Fallen Order succeeds entirely because of its lack of originality. There are almost no new ideas to be found here, and while that deserves some criticism, it does result in a quality game. The combat and exploration are basically just dark souls with some force powers added on, the parkour cinematics clearly draw inspiration from games like Uncharted, and they even tried to throw in some half-hearted BotW inspired dungeon puzzles. It doesn’t do any of those things quite as good as the games it’s drawing from, but it is done well enough. It’s also worth mentioning that I played this around the time it came out and it had some pretty glaring technical issues, and while those have probably been fixed after launch, it did negatively affect my experience at times. At the end of the day, whether you think this is a good or great game will probably come down to whether or not you like Star Wars.

Jak and Daxter was a franchise that I remember always hearing about back in the day, but never got to try out. Having played the first game in the series now, over 20 years later, my immediate thought is not that I missed out on an essential PS2 game, but rather that I missed out on a game that I surely would have loved as a child. It’s a 3D platformer that emphasizes collectables rather than difficult jumps or puzzles, and while that is not generally not the focus that I would want a game like this to take, it does do that aspect very well. Ultimately, it does a lot of great things and scratched most of the same itches that Ratchet & Clank did for me back in the day (and still does), but it feels more like the prototype for a bigger and better game, which I am hoping the sequels are when I get around to playing them.

There isn’t much to say about Super Mario 64 that hasn’t been said before. If you find yourself getting frustrated with the camera or the somewhat slippery controls, it’s important to stop and remind yourself that this game came out in 1996 and the fact that it’s even playable is remarkable. Admittedly, I’ve never been a huge fan of 3D platformers as a lot of times it feels like the only things to do are a basic jump and an attack button, but the impressive ways in which you can control Mario make for a consistently fun experience. I’d also be remiss if I didn’t mention the classic music which is so good it makes dire dire docks almost enjoyable. Ultimately, if you are someone who can look past some dated aspects of older games, you’re in for a real treat.