Category Archives: Games

Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl Review

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I knew that this game was going to be a winner the instant it was announced. It still took me a little while to buy it but hey…better late than never right? It does feel a little barebones though which is why you wanted to wait for a discount because at full price this would really not be worth it at all. There is no story mode so you will just be playing arcade mode over and over again for the single player content. The multiplayer is the main hook of the game of course but I wouldn’t say that it is a very strong hook to be honest compared to the competitors. If you look at the game on its own though then it does well enough.

So you’ve got a decent amount of characters here. I’m pretty sure it’s over 20. All the classics like Spongebob and Danny Phantom. Admittedly I did not watch a lot of Nick as a kid so the character roster is definitely not as nostalgic as it would be to someone who grew up with the characters. That being said, I still know most of the characters through reputation so that’s something. I feel like the Ninja Turtles have the best movesets here. The weapons really help them have a solid range.

That said, I played way too casually to really be giving any serious tier list advice here. Try all of the characters and see what you think. There is definitely a lot to absorb here. The gameplay is the same as the Super Smash Bros experience. You have normal moves, specials, a third jump, and power attacks. Use these to knock the opponent off of the platform so they can lose a life. Repeat the process until time is up or all stocks have been removed. Then at that point you will have won the match.

There aren’t many unlockables to be had here but you can alter the rules so that the matches are all different. You can also jump online and fight other players. As mentioned that is a pretty big draw since you can fully test just how good you are. It’s easy to style on the computers of course but the real test is going up against other people who have put in a lot of time. The online servers will probably be pretty dead once the sequel comes out so you should keep that in mind. Of course there is still local multiplayer mode as well and some trophies will require you to be on there for quite a while.

There is a lot of replay value here thanks to the multiplayer options. So while the single player is rather limited, that is really just the tip of the iceberg in terms of the total experience. So keep that in mind, particularly since the price for this game is relatively cheap right now. It’s really not bad value for your dollar and in general I just love fighting games. So getting to play one is always a real treat even if there isn’t much to it. A fighting game is a great genre in that you don’t need much. As long as the gameplay is smooth and implemented carefully then you should really be all set.

The graphics are pretty good here. Perhaps not top of the line or anything like that but they are modern with no obvious issues. The soundtrack is more on the really underwhelming side. There weren’t any tunes that really stood out to me. There also aren’t a lot of stages so you will really be hearing all of the tunes over and over again as you try to beat arcade mode with everyone. Yes for the review as well as to get some more trophies I went ahead and completed the game with every character. Let me tell you, that was not easy! Or maybe it’s more accurate to say that it was easy but a little tedious.

Overall, Nick has a solid fighting game on their hands. It isn’t ruined by any random mechanic like the PS All Stars game either. So this one gets to really stand the test of time. It’s just a shame that there couldn’t have been a few more modes, features, and other stuff to make it stand out. Would have been so much fun! Instead it just fades away compared to the competition. It stands up to the test of time on its own but will always be seen as the B product instead of the A one. As long as Super Smash Bros exists that will be true for pretty much 99% of platform fighters but I still like to think that some day someone will come up with a rival so high budget and stuffed with features that even Smash can’t scare it away.

Overall 7/10

Ghost Sync Review

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Kemco is back with another great RPG. The company really never lets you down and its impressive just how many titles they have churned out. As always you have a ton of great gameplay mechanics here and they also try a few new techniques as well. In this case I don’t see the new gimmicks catching on but none of them were bad which is the important thing. It’s a bit on the shorter side compared to some of their other RPGs but ultimately it’s a solid experience through and through.

The plot starts with a whole lot of amnesia. The main heroine has lost her memories and then she bumps into a spirit who says he has also lost all of his memories. Ah well, they both like helping people which is the important part and so they travel the world fighting against monsters. This leads them to joining up with the national guild where they meet a travelling priest of sorts who is looking for someone. The three agree to form a team since you need 3 in order to be registered and they will help each other out along the way. Eventually they are joined by a hungry fairy who eats other creatures for power.

There are a ton of mysteries throughout the game as each team member is holding something back. I like just how many are ongoing at once too. There’s even one cutscene where each character has to face off with their dark self and so we see how everyone’s keeping a secret even up until the end of the game. I guess they just really don’t trust each other and of course that is part of the character development. By the end it’s all good and the ending may not be the most satisfying, but that’s one of 3. I’ll work on beating the other two endings shortly and getting the Platinum trophy because we’re already so close to getting that one as it is.

The story is fun here and the characters are all pretty reasonable. At most you can say that sometimes the weakness of a Kemco game is that some characters can be a bit overly weird with a gimmick that gets played out early. Fortunately that’s not the case here. Every character has a clearly defined personality and everything but they are never one note. They all have serious plots going on and we get a good amount of banter out of everyone. It helps make this a more complete experience.

Additionally for the gameplay it’s as streamlined and smooth as ever. You can speed up attack animations when grinding, turn off minion encounters for levels that you’ve already beaten, quick travel, etc. If there’s a nice quality of life feature that you can think of, this game almost certainly has it. That’s something I’ve always loved about these games. It makes it fun to level up and explore without having to be fighting minions every second.

The level cap is really high and I beat the game close to level 300 but getting those level ups is really quick. Just keep on fighting and you will secure the levels before long. For one of the new mechanics in this game you can absorb/take over monsters once they are weakened. It’s interesting but the main problem is that it’s never worth it. You do more damage normally so taking them over is only good for the novelty and since there’s no trophy for that…there’s no real point to doing so.

Then you have the skill leveling which is interesting enough. You can buy a ton of skills using blue points and then level them up with red points. It’s interesting but I’d say the reason it doesn’t work is due to just how many of them there are. Even by the end of the game I probably had at least half of the skills still locked and you don’t really need most of them. So buying them all is just fun for being a completionist but you’ll be okay with beating the game either way. I’s definitely not a make it or break it deal.

So I think you could leave that out of the next one. The equipment was solid though with ranking it up to work for you with better stats. That is pretty streamlined and easy to use which I appreciate. You can alter your team’s tactics, formation, etc. There is really a ton to do and you have complete control which is awesome. You can buy tons of great permanent upgrades from the shop and you can farm the currency through the triple fights in the cave. That is definitely the best part of the grinding because it basically turns itself into an extra boost.

Overall, Ghost Sync is definitely a great game. The gameplay is on point and the story is a lot of fun. The soundtrack is really fast paced and intense like you’d expect from this company. Really this is an RPG developed by a very experienced company and it shows. It shines on basically every level. While the replay value may be lower than some of the other games since you can platinum it fairly quick, you’ve still got a lot of good value for your buck which is what counts. Definitely a game that I will not be forgetting anytime soon.

Overall 8/10

My Hero Ultra Rumble Review

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It’s always cool to see another free to play game on the market. You’ve really got a lot of potential with those to make a super long running game with a huge cast. Of course because it is such a tempting option, it means that there is a ton of competition and the average game will be forgotten about almost immediately. Such is the battle that these games have to go through. That being said, My Hero is a solid one among the pack. I may not be keeping it around for long as I go back to other games but it does certainly have a good amount of potential.

As with most online games there isn’t really a story so you will be jumping right into the action from the jump. You can do team battles with computers, other players, unranked and ranked. There is one main issue that you may have already guessed here though and that is that there is no single player mode. Cmon that doesn’t quite seem right shouldn’t single player mode be a guarantee? I want to test my luck in surviving the map. Hopefully this is a mode that is added soon.

Regardless the general gameplay is that of a 3D fighter. You can run, jump, and use your standard attacks as well as projectiles and supers to try and take the other opponents down. I believe the match starts with 25 teams of 3 and you will see the numbers dwindling down as the fight goes on. Interestingly they hide the number of fighters left once you’ve reached a certain amount of teams. I’d prefer to see the number at all times but I guess it’s to add some tension.

I wasn’t able to get a win yet but I did come in 3rd once which was pretty neat. As with Fortnite a good strategy can be to avoid the fighting and hide in the buildings or bushes gathering weapons and armor until the end. The only tricky thing is that in a team battle your teammates often won’t want to do this so at the end it’s you against 3 fighters and you’re really not winning that. At that point even a pro would have trouble since the game is made to reinforce teamwork. 3 on 1 is an incredible disadvantage for you.

During the match there are item cards which will appear and you can use them to level up your super attacks. Naturally there are health and armor potions as well. Additionally there are civilians all over the map and if you heal one they will drop a bunch of power ups too. The level ups are really handy so I recommend grabbing a bunch. From there it’s really just about taking your opponent down.

One thing the game does well to differentiate itself from other survival games is how this one has so many buildings. In some stages you are really spending your time jumping around and doing all kinds of acrobatics rather than running through the forest. The downside is it can make it much easier to dodge attacks and prolong a battle for a while but the shrinking field will take care of that eventually.

The graphics are pretty solid too. Naturally this won’t look quite as solid as a AAA game targeted for single player campaigns and things like that but the game is very colorful and I’d say it works really well. There isn’t much of a soundtrack but in a game like this I can see how that would be distracting. You really want to be able to see the other characters after all and hear their approach. Optional music would still be cool though.

It can be a little hard to see the opponents closing in on you with how busy the maps are but i think that’s likely intentional. It means that you always have to keep your guard up or it’s all over and I’m definitely cool with that tension. While it can feel like a button masher when the opponent gets near, you can quickly tell the difference in skill when two characters are going at it. Personally I’d like the game to let teammates play the same character though. I always wanted to play as Deku because he has the best moveset but a teammate would grab him and so you aren’t able to proceed with the match until one player changes characters. In the end I would change just so I didn’t hold up the match for too long.

Overall, This is a pretty fun game with a lot of replay value due to the online system. I do think it’s a game that will be many times more fun if you have some friends to play with rather than the randoms for the online matches. You can activate voice chat which helps but for the most part you’ll feel like you are on your own otherwise. The gameplay is fun but can probably feel a bit repetitive after a while so I would recommend playing in lots of short bursts as opposed to long marathon styled play.

Overall 7/10

Justice Chronicles Review

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Justice Chronicles is one of those great games that really has everything you could want. A top tier soundtrack, a solid plot, good characters, great gameplay, etc. It’s really the whole package and you love to see it. The game can be difficult and will absolutely require some grinding but that’s how you know that it’s legit. It never feels annoying to grind either because the game is well developed. Yes sir this is the way to go without a doubt.

The plot starts off with the main character being a part of a legendary group of hunters who have to travel to the human world to check on things. There is a war brewing between both sides or at least that’s what the rumors say and so they have to check into this. Ultimately the group gets split up and the hero finds himself stranded in the human world. He ends up saving a girl who nearly died by making a pact with a demon in exchange for his soul. A nearby witch is able to halt the pact for a while but now the hero has to make sure to get back to his people and stop this war or a lot of good people are going to die.

There’s a ton more to this story as this is a proper RPG through and through. You have betrayals and conspiracy going on. There’s a fairly large cast here as well and you have time to get used to all of the characters. The game even has a bit of a double ending going for it so the experience lasts even longer than you would expect. I wouldn’t say the cast is quite ready to take down the Asdivine Hearts folks but it’s a pretty strong cast either way. They’re easy to root for and we get a lot of good banter the whole time.

For the gameplay, you have your classic attacks, special moves, and such. It’s turn based combat so you want to plan your attacks carefully. There are so many different things to level up with limited resources so choose carefully or you’ll end up regretting it later on. Of course at that point you could always do more grinding if necessary. One thing I didn’t focus on until the end was ranking up my weapons because the whole harvesting system looked a bit complicated. It probably is a little more complicated than it needs to be but in the end I wouldn’t say that it’s bad.

Basically you have to complete side quests in order to unlock different materials for purchase at the shop. For that reason I would say not to use any materials until you have unlocked them because you will need those eventually. The money will come naturally the more that you defeat the enemies so you really don’t have to worry about that. It does mean that like Harvestella you will often have to choose between focusing on your level or focusing on getting materials. For the most part I would say focus on levels first until you can easily one shot any minion from a weaker zone and then get the materials. Ranking up your weapon increases your attack power by about as much as 10 normal level ups which is why you want great weapons and armor. That said, you don’t want to forego either one of those for too long or you’ll really be in trouble.

I died several times during the game and had to spend hours grinding. So this isn’t a walk in the park but the grinding is always enjoyable. The EXP you get per battle is fair so you don’t feel like things are going too slowly. Throw in the resource grinding and that keeps you especially busy the whole time. I’d say what helps also keep things from getting stale is the soundtrack’s really good the whole time. Don’t underestimate the power of a great soundtrack to keep anything from being too tedious. The fast paced nature of the themes really work well.

Of course the visuals are also great here and I would expect no less. It’s all very streamlined and full of color. Yes the game succeeds on a technical level very well. Then there is a good amount of replay value here to get the trophies. The platinum will definitely take some time but I also wouldn’t say that it’s super difficult. It’s a pretty fair one where if you put in the effort then you will get it. By the time you beat the game you will be well on your way so I would definitely recommend going for it. I’ll probably work on this soon once I’ve worked on some other titles.

Overall, Justice Chronicles is definitely a great game and one that I highly recommend checking out. The story is really good and as always there are a ton of great quality of life features here. It may be lacking some of the functionality that Asdivine Hearts had and other gimmicks don’t play quite as strongly as the classic games yet I still had a lot of fun here. It’s still heads and shoulders above some of the other RPGs of the past. Additionally I really like how they went the extra mile for the opening cinematic. This is a game that was clearly giving its all right from the start and I can definitely respect that. I highly recommend checking this game out whenever possible.

Overall 8/10

Skelattack Review

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It’s time for a classic kind of platformer. Skelattack is a fun little game that plays a bit like Celeste with the endless lives and constant checkpoints but also takes queues from Shantae with the close quarters sword action. It’s a solid game all the way around but one that is a little limited by the short length. If it was just a little longer that would be perfect but ultimately that’s how it was meant to be.

The game starts you off as a skeleton in the underworld. He has amnesia but that’s actually normal. The way things work down here is after you die in the human world, you are taken to the underworld to lead a whole new life. After you have been dead for a while and conquered some trials, you are then able to learn about your past. It’s just about time for that here but then the underworld is attacked by the pesky humans. The humans tend to come down here every now and again to steal the Blue Flame of Life. This is what allows the underworld to function and gives all of the dead people complete immortality. If it is taken then everyone will die..for good this time. Of course the humans want it so they can enjoy these perks. What can one skeleton and a bat do against these armies though?

So yeah that’s a fun plot to work around. Naturally you can bet on some twists for once the skeleton gets his memories back. I wouldn’t say that there is anything particularly shocking in the game but it’s not really going for that vibe anyway. This is more about the adventure and just enjoying the gameplay the whole time. The game’s a bit weak on the banter side with the main characters but it tries pretty hard and does get serious when needed. The cast is fairly memorable as well which is always a good thing.

In terms of the length that I mentioned earlier, you can probably beat the game in around 3-4 hours. It’s not particularly hard for the most part so that length shouldn’t change much but there is an asterisk to that. So when you die you can quickly respawn and you just lose more and more gems each time. Not a big deal since you respawn when you have 0 gems anyway. However, the one big thing to watch out for is that you won’t have enough money to buy any health upgrades.

The one part of the game that can actually be really tough is the bosses and I finally figured out why. Basically since I was always out of gems I never had enough money to buy upgrades. Those upgrades extend your health bar which makes things easier but I ended up having to beat the game with the default amount. It’s a good incentive for you to play a bit more carefully. Honestly once I knew that we had unlimited lives I did not play carefully at all so I died over and over and over again. I probably racked up well over 100 deaths but that’s what happens when you get lax. It’s why I don’t really hold it against immortal villains in shows and such when they get sloppy because it does make sense to an extent.

For the bosses just memorize the attack patterns and ultimately you will be okay. In a lot of ways it’s like fighting a classic Mega Man Zero type of boss. They’re fast, hit like a tank, and have a lot of health. It feels really satisfying to defeat them though because the bosses are well made. This is also why it’s nice to have so many checkpoints and of course no big cutscenes to have to skip through. After you die the first time, the boss just starts right when you enter the room and I appreciate that. It’s a good quality of life feature.

Meanwhile the graphics here are pretty good. It’s definitely going for that classic sprite kind of look and it works well for the game. The levels are vibrant with lots of colors and I definitely have no issues there. The soundtrack is also pretty good. Perhaps not the most memorable or anything like that but I definitely enjoyed listening to all of the tunes. Maybe throw in an extra rock or metal song for next time and then we’d really be cooking.

There are trophies in the game but none of them are missable so for once it doesn’t really affect the replay value. In general I would say the game doesn’t really have any. Once you complete it, that’s it so there’s nothing to extend the length. That’s why you have to play for the fun gameplay/story and just not worry about it ending so quickly. I can’t imagine the price would be very high already so this is your chance to jump in and grab it.

Overall, Skelattack is definitely a fun game. It may not last very long but I didn’t really have any negatives to speak of. So it ends up being a positive experience all around with no buts or caveats. That’s what you want to see from any title in the end. I’d like to see a sequel someday and then they can make things a little longer to make this a true sequel. They can also probably experiment a bit since this one was content to just be a basic platformer but it’s risky since you also don’t want to bring in a gimmick that hurts the title. Don’t fix what isn’t broken after all. I’d recommend checking this game out but definitely make sure that you get it at a good price. Then you will really have no regrets or anything here.

Overall 7/10

Harvest Moon Review

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I know what you’re thinking…skill issue?? Well Harvest Moon may be one of the most difficult games that I have ever played but it does so in a very artificial way that doesn’t make you feel fulfilled or satisfied at all. Seriously this is a game that will have you shaking your head the whole time because it just wasn’t meant to be this way. I was looking forward to taking names and raising a great village but in the end it wasn’t to be. Harvestella destroys this one and I can’t say I’m hyped for the next Harvest Moon titles. This one has to take the very dubious honor of being my least favorite game of all time. Granted, something had to take that spot right?

The plot involves you moving to a nearby town and now it’s time for you to start up your own farm. There’s a bit more to the story than that but that’s the general premise and you have to get to work The only problem? I never made it to my actual farm. Yeah that may sound crazy but I spent a few hours on this one and couldn’t get past the tutorial. That was brutal. It seems like you need to talk to a bunch of folks to get through but I talked to everyone and it didn’t work. I was just stuck and couldn’t press on forward. How could this happen to meeeee?

Seriously I tried pretty hard on this one. I talked to everyone many times over and I ran around the whole map so many times. Ultimately I realized there was just no getting out of this. I had a theory that maybe I needed to talk to everyone multiple times in a row because sometimes they would say something different but it still didn’t work. Unless I missed someone since I thought about that a little later in the playthrough. Then you also have the issue of the guys telling me to find my tools but I couldn’t find them anywhere. Maybe that’s what I needed?

The point though is that the game was not very clear at all. I can’t picture most people being able to solve this case at least. It really stumped me at least. You could say that I was on the back foot the whole time. Because of that it definitely does impact the score because it meant that the game ended up being very boring. Seriously I could barely last a few hours in this one because it was just so repetitive. Imagine being stuck in the tutorial in any game. It’s exactly as brutal as you’re thinking.

Now I’m not giving this game a 0 or even a 1 because it does have some redeeming qualities about it. For example I think the graphics are actually rather solid. It may not be top grade stuff but it has aged very well from the SNES era. Additionally the music is quite an peaceful enough to work out well. I like the overall town atmosphere and I can see someone having a little bit of fun here. Ultimately it will be tough to get to that fun which is the problem.

If you can’t leave the tutorial then what can you really do right? At least in a game like Casper’s Scare School you jump right into the events. The game may be over in 12 minutes but you actually got to do something. That’s not the case here…that’s not the case at all. Oh noooo!!! I’m even struggling to get this review any longer because there’s not much more to say when I ended so early into the campaign. I guess that’s a knock in itself though. This has never happened to me before. Now perhaps there was some kind of glitch at play here. I would be surprised given the positive rep for the game everywhere but I do tend to be unlucky with glitches sometimes so it does happen.

I’ll definitely play more life simulations in the future though so we’ll see if another one can do better. Animal Crossing for example will probably be added at some point and I’m interested in trying that one out. Lets face it, it should definitely beat this one for me. Ultimately Harvest Moon didn’t really do it for me but at least I will never forget it. It has a lot of fans and I know a lot of effort was put into the game so I’ll still give it that level of props at least. Throw in some action gameplay and I may make it back for one of the sequels.

Overall, Harvest Moon is really not as good as I was expecting it to be. Trust me I wasn’t expecting it to be great either way but this was really going to be a game that I could play for a long while with a big smile on my face and that just didn’t happen which was disappointing. I like the concept behind the game so I think nowadays you could pull it off a little better. That said, it’s still not really my genre of game. They can be fun on the side but I tend to prefer the more action packed titles. If you have the Switch Online you should check it out though since it’s free at that point. No real downside to checking it out.

Overall 2/10

Astria Ascending Review

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This is one of those RPGs I hadn’t really heard of until I happened to see it online during a sale. Why not pick it up right? More times than not any RPG will end up being a fun game since you get used to the characters and have a fun time with them. In general this isn’t one of the strongest ones in terms of story but it did have full voice acting which I appreciated and makes for a fun experience. It took me over 25 hours to complete so the size is fairly good too.

The game starts off with a bunch of people being chosen as the 333rd generation of demi gods. This is seen as a great honor as you defend the planet. The catch is that you are now fated to die very shortly. I forget if you have 3 months to live or 3 years but once your term is up then you die. Definitely a rotten deal most would agree but you gotta do what you gotta do. The world is usually in harmony so this is an easy task but not this year. A villain group seeks to disrupt the current state of things by granting people free will but with dangerous methods. The heroes must stop the villains…but do they have a point?

This is where the story doesn’t really go as far as it should. The theme of the villains potentially being right isn’t really explored at all. Lets look at the context here though. In the current world everyone has to keep on heating this fruit called the harmony fruit. The more you eat it, the more you fall in line and so all of the different races are kept apart and everyone is happy. The villains believe that this is a false happiness and one that is actually enslaving them so they have decided not to eat the fruits.

The main characters disagree with this but it does seem like the fruit is actually hurting the heroes. Of course the game wasn’t tryin to get too morally gray so the villains start murdering people and so they have to be stopped. I would have liked an ending where the characters agree to stop having people eat the fruits or something. At least address it, but that doesn’t end up happening this time. Ah well, the story we get is still good with a lot of different villains and even a bit of a body count. The situation is definitely very serious right from the jump.

As for the gameplay, it’s effectively your classic turn based system. You can use 4 party members at a time. If they lose during battle but you still have one member out, you can swap them out for your other allies in storage. It’s a pretty cool idea in theory but the health points in this game can be low so using up a turn to summon these guys would usually have them down in an instant. I would recommend just buffing up your main four fighters as much as possible.

You do this through level ups but also by using your earned special points to unlock new moves and power ups. this part can be tricky because you don’t get much SP during normal battles. So there is one helpful thing to do and that is to go back to the colosseum and defeat the boss all over again. You can beat him in 2-3 turns as you get stronger and he will always get you 25SP. That’s like completing 10 normal battles which take a lot longer than this boss. So that’s what I did for many hours and finally powered up enough circles to beat the final boss. Without that I would have definitely not had a chance. Those guys hit like a truck.

Personally I advise using almost every upgrade on health, just one or two on MP will be enough. That’s because later on you will learn skills that cut MP consumption in half which is absolutely crucial. You will be glad you had the health later on since it helps you survive the powerful blows later on. Additionally if you use Kress in your party, she has an attack that converts your health points into pure magic power. Trust me that is also really good in a pinch. Each character has some really strong attacks so use them wisely. Especially since some bosses are immune to a bunch of different attacks so you just have to figure out what to hit him with.

You’ve also got super attacks, summons and such so this is just the tip of the iceberg. The gameplay is reasonably deep which is why I recommend playing around with the characters and finding out what your style is. There’s also some basic platforming here but for the most part it’s just around for kicks so you don’t need to practice for it or anything. There’s a very random dice game of sorts that is in but there’s only one battle required for story mode and you can skip the rest of them.

The graphics are definitely solid here. It’s going for a bit of a retro feel but the illustrations are on point and I like all of the designs. The soundtrack is more on the forgettable side though. I couldn’t really tell you any of the tunes at this point. They all just go in one ear and out the other. I feel like a lot more effort could have been put into those. The rest of the effort could have gone into balancing the EXP and SP gained. It just didn’t feel very well balanced at all and the fact that I grinded for hours and hours but never got close to filling out the tree isn’t a great sign. At least it does feel satisfying to see yourself getting stronger and stronger.

Overall, Astria Ascending is definitely a pretty fun game. The story is good even if a whole lot of meat is left on the bone. You still get to enjoy the big battles and of course the gameplay is really solid which helps as well. It could use a little balancing but ultimately you have the freedom to go in a whole lot of different routes on your own which is good. No two battles will end up being the same as a result. The voice acting is still a really big plus as well and you’re getting a lot of bang for your buck so there’s a lot to enjoy here. Definitely worth a purchase.

Overall 7/10

Downtown Nekketsu March Super-Awesome Field Day Review

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This is probably one of the most random games that I’ve played. It really is like a track and field game where you just run and run and run some more. The problem? There is only one stage that keeps on repeating so it gets boring extremely quickly. Running isn’t very intuitive. Even once I figured it out, I couldn’t do it as smoothly as the computers and only won once after playing the level probably 20-30 times. It’s fairly quick, each match is about 5 minutes but there’s no variety to it. I need some variety, this barely feels like a game. It wasn’t translated but I don’t blame Nintendo this time.

I mean there is really nothing to this game. There’s no story mode nor are there any other story options. The character models are all pretty much the same but with different pants. What was Nintendo cooking with this game? I just don’t know. The graphics are okay I guess but the soundtrack is very forgettable. I already talked about how limited the game is in terms of content and the shame is that the core gameplay could be okay.

I can see you grabbing a few friends over and having fun sabotaging each other as you run to the goal. A lot of potential there but that potential is wasted with there only being one stage. I feel like minimal effort was put into this one and I hope the price wasn’t too bad. Imagine paying like $50 or more on the game? That would have been absolutely brutal and you’d regret it really quickly. In the future we’d see other games do this concept a whole lot better even though the track and field element was thrown away.

Games like the GBA X-Men where you fight waves of enemies while running around were fun with the variety and everything. You had action and a story but this one just has running. What are you going to be able to do with a bunch of running? You can find pipes and such lying on the ground but it’s never worth it to pick one up because then someone will pass you on the race. You can throw it afterwards, but again that is time that you just wasted when every second counts. You can lift opponents up, punch them, elbow them (Which was pretty funny when I got hit once) but in the end these things aren’t enough. Your goal is to run and often times that is the best option you have available. That’s just the way that it goes I suppose.

Now can I give the game any props to separate it from the pack? Something that it did right? Well the only thing I can think of is that having the levels be interactive with a lot of things to grab and use was probably pretty ahead of its time. I don’t think a ton of games were doing that at the time so that’s impressive. It’s why if you turned this into a fighting game then it would have been so much better. Or a co-op adventure where you team up with a friend to fight off a bunch of gangs. It would have been so awesome! But alas it was not to be.

Overall, This game I’d actually say was just not good. There are some things I can excuse for when a game is so long but having only 1 level isn’t one of them. The game wasn’t very polished and there are some places where if you fall then you can’t get up again and have to reset the game. Without the rewind feature that would absolutely be brutal so I don’t know what they were cooking there. I’d be curious to hear from anyone who really enjoyed this game back in the day because to me it just seems like a rare L. It has to be one of the weakest Nintendo games that I’ve played.

Overall 4/10

Joy Mech Fight Review

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So I like a good fighting game as much as the next guy. This one even has a plot which is cool so I would have been pretty satisfied if I got this back when it first came out. That being said, it’s a shame that Nintendo didn’t translate this one. Seriously would that have been so hard? The game has an impressive amount of battles in the story and while it will be tough to beat them all in one batch, I appreciate the replay value since you get a decent bang for your buck if you had bought the game.

The basic plot appears to be similar to Mega Man where two doctors have created a bunch of robots but one of them turns evil. So you play as the main character and every time you beat an enemy robot, the heroic scientist mind controls it so it joins your side. You rinse and repeat this until you’ve beaten all 8 robot masters. You then jump to the next planet and do the same thing. You beat all of them…then you go to the 3rd planet. It just keeps on going and going and going. The robots actually do change a bit, some are color swaps while others actually swap parts a bit. They’re mainly similar but I liked how creative the devs were here.

My only issue is that you can’t unlock these robots so that’s a bit of a tease. I beat the first two worlds and stopped at the 3rd one. There appears to be 4 worlds and every fight is a best of 5 set so this actually takes some time. You’re basically looking at 40 battles per world so over 100 in the game. Again, the value here is pretty good. I won’t say the gameplay is extremely polished and everything but it’s fun enough. It should remind you of the old Street Fighter days where you would spam the hadouken to keep on hitting enemies for as long as possible. That would just keep them at bay over and over again.

Well I did that here with my main projectile attack and it was great. I would then use a flying kick and take the win. I never even needed to rewind which was cool although it was starting to get really close in the last world so I was probably pretty close to that point. The game would be a lot more difficult without spamming since the attacks can be hard to dodge. Like you think it’ll hit a certain area but then it hits you somehow instead. The hit boxes may not be perfect but granted it can also just be that the designs are all a bit different and take some getting used to.

The graphics aren’t bad but not super clean. I’d say for NES standards they’re a little below average. They make up for that with the colors and the interesting designs though. You won’t forget some of these robots very quickly so I give the devs credit for that. Again I also give them credit for having an actual story since that’s pretty awesome and you don’t see it very often.

Overall, This is a decent mech fighting game. To be honest there is little reason to play it more nowadays with so many other fighters on the block but it doesn’t take away from the fact that a decent amount of effort was put into this one. Certainly more than I would have expected based on the box art and how the game’s never gotten popular. As long as you have the Switch Online you should play the game. It’s got a multiplayer mode as well so you can definitely play that for a long while before getting bored. It’s yet another game that I would consider a good proof of concept for something that could be a lot grander with a modern remake.

Overall 6/10

F-Zero 99 Review

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Nintendo likes to keep you guessing with new titles appearing out of nowhere and so it was finally F-Zero’s turn. I’d been waiting a long while for this franchise to be revived although admittedly I didn’t picture it in this context. It’s a pretty fun title to be sure but at the same time it’s not exactly the next big thing. It’s worth a quick play. You’ll have some fun here but the limitations quickly start to show themselves as this game becomes repetitive very quickly. I don’t think it lends itself as well to the format as say Mario or Tetris does. Both of those were basically built for the genre!

When you start the game you have to play through 4 tutorial races which feels like a bit much to me because the gameplay isn’t exactly hard to grasp. You’re driving through the course and just have to watch out for the other racers. You do a race where it’s just you, then with 10 people, then with 50 people, and then with 100. So a bit excessive but maybe they really thought people would be a little unsure of what to do afterwards. I won’t fault them for it but I would have definitely lessened this.

Once you finish that there are 3 modes to play from here. Quick race, special race, and grand prix. Grand prix is only active at some points which is 3-5 races in a row against opponents and boosting up your score. The special race can cost you a flag and you get points too. For now I don’t see much incentive to play those instead of normal race but I wouldn’t be surprised if you unlock more collectibles that way. I ended up unlocking 2-3 through level ups but you can check the requirements for each collectible in the shop. Some are about boosting a lot, racing a lot, just playing a lot, etc. Getting all of them should take you a very long time. I saw one that doesn’t unlock until you reach level 90 which is serious stuff.

I do like the collectibles though because it gives you a reason to keep on playing past the initial hour or two. If these weren’t there then there would seriously be no incentive to keep on playing. At the end of the day it will be based on how much you like the gameplay but even then, it’s very limited so that can’t be enough to keep you satisfied forever. Put it this way, there are around 5-6 courses right now. Sure they will probably add more as the game goes on but that means you will be playing on the same maps over and over again very quickly. In my brief time I already played on the same stage 4-5 times and I didn’t play all that long.

Also with the pure craziness of 100 racers on screen at the same time, you can expect a whole lot of bumping and shoving so you are very rarely able to race without interruption. It is fun at first of course since that’s the whole novelty factor but very quickly you will be wishing that you could just race and have fun on your own. That feeling of getting past everyone and just having the skies to yourself? Not going to happen for any period of time in this game since all of the cars are the same speed. Even if you make it to first temporarily, someone will get a super boost and speed away on the road above you.

Your skill is still rewarded of course as saving time around the corners and maximizing your boosts is crucial. You can expect RNG to hurt you sometimes but not enough where it matters. I was averaging spots in the top 40 and I imagine experienced F Zero players will probably be able to reach top 20 consistently. It’s all about learning the ins and outs of the game after all. The controls may be simple to learn but mastering them will be another story.

I am curious to see how long this game lasts. I can’t picture it having the huge success of titles like Fortnite or Among Us but hopefully it does well enough for Nintendo to keep on going for a while. Then we can get the AAA F-Zero game that I’ve been waiting for. So I’m rooting for this title even if I probably won’t be lasting too long on this one. It’s a fun game and the graphics are nice and retro. If I was more hooked on the gameplay then I’d probably be all in but I feel like the most addicting gameplay styles come in later on. For example picture Booksquirm 99 from Mario Party? That would be so much fun.

Overall, F-Zero 99 is a fun game and it’s cool that Nintendo just suddenly dropped it on everyone. That said, I still want a true F-Zero sequel to replace the old one so this better not take that place. There’s so much you could do with a futuristic racer like this after all and I need to see the end result of that. Jump into F-Zero 99 while you can because these 99 games tend to just vanish after a while. If you have the Switch Online there’s no reason not to jump into this free adventure.

Overall 6/10