Oh childhood nostalgia how I love thee.

As I get older and reflect on some of the amazing games I've played, very few stand out to me like Super Mario RPG. Self admittedly, I'm not the biggest Nintendo fan, especially now a days, as I prefer a focus on story, and narrative over gameplay and "fun" which Nintendo seems to excel at. However, this game longs from my childhood as one of my favorites, and something that (along with FF7) introduced me to JRPG's probably one of my favorite genres of games.

Re-visiting this now, while it doesn't hold up quite as well as I remember, it's still easily one of my favorite Nintendo games ever, and a true triumph for Square, especially for the time period.

The combat is nearly unmatched, and it's insane that more JRPG's don't use the timing mechanic (shout out to Sea of Stars for lovingly ripping it off and putting their own spin on it).

The story here is easily the best story in a Mario game, and it actually does perhaps the unthinkable, give a personality to Mario. All of the companions here are fantastic, and it's a true love letter to Mario, even today.

Now I do have some issues with this remake. I think overall I do prefer the original graphical style. While this is no doubt gorgeous (and pops on the OLED) there's just something so wonderful about the OG style I can't help but adore even more. Also the music, while again I like it, and it's great, I think I prefer the OG (thankfully that's easy to toggle on).

Overall though, I still really like this game quite a bit, even if it might not be one of my favorites of all time anymore, this is certainly a trip wroth taking once again, and a must play for anyone who has never experienced it.

Sure the combat could be better but if you think its bad clearly you've never impulse mega flare permafrost dancing steel into stagger will-o-the-wykes lightning rod gigaflare zantetsuken level 5-ed before and it shows :/

I struggled a good bit throughout my playthroughs of Final Fantasy XVI. It is now the third mainline game in the series I've beaten but at the time I started it I had intended it to be my first. Its a series I've always known i needed to try to get into, and the demo of this game was absolutely amazing, it completely blew me away. I was very unexpectedly hyped for this. And playing it I was like oh yeah this is def 5/5 material, after the Garuda fight I was so sold on the game. The music is fucking fantastic and I've never seen such awesome boss fights. But then after that the game felt like it had already peaked. There are still great boss fights through the rest of the game but they never were as impactful as the first 10 or so hours were for me. I felt myself increasingly disinterested in the plot and all the lore and by extension - the game itself.

All that changed near the end when I finally actually started doing side missions. I surprisingly ended up becoming quite fond of all the side characters in the Hideaway and to a much lesser extent the different characters out in the various towns and villages. The game has a pretty damn good cast. It was around that point that I was pretty hype for the end. And for the most part the finale delivers. Its plenty epic, and I was having a great time. But in the end, I was a bit disappointed in how everything wrapped up. That's not to say that there's really anything wrong with the ending, it just wasn't what I was wanting. How i feel about that is how I feel about Final Fantasy XVI as a whole. Plenty of great moments, but in the end still just a little disappointing.

Now that I've explained that I still think FFXVI is great, I have a lot more to complain about. Mostly minor things but it all added up over my 90 hours spent with the game. Some minor annoyances like enemy phases being tied to health bars so sometimes when you set up a stagger and start unleashing, the game just lets them sit there and recover without taking damage and you being unable to do anything for like 20 seconds before the next phase begins. There's also some battles in the wild where if the fight naturally goes a little further than where it started, enemies may just become immune and run back to their spawn point at full health. There's also without fail after every big boss, a main quest that's meant to let things settle but it just kills the pacing and feels like the game is wasting your time by dishing out forced side quests, sometimes several in a row. In the more dungeon-y areas the game is also pretty bad at leading the player along, there were several times I ran completely in the wrong direction because it doesn't make it clear what doors you can open unless you're right next to them. My final complaint is that Final Fantasy mode, the supposed hard mode for NG+, is a complete joke. Now I'm sort of glad it wasn't hard because it made the platinum obtainable for me and now that i have one for a mainline game in the series I don't ever have to bother again. But like, the games idea of hard is give every enemy 50x as much HP. For normal enemies it ain't nothin a level 5 Zantetsuken can't solve but any enemy with a stagger bar doesn't actually feel harder to fight, they just take ages to fucking kill. Even though i skipped every cutscene and did minimal side content, my FF playthrough felt longer than my first where I did basically everything. It just isn't very fun.

So that's about all of my thoughts with Final Fantasy XVI. But to end on a more positive note: Jill is hot and Titanic Block + Counter is one of the most satisfying moves of all time.

Thanks for reading <3

-----TLDR----
+ Great cast
+ Amazing soundtrack
+ Awesome boss fights throughout
- Story quality and pacing is wildly inconsistent
- Didn't like the way it ended
- Too many little gameplay grievances that add up

Nancymeter - 85/100
Trophy Completion - 100% (Platinum #278)
Time Played: 92 hours
Completion #6 of November
Completion #210 of 2023

So going into this game, this is probably the Metal Gear I was least nostalgic for/excited to replay. I do love all these games, so much, but for whatever reason MGS 2 doesn't have that same pull for me, despite being an obviously incredible game. After my replay, I can't say too much has changed, but it's clear that this is still an utter masterpiece.

The story is so so far ahead of it's time here, and that's been talked about to death. The early twist in this game is one of the best ever done, and it still makes me mad how upset "gamers" got about it (and would again get angry later in TLOU2 over it. Gamers do NOT like being fooled)

Raiden is awesome, Snake is awesome, all the characters are so great. The soundtrack in this game is phenomenal just heater after heater.

So what makes this not a 5/5 for me unlike the other MGS games (besides V?). I think for me, the only thing holding me back here is a couple of things. My nostalgia for some of the other games plays a huge part, but I also feel like the setting is one of the weakest in the series. That's not necessarily a bad thing, it's still very good, but compared to shadow Moses and the jungle, I just enjoy this setting a little less, and that's really the only knock I have on this masterpiece of a game otherwise.

Kojima is a creator who is much discussed, but MGS has made him the GOAT. God I fucking love these games.

Ho boy. When i say this is the most important game of all time to me, and perhaps one of the greatest, I truly mean it.

Metal Gear Solid is a love letter to gaming for me. I can still remember playing this game late at night, sneaking up past my bed time to get a little time in on the old Playstation 1. The way this game made you think out of the box with some of its creative puzzles and boss fights, it's a level of creativity that is still unmatched today and only could have been done by someone like Kojima.

The story is of course tremendous, with fantastic voice acting, character work.

The boss fights are iconic.

This game still holds up incredibly well, and I'll be honest, if you don't think it does, that's a you problem, not this games problem. A true masterpiece in every sense of the word. Godbless Metal Gear.

Alan Wake II is an absolute masterpiece, defying expectations and transcending the normal bounds of the medium to explore storytelling in a completely unprecedented format. It is brought to life through masterfully crafted art direction, graphical prowess, chilling sound design, enchanting performances and powerful music. It is an emboldened, metatheatrical, multi-media driven, survival horror game setting place in a lovingly crafted connected universe. Sam Lake has proven once again that he is a virtuoso of modern storytelling. His team shares a vision of salient ambition.

Back in September of this year the website "The Gamer" published an opinion piece titled, "2023 Has been a Horrible Year for Gaming." It was, of course, meant to be provocative and invite readers into an ongoing conversation around problematic trends in the industry: incessant lay-offs as companies haphazardly excise perceived sources of "bloat" without accounting for their heads' taking ownership over their gluttonous habits and actions during the pandemic. Indeed, this commentary should of course be considered alongside problematic cultures manifesting within the AAA development space and the completely unsustainable means by which many of these blockbuster games are being made. 2023 has also been a monumental year for video games. It is without a doubt one of the greatest, ever. The machinery of the game industry has caused much suffering to its artists, but we should also acknowledge the onslaught of phenomenal video games that have managed to release in this post-pandemic development era.

Enter, Remedy Entertainment, who have chosen to return as a true champion of light. They have, outstandingly, delivered on sustainable budgets and time structures. They developed the 2019 hit "Control" with uncompromised graphical and technical prowess at a mere fraction of what we might see with other AAA hits. This rings true with Alan Wake II as well, which has already at the time of my writing recouped its development costs. They continue to keep their staff from project to project, and once again with Alan Wake II (shortened to AW2 throughout this review) they bring forward many of the lovely faces they've been working with for years… in reprised, reimagined, and new roles.

For 13 years, as he has outlined for us, creative director Same Lake has wanted to make a proper sequel to 2010's "Alan Wake." He has stood on this promise and dream with stoic determination, or perhaps more appropriately, "sisu." Finally, we have it, his initiative brought forward in Alan's highly anticipated return. I believe Sam Lake when he says he is grateful it took so many years to logistically make this project viable, because there is now a cauldron full of bubbling ideas seasoned and adjusted to perfection after the learnings of many other projects since 2010. Frankly, Alan's overwhelming journey is reflective of Remedy's own learnings and attempts to manifest this game from writing to reality.

Making a sequel to a cult classic is truly no easy task, especially when you have chosen to completely reinvent the genre it will abide by. "Alan Wake" (2010) certainly had unnerving elements, but ultimately it was a campy jaunt through what the protagonist told us was a horror story. You often fought hordes of Taken, plowed them down with cars, and had plentiful access to ammunition and batteries for your trusty flashlight. AW2 grounds the experience. The resource economy is well tuned, where every bullet, bandage and battery pack counts. A push-and-pull of exploration exists, which promises more invaluable resources but at the possible cost of spending more to survive. There are periods of suspenseful silence and uneasy tranquility, inviting players to let their guards down before suddenly being attacked by 1-3 Taken. Frankly, there is one thing hasn't changed since 2010: there are few gameplay moments more satisfying than shattering a Taken's shadow shield with a burst from your flashlight, followed immediately by a blast from your trusty revolver or shotgun. In AW2 the guns feel punchy and impactful, but anything that might feel overpowered naturally suffers from resource scarcity. Combat isn't necessarily a focal point of this experience, but what is here feels good and responsive. The crowds of enemies are, as previously alluded to, notably toned down compared to the original game. However, the campiness is still present. AW2, for as much as it revels in jump scares, pitch-black environments, or horrifying scenes… loves throwing in a little bit of zaniness at every other corner. "Wonderfully weird" is my recurring phrase for Remedy video games… it continues to be apt here.

Alan Wake II explores new-form storytelling. What is accomplished here is not paralleled by any other game, and Remedy will make you believe that this is the only medium by which they could accomplish this. It is uncompromising and tenacious in its efforts to lead a completely unique experience. Interwoven into the plot are jaw-dropping set pieces, seamless integration of expertly acted live action footage, and a captivating soundtrack. In this nightmare, everything around you is riddled with as much art as there is darkness. Thematically, as you will find with many facets of Alan Wake II, this works perfectly. The Dark Place and Cauldron Lake feed off creativity. The very lore that tells us fiction might manifest reality in this place invites the submission of art to wield this power. Whether it be to bend it to one's will in a play for power, the ramblings of a mad creative, or a desperate act to survive, you will find art everywhere in Alan Wake 2. The absurdly proficient art direction, graphical fidelity, and sound design all serve this well. This is certainly a game meant to be played with headphones, complete with haunting ambient tones and often terrifying directional audio. Even the technical prowess on display is a means by which to capitalize on AW2's multi-faceted approach to storytelling, allowing for instantaneous transitions in and out of live action pieces from controlled gameplay. Alan Wake II plays plenty homage to its inspirations, from "Twin Peaks" to Remedy's own work in "Max Payne," you will find nods and references to real-life art everywhere. AW2 is certainly not afraid to broach metatheatre throughout its own narrative, embodying the campy nature of its predecessor by doing so. The Poets of the Fall (and their alter ego, The Old Gods of Asgard) make a dazzling return as well. The music choices throughout are excellent. I made sure to jam out with end of chapter song every single time, each of which remarkably coincided with the themes of the concluding chapter. Much can be said about how Remedy chose to characterize this world, but that does not even scratch the surface of other narrative techniques employed here: inspired use of dual protagonists and the ongoing construction of the Remedy Connected Universe should also be discussed.

Agent Saga Anderson and Alan Wake are notably different protagonists, with equitable contributions to the story, in spite of the game's title. Saga represents a newcomer to Bright Falls and is fairly naïve to the altered world event occurring there in 2010. In her segments Remedy heralds in a "True Detective" style to building the narrative, demonstrating Saga slowly put together the sensible through-lines within a maddening ocean of information. Her segments often are slower paced, plotting, and inspire horror through tension or unnerving encounters in the "real world." Saga witnesses firsthand the human consequences of the horror story in a way Alan is not privy to while trapped in The Dark Place. Alan's segments, on the other hand, are notably more weird. The Dark Place's rules are loose and poorly understood, by him and us. The vastness of the Dark Place is on full display here. Alan, stuck here 13 years, remarked for us long ago that its influence was not nearly as confided as observers expected. "It's not a lake, it's an ocean." Its depths also represent the unconscious mind, although burdened with darkness and a seemingly endless loop of directionality, thus allowing its vastness to directly contribute in driving Alan past the brink of insanity. AW2 continues the franchise's ongoing themes of reality, creativity, and the power of storytelling. It pulls these threads in new directions, challenging the rules it establishes and inviting a greater depth of exploration. Deeper and deeper it seems to go, truthfully making it hard to stop thinking about AW2 even after credits roll. Alan's wrestle with identity throughout it all is brought to life with a captivating, page-turning performance. He reckons himself everything from husband to writer to monster. As Alan, more questions will arise than answers, but not in a cheap or dissatisfying way. He too plays the role of "detective" and utilizes various light puzzles to explore the nature of murders occurring in the real world that might just be directly inspired by his writings. He must navigate what feels like "loops," first introduced in Alan Wake: American Nightmare, where he must suffer through repeated events with slight variations. He is constantly left to question if he is in the last one? If they will end at all? If the content of these loops can be in any way influenced or changed through his actions, or are instead up to predetermined fate? The enemies in these segments also are questionable in their sheer threat. Distorted shadows approach you in masses… many of which will dissipate yet still others will take more solid form and attack with little warning. This adds a level of tension to every encounter unique from the quietness we experience with Saga, where your ammo conservation demands reservation in the face of constant stimulation. Alan and Saga's tales connect in a natural, understandable manner and in many ways help make two stories form one cohesive narrative. That goal takes both metaphoric and literal form, because of course it does.

Lastly, I want to speak a bit to what is building here with the "Remedy Connected Universe." With just 4 games now, including American Nightmare, it already feels like it has the makings of something special. Familiar faces from Control are seen in AW2 in ways I will not divulge here, but in charming capacity that respects recurring players and invites intrigue from new ones. Callbacks are tactful, ranging from cute and small acknowledgements to huge payouts. Old faces return from prior games, with no stories to be told. Others are yet alluded to. Small things like the "Drink 'Em Both Up" achievement or stacked solo cups of the original Alan Wake are explicitly referenced here. More critically, the Federal Bureau of Control (FBC) plays such a meaningful role in this story. There are small payouts here too, including an explanation of the "raccoon situation" you could read about in a lore piece from Control's AWE DLC. Grander implications for the FBC's monitoring of Cauldron Lake, Alan Wake, and so on are of course revealed as the player presses on. All throughout, and most importantly, I felt thoroughly rewarded for my knowledge of these prior games.

There is so much love put into this title. You can tell Sam Lake has inspired a tremendous crew to adopt an outlandish shared vision that only they are truly equipped to deliver on. I welcome the upcoming DLCs "Night Springs" and "The Lake House," desperate to spend more time exploring Alan Wake II's narrative riches. I also look forward to Control 2, and whatever else might follow. This really is a special team, doing special work. There is not one game out there that is "like" Alan Wake II. It is truly, emphatically, "one of a kind."

May the Remedy Connected Universe continue to spiral, bringing us ever closer to new answers and infinitely more questions.

Bravo.

Going into the first Pikmin after playing the third one probably does a disservice to the former. It's a fun game and it terms of atmosphere and storytelling it easily tops Pikmin 3, but gameplay-wise I found Pikmin 1 to be a bit tiring. As much as I love old games they often lack QoL features that would make the experience much smoother and better. Pikmin suffers from this issue, but it's not atrocious. You can get used to it and when you do it's an enjoyable experience. I really did suck at this game though.

Well this was something that was unexpected for me this year. I've been on a massive JRPG kick recently, and I really did want to get to this game eventually, but I didn't have time, didn't want to buy it day one, and planned to hopefully play this at some point in 2024. However, thanks to my wonderful friend Poot, who gifted me this game for my birthday I was able to give this game a shot much sooner, and I'm really glad I did as it's easily one of my favorites I've played this year.

First of all, from a visual/art style perspective this game is absolutely gorgeous, and everything you'd want a throwback JRPG to be. The art style is stunning, the combat is some of the best I've ever played in a JRPG style game (why don't more games rip off the super Mario RPG style it's SO GOOD). I loved the characters here, grew to really enjoy them all (Serai is a stand out) and the story while it gets off to a very slow start ends up cooking by the end.

Most of my complaints with the game are nitpicks, some more valid then others. Fast travel is something sorely needed much much earlier in this game, and back tracking can be a miserable time. A better map system would have been awesome too.

I would have LOVED to do the true ending stuff, but I feel that collecting 50 shells is a brutal requirement, and something that I'm not committed to do right now, but in the future, when I have more free time between these gauntlet of releases I'll try and get back to it to complete. The ending we get here though, is quite nice. A bit rushed at the end, but sombre, and a perfect throwback to FF endings.

I really adore this game, and it's about as close to a 4.5/5 for me without being able to give it that due to some minor complaints. But this game is outstanding and 100% worth your time.

Gears 5 is the best looking, best playing, most compelling game with the best story in the series to date.

Growing up, I was an Xbox gamer. Sure I had a DS and my family had a Wii because so did everyone, but the majority of my gaming time was spent on Xbox. Naturally because of this I ended up playing a good amount of the Gears series. Despite that, I actually never beat a single one of them. Eventually I moved on to Playstation and hadn't looked back since. That was, until this year. Seeing the great value of gamepass and how the future of exclusives was really starting to look up (barring the Redfall setback), I decided it was finally time to return to my gaming roots. As much as I was excited to be able to play things like Hi Fi Rush or Starfield, honestly one of the biggest incentives to get one was to play a series I had always liked but never given the treatment it deserved.

And that brings us here, now. A few days past a month of owning an Xbox, and I have played through all 5 numbered entries and Judgement. The original trilogy is not without its flaws but were all a very fun time, with 3 feeling like a fitting conclusion. Of course its a mega popular series though, so obviously things weren't gonna end there. First was Judgement which, well, its not very good. Its not bad either, I liked it. But... the gameplay changes are very clearly a step down from the trilogy and the story wasn't particularly interesting at all. As a spinoff being developed with a different studio, it was understandable that it was significantly weaker than the main games. The new control scheme meant to be more like Call of Duty didn't help.

But then there was 4. Looking amazing, feeling great to play, absolutely awesome set-pieces. But wow. As a setup for the future of the series, it does a piss poor job. The story feels both padded and incomplete. There's a long stretch in the middle that feels entirely designed to make the game longer, but my jaw dropped when the credits rolled because it felt like half a game worth of plot. It introduces three new main characters in JD, Kait and Del but does barely anything with JD and Del is literally a nothing burger of a character. Combined with how the new characters in 3 and Judgement are treated (Jace, the most useless man to ever exist?), the series seemed to have a serious issue with providing anything interesting for the characters beyond the core 4 (That being Marcus, Dom, Baird and Cole). I still enjoyed 4 but it was hard to feel anything but disappointed coming off from the end.

Now its finally time to talk about the actual one that I'm reviewing! Gears 5 fixed just about every issue I had with the series. JD's character is genuinely interesting, Del turned from a complete nobody to such a bro that he's top 3 characters in the series for me. They finally start to treat their female characters with a little more respect by not killing them offscreen or doing nothing with them by putting Kait front in center as the new protagonist. They finally make the gameplay more interesting by having two big areas with optional objectives, as well as upgrades you can work for. The open areas are really great, and even if the side locations aren't anything amazing what they do do is give great room for character development and by the end of the game I really liked and cared for the whole cast, something that hadn't happened for me since 2. Another thing I really liked was the game letting you make a story effecting choice near the end. It doesn't really effect things much for now as obviously by that point the game is almost over, but assuming Gears 6 doesn't discard this altogether - it really makes me even more excited to see how the series continues to evolve with more choice and options.

All this is to say is that Gears 5 is by far the best in the series, and after Judgement and 4 I'm very happy that my binge has ended on a high note. This year is absolutely stacked so I need to focus on other things for now, but I do look forward to trying out Tactics in the future. Gears 6 can take all the time it needs, but I'm more excited for it than just about any other Xbox property. Not to mention finally being able to play a multiplayer mode that isnt completely dead <3

Also, couldn't figure out where to fit his in my review but even though all games in the series have plenty of funny moments, this made me laugh out loud several times without betraying the darker tone and I really appreciated that.

Nancymeter - 90/100
Achievement Completion - 8% (20/181 - ffs lol)
Time Played - 12-13 hours
Completion #29 of August
Completion #161 of 2023