SilasP
2006
Another incredible Yoshi's Island game, introducing fun mechanics that aren't forced on you too hard.
The music is a little unmemorable but still fits very well.
Controls and movement feel super clean and I feel like I need to check out the speedrun for this game as it feels very technical.
My main complaint is that it doesn't add much from the original SNES title, and feels a lot like an adapted port.
Getting to play this on my old DS was a nice experience and a bit of a throwback though, so can't complain.
The music is a little unmemorable but still fits very well.
Controls and movement feel super clean and I feel like I need to check out the speedrun for this game as it feels very technical.
My main complaint is that it doesn't add much from the original SNES title, and feels a lot like an adapted port.
Getting to play this on my old DS was a nice experience and a bit of a throwback though, so can't complain.
1997
This review contains spoilers
The first time I sat down to play this game, I had about 15 minutes time. I watched the retro intro and had some fun seeing the characters that I already knew so much about as an avid Nintendo fan. I played the first couple of levels, got used to the inverted horizontal controls, did my first barrel roll, somersault etc. And I had a lot of fun!
Once my 15 minutes were up, I went to save, only to find there is no save option. Huh.
I googled it and learned that you have to complete the game in a single sitting. Usually this would probably annoy me, but the style of game that Star Fox 64 is (or Lylat Wars where I'm from) is definitely the kind of game that allows a playthrough in one sitting.
So I set aside some time the next day, and had a punt at going through it, and boy it was fun! I had a great time from start to finish, only dying maybe once.
The levels were clearly designed so specifically and with so much in mind that it allowed for replayability and was so cinematic, despite the limitations of a game a couple years older than myself.
Then I learnt that I actually got the bad ending, and that the good ending is a whole lot harder. So I looked up simply what I needed to do to achieve this path, and set aside some time a couple days later to do it.
This route felt like a whole new game! Unfortunately the stage Aquas was a reminder of the time were every developer would (and still do) put a water section in their game, thinking it would be good.
The fight with Star Wolf was intense and took me a few tries, and the battle with Andross took even more.
However playing the final escape sequence with James leading me out was emotional and somehow intense?
A great game that has mostly held up the test of time, and I can see myself revisiting some day.
Also i wish falco would just stfu oh my gooood
Once my 15 minutes were up, I went to save, only to find there is no save option. Huh.
I googled it and learned that you have to complete the game in a single sitting. Usually this would probably annoy me, but the style of game that Star Fox 64 is (or Lylat Wars where I'm from) is definitely the kind of game that allows a playthrough in one sitting.
So I set aside some time the next day, and had a punt at going through it, and boy it was fun! I had a great time from start to finish, only dying maybe once.
The levels were clearly designed so specifically and with so much in mind that it allowed for replayability and was so cinematic, despite the limitations of a game a couple years older than myself.
Then I learnt that I actually got the bad ending, and that the good ending is a whole lot harder. So I looked up simply what I needed to do to achieve this path, and set aside some time a couple days later to do it.
This route felt like a whole new game! Unfortunately the stage Aquas was a reminder of the time were every developer would (and still do) put a water section in their game, thinking it would be good.
The fight with Star Wolf was intense and took me a few tries, and the battle with Andross took even more.
However playing the final escape sequence with James leading me out was emotional and somehow intense?
A great game that has mostly held up the test of time, and I can see myself revisiting some day.
Also i wish falco would just stfu oh my gooood
2010
Having only played Fallout 3 before this, I don't think there's any way to think of it other than a direct upgrade in many many ways.
The story and different allegiances are very fleshed out with fun missions, almost always giving a diplomatic option. Almost any build is viable, even a pistol build (which is what I went for).
Combat is fun as usual and perks are varied with lots of fun options. The map is crafted in a way that makes it seem huge & expansive, but really is just engineered that way to fit as much as possible into a small space.
My main issues with this game are a couple places where they didn't bother to improve; namely audio levels being weird, the radio still having only like 5 songs on repeat and not as interactive as in 3, speech system was made worse imo, crafting/repair system still super uninteresting&unnecessary, minimaps (especially local maps) are extremely unintuitive and unreadable, and the worst of all: CRASHES. This game crashed so many times during my playthrough, and it's nothing to do with my PC, it's just a buggy game. Once or twice I even had to do console commands to fix missions that weren't ending / triggering an event that it should have.
BUT the game otherwise is SO good and charming that I have no choice but to give it such a high rating. There was fun round every corner and it's so hard to put the game down and not just play 1 more mission.
The story and different allegiances are very fleshed out with fun missions, almost always giving a diplomatic option. Almost any build is viable, even a pistol build (which is what I went for).
Combat is fun as usual and perks are varied with lots of fun options. The map is crafted in a way that makes it seem huge & expansive, but really is just engineered that way to fit as much as possible into a small space.
My main issues with this game are a couple places where they didn't bother to improve; namely audio levels being weird, the radio still having only like 5 songs on repeat and not as interactive as in 3, speech system was made worse imo, crafting/repair system still super uninteresting&unnecessary, minimaps (especially local maps) are extremely unintuitive and unreadable, and the worst of all: CRASHES. This game crashed so many times during my playthrough, and it's nothing to do with my PC, it's just a buggy game. Once or twice I even had to do console commands to fix missions that weren't ending / triggering an event that it should have.
BUT the game otherwise is SO good and charming that I have no choice but to give it such a high rating. There was fun round every corner and it's so hard to put the game down and not just play 1 more mission.
2003
Playing Viewtiful Joe makes me wonder why I'd heard barely anything about this series before. The artwork, the music, the mechanics, the level design, the enemies - everything about this game flows together seamlessly into a very challenging but rewarding experience.
The story is a bit whatever but that isn't the main attraction anyway.
The fact that this series hasn't seen a remake or sequel in 18 years is a crime
The story is a bit whatever but that isn't the main attraction anyway.
The fact that this series hasn't seen a remake or sequel in 18 years is a crime
1989
This review contains spoilers
Man this game was not nearly as good as it was hyped up to be
The individual levels are fine, nothing special. The bosses either die in 2 seconds or kill you in 2 seconds so there's no time to enjoy them.
The final levels are extremely frustrating and highlight the flaws of the power mechanics. This was by far the least enjoyable part of the game and left a bad taste.
The final boss essentially has you try every power until 1 random illogical one works. I was just glad it was over
The individual levels are fine, nothing special. The bosses either die in 2 seconds or kill you in 2 seconds so there's no time to enjoy them.
The final levels are extremely frustrating and highlight the flaws of the power mechanics. This was by far the least enjoyable part of the game and left a bad taste.
The final boss essentially has you try every power until 1 random illogical one works. I was just glad it was over
I heard a lot of good things about Hollow Knight prior to picking it up. It's some of my closest friends top 10 games so I had to give it a try.
The combat and movement in this game is extremely fluid and fun, mastering it was the best part once retrieving all the movement options, I felt like I could fly around the screen hacking and slashing as I went.
I have slightly mixed feelings about the exploration aspect, but that might come from a personal like of having SOME direction, which in Hollow Knight you're given almost none at all.
Difficulty levels throughout the game felt really random. Some stuff earlier on is way way harder than the final boss (which I beat first try, not bragging as I didn't beat any other boss first try).
The high quality art style, animations, expansiveness, and characters in Hollow Knight are something any game dev would wish to get a fraction of, and the gameplay is almost unmatched in this genre.
I'm only on 56% completion as of writing this but I fully expect to return and tack on another bunch of hours in the future
The combat and movement in this game is extremely fluid and fun, mastering it was the best part once retrieving all the movement options, I felt like I could fly around the screen hacking and slashing as I went.
I have slightly mixed feelings about the exploration aspect, but that might come from a personal like of having SOME direction, which in Hollow Knight you're given almost none at all.
Difficulty levels throughout the game felt really random. Some stuff earlier on is way way harder than the final boss (which I beat first try, not bragging as I didn't beat any other boss first try).
The high quality art style, animations, expansiveness, and characters in Hollow Knight are something any game dev would wish to get a fraction of, and the gameplay is almost unmatched in this genre.
I'm only on 56% completion as of writing this but I fully expect to return and tack on another bunch of hours in the future
1986
At first I tried playing this game blind. About 5 hours in I realised this game is pretty much unplayable without knowing exactly where to go / what to do unless you want about 10x amount of hours.
With a guide this is a super fun game and holds up pretty well. I would always try to figure something out by myself at first before looking it up but if I figured it out it would always feel super rewarding. I just didn't feel like spending 1hr+ every time I was stuck because in the end I'd just get stuck about 10 minutes later due to the nature of the game.
I can understand why this game was so big for it's time, and as a Zelda scrub I'm looking forward to playing some of the more highly regarded titles in the future
With a guide this is a super fun game and holds up pretty well. I would always try to figure something out by myself at first before looking it up but if I figured it out it would always feel super rewarding. I just didn't feel like spending 1hr+ every time I was stuck because in the end I'd just get stuck about 10 minutes later due to the nature of the game.
I can understand why this game was so big for it's time, and as a Zelda scrub I'm looking forward to playing some of the more highly regarded titles in the future
2014
This game has not aged well at all. I feel like only nostalgia / love of the future games could make you finish playing this. Gave me no reason to keep playing. At least the HD Remaster makes it look OK
1997
I went into this game thinking that it was a classic. This game has not held up well at ALL.
The movement is clunky and difficult to get used to, the gameplay is very so-so, especially considering the fact that it is a sequel to one of most highly regarded platformers (Yoshi's Island on SNES).
However, the visuals are nice, the artstyle is cute and is a well-done evolution from the 'drawn' artstyle of it's predecessor. The music is... interesting; I didn't like it that much but I can understand why others would.
And after a bit of time playing, I got used to the controls and at some points even found it slightly rewarding. But in the end I decided it wasn't worth going back to complete all the possible levels, I'd much rather play a different game.
Also the boss fights are an absolute joke they took probably 30 seconds if I were to compile their times together because they were that easy
The movement is clunky and difficult to get used to, the gameplay is very so-so, especially considering the fact that it is a sequel to one of most highly regarded platformers (Yoshi's Island on SNES).
However, the visuals are nice, the artstyle is cute and is a well-done evolution from the 'drawn' artstyle of it's predecessor. The music is... interesting; I didn't like it that much but I can understand why others would.
And after a bit of time playing, I got used to the controls and at some points even found it slightly rewarding. But in the end I decided it wasn't worth going back to complete all the possible levels, I'd much rather play a different game.
Also the boss fights are an absolute joke they took probably 30 seconds if I were to compile their times together because they were that easy
2016
I think an experience I had playing this game is a testament to how good it is.
I was waiting for a couple friends to come round, but had an hour or so to kill, so I sat down to play a bit more of The Witness, a puzzle game I'd picked up the day before. When they arrived I said "I'll just finish this puzzle". Before I knew it we were all entranced in this game for the next few hours, addictively going from puzzle to puzzle, exploring this vibrant colourful, masterfully laid out island.
Both friends ended up buying & completing the game themselves. If you like puzzles/brainteasers then The Witness is an incredible game to pick up, especially if you want a break from the usual genres.
I was waiting for a couple friends to come round, but had an hour or so to kill, so I sat down to play a bit more of The Witness, a puzzle game I'd picked up the day before. When they arrived I said "I'll just finish this puzzle". Before I knew it we were all entranced in this game for the next few hours, addictively going from puzzle to puzzle, exploring this vibrant colourful, masterfully laid out island.
Both friends ended up buying & completing the game themselves. If you like puzzles/brainteasers then The Witness is an incredible game to pick up, especially if you want a break from the usual genres.
(played on Switch)
Incredible art style. Solid amount of levels, doesn't go on too long nor too short. Gameplay and movement is super fluid and allows you to do some cool stuff (some). My problems with this game however are:
That it is slightly too easy to just run through a level without doing too much
The mechanic of retrieving Mario when hit is kind of frustrating (not to mention the wailing I just want him to stfu)
This game, as many others, suffers from badfinalboss-itis. The final boss was very cool graphically, but the gameplay was dull and didn't feel very fulfilling.
Great game though! Unique mechanics, loved it almost all the way through. If you're a Mario/platformer fan then this is a must play
Incredible art style. Solid amount of levels, doesn't go on too long nor too short. Gameplay and movement is super fluid and allows you to do some cool stuff (some). My problems with this game however are:
That it is slightly too easy to just run through a level without doing too much
The mechanic of retrieving Mario when hit is kind of frustrating (not to mention the wailing I just want him to stfu)
This game, as many others, suffers from badfinalboss-itis. The final boss was very cool graphically, but the gameplay was dull and didn't feel very fulfilling.
Great game though! Unique mechanics, loved it almost all the way through. If you're a Mario/platformer fan then this is a must play
I've always heard great things about this game as a very solid platformer and I've got to say that it delivered in every aspect.
I love the art style. The sprite designs were great, giving a mix of very modernistic designs along with these strange vague enemies that you might see in a plaformer from the late 80s/early 90s.
The music and sound design fit perfectly in the overall approach. While I didn't find myself humming any particular tune, they were certainly enjoyable throughout the game.
Lastly, while the story isn't exactly the deepest thing, the ending surprised me in how it made me feel. I won't spoil it but the final moments spiked some emotion in me that I certainly wasn't expecting.
This game was a solid game to play while travelling with the switch, would recommend to anyone looking for a quick and fun game that isn't too challenging. Looking forward to playing the sequels
I love the art style. The sprite designs were great, giving a mix of very modernistic designs along with these strange vague enemies that you might see in a plaformer from the late 80s/early 90s.
The music and sound design fit perfectly in the overall approach. While I didn't find myself humming any particular tune, they were certainly enjoyable throughout the game.
Lastly, while the story isn't exactly the deepest thing, the ending surprised me in how it made me feel. I won't spoil it but the final moments spiked some emotion in me that I certainly wasn't expecting.
This game was a solid game to play while travelling with the switch, would recommend to anyone looking for a quick and fun game that isn't too challenging. Looking forward to playing the sequels
Played on Switch
This game is incredible. As a Zelda scrub, after playing the original game I thought 'wow yeah I can see why this game was huge back then, doesnt hold up well now though'. What I didn't expect was that the next (playable) entry was not just going to blow my mind but also holds up almost perfectly even now over 30 years later.
The art, the animations, the music, the sound design, the overworld, the dungeons, the bosses, the gameplay; everything was absolutely fantastic and I would highly recommend this game to anyone, especially as it's on Switch.
I didn't expect this to be one of the best games I've ever played but here we are.
This game is incredible. As a Zelda scrub, after playing the original game I thought 'wow yeah I can see why this game was huge back then, doesnt hold up well now though'. What I didn't expect was that the next (playable) entry was not just going to blow my mind but also holds up almost perfectly even now over 30 years later.
The art, the animations, the music, the sound design, the overworld, the dungeons, the bosses, the gameplay; everything was absolutely fantastic and I would highly recommend this game to anyone, especially as it's on Switch.
I didn't expect this to be one of the best games I've ever played but here we are.
2000
This game is super fun and definitely an underrated fighting game series.
The unique mechanic of 'beast' mode adds an awesome layer to this game and allows for some insane combos.
While the artstyle isn't anything super original, the game looks great, plays so well and the controls feel fluid, allowing for some awesome moments.
My personal main was Half-Beast, her combos were super fun and allowed for some juggling potential. My gripe with this game was just that the timer was kind of annoying with how it interacted with supers. Most games will pause the timer while a super 'cutscene' plays out but you can lose even if landing a super like 6 seconds before timer runs out, which feels kind of lame.
The unique mechanic of 'beast' mode adds an awesome layer to this game and allows for some insane combos.
While the artstyle isn't anything super original, the game looks great, plays so well and the controls feel fluid, allowing for some awesome moments.
My personal main was Half-Beast, her combos were super fun and allowed for some juggling potential. My gripe with this game was just that the timer was kind of annoying with how it interacted with supers. Most games will pause the timer while a super 'cutscene' plays out but you can lose even if landing a super like 6 seconds before timer runs out, which feels kind of lame.
2016
This is a game I've been intrigued to play for a long time, and finally got round to playing it.
I was not disappointed!
This whole game is so cinematic and well crafted that I couldn't tell when I was in a cut scene or not, I was totally immersed.
I've heard a lot of complaints about the AI of Trico, however this is probably due to them not being aware that the worse you treat it, the less it will listen. My experience with it was totally fine apart from one tiny section of the game it did admittedly frustrate me.
In fact I felt the AI was so good that I felt a real connection to Trico and loved the connection you make with it throughout the game.
This game was in development for a loooong time and it shows! It's a masterpiece and clearly crafted with love.
I was not disappointed!
This whole game is so cinematic and well crafted that I couldn't tell when I was in a cut scene or not, I was totally immersed.
I've heard a lot of complaints about the AI of Trico, however this is probably due to them not being aware that the worse you treat it, the less it will listen. My experience with it was totally fine apart from one tiny section of the game it did admittedly frustrate me.
In fact I felt the AI was so good that I felt a real connection to Trico and loved the connection you make with it throughout the game.
This game was in development for a loooong time and it shows! It's a masterpiece and clearly crafted with love.