This game made me realize how tired I am of the main Pokemon series' combat system because I actually thought the GO catching mechanic on the wild encounters actually streamlined the game enough that it didn't just feel like I was playing the same game I've been playing since 1998.

You know, even though it's a remake of said game from 1998.

So there's my review. It's a game if you want to play a Pokemon games but you're tired of some of the Pokemon gameplay mechanics while wanting to play a game that has the other gameplay mechanics of the older Pokemon titles, creating a weird tonal Frankenstein's Monster of a Pokemon game that makes it feel weirdly out of place compared to Sword/Shield.

While this collection is definitely the best (or, at the very least, the most easily accessible) way to play these games, keep some things in mind before you buy:

1. They're the Dragon's Lair games, and I hope you know what you're getting into before you make this purchase because this collection probably won't change anyone's mind on the Dragon's Lair style of trial-and-error gameplay.
2. All three of these games take about an hour to beat. Yes, this means you'll be paying 20 dollars for a three hour game. Luckily, this collection goes on sale pretty frequently, unless you're buying the Wii version for over 50 USD, but why the hell would you do that.
3. The presentation of the menus can be best described as "early 2000's DVD" and it comes off as really unpolished. There's choppy music samples that loop, ugly button layouts, the full nine yards. I assume the Wii release of the game looked like this and they didn't really edit it much when porting to modern consoles.
4. There's not much in the way of bonus features. There's an interview and one deleted scene for Time Warp. Not a deal-breaker, but a major disappointment.
5. There's no way to pause or go frame-by-frame on the gorgeous 2D animation. Again, not a deal-breaker, but a disappointment.

But, despite that, if you are looking to play the Dragon's Lair games, this isn't a bad way to do it. The collection could've been better but hey, I'm glad these games are readily available. The 2D animation is charming and these games contain some of Don Bluth's best work. You just have to navigate some ugly menus before you play.

Is it wrong to say that this is my favorite Jak and Daxter game? This feels like the first time where Naughty Dog, post tone and storytelling shift, actually nailed the writing in this world that they've created. The stakes are high but not to the ridiculous "we're using time travel and other dimensions and whatever else we throw at the wall" degree that the previous games had. Instead Jak is fighting against seedy underground mafia shit after being poisoned from beyond the grave by someone he killed in Jak 2 and it rules. This is how I like my Jak and Daxter!

That being said, I do remember being oddly jealous of this game when it came out because I kinda wish we got a Ratchet and Clank racing game too. Yes I know there's racing minigames in the first two games, they're not the same, damnit!

While I do love this childhood game of mine and I think the mysterious "you figure it out" nature of recruiting Digimon and progressing through this game gives it a unique charm, it also took me 20 goddamn years to get to the final boss. Any kid that was able to beat this game in the 90's was either a gifted being born with divine will and patience or sprung for the strategy guide because good lord some of the game's puzzles and evolution requirements are disgustingly obtuse.

Also I love that one of the things that you unlock is a jukebox that will crash the game if you try to use it. A+ localization there.

I had to meditate on this game for a couple months after playing it to see what my opinion would be, and I have to say that this game's storytelling, visuals, and general vibe have been sticking with me long after I finished it, even if I think its sequel The Testimony of Trixie Glimmer Smith is the better game overall. It helps that this game leans more into dark comedy and the disgustingly annoying unpleasantness of the main character rather than "oh the cutesy cartoon world is secretly fucked up", even if, yes, it turns out the cutesy cartoon world is secretly fucked up.

It's a game that's set in a cute cartoon world starring a cute bunny character that has a secret fucked up layer to it, but at least there's a substance to it and a rather good attempt at lore-building rather than introducing the darker elements purely for shock value.