ClassicHedgehog

It's mindless, it's repetitive, and at times the constantly repeating voice lines made me want to pull my hair out, but there's an accessible and sincere experience here for someone who is interested in the Dragon Quest universe but intimidated by the RPG gameplay of the main series titles.

Clearly a love letter to classic simulation titles like Theme Park and Zoo Tycoon, Let's Build a Zoo blends a charmingly simple presentation with impressively in-depth gameplay. The variety of being able to splice any two animals together, paired with impactful morality-based decision making, make no two playthroughs of Let's Build a Zoo quite the same. Highly recommended.

Some good ideas and charming monster designs kept me coming back to give it another chance, but the technical performance and uninteresting story beats ultimately put an end to the adventure. It would be nice to see Dragon Quest Monsters get the budget and development time it deserves to be a true Pokémon contender, but in this form it stands as more of a niche alternative than a real challenger to the throne.

Super Mario Bros. Wonder has great presentation and overall slick production values - but the formula of picking up the Wonder Flower every stage to see what wacky hijinks would ensue outlasts the fresh ideas they had for it. It's definitely a vast improvement on the New Super Mario Bros. series, but relies too heavily on gimmicks to be an all-time classic.