Pros: Massive adventure with TONS of variety. You never really could predict what the game would throw at you next, adventuring across islands, travelling in a submarine, visiting an alien ship, it was all very adventure-y goodness! The music, great, as one would expect from first party Nintendo, but what I think I loved most, was how much character and humor, CHARM, was in this game. Coming across a difficult puzzle (and this game had some real tricky ones!) was always accompanied by something with personality and color, to keep you engaged with its world.

Cons: Some puzzles are a bit too obtuse, and you may need to go to outside sources to pass through them (there is the infamous hidden message in a note you have to dip in water to read... a note that was real, contained in the physical copy of the game, where you had to actually in reality, dip the note in water to read. And this is either a really cool thing, or a really bad thing, depending how you play the game).

What it means to me: It's not usual that an NES game can hold my attention all the way to the end, for days on end, but this game was one of them! I first really got into it and played it on the NES Classic Edition Mini, and really, it's probably the highlight of that entire mini console experience. I fully enjoyed my time with this game, and I consider myself a fan. Would LOVE to see the series return one day, and would love even more if it got some recognition in Smash Bros, like... Playable Mike Jones perhaps?? Maybe? Tough sell when the game never released in Japan, I know...