My favourite trilogy, condensed into one incredible package.

Mass Effect has never been completely perfect, but it means so much to me as a series on an emotional level. The world itself I still think is really engaging, and has a good deal of depth to it.

I could speak at length about all three games but I think for now, i'll just say that it was well worth returning to this series after so long and rediscovering why I loved it.

The original NieR was a fantastic game that sadly fell under the radar for numerous reasons. So i'm glad that they decided to rerelease it in this way, along with adding additional content to it.

The story is as fantastic and grim as ever, and the new polish to the visuals is really quite stunning. The gameplay might be too simplistic for some, but I think there is a good deal of choice in how you handle the combat. Eitherway, I find thr combat satisfying, even if it isn't why I love this game so much.

This isn't a game everyone will love. It's imperfect, half of the sidequests really are just busywork and it can get very repetitive in long play sessions. But that imperfection, along with the overall tone, the atmosphere, the story and the soundtrack, make this game simply unforgettable.

Takes an already fantastic game and adds an additional layer of meaningful content that adds further depth to the characters, their relationships and the world as a whole.

The main game itself needs no introduction and while the shock factor is never as strong on a replay, the atmosphere is still amazing and the way it twists VN tropes is still so engaging.

The additional chapters are sweet, heartfelt and add so much to what we already knew about the characters. And the content going on in the background... well that has me even more interested in whats to come in the future.

As a big fan of the Zero Escape series, I went into AI: The Somnium Files with a wealth of expectations. Thankfully, in just about every way, it met my expectations and then some.

AI is an engaging, hilarious, absolutely entertaining mystery thriller, with some absolutely bonkers moments that are balanced out by an endearing and likable cast.

The gameplay itself is really enjoyable too and adds a new layer to the traditional room escape gameplay of the zero escape titles. While it removes traditional puzzles, it weaves in new logic based brain teasers, where you have ti figure out how things will react in the nonsensical dreamscapes.

The character models are all crisp and look wonderful. While the facial movements of the portraits could be seen as robotic and stiff, there's still a lot of personality to them I feel and the voice acting is exceptionally good.

I think that AI: The Somnium Files finds itself a step above Zero Escape, simply because it's got a much more well rounded mood. It hits higher highs and lower lows emotionally. It may not be as deep, or as thought provoking, but it strikes a much harder emotional chord.

If you end up playing this expecting the same sort of experience as the mainline games, you will probably be disappointed. For what it is, a scaled down puzzle platformer with some inventive and well executed gimmicks, it's perfectly fine though and succeeds in being a fun diversion for fans of Klonoa.

The graphics and music are probably the worst part, but they're not awful either. The soundtrack is just sort of barebones and doesn't rise above being serviceable. The graphics are nice and colorful, but don't do anything too impressive.

The actual gameplay usually involves a new gimmick being introduced with each level, and they really get inventive with each one, and when they start to mix together, the mechanics can be pretty engaging.

The story and characters take a bit of a backseat, which is sad for a Klonoa game, but the plot still resolves in a nice enough way.

So all in all, not a horrid experience and worthwhile investment if you're into the series and want to see how it translates to a handheld console.

Not an awful game, but very repetitive. It's a fine timewaster for its short length, and the graphics aren't too bad. But the lack of level and character variety holds things back from being anything beyond OK.

For the time, this was probably a great game for kids however. It's even reasonably challenging for a young audience. The combat is simple, but enjoyable. There's still some skill involved too for younger players, since blocking shots reauires a bit of timing.

Overall, this game is fine. Perfectly decent, but just sort of a fun time capsule these days.

Tournament can basically be summed up generically as "Bomberman meets Zelda and Pokémon" and really that's about the extent of it.

It does a good job of getting a lot of gameplay mileage out of the traditional Bomberman gameplay, offering up simplistic but engaging puzzles that aren't going to change the world but keep the dungeons interesting. In true Bomberman fashion, each enemy encounter asks you to think about the best way to trap your foe and deal damage. It starts off super easy of course but by the end the enemy types can get especially tricky.

The Karabon system is fun but not exactly well fleshed out, just sort of an interesting side game and you only really use about half of them frequently during the dungeon and overworld gameplay.

Perhaps the most underwhelming part of Tournament is the presentation. The graphics are by no means bad, just serviceable and the music follows suit. Some tracks are genuinely catchy, but it's not really anything to write home about.

Bomberman Tournament is a game that I had a good amount of fun with. But it might be a bit too basic or vanilla for some. At the very least, it does come with the standard set of Bomberman options for multiplayer, which is of course, always a fun time.

When this game first came out, I was pretty much all over it. I was obsessed and would play for hours a day. I enjoyed the grind and the progression system, and this really is the most customizable an Animal Crossing game has ever been.

But after a while, I realised that games like this, without a concrete endpoint, aren't always for me. I burnt myself out in that initial craze, and I started to see the flaws. The actual content is much more limited, compared to previous games in the series. While there was a lot to do, it mostly didn't seem to amount to much.

And then when you realize how basic and homogeneous the villagers are... I really had to take a step back and think about what I was really playing this game for.

I have a lot of good memories playing this with friends, and maybe someday i'll go back to it and finish my ideal island paradise. But until then, i'm good.

Paradise Killer, is so, exceptionally well crafted, it's incredible. It's absolutely astonishing.

Like, first of all, as a mystery/investigation game it's just really well layered and also really engaging? I'm not going to try to compare it too much to Dangan or Ace Attorney, because they are structured so differently, but compared to those two games, it manages to make the act of investigating feel so much more satisfying, because it really feels like you have to work for your evidence, for your testimonies and your truths. You have to be nice to people to get them to give you info, you have to snoop around places you shouldn't be, you have to just do, so much to get the info you need. And it feels great!

Because each part reveals something and on top of the main core mystery, there's so many other little mysteries surrounding it all connect to the main plot. And at it really leaves you guessing, all the way through, as to who it might be. And at some points you'll think it was definitely one person, but then the next the game just, punches you in the head and is like "BUT WHAT ABOUT THIS?" and you'll find some new piece of info that just changes everything.

The universe that it's set in, itself is just, so fascinating too. It's a case of, the more you learn about it, the more the holes start to appear. I won't say too much more than that, but it's a real treat.

The characters are interesting because, half of them really feel like they were made to be hated. You meet them and they're just consistently nasty to you, or are set on inconveniencing you at every turn. But I say this with the disclaimer that I feel like it really was the point of it all. It makes sense that they're not friendly, it makes sense that they're difficult. Some of them are nice and some of them are helpful but it's made clear there's a good reason for why that's the case too.

And then that of course, leads to the aesthetics which are just. Incredible. It's a vaporwave paradise that is really interesting to explore, to look at and all of the character designs are really well done too. The music is really really solid too, just really great to listen to.

But

Gosh

It's just really, really good

Honestly, this game kind of took me by surprise. I wasn't sure just what I was expecting but this is an incredibly fun and lighthearted metroidvania style game. The big barrier to entry for some is probably going to be the bullet hell mechanics as each boss unloads waves and waves of magical bullets at you, sometimes to the point that they seem impossible to dodge.

But honestly, if you stick with it, you start to see how simple it is to just, dance around the bullets without taking a single hit. Not to say there weren't some moments you won't struggle with, but the game allows you some flexibility with the difficulty options and you never really feel overwhelmed by just how intense the battles can get.

On top of that, the music is incredible and the visuals, while perhaps not the best part of the game, are fun, bright and adorable to look at. Probably the weakest aspect is the story, but even that is fun in just how simple and lighthearted it is.

If you're looking for something to scratch your metroidvania itch, give this a try!

I was really interested in this from the moment I found out about it. It ended up being a lot different to what I thought it would be, but not in a bad way. Entertaining and thoughtful in a lot of ways. I think that the promise that "no one's road is the same" is a bit of a stretch though.

Broadly speaking, the game has an overarching narrative and each time you start a new run, the characters you meet are going to be at a different part of their arcs, depending on how many times you've encountered them so far. The game picks and chooses a random event that you haven't yet seen and makes sense for the narrative based on where on the timeline you are. At the start of my new game +, I did indeed start off at a completely new event, but the one after that was one I had seen in my previous playthrough.

Nearing the end of my first playthrough too, certain methods of travel just stopped having new events, so there's a limit on the unique content. It's still fun seeing where you'll end up next, and it helps give the game a that road-trip energy that it's obviously going for. It just seems like a stretch to say that every journey will be different. Maybe throughout the rest of my new game +, my thoughts will change a little though.

The game is a little rough around the edges in some places, but it has a nice art style. The voice acting is decent enough, and the OST is fun. I will say, it seemed a little under-polished in some areas, but that may have just been me.

If Road 96's sales pitch interests you, I definitely recommend you give it a shot, since it is an interesting game, despite any flaws it has.

One of my favourite games from my childhood and a great game in its own right, just a little too frustrating sometimes.

It's a victim of its own ideas, since while Wario being unable to die is a fun concept to play around with, it also can just be an inconvenience and can lead to a few frustrating moments.

It doesn't overstay it's welcome though, whether you're collecting all the treasures or not, and it's certainly got an addictive gameplay loop. The visuals, animations and music are all really memorable and give the game a quirky Wario charm.

If you're looking for a Game Boy platformer with something a bit different to offer, then I definitely recommend giving it a try.

Just don't bother collecting all the music coins. The clunky golf minigame isn't worth it, in my opinion.