Category Archives: Game Reviews

Castlevania Advance Collection Review

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Time for the next Castlevania collection! This time we’re entering a more modern era with a bunch of GBA titles and I gotta say this works out pretty well. You can feel the quality of life updates oozing out of each title and all in all they do feel a lot more fun. I would also say generally speaking they do improve as they go on. Sometimes not unanimously in every regard but generally speaking they feel stronger. The games also increasingly have more story which always works out well.

So we kick things off with Circle of the Moon. Dracula is returning once again and he must be stopped but how do you beat a foe so powerful that he has the whole world on its knees? Well, Nathan will have to figure that out. This game has the classic Metroidvania type style here as you wander around a labyrinth gaining new powers and abilities in the rooms. With each new ability comes new opportunities and so you work to find out which areas have opened up for you to crack. It makes for some good fun in exploring but this is the critical make or break point for any game in the genre.

Here’s the balancing act. Naturally you want a lot of dead ends and such to encourage players to return later once they are stronger. However, the rooms can be quite large so what you don’t want to do is make the journey feel like a chore. The way to prevent this is by having fast travel in a lot of different areas so you can hop on that right away. It removes all of the excess running. Now, there is a level up system so beating the enemies gets easier with time. That is a good idea since proper progression is always a plus. It means that if you’re stuck at any point, you are given clear direction on how to get past that point which is really cool. Not just any game will do that.

So this one did it better than some of the other titles. Not perfectly mind you, but it’s a fairly good showing of the genre. I never quite understood the card gimmick though. You could use cards in different combinations to unleash powerful elemental attacks and such but I could never get any of them to work. You can still win without this but I imagine that the game might have been a whole lot easier otherwise. So I definitely did not make things easy on myself here. The graphics are solid and I liked all of the boss battles. There are quite a lot of them here so you really get to go all out.

Then in the second game Juste shows up to put an end to Dracula’s reign of terror. Defeating the king of the vampires won’t be easy but this guy is ready. It picks up a lot of the gameplay details and abilities from the previous game while also throwing in some new wrinkles. Gone are the cards (Which I’m 100% down with) and replacing them are magical super attacks. You are invincible while using these abilities which is extremely handy and the techniques themselves vary based on what sub weapon you have equipped. I chose one that let me shoot energy waves and I made sure to never pick any other sub weapons after that. This one was just way too useful but I can’t remember which one it was. I think the sub weapon looked like a book of sorts but I’m not sure of the name.

Either way there are a ton of sub weapons everywhere so it should not be hard to find these. Just keep searching and you will get them fairly quick. Meanwhile you still have the level up system so make sure you get those right away. If you beat all of the enemies you will get the level ups normally but especially securing some of them early on is an incredible help for you later on. You want to be able to easily dispatch all of the zombies and creatures that head your way to save health for the bosses. The bosses definitely do not hold back and really dish a whole lot of damage out.

The game loses some steam near the very end though as it does fall into the trap of the journey being a little too monotonous. As you approach the end game, there will only be a few passages left to check but they are in completely different sides of the map. So even though you have quick travel, it takes forever to get anywhere which is really the issue. This only really applies to the end game as it’s possible to miss power ups and then this cascades quite a bit as they are all linked. So just watch out here because missing things is really high stakes.

Then we have the third game, Aria of Sorrow. This one felt like it had a pretty good technological jump right off the bat. The graphics are extra clear, we have a whole new setting, and all of the gameplay mechanics are very sharp. You still have the level ups but now you have a soul system. Instead of finding the power ups for the most part, you gain the abilities through souls. It’s a fun way to go although there is a mild issue of having to pause and cycle through your abilities to keep on switching powers. That part’s a little dicey you know. Still, it’s a mild annoyance at worst, not something that will really be giving you a hard time here.

I liked the plot of several people being suspicious and you have to try and figure out who will be Dracula’s new vessel. It’s almost like a mystery game of sorts there so that was a fun angle. I think another way to put it is that the game had a whole lot of personality. It felt like the devs could have fun taking things in a new direction and it worked really well. It even felt like there was some true replay value here as you could clear the game while still leaving a lot left to be done. It’s the right balance of being a completionist vs just wanting to finish the game. Additionally, you gain powers like flight that make each room a breeze so that addresses my issue of moving through the map too slowly from the last game. This was definitely super solid.

Finally we have Dracula X. Well, Dracula is back and we have to take him down. Lesss goooooooo. The plot is super basic/nonexistent and the game feels like a super simplified version of the old ones. The fact that you can no longer jiggle your whip around or use magic attacks feels like a massive step back. It just went too far into being super retro. It’s not bad, the whole game is super short but very linear. It just doesn’t hold up compared to the big full fledged game titles. It was kind of funny to go back to this one.

The graphics for all of the games are pretty solid. Dracula X looks rather dated but all of the GBA ones hold their own. The soundtracks definitely vary from game to game but as a whole there are a ton of good tunes to listen to so you definitely won’t be getting bored at all. The variety is definitely here to stay and you might even recognize one or two from Super Smash Bros. There is a good amount of replay in trying to get all trophies and really ace each of the games as well. You will definitely need to tap into your inner Castlevania fan to pull that off but it will add some extra hours without a doubt.

Overall, Castlevania Advance Collection is definitely pretty fun. All 3 of the game boy advance titles are pretty solid and generally speaking are a step up from the retro styled ones. They all feel like complete games and I do think adding a full fledged level up system to the vania games is a real good way of keeping things from being too repetitive. Even if you get lost, at least you know you are making progress. I may still not be a huge fan of the sub genre but I can say this is on the higher levels in terms of quality. It’s certainly miles away from certain other titles that just feel like a grind. The final game may not hold up as much but I consider that to be more of a bonus title so either way there was no real pressure there.

Overall 7/10

Batman: Return to Arkham Review

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It’s time to return to the world of Batman games. Yes, this collection absolutely lives up to the hype and it’s been great playing so many elite games back to back! It’s really hard to see how DC can top this Batman series in the future because of just how well it nailed the mythos and atmosphere. Not to say we’re done with the Arkham series as there are still two games left to get but this was a fantastic start all around.

The first game in the collection is Arkham Asylum. Batman was undergoing a normal operation where he took down the Joker and arrested him but unfortunately the jail isn’t as secure as it should be. Joker ends up breaking out and takes over Arkham Asylum real quick. The inmates all answer to him now and they are united in their drive to destroy Batman. Batman will really have to call upon all of his knowledge and gadgets in order to take these guys down. Batman is heavily outnumbered by tons of opponents after all so this won’t be easy.

The game does a terrific job of embracing the combat elements of Batman along with his detective’s nature. It’s all really handled quite spectacularly and whenever you lose, you do feel like you deserved the death. The infiltration missions for example are difficult but never unfair. You have to watch the opponents carefully and if you are caught, take down the opponent as soon as possible. Often times I would get into a gunfight and die but sometimes I would pull off the win. The game felt very open with how many options you had and it was ultimately up to you to use them in the right ways. If you made a mistake then the game would punish you quite harshly for it and I didn’t really see any problem with that. It’s all on you after all.

For example the parry system is quite incredible here. The timing is tight but you always have a visual sign that someone is going to make a move. It’s possible to fight whole scores of enemies and not take a hit or you might have your timing thrown off by getting hit and then suddenly you’re panicking and taking a lot of blows. It feels a lot like a real fight due to this which adds a real layer of realism to the whole thing. I was definitely real impressed and it’s not something that you would see in a lower tier game. It’s all these things that add up.

The gameplay is something I could take about for ages. You have tons of gadgets in the game that allow you to strike at an enemy in a variety of ways. You can just keep on going and really overwhelm them by freezing them, stunning, using a batarang, normal blows, etc. The gadgets are mainly the same across both games but do change up a little bit. I liked each variation and they both ultimately do the same kinds of things. The gameplay is incredibly smooth in both titles so I wouldn’t really change anything. I played them back to back and had no complaints. The games have aged extremely well in either case.

Naturally this goes for the graphics as well. It all looks really HD and crisp. They have all of the little things like the cape fluttering and all of the textures. The artstyle is one that will age really well I’d say so even 10 years from now it will look great. The sequel also went all out in allowing you to change into a bunch of different costumes so I really had fun with that. They all work rather seamlessly into the gameplay.

Arkham City has Hugo Strange show up to take over the city. It was pretty cool to be playing as Bruce Wayne temporarily since he doesn’t appear very much in the video games. It was also the natural follow up with having the whole city being taken over this time around. It really helped to change up the scenery as well. I really liked the Asylum and the whole atmosphere there, but being able to be outside with all of the different environments was great! It may have been a bit easier to get lost at times but that’s just how it goes. It was absolutely worth the trade off.

Getting sniped by randoms on the roof could get a little tricky at times but hey…skill issue. Like I said, you are always really in control so if you lose then it’s on you. The only time where it felt like it would be hard for you to reasonable guess what to do was in the boss fight with Mr. Freeze where you have to use every gadget once in order to take out his health. You basically couldn’t injure him the same way twice. Now that was a super hard boss fight to win. It was extremely difficult but still fun. I also thought it was creative how he would foil any follow up attempts.

It goes back to the game feeling really vibrant and alive. The A.I. is years ahead of many other titles around. The grunts will actually team up and come up with plans to stop you. They’re not just wandering around and wondering what to do. They’re getting out there and doing what has to be done. If you make a wrong move they all gang up on you and cover all exits. It’s really fun and the reason I don’t mind dying a ton of times is how many checkpoints there are. You never lose a significant amount of time for dying which I extremely appreciate. These are the quality of life features that I absolutely live for. Nobody’s walking around talking about why check points make a game amazing but boy do they feel good!

It was also cool to actually play as Catwoman for a few levels in the second game. While the majority of gameplay should always be with Batman, I do think switching it up a bit to other fighters is not a bad thing. Emphasis on fighters of course, I don’t want to be playing as any civilians. Next time Robin should be playable as well. It was cool seeing his cameo and everything and I think they could really do a lot with his gameplay options.

Overall, These two Batman games are absolutely elite! The stories are real interesting and while the campaigns aren’t super long, there is a considerable amount of replay value here. Certainly enough to keep you really engaged. They didn’t rush any part of the experience here and so I can easily recommend this to anyone. This is AAA gaming at its finest and definitely one of the best superhero games out there. You owe it to yourself to play through this collection. There’s really nothing bad to say about the game, it is an absolute masterpiece in every sense of the word. The developers clearly knew what they were doing and had a lot of passion for the product.

Overall 9/10

Urban Champion Review

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It’s time for one of those Nintendo games that was unfortunately very weak. I appreciate that they were trying to make a fighting game and of course this is very old but it just didn’t really land at all. The game is way too limited and there is virtually no replay value to be found here. The entire time you’re just hoping there is something you may have missed but ultimately that is not the case. Definitely give this one a full skip and you will be glad that you did. It is not worthy of the champion’s title.

The game really only has two modes. 2 player mode and then single player mode. In each mode, you only have one stage. You have to knock the opponent out 3 times in order to win. When you knock him into a manhole or off the block, then the fight continues with the same kind of background, except they change the store’s name. Yeah that’s not exactly what I would call top budget now is it? I expected better from Nintendo. Both characters are really the same sprite, only slightly color swapped so even that isn’t very original.

The controls are simple as you have a high punch and a low punch. That’s it, there are no other controls here so I hope you enjoyed throwing those shots. Beyond that you just aren’t going to have much left in the tank. I imagine playing with someone else will add a little bit of enjoyment to the game overall but probably not enough to leave a real dent. I don’t think almost any game can pull off the enjoyment factor with a single stage. Pac Man was one of the original games with 1 stage and probably the only one that could pull it off. The thing is…this isn’t Pac Man. It’s definitely not built for that level of success by any margin.

So the graphics aren’t particularly solid, the soundtrack is forgettable….we’re not looking at a very positive game right here. There are no unlockables so there is no replay value. I guess you could say that it’s fun to see the character sort of looking like Mario as he’s throwing punches but that’s just not enough of a hook to get you to play the game. Also you can cheese the main mode a bit by spamming the punch button. Often times the opponent will not be fast enough to block your moves which means you can completely bypass the strategy elements of the game. Not that there is a ton considering there are only two kinds of moves but clearly the intent was there with how the blocking system works. When you don’t move, you block automatically so that’s something to think about.

Overall, Urban Champion is not a good game. It’s one of those titles that you will forget right away because there’s nothing memorable about it. There is no aspect of this game that has held up well over the years at all. I would like Nintendo to consider a modern remake of the game but at the same time there would be little point. Just restart the series from scratch with a whole new name and brand. If you think about it, that would really be the only way to handle this unless you wanted to target the real hardcore fans for nostalgia. Even for free I wouldn’t bother playing this game. There’s just no reason to do so and it’s so limited that there isn’t even much to talk about for this title. Trust me, you’ll know what I mean if you ever decide to play this title.

Overall 3/10

Godzilla Battle Line Review

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It’s time to jump into the next Godzilla app game but I’m afraid to say that this one is not very good. It’s one of those app games that is a clear cash grab from start to finish. Nothing about the game is very enjoyable to me. It was just missing the key elements to make this a high quality title like fast paced gameplay, quality fights, etc. In the end the strategy styled gameplay just didn’t have anything on the console Godzilla games and this one would have been better off with a connect the dots gameplay style like Fruits Mania. At least that gameplay style is always guaranteed to be off the walls hype. I generally play over 100 levels of that gameplay style real quick.

Okay so this is similar to Digimon Championship in that you don’t control the Kaiju themselves. You throw them onto the field and then they move towards the enemy. Along the way you can drop them some assistance, items, and such. These will be the difference between victory and defeat so definitely pay very close attention here. If you make the wrong call then that could be it for you. That’s about it, I mean I’m over simplifying this by quite a lot but that’s about the size of it. It all comes down to who has the better strategy and monster team.

I can say that the cast of Kaiju in the game is pretty impressive though. You’ve got numerous different Godzillas running around and pretty much every Kaiju you can think of. The game didn’t feel too greedy in terms of what you need to pay for but granted, they tend to all seem that way at first. I would probably have to stick with this game much longer to see if that is really true or not. The gameplay just wasn’t fun enough to hold me.

So okay, what’s the problem with the gameplay? Well because I can’t control the Kaiju, it feels more like I’m just watching the A.I. attack each other. It’s not interactive enough for me. It’s like watching computers playing against each other in a game, it may be interesting for a minute but for the whole game? No shottttt, that’s just not my cup of tea. What I need is to be doing something. Let me assume direct control of the Kaiju so I could go over there and take the enemy down. I would pull it off even if my opponent had a higher power level or something like that. You’re missing the human touch with this kind of setup.

The graphics aren’t bad at least. It’s not really something to write home about but the chibi character models are good and I liked the explosion effects. As a whole it really doesn’t look super bad or anything but of course it does completely look like a mobile game the instant you lay your eyes on this one. There is really no escaping that fact, that’s for sure. The soundtrack is completely forgettable. You won’t remember the tunes by the end, it’s definitely not the kind of game to sneak in some kind of lyrical song or big metal tune.

At least I can say that the replay value is basically infinite. You can keep on playing until you are the number 1 ranked player in the world or something like that. It is definitely a tough road to the top but if you keep on practicing then anything is achievable. The fact that the game is still going means that at least some people are still playing here and after taking a quick look online I see a lot of positive reviews for it. Granted, the people who are searching up videos for the game are probably fans first and foremost so that makes a lot of sense. They would be more likely to enjoy the game and so I hope their community is able to stay strong. This may not be a game that I was particularly interested in but the plus side is that it helps to continue keeping the Godzilla brand nice and strong. I’m still waiting for that big Godzilla vs Kong game which is supposed to be coming out in early September. Hopefully that one is a lot more fun.

Overall, Godzilla Battle Line is lacking way too much in the actual battling. You’re not fighting here and I know that this is a strategy game but even then I need to be doing something. If I have my hands empty for so long it just doesn’t feel like I’m really playing a game at all. If you’re going to pull off a strategy game like this I dare say that the levels have to be shorter or you have to find some way to make the player more engaged. The original Godzilla mobile game was also strategy oriented but it was a lot more fun as you planned out your resources. That was interactive and high stakes. This game couldn’t quite match up to that no matter how hard it tried.

Overall 3/10

Ni no Kuni II: Revenant Kingdom Review

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It’s been a while since I played the original Ni no Kuni so it was fun to jump into the sequel. I’ve been having a blast jumping through a bunch of hype RPG titles and that streak’s continuing for a bit longer. The game ended up being quite excellent and I dare say that it beats the original. You may be thinking that quite a lot of games lately have been getting elite scores but that’s what happens when you play a lot of long games like this. RPGs always have an inherent advantage over other titles in that you get to really know all of the characters and get absorbed into the narrative. So as long as the gameplay and execution is on point you will have a blast. That’s exactly what happened here.

The story starts with the U.S. President Roland heading to a big meeting. Unfortunately a large missile strike occurs and everything goes up in flames. He was not able to protect his country in the end and lost everything. He is suddenly warped to another world where he is young again and is thrown into the middle of a giant uprising. The current king was assassinated and his son Evan is next. Roland manages to help Evan escape and vows to help him restore the kingdom. Evan wants to unite the world and all of the countries in it so that there will be no more wars. This may be a bit naive but Roland will do what he can to help the kid succeed. Can he establish peace in this world?

The opening really nails the tone of the game right from the start. Seeing Roland pull a gun on these fantasy creatures was intense. He was not playing and the fact that he kept the gun was really coo. Usually the gun would vanish or something like that but not in this game. You actually get to use it in gameplay as well. Everyone else has a bow and arrow for their projectile while this guy just gets to keep his gun and go blasting away at everybody. It’s really like a true isekai adventure all the way.

The gameplay is that of a real 3D action title. You have your standard moves, power moves, magical attacks, and super skills. Your supers have a cooldown based on how often you attack the opponent. Then you also have your projectile weapon. Each of your attacks can be leveled up although I never quite figured out how to do that so my moves stayed at level 1. They are still strong though and most of your attack power is based on the weapon anyway. I made sure to constantly get new weapons to equip. You rarely have to buy them though as the drop rate from enemies is really high. Keep on fighting powerful ones and they will drop exactly what you need before long so there is really no need to spend your money. You will have a lot of money by the end of the game though so no worries if you need to buy something.

You also get battle points although I’m not sure what triggers this. These can be used to enhance gameplay elements like becoming stronger against slime enemies or brute force fighters. The fun strategy part is that you have to decide which type to use this on. You can’t just make yourself strong against all fighters after all. To throw in some more strategy, you also raise these little Pikmin type creatures that follow you and use special attacks of their own. You can raise them at one of the shops in your town and you gain more as you continue the game so you have to decide which 4 to keep equipped. I just maxed out my original 4 and didn’t mess with the others.

Speaking of the town though, this is a key component of the game. You have to raise up your town by building new shops and convincing people to move in. This means completing a ton of side quests. There appear to be at least 200 side quests in the game and you’re going to need to complete over 50 of them minimum to beat the game. I think I did around 70 or so but make sure you are completing them regularly because there will be different points in the game where you will be forced to stop progressing until your town reaches a certain rank.

Fortunately it is really fun to do this. It does take some since money is earned passively using real time minutes. So there will be times where you can just run around as you wait or maybe fight some more monsters. It’s pretty fast but there is a lot to do in the town. This is where more strategy comes up. Each building is tied to different side quests and so you really have to prioritize who to send to which store. You will often have more shops than people and of course a shop won’t produce anything without someone working there.

I could go on, but you get the point. There are so many different gameplay mechanics here and different ways to play. There are dream doors, orbs, and lots of other stuff. You don’t even need to interact with major parts of the game in order to complete the story but it’s really nice how they put so much content in here. I bet I could play for another 30 hours and still not complete everything. The value for your money is quite incredible here and it’s yet another reason why you should pick this game up sooner than later. Trust me, you definitely won’t regret it.

Even with all that aside, the story is really good like I mentioned before. It handles the topic of war well and while it may be an optimistic look at things, it’s a nice change of pace. My only slight issue is with the ending, I would have liked thing to have gone a bit differently. Still, there is room for a sequel should they ever want to go in that route and I did think a certain twist at the end was really solid. I’m surprised they haven’t made more Ni no Kuni games, there’s definitely a lot more you can do with it.

The graphics are naturally super good throughout the game. The cutscenes are super good and the graphics during gameplay are also on point. The soundtrack is fairly solid as well with a number of good songs in there. The whole thing is very smooth and on a technical level there are few games that are better. This has every kind of quality of life feature you can think of from quick travel, to the aerial vehicle that lets you get anywhere quickly. You can save in almost every spot and the way items are stored is very logical. No complaints here.

Overall, Ni No Kuni is a game that keeps on getting better and better as you play it. I had a real blast with it and there is a ton of replay value. The game itself took me close to 30 hours and there is an extensive amount of quests for the post game. Getting the platinum for this game would also take a long while. I would definitely recommend checking this game out for any RPG fan. It really tells a good story even if the ending is really not as satisfying as it could have been. It may not have been perfect but it’s good enough and the whole adventure was definitely a blast.

Overall 9/10

Castlevania Anniversary Collection Review

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Castlevania is one of those franchises where I actually hadn’t gotten too involved with yet. There are tons and tons of games but I’ve only played a handful up to now. Well, with this collection I get to jump into 8 games right off the bat which is a huge increase. They’re definitely fun titles and only one of them actually deals with a lot of puzzles and mysteries so I appreciate that. The rest are all direct platformers which is of course the best way to go about things. The games are rather difficult so the access points really come in clutch.

First we have the original Castlevania which is of course very dated in terms of graphics. This is how the saga all started of course so it definitely did well for itself. It’s a very direct game about having to stop Dracula so you fight bosses on each level and then make it to the end. You really have to be perfect in your jumps and attacks in order to really stand a chance though. A single slip up and you are really going to be absolutely doomed here. It’s one of the harder games in the collection to be sure but I had a good time with it. Sometimes you don’t need all the extra frills and such. Just give me some good core gameplay and I am set!

The second game is the worst one so at least we get it over with quickly. This one decides to go the full Metroidvania experience as you have to find items scattered throughout the world. Different items will unlock new pathways so you will continue to travel across each level multiple times. It’s definitely not easy to put it mildly and the game doesn’t do a great job of directing you. The NPCs are definitely not helpful and some of the objectives are so vague that I can’t imagine how you would have ever figured the hint out on your own. Seems to be like it would have been an absolutely futile effort. Mix in the day and night system where you just have to wait the nights out in order to proceed and that’s a mechanic that didn’t work so well. Why should I have to wait? I want to just get in there and progress. I’ve yet to see a game where a day/night system really enhanced it.

The third game goes back to its roots. We have a clean platformer here where you have to destroy all of the monsters. It’s very similar to the first game but you do notice the improvements. They have improved the graphics and the gameplay. You have a bit more freedom here and the game isn’t quite as punishing as the last one where you were absolutely doomed the whole time. So I can definitely appreciate that and of course it’s always fun to take on Dracula again. He really never stands a chance against the power of the Belmonts!

Continuing on, we have the 4th game which has really gotten the style down to an art by this point. You have to go through all of the levels and beat every boss until you get over to Dracula. It may be a story that you’ve seen before but the games all have their little changes. I really like how you get to read the long plot synopsis before entering the game. That way even if you don’t see much of a plot within the story itself, you still know it’s there. That’s a really good design decision if you ask me.

After that we do have one of the weaker ones though. It’s not the game’s fault by any means but we go to the Game Boy so the graphics take a rather large dip. The gameplay speed is also exceptionally slow so you really have a hard time landing hits on the enemies. It just doesn’t feel as lively or energetic and of course it makes the levels feel longer than they actually are. Even with that it ends up being the shortest game though as there are only 4 real levels here. Certainly not enough to keep you here for the long haul or anything like that.

Then we actually have the second game boy game. I’ll give the title credit for fixing some of my biggest issues like the slow speed. In the sequel you can actually move at a reasonable speed which is really good. You also regain some of the more standard abilities from the mainline games like sub weapons. So it’s definitely improving but doesn’t really get up to the level of the main core games.

After that is easily the most impressive game in the collection, Bloodlines. This one looks really modern and has a dramatic improvement in graphics and gameplay. It’s clearly on a completely different level. You have two different characters to choose from so I went with the guy who has a lance to try out this new gameplay style. It’s definitely a lot of fun. His weapon has such a good reach too so you really have the advantage here. I’m not sure what, if any downsides this weapon has vs the whip but the fact that it’s a different/unique option makes the whole thing worth it. I like to shake things up and this character gave me a way to do it. This is definitely going to be the turning point for the series.

The final game shakes things up a bit by bringing in Kid Dracula. You get the feeling that they wanted to end off on a fun note. It’s a chibi style game that plays more like Mega Man as you blast away at every enemy in your way. It’s actually rather fun and the game is not afraid to get really crazy as you go through it. You fight enemies like the Statue of Liberty before you’re all done. That was a pretty fun boss battle. If I had a complaint it’s that you don’t see the boss health meters anymore and there isn’t always a visual indicator to show that they’re taking damage. So for the final boss for example, you’re just not sure if you’re playing the fight in the right way for a while there.

The games all generally have pretty solid soundtracks to go along with the gameplay. The older ones are a bit more limited but the tune that they choose isn’t bad. The gameplay is generally smooth and of course the graphics get better as you go through the title. In general you could tell that they put a good amount of budget behind these games and were really trying for them to be successful. Clearly it worked out since the franchise is a household name right now.

Overall, It was fun to really start getting used to the Castlevania titles. For now I would even say it is better than I expected since I was dreading the more labyrinth style games where you have to run around and find things. This one managed to avoid all of that for the most part. Perhaps that’s just something the latter games have or maybe it’s actually not that frequent and the series just became known for it somehow. I can’t say I really know how this is going to play out but regardless I can definitely recommend this collection. In general collections always give you such great bang for your buck.

Overall 7/10

Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII Reunion Review

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It was definitely a really hype day when they announced they would be porting over Crisis Core from the PSP. This is an absolutely top tier game that a decent amount of people never got to play. I can definitely assure you that the experience absolutely holds up here and I think they did add a few moments here and there on the PS5 version. I forget if there were any story additions at all or just side stuff, but either way it works perfectly as the lead in to Remake. You should definitely play this one first if possible as it makes your experience through the main game even more intense. Some parts of Cloud’s story don’t really seem to pan out eh? Hmmmmm…

The story starts by introducing us to Zack who is a fairly young member of the Shinra forces. He hopes to become a Soldier First Class and to do that he will need to impress the top brass. Fortunately for him, a lot is going on right now so it looks like he will get his chance. Genesis has gone rogue and now clones of him are showing up all over the planet and they have to be stopped no matter the cost. Along the way Zack begins to learn some troubling secrets about his employer which also have his comrades Sephiroth and Angeal rather frazzled. What was once the most powerful unit of all time is starting to break apart. Zack may be the only one who can keep them all together.

Well, where to even start on this masterpiece right? First up, everything is super modern here from the menus to the hud inside the game. You always know exactly what is happening and it is very easy to navigate all of the menus. Everything has a sci-fi feel to it and of course the graphics are really top notch. The cutscenes are all super good and there is voice acting for pretty much every line in the game. They really do not hold back on the budget at all. It’s great really learning more about the world here and the cast are all able to hold their ends of the story.

Then you have the soundtrack which is incredible. Pretty much every theme is some kind of big rock song which works really well with the vibe they are going for here. It’s just a very fast paced and intense game. Even the way the levels are structured makes sense with this. You usually have a cutscene, a few fights, cutscene, fight, then chapter ends. The game is rather short as a result of this though. I beat it in around 7 hours so this is definitely what I would call a mini game. Certainly nothing like the main FFVII title but it still covers enough. The length isn’t gonna limit this game but it does mean you could easily end up beating it in a day or two if you don’t pace yourself.

There is bonus content to keep you busy though. You can go back and complete all of the missions which is bound to take you some time. You can also try for the Platinum trophy which will be difficult to obtain. I won’t say that it’s a tremendous amount of replay value but every bit helps. It’s not about the length, but the quality of the time you spent after all and this was top quality.

As for the gameplay, this is your classic 3D slasher. The game is a lot easier than the main title for one critical reason though. There is no cooldown on items. So unlike the main game where you have to try and survive for a bit after using an item, you can spam them endlessly here. There’s not much to buy either so you’ll be swimming in cash. I maxed out on potions early on and then I was basically set. Get 100 potions and then get 100 Ethers. You can now spam your most powerful attacks over and over and over again for as long as you need to.

I recommend keeping one slot active for each of the 4 elemental types. Do that and you will be well equipped to deal with any enemy. There are a lot of fights and you may lose some on occasion but usually that will be because you let your guard down and got tackled. You should usually be able to win even with some good spamming. I recommend doing some of the side missions to beef up your summons though. They definitely go a really long way here plus you get cool cutscenes when you attack with them. Blocking is also a super good skill in this game.

A lot of times I completely ignore the button in any video game but it does seem to reduce damage by over 60% and some attacks are basically impossible to dodge so this is the way to go. I applaud the game for actually making the block option viable. Usually it just feels like it’s wasting space. So the devs really thought of everything this time around. I suppose if I had one nitpick it would be that we get the combat stance too late in the game. There’s a meter there so you can try to use it often in battles to build that up but there’s no apparent reason to use it.

It just seems worse than fighting normally. Maybe you unlock a true ending for getting the affinity to 100% of something. It better be a really good reward considering how slow you get the progress up with it whenever you land attacks. I got it up to 0.09% after defeating a bunch of enemies and that’s when I gave up on it. I would need much more of an incentive to use it, but hey more options is never a bad thing. I’m sure some people had a great time with it.

Overall, Crisis Core is an elite title and one that you need to play right away. The game does a tremendous job of showing us what Zack was like and Sephiroth’s fall from grace. It really covers a whole lot and of course you know how the story ends, but seeing it in real time is still crazy. The story was absolutely incredible! They did a good job with how the gameplay works for the final bosses as well. You definitely have to fight hard to make sure you last long enough here. Whether you’ve played the main Final Fantasy game or not, this is a must buy!

Overall 9/10

Megaton Musashi W: Wired Review

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It’s time to look at Megaton, a game that was on a pretty good sale for the Switch. That was when I knew it was time to pick this one up and they did a superb job with it. It may be Level 5’s best game yet. There are an incredible amount of fully animated scenes here and the story is intense. Mix that up with excellent gameplay and you really have a super well balanced title.

The story starts out by explaining that aliens wiped out 99.9% of the human population. Humanity now only exists in a small town where they brainwash their own citizens into now knowing what is going on so that there is no panic. Select people ae chosen to be “Pilots” who use their giant mechs to take down the alien invaders. The thing is, we are heavily outgunned and outnumbered. Survival appears to be impossible but Yamato is ready to try his best. He won’t stop until he has murdered every alien. That was the plan at least but then he falls in love with an alien girl named Arsham. Is it possible that there are good people on both sides?

The story is over 20 hours long so you can imagine that there are a ton of twists and turns scattered throughout the game. We get multiple time skips and you play as many different characters. This version of the game is also the complete experience so it merges both versions of the original game as well as adds on a 2 chapter epilogue. So the point here is you are absolutely getting the max amount of bang for your buck. The game does not hold back on any area either.

We get to tackle a lot of themes like war and the ever lasting cycle of violence. The aliens have very solid reasons for attacking Earth and likewise the humans have good reasons for fighting back…like wanting to be alive. There are over 30 named characters running around and they each get pretty complete plot lines. They even throw in Adam and Eve near the end to mess with everyone. I don’t generally go into the story much for game reviews so you can look to the anime review more on that (With season 2’s review coming eventually) but yeah there is definitely a whole lot going on here.

The soundtrack is really solid with a ton of great themes. My favorite theme is definitely Yamato’s KENKA Rock song which shows up a few times in part 1. Sadly as the tone gets more serious and dramatic, the song vanishes completely. Still, there are a ton of big opera themes and other serious battle themes that show up to help counter this. The final boss themes are excellent, the danger theme is really solid, etc. There are no shortage of great themes to be found in this adventure.

Then we also have the graphics which are really solid. Like I mentioned, there are a ton of fully animated scenes that really go hard. There are no more once we finish where the show went up to, but before that you can expect a good amount of them in addition to the standard cutscenes. The battles have a lot of great special effects and really pop out at you for the added effect. So that makes for a really good balance.

As for the gameplay, it’s a 3D robotic shooter so you can’t really go wrong with that right? It gets a bit detailed as well with every attack and part having a type, so then you have to factor in which type is good against another and all that. To be honest, you could probably remove the whole type effectiveness chart and I’d be cool with it. Still, it’s interesting and I made sure to focus on only using the attacks that were useful for each fight. You always have a bladed weapon, blaster weapon, and 4 special attacks. How many arrows were next to each one will determine how good the attacks are.

You also have super attacks that show up occasionally, but usually they only appear for battles where you are supposed to use one. So you will get the notification and then you’re ready to use it. You can also use your boosters to zoom around the arena and even start to fly near the end. The controls for flying can be a little tricky but for the most part you can button mash and you will be okay. In general I wouldn’t say that the game is very hard. In each battle you are given 6 lives and by logging in for a few days you get 10 continues which turns into 60 lives. So it’s unlikely that you will be losing here but if you don’t keep up with the customizations it is possible. Worst case, you’re so weak that you barely deal any damage, then the battles will last a while.

The game has some marathon battles which also show up and those tend to take a very long time. You have to win numerous battles in a row so be prepared for that. It only shows up 3 times in the game though so it’s pretty rare. In addition to the main story that is 20+ hours long, there is a decent amount of replay value if you want to try getting every part and beating every side mission. Perhaps not an incredible amount of replay value but probably enough to boost this up to around 30 hours or so.

The game’s not super expensive or anything though so either way it’s a great game. Additionally, you are playing at least in part for the story which is really high tier. It’s a full RPG level story which is not something you are expecting to see in a robotic game. Low blow? Eh maybe but it’s definitely rare for the genre. It’s a shame we’re not getting more Megaton games, the story definitely ends with a lot of things you can still do in the future. That said, it’s a satisfying ending that even has a romance I can get behind. Not all of them really land if we’re being honest here but the main one does which is the important thing. They get so many montages and insert songs that the game just really nailed the dynamic. This feels like a true AAA title in a lot of ways and higher budget than I would have expected. It can hold its own with just about any RPG out there and it’s why I can recommend this game even if you aren’t a big fan of mecha titles. There’s just a lot more depth to this than just that genre.

Overall, Megaton is definitely a really intense game. You won’t want to miss out on this one and should get it as soon as possible. You can also have fun with the customizations which is something that I didn’t really dive into all that much. The A.I. sets you up well enough so either way you can beat all of the story missions but if you go in depth with it then you can get significantly stronger. It’s all about how you allocate the resources after all but if you do it right then you’re set. It sets the bar really high for mecha games.

Overall 9/10

Donkey Kong Jr. Math Review

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Am I being too harsh with a game that is meant to be for kids while also being educational? Hmmm….nahhh they could have done more with this one. The basic idea is that you’re taking the gameplay of Donkey Kong Jr but adding numbers everywhere. So for example the top screen will show that you need to get the number 50. You then have each math sign at the bottom and have to grab numbers until you’ve gotten that number. So for example you grab a 5, then find the X sign, then get a 5. You now have 25. Grab the X and then grab 2 and now you have 50. Congrats, you’ve won the round!

There is one fatal flaw to the game though and it is what destroys the whole experience. Are you ready for this? Where the game ultimately falls short is that there is no computer to fight against you. That’s right, in single player mode you just walk around and do everything yourself. There’s no timer, there’s no way for the level to end in anything except your complete victory. This is where the game made the mistake because there should be some kind of competitive experience here. Even if you’re teaching kids how to look at numbers and such, wouldn’t it be a good idea to have someone to fight against? I would have thought so at least. Instead you only have the multiplayer mode which is fun enough but a game should never depend on multiplayer exclusively.

So there ends up being nothing to do here. You walk around solving math problems but of course since you have to jump and climb for each one, it takes a whole lot longer than if you had your calculator with you. I don’t see it being a very effective way to teach kids either. Perhaps it would have some novelty factor for a little bit there but I don’t think that would last very long. After a little bit the kids would want to go play a real game and that’s how you feel by the end of it. So just to be clear on this, the game itself has potential but it’s all in the execution.

All you would need to fix this one is add a computer to fight against. Immediately now there is some point to playing the game because you’re fighting over the symbols and the numbers. Without that level of battle going on, it’s just not going to hit right. Trust me, I don’t like it any more than you do, but we need some kind of a system here. Without a purpose, even a game loses its entertainment value. We need a way to balance out the fun with learning and there are a lot of ways that this could be done. Ultimately Donkey Kong Jr. just wasn’t able to figure that balance out. It’s a shame that it had to go this way but that’s just how it is.

The graphics are at least reasonable since it’s got that classic Nintendo look to it. It’s functionally no different from the main game. The soundtrack definitely feels forgettable though, I can’t think of any themes right now. Certainly nothing that really sticks out and makes you want to play the title again. With no replay value and not much initial value either, this is a game that was ultimately always doomed to fail in the end.

Overall, This is a Nintendo game that I would say to avoid. If you need to brush up on your math skills, there are definitely much better ways to do it. Ultimately, this game just takes too long to solve any question. It gets rough when you need a number that is too small for multiplication but really high for addition. You just have to keep adding 9 until you’re close and it definitely does not feel optimized. Nintendo should not give up and come out with an even better learning experience some day. Part of me feels like the chance to make a really educational video game has passed but where there is a will, there is a way. If anyone could solve this dilemma. It would definitely be Nintendo.

Overall 2/10

Mach Rider Review

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It’s time to bring in the Mach Rider! The gameplay isn’t my favorite but the game deserves some props for actually having a story. That’s a whole lot more than I can say for some games, that’s for sure! It’s not a whole lot of a story of course, it’s mainly a prompt that you get before every level but the main theme here is that aliens have taken over and we have to take them down. It’s what the Mach Rider does!

The story mode is 10 levels long and basically you just have to survive until you get to the end of the level. This may sound easy but the game is actually fairly difficult. Basically you have to drive through a fairly narrow road while dodging any obstacles and pitfalls in your way. You have 4 speed levels, if you stay on 1-2, you will be slower than the CPUs so they will ram into you which causes you to lose. If you go on 3-4 you will stay ahead but will have a really hard time controlling your car. Other times the enemies will come from in front of you so you need to blast them away with your machine gun. It’s definitely a handy weapon to have but you can run out of ammo so be careful how you use it.

With the power of rewind and access points I did good, but this would be a super difficult challenge without it. I can’t imagine that you would have had too much fun at that point because when you lose you go all the way back to the first level again. That’s always a pet peeve of mine in any game. Be as difficult as you want to be but at least restart me on the same level. If you take me too far back then that’s just rough. There are more modes to be played though.

You have endurance where you just drive without any computers around. You have to make it to a certain distance within the time frame and then you win. It’s a pretty interesting way to go about things and I thought it was actually the most fun mode. You really had to be careful here and I made it pretty far even without using any of the Switch features. I always felt like it was mostly luck though that kept me from crashing because I really could not see where I was going at all. The objects were coming in at the speed of light, even the game couldn’t always process them in time.

There were also battle challenges about seeing how many racers you could beat. This is more effort than the average NES title so I appreciated that. The graphics aren’t bad for their time and the music is okay. Alas, at the end of the day gameplay is the King when talking about a game. You need that to be on point and the style wasn’t really something I was super into. For racing games I always like the 3D titles so you know where you are going and can make plans. In a more overhead setting like this, it’s harder to see the object before bumping into it which is my main problem. So no matter how much content the game has, it can only go so far for me as a result.

Overall, Mach Rider is a fun game in super short doses but doesn’t have the staying power for me to call it good. I’m ready to call it quits after 20 minutes which is just way too short. For a game to be good, it needs to be one that can last and ultimately this was just not up to the task. If you have the Switch Online then there is no reason not to check it out but ultimately it will be forgotten in the end. There are just better racing games that you can find around every corner that exceed this one and outplay it at every turn. The concept of the Mach Rider is solid though. Make a modern 3D remake of this game with a big story and there is a lot of potential to be had.

Overall 5/10