The levels are much more varied and interesting this time around, and the added setpieces end up creating some really fun gameplay scenarios, like the fires in Stage 1 and the wall-climbing thing in Stage 3. Stage 3 in particular is a highlight, both in terms of design and music. The bosses are all awesome too.

I'm not a big fan of the top-down stages, though, as they don't have much going on. They feel rather sluggish compared to everything else. But, the four excellent sidescrolling stages make it all worth it.

Not too much to say, really, just a great, fun game. Even greater in co-op.

I am surprised by how good this game is! Fushimi Tsukasa did a great job as he understood the appeal of 1st Vision era. This game is a raising simulation game like the past idolmaster games. You play as a producer and you help raise stats of the idols and communicate with them. What I like about this game as the language barrier is probably the easiest imas game for Japanese learners as it's takes place in a school setting. That means that there is no technical showbiz or business language plus it's fully voiced. I highly recommend this game for people that are learning Japanese.

I feel the weight of my sins crashing down, the sheer crime against humanity that even harmless internet posting really is. I have never felt such a profound sense of anxiety and guilt as I have when playing this game though granted it’s the worst period of my life for other reasons. It’s like a painting of every problem I have contributed to on my time here yet the only outcome it proposes is complete self destruction. Oh God, please forgive me, and may you guide our souls back to a simpler place. We all deserve better than this false paradise.

This game is awesome. The Power Shots are fun, they're kinda overpowered but not as much as the gimmicks introduced in later Mario Tennis titles. You can consistently and effectively counter any of them with any character, it's just difficult to do so. Likewise, the Gimmick Courts are a lot of fun and spice up the game without becoming too overbearing or obnoxious. If you dont like the Power Shots or Gimmicks, you can turn those off in multiplayer matches. There aren't as many characters or courts as there were in the N64 game, but there's greater mechanical and visual variety among the ones included here. And of course, Motoi Sakuraba returns with another great soundtrack.

My only complaint... I wish you could play the CPU doubles tournaments with a friend. Or even a full 16-player tournament mode like in the Smash games, where you hand off controllers to the next players.

While Innocent Sin feels like the introduction in terms of gameplay, mechanics and story, Eternal Punishment ramps up its difficulty and stakes in terms of gameplay, giving more proper cohesion and make you fully invested during the combat (though, if you play your cards right, you could end up just spamming Last Quake or Meltdown for most of the game), the rumor system offers more fun results that gives you a complete edge on certain levels and the cast is fantastic.

Despite its reputation as "the snob's choice" in the series, it is just a really well made duology where every single theme, character and meaning come together into a full circle, a coming of age on the most extreme way possible with a nice sprinkle of lovecraft into it.

One of, if not the best, third-person shooter of all time, unfortunately widely misunderstood as a lackluster horror game. No doubt, if you judge RE5 as a horror game, you'll be disappointed. But, as a sequel to RE4, this game succeeds in just about every way.

The melee system has been further developed, with each character having different moves for many different shot locations, with different properties. For example, some attacks prevent enemy transformations but are more difficult to land. The inventory system has been refined, with a sensible item limit that prevents you from hoarding ammo and healing like you could in RE4. In addition, the menu is real-time, which forces on-the-fly decision-making and even allows you to reload during melee animations, which feels absolutely divine and gives the combat a greater sense of flow compared to any other RE. Positioning and crowd control are most important here, so in that sense it's pretty reminiscent of Capcom's beat-em-ups, even moreso than RE4 and 6. Play on Type B controls for the best experience, since it lets you quick-turn with your laser reticle.

To compliment the improved combat, enemy AI is smarter and faster, there are more enemy types, and there are more enemies in general in any given area compared to 4. What ties it all together is incredible animation work and sound design, both for the playable characters and the enemies who react to every single thing you do. They aren't just static bullet sponges. The guns sound way more impactful here compared to later RE games. The core gameplay system is so excellent that the game could have only been Mercenaries and it still would have been one of the best Resident Evil games. In fact, that already exists and it's called Mercenaries 3D.

Of course, you can't have great mechanics and systems without great maps, and RE5 delivers there too. Public Assembly and Village are standouts, but they're all great... maybe except Experimental Facility. I especially like the destructible environments.

In my opinion, Mercenaries (and by extension, the Versus Mode) is the meat of the game. I've spent dozens of hours playing these modes alone or with friends, and it never gets old. The PC Gold version even has mods for 4 players, which is simply incredible. Of course, the campaign is cool too, and the AI is honestly less of a hindrance than most people make it out to be. I think it works better here than in either 4 or 4 Remake. The QTEs are annoying yet again, but they can thankfully be turned off in later editions.

Which version of RE5 is the best? Usually I'd say to go with the original release, but in this case I think it's the PC port of Gold, the only one with mod support. Both PC Gold and Remastered come with all DLC and No Mercy mode (360/PS3 Gold doesn't have No Mercy), and only Remastered has Mercenaries United. United is a bit unbalanced because it combines all characters from both previous Mercs modes which had different enemy loadouts and scoring systems. However, it works better as a more casual experience with friends since you can freely select any character you like. But, there's a mod for Gold that essentially adds United, and with 4 players, so that's the version I recommend.

RE5 may not be scary, there may not be any puzzles, but it's such a fun game to play. Highly recommended for fans of third-person shooters and arcade-style action games and beat-em-ups. Lots of fun to be had in both single- and multiplayer.

The main game is pretty decent. There's more of a willingness to try out weirder ideas compared to later NSMB games. Stuff like the blue shell, secret worlds locked behind boss challenges, and level design concepts like ground deformation and swinging ? blocks and giant wiggler rides. Like Wonder, this game has a refreshing quality to it after playing NSMB Wii/2/U and 3D Land. Most of the levels are very easy though, and the core level design outside of the aforementioned gimmicks isn't as strong as 3 or World. The eight world themes here were bland even before they were reused three times. But, nonetheless, a pretty great set of levels.

The star of the show however is the multiplayer stuff, which is the best of all the main Mario games. The Mario vs. Luigi mode is excellent, with 4 really great maps to choose. Not a fan of the castle one, though, there's a lot of waiting around. You can customize this mode a bit too by setting lives or different win conditions. The minigames make a return from SM64DS. There aren't as many as before, but there are several new ones and this time they can be played with up to 4 players. The new games like Bob-omb Reverse, Danger Bob-omb Danger, and Bob-omb Trampoline are highlights.

So, overall, a pretty great 2D Mario. Get some friends together and try out the multiplayer modes.

Technically, I played the Anniversary Edition, but the game itself is the same across all editions... I don't know why they've been split up here, but I figure most people will be clicking on the normal version so here's where my review will go.

The physics are noticeably looser, as if every stage is made of glass. There's no sense of weight or momentum, partly due to the worse sound design (impacts and rolling noises are reduced, sometimes absent). The controls are less precise, and for some baffling reason they decided to make the camera follow you more loosely, while letting you adjust the camera with the right stick to make up for it.

You may be asking, "but doesn't every game now use the right stick for camera control?" Yes, however... It sounds counterintuitive, but the way the original games' camera always followed your movement made navigating precise stages much more comfortable and reliable. In Banana Mania, you will be making many, many camera adjustments while simultaneously trying to control a ball on tight ledges - with a strict time limit, by the way. It adds up to create an unnecessarily cumbersome experience.

The added content is cool, particularly the evil banana mode, but it means nothing when the core systems of the game feel so loose and imprecise. I suppose it's a step up from the PS2 port of Deluxe, but that's not saying much.

Stick with the GameCube versions of 1 and 2, and use 2's Deluxe mod for the Deluxe stages. They perform really well on Dolphin, so you should be able to get at least 480p60 on even the weakest laptops and phones of today.