Category Archives: 7 Star Games

Mario Party 2 Review

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Usually I had been doing the Mario Party reviews in order but I actually never got around to publishing this one. Well, it’s time for a blast to the past because Mario Party 2 is a title that really had fun going the extra mile. The fact that each board has a full cutscene at the end where the heroes take down Bowser is really fun. I didn’t test if the cutscene is skippable so if it isn’t then maybe this would get old eventually but otherwise it’s just a really nice way to cap off the adventure.

The game has your classic story where you take Bowser out and prove that you’re the best while also having the iconic party/minigame modes at the ready. This is a party game that really has a ton of content for you to go out and enjoy. I would expect nothing less from this AAA title though. The character roster is still a bit on the small side but of course they all play the same so it’s not like it’s a particularly big deal. I just enjoy having more characters because it’s just fun to keep switching things up. This game is fairly old so we can really let that part slide.

Now where the game shines is with the levels. There’s a decent number of boards here and they are all very unique. They each commit 100% to the level’s theme whether it be outer space or the wild west. They have their own event spaces and a lot going on here but don’t break up the gameplay as much as the original or Party 3 where they could be a little excessive at times. Here we get to just jump in with the minigames and really just have a party. The A.I. is still as strong as ever though so get ready to have some real competition there. It’s just so good as predicting where you will go and making the right action. You wouldn’t see that from a newer title.

The selection of minigames is pretty solid as well. It has some of the most iconic ones of course like riding on the ball to knock out other opponents and a bunch of others. While Party 4 will always have the best lineup, these games hold their own rather well. Unlocking them all is bound to take you a long while too with how many there are to select. That’s still one thing I wouldn’t mind changing in a future title, some other way to unlock them aside from RNG. After all as we all know, RNG can be really rough to deal with at times.

As you can expect the graphics here look really good. Mario Party has a very timeless artstyle that still looks sharp and colorful many years after the game comes out. I suspect that this will always be the case as well. Colorful artstyles just work, it’s something that I’ve tried to say for years. Realistic artstyles are more risky because when they’re old, they look old. The soundtrack here is also fairly decent. Not super memorable but it has enough energy to it to work well with the minigames.

It goes without saying that the replay value here is also quite extensive so there’s a lot of reason to keep on coming back to have a good time. The minigames are different enough where you may want to play this one for a while even over a newer installment just for the nostalgia. As a result I would say there is always a market for this title even if it’s not my personal favorite Party title in the franchise. It’s still good enough by a considerable margin to be worth the play.

Overall, Mario Party 2 is a really fun game. There’s not a whole lot more to say about the game because it’s jut really solid due to the excellent gameplay and creativity in the games. There’s no real story to talk about or some kind of hidden theme for me to unpack. It’s a very direct title in that sense. You’re playing a game to have a fun time and this one delivers. So I can easily recommend this to any gamer no matter what your skill level is. It’s just good fun all around. You feel like they could have made a 15 turn Party Mode which would be easier to play in a short batch but you do also have minigame mode for that. Also since we’re on the Switch Online you can always create a save point whenever you want. Now there’s one of those modern quality of life perks I love so much! Of course that’s not from the game itself so I wouldn’t be counting it as part of the review.

Overall 7/10

Mario Party 3 Review

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It’s time for the next Mario Party title! The series has definitely come a long way and it’s always fun to take a trip down nostalgia lane with the older ones. Back in the day I played a lot of Mario Party 2 but 3 was sort of the odd man out. Now I could really go through it and see how it stacked up. It’s a fun game as are all of the parties but I would say that it’s not quite at the elite level of some of the latter ones like Mario Party 4 and Mario Party 5. In particular I think there are too many event spaces which do have a tendency to slow up the game somewhat.

I played a classic party match on the snow level. The gimmick here is that there is a snowman who throws a snowball at you and if you don’t time your jump perfectly then you will be sent flying and may even go right past the star you were hoping to be at. It’s a pretty tough one to deal with because the timing does have to be absolutely precise on every level. Mess it up by even the smallest amount and the stage will definitely make you regret it. Also there are a ton of event spaces littered about the stage so no matter what you really end up bumping into them. In my match the space was probably landed on at least 10 times.

It would be nice if the cutscene could be skipped after the first time but I guess because of the jumping that wouldn’t really be possible. As always I do have to say that the computer is incredibly skilled. It’s like you never really stood a chance against that guy. He wins just about all of the minigames and has incredible luck. I’m glad that Nintendo didn’t hold back here but man is it a different feeling than the A.I. nowadays. Although maybe I’m speaking too soon and I’m about to get clobbered when I try Super Mario Party soon. It’s not completely out of the realm of possibility right?

The graphics have aged very well if you ask me. Yeah they’re certainly a bit blockier and more pixelated as you would expect since it has been many years but the art style is magnificent so it just doesn’t matter. There’s one minigame where the characters are in their vehicles so you just see their giant heads popping out and it works extremely well. Meanwhile the soundtrack and sound effects are on point as well.

I haven’t talked much about the gameplay because it’s pretty self explanatory but I will say the most impressive thing here is really just that the game is a lot of fun. At no point are you bored or anything and the flow is pretty good. The minigames have a lot of variety as well. I should warn you that the Z button doesn’t appear to be configured/mapped with the GC controller. Not sure if there’s a way to fix that in the settings but if not there are definitely some unwinnable minigames here so I would keep that in mind. You basically just end up losing which boosts the CPU’s chances of winning matches even more as a result.

There are quite a number of maps in the game, each with their own little quirks so that adds a lot of replay value to the title. It’s also fun unlocking so many new minigames each time. I do think that it could get a little tricky eventually when you’re down to the last ones to unlock with RNG but that is always the case. Just means you have to get in there and keep on playing matches until you’ve obtained them all. A 20 turn match seems to take close to an hour so I wonder how long doing the 50 turn party they suggest would take. I feel like I did get to try that once in Party 4 or 5 but that was so many years ago that I just don’t remember.

Obviously the game has tons of replay value with minigame mode, and all of the other ways to play. You could really keep playing this game forever which is by design and Nintendo definitely aced it there. I would say it does beat Mario Party 1 with ease although to me Mario Party 2 seemed to have the better selection of minigames. I would also take it over a lot of the modern titles that really messed with the rules, these traditional settings are definitely the best way to go.

Overall, Mario Party 3 is definitely a pretty good game. I had fun with it and while you can definitely see some areas that could use a bit of work like all of the interruptions within the party stage and all, it’s still a positive experience in the end. The minigames themselves are a lot of fun and there’s also such a large variety of them. Even party games that would come out many years later like Sonic and the Secret Rings had far less minigames. So this one showed what was possible on a much smaller budget and made it look easy. Nintendo was definitely ahead of the curve. So I would say playing Party 4 is the better bet but if you have the Switch Online then you definitely owe it to yourself to give it a shot. No reason not to play it when you’ve got it in the collection right?

Overall 7/10

Pikmin 3 Review

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It’s time for the third Pikmin game. I was really not a fan of the first title but the second was way better so I had good hopes for this one. In the end I don’t think it managed to topple the second game because it just couldn’t match the gameplay. I do appreciate that this one had much more of a story though so it kept things reasonably close. In the end as long as you enjoy some good adventuring and commanding the minions then you will have a good time here.

The game starts with a group of explorers crash landing on a planet that has a bunch of odd creatures known as Pikmin on it. The heroes are able to control them with a whistle which is handy because this world is full of dangerous creatures who want the heroes dead. The trio are also out of food and drinks so they have to grab some fruits while trying to find the cosmic key which will let them get off the planet and back home. It won’t be easy though and they may not be alone on this island. Other humanoids may attempt to stand in their way.

I appreciated that this game took advantage of its status as a sequel and actually brought in characters from the earlier games to give you a bit of a crossover feeling. It’s still not going for much of an epic tone of course but just seeing some old faces was nice. The nostalgia hits hard especially since I jut finished playing the second game. If I was actually a fan of the old characters then I might not have loved their portrayals here but honestly I was totally fine with it. It didn’t rock my boat or anything like that.

So I mentioned how I felt Pikmin 2’s gameplay was a little better so I’ll explain that now. In Pikmin 2 you could use the C stick to assemble the Pikmin and have them all converge on a target. In this game you have to instead click on the lock-on feature and then look towards the opponent and press B. The problem is that pressing B is for dispersing the Pikmin as well so if your lock on wasn’t perfect or you lost it for a split second then it was all over for you. Your Pikmin would get eaten.

In general the gameplay felt a little less precise which is a bit odd all things considered. You’d have expected the opposite of that. Another rough part is when you throw a Pikmin somewhere, he will always return to that same spot. This is an issue because that means after building something you have to run all the way back to pick up your Pikmin. This happens quite often and makes things difficult for you because if you don’t have the Pikmin back in your party before the day is over then it ends up dying. That really ends up putting you behind the 8 ball when it counts.

There are quality of life updates here like Pikmin being able to survive if they’re by the ship. I definitely appreciate that. The whole relying on drinks to survive is better than the way the first Pikmin would just have you get the bad ending once the days passed. It’s just not perfect the way Pikmin 2 was in not rushing you at all. That’s the kind of energy I like to see.

The graphics definitely look really sharp. The colors really pop out at you and in general it felt like Nintendo gave this one to the A team. There aren’t any big fight scenes or anything like that to really show off the animation but after playing the second one so recently, you could see how much more vibrant this one was. It’s perhaps a little less spooky as a result since the place looks really happy but it’s got a good balance in the end. The soundtrack is more on the forgettable side, you’re really not going to remember the tunes all that well.

The boss fights are all pretty unique and have a lot of style to them though. They weren’t reused and they really made you think about which Pikmin to use. So I liked that and the game really underscored why you would want to have many creatures of each type at the ready to handle all possible obstacles. Otherwise you could actually just get completely stuck in a level and have to go back which was never fun. The levels could be rather large and almost crossed the line of being too big but I would say it never actually gets to be too much. The shortcuts you unlock as you go through the worlds definitely help a lot.

Overall, Pikmin 3 is a pretty good game. You definitely do need to enjoy harvesting and taking your time in order to really have a good time here though. It’s not amazing or anything like that but I wasn’t bored and in fact I even had fun most of the time. I really appreciated the fact that you can take multiple days to defeat a boss. It helps take a load off of your mind and make the night/day system not so bad. Even if you run out of time you can always try again later on. For the final boss this was especially helpful as it took a whole lot to bring him down. I had to go back to previous areas several times to grow more Pikmin to put a stop to him. In the end it all worked out though and this is the kind of title where you can take your time so if the first Pikmin scared you off, this one is safe to play. Part of me does wonder what would happen if I had eaten all of the fruits and hadn’t beat the game yet. Would I actually have to go back in time and restart the game from midway in? That would be rough but I don’t know exactly how that works.

Overall 7/10

Pikmin 2 Review

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It’s no secret that I really didn’t care for the original Pikmin and it’s part of what made it take so long for me to get the sequel. Well, that and the fact that the sequel was really overpriced but still I took the plunge and it all worked out. Pikmin 2 manages to improve on all of the issues that I had with the first title. The day system of the game just ending has been removed which is excellent and the gameplay is also a lot smoother. So the unthinkable happened and I actually had a lot of fun this time. Yes, I was just as surprised as you are and so now I’m actually ready to jump into Pikmin 3 soon after all of these years.

Well, the plot starts off with Olimar’s boss racking up a ton of debt. Unfortunately these debt collectors mean business and his life will be over if he doesn’t raise $10,000. Fortunately there is a planet nearby with a lot of treasure so Olimar gets sent over there with a rookie recruit. Can the two of them earn the money needed to save the company or is it all over? One thing’s for sure, they won’t be welcomed back until they have the cash.

So that’s the goal of the game and it’s part of the fun in how this one plays out because there are different ways to earn money. Naturally the easiest way is by finding treasure, each treasure generally gets you 100 coins. So rack up 100 of those and you will hit the $10,000. Now it’s not always so straightforward, some treasures are worth more than that and others are worth less but it roughly adds up. Some treasures end up giving you permanent upgrades as well like the ability to survive fire or electricity. Then you can also bring enemies back to your ship for money. The weakest ones will only give you one coin while others can give 10 or so.

It’s a long process but if you are absolutely stuck and unsure of how to defeat the latter worlds, you could in theory just farm money on the first few levels as much as you want with the enemies. Ultimately I didn’t do that but it does give you an extra sense of security that it’s possible. The best feeling in the game was definitely finding a new cave which is basically how the dungeons work in this game. The average cave has 7 levels in it and each level has 1-2 pieces of treasure in it. So you’re looking at around $1000 or so in the caves and they were massively helpful in getting to the end. I still had 1 cave I hadn’t unlocked yet by the time I beat the game which shows how generous they are with the treasure.

Now they are also pretty dangerous though. If you die or lose all of your Pikmin when inside of a cave then you lose all of your treasure. There’s no auto save when losing though so feel free to reset the game and try again. Of course sometimes it won’t matter because for example the exit is blocked by a gate that requires 10 Pikmin and you only have 3. At that point you just have to hold the L so always make sure you have a decent amount at the ready.

I realize I haven’t talked much about the gameplay. So basically you command a ton of Pikmin that you order to attack enemies, destroy obstacles, and carry treasure. The controls are fairly intuitive, you just point and they do the task or you can throw them to have them attack quicker. In this respect the game is even better than the original and the 3rd game as you always feel like you have total control. The Pikmin may die easily but they fight hard. The only tough part is getting them to stay single file behind you as they tend to fall into the ocean sometimes. That could always be annoying and in general water is the toughest obstacle for that reason. It can be hard to plan around that.

The most annoying part of the game has to be losing a bunch of Pikmin at once though. Like lets say you do drop them in the ocean or a boss eats most of them. It can take a full 2-3 days cycle to get your numbers back up and that feels a bit tedious. I only had a full wipeout a few times at least so it wasn’t too bad but one quality of life update I would do is making it so that as you progress through the game you actually start off with more Pikmin. Instead of only getting 1 of each type after a wipeout, maybe 5 of each type. Some kind of progression system that rewards you for playing so long.

The graphics for the game are pretty solid. I don’t know that I’d call it Nintendo’s finest work or anything like that. It doesn’t look as sharp as the Mario games but you do always know what’s going on and I like the level designs. The soundtrack is much more on the forgettable side and could be better though. You won’t be humming the tunes or anything like that. It’s a much more low key kind of adventure.

Overall, Pikmin 2 is a pretty good game. I actually don’t have many complaints with the title and I think it did a good job being a resource management type of game. Really what it’s just lacking at this point is more of a story. I think you could have absolutely had more cutscenes since we really just got an opening and an ending here. It would give you more of a reason to get invested beyond just enjoying the gameplay after all. Give me that extra boost and we’re all set. As it is the game is reasonably long and you have replay value from the post game stuff so they did put in a true effort all the way.

Overall 7/10

Override: Mech City Brawl Review

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This game didn’t make too many waves when it came out to be honest. It was around and then just as quickly as it came out, everyone forgot about it. The main problem is that it just didn’t really have a big hook to it. No singular reason why you would play it over some other mech game or anything like that. Still, the sequel brought in Ultraman so I figured…okay let me give this one a shot so I can go play the sequel soon and in the end it was pretty good.

The game actually does have a brief story mode even though there really isn’t much to it. Basically you have to help protect the world from alien invaders that are trying to take over. The only way to beat them is with your giant mech suit that has a ton of power at its disposal. Sounds easy enough, but you are outnumbered. You’re also a rookie so nobody takes you seriously yet. Can you defy the odds and save the world?

You’ll have the game beaten in a matter of hours so don’t worry about any of that. This is definitely not what I would call a really hard game at all. Just keep on punching the enemies away and the game will be over before the difficulty can really spike up at all. Considering that this is a PS4 title I do think they could have done more with the voice acting and budget to make this feel like a modern game. Because otherwise it just doesn’t really feel like it unlocked all of the latent potential. You could have made this game on the PS2 and it would be about the same.

The gameplay itself is fairly basic. You have your standard hits, power blows, and a super attack. Some attacks are so weak that you will never use them though. For example the main character has an energy blast, but it is slow and short range. What’s the point of an energy blast that is short range? I play long range fighters in fighting games for the spamming potential. That’s what I live for but if I can’t even do that then I’m absolutely going for the close range fighter all the way. There wouldn’t be much point in doing anything else at that point.

The gameplay can also be a bit slow. I’d say that using robots isn’t really an excuse for that either because I’ve seen plenty of faster ones. This game definitely could have stood to speed things up a notch but this is starting to sound negative for the gameplay so let me just clarify that the gameplay is still solid. I did have a good time with it because in general I love combat gameplay. You really can’t go wrong with it. It may not hold up against some other titles but I was still having fun. The game is also so cheap nowadays that it makes the value go up.

What this title really needed though was a larger cast, more modes to play, and a longer story. Throw those elements in and we’re talking about a whole new adventure at this point. If I bought this on opening day then I’d be super sad but buying it now, well it works out pretty well. The graphics are pretty decent. Nothing amazing but they’re fun and remind me of the old Godzilla Gamecube title. I also like how you can destroy just about every part of the city just by walking around. It helps show you the true scale of just how absolutely massive these robots are. Everything in their way is basically begging to be destroyed. The soundtrack’s more on the forgettable side though so don’t really worry about that.

In terms of replay value, this is mainly a multiplayer game so of course right off the bat that’s a ton of replay value. Just find some friends who enjoy the game and you can have fun playing against them for a while. Additionally you can work on getting the Platinum. I didn’t really look into how difficult that would be though. It all depends on if they included any online trophies or not but without a doubt it will add onto your overall playing time too. It’s why I still love trophies as a concept.

Overall, Override Mech is a pretty fun game. It’s not particularly ambitious nor does it have the sheer volume of content to compete with most mech titles but it’s a quality title. I always like seeing a new IP try to get out there and survive. This one at least does that and evidently did well enough to get a sequel. Unfortunately that one got rid of the stakes in the story although I’m very early on so that could change. At the end of the day if you like mecha fighting games then you should definitely pick this one up. Trust me you won’t regret it. This is the kind of game that you need to dive into especially when you see the low price.

Overall 7/10

Sin and Punishment Review

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It’s time to play a game that was really well known back in the day. I mean it still is as a legacy title of course but I’m betting most people probably have not heard of it at this point if you ask someone down the street. It’s why people need that big remake or reboot already. The sequel on the Wii was a lot of fun though. This game definitely has a very retro feel to it that you just don’t see nowadays though and it’s aged really well.

The game sort of just throws you into the story with some kind of resistance fighting some kind of alien invasion and an alien girl is around manipulating everyone. As the game goes on you get more and more context on what is going on but it’s also left vague enough to be part mystery all the way through. It works really well and definitely sets the stage for what you can expect here. It actually reminds me of Blame! a whole lot with the characters designs and story going on. There’s a lot of creepy visuals going on here and you have to keep your guard up at all times. The stakes get really high by the end and it even feels a bit meta at times.

The gameplay is pretty good to keep up with that. TO an extent it’s like a first person shooter. You do see your character but can only move side to side so I’d say it counts. You have to blow up all opposing forces before they can get to you and deal damage. What this means is that you need to try and go full throttle all the time. Predicting where an enemy will go and firing it a great way to stay ahead of the curve and prevent yourself from getting overrun. The game starts off rather easy but let me tell you that when the difficulty ramps up…it really ramps up! It hits you suddenly.

There was one boss in particular that I died to quite a few times where you’re fighting a spinning alien trash disc of sorts and then a giant robot shows up and stabs you. I couldn’t figure out how to dodge this thing and it turns out that I had to defeat the monster before it could hit me. So it’s a speed trial level and I didn’t realize that for quite a while. Not that it would have helped me much since it turned out that I also needed to use my sword on the object near the end.

I never fully mastered the controls. It seems like there are 3 gun settings and they change as you use the A button but that’s also the button you use to move to the right so I just wasn’t totally sure what was going on here. Sometimes I would switch settings accidentally when I was just trying to move. I do think there was some kind of a tutorial but…I didn’t click on it. So yeah no complaints on this end, I didn’t quite do my due diligence but that’s how it goes sometimes. The important thing is that the controls are still very smooth except for that and so the design is on point. Just go to the tutorial and you’ll have an easier time of things.

The game is fairly short although that’s to be expected for a shooter title like this. Generally in games where the level moves and you try to shoot your way to the end, the story will be short. I’m thinking it’s because it probably takes a lot of processing power to load up all of the levels and enemies. It’s just a guess of course but I think it makes a lot of sense because this feels really advanced especially for back in the day. The graphics may not be the best here but it’s hard to tell how much of that is on the tech and how much of it is stylistic. I do think to a degree the game is trying to look rough around the edges after all but I’m not sure and either way I gotta call it out all the same.

The soundtrack is definitely really good. It’s got that full sci-fi feel to it and the themes are always fairly quick. They match the tempo of the levels. The characters are good and the story is high quality at all times so I have no issues there either. This is a game that really had a lot of good effort put behind it which I really appreciate. It has no weakpoints, at most you could just say that it could stand to be longer. Still, it’s enough for you to have fun and the gameplay is solid which is the important thing. As a nitpick I do think they should have made movement be with the L and R buttons or something though just because having one button be for moving as well as for changing weapons can be a little confusing.

Overall, Sin and Punishment is a pretty fun game. I definitely had a good time with it all the way through. It does really finish in a flash but each level was well made and there was a lot of plot involved in it at all times. It’s what makes this game be a step above a lot of competitors. They definitely should have made many more games in this franchise already since the potential is absolutely there. If you have the Nintendo Switch Online then you should definitely play this game as soon as possible. It’s right there and ready for you to start playing it after all. You just need to dive in and have a good time. Keep your guard up and you’ll be fine.

Overall 7/10

Bomberman Generation Review

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It’s time for the return of Bomberman and this has to be the most plot focused one that I’ve played in the series. I definitely appreciated that the game’s story took itself rather seriously this time and Bomberman was allowed to do what he does best which is blow up his opponents. No comic relief characters are around to slow him down or anything like that. As a result we have a very solid story all around and the gameplay is definitely solid. The difficulty level of this game is fairly sizable though.

The game starts with Bomberman being called in by the doctor to recover the bomb elements from around the universe. A villainous group intends to use them for nefarious purposes but Bomberman isn’t about to let this happen without a fight. He will have to go through many different obstacles and use every technique at his disposal but he is ready to do this. Nobody will be stopping him.

The gameplay is a little different from the other Bomberman titles. Yes, you are still running around the map and planting bombs but instead of blowing up boxes and being in a limited space, you go through full platforming levels. You are running, jumping, and activating different switches and stuff in order to get to the goal. Along the way you will use little creatures that can fight each other and change the abilities of your bombs. You can even change your bomb element like from water to fire, etc. For the most part the elements won’t come into play until the end of the game but it’s good to get used to them in the meantime.

Now the only dicey part in the game is the collectathon elements. You will need certain items and power ups in order to clear the obstacles. The game misleadingly only shows you when some collectables are missing but not where others are. That means without an online walkthrough you will need to just search through every level to find them and the levels can be rather large. As much as you can you should try to check every portal in every level but it’s definitely not easy. Sometimes you will miss one so just hope that it isn’t one of the mandatory ones.

I’m not really sure what the point of the monster battles part of the gameplay was though. It’s completely luck based as the computer controls both fighters and there’s just not much to it. It sort of feels like it’s just here to be here but the game’s development focus was definitely on the main gameplay so it probably should have stuck to that. There are only a few battles in the game so it’s not a big deal but in a way that just makes them even more jarring because of how sudden they are.

As for the bosses, a lot of them are tough so definitely tread carefully. I would say to try and memorize their attack patterns first and then worry about hitting them. You don’t have much health after all so just a few good hits and you’re out. Online I saw people with tons of hearts while I only had 3 so there are probably power ups somewhere that increase your hearts but I just didn’t come across them.

The most useful creature is one that lets you detonate your bombs at any time. It makes it a lot easier to lure an enemy to where you have a bomb and blow him up. It’s also quicker since you can throw a bomb and immediately blow it up compared to waiting the timer down with the normal ones. Once you get the super versions of the monsters you can even use two abilities at once which is really good. The toughest boss in the game would have to be this giant machine that keeps slamming the ground. The reason it is difficult is that the slam automatically blows up any bombs you have set down so that made my favorite one irrelevant. You basically have to place a bomb and then immediately kick it or you will be caught in the crossfire. It does not grant you any mercy, that’s for sure!

I would say I beat that boss with half luck. I just tried kicking as fast as possible and eventually it all timed perfectly where I dodged the slam and got it through the window while the slot was open. Trust me when I say that it’s hard to do that on command. So you do feel pretty proud of yourself once you have conquered the game. Meanwhile the game has full voice acting which is really cool. It really helps to immerse yourself in the game more. I do have to deduct some points for there not being an ability to skip cutscenes though. So when you die you have to watch the whole thing over again.

You can dodge that by continuing after a loss instead of exiting to the main menu but if you do that then you lose all power ups and upgrades so I’d say that’s not worth it. Maybe you can do that a few times to learn how the boss moves and fights of course but after that it’s definitely time to go back to the main menu to start at full power again. Once you are used to moving at full speeds it is really hard to get used to being back at level 1 after all.

Overall, Bomberman Generation is a pretty fun game. It really does a lot with the Bomberman series and ends up being one of the most memorable installments in the series. It’s always nostalgic going back to the Gamecube era as well since that was still the peak of all gaming experiences. One of these days I will definitely need to get the other Bomberman gamecube title. In the meantime I would recommend searching this one out, it’s a good time and the length is pretty decent. The difficulty alone will likely help add some time to this.

Overall 7/10

Sonic Dream Team Review

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When this game came out there were some massive waves among the gaming community. After all the game would be Apple exclusive and it’s crazy to see Sonic stuck on the mobile market since he’s usually on all of the big consoles. It’s a sign of how things are changing though and hopefully a port comes out at some point. In the meantime I figured this was the time to break out the 3 month free trial offer that Apple has. The game’s fairly short so it’s definitely beatable within that time.

The basic plot is that Eggman gets in a little over his head with a dream device but somehow puts up the ultimate comeback effort and takes over the dream world. I have to say that I was quite impressed with that since usually he would have lost. The guardian over the dream world is forced to ask Sonic and friends for help after they fell for Eggman’s trap and land inside the dream as well. Sonic and friends are always ready for a challenge and so they accept but will they really have what it takes to win this?

There are 4 worlds and each world has 3 levels and then a boss stage. Each level has 8 mini levels inside of them so that’s a fairly good amount. Beating each stage grants you an orb and you need orbs to unlock future levels. You will find that you need to clear most of the levels in order to reach the end but they tend to be bite sized so it’s not a huge undertaking. The first level is always the longest one and then they branch out from there.

The game steadily ramps up the difficulty level as the worlds go on though so you’ll notice yourself moving a bit slower after a while. The game has an infinite respawn mechanic so don’t worry about game overs or anything like that. The only kind of level you may have to restart are the time trials but otherwise you can die as often as you need to in order to understand and master the level. Once that has happened then you will be all set.

The boss battles are all handled pretty well. I appreciate that the game has unique bosses and they all fight differently. The final boss is the most different as you don’t actually fight him. It’s more of a chase scene type of level as you have to keep on running and dodging until you make it to the end. It’s definitely a very climactic way to end things off but it does come across as a little on the easy side. The rest of the bosses were all more difficult.

The graphics here are very good. This definitely looks like a full AAA Sonic game even though it’s for mobile and it shows just how far the market has gone over the years. Gone are the days where a mobile game looked like a last gen title. I also have to give a special shoutout to the soundtrack which is excellent. A lot of very catchy tunes here. They’re going for a very electronic vibe for just about the whole soundtrack and it works really well.

I’m also really glad that there’s a real story here. It would have been so easy for the game to have just skipped that and called it a day but that wasn’t the case here. The cutscenes may not have traditional movement but there are a lot of slides to get the feeling across. Also the opening is definitely very high budget. Hopefully the new character returns and I want them to keep on making more Sonic games with full stories like this. Sonic Dream Team keeps the light tone of the old games while having a full story like the Adventure titles which should keep both sides of the fanbase pretty happy. (Well most of them anyway)

The mobile controls do get a little tricky but of course I would say that’s not a big thing to be upset about since you can pair your PS4 controller to it. I didn’t bother in this case, I would have if this was a 50 hour RPG or something but I’m used to the phone pretty well as it is. I’ve been mobile gaming for several years at this point even if I’m still more of a console gamer overall. Now while I did enjoy the game, I do hope they really limit how many games are exclusive to Arcade because once this free trial is gone I doubt I’ll be able to get another.

For some closing notes, it’s nice how you can play as several different characters. It uses a system like Adventure 2 Battle where there are different classes and then each character in that class has the same abilities. So in this game that means there are 3 pairs: Sonic/Amy, Tails/Cream, and Rouge/Knuckles. Having 3 different gameplay styles is pretty fun and being able to change during a level is also cool. The game’s really trying out some interesting ideas here. I mainly stuck as Sonic when I was given a choice but there are many times you are forced to play as someone else so I recommend you to be as familiar with all of them as possible.

Overall, Sonic Dream Team is definitely a pretty good game. It’s not really as short as you would expect, I want to say that I put in around 4 hours so it’s about Sonic Forces level. There is some replay value as well although not a ton so I don’t want to trick you on that one. The levels are just big enough where getting all of the collectibles will likely take some work but also short enough where they are easy to replay and also just a lot of fun. I think that’s the biggest thing the game gets right, it’s just a lot of fun the whole time with colorful levels and high speed gameplay. Longtime Sonic fans will probably have fun 100% completing the game. Hey if you have Apple Arcade then you should absolutely play this game. I probably wouldn’t go out of my way to play it if I didn’t have the free trial but I’m sure it is the best game on the whole Arcade system so you don’t want to miss out on it.

Overall 7/10

Mario Party Review

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It’s time to look at the game that really started one of the most iconic series of all time. Mario Party is a tried and true tradition in the hearts of many and has been for decades. Not just because of how chaotic the games are but because it showed just how fun a party game can be. It’s also been a difficult genre for any other franchise to pull off despite many games trying to do so. This one has a lot of the fun elements that you are used to in the series while at the same time also lacks some of the polished quality of life features you would be thinking about later on down the road. So it’s pretty fun, but not quite as elite as Mario Party 4.

There is a basic story here as well with all of the heroes fighting among themselves and generally being a little on the petty side. Each one wants to prove that they are the true superstar around here. It’s a noble goal to be sure….heh. Well maybe not that noble but I get why they would really want to appear to be the best. It just makes a lot of sense. Still, there can only be one champion and so they all decide to fight in various party games to prove it. Along the way each world is transformed by your actions which is a nice touch. Can they conquer all of the maps?

The character roster is rather small here. It’s crazy to think that even Daisy wasn’t around yet although that would change soon. There is a decent amount of minigames here but not as much as in later games of course. Fortunately the games here are all rather solid. For example the minigame where you try to bump your opponents off the field while on your ball is a true classic. I really had a blast there and it’s aged incredibly well. I tend to enjoy all of the platformer ones as well and for the most part the games are all pretty good.

There are some that don’t feel very balanced though, particularly the 1 vs 3 games. Either the solo player is incredibly overpowered or has no realistic chance to win. There is rarely a real middleground there. I’m guessing it’s probably the hardest type of game to develop though so I feel for the developers there. One interesting kind of game that you don’t see in the newer ones is the 4 player team up game. There are a few games here where you all actually have to team up and when you win, everyone gets their 10 coins. If one person loses then you all lose.

It’s an interesting idea but I can see why it was scrapped since you’re usually in it for yourself so that would have been a bit of an odd segway. One thing I wouldn’t mind if they had kept is how if you lose a minigame here, you actually lose 5 coins as opposed to not changing. Perhaps they thought it was a bit too harsh but it certainly meant that you did not want to lose. Let me tell you, I lost a lot of the minigames when starting out because it takes a little time to get used to them. The controls are simple enough but it’s the mechanics that get tricky. Like knowing when to time your jump and how far you go.

Mario Party is the master of really quick minigames and so by the time you’ve gotten the controls down, the minigame is over. Definitely not too forgiving in that sense but I think it’s the right move. If a minigame was too long then that would be a true problem. Much more of one than if the minigame was too short after all. Particularly since the shortest amount of turns you can set the games for is 20 instead of 15 here. So even the shortest game can feel rather long by the end of its run.

Where the game shows its age a little is in some of the smaller ways like how you can’t skip the computer’s turn. You have to watch them slowly play the minigames and walk around the board. It’s another reason why it’s good that the minigames are short but even so this slows down the pacing quite a lot. You should not have to sit there and wait while the computer does their thing because there are so many event spaces and extra minigames that they add up considerably. It just feels like too long before you get back to your turn. I was actually able to catch Pokemon and do other stuff while waiting which is always a bad sign.

Meanwhile the graphics are definitely pretty solid though. This is definitely on the higher end for the Nintendo 64 titles. Additionally the soundtrack is definitely on point here as well. A lot of classic tunes to be found here at all times. The level designs are also very distinct which I appreciate. Each stage has their own gimmicks so they feel completely different. Sometimes it can be in annoying ways like the Bob Omb level but you can’t win them all as they say. You know that at least the game was never lazy in the slightest.

Overall, Mario Party is a pretty fun title. The games are on point and it has a very nice feeling to it. Even when you lose you’ll be having a good time here. You’ll probably be a little salted when the RNG goes against you but that’s just how it goes. I do think it’s a little iffy when the computer targets you for a star instead of the guy in 1st….but just play as if all of the computers are against you and you’ll be fine. The game could do with a little less distractions and adding in some of those quality of life features I mentioned but for Nintendo’s first journey into this genre I definitely have to say that they did a good job. They were really creative in thinking up all of these fun minigame ideas.

Overall 7/10

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder’s Revenge Review

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It’s been a while since I’ve played a TMNT game so this was fun to check out. It’s definitely a very retro title really putting the beat em up genre back on the map. It’s got a good amount of levels to it too. As a whole the beat em up genre tends to be fairly short but I would say this game was definitely longer than the average one I’ve played like this. The collectibles also help to give it some replay value although I couldn’t figure out how the score matters. I know that helping side characters get their mementos increased it but there was nothing to spend the score on. I did get a trophy out of that though.

The basic plot is that the Shredder is back in action and he’s getting ready to take over New York. The Ninja Turtles have to unite and fight but Shredder has a ton of powerful lackeys at his beck and call. If the main characters are not extremely careful then they are about to get absolutely destroyed here. Do they have what it takes to win or are they completely doomed here? Only time will tell.

There are illustrations at the beginning of each level with a little narration so that’s how you get the plot moving. I would have liked a little more animation in these cutscenes since the game is fairly new even though it’s going for the retro vibe. Still, it works out well enough and I had a good time playing through this one. The gameplay is fast paced and really rewards your creativity in how you approach your opponents. You have a lot of options for how you attack and move around and have to have quick reaction times because most of the enemies really try to rush you right out of the gate.

One thing I highly recommend is grabbing a bunch of your enemies. You grab automatically by going close to them so the trick is to toss them at the screen. It’s an automatic one hit KO for any minion that you are able to throw. So please note that this will not work on enemies in the latter levels as they start to resist everything you throw at them but the early ones? Yeah they don’t stand a chance against this attack. It also helps you not be in a position where you will get hit a lot.

If it’s not possible though, throw a few attacks and then quickly dash. When you dash it cancels out your lag so you can attack right away again. It really works and is a tremendous way to take the advantage in every fight. Trust me when I say that the enemies won’t see it coming. As much as possible you should save your super attacks for the bosses because of how much damage it does. You will be wiping significant amounts of their health with a single hit and your can store up more and more super attacks as you level up. Try not to waste it for when they are in an invincible state though. Just be patient and attack when the enemy is attacking you or something like that.

The graphics are definitely really solid here. Everything is super clear and there is a lot of detail on the screen at all times. There is no real lag at all and so the stage transitions are really smooth. The soundtrack is pretty catchy as well so the game definitely put in a good effort on both of these fields. As mentioned there is a decent length here and also a good amount of replay value. Getting the Platinum Trophy will not be easy by any stretch because some of those trophies are really hard. So just keep that in mind but it’s still a good way to get a lot more content out of this one.

I’d definitely be down with more beat em up style games like this in the future. There’s just a lot of potential here and I feel like they should be easy to develop. You don’t want to rush too hard and make the games feel like cash-ins though so you have to tread very carefully. Still, imagine this with DBZ characters, the Justice League, etc. They don’t make too many beat em up style games like this anymore so it was a fun blast down memory lane. Fans of the TMNT franchise will definitely appreciate all of the nostalgia here as well.

Overall, This was a pretty fun game. You really got to see the Ninja Turtles crushing everyone in their way and the gameplay is just a lot of fun. Who doesn’t like just shredding into all of your opponents right? I would also say that 2D beat em ups like this can actually be fairly difficult. You can’t just run in and attack like in the 3D games or you will end up being defeated. Here you want to do a lot of jumping, weaving in and out, etc. Only after you’ve done all of that can you beat a level safely. I didn’t get any game overs but I did lose a life or two on occasion to be sure. Just fight in a smart way and you’ll be okay.

Overall 7/10