SeiferA

Graphics: 9/10 The sprite work in this game is absolutely top notch. Really, I don’t know what else I could’ve asked out of this game in terms of how it looks because this is exactly the kind of presentation we should’ve gotten out of a TMNT game for ages now. My only complaint about the art in this game is everything is a bit smaller than I’d like. This leads to problems which I get into below. Sound: 10/10 From the head bopping tracks to the hard hitting sound fxs to the excellent voice acting, the sound department hits its stride on all angles. Im sorta disappointed that we didnt get Pat Farley back as Krang and Baxter Stockman back. Really kinda confuses me as to why, considering he recently reprised his role in the 2012 series. But despite the new voices for all the other minor characters, Im glad that we got the main 4 reprising their roles nonetheless and the new cast still do a phenomenal job. Gameplay: 8/10 For a spiritual sequel to the originial arcade beat ‘em up titles, this game does a fantastic job at capturing the bone crushing gameplay, along with adding some new mechanics to the game to make it easier. However, while I do appreciate the new special attacks and items, I do have an issue with how much easier the game suddenly becomes when you’re using them, ESPECIALLY in multiplayer. The sheer fact that you can taunt to refill the meter and constantly spam specials suddenly takes away any and all challenge you can get out of this game, and it does make it difficult to get the urge to play it more than once after a while, even with friends. In addition, adding the ability to play with up to 6 players was something I was extremely excited about, but once I saw how the smaller sprites were even harder to identify at times with the chaotic gameplay with a full party of 6, I realized that this made this a bit more of a hindrance than I’d like. Despite these issues, the gameplay is still pretty fun and enjoyable, but it certainly makes it to where it’s enjoyable at short bursts once you beat the game. Story: 8/10 If you’re looking for super deep lore in a game based on the 1987 series… boy, you dont know this series do you? Still, the story in this game is as action packed yet humorous as you’d except out of that iteration of the franchise. In a way, it almost felt like I was watching an extended episode. Difficulty: 1/5 (Very Easy) Even on the most difficult setting, the gameplay mechanics I mentioned make this an absolute breeze to plow through, especially if you’re playing multiplayer. Playing single player MIGHT give a challenge on the hardest difficulty, but it’s almost mandatory to play a game like this with others. BOTTOM LINE: 9/10 Despite the faults this game has in the gameplay department, this game serves the very same purpose the original arcade titles aimed to do: Provide a quick and fun multiplayer session with random people or with friends. I highly HIGHLY suggest getting the switch version just for the sake of being able to bring this game with you on the go and while meeting with friends, busting out this title to play locally. If you never got a chance to experience the joy of the original arcade game and you’re looking for an awesome time, this is your best bet!

The following review is judging based upon the presentation this collection provides and not the individual titles) Graphics: 9/10 Anyone who’s played these games in the past know how great looking they are, especially for the Genesis hardware. However, Im also judging this based on the presentation from the 3D models shown in the menu as well as the cutscenes and… well, let’s just say Ive never been THAT big a fan of the hedgehog engine for the classic sonic models. Still, this game is pretty good looking all the same. Sound: 7/10 An expected drop in score is with the sound department. While the music in these classic titles are fantastic, with some of these being flat out bangers, the choice to replace the MJ music with the prototype tracks is something that required a bit of delicate care to reproduce; Something Im sad to say Jun Senoue didn’t seem to execute successfully IMO. It isn’t a flat out disaster, but when you hear the original quality of these tracks, its sadly inferior when its all said and done. The audio mixing with the Sonic CD remastered cutscenes is also jarring, with the gain twice as loud as what you’d experience in the game. Still, these issues are sprinkled throughout the majority of the presentation and for me, the claimed degrade in quality of S3&K’s music was something I personally couldn’t hear myself. Gameplay: 8/10 Gameplay is mostly as good as I recall on the originial hardware. Keyword: Mostly. There was one issue I encountered personally, but I haven’t seen anyone else mention, and that’s activating Super Sonic in story mode. I tried both pressing the jump button twice as well as pressing the designated button to activate it, but it flat out refused to execute when I had 50 rings 90% of the times. If I mashed the buttons enough after 10-20 seconds, it’d FINALLY activate. Again, I dont know how isolated this issue is, but it was extremely annoying all the same. Had I not encountered this, I’d give this a more solid score. Story: 10/10 The fleshed out story provided via the new cutscenes made for this compilation are absolute perfection, bar none. These scenes not only give the opportunity to flesh out what occurred in between these titles, as well as during the end of each game, but also gives an opportunity to let these classic versions of the characters shine. The animation department should give themselves several pats on the back because this is something 8 year old me would have appreciated back when I first played these games Difficulty: 3/5 (Normal for Story Mode or a Casual Run) 5/5 (Classic Mode with 100% attempt) Oh man. You know, when I played through Story Mode, I was reminded as to why I never attempted to get all the chaos emeralds, time stones or super emeralds in any of these games. Flat out, if you want to get the true ending for these games, you’re going to need to work HARD on the special stages to get them. Im pretty sure I dropped easily around 100 coins to retry all the stages I had to play altogether just to get the true ending for 1, 2 and 3K (Thats NOT including the Time Stones in CD which I just flat out decided to forget about after a while). This game is the pure definition of “Angry Video Game Nerd” material. Not that it’s so bad it plays bad, but that it’s so bad yet its still good. You’ll love this game but prepare to pull your hair out. … otherwise if you dont care and just want to beat the game? You’re not gonna really come across many moments like this… except for MAYBE a few boss battles (Im looking at you Death Egg Robot) BOTTOM LINE: 8/10 The Sonic franchise means a lot to me. When I was 7, I wanted a Genesis purely to play Sonic 1 and 2, but had to settle for a Game Gear for a year or so before I finally got my hands on those titles. So saying the classic franchise is a part of my childhood is certainly hitting it right. However, unlike some of my fellow Sonic fans who hold the classic series in high regards and demand absolute perfection with any ports, I don’t ask much from these things. Gimme some extra content to the side like Sonic Jam, give the game some easier options for the sake of getting that easy ending if you so desire, be as faithful as you possibly can, stuff like that. In that regard, this game delivers on the basic needs of what I want. However, the few quirks this game does have makes it hard for me to say this is EXACTLY what I wanted, especially since they are pretty glaring distractions. Maybe a year or two after this review, this title will have a patch that’ll fix all these issues for consoles. But for now, I can still give this a recommendation… but MAYBE when it goes on sale.

Graphics: 10/10 I was actually debating if game boy color sprites really do deserve a top tier score; After all, we’re talking 8-bit graphics here. But the thing about it is for it’s time? This is easily the most fluid graphics Ive ever seen out **** boy title. The only 8-bit game I can think of that compares to this is Kirby’s Adventure. It’s THAT good, especially considering the limitations. Sound: 10/10 Music and sound fxs are absolutely top notch. The music especially ended up being super catchy and Im going to eagerly look to see if there’s any OGremix covers of this soundtrack once Im done with this review. Gameplay: 9/10 If you forced me to give a score on this early on, I would’ve given it a 1/5. But that would have easily been an error on my part. Here’s the thing; This game was born from the DNA of great NES games of old; Difficult and downright punishing, but once you figure out the flow and have a proper strategy guide? It’s a title you’ll thoroughly enjoy. Once I understood this, I realized this is exactly the kind of title this game was, but for the game boy color instead. The only complaints I have outside of this is the fact that Shantae gets stun locked for at least an entire second, which really breaks the flow of the game when you get one down, as well as the dancing system which, while fun, leaves you vulnerable if you’re doing it anywhere near enemies and especially breaks the flow of the game too. But these annoyances are something you can kinda push aside once you get use to this game Story: 8/10 IIn a village Shantae protects, a pirate steals a new form of technology called the steam engine and she must now obtain 4 items and stop said pirate’s evil master plan. It’s a very basic story, but what gives this extra points is the way it was written. The writer of this game clearly tried to give some extra life and personality into the characters and it got to a point where I actually enjoyed the lines of dialogue from these individuals. Most of it humorous but still entertaining regardless. Difficulty: Normal So I need to clarify on this too; I did use the save states provided by the switch remaster. So including that AND the strategy guide, the difficulty easily goes down to a normal difficulty, especially for my playthrough. But if you want a more hardcore approach, play this game without those resources because it’ll easily shoot up for a super difficult, if not unforgiving game. There are countless areas where you can easily die or even encounter bad enemy placements that will keep chipping at your health. And without a guide, you’ll be aimlessly wandering around in between save areas. Get a game over deep in an area? Welp guess its time for you to plow through all of that again. I can’t begin to imagine how frustrating this game likely could have been for some of those who jumped into this game back in 2002 BOTTOM LINE: 9/10 When I finished this game, I gotta admit that I was thoroughly impressed with how much I enjoyed it. Again, the game does have its flaws with its gameplay and difficulty, but this was certainly a game that pioneered the concept of what indie games could do. If you’re on the fence like I was, for sure give this game a shot. It’s easily worth the 10 dollars on the digital stores

Graphics: 10/10 Beautiful. Just absolutely beautiful. From the clear water to the Pokemon textures, this game is absolutely pleasant to look at. Sound: 6/10 There’s really nothing super big I can bring up about the music and sound fxs. The music is certainly better than Pokemon Snap’s late 90s era MIDI music. And sound fxs do the job well enough. But neither are really anything to write home about. While I can’t comment on the English voice acting, I can say the Japanese voice acting was pretty superb overall. Though the professor’s one liner comments at the end of each picture review did get tiring rather quickly. Gameplay: 9/10 So the controls, options at your disposal and general feel of the game is really great. But I have a confession to make: When I played this game a year ago, I assumed in order to progress I needed to finish the side missions provided to me. It wasn’t until I picked back up this game recently that I realized progress is made 80% of the times by just getting to level 2 in the area. Had it been as difficult as I thought it was, I would’ve given this part of the game a very low score, but now I realize the game is essentially just as simple to play as Snap on the 64, albeit a bit longer with more post game content. The game also encourages multiple replays, not only with the missions and post game content, but also understanding the paths Pokemon will usually take as well as the best spots to snap a picture; That much has carried over from 64. So yeah, overall I like the gameplay! For a game with a premise as simple as this, I don’t know how I could ask for anything more than what the team provided (Aside from maybe being able to compare pictures and scores with your friends as oppose to randos, hence the near perfect score) Story: 6/10 The story is fairly straightforward, with your character investigating the region to discover a new type of Pokemon and solving the mystery behind their strange power. The story does get a bit compelling towards the end, but I gotta admit, by the time I was done, I did feel like it was all a bit anti-climatic. I would have also preferred if we got more real time cutscenes; It seems like the majority of the game’s story is told via stills. Difficulty: 1/5 (Very Easy) Like I mentioned, this game only requires for your to get a level 2 or light up/take pictures of the flowers to unlock the next area. It’s really simple gameplay overall, with the only difficult part being the slight grind to get to level 2 (Which really only requires 2 play throughs total as long as you’re actively trying to take pictures) BOTTOM LINE: 8/10 I don’t know if I’d recommend this game as a full price title especially since, despite lasting longer than Snap 64, its still a pretty short game, but you do get quite a bit of enjoyment out of it nonetheless. I had fun taking pictures and sharing them on social media, and I kinda want to print out some of these as stickers someday. Just like the good ol days. So yeah, totally check this out! Just again, I’d rather wait until it goes on sale in some capacity.

Graphics: 8/10 There’s not a lot to say about the graphics in this game aside from the fact that they look pretty good for a basic switch title. Though the environment isn’t nearly as appealing to me as the previous sports titles Sound: 9/10 Sound fxs are good and the music is good too. The bowling music especially can get a bit catchy at times. This just sounds exactly like a basic Nintendo title Gameplay: 6/10 Controls work well enough with Bowling, Soccer , Volleyball and Badminton, but they seem to fall about a bit with Tennis and especially Chambara. I don’t know if Tennis was ever this bad in Wii Sports, but the controls seem to be super sensitive with the kind of swings you make with the Joy con in this; And considering the accuracy isn’t perfect, it can lead to some frustrating moments. I’m also bringing down the score on the customization because the base items barely give you anything to work with, and the sets only last for a limited time; So if you’re not in the mood to play at a certain time and you miss out, who knows if you’re getting another chance to get the items to lost out on. I kinda wish this game gave you more points for just trying to play; 40 out of 100 feels like a bit of a waste, especially when you spend some time setting up the game and actually playing for 2-3 minutes per match. BOTTOM LINE: 8/10 Despite the quirks with two of the sports titles and the customization being a bit lacking, this game is still a fun title to pick up and play with friends and family. About the only other complaint I have is the $50 price tag still seems a bit steep for a title like this; I’d say this is more worth it at $40. If you haven’t picked up this title yet and if the lack of customizing doesn’t bother you (aside from using Miis) I totally recommend this whenever Nintendo has a small sale on this title.

Graphics: 10/10 For a PS3 game, this game looks drop dead gorgeous. And even more than 10 years later, the graphics still hold up very VERY well. The only thing that makes it a bit jarring is when the animated cutscenes try to play before and after any in-game graphic cutscenes, but I’m not knocking any points out of this score for that, primarily because that’s more of a directional choice. Sound: 10/10 The music is absolutely top notch and beautiful. I still hum the main overworld theme from time to time, even well after I’m done playing. Sound fxs and voice acting are also very good. My only complaint is the fact that the audio clips out from time to time, but again, only a minor complaint. Gameplay: 5/10 Easily my biggest complaint with this game. Being a PS3 game, there’s some clear choices here that seemed like the norm in that era, but now seems a bit dated. Stuff like no objective markers on the map for side quests, grinding being an absolute chore and the battle system being unreliable to work with. To me, this game plays like a predecessor to Yokai Watch, in that at times, you have to choose certain actions when certain things play out. The problem is because the battle system can sometimes be a bit laggy, the game can easily cheese you out of a deserving actions (Example: An enemy is about to use a special attack, but you’re already in the middle of another action with a character who cannot defend. You know you have to switch to another character to defend, but by the time you attempt to do so, the attack has already pulled through. Half the times, this will lead to a wipe on your character or, worse, on your party) Worse yet, the game has a very bad habit of not giving your any forewarnings of any pending boss battles. It seems to be generous to you early on to give the subtle hints via a save point, but as you progress, boss battles will suddenly pop out of nowhere and slap you upside the head, leaving you with either taking the money penalty to retry or restart at a save point that’s more than 30 minutes out. Again, all of this was the norm during the PS3 era and before (I’m looking at you Cyber Sleuth, a game that was initially designed for the Vita), but these deterants just make me realize even harder that, even during this generation, there were many faults games had. Story: 6/10 There’s really nothing noteworthy about the story; Boy loses mom, is told he can save her in another world, boy goes on a Zelda-like quest to find several sages who can help him find his mom. It’s a very generic story and is told fairly well. I don’t exactly hate the story, but put it this way: With my grips with the gameplay, the story wasn’t enough of a pull for me to play this past the 10 hour mark Difficulty: Hard The gameplay issues and grind fest make this a game that, while not extremely difficult, does curve up the difficultly spike past normal. Most guides that are out there will help a bit but you’re gonna be left with many questions that, honestly, will take you a lot of time just to research to begin with. BOTTOM LINE: 7/10 I wanted to say I love this game. I really do. But because of the gameplay issues and mildly ok story, I can only say I like it. I know there’s many others out there who will swear to their lives that this game stands toe to toe with FF7, Kingdom Hearts, Dragon Quest and many other legendary JRPGs. But I think that’s the thing with me; All of those games are great entries to the world of JRPGs. This game can serve that same purpose. But the difference, in my opinion, is those games stand out on their own because they pioneered these sort of tropes and gameplay mechanics. Ni no Kuni just feels like it’s trying to do the same thing these games already did and, for someone like me who’s played all those games, it felt like a game that I already played, but with its mechanics far more aged.