Pros: Where DKC1 was about momentous forward movement, and DKC2 about adventurous exploration, DKC3 is about slower paced methodical platforming and mystery, with highly unique and surprising stage gimmicks! There's a bit more puzzle-centric gameplay to this one, and in my opinion, it's all the better for it!

Dixie Kong is the lead in this game, and after her all-star showing in DKC2, I'm happy to see her in the spotlight! She's joined by controversial cousin, Kiddy Kong, who brings back the tag-team balance from DKC1 as a heavyweight. And together, they evolve the tag-team mechanic of buddying up from DKC2, but because of the lightweight/heavyweight dynamic of Dixie and Kiddy, their moves are different, which encourages switching Kongs more often as a result. Dixie can toss Kiddy like a bowling ball, an offensive attack that she can even ride on top of, or toss him in the air for him to then come crashing down, breaking cracks in the ground found numerously across the entire game, which reveal several goodies and secrets. But Kiddy tosses Dixie more like in how the mechanic works in DKC2, where it helps with accessing higher platforms and items out of reach. This switching around to do different tasks contributes to the general theme of more methodical puzzle-centric gameplay this game has over DKC 1 and 2. And gets you playing as each Kong more often for real gameplay reasons, instead of artificial ones. (also Kiddy has a fun secret move where he can skip across the water, only really useful in one area, but you can do it wherever water surface is found, and it's just fun to do, heh)

And that methodical, more slow paced, puzzle-centric gameplay, is especially exemplified with the new animal buddy, and my favorite animal buddy, Ellie the Elephant. An adorable baby elephant and a multipurpose animal friend, who among many things can suck up barrels from afar, use them as a shield or toss them herself, has the ability to suck up and squirt water out from her trunk, she can swim on the surface of water itself, and she has the surprising ability of being afraid of mice (it comes in handy later, I promise!). She replaces Rambi the rhinoceros in this game, and that's a bold move by the team, but it's another element that highlights the direction of this game, no longer about charging ahead, but more about stepping back, thinking, and then taking action. One of my favorite stages in the game involves Ellie, Bobbing Barrel Brawl, a river stage that has you tossing barrels into the water where they'll float, to then use them as platforms to jump on top of and across the river, as to not get bitten by the hungry feedfish Nibbla below. Some of these platforming challenges involve you to suck up water, shoot an enemy carrying a barrel, for it to drop to the river below to act as a platform, or sucking up a barrel from a distance to clear the path. Even Squawks the parrot has a new purple variation that can lift and drop barrels, using this same method of gameplay! There's several of these moments where you'll come to stop, and work out the puzzle to advance forward. This game is full of them, and I love them! In fact, the DK coin in this game, is attached to an enemy's shield in every stage, and in many of these stages, you have to figure out a way to kill this enemy from behind using a steel keg, to gain access to the coin. Methodical, more slower paced, puzzle-centric gameplay. That's DKC3!

And the stages keep throwing new ideas at you, or twists on familiar formulas. Some very fun and creative stages that I enjoyed were Ripsaw Rage, where a giant two-man saw is forcing you upwards a redwood tree as it's actively being sawed in half. Low-G Labyrinth, a pipe maze stage where your movement is slowed, but your jump gains extra height. Kong-fused Cliff, where you're climbing a single rope upwards, well, I should say wick, as the bottom is on fire burning the rope, forcing you to climb! I could go on and on, but you get the gist! Fun ideas that really put the fire underneath ya, and have you playing with the conventional mechanics you've come to learn through the series in twisted and new exciting ways!

The boss battles are also much more methodical, and it starts with the first boss, Belcha the giant sentient barrel. It's a "push you off the side of the stage" type of fight, and you have to figure out how to push this giant barrel dude off of the edge before they do it to you... and to do that, you gotta observe their attacks. They spit out normal sized barrels that roll across the ground, what do you do with that? Jump on the barrel, break it open, then comes out... a bug? What do you do with that now!? You figure out you can grab the bugs after you knock them onto their backs with a jump, and then you'll put the pieces together, to throw those bugs back into Belcha's mouth, causing them to munch it down and burp, which sends the giant barrel boss backwards! The whole boss can't even hurt you, it's just a big puzzle! And this, once again, exemplifies the more thoughtful approach to gameplay theme running through the game, and I love it!

Another boss I'll highlight, because it's such a fun surprise, is Bleak the snowman. Now, throughout the game there are Swanky Kong tents, which let you play a minigame of hit-the-target, which is a behind the back game, where you move left and right, and throw little ping pong balls onto targets that pop up in the background. Hit all the targets, win a bunch of coins and bananas. Okay, cool, seems like a distraction that's completely independent from the main platforming game, right?... WRONG! These minigames train you, unbeknownst to the player, for a boss fight coming ahead, where you whip snowballs at an evil Snowman for the entire battle, using the exact same Swanky Kong minigame engine. Tutorials in disguise! It's so cool and surprising! I love this design direction, it delights over and over again!

And the theme of mystery and surprise, getting you to think, running through the undercurrent of the game, is also part of the story. You see, in this game, K. Rool is not the big bad boss, no, it's a new guy, named KAOS... And when he showed up, DK and Diddy mysteriously disappear. I won't spoil things, but again, you come to find things aren't what they seem! A fresh take on the formula, and it stars the surprising duo of Dixie and Kiddy, a female led adventure, better than the rest!

Through the adventure, there's another major player in the game that kept me captivated, and that is the overworld. The worldmap in this game rivals the worldmap in Super Mario World, full of exploration, secrets, and yep, surprises! In fact, the water portions of the overworld are free roam, you aren't tied to a path, so it creates a greater sense of a world you're exploring, and thus, more immersive and alive than ever before. Even lets you, in moments, choose the order in which you enter different worlds of the game, for a more non-linear style of play. And littered throughout this overworld are secret caves, and villagers known as the Brothers Bear. A family of bears that run shops, give you tips, spread secrets, and help with puzzles to advance you through the game, as well as getting you to find all of the banana birds (they're the weird little doo-hickies hidden in all the secret caves throughout the world, awarded by winning a game of Simon, funnily enough). These bears are full of character, dialogue, and fun trading sequences. A delight for sure. Also on this overworld, is Funky Kong's new shop, a rental store where as you progress through the game, Funky builds you new vehicles to access more of the map. Boats, Hovercrafts, Jetskis, this alone is fun as a game, as you can move through the waters finding more secrets! Heck, the entire hidden final world of this game, is only accessed via a secret maneuver you have to perform with one of these boats, a secret you learn from one of the Brothers Bear. It all connects, and again, aligns with the theme of mystery, surprise, and methodical puzzle-centric gameplay of DKC3. I love it. And getting all of the DK coins in this game, gives you one of my favorite final rewards in any game, a new vehicle from Funky that allows you more freedom of movement that's extremely cathartic, and even grants you access to all of the Banana Birds, which results in the true ending of the game. It's a Eggs-cellent!


Cons: One major con, I do have to address, is the music isn't quite up to par with DKC1 or 2. It's not bad, but it doesn't come close to the awe of either of those games. No track in this game will have your jaw on the floor, like say, Aquatic Ambiance or Stickerbush Symphony did. But that isn't to say there are no hits, I loved the water track, the cliffside track, and I especially love the moody overworld and map music, which composed by Evelyne Novakovic, is really quite mesmerizing. David Wise took a backseat, and didn't compose any stage music for this game, so that's probably a reason why there's less iconic tunes, though if you'd like, he did compose the GBA version of this game with an entirely brand new soundtrack. In some ways it's better, in some ways not. But I like that two soundtracks exist for this game nowadays. Pick your favs! Another little nitpick is the art direction. There was a new team that worked on this game, and the new art style is really hard to pinpoint... Unlike DKC 2, there's no say "pirates" theme, or anything like that, it's more mysterious I spose, which works well enough.

Also... once again, you can't play as Donkey Kong. But hey, at least this time we got the lightweight/heavyweight balance back! Kiddy Kong is fine by me! Anyway, DK would've taken the spotlight away from Dixie, I think it's cool she got her moment to shine with this game!


What it means to me: When I first saw this game show up in Nintendo Power, I admit, I was confused! Kiddy Kong?? Who?? Why? Replacing DK again? And Diddy too?? Clearly I didn't get it yet. But then, I saw Ellie the elephant, and this may be a little bias, but elephants are my favorite animal, and an elephant animal buddy was the animal buddy I had wanted most ever since DKC1... And it turned out they were everything I wanted! So it gave me an open mind, and getting used to the changes did take some time, but once they worked their way in, oh man, this game became the most immersive DKC adventure yet, and it quickly moved up the ranks to my favorites! Nowadays, I do prefer the momentous forward movement quick-paced gameplay of DKC1, it's just more fun on replays, but DKC3 is still a game I come back to again and again, I love it so much, and it's underrated as hell. Yeah, I think this game is better than DKC2, I really do, and I hope this review touches upon why I feel that way!

Pros: I love the new animal friends in this game, Nago the cat, ChuChu the octopus, and Pitch the bird. Each bring along new movement options and fun copy ability combinations. They're joined by the original three animal friends from Kirby's Dream Land 2, along with more copy abilities to shake things up further. Another friend joins the fun as this game's co-op partner, Gooey! Essentially a second Kirby, he can steal powers and ride animals all the same. He's a funny little guy. The game also has a nice crayon visual aesthetic, perhaps inspired by Yoshi's Island, it's quite nice! Was cool to see SNES squeak this one out on the last year of its life.

Cons: Sigh... It's a big step backwards after Kirby Super Star. It's slower paced in general, the movement isn't smooth either, and each copy ability goes back to the Kirby Adventure/Dream Land 2 method of one attack per ability, and no fun hats either... Also back to far fewer abilties... Yeah yeah, KDL2 ran by these same rules, but after Super Star, it was hard to go back. And the new copy ability "clean" is... it's cleaning... c'mon... Sure it has some neat animal combinations, like the Kiki's Delivery Service inspired broomstick flying move with Chuchu, but eh, it's not very cool on its own. But this game is perfectly playable, it's just not very exciting. I'm also not really into this game's gimmick of each stage having its own "mission" of sorts, where you're confronted with a little jingle at the start of some rooms, and you either succeed in accomplishing the objective, or fail, and then by the end of the stage, you get your reward or not. And if you fail, ugh... You have to replay the stage again, and I just don't really dig it, y'know? It's not very fun. Aside from some neat cameos like Samus, this isn't the form of gameplay I want out of Kirby.

What it means to me: Look, I love the animal friends, that's what puts this game on my list of favs, they're great, they're wonderful, and they have some really fun moves. It's what makes me like this game more than Kirby 64 even, which didn't have them, but still had the slow plodding gameplay from this game (yeah, I like the animals more than I like copy ability mixing, which, again, you only had one move per copy ability... still a step backwards there too...). Played this game back when it came out, and liked what I could out of it, but didn't love it.

Pros: For the first time, the world of Mario felt alive, thriving, and functioning. The Mushroom Kingdom was a real place, with real citizens, with families, in homes, and that was exciting! Before this game came around, we didn't really have a sense of this in the franchise. This game brought it all to life in a way we'd never seen before, and in the same breath, the CGI visuals, the pre-rendered ACM graphics, brought the world to life all the same. Showing us Mario in 3D for the first time ever. To put it frankly, this was a big deal.

But... an RPG? Mario? That's bonkers! But hey, it worked! It is certainly a turn-based JRPG type of game, with similar progression, focus on story, focus on characters, and a battle system with hit points, exp, level ups, stat upgrades, the works. What made this game special though, were timed attacks, where if you pressed the button with the right timing as you do an attack, it'll do extra damage, or in return, if you hit the button just at the right time as an enemy is about to hit you, you can reduce damage or dodge entirely. This brought the twitch reaction we've come to expect from real-time Mario action platformers, to the RPG genre, in a small way, but it had a great ripple effect!

So here we are, a large adventure RPG in the world of Mario, with delightful characters, you play as Mario, and are joined by newcomers Mallow and Geno, along with Princess Toadstool (Peach!) and Bowser. But on the overworld, you're just Mario himself, in an isometric overhead view, you still do all the running and jumping in a very quasi-3D setting. It feels pretty dang good! And seeing all of it in this 3D CGI world, made ya curious to see what the next area was like. And on top of that, the music is pretty stellar too! But what I found most compelling was the sound design, with wonderfully iconic blips and skadoodles that bring joy to the ears!

Cons: It's me again, it's an RPG, I don't like RPG battle mechanics, EXP/Level Ups, etc, and while this game made me enjoy most things more often, they still stick pretty closely to the conventions. I feel these mechanics were improved later in the Paper Mario and Mario & Luigi series, but humble beginnings... Also c'mon, can't use the hammer in the overworld? Come ooooon.

What it means to me: This is the game that introduced me to the concept of RPGs, hell, to the term "RPG" had no idea what that meant! Never seen it before! Mario is the type of thing that has that sort of reach, and it got me to try an RPG, thanks Mario. This game was always a rent though, still don't own it to this day... ouch. But hey, we did rent it a few times, and I recall getting stuck at the part where Bowser is trying to bust through a door by ramming into it over and over. The trick was that you had to ram into the door alongside Bowser, with the same timing... And kid me could never get the timing right. So I got stuck there, and that was that. Up until I later played through the game on Wii, and it's a good time!

Pros: Peak video game design right here. The "sequel" to Super Mario World has you playing as Yoshi the dinosaur, as you stumble upon a Baby Mario, you and the rest of the Yoshi clan decide to bring this baby back to its parents, as well as save his baby brother Luigi, on an arduous hard fought journey through the entire island defeating Kamek's evil gang of nasty Koopas along the way.

This game is so well designed, so optimized, so perfect in my mind. Every move at Yoshi's disposal is useful, and useful all the time. Throughout the game's 48 levels you will be actively using every tool at your disposal to beat stages and collect all the goodies within them, tools such as the familiar tongue whip, where Yoshi can lick up objects and enemies, now in an upwards direction in addition to the side. Upon licking them up, Yoshi now has the ability to spit them out as a rolling projectile (not unlike Kirby's abilities), or swallow them whole if he can, which transforms whatever is in his mouth into an egg. These eggs trail behind you and are used as ammo for whippin' at other enemies, bosses, key items, objects, you name it. These eggs are a huge mechanic in the game, as it's how you interact with most of the world around you. A little aiming reticule pops up before you throw them, it's quick, it's seamless, and you can then whip an egg forward and watch it ricochet off walls, causing domino effects on enemies, and destroying or collecting other objects around you. It feels great, it's fun, and you just wanna keep doing it! Other moves at Yoshi's disposal are the flutter jump, a mid-air hover of sorts that, if you're good enough at performing it, you can hover for extremely long stretches, covering a lot of ground in the stages. Another new attack, the ground pound, lets Yoshi come crashing down from the air to demolish whatever is beneath him, such as stumps, poles, and enemies. And each of these moves, can be used at any time and in conjunction, and it, again, feels great! Like... Fluttering backwards shooting a shy guy carrying a red coin, then licking the coin grabbing it before it falls to the abyss, it's crazy! And it works, and it feels awesome! And it's especially useful for exploring these stages built specifically around these mechanics. There's even transformations for Yoshi to shake things up, where you can change into a helicopter, car (with extend-y wheels), mole tank, train, and submarine, each of which play well into the exploration item hunting level design! They're also just really dang cute, heh!

I also love the new health system, perhaps taking a page from Sonic's ring health system, and even inspiring regenerative health that would later permeate the industry. Upon taking a hit, you lose Baby Mario, who goes flying off of your back in a bubble, as a timer starts to tick. Timer hits zero, that's it, death! But, if you can recover Baby Mario, you're back to business! Yes, Baby Mario can be annoying, but isn't that sort of the point? You're punished for getting hit, and the better you are at the game, and knowing its mechanics, the faster you'll be able to get that baby back. Like, shooting the bubble that contains Baby Mario with an egg, will send the bubble careening downwards to you, and if you lick the bubble with your tongue it pops it, giving you Baby Mario earlier than if you'd have touched the bubble normally. Tricks and tips! You learn as you play, the game is constantly teaching you through this system. It works beautifully.

Level design is also spectacular, and promotes exploration, as searching every nook and cranny of each stage is a great change of pace from Mario games before it. Takes a page from DKC in removing the time limit and HUD, and boy do I appreciate that, because this is a beautiful looking game (the first time EAD would make an aesthetically pleasing game, in my opinion, I complained previously about the graphics in Super Mario World and Link to the Past... I didn't like them, haha!), backgrounds and animations are stunning, taking on a crayon/colored pencil or watercolor aesthetic. Levels are abuzz with activity, even the clouds wiggle with scribbled effects. And it all comes together to make really pretty looking areas. Seeing a flock of Goonies flying across the background as you're skiing down a wintery slope, is one such wonderful setting. Captivating stuff.

What I think may be what shines the brightest about Yoshi's Island though are the bosses, even the mid bosses. These are the most visually thrilling, action packed, and creative bosses I've perhaps seen from Nintendo, and especially on the SNES. They can be downright ginormous, filling the screen, or extending beyond, with wonderful Super FX visuals (or as the marketing called it then, "morphmation"). My favorites include Sluggy the Unshaven, Prince Froggy, Hookbill the Koopa, Bigger Boo, Naval Piranha, Raphael Raven, and by far the greatest final Bowser fight ever put in a video game, holy shit, that giant Baby Bowser. They're all incredible, with charming presentation, they get you thinkin' on your toes, and acting on your feet. This game put other gaming bosses to shame, and are still to this day my favorite bosses ever put in video games.

The story in this game may also have been the first time I ever felt an emotional connection to a video game story before. Returning baby Mario and Luigi home, a perilous journey that a group of unassuming dinosaurs sacrificed themselves for, the adventure meant something important, and in that final moment when you hear the classic SMB victory jingle, I swear I shed a tear, and certainly the credits music by Koji Kondo helped with that too. It's just... so beautiful. In fact, the entire soundtrack by Kondo may be my favorite work of his, well, next to Ocarina of Time. This game is just so, wow... It's an accomplishment, by far my favorite 2D Mario game, if you can count it as one, heh. Nah, yeah, this game is all Yoshi's, and it's most definitely his best game! Whew... What a game it is!

Cons: I guess, fine, if I had to come up with one con for this game, it's that Baby Mario has an annoying cry... But to me, even that's a Pro, as it incentivizes you to more quickly recover him. But fiiiiiine, babies are annoying, nobody likes crying!

What it means to me: This game was for a longest time, a rent, and one that glued us to the screen whenever it was rented. I recall playing it at home, I recall playing it at my grandma's, I recall trading the controller back and forth with my brothers, I was just mesmerized by every moment of this big adventure. And one Christmas out of the blue, my mom got it for us, a used copy sure, but it was such an unexpected gift years after the game had released, she remembered how much we loved this one! We had finally gotten Yoshi's Island for ourselves! Love this game dearly, with all my soul, Yoshi is adorable, and every time the little dinosaur buddy shows up in a game or movie or anything, my heart melts for a moment. This is the one game I even purchased for my girlfriend, where I suggested if she were to play any one game, this was the one to play. And she did! Was so much fun watching her learn the moves, overcome the challenges, and watch her beat it and enjoy it!! And now I have that wonderful memory tied to this game too! There's powerful emotions attached to this one, it's real special.

Yoshi!

Pros: Tighter design, more beautiful graphics, jaw-dropping soundtrack, this is one of those rare sequels that's bigger, and in many ways, better than its predecessor. This adventure is huge, and you're in enemy territory, danger is around every corner, every single mind blowingly magnificent corner. Just like in DKC1, immersion is a major factor to this title, you'll want to explore every little nook and cranny of each stage, as there are goodies abound, bonus rooms, and in this game, DK coins, which are well hidden and only super players can find them! I would say, what really separates this game from the first, is the sense of exploration, it's heightened ever so much, where each area has collectibles that count towards percentage. Bonus Rooms are more goal oriented, where each of them feels like a uniquely designed challenge reflecting the gimmick of the stage you're in. And this extra focus on collecting and exploration, really does fit well with the theme of the game, pirates!! I'm not sure if it was intentional or not, but choosing the pirate theme absolutely fit this more adventure style of gameplay, where not only is exploration a bigger focus, but level design changed drastically as a result. Where DKC1 stages were more about speedily and rhythmically moving in one direction (often to the right), this game's stages and mechanics have you moving this way and that, to the right, upwards, downwards, to the left, ziggin' and zaggin, which makes more sense to hide secrets and collectibles abound in them. These are big sprawling stages, still with their own unique gimmicks to set them apart from one another, and always providing a spirit of adventuring in a dangerous world.

And just as DKC 1's animal buddies had mechanics pushing its theme of momentous forward movement, a lot of the animal buddies in this game, push the theme of adventure and exploration moreso. Newcomer Squitter the spider lets you create platforms in mid-air, which begs the player to create plaforms upwards to the side and everywhere, helping you explore your surrounding. Squawks the Parrot returns, but this time, you play as them, as you can fly, well, anywhere you'd like! Even old animal buddies have new moves that encourage experimentation and exploration, like Enguarde or Rambi's charge move to break through walls, or newcomer Rattly (Winky replacement) who has a greater focus on vertical movement. They all play great, and have top notch design!

Speaking of new characters, newcomer Dixie Kong is a standout in this game! She has so much style and personality, wearing a pink beret, with a long banana-shaped blonde ponytail. She uses her ponytail to slowly float across the stage or for safe landings. A very helpful ability considering how tricky the platforming can sometimes be. And it makes her a great character for beginner players, and in general, I prefer her over Diddy, as she's hardly slower than him, and provides the same weight class abilities. She's excellent, and it's always a fun time beating a stage with her as she jams out on the electric guitar. Certainly one of my favorite Kongs in the series. And the tag-team system is back in this game, but with a new ability where you can put your partner on your back, and toss them as a projectile, or to gain access to higher ground. It's the perfect ability for the stronger theme of exploration this game has.

The new archetypes for each area you explore ooze atmosphere, most of which express danger, such as pirate ship wrecks, lava rivers, mineshafts, swamps, killer beehives, haunted forests, trap ridden jungles, broken up amusement parks, damp dungeons, icebergs, and most memorable of all, thorny bramble bushes that climb towards the sky. Each of which look beautiful, and carry a tinge of sadness to them, they're all on enemy territory, Crocodile Isle, after all. And the music accompanying them, by David Wise, is mesmerizing, haunting, beautiful, and once again, spiritual. With the most popular new song being Stickerbush Symphony, to accompany the bramble stages. It's unbelievably good, like, best song in any game ever type of good. All of this is to say, you'll be sucked into this world, and it's not a lighthearted hoppy boppy jont, it's somewhat introspective, moody, and serious... Strangely enough.

Cons: For me personally, I do prefer the more nature oriented vibes of DKC1 (and later games in the series as well) as this game's world and atmosphere does have a more fantastical element to it. Just a preference thing, but eh... Y'know, I'm not a fan of gloomy, or... and I always get flak for this, I'm not into pirates, just not a fan. It's not my aesthetic. And given that this game carries one major theme throughout the adventure, if I'm not in that particular mood to experience those vibes, I'm not gonna want to replay this game as much. Whereas DKC1, in my opinion, has more variety in terms of tone, lighthearted, bright, dark, dangerous, that has me coming back to it more and more, and picking whichever stage fits my mood more easily. I feel like the nature vs. industry theme in that game fits more what I like as a person in general too. But objectively, DKC2 hits the mark it's aiming for perfectly, and I understand why it's so beloved. And again, I do love it, just not as much as the others. But in trying to be objective, this game is mostly amazing, but... for what cons I can try and muster up, one that really bothered me upon finding out about this sequel was...

... you can't play as Donkey Kong...

Yeah yeah, that's no big issue for most, but to me, we FINALLY got DK in a playable role with the prior game, and immediately he's cast aside. I wanted more DK!! But no, he's captured, oh well. You can't even play as him after you save him again. This one really did bug me as a kid, and even now, I wish DK played more of a role in this game. As cool as Diddy is... But also, now that both partner Kongs are lightweights in this game, the tag-team mechanics aren't as balanced. And I feel that makes less incentive to switch characters, as either you'll be playing as Dixie, the easier mode, or Diddy, the slightly faster more difficult mode. The game has you switch characters for Kong specific barrels, but it just feels so artificial to get you to switch, when otherwise I'd have no reason to. They'd later fix this issue in the sequel though, so that's good. But here... Eh, it's an awkward middle stage.

What it means to me: This was the most hype I had ever been for a video game up to that point. Donkey Kong Country 1 changed my world, blew my mind, and when I found out they were making a sequel, I scrounged every magazine article I could get my hands on, speculated about what new there could be with friends, and drew fanart during class, haha! I was beyond hyped, and when it came out, I was again, blown away by just how epic this game was! Sure, I was disappointed by some things, but overall, I was in love with Donkey Kong Country 2, and I still play it yearly, and listen to its OST religiously. It may be my least favorite DKC game of the five in the series, but it's still an amazing game in my favorite series, that I love. Sorry I gotta mark half a star, because it doesn't click with me in every facet, but this one means a heck of a lot to me.

Pros: The graphics are top-notch for SNES, using the SuperFX 2 chip, this is some impressive stuff for the system (shame it took so long to come out, we would've been wowed back in the 90s had it released then). And it's pretty cool, there's brand new team members with Miyu and Fay, you can dogfight a giant dragon in space, a rival mercenary squad of space fighters with Star Wolf, a free-roam map, and the ability to transform the Arwing into a walker. It's cool, and impressive stuff. Most stages involve big open areas that require you to unlock gates, enter bases, defeat bosses, and all with 360 movement with tons of shooty shooty blast blastin'. Either that, or it's dog fights on a timer in space. It works... I'm just...

Cons: Not a fan of the gameplay, my dudes... All-range mode ONLY, everything is on a timer, and the main form of progress is via strategy on a map, where you take turns for movement, to try and defeat each enemy base, destroy each missile, and confront rival teams as you head your way to stop Andross. I didn't gel with it, sorry to say. This isn't my type of Star Fox.

What it means to me: This game releasing at all was mind blowing, and it made the SNES Classic Edition mini all the more worth buying. Later released on Switch's NSO SNES service, there's plenty ways to play it, and so I did, and... well... I enjoyed what I could, and didn't enjoy the parts that weren't meant for me. It's a mixed bag, but I'm glad it saw the light of day anyhow. If anything, I'm glad Miyu and Fay are now official Star Fox team members!!

Pros: AKA Wonder Boy III the Dragon's Trap, is an adventurous platformer puzzle game that has you transforming into different animal warriors to pull off different moves, attacks, and abilities, as you travel a somewhat seamless world, advancing forwards towards the end. It's a bit basic, but man, they actually got something here! It's a satisfying exploration type of game, with some light RPG elements. A man, a mouse, a dragon, a fish, a bird, and a lion, all have their own quirks (mouse can walk on certain walls and ceilings, dragon can breathe fire, bird can glide, etc) with tight controls, rock solid hit boxes, and some tough challenges. Also fun little bits of character, like the shopkeepers being eyepatch wearing pigs, that smoke cigs. But what I liked the most about this game, were the incredibly addicting little melodies, the music! The tunes would get stuck in my head, to the point where I had to learn how to play them on the piano, and I'm not somebody who plays musical instruments... they're just that catchy!

Cons: The graphics are a bit, well, ugly? Yeah, they're basic and simple, to the point where I have a hard time looking at what's on screen sometimes, but hey, it's all perfectly playable, everything sticks to a grid nicely, and is understood by the player. Also, it takes quite a few more hits to kill several foes, more hits than I enjoy it taking... Not to mention those sword swings feel so dang puny. Additionally, it's best to just play the remake/remaster of this game that released in the current gen, with completely rehauled visuals, watercolor style. A beautiful remake, animated and lively, it's the way to play this game.

What it means to me: This was one of those discoveries on the Wii Virtual Console, and for me, it was an unknown, nobody recommended it to me or anything. Just was cravin' more games in the early Wii years, and this one filled the bill, I had a great time with it!

Pros: I gotta reiterate, I'm not at all an authority on fighting games, I don't play them, I don't know them, I'm not good at them. Now that that's out of the way, I really did enjoy the energy of Killer Instinct, which despite not knowing how to play, trying to pull off moves and chain combos together, even for beginners, is really fun! I recall some great visual effects, like one involving knocking your opponent off of a rooftop, as you see a little cutscene play of them falling to their doom. That type of stuff made the game all the more exciting! And of course, Rare in the 90s, the CGI graphics were excellent, and the character design top notch, with a ton of creativity on the roster. Of course I appreciated Riptor and Sabrewulf as very non-human type characters, but also Glacius, Spinal, and the man on the cover, Fulgore, were incredibly badass too. Combo Breakers, Humiliations, finishers, there was plenty here to keep ya entertained... and who could forget Orchid's umm... flash fatality... Like, c'mon, these guys would go on to create Conker's Bad Fur Day, they weren't above that sort of thing! Heh.

Cons: I'm not gonna pretend I know how to critique this game's meta or advanced mechanics. All I know is that I suck at fighters, and this game did nothing to change that for me. It was in reality, another SFII and Mortal Kombat type of fighting game, polished, certainly, but it was still on that playing field.

What it means to me: I played it on Game Boy, SNES, and at the Arcade, and whoever I played it with, we had fun, but, no more fun than most other arcade fighters. I just really liked Rare, and this game was very Rare vibes. Also it was cool playing this two players on Super Game Boy, not many Super Game Boy games let you do that!

Pros: I haven't played this game in nearly 30 years, so bear with me... But I recall THIS being the Jurassic Park game I wanted, simply because the dinosaurs looked just like how they did in the film. They used stop motion animation with maquettes of the dinosaurs, making this game very visually impressive, and even lifelike. The Triceratops, T. Rex, Dilophosaurus, and the Velociraptors all looked spot on film-accurate, with large sprites with great detail and movement. The game, it's okay, it's a 2D sidescrolling action platformer, as you navigate a zig-zaggy designed level, shootin dinos, jumpin from platform to platform, nothing out of the ordinary there. But the big sell for this game, was in addition to playing as Dr. Alan Grant, you could play as a VELOCIRAPTOR!! Which, oh my god, that made this version THE version to get of JP.

Cons: The hit detection is a bit wonky, and the level design ain't too great, especially playing as a Velociraptor, the thing is so bulky it can feel a bit cumbersome to maneuver around. Also, the ending for Alan Grant is a bit anti-climactic (I recall it being based on the earlier scripts of the film, where the skeletons fall on the raptors instead of the T. Rex bustin through to save the day).

What it means to me: This was the game I was jealous of, would play it every time I got to visit my step family, as I didn't own a Sega Genesis, and I was just in awe of the atmosphere of the game, it was completely Jurassic Park. And as a kid, I also preferred side scrolling platformer games, so I really wish the SNES got something more like this... Then again, JP2 on SNES was a sidescrolling action game, though it didn't have the realistic film-accurate dinosaurs that this game did.

Pros: Fast and responsive controls, movement feels great, and performing several different attacks with a massive amount of different copy abilities, feel incredible to pull off! This is one of my favorite games of all time, it plays incredibly well, and it's chock full of variety, as it includes 8 different games in one... though really, it's more like 8 or so different modes to keep you engaged and refreshed through one massive adventure. This ain't a fun pak, it's a massive adventure that is, Kirby Super Star. Spring Breeze, the first "game" is the introductory mode of sorts, and essentially a remake of Kirby's Dreamland 1 on Game Boy. You go through the iconic bosses like Wispy Woods, Kracko, and King Dedede, as you learn the ropes of the new copy abilities, get to see their adorable new hats for Kirby to wear, and test out a myriad of different moves you can now perform with each ability (there's LOTS, and it feels great, no move is exactly like the other, and each move has different button combos, movement, grabs, there's so much to each one, have fun with em!). There's also the mode, Dynablade, a more advanced but still generally linear adventure that has you travel through a worldmap leading up to a final fight with a giant bird boss. Again, the bosses are really cool, with impressive visual flair and effects, and mighty big enough where you and a friend can team up and perform kickass moves to take them down. And yep, it's 2-player co-op, and it's great! Kirby can take his copy ability and transform it into an enemy-turned-friend as a second player, some of these player 2 characters have special moves all their own, such as Plasma Wisp having the ability to float in place, or my favorite, the Wheelie bike, that Kirby himself can ride on top of, just like a motorcycle! It's fantastic co-op, years ahead of its time, and set a standard for co-op 2D platformers to this very day.

But wait, THERE'S MORE!! Great Cave Offensive, a massive open Metroidvania world where you and a friend travel to collect all the hidden treasures in treasure chests. IT RULES! Then there's REVENGE OF META KNIGHT! An awesome story based mode where Kirby crashes Meta Knight's ship the Halberd, and systematically destroys the ship, piece by piece, part by part, as Meta Knight's crew communicate with one another as they scramble to try and stop Kirby before he destroys entirely everything, all as the player can see their conversations happening during gameplay. It's so badass, the vibes, the presentation, this mode just kicks ass. It makes Kirby look like a killer of gods, and y'know what, we come to find out he is. You don't mess with the puff. And I'll touch on one more mode, the last major mode, Milky Way Wishes. This mode is the big finale, where it's somewhat open, as you can explore a world, well, a Solar System, and you can choose the order in which you play any stage with free movement. But in this mode, things are a little different, as Kirby can no longer steal copy abilities by swallowing enemies, no, now he has to find the Copy Ability itself somewhere hidden in one of the stages, to then permanently have it in his collection, where it's then accessible at any point with the tap of a button. This makes this mode feel more like a pure Adventure game, finding each and every copy ability all throughout the solar system. It's thrilling, and this mode ends with the climactic and frankly, impeccably magnificent final boss, Marx. Where upon finishing the fight, the ending and credits theme will bring tears to your eyes.

This game is, in one word, AWESOME. This would be the final Kirby adventure game Masahiro Sakurai would create, and it is undoubtedly his magnum opus. You can see the Smash Bros. DNA within this game, with several mechanics, like shielding, the combos from attacks, and general movement. Also, the vibes, oh man, the VIBES, they're immaculate. This game has fantastic presentation, it elevates Kirby from fun kids game, to legit badass and cool, yet never loses the cute charm that we all love Kirby for. I can't sing enough praises for this game. Try beating a boss with as few moves as you can with any ability (my preferred is Yo-yo, Suplex, Bird, or Jet) and you can show off to your friends just how cool Kirby really can be. Endless fun, especially with a friend for couch co-op.

Cons: This one is really hard to think cons for... I mean, I suppose the remake Kirby Super Star Ultra on Nintendo DS supplants this one in many ways? But to me, not really? I prefer the original graphics, the original sounds, the couch co-op on a couch, in front of a big tv. I dunno, I just really love the original. There are some things KSSU added that I thought should've been in KSS SNES though, like the ability to drop your copy ability as is, without creating a helper with it. Also, the option for 2-player race in Gourmet Race, which, strangely isn't an option in the KSS SNES version. Otherwise, yeah, naw, this game is close to perfection in my book!

What it means to me: There are a lot of video games, and I mean a lot of video games, that make me think of my brother, my younger brother, who I played most games with. But of all the games we've played, none make me think of my brother more, than Kirby Super Star does. This is a game we would complete together, over and over again, simply because it was fun! The co-op was always fun, to this day, we recently played through the entire game again over Nintendo Switch online for its 25th anniversary, and it was still so much damned fun. I love this game, I love the memories it's created, I love talking about it with my brother, I love playing it with my brother, and I'm excited to play it with him again!

Pros: An epic and somewhat funny adventure RPG involving time travel and a bunch of fun characters (Frog, you have to love Frog at the very least, c'mon), and so much visual variety and effects that are extremely impressive for SNES, and even today, they look pretty cool! Of course, it's another JRPG where the music is just phenomenal, as you'll come across songs that either make you want to dance, or even cry. The battle system is more dynamic as well, as the battlefield is on the very same map you're traversing across, still turn-based, but when you come across an enemy on the map, you fight them then and there. It's pretty visually captivating! What I loved most of all, are the ever changing settings in this game, traveling from time periods to time periods to timelines altered due to affects of travel and change. (I kinda dug that race against the biker gang leader, Johnny, who's essentially a motorbike himself, in a dystopian city setting, heh, that's the kind of fun adventure with diverse mini-game-like gameplay that I appreciated the most in this game). The story is pretty detailed and engaging as well, though to be honest, I myself got lost in the details a bit. But even if you do, the vibes and charm keep you engaged.

Cons: Sigh... I'm not a JRPG guy, so, I wasn't really fan of the battles so much. One fight, I think it was against the two goblin dudes that became one monster (Masa & Mune, I believe)... and I just kept dying over and over and over. If you're someone who loves the grind and the strategy to be able to bypass this stuff without much issue, you'll have more fun, but I didn't. Great game, great vibes, but the nitty gritty battle gameplay, which is typical JRPG fare, nothin' crazy, is just again, not my thing.

What it means to me: Everyone talked up this game, like, everyone who played it. So, I had to give it a shot too! I put it on my SNES Classic Edition Mini (shhh, don't tell Nintendo!), and set out to play it! And y'know, it was a great time! Aside from my JRPG nitpicks, this was a grand epic adventure with tons of charm, great music, and memorable characters. I'll have to come back to it again, more prepared for the battles next time.

Pros: Great sense of speed with cool CGI visuals on fun tracks to do tricks on... Well, to a degree. The game is a 2D side-scrolling racer, where you play as an expressively animated unicycle, vs. another expressively animated unicycle (2-player split screen is a real fun time, btw!). It has a bit of an Excitebike style to it, where you do jumps and can move around midair, but you have to make the landing or else you fumble your speed, in fact, doing tricks in the air will make you get a speedburst if you make the landing. And that's the fun part, there's several button combinations to perform tricks, and it's a good time when you're getting it right.

Cons: But most of the time you're getting it wrong. Back when I played this game, I didn't realize the track colors indicated what type of turns and loops would be coming ahead (something only the manual tells you, apparently), and as a result, I failed a lot, and couldn't get very far in the game.

What it means to me: This was a common rent, I just really liked the style of this game as a kid, and it was a really great time multiplayer too. The CGI unicycles were cute and fun, and I loved anything CGI back in the early 90s, it was a novelty then, rarely saw it, so it hyped me up. But also just the visuals in general, the colors, the abstract patterns, it's a great, well, vibe. Good vibes here. Fun jammin' tracks, everything wigglin and wobblin, it's groovy! Not a very deep game that I fell in love with or anything, but certainly not a bad time.

Pros: Incredible hand drawn 2-D animation, rivaling the best of western 2D animation in film, it's really top of the line, even to this day. The sense of humor is also wackier than ever, just a hodge podge of seemingly random silliness that shouldn't make sense when thrown together, and it doesn't, but the absurdity does make me laugh (the stairlift minigame with the falling grannies always got me, it's so good! Oh and the blind salamander level with Beethoven's Moonlight Sonata in the background? It's spectacular, haha!). And amongst the funnies, there's a good variety of gameplay scenarios, that I found mostly refreshing and fun. The main EWJ gameplay is pretty well done here too, Jim can whip his head around, swing around by the snot buddy in his backpack, and of course, Jim's Plasma Blaster gun, which has him stand in place while you can shoot and aim in all directions with an auto rapid-fire style, that feels, just, mmm, oh so good, just as it did in EWJ1. What EWJ2 introduces though, are new guns! Guns that go from useful and cool like the homing missile (shaped like a house) the Three-Finger blaster (a gun in the shape of a glove that gives you bullet spread), and the Barn Blaster (brick lookin gun that clears the screen with one shot)... to guns that are just a big ol joke, like the bubble blaster... which, heh, it's funny, it's good. The SNES version allows you to switch weapons on the fly, making it the superior version of EWJ2. Also, another aspect of this game that I find really well done, is the music. The aforementioned Moonlight Sonata is a highlight, for sure, but several new compositions like Anything But Tangerines and Lorenzen's Soil are legit great songs, I wouldn't attribute Tommy Tallarico to them, as he probably didn't compose them, but some poor shmuck on his team certainly deserves credit. But the best part of the game? The intermission cows between each stage congratulating you with a "Well done", as you can then make them repeat the phrase over and over again with different pitches and speed, using the A,B,X,Y buttons (something I think the SNES version had over the Sega version as well?)

Cons: There may be too many gimmick stages, I will say. I loved the variety, but they might've taken it a step too far... Particularly once you reach the stage 'The Flyin' King' you'll be whipping your head against a wall in frustration. There's the Puppy Love stages, where you bounce puppies across a stage, using a giant marshmallow, just like the Game & Watch game 'FIRE', and you play this same stage, at least three times, and at first it's really funny, it's a great time! Then... by the third time you come across this stage, you'll wish you were a mush of puppy goo flattened onto the ground yourself. Yeah, this game is a bit messy.

What it means to me: It was the mid 90s, we all loved Jim Carrey, absurd cartoonish outrageous and wacky humor was what we craved, and Earthworm Jim was just the right worm for the right time. I loved this game, more than the first game even. I rented this game so many times, and every time I got a kick out of it. One of those rare games (not made by Rare, no no, these guys were big rivals to Rare, heh) but one of those games that I actually beat as a kid, from a rent! I really did enjoy this one back in the day, truly. But time has been less kind to it, even though there's so much in it that has aged well, such as the music and animation. Not a bad time overall though.

Pros: This has been my favorite game for most of my life. Just getting that out of the way now, haha! But there are so many qualities to this title that contribute to that. One, the immersive atmosphere. The sound design, music, visuals, effects, UI (or lack thereof) and level construction (hiding bonus rooms to encourage exploring), all work in tangent to heighten the sense of immersion in this game's world, which to me, is the most atmospheric game on the SNES. The first area is a great example of it, as it starts you off in a jungle with several layers of treetops all parallax and off into the distance, while butterflies flutter about the landscape, where as you traverse near the end of the level, day gradually and organically transitions to night. Creating a very natural living world. Then the very next level after that, you're in darkness, there's a thunderstorm, rain pours over the stage and every lightning bolt lights up the screen, and then as you get to the end of this level, the storm clears and, again gradually, the daylight comes back out and fills the stage. Nothing breaks the immersion, it's like one seamless world, and for 1994, this is just groundbreaking. And to help with the gameplay as well as immersion, they hide the HUD (the banana and life counter and such) and only show it the moment you grab a collectible, giving you a clear and up close view of your surroundings. Additionally, instead of power-ups or a healthbar for hitpoints, they have a tag-team system with a partner Kong, which not only also clears the HUD from the screen, it gives you a choice in how you want to play, and makes you feel like you're not alone on the adventure (also fun for alternating multiplayer)

Smooth and rhythmic platforming, that's the theme of the gameplay in this game, and what most mechanics in the game play up. The main mechanic you'll use most often, is a roll attack, which can be used to combo through enemies, which speeds you up as a reward, as well as letting you roll off of ledges, and jumping out of it in mid-air. This let's you save yourself over pits, as well as gain greater distance for long jumps. Several other mechanics in the game, like rope swinging, barrel cannons, minecarts, and, one of my favorite aspects of the game, animal buddies (Rambi the rhino, Enguarde the swordfish, Winky the frog, and Expresso the ostrich), create a sense of speed and progression, as you smoothly traverse forwards throughout the 40 stages in the game. The music composed primarily by David Wise and Evelyne Novakovic, and one excellent song by Robin Beanland, is also fantastic, probably the best music on the SNES next to the sequel. Atmospheric tracks, moody melodies, jazzy and upbeat or hauntingly beautiful, sometimes downright spiritual, it's my favorite OST in gaming history, for sure. Aquatic Ambiance being my favorite song in video games, period. It's heavenly, and impresses just as much as the incredible groundbreaking cgi graphics do. Which, probably goes without saying, but they're the big selling point of the game. Smooth animation, colorful and lively visuals, they are what put this game on the map in 1994. Not as cutting edge today, no way, but they still hold up with the "fractured realism" art style the game has going for it. And it sets this game and series apart from anything else that came before.

And the characters, I already mentioned the animal buddies, I adore them (Squawks the parrot too!). Animals are my livelihood, and the ones in this game are exactly the type of animal characters I enjoy most. Animalistic, very rooted in nature, and their gameplay inspired by real wildlife. Finding an animal crate in this game is such an exhilaration, and on top of that, not knowing which animal will be on which stage, if at all, adds to their fun and excitement when found! There's something so pleasing about these animals, they're power-ups for gameplay, but because they're living breathing characters that express personality, I care so much more about them than I would a mechanical vehicle, fire Flower, or weapon that another game would possess (I suppose I do have to thank Yoshi the dinosaur for them!). But there's also the cast of Kongs and Kremlings that add so much personality to the game, and make you care. Donkey Kong, a bit of a lazy but good hearted gorilla, somewhat immature as he dances and fools around, but ya gotta love him. There's his little buddy Diddy, the monkey, who's a go-getter hot shot of an ape who looks up to DK (I think of him as a bit of a Scrappy Doo to DK's Scooby Doo, but I've gotten some flak for that comparison, haha). There's Cranky Kong, the supposed original DK from the Arcade game, he gives you tips and tricks, but mostly rattles on about the olds days (gotta love him, he adds a ton of charm and humor to this world). And then there's Funky, a cool surfer Kong that lets you travel to different worlds you've already been to, as well as Candy, DK's girlfriend that lets you save your progress (she's not a great character, but hey, at least there's one lady among them). And then the Kremlings, a gang of humanoid mutant-like crocodilians, who are led by King K. Rool, are a great terrifying foe that captured DK's bananas which sets you forth on the adventure for the game. The final boss fight against K. Rool is incredible, with great music and a surprising final moment!


Cons: The other bosses in the game are basic, not very interesting, and have repeat fights later in the game, with the only difference being color palette and added difficulty. The collision masks can sometimes be confusing, where a platform starts or where it ends, and knowing exactly where your collision on your character is can be tricky too (especially for Winky the frog). Most often the game is pretty fair, but it has its moments where the difficulty ramps up to the point where you gotta put your most hardcore of hardcore game faces on, heh (the minecart stage among them, and my favorite stage, Snow Barrel Blast, which has you shooting from barrel cannon to barrel cannon during a screen obscuring blizzard, is perhaps the most difficult of all! I love it, but be prepared, it's tough!). The final world also is just a repeat of archetypes from previous worlds, instead of doing its own unique theme, and that's somewhat unfortunate too, as a volcanic theme would've fit perfectly, oh well. All in all, the positives heavily outweigh the negatives, and you'll have so much fun by the time the *final credits roll!


What it means to me: This game means everything to me, this is the video game that got me into video games! I was introduced to this game via the promotional VHS tape called 'Donkey Kong Country Exposed', where they delve into the making of the title. I saw that tape in the mailbox one afternoon and exclaimed "WHOA! It's Donkey Kong in CLAYMATION!" Little did I know about this new fangled thing called computer animation, heh... Watching that tape blew my mind, and later that year, playing the game blew my mind even further. It started a lifelong passion, it fed into my absolute love for nature and animals, and it's the reason why I became the Nintendo nut that I am today.

Pros: There's one word usually thrown around a lot for Earthbound, and games like Earthbound, and that word, I'm sorry, but it's the one that best encapsulates this game. That word is 'quirky'. And if any one video game gets to claim that word, it is Earthbound. Colorful, wacky, charming, big child-like imaginative adventure, with comfy music, kinda hippie vibes too. There was nothin' else like Earthbound, and it's still a jam of a game. Ness, Paula, Jeff, and Poo, travelling through a modern Americana parody of a world, fighting bizarre enemies you encounter on the overworld with traditional RPG gameplay. You just have to lose yourself to this game, open up to it, there's a lot of love in here.

Cons: The RPG gameplay is a bit archaic, I'm not really into the turn-based battling here... It can be a grind too. Also, as charming as the graphics are, I can't be the only one disappointed they didn't go with a clay model look? In 1995, I wanted more out of SNES graphics, what with Donkey Kong Country, Yoshi's Island, Clayfighter, Primal Rage, Earthworm Jim, etc etc, showcasing what the generation could pull off. But, in time, I've come to really love the simple Charlie-Brown art style, it's wonderful. And later on, the sequel to this game would improve the gameplay in most ways that I wanted anyhow, plus add even higher quality sprites and animations.

What it means to me: This was a game I was always aware of, ever since the Scratch-n-Sniff adverts in GamePro and Nintendo Power magazine, up to Smash Bros. 64, but I never really deep dove into playing all of it until the Wii U release. And, this was actually after I had already beaten the sequel, Mother 3. And I really did enjoy playing all the way through Earthbound, even though I don't think it was a better game than Mother 3, it was still a fantastic journey full of fun, charm, humor, and heart... Gotta love this quirky little game.