I held off on reviewing this because I haven't completed The Answer yet but as it turns out there's a separate log for that so here we go. This won't be a real review because I've already said everything in my P3P review but I'll talk about the version differences. I'm gonna say it, I like the combat. the tactics menu is really interesting and it plays really well into the themes of each characters being their own which is very important to the story. Of course the 3D environments are amazing and the character models have their PS2 charm. One of the greatest games of all time.

Honestly one of the best 2D platformers ever. It's dampened slightly by a terrible bit of late-game levels (my playthroughs tend to end after Oil Ocean), but not enough to dispel my overall enthusiasm for this game. I don't even mind the special stages, because at this point they're practically permanently etched into my brain.

When I was younger, I thought Sonic just wasn't for me. I'd tried and failed many times to get through the first game, but always stopped at Marble Zone. I might have even said once or twice that Sonic was never good.

Sonic wasn't good. At first. Until this game.

This game owns.

Solid Metroidvania game overall, but an incredible take on the Batman universe. Physical combat is addictive, easy to learn/easy to mess up, and makes you feel as powerful and competent as Batman should be. The stealth does an equally good job of this as well, making Batman play like an actual predator preying on the weak. Rocksteady did an amazing job of recreating the universe, with all the lore and attention to detail, plus getting the BTAS voice actors. The bosses are pretty basic though.

This was a pleasant surprise in how good it was. What bumps it up from other Metroidvanias for me is the last two upgrades you get and how far they push those mechanics in the optional challenge rooms. The powerups you get start out pretty basic, but I was kinda impressed when I got Goat Climb and Goat Fly. And then I was super impressed when I reached Tree Tops and realized what the devs expected of you to reach the top. On top of that, the combat stayed fun the whole way through and the game had a good sense of humor to it.

To this day, still haven't found a game with as stellar pacing and as compelling a plot as Ghost Trick. The game has an intriguing premise from the get-go, but after a certain point in the game that I won't spoil, things ramp up like crazy and you WON'T want to put the game down. Its not just the story either, the puzzles are fun to solve and take advantage of the DS touchscreen. They even introduce new mechanics to spice things up as the game goes on. But ultimately, the story is top-notch and the resolution had me on edge all throughout.

This is Shu Takumi's masterpiece, hands down.