1218 reviews liked by mellorine


It's called Sonic AIR because Sonic 3 is fly af.

Went into Skyward Sword with pretty much negative expectations and found it enjoyable, all despite how much scuffed it is. There are plenty of glaring problems: like combat that's made a joke by button controls yet still frustrating when an input doesn't register one in a ten times; or padding of playtime with a lot of unnecessary fetching and some repetitive tasks.

My main gripe although is something I feel about many Nintendo games: Skyward Sword introduces a lot of potentially spectacular mechanics but doesn't build enough interesting challenges around. The game just rarely asks anything more than the ability to recognize patterns brought in the first time an item or mechanic is introduced. It's also irritatingly handholdy, to the point a solution to one of the most interesting spatial puzzles in the game gets awkwardly spelled out on a readable sign. I understand the game needs to be beatable by everybody, but then I wish the HD remaster introduced a new hint-removing difficulty mode, changing dialogues and signposts where it's possible to give new players an opportunity to figure out things for themselves. It's just such a missed opportunity, especially taking into account the few times when the game lets go of the reins really do feel great.

Still, there's totally more good than bad, and despite its annoyances Skyward Sword delivers neat surprises throught all its length. This makes it a pretty good time in my book, even though I wish it was more fulfilling.

It took a bootleg Switch port with 60 fps framerate and camera control for me to stop worrying and love Mario 64. This game is a hood classic for a reason.

It's the non-handholdy nature that's missing in later Nintendo games. M64 isn't afraid to leave you one-on-one with the world that doesn't have a defined easily predictable structure and layout. It will cleverly nudge you in the right direction, but this never feels condescending. There is a confidence and trust in the player that they will come in grips with controls and figure out what's required out of them on every stage of the game. The learning curve of controls is also something entirely unique to this era of gaming, Physical and weighty player characters in games is something I find a lot of enjoyment in so Mario where every move has to be a commitment is something right up my alley.

It's the level design that holds it back in my opinion with most levels falling in just kinda ok category. Though there are great exploration stages (hazy maze cave, cool cool mountain, tiny huge island wet dry world) and linear platforming gauntlets (tick tock clock, all bowser stages) amongst levels that don't have much in the way of interesting platforming or problem solving.There are a few stages which are just generally tedious to clear with rainbow ride being the biggest offender here. Also I understand that N64 cards had limited storage, but the lack of variety in music really started to irritate me when I heard Slider for the 50th time.

Overall tho I'm glad that I familizarized myself with one of the gaming touchstones and had a good time while doing so. It's a good game.

edit (13/11/23): this review sucks. lol

I don’t understand Pokémon fans. When Sword and Shield released in 2019, it was understandable that Pokémon fans were quite upset. To start off with, the “graphics” at the time were considerably worse and when it was revealed that some Pokémon were not going to even be in the game, the game received heavy backlash from fans and was regarded as one of the most weakest mainline entries.

Then we got Pokémon Legends, which most fans agreed was a major improvement with it’s new formula of catching Pokémon out of the wild. However this also received some backlash as well, with a common theme running that the plot was shallow and the.. gameplay wasn’t fun? Wait, hold on, Game Freak has just changed the entire meta of the game for you and you’re still complaining. The fights were too easy? The graphics were too ugly? The characters are too one dimensional? It’s hard for the common Pokémon fan to find what they enjoy.

And as of now, Pokémon Scarlet and Violet have released (although it leaked a week earlier if you know what I mean). And as of now, although a lot of positive comments, Pokemon fans are still complaining! The frame rate and performance is actually so bad now because you guys bullied poor Masuda into trying to produce good ones on a console that has the same specs as a car battery. The fights are too easy? The characters are too one dimensional? You want the mechanics back from a spin off game, even though some of you DIDNT EVEN LIKE IT????

You can hate this game. If you genuinely just don’t like this game or anything in it you are perfectly fine to criticise whatever you want, we are a website that criticises everything for god’s sake. What I just don’t understand is the Pokémon fans. Why do you guys stick with this series for so long if you do nothing but rag and complain about how bad they all are? Pokemon is a series dedicated to putting out low budget titles that appeal to 10 year olds and adults who can never seem to grow up, of course the fights are too easy and everything looks shit. And maybe if you’re favourite Pokémon didn’t make it into the new game, take it as a sign that maybe it’s time to move on and try new things. Go outside and take a nice walk.

I’m a few hours in, I’m enjoying the game. I like the fruity duck starter and the evil team leader’s a baddie so hey good job Game Freak 4 stars!!!!!


You writhe beneath my skin
Born of ailing flesh and love
My thoughts, consumed by your sorrow.

Waking nightmares plague me, endless
A slow rotting miracle plucked from time,
You are all that I love, everything I fear
And all the entanglement festering between

For want of fair chances,
I stared into your abyss
As I've done for many before

And in return, you tore out my heart,
Impaled my eyes with your scarlet terror
Invaded the privacy of solitude,
And plunged your iron claws into my very soul.

You interrupt my nights.
My days, occupied by you
You are inescapable, yet...

For all your malignance,
Burrowed under flesh
and boiling blood,

I refuse
to let
go




Signalis bores its hooks into my skull, carving grooves into my brain where my psychoses pool. There’s something to be said for its reliance on the narrative language of anime and survival horror, but whether it’s derivative or iterative is a moot point. These beats that ring familiar are sores that Signalis splits open with a sadist’s pleasure. I could sit here and rattle off references, the obvious calls that permeate the body of the work, but where does that get you? Where does that get any of us, other than a cognizant “if you know you know” stranglehold? The language of Signalis isn’t concerned with simply being “Space Resident Evil”, or “Utena by way of Evangelion”. Much like the doomed Penrose, the referential nature of Signalis is, in itself, a repetitious time loop. It is not a work of references, it is its references.

I bolt awake, and Signalis presses on the nerve center that kick started my love of horror. 2008, in front of a bombed-out Gamecube, Jill Valentine tinkers though a puzzle box called the Spenser mansion. 2022, I bumblefuck through the escape room that is Sierpinski S-23.

Another restless night, another stab into my brain. 2012, my first pangs of personalized gender misanthropy at the hands of Asuka Langley Sohryu and Rei Ayanami, the brilliant shine of sapphic love reflected by Utena and Anthy. A decade later, the hate has faded and its place remains remorse for the past, regret for the now as the signature flashes of light and text flicker, as LSTR-512 and Ariane waltz in their final moments.

Again, interrupted sleep prevails. October, last year, the clattering of keys clicked out a cacophonous rhythm as I parse out a write up for Illbleed, a game that set ablaze the dying candle that was my love for gaming, for horror as a whole. Now, after a global rotation, I return to Signalis in the same spot, a love for writing, for fear, for gaming, for love itself, rekindled after a seasonal stagnation.

To try to put definitive words to Signalis seems contradictory to the way the game is delivered, indirect and symbolic in a way anathemic to thematic deduction. In it, I saw the spark of life relight my passion, and I enacted swift death to the tyrant, critical analysis. I could brandish lofty terms, of this having flawless gameplay, immersive writing, a memorable soundtrack, or any other terms I would gladly throw around about games that I will forget in a week. It’s not perfect. I don’t want it to be perfect: It’s for me. I don’t need it to be anything more than what it means to me, and what it means is that I think I love games again.

I awaken once more from broken sleep.

It’s 2014. I’m sitting with someone who, at the time, was my closest friend. We’re huddled around a laptop deep into the night, burning through works that would come to reflect what matters to me in games.

It’s tonight. I’m on call with someone I love. I’m huddled over a keyboard, burning through a write-up of a work that redefines what matters to me in games.

Play Signalis. You probably won’t get what I got out of it. That’s a good thing; it means there’s going to be something else out there that gives you the same feelings that this gave me. For now, I can push you to try a game I view as my personal perfection.

The creative experience is knowing, at any time, you have the potential to put a YIIK into the world. Harrowing.

This made my bad morning into a good one, such a cute little gem of a game

very fun (albeit short) game-jam very similar to the style and looks of the sega saturn, mellorine hits it out of the park with another good OST this time. would love to see a full fledged game like this, a wacky cartoony Petal Gear Solid 3: Honey Eater

I hate to rate this as low as I do, because while playing I loved it and was ready to give it a tasty 4/5 just for being so fun and having well designed stages.
Sadly though, I can't, as this game severely lacks content, is artificially stretched out and with it's overload of menus becomes frustratingly slow over time.
The gameplay is fantastic, I loved it.
But having to play every single song once in the campaign to unlock it in challenge mode is fine imo, but why can't I choose the difficulty for the campaign mode and have to play all of the songs on the lamest and easiest difficulty first? When I learned that there are various difficulties for the spirit mode, but you have to unlock them by playing all of the songs on the higher difficulties in challenge mode first, I got dizzy. You have to play every song multiple times to even attempt it on a harder difficulty. This progression makes for horrible pacing, because after the first two songs, the easiest mode will become boring to most players, but you are forced to play it through regardless. This worked against my enjoyment.

This game could be amazing, with more songs, a better campaign mode, less time in menus and if the DLC button were not directly on the title screen, almost doubling the amount of content for 1€ per song.

From what I've heard FF Theatrhythm Curtain Call is just that. I have only played the demo of that as of right now though but am already happy about the addition of button-support.

Abzu

2016

This game is aesthetically beautiful. Unfortunately that is all it is. It does not take advantage of its medium, with no interesting gameplay and basic puzzles, mostly linear levels in a game that could have highly benefitted from exploration and just an overall lack of engagement. It's a very pretty game, but besides that, it feels empty, bare-boned and kind of like those interactive displays at aquariums.