Pros: A refined RPG experience in the world of Mario. Charming characters, beautiful 2D art design, immersive locations, cozy villages, a grand sense of adventure, and some nice story bits! So much in this one makes it the best Mario RPG for me.

First thing you'll notice, is the visuals, and it really shocked me when seeing it, as this game was originally billed as a sequel to Super Mario RPG, y'know, the game that had state-of-the-art CGI 3D graphics, this wasn't that at all, this was the opposite approach! Instead of 3D it intentionally went with a flat 2D crayon/colored pencil like aesthetic... Hold on... this sounds familiar. This is the same thing that happened with Donkey Kong Country and Yoshi's Island!! A rebellious response to the 3D art style, by making their game as 2D as possible, and with crayons!!! Hey, and look at that, Paper Mario has the same art style as Yoshi's Island itself, and tons of characters and themes taken directly from Yoshi's Island too!! I... I kind of love it! Hah!

The RPG adventure starts off with Mario and Luigi attending a party at Peach's castle, where then, all hell breaks loose, and as usual, Bowser kidnaps the Princess, but this time using the power of the Star Rod, sending her castle on top of his, soaring into the sky! Periodically through the game, we actually get to play as Princess Peach, sneaking about in her castle while under Bowser's captivity, solving puzzles, sending items down to Mario, and taking part in entertaining story bits, like baking cakes and such. Good times. But the meat of this game, is MARIO!! It takes several concepts from Super Mario RPG and refines them, making the hit system on a base 10 points, which is a lot simpler, works a lot cleaner, and makes battles a bit more enjoyable. Timed hits return, and now there's even new ways of doing the timed hits, holding down buttons or pulling back sticks, waiting for the right time to release, maybe doing some minigame-type motions with the stick or buttons, it's all very fun, and it's displayed on screen during battles. It makes each hit, and each defense, that much more of its own entertaining game, I loved it! And outside of battles, you can even use your hammer! Get a first strike on enemies if you're able to, or simply interact with the environment, bonkin buttons, trees, or why not take a whack at Whacka!! The environments and locations are plenty interactive and engaging, with several of their own puzzles to navigate through, and there's just as many villages and towns to interact in as well, with tons of NPCs that are incredibly charming. My favorite of which is the main village of Toad Town, which is sprawling with neighborhoods and layers of areas to explore, with tons of shops and activities that you can spend hours in. Each new town/village you discover features a new "race" of species as their townsfolk, typically enemies from past Mario games like Goombas, Koopas, Boos, etc, but here they're just friendly villagers. And each of these areas has you gaining a new partner character with their own little side story. These partners of course provide great assists during fights, but they also each provide an ability on the overworld that helps with puzzles and navigation, in addition to your jumping and hammering abilities. They're all lovable little gizmo dudes and dudettes, and they're a refreshing take on what a Mario friend can be. But you'll still come across plenty enemies and bosses, many of which provide a fun challenge or gimmick, using each partner ability. Beating each chapter's boss awards you with a Star Spirit, which are the story progression characters, but they also grant you new abilities in battle too! Each and every little thing feeds into each other, and feels extremely valuable. Even the side content, like making recipes at Taste T.'s shop, or finding Star Pieces hidden underground scattered across the game, which can be used to get yourself more badges, which are something that give you more abilities in battle. All very satisfying to explore to find, collect, and use.

In the end, this is the most Mario of Mario RPGs, as Bowser is the big bad! It's also all in the Mushroom Kingdom, and it really does feel like it. There's a comfort to that, but there's also something very iconic to the adventure that to me, feels quintessential. This is the RPG, in my opinion, that fits Mario the best, and it doesn't sacrifice creativity, character, or story either.

Cons: Mechanically, this may be my favorite RPG ever, in terms of an RPG, I love its simplicity and flourishes it adds. To others, it may be a tad too simple though. Also, I do love the art style, but I'm not so big on the "paper" part of it. I'd have been fine if they just ignored that part, and left things 2D without doing any of the flat turnaround animations and such. Though I will say, the paper in this game is just a means to display the world and tell this story, they aren't literally paper, and at no point in this game, is the paper aesthetic taken literally, or used for gameplay (something that can't be said for any of the Paper Mario sequels). So this game, in my opinion, is the best of them!

What it means to me: I just remember getting sucked into this game completely, playing it from beginning to end with my brother, enjoying every step of the way! Not one moment where I was bored, or that made me want to drop the controller. The charming world, the colorful aesthetics, the Mario World-esque musical score, it was all just so, wonderful to be immersed in! I also really loved those little pig things, the Li'l Oinks, hah! They come out of little gacha machines in eggs, and you crack em open to see what colored pig it was! Definitely worth all the coins to get that Golden Oink! Hehe... Really fun game, loved it to bits!

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: 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: 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.

Pros: Big adventure filled with 8 worlds. Tough platforming challenges, variety of level types, useful power-ups, and cool secrets. Incredibly fun to speedrun through too!

Cons: The platforming mechanics are a bit stiff, the timer is annoying (as it is in most Mario games), and not being able to scroll the camera back from where you came to the left, is a bit of a bummer... Otherwise, I got no real complaints, I can play this game again and again and again.

What it means to me: Most likely my very first video game, as it came packaged with the NES, though too young to understand and play it well at the time. But as I discovered more and more about it, the more I loved it, and then to finally conquer the adventure and defeat Bowser at the end, saving the princess, I felt a sense of accomplishment I'd never felt with any other game. This one is special, it pretty much changed the world.

Pros: Surprisingly very fun multiplayer falling block puzzle game. Very easy to learn, most can pick it up rather quickly and get competitive.

Cons: Why is this game called Yoshi? Like, that's it? Just "Yoshi"?? It's a fine simple game, but I feel that title deserved a bigger character focused experience, this hardly has anything to do with Yoshi, aside from the best block chains using the eggs, which, yeah, that's great, but that shouldn't be enough to earn the title of the character himself.

What it means to me: When I was a kid I was at first annoyed by the name, expecting an NES precursor of sorts to Yoshi's Island. Don't let that fool ya though, once I got into this game, I had a ton of fun playing it with my bro! In fact, it's probably my favorite puzzler on the NES.