Samoto
2024
This review contains spoilers
Damn, I am glad I got this remake. IDK if I can ever do a full review of the game, but I wanted to get my thoughts out right when I finished the game, just before I forget. This is a wonderful update to this innovative JRPG. Even after playing P3P, I felt this game was refreshing and new.
The combat continues to be excellent with its weakness system and the ability to fuse multiple Personas for your strategies. All of the characters needed buffs to their attacks and abilities, although I still didn't use Akihiko, Ken, and Koromaru for most of the game. The Theurgy system of charged moves was integrated wonderfully so that all of the characters have important attacks that can quickly change the tide of battle; the persona fusion attacks were re-integrated into this system. Grinding in Tartarus was never boring because 1) the environments look much better than the original and 2) extra events like Monad doors and grand clocks would speed up grinding and help give me new gear.
Weapons and upgrades were hard to come by in the beginning, but if you focus your time on earning money through shifts or by grinding enough in Tartarus, you be fine late game. Moreover, the antique store (a system I stupidly ignored in P3P) is a more rewarding system to earn weapons and gear. Other than that, the weapons and gear itself were pretty self-explanatory: some have higher stats as well as cool abilities for you to use, as long as you keep up with switching out gear
The bosses were just as good this time around, so nothing new to report. Although, and you should know by now I'm spoiling the game, the fights against Strega were much better both in gameplay and story.
The social aspect continues to strengthen your personas and the story's themes. Every social link that you come in contact with deals with the threat/concept/reality of death, which illustrates that there are many times in which everyone of any walk of life has to come to terms with their life and their mortality. My favorite social links are the Tower, Hierophant, and ESPECIALLY the Sun, a social link I missed out on last time. Seriously, if you only do ONE social link, make sure you hit up the shrines on Sundays. I'd be lying if I said that all of the social links are good. I don't particularly care about the Magician or Fortune, and I HATE the Moon to the point where I avoided that fat fuck. Luckily, the SEES members have their mini-social links that you can perform at night to gain abilities, unlock persona fusions, or help gain social stats.
The new voice actors continue to portray these characters accurately. My favorites are the actors Junpei, Makoto, Mitsuru, Fuuka, and Shinjiro. I did not care much for Ken or Koromaru, and I was a bit sour on Akihiko and Yukari, as the former tries too hard to sound rough and edgy, while the latter misses the snark and sarcasm in her voice at times. Oh, Aigis is the best one though. The social link actors, who now voice ALL LINES, did a pretty good job, although the Hermit and the Star had some stilted line delivery.
The music. Oh my god, the music is amazing. I waited half a year for the OST to slowly leak and gain in audio quality. And now we are FINALLY at a point where the OST is officially out. While I do lament the original P3's OP for its tone, 'Full Moon Full Life' is still super epic. Moreover, all of the other songs got improvements and second verses, although I mixed on the new female singer at times.
As for the pretty bad, I would say that the 'Babe Hunt' scene was tampered with, with the last lady at the end. They swapped out the secretly a man joke with some unfunny conspiracy theory joke. IDK why they felt the need to do that, but it sucked. I don't know if there are any other [Localization] hiccups like that, but it is important to keep in mind.
On another bad note? TOO EXPENSIVE! Seriously, $70 BASE GAME, then ATLUS added shitty costumes and music DLC as separate or 'Digital Deluxe' Edition shit. Oh, and the epilogue chapter 'The Answer'? Separate DLC for $35. The cheapest version of all of this is $105. That is ridiculous.
So yeah, everything you loved about P3 is in this, and I would DEFINITELY play this game again as the years pass, and after I have played 'The Answer'. But either wait for a price drop, buy P3P or mod the original P3FES.
The combat continues to be excellent with its weakness system and the ability to fuse multiple Personas for your strategies. All of the characters needed buffs to their attacks and abilities, although I still didn't use Akihiko, Ken, and Koromaru for most of the game. The Theurgy system of charged moves was integrated wonderfully so that all of the characters have important attacks that can quickly change the tide of battle; the persona fusion attacks were re-integrated into this system. Grinding in Tartarus was never boring because 1) the environments look much better than the original and 2) extra events like Monad doors and grand clocks would speed up grinding and help give me new gear.
Weapons and upgrades were hard to come by in the beginning, but if you focus your time on earning money through shifts or by grinding enough in Tartarus, you be fine late game. Moreover, the antique store (a system I stupidly ignored in P3P) is a more rewarding system to earn weapons and gear. Other than that, the weapons and gear itself were pretty self-explanatory: some have higher stats as well as cool abilities for you to use, as long as you keep up with switching out gear
The bosses were just as good this time around, so nothing new to report. Although, and you should know by now I'm spoiling the game, the fights against Strega were much better both in gameplay and story.
The social aspect continues to strengthen your personas and the story's themes. Every social link that you come in contact with deals with the threat/concept/reality of death, which illustrates that there are many times in which everyone of any walk of life has to come to terms with their life and their mortality. My favorite social links are the Tower, Hierophant, and ESPECIALLY the Sun, a social link I missed out on last time. Seriously, if you only do ONE social link, make sure you hit up the shrines on Sundays. I'd be lying if I said that all of the social links are good. I don't particularly care about the Magician or Fortune, and I HATE the Moon to the point where I avoided that fat fuck. Luckily, the SEES members have their mini-social links that you can perform at night to gain abilities, unlock persona fusions, or help gain social stats.
The new voice actors continue to portray these characters accurately. My favorites are the actors Junpei, Makoto, Mitsuru, Fuuka, and Shinjiro. I did not care much for Ken or Koromaru, and I was a bit sour on Akihiko and Yukari, as the former tries too hard to sound rough and edgy, while the latter misses the snark and sarcasm in her voice at times. Oh, Aigis is the best one though. The social link actors, who now voice ALL LINES, did a pretty good job, although the Hermit and the Star had some stilted line delivery.
The music. Oh my god, the music is amazing. I waited half a year for the OST to slowly leak and gain in audio quality. And now we are FINALLY at a point where the OST is officially out. While I do lament the original P3's OP for its tone, 'Full Moon Full Life' is still super epic. Moreover, all of the other songs got improvements and second verses, although I mixed on the new female singer at times.
As for the pretty bad, I would say that the 'Babe Hunt' scene was tampered with, with the last lady at the end. They swapped out the secretly a man joke with some unfunny conspiracy theory joke. IDK why they felt the need to do that, but it sucked. I don't know if there are any other [Localization] hiccups like that, but it is important to keep in mind.
On another bad note? TOO EXPENSIVE! Seriously, $70 BASE GAME, then ATLUS added shitty costumes and music DLC as separate or 'Digital Deluxe' Edition shit. Oh, and the epilogue chapter 'The Answer'? Separate DLC for $35. The cheapest version of all of this is $105. That is ridiculous.
So yeah, everything you loved about P3 is in this, and I would DEFINITELY play this game again as the years pass, and after I have played 'The Answer'. But either wait for a price drop, buy P3P or mod the original P3FES.
2021
Uhh, so I already hit one credit scene after completing a 6* quest to kill Magnamalo in single-player...and apparently, there are multiple credit scenes, so I'll use these opportunities to journal my thoughts on the game so far.
As someone who did not like MH4U, something about Rise just clicked with me. Was it the beautiful landscapes and charming characters? Was it the ease of learning and gaining power with whatever weapon you wanted? Was it the thrill of the hunt and learning a monster's attack pattern? Or was it D, all of the above? Honestly, I feel you can REALLY enjoy a Monster Hunter game once you have a dedicated buddy to hunt with you, although that is generally true for all online RPGs. Still though, if you commit to the grind of the multiplayer missions, you will easily gain strength. It also helps to find what weapon you want to main, although you can easily switch to any weapon you want in and out of missions. So yeah, definitely get this game to play with friends, but you should probably 1) wait for a discount and b) find some friends to play online or locally (preferably the latter)
As someone who did not like MH4U, something about Rise just clicked with me. Was it the beautiful landscapes and charming characters? Was it the ease of learning and gaining power with whatever weapon you wanted? Was it the thrill of the hunt and learning a monster's attack pattern? Or was it D, all of the above? Honestly, I feel you can REALLY enjoy a Monster Hunter game once you have a dedicated buddy to hunt with you, although that is generally true for all online RPGs. Still though, if you commit to the grind of the multiplayer missions, you will easily gain strength. It also helps to find what weapon you want to main, although you can easily switch to any weapon you want in and out of missions. So yeah, definitely get this game to play with friends, but you should probably 1) wait for a discount and b) find some friends to play online or locally (preferably the latter)
This review contains spoilers
What a refreshing take on a 2D Mario Platformer! Super Mario Wonder surprised me when it was announced. I decided to give another chance for the series, as New Super Mario Bros U and New Super Mario Bros 2 were incredibly stale. Good lord, am I glad I made that decision because this is the best multiplayer and family game of 2023!
I’ll skip over the story since it's a Mario platformer. Instead of rescuing Peach or Daisy, or even the fairy princesses from Super Mario 3D land, we’re rescuing the entire Flower Kingdom (neighboring the Mushroom Kingdom) from Bowser’s shit again (with a mysteriously absent adopted family of Koopalings or twin Boom Booms).
Mario, Luigi, Blue Toad, Yellow Toad, Toadette, Peach, Daisy, Nabbit, and even four flavors of Yoshis are all playable in this game. I love the variety of options players have in their characters, especially when considering you only have two Toads in the other games to choose from; said characters in this game have tons of personality oozing out of every animation and voice line, but I stuck with Yellow Toad, as yellow is my favorite color.
As for the character’s powers…well actually, there aren’t any. No, Luigi doesn’t have a high jump, peach can float, or toad is fast. Everyone except Nabbit and the Yoshi’s are the same, but we’ll get to them. Since Mario has no power, the developers wanted to make everyone more uniform and fair, but you could’ve just…given Mario power. I’m not talking about Cappy from Mario Oddysey, Spin Jump from Mario Galaxy, or even F.LU.D.D. If you don’t want to add new mechanics, just give Mario passive buffs, like giving him the option to equip a second badge for himself. I don’t know, its a very disappointing feature of this game, but the platforming is still fun!
Nabbit and Yoshi cannot use powerups but can never die from attacks. Yoshi’s also have a tongue grab and the flutter jump. This essentially makes them the easy mode (or little sibling mode) for an already easy game. I did not play these characters as that would be mind-numbingly lame, but I appreciate the option nonetheless.
As mentioned earlier, all the characters can run, jump, store one powerup, ground pound, spin jump, and even spin stal just like in the New Super Mario games. Super Mario Wonder adds another set of features. Firstly, all characters have emotes they press with X, and if you crouch and press X you set up a standee. These two features are for online play, as you can revive other people with your standee and others can revive you with yours. When you die in multiplayer, you become a ghost and have 5 seconds to fly to your teammate or another standee to revive and not lose a life.
Now, admittedly, I did not play online since I didn’t want to play, but I did play locally and I can attest that it is MUCH better than the previous New Super Mario games. For starters, no one can bump into each other or grab each other. I am aware that there were cool tricks to do in the old games, but the features mainly resulted in accidental grabs, purposeful trolling, and complete frustration with your team members throughout the entire experience. The camera is also a little better, but it feels frustrating for a camera to randomly switch to one person’s control, a person who is not good at the game. I wish there was a manual switching mode, but its not too bad to get used to.
I would be remiss if I didn’t mention the main mechanic of the game: Badges! You and your other team members share a badge that you can all use the power of separately. You can only equip one badge, and they come in different variations. There are the Action badges, the Boost badges, and the expert badges. Please note that I did not use all of the badges in my playthrough
Action badges give players a new move for platforming. The Float Cap is the first badge you get and its a great way to extend the horizontal distance from your jumps. I used this exclusively until I got the Dolphin Kick badge. It is the OBJECTIVE best badge for the water levels in the game, as it actually makes them engaging and fast. Previous water levels were lame because you moved at a snail’s pace, awkwardly dodging obstacles in an unnatural upward angle. The dolphin kick propels you forward in a boost that can also break bricks, so you can see why it makes great underwater movement. Back onto land, I eventually got the high jump, which, while not too fancy of an addition, it still acts as a good movement option for those who want to get to higher places without needing a running start. However, the triple jump works better because you can get higher jumps just like in the New Super Mario games by jumping repeatedly, but you don’t have to move. You can jump in place, which is amazing since navigating the level was always tricky to get this jump off. The Speed Boost badge is similar to the high jump in that it gives a boost to mario’s base movement, but the buff is so nominal that you won’t notice it at all, nor will it matter at all.
The wall jump is also neat as a small boost to vertical distance, but if you have enough skill, the Hover Cap and Grapple Rope can perform this wall climb infinitely. On the subject of wall climb, the Grapple Rope is pretty neat in concept, but because you can’t aim it in different directions, it is limited by your character’s angle. Metroid this ain’t! The Squat Jump gives Mario a higher jump than…the High Jump, but because you have to stop your momentum to do it, or awkwardly carry your momentum mid-squat. The last Action Badge is quite possibly the best one: The Boost Spin Jump. It replaces your mid-air Spin Stall with a full Spin Jump, which makes for a great way to carry momentum, as well as gain horizontal and vertical distance. This was the last badge I ever needed for my entire playthrough when I finally got it. It’s that good.
Next is the Boost badges, or those that I rarely used in my playthrough. The Coin Reward badge gives extra Coins when you defeat enemies. Gold Coins are ONLY for extra lives and cannot be used in the shop, so even though I appreciate an easier way to grind lives, its use is limited. The Auto Mushroom is neat in that it gives you the power-up when the level starts, but again this game is so easy you won’t really need it, especially in the endgame, as you get the All Elephant/All Fire/All Bubble/All Drill badges. These three separate badges automatically give you said power-ups when you pick up any other power-ups. This is pretty good if you need a specific power-up for a level’s gimmick, but most of those levels already have the power-up from said level. If you need a specific powerup in a level that doesn’t have it then I GUESS I can see the use there, but you can just go pick one up from a previous level.
The “!” Block Badge is good at giving baby players more help as well as giving players hints to secret treasure, but I never ended up using it because this game is easy and I just found most of the treasure on my first try just exploring a level normally. The same reason applies to the Sensor Badge for its ability to alert the player to hidden items. Still neat. In terms of more useful Boost Badges is the Recovery Badge, which saves you from one death from a bottomless pit, and resets every time you touch the floor. Again, good for babies or speedrun potential. The Magnet Badge attracts Gold Coins and Flower Coins, which are essential for bonus stages or for grinding Purple Coins. The last one is fun, but much less useful. The Rhythm Badge gives you Coins for when you jump on the beat. Again, fun, but there are better ways to grind the already less useful Gold Coins.
The Expert Badges are the last set of badges since they come from hard levels and they can be used for challenge runs of the game. The Spring Badge makes your character jump constantly, but if you hold the jump, you can get the highest jumps in the game. This is fun for some platforming and challenges, but I don’t like not staying on the ground. The Jet Run badge makes all of your running into a full-on sprint, and whenever you run off the ground, you have a half second of continued running, kind of like in those old Loony Tunes cartoons. I DEFINITELY WANT to try a challenge run with just this badge, or at least see speedruns with it.
The last two are completely lame. The first is the Sound Off badge, which is given as the final reward for 100% of the game. The reward? The sound effects are replaced by Japanese men mimicking the sounds. I mean, it's cute, but I would’ve preferred something more game-breaking fun like flight or a way to select any Power-up at any time, like Wishes Mode in Spark the Electric Jester; I would also do for Power-ups from previous games like Propeller Hat. Last is the Invisibility Badge that makes your character invisible and undetectable by enemies. There is no point EXCEPT for challenge runs, because you can easily defeat enemies in this game. Just..never use this.
Now for the worlds Mario and the gang will explore in the Flower Kingdom. Pipe-Rock Plateau is World 1 in Super Mario Wonder. A very typical grassy field area, but it has a lot of fun highlights like the Hoppos, Bullrushers, and the singing Piranha Plants. This world also acts as an introduction to level progression. There will be some linear areas, but there are some areas that can be traversed in any level order, so long as you get enough Wonder Seeds. There are also shops where you can spend the purple Flower Coins, but not the Golden Coins. You can buy badges, extra lives, Standees gambling and even some Wonder Seeds. Pro tip, save your money for the Wonder Seeds and badges, as you won’t need extra lives for this easy game and Standees won’t matter except for online play and completion.
Super Mario Wonder has Wonder Seeds that can be collected on every level, with most of them being locked behind Wonder Flowers. There is one Wonder Flower on most levels, and touching it activates a completely wacky hazard pop-up. It can range from Shooting Stars, moving platforms, or even turning into some of the enemies in the game like Goombas and Slimes! It is a really fun way to add a memorable gimmick to every level, so I don’t even want to spoil it here.
World 2 is Fluff-Puff Peaks, which acts as the snow and sky world of this game. There are tons more bottomless pits here, but it makes for fun platforming challenges like in “Pole Block Passage” and especially in “Jump! Jump! Jump!”. This is also where you see more of the Break Time and Badge challenge levels. The break time levels are easy 1 minute levels that are quite fun, while the Badge Chalenge levels are some of the best levels in the game, as it really shows the creativinty from the developers in teaching players how a badge works and creating fun challenges. My favorite badge challenge level is the Jet Run II, but i’m getting ahead of myself.
Some worlds either end with fighting Bowser Jr., or in an anticlimactic free giveaway. Either way, you get a Royal Seed that you can use to unlock Bowser’s Catsle once you get all 7. Bowser Jr. castles are fun for a boss leadup, but I swear with how little bosses are in this game, they are so easy. Jr. deploys wonder powers, but they are never anything that drastically change his attack plan of randomly spining arround. Its a damn shame they aren’t as good as the other New Super Mario games.
World 3 is Shining Falls and probably my favorite World in this game purely for its aesthetics. The backgrounds are straight out of abstract paintings, and they shine beautifully when on dark backgrounds. Too bad this world doesn’t end with a boss.
The Petil Isles act as a beach area in between each world. You complete a couple of levels here before you move on to the next full world. Beach levels have always been fun, but with the Dolphin Kick, they are some of the best in the series. I mention the Petil Isles now, because, after Shining Falls, you can choose the order of World 4, 5, and 6. I chose 4, 5, and 6 for my local multiplayer playthrough, while I chose 5, 4, and 6 for my single-player one.
World 4 is the Sunbaked Desert, which is your average desert level with some original additions. You actually get to explore inside palaces and inside hidden dungeons. I actively got stuck on “Color Switch Dungeon” and “Secrets of Shova Mansion”. This is probably my least favorite World, but it is not bad by any means.
World 5 is the Fungi Mines, which acts as a beautiful Mushroom forest in the beginning, until you go deeper and find ancient ruins with hidden exits. Just like with Shining Falls, it ends anticlimacticly with just saving the miners trapped. Oh well, its still pretty.
World 6 is Deep Magma Bog, which acts as the final World until Bowser’s Castle. I am honestly glad they did a Lava world that wasn’t tied to a final world or to Bowser, as it gives more creativity in design when it's not tied to evil castles. You get to explore tons of magma caves, with my favorite one being the “Dragon Boneyard”. Even though this world is more linear, it still has tons of options in terms of level progression.
Bowser’s Castle is..honestly the most disappointing world in this game. 4 great levels with a rockin' theme, but that's it?!?! I just wish this section lasted longer before the final battle. As for the final battle? It’s alright. You have to jump into a big red button 10 times, then that's it. I remember New Super Mario games doing that but with a fakeout twist, like when Bowser grew large in the Wii game. A floating head with hands….gee Nintendo, REAL original stuff there.
The Special world comes back in this one. Instead of needing all of the Star coins like in previous games, you just need to find hidden exits to them. This world has some of the best-designed Wonder Flower sections because it really pushes the limit of the level of design. Shoutout to the sequel to the Piranha Plant March being really good. You can also buy all of the Standees without gambling here, but you may have to grind, yes GRIND, for Flower Coins if you did not save your money. The final levels are some of the best in the series with, the first one challenging you on all of the previous Wonder Flower gimmicks, while the last Badge Chalenge acts as a gauntlet of the hard version of every Badge Chalenge. I liked them a lot, but the final levels from other games like Mario Oddysey, Mario 3d World, and Mario Galaxy felt harder and more conclusive.
The last thing I’ll cover is the power-ups. The Elephant power-up, which gives the characters a swinging trunk as a melee weapon kinda like the Tanooki Leaf. You can also store water in your trunk for three squirts of water that can interact with certain level gimmicks. It's pretty fun, but I prefer Tanooki, Cat, and Boomerang any time of the day because they give you a good melee attack AND movement option. The Fire Flower works as usual in this game, so I can skip over that, but rest assured it is still good. The Bubble Flower is my favorite power-up in this game because you can shoot three bubbles at a time. The bubbles act as platforms you instantly bounce off of, so if you are good at carrying forward momentum and precise platforming, you can cheese a lot of levels by skipping all of the hazards. My least favorite power-up is the Drill Mushroom, because other than fun platforming sections and finding treasure, it doesn’t offer anything in terms of attacks. While you can use it defensively to hide from enemies, most of the time a good offense is better because this game is so easy.
So that is my full review! All in all, its is a very fun game that is sometimes held down by how easy it is. I truly wish for a new game in this style, or maybe a Hard Mode DLC, or even A Mario Wonder Maker in the future, because a new era of 2d Mario is upon us!
I’ll skip over the story since it's a Mario platformer. Instead of rescuing Peach or Daisy, or even the fairy princesses from Super Mario 3D land, we’re rescuing the entire Flower Kingdom (neighboring the Mushroom Kingdom) from Bowser’s shit again (with a mysteriously absent adopted family of Koopalings or twin Boom Booms).
Mario, Luigi, Blue Toad, Yellow Toad, Toadette, Peach, Daisy, Nabbit, and even four flavors of Yoshis are all playable in this game. I love the variety of options players have in their characters, especially when considering you only have two Toads in the other games to choose from; said characters in this game have tons of personality oozing out of every animation and voice line, but I stuck with Yellow Toad, as yellow is my favorite color.
As for the character’s powers…well actually, there aren’t any. No, Luigi doesn’t have a high jump, peach can float, or toad is fast. Everyone except Nabbit and the Yoshi’s are the same, but we’ll get to them. Since Mario has no power, the developers wanted to make everyone more uniform and fair, but you could’ve just…given Mario power. I’m not talking about Cappy from Mario Oddysey, Spin Jump from Mario Galaxy, or even F.LU.D.D. If you don’t want to add new mechanics, just give Mario passive buffs, like giving him the option to equip a second badge for himself. I don’t know, its a very disappointing feature of this game, but the platforming is still fun!
Nabbit and Yoshi cannot use powerups but can never die from attacks. Yoshi’s also have a tongue grab and the flutter jump. This essentially makes them the easy mode (or little sibling mode) for an already easy game. I did not play these characters as that would be mind-numbingly lame, but I appreciate the option nonetheless.
As mentioned earlier, all the characters can run, jump, store one powerup, ground pound, spin jump, and even spin stal just like in the New Super Mario games. Super Mario Wonder adds another set of features. Firstly, all characters have emotes they press with X, and if you crouch and press X you set up a standee. These two features are for online play, as you can revive other people with your standee and others can revive you with yours. When you die in multiplayer, you become a ghost and have 5 seconds to fly to your teammate or another standee to revive and not lose a life.
Now, admittedly, I did not play online since I didn’t want to play, but I did play locally and I can attest that it is MUCH better than the previous New Super Mario games. For starters, no one can bump into each other or grab each other. I am aware that there were cool tricks to do in the old games, but the features mainly resulted in accidental grabs, purposeful trolling, and complete frustration with your team members throughout the entire experience. The camera is also a little better, but it feels frustrating for a camera to randomly switch to one person’s control, a person who is not good at the game. I wish there was a manual switching mode, but its not too bad to get used to.
I would be remiss if I didn’t mention the main mechanic of the game: Badges! You and your other team members share a badge that you can all use the power of separately. You can only equip one badge, and they come in different variations. There are the Action badges, the Boost badges, and the expert badges. Please note that I did not use all of the badges in my playthrough
Action badges give players a new move for platforming. The Float Cap is the first badge you get and its a great way to extend the horizontal distance from your jumps. I used this exclusively until I got the Dolphin Kick badge. It is the OBJECTIVE best badge for the water levels in the game, as it actually makes them engaging and fast. Previous water levels were lame because you moved at a snail’s pace, awkwardly dodging obstacles in an unnatural upward angle. The dolphin kick propels you forward in a boost that can also break bricks, so you can see why it makes great underwater movement. Back onto land, I eventually got the high jump, which, while not too fancy of an addition, it still acts as a good movement option for those who want to get to higher places without needing a running start. However, the triple jump works better because you can get higher jumps just like in the New Super Mario games by jumping repeatedly, but you don’t have to move. You can jump in place, which is amazing since navigating the level was always tricky to get this jump off. The Speed Boost badge is similar to the high jump in that it gives a boost to mario’s base movement, but the buff is so nominal that you won’t notice it at all, nor will it matter at all.
The wall jump is also neat as a small boost to vertical distance, but if you have enough skill, the Hover Cap and Grapple Rope can perform this wall climb infinitely. On the subject of wall climb, the Grapple Rope is pretty neat in concept, but because you can’t aim it in different directions, it is limited by your character’s angle. Metroid this ain’t! The Squat Jump gives Mario a higher jump than…the High Jump, but because you have to stop your momentum to do it, or awkwardly carry your momentum mid-squat. The last Action Badge is quite possibly the best one: The Boost Spin Jump. It replaces your mid-air Spin Stall with a full Spin Jump, which makes for a great way to carry momentum, as well as gain horizontal and vertical distance. This was the last badge I ever needed for my entire playthrough when I finally got it. It’s that good.
Next is the Boost badges, or those that I rarely used in my playthrough. The Coin Reward badge gives extra Coins when you defeat enemies. Gold Coins are ONLY for extra lives and cannot be used in the shop, so even though I appreciate an easier way to grind lives, its use is limited. The Auto Mushroom is neat in that it gives you the power-up when the level starts, but again this game is so easy you won’t really need it, especially in the endgame, as you get the All Elephant/All Fire/All Bubble/All Drill badges. These three separate badges automatically give you said power-ups when you pick up any other power-ups. This is pretty good if you need a specific power-up for a level’s gimmick, but most of those levels already have the power-up from said level. If you need a specific powerup in a level that doesn’t have it then I GUESS I can see the use there, but you can just go pick one up from a previous level.
The “!” Block Badge is good at giving baby players more help as well as giving players hints to secret treasure, but I never ended up using it because this game is easy and I just found most of the treasure on my first try just exploring a level normally. The same reason applies to the Sensor Badge for its ability to alert the player to hidden items. Still neat. In terms of more useful Boost Badges is the Recovery Badge, which saves you from one death from a bottomless pit, and resets every time you touch the floor. Again, good for babies or speedrun potential. The Magnet Badge attracts Gold Coins and Flower Coins, which are essential for bonus stages or for grinding Purple Coins. The last one is fun, but much less useful. The Rhythm Badge gives you Coins for when you jump on the beat. Again, fun, but there are better ways to grind the already less useful Gold Coins.
The Expert Badges are the last set of badges since they come from hard levels and they can be used for challenge runs of the game. The Spring Badge makes your character jump constantly, but if you hold the jump, you can get the highest jumps in the game. This is fun for some platforming and challenges, but I don’t like not staying on the ground. The Jet Run badge makes all of your running into a full-on sprint, and whenever you run off the ground, you have a half second of continued running, kind of like in those old Loony Tunes cartoons. I DEFINITELY WANT to try a challenge run with just this badge, or at least see speedruns with it.
The last two are completely lame. The first is the Sound Off badge, which is given as the final reward for 100% of the game. The reward? The sound effects are replaced by Japanese men mimicking the sounds. I mean, it's cute, but I would’ve preferred something more game-breaking fun like flight or a way to select any Power-up at any time, like Wishes Mode in Spark the Electric Jester; I would also do for Power-ups from previous games like Propeller Hat. Last is the Invisibility Badge that makes your character invisible and undetectable by enemies. There is no point EXCEPT for challenge runs, because you can easily defeat enemies in this game. Just..never use this.
Now for the worlds Mario and the gang will explore in the Flower Kingdom. Pipe-Rock Plateau is World 1 in Super Mario Wonder. A very typical grassy field area, but it has a lot of fun highlights like the Hoppos, Bullrushers, and the singing Piranha Plants. This world also acts as an introduction to level progression. There will be some linear areas, but there are some areas that can be traversed in any level order, so long as you get enough Wonder Seeds. There are also shops where you can spend the purple Flower Coins, but not the Golden Coins. You can buy badges, extra lives, Standees gambling and even some Wonder Seeds. Pro tip, save your money for the Wonder Seeds and badges, as you won’t need extra lives for this easy game and Standees won’t matter except for online play and completion.
Super Mario Wonder has Wonder Seeds that can be collected on every level, with most of them being locked behind Wonder Flowers. There is one Wonder Flower on most levels, and touching it activates a completely wacky hazard pop-up. It can range from Shooting Stars, moving platforms, or even turning into some of the enemies in the game like Goombas and Slimes! It is a really fun way to add a memorable gimmick to every level, so I don’t even want to spoil it here.
World 2 is Fluff-Puff Peaks, which acts as the snow and sky world of this game. There are tons more bottomless pits here, but it makes for fun platforming challenges like in “Pole Block Passage” and especially in “Jump! Jump! Jump!”. This is also where you see more of the Break Time and Badge challenge levels. The break time levels are easy 1 minute levels that are quite fun, while the Badge Chalenge levels are some of the best levels in the game, as it really shows the creativinty from the developers in teaching players how a badge works and creating fun challenges. My favorite badge challenge level is the Jet Run II, but i’m getting ahead of myself.
Some worlds either end with fighting Bowser Jr., or in an anticlimactic free giveaway. Either way, you get a Royal Seed that you can use to unlock Bowser’s Catsle once you get all 7. Bowser Jr. castles are fun for a boss leadup, but I swear with how little bosses are in this game, they are so easy. Jr. deploys wonder powers, but they are never anything that drastically change his attack plan of randomly spining arround. Its a damn shame they aren’t as good as the other New Super Mario games.
World 3 is Shining Falls and probably my favorite World in this game purely for its aesthetics. The backgrounds are straight out of abstract paintings, and they shine beautifully when on dark backgrounds. Too bad this world doesn’t end with a boss.
The Petil Isles act as a beach area in between each world. You complete a couple of levels here before you move on to the next full world. Beach levels have always been fun, but with the Dolphin Kick, they are some of the best in the series. I mention the Petil Isles now, because, after Shining Falls, you can choose the order of World 4, 5, and 6. I chose 4, 5, and 6 for my local multiplayer playthrough, while I chose 5, 4, and 6 for my single-player one.
World 4 is the Sunbaked Desert, which is your average desert level with some original additions. You actually get to explore inside palaces and inside hidden dungeons. I actively got stuck on “Color Switch Dungeon” and “Secrets of Shova Mansion”. This is probably my least favorite World, but it is not bad by any means.
World 5 is the Fungi Mines, which acts as a beautiful Mushroom forest in the beginning, until you go deeper and find ancient ruins with hidden exits. Just like with Shining Falls, it ends anticlimacticly with just saving the miners trapped. Oh well, its still pretty.
World 6 is Deep Magma Bog, which acts as the final World until Bowser’s Castle. I am honestly glad they did a Lava world that wasn’t tied to a final world or to Bowser, as it gives more creativity in design when it's not tied to evil castles. You get to explore tons of magma caves, with my favorite one being the “Dragon Boneyard”. Even though this world is more linear, it still has tons of options in terms of level progression.
Bowser’s Castle is..honestly the most disappointing world in this game. 4 great levels with a rockin' theme, but that's it?!?! I just wish this section lasted longer before the final battle. As for the final battle? It’s alright. You have to jump into a big red button 10 times, then that's it. I remember New Super Mario games doing that but with a fakeout twist, like when Bowser grew large in the Wii game. A floating head with hands….gee Nintendo, REAL original stuff there.
The Special world comes back in this one. Instead of needing all of the Star coins like in previous games, you just need to find hidden exits to them. This world has some of the best-designed Wonder Flower sections because it really pushes the limit of the level of design. Shoutout to the sequel to the Piranha Plant March being really good. You can also buy all of the Standees without gambling here, but you may have to grind, yes GRIND, for Flower Coins if you did not save your money. The final levels are some of the best in the series with, the first one challenging you on all of the previous Wonder Flower gimmicks, while the last Badge Chalenge acts as a gauntlet of the hard version of every Badge Chalenge. I liked them a lot, but the final levels from other games like Mario Oddysey, Mario 3d World, and Mario Galaxy felt harder and more conclusive.
The last thing I’ll cover is the power-ups. The Elephant power-up, which gives the characters a swinging trunk as a melee weapon kinda like the Tanooki Leaf. You can also store water in your trunk for three squirts of water that can interact with certain level gimmicks. It's pretty fun, but I prefer Tanooki, Cat, and Boomerang any time of the day because they give you a good melee attack AND movement option. The Fire Flower works as usual in this game, so I can skip over that, but rest assured it is still good. The Bubble Flower is my favorite power-up in this game because you can shoot three bubbles at a time. The bubbles act as platforms you instantly bounce off of, so if you are good at carrying forward momentum and precise platforming, you can cheese a lot of levels by skipping all of the hazards. My least favorite power-up is the Drill Mushroom, because other than fun platforming sections and finding treasure, it doesn’t offer anything in terms of attacks. While you can use it defensively to hide from enemies, most of the time a good offense is better because this game is so easy.
So that is my full review! All in all, its is a very fun game that is sometimes held down by how easy it is. I truly wish for a new game in this style, or maybe a Hard Mode DLC, or even A Mario Wonder Maker in the future, because a new era of 2d Mario is upon us!
I played this at a bar arcade with infinite lives. It's a goofier, more quarter-munching version of Resident Evil 4. I mean, zombie ninjas? Cyborg ninjas? If you somehow forgot that this is a Japanese game, a final boss zombie levitates, teleports around the screen, uses magic, and wants to take over the world as its new god. So yeah, this game is fucking awesome. I would play again to get a higher rank and explore separate routes. I only fought 4 bosses, thus only saw 4 arcana (yeah the bosses are designated by arcana)
[For Devil May Cry 1]
I try to finish all the games I start to justify the time and money I spend on this hobby, but honestly, I am not interested in finishing this game. I gave it the first 3 hours test, which did not hook me. The game is good in terms of exploration, graphics, and gameplay! But this is one of the first action games of its kind, and it shows.
This game was built off of the same framework that Resident Evil was...because this game was a scraped version of Resident Evil 4. I'm glad this idea got the chance to become its own game, but I am more interested in going back to DmC or starting Devil May Cry 3 before finishing this mainly for the gameplay. Hot take, I know, but at least let me explain why I didn't get hooked on this game.
The battle system has a hint of good combos with how you link three or more hits together with the new tools you get. You can also use different attacks based on your weapon and the timing of your button inputs in your combo. But openings to attack bosses like the Lava spider are unclear. I'm not saying it has to be after every scripted attack like in Kingdom Hearts, but I wish the prompts were a little clearer. I ended up spamming the Devil Trigger to beat the boss.
Another issue I encountered was the camera. Since Resident Evil was a winning formula for 3D Capcom games, they did it for Devil May Cry 1. Whenever grunts or bosses attack, it can sometimes be unclear where the attack is coming from or how you can dodge it. The reason is that there are multiple camera angles in given areas. The first area when you start a playthrough shows this. When you walk around the stairs, you switch angles and continue to move forward, even when holding an incorrect directional input. At least in other games, you can freely control the camera. But in this game, you are stuck with the preset cameras, a setup that does not help combat as you have to make specific directional inputs for certain hits to get the attack you want.
The bosses are fun, don't get me wrong! But the game doesn't work well with combat in the first place.
Lastly, I would like to mention how hard this game is! I played/played hard games like Pokemon Nuzlockes or Dark Souls 3, and I like them! But you are fairly punished for dying or making mistakes. In this game, you only get 3-4 continues via the Yellow Souls. If you run out and get a game over, you start the level over. Simple, right? Yeah, but you DON'T refill your continues! So dying again ONCE means you will restart levels constantly. Mission 3, for example. You have to go up these stairs and avoid reapers to get to a boss fight. But if you fail because you are still learning the boss's attacks, you will constantly repeat this backtracking, making sure you have PERFECT health for it.
Yes, I know you can use Demon Souls to purchase upgrades and yellow Souls in the shop, and I like that mechanic! But that still means it punishes new players harshly to either fight a war of attrition or stay weak and force the player to get good quickly. This is probably a weaker point of mine, as there are tons of good games that I enjoyed that have a harsh learning curve with a harsh punishment (Dark Souls 3), but to that, I guess I didn't like how it was set up here compared to those game, but to each their own.
As a heads up, I hear from reliable sources that Devil May Cry 2 is worse, so I will be moving on to either Devil May Cry 3 or DmC next when I get back to this series.
I try to finish all the games I start to justify the time and money I spend on this hobby, but honestly, I am not interested in finishing this game. I gave it the first 3 hours test, which did not hook me. The game is good in terms of exploration, graphics, and gameplay! But this is one of the first action games of its kind, and it shows.
This game was built off of the same framework that Resident Evil was...because this game was a scraped version of Resident Evil 4. I'm glad this idea got the chance to become its own game, but I am more interested in going back to DmC or starting Devil May Cry 3 before finishing this mainly for the gameplay. Hot take, I know, but at least let me explain why I didn't get hooked on this game.
The battle system has a hint of good combos with how you link three or more hits together with the new tools you get. You can also use different attacks based on your weapon and the timing of your button inputs in your combo. But openings to attack bosses like the Lava spider are unclear. I'm not saying it has to be after every scripted attack like in Kingdom Hearts, but I wish the prompts were a little clearer. I ended up spamming the Devil Trigger to beat the boss.
Another issue I encountered was the camera. Since Resident Evil was a winning formula for 3D Capcom games, they did it for Devil May Cry 1. Whenever grunts or bosses attack, it can sometimes be unclear where the attack is coming from or how you can dodge it. The reason is that there are multiple camera angles in given areas. The first area when you start a playthrough shows this. When you walk around the stairs, you switch angles and continue to move forward, even when holding an incorrect directional input. At least in other games, you can freely control the camera. But in this game, you are stuck with the preset cameras, a setup that does not help combat as you have to make specific directional inputs for certain hits to get the attack you want.
The bosses are fun, don't get me wrong! But the game doesn't work well with combat in the first place.
Lastly, I would like to mention how hard this game is! I played/played hard games like Pokemon Nuzlockes or Dark Souls 3, and I like them! But you are fairly punished for dying or making mistakes. In this game, you only get 3-4 continues via the Yellow Souls. If you run out and get a game over, you start the level over. Simple, right? Yeah, but you DON'T refill your continues! So dying again ONCE means you will restart levels constantly. Mission 3, for example. You have to go up these stairs and avoid reapers to get to a boss fight. But if you fail because you are still learning the boss's attacks, you will constantly repeat this backtracking, making sure you have PERFECT health for it.
Yes, I know you can use Demon Souls to purchase upgrades and yellow Souls in the shop, and I like that mechanic! But that still means it punishes new players harshly to either fight a war of attrition or stay weak and force the player to get good quickly. This is probably a weaker point of mine, as there are tons of good games that I enjoyed that have a harsh learning curve with a harsh punishment (Dark Souls 3), but to that, I guess I didn't like how it was set up here compared to those game, but to each their own.
As a heads up, I hear from reliable sources that Devil May Cry 2 is worse, so I will be moving on to either Devil May Cry 3 or DmC next when I get back to this series.
2021
This review contains spoilers
I don't think I can critique a rhythm game, but I'll try my best. This game is in beta and slowly gaining chapters as it finishes, but I am so fucking glad I found this game by word-of-mouth. This is one of the best rhythm games ever regarding story, character, and gameplay. I am writing this quick review because Chapter 5 JUST came out, and I wanted to get my thoughts out before I forget.
The setup is pretty simple. You're an intern working a remote job. There's this new rhythm-based technology that can defibrillate hearts from any distance. You and the other doctors are tasked with keeping the patients healthy while both are learning more about their situation, hopes, and goals. While also slowly developing the technology with the head doctor. Each character has a beautiful story arc they're going through, probably something similar to whatever you or a friend/family member has experienced in a hospital. With all the characters and the entire community developed within the hospital, you will NOT struggle to find a favorite. I will mention them all now.
Ada Paige & Ian - The two main doctor characters you work with. Ian developed the system, while Ada works in other fields, albeit a little too much for her health. Both play well off each other with witty dialogue and emotional support.
Samurai & Insomniac - Samurai is the main mascot of the game and the first person you treat. Insomniac is similar in temperament and swordsmanship, but he is the first boss. The former has more interaction so far.
Logan & Hailey - Two teenage characters who are in love with each other but are too shy to say it. They have yet to confess, but the game is building up to it.
Cole Brew & Nichole Ting - Cole is an indie music artist who is stressed by his work but learns to relax and take things one at a time. Nichole is similarly stressed, but it's because she works as a barista at the hospital's coffee shop. Both get along with music and video games, and they seem to be developing a love.
Janitor - Just a tired man who works at the hospital. Relatable.
Richard Hugh is a politician running for re-election. He seems to demand higher service from the hospital despite supposedly not offering enough funding.
Mr. and Mrs. Stevenson - An old couple both at the hospital. They don't seem to see each other as much, but it's always wholesome when they do.
The birds - Mrs. Stevenson owns a variety of birds. Yes, they have their heartbeats that you can monitor.
Miner - A stressed-out miner who seems to be friendly. He'll frequently help out the other patients.
Gabe Edga - The head doctor of the hospital. He is constantly working, especially with the development of the rhythm defibrillator, but there's more to him than he lets on.
Maximo "Lucky" Jonronero - The newest character in this chapter. He is angry that his Baseball career might prematurely end with his shoulder injury. He finds ways to rush his recovery, even allowing Edga to work on faster treatment. But with help from the Miner and even when he volunteers to coach a small game with the hospital guests vs. a local college, he decides to take the more extended, less experimental treatment to recover safely and spend more time with his new friends.
That does it for all the characters. Let's move on to gameplay.
Each patient's heartbeat is represented by a straight line that leads to the heart. Your job is to press the space bar on the 7th beat according to the music. It is easy enough, but more mechanics are added that change up gameplay. Moreover, multiple lines may be added, thus requiring the player to track two or more beats. All the mechanics work to add variety to each song and to give custom map makers (because, yes, there is a map maker) a unique gimmick that keeps the players engaged. Let's quickly run down every mechanic.
Classic Beats - No gimmick here; click on the 7th beat. Simple.
X'd out beats - There will be beats in the line where you won't hear a sound, but you still must count in your head. This one is still easy because the game teaches you how to trust in your head.
Oneshots (STV) - The nurse will give a "Rea-dy Get Set Go!". The speed and rhythm at which the above statement is said determines the speed of the Oneshot beat. You must click when it reaches the right spot next to the heart. This is always fun to play with because it gives a lot of energy to the accompanying song.
Windowdance - The game will randomly go from Full Screen to tiny screen on your desktop. During the song, the window will move around according to the music. You can deactivate this, but this is an enjoyable challenge, so you'd miss out.
Swing Beats - A swing beat indicated by the curvature of a beat symbol. If you know how to count swing beats, this is an easy pattern to get used to. Note that each established swing beat will swing at different patterns, so watch out!
Row X's - An X will fly to the 7th beat, which indicates that you DON'T click on that beat. This is mainly used to trip up the player who has gotten comfortable in a beat pattern.
Hold Beats - Hold beats require a hold and release at precise timing instead of a single click. While holding, any other incoming beats will be automatically clicked, so you won't have to worry about their timing.
Squareshots - Same as Oneshots, but is accompanied by a "one" voice. This is usually done to give the accompanying music more energy or establish an Oneshot beat, then immediately switch to a separate beat on the same line.
Triangeshots - Offshoots from Squareshots that add a "two" voice cue and a tonk sound effect indicating the needed click pattern. This can go up to two, three, four, and even five shots, so you need to be quick about it!
Syncopation - A part in the line where when the beat lands on it, it will switch to the next beat in a half instead of a whole. This is a new mechanic that messes with your sense of rhythm, but it helps develop your sense for half-beats
Freeze Shots - An offshoot from Oneshots that is new. The player must hit the following note later than usual. The length of the delay is the duration of the two dings of the cue. This is better explained through practice, but it's challenging to master.
Burn Shots- An offshoot from Oneshots that is new. These notes are part of the SVT Mechanics and will cue the player to hit the following note earlier by the duration of the cue. Like Freeze Shots, it's hard to master but easier to learn through practice.
Blast Shots - An offshoot of one-shots and currently the most complex mechanic to learn. These notes are part of the SVT Mechanics and will cue the player to hit the following offbeat multiple times.
With all these mechanics combined, it's easy to see how hard the maps get, but the maps wouldn't be entertaining without good music, and by god, the music is fantastic! The OST is free on YouTube, but I recommend listening to "Bomb-Sniffing Pomeranian," "Wish I could care less (ft. Yeo)," and "Dreams Don't Stop." But all the music is excellent with tons of variety.
The pixel graphics are vital, too, with a beautiful background visual of the hospital. Each patient's room is uniquely designed to their character, giving a lot of variety to the visuals both in the menu and at each level.
After all this writing, I can't do the game justice enough. You have to play it for yourself. It's not too expensive. Please support the developers in their endeavors. You will not regret it. This and Rhythm Heaven are my favorite rhythm games of all time.
The setup is pretty simple. You're an intern working a remote job. There's this new rhythm-based technology that can defibrillate hearts from any distance. You and the other doctors are tasked with keeping the patients healthy while both are learning more about their situation, hopes, and goals. While also slowly developing the technology with the head doctor. Each character has a beautiful story arc they're going through, probably something similar to whatever you or a friend/family member has experienced in a hospital. With all the characters and the entire community developed within the hospital, you will NOT struggle to find a favorite. I will mention them all now.
Ada Paige & Ian - The two main doctor characters you work with. Ian developed the system, while Ada works in other fields, albeit a little too much for her health. Both play well off each other with witty dialogue and emotional support.
Samurai & Insomniac - Samurai is the main mascot of the game and the first person you treat. Insomniac is similar in temperament and swordsmanship, but he is the first boss. The former has more interaction so far.
Logan & Hailey - Two teenage characters who are in love with each other but are too shy to say it. They have yet to confess, but the game is building up to it.
Cole Brew & Nichole Ting - Cole is an indie music artist who is stressed by his work but learns to relax and take things one at a time. Nichole is similarly stressed, but it's because she works as a barista at the hospital's coffee shop. Both get along with music and video games, and they seem to be developing a love.
Janitor - Just a tired man who works at the hospital. Relatable.
Richard Hugh is a politician running for re-election. He seems to demand higher service from the hospital despite supposedly not offering enough funding.
Mr. and Mrs. Stevenson - An old couple both at the hospital. They don't seem to see each other as much, but it's always wholesome when they do.
The birds - Mrs. Stevenson owns a variety of birds. Yes, they have their heartbeats that you can monitor.
Miner - A stressed-out miner who seems to be friendly. He'll frequently help out the other patients.
Gabe Edga - The head doctor of the hospital. He is constantly working, especially with the development of the rhythm defibrillator, but there's more to him than he lets on.
Maximo "Lucky" Jonronero - The newest character in this chapter. He is angry that his Baseball career might prematurely end with his shoulder injury. He finds ways to rush his recovery, even allowing Edga to work on faster treatment. But with help from the Miner and even when he volunteers to coach a small game with the hospital guests vs. a local college, he decides to take the more extended, less experimental treatment to recover safely and spend more time with his new friends.
That does it for all the characters. Let's move on to gameplay.
Each patient's heartbeat is represented by a straight line that leads to the heart. Your job is to press the space bar on the 7th beat according to the music. It is easy enough, but more mechanics are added that change up gameplay. Moreover, multiple lines may be added, thus requiring the player to track two or more beats. All the mechanics work to add variety to each song and to give custom map makers (because, yes, there is a map maker) a unique gimmick that keeps the players engaged. Let's quickly run down every mechanic.
Classic Beats - No gimmick here; click on the 7th beat. Simple.
X'd out beats - There will be beats in the line where you won't hear a sound, but you still must count in your head. This one is still easy because the game teaches you how to trust in your head.
Oneshots (STV) - The nurse will give a "Rea-dy Get Set Go!". The speed and rhythm at which the above statement is said determines the speed of the Oneshot beat. You must click when it reaches the right spot next to the heart. This is always fun to play with because it gives a lot of energy to the accompanying song.
Windowdance - The game will randomly go from Full Screen to tiny screen on your desktop. During the song, the window will move around according to the music. You can deactivate this, but this is an enjoyable challenge, so you'd miss out.
Swing Beats - A swing beat indicated by the curvature of a beat symbol. If you know how to count swing beats, this is an easy pattern to get used to. Note that each established swing beat will swing at different patterns, so watch out!
Row X's - An X will fly to the 7th beat, which indicates that you DON'T click on that beat. This is mainly used to trip up the player who has gotten comfortable in a beat pattern.
Hold Beats - Hold beats require a hold and release at precise timing instead of a single click. While holding, any other incoming beats will be automatically clicked, so you won't have to worry about their timing.
Squareshots - Same as Oneshots, but is accompanied by a "one" voice. This is usually done to give the accompanying music more energy or establish an Oneshot beat, then immediately switch to a separate beat on the same line.
Triangeshots - Offshoots from Squareshots that add a "two" voice cue and a tonk sound effect indicating the needed click pattern. This can go up to two, three, four, and even five shots, so you need to be quick about it!
Syncopation - A part in the line where when the beat lands on it, it will switch to the next beat in a half instead of a whole. This is a new mechanic that messes with your sense of rhythm, but it helps develop your sense for half-beats
Freeze Shots - An offshoot from Oneshots that is new. The player must hit the following note later than usual. The length of the delay is the duration of the two dings of the cue. This is better explained through practice, but it's challenging to master.
Burn Shots- An offshoot from Oneshots that is new. These notes are part of the SVT Mechanics and will cue the player to hit the following note earlier by the duration of the cue. Like Freeze Shots, it's hard to master but easier to learn through practice.
Blast Shots - An offshoot of one-shots and currently the most complex mechanic to learn. These notes are part of the SVT Mechanics and will cue the player to hit the following offbeat multiple times.
With all these mechanics combined, it's easy to see how hard the maps get, but the maps wouldn't be entertaining without good music, and by god, the music is fantastic! The OST is free on YouTube, but I recommend listening to "Bomb-Sniffing Pomeranian," "Wish I could care less (ft. Yeo)," and "Dreams Don't Stop." But all the music is excellent with tons of variety.
The pixel graphics are vital, too, with a beautiful background visual of the hospital. Each patient's room is uniquely designed to their character, giving a lot of variety to the visuals both in the menu and at each level.
After all this writing, I can't do the game justice enough. You have to play it for yourself. It's not too expensive. Please support the developers in their endeavors. You will not regret it. This and Rhythm Heaven are my favorite rhythm games of all time.
[Reviewing SPC Chalenges. This review builds off everything]
Ten challenges are what stand in the way of the final achievement and the final reward. I will review every challenge now.
1) Kerana forest / no bosses / banned attack. This is a simple one because Wishes Mode is active, so I can choose Gravity Jester to fly around and dodge attacks
2) Smog City / banned jumping / Wind Jester Only. I liked this challenge because it teaches you how to make up for your jump using the charged attack and directing it to the ground.
3) Smog City / no damage / banned healing. Once again, Wishes Mode is active, but at least the stakes are higher. If you lose your HP, you have to start at the very beginning of the level, so I try to use Gravity and Knight Jester to give me distance and an extra hit.
4) Megarph Fleet A / no damage / Banned healing. The only Fark mission?!?! That isn't very pleasant because this is a fantastic challenge! It teaches you to switch between blazing through enemies and slowing down to pick off enemies from a distance carefully. For example, whenever knight enemies or missiles exist, I hit them with my charged-down attack. The boss is easy to deal with as long as you remember to parry often (although the parry is weak in this challenge).
5) Luna Base / Floor is Lava / Gravity Jester. This is the easiest "Floor is Lava" challenge, as you can access Gravity Jester. Still, there were times when I needed to carefully traverse the loops and the tight corridors because they counted as ground. Also, the running sections always cut off at large stretches of ground, so I also had to inch my way through that.
6) Mare Desert / Speed Bomb / Board Jester. The only Speed Bomb challenge requires you to keep moving at a consistent speed, or you will take a hit. Luckily, there were plenty of healing options, but it was tough to maintain speed in the corridor sections, with the launchers stopping you until you made a jump input. Dealing with enemies was also challenging because your attack doesn't cause much damage.
7) Caria Valley / Floor is Lava / Wind Jester. A much harder Floor is Lava challenge because a) you can't just float infinitely in the air with Wind Jester and b) there are more loops and platforming sections to deal with. Luckily, you can dodge the moments in which you take damage on the ground, but it isn't consistent so I would avoid it. This level is also much longer with a boss, so please don't die because you'll have to do it all again.
8) Sunset Heights B / Floor is Lava / Edgy Jester. The Lava challenge is the most complex floor because there are too many mandatory platforming sections. The trick is to hang on the way as long as possible and frequently jump off the ground to avoid damage. The boss is demanding, but using your charge attack (i.e., the area nuke) is a good strategy.
9 -10) Mare Desert - Sunfire Forest / Find all ten mini Ronaldos. I'm combining these challenges because they both suck. The level design is unsuitable for complex back-and-forth or more linear exploration. While it does help that Wishes Mode is active, searching for each one is a bearing chore because they are hidden in challenging corners or high in the level. Sunfire Forest has the pinball shit to deal with, but Mare Desert is the worst because of all the corridors and different directions the launchers take you. It reminds me of finding Chao in Sonic Advanced 3. In other words, it's not fun at all
But those are all the challenges! Overall, it was enjoyable, although I could do with slightly fewer Lava challenges and no Ronaldo challenges. I would much rather have a speed bomb or No-hit challenge. Also, much more Fark challenges, please, or maybe even a separate section for Fark challenges.
But that's the very end of the game! After you complete challenge mode, you unlock Super Jester as a powerup in Wishes Mode, and it's just as broker as you think it is. I will be coming back to this game later to play the complex mode difficulties, but for now, I want to move on to Wester JRPGs like Dragon's Dogma and Dark Souls 3, as well as save room for other games like Devil May Cry 1 and the upcoming Persona 3 Reload. But if it's not clear enough, PLAY THIS GAME.
Ten challenges are what stand in the way of the final achievement and the final reward. I will review every challenge now.
1) Kerana forest / no bosses / banned attack. This is a simple one because Wishes Mode is active, so I can choose Gravity Jester to fly around and dodge attacks
2) Smog City / banned jumping / Wind Jester Only. I liked this challenge because it teaches you how to make up for your jump using the charged attack and directing it to the ground.
3) Smog City / no damage / banned healing. Once again, Wishes Mode is active, but at least the stakes are higher. If you lose your HP, you have to start at the very beginning of the level, so I try to use Gravity and Knight Jester to give me distance and an extra hit.
4) Megarph Fleet A / no damage / Banned healing. The only Fark mission?!?! That isn't very pleasant because this is a fantastic challenge! It teaches you to switch between blazing through enemies and slowing down to pick off enemies from a distance carefully. For example, whenever knight enemies or missiles exist, I hit them with my charged-down attack. The boss is easy to deal with as long as you remember to parry often (although the parry is weak in this challenge).
5) Luna Base / Floor is Lava / Gravity Jester. This is the easiest "Floor is Lava" challenge, as you can access Gravity Jester. Still, there were times when I needed to carefully traverse the loops and the tight corridors because they counted as ground. Also, the running sections always cut off at large stretches of ground, so I also had to inch my way through that.
6) Mare Desert / Speed Bomb / Board Jester. The only Speed Bomb challenge requires you to keep moving at a consistent speed, or you will take a hit. Luckily, there were plenty of healing options, but it was tough to maintain speed in the corridor sections, with the launchers stopping you until you made a jump input. Dealing with enemies was also challenging because your attack doesn't cause much damage.
7) Caria Valley / Floor is Lava / Wind Jester. A much harder Floor is Lava challenge because a) you can't just float infinitely in the air with Wind Jester and b) there are more loops and platforming sections to deal with. Luckily, you can dodge the moments in which you take damage on the ground, but it isn't consistent so I would avoid it. This level is also much longer with a boss, so please don't die because you'll have to do it all again.
8) Sunset Heights B / Floor is Lava / Edgy Jester. The Lava challenge is the most complex floor because there are too many mandatory platforming sections. The trick is to hang on the way as long as possible and frequently jump off the ground to avoid damage. The boss is demanding, but using your charge attack (i.e., the area nuke) is a good strategy.
9 -10) Mare Desert - Sunfire Forest / Find all ten mini Ronaldos. I'm combining these challenges because they both suck. The level design is unsuitable for complex back-and-forth or more linear exploration. While it does help that Wishes Mode is active, searching for each one is a bearing chore because they are hidden in challenging corners or high in the level. Sunfire Forest has the pinball shit to deal with, but Mare Desert is the worst because of all the corridors and different directions the launchers take you. It reminds me of finding Chao in Sonic Advanced 3. In other words, it's not fun at all
But those are all the challenges! Overall, it was enjoyable, although I could do with slightly fewer Lava challenges and no Ronaldo challenges. I would much rather have a speed bomb or No-hit challenge. Also, much more Fark challenges, please, or maybe even a separate section for Fark challenges.
But that's the very end of the game! After you complete challenge mode, you unlock Super Jester as a powerup in Wishes Mode, and it's just as broker as you think it is. I will be coming back to this game later to play the complex mode difficulties, but for now, I want to move on to Wester JRPGs like Dragon's Dogma and Dark Souls 3, as well as save room for other games like Devil May Cry 1 and the upcoming Persona 3 Reload. But if it's not clear enough, PLAY THIS GAME.
Review to be inserted later
[Reviewing Spark's Chalenge. This review builds off the first two]
This mode is just Fark's story section but played as Spark instead. Spark uses a VR headset to experience Fark's story...the story that's already non-cannon. It's an odd choice, but I don't mind as long as I get more gameplay!
There isn't much left to discuss about this because I already talked about Fark's story and Spark's gameplay, but there are two extra features as well as a review of Wishes Mode.
Spark now only has one HP, with a second hit killing him. This makes traversing through levels much more challenging. I found myself dying a lot, but it challenged me to be as fast and as careful as possible until I found another health pickup or checkpoint. But other than that, how do you avoid getting hit?
Well, this mode also adds a new mechanic to Spark: dodging! It's like Fark's parry, except 1) you can't spam it, 2) it's linked to your dash, so you can't stay in place, and 3) it doesn't add any health or combo bar; it only acts as a way to avoid damage. I would've liked more benefits to the dodge, but I still appreciate the feature, especially when you learn a boss's attack pattern and can predict when to dodge.
This challenge ACTIVELY recommends Wishes Mode, a feature you can toggle off and on before starting the game. If you hold down and dodge simultaneously, Spark spins into a ball still vulnerable to attacks. Move left or right to select whatever power-up you want in this state. Yes, you heard me, ANY POWER UP. So, as I was traversing the game, I found my favorite loadouts.
Regarding power-ups, I usually had Gravity, Sword, Bat, or Knight. Sword and Bat are both fantastic at quickly racking up the combo bar, with Sword having more long-ranged attacks and Bat having extensive reach with continued momentum. Once I racked up the combo bar, I would switch to Knight. When Knight gets a full combo bar, he gains a shield that acts as another Hit point. So clearly, with how little health I had, I stuck to this strategy of quickly acquiring combo bar, switching to Knight, and attacking from afar with my vast ass lance. Lastly, Gravity was just the best movement option for the levels as you can infinitely dash in the air and float in any direction. I don't think I need to explain why that is extremely OP.
And that was Spark's challenge. Overall, not my favorite mode (Fark still beats that), but this is still a fun challenge, even on normal difficulty. I can't imagine how hard these gameplay modes might get when I eventually play the Hard Mode levels, whenever that will happen. All I have left now is Mission mode.
This mode is just Fark's story section but played as Spark instead. Spark uses a VR headset to experience Fark's story...the story that's already non-cannon. It's an odd choice, but I don't mind as long as I get more gameplay!
There isn't much left to discuss about this because I already talked about Fark's story and Spark's gameplay, but there are two extra features as well as a review of Wishes Mode.
Spark now only has one HP, with a second hit killing him. This makes traversing through levels much more challenging. I found myself dying a lot, but it challenged me to be as fast and as careful as possible until I found another health pickup or checkpoint. But other than that, how do you avoid getting hit?
Well, this mode also adds a new mechanic to Spark: dodging! It's like Fark's parry, except 1) you can't spam it, 2) it's linked to your dash, so you can't stay in place, and 3) it doesn't add any health or combo bar; it only acts as a way to avoid damage. I would've liked more benefits to the dodge, but I still appreciate the feature, especially when you learn a boss's attack pattern and can predict when to dodge.
This challenge ACTIVELY recommends Wishes Mode, a feature you can toggle off and on before starting the game. If you hold down and dodge simultaneously, Spark spins into a ball still vulnerable to attacks. Move left or right to select whatever power-up you want in this state. Yes, you heard me, ANY POWER UP. So, as I was traversing the game, I found my favorite loadouts.
Regarding power-ups, I usually had Gravity, Sword, Bat, or Knight. Sword and Bat are both fantastic at quickly racking up the combo bar, with Sword having more long-ranged attacks and Bat having extensive reach with continued momentum. Once I racked up the combo bar, I would switch to Knight. When Knight gets a full combo bar, he gains a shield that acts as another Hit point. So clearly, with how little health I had, I stuck to this strategy of quickly acquiring combo bar, switching to Knight, and attacking from afar with my vast ass lance. Lastly, Gravity was just the best movement option for the levels as you can infinitely dash in the air and float in any direction. I don't think I need to explain why that is extremely OP.
And that was Spark's challenge. Overall, not my favorite mode (Fark still beats that), but this is still a fun challenge, even on normal difficulty. I can't imagine how hard these gameplay modes might get when I eventually play the Hard Mode levels, whenever that will happen. All I have left now is Mission mode.
[Reviewing Fark's Story. This review builds off the first one]
This story is non-cannon and merely acts as a testing of ideas, no doubt for the sequel game. Still, it is worth talking about the game.
Months after the end of Spark's journey, robots are still causing trouble. Fark decides to take care of them while figuring out what shadowy voices are talking in his head.
Fark's gameplay is fantastic for speedruns and in general! Think of Fark like Zero or Proto Man from the Mega Man Series. Fark has a three-hit combo that ends in a flurry of strikes, which is excellent for adding damage. Using this attack, you can also stall yourself in the air while moving forward or backward. Once you reach the flurry attack, Fark will strengthen his moves once. The aerial strike has a low range but a suitable frame date, but the powered-up version has more range. The downward strike blasts two explosions close to Fark's sides, which is ideal for crowd control. When powered up, the attack changes to multiple explosions that travel across the map, making it my go-to attack for bosses.
Fark has an energy bar that can be charged twice. You set it by getting off attacks and finding energy tanks. Once you reach at least one bar, Fark can only take three hits, with a 4th hit killing him, and you cannot use powerups. How does he deal damage while being so frail? Easy, the counter system. Fark has a counter that can be used on any attack. The benefits of the attack depend on your timing. A late counter (red) nullifies but costs some energy. Early counter (orange) nullifies damage and increases power. Lastly, a perfect counter (blue) negates damage and dramatically increases power.
Fark is also way faster than Spark, as he has infinite das on the ground and in the air. Moreover, if you hold the attack button near a wall, you can walk on it! This gives players a much faster and more varied playstyle. If Fark has at least one energy bar, you can press down and counter to go into a limited hyperstate, where your attacks will be at max power, your speed will double, and you will be invincible. Moreover, your health will fully heal when activated.
The last thing to note is the best feature to play as. You'll automatically enter your super form if you fill your bar twice. Your aerial and downward attacks stay the same, but not only does your general speed increase, but but your base attacks also do. The first three hits have a huge range, but the flurry hit has a stronger range an attack, being able to extend halfway across the screen. Your strategy should be to earn and preserve energy so you can transform into this state, while keeping the energy for emergency heals.
All in all, I LOVED Fark's gameplay and I plan on enjoying another playthrough on hard!
This story is non-cannon and merely acts as a testing of ideas, no doubt for the sequel game. Still, it is worth talking about the game.
Months after the end of Spark's journey, robots are still causing trouble. Fark decides to take care of them while figuring out what shadowy voices are talking in his head.
Fark's gameplay is fantastic for speedruns and in general! Think of Fark like Zero or Proto Man from the Mega Man Series. Fark has a three-hit combo that ends in a flurry of strikes, which is excellent for adding damage. Using this attack, you can also stall yourself in the air while moving forward or backward. Once you reach the flurry attack, Fark will strengthen his moves once. The aerial strike has a low range but a suitable frame date, but the powered-up version has more range. The downward strike blasts two explosions close to Fark's sides, which is ideal for crowd control. When powered up, the attack changes to multiple explosions that travel across the map, making it my go-to attack for bosses.
Fark has an energy bar that can be charged twice. You set it by getting off attacks and finding energy tanks. Once you reach at least one bar, Fark can only take three hits, with a 4th hit killing him, and you cannot use powerups. How does he deal damage while being so frail? Easy, the counter system. Fark has a counter that can be used on any attack. The benefits of the attack depend on your timing. A late counter (red) nullifies but costs some energy. Early counter (orange) nullifies damage and increases power. Lastly, a perfect counter (blue) negates damage and dramatically increases power.
Fark is also way faster than Spark, as he has infinite das on the ground and in the air. Moreover, if you hold the attack button near a wall, you can walk on it! This gives players a much faster and more varied playstyle. If Fark has at least one energy bar, you can press down and counter to go into a limited hyperstate, where your attacks will be at max power, your speed will double, and you will be invincible. Moreover, your health will fully heal when activated.
The last thing to note is the best feature to play as. You'll automatically enter your super form if you fill your bar twice. Your aerial and downward attacks stay the same, but not only does your general speed increase, but but your base attacks also do. The first three hits have a huge range, but the flurry hit has a stronger range an attack, being able to extend halfway across the screen. Your strategy should be to earn and preserve energy so you can transform into this state, while keeping the energy for emergency heals.
All in all, I LOVED Fark's gameplay and I plan on enjoying another playthrough on hard!
2018
This is a fun game, with creating an alibi to avoid getting voted off the ship. This game is better to play on Discord with people you know rather than use the text box game with strangers.
I played this game before all the extra maps were added, so I have to say that it was disappointing that the first map is the only good map. The others are either too easy or too open.
You spend a month or two on this, but It will get old fast.
I played this game before all the extra maps were added, so I have to say that it was disappointing that the first map is the only good map. The others are either too easy or too open.
You spend a month or two on this, but It will get old fast.
This review contains spoilers
[Reviewing Spark's Story]
Tons of Sonic fan game creators end up making their mascot platformers. Freedom Planet is one, and I enjoyed playing that game twice. This one, Spark the Electric Jester, is no exception.
The story is about Spark, a man who lost his job due to automation and robots. He ends up defeating the robots and getting his job back, and along the way, he finds a deeper conspiracy. The company making the robots wants to destroy all life on the planet so robots can rule it. Spark and the other friends he meets on the way join forces to kill Freon, the mastermind robot behind this plot. So it's a simple story, but where the game shines is with the gameplay.
Spark can move and jump similarly to Sonic or any of the characters from Freedom Planet. Moreover, you can dash multiple times on the ground to keep the speed, but it doesn't build much speed. Spark also has a 3-hit combo that can be used in the air. You also get different effects when you charge up the attack button halfway or fully. Also, when you deal enough hits to an enemy, the combo bar will fill, making the charge attack even stronger once. The main gimmick of this game is that of using different powers. Boxes with powerups are contained throughout the levels, and you can stack two at a time. Be warned, if you have two powerups, you won't have access to your base form; you must also remember that when switching a power out when you have two, the new power will replace the power you have in stock, not the one you are currently using.
The power system is my favorite part of the game because there is so much replayability in how you traverse levels and attack enemies. Attacks and abilities change when you equip one, and while I didn't use all of them, I can at least go through all of my favorites:
Electric Jester (Base): Electric shots can also be used for platforming. When charged up, it can deal tons of damage.
Wind Jester: The best for platforming and speed, as you can dash infinitely in the air and use a triple jump. The attacks are mid, however. Be careful not to drop this item when hit.
Electric Bat: It doesn't have many combos, but you can efficiently deal tons of damage and continue the movement by just using the jump attack. Seriously, it's such a simple yet versatile attack.
Spark Board: The attack is good for keeping and gaining momentum. Moreover, you can boost if you continue moving. It also works to stay above the surface of the water.
Edgy Jester: The sword attack and the charged-up throwing knives are great to use from a distance. You can also dash in the air like Wind Jester.
Megagram Hammer: similar to Electric Bat, it has tons of versatility. Its arc swing in the air is impressive when at full bar. Be careful not to drop this item when hit.
Knight Jester: Probably my favorite power. It has a tremendous upward ark attack on the ground and great range with its spear. You can also charge it to launch forward for a great moving attack for crowds. Be careful not to drop this item when hit.
Mage Jester: Magic ball attacks do good damage, but its main claim to fame is the charge attack that acts like a Kamehameha from Dragon Ball Z.
In terms of levels, they are all great! The level design leaves more options for platforming and speed and finding hidden powers to pick up. However, Near the end, they start adding hallways of enemies you can clear or skip. In the Megarph Fleet/Carrier/Fortress levels, they begin adding bullshit platforming that is much harder due to the screen-wiping nukes that blind your vision and have a large hitbox. That was my most minor favorite level in the game, but the others are a joy.
The music is some of the best I've heard in a 2D platformer. I must find this OST to listen to in my free time because it is great for on-the-go or exercise. My favorite has to be for Smog Sewer, Smog City, Sunset Heights, and Megarph Fleet.
PLEASE buy this game; it is cheap on Steam and an excellent buy for replayability. I want to go to the following games after this.
Tons of Sonic fan game creators end up making their mascot platformers. Freedom Planet is one, and I enjoyed playing that game twice. This one, Spark the Electric Jester, is no exception.
The story is about Spark, a man who lost his job due to automation and robots. He ends up defeating the robots and getting his job back, and along the way, he finds a deeper conspiracy. The company making the robots wants to destroy all life on the planet so robots can rule it. Spark and the other friends he meets on the way join forces to kill Freon, the mastermind robot behind this plot. So it's a simple story, but where the game shines is with the gameplay.
Spark can move and jump similarly to Sonic or any of the characters from Freedom Planet. Moreover, you can dash multiple times on the ground to keep the speed, but it doesn't build much speed. Spark also has a 3-hit combo that can be used in the air. You also get different effects when you charge up the attack button halfway or fully. Also, when you deal enough hits to an enemy, the combo bar will fill, making the charge attack even stronger once. The main gimmick of this game is that of using different powers. Boxes with powerups are contained throughout the levels, and you can stack two at a time. Be warned, if you have two powerups, you won't have access to your base form; you must also remember that when switching a power out when you have two, the new power will replace the power you have in stock, not the one you are currently using.
The power system is my favorite part of the game because there is so much replayability in how you traverse levels and attack enemies. Attacks and abilities change when you equip one, and while I didn't use all of them, I can at least go through all of my favorites:
Electric Jester (Base): Electric shots can also be used for platforming. When charged up, it can deal tons of damage.
Wind Jester: The best for platforming and speed, as you can dash infinitely in the air and use a triple jump. The attacks are mid, however. Be careful not to drop this item when hit.
Electric Bat: It doesn't have many combos, but you can efficiently deal tons of damage and continue the movement by just using the jump attack. Seriously, it's such a simple yet versatile attack.
Spark Board: The attack is good for keeping and gaining momentum. Moreover, you can boost if you continue moving. It also works to stay above the surface of the water.
Edgy Jester: The sword attack and the charged-up throwing knives are great to use from a distance. You can also dash in the air like Wind Jester.
Megagram Hammer: similar to Electric Bat, it has tons of versatility. Its arc swing in the air is impressive when at full bar. Be careful not to drop this item when hit.
Knight Jester: Probably my favorite power. It has a tremendous upward ark attack on the ground and great range with its spear. You can also charge it to launch forward for a great moving attack for crowds. Be careful not to drop this item when hit.
Mage Jester: Magic ball attacks do good damage, but its main claim to fame is the charge attack that acts like a Kamehameha from Dragon Ball Z.
In terms of levels, they are all great! The level design leaves more options for platforming and speed and finding hidden powers to pick up. However, Near the end, they start adding hallways of enemies you can clear or skip. In the Megarph Fleet/Carrier/Fortress levels, they begin adding bullshit platforming that is much harder due to the screen-wiping nukes that blind your vision and have a large hitbox. That was my most minor favorite level in the game, but the others are a joy.
The music is some of the best I've heard in a 2D platformer. I must find this OST to listen to in my free time because it is great for on-the-go or exercise. My favorite has to be for Smog Sewer, Smog City, Sunset Heights, and Megarph Fleet.
PLEASE buy this game; it is cheap on Steam and an excellent buy for replayability. I want to go to the following games after this.
Shitty-ass bug gameplay battles. Never play this game
2008
The romer virus ooooo colors virus scarry ooooooo
2009
A lame, shitty tower defense game for cheap. Just play Bloons Tower Defense 6