Cute! Wallace & Gromit is one of those things where I don't think about it a whole lot, but when I do, I remember just how much I like it. A video game hits a real sweet spot for me, then, particularly a tried-but-true 3D platformer.

The game definitely gets what it means to do Wallace & Gromit in the context of a video game. You play as Gromit and not Wallace; Wallace's contributions are in the inventions and weapons (all food-based, naturally) and in trying but largely failing to be part of the action pieces. There's very little dialogue, with most vocal lines delivered by an unsupportive narrator and Wallace monologuing to Gromit. Feathers McGraw - the penguin from "The Wrong Trousers" - is back, with the game's story acting as a sequel to his debut short. There are throwaway nods to the shorts scattered throughout, like the box of "Meatabix" (completely missed that pun as a kid). And as a cute legacy nod, animal designs are reused from "Creature Comforts" where applicable.

There's also a motif throughout of the game sneaking in nods to other video games. It's all on the sly, so don't expect any big parodic send-ups like you'd see out of Conker or Asterix. But if you're paying attention, you'll catch that the first room of the Panda enclosure is specifically homaging Metal Gear Solid, down to the sight gag involving Mei Ling's Codec number, and the Penguin enclosure boss fight being an Asteroids nod, down to the ice floes having the distinct wedge missing like the original Asteroids. It's my favorite type of reference humor, where they're made unobtrusively, and the game maintains its integrity even if you don't get it.

Like, they have a gorilla throwing barrels - the single most stock "I'm referencing a video game" joke you see in media. But it doesn't feel trite because the gorilla throwing the barrel isn't underlined by the text of the work; it's just part of the tapestry of the game world. It makes sense for the gorilla to throw barrels in the context of the narrative: Feathers has enslaved the other zoo animals to do his bidding and perform menial tasks; mindlessly chucking barrels as an ambiguous part of some machine is right in line with that. Does it matter if it's a reference? Nah, but that just makes it a cute shout-out.

I'll say the game's rarely interesting as a platformer. Platformers tend to be the safest genre you can develop in, and I don't think Project Zoo offers anything unique to the formula outside its theming. The weapons are cute but invite unfavorable comparisons with Ratchet & Clank. Gromit has a decently robust moveset, including an analogue to Mario's side somersault, but most of his moves feel stiff; Gromit definitely jumps more like an Ice Climber than a Plumber. That extended sequence in the Zebra Enclosure(?) is fun, though; running on an endless track through the belly of a great machine makes for a very Aardman set piece. But notice how it leans more on weapon-puzzles than platforming challenges?

Okay, but, like, speaking of that machine, you're spending the whole run trying to keep a cute baby polar bear with glasses from getting hurt. And if you fail, you have to watch the poor little guy get hurt and keel over! It's so heartbreaking!

Alright, alright. If you're looking for more Wallace & Gromit, this game will fit the bill nicely. If you're just looking for a 3D platformer, you could do better. But it ain't bad, and between its short length and solid variety of mechanics and set pieces, it shouldn't have trouble holding your interest.

Perhaps one of the more conflicting Suda51 titles in terms of reception with the audience, No More Heroes 3 tries to bring new life for Travis Touchdown following years of trying new combat systems and narratives within Grasshopper Manufacture's titles. There are TONS of gameplay, narrative, and stylistic elements drawn from their older titles (a similar overworld to One Night Kiss, similar space fights to Liberation Maiden, a similar art style to Killer Is Dead, various characters returning from previous Suda51-written stories, etc.), and it's pretty obvious that this and Travis Strikes Again serve to be a celebration of everything Suda and Grasshopper have created for over 20 years of game development.

I'm going to be honest and upfront: Travis Strikes Again has the best story. Yeah, pretty unique take, right? But regardless, I think it's fine that this game went the direction it did. After all, Travis' development in TSA already did most of the legwork with the narrative and I don't think it had much to go by after that. That being said, there's still quite a bit to digest with this game's story: love, hatred, death, life, heroism, villainy.

Suda51 wasn't very subtle with most of these recurring themes, especially knowing how much of a New Order fan he is. But even then, it's interesting to see all of them being demonstrated through the interactions of Travis and the rest of the cast. You have the big bad villain of the story, FU, who serves as a reflection of what Travis used to be in the earlier entries. FU is in a relationship conflict with his best friend Damon, who you can hardly tell if the pair really love each other until the very end. Travis meets various characters who have their own reasons for fighting. Some fight for glory, some fight because they believe it's their destiny, some fight because it's the heroic thing to do (one person in particular is actually a coward under the guise of a hero), and some fight because they're just damn mad. The final hour of the game demonstrates that last fact pretty well. It's a perfect culmination of everything that occurred in the previous games, thematically speaking. Some might argue that the story was a little rushed or unfinished, but I think it works well anyway. There were some subversions of expectations that had me a bit frustrated at first, but in any case, it's a satisfying conclusion to a t̶r̶i̶l̶o̶g̶y̶ tetralogy that begs to leave it the way it is.

Gameplay wise? It's the best that Grasshopper Manufacture has to offer. For No More Heroes veterans like myself, there is still a lot more to digest in terms of tech and strategies that allow for more fun with the beam katana. For example, learning how to reduce attack animations with jump attacks, learning combinations of light/heavy attacks with said jump attacks to maximize damage output while minimizing battery usage, learning that you can technically stock 2 Full Armors with an exploit, and finding new ways to look flashy all the while doing so. There are returning mechanics from 1 and 2 that are both easier and harder to complete. Dark Steps can be exploited by spamming the dodge button while holding the katana charging input, and extra damage from Kill Slashes are more subtle and are shown with the intensity of the light of the Blood Berry. There's just a lot to take in for those who want to find everything this game has to offer for gameplay. It's also a bit like Travis Strikes Again, so NMH3 mixes in traditional action gameplay with arcade style combat for a pretty unique and stylish experience. Fun? Yes. Monotonous? Yes. Conflicting? Yes. I don't care. I fucking love it.

Suda51 has a lot of love for this series and the way it ended should be left that way. I don't think we need a fifth installment because I wouldn't really be much point to it, unless you want something of a boring, quirky tale like No More Heroes 2. That's just me, though.

Playing this game for over 400 hours and I still can't get enough of it. Thank you, Grasshopper Manufacture, for creating a satisfying beginning, middle, and end to my favorite series.

Farewell, My Hero

Seeing this game lift so much from Megamix, both visually and even mechanically with things like the Skill Stars and the score bar warms my heart in ways I cannot describe, we Megamix enjoyers are eating, but the Rhythm Heaven fans as a whole are feasting.

I think it says a lot about a series when despite only having four entries, one of which never released outside Japan, manages to produce and share such joy, process a spirit so unique and easy to fall in love with and even when its father company seems to have toss it aside and forgot about it, both creators and fans still keep the dance going. Few games can accomplish the feat that Rhythm Heaven pulled off in each of its entries, entice us to smile, to be weird and fun, to produce animations, tributes and completely original games, the fan-works and fanbase it has cultivated is one of dear appreciation for not only the experiences themselves, but also the act of creating brand new things and enjoying them as a community. Heaven Studio has been around for a while, even if only now it finally got its 1.0 release, and it has exactly that as an objective, to unite a community, both players and creators, celebrate the fun that is in sharing and appreciating other people’s work, a perfect way to keep the paradise alive.

It’s also the most impressive fan-work I’ve ever come across in my entire life.

Heaven Studio opens such spaces of possibilities that boggle the mind so much it’s kinda hard to belive this is real at first, 50 minigames from the original series completely recreated in glorious HD art, keeping that bubbly style that Megamix introduced and making it even more pretty and charming, and if that wasn’t enough, it has 2 brand new original games that are so good at first I thought the were some kind of sub-games from Fever I didn’t check out, and make me even more excited to see what people will come up with in future releases for future remixes, ‘cause here’s the thing: there’s no real way to play the original games stand-alone. Heaven Studio is not a fan-game that just so happens to have a level editor; its whole status as a game depends on the output of fans, and the tools at disposal are anything but lacking.

Look, I’m not able to even begin to understand how anything about its editor works, this is no Mario Maker level creator, nor it needs to be. It’s complex and deep, it has all the tools needed to craft remixes, both classic, inspired by other songs, or just takes in one specific game, the end-result will go as far as your imagination and effort allows, and more games will be added as time passes to broaden the horizons even more. So many ways to experiment in such a fitting and beautiful presentation; as I said I probably will not be able to do much myself with it unless I really get into it, but luckily for us filthy non-remix creators peasants, the game has some remixes that come with the package, alongside those aforementioned two new minigames, and if some say that first impressions are all, then Heaven Studio really took it to heart

Each of the of the remixes that come with the download feel so different from one another, embodying different spirits of what’s to be done with this tool, different visual and sound styles that each feel surreal, I was laughing my ass off while playing the Code Remix not only because I was unable to believe this was real, but also because it was so damn fun, so incredibly polished and so astonishing. This really reminds me of the fan Guitar Hero and Trombone Champ songs using original music or from other games, except taken to the next level, to one of contagious happiness and sheer creativeness, one seen in even other fan remixes beyond the first ones. Over on the game’s Discord server you can see hundreds of persons haring their work, and of course not all are absolute bangers, some are more experimental and not that well charted compared to others, but all feel special, all feel full of heart, and the ones that hit, REALLY hit. I don’t even know how to begin explaining to you that one of the best and most amazing remixes I’ve ever played is one about the Story of Undertale song without seeming like a madman, but it’s the truth, and I have to speak it, it’s utterly insane, but that hasn’t stop me from loving something Rhythm Heaven before.

So many fascinating remixes, visually impressive and subversive, a community effort that’s already out of this world but that still has so much yet to offer that I can only describe as… a superb.

To celebrate the game’s release, the original developers created the Lush Remix, a remix that uses all 52 included games; this is no mere ‘’we got the game celebration’’, not just only a tribute to all the final remixes in the games of the series, is a gift, a gift that marks an end and a beginning, there’s so much yet to be seen and enjoyed, there will be meme songs along the way, maybe original ones, and a ton of Undertale/Deltarune inspired remixes (believe me, there are a ton already and it’s scary how good most are), but even right now, just one day after the game released, and after many, MANY GitHub beta releases, this is the most beautiful community effort I’ve seen, and one I can only hope it will have so much yet to give, I cannot exhaust the words to praise everyone that has worked or is contributing on Heaven Studio, this is beyond impressive.

If you aren’t familiar with the series but like this idea, hold on playing it, not only because most of its remixes are hard as balls and as a whole is really defendant on you having knowledge of the way the rhythm in these games works, but also because this is so much more worth to play when the time is right, a way to cap-off the Rhythm Heaven adventures, but also for them to keep going in brand new ways…

Also forget about Rhythm Hell, the true underworld is The Miner Grind like that remix is the cruelest thing I’ve ever bop my head to. I don’t know who is responsible for that one but hey, my outmost respects to you, you crazy bastard…

Gotta say, I'm a bit surprised by all the mixed reviews I've been seeing. Penny's Big Breakaway has been my most anticipated game this year, so I had some pretty lofty expectations, especially considering who was working on it. Thankfully, I think it really lived up to them, and I've been having an absolute blast with the game.

The movement is very momentum-based, focused around using your yo-yo tricks in succession to gain and maintain your speed. It's got a bit of a difficulty curve to it. Like in a Sonic game, you're probably gonna screw up a lot in the first world or so, but with time, there's such a strong sense of flow to navigating through these stages. You have so much freedom of expression, to the point where there's rarely one way to make it past an obstacle. You can swing to carefully position your jump, dash to keep the speed up, land on your yo-yo to keep your combo going, or chain them all together and maybe even skip a few platforms. It's so good, and the level design feels meticulously crafted to encourage you to go fast.

But beyond the core gameplay, PBB is just so fun. The visuals are bright and colorful, and each world has such unique and fresh theming, like an Italian-style restaraunt set in a volcano or a library floating in an endless void in space. The animation for Penny is so lively and expressive, the NPCs are so charmingly written, and I shouldn't have to say that the soundtrack by Tee Lopes and Sean Bialo goes incredibly hard. Outside The Eidophusikon is already a solid candidate for best vgm track of the year.

PBB isn't without its jank, but as a fan of 3D platformers from the early 2000s, it scratches an itch I haven't been able to scratch since probably A Hat In Time? In a lot of ways, it feels like this game was made for me.

Another Code: Two Memories ran so A Journey into Lost Memories can take a nice brisk walk on a cool sunny day.

I love A Journey into Lost Memories. I love its world and art style, how it's brimming with personality. I love the interactive environment and its attention to detail. I love being able to play Ashley once again, she has essentially become my video game equivalent of a daughter. I love the loads of subtext this game has with its story and themes of memory, grief, and family. I just cannot emphasize enough how much I love this game.

I could talk so much about this game, but I have love bombed enough as it is. I am just very happy Lost Memories has been made accessible to the general public. The story it tells is really unique and honest with its aforementioned themes that I find to be beautiful and have some special meaning to me. I will be remembering this game for time eternal.

Anyways, here's hoping we see Hotel Dusk come to the switch next <3