buildz

Paper Mario: Color Splash is an excellent return to form for the series after the, in many regards, disappointing Sticker Star. Whilst it may not be exactly like earlier entries in the series, such as The Thousand Year Door, it is still worth a playthrough, especially for fans of Mario and the action-adventure genre. ('+' is a positive element; '=' is a mediocre element; '-' is a bad element) + The aesthetics of Color Splash are some of the best available on the Wii U. Everything looks, convincingly, like paper, and the paint appears very realistic, especially when reacting with different surfaces. Furthermore, the soundtrack is mostly orchestral, with each theme suiting the areas they accompanied very well, with some clever remixes and use of genres not often explored by Nintendo very often. + The gameplay is much improved from Sticker Star. Whilst this title isn't an RPG, it has more elements which bring the gameplay slightly closer to those of earlier entries, such as with the inclusion of a levelling-up system to provide an incentive to battle, an aspect missing in Sticker Star that was the cause for a lot of criticism at the title. + The game, as a whole, is much more creative than Sticker Star, with a broader range of level themes explored with more creative tasks required to beat each, including levels more exclusively focused on puzzles and platforming. This contributes to the title feeling much more varied than Sticker Star. The 'Thing' battle cards, used when fighting enemies, are also more creative than Sticker Star. + The writing is much more creative than Sticker Star, including more jokes, pop culture references and character building, especially for Huey. I was more compelled to listen to what different NPCs had to say, unlike Sticker Star. + The battle system is improved from Sticker Star, due to an added strategic element of using cards in the correct order; however... = ... it feels a little disjointed when you have to constantly switch your view from the GamePad to the TV. It isn't exactly like previous entries either, which may upset fans of earlier entries. This isn't a huge issue. = Whilst there is still some content that is available post game, it isn't nearly as much as games such as The Thousand Year Door or Super Paper Mario; those games had gauntlet-style challenges (i.e. The Pit of 100 Trials) and many different collectables that could be sought after for 100% completion - the nearest Color Splash has are a few achievements, a Museum (like Sticker Star) and a few, simple sidequests. = It was annoying to constantly see Shy Guys and Toads, however, the issues is alleviated slightly due to new, unique versions of these characters, such as the Shy Bandit and the Rescue V. - Whilst the difficulty of the game does get gradually more difficult, the game is still, on the whole, not very hard, which may disappoint more experienced Paper Mario players. The hardest portion of the game lies with the final chapter, which requires more strategy than previous chapters. - The pacing for the first 30 to 45 minutes is very slow, making the opening of the game feel tedious. This was a flaw with Sticker Star as well. 9/10

Sega 3D Classics Collection is an excellent remastering of several classic Sega games, from the arcade to the Master System, with enough added features to make the package a compelling purchase for fans of any genre, regardless of prior experience with the titles or not. ('+' is a positive element; '=' is a mediocre element; '-' is a bad element) + Well selected titles from a broad range of genres, including the racing, shoot-em-up, beat-em-up, puzzle and platformer genres. + All included games are remastered to a very high standard, with high quality graphics and excellent 3D functionality, especially in the case of the arcade games, such as Power Drift. The depth of field effect really complement, and even enhances, most games. All of the games looks visually great, with excellent emulation for select titles like Fantasy Zone II (Master System) and Sonic the Hedgehog. + The wide array of options to allow all the games to be customised to a degree, such as different sound emulation, alternative rules, or even the type of 3D effect, and so forth, is a nice addition. + Games such as Power Drift and Sonic the Hedgehog (amongst others) have stood the test of time exceedingly well. + Local play for games such as Puyo Puyo 2 and Altered Beast, which makes the latter slightly more bearable. + Bonus points for including Maze Walker, a game which uses the 3D effect well, and Puyo Puyo 2, which hadn't been seen much outside Japan. = I wish there could be more games in the collection, however, the range of titles from different genres, as stated before, is enough. = The inclusion of both Fantasy Zone II on the Master System and Fantasy Zone II W (the Arcade version) is nice, but perhaps another game could've taken it's spot. I find myself opting to play the arcade version more than the Master System version. - Altered Beast and Thunder Blade haven't survived the test of time as well as the other titles. - Online play, especially for Puyo Puyo 2, a game which thrives on competition, is a missed opportunity, but not one that ruins the entire experience. 8/10

3D: Round 2 is an inventive follow-up to the DS original that expands on the gameplay whilst refining elements from the original to provide a compelling package for fans of the puzzle genre, regardless if you are a Picross master or not. ('+' refers to a good element about the game; '=' refers to a mediocre element; '-' refers to a bad element) + The gameplay is refined and expanded from the original, now adding both blue and orange cubes that have to be correctly identified and filled in before a puzzle is finished, unlike the original. The issue of puzzles being hard to track is fixed with the addition to mark cubes (an element only just added to the 2D Picross games). Furthermore, the tedious removal of rows/columns with a '0' on them is alleviated with the Bomb feature, which removes them all in only a few seconds. + The game is well geared towards both fans of the original and newcomers, with 3 difficulty settings and a Hint feature, allowing anyone to complete puzzles and make progress with the title. + The variety of puzzles is decent, with many different objects making up the large amount of content on offer, including much more Japanese objects than before, which is a positive. + The game has a large amount of replay value, as the game has a ranking system determined on how fast you complete a puzzle, the amount of errors you make, and the difficult at which you chose to play it. Better medals are offered for higher scores, and these help unlock more puzzles in the game. + The aesthetics are good, with nicer, higher-quality backgrounds and more interesting musical themes accompanying the action. = The gameplay can get stale if played for too long. The occasional 'Construction Challenge' or 'Time Trial' puzzles appear now and again, however, these don't help too much. - The removal of a puzzle creator is disappointing, but understandable, as the removal of said feature has allowed for more puzzles to be included in the main game. 9/10

Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney - Spirit of Justice is a fantastic new entry into the long-running series that does a lot of things right, and only a few things wrong. (+ is positive; = is something that isn't good nor bad; - is negative) + Fantastic, stylised visuals and graphics + Intriguing cases + Excellent writing and character development, especially for Apollo + Divination Seances are a new, challenging and interesting gimmick that is well utilised + Investigation segments are much less linear than Dual Destinies, as you can Examine anywhere now + Amazing soundtrack with only a few 'meh' tracks + This may seem trivial, but the addition of an options menu to turn off the 'Consult' feature is nice = Strange choice of structure in cases 2 and 4, but nothing that ruins them completely = To some, the culprits could be a little obvious, but only really in case 2 - Strange pacing - Some older gimmicks, such as the Magatama, are rarely used and should've been removed or utilised more - Slight frame rate issues on older 3DS hardware Still, this game is one of the best in the series and well worth a purchase. Go pick it up now! 9/10 - buildz

Kirby: Planet Robobot is a great follow-up to Triple Deluxe that fixes many issues that game had whilst also adding new and inventive gameplay ideas. Kirby: Planet Robobot begins with the Haltmann Works Company mechanising Planet Popstar, turning the scenery into technological dystopia; the premise for the plot is much more unique than previous Kirby games, with a better overall structure than before. The game uses the plot as a basis for the art style, which Kirby: Planet Robobot nails, as it looks much better than Triple Deluxe, stylistically. scientific laboratories, mechanised pyramids, and even a casino. It ties together to make Planet Robobot interesting, as you don't know what to expect from level to level. Furthermore, the music is great - using remixes of classic compositions and new, unique songs, the soundtrack is great to listen to and most definately compliments the gameplay. I like how some of the music is very odd and different for the series, showing the creators had a fun time composing songs and developing interesting environments for Kirby. My favourite song is the boss music for the first five worlds. I've mentioned Kirby: Triple Deluxe numerous times, and for good reason - the core game is built on the same engine behind Triple Deluxe; whilst that may sway some into believing the game is too similar to it's predecessor, the game does enough to separate itself from the prior entry. This is mainly achieved through the use of the Robobot Armour. Along Kirby's adventure, Kirby will encounter armour from the Haltmann Works Company that he can steal and use for his own. This is a great extension to gameplay as it turns the main game from somewhat more action-oriented to somewhat more puzzle-oriented. The Robobot Armour can also copy selected enemy abilities, which allows it to transform into one of many Armour types. The game uses these Armour types to add variety to the gameplay; Jet Mode turns the game into a side-scrolling shooter, whilst Wheel Mode turns the game into something akin to a 2D racer, as you jump into the background and foreground. This doesn't mean that the normal Kirby gameplay hasn't been forgotten about either, with three new Copy Abilities added to the mix - ESP, Doctor and Poison. I like these new copy abilities, though my least favourite is Poison. ESP is very overpowered however, and, in my opinion, needs to be powered-down in future entries. Speaking of being overpowered - the game is very easy, as Kirby and the Robobot Armour are both very powerful and can easily destroy enemies without giving them an opportunity to attack. This was an issue in Triple Deluxe; Planet Robobot is a bit more difficult than Triple Deluxe, but not by much. Furthermore, this game is a little short, but not massively; with the Code Cubes and Stickers (yes, they're copied from Triple Deluxe), there is certainly enough content in the main game to give you 6 to 8 hours of gameplay. Finding all the Stickers and Rare Stickers takes a long time! Despite the low difficulty, the levels are well designed and fun to play through. There are a few bonus games included with Planet Robobot as well, such as Kirby 3D Rumble (wherein Kirby is placed into a 3D environment and must inhale enemies to survive) and Team Kirby Clash (a co-operative game wherein either a group of people/CPU's must work together to take down a boss). These are great bonus games, available from the start of the game, however, they are very short, and can be beaten (not mastered) quickly. I can praise Kirby 3D Rumble for doing something the series hasn't truly done before, and I would like to see a 'Deluxe' edition of 3D Rumble at a future date. The music/graphics in these modes is also pretty good. Along with the above, there is The Arena and The True Arena (like previous entries), which are fun to speed run through; there is one final mode, however, I wish not to spoil it for you, so, I'll say that it's a nice twist on the Kirby formula which finally returns, making a nice overall final bonus mode. It's also one of two hard modes in the game (along with The True Arena), which at least ensure the entire experience isn't stupidly easy (albeit the Story Mode does get a little harder towards the end). Overall, Kirby: Planet Robobot is one of the greatest entries in the series yet, standing up to games such as Kirby Super Star/Fun Pak and one I recommend to all platformer fans, and especially Kirby fans. Don't let the difficult distract you - it's still a fun and enjoyable experience. Overall, I give this a 9 out of 10! + Great graphics and music + Robobot Armour is a worthwhile addition + The new Copy Abilities are inventive + Kirby 3D Rumble is a unique bonus mode + The level design is great - Too easy - Short (both the Story Mode and bonus modes)

Mini Mario & Friends: amiibo Challenge is a nice incentive towards purchasing an amiibo, with it standing out upon the other amiibo-centric ventures Nintendo has tried; in short, it's much better than amiibo Tap and amiibo Festival. amiibo Challenge iterates on the formula set out by Mario vs. Donkey Kong: Tipping Stars - in that, you have to guide a Mini towards the goal by using the resources placed throughout the levels, including girders, pink blocks, and pipes. The game has a heavy emphasis on resource management, yet I only found that element to actually manifest itself during the main twelve levels of the game. Moreover, I found the game to be incredibly easy; sure, I've played most of the Mario vs. Donkey Kong games, but this is remarkably easy, except for a few levels in the Star World. This extends to the character-specific worlds, too. The puzzles in the game are well designed, despite their lack of difficulty. To unlock the character-specific worlds, you need to scan the respective amiibo in, to play as said character, and then you need to find their amiibo door, which is hidden in one of the twelve main levels. Each amiibo has their own unique ability that is exploited to reach these goals, such as Mario, and his ability to wall-jump. If you scan in a non-Mario amiibo, you get a Mini known as Mini-Spek. He has no special abilities and can only play the basic levels. All the levels have amiibo cards, also, that you need to obtain, using that amiibo's respective ability. These are both implemented very well. I I found the character-specific worlds to be very gimmicky, with some using boost pads, or minecarts (like Donkey Kong Country 1-3), and whilst these gimmicks are very nice and very well implemented (and I do like them, a lot actually), I found that they weren't expanded upon enough. This is primarily due the fact that each character-specific world is only four levels long, however, it is also because some gimmicks are very shallow in nature, such as the candles used in the Luigi-specific levels (I'm avoiding pointing out the level names for spoilers' sake). The gimmicks do make a reappearance in the post-game, however, they aren't expanded upon there, sadly. What I can say is that the game does have some of the best graphics in the series, by far. It uses source materials from many different Mario games (including Donkey Kong Country, Super Mario Galaxy, and even Yoshi's Woolly World), however, I found they looked a little compressed at first. However, it is the most stylized game in the Mario vs. Donkey Kong game and I can easily identify the worlds, which I can't say for some earlier games in the Mario vs. Donkey Kong series. The music is also marvellous, featuring some nice remixes of Nintendo songs, taken from the respective games from each characters. The game took me about 3 hours to finish, and that was with 6/10 required amiibo in my possession. As a result, I do feel this game is quite short, however, I did enjoy the three hours, and because of this, I would recommend this game to anyone with a majority of the amiibo. If you don't own any of the amiibo needed, this will only serve as a way to introduce you to the series. If you do, you'll have a lot of fun with this game. In all, I award this game an 8 out of 10! + Good graphics and music + Well implemented gimmicks + Good puzzle design - Too easy - Gimmicks feel under-utilised - Somewhat short