ade
1987
Fight, Mega Man! For everlasting peace!
Here, Capcom sets the table for one of the most beloved franchises in gaming history. The ingredients are all here, but it's hard not to think of the original Mega Man as anything more than a first draft. This game is eye-wateringly difficult and filled with irritating game design (I KNOW you didn't grab the Magnet Beam on your first clear of Elec Man's stage). Even the music is pretty weak. I doubt there's a single Mega Man fan on Earth that thinks this is the best one, but it's an important game nonetheless.
Here, Capcom sets the table for one of the most beloved franchises in gaming history. The ingredients are all here, but it's hard not to think of the original Mega Man as anything more than a first draft. This game is eye-wateringly difficult and filled with irritating game design (I KNOW you didn't grab the Magnet Beam on your first clear of Elec Man's stage). Even the music is pretty weak. I doubt there's a single Mega Man fan on Earth that thinks this is the best one, but it's an important game nonetheless.
1990
This whistle... It must belong to Proto Man!
Capcom seems to have taken the criticisms of Mega Man 2's low difficulty to heart. Between the tough new Robot Masters, Proto Man, the Doc Robots, and some tricky new levels, this game is BRUTAL. Luckily, it isn't as thankless as the first game—this one is a whole lot more fulfilling. I also laughed a bit when I got to Wily's Castle and I was subsequently showered with Energy Tanks and extra lives. You can almost hear Capcom begging for forgiveness.
Capcom seems to have taken the criticisms of Mega Man 2's low difficulty to heart. Between the tough new Robot Masters, Proto Man, the Doc Robots, and some tricky new levels, this game is BRUTAL. Luckily, it isn't as thankless as the first game—this one is a whole lot more fulfilling. I also laughed a bit when I got to Wily's Castle and I was subsequently showered with Energy Tanks and extra lives. You can almost hear Capcom begging for forgiveness.
2016
vittorio de sica's 1948 film, "the bicycle thief," and respawn entertainment's 2016 video game, "titanfall 2." two works of art that are equal in influence, cohesion, and cultural value.
what if you were talking to someone for 30 minutes and every 3 minutes they stopped talking and starting texting you instead? that's this game
2017
i hate tom brady
2022
Let me open by saying that this is THE most subjective rating that I've ever given, as I don't think that this game will work for most people. In many cases, it won't even work for the most ardent Sonic the Hedgehog fan. Above all else, Sonic Frontiers is somewhat of a freak experiment - an amalgamation of different influences carried out with a vague level of uncertainty, but paired with a nearly apologetic degree of optimism.
As a former Sega Genesis kid, I've always found myself with this strange, inexplicable affinity for Sonic. I don't know why that is. I haven't enjoyed a Sonic game since Sonic Adventure 2, I don't care for a single one of Sonic's Genesis era titles, I detest both of the recent Sonic the Hedgehog movies, and I've never even dreamed of watching one of Sonic's numerous television adaptations. Still, I'm always rooting for Sonic, and I've long wished for an unmissable game that mirrors Sonic's legacy. Well, you've seen my relatively high rating for this. Is Sonic Frontiers that game? Well, no, but Sonic's future has never been brighter.
Let me get the obvious stuff out of the way: Sonic Frontiers is quite ugly, although it is far from visually uninspired. Sonic Frontiers is far too long, and its open world is couched much more in semi-meditative emptiness and infuriating navigation than in opportunity. Sonic Frontiers has about 10 different types of interlocking currency, and its map system and optional fast travel system will drive the average player insane. Sonic Frontiers has not one, not two, not three, but FOUR original boss themes by Kellin Quinn of Sleeping with Sirens. Sonic Frontiers has a maddeningly slow stat upgrade system that ultimately relies on fishing with Big the Cat to reasonably max out. Sonic Frontiers has unlockable side stories that tend to be much more trouble than they're worth. Sonic Frontiers has a barely functioning lock-on system and a skill tree that falls far below the expectations of a 2022 release. Sonic Frontiers is far. Too. Fucking. Long.
But you know what else? Through it all, Sonic Frontiers is FUN. Even with all of my criticisms in mind, I was still compelled to 100% this game. For the first time, Sonic Team has paid almost no mind to designing a satisfactory physics engine, electing instead to place that responsibility in the hands of the player. The wide, empty landscapes lend the player immense freedom to run unimpeded, and you're given the option to go under the hood and adjust Sonic's top speed, acceleration, brakes, steering, and camera distance. The level of trust placed in the player to create their ideal Sonic experience is like nothing I've ever seen from a game of this stature. When everything fits together—the dazzling spectacle tuned to Sonic's breakneck speed—the result is often nothing short of awe-inspiring. Not only that, but it remains abundantly clear that Sonic Team genuinely cared about the surprisingly dark narrative that they were trying to weave, even if I had some trouble following its implications.
Is this the Sonic game to end all Sonic games and silence Sonic's legions of naysayers? No, but I doubt that any game can wear that crown. However, Sonic Frontiers evinces something that has grown exceedingly rare in the AAA game space: the courage to upend one of gaming's most recognizable franchises. Here's your Sonic Adventure 3, with (almost) everything that that entails.
As a former Sega Genesis kid, I've always found myself with this strange, inexplicable affinity for Sonic. I don't know why that is. I haven't enjoyed a Sonic game since Sonic Adventure 2, I don't care for a single one of Sonic's Genesis era titles, I detest both of the recent Sonic the Hedgehog movies, and I've never even dreamed of watching one of Sonic's numerous television adaptations. Still, I'm always rooting for Sonic, and I've long wished for an unmissable game that mirrors Sonic's legacy. Well, you've seen my relatively high rating for this. Is Sonic Frontiers that game? Well, no, but Sonic's future has never been brighter.
Let me get the obvious stuff out of the way: Sonic Frontiers is quite ugly, although it is far from visually uninspired. Sonic Frontiers is far too long, and its open world is couched much more in semi-meditative emptiness and infuriating navigation than in opportunity. Sonic Frontiers has about 10 different types of interlocking currency, and its map system and optional fast travel system will drive the average player insane. Sonic Frontiers has not one, not two, not three, but FOUR original boss themes by Kellin Quinn of Sleeping with Sirens. Sonic Frontiers has a maddeningly slow stat upgrade system that ultimately relies on fishing with Big the Cat to reasonably max out. Sonic Frontiers has unlockable side stories that tend to be much more trouble than they're worth. Sonic Frontiers has a barely functioning lock-on system and a skill tree that falls far below the expectations of a 2022 release. Sonic Frontiers is far. Too. Fucking. Long.
But you know what else? Through it all, Sonic Frontiers is FUN. Even with all of my criticisms in mind, I was still compelled to 100% this game. For the first time, Sonic Team has paid almost no mind to designing a satisfactory physics engine, electing instead to place that responsibility in the hands of the player. The wide, empty landscapes lend the player immense freedom to run unimpeded, and you're given the option to go under the hood and adjust Sonic's top speed, acceleration, brakes, steering, and camera distance. The level of trust placed in the player to create their ideal Sonic experience is like nothing I've ever seen from a game of this stature. When everything fits together—the dazzling spectacle tuned to Sonic's breakneck speed—the result is often nothing short of awe-inspiring. Not only that, but it remains abundantly clear that Sonic Team genuinely cared about the surprisingly dark narrative that they were trying to weave, even if I had some trouble following its implications.
Is this the Sonic game to end all Sonic games and silence Sonic's legions of naysayers? No, but I doubt that any game can wear that crown. However, Sonic Frontiers evinces something that has grown exceedingly rare in the AAA game space: the courage to upend one of gaming's most recognizable franchises. Here's your Sonic Adventure 3, with (almost) everything that that entails.
1991
Mega Man shattered Dr. Wily’s plans three times and world peace has been maintained so far… but history repeats itself.
If you couldn’t tell from my journal entries, I am absolutely obliterating Mega Man games this weekend. Mega Man 4 introduces the Mega Buster, thereby rounding out the arsenal that will define these games for years to come. This one just feels great, and it’s also got my favorite group of Robot Masters so far (ESPECIALLY Skull Man). It also seems like Capcom is getting closer and closer to defining the perfect difficulty curve for these games, although I should note that this one drops lives and Energy Tanks like candy. Even with all of that in mind, Mega Man 4 doesn’t have too many new tricks. On to Mega Man 5…
If you couldn’t tell from my journal entries, I am absolutely obliterating Mega Man games this weekend. Mega Man 4 introduces the Mega Buster, thereby rounding out the arsenal that will define these games for years to come. This one just feels great, and it’s also got my favorite group of Robot Masters so far (ESPECIALLY Skull Man). It also seems like Capcom is getting closer and closer to defining the perfect difficulty curve for these games, although I should note that this one drops lives and Energy Tanks like candy. Even with all of that in mind, Mega Man 4 doesn’t have too many new tricks. On to Mega Man 5…
2021
This review contains spoilers
I was pretty excited for this in the lead-up to launch for a few reasons, but I didn't expect to have to force myself to finish this.
On one hand, the combat is very fun and flashy, particularly in the last third of the game, and I had a decent fun when experimenting with different SAS combos. Also, it fully commits to its insane narrative in a way that feels surprisingly confident for a brand new IP.
On the other hand, I'm too tired to write out my complaints in a way that flows naturally, so I'm going to number them.
(1) The narrative completely buckles under the weight of its laughable writing. This game really wants you to like these characters, but you're never given any real reason to. There's a half-baked relationship system, but it consists of cycling through menus to figure out what gifts you haven't given out yet, and the rewards for putting up with this are pretty few and far between.
(2) Whoever made this can't design an interesting world (or a functioning map system) to save their life. This game comes from the "orange Astral Chain" school of design.
(3) The game completely ruins the appeal of its most highly-touted feature--the inclusion of two protagonists with parallel storylines--by the time you get to the last third of the game. After telling you about everything that happens in their story route, the other protagonist's entire platoon joins your party at once, thereby ruining any appeal of a second playthrough to, for example, experiment with the other platoon's SAS powers (unless you really want to play as the other protagonist, for some reason).
(4) Progression is extremely vague and unfulfilling. You earn "brain points" when you level up, but you can only upgrade the protagonist's skills. This is a fine idea on its own, but 90% of the skills are passive abilities that I mostly never noticed in combat. There are a couple of cool skills, such as aerial psychokinesis attacks and concurrent SAS activation, but these are unlocked far too late in the skill tree to make any real impact. There are only about 4 different weapons and 2 costumes to unlock for each character, and there is almost no reason to optimize your party setup because it will not change their strategy or survivability at all.
(5) That's because this game's idea of ramping up its difficulty is "more enemies" instead of different enemies or unique combat scenarios. Like I said before, this game's combat is pretty fun! However, there's almost no incentive to experiment with any of it, because you'll be fighting the same 5 or 6 enemies for the entire game.
(6) The sidequests are very mundane and routine. That usually doesn't bother me that much, but the sidequest rewards are always either healing jellies or bond gifts, both of which can be bought from the shop. You are never rewarded with experience points, additional plug-in slots, or anything useful. There's also no way to track your sidequest objective--you can pin the quest title to the side of the screen, but you have to open a separate menu to view the objective.
(7) Please stop sending text messages to my brain.
Scarlet Nexus is, by all accounts, a remarkably shallow and uninteresting game. If you're going to play a JRPG primarily for its combat, just like... buy Ys IX or something
On one hand, the combat is very fun and flashy, particularly in the last third of the game, and I had a decent fun when experimenting with different SAS combos. Also, it fully commits to its insane narrative in a way that feels surprisingly confident for a brand new IP.
On the other hand, I'm too tired to write out my complaints in a way that flows naturally, so I'm going to number them.
(1) The narrative completely buckles under the weight of its laughable writing. This game really wants you to like these characters, but you're never given any real reason to. There's a half-baked relationship system, but it consists of cycling through menus to figure out what gifts you haven't given out yet, and the rewards for putting up with this are pretty few and far between.
(2) Whoever made this can't design an interesting world (or a functioning map system) to save their life. This game comes from the "orange Astral Chain" school of design.
(3) The game completely ruins the appeal of its most highly-touted feature--the inclusion of two protagonists with parallel storylines--by the time you get to the last third of the game. After telling you about everything that happens in their story route, the other protagonist's entire platoon joins your party at once, thereby ruining any appeal of a second playthrough to, for example, experiment with the other platoon's SAS powers (unless you really want to play as the other protagonist, for some reason).
(4) Progression is extremely vague and unfulfilling. You earn "brain points" when you level up, but you can only upgrade the protagonist's skills. This is a fine idea on its own, but 90% of the skills are passive abilities that I mostly never noticed in combat. There are a couple of cool skills, such as aerial psychokinesis attacks and concurrent SAS activation, but these are unlocked far too late in the skill tree to make any real impact. There are only about 4 different weapons and 2 costumes to unlock for each character, and there is almost no reason to optimize your party setup because it will not change their strategy or survivability at all.
(5) That's because this game's idea of ramping up its difficulty is "more enemies" instead of different enemies or unique combat scenarios. Like I said before, this game's combat is pretty fun! However, there's almost no incentive to experiment with any of it, because you'll be fighting the same 5 or 6 enemies for the entire game.
(6) The sidequests are very mundane and routine. That usually doesn't bother me that much, but the sidequest rewards are always either healing jellies or bond gifts, both of which can be bought from the shop. You are never rewarded with experience points, additional plug-in slots, or anything useful. There's also no way to track your sidequest objective--you can pin the quest title to the side of the screen, but you have to open a separate menu to view the objective.
(7) Please stop sending text messages to my brain.
Scarlet Nexus is, by all accounts, a remarkably shallow and uninteresting game. If you're going to play a JRPG primarily for its combat, just like... buy Ys IX or something
2004
i miss my older brother
2000
duragon c. mikado
2021
Metroid Dread simultaneously manages to be a love letter to the entire Metroid franchise as well as an absolutely stunning game that pushes the envelope for what Metroid can be.
2012
possibly the most "all cops are bastards" game ever made
bought this game in march 2017 and 100%d it. bought it again in february 2020 and 100%d it again.
2015
i miss this game tbh
2007
oh my god FUCK this