After playing this game I can definitely see why it's considered one of the greatest games ever made, because this game does so many cool things! It has an excellent story (which establishes itself as a proud member of the Chrono Trigger family along with Xenogears), excellent music, excellent art direction (I never would have thought a PS1 game could seemlessly fuse FMV with gameplay), and the only parts that really left me dissatisfied were basically a result of aging and being outdone by future games. This is definitely a game I'm going to replay eventually on my own terms, because I want to explore more of the battle system and overall gameplay which I didn't engage with much; I was too hooked on the story.

After being disappointed by Bayonetta 3, I was kind of turned off by this game when it was first revealed and held off for about a year before playing it, but I really enjoyed this! It's full of charm everywhere you look, and the storybook presentation reminds me of Kirby's Epic Yarn in the best way.

You control two characters in this, being Cereza and the demon residing in her stuffed doll, Cheshire – moved by the left and right stick respectively. Combat is almost entirely left to Cheshire (although Cereza can hold enemies in place) who attacks with just the right trigger, but because this is PlatinumGames, it's turns out a lot deeper than you expect. Cheshire eventually gains four elemental powers that can be swapped freely by pressing the face buttons, and if done while in an attack animation, each transformation will produce a unique attack that can add to combos. These elemental powers are also tied to progression, because it turns out this game is actually a Metroidvania, with different areas being locked off until you have the right power.

Exploration can be a bit tricky in this game due to a lackluster camera which has a slight delay on it, and because this game takes an isometric viewpoint, hard to see paths felt unnecessarily tricky to spot.

Overall though this game was a delight, and if PlatinumGames really is planning on going all in on live-service, at least they made one final good game before they fold under the weight of however many Babylon's Falls they have cooking over there. Stop fucking around and make good games again please PG.

Although the controls require more effort to learn than any other game I've played (and even then, things still feel off), this game is actually pretty fun and I even prefer it to Star Fox 64 in some areas, those being the on-rails and all-ranged sections when you're controlling the Arwing. I also enjoyed how you pick alternate routes by finding hidden paths in levels, rather than branching off in the level select menu.

After returning to it a few times, I can definitely see the PlatinumGames luster that was typical of the era, and I would love to see them make another Star Fox game.

Progressively falling in love with classic Tales, and this was no exception. Having a main protagonist already set in their ways with little room for growth is a risk, but Yuri is such an entertaining character that it more than made up for it. The party dynamic was really strong too; I really enjoyed the main cast as a whole. The story was a little weak, though.

I think this was the game where I really started to figure out how the combat system of these games work, and once I got things going I had a really good time with it. Overall a very solid game, and I would more than likely go back and do the extra stuff at some point.

This was the first indie game I've taken a chance on and spontaneously bought in a long while, and I feel like I was rewarded. Although Switch performance is a little spotty, it was never an issue during regular gameplay, and looks and sounds gorgeous. Despite the game's short runtime (it can be beaten in just a few hours), the variety of routes you can take to reach the end is enough that it almost begs to be replayed. The game merges narrative and gameplay extremely well – you can't approach exploring the highlands like you would a normal video game. While A Highland Song is far from merciless, it is more than happy to punish you for not paying attention to Moira's well-being or underestimating the danger of the seemingly peaceful Scottish highlands. I had to restart the game about four times to complete it because I made a mistake and got stuck, but it almost felt like an intentional approach to the game, and I was rewarded for my persistence with a better understanding and appreciation for the landscape.

The rhythm sections felt a little wonky, as despite my best efforts to synchronize inputs, it still felt slightly off with the otherwise gorgeous (licensed) music (I have Echo by Talisk on repeat as I write this).

This gets a solid recommendation from me.

I enjoyed this game, but wish it went further as a remake. I haven't played the original but it felt mostly unchanged, which I think is to its detriment. Although Bowser and Peach are quite similar to their current incarnations, Mario feels weirdly mischaracterized (he seems more angry and aggressive than his normally jovial, goofy self), and Mallow barely has a story arc while Geno has nothing, despite being such an important character to the plot. The premise of the story doesn't really have any relevance until the end, but at the very least the otherwise meandering story has some fun vignettes that keep things enjoyable. The gameplay is fine for the most part, save for the awkward platforming sequences which I feel like could have used more work - depth perception is weird and Mario drops like a rock as soon as he reaches the edge of a platform. The combat works very well and it feels good when you time your A presses just right. The game also looks gorgeous and runs well, and Yoko Shimomura's score is superb as always.

It's a good game and I recommend it freely, but I think it has a lot more potential than what it reaches here.

This was the first 2D Mario game to come out in my lifetime that didn't have the word "new" in front of it, and wow, this was a treat. The game is incredibly solid with a ton of charm and love put into it (one thing I felt the series has been lacking for a long time) and felt coherently designed with the world map being once again in conjunction with the levels for the most part (another thing the series has been lacking). I was worried the Talking Flowers would be annoying, but they instead turned out to be very funny and added so much flavor. The badge system was a worthy inclusion and was fun to play around with, and I think any concerns about it potentially breaking the game can be assuaged. I imagine it lends itself well to challenge runs too, and I'm really excited to see what speedruns of this game are like.

I'm struggling to think of any criticism I might have for this game, but all I can really say is that while it stayed pretty consistent in quality the whole way through, it never reached any particular highs or wowed me. It is, however, just a cute, charming, and wonderful game, and I can easily recommend it.

I've never played Wario Land so this is my first time experiencing a pizza-type game, and wow it ruled. This was an absolute blast to play through and through, with the bosses being the only real exception. Each level feels tailor-made for Peppino's movement, and given how this game was made predominantly by one person, that would be an impressive feat even if it wasn't really good. My only (but biggest) complaint are the boss fights, which tended to feel somewhat gimmicky and didn't really change over the course of the game; the strategy for each one is exactly the same – dodge projectiles and hit them when they start flashing – and didn't take advantage of Peppino's diverse moveset, so I can't help but feel like there's a ton of potential there.

Anyways this game is a GOTY contender and is absolutely an essential game from 2023.