Squarked
11 reviews liked by Squarked
Super Mario 64
2020
Mario 64 has a lot of soul and playing it takes me back to my childhood, even though I never owned a N64. Unfortunately, the camera controls make for a very frustrating experience, that often times made me want to stop playing.
Also, having to exit a painting every time I got a star didn't feel great.
Still, for a 27 year old game, Mario 64 holds up very well and is still able to provide many hours of fun.
Also, having to exit a painting every time I got a star didn't feel great.
Still, for a 27 year old game, Mario 64 holds up very well and is still able to provide many hours of fun.
Red Dead Redemption
2023
This review contains spoilers
I believe that there are two ways you can experience this game, either playing it with no prior knowledge of RDR2 which many did way back in the day or like me playing it fully for the first time after playing RDR2 many times through. I truly believe playing this with the knowledge of the second game enhances the story in all the right ways. Don't get me wrong this game would still hold up if RDR2 never existed and it isn't as if RDR2 makes this game drastically better, it just compliments the story in all the proper ways.
To start off, the story itself is fantastic with amazing performances all around. All the story beats surrounding the old gang members are highlights of the game and are made much more emotionally investing with the prior knowledge, we aren't just hunting down bad guys, John his hunting down his former family, characters we have seen fall down this downward spiral, Dutch in particular. Speaking of, Benjamin Byron Davis gives an amazing performance in the small amount of screen time Dutch has, Dutch's final speech before his death is one of if not my favourite moment across both games. John's death is masterfully handled as it rightfully wraps up his story after he got his redemption and still hits hard to this day. A lot of small throwaway lines of dialogue are given a lot more meaning through the sequel which just makes the dialogue all the more enjoyable. The whole host of side characters make for great companions throughout the story, best of including Bonnie, Irish and Ricketts. Also with a lot of interesting and sometimes wacky side content to do in between missions.
Gameplay wise it holds up very well. There are some areas which feel a bit dated mainly the horse mechanics. Shooting ages very well. The map is vast and feels way more like a western setting than RDR2 does, primarily because most of the game takes place in either New Austin or Mexico.
Now for the controversial part, The port itself. I do agree that this game should not have been £40, however after looking at some of the games released in the later half of this year (Cough Cough UFC 5/ MWIII) Thank God it was only £40. It should of released with 60 Fps support of the bat, I played the last few missions with 60 fps enabled and the game looks even more fantastic. Graphically the game looks great, whether that's down to the port or the fact the game holds up really well regardless ill leave that for people to decide for themselves. At the end of the day, its a port of one of the best games Rockstar has to offer on a console that couldn't play it. Obviously i would of loved a ground up remake but in all honesty everyone was delusional thinking that a full remake was gonna happen with GTA 6 right around the corner.
I know i spoke a lot about RDR2 in this review and i dont want that to take away from the fact that i loved this game. I am in part glad that this wasn't a remake so it wouldn't be filled with RDR2 references like some people wanted. That is what takes away from the charm this has, but instead we now have a sequel that compliments the original extremely well. If you are a fan of the original or RDR2 and havent played the original yet, do yourself a favour and play it.
To start off, the story itself is fantastic with amazing performances all around. All the story beats surrounding the old gang members are highlights of the game and are made much more emotionally investing with the prior knowledge, we aren't just hunting down bad guys, John his hunting down his former family, characters we have seen fall down this downward spiral, Dutch in particular. Speaking of, Benjamin Byron Davis gives an amazing performance in the small amount of screen time Dutch has, Dutch's final speech before his death is one of if not my favourite moment across both games. John's death is masterfully handled as it rightfully wraps up his story after he got his redemption and still hits hard to this day. A lot of small throwaway lines of dialogue are given a lot more meaning through the sequel which just makes the dialogue all the more enjoyable. The whole host of side characters make for great companions throughout the story, best of including Bonnie, Irish and Ricketts. Also with a lot of interesting and sometimes wacky side content to do in between missions.
Gameplay wise it holds up very well. There are some areas which feel a bit dated mainly the horse mechanics. Shooting ages very well. The map is vast and feels way more like a western setting than RDR2 does, primarily because most of the game takes place in either New Austin or Mexico.
Now for the controversial part, The port itself. I do agree that this game should not have been £40, however after looking at some of the games released in the later half of this year (Cough Cough UFC 5/ MWIII) Thank God it was only £40. It should of released with 60 Fps support of the bat, I played the last few missions with 60 fps enabled and the game looks even more fantastic. Graphically the game looks great, whether that's down to the port or the fact the game holds up really well regardless ill leave that for people to decide for themselves. At the end of the day, its a port of one of the best games Rockstar has to offer on a console that couldn't play it. Obviously i would of loved a ground up remake but in all honesty everyone was delusional thinking that a full remake was gonna happen with GTA 6 right around the corner.
I know i spoke a lot about RDR2 in this review and i dont want that to take away from the fact that i loved this game. I am in part glad that this wasn't a remake so it wouldn't be filled with RDR2 references like some people wanted. That is what takes away from the charm this has, but instead we now have a sequel that compliments the original extremely well. If you are a fan of the original or RDR2 and havent played the original yet, do yourself a favour and play it.
Unpacking
2021
fuck that guy for not letting her put her degree on the wall
F-Zero 99
2023
Nearly 20 years of being an F-Zero fan and feeding on scraps like Captain Falcon being in Smash Bros or Captain Falcon's Twister Race being in Nintendo Land but at last, after all that waiting, after all that suffering, Nintendo has brought F-Zero out of retirement with F-Zero 99, seemingly plotting the best path possible to properly revive the series in the future.
F-Zero 99 marries the two concepts of SNES F-Zero (where every lap you must finish above a certain number of people or you're eliminated) with the 99 series of games (where 99 real people online battle it out to be number 1 like in Tetris 99 or Pac-Man 99).
So F-Zero 99 at its core is built on the foundation of the SNES game where it looks like how you would remember the SNES game only now in HD with various track elements like ramps and mines now built in 3D. You have the same four vehicles of the SNES game along with the tracks all being from that game as well but a few elements have been taken from later entries in the series to help make it play a little closer to F-Zero X and GX. The boost mechanic works exactly like those games where your health is your boost. Boosting requires a portion of your health to be activated and this core mechanic is exactly why I love the F-Zero series so much. When you can lose health from crashing into walls or being attacked by other vehicles, this mechanic brings a huge level of risk vs reward to every race, particularly towards the end of a race when everybody is going gung ho and the slightest tap could eliminate a number of people. To further add to this mechanic, if you knock out another player, you not only refill you own health but also increase your health allowing you to boost even more giving you an advantage over other racers. This is what peak F-Zero is, a thrilling race between life or death where the more aggressive you play the more you are rewarded. Being over zealous comes with the risk of being eliminated early but playing your cards right can lead to the sweetest of victories.
To help with aggressive plays, the other mechanic brought in from X and GX is the spin attack. As the name suggests, this allows you to spin and attack other racers, damaging them while protecting yourself. To accommodate for having 99 players on the track, vehicles are now less slippery than they were in other F-Zero games meaning the spin attack doesn't quite knock people flying and pinballing around like it used to, instead it does a better job at repelling racers around you who are trying to nudge you off course. Unfortunately the side attack hasn't been brought back where double tapping the drift buttons would jerk your vehicle to the left or right to knock other racers flying, but there is a new mechanic introduced that is tied to the spin attack to help pull those further back in the race up the pack a little.
Now many F-Zero fans are probably thinking "a comeback mechanic? In a game all about rewarding skill and punishing mistakes? Why have they Mario Kart'd my F-Zero?" Well that's where you're wrong because this new mechanic has also been designed around F-Zero's incredible risk/reward pull. By spin attacking other vehicles, these little yellow orbs land on the course called sparks. Collecting these fill up a meter that allows you to use a Super Boost which takes you up to a new part of every course called the Skyway. The Skyway is full of boost pads and corner cutting allowing you to fly above the rest of the racers and catch up. This boost lasts longer the further back you are and will not drop you off on a corner or an area where there is no track underneath so more smart thinking players will use it in the most optimal of places but that also comes with the detriment with not being able to use your regular boost so you can end up missing out on the most optimal place to use that boost while waiting for the most optimal place to use the Skyway.
Even with the Skyway catch up mechanic, it still takes skill to actually finish first in a race. The further up in the pack you are the more likely you are to find cpu machines designed to hinder you. Grey vehicles that bump you much further than usual and red vehicles that explode upon contact taking a large chunk of your health away truly test if you deserve to be leading the race or not. There's also blue player controlled vehicles for people who crash out early to cause mayhem for around 30 seconds with spin attacks before blowing up and people further back in the race can find a golden vehicle that fill up a good portion of your super boost meter when collided with. There's a lot of reaction skill needed to navigate these obstacles and they help separate the best from the rest.
Further pushing this as a skill based game is how you start a race. Rather than hope for a good starting point in a traditional racing starting line up, instead all 99 players a lined up across a super wide piece of track that narrows down as you drive along before jumping across to the start line of the actual course itself, meaning if you want to start the race in a good position you have to earn it by forcing your way to the front of the pack yourself. Another cool thing about these portions of the course is that they're sometimes changed up a little bit. Sand Ocean usually starts with two separate courses that cross over each other before merging into one for the jump but sometimes you'll get one that is a bit simpler and ends with a massive strip of boost pads.
In terms of game modes your main mode is the 99 mode itself where 99 racers compete to earn first place. A few racers are ranked out every lap and the course is voted on before a race via the two options given, currently selected from Mute City 1, Big Blue, Sand Ocean and Death Wind. It works for the most part but unfortunately people do tend to gravitate towards Mute City or Big Blue meaning track variety can be an issue in this mode depending on your luck from the choices given. In the 99 mode you're given 4 rivals based on your current level and rank and if you manage to beat any of them you will increase your rank slightly. It's a great expansion of the rank system in X/GX and it manages to give you some satisfaction even if you're struggling to compete for a 1st place finish. Doing well in the 99 mode will earn you tickets which can be used in the prixs.
The other modes rotate in and out and these include a team battle mode where you're put into one of two teams and your team earns points based on position, damaging opponents with spin attacks, destroying opponents, etc and at the end you get a Splatoon style totting up of the points to see if your team's bar makes it across the halfway point for victory. It's a nice side mode to dip into every now and then. There's pro tracks which currently includes White Land and Port Town II from the Queen and King leagues for players to test themselves on in a 99 race. These courses are included as possible finales for the mini prix mode in which you race across 3 courses earning points based on where you finish in a somewhat more traditional style F-Zero grand prix. Ranking out or blowing up eliminates you from the competition entirely so there's a test of skill to see if you can even finish the prix as it cuts down its racers to 60 and then 40 for the end. The rivals system changes a little here where your rivals become the two racers above and below you in the rankings, increasing the tension even further as beating rivals will most likely mean you're moving up the rankings table. Mini prixs cost 1 ticket and are a ton of fun to compete in but the main attraction for me is the mode that is always in a countdown on the main menu…
The grand prix currently cycles in once every hour or on weekends every half hour and currently takes the 5 Knight League courses from the SNES game and has racers compete to earn first place. It works exactly like the mini prix mode but costs 3 tickets and with 2 more races, the number of racers is eventually cut down to 20 for the final race where you start more like a traditional race with each player placed on the starting grid in terms of their table ranking with 20th at the front and 1st at the back. The grand prix is a true test of your abilities as even just making it through all 5 races is a challenge in and of itself. Any extra health you've picked up from destroying vehicles carries over throughout the prix allowing you to boost more and adding an element of strategy. Do you want to spend the first race building up your resources by hanging back a bit and picking off weakened vehicles or do you want to try and race normally, hoping you defeat vehicles along the way. It's thrilling stuff and you can really feel the pressure on yourself after having a good start and sitting near the top of the table. Winning the grand prix is the ultimate test of skill and what I would call the crowning glory of the game.
On top of all this, by completing challenges with each vehicle in the game such as winning a race or making it through a race without bumping off a wall, you can earn cosmetics to change up the look of your vehicle and decorate your user card. It's nice having a few options to give each vehicle your own identity. It is a bit of a shame that there are only 4 vehicles currently. It's hard to say if they'll add any more or not but they do have plenty of options from other 2D F-Zero games like Maximum Velocity and GP Legend on the GBA. Course wise all the SNES courses will be added eventually, which will be great. Seeing how many people who actually make it to the end of Fire Field will be a lot of fun. I think it would be wise to add in GBA courses as well, especially if we're just keeping easier courses in the main 99 mode. It would add more options and avoid the current predicament of the same courses being picked over and over again.
F-Zero 99 expands upon what makes traditional F-Zero so great, essentially feeling like what an online mode of F-Zero would have felt like. In its current form it does lack depth in vehicle and course options but aside from those drawbacks, this is the most thrilling, competitive, addictive, and true to its core series from the 99 style games released so far. It has given me optimism for the future of F-Zero and finally satisfied the craving I've had for a new F-Zero for nearly 20 years.
F-Zero 99 marries the two concepts of SNES F-Zero (where every lap you must finish above a certain number of people or you're eliminated) with the 99 series of games (where 99 real people online battle it out to be number 1 like in Tetris 99 or Pac-Man 99).
So F-Zero 99 at its core is built on the foundation of the SNES game where it looks like how you would remember the SNES game only now in HD with various track elements like ramps and mines now built in 3D. You have the same four vehicles of the SNES game along with the tracks all being from that game as well but a few elements have been taken from later entries in the series to help make it play a little closer to F-Zero X and GX. The boost mechanic works exactly like those games where your health is your boost. Boosting requires a portion of your health to be activated and this core mechanic is exactly why I love the F-Zero series so much. When you can lose health from crashing into walls or being attacked by other vehicles, this mechanic brings a huge level of risk vs reward to every race, particularly towards the end of a race when everybody is going gung ho and the slightest tap could eliminate a number of people. To further add to this mechanic, if you knock out another player, you not only refill you own health but also increase your health allowing you to boost even more giving you an advantage over other racers. This is what peak F-Zero is, a thrilling race between life or death where the more aggressive you play the more you are rewarded. Being over zealous comes with the risk of being eliminated early but playing your cards right can lead to the sweetest of victories.
To help with aggressive plays, the other mechanic brought in from X and GX is the spin attack. As the name suggests, this allows you to spin and attack other racers, damaging them while protecting yourself. To accommodate for having 99 players on the track, vehicles are now less slippery than they were in other F-Zero games meaning the spin attack doesn't quite knock people flying and pinballing around like it used to, instead it does a better job at repelling racers around you who are trying to nudge you off course. Unfortunately the side attack hasn't been brought back where double tapping the drift buttons would jerk your vehicle to the left or right to knock other racers flying, but there is a new mechanic introduced that is tied to the spin attack to help pull those further back in the race up the pack a little.
Now many F-Zero fans are probably thinking "a comeback mechanic? In a game all about rewarding skill and punishing mistakes? Why have they Mario Kart'd my F-Zero?" Well that's where you're wrong because this new mechanic has also been designed around F-Zero's incredible risk/reward pull. By spin attacking other vehicles, these little yellow orbs land on the course called sparks. Collecting these fill up a meter that allows you to use a Super Boost which takes you up to a new part of every course called the Skyway. The Skyway is full of boost pads and corner cutting allowing you to fly above the rest of the racers and catch up. This boost lasts longer the further back you are and will not drop you off on a corner or an area where there is no track underneath so more smart thinking players will use it in the most optimal of places but that also comes with the detriment with not being able to use your regular boost so you can end up missing out on the most optimal place to use that boost while waiting for the most optimal place to use the Skyway.
Even with the Skyway catch up mechanic, it still takes skill to actually finish first in a race. The further up in the pack you are the more likely you are to find cpu machines designed to hinder you. Grey vehicles that bump you much further than usual and red vehicles that explode upon contact taking a large chunk of your health away truly test if you deserve to be leading the race or not. There's also blue player controlled vehicles for people who crash out early to cause mayhem for around 30 seconds with spin attacks before blowing up and people further back in the race can find a golden vehicle that fill up a good portion of your super boost meter when collided with. There's a lot of reaction skill needed to navigate these obstacles and they help separate the best from the rest.
Further pushing this as a skill based game is how you start a race. Rather than hope for a good starting point in a traditional racing starting line up, instead all 99 players a lined up across a super wide piece of track that narrows down as you drive along before jumping across to the start line of the actual course itself, meaning if you want to start the race in a good position you have to earn it by forcing your way to the front of the pack yourself. Another cool thing about these portions of the course is that they're sometimes changed up a little bit. Sand Ocean usually starts with two separate courses that cross over each other before merging into one for the jump but sometimes you'll get one that is a bit simpler and ends with a massive strip of boost pads.
In terms of game modes your main mode is the 99 mode itself where 99 racers compete to earn first place. A few racers are ranked out every lap and the course is voted on before a race via the two options given, currently selected from Mute City 1, Big Blue, Sand Ocean and Death Wind. It works for the most part but unfortunately people do tend to gravitate towards Mute City or Big Blue meaning track variety can be an issue in this mode depending on your luck from the choices given. In the 99 mode you're given 4 rivals based on your current level and rank and if you manage to beat any of them you will increase your rank slightly. It's a great expansion of the rank system in X/GX and it manages to give you some satisfaction even if you're struggling to compete for a 1st place finish. Doing well in the 99 mode will earn you tickets which can be used in the prixs.
The other modes rotate in and out and these include a team battle mode where you're put into one of two teams and your team earns points based on position, damaging opponents with spin attacks, destroying opponents, etc and at the end you get a Splatoon style totting up of the points to see if your team's bar makes it across the halfway point for victory. It's a nice side mode to dip into every now and then. There's pro tracks which currently includes White Land and Port Town II from the Queen and King leagues for players to test themselves on in a 99 race. These courses are included as possible finales for the mini prix mode in which you race across 3 courses earning points based on where you finish in a somewhat more traditional style F-Zero grand prix. Ranking out or blowing up eliminates you from the competition entirely so there's a test of skill to see if you can even finish the prix as it cuts down its racers to 60 and then 40 for the end. The rivals system changes a little here where your rivals become the two racers above and below you in the rankings, increasing the tension even further as beating rivals will most likely mean you're moving up the rankings table. Mini prixs cost 1 ticket and are a ton of fun to compete in but the main attraction for me is the mode that is always in a countdown on the main menu…
The grand prix currently cycles in once every hour or on weekends every half hour and currently takes the 5 Knight League courses from the SNES game and has racers compete to earn first place. It works exactly like the mini prix mode but costs 3 tickets and with 2 more races, the number of racers is eventually cut down to 20 for the final race where you start more like a traditional race with each player placed on the starting grid in terms of their table ranking with 20th at the front and 1st at the back. The grand prix is a true test of your abilities as even just making it through all 5 races is a challenge in and of itself. Any extra health you've picked up from destroying vehicles carries over throughout the prix allowing you to boost more and adding an element of strategy. Do you want to spend the first race building up your resources by hanging back a bit and picking off weakened vehicles or do you want to try and race normally, hoping you defeat vehicles along the way. It's thrilling stuff and you can really feel the pressure on yourself after having a good start and sitting near the top of the table. Winning the grand prix is the ultimate test of skill and what I would call the crowning glory of the game.
On top of all this, by completing challenges with each vehicle in the game such as winning a race or making it through a race without bumping off a wall, you can earn cosmetics to change up the look of your vehicle and decorate your user card. It's nice having a few options to give each vehicle your own identity. It is a bit of a shame that there are only 4 vehicles currently. It's hard to say if they'll add any more or not but they do have plenty of options from other 2D F-Zero games like Maximum Velocity and GP Legend on the GBA. Course wise all the SNES courses will be added eventually, which will be great. Seeing how many people who actually make it to the end of Fire Field will be a lot of fun. I think it would be wise to add in GBA courses as well, especially if we're just keeping easier courses in the main 99 mode. It would add more options and avoid the current predicament of the same courses being picked over and over again.
F-Zero 99 expands upon what makes traditional F-Zero so great, essentially feeling like what an online mode of F-Zero would have felt like. In its current form it does lack depth in vehicle and course options but aside from those drawbacks, this is the most thrilling, competitive, addictive, and true to its core series from the 99 style games released so far. It has given me optimism for the future of F-Zero and finally satisfied the craving I've had for a new F-Zero for nearly 20 years.
Gris
2018
Undeniably beautiful, but I couldn't help but be somewhat bored throughout most of the experience. Gris admittedly does pick up somewhat near the end of the game. I did quite enjoy the level devoted to "yellow" but still found myself wishing for there to be more of a game attached to the lovely watercolor-esque animations.
The video game equivalent of flavored-water.
The video game equivalent of flavored-water.
Pokémon Sun
2016
First time ever finishing a Pokémon game. The gameplay loop is super fun, but the dialogue often extends itself too much. Specially Lillie.
She'll spend 5 minutes of dialogue skipping saying the same thing in different ways.
She'll spend 5 minutes of dialogue skipping saying the same thing in different ways.
New Super Mario Bros on the Nintendo DS delivers strongly on its premise of a revamped 2D Mario on the go.
It's fun, visually appealing and the controls are responsive.
However, after playing all of the New Super Mario Bros. games that came after this, this first instalment feels specially outdated. Which was expected, but since I love the series so much and this was the only one I hadn't played yet, my expectations were unrealistically high.
So this feeling of being underdelivered reflects more upon my assumptions about the game rather than it's quality.
Overall fun experience with a few frustrating levels. Just wish I could have used the giant power-up more often!
It's fun, visually appealing and the controls are responsive.
However, after playing all of the New Super Mario Bros. games that came after this, this first instalment feels specially outdated. Which was expected, but since I love the series so much and this was the only one I hadn't played yet, my expectations were unrealistically high.
So this feeling of being underdelivered reflects more upon my assumptions about the game rather than it's quality.
Overall fun experience with a few frustrating levels. Just wish I could have used the giant power-up more often!
Gravity Rush 2
2017
One of the most uniquely beautiful art styles I've ever experienced in a game, that is only elevated by the deeply introspective/emotional storytelling and the chills inducing soundtrack. The gravity shifting gameplay ties it all perfectly making you feel like a superhero. The biggest problem with GR2 lies with the motion controls, that get a bit in the way of fully being in control of your character from time to time, specially in more intense fights with lots of enemies. Still, it's not a huge issue.
Great game. Wishing for a sequel!
Great game. Wishing for a sequel!
A Way Out
2018
this game is so stupid
Resident Evil 4
2023
Resident Evil 4 Remake hits the mark on all things that made the original special and elevates it to a tone that in my opinion better fits the franchise. While hearing Leon's one liners was undoubtedly entertaining in the '04 OG, the whole action hero cheesy schtick works best when used on other Capcom franchises like Dead Rising and DMC. Resident Evil shines when it portrays itself as a horror game rather than an action one, even if there's plenty of action to go around.
This remake is definitely worth a play whether you played the original or you're experience the fantastic RE4 for the first time.
This remake is definitely worth a play whether you played the original or you're experience the fantastic RE4 for the first time.