meunierd
1995
One of the absolute best games for the Game Boy. The depth of Kirby and his friends' movesets is incredible for the DMG. The Super Game Boy effects are really impressive, in how it's able to use careful palette swapping and positioning of assets to convey more colour than would otherwise be possible. You even get little extra PCM samples on the title screen. This is HAL showing off their mastery of the Game Boy as a platform.
(Finding Rainbow drops is BS, just use a guide)
(Finding Rainbow drops is BS, just use a guide)
I love this broke-ass game. That you can exploit the mechanics and one punch man your way through the most difficult battles is a strength, not a weakness. I love how each class has its own growth mechanics. I love all the bizarre effects your equipment can have.
Uematsu is in fine form, wringing out memorable melodies from the GB sound chip. The art design is strong. Everything reads really clearly and the enemies have fun, cute designs.
Overall it's a really impressive release for year one of the Game Boy. Mechanically I like this better than Final Fantasy I and II. Kawazu is a mad genius.
Uematsu is in fine form, wringing out memorable melodies from the GB sound chip. The art design is strong. Everything reads really clearly and the enemies have fun, cute designs.
Overall it's a really impressive release for year one of the Game Boy. Mechanically I like this better than Final Fantasy I and II. Kawazu is a mad genius.
2000
I think this is maybe one of the strongest games for Game Boy Color as a platform. The set-back nature of failure is a bit frustrating, and I did save state my way through the golf mini games on an Analogue Pocket. A younger me would have brute forced it but time is precious.
The level design is excellent. There are always hints pulling you along without being overly overt. The mechanics feel very satisfying. Wario has a huge array of abilities and the game finds seemingly endless ways to exercise them.
Each treasure is gated behind a unique wrinkle to the gameplay formula. Environments are beautiful and varied. Bosses are whimsical and reasonably challenging. This one slipped under my radar when it was new even though I loved Wario Land II and this is such a welcome refinement of that formula.
This is absolutely a game that I'll go back and 100%.
The level design is excellent. There are always hints pulling you along without being overly overt. The mechanics feel very satisfying. Wario has a huge array of abilities and the game finds seemingly endless ways to exercise them.
Each treasure is gated behind a unique wrinkle to the gameplay formula. Environments are beautiful and varied. Bosses are whimsical and reasonably challenging. This one slipped under my radar when it was new even though I loved Wario Land II and this is such a welcome refinement of that formula.
This is absolutely a game that I'll go back and 100%.
1991
I really liked a compressed, more forgiving Contra experience. It doesn't overstay its welcome.
The animation of the palm trees are a great example of Konami polish.
The animation of the palm trees are a great example of Konami polish.
2019
This is a really impressive homebrew, backporting some mechanics from New Super Mario Bros into Super Mario Land. Assets are sampled down or created from scratch where needed.
The jump feels closer to Land's than NSMB's, but the controls are tight and responsive.
The jump feels closer to Land's than NSMB's, but the controls are tight and responsive.
Best version of the game if you patch the orchestral soundtrack back in.
I assume this is the shape of mainline Kirby going forward.
1990
This is a snappy, fun little game. Great Hip Tanaka soundtrack. I really like the tension of letting go of your balloons or trying to make a quick pit stop to pump up a new one. The last level's cruel but that's what save states are for.
The ultimate expression of what the Game Boy was capable of, and probably the best Zelda narrative.
This is about as much as I can probably enjoy a AAA game. Web slinging and controlling Miles feels great. Scenario design and mission structure hasn't changed at all since GTA III.
This game is wonderfully compact. In 3 hours you'll breeze through eight dungeons punctuated by decently challenging boss battles.
I love how cleanly Buster's pixel art reads. Everything is chunky, colorful, well proportioned and well animated. Power ups are passive and plentiful, making you progressively more nimble as you explore the labyrinth.
The music is great and clearly indebted to Maze of Galious (as is the core design). Can't recommend this micro metroidvania enough.
I love how cleanly Buster's pixel art reads. Everything is chunky, colorful, well proportioned and well animated. Power ups are passive and plentiful, making you progressively more nimble as you explore the labyrinth.
The music is great and clearly indebted to Maze of Galious (as is the core design). Can't recommend this micro metroidvania enough.
1987
What's there really to say that hasn't been said. My advice to anyone coming fresh to this is don't look up the boss weaknesses. It's more fun to experiment and replay levels. Yellow Devil is unreasonably hard but you feel great when you get the timing down or you can cheese it with a glitch.
1993
There are so many things I love about this game but it's not without its rough spots. Some of the secrets: heart tanks, and capsules feel like you're trying to get the game to glitch out to get that one perfect dash jump off. The timing of the final Sigma battle is such a huge spike in difficulty compared to the rest of the game which is fairly balanced. I'm not sure I really like how hard the design leans on X's charge shot. It slows down the speed a lot from Classic Mega Man even if everything else is ostensibly faster.
1991
Really excellent conversion. Elevator Action has such good tension with the door mechanic. When do you open it?
1992
This is a really cool bridge between Actraiser and the rest of the Quintet games for Super Nintendo.