SpecialAdeline
2021
Extremely fun! Just did a 100% playthrough on hard mode and had a great time. Some of my favorite boss fights in games, gorgeous environments and cinematics, and the best combat in any Metroid make me very forgiving towards the kind of silly story and the more restrictive exploration (which at least still feels more free and open than Fusion.) Also, if you're a freak for shinespark puzzles and precise platforming, you will love 100%ing this.
Just did a quick lil playthrough of Parappa this afternoon. An extremely mixed bag, I fear. There's a smattering of minor flaws like the cutscenes generally being kinda bad and the lyrics seeming like an afterthought half the time but those are both forgivable because they contribute to the shitty nostalgic Saturday morning cartoon vibes. What's really unforgivable is how nonsensical the note detection in this game is, like in the chicken stage I was only able to get through it by intentionally playing poorly and off the beat because I found that I would get more consistent successes that way than actually playing on beat. It's a shame that they didn't update any of the mechanical scoring stuff under the hood for this remaster because I would adore this game if it actually felt responsive. As it stands, I do still love a lot about this game, the songs are catchy and the vibes are delightful, but it just doesn't function very well.
I played thru this game a few months ago and never reviewed it because I forgot about this site so it won't be as fresh in my mind as I would like it to be when I log it but oh well. Overall I think this game's reputation is very earned. It's well made and its dungeons are consistently excellent but the game overall feels tired and uninspired for the first time in the entire Zelda series. I'm sleepy right now and don't wanna write much so I'm gonna make a pros and cons list type review even though I kind of think that's a lame way to review things.
Pros:
-The new items and dungeons in this game are incredible, some of my favorite dungeons in the series are from this game
-I like what they do with Skyloft, in theory anyways. The idea of having the lives and relationships of its residents change over the course of the game, opening up new stories and quests where you can sometimes even change how they play out as you revisit the island between adventures, but it feels so underutilized. There's just not nearly enough going on most of the time and it especially thins out towards the end of the game.
-Ballad of the Goddess rips
-Zelda gameplay is generally fun even if the structure around it is weak. I like solving puzzles and finding treasure and beating bosses!
Cons:
-The overworld is painfully linear even compared to other pre-BOTW 3D Zeldas. It really feels like you're on rails the whole time.
-The flow of acquiring items/rupees/upgrade/materials is so off, for example the final item you get for collecting all the gratitude crystals which I won't spoil but you have absolutely no need for it once you're at the point where you can get it!
-The sky is not very exciting! Very few islands with anything interesting on them, with most of them just having a treasure chest that you can't even open until you unlock it on the surface. If the compromise here was to have a more linear, disjointed overworld experience in addition to having a wind waker-y layer of islands above, then it was not worth it, because the sky is not nearly as good as wind wakers sea and the overworld is not nearly as good as any other Zelda's overworld.
-Wonky controls but I don't care that much tbh. Like I do to an extent but I can get used to it, it doesn't bother me the way all the structural stuff does.
-doesnt have the charm of other Zelda games, at least to me. The new races that appear in stead of Zora, Gerudo, Gorons (for the most part), etc. are just so very bland. Probably doesn't help that none of them have a town or sidequests or any really interesting interaction with their society!
anyways I am definitely forgetting a number of pros and cons but I don't care that much, I don't hate this game but it's a real letdown coming from a series as consistent and innovative and fun as Zelda
Pros:
-The new items and dungeons in this game are incredible, some of my favorite dungeons in the series are from this game
-I like what they do with Skyloft, in theory anyways. The idea of having the lives and relationships of its residents change over the course of the game, opening up new stories and quests where you can sometimes even change how they play out as you revisit the island between adventures, but it feels so underutilized. There's just not nearly enough going on most of the time and it especially thins out towards the end of the game.
-Ballad of the Goddess rips
-Zelda gameplay is generally fun even if the structure around it is weak. I like solving puzzles and finding treasure and beating bosses!
Cons:
-The overworld is painfully linear even compared to other pre-BOTW 3D Zeldas. It really feels like you're on rails the whole time.
-The flow of acquiring items/rupees/upgrade/materials is so off, for example the final item you get for collecting all the gratitude crystals which I won't spoil but you have absolutely no need for it once you're at the point where you can get it!
-The sky is not very exciting! Very few islands with anything interesting on them, with most of them just having a treasure chest that you can't even open until you unlock it on the surface. If the compromise here was to have a more linear, disjointed overworld experience in addition to having a wind waker-y layer of islands above, then it was not worth it, because the sky is not nearly as good as wind wakers sea and the overworld is not nearly as good as any other Zelda's overworld.
-Wonky controls but I don't care that much tbh. Like I do to an extent but I can get used to it, it doesn't bother me the way all the structural stuff does.
-doesnt have the charm of other Zelda games, at least to me. The new races that appear in stead of Zora, Gerudo, Gorons (for the most part), etc. are just so very bland. Probably doesn't help that none of them have a town or sidequests or any really interesting interaction with their society!
anyways I am definitely forgetting a number of pros and cons but I don't care that much, I don't hate this game but it's a real letdown coming from a series as consistent and innovative and fun as Zelda
2001
just gonna write a short lil bit about a few games I played that I forgot to log. Overall I think Parappa 2 is better than the first one but I do really hate when the songs get interrupted by "getting better/getting worse," it ruins the flow and it happens way too often sometimes. Aside from that, I think the rhythm detection is better, it has more good songs, and the cutscenes come across more like they were written and acted by people who can speak English. Third to last stage with the video game song is lame tho and feels like a waste.
2013
2017
2023
Gonna shit out some not too detailed reviews while I try to remember all the games I've finished since I last remembered about this site. Anyways this game rocked I'm fully pikpilled I can't wait to play all the other ones! I got all 30 ship parts in like 24 days or smthn btw. Yeah I'm a bit of a gamer (over half the Pikmin I spawned over the course of the game died)
2021
100 percented this fucker except for the stamps that require you to play every level with every character because I'm not playing through every level 5 times fuck off. Very fun though! I like the traditionally 2D Mario platformer conventions in a 3D game style though the limited camera angles can be irritating for lining up jumps. Very pretty game with a crazy good soundtrack I like Mario games :)
2021
100 percented this and it was very fun and I love this interconnected open world but with distinct levels format and I hope they do a full game with it but oh my god the bowser fury mechanic is so annoying sometimes. Always showing up when I don't want it and never showing up when I need it!! (There are certain shines you need it to be active for). A Mario game should not involve me waiting for the world to do something so I can get a collectible while I leave my switch on the table and eat pistachios
I could gush about this game forever I played 200 hours of it and will play more of it for years to come but it doesn't quite have the BOTW sauce for me. It takes BOTW's world and turns it into a crazy wacky playground and it rules and I don't fault it for that because obviously I don't just want them to make BOTW again but BOTW's magic was in its serenity and slowness and the way you really had to work to get from one place or another and you really felt like an adventurer. Basically I don't like this game as much as BOTW but ultimately do not fault it for any of those changes because I do not want them to make the same game twice
2019
2021