Xicrinho
1992
The best of the trilogy.
1993
It is the most creative classic sonic game in terms of concepts. Unfortunately, it also has the worst level design and boss fights in the franchise by a large margin.
The story is less exciting than the first one and also the levels are way simpler. There's a lot of levels where you need to race against the clock and levels with annoying gimmicks that makes you restart a level various times. The boss fights are boring and confusing so it takes unnecessary time to find out how to beat it. The first one was way more compelling.
When I saw a friend of mine playing Spirit Tracks I remember thinking it should so bad to play. Controlling Link like that seemed wrong but as soon as you start playing you realize that it is very well designed and pretty fun.
Phantom Hourglass is a short, casual adventure that compensates the duration with cute cutscenes and fun gimmicks such as the grappling hook and the hammer. The developers used all their creativity while making this game. Sometimes, though, it feels like some of the stuff was made just to show what the DS could do and end up being pointless.
The games tones down the exploration that is characteristic of the franchise to make more puzzle oriented dungeons. You don't need dungeon maps, all the dungeons are mapped out so you only need to get to the boss. The boss fights are amazing and creative but not difficult. It takes a minute or two to figure them out and by doing so you easily beat them.
While it nails some aspects, others may miss the mark. All in all it's a worthwhile experience
Phantom Hourglass is a short, casual adventure that compensates the duration with cute cutscenes and fun gimmicks such as the grappling hook and the hammer. The developers used all their creativity while making this game. Sometimes, though, it feels like some of the stuff was made just to show what the DS could do and end up being pointless.
The games tones down the exploration that is characteristic of the franchise to make more puzzle oriented dungeons. You don't need dungeon maps, all the dungeons are mapped out so you only need to get to the boss. The boss fights are amazing and creative but not difficult. It takes a minute or two to figure them out and by doing so you easily beat them.
While it nails some aspects, others may miss the mark. All in all it's a worthwhile experience
Unexpectedly fun. At first I found myself bored with the story, perhaps because the first chapters are made to introduce you to the game, but the third episode hooked me. Needless to say that the subsequent episodes were even better. I only wish the game had something like different paths to take or endings. At the end I was hoping that a new episode would be unlocked to play.
2014
Amazingly polished. Shovel Knight is like a mix of the major NES titles, yet it manages to be something of its own. Great music, great characters, great graphics. They nailed everything! Definitely recommend, especially if you're new to platformers due to the tough but fair difficulty.
2017
Guys, this game isn't that difficult...
I can't make my mind on this game. I love the highs but also hate very much the lows. It improves (a lot) Phantom Hourglass. Everything good from that game is here: charismatic characters, new amazing and creative gimmicks, soundtrack, cute story. It also follows the same structure meaning you go back to one dungeon multiple times. But the one temple you go back to is way more fleshed out and not annoying to go back to anymore.
Sadly the one big problem is traveling in the overworld. In my opinion it works just fine in Phantom Hourglass but here it's way worse. I don't know if it's just me but I really dislike it. It's slow and they shove a bunch of pointless enemies making it really easy to die. Instead of expanding my interest in Hyrule and giving me any feeling of exploration it becomes a boring chore that just slows the pace of the game for no reason.
Aside from that, I like how instead of making a pseudo open world game like Phantom Hourglass (where you get to choose the order you do the last three dungeons) they went full linear, which is perfect for these smaller games. The final boss is also one of the highlights. The developers, like in the last game, weren't afraid of experimenting and I'm all for that. I finished Spirit Tracks wishing that it was a trilogy and we had one more game with the theme of these two.
PS:
I'm conflicted. I don't know if I give this game 4 stars for the great parts in it or if I give it 3½ because of the weak parts. I figured I'd give it the 3½ for the simple fact that I don't feel like replaying or even finishing the side quests.
Sadly the one big problem is traveling in the overworld. In my opinion it works just fine in Phantom Hourglass but here it's way worse. I don't know if it's just me but I really dislike it. It's slow and they shove a bunch of pointless enemies making it really easy to die. Instead of expanding my interest in Hyrule and giving me any feeling of exploration it becomes a boring chore that just slows the pace of the game for no reason.
Aside from that, I like how instead of making a pseudo open world game like Phantom Hourglass (where you get to choose the order you do the last three dungeons) they went full linear, which is perfect for these smaller games. The final boss is also one of the highlights. The developers, like in the last game, weren't afraid of experimenting and I'm all for that. I finished Spirit Tracks wishing that it was a trilogy and we had one more game with the theme of these two.
PS:
I'm conflicted. I don't know if I give this game 4 stars for the great parts in it or if I give it 3½ because of the weak parts. I figured I'd give it the 3½ for the simple fact that I don't feel like replaying or even finishing the side quests.
2001
Must play!
It takes Wario Land 3 (which is fantastic) and makes it shorter but definitely better!
Instead of having multiple ways to beat a level, the game divides the levels into two portions: the first where you explore the map and the second where you need to get back to the beginning before a timer runs out. At first I didn't liked it but it's a crucial piece of design for you play the first portion of the levels with the second in mind thinking about how you will return given the clues left throughout the levels.
You also start the game with all of Wario's powers and is free to do the route you want. So if you just played Wario Land 3 and thought that it was a slow game, I highly recommend playing 4 right after.
The CD's are a cool addition and give meaning to the exploration of the levels even though most people can't match the peculiar music style.
Incredible music, visuals and controls. Extremely fun and creative levels on top of all that. There's no way around it: it's a must play.
It takes Wario Land 3 (which is fantastic) and makes it shorter but definitely better!
Instead of having multiple ways to beat a level, the game divides the levels into two portions: the first where you explore the map and the second where you need to get back to the beginning before a timer runs out. At first I didn't liked it but it's a crucial piece of design for you play the first portion of the levels with the second in mind thinking about how you will return given the clues left throughout the levels.
You also start the game with all of Wario's powers and is free to do the route you want. So if you just played Wario Land 3 and thought that it was a slow game, I highly recommend playing 4 right after.
The CD's are a cool addition and give meaning to the exploration of the levels even though most people can't match the peculiar music style.
Incredible music, visuals and controls. Extremely fun and creative levels on top of all that. There's no way around it: it's a must play.
Amazing storytelling!
Personally I don't have strong feelings about this game but I recognize that it is one of the best of the genre.
First of all the looks: the graphics on the NDS hold up really well. The animations are fluid and charming. It's so unique (at least for me) that it'll be hard to forget. The music can get a bit repetitive although it is as good as the graphics.
Now, where the game really shines in my opinion is on the gameplay. The story is well structured and the way the chapters are divided alongside with the character's information menu makes it easy to catch up after not playing for some days.
One of my main complaints about Ace Attorney (I only played the first) is how the chapters follow the same structure: investigation, trial, investigation then trial. It got tiresome quickly and when the story wasn't so interesting it was worse. On Ghost Trick it's a totally different story. The puzzles are clever and the gimmick added on the latter half keeps the puzzles from getting repetitive.
Overall an amazing game with fantastic narrative. I definitely recommend this, especially over Ace Attorney for someone who never played games on the genre.
Personally I don't have strong feelings about this game but I recognize that it is one of the best of the genre.
First of all the looks: the graphics on the NDS hold up really well. The animations are fluid and charming. It's so unique (at least for me) that it'll be hard to forget. The music can get a bit repetitive although it is as good as the graphics.
Now, where the game really shines in my opinion is on the gameplay. The story is well structured and the way the chapters are divided alongside with the character's information menu makes it easy to catch up after not playing for some days.
One of my main complaints about Ace Attorney (I only played the first) is how the chapters follow the same structure: investigation, trial, investigation then trial. It got tiresome quickly and when the story wasn't so interesting it was worse. On Ghost Trick it's a totally different story. The puzzles are clever and the gimmick added on the latter half keeps the puzzles from getting repetitive.
Overall an amazing game with fantastic narrative. I definitely recommend this, especially over Ace Attorney for someone who never played games on the genre.
I never hated a game so much. I literally felt nauseated playing this. I get they were trying to sacrifice the sound to improve the graphics but holy shit the music and the sounds are the worst. Obnoxious all the time. And the worst part: when you think you're progressing, the game slams an obstacle and makes you run back and forth through two castles. Like if one wasn't enough. The boss battles are ridiculously easy. The only reason I finished this game is because of the dash. If they made the traversal like Circle of the Moon I would definitely dropped this game. A shame because, if the developers had a more robust system to work with, this could be at least playable.
Honestly, I don't know how to feel about this game. I'll try replaying it once in a while. It is interesting though.
1986
Fuck Dracula I hate him
1998
If you haven't played this game, you'll stop reading and go play it right now.
Wario Land 2 is a masterpiece. At first I thought it was more Wario Land having played 3 and 4. I was wrong. The only thing all of these games have in common is the mechanics. Aside from that, they all have different structures.
Here we have a more linear game that focus on a story. At first, after finishing it for the first time, I thought it was just more Wario, which I was used to after playing Wario Land 4 a few months ago. But then the game hit me with an amazing post-game. Then I realized why they decided to focus on the story. After finishing, you get access to all the levels you played and you can go through different timelines through alternative exits on the levels. I definitely wasn't expecting that on a Game Boy game.
I'd like to highlight the variety of the levels and how they change depending on which timeline you're in. It is not a lazy post game that's just "Hey! Here are more levels you can play". It's like the game was made to be played as a whole. There's new visuals, a remaked level, new puzzles. Even though it's a GBC game and despite having 50 levels the game doesn't feel repetitive at any point.
This game is amazing. Since I started it until I finished last night, I was always excited to play it and find out what else the game had to offer. It is an easy platformer, easy to start and easily one of the best games on the Game Boy Color. Masterpiece 10/10.
Wario Land 2 is a masterpiece. At first I thought it was more Wario Land having played 3 and 4. I was wrong. The only thing all of these games have in common is the mechanics. Aside from that, they all have different structures.
Here we have a more linear game that focus on a story. At first, after finishing it for the first time, I thought it was just more Wario, which I was used to after playing Wario Land 4 a few months ago. But then the game hit me with an amazing post-game. Then I realized why they decided to focus on the story. After finishing, you get access to all the levels you played and you can go through different timelines through alternative exits on the levels. I definitely wasn't expecting that on a Game Boy game.
I'd like to highlight the variety of the levels and how they change depending on which timeline you're in. It is not a lazy post game that's just "Hey! Here are more levels you can play". It's like the game was made to be played as a whole. There's new visuals, a remaked level, new puzzles. Even though it's a GBC game and despite having 50 levels the game doesn't feel repetitive at any point.
This game is amazing. Since I started it until I finished last night, I was always excited to play it and find out what else the game had to offer. It is an easy platformer, easy to start and easily one of the best games on the Game Boy Color. Masterpiece 10/10.
I love the idea of games that complement each other. I'm looking forward to finish Oracle of Ages after this one. This is the second time I played Oracle of Seasons and it's a pretty good game. It takes the "skeleton" of Link's awakening and tries to expand on that game.
It doesn't succeed on that, though. The game is more of the same with few variations on subitems and overall level design. That doesn't mean it isn't enjoyable (I wouldn't suggest to play the GBC Zelda games back to back). The game has good pacing that combines well with the tame difficulty. There's a bunch of puzzles (I'd like to highlight level 8 that has an annoying but creative puzzle) and could use more enemy variety that starts to get weary by the 7th dungeon. There's also one of the most cool features that are the "pets" that help Link progress in the overworld. It's a shame that they're only useful for brief amount of gameplay given the scope of the game. But even being a relatively small game, it still pushes its limits and has a second map, an underworld with peculiar creatures.
The game shines on the story it's telling. I read somewhere that usually they made the game first, meaning the devs worked on the map, enemies and dungeons first before the story. But Capcom wrote everything before that and it shows. Oracle of Seasons is packed with charming characters and funny dialogues. Also the drawings displayed on game start and on the credits sequence are gorgeous.
My main complaints are: the graphics that are the exact same as Link's Awakening and the bosses. The boss fights are either too easy or too cryptic. The worst part is the final boss that is underwhelming to say the least.
Aside from that, it's a fun game definitely worth the time. The seasons gimmick is great but it's arguably underused. The music for most dungeons is gloomy and I liked that. Overall a pleasing game that has its qualities and could use some improvement.
By now, before continuing the story on Oracle of Ages, I would still suggest playing Link's Awakening first because it is simpler.
Edit: here's my review of Oracle of Ages. I'm also updating my grade from 4 stars to 3 and a half.
It doesn't succeed on that, though. The game is more of the same with few variations on subitems and overall level design. That doesn't mean it isn't enjoyable (I wouldn't suggest to play the GBC Zelda games back to back). The game has good pacing that combines well with the tame difficulty. There's a bunch of puzzles (I'd like to highlight level 8 that has an annoying but creative puzzle) and could use more enemy variety that starts to get weary by the 7th dungeon. There's also one of the most cool features that are the "pets" that help Link progress in the overworld. It's a shame that they're only useful for brief amount of gameplay given the scope of the game. But even being a relatively small game, it still pushes its limits and has a second map, an underworld with peculiar creatures.
The game shines on the story it's telling. I read somewhere that usually they made the game first, meaning the devs worked on the map, enemies and dungeons first before the story. But Capcom wrote everything before that and it shows. Oracle of Seasons is packed with charming characters and funny dialogues. Also the drawings displayed on game start and on the credits sequence are gorgeous.
My main complaints are: the graphics that are the exact same as Link's Awakening and the bosses. The boss fights are either too easy or too cryptic. The worst part is the final boss that is underwhelming to say the least.
Aside from that, it's a fun game definitely worth the time. The seasons gimmick is great but it's arguably underused. The music for most dungeons is gloomy and I liked that. Overall a pleasing game that has its qualities and could use some improvement.
By now, before continuing the story on Oracle of Ages, I would still suggest playing Link's Awakening first because it is simpler.
Edit: here's my review of Oracle of Ages. I'm also updating my grade from 4 stars to 3 and a half.