No other kart racer matters now that this game has completed its Grand Prix seasons. Nearly a year of free DLC (which included new maps, characters, karts and various skins/paint jobs/tires) included with the base game on top of the already wonderful Adventure mode PLUS all the tracks from Nitro Kart all redone in a beautiful HD environment with some of the best kart racing physics/item usage in a game like this makes this the best kart racer I've ever played and puts the rest of the genre to shame. Comparing it to Mario Kart which has the obvious catch up mechanics with items, items here can be obtained all over the place so if you're good, you can really shine without getting hit by some bullshit red/blue shell while you're owning.

Is it controversial to say this game is underrated? I honestly like this game more than Crash 3. It's brutally difficulty (mostly to 100%), a little slippery to control, but extremely charming and fun despite that. Getting every single gem in this game was one of the harder things I've done in a video game but it was so satisfying to complete. I think people often forget that this is just a really good platformer and a great start to a pretty (usually) amazing franchise. 2 and 3 just overshadow it due to sheer popularity after they took off but this game will always have a special place in my heart.

Never before have I been so conflicted and so in love with a game before. Final Fantasy VII is my absolute favourite game of all time so to finally have my wishes granted and be gifted a full fledged modern style remake, I just couldn't believe it. I waited 5 patient years since its announcement and the moment I booted it up and saw that title card with the amazingly redone soundtrack, I absolutely shed a few tears. This is a game that has meant so much to so many people, and you could tell that SE really understood that and wanted to deliver to fans the experience they wanted so badly for nearly 20 years now. Well, until about the last 10% of the game where they really change up how the story goes and leads into what could be a completely new experience going forward. The game is so amazing up to that point though so I can't deny that I think this game is incredible, but every time I think back to that last bit of the game I have to second guess my true feelings here. There are moments in my first playthrough that I had tears in my eyes because of the joy I was experiencing, constantly thinking "this is what I've been waiting for and they've delivered on everything I wanted and more," which makes that final part of the game all more of a punch to the gut. I'm worried about the future of the FF7 remake's series, but I can't deny that this first entry blew me away in a way I didn't think I would get to experience.

While I do like this game quite a lot, it's a bit crazy to me that this can be someone's favourite Mario with such limited movement and gameplay options. Something I love about Mario is the freedom of movement that you get, different options for jumping and leaping and diving and kicking you can traverse the same area in so many different ways. Galaxy takes away a lot of your freedom to give a more streamlined experience, which can be both good and bad. The levels and music and atmosphere and base gameplay are all still good, but it's missing that X factor to really lift it up for me. In a platformer movement is key, and this game doesn't do it as well as it should at this point in Mario's life.

Playing this game in 2023 reminded me of why I love video games. Prior to this year I was feeling some pretty crazy burnout from games. Nothing coming out seemed interesting or fun outside of my usual stuff I was conditioned to buy, which were always fun but it felt a bit like going through the motions. My girlfriend was always gushing about Resident Evil being her favourite franchise and I had never really been particularly interested in it because I just never was much of a horror guy. But it was $5, people seemed to enjoy it and we could play it together so I went for it. Went for it I did. I didn't want to stop playing it, the atmosphere, the music, the mildly corny dialogue spruced up to try and be more serious, the fun puzzles, the panic of seeing a spider crawl down the wall the second I walk through a door, it was all what I had been missing. I was missing that perfect mixture of gameplay and atmosphere that I didn't even realize I was missing. There isn't a single bad thing I could say about this game, it's truly something else. I played through it maybe 5 or more times over the span of two weeks, sometimes an entire playthrough in one sitting. I hadn't done something like that since I was a teenager. I even did real survival with basically no issues! That final real survival run really solidified why I loved this game so much. Making me think and experience every room, every enemy, every boss really just let me absorb every detail so expertly crafted to give me this perfect experience. I think I need to start another playthrough tomorrow.