Category Archives: Game Reviews

007 First Light Review

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This was a game that looked like a blast right from the start. In a way First Light was kind of like a successor to the old Uncharted franchise. Yes this would be about James Bond but there was more of a focus on the hand to hand combat than on the gun gameplay. Can’t really say I minded that all that much. After all I love the hand to hand gameplay. Throw in a compelling story and you really have a great title here.

The game is essentially an origin story for James Bond as we start the game with him being a soldier. After one mission goes haywire, Bond ends up joining M16 and trains to become a numbered agent. Along the way he will have to deal with powerful rival agents and an information leak that could end the civilized world. Fortunately Bond is ready for all of this. He’s never been the kind of guy to shy away from a fight after all.

Bond is one of those characters that I don’t generally like. I feel like he tends to lose far too quickly in most films and gets outsmarted all the time. He’s also way too girl crazy and this comes at the expense of the mission. While those traits still exist in this game, they are certainly not played nearly as much as in the movies. Bond is much more focused here for the most part even if he still makes time for a few one night stands every now and again. That keeps him from being a great character but at least he came a lot closer here than he ever did in the movies.

The game is fairly long so you won’t beat the campaign too quickly. It’s certainly not 20 hours but is easily in the double digits and I was satisfied with the campaign. There are 10 main chapters here and there are a lot of collectibles and extra dialogue options in each level. Unfortunately the simulator mode is online only which is a shame since that part is supposed to be a whole lot of fun. I guess I will work on playing through that during a free PSN weekend or something like that.

For the gameplay, the action part has you focusing on lots of punches and grabs. Grabs are completely broken in this game. They go through any attack and you can trap enemies in unescapable combos. They only don’t work on bosses who are immune to physical attacks and you must use the environment against them. Not a problem, there are always a lot of things to throw everywhere. You also have your gadgets which can short change any fight. Each gadget can one shot the opponent standing in your way.

I think the goal was to make sure that the game is accessible to everyone and for that reason it is a little bit on the easier side. Tere are times you will die though. I definitely died in quite a few of the shootouts which are the toughest part s of the game. The stealth and hand to hand parts though? You will breeze through those.

For the stealth there isn’t much of a punishment to failing thanks to the bluff mechanics that are around. Just back up and start again or use one of your gadgets to stun the guy and walk past him. Likewise for the punching parts, if they manage to land a blow on you then you can just run away. Your health regenerates really quickly so you can go back to full health and then fight again. So if you really want a challenge then you should probably start on hard mode.

I gotta say that I approved of these mechanics though. It’s going to be hard going back to normal stealth after this since all of the bluffing just feels so satisfying. Additionally you feel the impact from every punch. The combat is super satisfying all the way around. I really don’t have anything bad to say about the gameplay. It is always consistently top tier and you have a whole lot of freedom to attack the levels in any way that you want to. I certainly have a lot of fun with freedom like that.

If I had any kind of nitpick with the game it could be that at times the story could move a bit slowly. I really enjoyed the intro, the climax, and a lot of stuff in between but then sometimes things would go a bit slowly. Walking through the villain HQ in the arctic for example was a bit on the slow side as you must maintain your cover and can’t just go in blasting. I know why we had to be subtle but I just wanted to get on with it. If anything I wish that the final part could have been longer since having to play as Bond without any gadgets or special powers was fun. It lets you see just how strong he still is even without any kind of backup like that.

I’m betting that the sequels will only continue to add new gameplay styles and gadgets to the mix so I’m sure things will only get better from here. Of course with a different game studio coming in that may not be as much of a guarantee as I was thinking. Either way I have high hopes though. This is definitely the kind of game that you should play right away. The story is still very good even if I thought it had some pacing issues. The villains also end up being quite memorable. The best boss fight in the game is pretty early on though where you have to take on two assassins at once. That was a great fight, wish we could have gotten more like that. Later on the bosses are all immune to physical attacks like I mentioned before so they are a bit more gimmicky than the usual battles.

Overall, The term “AAA” may have taken some shots over the years but this is exactly the kind of game that you would think of for this acronym. First Light feels like a game that had a lot of development time put into it and this was not wasted. Every part of the game is treated with a lot of care and dedication. The gameplay is smooth and every technical element is accounted for. There may have been one or two times where the game crashed but it auto saves constantly so you don’t lose much progress. All of the classic quality of life features are in this game as well which is another credit to its favor.

Overall 8/10

Hollow Knight: Silksong Review

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It hasn’t been super long since I played Hollow Knight so I was definitely ready to check this one out. Silksong is known as being even more difficult than Hollow Knight so I was really excited for that. There was a patch though so the gap has definitely been reduced. On the whole I think it is safe to say that Silksong may be a little more difficult….maybe. Honestly it was really close. The final boss is definitely easier though.

The game centers around Hornet, who is abruptly kidnapped from her land and taken to the mysterious Citadel. She wants out of this place and intends to slaughter everyone in her way. If anyone surrenders then that is fine but most of these creatures just want to fight it out anyway. Fortunately Hornet is no stranger to combat and I just love how aggressive she is throughout the whole game.

It’s a major reason why this one beats the first Hollow Knight for me. Hornet just has such great dialogue throughout the game and that adds so much depth to the title. The plot feels a lot more detailed as a result and she even has her own rival to deal with. A lot of the characters like to talk very vaguely like in the first game but Hornet just throws in a few threats and they cease all of that foolishness.

As for the gameplay, special attacks are much less of a thing than in the first game. You are instead using a bunch of loadouts based on your crest. There are around 8-9 different styles to use. I unlocked most of them by the end but mostly stuck to the power crest the whole time. It’s a bit slower but the downwards slash covers such a wide area. I was able to use that to successfully trounce just about every boss. The only time I had to switch was in the final rival battle where the Beast Crest carried me to victory. Each crest has its pros and cons so it will all depend on your battle style.

For example, the beast crest does not allow you to heal but you can use a primal attack that drains your opponent’s health while you fight. So it’s really risky but you do deal a ton of damage. That was key against the rival because I just couldn’t dodge her attacks consistently so trading blows was my best chance there. You also have a lot of accessories that you unlock throughout the game but they tend to be a whole lot weaker than the Hollow Knight ones. Aside from the map and collecting beads along the way, the rest of them don’t tend to do much.

I would have liked some stronger items to really incentivize you while walking through the map but I guess they didn’t want the game to get too easy. As it is, there is still a good amount of variety as you play through the game with your gear. Some abilities also tend to be huge game changers like when you get the double jump. Of course I got that after beating the final boss so it sure felt pretty late in the game.

There is a good amount of replay value to be had here as beating the game is just the stat. You will unlock a third act when you go down the true ending path which adds new bosses and such. Considering that the game was $20, this is really a steal. It’s just hard to beat that kind of a deal. The main campaign took me around 20 hours and getting the Platinum would likely be at least another 20-30.

The bosses are also well crafted. They’re all very different so one boss that might be super difficult for me might be easy for you and vice versa. It just depends a lot on your fighting style. In general I would say the best thing to do is fight slow and methodically look for counter strikes. That’s not generally how I play games but in this game it makes sense because their attacks deal a ton of damage. Just eating one attack will significantly set you back so you don’t want that to happen.

Go slow and you’ll eventually win. If I have a small nitpick it is that there should have been a few more quick travel points. Based on where you want to go, there will be times where you have to cross a long distance on foot and it’s a journey that you will have already done many times before. So you don’t really want to do it yet again. Not a big deal overall but you do start to feel the repetition a little bit by the end. Just one or two more train stops could have solved that issue.

As for the graphics, the game looks great like you would expect. The characters are really striking and the special effects are on point. I like the mini cutscenes that play every now and again as well. These are all small things that helped to pass the first game. This was really a worthy sequel. The soundtrack is a bit more on the forgettable side though so that’s one thing that this game does not have in its favor.

Overall, Silksong is definitely a game that I would recommend. It’s a great game with a whole lot of content and it was all crafted very carefully. there is a lot of replay value here and I will definitely be hyped when they announce the next big title. I know everyone is hyped for the Sea of Sorrow expansion in the meantime though. I’m sure that will be great as well but nothing beats a whole new game. Perhaps a crossover where you play as both characters or something like that. If you haven’t played the game yet and are worried about the difficulty, I would advise you to play it anyway. The difficulty level is high but it’s always in a air way. When you die to an attack, it is one that you definitely had the opportunity to dodge.

Overall 8/10

Poppy Playtime Chapter 5 Review

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It’s time to return to Poppy Playtime! I think the biggest mandela effect here is that it’s Poppy Playtime vs Poppy’s Playtime. I dunno I’m used to the latter version but apparently it’s never been like that. The adventure continues on here as the lead is still stuck in this facility with no way out. This place sure was huge and it looks like the journey to the end is going to get a bit longer for him. If you thought that the villains were out of cards, think again!

The game picks up where the last one left off with Huggy Wuggy about to finish you off for good. There is no escape, no way out. Only death awaits but fortunately it turns out that there was a door behind you so you escape with that. At this point it’s hard to say if there is anyone left to save so you just have to get out of the facility but there appear to be more creatures across every corner. Additionally we learn a bit more about the origins of these creatures.

Chapter 5 brings in the main gloves from the first 3 games but changes out a few of the ones from game 4 for new controls. You now have a steam hand that can be used to overload doors and push objects as well as an elemental hand that can control the powers of fire and ice. It allows the game to have fun with more puzzle variations outside of the usual hand movements. As a result this is the first time I’ve completed the game without needing to use my grabbers over 200-300 times and got that bonus trophy. So that was pretty neat.

As always there is going to be a big mix of chase scenes and puzzles. The chases tend to be my favorite as they can get legitimately difficult and force you to really memorize the map. The toughest part is always transitioning from crouching to running. I tend to get eaten a few times during the chases but the check points are spaced well so retrying isn’t a big problem. At most I can say it would be nice not to have to sit through the quotes every time you die but that’s a staple of the series.

Most deaths are also spaced after an unskippable cutscene so you don’t have to wait too long. The only exception is during a tense game of green light/red light. Although it’s not like I died a ton of times so maybe there are other tricky death points. As for the puzzles, they are consistently better than other games. Puzzles can be really hit or miss for me but most of these felt rather balanced. There are maybe a few that are super unclear but most of them you can brute force your way out of when needed.

This may be the darkest game in some respects. It’s hard to say though, maybe that should be the earlier part with the hour of joy. You get to see a lot more of what the kids and toys had to go through here. While it is done stylistically with the toys, the whole intro is pretty disturbing with the outimals. The game uses your imagination as the scare factor here which is how it can keep to a T rating. So you are given enough tools to picture what happened without seeing anything. The better your imagination, the darker it gets. All in all, nothing too crazy but the game does want to really remind you how tough things are.

We don’t have the kid in your ear trying to tell you that everything will be okay this time after all of the twists in the 4th game. So this time you have a little guy here as your moral support but he wanders off for most of the game anyway. As a result the game is a little quieter even with the various audio tapes around. This was nearly the first game where I got all of the audio tapes on my first playthrough but unfortunately I missed one which held me back. I saw the VCR and everything but could not find the tape.

The graphics have definitely improved from the last game. I would say without a doubt that this is the best looking out of the Poppy games. They’ve done a great job with the colors and designs. I would also say that the sound effects are nice and eerie for the game. There isn’t much of a soundtrack here but I’ll give it a bit of a pass given the horror vibes of the game. Not a full pass mind you since horror games should still have great music but at least I understand where it’s coming from.

The game is fairly short like most Poppy titles but does last for 5 hours which I believe does make it the longest game in the series. It’s a bit easier than some of the earlier parts but still has enough difficulty where I would expect you to lose several times during the playthrough. There is an extra trophy in it for you if you can beat the game without dying though. Getting the platinum would be very difficult in this game because of how specific the trophies are. You would need to complete the game under a certain time limit and without dying. Given the constant auto saves, it’s a bit tough to get around that but there is probably some trick to it.

Every game has a big boss and of course this one is no different. She has a fairly strong powerset even if her design isn’t quite as scary as most of the previous enemies. They’re going for more of a crazy angle with her. I’d say she leaves more of an impression than the crazy doctor from a while back and even beats Doughy but is not on the level of Huggy Wuggy or Catnap. Those bosses are definitely all time threats.

Overall, I definitely recommend checking Poppy out. There are a few glitches that will cause you to have to restart the game but that’s normal for while it is new. A patch will probably fix this. Just try not to go too fast, the glitches tend to happen if you do something before the game is ready for it. This especially happens during one of the flashbacks where you have to pick some toys up. You never lose too much progress though. As we get closer to the end, we’ll see what the main character can do to finally get a win here. He is probably going to need a full on hand gun at this point. The game ends on a pretty weak cliffhanger but I’m sure there will be a lot of fun theories to come out of this. Either way I will definitely be there once episode 6 is out.

Overall 6/10

Ball X Pit Review

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I’m a really big fan of roguelike games at this point. As long as there is some way to get stronger while you are playing then I am definitely game. So by all accounts this one would be up my alley. To an extent that is the case and I had a good time but it does feel like the game made a few key missteps. One of them is adding in a gardening/town building mechanic. Lets keep that stuff in Animal Crossing! As far as this game is concerned, I just wanted to dive into the action.

This is essentially an endless runner in terms of gameplay except there is an ending so that’s not quite right. Basically you start off with your baseball that you shoot at enemies automatically. It will bounce off of the enemy based on the angle and then go back to you. You will want to catch the Baseball and then send it right back at the enemies. This will save you a few seconds per throw. As you progress into the level you will get level ups and new powers. They all reset once you lose or complete the level but you keep some permanent stat boosts through the XP that you got at the very end. Each level is around 10-15 minutes in length.

I got to play this game thanks to the Nintendo Game Trial which is a super cool feature. It’s not something they do super often but it’s always great to see and makes a real difference if you are unsure about a game. Or in my case, if it’s something where you can play the game enough to do a review without having to buy it. This game makes sense for a trial since it is virtually endless but without a story there wasn’t a reason for me to keep going. I made sure to eventually beat level 1 after about 15-16 tries and then I was satisfied.

Once you beat a level, you cannot move to the next one until you beat it with a second character which means a lot of rinse and repeat there. Based on the icons for the next levels this would grow each time. So soon you would have to beat the level with 4 characters for example. It’s an interesting mechanic that forces you to try everyone out. It’s the first time I’ve seen such a mechanic be mandatory though.

Let me not make it sound like I’ve played a ton of these though. I’ve played Vampire Survivor and a Justice League mobile game which had the same concept. Both of those were vastly superior to this game though. The movesets were more fun and the games had a lot more variety. It feels like the budget was a bit lower on this one and so the repetition becomes more obvious. It still takes a lot of strategy and memorization though so this game isn’t for the faint of heart.

Yes, you have permanent power ups so eventually you will win without a doubt. That’s the appeal of the genre but how quickly you progress is really up to you and your talents within the game. You’ll gradually see which power ups are worth obtaining and which ones aren’t. There are a lot of different weapon and ability combinations as well and I imagine those you will have to learn through classic trial and error.

So why don’t I like the building aspect? Well for starters it is throwing another grind on top of the main game’s which is already considerable. You have to find logs and stones in order to make houses which allow you to unlock new characters. You then have to play a pinball minigame to break the houses and can only play it once per run. It all just feels like a distraction from the main game. For this genre the most enjoyable part is just getting into the action. The building parts feel a whole lot clunkier.

If you’re going to do it, there shouldn’t be a pinball game. Just let me make the houses and watch them grow over time. That would be so much more satisfying and would just make for a better form of side content in the long run. The main gameplay is pretty fun as it is and the title could stand up with that alone. I would remove the need to beat every stage with every character though. I feel like the game should just put some good rewards to make you want to do that without forcing you into it. Then down the road I would do it and the game wouldn’t feel as repetitive.

The graphics are fairly decent. Nothing as good as the cover art/promotional images for the game which are incredible. Still good though, you won’t lose yourself in all of the explosions or anything like that. The developers clearly have a flair for the dramatic which works well for this kind of title. The soundtrack is more on the forgettable side though, nothing like Hades. I feel like more Indie games should invest in having a great soundtrack or some customizable music options. It would really help to support the gameplay quite well.

Of course you can’t knock this one for a lack of replay value. The stages being at 10-15 minutes long in length is great for replaying. You will be going through them a lot after all so having the levels be 20+ minutes or anything like that would have been a mistake. This feels like the right amount of time and it’s also clear that the game has hundreds of hours of content in it. If you want to beat everything then it is going to take you an extremely long time to get there. This game gives you a lot of bang for your buck.

Overall, I feel like this game is entering a heated market right now with the genre being so popular. It is unfortunately not going to be up to the task of conquering its rivals but I do think this is a fun game. It is a title that I would play a lot more if it was free. If it had a real story, I dare say that I would have purchased it on the spot. Alas that wasn’t meant to be. I would definitely recommend picking it up if you are looking for a fun game to play on the side though. It is the perfect palette cleanser.

Overall 6/10

Sword of Vermilion Review

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It’s time for another old Genesis title. This is actually the last one that I had yet to play so this feels like a really big milestone. Older games can be really hit or miss and it all comes down to if they had good quality of life features or not. This one doesn’t really have anything like that unfortunately so it ends up being a bit of a chore to get through. I don’t see how you would have had much fun with it back in the day.

The game introduces us to a hero who must stop villains from destroying the world. There are 8-12 rings of power that have been scattered as if they were Fire Emblems. If they are not united quickly, then all hope is lost. This hero is rocked to his core when he finds out that his father isn’t really his dad and everything he knew has been a lie. Still, he emotionlessly processes this and goes on the journey. There will be time to grieve later on.

Okay so there are some different gameplay styles here. The main one is an overhead style like Legend of Zelda where you have to walk through the map and go to the next town or dungeon. Here is the twist though, random encounters will attack you every few steps. This means you are in battles nearly constantly. Yes, you can run away but often times it will be difficult to do this without taking some damage. You will be surrounded on all sides and attacked. Additionally sometimes the enemy will appear right on top of you which causes unavoidable damage. That was super annoying.

Then the overhead map is not visible so you are walking in the darkness. To get around this you need to find a map. You can get this by talking to everyone in the town after a special event has happened. You did that and still didn’t get a map? Then you have to do it again! Sometimes it can take up to 3 times for someone to give you a map. I don’t know how you are supposed to know this initially and so I played the game for close to 2 hours scrambling around in the dark before I had to go online and find out what was going on.

Once you have the formula, then that helps a lot because the game sticks to it. You will be going to all of the towns and getting the maps. Towards the end of the game they will stop giving you maps and then you have to find them randomly outside. That part is rough but fortunately in one of the last towns you get a new item that lets you activate a fake map for all areas. Super awesome but way too late in the game for that. Then you also have the caves which are the same thing but even worse. You are wandering through them in total darkness until you buy a lamp or get a luminous spell. That lets you see your immediate area but the rest of the map is dark until you find the map in there.

I spent a good amount of my time in the game just wandering around the caves. Not a good feeling, trust me! I must have gone around in circles so many times with dead end after dead end. The game took me nearly 20 hours to complete when the actual campaign is much shorter than that. The enemies also deal a whole lot of damage so you’re going to want some time to grind them down in order to build up both EXP and money. If you are lacking in either category then you’re in trouble. You need the money for high powered equipment and you need the exp in order to buff up your stats. Both types of grinding can take a little while and you will need to head back to town often to heal.

The game does get better by the very end because that is when you have all of your quality of life upgrades but man does it take a long while to get up to that point. That’s really the problem if you ask me. You shouldn’t have a game that is this painful to get through. The problems all boil down to the crazy high spawn rate and the lack of a map. The game should definitely provide you with one while exploring the caves and land or at least heavily reduce the spawn rate. Doing both things at once is diabolical.

I’d also say that the boss battles can get a little cheesy. You have to swing at fireballs coming at you while also taking down minions before you can reach the main boss. Then once you’re there, if you touch him you will end up dying. So you have to slash from a safe range and your sword doesn’t go very far. It makes every boss fight a matter of inches instead of just letting you relax and slice away at him. The Switch Online allows you to rewind which is something I had to do a whole lot of here. Without those features I don’t know how I would have gotten past this.

I suppose the realistic answer is I would have had to keep on leveling up and getting stronger but it would really be an annoying process from start to finish. Boss battles are supposed to be fun, not an active chore that you try to avoid. That’s the big error that this game makes, it simply isn’t fun to play. More than once I would beat a boss and go back to base to talk to the king, only to find out that I missed an item in the dungeon and have to go all the way back. The game keeps on hitting you with the most random effects like in another instance hitting me with a super poison that cannot be cured and the only way to stop it is to find a plant deep in a random dungeon.

The graphics aren’t bad, they are pretty standard for the Genesis. The soundtrack also isn’t impressive but again it’s nothing crazy. So I can’t fault the game in those areas. The game simply struggles across all of its gameplay mechanics and not thinking of the player in how they all work. This is really an experience that is more for people who really want to take their time exploring a new world. Even then, I dare say that they will have a much better time with almost any other game. I mean that quite literally as there are very few games to get under a 5 for me.

Overall, You should definitely give this one a skip. It’s not the kind of game that will change your mind on retro experiences in general. This just makes you wish for a return to the 2026 type of titles that just wow your mind with how amazing they are. You want a game that plays very smoothly and has the top of the line graphics and music. Those are the games that really get to you. Go play Kigndom Hearts for PS2 instead of this one.

Overall 3/10

Crusader of Centy Review

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It’s time for one of the last Genesis games that I hadn’t gotten around to yet. A long time ago I started it but never finished the title. This time would be different, this time I would finally get to go on the full journey. Unfortunately I would not say that it fares much better than the first time. If I’m being honest, the game just isn’t all that good. Not every game is going to be the next big thing so I get it. This is also a much older title so they didn’t have a lot of the modern quality of life features by this point.

The game starts by introducing us to a kid who has just become of age and must now leave home with his sword to fight off the monsters. It is a tradition in the village and so the boy looks forward to dealing as much damage as possible. His pet dog will accompany him on the journey. As the hero goes forth into the unknown he meets up with a lot of other animals who join his party. The monsters are powerful but they can’t stop the lead. The plot takes a turn when time travel is introduced and the monsters decide to start a dialogue. Is the kid really on the right side?

I think the biggest tragedy in this game is how ambitious the story is. This is absolutely not a story that was ready to be told by this rpg. One character even mentions how humans are the real monsters and the story is getting really emotional but doesn’t really have the time to delve into this. We see how the monsters have been getting genocided by the humans for dozens of years and there was nothing that could be done. Through time travel the hero is able to right some of these wrongs but it’s not so much a happy ending as it is one about dodging the problem entirely. Sometimes that is the only way to get past an issue I guess.

Where the game falls flat is with the puzzles. Often times they are way too vague with no real indicator of what to do. One of them revolves around scouring the beach for a single spot where you steps don’t appear on the ground. This means you have to jump on that spot in order to proceed. Another puzzle has a similar gimmick but it takes a while to get to every step and you have enemies trying to hit you at all times. If not for the powers of constant rewind thanks to the Nintendo Switch Online, I’d have died so many times. It is hard to get your health back in this game too because there are no potions or healing spells.

If you want to get health back then you have to keep on slashing some grass and hope to find an apple. It’s a much more tedious process compared to what it should be since the apple spawn rates are incredibly low. The main gameplay style here is that of an overhead platformer. You have to jump and slash away at obstacles and solve puzzles by moving things together. You get about 12-16 animals and each one has a different power that lets you solve more puzzles. These include fire breath, super speed, boomerang sword throws, swimming, etc.

Every time you get an animal you can bet that there will be some new puzzles involving that creature. Then when it comes to the boss battles, they tend to have weaknesses to different combinations so you need to switch up your animal combinations until you get to the right one. At least in this area I can say that the boss fights were creative in a fun way. One of them was a Pac-Man homage as you have to eat all of the fruits before moving on to the next level. If the game focused more on the boss fights than the platforming we would have had a good game here.

The pacing just died every time you have to solve another puzzle or go through the same world for the 3rd time to see what changed. You can boil this all down to the game just making things tedious instead of fun which is often one of the critical issues that an older game can make. As long as you can get past that, then you’ll be in a better spot. Newer games tend to at least give you some hints on the puzzles if you are stuck long enough.

Either make the puzzles clearer or give more ways to solve them. I think the animal gimmick is actually decent if handled right. I always like unlocking more skills as I get through a game. It almost has that Metroidvania feel to it and the best ones in that genre do allow you to get stronger. Throw in a level up system and a way to get through each world quicker whenever you have to revisit one. If you follow those two tenets then typically you can survive some level of puzzles. It is a tight balance though.

The soundtrack’s okay but not exactly something to write home about. As far as the graphics go, I thought they were decent. Certainly not bad or anything so I wouldn’t dock any points there. It is clear that the game had a vision and that’s important. There isn’t going to be much replay value here as the game just ends. It does have a bit of a cliffhanger for a sequel so that was bold of the game. The runtime is fairly decent, I’d say this will last you around 5-6 hours in total and probably more based on the puzzles.

Overall, Crusader of Centy is one of those games that just hasn’t aged well. I’ve always said that if I grew up in the old days of consoles, I may not have ended up being a big gamer. I feel like there were just too many games like this one which simply weren’t a whole lot of fun. You would have your high moments but the low ones overshadow it. At the very least maybe I’d just focus on Nintendo games for a while there. Still, if you have the Switch Online then you may as well try out this game since it’s free. No real reason not to right?

Overall 4/10

Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance Review

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Fire Emblem is one of those titles that is so cool and incredible that you have a hard time believing that it is actually a Nintendo product. The games always have real storylines to them as well as high stakes. People are dying here and the gameplay is quite difficult. The game is not going to be holding your hand at all as you go through all of the maps. Yes, the game also has perma death so if any of your allies die, then they are gone for good. While the game is on the Switch Online, there is no rewind for Gamecube games so that gets tricky as well.

The main character here is Ike and he’s a part of a mercenary guild run by his father. Unfortunately his father is defeated by The Black Knight which forces Ike to take command. He must help a princess escape her fate of death by delivering her to a neighboring country but it won’t easy. The world is divided up into around 8 countries and they had been in a state of peace for a long time until one kingdom suddenly invaded Crimea. Now all of the lands are potentially going to get wrapped up in this. Ike’s standard bodyguard mission just got a whole lot more dangerous.

First off I have to say that Ike is really a great main character. He is always ready for a fight and he doesn’t bother with the usual pleasantries. He isn’t going to play the game of the rich just because he needs their help. Ike has always been a mercenary and so he is all about producing results instead of just playing nice. His troops really trust him as a result, well except for two who run off for their own solo journeys. As with most Fire Emblem games you will have the chance to recruit a bunch of characters or destroy them yourself. It’s not always an intentional choice as some can only be recruited by specific units and others will die before you get to them.

Generally I tried to recruit everyone but I did end up missing out on quite a few. The game is fairly long with 30 chapters and the character cast is huge. Even as late as chapter 25 you are gaining new units to help you out in battle. I believe the last one may even be around 27 although I wasn’t really keeping track by then. There are so many characters in the game that you will want to settle on a few to take into battle or your resources will be spread too thin.

Each level has a certain amount of characters that you can bring into the battle. Typically the limit is around 13 but this can go as high as 19. Generally I would try to keep my group between 8-10 fighters. The reason for this is two-fold. The first is that the more guys you have on the field, the harder it is to protect everybody. You have healers, warriors, archers, etc. The healers must be protected and so each one will require around 3 bodyguards to keep them totally safe. That slows your guys down from breaking into the enemy camp.

Most of these levels reward high levels of offense so if you stay back then they will begin summoning a lot of backup over and over again. That puts you in a potentially unwinnable position so you don’t want that to happen to you. Also, it’s hard to keep everyone at a high level when each character is fighting for EXP. There are no side battles or retreat options in this game meaning there is absolutely no way to grind EXP. All you have it what you get from each level which you can distribute among the team between chapters.

You can see how this would get very dicey after a while when you have nearly 30 army fighters. So trust me when I say you want to keep the army small. Additionally, it just makes every level a lot quicker since there is less loading times between every turn on all factions. Even then it can be hard to guess what the enemy will do. Strategy is 95% of the game but the other 5% is pure RNG.

I’ll explain, so the main gameplay here is an overhead turn based system. Your objective is always to either murder the enemy king, arrive at a destination, or seize a castle. You usually don’t have a timer on how long it takes to get there, you just have to complete the mission. Now where it gets tricky is each character has a different amount of movement options based on their class. You have to keep track of all of yours as well as the opponents.

Then adding onto that you are able to see how much damage your unit will deal to an opposing one and vice versa. This lets you pick who will fight and when to move each unit. Where the 5% luck comes in is that there are critical hits and misses. Either one can completely flip the tides of battle and any death will set you back in a major way. You should always try to have some leeway but that’s not going to be possible in some instances. So that’s when you just have to hope that your opponent doesn’t suddenly land a bit critical hit.

The game feels fairly generous so typically you’ll be the one landing criticals and dodging hits. Just remember that it can go the other way around as well. Between chapters it is important to visit the shop and the forge to keep your guys properly equipped. As soon as you unlock the silver weapons, you will want to put that on everybody. For that reason I didn’t spend any money until around chapter 20 and that’s when I started arming everyone properly. It really makes a huge difference.

In terms of who the best units are, I would say Titania and Marcia were my two MVPs. For most of the game I could send Titania into a 7 vs 1 fight and she would win. She is absolutely unstoppable. The only downside is it means she can be a bit of an EXP hog and so she hit her max level with around 10 chapters still to go. Still worth it if you ask me. Marcia is also super strong with incredible range. She isn’t quite as durable though so I always had to be careful with her.

Ike is naturally strong as well. He ended up being my third best fighter with the axe wielder in 4th. The beasts tend to be strong as well and you definitely want to use the guy who gives you two turns. Unfortunately the mages felt nearly useless in this one so I highly recommend keeping them on the bench. They’re just way too weak and can die in a single hit. Same for a bunch of the other fighters. I assume they get better over time but without a way to grind, it felt too risky. Fire Emblem titles always have some fighters who are stronger than others though so in this game Titania was just the right character to have around.

The main campaign should take you over 20 hours to complete so you are getting a lot of content right there. The flip side is that there isn’t a whole lot of replay value here without side modes. You could try playing through the game with different party members or some self inflicted challenges though. It’s fine though because when the main campaign is long then you don’t really mind all of that too much. A multiplayer mode would be pretty fun but odds are that you are playing this one for the big story.

Overall, This was a great game and it is definitely a top tier Fire Emblem experience! It really makes me hyped to get more Fire Emblem titles down the road. I’m really early on in my journey here so I really do need to fix that. Should I get the remake of the first game, the iconic Awakening, or the really controversial Three Houses? They’re all right up there but in the meantime I highly recommend picking this game up if you have the Switch Online. It gives you a whole lot of bang for your buck and is a really well crafted game.

Overall 8/10

The Tower of Druaga Review

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This is easily one of the worst NES titles that I’ve played. I’m afraid it just hasn’t held up at all. Any game where you have a missable item that makes completing the title almost impossible is definitely going to be a thumbs down from me. It’s a super obscure gameplay decision but this isn’t the first time that I’ve run into this. So that’s already a bad thing against this title. The gameplay actually had some potential too so that’s what makes this one sad.

There are 50 levels in the game. You essentially start off in a Pac-Man type of maze. You have to find the key that is scattered somewhere within the maze and then use that to unlock a treasure chest. When you’ve done that then you will have completed the level. Rinse and repeat for 50 levels. There are various enemies and ghosts that will try to get in your way. If any of them touch you, then you lose a life. You seem to be able to slash at them and can defeat most enemies but it is unclear on exactly what enemies you can defeat. I didn’t have very much luck with defeating them.

So far this doesn’t sound so bad right? It means you will be getting a good amount of exploration done and you have to move quietly and carefully so that you don’t bump into the enemies. Well, the main problem comes midway through the game when the title suddenly turns the lights off. Now you can’t see anything and it turns out that the reason for this is because there is an item you have to get from one of the minions. This would have worked as a flashlight of sorts and by missing it, you are now in big trouble. With the help of rewind I was able to power through 2 of the dark levels but it takes an incredibly long amount of time to do that in each instance. It’s definitely not easy, to put it mildly.

This was an absolutely massive misstep by the game. It makes the later levels virtually unplayable as a result. Not only can you not see the various paths but you can’t even see the enemies in some cases which causes you to bump into them. Your only recourse is to start the game from scratch. When that is the only thing to do, you have essentially failed at being a game. There should never be a case where you are effectively soft locked like this.

To an extent you can get a small pass on this in strategy games but even then it should be something that is difficult to achieve. For example in Fire Emblem games it is absolutely possible for this to happen but in general I would say that it should be rare. More the exception to the rule if you would. In this game, odds are very high that you won’t get the light because defeating enemies is already very difficult.

The game incentivizes you to skip them and to focus all of your attention on the key. So now you have a gameplay mechanic that goes against the game itself. There also could be more gameplay mechanics like that within the title. I don’t know about them because I didn’t make it to the end of the game but it certainly feels likely to me. This is a game that is all about punishing the player and that’s a problem.

The gameplay also isn’t very smooth which is part of why defeating enemies is so difficult. It is very ease to just move too quickly or to miss something. If you really want to make a game about finding things and going backwards, well then I’d suggest making a rogue-lite kind of game. The kind of title that encourages you to play over and over again with quick runs on the back-end. If you develop a game like that, then you could have game ending scenarios. I would still recommend not making it quite as easy to fall into as this game though. No matter how you look at it, this feels too excessive.

As for the graphics, well it looks okay. The game is definitely old and the graphics reflect that but at the same time it doesn’t look below average or anything like that. I would say it fits in with the rest of the games well enough. As for the soundtrack, it’s certainly on the bland side but that was the case for a lot of the NES titles back in the day. So even this is more par for the course really. The technicals are not holding the gameplay back, it is simply the game design which did that.

In terms of replay value, well I believe the game does loop after 50 levels so you can keep on trying to play it and see how far you go. That’s the only kind of replay value here though and the original 50 levels should only take you around 2-3 hours to get through. As long as you don’t lose or miss any items. The amount of content here is about up to standard as well.

Overall, If you have the Switch Online then you have access to hundreds of other great games. I would recommend playing those instead of checking this one out. It’s easily one of the weaker games that I’ve played through and that’s saying something. It is definitely not the kind of game that will become your favorite franchise going forward. Trust me on that one. That said, maybe I’ll check out another game in the series because it sounds like it is a very different kind of experience. You can only go up after a title like this as well. It’s pretty rare to play a game that I would say is downright “bad” so in a way that will end up making this one fairly memorable, more so than if it was actually good.

Overall 3/10

Mendel Palace Review

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It’s time for one of those retro NES titles. I definitely hadn’t heard of this one before, but granted, I suppose a lot of these were really before my time. The game is decent, it has a very unique style to it. That being said, I don’t think this would end up being a game that I would seek to replay. It’s not like Mario or Pac-Man where the gameplay is just super solid. The gameplay is original and can be fun but isn’t super great or anything like that.

Basically you are on a checkers board of sorts. You can move across the tiles and flip the ground which sends a little shockwave in the direction that you are facing. You will be faced off with 4 opponents and your goal is to shockwave them into one of the walls. Once your opponents are slammed then you move onto the next level. Each world has 10 levels to it and there are around 8-9 worlds. Each one introduces you to a new enemy until the final world where you fight them all. Now that is definitely a real ambitious final world, I can tell you that.

The levels range from being a few seconds long to several minutes. It really depends on the different tricks that the villains are using and a little RNG sprinkled in as well. The gameplay is simple so you can really just focus on positioning and being in the right place at all times. There are also different kinds of floors which becomes more of a factor as you play through the game. You have star spaces which cause shockwaves in all directions and other tiles that cannot fire shockwaves.

The most annoying kind of tile is definitely the portal which allows enemies to infinitely summon new versions of them. You need to flip these tiles over immediately or the levels will get much more difficult. You have no health bar so if any villain touches you then you lose a life. Additionally if a shockwave hits you, you will lose a life. So there is absolutely no margin for error here. For the most part you can react to any kind of attack, but one exception is when enemies bump into each other and then get sent into a bunch of different directions.

You just have to try and prevent this from happening in the first place because you will really not be able to prevent this from happening. There are simply too many enemies and they are all over the place. One wrong step and that is game over. Each enemy has a different movement style, some are easier to deal with than others. You have the sumo wrestler for example who can resist the shockwaves pretty well. You need to land lots of hits to take him out and he counters after each one. If any counter hits you, you don’t die but you get sent across the field.

There’s the swimmers who…well they swim across the riles which isn’t a problem since you can still hit them with shockwaves. You even have other “players” who move and attack in the same way that you do. For the most part they aren’t a big problem but you definitely don’t want to underestimate them. After all, they only need to land one good hit on you.

The graphics aren’t bad in this game. It’s definitely basic NES stuff but it’s not under average or anything like that. It’s good enough and it’s not like this is a very complicated game either. So as long as you can see what is happening, then you’re good. The game delivers on that front. Then for the soundtrack, well that is more on the forgettable side. There aren’t any tunes that you will be humming to yourself later or anything like that.

In terms of replay value, there isn’t a whole lot here. There was a score display at the top so I suppose you could try to get a higher score. This doesn’t feel like a game that is really made for replay value though. You would need to really enjoy the gameplay style a whole lot for that to be possible. Ideally that is what will happen though. The main game’s length isn’t very long but that’s usually the case for an NES title.

What the game could have done to be more fun would have been to not have the teleport tiles. I feel like those were the cheesiest with how they kept spawning new monsters. If you’re going to add that in, at least don’t make it infinite. I think that would have gone a long way to making the game feel more balanced. The levels would be more on the straight forward side, compact and not too crazy all around. Without rewind this game feels like it can just be a little too unforgiving. Maybe if it took more than one hit to defeat you, that could have been another way to enhance the game a bit. So some good ideas in here, but it’s clear that the title was a bit rough around the edges and that’s why it didn’t end up being the next big thing. Nobody’s really heard of this title which means that it was fully forgotten to history.

Overall, This isn’t the kind of game that I would play a whole lot of but if you have the Switch Online then you should check it out. After all, it’s effectively free at that point so why wouldn’t you want to give it a quick shot right? If they ever made a modern remake of this game, they could probably do some cool things with it. Throw in a fun story and then you’re really off to the races. It does beat the next NES title that I will be reviewing though so prepare yourself for that.

Overall 5/10

Pragmata Review

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Pragmata is one of those games that I was hyped for right away. By all accounts it looked to be some kind of a backdoor Mega Man spinoff even if nobody would admit it. Even after playing through the game it feels that way and it technically goes out of its way to not appear to be a Mega Man game. Maybe one day we’ll get the crossover but either way this is a great title.

The game begins with a group of people heading onto a space station but unfortunately something weird is going on. The A.I. may have gone rogue as everyone is murdered except for the main player. He runs into a kid, the Pragmata. She is his only chance at surviving this encounter but this guy doesn’t really trust robots. Can he get past that and team up with her? The stakes are high so there is really no time for any in-fighting or anything like that.

Naturally the horror element here is in the fact that there is no escape. There is no easy way to get back to Earth. In fact the whole game is about trying to get to the center of the station so that they can use the escape pods. Unfortunately the whole place has been shut down and there are killer androids everywhere so getting past them is definitely not going to be easy.

The gameplay is a 3D shooter but mixed in with a bit of puzzle gameplay. Technically these are “hacking” components where you shut down an enemy’s defenses in order to do more damage. This is really mandatory because your shots will practically bounce off otherwise. Fortunately the hacking gameplay is quite a lot of fun so I really enjoyed just blasting away at everyone. It really encourages you to learn how to do two things at once. If you are not a multi tasker then this will be very tough.

As the game goes on you will unlock a ton of different weapons as well as enhancements to the hacking program. Each level gives you more clearance on the spaceship which unlocks more things. You can then use your new abilities to go back to old areas and get more collectibles. It’s almost like a vania in that regard except for the fact that you never need to go back. It is purely optional.

The gameplay and navigation are so smooth that I did have fun going back and getting things though. I got almost all of the collectibles and beat every training exercise. The main campaign is very short so I wanted to make sure that I got my money out of this. Also it just helps when the game flows well. If going back and forth meant having to sit through a lot of loading screens or something like that then I wouldn’t have bothered.

Also the collectibles and such really do improve your overall abilities so there is a big incentive to getting them. The final boss is actually very tricky so I was glad that my stats were all heavily boosted. Then when you beat the game there is a little post game content in the form of a new room with some challenges in there. That was pretty cool. This isn’t the kind of game where I’m aiming to get the Platinum anytime soon but it was still cool to see.

The graphics are really good here. The level of detail is impressive and so this is a AAA PS5 title all the way. The robot designs are super good throughout and I also liked the NYC based level. You will always have a lot to look at here and the hacking successful effects are always satisfying. The soundtrack is less memorable. We do get an emotional track at the end but for the most part this is one of those quiet type of games. They probably figured that hard rock music would mess with the tone but I can’t agree with that. I’d have loved to have more intense music.

We also got a pretty intense main villain here towards the end. The first one was decent but not super interesting so I was glad at the switch. It made the stakes a lot more personal and all. I also enjoyed the main character and the kid because they were locked in from the start. No petty grumblings or drama, they were just trying to survive here. It’s one of those things that feels more realistic than if they had been fighting because this really wouldn’t be the time for it. You like to think that in a life or death situation everyone would be focused and working together so the game is hopeful in that way.

My only piece of advice gameplay wise is to buy the module that lets you see where all collectibles are in a level. I got this as soon as I could and it really makes a good difference. After that I would focus on upgrading my main weapons and for the gold orbs, upgrading the gun. I figure those are things that you will be using constantly anyway. I’m always partial to increasing attack power in general because win or lose, the fights will go quicker. It just forces me to get better at dodging and blocking.

Overall, Pragmata is definitely a game that you should buy. Yes, the length is short which is a blow against the game but everything else about it is absolutely top tier. The story is really great and the title has every quality of life feature you can think of. It is a very satisfying game to complete from start to finish and that helps the length to not bother you quite as much Just have fun exploring the levels and don’t rush to the end. There are plenty of collectibles to grab and little story discs that explain the surrounding context. I also feel like this game is just helpful in general for multi tasking. It can be harder than it sounds to be shooting, aiming, and hacking at the same time. If we ever get a sequel to this title, I’ll definitely be there!

Overall 8/10