be my favorite game of 2024 so far even if that's not a really high bar lol.
Sonic Adventure 2
2001
"oh but the speed stages are too easy and badly designed and control poorly"
"oh but the shooting stages are slower than in sonic adventure 1"
"the treasure hunting stages are lackluster and underdeveloped in comparison to the other two kinds of missions at best, and overly convoluted and artificially difficult at worst"
you know, in my quest to 100% this game for the first time in my 22-year sonic adventure 2 career, i was worried i'd ruined the magic of the game for myself. mastering this game is grueling, man. it's one of the most tedious, difficult, and demanding collect-a-thons ever made, and after a certain point the cracks in the foundation of the basic game design begins to show as sonic adventure 2 begins to burst under the weight of its own ambition. there are only so many times you can handle playing the same set of missions over the same set of levels clearly not designed around them before you start to feel a little wearied, you feel me?
but i think my saving grace was the fact that i opted to gather all of the mission emblems before i actually completed the main story. after getting every A-rank from city escape all the way to final chase, i strapped right back in to the last story and let it enfold me. it's kind of funny how a lot of the things i cherished heavily at one point due to nostalgia vision and their impact on me lose their luster when i revisit them - sonic adventure 1 itself isn't immune to this, nor are other contemporary classics like half-life 2 or the original bioshock that were equally impactful on me - but nope, sonic adventure 2 still makes me feel like i'm standing on the fucking ceiling every time i strap in and let the main campaign take me. i mean, sure, the game is strongest as a 5-hour tour de force where it can showcase the strengths of its perfected gameplay loops without having to stretch them thin over a bevy of tasks not suited to them, and a few of the levels actively work against what the game's mission statement is... but what does any of that matter in the long run when sonic adventure 2 is simply the coolest game ever made?
by june 2001, the writing wasn't even on the wall anymore - the wall had actively been blown the fuck down by a monolithic black juggernaut sent by sony to wipe the floor with any and all competitors. the dreamcast had already been discontinued in march after a less-than-three-year lifespan, and with sega's transition into exclusively third-party software development the future of the company and its individual identity was cast into utmost obfuscation. it would be all too easy to just bow your head and duck out quietly here, but sonic team didn't seem content to just sit there and take it. if they were gonna sink, they must have planned on going down with the ship, because sonic adventure 2 is a masterclass in confidence - narratively and mechanically this is the best game that they ever made, and it knows it.
i think i could make an easy case for sonic adventure 2's complexity and depth if i compared it to devil may cry 3 (a game which has a lot of story and stylistic parallels to sonic adventure 2 as well... hmmmm): it's easy to waffle your way through each level and just keep going after you stumble, keeping a skill ceiling just low enough that you don't drown in the insane amount of shit going on... but part of the reason why sonic adventure 2 has such a reputation for its insane 100% status is because playing sonic adventure 2 well takes a lot of skill, practice, and willingness to learn. between the points system actively rewarding stylish gameplay and optimizing the living hell out of every second of your run, the fact that even one mess-up can potentially mean a restart, be it due to failing to maximize your point accumilation or (even worse) dying and starting with 0 points from whatever checkpoint you'd hit before that point. granted, many of the missions actively work against this design philosophy (especially since the same set of 5 missions is copy-and-pasted onto probably 95% of the stages, regardless of genre or level design), but when it hits? you get what you put into it. i've been eking away at sonic frontiers for the past sixth months or so, and it's perpetually perplexing to me that they apparently still don't know how to make sonic control well when they got it right twenty-three years ago. i'm starting to think we'll never get platforming levels like metal harbor or final chase ever again, or even the utterly deranged examples set by cosmic wall and mad space...
all right. sit the fuck down with your jututsu kaisens and your chainsaw mans and your my hero academias. bleach? one piece? dragon ball z? hell, fucking full metal alchemist (the indisputable GOAT in my opinion)? you all take notes too. this is the real shit, motherfuckers. REAL SHOUNEN. all killer, no filler. a series of picture-perfect Moments flawlessly interwoven together with just enough internal rhyme and reason to convince you to Go With It and not think about it too hard, all while having enough genuine substance and things to say for its children-and-teens audience to chew on. there's a reason that you hear people recite basically every cutscene in this game word for word during GDQ runs: everything from the iconic jungle clash between sonic and shadow to the mundane little moments like amy, knuckles and tails chilling on the side of the road just ooze style and personality, even when the story at hand is so boneheaded and numbskulled that you can't really get much out of it besides the raw adrenaline pumping through your veins. i even think the weird mo-cap on the anthro actors gives everything a lot of personality and charm, if only because this is the only time that sonic and co have felt like real people and genuine action heroes to me: it's little things like sonic assuming a cool guy fighting pose when he's about to square up with eggman, or the sheer cuntiness in rouge dangling above the eclipse cannon when introducing herself to eggman and shadow. sonic has always sort of had this reputation as being a silly scrimblo bimblo cartoon series, and it is that, but for one brilliant moment of clarity it commits to the bit and makes sonic actually as cool as he purports to be... and he's got enough swag that it actively rubs off on everyone and anything around him.
of course, this is maybe sonic the hedgehog's most controversial foray into genuine pathos... but i think everybody hams up the perceived "edginess" at the heart of the game without considering whether or not it's all in service of what the game ultimately has to say. sega knew that this would likely be their swan song, and the introspection and reflection littered throughout the script and reflection reflect that perfectly: sega was going out with a whimper after exploding onto the game scene with a bang, and the sort of questions the story poses reflects that perfectly. what happens when you're not who you thought you were, or when the people you define yourself by aren't who they thought you to be? the consistent anti-authoritarian throughline (sonic adventure 2 is an explicitly anti-police and anti-military game, and i'm not exaggerating even a little) reflects a willingness to distrust that which is portrayed as the unambiguous and untouchable good within our society. eggman's idolization of his grandfather is broken when he beholds dr. gerald's descent into wickedness, perhaps coming to understand his own lust for power and control as something less than the true tragic evil that now lives on through the blood in his veins. rouge's loyalty eventually yields not to her government benefactors or to her own selfish desires, but to her endearment to knuckles - an act which seems to even surprise herself by the end. hell, tails actually manages to make good on his "being independent from sonic" character arc from the previous game, considering that he breaks free from the mold of being a simple sidekick and is probably the single largest driving factor in the hero storyline from the moment sonic gets arrested for a second time.
last but most CERTAINLY not least, shadow the hedgehog's obfuscated memories and trauma-laden motivations all act to obscure and suppress the genuine kind heart and noble intentions he was born with and made for, perhaps being the embodiment of the game's study of and statements against the very concept of dualism. you would think that sonic's comparative lack of depth would make him stick out like a sore thumb here, but if anything i think this is the one and only example of that one-note characterization working to his favor: sonic simply is who he is, and his acceptance of his simple nature allows him to be who he is effortlessly without any kind of cognitive dissonance or baggage keeping him burdened to the past or anchored to laments about his present. he holds himself to no particular moral standard or self-image save for doing what he simply feels is appropriate at any given moment, his need for self-indulgence and going with his heart mercifully counter-balanced by the inherent purity of his character. shadow yields the title of "ultimate life form" to sonic not out of a recognition of his physical power or infalliability as a person, but because sonic's ideology is simply the way to be: unapologetically, violently, proudly yourself, unfettered to the artificial molds arbitrated your society, your past, or even your own everyday insecurities.
when i say sonic adventure 2 is one of the all-time top game narratives, i don't mean that it reaches the ideological potence of something like disco elysium or the inscrutable complexity of chrono cross, my personal favorite game narrative... i just mean that for the kind of thing it sets out to accomplish there's simply nothing better than it. crucially, to understand this the same logic applied to the main cast must be applied to sonic adventure 2 itself. yes, sonic the hedgehog is a silly series for silly children about silly cartoon animals... but if you look past that exterior and let go of all the pre-conceived notions you might have forged about what sonic apparently is, something special awaits you: the reality that sonic adventure 2, top to bottom, is one of the greatest games ever made.
"oh but the shooting stages are slower than in sonic adventure 1"
"the treasure hunting stages are lackluster and underdeveloped in comparison to the other two kinds of missions at best, and overly convoluted and artificially difficult at worst"
you know, in my quest to 100% this game for the first time in my 22-year sonic adventure 2 career, i was worried i'd ruined the magic of the game for myself. mastering this game is grueling, man. it's one of the most tedious, difficult, and demanding collect-a-thons ever made, and after a certain point the cracks in the foundation of the basic game design begins to show as sonic adventure 2 begins to burst under the weight of its own ambition. there are only so many times you can handle playing the same set of missions over the same set of levels clearly not designed around them before you start to feel a little wearied, you feel me?
but i think my saving grace was the fact that i opted to gather all of the mission emblems before i actually completed the main story. after getting every A-rank from city escape all the way to final chase, i strapped right back in to the last story and let it enfold me. it's kind of funny how a lot of the things i cherished heavily at one point due to nostalgia vision and their impact on me lose their luster when i revisit them - sonic adventure 1 itself isn't immune to this, nor are other contemporary classics like half-life 2 or the original bioshock that were equally impactful on me - but nope, sonic adventure 2 still makes me feel like i'm standing on the fucking ceiling every time i strap in and let the main campaign take me. i mean, sure, the game is strongest as a 5-hour tour de force where it can showcase the strengths of its perfected gameplay loops without having to stretch them thin over a bevy of tasks not suited to them, and a few of the levels actively work against what the game's mission statement is... but what does any of that matter in the long run when sonic adventure 2 is simply the coolest game ever made?
by june 2001, the writing wasn't even on the wall anymore - the wall had actively been blown the fuck down by a monolithic black juggernaut sent by sony to wipe the floor with any and all competitors. the dreamcast had already been discontinued in march after a less-than-three-year lifespan, and with sega's transition into exclusively third-party software development the future of the company and its individual identity was cast into utmost obfuscation. it would be all too easy to just bow your head and duck out quietly here, but sonic team didn't seem content to just sit there and take it. if they were gonna sink, they must have planned on going down with the ship, because sonic adventure 2 is a masterclass in confidence - narratively and mechanically this is the best game that they ever made, and it knows it.
i think i could make an easy case for sonic adventure 2's complexity and depth if i compared it to devil may cry 3 (a game which has a lot of story and stylistic parallels to sonic adventure 2 as well... hmmmm): it's easy to waffle your way through each level and just keep going after you stumble, keeping a skill ceiling just low enough that you don't drown in the insane amount of shit going on... but part of the reason why sonic adventure 2 has such a reputation for its insane 100% status is because playing sonic adventure 2 well takes a lot of skill, practice, and willingness to learn. between the points system actively rewarding stylish gameplay and optimizing the living hell out of every second of your run, the fact that even one mess-up can potentially mean a restart, be it due to failing to maximize your point accumilation or (even worse) dying and starting with 0 points from whatever checkpoint you'd hit before that point. granted, many of the missions actively work against this design philosophy (especially since the same set of 5 missions is copy-and-pasted onto probably 95% of the stages, regardless of genre or level design), but when it hits? you get what you put into it. i've been eking away at sonic frontiers for the past sixth months or so, and it's perpetually perplexing to me that they apparently still don't know how to make sonic control well when they got it right twenty-three years ago. i'm starting to think we'll never get platforming levels like metal harbor or final chase ever again, or even the utterly deranged examples set by cosmic wall and mad space...
all right. sit the fuck down with your jututsu kaisens and your chainsaw mans and your my hero academias. bleach? one piece? dragon ball z? hell, fucking full metal alchemist (the indisputable GOAT in my opinion)? you all take notes too. this is the real shit, motherfuckers. REAL SHOUNEN. all killer, no filler. a series of picture-perfect Moments flawlessly interwoven together with just enough internal rhyme and reason to convince you to Go With It and not think about it too hard, all while having enough genuine substance and things to say for its children-and-teens audience to chew on. there's a reason that you hear people recite basically every cutscene in this game word for word during GDQ runs: everything from the iconic jungle clash between sonic and shadow to the mundane little moments like amy, knuckles and tails chilling on the side of the road just ooze style and personality, even when the story at hand is so boneheaded and numbskulled that you can't really get much out of it besides the raw adrenaline pumping through your veins. i even think the weird mo-cap on the anthro actors gives everything a lot of personality and charm, if only because this is the only time that sonic and co have felt like real people and genuine action heroes to me: it's little things like sonic assuming a cool guy fighting pose when he's about to square up with eggman, or the sheer cuntiness in rouge dangling above the eclipse cannon when introducing herself to eggman and shadow. sonic has always sort of had this reputation as being a silly scrimblo bimblo cartoon series, and it is that, but for one brilliant moment of clarity it commits to the bit and makes sonic actually as cool as he purports to be... and he's got enough swag that it actively rubs off on everyone and anything around him.
of course, this is maybe sonic the hedgehog's most controversial foray into genuine pathos... but i think everybody hams up the perceived "edginess" at the heart of the game without considering whether or not it's all in service of what the game ultimately has to say. sega knew that this would likely be their swan song, and the introspection and reflection littered throughout the script and reflection reflect that perfectly: sega was going out with a whimper after exploding onto the game scene with a bang, and the sort of questions the story poses reflects that perfectly. what happens when you're not who you thought you were, or when the people you define yourself by aren't who they thought you to be? the consistent anti-authoritarian throughline (sonic adventure 2 is an explicitly anti-police and anti-military game, and i'm not exaggerating even a little) reflects a willingness to distrust that which is portrayed as the unambiguous and untouchable good within our society. eggman's idolization of his grandfather is broken when he beholds dr. gerald's descent into wickedness, perhaps coming to understand his own lust for power and control as something less than the true tragic evil that now lives on through the blood in his veins. rouge's loyalty eventually yields not to her government benefactors or to her own selfish desires, but to her endearment to knuckles - an act which seems to even surprise herself by the end. hell, tails actually manages to make good on his "being independent from sonic" character arc from the previous game, considering that he breaks free from the mold of being a simple sidekick and is probably the single largest driving factor in the hero storyline from the moment sonic gets arrested for a second time.
last but most CERTAINLY not least, shadow the hedgehog's obfuscated memories and trauma-laden motivations all act to obscure and suppress the genuine kind heart and noble intentions he was born with and made for, perhaps being the embodiment of the game's study of and statements against the very concept of dualism. you would think that sonic's comparative lack of depth would make him stick out like a sore thumb here, but if anything i think this is the one and only example of that one-note characterization working to his favor: sonic simply is who he is, and his acceptance of his simple nature allows him to be who he is effortlessly without any kind of cognitive dissonance or baggage keeping him burdened to the past or anchored to laments about his present. he holds himself to no particular moral standard or self-image save for doing what he simply feels is appropriate at any given moment, his need for self-indulgence and going with his heart mercifully counter-balanced by the inherent purity of his character. shadow yields the title of "ultimate life form" to sonic not out of a recognition of his physical power or infalliability as a person, but because sonic's ideology is simply the way to be: unapologetically, violently, proudly yourself, unfettered to the artificial molds arbitrated your society, your past, or even your own everyday insecurities.
when i say sonic adventure 2 is one of the all-time top game narratives, i don't mean that it reaches the ideological potence of something like disco elysium or the inscrutable complexity of chrono cross, my personal favorite game narrative... i just mean that for the kind of thing it sets out to accomplish there's simply nothing better than it. crucially, to understand this the same logic applied to the main cast must be applied to sonic adventure 2 itself. yes, sonic the hedgehog is a silly series for silly children about silly cartoon animals... but if you look past that exterior and let go of all the pre-conceived notions you might have forged about what sonic apparently is, something special awaits you: the reality that sonic adventure 2, top to bottom, is one of the greatest games ever made.
All the things he said
All the things he said
Running through my head
Running through my head
Running through my head
All the things he said
All the things he said
Running through my head
Running through my head
All the things he said (all the things he said)
This is not enough (enough, enough, enough)
This is not enough
Buddy
All the things he said
Running through my head
Running through my head
Running through my head
All the things he said
All the things he said
Running through my head
Running through my head
All the things he said (all the things he said)
This is not enough (enough, enough, enough)
This is not enough
Buddy
compliment-sandwich time. this is one of the most creative & fun games i've ever played. they really took the usual 2d mario formula and said let's go CRAZY with it. every level is so unique, and every power-up is adorable.
but it is frankly inexcusable in the year 2023 for this game to not have accessibility options. specifically, needing to hold down the y button to run fucking blowsss. it took me like 5 months to finish this game cause i had to play in 10 minute bursts. after spending the last several hours playing the final special world mission (which rocks btw) my wrist is practically throbbinggg. needing to hold down a button for an entire level to do something as important as running is so outdated!!!
yet, despite this game actively PHYSICALLY hurting me to play, i 100%'d it. and i NEVER 100% games. that should be a testament to just how much i enjoyed this game. i'm already thinking about how i want to replay it again a few months from now, as toadette this time (literally closed my eyes while unlocking her standees cause i wanna be surprised hehe).
truly, so so fun. big recommend. i'm gonna go put my hand in ice or something now lol <3
but it is frankly inexcusable in the year 2023 for this game to not have accessibility options. specifically, needing to hold down the y button to run fucking blowsss. it took me like 5 months to finish this game cause i had to play in 10 minute bursts. after spending the last several hours playing the final special world mission (which rocks btw) my wrist is practically throbbinggg. needing to hold down a button for an entire level to do something as important as running is so outdated!!!
yet, despite this game actively PHYSICALLY hurting me to play, i 100%'d it. and i NEVER 100% games. that should be a testament to just how much i enjoyed this game. i'm already thinking about how i want to replay it again a few months from now, as toadette this time (literally closed my eyes while unlocking her standees cause i wanna be surprised hehe).
truly, so so fun. big recommend. i'm gonna go put my hand in ice or something now lol <3
The people over at GoodFeel looked at what Yuji Naka was doing with Balan Wonderworld and said hold my beer.
As Nintendo exclusives go this one definitely feels the most like a late era release for a system on it's way out the door. Visually it's really bland and surprisingly fuzzy and poorly optimized for a game made by one of Nintendo go to second party studios, besides the main visual motif of the levels being plays everything else feels very bland; even by Goodfeels standers with their last game this is the most "second party" made nintendo game I've seen since in a long time, There just isn't much heart here and you can 100% tell.
Gameplay wise it's very easy, like......really easy; as in it's a two button game only and the only time the gameplay changes is when Peach uses a costume which gives her the ability to do one whole new move (wow). Obviously this game was made with very little kids in mind but honestly I feel like even they would get bored with something like this. Hell even compared with Kirby games like Forgotten Lands or Planet Robobot still offer a greater challenge as the game goes on, for pretty much the beginning to the end the whole game feels like it's on autopilot; like it's only reason for existence is to babysit your 6 year old for 5 hours instead of being a normal parent and put your kid in front of Bluey or a Mr. Beast video (joking by the way fuck Mr. Beast).
I guess my overall problem with the game is how...completely unmemorable the whole experience was. I went out of my way to 100% the whole game and besides like 1 or 2 moments from the beginning and the end I've already pretty much forgotten almost every part of the game. And I don't like using the argument of "oh well it's a kids game made for very little kids; what did you expect?", because even if you made a game with it being very easy in mind you still need to make it a good game. Like a side before Kirby is a very pretty much made with kids in mind but those games are not only game games that both kids and adult can enjoy, and give kids a good challenge while also still being welcoming for smaller kids; but those games are also chock full of stuff for kids and adult to play besides the main game. Here I 100% the game and did everything in around 9 hours for a game that cost the same price as Kirby's Forgotten land, Luigi's Mansion 3, and Super Mario Wonder.
The nicest thing I can say about this game is that unlike Balan Wonderworld it's not a buggy broken mess and plays alright, it's just a shame the game itself is the definition of bland.
As Nintendo exclusives go this one definitely feels the most like a late era release for a system on it's way out the door. Visually it's really bland and surprisingly fuzzy and poorly optimized for a game made by one of Nintendo go to second party studios, besides the main visual motif of the levels being plays everything else feels very bland; even by Goodfeels standers with their last game this is the most "second party" made nintendo game I've seen since in a long time, There just isn't much heart here and you can 100% tell.
Gameplay wise it's very easy, like......really easy; as in it's a two button game only and the only time the gameplay changes is when Peach uses a costume which gives her the ability to do one whole new move (wow). Obviously this game was made with very little kids in mind but honestly I feel like even they would get bored with something like this. Hell even compared with Kirby games like Forgotten Lands or Planet Robobot still offer a greater challenge as the game goes on, for pretty much the beginning to the end the whole game feels like it's on autopilot; like it's only reason for existence is to babysit your 6 year old for 5 hours instead of being a normal parent and put your kid in front of Bluey or a Mr. Beast video (joking by the way fuck Mr. Beast).
I guess my overall problem with the game is how...completely unmemorable the whole experience was. I went out of my way to 100% the whole game and besides like 1 or 2 moments from the beginning and the end I've already pretty much forgotten almost every part of the game. And I don't like using the argument of "oh well it's a kids game made for very little kids; what did you expect?", because even if you made a game with it being very easy in mind you still need to make it a good game. Like a side before Kirby is a very pretty much made with kids in mind but those games are not only game games that both kids and adult can enjoy, and give kids a good challenge while also still being welcoming for smaller kids; but those games are also chock full of stuff for kids and adult to play besides the main game. Here I 100% the game and did everything in around 9 hours for a game that cost the same price as Kirby's Forgotten land, Luigi's Mansion 3, and Super Mario Wonder.
The nicest thing I can say about this game is that unlike Balan Wonderworld it's not a buggy broken mess and plays alright, it's just a shame the game itself is the definition of bland.
Kirby, you have crystals here that are 2 inches, 3 inches long. Yo, this is glass grade!
By the year 2000, most of Kirby's platforming counterparts had fully made the transition to 3D. Collectathons were king, and 2D platformers were becoming an increasing rarity. If there was ever a time to make the leap, it was then.
But rather than trying to adapt Kirby's gameplay and appeal to a 3D space (something Kirby's contemporaries were finding mixed success with), director Shinichi Shimomura and his team at HAL decided to keep Kirby firmly planted in 2D for his Nintendo 64 outing. Without the need to totally reinvent Kirby, HAL was able to evolve and refine what they already knew. The Crystal Shards is a pure distillation of what made the series work up to that point, and it comes pretty damn close to perfection as a result.
The Nintendo 64 allowed Shimomura and his team to create more dynamic set pieces and larger, more complicated boss battles. Everything here feels bombastic without losing sight of Kirby's cute, sugary sweet aesthetic. The story remains pretty simple and straight-forward, and is told through charming cutscenes that add just the right amount of flavor without being intrusive. It's fun to see Kirby's partners pop up in a level, though it's also a little bit of a bummer that you can't play as any of them. This is more than made up for by allowing Kirby to combine copy abilities, which allows for a lot of experimentation. I wasted a fair amount of time just running around and fusing abilities together to see what I could make, and it feels so natural that I often confuse myself into thinking it was a feature long baked into the series prior to The Crystal Shards.
Kirby 64 is a fantastic conclusion to the "Dark Matter Trilogy," and is easily my favorite game in the entire franchise.
It was also the second to last Kirby game director Shimomura worked on before... evaporating into thin air? I looked up what games he worked on and noticed he bowed out of the industry somewhere around 2002, with Nightmare in Dreamland being his last credit. Any attempt to find out why he left or what he's been up to has turned up numerous conspiracy theories, from Shimomura dying to having never existed in the first place. Perhaps this is appropriate in a way. There's an eeriness that's always lurking just beneath the surface in Kirby games, and so too is there something hauntingly mysterious about their development... Or maybe he just retired. who da hell knows
By the year 2000, most of Kirby's platforming counterparts had fully made the transition to 3D. Collectathons were king, and 2D platformers were becoming an increasing rarity. If there was ever a time to make the leap, it was then.
But rather than trying to adapt Kirby's gameplay and appeal to a 3D space (something Kirby's contemporaries were finding mixed success with), director Shinichi Shimomura and his team at HAL decided to keep Kirby firmly planted in 2D for his Nintendo 64 outing. Without the need to totally reinvent Kirby, HAL was able to evolve and refine what they already knew. The Crystal Shards is a pure distillation of what made the series work up to that point, and it comes pretty damn close to perfection as a result.
The Nintendo 64 allowed Shimomura and his team to create more dynamic set pieces and larger, more complicated boss battles. Everything here feels bombastic without losing sight of Kirby's cute, sugary sweet aesthetic. The story remains pretty simple and straight-forward, and is told through charming cutscenes that add just the right amount of flavor without being intrusive. It's fun to see Kirby's partners pop up in a level, though it's also a little bit of a bummer that you can't play as any of them. This is more than made up for by allowing Kirby to combine copy abilities, which allows for a lot of experimentation. I wasted a fair amount of time just running around and fusing abilities together to see what I could make, and it feels so natural that I often confuse myself into thinking it was a feature long baked into the series prior to The Crystal Shards.
Kirby 64 is a fantastic conclusion to the "Dark Matter Trilogy," and is easily my favorite game in the entire franchise.
It was also the second to last Kirby game director Shimomura worked on before... evaporating into thin air? I looked up what games he worked on and noticed he bowed out of the industry somewhere around 2002, with Nightmare in Dreamland being his last credit. Any attempt to find out why he left or what he's been up to has turned up numerous conspiracy theories, from Shimomura dying to having never existed in the first place. Perhaps this is appropriate in a way. There's an eeriness that's always lurking just beneath the surface in Kirby games, and so too is there something hauntingly mysterious about their development... Or maybe he just retired. who da hell knows
Kirby 64 feels like a much improved successor to Kirby's Dream Land 3 for the SNES (which I did not enjoy that much), but most of the issues I had with that game are addressed here.
First wanna point out the super charming 3D graphics. I'm a sucker for low poly 3D and it works so well here for Kirby, even taking the advantage of the 3D and making it a 2.5D game. The visuals shine the most during the intro and outro cutscenes of each world with the cast doing silly little things.
In terms of gameplay, it's a Kirby game with the twist that instead of mixing and matching copy abilities with animal buddies like in KDL3, Kirby can just mix those abilities himself, which is such an improvement. But also, the new abilities you get in this game from mixing are some of the best in the whole series. Like a flaming greatsword?? A double-bladed ligjtsaber? Don't get me started with how fun the fireworks ability is to use.
Only big flaw with the gameplay is how Kirby feels to control. In KDL3, Kirby was at his most sluggish and felt terrible to play. In K64, he feels much more responsive but is a little too floaty, even for a floating puffball like Kirby. Still it's a major improvement, but not the best feeling.
The worst thing about KDL3 was the barren level design and how you basically had to go for the optional missions to make any of these levels feel fun. But the optional missions were mostly cryptic and not that fun anyway.
In K64 we how have both excellent level design and a great side objective. Meaning, if you don't play for the 100% you will still have a lot of fun playing through the levels. But now it's even more fun going for the 100% because the side objective is to find all 3 crystal shards in a stage, and they're not that hard to find. It's similar to trying to find the 3 green stars in Mario 3D world. There are a couple of shards that can be annoying to get by needing very specific requirements, but those are only like 4 shards of the 60ish in the game.
Bosses are a lot of fun and quite challenging for a Kirby game. Most of the bosses have 2 stages including the mvfucking tree this time around.
Great Kirby game, while not my favourite, I like it more than some of it's predecessors. If movement was a little less floaty and closer to Kirby's Adventure or Super Star, and some of the few shards weren't a pain to get, I would've liked it a little more.
First wanna point out the super charming 3D graphics. I'm a sucker for low poly 3D and it works so well here for Kirby, even taking the advantage of the 3D and making it a 2.5D game. The visuals shine the most during the intro and outro cutscenes of each world with the cast doing silly little things.
In terms of gameplay, it's a Kirby game with the twist that instead of mixing and matching copy abilities with animal buddies like in KDL3, Kirby can just mix those abilities himself, which is such an improvement. But also, the new abilities you get in this game from mixing are some of the best in the whole series. Like a flaming greatsword?? A double-bladed ligjtsaber? Don't get me started with how fun the fireworks ability is to use.
Only big flaw with the gameplay is how Kirby feels to control. In KDL3, Kirby was at his most sluggish and felt terrible to play. In K64, he feels much more responsive but is a little too floaty, even for a floating puffball like Kirby. Still it's a major improvement, but not the best feeling.
The worst thing about KDL3 was the barren level design and how you basically had to go for the optional missions to make any of these levels feel fun. But the optional missions were mostly cryptic and not that fun anyway.
In K64 we how have both excellent level design and a great side objective. Meaning, if you don't play for the 100% you will still have a lot of fun playing through the levels. But now it's even more fun going for the 100% because the side objective is to find all 3 crystal shards in a stage, and they're not that hard to find. It's similar to trying to find the 3 green stars in Mario 3D world. There are a couple of shards that can be annoying to get by needing very specific requirements, but those are only like 4 shards of the 60ish in the game.
Bosses are a lot of fun and quite challenging for a Kirby game. Most of the bosses have 2 stages including the mvfucking tree this time around.
Great Kirby game, while not my favourite, I like it more than some of it's predecessors. If movement was a little less floaty and closer to Kirby's Adventure or Super Star, and some of the few shards weren't a pain to get, I would've liked it a little more.
This review contains spoilers
Rebirth has a pretty herculean task, which is adapting the part of FFVII I am most rose-tinted on. That being the post-Midgar section of Disc 1. As a kid, I’d played this part the most on replays, but my attention span led to many a run being culled around some point here. Rebirth really nails the whimsy of being thrust into VII’s world as a kid, and I think its scale encapsulates it so nicely, and I absolutely appreciate its gameplay loop. You’re not forced to engage with non-story aspects, but they’re far higher quality than the ones in Remake, and often serve as great world building and excuses to see the world. Characterization and portrayals continue to be magnificent as does the use of compendium content. I’ll say I wish Vincent got more chemistry with the party, as how he’s handled feels in stark contrast to Remake making Red XIII fit so naturally in the last two chapters. It’s a shame, as Yuffie went from optional in the original game to such a core of the party dynamic here. I think gameplay is far more refined as well, with the new synergy skill system being a fun way of juggling ATB and party combos, and the new additions of Red XIII and Cait Sith being very welcome. Now, I’ll say that this game isn’t perfect with some technical stuff. Coming off of Remake’s 60 FPS on the PS5, it’s initially jarring to be put in 30 FPS and get told to settle with either 30 FPS and better graphic, or deal with pretty blurry visuals with 60 FPS. I adjusted to the 30 rather quickly, since it’s what Remake was designed around on PS4, and advise you do the same, but it’s still noteworthy. Also some texture pop in is real. Most notably I saw it in the Mythril Mines, and it took me out a bit. I will say that this game has also made me retroactively grow to love the Whispers as a concept, generally? The idea that they’re a part of the Planet’s defense systems, and Sephiroth tricked us into sabotaging them in Remake is extremely intriguing, with a faction now benefitting him. The ending of the game has a lot that will probably have to be elaborated upon, but I think the idea that the lifestream contains a multiverse of sorts is not too far of a reach given its capabilities to rejuvenate the mind? May just be me though. A story grievance I do have though, is changing the resolution to the Dyne plot point. Dyne choosing to kill himself because he can’t live with the monster he’s become is a haunting moment of the original, and Rebirth plays the depths of his delusion so well… until it doesn’t. Him being killed in a firefight, dying vindictive toward Barret, doesn’t really hit for me, at all. And that’s a damn shame when so much else of this game does. It sticks out when such a strong arc loses footing at the tail end. But I digress. Parts which were optional in the original, but now are mandatory, like Gongaga, are damn fantastic. The reimagining of this world has gone above and beyond, and I can’t wait to jump into it. If you ask me objectively, the tech issues make this a 4.5, even if they aren’t at all egregious. But, this is my review. I am suffering a hyperfixation from when I was 14 reviving when I was 22. So fuck you, it’s a 5/5. Also, amazing how these devs got even better at queerbaiting with Aerti and filling every Cloud and Sephiroth scene with sexual tension. Bravo.
Edit. Forgot to mention just how much in here is designed to make you soypoint. The amount of things that feed some aspect of the compilation, or just build on characters who were doing jack in the original is really something. Elena and Tseng went from having no fights in the original, with Tseng literally being seen as dead by English speaking audiences due to mistranslations, to Elena getting 3 and Tseng getting the best damn boss theme in the game.
Edit. Forgot to mention just how much in here is designed to make you soypoint. The amount of things that feed some aspect of the compilation, or just build on characters who were doing jack in the original is really something. Elena and Tseng went from having no fights in the original, with Tseng literally being seen as dead by English speaking audiences due to mistranslations, to Elena getting 3 and Tseng getting the best damn boss theme in the game.
Pikmin
2001
Pikmin was a series I always ignored because I was confident I wouldn’t enjoy it for being RTS, a genre that never caught my interest. But one day I decided to give the first game a shot and got completely enamored by it. After playing and replaying all games in the franchise, I can safely say the first game is my favorite out of them all. There are three aspects that make it the best one for me: its replay value, the atmosphere, and the fact it has the best areas in the series. It was a wise idea starting with this one, because just like the situation Olimar found himself in, I was experiencing something completely new and unknown.
I felt completely immersed in its world, learning by trial and error how to interact with the elements in each area (because unlike the other games in the series, this one barely has any tutorials, you gotta learn most things by yourself), finding and observing creatures I had no idea how they behaved, getting used to the nuanced controls... It was a genuinely fascinating experience, heightened by the 30 day time limit that definitely pressured me on my first run, in which I didn’t even manage to get all ship parts in time!
Exploring each area was an adventure filled with wonder and anxiety. The tranquility of The Forest of Hope, the darkness of The Forest Navel, the deceiving serenity of The Distant Spring... No other Pikmin game offers this strong feeling of isolation, of being lost on an unknown planet without knowing what awaits you at every corner. Olimar’s reflexive diary entries drive that feeling even further, adding a surprising amount of depth to this character, to the point he’s one of the most well fleshed out Nintendo protagonists. The Distant Spring theme is the one that best represents the unique atmosphere of this game: serene, mysterious, and melancholic.
The game’s short length and its objective to collect the ship parts make it extremely replayable. It’s a nice challenge trying to get all parts in the fewest days possible to try and beat your old record, which is helped by how fun the areas are to explore on repeated playthroughs, creating strategies and finding out the most optimal routes. Nothing beats the adrenaline rush and satisfaction of carrying a ship part to the ship at the very last second during the end of day countdown.
I played it the first time in 2023 and I’ve beaten the game 3 times already and I’m sure I’ll try to beat it every year in a single sitting, like I do with Star Fox 64 and Super Mario 64, both of which are some of favorite games of all time, a title that Pikmin 1 is without a doubt worthy of now as well.
I felt completely immersed in its world, learning by trial and error how to interact with the elements in each area (because unlike the other games in the series, this one barely has any tutorials, you gotta learn most things by yourself), finding and observing creatures I had no idea how they behaved, getting used to the nuanced controls... It was a genuinely fascinating experience, heightened by the 30 day time limit that definitely pressured me on my first run, in which I didn’t even manage to get all ship parts in time!
Exploring each area was an adventure filled with wonder and anxiety. The tranquility of The Forest of Hope, the darkness of The Forest Navel, the deceiving serenity of The Distant Spring... No other Pikmin game offers this strong feeling of isolation, of being lost on an unknown planet without knowing what awaits you at every corner. Olimar’s reflexive diary entries drive that feeling even further, adding a surprising amount of depth to this character, to the point he’s one of the most well fleshed out Nintendo protagonists. The Distant Spring theme is the one that best represents the unique atmosphere of this game: serene, mysterious, and melancholic.
The game’s short length and its objective to collect the ship parts make it extremely replayable. It’s a nice challenge trying to get all parts in the fewest days possible to try and beat your old record, which is helped by how fun the areas are to explore on repeated playthroughs, creating strategies and finding out the most optimal routes. Nothing beats the adrenaline rush and satisfaction of carrying a ship part to the ship at the very last second during the end of day countdown.
I played it the first time in 2023 and I’ve beaten the game 3 times already and I’m sure I’ll try to beat it every year in a single sitting, like I do with Star Fox 64 and Super Mario 64, both of which are some of favorite games of all time, a title that Pikmin 1 is without a doubt worthy of now as well.
Fatal Fury
1991
Think the best way of articulating why I find this supposedly old/outdated fighter sick as someone who came to it without ever having played a subsequent SNK fighter is the infamous Geese Howard boss fight. In a vacuum, he's as cheap as its reputation would lead you to believe: his Reppuken has damage output that's approximately one third of your health as well as range high enough for it to severely limit your options against him and he can also casually invalidate the attacks you manage to land on him with a throw that does comparable damage to the Reppuken. Prepare to see that screen of your character falling out the window often.
However, the more times you die to him, the more predictable (no pun intended) his AI starts to become. If you jump forward and attack, he will always go forward and attack. If you try to approach him by using a special, he'll prevent you from doing so with the Reppuken. If you stand still, he'll do the same for a bit before making his move. So you have to pick up on every little quirk on his AI and find out how to bait him into a situation where he gets hit. While the sheer damage of his heavy hitting attacks would seem unfair, getting one hit on him more often than not means throwing him out of his comfort zone and turning that one hit into multiple, thus doing a similar amount of damage to what he would have done to you with one hit. If you keep this up, you can even get him into a situation where your special move will land on the early frames of his Reppuken, interrupting said attack. Through this plan of attack as well as, my noob at fighting games ass was able to eventually 2-0 him and throw him out the window like he did to me 28 times.
With its small player roster of three characters and its arcade mode that faces you off against opponents designed with no expectations of being playable, Fatal Fury 1 feels like it was designed as a single player game first and with multiplayer as an afterthought. And I am being 100% unironic when I say this design philosophy makes me feel like I became a better fighting game player, be it through learning how to exploit the habits of seemingly unbeatable opponents or by building up the ability to press buttons faster to make the most of those small moments of vulnerability when they pop up. As someone whose engagement with fighting games has usually been respecting them from the sidelines and/or having a quick laugh in a run of arcade mode on the lowest difficulty, I truly get them now.
However, the more times you die to him, the more predictable (no pun intended) his AI starts to become. If you jump forward and attack, he will always go forward and attack. If you try to approach him by using a special, he'll prevent you from doing so with the Reppuken. If you stand still, he'll do the same for a bit before making his move. So you have to pick up on every little quirk on his AI and find out how to bait him into a situation where he gets hit. While the sheer damage of his heavy hitting attacks would seem unfair, getting one hit on him more often than not means throwing him out of his comfort zone and turning that one hit into multiple, thus doing a similar amount of damage to what he would have done to you with one hit. If you keep this up, you can even get him into a situation where your special move will land on the early frames of his Reppuken, interrupting said attack. Through this plan of attack as well as, my noob at fighting games ass was able to eventually 2-0 him and throw him out the window like he did to me 28 times.
With its small player roster of three characters and its arcade mode that faces you off against opponents designed with no expectations of being playable, Fatal Fury 1 feels like it was designed as a single player game first and with multiplayer as an afterthought. And I am being 100% unironic when I say this design philosophy makes me feel like I became a better fighting game player, be it through learning how to exploit the habits of seemingly unbeatable opponents or by building up the ability to press buttons faster to make the most of those small moments of vulnerability when they pop up. As someone whose engagement with fighting games has usually been respecting them from the sidelines and/or having a quick laugh in a run of arcade mode on the lowest difficulty, I truly get them now.
Kirby's Dream Land 2
1995
Mf thinks life is all sunshine and rainbows
Despite my fondness for the Kirby series and the pink ball’s equally adorable friends, it’s kind of surprising how I haven’t played many of this cute eldritch horror’s older adventures. Case and point, it was only relatively recently that I finally played Kirby’s Dream Land, and while it was certainly a simple and fun enough adventure —and a necessary stepping stone all things considered—, it didn’t quite click with me the same it does for others. It has its moments and highlights, like the shoot ‘em up boss fight, and as a short, easy-to-access platformer, it does a good job, but I find it reaaaaally hard to get invested in its not-so great levels, and Adventure’s existence and how fun and complete that game feels while also accomplishing everything Dream Land does doesn’t exactly help things.
All this to say I had no clue what to expect from the sequel; I knew I had to play this, this is the first outing in Shinichi Shimomura’s less action oriented take on Kirby compared with what Sakurai would end up pursuing in Super Star and that fact alone made it far more interesting, and I also knew some other things here and there, like the fact it features copy abilities and what-not, but overall… Yeah, I didn’t know much about aside from ‘’this is the direct continuation to Dream Land’’. I wasn’t expecting anything bad, hell, I don’t even consider the original game a bad work at all, but I would lie if I said I had high expectations going in…
… so what if I told you I kinda really jammed with this game?
I… Wow, if we see this and the two previous games and some sort of original trilogy, then the evolution is clear as day; as I said, I knew this game lifted some elements from Adventure like the copy abilities, but I never expected to see so many translated so well to the charming brick that is the Game Boy. Levels once again have the adorable introductory cutscenes, but instead of being limited to one-stage run-throughs, there are actual defined hub-worlds, and while there’s less optional stuff than in Adventure (by less, I mean none), the hub areas themselves feel much more compacted and representative of the world they are set in, and it’s hard to describe how, but these areas and the game as a whole manage to feel very lively despite normally featuring no color at all.
And on the levels themselves… You can play as a hamster, so I think that says more than enough. The original Dream Land attempted things such as vertical challenges and annoying mazes, and while those are very much present here, they are accompanied by far more interesting overall lay-outs; the game is still easy, but beating the stages feel like an accomplishment either way thanks to the more varied and fitting challenges, mini-bosses that are actually super fun, and a but more of a puzzle-like feeling thanks to the collectables and the varying paths.
There are still 1ups here and there, but the existence of star bits and being rewarded with a life after collecting enough is a incredibly simple change that goes a long way in encouraging you to approach the stages in a slower-paced, different way, and that’s not even getting into the main collectables that give you the real ending.
Most of the stuff in or added to Dream Land 2 seems like the most basic shit imaginable, and maybe it is, but it’s all done with such care and intent that it’s hard to not be profoundly enthralled by simply getting a new power-up or uncovering a secret. The design, the animations, so reminiscent of both games that came before yet even more adorable, and charming, even the music for crying out loud! Most are rather short loops, sure, but what they lack in length, they deliver in quality, have you even heard Coo’s theme? You know this bird is the real deal when this starts playing.
Oh, that reminds me of the friend animals, actually… Nah, just kidding, I could never forget Rick and his incredibly silly dance, I smiled so much when I saw the lil’ guy go… Rick, Coo, and Kine are so much more than what they seem at first; they aren’t only funny fellas that give new ways to move around, they are also broken as hell in every sense of the word! Each power-up acts different depending if you are accompanied by them or not, and they are pretty much the key to finding the game’s more hidden secrets, and… I don’t know man, they are just so much fun to play as and make you view levels in a completely different way.
Out of the bunch, Kine is probably the least useful: his land movement is ass and pretty frustrating, and it’s not like it makes swimming easier than it already is, and getting him without the possibility of getting rid of it can make certain sections into a nightmare. Other than that, they are genius additions that not only seem like an inspiration for the sections in Kirby 64 alongside other friends of Kirby and even the ability combination mechanic, but also feel like a sort of preview for the far more complex move-sets Super Star would give us.
It's a super charming and fun experience that only has two big problems, those being The Iceberg and the Dark Castle; the former is an ice world, and even tho that alone doesn’t have to mean anything negative, it sadly has some of the most annoying, stressful, and frustrating levels in the entire game, with a vertical sections that is either the easiest thing ever or the most bullshit platformer challenge I’ve ever tried depending on if you have an animal pal or not. And the latter is relying solely in drawn out sections that aren’t that fun to begin with and content to see in other worlds, which is a huge shame considering how cool the whole setting is. Two whole worlds that drag down what’s otherwise a fun and wonderfully simple platformer, it's still Kirby after all, but what intrigues me is how it manages to be Kirby, if that makes sense.
It's clear to me now how much this game not only would highly influence both Dream Land 3 and 64, but after also the Kirby series in general: other playable characters aside of the main puffball, puzzle-like elements and collectables that would return at full force in the modern 2D games, the long running tradition of Dedede getting possessed, and the beginning of the whole Kirby background story as we know it. What surprises me is not so much that it introduces these elements, but just how well they work right here, right now.
It's true that it has two worlds that feel like a bit of a chore, it’s true that most of the puzzle can be summarized as ‘’you need x ability to break x block’’, it’s true that it borrows a ton from Adventure, and all of that matters, but it also matters just how much of a fun and well-thought out adventure this is. I’ve used the word ‘’charm’’ a couple of times, but it’s the word that defines it best….
Also, if the three animal fellas don’t appear in the next 3D Kirby game (If there is one) I will RIOT, I NEED MORE OF THESE ADORABLE MACHINES OF DESTRUCTION AND THEIR SILLY DANCES, DAMMIT!
Despite my fondness for the Kirby series and the pink ball’s equally adorable friends, it’s kind of surprising how I haven’t played many of this cute eldritch horror’s older adventures. Case and point, it was only relatively recently that I finally played Kirby’s Dream Land, and while it was certainly a simple and fun enough adventure —and a necessary stepping stone all things considered—, it didn’t quite click with me the same it does for others. It has its moments and highlights, like the shoot ‘em up boss fight, and as a short, easy-to-access platformer, it does a good job, but I find it reaaaaally hard to get invested in its not-so great levels, and Adventure’s existence and how fun and complete that game feels while also accomplishing everything Dream Land does doesn’t exactly help things.
All this to say I had no clue what to expect from the sequel; I knew I had to play this, this is the first outing in Shinichi Shimomura’s less action oriented take on Kirby compared with what Sakurai would end up pursuing in Super Star and that fact alone made it far more interesting, and I also knew some other things here and there, like the fact it features copy abilities and what-not, but overall… Yeah, I didn’t know much about aside from ‘’this is the direct continuation to Dream Land’’. I wasn’t expecting anything bad, hell, I don’t even consider the original game a bad work at all, but I would lie if I said I had high expectations going in…
… so what if I told you I kinda really jammed with this game?
I… Wow, if we see this and the two previous games and some sort of original trilogy, then the evolution is clear as day; as I said, I knew this game lifted some elements from Adventure like the copy abilities, but I never expected to see so many translated so well to the charming brick that is the Game Boy. Levels once again have the adorable introductory cutscenes, but instead of being limited to one-stage run-throughs, there are actual defined hub-worlds, and while there’s less optional stuff than in Adventure (by less, I mean none), the hub areas themselves feel much more compacted and representative of the world they are set in, and it’s hard to describe how, but these areas and the game as a whole manage to feel very lively despite normally featuring no color at all.
And on the levels themselves… You can play as a hamster, so I think that says more than enough. The original Dream Land attempted things such as vertical challenges and annoying mazes, and while those are very much present here, they are accompanied by far more interesting overall lay-outs; the game is still easy, but beating the stages feel like an accomplishment either way thanks to the more varied and fitting challenges, mini-bosses that are actually super fun, and a but more of a puzzle-like feeling thanks to the collectables and the varying paths.
There are still 1ups here and there, but the existence of star bits and being rewarded with a life after collecting enough is a incredibly simple change that goes a long way in encouraging you to approach the stages in a slower-paced, different way, and that’s not even getting into the main collectables that give you the real ending.
Most of the stuff in or added to Dream Land 2 seems like the most basic shit imaginable, and maybe it is, but it’s all done with such care and intent that it’s hard to not be profoundly enthralled by simply getting a new power-up or uncovering a secret. The design, the animations, so reminiscent of both games that came before yet even more adorable, and charming, even the music for crying out loud! Most are rather short loops, sure, but what they lack in length, they deliver in quality, have you even heard Coo’s theme? You know this bird is the real deal when this starts playing.
Oh, that reminds me of the friend animals, actually… Nah, just kidding, I could never forget Rick and his incredibly silly dance, I smiled so much when I saw the lil’ guy go… Rick, Coo, and Kine are so much more than what they seem at first; they aren’t only funny fellas that give new ways to move around, they are also broken as hell in every sense of the word! Each power-up acts different depending if you are accompanied by them or not, and they are pretty much the key to finding the game’s more hidden secrets, and… I don’t know man, they are just so much fun to play as and make you view levels in a completely different way.
Out of the bunch, Kine is probably the least useful: his land movement is ass and pretty frustrating, and it’s not like it makes swimming easier than it already is, and getting him without the possibility of getting rid of it can make certain sections into a nightmare. Other than that, they are genius additions that not only seem like an inspiration for the sections in Kirby 64 alongside other friends of Kirby and even the ability combination mechanic, but also feel like a sort of preview for the far more complex move-sets Super Star would give us.
It's a super charming and fun experience that only has two big problems, those being The Iceberg and the Dark Castle; the former is an ice world, and even tho that alone doesn’t have to mean anything negative, it sadly has some of the most annoying, stressful, and frustrating levels in the entire game, with a vertical sections that is either the easiest thing ever or the most bullshit platformer challenge I’ve ever tried depending on if you have an animal pal or not. And the latter is relying solely in drawn out sections that aren’t that fun to begin with and content to see in other worlds, which is a huge shame considering how cool the whole setting is. Two whole worlds that drag down what’s otherwise a fun and wonderfully simple platformer, it's still Kirby after all, but what intrigues me is how it manages to be Kirby, if that makes sense.
It's clear to me now how much this game not only would highly influence both Dream Land 3 and 64, but after also the Kirby series in general: other playable characters aside of the main puffball, puzzle-like elements and collectables that would return at full force in the modern 2D games, the long running tradition of Dedede getting possessed, and the beginning of the whole Kirby background story as we know it. What surprises me is not so much that it introduces these elements, but just how well they work right here, right now.
It's true that it has two worlds that feel like a bit of a chore, it’s true that most of the puzzle can be summarized as ‘’you need x ability to break x block’’, it’s true that it borrows a ton from Adventure, and all of that matters, but it also matters just how much of a fun and well-thought out adventure this is. I’ve used the word ‘’charm’’ a couple of times, but it’s the word that defines it best….
Also, if the three animal fellas don’t appear in the next 3D Kirby game (If there is one) I will RIOT, I NEED MORE OF THESE ADORABLE MACHINES OF DESTRUCTION AND THEIR SILLY DANCES, DAMMIT!
Crash Bandicoot
1996
At the risk of using the game journalist's fallback comparison, I just want to say that Crash Bandicoot is really, really hard. This is a do-or-die 3D platformer if I've ever played one. Each individual jump expects commitment. It wants you to be ready to go to college, get married, and raise a family every time you hit that X button. Crash Bandicoot can sense hesitation, and will not hesitate to off himself if he thinks you're not giving it your all. Couple this with fairly repetitive level designs and concepts, and I think this game is just tailor-made to hate you.
I'd accept Crash Bandicoot as a hard game if not for the stupid save system. First you find three severed heads hidden in boxes throughout a stage, then you skim past a bonus stage (that you can fail), and THEN the game blesses you with the opportunity to save your game. Worse yet, the game doesn't remember how many lives you had when you reset it. Slapping a fistful of lives at the beginning of each level doesn't really excuse this fact. Crash is a game where you can lose lives just as fast as you can earn them. Actually, you're probably gonna lose 'em faster if you're like me, someone unfamiliar with Crash's game.
Honestly, I only played this game as a rite of passage for the PS1 kick that I'm currently on. Gotta respect your elders, and boy oh boy, that bandicoot sure has aged. Crushed my ballsicoots.
I'd accept Crash Bandicoot as a hard game if not for the stupid save system. First you find three severed heads hidden in boxes throughout a stage, then you skim past a bonus stage (that you can fail), and THEN the game blesses you with the opportunity to save your game. Worse yet, the game doesn't remember how many lives you had when you reset it. Slapping a fistful of lives at the beginning of each level doesn't really excuse this fact. Crash is a game where you can lose lives just as fast as you can earn them. Actually, you're probably gonna lose 'em faster if you're like me, someone unfamiliar with Crash's game.
Honestly, I only played this game as a rite of passage for the PS1 kick that I'm currently on. Gotta respect your elders, and boy oh boy, that bandicoot sure has aged. Crushed my ballsicoots.