driscoll42

My first Metroid game in.... at least five years, probably more (I think Fusion?), and I forgot what I was missing. The delight of gaining upgrades, environmental based puzzles, of unlocking sections that were previously closed off to you, just fun. I never played Metroid II, but I quite enjoyed this game (looking back at Metroid II reviews, I am VERY thankful for the QoL changes). Overall this is a pretty standard Metroid game setup, you land on a planet that has enemies and Metroids on it, and it's your job to clean it up. Over the game you'll gain new suits, weapons, upgrades to existing ones to allow you beat certain enemies and get through various environmental challenges. It all works out well, and you'll tear through it. That being said, while I know they were being faithful to the original I have a few issues. There's very little real diversity in enemy types, just a half dozen or so that you'll slaughter by the thousands, and the bosses repeat. Further I'd have liked some more story than was in this game, most of it is unlocked at the very end. The bosses tend to very bullet spongy. I'd recommend the game to any fan of platformers, but there are better platformers out there (I'm a huge fan of the Mega Man X series, Super Mario World, Super Metroidthat SNES generation was the pinnacle of the genre). Hopefully Metroid Prime 4 will introduce some more newness to the series, and I do look forward to the next 2D Metroid game which is a whole new game.

"The sequel to my tied for favorite game of all time, Okami, this is a direct continuation of the story set nine months later. You control Chibiterasu, the son of the main character of Okami. Sharing powers with Amaterasu, but weaker, Chibi must save the world crossing the same locations as Amaterasu, both physically and temporally as you end up traveling to the past to ensure the outcomes of the first game happen. A greater evil than Yami from Okami threatens the world, and it's up to you along with other chibi companions to save it. The core of the game is that you meet other children, often related to main characters from the first game, who become your companions, each with a distinct ability to navigate challenges. Chibi further has to acquire all the Celestial Brush techniques as Amaterasu did. Really if you liked Okami, you'll enjoy Okamiden. Both good and bad, it is very similar. On the plus side Okami was a wonderful, beautiful game with brilliant lore and clever skills. On the downside it's not very new, it's the same powers, the same locations. Further the game is hampered for being on the DS. Load screens and frame rate issues abound, and the the game seems very fickle with identifying brush techniques. Plus some of forcing the game to be directly related to Okami undermines some of the achievements of Amaterasu. That being said, Okami is adorable as hell, as are all the chibi Gods. I quite enjoy it, but it should only be played if you enjoyed Okami and want more, but I would not recommend it as an intro to the series."

This really is a great game, a fun continuation of the Uncharted story and refinement of the gameplay that made Uncharted 1-4 fun. A branch off of the main Uncharted story, it follows Chloe from UC2 and Nadine from UC4 on their own adventure recovering a lost relic and another lost city. Technically speaking, this is an upgrade from UC4, the graphics are just abit crisper, the gameplay is further refined with a photo mode and I feel like melee combat was a bit better, but it's 95+% the same. The greatest change, and best change, made was in the middle of the game there's a pseudo open-world section, wherein instead of the linear path like most Uncharted chapters, you have the option of where to go next and side mini-ruins you can explore. I wouldn't want the entire game like it, but it was fun. Storywise, it's a bit weaker. It's shorter than any main Uncharted, and as a side game it can't rely on the rich backstory of UC1-4. Not that it's bad, but Chloe and Nadine never leant themselves to be endearing to the player in past games, and now we're forced to sympathize and care for them more. It does accomplish this, but I care more about Nathan's story and history, it being deeper and having far more to it. That being said, Lost Legacy is certainly worth playing by any Uncharted fan. It's fairly short, a fun game, and who doesn't want more Uncharted?

One of the oldest and greatest gaming franchises, who doesn't know Mario? Even if they don't play video games, everyone knows Mario. Each Nintendo console has a flagship Mario game, and usually is one of the best games for the system. Odyssey is no disappointment, certainly going to be considered one of the best Mario games and by extension, best video games period. Odyssey is not a "hard" game or deep. You have your basic Mario premise, Bowser has kidnapped Peach and it's Mario's job to rescue her going world to world chasing Bowser (in this one Bowser is going to marry Peach, which is new). But the defining new game mechanic is Mario's hat. Originally Mario wore a hat so they didn't have to animate hair on the NES, but now his hat allows him to attack enemies and more importantly, take them over! By throwing your hat at a Goomba, a Hammer Bro, a Fish, a freaking Dinosaur Mario becomes said enemy, able to use all of their abilities. It's by this mechanic that Mario opens up new sections of the Worlds, defeats the bosses, and you have a dozen different ways to traverse the World. There's no linear method to beat the World. Sure, there's goals, but you can hop over the walls, go around the back of the mountain, climb the stairs, whatever you want! The controls on Mario's quintisential jumping and platforming skills are very tight, though somewhat annoying that they are semi-motion controls (I'd prefer not at all), but that's my only gripe with the game. It's a beautiful, fun adventure, easy enough for a beginner/amateur to beat, but challenging to the expert if you want to get EVERY Power Moon. It's a game that every Nintendo Switch player needs to play, and is almost worth getting the console just to play, but certainly the Switch is worth it just for Mario and Zelda.

Open World Zelda, a concept that actually is a natural extension of the series but for the first time done and it's amazing. Gone are the linear dungeons unlocking items to progress further in the game. You want to fight Ganon in the first half hour? Go for it. You want to spend 200 hours exploring every side quest, nook and crany? Go for it. The core concept is the same tried and true story, Ganon has conquered Hyrule, and it's up to Link to rescue the Princess and Kingdom. However this time, Link lost 100 years before, and now he needs to save the kingdom he didn't before. Honestly the story itself is only... good, not amazing. It's nothing truly new. But no one ever really played Zelda for the story alone. What makes the game amazing is everything else. A brilliant starting area, the "Great Plateau" which naturally teaches you the core mechanics you'll use in the rest of the game. Instead of just one weapon, one or two sets of armor you use throughout the whole game, you hvae a plethora of armors which grant you better climbing, stealth, defense, attack, swimming, cold or heat resistance. Weapons which have different strength, two handed, one handed, set things on fire, freeze them, shock them, etc... You'll never use just one weapon or armor forever. Of course a huge part of this is the durability system which makes your weapons break after a while. A clever is often annoying system, but a good way to handle it. Probably the best part of the game is exploring, and discovering shrines. The world has everything from artic wastes to deserts and forests, mountains (you will be climbing, all the time), people everywhere with stories and side quests. But most of all you'll be hunting for shrines, mini dungeons, more puzzles than dungeons, to test your skills and unlock extra hearts or stamina. There's 120... and each one is worth searching for. All in all, this is probably the best Zelda game ever, and is a system seller. I played this every day for a couple months on my work train commute, which made it so much more enjoyable. Even though I put over 60 hours in the game I'm looking forward to a chance to play some more of the story DLC (though just doing all the various side quests doesn't entice me as much)

A game that makes me wish I had played it when it was first launched. Sure the 3DS version is the definitive version with better graphics, controls, and some more things, however... since I am effectively playing it 18 years after it launched I am viewing it from a more modern perspective. In that sense, everything OoT did has been done since and better, from more expansive stories and dungeons, to definitely better controls, and more clever puzzles. Yet I recognize that when it came out, there was nothing like OoT, certainly not in a 3D game. You had never had a truly epic game like it. But since I have played better games, I can't help but be frustrated by the limitations of the game, such as the camera and controls, some of the annoying running around (which is still a thing to be fair), the not really that deep story, and simple boss battles. Enough criticism, the game is great at the core and still is. Despite some of its age, it is fun, the most important factor. The puzzles are usually obvious but still a delight when you figure them out, the boss battles are unique and each one requires a new strategy to win using whatever new item you acquired in the dungeon, and the story is simple but cute and makes you want to win and save the Kingdom and Princess. Starting as a child and acquiring new skills, the game expertly has every new item and skill you learn build on itself to flesh out what Link can do naturally so by the time you reach the end everything is easy to just use. There are a few non-obvious sections you have to figure out, but nothing too terrible. The twist of becoming an adult, while since spoiled, is still a joy to experience and rescuing the sages to save the land. All in all, a game still worth playing today, but not a must play.