JT0718

Rayman Legends’ levels are a major standout. They’re incredibly creative and full of unique ideas that set the game apart from most other platformers. The music is another strong point, especially the music-based stages. Those levels are some of the most memorable platforming sequences I’ve ever played. My biggest issue with the game is the floaty movement of Rayman and the lower skill ceiling. I tend to prefer platformers where characters feel heavier and more grounded, like Celeste or the Donkey Kong Country games, rather than Rayman’s ultra-floaty physics. I understand that preference plays a big role here, but it’s simply what I’m more accustomed to and what feels better for me. I also feel that the game doesn’t offer as high of a skill ceiling as many other platformers, which is a big part of what makes the genre so replayable. I might be wrong, I'm not familiar with the Rayman Legends speedrunning scene, but I also don’t feel the same drive to speedrun it as I do with other 2D platformers. In that sense, I’d compare Rayman Legends to Super Mario Bros. Wonder. Both have great levels and a steady flow of new ideas, but they’re the kind of games I’d need a couple years away from before replaying. Overall, it’s a very fun game, just not one I see myself returning to constantly.

Nothing in this game is very unique or fun, though I do come back to this when I am bored at work to pass some time. I would give it like a 4 or 5 for a score. Nothing is insulting about the game nor is there anything impressive either.

It's funny because I have always preferred the NFL compared to college football, yet I like this game a lot more than the Madden games. That's because I have always preferred the more wacky modes in sports games. I have fond memories of playing the mascot mode with my friends and just having a good old time watching 11 of the Stanford trees trying to tackle a Notre Dame leprechaun. I haven't played this game since it was released so I don’t know how it holds up to this day, but that doesn't change the fact that I still look back on this game fondly.

When I first played this game on release, I absolutely loved everything about it. Since that day, I waited until around the start of covid to gather what I thought would be my final thoughts and put out a review. When that time came I gave the game a 7-8 saying it was a really solid game, but it just had a lot of missed potential. I criticized the game for having a weak online, clunky controls, and a massive speed bump right in the middle of the story. I praised the beautiful open world, deep characters, amazing music, and masterclass storytelling. So what has changed for me in the years since I released that review? Well, perspective. I still generally stand by all the points I made, I have just come to realize the more time I spend away from the game, how big of an impact the game left on me. This was a once in a generation game that is hard to put into words how important it is to me. —Update, after replaying the game again I was able to love the game even more. I put well over 100 hours into the playthrough this time and I was able to appreciate all the little details that the game is littered with. With some games, sometimes replaying it is not as enjoyable as your first go. I had just as much enjoyment this time playing through if not more than before. I adore this game!

Just like the first game, the second game in this series holds a special place in my heart. Clementine continues to show why she is such an amazing character. This game we get to see Clem grow up a lot more and have to survive being on her own in the harsh world. The emotional story beats in this game all hit. Clem has to be one of my favorite video game protagonists of all time.

This was the first time a story in a videogame captivated me. Before this I really only played platformers and stuck to nintendo consoles. I experienced this whole game with my best friend at the time. Man that ending hit so hard and it really changed my outlook on storytelling in games. Yeah the choices you make all lead to the same story outcome, but the story and characters are so well written that it really doesn't matter to me that much. This game helped shape me into the person I am today. Play this game!

I have never loved Pokemon games, but I enjoyed this game a good amount. I think the game is still bogged down by some frustrating mechanics (I have always hated the random encounters), but generally the moment to moment gameplay is pretty fun. The map is pretty solid and the visuals are also pleasant to look at. I don’t think I would replay the game again unless I did a nuzlocke or some other challenge like that, but overall I enjoyed the game.

This is just your typical sports game. Nothing special or memorable when playing in current day.

In my opinion this is the greatest 2d platformer of all time. With games like Celeste, Sonic Mania, and Super Mario Bros 3 it's totally debatable, but to put this game into that conversation even is saying something. The controls may feel a little loose at first, but once you get the hang of things the Kongs feel buttery smooth to control. Level design is immaculate in this game and enemies are perfectly placed where you can get an amazing flow when going through levels. Because of that, replaying the game will only show off more of the strengths than before. This game is also a great speedrunning game so if you are into that community, it's one of the best out there. The music by David Wise is so good that I would say it's worth the $60 price tag (Hey, you also get a whole bonus game attached with the soundtrack). I’m happy that this game was ported to switch where more people can experience this amazing game. If you like platformers, you will adore this game.

This is really the start of Mario being less and less inspired in each mainline 2D game. I think the reason Nintendo hasn't released a brand new traditional 2D Mario since 2013 is because they are out of ideas. Mario Maker eliminates that problem because the player is now the game designer and not Nintendo. But with that in mind, NSMB Wii is least interesting in the series. NSMB brought Mario back to 2d in some exciting ways, NSMB2 had a unique theme even if it was a bit superfluous, and NSMB U and Luigi were just better designed and had better controls. Because NSMB Wii was designed four 4 players, the levels are empty if you play single-player. At the end of the day, this is not a terrible game by any means, you can still have some good fun with friends while playing it. It gets around a 5-6 for lack of creativity. I hope whenever Nintendo decides to make a traditional 2d Mario again that they don't just reuse assets from the NSMB games and aren't afraid to get a little weird and wacky with their art style, themes, level designs, and music.

I'm an outlier, but this game just does not appeal to me. There are a lot of things that I really respect from the series like unique character designs, good music, and a pretty cool competitive community. I do think most people will really like this game and get a lot out of it, just not me personally.

I feel kind of bad for giving this game such a low score when there was clearly a lot of love and passion put in to it, but I feel it is important to explain my experience. Starting out, the game looks beautiful and runs smoothly. It's also a short game which I think works well for this case. If your into a relaxing game that anyone would be able to play then I would recommend this. Personally I just found the game to be a little to slow and boring for my personal tastes. I really wished the gameplay was more fleshed out because the game sends a good message, It just seems like there was a lot of missed potential to create something more impactful to the player.

This is not one of the worst games on the switch, but it is way below average for me. If your a fan of the Fifa games I would recommend you get it on a different platform unless you love the Switch's portability. The switch is still lacking a voice chat and the games resolution is much lower compared to the other consoles versions. You are also lacking some modes in this version. I would not recommend this game unless you really love soccer and the only console you had was a switch.

[SPOILER ALERT: This review contains spoilers.]

[SPOILER ALERT: This review contains spoilers.]

[SPOILER ALERT: This review contains spoilers.]