frankursztejn
1993
pretty good but can't help but miss the madcap slapdash of the mainline games, whereas this one goes for the run-of-the-mill SNES cohesion. some of the textures are nice, especially the final stage, but otherwise i'm a little underwhelmed.
2004
goat
1998
totally perfect melodrama atop everything else.
1988
i love the NES
one of gaming's most potent and mysterious fairy tales. moody and imaginative -- the core impetus of its platforming is mechanical improvisation, going through corridors unknown and barely large enough to fit. best 64 game????!!!
2009
slapdash and schizophrenic in both play genre and visual cohesion, plausibly can be considered an arpg, shmup, and platformer all in one go. it is not that it excels in all these sharp changes, but that the same enthusiasm is awarded equally. kind of a miracle.
2023
far and away the best modern FE, or at the very least the first since the Wii games to be as sharp and efficient as its origins. Silly, but well directed action -- characters passing through shrouds, cutting through wind, engulfed in flames.
2000
sort of same-y, and rather difficult to muster the patience to finish. though i will say it probably has the best classical battle system post-snes.
unreal
what it lacks in third strike’s “lightning in a bottle” disposition it makes up for in complete aesthetic insanity
2022
couldn’t get enough of this even when the puzzles are somewhat needlessly opaque.
1992
If you do not like ecco the dolphin you are not my friend
2006
crazy how the psp entry happens to be the most definitive and endlessly replayable one. also visually stunning not just “for a psp game” but even compared 5 and 4. soundtrack is mostly just an amalgamation of hits from the last few but the new ones also rock.
1992
not as impressive and clean as i’d been lead to believe. upgrade system is mostly boring aside from a few strange weapon combos, i wouldn’t say any of the bosses are “bad” but the strangeness of how they are ordered cannot be overstated. visuals are great, soundtrack is banging, and there are very good moments of high-stress shmup goodness.
i want to fuck devil jin so bad