Mother 3 is the only game to ever make me cry. This game is the standard for character driven jrpgs that I've played. The story is very character driven and everybody in the village feels like their own person, including your party members. The game looks great and has a soundtrack that fits in perfectly. Rhythm battles are a way to keep basic attacks engaging, and the addition of status effect moves makes this game the best in the series for combat. Inventory management can be a bit irritating sometimes, and healing at hot springs is a bit slow, albeit useful. The final chapter can also leave players feeling like they might have needed to play Earthbound to play this game, which can be alienating if this is their first Mother game. This chapter also sports a questionably long plot dump that I don't think was necessary for motivating the player to beat the main villain. Mother 3 is a journey that I think everyone should experience at least once.

Earthbound is a cult classic that I think holds up decently today. A vast improvement over Earthbound Beginnings, Earthbound looks, plays, and sounds better than its predecessor. Despite this, the plots and main objectives of both games are almost the exact same. Eagleland and its inhabitants are varied and charming. The rolling HP mechanic is innovative and adds another layer of tension to otherwise pretty simplistic combat. The soundtrack is very good, with only a few tracks that I typically skip. Pokey is a total douche who's rise in power is never really explained. The main cast doesn't really communicate once they're together, which I think could have helped deliver the narrative if they commented on their actions or new locations. Earthbound doesn't take itself too seriously (until it does at the end), which might be a turnoff for some. I'd say play it on Switch if you have NSO, but don't go in with the same expectations you'd have of any other rpg.

Earthbound Beginnings is an NES rpg, which should speak for itself in terms of quality. The soundtrack is pretty good, a lot of the songs are catchy. The dance scene is cute. The idea of an rpg in "modern" towns is cool. That's about all I can say positively about this game. Plot progression is all over the place, I managed to find melody 6 before melodies 1, 3, 4, and 5. The story is nonsensical, and not in the funny Earthbound sense. The gameplay is very bare and outlandishly unbalanced, ESPECIALLY near the end of the game. The game doesn't look great, the color scheme just looks pale and the sprites are low quality. It was certainly an experience playing this game for the first time, one that I'm pretty sure I won't want to go back to again.

Skyrim is the game that keeps giving and one of the few great games Bethesda's ever made (fight me). The land of Skyrim is massive and varied, from fantasy forests to frozen tundras. There are dozens of ways that you can multiclass and make your own unique playstyle, from sneaking to tanking to spellcasting. Every dungeon is fun to explore, from small bandit caves to complex dwarven ruins. There is so much depth in Skyrim, from the daily routines the npcs follow to the books you can read. The soundtrack is genuinely beautiful and helps you get lost in what is an insanely fun open world rpg. I only have a few gripes, the first of which is the tried and true Bethesda slow start. Every Bethesda game takes too long to get out of the tutorial, and Skyrim is certainly no exception. The game is also fairly easy to exploit, which can ruin balance if you choose to do so. Lastly, the game can feel a bit grindy at later points due to skills taking increasingly longer to level up. Otherwise, I think Skyrim is a must-play for any open world rpg fan.

Fallout 76 takes what I like from Fallout 4 and puts it into a multiplayer setting. Appalachia is the most varied and interesting open world in the Fallout series. There are multiple biomes with different monsters that scale with your level. I beat the original main story back in 2018, which was intriguing, but lacking due to the absence of human NPCs and polish. I started the Wastelanders story, but never finished it. I like a lot about 76. Base building feels relevant since now you can build a house with/for players or friends. I like the perk system and how you can optimize builds. However, the main gameplay loop from Fallout 4 remains. This loop of exploring, looting, and scrapping for parts, works until you start to run into constant inventory crises. The only way to permanently fix this is by buying a membership for a game that you already bought. No thanks. Additionally, the game is still laggy and has some performance issues (I run a pretty beefy setup on wired internet). I think the connection issues need to be optimized and the gameplay loop needs to be tweaked, but overall I enjoyed my time with Fallout 76 more than with Fallout 4.

Fallout 4 is a bit of a sidestep that I think deviates too far from what makes a good Fallout game. The perks are a big plus, builds feel wildly different in this game depending on how you want to play. The main gameplay loop is fun for a time, but very quickly gets repetitive and boring. The voiced protagonist causes unclear dialogue choices due to unclear diction. This would be a bigger problem if Fallout 4's dialogue wasn't extremely barebones. You have 4 options for every conversation: "Yes!" "Sarcastic yes!" "Question!" and "No!". It makes most characters feel like a town npc when you can only respond to them like a town npc. Even the radio host is uninteresting, which is partially the point, but makes the early game even more boring. The new settlement mechanic is somewhat poorly implemented. You have lots of options for base building, but I wish it was more integral to player progression. You have no reason to build a house, you can just build crafting stations and storage boxes and call it a day. The story is almost verbatim the same story as Fallout 3, just swap roles between you and your child. The game just isn't very engaging in both gameplay and narrative, which is a huge letdown coming from the greatness of Fallout: New Vegas. Fallout 4 is a decent game, but it's not a good Fallout game.

Fallout: New Vegas is my favorite open world rpg. The Mojave Wasteland is a great open world that actually feels lived in, both pre-war and post-war. Every location is interesting and has a story to tell. The characters are charming and funny. The DLC all combine to tell an intriguing 4-part story, and each is very fun in its own unique way. The perks allow you to become an ultra powerful character with different variations per each type of weapon. The story is well-written and engaging, and will immerse you as soon as you start a new game. The only gripe I have is the crashing issues, but it was never enough to majorly effect my progress or experience. Fallout: New Vegas is everything that a fantastic open world rpg should be: fantastic.

Fallout 3 is a game that I think is overhated, but also isn't genre defining by any means. I like the Capital Wasteland as a world to explore. The characters and side quests are fun enough, though I wouldn't say many are memorable. The DLC are all pretty interesting and fun. The main story feels a bit uninspired. There are memorable moments, but overall I'm not very interested in completing it. The main story also only takes you through about half of the main world, with no incentive to explore the other half of the world outside of curiosity. That being said, I often found myself rewarded with skill books for exploring random locations or unmarked houses, which I really appreciated. Many of the perks are just skill point increases, which is very lame. The game and gunplay feels stiff which is partially the point, but can still feel bad to play at times, mainly in the early game. Fallout 3 is alright, but it's nowhere near perfect.

Sonic Superstars is absolutely not worth its $60 price tag. I think the models are good, the game is bright and colorful. The zones are fun to run through for the most part, and I like some of the new powers from the chaos emeralds. I like that the main 4 are playable. However, the game has a very big problem with consistency. The boss fights are so slow and boring that they sometimes take longer to beat than the acts themselves. Some zones are 2 acts and some are 1. The soundtrack feels like every act you enter has a different composer for its songs. You'll be listening to a more modern sounding song and then get whiplash when you hear those Genesis drums and snares. The main story's level design is fine, while the second story's level design is laughable with way too many spikes, bottomless pits, and other instant kill obstacles. In addition, the second story gives all the bosses more health, which means more waiting in boring boss fights. The final boss almost comes out of nowhere and is a bit jank to fight (you can die in the winning cutscene). The battle mode is inoffensive at best, nothing to devote time to. The special stages, while interesting, can be frustrating with its homing attack reticle just not working sometimes. The medals you collect mean virtually nothing as battle mode isn't good incentive to want to collect more. Zones are completely original, but most of the gimmicks aren't (there are two pinball zones in this game). Sonic Superstars is worth $30 at MOST, and should absolutely not be purchased at full price. Buy Mania or base Origins instead if you NEED classic Sonic in your life.

Sonic Mania Plus is an amazing 2d platformer that almost does everything perfect. The spritework is just as fantastic as the soundtrack. The zones feel great to explore and go fast in. The special stages are extremely fun and can be mastered in the same way the zones can be. The bosses are all fun to fight and the finale is challenging yet enjoyable. The Encore mode is a fun twist on the main game with pretty aesthetics and challenging level design. The one issue I have with Mania and Plus is its overreliance on nostalgia. Over half of this game is remixed zones from Sonic 1, 2, 3&K, and CD. There are dozens of nods to past games and events of Sonic's history, from characters to ads to tv static. A lot of these nods will go over your head if you're not very familiar with Sonic's history, and can be alienating to people who may think they need to play the older games to understand this game's inspiration. Despite this, I think Sonic Mania Plus is still a great game that is absolutely worth the price and your time.

Sonic Origins Plus feels like a low effort cash grab that is not worth its price tag. Origins Plus contains Sonic 1, 2, 3&K, and CD, along with 12 game gear titles. Tails, Knuckles, and Amy are all now available to play in games that they previously weren't as well. I won't be reviewing the classic games, just the collection itself. Amy is playable now, she's got a different dropdash. S3&K is available in a collection again with remastered versions of the PC music replacing the works of MJ. The games themselves are good, however the Plus edition of the game has a $40 price tag, which raises some issues regarding the game's quality. The first issue is that these games are lacking simple features such as being able to play wide screen with lives. In this same vain Knuckles being in CD should have been base game or a patch, not locked behind DLC. The game has pretty severe performance issues in the menus on lower end PCs. The game gear games are a distraction and not a selling point, and most people will forget these exist if they haven't already. The Plus DLC contains all the content from the Digital Deluxe Edition of the game, which you were not reimbursed for with a discount if you bought it prior to Plus's release. This is all to say that Sonic Origins Plus is not worth the $40 it is asking for, especially if you bought the Digital Deluxe Edition prior to the Plus DLC's release. Since these games have been delisted from Steam, Origins is your only way of playing them if you did not own them prior to its launch. I don't think the DLC is worth an extra $10, get the base game and PLEASE get it on sale.

Sonic 3 & Knuckles is my favorite game. The levels are all vast and fun to speed through and explore. The level transitions and environmental storytelling helps the game flow as smooth as butter. The special stages are fun with a perfect difficulty curve. The soundtrack is amazing, there's not a single skip in the entire playlist. Elemental shields add fun dynamics to each stage and function with the environment, flame shields will quench in water for example. The instashield is a great tool for combat and avoiding damage if you can time it well. The bosses are all unique and fun to fight. The only downside to this game is that stages can feel a bit too long to get through, which I personally don't mind, but can be a dealbreaker for some. This game has a save feature to combat this, so you don't have to beat the game in one sitting. A boss or two can also feel like they take too long to beat (the Egg Inferno from Lava Reef act 2 comes to mind). These aren't enough to negatively affect my overall experience with this game though. I think Sonic 3 & Knuckles is the perfect 2d Sonic game which is absolutely worth your time.

Sonic 2 is a good sequel to the original that I think improves on almost every aspect of that game. Levels are now 2 zones instead of 3 which improves the flow of the game. The game feels much faster with a better balance of speed, platforming, and exploration. The spindash is a staple of Sonic, can't play any 2d game without it now. Levels are bright and colorful and have great music to accompany them (except that I don't like Hill Top zone's harmonica). Bosses difficulty ramps up nicely and provides a good challenge, especially the final zone. However, the game has a pretty obnoxious difficulty spike when it comes to Metropolis zone and everything beyond. Metropolis zone is a contender for being the worst stage in classic Sonic due it its awful enemy placement and sheer length (the only zone in the game to have 3 acts instead of 2). The special stages in this game are also pretty terrible. The ring requirements are borderline unfair in the later special stages due to their bad render distance and design. This isn't as much of an issue if you're playing only as Sonic, but the game defaults to playing as Sonic and Tails. Needing to hold on to 50 rings until the next checkpoint also changes the game into a sluggish paranoia-filled platformer, since you'll likely be hit by something if you play the game fast. Sonic 2 is worth your time, but has a frustrating finale and special stages that I wouldn't try beating (the normal ending is better anyways).

Sonic CD is a different take on classic Sonic level design and exploration that I think works overall. Zones are complex with multiple paths to explore, not to mention the past and future variants of zones which add even more replayability. Special stages are fun, the JP soundtrack is fantastic, and the levels are enjoyable if a bit too short (Palmtree Panic and Quartz Quadrant come to mind). Bosses are a bit more gimmicky this time and can be a bit tedious or boring to fight, but are fun overall. The time travel mechanic can also be a bit annoying when you're trying to speed through a level and suddenly have to juggle your time to make sure you don't get sent to the future or past. I'd say Sonic CD is worth your time, although unfortunately you can only play it through Sonic Origins now if you didn't own it prior to that game's release.