Demon's Crest is one of those games that's nut-crunchingly hard without feeling unfair. I get my ass kicked in the boss fights, but I feel like it's because my slow ass can't keep up...well, maybe they do have a bit too much health. At least the game has infinite lives, meaning infinite tries without taking away your checkpoints, which is almost unheard of for an old platformer. The atmosphere, Mode 7 overworld map, background effects, and minor adventure/RPG elements are all quite impeccable. This game's graphics and sound are definitely high-end for SNES, befitting the Capcom brand.

I would probably love this game if it didn't kick my ass so hard, but I'm sure a lot of other people love it just for that.

Really enjoyable RPG. It sits uncomfortably between the older BioWare cRPG and the more modern, console-first ones (think Mass Effect), but it's definitely leaning more towards the second in gameplay and presentation. Small but quite dense levels that manage to evoque a huge world thanks to clever writing and a unique atmosphere. RPG gameplay is heavily stripped down, leaving only the essentials, but that means everything you encounter is hand-crafted, useful and thoughtful. Try doing every quest, enjoy your companions' company and don't spoil yourself.

Jade Empire is kind of exactly what I thought it would be. The first Bioware RPG to not use their RTWP system, the game between KOTOR and Mass Effect. It's the last game that I think you could credit to "early" Bioware, a pre-EA buyout expereince, though Mass Effect 1 kinda fills that role as well. But Jade Empire feels more related to those older games, in the way Dragon Age Origins has obvious links to them.

First, one thing that did surprise me is that, especially for a game made by mostly white western developers in 2005, the game doesn't feel at all racist. Sure it's a bit cultural appropriation-ey, but it feels more in the realm of like, ATLA. It's an americanized slurry of cultural references, but seemingly a pretty respectful one? At least as far as I, a white guy the midwest, could tell.

The other big thing I was worried about was the combat, and I feel like I was right to be worried. See, when Bioware created RTWP, it was with the intent of making TTRPG combat more dynamic and engaging than a direct translation. After KOTOR though, it seems like they wanted to take the opportunity to work on a fully action-based system for the first time. And I mean, it just feels bad. In a way it reminds me of Secret of Mana and Trials of Mana, where it's this weird cross between turn based ideas with real time positioning and execution. But mostly it just feels weightless and not timed out correctly. Combos are finicky to get started, blocking is fairly overpowered, some ranged attacks will track you even if you dodge behind the caster before they go off, and any attack that doesn't use a weapon is impossible to predict success on. I ended up cruising through the second half of the game on easy, just so I didn't have to deal with the system much anymore.

Moving on to parts I liked, the different locations are all pretty great. There's only 4 or 5 total, and only 2 are true hubs like you would see in KOTOR, but those two are pretty gigantic! You can really tell they're making better use of the Xbox's hardware by now, with how much larger and more detailed each individual map is. Really, the whole game is gorgeous, especially if you're into the way OG Xbox games looked. Anyways, the dungeons are nicely varied, though a bit small, and the sidequests are numerous (in those two hubs). Really my only disappointment here is that a lot of the sidequests are only one or two steps, mostly feeling like fetch quests in a way that kinda thins the world out, I think. The good sidequests are really good though. Once you get to the bigger hub city there's a couple really fun doozies, I gotta say.

Probably my favorite part of the game, and the bit where it really can lodge itself with the classics, is the story. It's a classic hero's tale, a hero with a thousand faces-type story, but the plot machinations are really pretty perfectly executed. The twists land hard, the emotions ring high, and the themes are maybe the least straightforwardly heroic out of any Bioware game of this era. Really, and this is just a hunch, it almost seems like they were influenced by KOTOR II, and managed to fit a little bit of the self-questioning darkness of that game into classic hero morality.

I think I'd recommend playing it. Especially if you've run out of true Bioware classics to play and want more of that flavor. I think you'll get more out of this than you would NWN's main story, that's for sure, and maybe even NWN 2's main story, even though it's Obsidian! (but you should play that one just to get to MOTB which is proper greatness in DLC form). If you find the combat annoying like I did, just turn it to easy and cruise through, but really spend as much time in the hubs as you can. The game's linear, so the two hubs kinda build on each other a bit, and I think they both feel more real if you spend time getting to know them. I'm glad I did.

anyways I think playing this with the hyperkin duke was a bad idea my wrist hort now

The strategy game that really introduced me to the genre. I loved this game growing up, so my bias will shine through in this review. The visuals are very much in line with stuff like Age of Empires and other historical strategy games of the era. The gameplay is very much Real-Time Strategy Civilization, with the various playable nations having unique bonuses, buildings, and units, and each game progressing through the eras of history towards a set of victory conditions, either military, science, or diplomatic. There's not much originality here in terms of mechanics, but that doesn't mean those mechanics are lacking.

The management of resources is very barebones, in-line with how a lot of RTS games streamline the economics in favour of the more action-packed combat between units. There is some room for tactics here in terms of unit counters and positional micromanagement, but this isn't Starcraft; the appeal is more in the bombast of using historical units to take cities and territory. In that sense, the game delivers in spades.

On paper, the game is probably lacking in a lot of ways that I can't properly elaborate on, with limits to skill expression compared to other, more intense strategy games, but this game has a charm to it that really can't be quantified. Whether it is playing against the AI for fun, or doing the few built-in campaign modes to add a layer of metagaming to the individual showdowns, Rise of Nations is a solid strategy game all around, that was only improved upon with it's expansion Thrones and Patriots, expanding the gameplay greatly. I will always love this game for the casual RTS fun it delivers.

Um Mega Man mediano — que, considerando a qualidade da série, não é coisa ruim! Mega Man consegue me divertir com bastante consistência mesmo quando não é revolucionário, e esse não é exceção.

Esse jogo tem a fama de ser particularmente difícil, especialmente se usando o Mega Man, mas achei essa fama um pouco exagerada. Mega Man 3 e X6 são mais difíceis, e em grande parte por causa de pura bullshit. Esse aqui tem seus momentos desafiadores, mas não fiquei com a sensação de que ele estava deliberadamente tentando me estressar ou sendo injusto. De fato jogar com o Bass é mais fácil, mas mesmo com o Mega Man é um platformer absolutamente possível de se zerar. Em tempo, zerei o game duas vezes, uma com cada personagem.

Ufouria 2 priomises at once to be a remake and a sequel to a cute not well-known Metroidvania from 1991. And... It's neither, actually.
I'm a little confused about what this game is trying to be, but I believe the answer to its strange nature is simple: developers had basically no budget.

Ufouria 2 feels like a sequel to Kirby's Dream Land 3 with incrimental gameplay. You have a hub which leads into multiple levels, some splitting into a few more, and throughout you basically just collect coins and cans. Doing that will stock vending machines allowing you to buy more collectibles and upgrades.

This game is short if you beeline the story and grindy otherwise, asking you to go through the same levels again and again. Granted, levels are somewhat random: taking pre-made chunks and rearranging them, but that doesn't make them feel that different on each time you enter.

What saves this game is its absolutely amazing atmosphere: cute graphics mixed with a lot of 4koma-like dialogue really make this game better than its gameplay would.

It's a cute title, but I wouldn't recommend buying it at asking price. My adventure was over at around 3 hours, and even if I were to grind out the last things I doubt I haven't seen much. Even going through the game normally it falls apart in the last 20% or so by reusing levels and for whatever reason presenting them as new.

It's charming, and I've enjoyed my time with it, but it is a mess.

Very cute, silly writing that will have you wearing out your screenshot button, and some pretty good feeling platforming. It's interesting the way this sequel solves the need to backtrack by letting you traverse the same environments repeatedly with slight variations. Unfortunately though I think that choice waters down the experience too much and flattens the need to use all 4 characters interchangeably. Truly I think the art style makes this game worthwhile. I wish more games looked like this!

This is nitpicky but I wish the cut scene music didn't exist, that is probably my biggest criticism.

This probably is the worst tank-controlled Resident Evil game, but it should still be plenty enjoyable if you're hooked on the genre. The lack of an item box is not game breaking because you are not likely to need to bring every item with you, and there is usually a central hub room you can use to drop every item, but it is inconvenient to have to work around this conspicuously missing feature. Don't let this be your first or even second Resident Evil, but definitely play it if you've decided you like the series.

Completed using Mega Man X Legacy Collection 2 on Switch. Played on normal difficulty, and achieved a 100% save file, which involved finding all of the Rare Metals and hidden upgrades. Unlike with MMX1-4, I played this one almost exclusively in Rookie Hunter Mode; I did give it a genuine effort at first, but soon caved in and decided I wanted a more relaxed experience (I attribute this to the oddly restrictive continues system).

After the disappointment that was X5, its disastrous sequel X6, and the lousy excuse for a game X7 was trying to be (which I didn't even finish), I happy to report that Mega Man X8 was breath of fresh air, and a bona fide improvement over its three predecessors. I wouldn't go so far as to rate it as highly as X4, but it truly made an effort to get the series back on track and push it further.

Positives: First off, the opening stage is excellent, and effectively introduces everything the player needs to know. We have three playable characters: X, Zero, and Axl, each with their own strengths in combat as well as platforming. Only two of the three can be brought into a stage at a time, but you can swap between them at the press of a button, and even perform powerful double attacks. The navigation system also gets an overhaul, offering three different navigators, each with their own useful information, and it gives you the option to not only ignore individual transmissions, but also to turn them off completely. And best of all, the X series has finally caught up to the classic series with its own shop system, allowing you to buy handy items with Metals you've collected, or develop advanced gear by retrieving Rare Metals, which are in limited supply. On top of all these improvements, many of the irritating design choices from X5-6 have been reverted, leaving us with a game that feels fresh, not antiquated or afraid to innovate.

Negatives: Unfortunately, this game is far from perfect, I'm afraid. My initial impression was that the gimmicky stages were creative and even fun, but that was only because I unknowingly started with the better ones like Gravity Antonion and Optic Sunflower's stages. Once I got to the likes of Avalanche Yeti and Gigavolt Man-O-War's stages, I realized where the criticisms of this game were aimed at. The rest of the stages were, for better or worse, memorable, and they were certainly hard as well, what with the controls. They're certainly tight as any other MMX game, but everything just feels so FAST; you jump faster, fall faster and even slide down walls faster, and yet somehow dashing feels slow, making for some very demanding platforming. My last major criticism is aimed at the bosses; I will say that they're far more engaging than the last few entries', but they have these overwhelmingly long periods of invulnerability, and it's not always clear when you can hit them without your attack deflecting off. This was very frustrating in the late game, and I'm sure it would've driven me mad had I not played on Rookie Hunter Mode.

In summary, Mega Man X8 easily cleared the bar that had been steadily lowered to hell by X5-7, but it hardly feels like a satisfying conclusion to the series. For nearly every little thing I enjoyed about it, another small thing came along to detract from my experience further, making the game feel like a long match of tug-of-war. I'd surely recommend it to Mega Man fans disillusioned by X series' steep decline, but not to anyone else.

This game is odd. The story is fine. I like the twist. X, Zero, and Axl all feel great to control. They're all very distinct and feel very evenly balanced. I like the navigator system and the partner system. Its fun trying to balance which ones to use. Zero's weapons are all super fun. His techniques except his spinning move all kind of suck. His weapons make up for it though. Axl's weapons are also really great. His copy shot is whatever. X's weapons kind of suck, but his armors are great. I like the Hermes Armor a lot. I used its parts instead of the Icarus armor. The chip system is also really cool. I like collecting them and buying new chips to power me up. Though, collecting the collectibles is really tedious. Especially since I don't really like the levels. They all feel really one-dimensional and slow. Its feels like they only focus on one idea and one idea only without considering if they're fun. The fact that you have to replay these slow levels multiple times in order to get everything is really annoying. I also don't really like the music that much. I feel like this game has a really good baseline, but it doesn't really apply it in a way I like.

People typically say they wish Mega Man 2 got a remake, but of all the Mega Man games that needed a remake, Mega Man 1 definitely needed it the most. Not because it's bad, it's a perfectly good game, but it was just the first and doesn't get the benefit the sequels had of ironing out its kinks. With a new coat of paint splashed on top, Powered Up is a recipe for success. The new coat of paint is nice even if a but playful at spots, and the voice acting and additional character interactions are a delight. In addition, if you beat a Robot Master without hurting them, you can even play as them!

WARNING!

Unfortunately, the remake doesn't really meet that mark. For some reason it keeps Mega Man 1's...unique trait of having a bit of a start-up to his walk before going full speed, and having reduced traction before he stops. This makes platforming segments like Guts Man's stage somehow more frustrating than the original, where as this game should have learned from that game's hindsight. It gets even worse when you compound the knockback from taking a hit, as the floating platforms from Ice Man's stage are still here and now in Elec Man's stage too, and in New Style there's no Magnet Beam to save you!

Another feature exclusive to New Style are two new Robot Masters: Time Man and Oil Man. Their stages are nice (except that one section in Time Man's stage where if you fail a platforming section you go to a lower level and gotta walk all the way back) and their fights are good, but their only issue is their weapons aren't integrated into the cycle well, and the whole cycle is wonked to accomidate it. Ice Man was weak to Thunder Beam but now that's Time Man's weakness. Ice Man is now weak to Bombs which was Guts Man's weakness but now he's just partially weak to Time and Bomb. Elec Man is a mess of partial weaknesses. Cut Man keeps his, but in the rematch there's no GUTS BLOCKs so in reality him and everything that emulates him just has no weakness as he takes normal buster damage now. It's weird. The other downside to bosses are their Super Attacks, which are longwinded attacks you have to dodge as the bosses are completely invulnerable during them. There's also no limit, some bosses like Fire Man and Oil Man can use them as often as they like and flick off any oncoming projectile which can get annoying with your more limited ammo. Your only saving grace is your weapons auto refill when you die now, so while you may be down, the game ensures you're never out. Powered Up also has the hardest boss rush in Mega Man due to all these above traits, as the game doesn't even care to offer health between battles, and some bosses have shared weaknesses so if you're out for one, you may need to kill yourself before taking on another with that weakness. E-Tanks definitely would have been a welcome addition to New Style regardless, but no health in the boss gauntlet when they don't take as much damage from weaknesses anymore is a strange decision that an E-Tank would have at least made better.

On the bright side, also completely new to Powered Up is Challenge Mode where you test your mastery of your abilities as well as a stage builder. More importantly, if you know what you're doing you can still play as Roll in 2024, and she has a lot of cute costumes! Protoman is also here.

I think if I were to go back to Mega Man 1 again, I'd choose to play the NES game, in part due to familiarity but also because I think it came out better, but I still may want to do Powered Up's additional content, characters, and challenges or even just to spice up my Mega Man 1 experiences.

A few years back, a storm knocked down some powerlines in my area, and my apartment was left without power for four days. This happened to be toward the tail end of a long falling-out I was experiencing with my friend groups, so I found myself alone for four days with nothing to do (except go to work; annoyingly, my office still had power, despite being at best a mile down the road). Poking around my apartment, I found an old copy of the NES Game Atlas my mother found at a thrift store years ago, leafed through it, and was inspired to play the original Legend of Zelda - a game I'd tried and failed to get through numerous times over the years. I had a decent amount of battery in my Switch, so I spent a couple days in a powerless apartment playing Zelda, bringing my Switch into work so I could recharge its battery, reading my Atlas with waterpowered flashlights as I tried to navigate Hyrule and put an end to Ganon's reign of terror.

This, I think, is probably the type of experience you have to have to get the intended effect of Zelda 1 these days (well, maybe not the "losing your friends" part). Zelda 1 is a game about discovery, born from Shigeru Miyamoto's childhood nostalgia of exploring the countryside. There's an aimless, directionless design to it; the player is naturally guided along to things like getting the Sword right away and entering the Eagle dungeon right away, but there's no reason they have to. It's a really cool and unique design that the Legend of Zelda series didn't really revisit until Breath of the Wild, but it does mean that unless you have some sort of external aid guiding you along, like a map or friends, you're likely to just flail about aimlessly until you lose steam. At the same time, for me personally, it's such a fine line between "I'm getting help to direct my playthrough" and "I'm experiencing a game vicariously because I followed a step-by-step guide" that I tend to struggle with - so having an official guide to cross-reference, not rely upon, made for the happy medium I needed.

One thing I don't see discussed a lot is the original game's title theme. Like, yes, it's largely an arrangement of the overworld theme, thrown together at the last minute in place of Koji Kondo's original plan, a cover of the not-actually-in-the-public-domain "Boléro". But I've always been entranced by its slow cadence, playing over that shot of a bubbling waterfall, then over the text crawl as the main theme slowly kicks in. It's sort of a majestic first impression the game gives (as much as anything describing 'PRINCE DARKNESS "GANNON"' can be called majestic, anyway), and while I've read testimonials from 80s kids crediting the golden Game Pak and boxart for conveying this, I definitely think the title and opening crawl contribute to this, too.

In some ways, Zelda 1 feels like Gen 1 of Pokémon. The game is extremely janky; everyone knows it's extremely janky; a huge part of the game's reception is around what a moonshot miracle the game represents for its era, in spite or even because of this jank. Like, there's so much to the game that a person just knows and takes for granted through pop culture osmosis, like bombing and burning stuff or shoving blocks around. If you're at all familiar with the original Japanese release, it's interesting just how much stuff is left vestigial in the localization, like how you fight Pols Voices (screaming into the Famicom's second controller's microphone) or certain pivotal late-game hints being completely exorcised. And it's fun to rib it for how weird the translations are - "DODONGO DISLIKES SMOKE", "DIGDOGGER HATES CERTAIN KIND OF SOUND", "ONES WHO DOES NOT HAVE TRIFORCE CAN'T GO IN", etc - but so much of that is also considered to be part of the experience, a sort-of gamer's Shibboleth. It's a rite of passage to be told that EASTMOST PENNINSULA IS THE SECRET, a hint that you likely will not act upon because it's so isoteric (it's referring to the top-right screen in the overworld - there's an invisible passage at the top).

Actually, I appreciate that Zelda 1 is in on its own joke. When so much of the game is bombing and burning random stuff, it's really funny that the game takes the time to riff on it. Everyone knows IT'S A SECRET TO EVERYBODY, ironically, but PAY ME FOR THE DOOR REPAIR CHARGE is also really funny the first time you run into it. I'm also fond of I'D BET YOU'D LIKE TO HAVE MORE BOMBS, delivered immediately after you spent a bomb to open the way into the guy's room. I tend to fall into the trap of seeing things I wasn't around to experience fresh as being these great monolithic statements, where Popular Thing X was this great Thing that came unto and forever changed the face of the world, when in reality it was just a thing that a couple of guys went through a creative process and made. People think about the things they make, and they often try to have fun with it. It's important to remember that, too, and actually experiencing self-aware jokes a creator makes within the same body of work helps with that humanization process.

Zelda 1 doesn't have a ton of music, something you really become aware of when you look at surrounding material (there's a reason the Super Show always reaches for covers of the Overworld/Underworld themes). But I do appreciate that Death Mountain is given its own theme. It's harsh, droning, and oppressive - perfectly in cadence with the massive final dungeon, the sanctum of Ganon's power, and a place friggin' called "Death Mountain". Clearly, I think the music the game does have is well-used; mostly I appreciate that there are legs to it beyond the Overworld theme being (rightfully) iconic.

I did collect all power-ups and hearts during this playthrough. But I did not play the Second Quest, so I'm not marking this as Mastered. Still on the hook for a second playthrough, some ol' day.

He really went and invented save slots, very cool Miyamoto. He is the true ruler of Hyrule cuz he rules. Aside from that cool fact, Legend of Zelda still holds water. It took me 10 minutes to realize I was playing a weird mod as Zelda herself, perhaps I am not the observant gamer Miyamoto wanted in order to find all the...secrets...! As well as the... other secrets...?! I just can't look over the fact I saved Zelda with Zelda. Onto the finer details, this game is very peculiar because there are a rupeellions number of items to collect in order to progress. Make sure to inspect the labyrinths thoroughly. Maybe one of the first games to raise the question "how does this goofball carry all this?" this is probably why all these punks are fixing to rob me after I get any Triforce shard and leave the house. It's on sight and I'm in the crosshair.

Among all Link carries are the classics. The boomerang flabbergasts its victims, the candle is a safety hazard. The gift-wrapped C4 I rigged to explode in the middle of my speech on "do twinks deserve more or less?". You actually need a PhD in "Where's Wally?" to guess which spots to explode and arson to collect the goodies. The game can be completed without a guide... unless you consider your heart one. Dawww. Fuck it we ball, I don't need a job, I don't need marriage, I certainly don't need a guide. The game certainly gets more bearable with the Master Sword, though. LeBron, scream if you love the Master Sword! Shoot, LeBron reportedly forgot to retrieve the raft before leaving the room. No, Google, I'm not feeling lucky. I'm getting by on skill alone, although I constantly forget to pick up my bow. In the pp sized sword we trust.

Speaking of this sword, it can shoot a beam at max health. I am more often not at full health, so it's just a fun fact at this point. When do the fun facts officially become... just facts? Look at Ganon btw brooo he ate cement when he was 6 😭 fuck it we ball again let me close the distance gap between us, we have a button to mash boys and girls. Ain't no shot I'm losing after going through so many bosses... by the by, wouldn't you know it, the enemy variety is quite high. I seem to always find the perfect time to attack at the wrong time, I bet the Darknut facing me as soon as I press the button to deal unavoidable damage to me doesn't know I just shouted at him to eat my Darknuts!! save me Aonuma, Aonuma!!, Aonuma....save me...

I think navigating the map is pretty fun, depending on the day. But 2 months ago, yesterday and today (yeah I played this game at a pretty conspicuous schedule.) it is fun. I wish the enemies didn't respawn, what does mortality mean in literature if not enjoying the time spent with those who may go? The fish stalker is enough. Although not easy to farm rupees with him I'm tellin you

I played this out of morbid curiosity for how much the original held up compared to any of the newer entries I had played. To my surprise, the game was mostly fun. I enjoyed it up until the last few dungeons which were very frustrating, especially the last one leading up to your climactic fight with you-know-who. I played this on the Switch virtual console and I legitimately do not know how 80’s kids got past some of these rooms without save states(especially the ones with both armored enemies and fireball statues).