An amazingly atmospheric and tight platformer. While it has a few rough edges and doesn't quite have the scope or refinement of its successors, it's still super fun and I could play it dozens more times. This game was super impressive for its time, and also the first game I fell in love with. <3

As a kid, this set of 4 games didn't do much for me. I would play them and merely wonder why they weren't as good looking, snappy or fun as DKC. As an adult I can appreciate that SMB3 is actually really great, but 1 & 2 are just okay and Lost Levels is actively bad. I am still not a fan.

An incredibly well done refinement of DKC. Everything rough in DKC was polished here. The atmosphere is gloomy and thick, the worlds well executed and novel, the level design sharp. The two biggest additions are Dixie Kong, who is super fun to play as, and the reworked Bonus Rooms, which are now bespoke little challenge levels. A near perfect game, one of my favorite of all time. <3

A creative and well put together platformer that, to avoid direct comparisons to DKC2, went in some different directions. Rather than continue focusing on fast paced action, this game mixes in a good amount of more puzzley and tricky levels/mechanics that change things up. While some might be put off by this, I quite like it and appreciate that the game has its own unique flavor. It's lovely! <3

A charming kart racer for sure, but one I never really got the hang of playing. The way the kart slides around every time you try to turn really threw me as a kid, and even now I can only barely manage it. Still, I have a lot of fondness for the various courses even if I can barely drive on them. Call it nostalgia.

A really solid, funny, atmospheric, and charming adventure. My first 3D game, and the second series I feel in love with. It's still fun to this day to tear through it, collecting everything along the way. I only wish it lasted longer now I've mastered it, and that you weren't so pressured to do it all in one go. Still, it's a great game and I love it to bits. <3

Never had much affection for this Mario Kart. Like the original, I always had trouble steering correctly in this. The way the kart slid always defied my expectations. Add on top of that all sorts of weird idiosyncrasies from being one of the first N64 games and you get a package I never bothered much with. Much preferred DKR!

This game is hit or miss at best, and really reliant on you to make your own fun. To get anything out of this game you need to set goals such as getting every level unlocked, getting as many melons as possible, or unlocking Bonus Yoshis. Personally, I got a lot of enjoyment and replay value out of it playing this way. Even today while there are a lot of levels in here I flat out don't like, it's still a fun time.

An incredibly cool rail shooter with amazing production values and tons of cool shit. The non linearity gives it a lot of replay value, and it can't be understated how damn cool it was. The voice over was not only impressive for its time, but full of so much personality and charm. This game is remarkable, Star Fox was never this cool again.

The first platform fighter, and pretty good for being a first attempt. While the game is mostly there, I think a few things hold it back from being anything but a curiosity - for instance not giving players the option to play on Final Destination or Battlefield. It's still a charming game, and a very neat thing to look back at, but it's not anything I'd play again in earnest.

This game lacks most of the appeal of Pokemon. You don't catch pokemon, you don't travel, and you don't train up a team. The only thing it had going for it were some minigames that were fun at the time. I suppose at the time there was also some appeal to seeing pokemon fighting in 3D - it's hard to imagine buying a game just for that these days.

A fast paced and atmospheric racing game where you always feel out of control, but that almost feels like the point. As you tear through detailed environments at incredible speeds it only makes sense that ramming into a wall at full speed should only be a moment away. Cheats help, of course, and I made liberal use of them. Whether you're playing fair and unfair, the game is super cool.

A broken, obtuse and overly difficult game with a lot of charm and variety. Despite it's issues and the levels I could never hope to finish for many good reasons, I enjoyed playing this game a lot. It was super cool to find new forms, inhabit them, and abuse them to your own ends. It was worth putting up with some serious jank.

While at the time the sheer scope of the game impressed the hell out of me, over time I have soured on this game. The levels are huge, but also full of a lot of repetition, and the character swapping gets annoying fast, especially since most of the character differences are on the superficial side. To top it all off the basic gameplay is pretty bland, making it a bit of a slog. Still, I don't hate it. It can be mildly fun to this day to collect a bit here or there.

A bizarre and surreal exploration focused game, especially for those who are young. It was very neat to explore the strange strange world and find stuff that didn't make sense. I always felt like there was more to find, always more I wasn't seeing. Sometimes I miss when games seemed to be full of potential like that.