God of War Ascension is a good game that shows that Santa Monica knows very well how to build epic and action-packed experiences, however, the story it has and the fact that it includes a multiplayer mode are a sign of how stagnant of ideas they were in terms of what direction they wanted to take God of War, their flagship franchise.

Literally throughout the entire game one half of me was going "Wow, this is pretty amazing" and the other half was going "What's really the point of this game?", haha, I really, really don't understand what the point is. Making a game that tells the story of how Kratos broke his oath with Ares is unnecessary and redundant, and while the story tries to be "good", it's just there for decoration to justify a new God of War game. It's pretty forgettable and carries no weight whatsoever in all the other games. I think if you want to know more about Kratos' past, God of War 1 and Chains of Olympus itself tell more than enough to know why Kratos is such a trauma guy.

(I won't cover the multiplayer in this review, because although it looks entertaining and I just found out that it's still running as of this writing, I don't think there are many people playing it at this point and I don't have much interest right now either).

But hey, as unnecessary as this game is, I won't deny that it's very pleasing to see another God of War game with the same production values as GoW3, and by that I mean showing off scenery and animations with a ton of quality; if you ever, for some strange reason, wondered what an elephant's brain would look like, this God of War answers that question. Combat is just as refined as ever, there are a couple of changes to the button configuration and interface, but everything is done with the same care as the other God of War. A mechanic of being able to take secondary weapons is added, but the way it works, it seems like a mechanic taken from the multiplayer mode that doesn't end up working really well in the main campaign, I guess you can see it as a small addition and nothing more. I guess the only new mechanic that is tied in with the story is that Kratos can't do his iconic full combo with the Blades of Chaos as he needs to fill up a fury bar to unlock it, which fills up when you do a big combo in a row without taking damage, and it's a weird change that I didn't really like, but I guess it doesn't really affect much in the grand scheme of things. Speaking of the new powers that are there to expand the combat of this GoW, there is actually very little variety of weapons and magics this time around, as there are only 2 in the entire game, but it's made up for with the elemental Blades of Chaos. In total there are 4 elements and each one expands and changes Kratos' combos in its own way, as well as giving you an unlockable special move once you reach the last upgrade. I really liked the elements thing and it was a very nice addition that makes it cooler to fight with the Blades of Chaos.

The locations you visit in this game look spectacular, yes, Santa Monica worked some black magic to make this run on a PS3, it's simply mind blowing, and there is a very good variety of scenarios, although because this game lacks justification, many times I felt like I was visiting a bunch of random places with no connection and really no apparent reason. But what was great for me is that in this game there are a lot of puzzles, I think it is the game in this series where more attention is given to them and where I had more fun doing them, and the best thing is that later in the game you get a magic to solve puzzles related to time manipulation, and it shows once again the capabilities of the PS3 by how spectacular it looks in action.

One thing that bothered me at first is how cinematic this game tried to be with some sequences, but then those same type of sequences were repeated later on and they really weren't as bad as they seemed, I even enjoyed them for how they played out with the scenery, I'm sure Santa Monica took a lot of inspiration from Naughty Dog and the Uncharted series for some of these sequences.

Conclusion
God of War Ascension is a good game that contains all the elements to be a main game... well, almost; It lacks one vital element for me, which is a story of magnitude, which even a Spin-off like Chains of Olympus has, I mean, part of the core of every God of War game is that there is something to unveil, or that there is a final act that carries a repercussion for later games, every game in the series has this without exception (not counting Betrayal because that game was only played by 5 people), every game with the exception of Ascension. Here everything Kratos does feels insignificant, and somehow makes this God of War feel incomplete by lacking an interesting story to tell. I feel that this God of War is the least transcendent for that very reason, but at the same time, it is undeniable that Santa Monica Studio did an excellent job with this game, as it is a quality game with the same length as any other main game.

Just replayed this in preparation for Ragnarok. As a fan of the franchise who grew up with all the games on release date (admittedly at an age I shouldn't have), I've always had mixed feelings about GOW 2018.

I know objectively this is the best game in the franchise, the best Kratos, the best story however as a fan it took me a while to adjust to this new style. Funnily enough, that is the big theme of this game. Moving on from the past, and accepting the future. When I first picked this game up, I kinda felt betrayed as a fan.

The gameplay was slow and stiff. For some reason they put an over the shoulder camera in an action game. There was no mention of Kratos' past, almost as if Sony/Santa Monica didn't care about that and wanted us to forget to appeal to new fans... And then THAT moment came. I wouldn't spoil it, but if you know THAT moment, it changed my whole perspective of this game. In fact, it made me realize that this game was made for the fans more than anyone else. I started to accept what they were trying to do with Kratos' character and his story. I finally understood the changes in gameplay and started to love it. This was the writer's masterful way of telling the fans they want to do something new with God of War, but to do that the fans need to move on from the past and accept the new future. This was a message only the fans of the previous games would have felt the full extent of while playing this game. Genius.

After replaying this I have accepted that this is definitely my favourite game in the franchise and I look forward to the Sequel.

I honestly forget where I got this game, but I remember it was one of the first SNES games I ever played. The first was Super Mario World and I absolutely adored it. Because of that game, I got really into retro Nintendo games and some time after, I bought Yoshi's Island. Part of me thinks I bought this at my local flea market because it always reminded me of going there on the weekends. Yoshi's Island in general, is a big weekend game. I remember just playing it on my days off from school, and because of that it always gave off that vibe. Either way, I played through the game and loved it. I think since then, I only 100%ed it one other time or maybe not at all. So this was only, potentially, my 2nd time fully beating this game. I'm glad I did because just like Super Mario World, it's absolutely wonderful.

The most striking aspect of the game that you'll notice right away, is just how visually appealing it is. Its crayon-like artstyle is super pleasing to the eyes, and it also makes the most of the console and the newly created FX chip at the time. The FX chip was an add on to carts created by Argonaut Games (my beloved Croc developer). Basically, created to enhance the graphics of certain SNES games, and Yoshi's Island was one of the few games to use it. The FX chip, along with the wonderful artstyle, just gives the game this timeless look. Best looking game on the SNES imo, with Kirby's Dreamland 3 right behind it.

The gameplay itself is much more complicated than Mario World. In Yoshi's Island, you can run and jump and all that, but you can also create/throw eggs. Eating an enemy, and pressing down on the d-pad, let's you create eggs. These can be tossed at enemies and items and greatly enhances the regular Mario gameplay. You can have the eggs bounce off walls and based on the angle you threw it at, collect items you wouldn't have otherwise been able to get. You can have eggs skip across water. You can have eggs reflect against or be obtained by certain enemies and then thrown/hit back at you to get collectables. The egg mechanic gets utilized super well. This along with the varied level design makes the game a blast. Cuz yeah, the level design is super good in this game and is always throwing new things at you. Whether its the fuzzy enemies that make the screen all trippy, to the ski slopes in world 5, to the temporary platforms that disappear if you jump on them too much. And that's not even getting into the Yoshi transformations which are all fun too. Never was I bored with any level. Frustrated though? Maybe a little.

This is a good segway into the other half of the gameplay I wanted to talk about, the 100% requirements. See, unlike Super Mario World, you don't just have to beat each and every level and get all secret exits. You have to get a score of 100 in each level. There are three collectables that contribute to a score. Red coins, flowers and Yoshi's health. You must get all 20 red coins, all 5 flowers and have 30 health by the end of a level to get a score of 100. Then you do this in each world, 6 times for the normal levels and two times for each boss level. Then you unlock a bonus game and a bonus level. So why is this frustrating to do? Well, first it depends on the level. The early levels aren't too bad but some of the later levels are quite hard. The red coins appear as normal coins (tho there is a redness to them that is quite visible) so these can be tricky to find. The flowers are very obvious, you just have to be sure to find them. They hide both of these kind of collectables in some devious places sometimes. Usually it's not too bad but rarely, even now after having played the game before, I had to look them up because they're obtuse. This is all fine and dandy but the real hard collectable is the health. It all depends on how easy the stage is and how often they give you health in the stage, but sometimes it can be super difficult to have 30 star points (that's what the game calls the health) by the end of the game. Especially in that last world, hoo boy did I have to use an star point item in almost every one of those levels.

That's another thing the game has, you can get items (and live) from minigames at the end of stages. When you jump through the goal, and the ring stops on one of the flowers you collected in the stage, you can play a minigame. Like I said, it can give you lives but more importantly items. Some of these items suck but 2 of them give you +10 and +20 star points respectively. Seeing as, as long as you're alive, your star count always goes back up to 10. You can get hit as much as you want, get to the end of a stage, and pop a +20 and have full star points before ending a stage. Getting these items can be quite hard depending on the minigame, but the match cards game makes it super easy to grind these items out. You can replay this minigame as much as you want with the world 4 bonus game, so as long as you can 100% that world, going back to 100% every other level will be that much easier if you suck. Overall, I think the collectables are fun to collect and 100%ing the game isn't that bad because of the item system. The game can just be somewhat devious with its hidden collectables and its difficulty near the end game (that world 5 bonus level can suck it) which is why I found it a bit frustrating at points and not as replayable as Mario World. However, once I remembered you could at least cheese the star points in the endgame, this issue lessened a bit.

Something else I really liked were the bosses. Honestly, they're not all winners but they're probably better than any 2D Mario game. They all take full advantage of Yoshi's move set and egg mechanics and are also a treat to the eyes since they're usually so flashy looking too. I can really commemorate how creative they got with them. Like one of them has you getting eating by a frog and throwing giant eggs at the frog from within its stomach. There's a boss where you must use the egg water bounce mechanic to defeat it (or you can defeat it by killing it before the fight even begins, and Kamek has his own unique dialogue for doing so, so it's not even an exploit...it's a cheeseable method the developers put in which is hilarious). Just unique bosses all around. Baby Bowser at the end is one of the best final bosses in the series too I'd say. It takes a little getting used to with the whole change in perspective but its badass nonetheless. Also, the ending after that is so very heartfelt and feels good every time, I love it.

One other thing I wanted to mention was the game's OST. It's incredibly hard to dislike it, it's so happy and upbeat a lot of the time. The entire soundtrack is awesome but my two favorite songs are the Athletic Theme and the Underground Theme. They're my most listened to songs in the entire ost, and the underground theme especially is my absolute favorite in the game. That one always spoke to me and it out of any song in the game, gave me that whole weekend feeling I talked about earlier. I really don't know why, but I love it.

I originally had this game at a 9, and even despite my small criticism of the collectables, I can't help but bump this to a 10. I'd say I love Super Mario World slightly more but this is one of my favorite games ever and my 2nd favorite SNES game now. It's amazing, it's fantastic, it's wonderful. Go play it.

Before playing this game, the only 3D Sonic I ever played was Sonic Colors. And even then, a good chunk of that game was in 2D. So Adventure was my first fully 3D Sonic game ever. For years, I'd hear people say this game was broken beyond belief or just simple a "guilty pleasure" game that they enjoy despite being shit. While I did not love it like some people do, I can personally say I did not think the games were either of those things.

The game is broken up into 6 (technically 7 if you complete all other routes) character routes. You can play as Sonic, Tails, Knuckles, Amy, Big the cat and Gamma respectively. Each of these characters play differently from each other, whether it's for better or worse, and even tho each playthrough varies in quality, I can at least commend how ambitious this is. Because in each character's playthrough, you get different cutscenes and also context for certain scenes that may not be explained in earlier playthroughs. As my friend Lemonstrade said, it's sort of similar to what Drakennier does which again is super cool conceptually, especially for a 1998 game.

But back to the actual characters, Sonic is the clear best one here. He has his spin dash, is of course the fastest in the game and also has a super fun aerial dash. I've heard people say the controls are bad in this game and I simply don't get that at all. Sonic, at least, feels simply perfect to control. The levels on the other hand, I can see people having issues with. I disagreed with the fact this game is broken beyond belief, but it definitely can be a bit broken if you're unlucky. I only glitched through the stage like 2 or 3 times, but the first time it happened was on the very first stage. That made me think the entire game would be broken, but it wasn't. Unless I got lucky, those claims, while still credible sometimes...are massively overblown. Besides that though, Sonic's stages while still fun, can feel incredibly janky just because of how fast he goes. It's hard to explain but if you've played the game you'd know, a lot of times the animations and your movement through levels can feel very unwieldly. It can be really hard to control sonic sometimes, and it often looks super awkward when looking back at it. Like I said it's hard to explain, and while I still had a ton of fun with his levels (just because he feels so good to controls) I can't help but think thee levels feel off. Again, this is mostly when you're at full speed going through loop de loops and shit. When it's slower sections you're going through, it's not an issue.

As for the other characters, they all have significantly less stages than Sonic. Tails has you racing against sonic, and with him being able to glide, you can take some seriously crazy shortcuts. The game itself even encourages this which I thought was pretty neat. Knuckles has you searching for three master emerald shards. It's basically a treasure hunt, with the emerald icons turning different colors depending on how close you are to them. These were alright, but story-wise I wasn't really a fan. Honestly thought his story would be more different from Sonic's than it was, not to mention the final Chaos fight was barely different from Sonic's (and Tails had a unique fight for his ending). Amy was probably my least favorite character to use. Her levels consisted of getting to the end like Sonic, while running away from one of Robotnik's robots. Problem is, while her hammer bounce is kinda cool, her moveset isn't nearly as fun as Sonic's yet her levels are still long like Sonic's (which isn't much of an issue with Tails and Knuckles). That plus, besides the one Gamma scene, her cutscenes were lame. Big the cat is the most contentious character by far, and honestly I didn't hate him. Yeah his cutscenes are super dumb and don't add much to the story. However his campaign is by far the shortest, and the fishing is actually really easy (and kinda fun) once you get the hang of it. Gamma is by far the best character next to Sonic. Not only are his stages fast paced, with you having to kill enemies quickly to get more time to your total. His story is actually significantly different compared to the others, and quite touching at that. If I had to rank each character's campaigns, I'd say Sonic>Gamma>Tails>Big>Knuckles>Amy.

To go to each actual level, you have to navigate the hubworld. For a 1998 game, it's not bad but it can feel somewhat empty I felt. Though, there are things to get that aren't just apart of the main story. There are some optional collectables and even some minigames you can play. There's also the chao garden which, I tried to get to work but since I was emulating the game, I suspected there was an add on I needed or something idk. But from the little I've heard, it does sound fun.

The story in general, does have its high points, like the aforementioned Gamma campaign and the ending is really nice. It's simple but effective. However, the actual voice acting is horribly stilted a lot of the time. It's not even a so bad it's good situation, it was just mediocre a lot of the time. That is, except for Robotnik who is super over the top but hilarious. Even despite the fact they reuse fight dialogue in actual scenes (which is jarring for sure) his dialogue is super duper memorable and easily the highlight. Something else that was memorable were some of the face animations, goddamn are they awful sometimes.

I didn't like LOVE the soundtrack like some people do, but it is quite nice overall. Very experimental which I appreciate a ton. My favorite songs were probably Red Skull Mountain, Welcome to Station Square and Egg Carrier: A Song That Keeps Us on the Move.

Once you complete all 6 character routes, you unlock the 7th and final one..Super Sonic. This is essentially just the final boss and some closure on the story, but it's definitely satisfying. You become Super Sonic, defeat Chaos's final form at supersonic speed, and in turn this cleanses Chaos of his evil as we find out he wasn't ever bad from the start. The closure on the whole Chao's and the past cutscenes was really nice. That along with Gamma's scenes ofc, easily the highlights of the story.

This game is definitely flawed in some ways, and Adventure 2 might improve on everything in this game idk. But I can officially say, this game is overall good and that Sonic had a good transition to 3D. Not everything works in this game, but I can acknowledge this game is full of heart.

May drop it down to a 6 cuz I was feeling like that for a good while but for now it's a 7.