Focuses more so on the level philosophy of Sonic 3 than 2 or 1, which is somewhat of a shame since I prefer 2's, but this is fine. Levels rarely overstay their welcome like they did in 3 though, so this game is better on the level design front. Visuals and soundtrack are wonderful as always. Special stages are good (except in encore mode, fuck those), and blue spheres even returns as bonus content and as a way to get unlockables. Encore mode adds some replay value, but personally I don't find it as enjoyable as the main game. My biggest gripes are sometimes the levels just are kind of annoying (looking at you Stardust Speedway and Titanic Monarch) and there's not much originality here. Still great, play if you like 2D platformers or other 2D Sonic games.

The game is good, I liked it, the feeling of going back through old levels and mastering them to get another shot at making it deeper in and eventually beating the game is a gameplay loop I enjoyed. However, it frankly feels like this game just didn't earn a lot of those restarts. Attacks that came out without warning or were too fast to reasonably react to as a first time were where the majority of my deaths came from here, rarely did I actually die to a boss after learning what their attacks did and what their telegraphs were. It felt like it was forcing me to go back instead of me going back as a result of me not being good enough. But admittedly that isn't a terrible issue, the game (on a single run) is short, only taking about 6 levels to get to the end (at least on the path I took, I assume the others are around the same length).

The game has very high replayability, with 4 distinct characters to choose from and different level paths being available, which definitely helps the longevity of what would otherwise be a pretty short game.

The game aesthetically is wonderful, high quality visuals with a great soundtrack that perfectly fits the gameplay as well. I really love the sounds the Genesis produces in general, it makes for good music.

I think Contra Hard Corps was a good game, but it's overhyped, especially in the difficulty area. If this is the best the series has to offer, I'm unsure if I'll continue spending my time with Contra. I do hope to complete the other paths of this game in the near future though, maybe I'll change my mind on it after I truly finish this one.

I really don't get why this game is hated as much as it is.

The gameplay is good, I could see the argument that it's repetitive but I think the variety in enemies which necessitates changing strategy makes that a non issue. The difficulty is definitely low, but the only time that really bothered me was the end as even if it's easy, you still have to be engaged to win. The ending area in general is really a letdown with how pathetic the bosses are and the ending itself is bad too.

The story overall I thought was fine, the characters don't speak all too much which is a shame because I like the Sonic cast. I enjoyed having a range of dialogue options to use as Sonic even if some of them were wildly out of character. The actual narrative was pretty generic and mostly uninteresting, but it doesn't take up too much of your time here so didn't really bother me. I do think the idea of the Nocturnus Clan is cool but nothing is really done with it. Seeing Gizoids again was cool.

And even though this game's OST is deemed as godawful, I genuinely liked it. Sure, the instruments are very generic which gives it that "midi" feel but I don't think that's necessarily a bad thing, they work.

So I enjoyed it, it wasn't great or anything but it didn't have any glaring flaws while it had a few positives.

I really like this game! None of the mechanics are super deep or anything but at least for a first playthrough you're never going to get bored of enemy encounters unless you're in areas you've already been in due to the battle system actually involving more than just pressing buttons in menus like other RPGs. Difficulty is done pretty well, the final boss took me a few tries and some other fights gave me trouble but nothing was stupidly hard or rage inducing. I never really had to grind in this game either, so that's an obvious plus. This games graphics are absolutely wonderful, possibly the best out of any Mario title. The writing is fun and light hearted and while none of it is laugh out loud funny it tries to be comedic and I think it succeeds. I don't really have complaints, the only thing I can think of is I couldn't figure out where to go to get my hammer upgraded but I still don't know if that was necessarily the game's fault or me being stupid. If you've ever liked an RPG check this game out, even if you aren't typically a fond of the genre, it's a good time.

It's a bit unfair at times but with how short it is I don't think that's a dealbreaker, the level design I find to be most of the time pretty nice and the weapon balancing is actually good here, the only weapon of the main 4 you get that I find to be underwhelming is Fire Storm, I used the other 3 multiple times. I definitely appreciate how this game actually had original levels when they definitely could've taken the easy way out and just remade the NES levels cough the sequel cough but they went out of their way to make this game something unique. Good game to play as a distraction but since it only has 6 levels it ends quickly and it doesn't feel quite as good as the other Megaman games.

I don't get the hype on this one. Sure, it was pretty fun but game is short and the only real replay value is finding 6 rooms to unlock a final boss that should've just been available without going through that hassle. The main star mechanic does have depth but rarely will the game ever want you to tap into that potential, only needing to pull off fancy maneuvers with it like 5 times in the entire game. It is aesthetically very pleasing though, I'll give it that.

The game isn't bad, but it isn't particularly good either.
(Also, why is everyone saying this game is hard? It really isn't. I was able to beat it without continues directly after my first playthrough and on said playthrough I only got game over like 3 times while I didn't even know how to use items.)

This game is pretty much the same as the original Superstar Saga in quality to me, though I do really enjoy Bowser's personality and the use of the dual screen setup of the DS which gives it unique points. It also has some overall improvements, like the Bowser gameplay shaking things up and the special attacks being more dynamic and interesting, but I think if you didn't like Superstar Saga you wouldn't like this game and the same goes for if you liked it. Definitely get this game physical if you can, while still enjoyable on emulators I'm sure I can't imagine it'd be the same.

So this review is mostly going to be negative, but I want to make it clear that this is still a good game. I gave this a 7 for a reason, and honestly it might be an 8. This is at least in the top half of 2D Metroids and I'd recommend it for fans of the series, or really just anyone wanting to try a Metroidvania (though the plot falls flat if you don't have a background with the series).

This game is a sequel to 2002's Metroid Fusion. That might seem obvious, but I mean it in a way that goes beyond just the literal franchise it is in. Metroid Dread takes a lot of queues from Fusion, which is interesting because Fusion was a departure from the rest of the series.

The map design in Metroid Dread is built like a video game. What I mean by this is that when going through the map you can literally feel the developers funneling you towards certain areas. When I first played this game I ended up getting stuck and having to look online for answers because I took the time to backtrack when the devs really didn't want me to do that, once I caught on to that and started actively thinking "OK, where do the devs want me to go from here?" I did not have any issues with exploration. This might not be an issue for all people but for me this really takes away a lot of what I enjoy the series for. It's a Metroid game without the experience of exploring a world.

Every enviornment feels very samey. I couldn't tell you notable setpieces about any of them that weren't background elements except for maybe some stuff in Ghavorn. Areas all lack identity, both gameplaywise and atmospherically. Unlike Fusion, who went all in on the artificial feel Metroid Dread feels like it doesn't have a solid identity with its maps. They're all very straight and simple, sure, but you aren't constantly reminded of its artificiality like you are in Fusion with the constant level lock doors. This extends to things like sequence breaking, too. In games like Super Metroid even though I logically know things like wall jumping up to get to Kraid without the High-Jump Boots is something the developers 100% intended, it feels like an exploit. It feels like it's just something Samus can do because she's capable. I don't feel that in Dread, even looking up sequence breaks. The sequence breaks in Metroid Dread don't feel like clever use of Samus' abilities, or just an open progression sytsem, but instead developers intentionally putting a thing in for it to be a sequence break. It has the same design as Fusion without taking advantage of those positives.

...At least in the world design. What I'll give Metroid Dread praise for is the gameplay itself. The enemies are admittedly very rinse and repeat and annoying if you don't counter, but waiting for that counter opprotunity is if nothing else a rush that is worth having. Most Metroid games don't put much emphasis on the combat like this, so this is a nice change of pace. The bosses are also very well designed, especially for, again, a series that normally doesn't put much focus on this kind of stuff. The final boss in particular is my favorite in the series and just a good fight in general.

The E.M.M.I. zones I feel obligated to mention even if they aren't really important to this review overall. They did in fact give me a feeling of "dread" my first time around, but after that most of the experiences can be somewhat engaging and fun. The risk-reward element is really emphasized with managing things like the Phantom Cloak meter and your distance from the E.M.M.I.s for noise, but it isn't enough for me to really be talking about how much I love these sections. They're just fine.

I don't know how to end this review. I liked the game, I've beaten it on Normal, Hard, and Dread. Metroid Dread is by all means a good game, but it doesn't feel like a good Metroid game.