They really don't make games like this anymore! For better or for worse but who cares man its a spongebob game I used to play when i was six.

Updated graphics look nice for what they are and the music is okay, I wish they got to use more of the iconic Hawaiian themed score from the show but what we got was fine. As someone who grew up watching the show I was surprised by all the cool locations we got to play through. The Goo Lagoon and Spongebob's house were expected, but well done, while the mermalair and the Kelp Forest were unexpected and expanded the greater sponge bob lore (lol) in meaningful ways.

For as much effort as the devs have put into this rehydration, the game is still a mediocre license game. The controls are iffy at best, and frustrating glitches abound. The maps also get way out of hand in the later stages of the game. Levels like the Kelp Forest and Flying Dutchman's Graveyard are straight up miserable to traverse with how confusing the maps are.

But like I said earlier its a sponge bob game ¯\(ツ)/¯ so any meaningful critiques can be brushed aside pretty easily.

It seems insane that a game that has been hyped up for my entire life as "the best game of all time" not only lived up to those impossibly high expectations, but completely surpassed them. I never thought I would ever actually get around to playing this game, it was always one of those ones that were perpetually on my backlog. But when i saw it on sale I decided to just sit down and play through it no matter how old or outdated it felt. As soon as I pressed start I was hooked and was unable to pry myself away from the screen until the credits rolled.

I don't want to be that guy, especially since this game came out a year before I was born, but man they really don't make games like this anymore. Ever single prerendered background feels like it cost a million dollars to make. I can now see why this game originally came on three discs, the idea that this could be played on a ps1 is mindbending. I could not stop looking at this game even the blocky characters that walk around the overworld are just so charming and practically bleed personality. That coupled with the outstanding music created an atmosphere I just wanted to be in.

The story also completely owns. Every character; even the missable ones; have motivations, quirks, and personalities that are indivisible from each other. The dialogue was funny, the main plot was epic, and the side quests gave me a reason to care about them during the in game apocalypse, there's not much more you could ask from an rpg.

It turns out everybody was right about this one.

It's hard for me to say why i don't like this one as much as 2. I guess it comes down to it feeling kind of bloated when compared to how concise 2 was. Like some of the new playable characters are fun but do they really feel like they add anything to the overall game? not really.

The story is also whatever, so was the one in 2 but at least the villain there felt like more of a threat, here the sorceress leaves literally no impression. Where Ripto felt like the villain in a spyro movie, the sorceress feels like the antagonist of one episode of the spyro cartoon, if that makes sense.

When looking at how huge of a jump Ripto's Rage was from Spyro 1 you can't help but feel a little disappointed in how blasé Year of the Dragon feels in comparison. there's no consistent through line from 2-3 like there was from 1-2. But with all that being said this is still one of the best collectathons on the PS1. Movement is so much fun, the themes of the worlds are dreamy & creative, collecting gems/eggs just feels good. I could never come away from this game feeling anything other than satisfied.

It was interesting going back and replaying this because i discovered that all my childhood memories of spyro were from this game. I guess that says a lot about how iconic some of the imagery and design of this one would go on to be. It's a small thing but i really like how each of the worlds are connected and share characters, like you spend one level helping birds and then at the end they mention fighting slugs, and then you go on and help the slugs fight the birds on a different level. Stuff like that is really cool and makes you feel like an explorer visiting a lived in world with its own stuff going on.

The movement is really good in this one, I loved the addition of the flutter jump, and the bosses are by default better than the ones in 1.

But yeah this one is probably the best of the original trilogy ,it still feels pretty empty but there's more to do than in 1 and it feels more thematically consistent than 3.

The Arkham series has been an extremely playable ride from start to finish. I don't think any of the games have been bad, or even mediocre, and the free flow combat set the trend for every blockbuster action game for the past decade. After finally getting around to playing the finale all I can say is, ¯\(ツ)/¯ its good!

Everything that made the other two games (i didnt play the prequel because i dont care) good are still here so yeah I mean its just another one of the games. The most obvious difference is the inclusion of the batmobile and honestly guys Im just going to come out and say it, its fun. I'm sorry to the haters out there but I really don't see why people don't like it. It drives well and the combat is fun like wtf are you guys on what is with all the vitriol.

Rocksteady also finally figured out how to not make these games look like shit. I seriously cannot stand the art style for the first two games (again didnt play the prequel because i dont care). They both look so drab and boring and I cant play them for long periods of time because they look bad. In this one they decided to add color which, wow, this looks amazing I love just staring at this game.

Yeah so everything about this game is better than the ones that came before it right? No, no thats wrong. The story in this game literally has some of the most embarrassingly bad writing I have ever seen. Not only does the main plot again revolve around a fucking supervillain releasing poison gas in a city, like guys are we for real? again?? There is also a side plot surrounding the dead joker's blood being released into hospitals. Ok this part is where shit really starts to go off the rails. Not only is the Joker's blood poisoned from the events of the last game but it also carries like...the Joker...gene? Like a huge portion of the game is devoted to figuring out why people who have received transplants of Joker's blood are actually turning into the Joker. Like their hair is turning green and their skin is turning white. Are you for real. I don't even know what this implies like are they saying the Joker is some kind of ancient beast who transmits his soul into people through his blood? This makes no sense like at all and the people who sat down to write this should be embarrassed. I get that this was just an excuse to show Batman being joker-pilled and to have Joker hallucinations but like just do that just have him hallucinate Joker because he has extreme guilt and PTSD for not saving him in the last game. Oh and also the big twist about the Arkham Knight was so obvious like what was even the point of making it a twist.

Overall there was a lot I really liked about this game but it's hard not to come away from it disappointed.

This is a really good game! Buuuuut idk there are certain things that hold this back from being the "indie prestige" thing everybody always told me it was.

For one like the lock-on system is pretty ass. And the whole weapons randomly spawning seems kind of pointless because they all feel the same (for the most part).

I also feel like the story can sometimes be a little too enigmatic for its own good. And it never quite lives up to the lofty goals it starts with. But thats not to say its bad like far from it, the story does a ton of great shit and the environmental storytelling is top notch.

Overall this shit is so addicting and stylish. Like its just cool, and good, and fun and I like it a lot. All the little visual tricks and fuck i mean the music is legendary in its own right. This is definitely a must play game but I wouldn't quite put it in the video game hall of fame if that makes sense. Well, maybe I would I guess we'll see how much this one sticks with me.

Honestly this game is more about the vibes than anything. The visuals have perfectly ripened to the point where every tree/goomba/monkey/etc. just looks magical. The environments are all so cozy I just want to exist in these miniature worlds. The visuals are only half of the equation however as the real crown jewel of this game is the music. Every song in this game rules full stop.

The gameplay is also really fun lol but thats not the primary reason to play this game in 2021 in my opinion. With that being said however the fact that 15 years on this is still one of the best put together platformers of all time is a remarkable feat of game design.

There's a reason this game has become a bastion of the medium, and when put in context as one of the first 3D platformers ever that just makes it all the more impressive.

Yeah this is probably the best one in the series. I know it's shallow to talk about, but the visuals are just absurd, it's so fucked up that games can look this good now. Not only the technical presentation but the design of everything is so good. I love the way muzzle flares look and how colorful the explosions are. The environments are still the best I have ever seen in a video game, four years later.

The combat is also the best its ever been. In all the other games (with the exception of 3) the arenas have been super bog standard and obviously designed with functionality in mind. In this game though the arenas are huge and feel like actual places that would exist in the real world. This allows for much more creativity on the part of the player. Now you don't have to go in guns blazing every single time, you can stealth around and flank and try new things if something isn't working.

You can really tell they made this after The Last of Us. Not only do the environments carry that same "nature reclaiming the earth" vibe, but the stealth in this game was cranked to 11 holy shit. There is so much sneaking around in this game, and honestly I'm not crazy about it. There's nothing wrong with the stealth here but it just doesn't mesh well with the rest of the game, in my opinion. Now that might be because I played this one right after finishing the third one, in which there is hardly any stealth but eh it doesn't ruin the game by any means.

The pacing gets kind of predictable at times, which can make the game drag at when you start to see the pattern. Like "Oh ok I'm going to a new area I'm gonna walk around for a bit then I'll get in a firefight, then I'll find some ruins, I'll do a puzzle, watch a cutscene, then oh no! an ambush, firefight" and so on ad nauseam.

The story I also think is probably the best one so far. I was really enjoying it for the first half, then there was a super predictable twist that nothing really comes from, then the villains start to feel lame, and by the end I can't help but feel a bit disappointed that the story didn't live up to the stakes it set up in the beginning. With that being said the performances are all amazing I loved the relationship between Nathan and his brother and as the credits rolled I had a nice warm feeling in my stomach so ya know it's not like it was bad or anything.

Overall this is a really good game. It is only really being held back by the limitations of it being a AAA blockbuster that needs to make all of its money back and then some, so risks are going to be kept to a minimum. I loved it and it's a fitting end to one of Playstation's most beloved series.