Thuddert
It's always a joy to replay Yoshi's Island. The artstyle, the level design and the challenge in scoring 💯 on every stage is why I keep coming back to this game. Still my favorite game and couldn't have asked for a better game to close this year with.
Absolutely great addition to an already amazing game. The amount of tracks from Tour do feel a little like filler, but that's a small slight on this great package.
A neat little game from Falcom, made in a simpler time. It does feel rough around the edges here and there, plus it overstays itself for far too long, but still it is a good game.
2021
It's more picross. Just a good time.
Wonderful game, a brilliant showcase of creativity and skill. One of the best Mario games they made. Woowie zowie.
I had some fun playing Ishin, which takes us to scenes and locales that haven't been used in other RGG games. The 4 different styles are great mechanics that remind me of yakuza 0. That said not all are created equally, as the sword style deals way more damage but it's less flexible in usage. My favorite stance was definitely wild dancer as the evasive dodging looked and felt great. The story tries to be compelling, but Ryoma is even denser than Kiryu and seems to get away with a lot of things. The ending also leaves a bit of a bad taste as the game tries to backpedal on Japanese history.
Very good game that has some depth to it, but also relies on a bit of luck. Being able to pull off combos consistently is amazing.
I really liked playing through the SaGa games, as I had never had the chance to back in the day. They start off pretty rough, but by slowly figuring out the mechanics and systems of the game it becomes a wonderful challenge to overcome. There's definitely some limitations with them being gameboy games originally, still that didn't stop for making three solid games with some neat ideas. Each game has a myriads of places to visit and a somewhat decent story that follows along with it. Only downsides are the encounter rates which are hard to manage, the number of enemies on screen and somewhat clunky visual design here and there. While the third game is definitely the weakest one of the three, it is still a good game.
I really liked this replay of Ages, it complements Seasons by providing a richer experience with its focus on puzzles and story. I find Ages to be more daring with its ideas than Seasons even if it doesn't always pan out right.
Enjoyed playing this game again after a while. The dungeons and the bosses aren't great, but I like the items in them a lot. The animal buddies are amazing and it's pretty cool they were able to make two world maps on the gbc.
Reverie is half way back to what makes a falcom game great fun: a combination of building story sequences and engaging gameplay. The three different routes help keep it varied. It tries to clean up the mess from the last game, but can never really outgrow its shadow. At the end of the day it gives hope for a better tomorrow, one that was sorely needed.
1997
It's a wholesome experience with the cute animal buddies again. The art is stunning. Only thing that's missing is a more consistent level design.
Playing through this game was a long journey with both heights and depths. Often times I felt that they went for better theming, eventhough it made the gameplay worse. However those that are courageous enough to venture forth, await a satisfying ending to this tale.
1996
It's still one of the greatest games of all times, simply for how much fun the gameplay is. Every move you have to master to complete the game.
The low poly 3D look is cute and the copy abilities are interesting. Gameplay could have been a bit smoother though.