Category Archives: 8 Star Games

Marvel vs. Capcom: Infinite Review

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After all these years I have now gone ahead and bought the latest Marvel vs Capcom title. I feel like it never quite had the lasting power of MVC2 or 3 but it’s still a great fighting game with a bunch of characters. I also do appreciate that it has a full legitimate story beyond just intros and endings in arcade mode. So that gives it some points and at the end of the day it’s the kind of game that you can play with friends for hours.

The story starts off midway through. Marvel and Capcom’s universes have merged and it’s been 3 months since then. The heroes are trying to fight off Ultra Sigma from taking over all of the worlds and they are down to their last lines of defense. In order to win they are going to need all of the Infinity Stones. Obtaining them will not be easy though and they might even have to turn to a dangerous villain for aid.

It’s a fairly basic story but it gets the job done. My only real problem with it is that it starts 3 months later so everyone’s already friends so we missed all of the meetups. I feel like that takes a lot of the punch out of a crossover like this. It’s an okay story but I feel like just about anyone could easily write a more interesting one. It just plays things too safe and there is also no power level consistency here. You will see Chris Redfield overpowering Ultron droids and throwing them around yet I’m supposed to believe that Mega Man X and Hulk were losing ground against these guys? Nahhhhhhhhhhhh, but if you ignore all of the power levels and such at least you get to see your favorite characters winning and everything.

The gameplay is a classic 2 on 2 style. Gone are the days of 3 vs 3 but the gameplay is fairly polished. You also have the Infinity Stones in play which give extra powers and abilities. For the most part I’d say they’re kinda pointless but I guess they wanted to tie them in somehow. You have your auto combos in the game as well as a lot of more advanced ones that you would have to do by hand. Those would definitely be more effective but they take longer to master so that’s a very fair ratio.

While the artstyle isn’t the best, the graphics are still really solid. It’s great seeing the updated character models for everyone and the backgrounds as good. I also liked one cutscene in particular where we actually saw all of the characters fighting it out with Ultron. I think they spent most of the budget on that one but it was definitely cool. The soundtrack is a little more on the generic side. I didn’t notice any tunes that really caught my eye but I suppose that I definitely didn’t get to play on every stage.

In terms of replay value there is naturally a ton here. Aside from completing the story you can do arcade mode, play endless vs battles and of course aim for the Platinum. The trophies look like they would be rather difficult to obtain so that would last you a long while. Also in general it just goes without saying that fighting games are endless for replay value so long as the gameplay itself is good. Fortunately that very much is the case so there are really no issues there.

The story mode itself is shockingly easy for just about the whole game until the final boss. Suddenly the difficulty cranks up to 11. It’s a bit jarring at first because you get used to playing in a very sloppy fashion. Endless auto combos and everything but then suddenly you have to actually fight for real. It makes things interesting though so I appreciate that. It actually took me like 4-5 tries to take the guy down because he kept knocking me out before I could get the health all the way down. Even my very last attempt came down to the wire. So definitely don’t underestimate that boss.

In general it shows how rusty I am with this gameplay style though. There was once a time where I would have effortlessly solo’d the boss and now look at me? Barely scraping by when it counts. That was definitely an eye opener and ironically I do better against actual players since they won’t block my random supers the way that an A.I. does. I think they should code in the ability for a computer to fall for a random strategy every once in a while don’t you think?

There’s not a whole lot more to say about this one since it is fairly basic. I guess as a mild negative in a sense, I just think they could have done a bit more for this one. It almost feels in some ways like a smaller budget MVC title than you would expect from something on a PS4 console. Whether it’s making a longer story mode or inflating the character count a bit, you can tell that it doesn’t have quite the same level of effort as something like Super Smash Bros. Few things do of course but I felt like this game in particular really stood out. Like it could have been amazing if it tried just a little harder instead of being great.

Overall, Marvel vs Capcom Infinite is a great game. At the end of the day it’s a nice, fast paced 2D fighter with a good character roster. It’s not as ambitious as it could have been and might end up falling short compared to some of its competition in the modern fighting game arena but you’re bound to have a lot of fun here. Having a full story mode should be the norm nowadays so I hope they keep that up. If you have time for a good fighting game to dive into, then I definitely recommend jumping into this one.

Overall 8/10

The Legend of Zelda: The Minish Cap Review

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It’s time to play a Legend of Zelda game that has been on my wishlist for a super long time. I’ve wanted this game for years and so when they finally added it to the Nintendo Switch Online, I was pumped! Long had I waited for this one and I can tell you now that it absolutely lived up to the hype. It’s easily one of the best Legend of Zelda games that I have played. There are no annoying puzzles here and you really feel stronger as you get more items and power ups which is the way that it should go.

The story starts off with a mysterious sorcerer showing up and turning Princes Zelda and her subjects into stone. Only Link is able to escape but to defeat this new villain he will have to awaken the Master Sword! That won’t be easy but he is joined by a magician who has been trapped inside the form of a hat. Well, not the most impressive debut but he promises to be helpful and at least Link will not be alone now. Do the two of them have what it takes to claim victory here?

I do miss Ganondorf as that guy still has a lot more aura than the new villain here but Vaati is not bad. He has a cool design and can fight, I just didn’t find him nearly as impressive as good ole Ganon. Now there was a threat! Vaati could maybe get up there if he could just get a few more games I suppose. Zelda looks good here though. While she was taken by surprise and overwhelmed, she seemed like a capable leader and one of the Zelda versions that had a lot of personality.

So lets dive into the gameplay here. It’s an overhead platformer where you go through a lot of dungeons and lands in order to find the Master Sword elements and then save the world. There’s a lot of exploration going on here and while the main events tend to be linear, you have a lot of freedom in what you do on the way there. There are little pieces of rock that are scattered everywhere. Under bushes, dropped from enemies, etc. When you get those you can then try to find the civilian who has the matching piece. Almost every civilian has a rock but there are so many shapes that it can take a while to find the one that the villager has. Every time you make a match it unlocks either a new dungeon or a cool minion encounter that gets you a ton of rupees. A lot of the dungeons lead to useful items like extra heart pieces so I recommend doing as much matching as possible.

It’s a gameplay thing that I didn’t even realize was there until the very end of the game so the benefit at least was that I had a ton of pieces. I was handing them out for around an hour at least and it was cool to see the world opening up so much. In a lot of ways that is why this game succeeds, the world has such a high amount of replay value around every corner. You’re really incentivized to go out there and explore especially as you unlock more abilities. It feels a bit like Shantae where you have a noticeable power boost by the end. That series still does it best but Minish Cap is the best example that I have seen from the Legend of Zelda.

It also helps that the map is really good so you won’t get lost and of course there are a lot of quick travel points. So you don’t have to go everywhere by foot or anything like that. The benefits just keep on coming right? The hub world is really pleasant and the map is just small enough where the parts that you do have to walk through never feel intimidating. It’s really well crafted on every level. Then you have the actual dungeons where the puzzles are handled really well here. There’s nothing abstract like staring at a painting and trying to figure things out or anything like that. Yeah the puzzles can still be rather difficult but it’s in a very fair way. It all feels very legitimate which I appreciate.

The boss battles are also nice and creative here. Definitely no recycled bosses or anything like that. The dungeons are all unique and every weapon tends to be fairly useful. The only exception is probably the boomerang. I was pretty excited to find that one but in the end I never had any reason to use it. The arrows were simply better and the ammo for those was super jealous so I never ran out anyway. In general the game was very generous around the board. I would max out on the gems real quick for example and the same would go for all of the weapons.

I guess what I’m saying is that this game had a ton of great quality of life features. It was always a lot of fun every step of the way and I definitely appreciated that. After all you want to be having a lot of fun at all times and that’s what happens here. It sets a really high bar for the other Legend of Zelda games like Spirit Tracks to try and follow so we’ll see if they have what it takes there. Lets just say that I have some really big doubts there. Minish Cap is one of those titles that is just a bit too ahead of its time.

The graphics were definitely really good here. The character designs were on point and the backgrounds were nice and bright. Meanwhile the soundtrack was on point as well. The tunes were all fairly iconic and it’s another example of how this game got the big budget. They definitely spared no expense on this one and even the gimmick of turning small for some of the puzzles was fun instead of being annoying. That takes effort!

Overall, The Minish Cap is a great game. I really felt like the developers gave it everything that they had here and held nothing back. There are so many unlockables that I didn’t even get to explore a lot of them because the game ended. 100% completing the game would probably be a real trial with how many extra caves there are and such but it’s very satisfying to see the new areas. The gameplay is smooth and the graphics are solid. What more could you ask for right? You absolutely need to check this one out as soon as possible!

Overall 8/10

Dark Cloud 2 Review

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It’s definitely been quite a while since I got to play the original Dark Cloud. It was a pretty fun game but one that had some mechanics I wasn’t crazy about like the breakable weapons and building. I always enjoyed being in the endless dungeons but the parts outside of that were a bit weaker. Well, Dark Cloud 2 definitely improves on the first one. I will say that building still isn’t my favorite part to say the least but weapons are no longer broken in the same way. They can run out of energy so you have to give them a potion but you never lose a weapon and I can tell you that this is an absolutely huge deal! A serious game changer all the way through.

The game’s story is also rather ambitious. You start out with the main character Max trying to get into the circus when a really odd evil clown shows up asking for the necklace that he got from his mother. Max barely escapes into the sewers and then manages to leave the town. The rest of the world is…empty. It turns out that his town is the last one in existence and the only reason it wasn’t destroyed with the rest of the world is because the villains need his necklace. So if he turns it over…then its going to be the end of everyone he knows. Fortunately he runs into a time traveler named Monica who is here to save the world from its imminent fate. It’s not just the world that is in danger but all of history as the villain can time travel as well. Can they possibly stop him?

So this is a full RPG story all the way through with a lot of twists and turns around every corner. The game handles everything very nonchalantly though which can always be pretty fun. Max just takes it all in stride and never reacts as hard as you would expect. The heroes are going out there and fighting off god level threats and he’s still got his wrench and determination. It’s one of those games where it would be fun to see this as an anime because in theory these are just average joes fighting crazy high level opponents.

The game really has two main gameplay styles. First is the combat in the dungeons and then you have the overall building aspect. I’ll go into the building first since that one to me is definitely trickier and will take a lot of time. So basically one of the elements of the plot is that the villain is destroying the “origin point” of various landmarks that are critical to the heroes. So you have to rebuild them with parts that you obtain from every level in the game. Building involves buying the required materials and then putting them all over the map. Here’s where most of the grind comes from because you need money for the materials and you get a lot of money by selling materials but then you’re missing the materials for the next item. Rinse and repeat over and over. It’s a rather tricky cycle and I sold important stuff a few times by mistake before I realized what was up.

If you put something in the wrong spot, it takes a few steps to remove it and replace. Would have been good if you could have just picked something up and moved it. Part of me suspects that there has to be a way and I was just doing it wrong. You’re given hints as to where each item should go but there’s going to be a ton of trial and error to get it just right. Also you won’t see all of the hints initially so you have to keep playing levels to get there. Occasionally a level will have two exits so you need to hit both of them.

As for the combat, that is still the meat and potatoes of the game and it’s the really fun part. It’s sort of like .Hack where you will enter a dungeon with many different floors and have to clear them all. You do get to save between every floor which is incredibly useful. I would have really been in a jam without that because I did die a fair number of times. It can be difficult to gauge the enemy range and then you die from a powerful hit. I do want to say though that the gameplay is rather exciting because of that. You’re certainly never bored because the game isn’t too easy but it’s also never unfair. When you die you know that it really was your fault because you got greedy and over extended.

The level up system is one of the toughest parts of the game. Unlike a traditional RPG where you level up with XP, you instead get weapon XP when you beat an enemy> This levels up your weapon which allows you to give it orbs to absorb to increase its stats further. This is another manual process that takes a while but get the stats high enough and then you can upgrade the weapon. Rinse and repeat as much as needed. So I took it at face value and kept on doing that, but it’s actually better to level a weapon up to level 5, then sacrifice it to your main weapon to get much bigger stat boosts. I didn’t find that out until the final boss….so it took me a little longer than it should have but in my defense I don’t know how you would guess that from the start.

As a result there are tons of different methods towards building yourself up with the best armaments by the end of the game. Go with whatever seems like the best bet and then you’re all set. Some routes will take more effort than others but you’ll still be able to make it. The final boss is incredibly difficult because you have to fight close to 11 bosses back to back. Make sure you bring a ton of health items and boost your attack power as high as possible. I had to go back and get just about every health power up possible with my attack upgrades and it was still close.

This game is listed as being 50+ hours for the story and I can see why. I beat it sooner than that but there is a ton of content here. There are also side missions and a post game so there is a ton of bang for your buck. That’s a good thing since the game tends to be on the expensive side. There are a ton of different mechanics into the game that I barely even touched on like golf, fishing, etc. so the developers really went out of their way to make sure there was a lot to do here. Even the gameplay is rather deep but I will leave you to experience that all for yourself. Mainly the thing to focus on here is that the game is just great and excels across the board. Hopefully we get more games in this series at some point. I don’t mind if they drop the building aspect and focus purely on the dungeon gameplay though heh heh.

Overall, Dark Cloud 2 is an improvement over the first and a really solid game. I feel like many people have not gotten to play this one since it always felt a bit on the obscure side but if you can find it in stores then I definitely recommend checking it out. It’s really a good bit of fun all the way through and is a lot more expansive and all encompassing than you might think. The building mechanics can be a bit of a challenge but once you get the hang of it then you’ll be fine. It just takes a lot of time unless there are some controls I ended up missing on.

Overall 8/10

Rayman Legends Review

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Rayman is one of those titles where I’ve played quite a few of the games but I haven’t found it to be as memorable as most of the other big titles. Well, it’s fair to say that Legends is definitely a game changer for the series and it is by far the best installment. It handles the collectathon aspect of the title very well and makes more use of the platforming genre than almost any other title I’ve seen. Ultimately the gameplay is so strong that it does help to make up for the lack of a story here.

The game starts off with some evil magicians deciding to make a mess of things. They’re kidnapping people and so Rayman will have to free everyone and save the world. All in a days work for someone like this though. Rayman has dealt with his share of threats over the years after all. Unfortunately that’s pretty much it for the story. There’s not much of an ending and each world just has the same recycled cutscenes over and over. You don’t expect a whole lot more from a platformer and yet I do think they really could have done a better job here. At least give me new cutscenes for each world. The story is absolutely the weakest part of the game by far.

Fortunately we are here for the gameplay at the end of the day. The lack of a story would hurt its chances of my getting the game on opening day compared to other franchises but at least once I do get around to it, I’m always happy to see solid gameplay. At its core the gameplay is fairly simple, you run and jump your way past obstacles as you try to get to the goal. Occasionally there will be a boss battle for you to go up against.

Where the game shines is in taking this simple gameplay and making a lot of intricate levels out of it. In a way it reminds me of Mario Maker a bit. For example after every boss battle, each world ends with a music themed level where you have to run quickly and hit enemies at the right time to follow the beat. This is used in a subtle way to let you know when to make a move as well as making the level fun to listen to. Likewise in the normal levels there are always a lot of visual and audio cues to let you know when to make a move.

The game allows you to jump between worlds at will so because of that every level even has tutorials at the ready through on screen prompts which are nice. They aren’t intrusive but are a great idea particularly if you’re going back to play the game after putting it down for a long while. You won’t really need it while playing through the game but I can absolutely see it coming in handy a year from now.

The game has a ton of replay value through unlockable characters (Basically costumes though tbh since they play the same) and extra levels that you unlock by getting more of the blue orbs. The best part though is that you can still beat the game without getting them all. There are 700 in the game and you need around 300 to complete the story. That’s a good ratio if you ask me because you can have a good time enjoying the levels without being stressed about the missing collectibles. The level designs are really good so you will find a lot of them naturally but if you want all of them you will have to work for it.

A solid quality of life feature here is that you have unlimited lives and the checkpoints are very consistent. So even when you lose you don’t end up getting sent too far back. That’s perfect and I can’t stress enough just how important that is. These levels could very easily turn from awesome to annoying if you had to start from scratch every time. This way you can appreciate the difficulty and creativity without any annoyance setting in.

Make no mistake, the game can be rather difficult at times. I died quite a number of times but I was always ready to revive just as quickly. I ended up blasting through the game rather quickly as a result. It’s a bit on the short side to be honest but I can’t even remotely consider that as a negative because of how the game handles it. There are tons of levels but the game just doesn’t force you to play them all and I can respect that. Each level is also so unique and filled with fun features that I’ll take this over a ton of standard levels.

The game even has a gimmick with a little frog moving things around that somehow doesn’t get annoying. I was prepared for this to be super annoying but it’s actually a really fun mechanic. In terms of pure platforming I dare say the game even has more life than some Mario titles and that’s saying something. If we’re only looking at gameplay this is one of the best games to ever do it.

Meanwhile the graphics and soundtrack are definitely impressive. The soundtrack in particular is awesome with a ton of different songs everywhere and remixes of popular ones. Then the graphics have aged really well with a colorful style all the way through. The character designs are on point and the levels all stand out.

Overall, I was pleasantly surprised at just how good the game was. Of course I was expecting it to be pretty good but to be great on this level? That was a surprise. The story holds it back a little bit considering this game has some of the best platforming I’ve ever seen. Imagine pairing this with a big budget story? It could have really made history and so I do eagerly await seeing what the Rayman franchise does next. This will be a tough title to top but of course there’s always a chance. If you haven’t played this game yet then you should definitely fix that!

Overall 8/10

TMNT Splintered Fate Review

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It’s time for one of the most impressive Apple Arcade titles. Some of these games have been a little hit or miss to be honest but this one was a full on grand slam. It’s a title that holds its own with the big ninja turtle games and has impressive production values all around. The only weak part is the incomplete story that does its best to feel like a mobile title. Ah well, I likely won’t be around to see the ending of the game as my free trial will be over by then but otherwise this was a great game all around.

The game starts with Leonardo getting crushed by the Shredder and his goons. He’s then warped back home where it turns out that the Shredder has kidnapped Splinter. The Turtles will have to go and save him but the tricky thing here is that there are so many unanswered questions. Who has this teleportation technology at the ready that is backing the Shredder and why do they need Splinter? For now the Turtles will have to worry about that later and dash in to secure their victory.

It’s a good thing that they don’t have time to worry about the mystery because the game doesn’t either. Lets just say that the game ends with more questions than answers. The final cutscenes have a ton of moments where they break the 4th wall and do so rather unapologetically. Now granted, I actually thought that was pretty funny to an extent but the game should have had a little more of an ending. It gave me flashbacks to Mega Man X Dive which always loved to taunt you with future developments that just never ended up happening. It would just taunt you over and over again. It’s too early to say if that is really the case with this game or not though.

So the gameplay is an aerial beat em up. I’ve seen it compared to Hades and that sounds about right. I really like this rogue style where you really do get stronger in each run. There are several ways to handle this, for example Has Been Heroes is one such game that I played. I did enjoy it a lot but the problem is that there are no permanent upgrades. So when you die you start from scratch but aside from just getting better at the game there is no easy way to progress further. It’s difficult but without a level up system or anything it drags on a bit too long.

This game is much better with that as every loss gives you new hope as you get more currency to start your next run in a much stronger state. For example you can buy upgrades so you start out with 10% more health, 10% more damage, etc. They continue to accumulate as you play. It’s at a rate which is just quick enough to make a difference without being too fast that it makes the game too easy or anything like that. It’s got a perfect balance all the way through if you ask me. Then inside of the actual levels there is a ton of variety as well. For example in each level you get a power up. 3 random abilities will appear and you have to pick one.

There are so many types that each run will have you experiencing different options. You have to see which combination gives you the most potential and highest amount of offensive capabilities. For me I liked fire abilities (big surprise right?) like an explosion at the end of your swings and leaving a fire trail while I dash. You can equip power ups to your attacks, specials, and tools. Once you have chosen one, you can later discard it for another element or power it up. At shops you can quickly replenish health or get even more powers.

It’s always a real debate you have to have with yourself. Do you go with the immediate power up right now and get stronger or do you take the slow and steady approach by gaining more health? Personally I say to always go for the health and get any power ups if you have leftover currency. That said, if you’re early on in the game and know you won’t get far then I’d say to get coins which are what you use to get the permanent upgrades. Each run can take anywhere from 20-60 minutes depending on how far you get so it’s easy to keep on playing.

The title has so much depth that it’s hard to talk about it all. Basically just know that you were in real good hands with this one. You can just keep playing it over and over and over again and when you finally do get the win you will feel really good. The levels and bosses all have a few different varieties to them as well so there is some RNG in your run. For example one version of the Karai boss was so tough it would always set me back a little. Her mystic form I think it was. Once you win the first time it’ll get easier to keep on winning though as you’ll really have the gameplay down at that point.

When it comes to the graphics, those are naturally top tier. I also especially like the character designs here, they are some of the best that I’ve seen for the Turtles. The costumes for Shredder and Karai work really well too and then the graphics in-game are really solid. The soundtrack is less memorable but it works well enough. There was clearly a ton of budget put into this game which is why I hope they really start to speed up with adding in more content. This is the kind of game that has so much potential but even while it is unfinished it is good enough to play right away.

Overall, TMNT Splintered Fate is a great game. It’s really a powerhouse on the Apple Arcade and the kind of game I could easily spend hours and hours on. It’s just really addicting with a tremendous gameplay style that has a lot of variety. I definitely enjoyed every minute of this game and would love to see more titles use this kind of gameplay. The feeling of growing stronger in a tangible way is something I’ve always loved. Shantae is another series that does really well with this. Most RPGs have this feature but it especially feels nice with more of a real time system like this game. So even if you are not a big TMNT fan, I would suggest checking this game out because it really is just that fun.

Overall 8/10

Pokémon Stadium 2 Review

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It’s time for the return of the Pokemon Stadium adventures! This is a game that really takes me back, it’s incredibly difficult on every aspect of the game. You’re going to have to fight against numerous opponents with no save points in between each gym battle collection and the individual trainers are really difficult. Some use cheesy strategies like putting you to sleep over and over again or making you miss for a while. Yeah these fights are not to be underestimated. I had doubts on if I would actually be able to defeat Lance in the end, but ultimately it ended up being a very proud accomplishment.

The game has numerous modes like the academy, minigames, vs mode, etc. Of course the main mode to get into is still the gym challenge. You have to go up against all of the gym leaders and then after beating them you get to go up against the Elite 4. A collection of fighters so powerful that you have to win 5 battles in a row with the 6 Pokemon you selected and no save points. This does get into the realm of artificial difficulty though. I don’t think it’s reasonable to have to fight that many opponents in a row without saving. I just don’t think so.

So it’s a lot of fun of course but without save states man would you be in trouble. The A.I. uses one hit KO moves, your attacks miss at times, etc. I do think it’s all RNG for the most part but I wouldn’t be shocked if there are some moments during the adventure where they quickly switch it up to make things interesting. In particular Lance is extremely infamous for being almost impossible to defeat with the rental Pokemon. It’s worth noting that in some ways the Switch version is even harder than usual because you can’t transfer your Pokemon in from the handheld games. The rentals that you have to use instead have intentionally sub optimal moves to make things trickier.

Still, after tons and tons of attempts I did finally beat Lance. Defeating him unlock all of the Kanto gym leaders and then another go at everyone which I think is super impressive. This game really had a ton of content which is super impressive. Like I said there are even other modes here like the minigames which are also pretty fun in their own right. This game easily justifies the purchase but of course with the Switch Online package there is no additional cost anyway which definitely feels good.

The graphics are really on point here as you can expect. The game improved quite a bit from the first title and the artstyle is handled well enough where this holds up even by 2023 standards. So once again I have no real issues with the technicals in the slightest. The soundtrack is good and I also really like the announcer here. He gets real shocked when you choose your Pokemon and injects a whole lot of hype and excitement into every match. You look forward to seeing what he’ll say next and it even makes you feel like the game has more of a plot than it would otherwise.

My personal recommendation is to always choose Pokemon with a really high level of speed. Moving first is absolutely ideal here and can often mean the difference between victory and defense. So most legendaries are fast and fully evolved Pokemon. I tend to like having Alakazam on my roster because his psychic attacks hit really hard but other really strong Pokemon to have at the ready include Raikou and Articuno. Machamp is also good although I wish that his elemental attacks did more damage.

You want to pick your Pokemon so that they beat the gym leader’s preferred type but once you get to the Elite Four then you just want a really balanced lineup that can account for most types. It’s not possible to get them all with just 6 Pokemon of course but do your best. The better your team, the more likely it is that you’ll at least have some counters and can survive the others. Pick your team strategically and you will definitely be okay.

Overall, Pokemon Stadium 2 is definitely a great game all around. A title that you can pick up and play as you enjoy all of the fights. The sheer difficulty level means that you won’t be breezing past it of course but you can still jump in and get a lot done. The minigames are also there of course so you can switch between modes and have fun that way. Either way there is definitely a lot of fun to be had here without a doubt. It’s a fairly simple game but one that is directly fun and I wouldn’t have it any other way!

Overall 8/10

Winback: Covert Operations Review

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All right now this is what I would call a gem in the rough! It’s a game I’d never heard of before and without the Nintendo Switch Online I probably never would have gotten to play it because of how obscure it is. I’d just not have ever thought to look it up. Well, this game is a blast and I absolutely recommend checking it out if you have the Switch Online bundle because this game does not hold anything back.

The story starts with the top notch agents all being placed on a mission. They are being dropped onto an island to stop some terrorists that have taken over to try and use a powerful weapon to bring the world to its knees. This mission is one where failure is not an option so the heroes can’t leave until they’ve guaranteed success. Unfortunately it does not start out well as the copter is shot down and everyone gets split up. You now have to find your comrades while taking on the villains but will you really be able to pull this off?

First up, the game’s story is very impressive. There isn’t really any voice acting here but we still get text boxes and technical limitations did not slow the writer down. You have a lot going on here, a fairly big character cast and also a serious body count. Nobody feels safe and that makes sense because you are behind enemy lines at this point. Make the wrong call and that’s game over. All of the characters understand the stakes and act appropriately. There is always a villain to be stopped and they will follow their mission to the end.

The epic soundtrack helps to balance this out. It reminded me a lot of Oni for the PS2 with the sci-fi vibes here. The costumes are really solid and the villain entrances are memorable when they show up with their accompanying music. One of the first bosses in particular impressed me as he had a very detailed design and must have had some kind of interesting backstory but the main character doesn’t have time for that. He just launches right into the battle and I definitely had to respect that. That’s exactly the kind of energy I would expect to see here. It’s just a fight to the death and it’s not personal as both sides are fighting for a cause that they believe in and would give their life for.

There are a ton of twists and turns to be found in this story as well so get ready for a lot of epic moments like that. The game is also fairly long with over 30 levels, some levels are quite long at that. So definitely a lot of amazingness all around. It also ends up being a bit extra long because the game is very difficult. Far from being a walk in the park, this game has a lot of absolutely brutal sections mixed in. You will be jumped by tons of enemies from all sides and have to try and fend them off. Taking a stray hit can take over half of your health bar. You have to always be taking cover and keeping track of your surroundings.

The controls are very basic. You point and shoot, plus you can hide behind objects. That’s basically it. You can use lock on which is extremely handy but just watch out because sometimes it takes an extra second to find an enemy and by then you’ll have been shot. That’s really where the game is at its most tricky. It’s trying to encourage you to use manual shooting which is without a doubt superior, but it can be really hard to move so quickly. So for me I stuck with auto and just did a lot of extra hiding.

Even with that though, there are so many rooms on the island and they are all filled with enemies. New enemies spawn when you enter a room and then back track so you can really never lower your guard. Some enemies will run up to you and just stab you which is usually a game over. Each level has check points but the check points remember your health so ironically this can actually be a bad thing. Like you survive the first section with one piece of health left so now you are doomed to always start that way until you completely finish off the level.

Yeah I died time and time again in this title. It’s got to be one of the harder games that I’ve played and this is often the case with shooters. It is definitely not my best genre and if I had to play it straight like back at the arcade I don’t see how I would have stood a chance. It’s just so unforgiving because you can finish the first 20 enemies perfectly but then the 21st gets you. That’s really all that it takes to tip the scales which is the crazy part. With the awesome music and story you’ll definitely power through but with a lesser game you’d probably end up being frustrated.

That’s why it’s good to have developers that really give a title their all though. Every piece of this game is great. From the smooth controls to the solid story, no corners were cut here. Even the length went above and beyond since most games for the console were considerably shorter. Nobody would have bat an eye if it was 15 levels instead of 31 but the game still brought in a ton of content and made sure that the replay value was really on point!

Overall, This is definitely a game that I would recommend checking out. It’s just great all around and way better than I ever could have guessed. It has that retro vibe to it which you just don’t see anymore nowadays. The characters are solid and the gameplay is excellent. It’s hard to beat a good 3D shooter after all. The game is incredibly hard though so props to whoever managed to beat it back in the day. The checkpoints help but we’re still talking long sections in which you can’t save or anything like that. Yeah this probably kept people up at nights trying to conquer it.

Overall 8/10

Pokemon Stadium Review

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Pokemon Stadium was a huge game in my childhood. I played that game for so many hours back in the day! Well it’s good to have a proper revisit to the title and I have to say that it lives up to the hype. It’s also way more difficult than I remember though so I don’t know how I actually beat it so easily as a kid. Seriously these gym leaders and trainers are no joke and I died a considerable amount of times during this latest playthrough. Well what’s a game without a little challenge right?

There are a lot of different modes in this game as the content is truly impressive. You’ve got your classic battles of course but also quite a few minigames. The minigames are also quite a bit of fun, I definitely enjoyed playing through all of them real quick. The meat of the game is in the campaign mode though as you try to face off and defeat all of the gym leaders, their 3 trainers protecting them at every gym, and the elite four. You’re looking at close to 50 battles here and you have to win 4 battles in a row every time. If you lose at the third then you go all the way back. Without access points you would really be in a pickle I must say.

Part of what makes this tricky of course is that you have to select a team of 6 Pokemon and can’t switch after that until you beat the 4 opponents. So that’s 24 Pokemon to deal with and the trainers usually have different types than the Gym Leaders so you have to really try to bring a wide mix yourself. Type advantages are massive here as you will often oneshot your opponent if you’re super effective vs his Pokemon and the same is true of the reverse. Do you know what this means? It means you have to always strike first or it’s over. I beat all 3 Pokemon in one shot at times and my opponent did the same to me.

I would personally recommend picking 3 Pokemon who are super effective vs the gym leader and then 3 generally strong ones. Often that would mean Alakazam and two of the legendary birds on my team like Moltres and Articuno. At times I would have all 3 but it didn’t always work out. Another thing to really look at are movesets here. For example it can actually be better to pick Ivysaur than Venosaur based on the moves. It’s a little weird I know, took me some getting used to there. The downside of course is that they have lower stats so that can really be a problem as well. You definitely need to balance it a lot. Hey I still say whatever you do, make sure Alakazam is on your team, he hits like a tank!

The graphics are really good here. The character models are really high quality and it’s clear that a lot of time was put into them. The sound effects and ost are also extremely nostalgic. I remember them all so clearly after hearing them again and it’s awesome. If nothing else, play this game for the nostalgia because it’s amazing. Even if you’ve never played the game before you will be able to appreciate the heart in it.

Don’t be afraid of losing a lot as that will be natural. This game is super hard but also very satisfying to complete. There’s so much bonus content here as well and the replay value is extensive. If not for Pokemon Stadium 2 existing this is the kind of game you would basically keep on playing over and over again. It’s always impressive that Pokemon has so many great games although not surprising as it is one of the most successful franchises of all time. I should be back before too long with some Stadium 2 adventures so stay tuned!

Overall, Pokemon Stadium is definitely a game you should check out. It’s really a lot of fun and captures the Pokemon experience way better than most games. To date I wish they would make more titles in this series because it was so much fun. Yeah Battle Revolution doesn’t count because the gameplay mechanics were so bad there. I like the idea of every Pokemon level here being equalized and it’s all about the strategy of figuring out which Pokemon team to choose. Admittedly this means that RNG will always have a pretty strong hold over the matches to an extent but at least you are actually picking your own team. Bonus points for actually having minigames too as bonus content. You get a ton of bang for your buck on this one.

Overall 8/10

Super Mario RPG Review

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This is a Mario game that I’ve wanted to play for many years. It’s not every day that you get a big Mario RPG after all and with both the Paper Mario and Mario & Luigi titles at a bit of a standstill right now, it was the perfect timing for a remake of this game to get out. It definitely lives up to the hype without a doubt. The only knock against it would be the short duration as it’s noticeably shorter than all of the other Mario RPGs I’ve played but it’s a lot of fun.

The story starts with Bowser kidnapping Peach so Mario goes in to save her. Unfortunately his rescue attempt is cut short when a mysterious villain known as Smithy shows up and ends up taking her. Mario must now grab the legendary stars in order to save the cosmos and also rescue Peach once more. He is assisted by a legendary cosmic being inhabiting the body of a toy named Geno. Bowser even decides to help a bit and Mario has another being helping out with his magical abilities. Mario has assembled quite the squad at this point so that’s pretty impressive but will it be enough?

Right off the bat the game feels a lot more like a classic RPG than most of the other Mario titles. You actually have to equip weapons/armor/accessories like a Final Fantasy title and so you will be switching these out constantly. A cool little element they added here is also that your gameplay will change a bit on the timing depending on what you equip. For example when you are attacking in this game you have to press the A button at a specific time in order to deal maximum damage. If you mess up on the timing then you will dish out less damage and you will also take more when an opponent hits you. The instant where you have to press A will change depending on what weapon you have equipped. So the increase in attack power is slightly countered by having to adjust your timing.

Each successful hit gives an extra boost to your energy meter as well. Once you reach 100% then you are able to use a super attack which does tremendous amounts of damage. Trust me it’s a really good thing to have because those abilities even deal tons of damage to the bosses. This element of timing also does help to make the game a little more skill based. If you can nail the timing each time then you will naturally find the game to be a lot easier than most because you’ll literally be dealing 50% more damage and taking 50% less so it’s a huge ripple effect. If you’re a more casual player not able to hit the timings then that ramps the difficulty up as well.

As for the length, the game is around 10 hours give or take a bit. That sounds a lot more like a platformer than an RPG right? Well yeah that’s definitely true, this is pretty short and apparently it’s quite a bit shorter than the original game. I’m guessing certain areas were cut out, loading screens were optimized and in general the game is supposed to be a bit easier. Unless anything significant was cut out, I’m fairly okay with this. For example even just speeding up the animations during battle can shave off significant amount of time away from a game so if that’s something that was focused on then it was well worth it.

The game has auto save enabled as well as quick travel. There are a ton of quality of life features that this game has and I thought that was pretty impressive. You never feel like you’re wasting time sifting through menus or anything like that. The only part that can be long is the celebration when getting a level up and I can let that slide since leveling up is always fun. The enemies may not give you a ton of EXP but you don’t need a lot to level up either so it ends up balancing out really well.

Another token to how much fun this game is, is that it’s easy to binge. I played the game for 7 hours straight yesterday which is part of how I managed to beat it in the span of a day. (Friday-Saturday) Playing for that long at one time will definitely do that to you but it wouldn’t be possible with a weaker experience. The story is definitely compelling and the script is good. I’d really like to see more Mario games like this that actually have a full comprehensive plot. There’s a lot to enjoy all the way around.

The graphics are definitely really good and I was always glad to see the full cinematic cutscenes. The game really shines there and it also does a good job of giving everyone something to do. In a way it’s a shame that Luigi missed out on this adventure because I’m confident that they could have actually made him a compelling character here. We really need more Mario RPGs like this so I hope one day they make a return. The Paper series is starting to make a comeback so that’s a good series to have as well but a non paper dynamic would also be really nice to have.

The soundtrack is a little more on the forgettable side though. While the game excels with its colorful cast of characters and a bunch of really fun new villains to the series, the music that appears isn’t nearly as memorable. You just tend to forget the tracks right away. They aren’t bad by any means but the Mario series has everything set to a super high standard and it just couldn’t match that. Ah well, we got the Axem Rangers here which is enough for me to overlook anything like that.

Overall, This was definitely a great game all the way through. I’d have loved it to have been longer but ultimately it’s about how much fun you had during the experience and this one was on point. There is also some kind of post game adventure to be had here which adds onto the replay value. It’s good enough where you get a solid bang for your buck either way. This was really the biggest hole in my Mario collection up til now so it’s good to finally have that closed. I’m not even sure what the next biggest title I’m missing would be at this point, maybe one of the Olympic crossovers.

Overall 8/10

Golden Sun: Dark Dawn Review

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Golden Sun has definitely been a really fun video game series. This is currently the last one so the series has been shelved for now but hopefully it returns. While this doesn’t quite beat the first two titles, it’s nice to see how the characters have actually aged. Isaac is an old pro now and it’s time for the next generation to step into the spotlight. Do they have what it takes to really save the world here?

The game starts off with one of the new characters making the big mistake of trying to fly a glider and he crash lands in the forest. Matthew and his team go to save this guy and then Isaac tells them to find a legendary feather. The rest of the game is basically about trying to find the feather and every time the heroes get close some kind of obstacle gets in their way. You can probably guess that they’re pretty frustrated by the end of it but what can you do right? Naturally this wouldn’t be a full RPG experience without some danger though so then the end of the world approaches due to the dark eclipse.

The gameplay is solid as always with a lot of depth to it. Aside from the usual turn based combat system one of the things that makes Golden Sun stand out is how the Djinn are used. Each character has to equip them and you can decide to activate them which opens up the door to summons or keeping them set which increases all of your base stats. There are over 80 Djinn in the game and you have to have each character carry an equal amount. If you have 17 though one character can have 5 while the others have 4 but if you get 18 for example you can’t have one holding 6. That would just be too unbalanced.

Another thing to consider is based on the types of Djinn you have a character hold, their class will change. There are numerous classes for each character and they all have different abilities and strengths so you want to keep those in mind which can be difficult. As a result I would say the game can be more difficult than it appears. For the most part I didn’t have a problem but that changed in the final boss where I really had to train. Ultimately I wasn’t able to defeat him until I reached level 99 while online I see people beat him as early as 45. It really comes down to the amount of Djinns you have and the summons.

If you don’t have a good setup then you will be absolutely crushed. I played this one more like a standard RPG so my lineup wasn’t exactly amazing. Still, I do think I put up a pretty good fight if I do say so myself. At the end of the day RPGs really give you a lot of ways to build your team and I’d say that’s one of the good parts about them. You also get time to really get used to the characters which is another big advantage. At the end of the day I thought the characters were all pretty solid. The emotions system could probably use a bit of work since it never seemed to matter which emoji you used when talking with the characters but it’s a fun idea.

The villains also have good designs. They may show up a little late into the game but fighting them was fun. The overall length here is pretty good as it took me around 30 hours to complete the title. Throw in a fairly meaty post game and you really have a lot of bang for your buck here. Definitely a lot of replay value here to be sure. Some of the Djinn and summons are missable though so I’d say to keep that in mind when you’re going through the game.

The only real issue I have with the title is a quality of life element. There is no way to quick travel in this game and I feel like the minion spawns are frequent enough where it does get a bit annoying. Particularly when you are in the boat and your movement speed is cut in half. You have to fight a ton of opponents since it takes 2 turns to run away in most cases. Not really the ideal setup when you think about it. I was surprised because this just feels like an RPG staple so I was waiting for that the whole time. I was lucky that the final area was a good grinding spot because otherwise for example it was a super long walk back to get to the item shop. I had to beat the final boss without any potions or things like that. I would have gone back if needed of course but it wasn’t exactly my top option.

The graphics are definitely really good. I’d say a lot of time was put into them and we also get full cinematics at times which was really nice. Especially for the DS it’s always impressive since a lot of games still didn’t have those. The soundtrack is also good even if it isn’t quite as impressive as in the first two games. Basically whenever I compare this to the originals it doesn’t quite hold up but if you just talk about it as its own RPG then of course it’s still great. Ideally in a future game we could have Isaac play more of a central role though.

Overall, Golden Sun: Dark Dawn is definitely a great game. While the story may not be as intense as the first two titles, it’s a fun way to end things off. It makes sense in a way that the stakes may not be as high with Isaac’s shadow looming in the distance although I’d say a fix to that would have been having him show up in the climax. In theory he could give the villain a pretty solid fight but you have him lose due to a cheap shot or something. The game opens with quite a few loose ends. I don’t know if they all get resolved in the post game or something like that but if not at least it gives more hope for a sequel. We can’t let the Golden Sun adventures end here!

Overall 8/10