PPko

Easily the funniest game I’ve ever played. The absurd scenarios and hilariously incoherent dialogue (don’t worry, subtitles even translate the slang) had me laughing the entire time. The art style is a perfect mix of cute and grotesque, paired with lo-fi, old-timey music that sets the tone beautifully. Gameplay is delightfully simple—just two buttons and a joystick—letting you focus on the ridiculous, often surreal situations you find yourself in. Every twist kept me hooked, eager to see what would happen next. At just a few hours long, it’s the perfect length for this type of experience. I don’t play many ‘walking simulators,’ but this one comes highly recommended!

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Fairly fun but not a lot to it in terms of gameplay variation. I would have enjoyed it more if it wasn't so uncomfortable to play. Critical hits are really hard to land. The graphics are very dated with blurry textures. I didn't realize (or I forgot) that I could use credits to level up weapons – the menu where you do that is called CUSTOMIZE which really doesn't describe the contents at all. The voiceovers are perfectly cheesy just like the source material. A bit of a slog to complete.

What a delightful game this is! The music and sound design are quirky, catchy, and very enjoyable. The controls couldn't be simpler: A and B buttons are the only inputs – no motions controls! Part of the fun is seeing what zany characters and scenarios they throw at you next. The difficulty curve is perfect – even when it gets really hard, it never feels unfair. Booting this up with friends and passing the controller around is sure to bring the laughs. Rhythm Heaven Fever just exudes charm!

While many BOTW assets are reused, new systems folded into the existing framework make traversal, battle, and puzzling feel new again. Sky Islands and The Depths are a vastly significant addition to the world. The landscape is more populated with koroks, caves, enemies and other welcome distractions. The story is much more fleshed out and the final battle is way more epic. The conclusion was so striking, I got a little weepy-eyed — it turns out, the TEARS of the kingdom were IN ME all along! lol

My first impression was "1943 meets Katamari"?! By touching a defeated enemy as it arcs and spins across the screen, it fuses to your ship in real time which becomes both offence and defense, firing in it's own unique way and falling off if it takes damage. Your craft can end up a screen-filling monstrosity, firing in all directions to hilarious results. Themes evolve level-to-level from WWI bi-planes to modern warfare to UFOs and grey-men. Gimmicky, yes, but unique and great fun while it lasts!

A classic Zelda game that manages to set itself apart from the rest — unique graphics, playful character designs, enchanting music, and a surprising plot. The swift sail and the 2nd screen are marked improvements. It's fun to sail the open seas and discover new islands (but it can still get tedious late-game). The parry mechanic is cool but the combat is too easy to make it a required skill. Overall, this game is just charming as all get-out. Oh, and Tower Of The Gods is a banger of a dungeon!

Just as fun and addictive as ever (in 2023). Nice variety of songs over time and genres. Fun character creator and career mode. No way to view your high scores per song/difficulty without replaying each one to the end - a baffling exclusion that deters one from grinding for better ratings (which I liked doing in Guitar Hero 2). I've only played with the guitar controller so far. As a drummer, I fear it may feel wrong to play in drum mode since the music doesn't directly reflect what you play.

A simple series of baseball-themed minigames becomes a charming and quirky package thanks to that Nintendo charm. This free-to-start game has you haggling with the aging in-game canine shopkeeper on the actual price of each minigame (though it's very simple and used more as a plot device). The story and characters are cute AF and strangely maturely themed at times. The minigames are quite varied and can really test your reflexes. I'm so glad I got to experience this game before the eShop closed!

Compared to Wii Fit, Ring Fit Adventure is better in almost every way. The ring-con makes for a way more intense workout as does the adventure mode which really gives you a sense of progression and more reasons to keep at it. The additional modes are great if you just want a quick workout without all the talky-talk. I love the leader boards that stack you up against friends and other anonymous users born in the same year. On the downside, the joy-con sometimes doesn't register movement accurately resulting in a failed rep or two (but it's rare). The environments are nice-looking but character designs often don't do it for me. The music, on the other hand, is really good and has a few real bangers! The dialogue is cute and often earns a chuckle but the Ring character's English voice can get grating. Outside of adventure mode, the interplay between the disembodied voice of the instructor and the faceless helper Tipp can be very charming. The rhythm game DLC was a nice addition but, after 100 exercise-hours, I would love some more content - bring it on, Nintendo!

An indie darling that I didn't play until 2022. With so many metroidvanias today, Cave Story feels a tad quaint but still does enough to set itself apart - particularly with the gun-leveling system. The pixel-art graphics are simple but nicely drawn and the music is catchy. The game never felt too hard for me - even the tougher boss challenges could be overcome after a few honest attempts. The plot, while good, never gets in the way keeping focus on exploring, platforming, running and gunning.

Probably the deepest and prettiest SRPG I've played. The rules are simple but it gets convoluted as more systems get layered on. Keeping track of every unit during the large-scale battles ends up a bit of a chore. The music is fine and the graphics are beautiful. Most of the character designs are great but their portrayals are generally pretty flat. I put too much pressure on myself to complete every battle perfectly. Personally, I prefer Advance Wars where the stakes aren't so high!

An incredible game that every gamer should play. A really good card game at it's core with plenty of WTF-moments (the good kind) that will have you wondering how deep the rabbit hole goes. The presentation is top notch. The writing is fantastic. The music appropriately atmospheric. A wild ride right to the end. Go play this game NOW!

Gameplay is unique, especially for the era. It's quite fun once you get a handle on it and can pull off more advanced maneuvers. Underwater sections are sometimes vexing but a welcomed change of pace for such a short game. The end-game difficulty ramps up oddly fast with spikes galore and narrow passages to navigate but the challenge is nice for a change. Backgrounds are an artistic hodgepodge and occasionally a tad gaudy but it fits the theme and certainly is distinct. The music is surprisingly underwhelming for a Kirby game. Other than the final boss, every boss deviates from typical gameplay with more of a minigame-type offering. I would've liked more boss fights using the magical brush. There are lots of reasons to return after beating the game including other minigames, time trials, and collecting all the in-game medals.

Stereoscopic effects are put to good use but look a little wonky in the bonus areas. Very happy to see save states and level select in this re-release. As for Sonic 2 itself, nice graphics and great music. I really dislike how long it takes to gain speed - especially if you're going up hill, in which case, resist the urge to jump! Despite the all the marketing back in the '90s, it's actually pretty hard to go fast for long before slamming into an enemy and loosing all that precious momentum. I eventually found the game more fun after beating it and going back to look for secrets and improve my proficiency. Hard to believe this was supposed to be Sega's Mario-killer. It's got nothing on Super Mario World!

Having finally reached a proper ending, I'm left with very mixed feelings. It started off nicely with enough mystery and intrigue to reel me in. The writing was a bit stilted but didn't bother me at first. The story, at its core, is truly compelling. The way the seemingly unconnected stories slowly unravel and interweave is incredibly impressive but there is so much redundancy and unnecessary sub-plot. I don't feel like any of the "choices" it occasionally offers do anything but sandbag the reader if unlucky enough to pick the wrong option. There are some really exciting moments, but, man, does it drag. The plentiful dialogue feels unnaturally bloated the way a lot of Japanese-translated games do. The final climax was intense and emotional. I was on the edge of my seat, tears welling up in my eyes - very moving stuff - but then it just kept going! On and on, cast credits, epilogue upon epilogue, staff credits, more epilogue. A proper narrator and a discriminating editor would have done this game so much good! It would have been better as a regular novel in my opinion. I went in with an open mind and tempered expectations but it was a bumpy ride for all its high points.