A pretty flawed game in terms of how it handles quests and story but an incredibly ambitious one. I can't think of anything else that would make you wait 30+ hours to unlock one of the main selling features, but there's something about working your way up as a blade on that harsh planet that makes the moment you finally get a skell license and eventually take flight so special and satisfying... It completely changes the world you've come to know so far. Soaring around an exceptionally designed open world fighting monsters in the sky with Hiroyuki Sawano music blasting is something you won't find anywhere else.

So many things about XCX make it feel like a true evolution of XC1, in gameplay and art design, complex mechanics, intricate area layouts, so much customization and freedom, that were all just thrown out of the window for the next entries. The whole thing feels genuinely impossible to pull off on this toaster of a console, its scale and visual fidelity impressed me more than anything on Switch ever has. In the best way it doesn't feel like a Nintendo game at all.

I really enjoyed spending most of last month chilling exploring this alien planet. It's just been sitting on my shelf for years unplayed after I failed to get into it before, and it ended up being my most enjoyable Xenoblade experience since the original. 1 and X truly feel like they're in a different series from 2 and 3 to me. Had I played this back in 2015 I don't think I would have been nearly as impressed by BOTW, or any open world for that matter. I would recommend checking it out now because any future port is going to be missing some stuff, it's very tailored for the Wii U unfortunately.

Even as someone who was very excited for the game since the demo dropped, I didn't expect to be THIS in love with the final product. It's genuinely unbelievable that it's Shift Up's first console project. This is a technical marvel packed with eyecandy environments, models and effects that still runs at 60fps the whole time at a 30GB file size. In a lot of ways it feels like the first true 9th generation game I've experienced, and finally not a remake or sequel of anything else. So many moments where I was genuinely blown away by what I was seeing and experiencing, like arriving in the main city for the first time. Still shocking that SIE decided to back this so hard in publishing and promotion as it seems to go against everything the company is about in recent years but it's a move I'm thankful for.

Stellar Blade harks back to the PS2 era, unashamed of being a video game and prioritising gameplay above all else, with a ton of unlockable outfits and new game+ free on day one. Not to say that its design is primitive in any way as it incorporates all the best parts of modern gaming too. Areas are a mix of linear setpiece based levels and more open exploration. I liked how the side missions took you to new locations and had actually great rewards, and in general it's not a ridiculous time sink like a lot of modern games. Combat is an absolute blast, a fusion of other great actions like Sekiro, Bayonetta, even Resident Evil at times. Very reflex heavy swordplay wth a variety of different ranged firearms as well. With the amount of skills and specialized equipment you can collect you'd think it would get too easy after a point, but you will still get put in your place by the brutal boss fights at the end of the story. The grotesque monster designs and the elaborate animations for dismembering them are just on another level, every encounter sticks out in my memory. And I've seen criticism of it but I personally loved the parkour and Uncharted style climbing around the world. I felt like there was such a huge variety to what I was doing for my whole 40 hours played and it was mixing multiple genres I love perfectly. Finally if this game doesn't at least take nominations for best OST of the year it will be an absolute crime because it's constantly hitting your ears with objectively heavenly sounds, the most atmospheric emotional vocal songs seamlessly switching to more intense versions when fighting. Combined with the landscapes and art design you just gotta stop and take it all in sometimes.

This achievement has been overshadowed by some REALLY braindead controversies over the last few months and I've also seen a lot of hate from fans of the other series that clearly inspired it. It's a new IP so harsh critics are to be expected but I look forward to more people warming to it and realizing how it's actually a love letter to those things and an amazing game in its own right, and I hope EVE will be respected one day like Bayonetta, 2B etc have come to be. This singlehandedly made me feel less doomer about the game industry, if we can still get stuff like this every once in a while we may be alright. I will be eagerly awaiting whatever these devs make next on console

(Played using BetterSADX, Dreamcast Conversion and JP Retranslated mods)

"Aged poorly" is a meme phrase at this point but SA1 genuinely has. It must not be forgotten that these graphics and setpieces were mind blowing compared to the competition in 1998. It was well recieved in its day. The stage design and mechanics are a genuinely great adaptation of 2D Sonic to 3D no matter what Nintendo YouTubers said about "rocky transitions", it shows a dramatic emotional story from 6 different connected perspectives and has a killer soundtrack. At this point the Sonic series went full shonen. But playing it today you're really gonna feel the extreme jank, the emptiness of hub worlds, the pathetically easy boss fights, the awkward animations and timing in cutscenes, the lifeless English voice acting.

Most games that get remakes don't need them - I have never truly desired for something to be remade more than SA1. It has so much heart and should be able to wow people again. Today's Sonic Team are not the ones capable of doing it justice though

Criminally underrated racer! If you're going in expecting another Mario Kart imitator you will have a bad time, it's totally different mechanically and has its own awesome futuristic style, and even a neat little story and rival characters. These are probably my favorite designs for the Sonic cast. Riders has a very high skill ceiling and is incredibly fast paced once you learn it, the issue is that it doesn't explain how to do anything so a lot of people will be turned away by that and how brutal its AI and tracks seem at first. But man I just adore this game, its vibe is so charming and comforting. The "DX" mod for the GameCube version is actually peak gaming. It's such a shame that Zero Gravity stripped away almost all of the complexity and then the series died shortly after.

I still really enjoy this game despite its reputation these days and its later impact on the series. After several previous gimmicky attempts SEGA finally brought a real 3D Sonic to the Wii that was as close to PS3/360 counterparts as it could go and that was amazing for me in 2011, I played the hell out of it as a child. It's probably the best looking game on the console, I love the space theme park setting so much. It's really depressing to think this is still the most recent Sonic with entirely original zones and concepts. If the main levels hadn't been cut into sections in development to pad the length, I think it would be more highly regarded today

FF7 is just as good people hype it up to be. It starts off in the iconic Midgar with what is probably the most action packed opening of any JRPG, and after a few hours it's already opening up its world. It gets even better the more mysteries are unconvered, the more materia and limit breaks you acquire. The forced minigames are really the only complaint I have with it. It's not hard to understand why this was such a massive deal in the early 3D era with how cinematic and spectacular it is. Even to this day the seamless transitions between gameplay and FMVs with uninterrupted music are mindblowing, and the pre rendered backgrounds have an untouchable aesthetic.

No matter how hard Square Enix try with countless spinoffs and retellings in the same universe with all the advanced technology of today, they aren't able to replicate the magic that was achieved on a PS1 and only make its story retroactively worse. It's not nostalgia talking - this is coming from a person who first played it 23 years after release. There is a great subtlety to the original and its characters that the remakes miss completely. Sephiroth, one of the coolest villains of all time, is basically an entirely different character in every media released after this and his cryptic terrifying aura is lost for the sake of fanservice. I choose to think of this game as existing in a vacuum and will always recommend it over anything else as the most complete consistent work.

Nocturne is such an immersive experience, I always feel a strong sense of isolation and danger at every moment and like I'm really fending for myself in that treacherous ruined world. It has my favorite turn based combat system of all time, which has so many possibilties that it makes every other JRPG I play feel slightly disappointing. With the way buffs work there's rarely ever a need to truly grind, if you bring a good strategy you can win, at least when doing the normal endings. There are countless memorable and epic boss battles with easily the most consistent lineup in the Megatens I've played. Everything about the game from aesthetics to concepts to soundtrack is just so metal and brutal and raw. Even when it's really putting me through my paces or beating me down again and again, I'm never too frustrated for long because another idea occurs to me and something awesome happens again. I first completed it on the remaster on TDE, and it probably goes without saying that this PS2 version has better moodier lighting. This run I skipped the Amala Labyrinth entirely and felt the vanilla content had a much better flow and variety to it, but TDE has some of the best boss fights and extreme difficulty too so it's worth trying it once. I just adore this game :)

When I heard that the Sonic Mania team were making an original 3D platformer of their own it was an instant day one purchase for me no matter what. Despite obvious Mario Odyssey / Galaxy inspiration, this is really going to be unlike any platformer you've played before. At first the movement feels strange and it's a lot to learn and get used to, and this will cause some people to fall off it and give up on it much like with 3D Sonics, but if you are willing to put in the time it eventually becomes second nature to rack up massive stylish combos in these stages. Using the right stick for the yoyo makes everything feel so much better. Skill ceiling is crazy high here and there's so many ways to use momentum to your advantage to save so much time. Visual style is remincent of the later SEGA consoles and Tee Lopes has outdone himself with the soundtrack.

I'm not going to pretend the game doesn't have its fair share of jank, but it was honestly such a refreshing joy to play and I have already replayed its levels a bunch and can see myself continuing to do that. I remember Mania having problems at launch too so I think it will become more polished over time. If you like deceptively complex platformers that have lots of player expression, or liked Odyssey movement but want challenging level designs that actually make use of all those tricks, I think it's going to be a game for you. I'm not so bitter about the fact Mania 2 will never exist anymore...

In a lot of ways P3R is as good as you could wish for a remake to be, but its visual and auditory shortcomings are hard to ignore. Still this is one of the most fun RPGs you can play and I barely put it down since release.

First thing you'll notice is that the UI and character animations / art are mostly incredible, I love the ocean blue aesthetic for the menus and it doesn't feel too much like a copy of P5's. Gameplay is amazing, incorporating the best mechanics of newer games like the Baton Pass but now with actual balancing. The "Showtime"-esque mechanic with flashy special attacks isn't completely braindead and adds new strategies. This is pretty easily the best combat in the Persona series and every boss fight has been upgraded a lot in terms of gimmicks and challenge, making them stand out more from one another. Tartarus has also been fleshed out considerably speeding up the levelling process. You can mix and match all party members without anyone falling too far behind. P3 already had the best written story but certain characters with less screen time in the original have been given way more attention, and the male members of SEES can be hung out with giving their own bonuses. Finally QOL changes mean the average player will see much more of what the game has to offer in the side content. So both gameplay and story are a huge success here!

Sadly Reload didn't even try to be a definitive version of P3. Besides the obvious missing FES content (likely getting added as expensive DLC) and Portable, there's much more terrible decisions. The most insane is obviously the remixed music. The P3 OST is one of the most beloved of all time and not even having it as an OPTION in the remake is downright criminal. WIthout exception every remix has worse mixing and less power than its original, and the sound effects are weaker too. The vocalist doesn't fit P3's vibe and sounds like she's straight up struggling with the songs. New tracks are decent but again don't fit the mid 2000s vibe and were clearly made without Meguro's involvement. Presentation is also all over the place. It can look really nice in the day sections with the 60fps and raytracing implemented. but a lot of Dark Hour scenes look horrible now. How is it even possible for a PS2 game to have better lighting than a PS5 one? My last major complaint is the new anime cutscenes. Any sense of the raw edginess and symbolism of the original is gone for a much more sterile direction, and the scenes chosen to be 2D animated are randomly chosen like the awesome awakening scene which is now animated in engine and it just kinda sucks.

It doesn't replace FES for me which still reigns supreme in terms of SOVL but it could maybe have been perfect had it been given more time and budget. Now we have 3 completely different versions of P3 :D

In 2005 Capcom released two of the best survival horror gameplay experiences, but sadly only RE4 got the attention it deserved... This was a constant thrill. Its expansive interconnected castle still looks amazing and somehow has zero load times on PS2, meaning the stalkers can follow you room to room basically anywhere and you have to learn how to lose them. You can hide in designated spots like wardrobes or under beds, but also just in the shadows, behind doors.. Eventually your pursuers will learn how you're tricking them. Something this ambitious, with an AI dog partner no less, could have been a disaster but the mechanics are really functional. It just doesn't hold your hand at all. I can see why it probably won't get rereleased today due to its themes (and the most disturbing game over screens ever) but it's something more people should try out... on PCSX2. I'm lucky to have a copy

P3P is something that would have been a lot more novel at the time of its release. Having this big PS2 game on a handheld in 2009. The actual combat and dungeons are pretty much perfectly converted from the original console versions, but it's outside of this where it falls short. So much impact is lost in the cutscenes with this new visual novel style with no models or animations, or even any detailed drawings for important moments - just screenshots of the PS2 anime cutscenes at most. In general the presentation is a huge step down and can be pretty ugly, eg those abysmal AOA portraits. It's way less immersive with no actual city to run around. So this was fine for existing fans back then, but in recent times this has become the most played version of P3 by newcomers by FAR due to how easy it is to emulate, and since last year it's officially available on all modern platforms. It really sucks because FES is sooo much better overall and it's only purchasable on... the PS3 store.

The most notable change - I don't think Portable's full control combat is necessarily "superior". FES tactics system works perfectly fine if you aren't stupid, and every enemy was designed around that system so the balancing is now a bit messed up. I enjoy the styles of both. There's a decent amount of new content, some great social links added that made me see new sides of certain characters, and the option to play from a female perspective is nice to have even if it didn't change nearly as much as I would have thought. I do love the new songs Kotone has but you can tell Meguro was in P4 mode at this time because they don't really fit in with P3's style. In any case it's still hugely disappointing that we will never see an ultimate version with all content from FES and Portable. Gonna be missing some of this in Reload.

Half-Life 2 is what people THINK Tears of the Kingdom is. An innovative physics based action/puzzle game set in a post apocalyptic world that changed the gaming industry - done near 20 years earlier and executed in a much more fun way. The amazing sound design and world building make it stand out from the rest. I do wish they had leaned into the horror more as that one level in Ravenholm was fantastic, and I was honestly expecting something a bit more plot heavy, but I loved every moment of this campaign and felt embarassed that it's been sitting on my computer for so long unplayed.

Expected to enjoy this more than I did honestly. Clearly made by a big fan of Sonic, Metroid, Rayman to name a few of the platformers its movement is inspired by, which is very nice. I can see why people liked its style so much. I kinda felt like I was forcing my way to the end after a while. Layouts are just too unorganised and sprawling for my liking, not to say that they're "bad". Clearly they are intentionally chaotic. It just didn't leave an impression on me to want to keep running the stages