Retro4Life

THIS REVIEWS CONTAINS NO SPOILERS!! Read on! Here's a fact about me: I'm not really an RPG fan. I don't hate the genre at all but I just never got into any RPGs. The only RPG i've ever played before this year was Dragon Quest IX on DS, which I actually had a decent time with back in the day. However, I never actually dove into the story of that game or any RPG for that matter. Until I played Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door on GameCube. I haven't beaten the game, i'm only on Chapter 2 as of me typing this review but so far... it might be one of my favorite games. I absolutely enjoy the story about Peach receiving a map for this witch and she sends one to Mario to search for Crystal Stars. On top of that you get these really enjoyable intermissions between the chapters. Like I've said i've only played the entirety of Chapter 1 so far so the only intermission i've actually played is the Peach and first Bowser intermission. I really enjoy leveling up and walking around Rogueport and these other neat locations that you can explore with Goombella and Koops. I haven't even mentioned the music. MAN THIS MUSIC SLAPS!!! One more time, I haven't beaten the game yet, i'm nowhere near the end of this game, but so far this is an absolute easy 9 out of 10. I HIGHLY recommend you give this game a try if you're able to get a copy of it.

I think this might be it, I think this might be a top 3 best game of all time for me. This is how you do a platformer. Make it incredibly satisfying to clear a level, find secrets and beat bosses. Making two worlds inaccessible without the use of one powerup, the mini mushroom, gives the player some motivation to try the boss again with the mini mushroom to unlock the previously unlocked world. Some players might find that annoying and I understand but it's incredibly rewarding in the long run. The games difficulty isn't too unforgiving but it's not a cake walk either. There's going to be some levels that are going to take an attempt or two, maybe even three on some. I haven't even mentioned that the game introduces two new powerups, the mini mushroom and the blue shell. Just overall a great game, until you realize that they packed more into this game. Let alone getting all the star coins in the base game to unlock the Super Mario Bros. NES touch screen theme when playing a level, you also got MiniGames which are just fun bonus games that are always available if you got time to spare. However, that's not even all somehow, they included Mario vs Luigi. Which is STILL FUN TO THIS VERY DAY. Even 20 years later. All it is, is a competitive 1v1 mode where you collect stars from 5 NEW, not in the base game, looping levels. This game literally has an endless amount of content if you decide to try to play through everything the game has to offer. Easily a MUST PLAY. One of the top 3 games of all time, in my opinion. If you haven't tried this game out yet, give it a try.

It's pretty damn good. It's just an on-the-go version of Super Mario Bros. 3 but it's made really well. Controls are what you'd expect. Music, even for GBA, is a bop. It's near perfect for me, besides the difficulty in Worlds 6 and 7. Those worlds are crazy difficult for me but I did beat the game eventually. This game even made use of the very obscure e-Reader with cards that you could scan to play even more levels as well as a mode where you can play a modified version of Mario Bros. This is a MUST PLAY. Easily!

While i'm not a fan of the show at all, the game is an absolute disaster. A dumpster fire of what the programmers call a game. The PS1 version specifically. First off, the controls are strange, it's an FPS but it doesn't really control how you'd think it would. Second, some levels go on too damn long and the sense of direction is almost nonexistent. Third, the bosses are ANNOYING. Some are insultingly easy but others are maddening. Fourth, enemy spam, just enemy spam, Fifth, the game lags a lot. It has trouble dealing with the enemy spam. Sixth, the draw distance is terrible and finally, the graphics are ABSOLUTELY AWFUL. I know it's PS1 but the N64 version didn't look this bad. Look, even if you're a huge fan of the show, stay as far away from this game as physically possible. Even if you're looking to complete a collection of yours, please AVOID this one.

Eh, it's a decent game. All you do is drive and perform stunts that the developer tells you to perform, that's it, for the entire game. It's not a very long game but it gets tedious somewhat quick. The game does throw multiple new stunts occasionally so it doesn't feel like you're doing the EXACT same thing over and over again. Graphics are pretty decent, and some levels are actually quite fun. The announcer gets really annoying but he's not too much of a bother. He just says the same things over and over again. Give this a go if you need an hour to 2 to kill.

Yeah, this game is notorious for being one of the worst games of all time. Hear me out on the 5 out of 10 I gave this. It's not a good game, far from it but I've played worse. All this game is, is a button masher. Quite literally. Look up button-masher in the dictionary and the cover art for this game would appear there. Just push the living crap out of the A or B button and L and R buttons and bam, you beat the game. You don't even need to buy the game just get your GBA or DS and mash the A or B button and then after about 30 seconds just mash the absolute hell out of the L and R buttons and there, you're playing Rock 'Em Sock 'Em Robots on the GBA. Weirdly enough, not the worst game i've played because i've played worse but I can't really argue with why people hate this game. I get the hate. Avoid this one.

The 6th generation of systems really had a lot of these Super Mario 64 / Sunshine clones that are based off of a movie or a tv show. This one is not too shabby. It's a bit awkward to control at times due to barely being able to move while jumping occasionally but it's not a completely awful game like I hear it is. It's perfectly fine, it's not a masterpiece or anything but it's not a dumper fire. The only gripe I have with this game besides the jumping is that they don't tell you how many Munkeys you need to beat the game. Just keep doing more missions until you have a set amount then replay that one room in the temple until the game just let's you through. Now, this game is nostalgic again but I do not recommend it but it's a decent time waster if you decide to give it a try.

I wish I could say I enjoyed this game but this game just makes me angry. The hate I have for this game is personal. This is just another typical 2D platformer with a little bit of puzzle elements thrown in. It's a fine enough puzzle game but it's nothing to write home about. The main reason i'm giving this a 4 is because the last level of this game INFURIATED me. I never actually beat this game beacuse there is a part where you have to get past a large pig (I think) or boar and bust through a wall that's behind him. He kills you with ONE hit. They don't really give you much time to get though and they want you to perform a move to bust through that gate that's only really used maybe once throughout the entire game so the fact that they make you relearn the move is a bit annoying in my opinion. Another thing about that part is if you die at that part you have to play the ENTIRE level all over again. It's not a very difficult game though, besides the final 10 seconds of the game apparently. The puzzles are simple enough to figure out. I just can't forgive this game for the absolute ANGER I felt when not figuring out what to do at the very end of the game. Not to mention there's a bit of lag when you reach a few levels so it's not even optimized to run properly. I know it's really strange showing this much hostility over a cash grab GBA game, however, this game is a slog to get through and I just can't recommend it but I can't tell you what to do so if you liked the movie, give it a shot but I warn you of the final level. Play at your own risk.

While the PS1 version of this game is a blast from the past, the GBA version for me is just you're generic 2D platformer with really nothing else to add to the table. There are some different types of gameplay spread out throughout the game, like driving and avoiding spiders??? However, the difficulty is absolutely unforgiving. Especially when you reach the pipe level in the game, I can't remember the name of it but believe me, I never got past this level. This game isn't even really all that bad, the platforming levels are perfectly fine, but I don't see myself ever returning to it.

Now, I have an absolutely crazy amount of nostalgia with this game so take this review with a pinch of salt. This game is incredible. It's just a Super Mario 64 clone but it was released 6 YEARS LATER and is a PS1 exclusive. It's got really great controls, very responsive. The music is absolutely a bop. Seriously, go to YouTube and search for this games music. It's pretty good for what this game actually is. For most people, this game would probably be nothing too special but again I played this a lot back in the day. I recommend it if you for some reason enjoyed Stuart Little 2 and Super Mario 64. I never even watched the movie but I find the game to be really good. Magenta Software did a fantastic job here. Hot take, I'd even say it's as good as Super Mario 64. I might be reaching with that but again take this review with a pinch of salt.

Would you believe me if I said there was an actual Monster Truck game on GBA that's actually good? You probably wouldn't. I say that because there are two other Monster Truck games on the GBA. One is slightly below average and the other one is absolute filth in a cart. However, this one is the hidden gem of the three Monster Truck games. You've got great graphics for the GBA, pretty lenient difficulty and an announcer whose possibly way too much into monster truck races. Anyway, the AI in this game is pretty easy, even in the later races. It takes a decent amount of time to beat this game, like 4-5 hours. However, it is a great time no matter how much time you put in. Give this game a go.

Even though i'm not good at vehicular combat games, I enjoyed the absolute hell out of Twisted Metal 2, which fans of the series even agree that this is the best game in the series. I've only ever played 2 & 3 but I believe 2 is the best. The maps are memorable and really vast. The controls are really floaty but that's what makes the game fun to play, just seeing everyone just shooting at each other and watching bullets flying is so chaotic. The only criticism I have with this game is the AI. It can spam unlimited special attacks when you have to actually FIND a specific amount in each level. That's the only bad thing in my opinion about this game. If you're looking for a vehicular combat fix, this is an easy recommendation.

It's kind of weird that we live in a world where there's a Fear Factor game out there but here we are. It's not a very good game unfortunately. The events are cool looking sure but the gameplay leaves more to be desired. Some mini games are actually kind of fun like the one where you escape the rails of a train. That requires a little bit of focus but nearly all of the mini games are just tedious and repetitive. You also have to beat these not good mini games like about 3 to 5 times each which doesn't sound too terrible when you read it but imagine playing the same awful mini games that many times each. The music is fine. There is an announcer but the guy that recorded those lines was clearly just phoning it in for a quick payday. I don't blame him though. This game is very poorly made but I get the vision of making a Fear Factor game but the execution is very unsatisfactory. Pretty much avoid this game.

The funny thing about this game for me personally is: I didn't watch the movie until AFTER I beat this game. It's a pretty great movie about a Rat taking control of a kitchen underneath a chef's hat just because he has a passion for cooking. The game based on that movie is..... alright. It was developed by Asobo Studio who developed a decent amount of movie based PS2 titles. Crazy how i've played one of their first movie based offerings on PS2. The controls are fairly responsive. The gameplay switches up between like 3 modes constantly so it's never too monotonous but it does get repetitive near the end of the game but it's nothing too crazy. The voice actors reprise their roles from the movie. The difficulty gets really strange at the end of the game. Which makes sense but that difficulty spike at the end is just maddening. The rest of the game is pretty much a cake walk. You're not going to have too much trouble with it. Asobo did a decent job here. I don't know if I recommend it though because there is an XBOX 360 version of the game but I haven't played it at the time of me typing this review out. Check this game out if you really enjoyed the movie.

I've never really cared too much for sports titles but for some reason when you throw Mario & Sonic into the title, us gamers will eat it up like an all-you-can-eat buffet. I'm specifically reviewing the DS version as that's the only version of the game that i've played. Winter Games has a lot of really good events like Dream Bowling, Dream Hockey, and Dream Snowball Fight. Not to mention the massive story mode the game contains. Nintendo and Sega did a FANTASTIC job on this game. If you're looking for a sports game with famous game characters just thrown into them, then I think the DS version of Winter Games is you're best bet.

I've only played a few missions of this game but I think I get the gist of it. Shellshock is your run-of-the-mill, 5th generation, tank simulation game. However, I don't completely write off these types of games because they can be fun if it's done correctly. This one isn't completely but it is a decent amount of fun for about an hour. You can purchase upgrades and armor after each mission, giving you something to look forward to after completing a mission, however, after you destroy an enemy, you get a few lines from your co-worker in the tank, they get repetitive really easily. Not a terrible game but not the most interesting game ever. However, I didn't hate my experience with this game. Call me easily impressed and amused.

While not an absolute disaster ****, I can't say for certain that it was an enjoyable experience. Ok, first off, the sense of direction in the game is awful. There's moments in the middle of the game where I had absolutely no idea on where to go, maybe for other players it was obvious, but I was lost for maybe about 40% of the game. Secondly, the difficulty. It's a strangely difficult game. There were times when I actually wanted to break the controller because I was so frustrated with this game. There are multiple bosses and rooms in this game where you'll literally have no idea what to do. The game gives you no clues or hints on what to do, the game just wants you to figure it out. I didn't rate this a 1 out of 10 because there are a few positives, I like the idea of a 3D Dragon's Lair but the execution leaves much more to be desired and the damsel that you must save, Daphne, does speak with you to help you out for some rooms but she doesn't help with directions. Dragonstone Software has possibly made one of the worst platformers that i've ever played unfortunately. I did manage to beat this game but at what cost.

What else can I say about this game that everyone else has said. It's a great game start to finish. Yes the camera and the controls aren't the greatest but for the time they are not game breaking. Deserves to be in the top 100 greatest games of all time.

An unfortunate effort from XS Games. I think the excess from this game shows it's ugly face from the moment you start playing this thing. When you get spawned in, you are met with some of the ugliest 3D i've ever seen on GBA, and the GBA was good at 3D. Starsky and Hutch, Need for Speed Underground, and Driv3r are some great examples, while they might've not aged the best, they certainly look decent for the system they appear on. NOT THIS GAME THOUGH. The graphics are super pixelated, the controls are bad, and the AI is awful. Not to mention the draw distance, you can barely see ahead of you like 80% of the time. After you complete the three races, which isn't the most difficult thing ever, you unlock a Destruction Derby mode... which is possibly the worst vehicular combat mode i've ever played in a game. So for any racing game fans out there looking for a GBA fix, AVOID THIS ONE. Thank you for reading.

If you looking for a Harry Potter game to play, I recommend this one. Specifically the GameCube or Xbox version of this game. I personally have a lot of great nostalgia with this game so take this review with a pinch of salt. While there are a few slow and tedious moments in the game, there aren't any moments in the game where you'll want to chuck your controller out the window and possibly break the disc. No! This game is an absolute gem. Controls are responsive and they work fine. You won't encounter any game breaking glitches throughout your playthrough, the music is really great, and the challenges aren't too difficult but aren't a cake walk either. I do have a few complains with this game however, the cutscenes aren't skippable and the ending is a bit weak, but other than that: Give this game a try.

Game is perfectly fine. Nothing that's abhorrently awful here. Just a Super Mario 64/Sunshine clone with decent graphics. Framerate is a bit strange on some levels but not unplayable. Difficulty wise it's not too easy but not impossible. There will be moments where you'll want to throw the controller but those moments are short lived and won't destroy the overall enjoyment of the game. Heavy Iron did a great job with this one. For a movie based game, this is surprisingly decent. Not my absolute favorite game ever released, however it is a top 10 favorite game.