copying this from my Shield review since they're the same game. again, this review ignores DLC

played a Shield Surpriselocke race in Spanish with a friend. unfortunately, I lost that race. however, I do have things to say about the game.... and let me tell you, no matter what your opinion on these games are, it's probably wrong. this review is about base SwSh.

the characters are still as great as I remember them. everything down from the character designs to how apparent their personality shines from the moment you meet them still rule

the Pokemon selection here is decent. I don't like it as much as the new Kalos or Alolan Pokemon, but most of the Pokemon introduced ranged from decent to amazing, and I can't think of any outright bad Pokemon they introduced in this generation

Dynamax and Gigantamax I feel very mixed. Raids are probably some of the best multiplayer features introduced in a Pokemon game since the Wi-Fi Plaza all the way back in Generation 4, and Pokemon drawing from its kaiju origins had the potential to be extremely cool. however, I can't say I'm all that interested in Dynamax as a concept compared to Mega Evolution, even if Dynamax is arguably the best-implemented gimmick so far (granted, its competition is Mega Evolution and Z-Moves, so that's not hard). there's also some missed opportunities for Gigantamax too (seriously, no Tyranitar?)

the music's great, though I do feel like they overuse leitmotifs way too much compared to other games, which put more thought into when they should be used (like Lusamine's theme in the generation beforehand). the Gym Leader theme sounds like what they were going for in the Kalos Gym Leader theme without having an obvious "we made this really quickly to get the game out the door"

the story unfortunately is where things fall apart. as some people have commented on, with some minor changes the story could actually be really good, but instead you have a very okay if somewhat incoherent story that can't decide if it wants to be a sports story or a run-of-the-mill Pokemon story propped up by some really great characters, so I can't be too mad about it compared to games like XY that didn't have that crutch. when it hits (like the Eternatus fight) it HITS

the graphics. I haven't liked how washed out Pokemon has looked since Generation 6, but it comes to a head here, especially in the Wild Area when it's raining and such. I get they want the Pokemon colors to look closer to how they look in the watercolor art, but this isn't a way to do it. the Wild Area is pretty rough around the edges, but it was very obviously experimental (and judging by the DLC and Legends, it worked!). that being said, the game IS capable of some rather stunning locales, like Hammerlocke and the altar in Slumbering Weald

I still think the hate for SwSh is very overblown. it reminds me of how people absolutely despised Generation 5 back when I was a kid despite doing a lot of things right (even if it isn't innocent in the trends people hate modern Pokemon for). that being said, I'm not excited for 2029 to happen and the kids that were raised on SwSh come over to tell me that SwSh were masterpieces, actually, and actually Plus and Minus or Poop and Pee are the worst Pokemon games ever conceived

played a Shield Surpriselocke race in Spanish with a friend. unfortunately, I lost that race. however, I do have things to say about the game.... and let me tell you, no matter what your opinion on these games are, it's probably wrong. this review is about base SwSh.

the characters are still as great as I remember them. everything down from the character designs to how apparent their personality shines from the moment you meet them still rule

the Pokemon selection here is decent. I don't like it as much as the new Kalos or Alolan Pokemon, but most of the Pokemon introduced ranged from decent to amazing, and I can't think of any outright bad Pokemon they introduced in this generation

Dynamax and Gigantamax I feel very mixed. Raids are probably some of the best multiplayer features introduced in a Pokemon game since the Wi-Fi Plaza all the way back in Generation 4, and Pokemon drawing from its kaiju origins had the potential to be extremely cool. however, I can't say I'm all that interested in Dynamax as a concept compared to Mega Evolution, even if Dynamax is arguably the best-implemented gimmick so far (granted, its competition is Mega Evolution and Z-Moves, so that's not hard). there's also some missed opportunities for Gigantamax too (seriously, no Tyranitar?)

the music's great, though I do feel like they overuse leitmotifs way too much compared to other games, which put more thought into when they should be used (like Lusamine's theme in the generation beforehand). the Gym Leader theme sounds like what they were going for in the Kalos Gym Leader theme without having an obvious "we made this really quickly to get the game out the door"

the story unfortunately is where things fall apart. as some people have commented on, with some minor changes the story could actually be really good, but instead you have a very okay if somewhat incoherent story that can't decide if it wants to be a sports story or a run-of-the-mill Pokemon story propped up by some really great characters, so I can't be too mad about it compared to games like XY that didn't have that crutch. when it hits (like the Eternatus fight) it HITS

the graphics. I haven't liked how washed out Pokemon has looked since Generation 6, but it comes to a head here, especially in the Wild Area when it's raining and such. I get they want the Pokemon colors to look closer to how they look in the watercolor art, but this isn't a way to do it. the Wild Area is pretty rough around the edges, but it was very obviously experimental (and judging by the DLC and Legends, it worked!). that being said, the game IS capable of some rather stunning locales, like Hammerlocke and the altar in Slumbering Weald

I still think the hate for SwSh is very overblown. it reminds me of how people absolutely despised Generation 5 back when I was a kid despite doing a lot of things right (even if it isn't innocent in the trends people hate modern Pokemon for). that being said, I'm not excited for 2029 to happen and the kids that were raised on SwSh come over to tell me that SwSh were masterpieces, actually, and actually Plus and Minus or Poop and Pee are the worst Pokemon games ever conceived

this rating is based on the collection, not the individual games. please look at the original games if you want my opinions on those

either way this is probably the most solid game collection I've ever bought. not only does it come pre-packaged with all of Kirby's mainline adventures from the NES all the way to the N64, it came with a cool art booklet, a music CD, and a bunch of other goodies. I can't believe that nearly 10 years later Nintendo would release something as barebones as Mario 3D All-Stars considering Mario is their biggest icon

edit: actually I forgot that Mario All-Stars 25th Anniversary also released and was also barebones garbage. Nintendo why do yall insist on treating your most profitable plumber this way

copying this from my Switch review since it's the same game, just on 3DS

ever since Tomodachi Life came to American audiences in 2014 I have been, admittedly, kind of obsessed with Mii games. this game is no exception. the fact that you can make an RPG and put in whoever you want is genuinely great. it's a bit bogged down by unfair postgame enemies and in-game achievements that feel more like busywork as you get closer to 100%ing the game, but it's genuinely a great game with one of the most killer soundtracks Nintendo has ever produced. I genuinely like this game's soundtrack more than Undertale, and that's a hard bar to clear

I will note that what you put in this game you will get out of it. I never tired of having my OCs in the game but people playing with more memey characters may tire out of the game a lot easier, it seems

god, where do I even start with Gates to Infinity. this was a game that I associate a lot with my late sophomore year of high school, and probably the only reason I made it out of there alive. I have a lot of mixed feelings about this game despite liking it, and it's kind of sad that this game came out in the height of Pokemon Black and White hate that really didn't help its standing

so let's start off with the big elephant in the room - most of the gameplay mechanic changes from Explorers are kind of ass outside of, say stuff like the Team Attack. it's very stripped down, and for seasoned players, you'd expect the game to be easier, right? wrong! this game is more than happy to throw you Pokemon with Incinerate/Bug Bite/Pluck, and with the game being as short and story-focused as it is, you hardly get much breathing room to stock up on items without resorting to Companion Mode for item farming. which means it's not unheard of to run out of Oran Berries and Reviver Seeds without hitting the final boss because of how many Crustle ate through your inventory. it was always going to be tough to beat Explorers in terms of postgame, but it's depressing that they didn't really try to outside of hoping that you'll expand Paradise and maybe buy a dungeon DLC for $3 each (seriously, whose idea was this??)

this game's story and characters are great, though. maybe not enough to get through the middling 30 hour gameplay, but characters like Hydreigon, Emolga, and Virizion will stick out in my headspace for a very long time. the themes of hope and despair are great, and this game does a good job of beating you down with some surprisingly nihilist thinking in the game before building you back up with hope. on some occasions it can be as good if not better than Explorers in terms of storytelling (and imo, its more minor characters are far more memorable here than they were in Explorers). the music was pretty great too

that being said, I suggest watching a playthrough of this game if you're really interested in it. if this game ever gets a remake that puts it more up to speed, I'd suggest playing that. but I can't recommend playing through this game in good conscience when games like Explorers, Super, and Rescue Team DX are more mechanically sound

my preferred SNES Kirby.

the art style is adorable and Kirby feels so nice to play, albeit slow - but the Animal Friends Kirby can make combine with Copy Abilities in some delightful ways that I wish we'd see again someday in a modern Kirby game

that being said the road to get the Good Ending can be... pretty painful, especially the part with reuniting Rick with Pick. just remember that Rick can wall kick, y'all.....

man, this REEKS of 2013 Tumblr

you play as a pomeranian named Pom as her and another dog she lives with reaches heaven after their house burned down with them in it. Pom is trying to get Wi-Fi since she died before checking all her social media

the art is nice but, again, this was made in 2013 and it is a... well... interesting time capsule to see what was popular on Tumblr at the time. unfortunately Pom is incredibly unlikable and I really can't recommend this game outside of people that desperately want to relive 2013. there's plenty of other RPG Maker Games out there that don't rely on (at the time of writing this) 8 year old memes