TheBeautifulEric
1994
Played on Sonic's Ultimate Genesis Collection.
Thank goodness for save states, this game is hard. There were some sections that harkened back to Sonic 2 with unreactable hazards. It was weird having a battery save in Sonic 3, just for Sonic and Knuckles to decide that they didn't want to have that anymore.
With Sonic and Knuckles completed, I'm done with my foray into 2D Sonic. It has reaffirmed what I always knew in my heart: I do not like 2D Sonic. It had neat ideas, but I just prefer more linear levels that are easier to digest.
Thank goodness for save states, this game is hard. There were some sections that harkened back to Sonic 2 with unreactable hazards. It was weird having a battery save in Sonic 3, just for Sonic and Knuckles to decide that they didn't want to have that anymore.
With Sonic and Knuckles completed, I'm done with my foray into 2D Sonic. It has reaffirmed what I always knew in my heart: I do not like 2D Sonic. It had neat ideas, but I just prefer more linear levels that are easier to digest.
1989
Beat this game for the first time today, so that feels pretty good. Honestly, the only thing that really stands out is that it's a Mario game and it doesn't really look, sound, or feel like a Mario game. I like the music and the devs did a good job avoiding a problem I have with other handheld platformers where you don't see enough of the screen. It doesn't really do anything wrong per se, but I find I didn't really enjoy it enough to recommend this game to other people in 2024, outside of Mario fans that are curious.
I honestly think this will probably be my favorite game to come out this year. It's cute, silly, whimsical, charming, light-hearted, funny. Everything I wanted it to be. It's a bit short, but I really loved what was there. Collecting hats, exploring the city, and completing quests were all enjoyable. I hope we get a sequel or just more of this kind of game.
2021
I honestly don't remember the first game very well, so I can't directly compare the sequel to the first game too much. I'm pretty sure the first game felt more like a Metroid game with the main weapon being a projectile, while the second game has more of a focus on melee combat. In Axiom Verge 2, I liked the story and the fast travel system. I wish the map (the menu, not the level design) was better. There's only one color for manual map marking and the zoom levels aren't great. I think having more save points would have been made it more convenient to get around. I kind of wish items were marked on the map automatically like in Metroid, but this game makes the player mark all items by themselves manually. If you happen to walk by an item and not notice it initially, it's a pain in the butt when you're trying to backtrack to get all of the items. All in all, this was a fun game.
2005
This game still holds up. It's still the gold standard for 3rd person shooters as far as I'm concerned. I love the combat, the location damage, the enemy interactions, and the adaptive difficulty. This game raised the standard for everything that came after it.
My biggest complaints about the game overall is that I wish the map system was better. You can only see the current area and you can't even change what elevation you are looking at. Also, QTEs are mad annoying and I blame RE4 and GOW1 for making them prominent for such a long time. Finally, there were a few occasions where the camera felt limiting.
Playing this on PC reaffirmed my love for the Wii version, I just love the controls. The steam version is filled with performance issues and glitches. None of them made the game unplayable, but they were really annoying to deal with. Occasional frame drops, crashes, and the game not allowing you to save after beating Separate Ways for NG+ are the most prominent annoyances I dealt with. Overall, still a good time.
My biggest complaints about the game overall is that I wish the map system was better. You can only see the current area and you can't even change what elevation you are looking at. Also, QTEs are mad annoying and I blame RE4 and GOW1 for making them prominent for such a long time. Finally, there were a few occasions where the camera felt limiting.
Playing this on PC reaffirmed my love for the Wii version, I just love the controls. The steam version is filled with performance issues and glitches. None of them made the game unplayable, but they were really annoying to deal with. Occasional frame drops, crashes, and the game not allowing you to save after beating Separate Ways for NG+ are the most prominent annoyances I dealt with. Overall, still a good time.
This review contains spoilers
I really like the FF7 world a lot. The characters and themes are so strong. I love how fleshed out the characters are in this game specifically, particularly AVALANCHE. The combat is another strong point. The partner AI is very passive, but at least they aren't getting themselves in danger like the partners in FF15.
The things I didn't like: the pacing. I don't mind that a small portion of the original game was expanded on, but a lot of this game feels sluggish. There's a lot of watching or walking/talking/waiting instead of actually playing. Another thing I didn't like were the whispers. They represent fate in tangible form and I'm honestly not a big fan of fate being so literal like that.
For the Intermission specifically, the story is almost a waste of time. The gameplay is great though, I was surprised to find that Yuffie was my favorite character to control in the entire game.
Really excited for Rebirth to come to PC. I'm really interested to see where the story is going because it seems to deviate from the original timeline quite a bit.
Edit: I could’ve also done without the moral ambiguity. Please just let me feel like I’m doing the right thing, I can’t take the emotional turmoil. Also wanted to expand a bit more on what I liked about the writing. The characters feel closer to each other than they did in the original and cloud becomes like able a lot earlier.
The things I didn't like: the pacing. I don't mind that a small portion of the original game was expanded on, but a lot of this game feels sluggish. There's a lot of watching or walking/talking/waiting instead of actually playing. Another thing I didn't like were the whispers. They represent fate in tangible form and I'm honestly not a big fan of fate being so literal like that.
For the Intermission specifically, the story is almost a waste of time. The gameplay is great though, I was surprised to find that Yuffie was my favorite character to control in the entire game.
Really excited for Rebirth to come to PC. I'm really interested to see where the story is going because it seems to deviate from the original timeline quite a bit.
Edit: I could’ve also done without the moral ambiguity. Please just let me feel like I’m doing the right thing, I can’t take the emotional turmoil. Also wanted to expand a bit more on what I liked about the writing. The characters feel closer to each other than they did in the original and cloud becomes like able a lot earlier.
2020
I honestly like this game a lot. Not as fun as RE2R, but still enjoyable. I definitely need to get better at dodging though. I think one thing I legitimately am not a fan of is the dialogue. There's a lot more random swearing and it comes across as a way to sound edgy.
2016
I played the All You Can Eat Version on Switch.
A lot of odd glitches from teleporting, dying randomly, and non-player 1 players getting dropped from the game occasionally. As for the game itself, it built a strong enough foundation to be enjoyable. The teamwork, time management, and decision making is impeccable. As a single player experience, the first game is way harder since you're unable to throw. I feel like the stage gimmicks are a lot more diverse and difficult than in the sequel, which surprised me. I'm not sure why some of the gimmicks didn't make a comeback like the dark room and the door panels. The game really shines when playing it in multiplayer though, where it puts your communication skills to the test. It can definitely be a frustrating experience and it will put your relationships to the test, but it has the accessibility and chaos that make it a fun game for casual gamers to enjoy too.
A lot of odd glitches from teleporting, dying randomly, and non-player 1 players getting dropped from the game occasionally. As for the game itself, it built a strong enough foundation to be enjoyable. The teamwork, time management, and decision making is impeccable. As a single player experience, the first game is way harder since you're unable to throw. I feel like the stage gimmicks are a lot more diverse and difficult than in the sequel, which surprised me. I'm not sure why some of the gimmicks didn't make a comeback like the dark room and the door panels. The game really shines when playing it in multiplayer though, where it puts your communication skills to the test. It can definitely be a frustrating experience and it will put your relationships to the test, but it has the accessibility and chaos that make it a fun game for casual gamers to enjoy too.