A hilarious little game that harkens back to the 90's era of non-Square Enix RPG's with buckets of charm and that classic Nintendo spark. However, it lacks the focus of a game that you can get your teeth into after around 10-15 hours.

I started this game and absolutely loved it from the get-go. The style and level of polish is immediately apparent and it's sense of child-like humour is utterly charming and really makes the player smile.

The issues arrive a few hours in though. It's actual direction is lacking and the tutorial segments crop up far too often and are easily forgettable. If you take a few days off the game, you will likely forget what you were doing, where you were going and what the hell is going on. You can chalk this up to player error but to me, it needs a little something to help focus the story.

There's a brilliant amount of side content here which was surprising. It's more than just 'babys first RPG' which many of you will be glad to hear. It also has an absolutely stellar sound track which should really surprise no-one.

Despite the many many good points to the game, I am sad to announce that I couldn't quite see it through to the end. I took too long of a break from it and the desire to continue wasn't there.

This hasn't put me off the series though, far from it. From what I hear, the series actually improves hugely with it's next couple of entries so I will absolutely be checking them out soon!

For some this is the darkest Zelda game, for others it's a rehash of the incredible Ocarina of Time. For me, it's possibly the best Zelda game of all time.

For this review, I played the HD remaster for the Wii U, the differences are subtle so wont be mentioned much. Everything I say here will apply to the Gamecube and Wii originals too.

In recent years, Twilight Princess has been seen as a bit of a 'black sheep' in the series, alongside Majoras Mask. I'll never understand this as in all honesty, Twilight Princess has an almost un-rivalled ability to suck you into it's cooky world of darkness almost instantly. Just like it did back in 2006, the game opens up with you taking control of of our hero Link. Here, he is a farm boy living in the cosy forest village of Ordon, helping the village with menial tasks, spending time with the village youths and of course, herding goats. Instantly, Link becomes that under-dog hero we all know and loves living the easy quiet life. We just know that something darker is brewing around the corner.

Without going into to many details, eventually Link and his best friend Ilia are attacked while giving Links horse Epona, a wash in the spring water fountain just outside of the village. The kids of the village are kidnapped and our hero is turned into the wolf we see on the cover, he awakens in a cell and we are met with one of, if not the single best character in the entire franchise, Midna. Midna is an inhabitant of the Twilight world, a sort of echo to Hyrule where everything is dark, Twilight monsters roam freely and contact with the regular world of Hyrule is extremely limited. It's a hauntingly beautiful sight every time we cross the Twilight barrier.

The afore mentioned Midna happens to be my favourite character in all of Zelda. In fact, I named my cat after her! Without spoiling too much, Midnas character evolves throughout the game in a way in which we have rarely seen in Zelda games or even Nintendo games for that matter, even to this day. She starts the adventure poking fun at Link in his horrible situation and having a disdain for the occupants of the light world, but eventually she molds into this loving character who trusts Link with saving not just Hyrule, but the Twilight realm itself. She's a wonderful character to experience.

In typical Zelda fashion, Link and Midna have to adventure throughout this vast iteration of Hyrule, meeting the different races that live there, traveling through dungeons, beating bosses, attaining different unique tools and solving puzzles, all in the name of saving Hyrule as he always does.

The version of Hyrule we have in twilight Princess is vast, beautiful and full of the memorable quirky characters the series is known for. The giant stone Gorons of death mountain at first don't get along well with humans, but with Links help, they become the friendly gentle giants we absolutely adore. They even have a handful of different designs, some of which are so hilariously lovable in their mannerisms that I have to say, they become the most memorable of all the Gorons in Zelda.

The Zora of Zoras domain are a beautiful graceful race of mermaid-like fish people. Very stoic in their nature, they have recently lost their Queen and we must help their Prince find his courage to lead the Zora as his mother once did.

We also have a new race, the Oocoo, of which late in the game we get to travel to their city in the sky and save them from a giant twilight dragon. They are little bald bird-like creatures that talk with weird mannerisms, can glide like cuccoos (chickens) and walk on walls, for some reason.. Instantly memorable!

Of course we also have the humans (Hylians?). In Twilight Princess, humans come in so many different varieties, just like in real life, all with different passions, styles and bursting with personality. A few of the most memorable are Rusl, Links mentor in Ordon Village. Agitha, a young 'princess' who lives in this games Castle Town and is obsessed with bugs, in which Link must collect them all for her. Fyer, a man who lives in the stunning Lake Hylia and owns a cannon, and is instrumental in helping Link later in the game. Falbi, who owns a Cuccoo mini game in which you must grab a cuccoo and float down towards Lake Hylia and land on a platform of treasure chests and possibly my favourite human character, Telma. Telma is the owner of Telmas bar in Castle Town who uses her, ahem.. assets.. to help Link and his friends throughout the adventure. She's brave, smart and always seems to know something more than the other characters with that cheeky wink she does constantly.

We also have a pair or Yeti, Yeta and Yeto who reside in the Snowpeak Ruins. They are a married couple that I cannot wait to meet every time I play the game. Their warmth (despite living on a frozen mountain) friendliness and humour are one of the peak sections to the game, if you pardon the pun, ha!

As I am sure most people know, Ganon/Ganondorf is the main big villain in the game, and he is great here with his best ever design. He's huge, menacing and seems so powerful in this world. Better still, we have Zant whom we meet early in the game and turns up from time to time. He's an inhabitant of the Twilight world, has an unbelievably interesting design and seems so unique for a villain in a Zelda game, he even has a good back story. You better believe we will be kicking his ass later on!

By now, you probably know how the classic format of Zelda is structured, we beat temples and dungeons. In Twilight Princess, dungeons have so much more to them stylistically compared to most other entries in the series. A few of my favourites are the Goron Mines, a fire temple of sorts in which we actually meet some aging Goron elders in the temple itself! This is where you get the Bow and Arrow! The Arbiters Grounds which seems to be the favourite among fans. It's a temple in the desert which becomes a very important place in the story and includes a call back to Ocarina of Time in which you must find and defeat 4 ghostly Peo souls. You also get the fan favourite Spinner tool which can connect to runners like a gear in various walls throughout the dungeon and Hyrule, leading to some adrenaline pumping high paced puzzle solving! They have to re-introduce this into the series some day. My favourite dungeon in the whole series is the Snowpeak Ruins. Married yetis Yeta and Yeto call this abandoned mansion in the snowy mountains home. Yeta isn't feeling great and she accidentally sends us around the mansion searching for her bedroom key while her husband Yeto is lovingly making a soup! We also get a brilliant weapon here, the Ball and Chain which can destroy things, mostly ice, and helps us throughout the rest of the game with some really unique application.

There are no bad dungeons in the game at all, some other great ones include the first temple in the game, the Forest temple in which Monkeys help us traverse the place and gives us the Gale boomerang, The City in the Sky where the Oocoo live and we get the brilliant double Clawshot letting us zip around like Spiderman and the seriously under-rated Lakebed Temple, which is a water temple under Lake Hylia. It's a water temple done right (I'm looking at you Ocarina of time) and where you utilise the easy-to-use swimming physics of the Zora armour.

Part-way through the game, Link is able to transform into a wolf at will, this gives him a digging ability which lets us find rupees, heart and the occasional cave which can house all sorts of goodies from large rupees, poe souls and heart containers. Wolf Link is also able to utilise his scent ability which lets him track people down in the story as well as finding the spots to dig! He can also fast travel around Hyrule in this form, which is needed as this game is huge!

Lets talk about the music quickly. It's unbelievable good. The Hyrule Field music is an instant ear-worm which I hum almost constantly. Kakariko village is present in this game with a little melody that difficult to not whistle! There is even a spaghetti western inspired song that plays in a hidden village later in the game where we must use our bow and arrow to clear out the enemies present! The highlight song is Midnas Lament however. Without spoiling the story too much, we must save Midna from death. This simply gorgeous piano ballad plays which is emotional, haunting and fitting for the character and what she is going through, a must listen even if you don't play that game.

If I had to pick some parts of the game that I don't particularly enjoy, well first would be the difficulty, it's probably too easy, but that makes it an excellent game for people looking to get into the game. I don't think I've come close to dying in the game ever in any playthroughs. There are these sections where you play as Wolf Link and must collect 'Tears of Light' to progress the story early in the game. This occurs three times early in the game and are shortened in the HD remaster, but they still feel like padding. Bearing in mind the game came out in 2006, I do wish that the Hyrule field was a little more inhabited like the towns and villages are but my biggest gripe is Zelda, The titular Princess herself! She's rocking a beautiful mature design here but she's not in the game much at all, I think we see her 2 times in total.

It's a masterpiece of a game and in my mind, Twilight Princess is a near-perfect entry into the series. Is it better than Ocarina of Time, Majoras Mask and Wind Waker? I'm not sure, they all have their highlights but for me, I'm picking Twilight Princess as my absolute favourite in the series.

My first foray into the Kirby Series, decided to start with the little guys first adventure, Kirby's Dream Land on the Game Boy.

I had no idea what to expect when going in, all I knew is that Kirby could inhale enemies and steal their powers. My only experience with the greedy little marshmallow was through the Super Smash Bros franchise.

I am delighted to say that I am pleasantly surprised with how good this little game is, and I now understand why this series is so popular. I will definitely be coming back to this series in the future to check out what else is on offer.

So, it's a 2D platformer on the Game Boy, but it offers a unique and easy to understand control scheme and level layout. Theres only 5 levels with a boss at the end of each, so it should only take 45 to 60 minutes to complete, even completely blind. It's also extremely easy with very little challenge, but that doesn't seem to matter because what's on offer here is so delightfully charming, that you'll spent that hour or so smiling and humming away.

Kirby controls better than Mario on the Game Boy which shocked me. He can inhale enemies, fire them back at other enemies and float infinitely with a press of the up button. It's very intuitive after playing for a couple on minutes. That's really all their is to it. The stages are all very short and easy to follow with a some-what limited variety of enemies, all of which are charming, cute and easy to deal with. There is a little challenge (and I do mean a little) with one or two of the bosses, but it's nothing a 6 year old shouldn't be able to handle.

Actually, this would make a superb game to get kids into gaming. Yes it's old, but Kirby is such a lovable little dude that kids will love him right away and with the lack of challenge, younger players will get immense satisfaction with beating baddies and completing stages. I'd imagine that it's very engaging. As an adult, you could probably skip over it but it's great if you have an hour or so to kill and haven't played it before.

The music is all brilliant. The little chip-tune melodies are real ear worms and should be instantly recognisable to any Smash Bros players, including some of the enemies, items and the big bad guy, King Dedede.

For Game Boy platformers, I'd actually chose this over Mario Land 1, 2 and maybe even Super Mario bros Deluxe on the Game Boy Color. Top stuff by HAL!

Been playing this game on and off since release. April 2023 I started a new account and have hardly missed a day of playing. While I don't play quite as much as I used to, I still check in everyday to send gifts to friends, spin a stop and catch a Pokemon.

The game has changed a whole lot in the last few years. If you haven't played for years, it's well worth starting fresh and finding a buddy to play with! During the better weather, it's unbelievably fun to go a walk for an hour, catch a bunch of Pokemon and defeat a few gyms on the way.

There are daily challenges which range from catching a certain amount of a specific Pokemon to defeating a certain amount of Rocket Go grunts. The feedback loop is extremely addictive and levelling up your character is tremendously satisfying.

My favourite part of Pokemon Go? Once a month there is a "Community day" where one Pokemon is the star for a 3 hour slot. In this time-frame, you'll find this one 'mon 99% of the time with an increased chance to find a shiny variant! If you're playing with a friend, it's mega fun to compete and see who can find the most shinys in that time frame. If you are a part of any online communities, you can also link up to take on "Raids" in which a group (or solo if you are good enough!) take on a beefy Pokemon together with a chance to catch the critter upon defeating it. This is how you catch most of the legendary Pokemon, which also yields a decent amount of experience. The community enjoy a bit of a moan online (I'm looking at you Facebook groups!) but, it's mostly a good time.

While it's a difficult task to 'Catch 'em all', it's doable with enough time and effort. Grab a buddy, and use this as an excuse to go walks a little more often than you normally would, weather permitting of course!

It's not perfect, but I can't think of any other mobile games that provide what Pokemon Go has provided over the last few years! The best part is, you don't even have to be an existing fan of Pokemon to enjoy this. Most players I know have never touched a Pokemon game at all!

A Pokemon game that I hadn't before played. It's a fun little game with a fairly high difficulty and a quantum of grinding required.

First off, it's pinball, something I don't have a great amount of experience with, so bear that in mind before diving in to both the game, and this review. You are tasked with catching the original 150 Kanto Pokemon. Catching is achieved through, well, playing pinball! It's very satisfying and super addicting to do. Kudos to the developers for managing to make a new catching mechanic feel so more-ish and engaging!

That being said, there is an INSANE amount of RNG required when finding the little creatures. This can lead to frustration during long sessions and is why I didn't bother catching them all. If the grind is for you, then jump right in!

The music is absolutely suberb. Some of the melodies will be recognisable in songs used in the Generation 2 games, a few years before they came out! This was a pleasant surprise, as well as the catchy renditions of the original Gen 1 chip tunes.

Overall, it's worth playing as a Pokemon fan but probably more for those looking for a pinball table with a real unique spin. Don't let the difficulty put you off and play for 10-20 minutes at a time, and you'll have fun!

Similar to the original Super Mario Land, it's really very impressive what they presented here on a Game Boy. Surpassed the original in many ways but also falls short of the original in a few others.

Graphically, its a bit of a step up, Mario and his enemies take up more of the screen. This could either be a good thing or a bad thing. For me, I didn't like how full the screen felt when playing this compared to the original where Mario and his foes take up smaller screen space, making it a little easier to navigate the levels.

Levels are larger than the original and even sport a checkmark, however these checkmarks appeared too late in many of the stages. The boss battles are much better this time around, and there is more of them. They are still too easy, especially if you have a fire flower equipped.

We also have the Carrot power-up, giving Mario bunny ears which he can use to slow his decent down to a ridiculous level, making a lot of the levels too easy and redundant. You might actually want to take this route however, because Mario feels heavier and even more slippy this time around, with his jump height and trajectory feeling even more vague and random at times, often leading to you losing your power up in unfair ways.

Somehow, the music isn't as good as the original either! I'm surprised because Mario games always have great music, even the old chip tunes from the Game Boy and NES days. Here, the music is passable at best, and irritating at worst.

I am a little shocked to be writing this review in a negative manner but don't let that put you off this game fully, it's still a fun time-passer. Finishing the game should only take you around 2 hours, which is much longer than the original.

Fun to try if you are on a 2D Mario kick, but don't be expecting anything too groundbreaking here.

What they managed to pull off here on a tiny Game Boy screen was nothing short of outstanding for 1989.

The game isn't as good as Mario's outings on the home console at the time and it never was going to be. With that in mind, Game Boy creator Gunpei Yokoi decided that the best course of action to take Mario portable was to make the game interesting, rather than try to compete. This has been pulled off in this short, sweet and memorable little gem.

The soundtrack is excellent, creating these fantastic little chip-tunes that will be stuck in your head for years to come, having you whistle these little melodies non-stop (much to the annoyance of present company, ha!).

With Mario feeling heavier, a little slippier and vague to control at times, it will take you a few minutes to adjust to the feel of the game, but when you do, it's a fun little excursion for 30 - 60 minutes. Personally I like how short the game is, but I can understand some players gripes with the length, with it only being 12 levels in all. In that short run time, we do have a tiny variety of levels, the main side scroller levels, and a couple of auto-scrolling shoot 'em up styled levels. Who knew we would see Mario in a submarine or an aeroplane? Gunpei Yokoi did!

It's maybe too easy for most and absolutely on the short side with controls that haven't aged well in the slightest. Don't let that put you off, if you have an hour to kill, give this a shot.

It's a really good game overall, but falls slightly short compared to the better entries in the series.

The highlights for me are the improvements to the movements and the additions of the 'spine transfer' which allows you to be much more creative when going for big combos. It's a good thing too because the maps in this game can be huge!

On the maps, it's another mixed bag. It starts off in one of the best maps in the series being 'College' with the real world 'Kona' being another favourite of mine. There are a couple of duds in here though like 'Alcatraz' and 'London', the latter of which seems a little small in comparison to the rest of the maps.

The biggest turn off for me though is the inconsistent difficulty. Alcatraz for example, being only the third map in the game has some missions that aren't just difficult to complete, but difficult to even reach the mission giver! This inconsistency is present throughout the rest of the game too.

It's a fun game with a great soundtrack and the controls are the tightest yet, but it misses the mark in too many places for it to be one of the best Tony Hawk games.

While on a THPS kick, decided to drop into THPS3, with it being my least played entry in the series.

Upon this play through, I realised that the game has aged much better than I had originally believed. The introduction to the Revert being the big game changer for most players, leading to longer, more free flowing combo lines. Rodney Mullen-styled flatland tricks from a manual are also a nice addition.

The maps in THPS3 are all pretty good, except for a couple that aren't up to standard. 'Foundry', 'Airport', 'Los Angeles' and 'Canada' are all absolute classics where as 'Skater Island' and 'Suburbia' leave a bit to be desired unfortunately.

For a long time, I thought I preferred THPS 4 to this entry, but after my recent play through, I realised I much prefer the arcade-like goals and addictive bite-sized runs present here. If you like THPS 1 & 2 (as well as the HD remakes), then you'll love this one too!

My first Gen 3 game from back in 02, haven't played since due to Pokemon Emerald being superior in almost every way.

Decided to play this for the hell of it. Being the first game I played this year, I had a blast despite the games shortcomings. It's a great game with wonderful music, a superb region and charming graphics. Was disappointed there was no 'superboss' at the end and if you want to use a unique team (like I did) then you have limited options until you have 4 badges.

If you haven't played a gen 3 game, just play Emerald instead, but you can't go wrong with Ruby, Sapphire or their 3d re-makes.

First Pokemon game from my childhood and still a classic al these years later.

Flew through the game on this particular play through trying to use Pokemon I'd never used before, which was a difficult task due to the amount of times I've played a Kanto game.

People complain about the starter Pikachu being unable to evolve but the game is so easy that the challenge of using it throughout the game is extremely fun and rewarding! It even came in clutch during my Elite 4 run which I absolutely didn't expect. Big ups to 'Pikasso' my Pikachu!

Still as charming as it was when I was a kid, will never get bored of Pokemon Yellow (& Red & Blue!).