juliusaurus
Pros: It's gotta be the e-reader card stuff, they added so much replay value to this game, in ways that, hell, even the Super Mario Maker series still hasn't given us. The e-reader was a separate GBA device that let you scan the barcodes on physical trading cards, that would then upload elements into the game. Here, there are plenty brand new stages and a few classic old ones too thanks to the e-reader, with varying levels of challenge. And the added content is rich, there's even power-up cards, like, the entire cape power-up from World is in this, and it's just as great as it was in SMW, there's also a new boomerang weapon you can use too, which, isn't really a power-up, but it's a boomerang that you can catch and throw as often as you can keep catching it, neat! There's also stages that have you plucking vegetables just like in SMB2, stages that have you running on walls and ceilings like SMW, and stages with "no-return" exit gates from Yoshi's Island. It's a best of Super Mario Advance collection!! These stages were locked to the e-reader, so one could consider that a con, but I had the e-reader, I collected the cards, and man, that too was fun, so for me, it's definitely a pro!
Also, the entire game of Super Mario Bros. 3 is here too, of course, heh, with Luigi and his added abilities from Super Mario Advance 2! Changes things up enough to play the game again in a different way. It's a great port of the All-Stars version of SMB3, and hey, they fixed Mario's gloves! He's actually wearing them now!
Also another fun little minor addition, Game Boy Player support, where if you played the game on a Gamecube with the GB Player, you'd have rumble support on the Gamecube controller, heh, not bad!
Also also, every Super Mario Advance included a remade version of Mario Bros., and it's no different here, the same game is included, but now that there were four Super Mario Advance games, we now had four game paks with Mario Bros, which allowed four player bouts of Mario Bros. with all of the benefits and options of doing four-game pak mode, it was really genius of Nintendo to allow multiplayer of that mode with any version of Super Mario Advance!
Cons: SMB3 itself is still not my favorite of Mario games, it's great, don't get me wrong, but I would've loved these e-reader additions to a better game like Super Mario World, using that game's base engine instead. Still, it's hard to complain about all added bells and whistles here, it's certainly the best version of SMB3, period.
What it means to me: This version of the game was the first time I ever played SMB3 from beginning to end, first time I ever beat it, in fact! And so, naturally, it means more to me than the other Super Mario Advance series game releases, it just gave me so much more. And even with later releases on Wii U and Switch, they pre-set all of the e-reader stages on them, even the e-reader stages that were never available in North America, due to the cards for them only releasing in Japan. So years later I got even more enjoyment out of this game! It's the game that keeps on givin'!
Also, the entire game of Super Mario Bros. 3 is here too, of course, heh, with Luigi and his added abilities from Super Mario Advance 2! Changes things up enough to play the game again in a different way. It's a great port of the All-Stars version of SMB3, and hey, they fixed Mario's gloves! He's actually wearing them now!
Also another fun little minor addition, Game Boy Player support, where if you played the game on a Gamecube with the GB Player, you'd have rumble support on the Gamecube controller, heh, not bad!
Also also, every Super Mario Advance included a remade version of Mario Bros., and it's no different here, the same game is included, but now that there were four Super Mario Advance games, we now had four game paks with Mario Bros, which allowed four player bouts of Mario Bros. with all of the benefits and options of doing four-game pak mode, it was really genius of Nintendo to allow multiplayer of that mode with any version of Super Mario Advance!
Cons: SMB3 itself is still not my favorite of Mario games, it's great, don't get me wrong, but I would've loved these e-reader additions to a better game like Super Mario World, using that game's base engine instead. Still, it's hard to complain about all added bells and whistles here, it's certainly the best version of SMB3, period.
What it means to me: This version of the game was the first time I ever played SMB3 from beginning to end, first time I ever beat it, in fact! And so, naturally, it means more to me than the other Super Mario Advance series game releases, it just gave me so much more. And even with later releases on Wii U and Switch, they pre-set all of the e-reader stages on them, even the e-reader stages that were never available in North America, due to the cards for them only releasing in Japan. So years later I got even more enjoyment out of this game! It's the game that keeps on givin'!
Pros: One of the most impressive SNES games runs pretty great on the GBA. I'd say, in some ways, it plays even better. For one, egg-aiming/throwing is now mapped to the R button, which, is actually a lot more comfortable than it being mapped to the A button on SNES! Going from licking to aiming/throwing doesn't require you carrying your thumb across the controller to press different buttons, it's a plus! Another plus to this version, are the six new original levels unlocked after beating the game, and they're great levels too! One of them involves every single transformation of Yoshi's in the game, like an Animal Antics from DKC2, and it's a great stage! Some other minor additions too, like an overworld map where you see Baby Luigi at the end of the road in Baby Bowser's Castle, and the SHOES!! Each colored Yoshi has their own unique corresponding colored shoes, like in Yoshi Story or in the intro of SNES original. The game, we all know it, we all love it, it's a masterpiece, and thankfully it still is here.
Cons: Some of the content from the original that was Super FX didn't all transfer over perfectly, such as the Touch Fuzzy Get Dizzy moments, as well as the framerate of the end credits... And that's unfortunate, as the end credits made for a very important and emotional conclusion in the original, it's still fine here, but not as great because of it. Also the resolution of the GBA is a bit smaller, and larger resolution is something that's more important for a game like Yoshi's Island where you're exploring every corner of the stage, as well as aiming and firing eggs in all directions too. And my last complaint... The baby Yoshi voice from Yoshi's Story is all over this port... just permeates the whole thing, replacing the original weird squishy trumpet-y sound Yoshi made in the original. And yeah, I will say it, that Yoshi voice is more annoying than Baby Mario's crying.
What it means to me: One of my favorite games of all time, on my person, to play anywhere at any time. I loved it. It was in my GBA SP more than most other games even, played it a lot on the train rides to and fro work or school, it was a great companion game. Hard to go wrong with this one!
Cons: Some of the content from the original that was Super FX didn't all transfer over perfectly, such as the Touch Fuzzy Get Dizzy moments, as well as the framerate of the end credits... And that's unfortunate, as the end credits made for a very important and emotional conclusion in the original, it's still fine here, but not as great because of it. Also the resolution of the GBA is a bit smaller, and larger resolution is something that's more important for a game like Yoshi's Island where you're exploring every corner of the stage, as well as aiming and firing eggs in all directions too. And my last complaint... The baby Yoshi voice from Yoshi's Story is all over this port... just permeates the whole thing, replacing the original weird squishy trumpet-y sound Yoshi made in the original. And yeah, I will say it, that Yoshi voice is more annoying than Baby Mario's crying.
What it means to me: One of my favorite games of all time, on my person, to play anywhere at any time. I loved it. It was in my GBA SP more than most other games even, played it a lot on the train rides to and fro work or school, it was a great companion game. Hard to go wrong with this one!
Pros: It's the Super Mario World we all know and love, with some real quality new additions and QOL improvements. For one, collecting Yoshi coins goes towards percentage, and it along with the rest of level stats are kept track of on a sub-screen menu, which is very helpful for chronicling your completion of the game. Another great new addition is Luigi! He plays entirely differently, like jumping higher, more slippery traction, and bursting every coin out of a coinbox all at once. Luigi even changes the way Yoshi plays when riding him, such as holding enemies in his mouth with the ability to spit them back out. I particularly love the intro story to the game, giving context to the adventure, and the intro even has an extended ending upon beating the game. Very charming, lovely music to it too. Other little changes to the game are also quite welcome, like Peach's new sprite, and in most cases, the lighter color palette is easy on the eyes.
Cons: In most cases, in some cases, the lighter color palette can make the game look a bit more washed out than the more vibrant appearance of the SNES original. And outside of the changes I mentioned above, there really isn't much else new to this version of the game, which, feels less substantial than the other "Super Mario Advance" games, which added quite a lot to the original games.
What it means to me: The SNES original is already my favorite 2D Mario, and a portable version was such an easy win for me, played the hell out of it, just as I did the SNES game. And playing as Luigi made it different enough to feel worth another go. I don't have any stories attached to this one, but I do remember having it in my GBA quite often.
Cons: In most cases, in some cases, the lighter color palette can make the game look a bit more washed out than the more vibrant appearance of the SNES original. And outside of the changes I mentioned above, there really isn't much else new to this version of the game, which, feels less substantial than the other "Super Mario Advance" games, which added quite a lot to the original games.
What it means to me: The SNES original is already my favorite 2D Mario, and a portable version was such an easy win for me, played the hell out of it, just as I did the SNES game. And playing as Luigi made it different enough to feel worth another go. I don't have any stories attached to this one, but I do remember having it in my GBA quite often.
2001
Pros: A touched up Super Mario All-Stars version of SMB2, maybe touched a little too much... up... I do like the improved presentation here and there, the character select screen, the hidden Yoshi eggs, the added effects like large rotating enemies and platforms, it's neat.
Cons: The voices get annoying, and I find it especially strange how Birdo's voice sounds way too much like a middle-aged human woman. Why'd they have to do that? At least put her voice through a filter, like they did in Mario Tennis 64 a year earlier. Anyway, I get it's a showcase for GBA's tech, as this was its premier launch game... What a strange choice, SMB2/USA being the launch showcase game. I guess perhaps this was meant to be a Super Mario Bros. Deluxe on Game Boy Color follow-up, maybe. Also, a little nitpick, but for some reason I got it into my head that after I'd found every Yoshi egg, that, I dunno, I could play as Yoshi?? Is that my fault? Should I not have hoped for that? I feel like the game set me up for that, and with a new version, I hoped for a hefty new addition, like a new playable character... Nah.
What it means to me: My bro and I actually passed on this one at launch, considering we already had the All-Stars version, we thought... why bother? We got it a year or so later for Christmas anyhow, and it was alright. We mostly played the really fun Mario Bros. multiplayer game, a fun little inclusion.
Cons: The voices get annoying, and I find it especially strange how Birdo's voice sounds way too much like a middle-aged human woman. Why'd they have to do that? At least put her voice through a filter, like they did in Mario Tennis 64 a year earlier. Anyway, I get it's a showcase for GBA's tech, as this was its premier launch game... What a strange choice, SMB2/USA being the launch showcase game. I guess perhaps this was meant to be a Super Mario Bros. Deluxe on Game Boy Color follow-up, maybe. Also, a little nitpick, but for some reason I got it into my head that after I'd found every Yoshi egg, that, I dunno, I could play as Yoshi?? Is that my fault? Should I not have hoped for that? I feel like the game set me up for that, and with a new version, I hoped for a hefty new addition, like a new playable character... Nah.
What it means to me: My bro and I actually passed on this one at launch, considering we already had the All-Stars version, we thought... why bother? We got it a year or so later for Christmas anyhow, and it was alright. We mostly played the really fun Mario Bros. multiplayer game, a fun little inclusion.
2001
Pros: I kinda vibe with the Jim Henson-y Fraggle Rock/Dark Crystal aesthetic of this game. Very colorful, very sparkly, very googly eyed whimsy fantasy land of an art style, it's a magical feelin'. The platforming is decent enough, the music is okay with some fine melodies anyway, the sprites are big and detailed, with a lot of moving objects on screen too, it feels like something that SNES couldn't quite achieve, but seeing as GBA could, that was pretty impressive for a launch title! Though I haven't played the Saturn/Jaguar/Playstation original, and I imagine the GBA version doesn't quite match up to it (the screen resolution in particular stands out), it's still pretty admirable.
Cons: The game is a bit... slow, it feels a bit muddy to play. Having to stop in place to wind a punch, it just feels stiff. The graphics and sound can also be a bit crunchy too, not the most satisfying on the ears or eyes when those moments occur (though I do like the Band Land theme, which, is uhh, the title screen in this version... still feels like it's going through a rough filter though)
What it means to me: This was the first Rayman game I had ever played, and honestly, aside from the Jim Henson-y bits, it didn't leave much an impression. I recall playing through the whole thing, and I can't say anything was all that memorable. The world, the characters, the story... Nuthin stood out to me. Rayman isn't special to me.
Cons: The game is a bit... slow, it feels a bit muddy to play. Having to stop in place to wind a punch, it just feels stiff. The graphics and sound can also be a bit crunchy too, not the most satisfying on the ears or eyes when those moments occur (though I do like the Band Land theme, which, is uhh, the title screen in this version... still feels like it's going through a rough filter though)
What it means to me: This was the first Rayman game I had ever played, and honestly, aside from the Jim Henson-y bits, it didn't leave much an impression. I recall playing through the whole thing, and I can't say anything was all that memorable. The world, the characters, the story... Nuthin stood out to me. Rayman isn't special to me.
Pros: This game feels like a legitimate sequel to F-Zero SNES. High speed classic F-Zero gameplay, all the same features one would expect to return from the original are here. New to the game is multiplayer, thanks to the GBA every player has their own screen, and it's fast and fun, with options to play with a single cartridge, where you have a more limited selection of courses to race on, and everybody plays as the same racer, but still, it's enough to have fun with. Another new feature is unlockable racers, I believe you start with four, and as you play through each cup in each difficulty setting, you unlock four more. None of these characters are from any previous F-Zero game (though I believe one of them is the nephew of Captain Falcon... It's a been a minute since I've read their bios in the instruction booklets...) but their F-Zero cars are now depicted with CGI pre-rendered sprites, so it looks a bit flashier than the SNES original. In general, the mechanics work, boosting, braking, taking tight turns, it's real exhilarating racing fun, and a hefty challenge too!
Cons: There's maybe not enough here though? Like the SNES original, this was a launch game, and it's a bit barebones. Not a whole lot of features other than the standard stuff, which is all well and good, but you can feel that this was a launch game, if you know what I mean. Also, the music and presentation isn't as good as it is in the SNES original, gone are the wacky character designs, no Captain Falcon, no Samurai Goroh, no Pico, and gone are the badass memorable melodies from Mute City and Big Blue. The music and characters here are fine, just fine, nothing memorable though... and it's no surprise that they'd never reappear in the series again.
What it means to me: My brother was the first in the family to get a GBA, not at launch itself, but close enough to it, where F-Zero Maximum Velocity was the first game for the system we got and played. And it was a pretty good time! Good showpiece, really demonstrated that the GBA was essentially a handheld SNES, and who doesn't love SNES? Well, we never really got into F-Zero SNES that much before this game, and after playing through Maximum Velocity, it made going back to the SNES original much easier, and we could then tackle and beat that one too! Good first impression for GBA, but not a game we'd go back to much, well, up until revisiting it on Switch's NSO+, where my bro and I played a little online multiplayer, still decent fun!
Cons: There's maybe not enough here though? Like the SNES original, this was a launch game, and it's a bit barebones. Not a whole lot of features other than the standard stuff, which is all well and good, but you can feel that this was a launch game, if you know what I mean. Also, the music and presentation isn't as good as it is in the SNES original, gone are the wacky character designs, no Captain Falcon, no Samurai Goroh, no Pico, and gone are the badass memorable melodies from Mute City and Big Blue. The music and characters here are fine, just fine, nothing memorable though... and it's no surprise that they'd never reappear in the series again.
What it means to me: My brother was the first in the family to get a GBA, not at launch itself, but close enough to it, where F-Zero Maximum Velocity was the first game for the system we got and played. And it was a pretty good time! Good showpiece, really demonstrated that the GBA was essentially a handheld SNES, and who doesn't love SNES? Well, we never really got into F-Zero SNES that much before this game, and after playing through Maximum Velocity, it made going back to the SNES original much easier, and we could then tackle and beat that one too! Good first impression for GBA, but not a game we'd go back to much, well, up until revisiting it on Switch's NSO+, where my bro and I played a little online multiplayer, still decent fun!
Pros: Welcome to Jurassic Park Builder, the charming handheld game that lets you design your own little prehistoric park ALA SimCity and Zoo Tycoon. Very limited in comparison to its big brother on the PC, but with that limitation also comes loads of charm, charm not unlike SimCity SNES where the graphics are colorful and chibi, and the music is absolutely delightful!
Sending teams on fossil expeditions, as they then return over time with bits of DNA for specific dinosaurs from across the world, is actually pretty thrilling! It's like completing a puzzle, hoping you can find that final piece and finish the picture! Collecting all of the genetic code for every dinosaur, marine reptile, and flying reptile, has a fun Pokemon element to it, certainly the highlight of the game, highlight of the game other than creating your own Jurassic Park that is! Yeah, it's very simple and basic, but it's really exhilarating placing attractions, exhibits with gates, foliage, decorations, and roads for the tour cars. Sure, you might have to squint to really push your imagination into being able to see a fully realized and operational dinosaur theme park, but the chibi dinosaurs runnin' around in every exhibit and the little guests and their tour cars zoomin' this way and that suspends the disbelief just enough to make it work. When it's full and bustling, the magic of Jurassic Park comes to life, in the ways that John Hammond could only dream of! Well, in a 16-bit chibi graphic art style anyway.
Cons: While the dinosaur portraits are unique to each species you unlock, and are pretty cool looking, very CGI and very Jurassic... The overworld dinosaurs, well, they're not unique. There's less than a dozen different looks to the dinosaurs on the overworld that you can see roamin' about on the field, and each species fits into one of those different types of overworld dinosaur sprites... Every theropod looks the same, every sauropod looks the same, every pterosaur looks the same, etc... They don't even make them different colors for the different species... So when scrolling around the map, you can't see any difference between the unique dinosaur species as you'd want to see, as you can see in their portraits... which makes unlocking new ones less exciting, when you've seen them all on the map already, at least what they look like there. That takes the wind out of things... What also takes the wind out of things, is that the game ends, I mean, it forces you to stop playing after a certain number of in-game years go by. All the time you've spent customizing and creating your park, all the time you've put into trying to unlock every dinosaur... Well, if you haven't gotten them all by a certain point, oops, it's too late! Start over! Major bummer.
What it means to me: Despite those shortcomings, this game's charm and gameplay loops were more than enough to keep me glued to my then, brand new Game Boy Advance, for days and days on end. Yeah, this was my first GBA game, as Jurassic Park III (a movie that I really don't like...) came out around the time of GBA's launch. And considering I was such a big fan of SimCity and Zoo Tycoon around then too, this was perfect timing for my next step in the sim management genre journey. And one that I could take on the go!
Sending teams on fossil expeditions, as they then return over time with bits of DNA for specific dinosaurs from across the world, is actually pretty thrilling! It's like completing a puzzle, hoping you can find that final piece and finish the picture! Collecting all of the genetic code for every dinosaur, marine reptile, and flying reptile, has a fun Pokemon element to it, certainly the highlight of the game, highlight of the game other than creating your own Jurassic Park that is! Yeah, it's very simple and basic, but it's really exhilarating placing attractions, exhibits with gates, foliage, decorations, and roads for the tour cars. Sure, you might have to squint to really push your imagination into being able to see a fully realized and operational dinosaur theme park, but the chibi dinosaurs runnin' around in every exhibit and the little guests and their tour cars zoomin' this way and that suspends the disbelief just enough to make it work. When it's full and bustling, the magic of Jurassic Park comes to life, in the ways that John Hammond could only dream of! Well, in a 16-bit chibi graphic art style anyway.
Cons: While the dinosaur portraits are unique to each species you unlock, and are pretty cool looking, very CGI and very Jurassic... The overworld dinosaurs, well, they're not unique. There's less than a dozen different looks to the dinosaurs on the overworld that you can see roamin' about on the field, and each species fits into one of those different types of overworld dinosaur sprites... Every theropod looks the same, every sauropod looks the same, every pterosaur looks the same, etc... They don't even make them different colors for the different species... So when scrolling around the map, you can't see any difference between the unique dinosaur species as you'd want to see, as you can see in their portraits... which makes unlocking new ones less exciting, when you've seen them all on the map already, at least what they look like there. That takes the wind out of things... What also takes the wind out of things, is that the game ends, I mean, it forces you to stop playing after a certain number of in-game years go by. All the time you've spent customizing and creating your park, all the time you've put into trying to unlock every dinosaur... Well, if you haven't gotten them all by a certain point, oops, it's too late! Start over! Major bummer.
What it means to me: Despite those shortcomings, this game's charm and gameplay loops were more than enough to keep me glued to my then, brand new Game Boy Advance, for days and days on end. Yeah, this was my first GBA game, as Jurassic Park III (a movie that I really don't like...) came out around the time of GBA's launch. And considering I was such a big fan of SimCity and Zoo Tycoon around then too, this was perfect timing for my next step in the sim management genre journey. And one that I could take on the go!
2001
Pros: I LOVE ANIMALS! And I was so ready for the park management sim genre to tackle zoos! And Blue Fang Games and Microsoft nailed it here with Zoo Tycoon! Borrowing great gameplay elements from games in the genre like Rollercoaster Tycoon, and applying them to zoo management made for a very natural fit. Managing and customizing a zoo to your liking is first of all, incredibly fun, but in this game, the primary goal is keeping your animals happy and healthy by building them exhibits that match their ecosystems in nature. Terrain, foliage, rocks, enrichment, shelters, the amount of animals, the variety of different species in a single exhibit, height, water, etc etc, you are creating worlds for each and every little creature, and if done well, these little fenced in ecosystems can turn up quite beautiful as well!
The animals are very well designed here, they have delightful animations, and look generally realistic with their pre-rendered models, nothing too garish or cartoonishly exaggerated, but just enough leeway where the developers can still have some fun with them (dancing penguins do show up after all, hehe). When looking at the isometric park that you've created, you can really picture these animals living out their lives as happy little dudes in their natural habitats! The more you build, and the more successful your park, the more animals and attractions you unlock, to continuously add to your zoo. But, if you're unsuccessful, just like in Rollercoaster Tycoon, disaster can strike! But disaster is also incredibly entertaining! If you fail to build proper exhibits, your animals may escape! Animals escaping their enclosures and going on a rampage is so fun to watch, especially those crazy carnivores! The chaotic frenzy that erupts when a meat eater escapes, where all of the guests start running and screaming, is hilarious! Watching a lion pounce on a park guest and then proceeding to flip them into the air, is... Well, haha, you wouldn't think they'd have gone that far!! It's so much fun, win or lose! But of course, There's more satisfaction in making everybody happy, animals and guests!
My favorite exhibits to build were the African savanna animals. Placing water buffalo with zebra with ostriches and gazelles all in one exhibit, and giving them a watering hole in the center to congregate at, is extremely satisfying as you attempt to balance all of their wants and desires as they are distinct species sharing one environment! Watching all of these animals cohabitate together as if they were residing on the plains of Africa brings joy to my heart every time I see them, a perfect ecosystem. Some exhibits are fun to create simply for how beautiful they can look too, with a mixture of plants and ground material, with different elevations of terrain, it's a fun challenge to get the animals to be happy with just the right amount of environment elements mixed with your own creative layouts! It's a little bit of puzzle solving in the game. My favorite animal to make these types of exhibits for are the Siberian tigers, which has you mixing so many environment types together that aren't commonly mixed for other animals, but if you do it right it's incredibly gratifying. Top it all off with a lovely waterfall in the enclosure, and then BAM, you've got a tiny work of art for those big cats to roam around in! Once you've gotten far enough to afford and create large enough exhibits for elephants to join in is always a moment of excitement for my zoo building journey, and man, elephants are just the best, beautiful animals, getting them in the park is when you know you've made it! Endangered species too! Pandas are especially fun to create exhibits for, and for the guests as well. I'd always give the guests fun paths to travel across with plenty of sights on their way to see the animals themselves, with decorations to match the setting of the animals' home country. There's even a bit of an educational element to this game, learning about biology, ecosystems, horticulture, the names and places of so many locations throughout the world, and what plants and animals reside in them. It's really a fulfilling experience!
And when I've built my zoo to its fullest, just like with Rollercoaster Tycoon before it, I can sit back, scroll through the land, and take in the satisfaction of the successful park I've just created, but in this case, I can do this for hours upon hours, just watching my animals, seeing them doing their animal shenanigan things all day every day.
Cons: Once again, not being able to go into first person and have an "on grounds" view of the park to explore for yourself, is somewhat disappointing, just as it was for Rollercoaster Tycoon, not being able to ride the coasters. But here, the goal is to watch the animals, and you can still do that from the isometric perspective, in fact, looking at a map of a zoo, at least for me, is highly enjoyable, the way it's constructed from a birds eye view is just as lovely to me as on the ground, so... I can't find as much fault in the fixed perspective here as I could in RCT. But same deal again, the sequels would eventually give us these first person features anyhow.
What it means to me: This game was made for me, I'm a zoo-fanatic, I've always loved animals and have always loved going to the zoo, these places were my personal Disneyland. And I loved sim games like SimCity and Rollercoaster Tycoon as well as games about taking care of animals and critters like in Harvest Moon and Tamagotchi. The planets aligned for me with this game, it came out at the perfect time, a time right after experiencing games that addressed these interests of mine, but none of those games addressed the interest as strongly as Zoo Tycoon did for me. I played this game so much, and I can confidently say it's my most played PC game ever. Creating my own zoos, and crafting my own animal exhibits and attempting to create biomes and attractions for the guests, to feel like they're entering a jungle, a savannah, a tundra, whatever it may be! It clicked on every level for me, and the act of creation with animals at the center point, honed in on what I loved most as a person, and here I was able to fulfill that innermost desire in a video game. So when I finally got this game for Christmas in 2001, that was it, I had my game. I could create my zoo, the way I always wanted! And I still go back to this game here and there, reliving that childlike joy. Then when it's time to go back to my current life as an adult, well, heh, I'm heading out to my local zoo, where I volunteer weekly, where I'm still in love with the place, and with the same energy of that little kid that poured thousands of hours into Zoo Tycoon.
The animals are very well designed here, they have delightful animations, and look generally realistic with their pre-rendered models, nothing too garish or cartoonishly exaggerated, but just enough leeway where the developers can still have some fun with them (dancing penguins do show up after all, hehe). When looking at the isometric park that you've created, you can really picture these animals living out their lives as happy little dudes in their natural habitats! The more you build, and the more successful your park, the more animals and attractions you unlock, to continuously add to your zoo. But, if you're unsuccessful, just like in Rollercoaster Tycoon, disaster can strike! But disaster is also incredibly entertaining! If you fail to build proper exhibits, your animals may escape! Animals escaping their enclosures and going on a rampage is so fun to watch, especially those crazy carnivores! The chaotic frenzy that erupts when a meat eater escapes, where all of the guests start running and screaming, is hilarious! Watching a lion pounce on a park guest and then proceeding to flip them into the air, is... Well, haha, you wouldn't think they'd have gone that far!! It's so much fun, win or lose! But of course, There's more satisfaction in making everybody happy, animals and guests!
My favorite exhibits to build were the African savanna animals. Placing water buffalo with zebra with ostriches and gazelles all in one exhibit, and giving them a watering hole in the center to congregate at, is extremely satisfying as you attempt to balance all of their wants and desires as they are distinct species sharing one environment! Watching all of these animals cohabitate together as if they were residing on the plains of Africa brings joy to my heart every time I see them, a perfect ecosystem. Some exhibits are fun to create simply for how beautiful they can look too, with a mixture of plants and ground material, with different elevations of terrain, it's a fun challenge to get the animals to be happy with just the right amount of environment elements mixed with your own creative layouts! It's a little bit of puzzle solving in the game. My favorite animal to make these types of exhibits for are the Siberian tigers, which has you mixing so many environment types together that aren't commonly mixed for other animals, but if you do it right it's incredibly gratifying. Top it all off with a lovely waterfall in the enclosure, and then BAM, you've got a tiny work of art for those big cats to roam around in! Once you've gotten far enough to afford and create large enough exhibits for elephants to join in is always a moment of excitement for my zoo building journey, and man, elephants are just the best, beautiful animals, getting them in the park is when you know you've made it! Endangered species too! Pandas are especially fun to create exhibits for, and for the guests as well. I'd always give the guests fun paths to travel across with plenty of sights on their way to see the animals themselves, with decorations to match the setting of the animals' home country. There's even a bit of an educational element to this game, learning about biology, ecosystems, horticulture, the names and places of so many locations throughout the world, and what plants and animals reside in them. It's really a fulfilling experience!
And when I've built my zoo to its fullest, just like with Rollercoaster Tycoon before it, I can sit back, scroll through the land, and take in the satisfaction of the successful park I've just created, but in this case, I can do this for hours upon hours, just watching my animals, seeing them doing their animal shenanigan things all day every day.
Cons: Once again, not being able to go into first person and have an "on grounds" view of the park to explore for yourself, is somewhat disappointing, just as it was for Rollercoaster Tycoon, not being able to ride the coasters. But here, the goal is to watch the animals, and you can still do that from the isometric perspective, in fact, looking at a map of a zoo, at least for me, is highly enjoyable, the way it's constructed from a birds eye view is just as lovely to me as on the ground, so... I can't find as much fault in the fixed perspective here as I could in RCT. But same deal again, the sequels would eventually give us these first person features anyhow.
What it means to me: This game was made for me, I'm a zoo-fanatic, I've always loved animals and have always loved going to the zoo, these places were my personal Disneyland. And I loved sim games like SimCity and Rollercoaster Tycoon as well as games about taking care of animals and critters like in Harvest Moon and Tamagotchi. The planets aligned for me with this game, it came out at the perfect time, a time right after experiencing games that addressed these interests of mine, but none of those games addressed the interest as strongly as Zoo Tycoon did for me. I played this game so much, and I can confidently say it's my most played PC game ever. Creating my own zoos, and crafting my own animal exhibits and attempting to create biomes and attractions for the guests, to feel like they're entering a jungle, a savannah, a tundra, whatever it may be! It clicked on every level for me, and the act of creation with animals at the center point, honed in on what I loved most as a person, and here I was able to fulfill that innermost desire in a video game. So when I finally got this game for Christmas in 2001, that was it, I had my game. I could create my zoo, the way I always wanted! And I still go back to this game here and there, reliving that childlike joy. Then when it's time to go back to my current life as an adult, well, heh, I'm heading out to my local zoo, where I volunteer weekly, where I'm still in love with the place, and with the same energy of that little kid that poured thousands of hours into Zoo Tycoon.
1999
Pros: Rollercoaster construction in Rollercoaster Tycoon is, ironically, not filled with highs and lows! It's all HIGHS baby! The satisfaction of building a successful coaster is great, but then again, so is the high of building an unsuccessful coaster, as you proceed to watch them crash and burn in glorious fashion!
Roller Coaster Tycoon is a fantastic management sim game, not just for building coasters with the finesse and fun of a Lego or K'nex set, but also entire theme parks filled with a diverse set of rides and attractions for entertaining loads of guests, who in turn, will tell you just how much they're enjoying your park, through their words that you can check in on, or by the vomit they leave on the park grounds! Or if you don't hear from them, they might be DEAD!! Yeah, these rides can be dangerous and harm the parks reputation, so you'll definitely be motivated to create and customize a theme park that everyone can enjoy! Customization options are wonderful, as you work on an isometric angled landmass, where you can alter the terrain in any height and in any fashion, you can place paths and objects in any way you desire, changing colors, names, or adding signs and what have you, to theme rides and the park itself to your heart's content, and it feels GREAT! Of course, the rollercoasters are the star of the show, and they're incredibly fun to watch after you've built them, with pretty nice pre-rendered visuals for the day, to make everything pop with a bit more dimensionality. Sometimes I'd just sit and scroll through my park, not adding anything, and just have fun watching the whole machine in full operation, one that you can be proud of building. Highly addictive and satisfying game, one of the greatest PC sim management games of all time, most definitely.
Cons: Some UI hiccups here and there, like windows popping up endlessly that need to be closed manually, or trying to delete an object on a slope with the isometric point of view can be tricky. But what bothered me as a kid when playing the game, was that you couldn't ride the rollercoasters yourself, which, to be fair, you can't do that in a game that doesn't use real 3D visuals, you're stuck in that isometric angle, which, fine. It's still a joy to watch the coasters zip and zoom along their tracks from afar anyway. In any case, these were issues addressed in later games in the series, but the simplicity of the first Rollercoaster Tycoon, and its genius glitch-free programming by Chris Sawyer, makes for a seamless experience that you can't help but smile while playing in its sandbox.
What it means to me: One afternoon, my brother and I stumbled upon someone playing this game, and we both were all "WHAT IS THAT??" and we had to ask for a turn at the computer, and just go to town. We were instantly hooked, and luckily, later in the year on Christmas, we were gifted Rollercoaster Tycoon at a, get this, church banquet, what a WIN!! Praise the lord!! This game shot up to the top of most played PC games relatively quickly, outdoing SimCity 2000. Theme parks are fun, we loved Six Flags as kids (hell, still enjoy it), and of course love coasters, there's no way a kid ain't gonna love this one. What more can be said, it's a thrill!
Roller Coaster Tycoon is a fantastic management sim game, not just for building coasters with the finesse and fun of a Lego or K'nex set, but also entire theme parks filled with a diverse set of rides and attractions for entertaining loads of guests, who in turn, will tell you just how much they're enjoying your park, through their words that you can check in on, or by the vomit they leave on the park grounds! Or if you don't hear from them, they might be DEAD!! Yeah, these rides can be dangerous and harm the parks reputation, so you'll definitely be motivated to create and customize a theme park that everyone can enjoy! Customization options are wonderful, as you work on an isometric angled landmass, where you can alter the terrain in any height and in any fashion, you can place paths and objects in any way you desire, changing colors, names, or adding signs and what have you, to theme rides and the park itself to your heart's content, and it feels GREAT! Of course, the rollercoasters are the star of the show, and they're incredibly fun to watch after you've built them, with pretty nice pre-rendered visuals for the day, to make everything pop with a bit more dimensionality. Sometimes I'd just sit and scroll through my park, not adding anything, and just have fun watching the whole machine in full operation, one that you can be proud of building. Highly addictive and satisfying game, one of the greatest PC sim management games of all time, most definitely.
Cons: Some UI hiccups here and there, like windows popping up endlessly that need to be closed manually, or trying to delete an object on a slope with the isometric point of view can be tricky. But what bothered me as a kid when playing the game, was that you couldn't ride the rollercoasters yourself, which, to be fair, you can't do that in a game that doesn't use real 3D visuals, you're stuck in that isometric angle, which, fine. It's still a joy to watch the coasters zip and zoom along their tracks from afar anyway. In any case, these were issues addressed in later games in the series, but the simplicity of the first Rollercoaster Tycoon, and its genius glitch-free programming by Chris Sawyer, makes for a seamless experience that you can't help but smile while playing in its sandbox.
What it means to me: One afternoon, my brother and I stumbled upon someone playing this game, and we both were all "WHAT IS THAT??" and we had to ask for a turn at the computer, and just go to town. We were instantly hooked, and luckily, later in the year on Christmas, we were gifted Rollercoaster Tycoon at a, get this, church banquet, what a WIN!! Praise the lord!! This game shot up to the top of most played PC games relatively quickly, outdoing SimCity 2000. Theme parks are fun, we loved Six Flags as kids (hell, still enjoy it), and of course love coasters, there's no way a kid ain't gonna love this one. What more can be said, it's a thrill!
1993
Pros: In the year two-thousaaaand! One of the best city building/management sims ever made, and set the standard for the simulation genre going forward. Two major aspects of the standard that this game popularized were the isometric/dimetric perspective for the land grid, where you could now see just how tall some buildings were compared to others making for visually exciting and captivating cities! And the other aspect, the terrain deformation, where you could build mountains, valleys, tunnels, waterfalls, and landmasses of any size you wished! The world was yours to create! Otherwise, this game did more and did it better as a successor to the original SimCity. Management options expanded as you could create waterworks piping and plumbing systems, highways, and general quality of life additions like clicking and dragging to make roadways. And another big gimmick of the game, was time, meaning, the further in time you go, the more advanced technology and architecture is available for you to create! Leading up to the "future" era where you could build gigantic towers called Arcologies that contained massive populations and ecosystems all in one building! But with the optimistic future also comes the pessimistic one, as disasters still play a major role in this game, with one terrorizing new menace being a giant one-eyed robotic spider that crushes the city in typical movie monster fashion (though sadly, no Godzilla or Bowser type monster here) Generally speaking, it's a better SimCity in every way.
Cons: The additional management options do complicate the game ever so much more than the original, I recall when I first played the game, the waterworks construction underground was a bit confusing for myself. And, I know it's not exactly fair to criticize it here, but the music, while fine, is nowhere near as whimsical and delightful as the SimCity SNES soundtrack. Hard to compete there though. And a minor nitpick, that UFO that you see on the box there? Not in the game. There is "space travel", but never a UFO, at least to my knowledge. Strange thing to advertise front and center on the box...
What it means to me: This was the first SimCity game I had ever played, first sim/management game period, I suppose. And it glued me to the PC longer than any previous PC game ever had, it was quite the sandbox experience!! I recall the version I had of the game, included an editor where you could design your own buildings in an MSpaint type sofware, and I found this incredibly charming, as I'd try to create the "tallest building ever" or recreate buildings from my home city... which, I did not have the artistic ability to achieve at that age, haha! Everything ended up looking like play-dough towers plopped into an otherwise gorgeous metropolis, hehe. Still, I had a blast with this one!
Cons: The additional management options do complicate the game ever so much more than the original, I recall when I first played the game, the waterworks construction underground was a bit confusing for myself. And, I know it's not exactly fair to criticize it here, but the music, while fine, is nowhere near as whimsical and delightful as the SimCity SNES soundtrack. Hard to compete there though. And a minor nitpick, that UFO that you see on the box there? Not in the game. There is "space travel", but never a UFO, at least to my knowledge. Strange thing to advertise front and center on the box...
What it means to me: This was the first SimCity game I had ever played, first sim/management game period, I suppose. And it glued me to the PC longer than any previous PC game ever had, it was quite the sandbox experience!! I recall the version I had of the game, included an editor where you could design your own buildings in an MSpaint type sofware, and I found this incredibly charming, as I'd try to create the "tallest building ever" or recreate buildings from my home city... which, I did not have the artistic ability to achieve at that age, haha! Everything ended up looking like play-dough towers plopped into an otherwise gorgeous metropolis, hehe. Still, I had a blast with this one!
Pros: More, more, more, more of everything. Taking concepts and elements, and entire characters from Harvest Moon 64, and then throwing them all together, mixing them into something somewhat recognizable but also new...
This is the first Harvest Moon game to not release on a Nintendo console, instead releasing on the Playstation, where it found a ton of success. and there's a ton in this game too. A hefty amount more vegetables to grow, more in-depth relationships with the villagers in the new village of Mineral Town, you can make mayonnaise and cheese with eggs and milk, and yarn out of wool from sheep! You can even make meals and dishes in the kitchen with recipes that you've collected, which is a big first for the series too! You can also hire the Harvest Sprites as workers on your farm, give them flour and they'll scurry about the farm and you can set chores for them, it's fun! Also, the villagers walk around the town on a schedule, you can actually see them go about their day doing different tasks in different locations, actively. Some pretty neat additions to the series here!
Cons: UGH, I did not care for how they straight up copy pasted characters from Harvest Moon 64 and brought them into this brand new town, mixing up their family trees, changing their personalities and sometimes even their names... It just all felt... disrespectful, especially considering how very intentional the Harvest Moon 64 characters were designed based on their family lineage from Harvest Moon SNES... it just, man, it all felt wrong here. It really is the sour patch for me with this game, which is otherwise pretty decent, despite some hiccups here and there like loading times, reverting back to four directions of movement after Harvest Moon 64 introduced eight (and this actually makes it even worse for four directions in an isometric viewpoint, like, when I press up on the controller, does my character move up-left or up-right? It's that sort of annoyance), and, here's a big nitpick for me, but the sound effects made when your character walks, it's a constant suction cup popping sound, and I find it rather infuriating, heh... Oh, and also, unlike HM SNES and HM 64, this game has a ton of menus and charts and such, just totally gamifying things and taking the series into a less simplified direction that I was not a fan of.
What it means to me: This game is the first Playstation game I ever purchased, as the other Playstation games I had played belonged to my older step brothers... But Harvest Moon was the series near and dear to me and my younger brother, so we just had to get this one, check it out. And so we did... and, I'm sorry, we just couldn't get into it as much as we did HM SNES and HM64, hell, even the Game Boy games were more charming and inviting for us. I will say though, this game did later receive a remake for the GBA that did improve some things a bit, and even later got another remake on Switch (I still need to play that one...). So, it did get better anyhow.
This is the first Harvest Moon game to not release on a Nintendo console, instead releasing on the Playstation, where it found a ton of success. and there's a ton in this game too. A hefty amount more vegetables to grow, more in-depth relationships with the villagers in the new village of Mineral Town, you can make mayonnaise and cheese with eggs and milk, and yarn out of wool from sheep! You can even make meals and dishes in the kitchen with recipes that you've collected, which is a big first for the series too! You can also hire the Harvest Sprites as workers on your farm, give them flour and they'll scurry about the farm and you can set chores for them, it's fun! Also, the villagers walk around the town on a schedule, you can actually see them go about their day doing different tasks in different locations, actively. Some pretty neat additions to the series here!
Cons: UGH, I did not care for how they straight up copy pasted characters from Harvest Moon 64 and brought them into this brand new town, mixing up their family trees, changing their personalities and sometimes even their names... It just all felt... disrespectful, especially considering how very intentional the Harvest Moon 64 characters were designed based on their family lineage from Harvest Moon SNES... it just, man, it all felt wrong here. It really is the sour patch for me with this game, which is otherwise pretty decent, despite some hiccups here and there like loading times, reverting back to four directions of movement after Harvest Moon 64 introduced eight (and this actually makes it even worse for four directions in an isometric viewpoint, like, when I press up on the controller, does my character move up-left or up-right? It's that sort of annoyance), and, here's a big nitpick for me, but the sound effects made when your character walks, it's a constant suction cup popping sound, and I find it rather infuriating, heh... Oh, and also, unlike HM SNES and HM 64, this game has a ton of menus and charts and such, just totally gamifying things and taking the series into a less simplified direction that I was not a fan of.
What it means to me: This game is the first Playstation game I ever purchased, as the other Playstation games I had played belonged to my older step brothers... But Harvest Moon was the series near and dear to me and my younger brother, so we just had to get this one, check it out. And so we did... and, I'm sorry, we just couldn't get into it as much as we did HM SNES and HM64, hell, even the Game Boy games were more charming and inviting for us. I will say though, this game did later receive a remake for the GBA that did improve some things a bit, and even later got another remake on Switch (I still need to play that one...). So, it did get better anyhow.
1999
Pros: The direct sequel to Harvest Moon on SNES, including several additions and improvements, but maintains the simplistic charm filled cozy farm life of the original. It also features a sense of mystery and unknown to make the experience even more captivating and immersive!
So many little details added to this entry that elevate it over its predecessor. The new pre-rendered isometric aesthetic is incredibly cute, very toy-like, as if you're playing with your plastic farm animal toys as a kid, there's so much personality in that alone, and it makes the world of Flowerbud Village and the woodsy mountain path come to life like never before. New additions like the rucksack make foraging and collecting objects so much more convenient and less monotonous too, but despite having inventory with those objects, the game still isn't bogged down by menus, stats, graphs, charts, etc, it gives you that one inventory screen to see what's in your bag, as well as the calendar and time of day, and that's essentially it! Everything else, it's all on you and your memory, or reading what's posted around town or what's said by villagers, the game does a great job of keeping you immersed in its world, and not taking you out by gamifying with percentage meters or what have you. It lets you discover and soak in the world at your own pace.
New crops, new animals (sheep!!), new marriage candidates, new festivals, better controls with eight directions of movement (watering crops at an angle is a lifesaver, heh) the game certainly adds plenty to make a revisit to this world worth doing, but what makes this world so much richer, is that it is literally the same world as HM SNES, but two generations later! The story is similar, you take over your grandfather's farm and try to build a life in this cozy little town by planting crops with new veggies like cabbage and eggplant (a fall crop!), and raising cattle, sheep, and chickens, as well as caring for your dog and horse (who now can participate in racing festivals!), go mining for gems and jewels in the cave, build up your ranch and construct new additions to your home like a kitchen and bathroom, or a greenhouse to plant crops all year round, get to know and befriend the townsfolk, and meet a special someone to eventually get married to, and start a family! Not too much different than before, right? Well, SPOILERS your grandfather in this game, just so happens to be, the protagonist of Harvest Moon on SNES!! And then you'll start to notice, several people in the town are descendants from characters in SNES as well, as you learn more and more about these characters, they reveal more of that rich history to you, and for those that put in several hours into the SNES original, it's extremely gratifying to make these discoveries! Each of the marriage candidates have key storylines and family members that connect to that original game, and one of those family members living in the town, is an elderly woman who just so happened to be a marriage candidate in HM SNES, Ellen! That discovery kind of blew my mind... Not only did it connect me to this world even more, but the storylines these characters go through deepen that connection... And especially Ellen, a character that, depending on how you play, passes away over the course of the game, and it... It hits deep. This was the woman who gave you your dog in the original game on SNES. And here she was an elderly woman who was so proud of her granddaughter, Ellie, who works at the bakery in this game, and is also one of the five marriage candidates here. To see that passage of time, in a game where you connect with these characters over several generations, for her to say goodbye, and allow us to say goodbye... And then go on to start the next generation, it's so bittersweet.
Harvest Moon was a game that took a farm simulation and brought heart to it by putting you in the shoes of a little skrunkly dude just trying to make it by in a brand new world. What turns from a farm strategy game now also becomes a 2nd life simulator, but based around a crafted world filled with people that you can interact with and make a difference in their lives, and as you affect them, they also affect you. And 64 strengthens that so much more, where now you can even befriend your male rivals to the marriage candidates in the town, where you can then set them up, bring them together and then they too can get married, and raise children with the female marriage candidates! So satisfying seeing a whole town of people grow, building new families, as you build yours, based entirely on your own choices. And as you get those and several other achievements, like winning festivals, or getting married, or having your first child, the game rewards you not with a percentage marker or meter in a menu or anything like that, no, you have a photo album by your bedside, and you can look through it, at the many memories you've created living in this humble and peaceful little village. It's the perfect way to chart your journey through the events of this game.
The sense of heart, and closeness you develop with the characters, the animals, your farm, what you've built, is so enriching, you feel a part of this world, and it's one of the most immersive games I've ever experienced as a result. Not to mention, it's a world that you can stay in as long as you desire, as there's nothing stopping you from playing indefinitely after the end credits roll... I absolutely love this game.
Cons: It is a bit rough around the edges, technically. Graphical errors here and there do occur (a major one being polygons of buildings and houses disappearing before they scroll beyond the screen...) and going into the menu every time you have to put an item into the rucksack can be a bit annoying, but still, far less annoying than in SNES where you had to run back and forth to the shipping bin or wherever you're going any time you grabbed an object! Also the music, while quite good in its own right, does start over every time you enter a new room... and that's too bad, SNES didn't have that issue. But these are relatively minor issues in the grand scheme of things, nothing stopped me from being fully immersed here.
What it means to me: After discovering HM SNES and getting the Game Boy game, this was a series my brother and I were then dedicated to play every new entry of. And this was the big one we were waiting for! And when it came out, we were ADDICTED, this game was and probably still is the most I've played of any game, ever. I sunk so many in-game years into this one. I even recall once we had a storm hit, and we got a power outage while I was playing... which, resulted in an erased save file. I was devastated, but I pulled myself up from my bootstraps and got to making a brand new life all over again, and again, I put many more in-game years into it! Hah! This was the game I would grab to rescue if ever I had a housefire, I was THAT into it! That farm I built in my own way, the family I created, the animals I raised, there was a lot of love and heart put into it, and it's hard to think of another game that meant as much to me as this one did.
So many little details added to this entry that elevate it over its predecessor. The new pre-rendered isometric aesthetic is incredibly cute, very toy-like, as if you're playing with your plastic farm animal toys as a kid, there's so much personality in that alone, and it makes the world of Flowerbud Village and the woodsy mountain path come to life like never before. New additions like the rucksack make foraging and collecting objects so much more convenient and less monotonous too, but despite having inventory with those objects, the game still isn't bogged down by menus, stats, graphs, charts, etc, it gives you that one inventory screen to see what's in your bag, as well as the calendar and time of day, and that's essentially it! Everything else, it's all on you and your memory, or reading what's posted around town or what's said by villagers, the game does a great job of keeping you immersed in its world, and not taking you out by gamifying with percentage meters or what have you. It lets you discover and soak in the world at your own pace.
New crops, new animals (sheep!!), new marriage candidates, new festivals, better controls with eight directions of movement (watering crops at an angle is a lifesaver, heh) the game certainly adds plenty to make a revisit to this world worth doing, but what makes this world so much richer, is that it is literally the same world as HM SNES, but two generations later! The story is similar, you take over your grandfather's farm and try to build a life in this cozy little town by planting crops with new veggies like cabbage and eggplant (a fall crop!), and raising cattle, sheep, and chickens, as well as caring for your dog and horse (who now can participate in racing festivals!), go mining for gems and jewels in the cave, build up your ranch and construct new additions to your home like a kitchen and bathroom, or a greenhouse to plant crops all year round, get to know and befriend the townsfolk, and meet a special someone to eventually get married to, and start a family! Not too much different than before, right? Well, SPOILERS your grandfather in this game, just so happens to be, the protagonist of Harvest Moon on SNES!! And then you'll start to notice, several people in the town are descendants from characters in SNES as well, as you learn more and more about these characters, they reveal more of that rich history to you, and for those that put in several hours into the SNES original, it's extremely gratifying to make these discoveries! Each of the marriage candidates have key storylines and family members that connect to that original game, and one of those family members living in the town, is an elderly woman who just so happened to be a marriage candidate in HM SNES, Ellen! That discovery kind of blew my mind... Not only did it connect me to this world even more, but the storylines these characters go through deepen that connection... And especially Ellen, a character that, depending on how you play, passes away over the course of the game, and it... It hits deep. This was the woman who gave you your dog in the original game on SNES. And here she was an elderly woman who was so proud of her granddaughter, Ellie, who works at the bakery in this game, and is also one of the five marriage candidates here. To see that passage of time, in a game where you connect with these characters over several generations, for her to say goodbye, and allow us to say goodbye... And then go on to start the next generation, it's so bittersweet.
Harvest Moon was a game that took a farm simulation and brought heart to it by putting you in the shoes of a little skrunkly dude just trying to make it by in a brand new world. What turns from a farm strategy game now also becomes a 2nd life simulator, but based around a crafted world filled with people that you can interact with and make a difference in their lives, and as you affect them, they also affect you. And 64 strengthens that so much more, where now you can even befriend your male rivals to the marriage candidates in the town, where you can then set them up, bring them together and then they too can get married, and raise children with the female marriage candidates! So satisfying seeing a whole town of people grow, building new families, as you build yours, based entirely on your own choices. And as you get those and several other achievements, like winning festivals, or getting married, or having your first child, the game rewards you not with a percentage marker or meter in a menu or anything like that, no, you have a photo album by your bedside, and you can look through it, at the many memories you've created living in this humble and peaceful little village. It's the perfect way to chart your journey through the events of this game.
The sense of heart, and closeness you develop with the characters, the animals, your farm, what you've built, is so enriching, you feel a part of this world, and it's one of the most immersive games I've ever experienced as a result. Not to mention, it's a world that you can stay in as long as you desire, as there's nothing stopping you from playing indefinitely after the end credits roll... I absolutely love this game.
Cons: It is a bit rough around the edges, technically. Graphical errors here and there do occur (a major one being polygons of buildings and houses disappearing before they scroll beyond the screen...) and going into the menu every time you have to put an item into the rucksack can be a bit annoying, but still, far less annoying than in SNES where you had to run back and forth to the shipping bin or wherever you're going any time you grabbed an object! Also the music, while quite good in its own right, does start over every time you enter a new room... and that's too bad, SNES didn't have that issue. But these are relatively minor issues in the grand scheme of things, nothing stopped me from being fully immersed here.
What it means to me: After discovering HM SNES and getting the Game Boy game, this was a series my brother and I were then dedicated to play every new entry of. And this was the big one we were waiting for! And when it came out, we were ADDICTED, this game was and probably still is the most I've played of any game, ever. I sunk so many in-game years into this one. I even recall once we had a storm hit, and we got a power outage while I was playing... which, resulted in an erased save file. I was devastated, but I pulled myself up from my bootstraps and got to making a brand new life all over again, and again, I put many more in-game years into it! Hah! This was the game I would grab to rescue if ever I had a housefire, I was THAT into it! That farm I built in my own way, the family I created, the animals I raised, there was a lot of love and heart put into it, and it's hard to think of another game that meant as much to me as this one did.
Pros: Incredible 3D experience, the sprite-work and animation, how graphics are layered and stacked on the 2D plane, is really a sight to behold in stereoscopic 3D.
But that's just what jumps out at ya first, dig in and you've got a pretty solid 2D platformer adventure game! Levels are more exploratory focused where you need to find a key hidden in each stage in order to open the exit gate that leads to an elevator at the end of the level. Wario's got his signature shoulder barge and ground pound attacks after you get a number of power-ups, which, by the way are pretty excellent here. Unlike Mario games, these power-ups have a neat mix-n-match system, the bull horns gives you a stronger charge and a ground pound, the gator lets you breathe fire, and the eagle lets you glide, but then there's the ultimate combo that gives you a dragon that lets you glide, breath fireballs, and a ground pound. It's pretty satisfying! Another signature element of the game are the separate planes you can jump between, the foreground and background, which to my knowledge, this was the first game to really achieve that style of gameplay, prior to Donkey Kong Country Returns, the Paper Mario games, Kirby on 3DS, and Mario Wonder... And you know what? It may have done them even BETTER! And that's saying a lot coming from me, I don't even like Wario that much, heck, I'm not even a fan of the other Wario Land titles... But this one impresses! Those foreground/background interactions are probably the most impressive during boss fights! The boss battles are a huge spectacle, and make great use of the 3D planes, with the final boss having you jump between foreground and background in a very effective and satisfying way. Great boss fights!
Cons: Great boss fights... except, the power-up system in this game is maybe a bit too punishing for my tastes, as one hit sends Wario, no matter how many power-ups you have, right back to tiny form, where then one more hit after that is death. Get a gameover, and the hidden treasures you've collected on the stage, will be kicked off of your inventory, making it so you have to retrieve them all over again... And backtracking in this game is a pain in the butt, I'll tell ya, there's no traditional worldmap here. But back to the bosses, they're fun and creative fights, but in order to discover how to defeat them, it takes some experimentation, and because of how the power-up system works when you get hit, that experimentation is far too punishing, making deaths during boss fights a pretty likely scenario, which, eh... Frustrating.
What it means to me: As stated previously, I'm not a fan of the Wario Land games, I've dipped my toes in most of the games in the series, at least the one across the Game Boy family of systems, and they just never did it for me. The game feel, the level design, the quirky "transform instead of dying" mechanic the series developed... I didn't gel with it. But, Virtual Boy Wario Land was before all that, and was more like Super Mario Land 3: Wario Land where it was a bit more Mario-like with its power-up and level system, but more polished here, and it absolutely is more polished! The level design, collision, gamefeel, sprites and animation, even the sound design, it's excellent! Certainly the best game on Virtual Boy, or at the very least, the game that the developers gave the most damn about! I don't have to like Wario to admit that this game is pretty good!
But that's just what jumps out at ya first, dig in and you've got a pretty solid 2D platformer adventure game! Levels are more exploratory focused where you need to find a key hidden in each stage in order to open the exit gate that leads to an elevator at the end of the level. Wario's got his signature shoulder barge and ground pound attacks after you get a number of power-ups, which, by the way are pretty excellent here. Unlike Mario games, these power-ups have a neat mix-n-match system, the bull horns gives you a stronger charge and a ground pound, the gator lets you breathe fire, and the eagle lets you glide, but then there's the ultimate combo that gives you a dragon that lets you glide, breath fireballs, and a ground pound. It's pretty satisfying! Another signature element of the game are the separate planes you can jump between, the foreground and background, which to my knowledge, this was the first game to really achieve that style of gameplay, prior to Donkey Kong Country Returns, the Paper Mario games, Kirby on 3DS, and Mario Wonder... And you know what? It may have done them even BETTER! And that's saying a lot coming from me, I don't even like Wario that much, heck, I'm not even a fan of the other Wario Land titles... But this one impresses! Those foreground/background interactions are probably the most impressive during boss fights! The boss battles are a huge spectacle, and make great use of the 3D planes, with the final boss having you jump between foreground and background in a very effective and satisfying way. Great boss fights!
Cons: Great boss fights... except, the power-up system in this game is maybe a bit too punishing for my tastes, as one hit sends Wario, no matter how many power-ups you have, right back to tiny form, where then one more hit after that is death. Get a gameover, and the hidden treasures you've collected on the stage, will be kicked off of your inventory, making it so you have to retrieve them all over again... And backtracking in this game is a pain in the butt, I'll tell ya, there's no traditional worldmap here. But back to the bosses, they're fun and creative fights, but in order to discover how to defeat them, it takes some experimentation, and because of how the power-up system works when you get hit, that experimentation is far too punishing, making deaths during boss fights a pretty likely scenario, which, eh... Frustrating.
What it means to me: As stated previously, I'm not a fan of the Wario Land games, I've dipped my toes in most of the games in the series, at least the one across the Game Boy family of systems, and they just never did it for me. The game feel, the level design, the quirky "transform instead of dying" mechanic the series developed... I didn't gel with it. But, Virtual Boy Wario Land was before all that, and was more like Super Mario Land 3: Wario Land where it was a bit more Mario-like with its power-up and level system, but more polished here, and it absolutely is more polished! The level design, collision, gamefeel, sprites and animation, even the sound design, it's excellent! Certainly the best game on Virtual Boy, or at the very least, the game that the developers gave the most damn about! I don't have to like Wario to admit that this game is pretty good!
Pros: An unsettling and strange entry in the Zelda series, but one of the most satisfying as well. It's essentially like the movie "Groundhog Day" but instead of repeating one day over and over again, you repeat three days, over and over again. Where at the end of the third day, the moon crashes into the earth, so you're constantly needing to play the ocarina to warp yourself back in time, to try and complete your mission to stop the apocalypse... It's pretty thrilling! And the story involving the puppet character of Skull Kid who has been possessed by the 'Majora's Mask' is a captivating one. With a whole new setting and cast of characters to experience too. They crafted the world of Termina in such a way that different events happen throughout the world at specific times on specific days, and your actions may even alter how those events play out. Dozens upon dozens of characters are involved with these events, where you help them out to complete tasks, earn new items or masks, and essentially help out their lives in significant and meaningful ways... Which, is also quite like the film, Groundhog Day... huh. It can get quite emotional! And to me, this is the meat of the experience, which is oddly enough, side content, but doing them is much more satisfying than any previous Zelda games' denizen interactions, and not just for the character and story developments, but also the rewards, such as several dozen different masks for you to collect that offer numerous functions.
And these masks are great fun! They have all sorts of different uses that help with standard gameplay or puzzle solving, some grant you abilities like faster speed, or give you attacks like blowing up on command. And also, they're just fun to wear, to change your appearance. But in part of the main campaign of this game, are the masks that transform you entirely into different beings, the Deku Scrub, the Goron, and the Zora. Each providing brand new toolkits and mechanics to experience the world differently, and tackle each of the four different dungeons with their unique gameplay. I love these transformations, it's exhilarating to roll around at the speed of sound as a Goron, or swim speedily through the seas leaping in and out of the water like a dolphin as the Zora. Essentially, all of these masks, transformations and non, provide the game with plenty of toys to play with, and are just entertaining in their own right. Standard Link is still of course your main mode of play, and this time around he's just Young Link, which is fine, he can also ride Epona, this time a young Epona, which is super cute and something I had wanted to do previously in OoT. All of the standard mechanics that made Ocarina of Time so great are back here, and feeling just as great as ever. Z-Targeting, a myriad of weapons and items, and another brilliant soundtrack by Koji Kondo (my favorite new song being the Astral Observatory, it's so heavenly). So there's enough there to where this still feels like a Zelda game through and through... However...
Cons: The timer... man, the timer adds a bit of a stress to this game that I feel conflicts with the spirit of adventure and exploration that Zelda is known for. And while, yes, adventure and exploration is all still here, and in spades, that ticking tock makes me less relaxed and feeling free to do so at my own pace. What's worse, is that this game provides so many fun new toys to play with, the aforementioned masks and transformations, but no sense of time to get to enjoy them to their fullest. So many new ways to play that could've been so much more enriching and satisfying... But, in addition to the stress of a clock, there's the world design, which feels far more restrictive. Yes, it's fun to roll around as a Goron, problem is that the overworld is so small, just a little ring surrounding the main town, and that's as big of a sandbox to play in as you're gonna get here. So rolling around, which would be fun in a massive traditional Zelda overworld, becomes less enjoyable when you can only spin around in a dinky donut shaped landmass... And same goes for the Zora, so much fun to blast through the waves, but, the sea you're able to swim in, is such a limited space, that I can never feel like I can explore like how I want to. It's an odd mix of extremely well made mechanics, but a limiting world and sense of time that keeps them from being the best they could be to me.
What it means to me: This was the first Zelda game my brother and I purchased (OoT was always a rent prior to this), so we were finally able to sink our teeths into a meaty Zelda experience. The immersion factor for this one is through the roof, never had a game's world felt so alive, as we'd keep up with the many different citizens of the land. And upon getting to that final boss, and collecting every mask to earn the Fierce Deity transformation, man, we were pretty satisfied! What an epic moment that was. Initially, I was pretty bummed adult Link from OoT wasn't in this, so seeing Fierce Deity essentially being the Adult Link of this game, was the ultimate goal... a little disappointing you could only play as him in boss rooms, but still, I NEEDED it, hah!
And these masks are great fun! They have all sorts of different uses that help with standard gameplay or puzzle solving, some grant you abilities like faster speed, or give you attacks like blowing up on command. And also, they're just fun to wear, to change your appearance. But in part of the main campaign of this game, are the masks that transform you entirely into different beings, the Deku Scrub, the Goron, and the Zora. Each providing brand new toolkits and mechanics to experience the world differently, and tackle each of the four different dungeons with their unique gameplay. I love these transformations, it's exhilarating to roll around at the speed of sound as a Goron, or swim speedily through the seas leaping in and out of the water like a dolphin as the Zora. Essentially, all of these masks, transformations and non, provide the game with plenty of toys to play with, and are just entertaining in their own right. Standard Link is still of course your main mode of play, and this time around he's just Young Link, which is fine, he can also ride Epona, this time a young Epona, which is super cute and something I had wanted to do previously in OoT. All of the standard mechanics that made Ocarina of Time so great are back here, and feeling just as great as ever. Z-Targeting, a myriad of weapons and items, and another brilliant soundtrack by Koji Kondo (my favorite new song being the Astral Observatory, it's so heavenly). So there's enough there to where this still feels like a Zelda game through and through... However...
Cons: The timer... man, the timer adds a bit of a stress to this game that I feel conflicts with the spirit of adventure and exploration that Zelda is known for. And while, yes, adventure and exploration is all still here, and in spades, that ticking tock makes me less relaxed and feeling free to do so at my own pace. What's worse, is that this game provides so many fun new toys to play with, the aforementioned masks and transformations, but no sense of time to get to enjoy them to their fullest. So many new ways to play that could've been so much more enriching and satisfying... But, in addition to the stress of a clock, there's the world design, which feels far more restrictive. Yes, it's fun to roll around as a Goron, problem is that the overworld is so small, just a little ring surrounding the main town, and that's as big of a sandbox to play in as you're gonna get here. So rolling around, which would be fun in a massive traditional Zelda overworld, becomes less enjoyable when you can only spin around in a dinky donut shaped landmass... And same goes for the Zora, so much fun to blast through the waves, but, the sea you're able to swim in, is such a limited space, that I can never feel like I can explore like how I want to. It's an odd mix of extremely well made mechanics, but a limiting world and sense of time that keeps them from being the best they could be to me.
What it means to me: This was the first Zelda game my brother and I purchased (OoT was always a rent prior to this), so we were finally able to sink our teeths into a meaty Zelda experience. The immersion factor for this one is through the roof, never had a game's world felt so alive, as we'd keep up with the many different citizens of the land. And upon getting to that final boss, and collecting every mask to earn the Fierce Deity transformation, man, we were pretty satisfied! What an epic moment that was. Initially, I was pretty bummed adult Link from OoT wasn't in this, so seeing Fierce Deity essentially being the Adult Link of this game, was the ultimate goal... a little disappointing you could only play as him in boss rooms, but still, I NEEDED it, hah!
2000
Pros: Absolutely captivating story with each of the very memorable characters, as they plan kidnaps, escapes, discoveries, twists and turns, it's just an all-around epic. Zidane, Garnet, Vivi, and others, the characters are a standout in this and kept me in anticipation for what would happen to them next on their adventures. The art direction is splendid, it's a very classic fantasy aesthetic that contains far more classic Final Fantasy references than the previous FF games on Playstation. The graphics, also more detailed, higher poly counts, richer textures, deeper background art, and beautiful CGI cutscenes. Battle gameplay is still pretty decent from what I can remember, character customization options and solid JRPG turn based fighting. The overworld exploration also top notch again, and of course the Chocobo gameplay compelled me quite a bit. But what I loved most of all, was the music by Nobuo Uematsu. Incredible compositions, whimsical, emotional, adventurous, and always incredibly catchy. Some of the best music ever composed in games, with my favorite song of them being 'You're Not Alone', it's just... jaw droppingly beautiful, and plays during a pivotal moment in the game, very emotional!!
Cons: The endgame drags a bit, and I remember it getting a bit too grindy for me. And so much of the later part of the game relies on Final Fantasy references to the point where, someone who wasn't well versed in the franchise at the time of playing, I didn't get much out of it, and to me just didn't stick the landing, especially after how incredible the journey was at the beginning and through up to that point. And while I love the setting, visual motifs and themes, and characters, I do feel it was all a bit stronger in FFVII, not a fault of this game's. It's all still excellent though, and this game is probably my second favorite in the entire series right behind VII, it's still pretty fantastic!! Zidane just ain't no Cloud, and Kuja absolutely ain't no Sephiroth... But Vivi, gotta love Vivi, to me, he's the star character here, even though he himself is a reference to classic FF as well.
What it means to me: First played this game, well, mostly watched my older step bro play through a lot of it, back when it came out, but considering we had JUST played through FFVII a few months prior, I had no idea when either game actually released. It was so cool though to experience VII and IX back to back, and I certainly compared them heavily, and despite that, I ended up loving a lot in IX more than VII! And of course around that time, I was 13 or so, and so... well, I really wanted to see Zidane and Garnet fall in love, hah! Was very eager to see each and every plot development and gorgeous cutscene with these wonderful characters. Also, I recall a minigame early on that had you fencing with swords, and it had you pressing different buttons on the controller, well, I had no idea the buttons on the Playstation controller, so it was one of the biggest struggles in the game for me, haha! And TO THIS DAY, I still have not memorized the buttons on that frickin controller, I could not tell you where square is compared to cross compared to circle, I just... I'm hopeless there! Heh... Well, anyway, there was a fun card battling minigame in the castle town that I enjoyed a bit more anyhow, heh, good times!
Cons: The endgame drags a bit, and I remember it getting a bit too grindy for me. And so much of the later part of the game relies on Final Fantasy references to the point where, someone who wasn't well versed in the franchise at the time of playing, I didn't get much out of it, and to me just didn't stick the landing, especially after how incredible the journey was at the beginning and through up to that point. And while I love the setting, visual motifs and themes, and characters, I do feel it was all a bit stronger in FFVII, not a fault of this game's. It's all still excellent though, and this game is probably my second favorite in the entire series right behind VII, it's still pretty fantastic!! Zidane just ain't no Cloud, and Kuja absolutely ain't no Sephiroth... But Vivi, gotta love Vivi, to me, he's the star character here, even though he himself is a reference to classic FF as well.
What it means to me: First played this game, well, mostly watched my older step bro play through a lot of it, back when it came out, but considering we had JUST played through FFVII a few months prior, I had no idea when either game actually released. It was so cool though to experience VII and IX back to back, and I certainly compared them heavily, and despite that, I ended up loving a lot in IX more than VII! And of course around that time, I was 13 or so, and so... well, I really wanted to see Zidane and Garnet fall in love, hah! Was very eager to see each and every plot development and gorgeous cutscene with these wonderful characters. Also, I recall a minigame early on that had you fencing with swords, and it had you pressing different buttons on the controller, well, I had no idea the buttons on the Playstation controller, so it was one of the biggest struggles in the game for me, haha! And TO THIS DAY, I still have not memorized the buttons on that frickin controller, I could not tell you where square is compared to cross compared to circle, I just... I'm hopeless there! Heh... Well, anyway, there was a fun card battling minigame in the castle town that I enjoyed a bit more anyhow, heh, good times!