A good way to describe Sonic Heroes would be "really janky and fun". The game really shines in its level design which (for the most part) felt very engaging and fun. The game offers a variety of fun levels utilizing its unique team mechanic to run throw stages or get across various obstacles. The soundtrack is great, something to be expected from the Sonic franchise. The final boss goes so hard, so raw.

With that said, this game really is a huge pain mainly due to the controls. They are absolutely awful, it feels like you're running on ice. The slightest movements or misinputs can send you flying off the stage in an instant. It takes a while to tolerate these absolutely painful controls which really kills part of the enjoyment of what I thought to be really fun levels. The special stages make this issue even more apparent, with special stage controls that can randomly slow you down at the worst times, or straight up make you face backwards. It's an absolute struggle and can make you rage (looking at YOU Special Stage 4). Luckily some later special stages can be completed REALLY quick, leaving you with less time to deal with the controls. The different teams idea is a nice concept, but three of them don't offer much besides varying difficulty aside from Team Chaotix and Team Rose (literal watered down baby mode). Having these 4 teams to play means you'll have to complete every stage as each team 4 times. Although there are slight differences to accommodate the slight differences in playstyle, it really can get really repetitive. And you HAVE to do this in order to unlock the final boss which really to some may not be worth the effort. The story is fairly simple, nothing special aside from Team Dark for me.

Overall, Sonic Heroes got some things nailed down right, with an amazing soundtrack and level design, but ultimately gets shot down by absolutely poor controls, repetitiveness, and sheer length.

TTYD was my second Paper Mario game, having first played Sticker Star on the 3ds back when I was younger. To start off, the artstyle is fun and quirky! Mario with those lil dot eyes is so funny and every other character looked pretty cool in my opinion. Next, the combat system is very easy to get into and pretty fun to use, especially with various badges and the attacks/skills you and your partners use. The writing is fun, offering some very hilarious and lightly crude moments that are a staple in the Paper Mario series. I found the story to be pretty interesting and fun to experience, it's got some fun little twists near the end, nothing too shocking but still pretty neat. I also found most of the characters and partners to have fun charms to them that I really enjoyed!

With all that being said, if there's something that really knocks this game down is its really awkward pacing. The first instance of this for me occurred in Chapter 3. While the concept was fun, I found it got boring really fast and I was actively looking forward to finally getting it over with. Chapter 4 and Chapter 7 also include very tedious and unnecessary backtracking kinda just felt as a way to pad them out longer. Also, this game to me felt a wee bit too easy. Sure there's a certain optional dungeon to really test your skills, but aside from that it's a fairly smooth ride with little resistance.

Overall it's an awesome and fun experience if you can get behind some awkward pacing here and there and if you're fine with a simple, smooth battling experience. I can understand how despite its flaws, it's still one of the if not the best the Paper Mario series has to offer!