It's a very faithful remake, which means I have the same issues as I had with the original. It's still great though. RE4 has a vibe to it, and it's very fun to play through. I just hate that the final act is a giant call of duty level (the zombies even have fucking military helmets), how focused on giant bosses it is (the worst part of RE), how Major Krauser still exists and somehow is half of these bosses and how the tiny creepy corridors of past titles were replaced by "zomg look at how many guns there is".

Someone tell Capcom they don't need to add star-based challenges nor pointless sidequests (really? kill 5 rats? this is supposed to be a horror game) to their games anymore. The moment I saw there was a shooting minigame, I pissed my own pants. When I saw that the reward for it was %-based bonus equipment from a gacha system I also shat them. When I saw that the stupid figurine I got from it was labelled "EPIC RARITY" I immediately threw up so hard I popped a blood vessel in my forehead. Please fucking stop . AITA??

Even after all this time, Red Dead Redemption still feels like Rockstar's first (successful) attempt at making a sincere story with something to say. Not that the narratives of their previous titles weren't compelling; don't get me wrong. In fact, they certainly struck gold with GTA IV's Niko Bellic as a complicated protagonist with a dark past navigating the wacky, unruly world of Grand Theft Auto. That being said, the GTA games still all have a very deliberate air of high-concept action movie mayhem and set pieces that keep them from being taken too seriously.

Red Dead Redemption, however, is built different. Yes, it's an obvious homage and loving amalgamation of Western tropes and archetypes, but it's still also a worthy and honest entry into the genre as a whole. I realize this comes across as gatekeeping a bit, but it's just a testament to how John Marston's story is still so effective and captivating after several playthroughs of it.

It's funny, since taking this story in again with the full context of Red Dead Redemption 2 as a lengthy prequel doesn't ruin it or cheapen it with retcons (or reverse retcons, I guess??), which I suppose is a testament to the second game more than anything, but I can't help but imagine they had more of Marston's backstory with the gang planned out ahead of time than they were letting on. Or perhaps not, and they're just really good at weaving a satisfying story.

I realize I haven't yet mentioned anything about gameplay, but really, that's because I have sparingly few complaints about it, and the ones that I do have are largely thanks to the PS4 port (even though the framerate has thankfully been fixed). Really, my biggest qualm with Red Dead's gameplay has to be anytime you're on horseback and you're forced to shoot at other enemies on horseback while keeping up with your companion. Even with lock-on aim, it's still a chore, and there are a fair number of these encounters throughout the game.

It's crystal clear that my summary of Red Dead Redemption is that it's a truly fantastic game, and I love it. I wouldn't quite go as far as to call it Rockstar's magnum opus (at least until I've played the sequel/prequel again), but it's undeniably in their top 3. Despite the issues with this port, it's still probably the best way to experience Red Dead Redemption if you haven't yet. Given the lack of multiplayer here, you're still treated to a true classic of the medium and a loving tribute to Westerns as a whole.

9.5/10

Yoshi's Island is an exploratory, secret-finding, puzzle-oriented, collectathon take on Super Mario World. It might very well be the best looking game on the SNES. Every level is gorgeous, with a ton of visual variety and a fantastic soundtrack to match. It's too bad that the SFX are mixed a bit too high and drown out the music with some really unpleasant noises.

I found the controls to be a bit too slippery for my liking, but the levels are generally well designed to match Yoshi's movement and abilities. Many of the levels were a bit too mazelike, a few excruciatingly so. Thankfully the boss battles are charming and puzzly rather than being excessively difficult.

About 1/3 through the game I stopped trying to collect everything. This made the game a bit more fun, as the collectibles were often frustrating or tedious to grab. But, I did get the sense that I wasn't playing the intended way. Since there's no real value to secrets other than score embiggening, high scores become the primary motivator for play. Without that, I felt like I was just going through the motions of platforming, with cumbersome movement to boot.

(played on switch via 3d all stars). this game has it's major flaws. certain levels are so shit that its actually enraging to complete. the camera is pretty shit in this game, too (arguably either on par or worse than 64's). however, this game excels in certain areas, too. the direction they took in making this a beach-vacation-gone-wrong is fun and interesting. and need i remind you this game created the now-infamous bowser jr as well as the underrated and protective toadsworth? this game was trying to do something new... but it just lacks in certain developmental areas. for years this game has been said to be rushed, which would explain the certain flaws. however, for a rushed game, this isn't the worst. sure, those levels that made me rage stick out like a sore thumb in my memory, but everything else was perfectly normal. FLUDD is also a surprisingly fun mechanic to use(and character tbh). levels (or bosses) where i had to just clean up the poopy goopy messes were actually pretty fun to me. so overall, its flawed, but not terrible. nintendo tried to do something fun and different, and it paid off. to this day, piantas are still everywhere in the background, toadsworth was a staple for a while, and bowser jr is in smash. so, good for mario sunshine for being imperfect yet still enjoyable and having a fun atmosphere.

Mario 64 is one of, if not my favourite game of all time, and Mario Galaxy isn't far behind. I think that's why I dislike this game to such a degree. I really enjoy 3D Mario and I want this to enjoy this game but I just don't like it at all.

The movement is undoubtedly the best part about this game, similarly to 64, but unlike Mario 64, the controls are not complemented by the level design nearly as well. The levels and the missions within those levels felt like they were designed with JUST the idea of F.L.U.D.D., and not all the other crazy shit Mario has in his arsenal.

Sirena Beach is a good example of this. Outside of the obligatory missions that involve secret levels, they literally just boil down to "Go here, spray this, proceed" or "Scrub this specific area clean". The King Boo mission doesn't fall under this formula, but it's not particularly well-designed either.

I think this is why the secret levels are my favourite part of the game. When F.L.U.D.D. is out of the picture, the levels are created in a manner that encourages you to utilize the moves you've been given and get creative. It's where the game really shines (xd), because as I said earlier, the controls is the best part of the game.

Level design and F.L.U.D.D. aside, the missions are just kinda... boring? They aren't bad or anything, but to me, most of them just aren't interesting at all. I feel like I explained why I think this with the Sirena Beach example from earlier.

The "get 7 shines from every stage" is the most egregious part of this game to me, and is one of my least favourite designs in any video game that I've ever played. Aside from forcing you to play missions you don't want to, it makes half of the content in the game redundant, if you're not going for 100% that is. You can chalk it up as just "optional content" but I hate the idea that some shines are inherently worth more than others, especially when Mario 64 just demonstrated how fun having the freedom of choice when it comes to selecting what missions you want to play and which ones you don't. I'm seriously struggling to find a single find a single upside to this type of design. It's bad game design and a big enough issue to straight-up kill the game. There's a reason why they went with the 64 approach when it came to selecting levels and missions in Galaxy.

I'm not gonna comment on the story and voice-acting, because I don't care. The game has way more prevalent issues that I just went over.

A lot of the issues I have with this game probably, definitely come down to personal preference, but I hope I still got my points across well.