VA_Yagi
90 Reviews liked by VA_Yagi
crazy how it's better than BOTW in literally every way
The world is bigger but also more dense, with a lot more stuff to stumble across or clear.
The main story is way better - more cutscenes, more characters existing, and some cool plot points. The voice acting was also better than the last game.
Gameplay-wise you have even more freedom to do stuff, and even ignoring the vehicle mechanic (which is awesome) you can make a bunch of unique weapons/shields/arrows to clear content with.
Sidequests are better, more involved, and generally more fun to clear.
While the dungeons vary, I feel like generally they're at least more unique than the BOTW ones due to each being distinct (even if the Zora one sucks). If the entire lead-up sequence counts for the Gerudo one, I also think it's one of my favorite Zelda dungeons in general.
Each of the bosses is more unique and generally more fun than the BOTW ones - especially the final boss, which is amazing.
I do really hope that they make a nice linear 3D Zelda next because i have no clue how they could even attempt to surpass TOTK
The world is bigger but also more dense, with a lot more stuff to stumble across or clear.
The main story is way better - more cutscenes, more characters existing, and some cool plot points. The voice acting was also better than the last game.
Gameplay-wise you have even more freedom to do stuff, and even ignoring the vehicle mechanic (which is awesome) you can make a bunch of unique weapons/shields/arrows to clear content with.
Sidequests are better, more involved, and generally more fun to clear.
While the dungeons vary, I feel like generally they're at least more unique than the BOTW ones due to each being distinct (even if the Zora one sucks). If the entire lead-up sequence counts for the Gerudo one, I also think it's one of my favorite Zelda dungeons in general.
Each of the bosses is more unique and generally more fun than the BOTW ones - especially the final boss, which is amazing.
I do really hope that they make a nice linear 3D Zelda next because i have no clue how they could even attempt to surpass TOTK
Breath of the Wild is my favorite game of all time, so it shouldn't be a surprise to anyone who knows me that Tears of the Kingdom has become and will probably remain my game of the year.
Two months and well over 300 hours in, this game dominated every waking moment of my life in a way that no game had since Breath of the Wild. That was a game that brought me childlike wonder and magic and never failed to do so each time I went back and played it, being almost like comfort food, and this game does the same. Looking strictly at the gameplay, this is a better Breath of the Wild in every way, improving many (although admittedly not all) of its predecessor's shortcomings while introducing new elements to make it even greater. The game places a great emphasis on vertical movement, with the sky and the Depths adding with the returning surface to give three whole layers to explore. The game gives so many options for vertical movement that I feel that it in particular will be what makes Breath of the Wild difficult to go back to. The Ultrahand ability and Zonai Devices allow for so much creativity and out of the box thinking and I was constantly impressed at the technical marvel and amount of work that had to be put into them. There are limitless possibilities and I can't imagine it was an easy feat to program and accommodate for so many solutions. Dungeons were also (for the most part) a big improvement from Breath of the Wild. I never disliked Breath of the Wild's Divine Beasts but they were certainly not as good as the majority of the series' dungeons. Tears of the Kingdom's dungeons bring back varied settings and aesthetics while retaining the open formula of Breath of the Wild's dungeons. While the Wind Temple was my favorite aesthetically, the Fire and Lightning Temples were my favorite from a gameplay perspective, with the Fire Temple in particular allowing for many different ways one can tackle its puzzles while, ironically in contrast to what I just said, being probably the closest dungeon in the game to a traditional Zelda dungeon.
Returning to this Hyrule was both a bane and a boon. The fact that this was a land I had already explored meant there were very little of the "Wow" factors and discoveries that Breath of the Wild gave me. Few discoveries mesmerized me the same way Breath of the Wild's did. But it was fun seeing what in Hyrule had changed, and the new additions kept it from ever feeling empty or leaving me with nothing to do. In contrast, the sky and the Depths both felt much more empty. While I wasn't expecting the sky to be littered with sky islands, there are surprisingly little and many of them are just copy-pastes of the same few types. There also isn't really much of an incentive to explore the sky islands beyond finding shrines, Sage's Wills, and new kinds of Zonai Devices. The Depths give much better incentive to explore, with unique useful items, armor sets, and non-decayed weapons, but are ironically even more empty than the sky despite being the same size as the surface. The extreme darkness makes it difficult and somewhat cumbersome to explore, and one can find all the Lightroots while still trekking through not even half of the Depths' terrain. It was great seeing the surface of Hyrule fleshed out more, but the sky and the Depths feel far more empty than Breath of the Wild's world ever did.
While I enjoyed the story, I felt it was a far step below any previous 3D Zelda game. There were some great moments here and there, a few moving me, and I am a fan of its characters, but overall too much of it felt like a retread of A Link to the Past and Ocarina of Time without delivering anything new or that interesting. It's also wrought with many plot holes and contradictions to the greater Zelda lore and mythos. And while the Zelda series has never been intended for everything to fit together, there's always still been a level of consistency. Nothing in any prior Zelda game has made me go "This shouldn't be possible" like this one has. Even my younger sister, who is by no means as big a Zelda lore nerd as I am, immediately noticed these problems when she saw them during her playthrough. Even its continuity with Breath of the Wild is somewhat scattered. It's a sequel but sometimes it tries to act like it's not one. Characters you would completely expect to know Link don't recognize him at all, some in a level that shouldn't be possible (Hudson and Rhondson remember Link but the other residents of Tarrey Town don't?! That's impossible given how Breath of the Wild's Tarrey Town quest worked!). The ancient Sheikah technology are all entirely gone without any verbal explanation given, which causes damage to the worldbuilding as certain ruins were designed with them in mind (Update: lmao). I'm a big defender of Breath of the Wild's story, and much of the reason for that is the game has such intricate and detailed lore and worldbuilding that I find it to heighten the story. But Tears of the Kingdom takes away from it while giving very little to the worldbuilding to make up for it. It doesn't help that several of these issues I have would be easy fixes and that I can easily envision a better version of the story with some simple changes and additions. It has genuinely left me feeling frustrated at times.
For all the story's faults, I find it makes up for those with some spectacular cinematic direction and gameplay-story integration, to a level far above any other past Zelda game. There are several interactive sequences that in past Zelda games would likely have only been simple cutscenes. I feel the music played a great role in this. The build-up to the Wind Temple is a perfect example. That skydive into it has already become one of my favorite moments I've ever experienced in a video game. There were several moments that just blew me away, and I'm sure will stick with me forever. They helped to mitigate that frustration and in its place give me a sense of joy and overwhelming emotion that few games can replicate.
Tears of the Kingdom is my new favorite game but with an asterisk. On a more objective level, it's gameplay-wise a better Breath of the Wild. But the story is one I took several issues with, the lore and continuity have a myriad of inconsistencies and contradictions, and the worldbuilding feels like they took away more than they added. However it somewhat makes up for that with amazing cinematic spectacles that blew me away and superb gameplay-story integration. I view it more as a combination with Breath of the Wild for my favorite game as a greater experience, as you can't have Tears of the Kingdom without Breath of the Wild. Like Breath of the Wild, I have had more fun playing this game than practically any other, and it has given me moments and feelings that I'll never forget. And for that I'll always be incredibly thankful.
Two months and well over 300 hours in, this game dominated every waking moment of my life in a way that no game had since Breath of the Wild. That was a game that brought me childlike wonder and magic and never failed to do so each time I went back and played it, being almost like comfort food, and this game does the same. Looking strictly at the gameplay, this is a better Breath of the Wild in every way, improving many (although admittedly not all) of its predecessor's shortcomings while introducing new elements to make it even greater. The game places a great emphasis on vertical movement, with the sky and the Depths adding with the returning surface to give three whole layers to explore. The game gives so many options for vertical movement that I feel that it in particular will be what makes Breath of the Wild difficult to go back to. The Ultrahand ability and Zonai Devices allow for so much creativity and out of the box thinking and I was constantly impressed at the technical marvel and amount of work that had to be put into them. There are limitless possibilities and I can't imagine it was an easy feat to program and accommodate for so many solutions. Dungeons were also (for the most part) a big improvement from Breath of the Wild. I never disliked Breath of the Wild's Divine Beasts but they were certainly not as good as the majority of the series' dungeons. Tears of the Kingdom's dungeons bring back varied settings and aesthetics while retaining the open formula of Breath of the Wild's dungeons. While the Wind Temple was my favorite aesthetically, the Fire and Lightning Temples were my favorite from a gameplay perspective, with the Fire Temple in particular allowing for many different ways one can tackle its puzzles while, ironically in contrast to what I just said, being probably the closest dungeon in the game to a traditional Zelda dungeon.
Returning to this Hyrule was both a bane and a boon. The fact that this was a land I had already explored meant there were very little of the "Wow" factors and discoveries that Breath of the Wild gave me. Few discoveries mesmerized me the same way Breath of the Wild's did. But it was fun seeing what in Hyrule had changed, and the new additions kept it from ever feeling empty or leaving me with nothing to do. In contrast, the sky and the Depths both felt much more empty. While I wasn't expecting the sky to be littered with sky islands, there are surprisingly little and many of them are just copy-pastes of the same few types. There also isn't really much of an incentive to explore the sky islands beyond finding shrines, Sage's Wills, and new kinds of Zonai Devices. The Depths give much better incentive to explore, with unique useful items, armor sets, and non-decayed weapons, but are ironically even more empty than the sky despite being the same size as the surface. The extreme darkness makes it difficult and somewhat cumbersome to explore, and one can find all the Lightroots while still trekking through not even half of the Depths' terrain. It was great seeing the surface of Hyrule fleshed out more, but the sky and the Depths feel far more empty than Breath of the Wild's world ever did.
While I enjoyed the story, I felt it was a far step below any previous 3D Zelda game. There were some great moments here and there, a few moving me, and I am a fan of its characters, but overall too much of it felt like a retread of A Link to the Past and Ocarina of Time without delivering anything new or that interesting. It's also wrought with many plot holes and contradictions to the greater Zelda lore and mythos. And while the Zelda series has never been intended for everything to fit together, there's always still been a level of consistency. Nothing in any prior Zelda game has made me go "This shouldn't be possible" like this one has. Even my younger sister, who is by no means as big a Zelda lore nerd as I am, immediately noticed these problems when she saw them during her playthrough. Even its continuity with Breath of the Wild is somewhat scattered. It's a sequel but sometimes it tries to act like it's not one. Characters you would completely expect to know Link don't recognize him at all, some in a level that shouldn't be possible (Hudson and Rhondson remember Link but the other residents of Tarrey Town don't?! That's impossible given how Breath of the Wild's Tarrey Town quest worked!). The ancient Sheikah technology are all entirely gone without any verbal explanation given, which causes damage to the worldbuilding as certain ruins were designed with them in mind (Update: lmao). I'm a big defender of Breath of the Wild's story, and much of the reason for that is the game has such intricate and detailed lore and worldbuilding that I find it to heighten the story. But Tears of the Kingdom takes away from it while giving very little to the worldbuilding to make up for it. It doesn't help that several of these issues I have would be easy fixes and that I can easily envision a better version of the story with some simple changes and additions. It has genuinely left me feeling frustrated at times.
For all the story's faults, I find it makes up for those with some spectacular cinematic direction and gameplay-story integration, to a level far above any other past Zelda game. There are several interactive sequences that in past Zelda games would likely have only been simple cutscenes. I feel the music played a great role in this. The build-up to the Wind Temple is a perfect example. That skydive into it has already become one of my favorite moments I've ever experienced in a video game. There were several moments that just blew me away, and I'm sure will stick with me forever. They helped to mitigate that frustration and in its place give me a sense of joy and overwhelming emotion that few games can replicate.
Tears of the Kingdom is my new favorite game but with an asterisk. On a more objective level, it's gameplay-wise a better Breath of the Wild. But the story is one I took several issues with, the lore and continuity have a myriad of inconsistencies and contradictions, and the worldbuilding feels like they took away more than they added. However it somewhat makes up for that with amazing cinematic spectacles that blew me away and superb gameplay-story integration. I view it more as a combination with Breath of the Wild for my favorite game as a greater experience, as you can't have Tears of the Kingdom without Breath of the Wild. Like Breath of the Wild, I have had more fun playing this game than practically any other, and it has given me moments and feelings that I'll never forget. And for that I'll always be incredibly thankful.
Galaxian
1979
galaxian
"Wonderful" really is the best word to describe this game. Everything about it just oozes charm and personality. Its joy is infectious and it made me feel so happy to play. My only real negative is the boss battles (aside from the final one) are extremely simple! Among the worst in any 2D Mario game. Some worlds even lack a boss. It's a shame considering how many ideas the Wonder Flower gimmick could have allowed them to work with. But aside from that, this game is amazing and among my new favorite 2D Mario games, but doesn't beat out Super Mario World unfortunately.
Rhythm Heaven Fever
2011
I don't know how something so silly can be this beautiful. The pacing is tight and the games can be challenging but never enough to be annoying roadblocks. Nearly every game in the package is incredibly memorable, backed with so much charm, and an incredible music track behind it. There's not a single bad minigame in the package, traditional or remix, and there's genuinely just endless joy to go around. I rarely find a game that can consistently make me smile, but this is one of the lucky few.
What a buggy mess. I still have fond memories playing this game, but I was a kid and didn't know any better. My brother still laughs his ass off whenever this game is mentioned during a conversation, because of how incredibly buggy it is. The multiplayer music still haunts me to this day...
WarioWare: Move It!
2023
Bro I have never felt happier to get a WarioWare in my LIFE. Smooth Moves is by far my favorite entry in the series and one of my favorite Nintendo games of all time, so the fact we got a direct sequel had me excited, and they thankfully delivered.
I believe WarioWare has always been best when it had a central gimmick. Even though I really liked Get it Together, it felt a bit lacking without it utilizing the Switch's gimmicks. Thankfully that's what this game does and it is amazing. Unfortunately since the Joycons aren't nearly as intuitive as the Wiimote, some microgames can feel a bit finicky, but those few are outshined by a plethora that uses the motion controls to its absolute best. This game has one of the best selection of microgames in the series as not only it replicates Smooth Moves' style, it innovates on that style.
The only gimmick that doesn't particularly work well is the IR camera, but not many microgames utilize it so it's not a big deal. The new forms introduced with the NARRATOR returning are extremely fun and it brought back the spark this series didn't have for 17 years. Not saying the new games are bad but it didn't have a certain style that made me fall in love with this series.
Overall, this a fantastic return to one of my favorite gaming series and I'm hopeful they can keep innovating with whatever Nintendo's next console gimmick will be. I feel so happy to be a WarioWare fan.
I believe WarioWare has always been best when it had a central gimmick. Even though I really liked Get it Together, it felt a bit lacking without it utilizing the Switch's gimmicks. Thankfully that's what this game does and it is amazing. Unfortunately since the Joycons aren't nearly as intuitive as the Wiimote, some microgames can feel a bit finicky, but those few are outshined by a plethora that uses the motion controls to its absolute best. This game has one of the best selection of microgames in the series as not only it replicates Smooth Moves' style, it innovates on that style.
The only gimmick that doesn't particularly work well is the IR camera, but not many microgames utilize it so it's not a big deal. The new forms introduced with the NARRATOR returning are extremely fun and it brought back the spark this series didn't have for 17 years. Not saying the new games are bad but it didn't have a certain style that made me fall in love with this series.
Overall, this a fantastic return to one of my favorite gaming series and I'm hopeful they can keep innovating with whatever Nintendo's next console gimmick will be. I feel so happy to be a WarioWare fan.
This review contains spoilers
Seems like opinions are pretty split for this one. Folks either love it or hate it. As someone who admittedly doesn't read Spider-Man comics, I was always really excited for this game since I love Venom and the black suit arc in the Spider-Man media I engage with (Animated Series, Raimi Spider-Man even if SM3 wasn't exactly good, etc.). I really enjoyed both the first game and Miles Morales's own game, too, and I think this game is ultimately better than both, at least when it comes to core gameplay. It does seem to be missing some small stuff, like no New Game+ (doesn't affect me at all since I never play NG+ modes in games anyway), but its still a good package overall imo.
The gameplay is fun. Spider-Man 2 is one of those sequels that just takes what the previous game established and expands upon it a little. You get a new little wheel of cooldown moves that you gradually unlock new ones for over the course of the story, so now you have both those and gadgets from the first game. As a result, combat felt a little more mashy to me in this game, since a lot of the time I found myself relying a LOT on the little gadgets and stuff whereas I felt like I was actually using the core combat more in the previous games. They try their best to make the boss fights epic and cinematic, in which they succeed, but the actual fights always felt kinda underwhelming in comparison outside of the really cool cutscenes integrated into the gameplay. Some of them drag on too long in my opinion, which can get annoying if one is opening a can of whoop-ass on you, lol. Dialogue repeats every time, which I sorta understand since I never want to miss it, but it does make dying to the same boss a lot extra aggravating. The fight against Scream was particularly annoying in my opinion since it feels very gimmicky and not in a fun way, and you have to beat her down like four different times. That being said, I'm genuinely enamored by the smoothness of PS5 games, where there are basically no load times at all and everything just feels so seamless. This game takes advantage of it big time for an awesome movie feel, which seems to be something Sony games in particular have practically made part of their brand. Call me easily impressed but I really was so surprised by how they did this. Overall, combat is far from the greatest, but was still pretty fun imo. My favorite part was by far that one bit where you get to play as Venom; after having to play as an agile guy that dies pretty quickly, its satisfying playing a big brute smashing through everything. And...I mean, its Venom, who wouldn't love playing as him?
The story seems to be the main selling point here, and I did quite enjoy it. I don't think it got really good until closer to the end since I felt there's just a little too much unnecessary side stuff thrown in there. Not that every part of a story needs to be related to the direct plot, of course, just that these diversions were a bit much to me. Exploring the new science building Harry made with Peter, going to Coney Island with Harry and MJ, going back to Peter and Harry's old school and suddenly playing through a flashback of their time escaping from the school, having MJ and Peter talk to each other in the house...doesn't help that they do this annoying movie game thing I've talked about before where they make segments where nothing happens into interactive walking simulators for the sake of being more "immersive" when it would've been much better off as a cutscene in my opinion. Characters are talkative and actions you make can completely interrupt their dialogue, especially in boss fights, which is like the one thing I really dislike about the presentation of these cinematic games. Also, they tend to come with dumb little minigames, like shooting basketballs or playing a rhythm game. I know these smaller moments are there to make you feel more attached to the characters (and frankly I'd have to be a miserable soul to not enjoy these characters going to an amusement park) and I understand why they're here, but I couldn't help but feel like a lot of it was filler. There's still great moments in the early game, though, like the introduction to Kraven or when Peter and Harry work together to free Tombstone. Speaking of him, Kraven was a pretty good villain in my opinion. I don't get why he considers himself such a master hunter when it feels like his lackeys do most of the work to bring them to him, but he serves as an intimidating presence for the story and it was cool to hear how exactly he killed off some of the villains from the first game. I really liked seeing that a few villains actually had successful redemptions until Kraven came along and killed them (or tried to in some cases). The last few parts of the game are all about the symbiotes and I was loving that; very cool to see Venom make these symbiote nests and try to infect the world in his twisted idea of "healing the world". I tend to prefer my Venoms on the goofier side but I do still like how they handled Harry as Venom here. At first, he's a good guy trying to help out Peter, and his design reflects this since he looks exactly like Agent Venom (which really surprised me) in the comics. But as the symbiote becomes more corrupted after latching onto Peter and feeding on his negative energy, once it eventually goes back to Harry he becomes the Venom we all know and love. I was pretty unsure about black suit Peter at first, he acts barely any different from regular Peter until he eventually goes nuts after enduring a lot of stress from having to fight a bunch of villains. I like the idea of that, but before he gets the suit taken off he spouts a lot of stuff that just felt kinda uncharacteristic for this version of Peter. Dude develops a huge ego about being the hero of this story and his behavior in this state is pretty much the reason Harry becomes Venom in the first place. I have a bunch of other stuff I could describe or nitpick about the story but I'd be here a long time if I were to do that and, frankly, my typical reviews are long enough.
Overall I think Spider-Man 2 is pretty good. Despite all my nitpicks, I do think the game has a lot of great stuff in it and feels like an overall improvement over its predecessors. I'm going to revisit the game to do all the side content (probably not gonna go for the Platinum trophy though), but I figured I'd review it now since I just beat the main story. Pretty good, earns a solid 4 stars out of me.
The gameplay is fun. Spider-Man 2 is one of those sequels that just takes what the previous game established and expands upon it a little. You get a new little wheel of cooldown moves that you gradually unlock new ones for over the course of the story, so now you have both those and gadgets from the first game. As a result, combat felt a little more mashy to me in this game, since a lot of the time I found myself relying a LOT on the little gadgets and stuff whereas I felt like I was actually using the core combat more in the previous games. They try their best to make the boss fights epic and cinematic, in which they succeed, but the actual fights always felt kinda underwhelming in comparison outside of the really cool cutscenes integrated into the gameplay. Some of them drag on too long in my opinion, which can get annoying if one is opening a can of whoop-ass on you, lol. Dialogue repeats every time, which I sorta understand since I never want to miss it, but it does make dying to the same boss a lot extra aggravating. The fight against Scream was particularly annoying in my opinion since it feels very gimmicky and not in a fun way, and you have to beat her down like four different times. That being said, I'm genuinely enamored by the smoothness of PS5 games, where there are basically no load times at all and everything just feels so seamless. This game takes advantage of it big time for an awesome movie feel, which seems to be something Sony games in particular have practically made part of their brand. Call me easily impressed but I really was so surprised by how they did this. Overall, combat is far from the greatest, but was still pretty fun imo. My favorite part was by far that one bit where you get to play as Venom; after having to play as an agile guy that dies pretty quickly, its satisfying playing a big brute smashing through everything. And...I mean, its Venom, who wouldn't love playing as him?
The story seems to be the main selling point here, and I did quite enjoy it. I don't think it got really good until closer to the end since I felt there's just a little too much unnecessary side stuff thrown in there. Not that every part of a story needs to be related to the direct plot, of course, just that these diversions were a bit much to me. Exploring the new science building Harry made with Peter, going to Coney Island with Harry and MJ, going back to Peter and Harry's old school and suddenly playing through a flashback of their time escaping from the school, having MJ and Peter talk to each other in the house...doesn't help that they do this annoying movie game thing I've talked about before where they make segments where nothing happens into interactive walking simulators for the sake of being more "immersive" when it would've been much better off as a cutscene in my opinion. Characters are talkative and actions you make can completely interrupt their dialogue, especially in boss fights, which is like the one thing I really dislike about the presentation of these cinematic games. Also, they tend to come with dumb little minigames, like shooting basketballs or playing a rhythm game. I know these smaller moments are there to make you feel more attached to the characters (and frankly I'd have to be a miserable soul to not enjoy these characters going to an amusement park) and I understand why they're here, but I couldn't help but feel like a lot of it was filler. There's still great moments in the early game, though, like the introduction to Kraven or when Peter and Harry work together to free Tombstone. Speaking of him, Kraven was a pretty good villain in my opinion. I don't get why he considers himself such a master hunter when it feels like his lackeys do most of the work to bring them to him, but he serves as an intimidating presence for the story and it was cool to hear how exactly he killed off some of the villains from the first game. I really liked seeing that a few villains actually had successful redemptions until Kraven came along and killed them (or tried to in some cases). The last few parts of the game are all about the symbiotes and I was loving that; very cool to see Venom make these symbiote nests and try to infect the world in his twisted idea of "healing the world". I tend to prefer my Venoms on the goofier side but I do still like how they handled Harry as Venom here. At first, he's a good guy trying to help out Peter, and his design reflects this since he looks exactly like Agent Venom (which really surprised me) in the comics. But as the symbiote becomes more corrupted after latching onto Peter and feeding on his negative energy, once it eventually goes back to Harry he becomes the Venom we all know and love. I was pretty unsure about black suit Peter at first, he acts barely any different from regular Peter until he eventually goes nuts after enduring a lot of stress from having to fight a bunch of villains. I like the idea of that, but before he gets the suit taken off he spouts a lot of stuff that just felt kinda uncharacteristic for this version of Peter. Dude develops a huge ego about being the hero of this story and his behavior in this state is pretty much the reason Harry becomes Venom in the first place. I have a bunch of other stuff I could describe or nitpick about the story but I'd be here a long time if I were to do that and, frankly, my typical reviews are long enough.
Overall I think Spider-Man 2 is pretty good. Despite all my nitpicks, I do think the game has a lot of great stuff in it and feels like an overall improvement over its predecessors. I'm going to revisit the game to do all the side content (probably not gonna go for the Platinum trophy though), but I figured I'd review it now since I just beat the main story. Pretty good, earns a solid 4 stars out of me.
Pizza Tower
2023
I don't know what they did, but there's something about the gameplay that makes you want to get in the perfect run (or something close enough to it, anyway).
yeah that has to be a pac-man game ever if i ever played one
I feel like this has to be the most "safe" Pac-Man game I've ever played. It's fair enough but it barely innovates outside of adding power-ups and that bonus fruit mazes (which are very difficult). The graphics are passable for it's time but it does sort of feel disappointing especially after something like Pac-Man Adventures in Time, which only came out a year after that. The sound is pretty empty-sounding for a Pac-Man game too; even though I found the music repetitive, I sorta did find it chill at the same time as well.
Aside from those, it really just feels like it fails to innovate past the regular Pac-Man formula as the stages become incredibly repetitive with no unique mechanics and twists. Dunno if I could recommend this one at all.
I feel like this has to be the most "safe" Pac-Man game I've ever played. It's fair enough but it barely innovates outside of adding power-ups and that bonus fruit mazes (which are very difficult). The graphics are passable for it's time but it does sort of feel disappointing especially after something like Pac-Man Adventures in Time, which only came out a year after that. The sound is pretty empty-sounding for a Pac-Man game too; even though I found the music repetitive, I sorta did find it chill at the same time as well.
Aside from those, it really just feels like it fails to innovate past the regular Pac-Man formula as the stages become incredibly repetitive with no unique mechanics and twists. Dunno if I could recommend this one at all.
Bayonetta 3
2022
Bayonetta 3 is the textbook definition of too many cooks in the kitchen. It throws the kitchen sink at you, not realizing how badly it kills the pacing, storytelling and replay value.
So much of this game is bad. Yes, playing as Bayonetta against monsters is better than ever, but its also the Bayonetta game with the least of it. Viola and Jeanne stages are atrocious and ever frequent. It took me a year to slog through this 13 hour game because I dreaded having to play for 30-45 minutes playing a mission with a character that isnt fun. (Jeannes levels are way shorter, but they're the jankiest and ugliest to make up for it).
The less said about the story, the better. Seriously. Even if I ranted about how Platinum massacred Bayonetta as a character and sandblasted at least 80% of the original's camp comedic writing away for self-serious multiverse bullshit, it wouldn't help. The joy of Bayonetta 1 was that the ridiculously fun gameplay was matched in energy by over the top, funny cutscenes with lovable characters. Just...fuck Bayonetta 3 for doing this.
The aliasing in this game is genuinely hideous. Like, everything is shimmering and jagged and the lighting is weird and the textures are shining like a students first unreal project, its a mess. I know its not the end of the world, but I had to play on a CRT to hide how ugly this game is. (To my TVs credit, it worked wonders and made it look decent).
Most importantly of all, Bayonetta 3 keeps thinking the player hates playing Bayonetta. Every chapter has some stupid puzzle mechanic or new gimmicky demon to learn to use for 10 minutes, or a shitty boring shmup section, or bad platforming, or clunky kaiju fights that actually remove happiness from the universe statistically; Bayonetta 3 is an unfocused mess of gameplay ideas that got thrown in as a first draft. Much like this meandering review.
To wrap up my rant, the game is still a begrudging 2 stars because playing Bayonetta is still good fun. Its not as constant as I'd like, but around 40% of the total experience is good. I wouldnt buy it for 60 dollars when DMC5 launched at the same price and is also Bayonetta 3 except they nail it on every level and don't kill the franchise.
I know the reception isn't that bad, but with a dev hell stillbirth like this and the departure of Kamiya, Im not expecting a new game starring "the next generation". Fuck man, did Platinum not notice how hard Capcom had to sell the fans on Nero to make him popular? What made them think Bayo 3's ending was a good idea?
Final rant: Why is the enemy design dogshit? Remember the Joy fight? Now everything is just nickelodeon slime dinosaurs and mannequins.
So much of this game is bad. Yes, playing as Bayonetta against monsters is better than ever, but its also the Bayonetta game with the least of it. Viola and Jeanne stages are atrocious and ever frequent. It took me a year to slog through this 13 hour game because I dreaded having to play for 30-45 minutes playing a mission with a character that isnt fun. (Jeannes levels are way shorter, but they're the jankiest and ugliest to make up for it).
The less said about the story, the better. Seriously. Even if I ranted about how Platinum massacred Bayonetta as a character and sandblasted at least 80% of the original's camp comedic writing away for self-serious multiverse bullshit, it wouldn't help. The joy of Bayonetta 1 was that the ridiculously fun gameplay was matched in energy by over the top, funny cutscenes with lovable characters. Just...fuck Bayonetta 3 for doing this.
The aliasing in this game is genuinely hideous. Like, everything is shimmering and jagged and the lighting is weird and the textures are shining like a students first unreal project, its a mess. I know its not the end of the world, but I had to play on a CRT to hide how ugly this game is. (To my TVs credit, it worked wonders and made it look decent).
Most importantly of all, Bayonetta 3 keeps thinking the player hates playing Bayonetta. Every chapter has some stupid puzzle mechanic or new gimmicky demon to learn to use for 10 minutes, or a shitty boring shmup section, or bad platforming, or clunky kaiju fights that actually remove happiness from the universe statistically; Bayonetta 3 is an unfocused mess of gameplay ideas that got thrown in as a first draft. Much like this meandering review.
To wrap up my rant, the game is still a begrudging 2 stars because playing Bayonetta is still good fun. Its not as constant as I'd like, but around 40% of the total experience is good. I wouldnt buy it for 60 dollars when DMC5 launched at the same price and is also Bayonetta 3 except they nail it on every level and don't kill the franchise.
I know the reception isn't that bad, but with a dev hell stillbirth like this and the departure of Kamiya, Im not expecting a new game starring "the next generation". Fuck man, did Platinum not notice how hard Capcom had to sell the fans on Nero to make him popular? What made them think Bayo 3's ending was a good idea?
Final rant: Why is the enemy design dogshit? Remember the Joy fight? Now everything is just nickelodeon slime dinosaurs and mannequins.
Balan Wonderworld
2021
This review contains spoilers
You've just finished watching a hilarious YouTube video on this garbage 3D platformer from Square Enix. Balan somethingorother. Those dancing scenes are so funny! What a silly game.
Days, weeks, months, years, go by, and you idly think back to that Balan game. "I wonder if it's really that bad," you think, "I'll play it ironically, it'll be fun!" In this moment, you are entangled in Balan's sickening game. Your fate is sealed. You don't even know it.
Finally, you come across a copy of this game, for a cool 5 dollars. It's not even been opened. "Well, how could I resist at a price like this" you joke to the cashier. The saddened gleam in their eye is your final warning, but your morbid curiosity is a blindfold to the horrors that await you in this wonderless world.
Finally, you open the game. Sickeningly sweet strings blast your ears. The Mario Odyssey temp music feels unending. Your stomach drops, as you stare into the abyss of the character select screen. Exactly 8 options, all deeply perturbing MySims characters with distractingly large hands. All effortlessly rest within the uncanny valley. Your fight-or-flight instincts kick in, but Balan's hooks are not so easily removed. You persevere.
Does an opening cutscene play? You can't quite recall. You attempt to try out your character, but every button seems to do the same thing. The levels make no sense. There are so many coloured collectables, with no indication of their difference or use. Why are those plant people dancing? Why are the item keys located directly next to the item they're needed for? Is it the same QuickTime event every time?
Before you can even begin to form your questions properly, it begins. Chapter One, Act Two. The floor itself begins to fold and twist beneath your disgusting Miitopia creation's feet. The tooth-achingly bright colours become daggers, plunged directly into your eyes. The game has finally launched its attack.
You can feel the fabric of your being, the very essence of you, drain away with every second the game remains on. It's not funny, it's not silly, it's not even embarrassing. It's a new evolution in boredom, one wherein physical pain does not even alleviate the experience.
You wake with a start, head throbbing with pain. Is that coral? That fucking song keeps playing. Just looking at the screen is almost too much to bear. You don't even dare imagine what would happen if you had to tangle with the godforsaken controls again.
You eject the disc and promptly trade the game back into your nearest retailer for any amount of money they will offer you. You begin to breathe again, comfortable only in the knowledge that your nightmare is over.
But Balan lays in rest at the shop. Now sporting an even lower 'secondhand' price. Ready to strike his next victim.
You cannot beat Balan Wonderland. You can only hope to survive.
Days, weeks, months, years, go by, and you idly think back to that Balan game. "I wonder if it's really that bad," you think, "I'll play it ironically, it'll be fun!" In this moment, you are entangled in Balan's sickening game. Your fate is sealed. You don't even know it.
Finally, you come across a copy of this game, for a cool 5 dollars. It's not even been opened. "Well, how could I resist at a price like this" you joke to the cashier. The saddened gleam in their eye is your final warning, but your morbid curiosity is a blindfold to the horrors that await you in this wonderless world.
Finally, you open the game. Sickeningly sweet strings blast your ears. The Mario Odyssey temp music feels unending. Your stomach drops, as you stare into the abyss of the character select screen. Exactly 8 options, all deeply perturbing MySims characters with distractingly large hands. All effortlessly rest within the uncanny valley. Your fight-or-flight instincts kick in, but Balan's hooks are not so easily removed. You persevere.
Does an opening cutscene play? You can't quite recall. You attempt to try out your character, but every button seems to do the same thing. The levels make no sense. There are so many coloured collectables, with no indication of their difference or use. Why are those plant people dancing? Why are the item keys located directly next to the item they're needed for? Is it the same QuickTime event every time?
Before you can even begin to form your questions properly, it begins. Chapter One, Act Two. The floor itself begins to fold and twist beneath your disgusting Miitopia creation's feet. The tooth-achingly bright colours become daggers, plunged directly into your eyes. The game has finally launched its attack.
You can feel the fabric of your being, the very essence of you, drain away with every second the game remains on. It's not funny, it's not silly, it's not even embarrassing. It's a new evolution in boredom, one wherein physical pain does not even alleviate the experience.
You wake with a start, head throbbing with pain. Is that coral? That fucking song keeps playing. Just looking at the screen is almost too much to bear. You don't even dare imagine what would happen if you had to tangle with the godforsaken controls again.
You eject the disc and promptly trade the game back into your nearest retailer for any amount of money they will offer you. You begin to breathe again, comfortable only in the knowledge that your nightmare is over.
But Balan lays in rest at the shop. Now sporting an even lower 'secondhand' price. Ready to strike his next victim.
You cannot beat Balan Wonderland. You can only hope to survive.
Balan Wonderworld
2021
2 stars just for the cool artstyle & a new tumblr sexyman, the rest of the game is just a huge joke lol
A perfectly middle of the road, cozy, and safe Mario game. I mainly played it cause Wonder is coming out soon, I never played Mario U at all, and I needed a bit of a breather after playing Cave Story & Dustforce DX back to back (both fairly tough games)
NSMBU doesn't do anything interesting or inventive, it mainly feels like a rehash of NSMBW, but I still had a chill time with it. All I could really need after playing some tough games.
Super Mario Wonder is gonna be amazing though.
NSMBU doesn't do anything interesting or inventive, it mainly feels like a rehash of NSMBW, but I still had a chill time with it. All I could really need after playing some tough games.
Super Mario Wonder is gonna be amazing though.
Yoshi's Story
1997
Yoshi is a series I personally view as having two great games (Yoshi's Island and Wooly World) and the rest of the series is just average/mediocre. Yoshi's Story is a game I view as probably the best out of the mediocre entries with half of that reasoning coming from it being such a fascinating game to just take in.
Its one of the few 2D N64 games. The game plays alright, it looks and sounds extremely weird, it did the pre-rendered sprite route like DKC but also made it look fairly cheap for some reason despite the N64 having stronger hardware? I dunno man lmao.
To me its just an average game I can just sit through and beat in less than an hour. I'd rather have that than like waste a few hours on something that I'm not enjoying cough Yoshi's Island DS
Its one of the few 2D N64 games. The game plays alright, it looks and sounds extremely weird, it did the pre-rendered sprite route like DKC but also made it look fairly cheap for some reason despite the N64 having stronger hardware? I dunno man lmao.
To me its just an average game I can just sit through and beat in less than an hour. I'd rather have that than like waste a few hours on something that I'm not enjoying cough Yoshi's Island DS