The game that made classic Castlevania finally click with me. The level design and enemy placement are near perfection that makes playing through a level and wanting to master it practically addictive. The pixel art and cutscenes are gorgeous, the voice acting is wonderfully cheesy and fun, and the enemy designs are so good I almost can’t blame Symphony of the Night for stealing them all. And then there’s the best bit, Maria.

I was hitting a brick wall with the penultimate boss, so I decided to replay one of the earlier levels, as I remembered finding a key that I didn’t know what to do with. So I went back, got the key, found a locked door, and unlocked a new playable character, Maria Renard. Maria is wonderful, and she completely changes the tone of the game in the best way. She is essentially an easy mode, not with boring stat increases, but because she has a bunch of unique moves that make her fun to play in her own way.

Unlocking Maria, using her to get past that brick wall, and then seeing her alternate ending was so much fun. Part of me thinks they deliberately made that boss so hard so that players would replay earlier levels and find her. Either way, a classic game.

Sonic Adventure has an energy like no other, the jump from Sonic & Knuckles to this is wild. It's not surprising that this game started life as an RPG, there's just so much here; 6 playable characters, each with their own interconnecting stories, a large hub world full of NPCs, a completely optional in-depth virtual pet system. And none of this is even touching on the actual levels.

Sonic’s levels have these big, multi-act structures, each act often having its own music, aesthetic, and gimmicks. There’s so much variety, so much spectacle, and the visuals and music are off the charts. In fact, Sonic’s levels are so sprawling and varied that every other character's levels are just small pieces of these ones.

This game was an achievement. Yeah, alot of it's jank and parts of it suck, but who cares? It slaps! And if you can't vibe with the jank in this game, then buddy, you need to lighten up.

Also, the fishing's bad, but if they didn't give Big the Cat such an obnoxious “stupid person” (ableist) voice in the english dub, he would be way less hated.

I loved this game as a kid, and it did introduce me to a lot of artists that I would go on to love (Stevie Ray Vaughan, Santana, Iron Maiden), but it's no way near the best guitar rhythm game. Firstly, I think it's kind of ugly. Obviously it's an old game, but its contemporaries like Rock Band had a more appealing art style, better animations and effects (comparing the two side by side there's no contest imo). Most importantly though is the soundtrack, and while it's pretty good, there's also a lot of covers, and a handful of duds too. I did used to have a crush on Ruby Nails tho so there's that

It's shocking how impressive this PS3 game still looks today. Watching each individual blade of grass blow in the wind, creating ripples across the fields as if they're made of water, it's all still just as mesmerising as when I first played it. Even now when modern games can generate similar scenery across far bigger spaces, it simply doesn't compare to the intimacy and delicateness with which Flower gently blows its thousands of blades of grass.

The soundtrack is also a favourite of mine. Vincent Diamante's score fits the game beautifully, and the way picking up petals adds more notes to the minimalist music makes the whole game feel even more alive.

It's the best game thatgamecompany ever made. While Journey felt more innovative at the time with its anonymous multiplayer, and more comprehensive with its tangible story, I've always preferred Flower's more abstract narrative that feels like you're entering a plant's dreams. I prefer the gameplay too, as it's one of the best uses of motion controls, and maybe the best flying in any video game. The feeling of freedom when you soar through the air is just instant joy, and something that I will continue to come back to again and again.