Not usually a fan of the sort of things this game pulls off (one hit deaths in a spike riddled obstacle course full of enemies that you have to avoid because you're also defenseless, that sort of thing), but it makes such good use out of it's level gimmicks that I didn't mind so much. The way the latter levels play with momentum and timing in particular was really fun to figure out! I probably would've liked it to have gone a bit more complex with it's ideas, but as is, it's still relatively engaging without being too obnoxious.

The writing's a bit naff though, like in that Modern Paper Mario, self aware & ironic way. Makes the titular dad seem like more of an asshole than the developers intended? It'd be a pretty cute little family story if it had landed, but alas, I kinda get why his kids kinda ran away from him...

A fun way to kill 2 hours, in the end. I wonder how the sequel's turned out...?

An early 3D shooter that, while a little clunky to control and very brisk in length, more than makes up for it by simply being a joy to play. Nothing quite matches the thrill of waiting nervously for the lock on to line up on your target while you're either:

A. Being shot at;
B. Flying a bit too close to the ground for comfort;
C. All of the above;

and nailing it, cheered on by the enthusiastic whoops of your copilots and big 'BINGO!' text across the screen! I really like how you use your 'score' to buy different planes, each with their own unique stats, that also double as your 'lives'. It's a clever way of being arcade-y while adding a risky bit of depth to difficult missions. Just wish there were a few more to play!

P.S. Namco once again kills it on the OST front, this time pairing some fantastic guitar licks to only the finest synth instrumentals: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CGR9gv1KHTQ

Possibly the most fun I have playing as a character in a video game. Oh, what's that? The camera's bad? The music (especially towards the end) is repetitive? Tiny-Huge Island in general? Easy to overlook when you're chaining long jumps and careening around the various open stages with the sloppiest grace imaginable. I highly recommend going for 100%, THEN replaying to see how you can better utilize Mario's moveset to get the stars more efficiently. Trust me, your third eye'll open and you'll become like me: Doomed to replay this classic once a year forever more!

Astonishingly beautiful in it's fluid animations and wonderfully exaggerated backdrops, this classic's presentation rightfully has left it's mark on everyone who played it. By the end of the game, the difficulty winds up becoming that particular bullshit you'd expect from an arcade game, but it's highly responsive controls and extremely entertaining selection of weapons and powerups are never at fault. In particular, the eponymous Metal Slug is a novel and welcome relief from the chaos, with it's three hit points and superior firepower!
The perfect little game to do a few laps in between larger titles. Going to try and, if not 1CC, as few as humanly possible..

Pleased as punch to say that this game's more enjoyable here than on Wii U, thanks in part to the 'easy mode' that gives you 3 hearts and lets you keep the things you've collected during the current stage after you die. It actually balances the game in a way that makes it fun to get through, rather than tedious and annoying! I noticed that they fixed a certain thing with the final boss, making it much, MUCH less of a downer to end the game on.

Outside of that? Just another solid 2D sidescroller from Retro Studios. It isn't the Best Platformer of All Time as a lot of people seem to claim it is (not with how dragged out the boss battles tend to be), but still worth playing if you're hankering for something in the genre.

Graphically, it holds up super well, looking just as good now as it did in 2014. I was never particularly into the Dreamworks' Madagascar look Retro went with for the characters, I still adore how rich and deep the locales are. I just want to reach in and explore these massive, crumbling ruins for myself, screw whatever's happening on stage!

Alas, I'm a bit torn on the music, as what's good is really good, but I'm afraid that Dave Wise kinda found a 'style' and stuck to it, leaving a lot of the tunes to bleed together. It's all very pleasant, mind, but I can't see myself going out and meditating to it like the Rareware stuff, you know?

It feels weird to come around to this game after disliking it for so long, but idk, it's better this way. It's nice to be wrong sometimes...

A fun, exhilarating Luftrausers-like that could do with a bit of narrative trimming and a control scheme that didn't hurt my hands. Sometimes less is more when it comes to a story, especially in an action game, so having constant interruptions before, after and during missions winds up disrupting the pace more than accelerating it, especially with writing this flat and overconfident. Feels more like a TVTropes page come to life more than the 90's anime it wants to be...

But who's actually playing this for the narrative when you have dogfights this chaotic and boss fights this imposing? Adding a dodge function and a more traditional heath system to an already solid base makes for some truly tense and amazing missions to scrape by in, and coupled with risk/reward upgrade modules and a ranking system that actually explains itself logically, you've got one hell of a game to try and master! That is, if your hands don't give out after about 20 minutes of play...

Yeah, this is the other big problem, which isn't easy to explain and might just be me? But it genuinely impacts the replayability of the game in a negative way.
There's too many vital functions tied to the shoulder buttons (the biggest culprit being the left bumper, imo), which leads to a lot of uncomfortable moments where you're holding down too many buttons at once and it all starts cramping painfully.... It's a shame, too, because there's so much content to get through (NG+, Arcade Mode, just SSS-ranking all the missions without losing health, etc.) for those who love this sort of thing!

The New Game + seems genuinely interesting though, in a Nier/Ico sort of way, but I think I need a break to properly appreciate it. For now, though, I enjoyed what I played of it, and look forward to what the team puts out next! Might go grab the OST at some point too, because damn, that's some good Math Rock...

What starts out as a humble JRPG lampoon quickly becomes an engrossing, utterly unique experience of it's own accord. It genuinely brings tears to my eyes, seeing a game I fell head over heels for as a teen not only hold up a decade on, but have the exact same power over those playing it's very recently English version for the first time.

It's a high recommendation from me, and one best experienced as blindly as possible. Just know to rest often, take your time, and Open the Door when the time comes...

Haters really aught to take Spring Yard's advice and learn to COPE with the fact they cannot enjoy a classic like this B-)

...Nah but for real, thanks to the recent android decompilation, it's nice to finally beat this game after years of 'just not getting it' and quitting in the middle of the second zone. Having that small safety net of saved progress does a lot for playing a game of this vintage for the first time, and now that I know the lay of the land I'm interested in trying it out 'the original way' sometime.

Otherwise? Not much to say that hasn't already been said many times before. The big open stages with ramps and loops really fun; the ones between them tend not no be (Labyrinth Zone is by far the worst set of the lot); Graphics and Music are a timeless aesthetic; Sonic himself is very charming and cool. Well worth the hassle it is to set up!

An enjoyable and cathartic top down action game dripping with atmosphere and adrenaline that's let down by being half baked in a number of small-yet-crucial ways. A lack of voice acting in cutscenes cripple what's already an otherwise threadbare narrative and setting. An inconsistent, busted scoring system ultimately sucks the fun out of learning (and experimenting with) the game's various mechanics. A general sense that the game was hastily scaled down from 'Cyberpunk Diablo' to 'Devolver Digital 4 hour romp' that leaves a hubworld barely visited and underutilized...

...But even then, I still found myself with plenty to love. I'm absolutely blown away at how gorgeous the visuals are, both in terms of fidelity and in art direction. This is punctuated pitch perfectly by one HELL of a soundtrack, with the highlight being 'Island Door (Paranesian Circle)' by Susumu Hirasawa of all musicians. And yeah, I'm ultimately a sucker for this type of 'Devolver Digital 4 hour romp', blood, gore, ethically questionable narrative and all.

It's yet another game, then, that I'll recommend when the sales start again. It's a damn shame, while also being a damn good time, too!

(...Dunno what all the Puppy Play shit's about tho, put a leather dog mask on the MC and get it over with lol)