A charming if simple 3D adventure game. I found the gameplay loop of going to new areas and befriending Pokémon to be very satisfying. The presentation is also quite charming, as would be expected. Gameplay is simplistic, and some of the mini games aren’t all that great. This is a nice Pokémon spinoff that I’d recommend to fans of the series.
A tremendous sequel to the original Goo title. I enjoy the puzzles and atmosphere in these games quite a lot. There's even a few fun new mechanics in this one.
Glory to the goo
Nintendo World Championships is a title which at first glance may seem a bit throw-away: combining a series of short challenges from old NES games is perhaps not the most exciting game pitch. However, after first hand playing this title I can say that that impression isn't quite fair, and this game does actually offer a surprising amount of fun and depth. It allows you to experience these classic titles in a more digestible and user friendly way, while retaining some level of challenge if you want to aim for higher ranks. The online component is also decent, but could've used more features. Overall though this is a really quality title even if that might not have been my first impression.
An overall enjoyable action RPG from the late years of the Wii. The combat system is fairly unique and fun. The story is in general fairly predictable but worth experiencing. I found the visuals, music, and overall presentation quality to be quite high. Worth playing if you get the chance.
A decent title which I found to be an okay time. I enjoyed the variety and spectacle contained in this game, but not much about it sticks out in my mind. I think the way collectibles are handled isn't ideal, and some of the abilities aren't all that fun. Overall pretty good but not one I'll be revisiting any time soon.
A very solid 2D platformer featuring Peach in the title role. I found the presentation to be highly pleasant, the gameplay solid, and the amount of content appropriate.
This is an odd title which is light on content but high on charm. There's very little gameplay, but what little card battling I did partake in was enjoyable. The story is another oddity, there is some logic but it's also pretty nonsensical. My favorite aspect of Friday Monsters is the visuals and audio design, the painted backgrounds are beautiful as is the music and soundscape. The use of 3D also isn't half bad.
My first time playing through Metroid Prime was really positive. I enjoyed the atmosphere and exploration greatly. The sound design, music, and visuals are all really great. I did have some issues with the pacing and backtracking, and combat is slightly too basic, but other than that this is a seriously high quality title.
A tremendously well made remake of the Gamecube original. The amount of minor tweaks is impressive, and makes for a far smoother overall gameplay experience. The new visuals are great, though the 30fps is somewhat regrerrable. The new is also great and even features new compositions. This is one of the finest Nintendo remakes in recent memory.
A really great Metroidvania title with exceptional visuals and atmosphere. The puzzle design is also great. I got confused at times on where to go, but that comes with the territory.
If you like scanning fish then this is the game for you. But seriously, this is very basic and more of an interactive fish viewer then an actual game. It might be a pretty good edutainment tool possibly? Not a bad time, but not one I'd recommend to most people.
A really good Metroidvania title. The gameplay is really engaging and fun. Some elements do feel derivative of other titles. I found the narrative fairly uninteresting. Overall a good time, would recommend.
A great momentum based 3D platformer from the creators of Sonic Mania. The level design is top notch, and features quite a lot content and mechanical variety. The music is also fantastic and extremely catchy. The Switch version of this game is somewhat lacking in that it's visuals can appear blurry at times and the framerate is capped at 30 FPS, though I understand an update is supposed to be coming to increase this to 60 at some point in the future. I'm a bit more mixed on the story and character designs, not all of it works to form a cohesive game. All and all though, this is a great success and well worth playing, even if not all the rough edges have been sanded down perfectly.
A fairly enjoyable rouge-like campaign that takes place in the world of Splatoon. I think that the translation of the classic Splatoon gameplay into this format is largely successful, though not perfect. In the best rouge-likes each upgrade feels like it makes a difference, and I'm not sure that's the case here; they often feel to incremental. The presentation is quite good, as expected for a Splatoon campaign. I wouldn't say it's quite as good as the last DLC story mode, Octo Expansion, but it's worth playing if you want a unique spin on Splatoon that's fairly diverting for at least a couple hours.
Pentiment provides a unique take on the adventure game genre. The main appeal of this title is the recreation of medieval style artwork. The attention to detail in making sure everything fits within the 1500s era timeframe the game takes place in is commendable. The characters feel very well realized and are complex, with their own motivations and agency. The use of sound design is highly effective as well, and makes the experience very immersive. The use of different fonts to represent the various social classes is another ingenious inclusion. My only problem with this game is the pacing, the downtime between major story beats can at times be excessive. Apart from that though this is a highly engaging and wholly original game that I'd readily recommend.
An incredibly fun 2D platformer with unique but effective controls. The Wii version of this game uses motion control as opposed to the DK Bongos, and I found this control scheme to work fairly well. Levels are well paced and feature a great deal of variety. The control scheme can be fiddly at times, but apart from that it's a triumph.
Mario vs. DK is a really fun puzzle platformer game with a beautiful presentation and satisfying controls. It's a reimagined version **** title, though I have very little experience with the original game. As a newcomer I found this to be a highly satisfactory title that lives up to the polish and enjoyment of the Mario series.
Another Code is a decent adventure game collection which includes reimagined versions of a DS and Wii title. Storytelling is the main focus of this title, with some puzzles peppered throughout. I found the narrative passable, but not overly engaging. It does have high points, but is also somewhat dull for much of the duration of the two titles. Puzzles are too infrequent and easy for my tastes, and feel like an underbaked component. The music and sound design is fine, but the visuals are lacking. The UI, artwork, and character models are all quite good, but the environmental detail is surprisingly low for a Nintendo published game, suffering from low model and texture detail. As an introduction to the Another Code series this is a decent time, but I can't say I loved every minute of it.
An enjoyable homage to the Zelda CD-I titles. Stylistically many efforts have been made to emulate those titles, which does work overall, though I don't think the tone has been nailed here. It is neither farcical enough or self serious enough and instead exists in an awkward place in-between. The music and visuals are nice, though the animated sequences are a mixed bag, with some feeling very close to the CD-I inspiration and others missing the mark. The character designs are another shortcoming, there's very little consistency and many designs look like they come from completely different games. Gameplay is actually quite good, and while it takes many ques from the CD-I it does also offer modern conventions so that it far surpasses its inspirations mechanically. It's an odd title, and quite short, that doesn't totally achieve the goal to recapture the oddity of the CD-I games, but it does still end up being quite likeable.
*Played on Nintnedo Switch
A great sequel to the original Katamari. It provides a larger variety of objectives while retaining the core gameplay. The charm is still very much present, and highly enjoyable. I would recommend this game to everyone.
An enjoyable reimagining of the classic genre defining title on N64. The choice to replace Brosnan with Craig's version of Bond is somewhat puzzling, and leads to a grittier tone. The gameplay also feels a bit sanded down to fit within modern standards, there's a lot less goofiness in general. With that said, this is still a very solidly constructed title with good controls and enjoyable gameplay. Though it is fun, I can see why this didn't make the splash that the original did.
I highly enjoyed Ghost Trick, it compares very favorably to the director, Shu Takumi's previous work on the Ace Attorney titles. While the story is still very much at the forefront I also enjoyed the puzzles featured here, they offered a decent challenge while not being too obtuse. The presentation is very good in this version, the character and environmental design really stand out. The soundtrack is also highly enjoyable. By far the standout element is the narrative which was extremely satisfying and well told. I'd highly recommend checking this game out to just about anyone.
I'm mixed on SPM, on the one hand the story and characterizations are very strong, on the other hand the new gameplay style adopted for this entry in the Paper series is pretty flawed. Gone are turn-based battles, replaced by floaty platforming and overly convoluted environmental puzzles. The amount of backtracking was a particularly bad annoyance. I'm also not sold on the visual style, it feels like the designs of the Mario series characters clash with the environments and original character designs. Overall it feels like a turn for the worse for the series in many ways, even if there is a lot of charm here. With that said, the story is still really great and stands aside other narrative high points in the series, even if the actual gameplay is flawed.
An exceptional remake of the SNES original. The gameplay additions are minimal but make the title more engaging. The new visuals and music greatly enhance the overall experience while remaining faithful to the classic style. The new post game additions are also appreciated. I'd say this is the best Mario RPG experience ever, and would highly recommend trying it out.
An enjoyable and charming title. The controls can be a bit fiddly and I often had the issue of not understanding what the microgame wanted me to do. The presentation is quite good, the cutscenes and voice acting are really great, though I admit I'm not fully sold on the new voice for Wario. The biggest flaw is that the title is incredibly light on content, even compared with the previously released Switch title WarioWare: Get it Together! Even still, there's a lot to appreciate here. Not a strong recommendation from me, but worth checking out if you're a longtime fan.
An exceptional modern take on the side scrolling Mario formula. The addition of the Wonder Flowers was a stroke of genius as they add tons of variety and wackiness to the game. Highly recommend this one.
A mildly disappointing attempt at a new 2D Sonic title done in the classic style. The music is pretty hit or miss. Visuals on Switch are a bit unrefined. Gameplay is overall fun but flawed. Full review here.
A decent horror game. This is a port of the 3DS version, which in turn was a remaster of the DS original. Because of that it's fairly simplistic, But I did still enjoy the title.
A high quality remake of the Gamecube classic. There are a handful of new features, co-op, boss rematches, and the map now being visible on the bottom screen. I'd say the main selling point of this version is being able to play Luigi's Mansion in 3D, a feature which was planned for the original title but ultimately didn't make it in. The game makes great use of stereoscopic 3D, and it enhances the experience greatly. Unfortunately, the 3DS just isn't as powerful as the Gamecube was, so the visual quality is somewhat less. Environments still look nice, but various visual features had to be cut. The controls, while good in this version, are also just not as satisfying to use on 3DS as they were on GCN. I especially miss the rumble, which was extremely well used in the original. The 3DS version of Luigi's Mansion is a great way to play the game, the addition of 3D and a handful of other features are great, though it doesn't quite replace the original. I'd say both are worthwhile versions, the original for better controls and visuals, and this version for the 3D feature and improved replay value.
A very solid and charming rhythm adventure game from the early days of the 3DS. I picked this up right before the eShop closed, and I'm glad I did, as it's a highly enjoyable title. The production value is surprisingly good, and the gameplay is overall well done, though the difficulty level fluctuates in an irregular manner. The music, fortunately, is a highlight, making the different rhythm sections a delight to play, even when the controls can be somewhat finnicky.
Pokémon Violet is Game Freak's first proper attempt to bring the series into an open world format, and the results are dismal. For starters, the flow of gameplay just isn't as fun in this new format and the world feels hollow and uninteresting. Catching Pokémon is still joyful to an extent, but apart from that none of the gameplay experience feels worthwhile. Battles are painfully slow and easy, and there's not really ever much point in using the new Terra forms, despite them supposedly being a major focus of the gameplay and story. The towns are empty and devoid of character (you can't even enter houses anymore), the different biomes are generic and not memorable, and there's lots of empty spaces without much to do. Being able to challenge gyms and other story events in any order you want is good in theory, but the execution is lacking as the gyms don't provide any amount of challenge or novelty. Several of the new Pokemon designs are quite good, but this is a given, as the series has a solid track record of adding fun new creatures with every game; so this is really the bare minimum in terms of accomplishments. Character customization has seen major cutbacks for some reason, and you're stuck in a drab looking school uniform for the entirety of the game. In relation to that, I didn't particularly enjoy the focus on the academy, as it's simply less interesting than the standard Pokémon setup and makes your journey feel less special. The game features simultaneous multiplayer in which friends can play together in the same overworld, but this feature feels under baked as there's very few ways to interact with each other and they aren't very meaningful. Apart from that the story is really uninteresting for the majority of the game. I found the few characters who were even slightly memorable to be abrasive and obnoxious to interact with. I dislike that less of an emphasis has been placed on becoming Champion, it makes the accomplishment feel far less meaningful than in previous titles. The story does end on a relative high note, but this section is only a few hours long at most and doesn't make up for the rest of the game basically not having a story at all. The music is decent but it doesn't really feel like it's evolved much since the 3DS titles. Then there's the technical shortcomings, which remain in a dire state almost a year after launch. The framerate is horribly unstable, there are numerous visual glitches, and there's a ridiculous amount of pop-in. These issues are simply obscene to see in a full priced Nintendo published game, and while they don't make Violet "unplayable" they still heavily dampen any enjoyment that I might've had with the game's positive aspects. I'd say that this title should be avoided, while some of the innovations that are attempted are good, it's simply not worth the lackluster performance and uninteresting world, story, and gameplay. I'd recommend almost any other Pokémon title over this one, if you're looking for one on Switch there's: Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Rescue Team DX, New Pokémon Snap, Pokémon Let's Go Pikachu/Evee, or the Pokémon Trading Card Game on NSO. This is among the worst Nintendo published games ever from my perspective, your time is better spent elsewhere.
A short but largely enjoyable Metroidvania title. Not too much to say about this title except that the aesthetic and music are nice, gameplay is fluid, and it doesn't overstay it's welcome.
I really enjoyed LA Noire on Switch, it has many great attributes, though it's certainly not perfect. I found the gameplay to be somewhat simplistic and perhaps overly forgiving. However the story, performances, music, and commitment to period authenticity went a long way at elevating the somewhat lackluster game elements. The Switch version's visuals are a bit rough, but certainly serviceable. There are a surprising amount of features added to this edition, with motion and even touch control being included. These probably aren't 100% necessary to have, but it's nice that they went through the effort. In the end, the game delivers on the premise of a being a Rockstar-styled Noire detective game, and that's all I really wanted.
Advance Wars 1 + 2: Re-Boot Camp is a great remake of two tactical RPG titles from the GBA. I had no experience with the series up until this point and Re-Boot Camp was a great introduction. The gameplay is very well refined and enjoyable, and most aspects of the game are very well done. There are some minor difficulty issues and the visuals could've been a bit better probably, but other than that I enjoyed my experience. The amount of content is pretty good, and took me a decent amount of time to complete. I'd recommend this title for fans of the genre, I was surprised to see just how fun this game was.
Pikmin 4 is an excellent modernization of the Pikmin formula that succeeds in most ways. Visually it's stunning, though this does come with the drawback of long load times. Several quality of life features have been added to make the experience more smooth and user friendly, such as the dog Oatchi (who is a genuine highlight), a more dynamic camera, and auto lock-on. These changes do make the game quite a bit easier than previous series titles, but overall their addition is for the most part appreciated. The amount of content is really quite large, and pretty much all of it is enjoyable. The story is basic, but the quality of the writing is quite good and there's plenty of charm. The music is fairly good and is line with soundtracks of the previous games, but it's the sound design that has seen a noticeable boost. In a related area, HD Rumble has been implemented throughout and is very well done. In terms of complaints, the tutorial contains too much text, and is a bit overbearing. the constant reminder that you can rewind time when you fail can be annoying, as there's no way to turn it off. I also didn't love some of the limits set on the player, such as starting with a limited amount of Pikmin and only being able to have three types out at a time. There are also a few too many upgrades for my liking, and I found some of them were not really neccessary. Pikmin 4 is certainly the best entry point into the series, and in many ways surpasses the other titles. It does have it's issues but all in all it's a triumph.
A fairly big improvement over the first title in the original HD-2D series. The story in particular is far more compelling overall. Gameplay has seen some quality of life improvements which increased my enjoyment. The first Octopath barely featured any interactions between the various travelers, and this game remedies that for the most part by including a fair amount of opportunities for characters to talk to each other between chapters. Music is also a strong point, as are the visuals which have seen a slight upgrade. The finale is far more accessible and well done in this game, which I greatly appreciated; I never finished Octopath 1 since it's ending was so obtuse and inconvenient to find. The amount of content is vast, perhaps too vast, but for the most part largely enjoyable and of a high quality. The classic RPG gameplay is still lots of fun, and I didn't tire of it in spite of the games gargantuan length. I highly recommend this title, it does have some flaws but is a great time regardless.
Improves upon BotW in a variety of ways and has a simply staggering amount of content, the majority of which is very high quality. The story is also a bit of an improvement, though nothing groundbreaking. The new vehicle building mechanics are a great highlight. I do think there could've been a bit less reused music. It's the best Zelda game, and of course well worth playing.
A fun April Fool's joke game. The game is pretty basic, but that's too be expected given that it's a free title mostly intended to amuse people by it's mere existence. The characterizations are pretty great, better even than many of the main Sonic games. There were some weird difficulty spikes in the mini-game sections, and some of the jokes don't land, but otherwise this is a highly successful effort.
Played this for the first time recently on the NSO service and was blown away. It's a fantastic title and I'd rank it highly among the series. The Minish Cap is in most ways appears to be a straight forward iteration of the structure of the 2D Zelda series, but it has an immense amount of charm and great game design which make it stand out. The mechanic of shrinking down to Minish size was really fun, and I loved seeing the spritework of objects at this scale. The spritework in general is some of the best on the GBA, and looks great throughout. I had only a few minor nitpicks, such as a lack of enemy variety in the late-game, but apart from that it was a perfect and highly engaging experience.
Goldeneye is one of the most legendary and celebrated licensed games ever made, and for good reason. It's fantastic. I recently got the chance to properly play this title for the first time on Nintendo Switch, and I can certainly see the appeal. It's quite easy to look past the dated elements, as the core experience is very strong. I have only really played the single player campaign which I thought was amazing, even though the multiplayer is the more famous aspect of the title. I highly recommend giving Goldeneye a shot, though some have made the bold claim that it hasn't aged well or was never good, playing it yourself proves that is most definitely not the case.
Pokémon Ranger: Guardian Signs is the third entry in the subseries, and continues the overall gameplay style found in it's predecessors. The primary mechanic is drawing circles around Pokémon with the DS stylus in order to capture them. This gameplay method is in general pretty fun, but can become repetitive after a while. There are a decent amount of new gameplay elements as well, such as the sign system, the ability to roam the region from above riding Staraptor, and sky battles. Apart from that, this is a proper RPG, which carries over characters from previous Ranger games, something that I really enjoyed seeing as someone who played those games in the past. The story and characters on a whole are really great, and are far better than what is found in most of the main series of Pokémon, especially the ones released in the past 10 years. I enjoyed this title quite a lot, and it was a great time finally playing this presumably final entry in the subseries after putting it off for so long.
High on Life is an FPS game from Justin Roiland of Rick and Morty fame. The game's very much focused on comedy, mostly delivered by the different talking gun aliens found throughout, and is very much in line with Roiland's previous work. There's a never ending torrent of dialogue which I personally enjoyed for the most part though others might not if it's not your style of humor. In terms of mechanics and gameplay the title is quite good, and delivers satisfying battles and exploration. I encountered quite a few bugs and glitches, which was unfortunate though the game does have a fail-safe by including the option to load back to the last checkpoint at any time. One of my favorite aspects of the title is the cast of voice actors, which include a few surprising and fun cameos. While High on Life is a bit rough around the edges and the comedic writing is something that some people won't connect with I personally enjoyed the creativity on display and found it to be an amusing and fun experience.
A simple but fun 3D platformer, Re-Pac is a remake of a PS1 game. I have no familiarity with the original Pac-Man World, but I really enjoyed this title. It certainly feels dated, but that wasn't much of a hindrance as the core gameplay holds up well. The title has a lot of charm, and I really enjoyed playing through the different levels and finding collectibles. Though the game is simplistic in ways and didn't really offer many surprises, I still thoroughly enjoyed it and think it's worth checking out.
The Punchuin is an inventive puzzle game from Shin'en. This title is a departure from Shin'en's previous more hardware intensive Switch releases and features charming 2D pixel art. It's a surprising direction for the studio, but the rolled back presentation allows for the Punchuin's highly enjoyable gameplay to take center stage. The game is level based, with each being a challenge to match different colored blocks together in rows of three, primarily by punching them. I found this to work very well; and this simple style is surprisingly challenging to master. I enjoyed the overall aesthetic charm and polished game design of this title, with my only complaint being the mini-games. I found these to be far more difficult than necessary, and to require more coins to attempt than would be ideal. Apart from that, The Punchuin is a great time, and I'd highly recommend it to those who enjoy puzzle games.
Team Sonic Racing is a solid cart racing title from Sumo Digital. The mechanics work well and are fun, and the audio-visual experience provided is of a high quality. The game has a decent amount of content, with a fairly substantial story mode included. This features races against bots, which I enjoyed quite a lot, but also has poorly balanced ring collection and daredevil challenges that I did not enjoy much at all. I feel that more could've been done with this concept, and I have to say that it's a bit of a shame that the title is locked to 30fps, 60 would've made the game much better. A decent time, nothing mind-blowing, but worth a shot if it seems like your kind of thing.
An enjoyable vertical 2D platformer with clear inspirations from the Donkey Kong Country series on SNES. Like Sictaro's other titles, the commitment to authenticity in the aesthetic and music is commendable, and helps to elevate the experience. The game is quite short, but at such a low price point this isn't at all an issue. There's even a few surprises included which were pretty fun to discover.
An excellent sequel to one of the strangest crossovers to ever occur, which expands on the original in scope and content. The game features many gameplay additions and tweaks, such as the removal of the grid and allowing the player to directly control characters. The overworld sections have been totally overhauled, and feature must larger and more open environments than the first game had, with more compelling puzzles and extra content. The cost of this is that the art style of this title is far more simplistic than the first, and is less detailed, though the game does still look very good taken on it's own. The battles are just as fun as they were in the first game, and feature more complexity and flexibility thanks to the new character additions and spark system. The music and sound design are incredible, with two amazing new composers joining Grant Kirkhope to score the game's different levels and environments. The soundtrack is almost all outstanding, and feels cohesive while still retaining each composter's signature stylings. The game isn't perfect, and does contain a few more glitches and technical issues than I'd have hoped for, one of which resulted in a crash. With that being addressed, it's still a worthy title and well worth checking out for those looking for a unique and highly enjoyable game, especially to those who played the first entry in this series. I still can't believe that a Mario and Rabbids crossover is one of the best tactical RPGs I've ever played, but here we are.
