Category Archives: Game Reviews

The Grinch: Christmas Adventures Review

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The Grinch is definitely a book that just about everyone is familiar with. It’s a Christmas classic and it’s fun to have the adventure get its own game. The book is even included inside of the game so that’s a nice plus. It’s really a serviceable platformer all the way through and the only real issue you can say is that it’s super basic. The game is not very ambitious at all and would get clobbered by just about any other platformer in a head to head fight. Make no mistake, this is not the game that will change your world but if you want a quick adventure then why not right? You’ll have a good time here and that’s what counts.

The story starts with the Grinch deciding to spoil Christmas by stealing everyone’s gifts. We cannot let him get away with that and so it’s time to put an end to this. Well that’s what you’d think except you actually play as the Grinch here so get ready for a lot of stealing. There are 18 levels here, 15 of them are platformers with 3 being boss type levels where you have to slide down mountains and such. Those 3 levels are super fast and easy while the platforming ones can actually reasonably long at times.

Each level has 8 collectibles which you will want to grab so that you get the automatic platinum at the end of the game. Additionally you need to get a good chunk of them to unlock the powers needed to complete the game so why not just grab them while you can right? With the exception of maybe 3-5 pieces, they aren’t really hidden either so just playing through the game will get you to them. You just have to enter every door and really look around.

In terms of gameplay, it’s a super basic platformer. You run and jump as you’d expect those things to go. You can jump on just about any enemy to take it out or you can freeze them with snowballs once you learn that ability. You get that fairly late in the game. There aren’t really any benefits to defeating the enemies though so you could really just ignore them and keep on moving too. That’s a super valid choice and it’s not hard. This game is fairly short so you will be done in a few hours no sweat. Sometimes it feels like the cutscene introducing the level can be just as long as the actual platforming.

The cutscenes aren’t very high budget though. Most levels just start with the book being read out loud to you and then you move on to the next stage. I’d have liked some real cutscenes to be honest but I’ll take what I can get. As for the soundtrack, it’s fairly generic so you won’t be remembering too much about it. This game is really about the gameplay after all. The gameplay is good enough to cover it all up. Look in terms of budget this might be the lowest budget platformer I’ve played in a while but at least its fun.

I suppose that’s why there isn’t much to say about this one though. Already I can tell that I’m starting to repeat myself here. There also isn’t much replay value past the few hours because you should be able to get the platinum in around the same time as beating the game. You’ll be able to get most of the collectibles naturally and the few you have to seek out won’t take very long at all. It’s a short game from start to finish so make sure you keep that in mind when looking for the right price to purchase the title.

Overall, The Grinch is a good game. It has no frills, whistles, or any kind of big advantages that would make it super memorable but at its core it is a solid game and that’s really all it needed to be. I can’t imagine buying it for full price but I got this one just about free thanks to a gift card I had (Ended up spending $2) so that really worked out well. It’s really hard to mess up a platformer if you ask me. So long as the level designs are good enough where you can just peacefully jump through the stages then you should be set. The genre tends to be a very happy one and this game is no exception.

Overall 6/10

Excitebike 64 Review

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I’m gonna be brutally honest here for a minute. I was never a huge fan of the Excitebike series. I loved Excitetrucks when I played that for the Wii and to this day I’d say it’s up there with Asphault 3D as the most underrated racing game of all time. That said, the bikes could never keep up and this game really embodies all of the reasons for why that is. Your bike’s too weak so you’re always being thrown off of the track and the extra issue I have here is that even driving in a straight line is rough because all of the stages are circular. You don’t get to have fun just driving most of the time due to the level designs.

There is a season/tournament mode here but no real story so you can just have fun driving or go into those tournaments to try and test your luck. I’ll tell you those levels are not easy in the slightest. I managed to conquer the first tournament due to a lot of luck with the computers taking turns winning so my consistent 3-4th place was enough to keep up. With the second I wasn’t so fortunate and so I ended up getting wrecked. Most of the stages are almost the same though so I’d argue that you really aren’t missing much here. So just play for as long as you find it fun and then you’re set.

So like I said I do have an issue with the level designs here. In every level there are so many bumps in the road that you’re hopping up and down without being able to drive. Just let me drive for a while and see how I turn the corners. Instead these interruptions happen and there is nowhere to go. There’s probably a way to handle the bumps better as I see the computers jumping ahead but it’s still not really driving per say. I want to just be in there taking names. Also every time you even lightly bump an opponent you end up spilling into the ground.

It just feels so fragile and then you have to be careful about bumping into anyone in addition to trying to finish the race. That’s not the way to go here. The game basically eliminates all of the main reasons for finding the genre fun to begin with. I want the freedom of being able to just jump in there and do my thing. It’s why I’m playing a racing game in the first place. Then if you crash at all you better hope it’s a full crash and you aren’t stuck sideways. If it’s the latter then you are completely doomed and will end up placing in last. It’s a pretty tough feeling because you feel like you could and should have placed a lot better but one single mistake ended up being fatal.

It’s an old game so there are some quirks like that which you can let slide but they all add up. The graphics also aren’t all that impressive. It definitely does not hold its own against most of the other Nintendo 64 titles. After just playing quite a few of them, it’s clear that a game of this generation could and should look a whole lot better. The fact that it doesn’t is just pretty rough to be honest. The soundtrack is more on the forgettable side as well. Technically there is a lot of replay value here if you do find the gameplay fun though. Because then you’ll need to try and conquer all of the stages which is no easy feat, particularly as they don’t even open up until you’ve beaten all of the levels on various difficulty levels.

Overall, Excitebike 64 is definitely not one of my favorite racing games. You’re so busy just trying to survive the levels that you aren’t even doing much racing. That is a massive problem right off the bat and holds it all back. I’d like to see them change things and put a lot more power into the races. Let me crash into everyone and set the stage. The sooner that happens, the sooner I can really start to dominate! In the meantime there just isn’t much reason to play this one when you could be having a good time in Mario Kart or F-Zero. Both of which are massively better than this one.

Overall 4/19

Pokemon Puzzle League Review

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Yes I finally got the expanded pack for the Nintendo Switch Online! It certainly opens up a lot of doors to the classic Nintendo games and this was one of the first ones I ended up jumping into. It’s a pretty fun puzzle game all around. I would say it doesn’t have as much replay value as some of the others in this style because there isn’t a ton of variety but it is cool to see the Pokemon characters from the anime. Adding that franchise effect is always a good idea.

The game opens up with a full cinematic cutscene which I thought was pretty awesome. Unfortunately we don’t get any more after that but there is still a slight story here. Basically there is a whole puzzle league where each of the Gym Leaders have to be defeated in order to conquer it. So essentially it’s the Pokemon league with a few extra steps As Ash Ketchum you have to make it all the way to the end and defeat everyone here. You can choose which Pokemon to use in each level from his 3 starters but I couldn’t really tell the difference in terms of gameplay. Maybe it’s just a visual thing or there was an effect that I missed.

The gameplay is the connect type where blocks fall down from the sky and you have to move them to connect to other pieces on your board. You can also reverse each block so if you have a red square on the right and a blue on the left, you can click it to reverse those spots. Every time you have a set of 3 of the same color they will all disappear which lets your other blocks fall down a level. The first one to have their blocks reach the ceiling loses so you want to be quick about this. Of course you don’t always want to connect a set just because you have 3. You get bonus points for longer sets and those also turn into attacks on the enemy’s turf so you want to keep that in mind.

Granted, it’s easier said than done as blocks tend to crash into each other all the time which isn’t easy. One wrong move and that’s basically game over for you. The opponents are also reasonably tough if you scale up the difficulty. This is one genre that I always play on easy because it tends to get virtually impossible even on normal mode. The match length can range from 1-5 minutes based on the rounds I did although I imagine that could go up if both of you play slowly and don’t attack very much.

The graphics look pretty good and have aged very well. The visuals look like they are taken right from the anime and all of the illustrations are on point during the gameplay. I also liked the soundtrack which is fairly quiet and low key but works well with the adventure. Yeah I’d say there was a good amount of effort around the game. There’s certainly more that you could do with the title even as a puzzle game but the core focus here will always be on the gameplay. Everything else is just extra frosting and since the gameplay is good then there are no issues.

I miss the era of just throwing out a quick game like this with a franchise label. Pokemon Pinball, Metroid Pinball, even Mario got a pinball game back in the day. More games should be made with similar settings for all of these franchises and I’d say that would be a really good idea. They should be fairly easy to make and yet they’re all fun to play because the games themselves are timeless. That’s the true sign of an iconic title all the way.

Overall, Pokemon Puzzle League is definitely a game that I would recommend checking out. I’m not saying that it’s top tier or anything but in terms of executing the puzzle gameplay I would say that it did a good job. It’s a colorful game with a lot of energy and excitement to it. It may not be very ambitious but you’ll feel like the story goes by in a breeze. Granted it is fairly short so I suppose that’s natural. Also if you have the Switch Online then it’s free so why not give it a quick playthrough right? It’s not the kind of game you would drop $60 on but you’d always be up for giving a quick play if a friend’s around. The replay value is technically endless with the multiplayer in mind.

Overall 6/10

Super Mario RPG Review

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Overall 8/10

Golden Sun: Dark Dawn Review

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Overall 8/10

The Mysterious Murasame Castle Review

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It’s time to look at another pretty fun game for the NES. This one has a real story and everything, not much in the way of cutscenes or anything since it’s so old but you at least feel the progression. The gameplay holds up well and the fact that it has an actual end point before the loop is nice even if there isn’t much of an ending. That would have been nice at least to end things on a high note.

The game starts with your character having to head through 5-6 castles to reach the ultimate demon. You fight two powerful bosses in each castle as you go through to the end. Each castle is a maze consisting of tons of rooms everywhere which are around to block your path. It can be difficult to find the right rooms so you really have to use trial and error. As far as I can tell that are no hints or anything that show you the right room right out of the gate. So that means you really have to be vigilant and continue moving forward until you have conquered all of your enemies.

You have your trusty sword at the ready and you can fire off kunai really quickly. As the game goes on you get power ups that let you fire off the kunai in different ways or even upgrade them into fireballs at times. Those are really helpful as well for when you need to land a lot of damage very quickly. From there you’re just beating up on enemies and trying to get to the end. As far as I can tell they never drop health points so if you get hit 3 times then you’re out.

The game is incredibly difficult. Without the Switch Online enhancements like the rewind feature I don’t see how almost anyone could beat the game. It’s incredibly unforgiving with just how tough the enemies are. You’re going to get hit no matter how careful you are and that is especially true for the bosses. They fire at you so far and in the time it takes to turn around to shoot at them you will have already been hit. That’s how fast these guys are.

One boss knocked me out what felt like 100 different times. Every time I was trying to mount a comeback I would get blasted. This just kept happening over and over and over again. The final boss is also really tough although not as intimidating as the second to last one. The game gets major props for actually having completely different designs for all of the boss. No recolors or anything like I’ve seen with other NES titles. No this one kept everything fresh all the way through.

The graphics are definitely solid here. A lot of care was definitely put into them all the way through. Meanwhile the soundtrack is also on point even if it is rather small. On a technical level they did everything they could to support the gameplay which is really what you’re looking for here. There isn’t really any replay value since the game just loops all over once you beat it. That’s to be expected though so no big deal there. The game’s length may not be very long but as long as you have the Switch Online there is no reason not to get it.

A modern day remake of this game would be a lot of fun. I can definitely see this working really well in 3D with a lot of great combos and everything. Throw in a bunch of big budget cutscenes too of course and then you’re really set. Yeah they should definitely start remaking some of these NES titles with modern quality of life updates.

Overall, This is definitely a game that you should check out. The gameplay is on point which is always the most important thing for any game. You will have fun playing it and while the maze elements can get annoying at times, you only have to go down 3-4 fake paths per level. It’s not like they’re completely filling up the map or anything. It’ll help you see just how good your instincts are. Will you fall for every fake path? There’s only one way to find out!

Overall 6/10

Devil World Review

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It’s time to jump into one of the new NES online games that has surfaced. Devil World is interesting because the gameplay is really not what you’d expect when you jump into it. It plays a whole lot like Pac Man to the point where they copied the fruits (switched to desserts) idea as well as the monsters chasing you. I like it but it doesn’t beat the original.

The gameplay is easy to describe, you have to eat all of the pellets in a maze before you get tagged by one of the monsters trying to destroy you. To protect yourself you have to pick up a cross which allows you to shoot blasts of fire at these creatures. You also aren’t able to pick up pellets unless you are holding the cross so keep that in mind. The cross only lasts for a few seconds so then at that point you have to pick up another one or you are really going to be a sitting duck there. So don’t let the opponents get the upper hand or you’re doomed.

Each stage has 2 levels to it. Once you beat the first level then the second has you collecting 4 Bibles to seal up the portal of doom. You basically have to carry the book over to the entrance and you’re good. In some ways this level is a lot easier than the first because it gives you unlimited firepower until you drop it off and then you just repeat that until you’ve done it 4 times in total. Of course the one tricky part is being patient here because if you go to the center too quickly you may find yourself surrounded.

There is one big change compared to Pac Man though which is that the devil is constantly moving the screen. If you get caught being a little too slow then you will be squished and that will be game over. Additionally this mean some pellets will go off screen and you have to wait until the next rotation in order to grab them. It’s actually a pretty interesting gimmick that does help to differentiate this from Pac Man. Granted I really don’t think you needed this gimmick but it’s a good way to really test your skills. I would make the case that it increases the difficulty level right out of the gate compared to Pac Man. In a lot of ways for Pac Man you’ll probably master the first 20 levels or so after playing it enough times while the screen shifting here adds a whole other dimension to it.

The graphics are fun enough for the NES. You can easily tell where everything is and the screen is always clear. The game never lags and the screen never gets too cluttered either. The music isn’t particularly memorable though. Pac Man at least has the fun stage transitions and such which have iconic sounds but this one is a lot less memorable. Fortunately the gameplay itself makes up for that and of course there is pretty much unlimited replay value to be found here. You can be playing the levels over and over again for pretty much forever. I can especially see this being fun to play with friends and trying to get the highest score.

Overall, There’s not a lot more to say about the game beyond that. It’s a very simple game and that’s what makes it fun. You can jump into the adventure at any time and just work on getting as far as possible. It’s easy to just pick up and play and from there it all comes down to your strategy skills. So even if someone has a 1 year head start on you, it’s completely possible that you could just go in and start getting a higher score. I love strategy titles like this. Again that’s why Pac Man is the better game though since without the screen moving it is complete strategy but this is still a fun little rival to play from time to time. I bet it would be a hit at parties since most people don’t even know about it. The best tip I can give is to just be really patient here and wait for the right path to open up.

Overall 6/10

Earthbound Review

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It’s time to review one of the most iconic Nintendo RPGs of all time. Everyone has heard of this title and for good reason. They really pushed the envelope on this game with the amount of crazy visuals and just having a generally weird world around the main characters. Games like Undertale would end up continuing in this same light. Without Earthbound you can argue that many games would not exist. It really has aged quite well.

The story starts with a meteor crashing in Ness’ home town Onett. He goes out to check it along with another boy named Porky. Porky ends up succumbing to the dark side and serving the dark lord Giygas while Ness is tasked with saving the world. He will need several allies including a genius, a martial artist, and a psychic expert. Can these kids really stop the end of the world though? Giygas is a being that exists across dimensions and all of time with seemingly unlimited amounts of power. That’s not an easy opponent to overcome but Ness won’t give up!

This is a game where you really need to cling to everything that you are told because it always ends up being a lot more important than you would have guessed. Sometimes you have to talk to a character multiple times and other times you have to go back to an old town to grab an item you may have missed. The game is quite vast and I’m sure I didn’t talk to a bunch of people/witness bonus content. The dialogue is all a lot of fun here. It has that absurd comedy type angle where crazy things are happening and people don’t have much of a reaction to it which is a type of comedy in itself.

The writing is quite excellent. I like how your father will call in from time to time to check on you and give you some money to get items with. It has a very “Are you winning son?” vibe to it and it’s great to have supportive parents here. Your Mom is always around to give you a fresh pizza and recover your HP as well. Your sister even contributes by giving you items and a place to store extra ones. These are little elements that just help make the world feel a lot more fleshed out.

There’s also a lot of room for fun theories about different characters and what’s going on. You could really make a whole franchise out of this which is why it’s a shame that Nintendo hasn’t kept up with making a bunch of Earthbound games. There is so much potential to them and I’m sure with modern graphics and everything they could really make this massive. This game took me close to 30 hours as it is. In general a nice advantage of RPGs is that the long story really lets you connect to the characters.

One of the playable characters doesn’t show up until you’re over 20 hours in for example which is really impressive. I had actually forgotten about him for a while even though in the intro you get to name all of the characters so in a way you know that they’re coming. It’s just a long wait and you’re busy doing a lot of other things in the meanwhile to really keep track. The final boss is super iconic of course and then you’ve got a lot of other creative enemies and even full concerts in game. Yes this is an ambitious title.

At times it can be easy to get lost or not know what to do next. Fortunately their are hint shacks around. The NPCs aren’t generally very helpful so otherwise you would have been in a pretty tough spot. Also some areas are very well hidden so even when you’re following a path, try to keep note of which path you didn’t check in case you have to use it later on. As you progress through the game you unlock some quality of life features like teleportation which is definitely worth the wait.

If I have any issues here, I would say one gameplay mechanic doesn’t age too well. This one uses the old Final Fantasy 2 type of mechanic where if your character dies they won’t come back to life even at an inn. You have to specifically go to the hospital to revive the character and that’s a lot of work since those are rarer to come up against. Again this is a quality of life feature that comes in later on once your character learns how to revive someone. That’s near the very end of the game though so it takes a while.

Also your storage is very small per character so you will run out a lot. This means you will have to constantly toss items out to make room for new ones or pay the storage fee to put in some extra back at home. I think they could have been more generous on that front. It’s only a mild annoyance to have to go in and toss stuff since you can only do this one at a time but still it’s something where a sequel can improve a bit.

The soundtrack is definitely excellent, there are a lot of really good tunes you will hear as you go through the adventure. The graphics are also really solid for its era. Like I mentioned earlier the game is very creative here both in the enemy designs and the effects. It gets a bit trippy with Giygas and the game is just so far ahead of its time that I’m sure the reactions to that boss must have been crazy.

In terms of replay value, there is a lot in terms of talking to people and such but there isn’t really a post game. Regardless the main campaign is long enough where that isn’t a problem. Additionally the game can be rather difficult at times so you will have to stop and train at different points. Don’t think that you will just be coasting by and the whole thing is a breeze because you will be in for quite the surprise!

Meanwhile the ending of the game is really intense. I don’t know if Mother 3 actually follows up on this or not but it’s really a high note. Yet another reason why Nintendo needs to license that game already. It would be so much fun to play through! The music gets rather tense and for a split second you’re wondering if the game is actually going to just keep on going. To date Nexamon is probably the only game I can think of that keeps on going after the long credits play and is the most realistic fake stop. I’d like to see more games do that and it only works in an RPG type game like this because you can have it trigger after 20-25 hours which would be realistic to end with.

Overall, Earthbound is a great game all the way through. It excels in every area and makes for a really fun experience. The gameplay is really smooth and the world is just so large. It feels like they crammed in a toooooon of content here especially relative to the average SNES game. It’s extremely impressive and the fact that it still holds up to this day is also something to be proud of. I would highly recommend jumping into this game as soon as possible. You will be having a lot of fun all the way through.

Overall 8/10

Skull Island: Rise of Kong Review

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It’s time that we sat down and had a serious conversation about this game. It’s been getting grilled in the reviews and destroyed online for the poor looking graphics and short run time. Just how bad is it though? Ultimately I ended up pre ordering this game and while I can confirm that it’s not worth the full price..it’s not a bad game. It manages to do enough things right to stay in the middle and honestly that’s not the worst spot to be in. It’s a game that will constantly keep you guessing and wondering just what is going on.

The game starts off on a rather emotional note as a giant dinosaur appears and murders King Kong’s parents. Yes King Kong’s got his superhero origin in this game. He manages to survive in the wild but it’s not an easy journey and the narrator even notes that he grew up in fear. Many years pass and now King Kong is old enough to defend himself. He aims to turn Skull Island upside down until he finds this dinosaur and has his revenge. One Shall Stand….One Shall Fall! Nobody is getting in the way of this monstrous fighter.

I respect the attempt at the story here. There is actual voice acting and a serious story going on. While that may sound a bit condescending, I wasn’t expecting either to be honest. So that’s a nice little tough. The game is still way too short as some have beaten it in under 3 hours but granted I got lost so many times it was more like 6-7 for me. So the length is there even if it is for the wrong reasons. Also if we’re being honest it still should have been at least 10 hours.

The game has 5 levels with the first level easily being the longest one. I want to say it takes up at least half of the game and in part that is because you are still learning all of the attacks at this point. You’re trying to figure out how to navigate through the game since the map is completely broken. I’m not sure if I got hit with a glitch or something but the map never shows where you are. So it is completely pointless and even for this game I just don’t see how that’s possible. So either I’m missing something, I’m overrating the game, or it’s a glitch.

I wouldn’t be surprised if it’s the latter because I got hit with glitches 3-4 times where I had to reset the game. There was really not a lot of quality testing on this one. I can also confirm that the graphics really are awful. There was no real time or effort put into these. I’ve certainly seen worse of course but for a PS4 game you really are expecting a whole lot better. You may enjoy it in an ironic sense since that can make the whole thing a little on the humorous side but in a way you can say that’s just coping by that point. Deep down we all wanted top notch graphics here or at least something solid. There’s not much of a soundtrack either.

What the game does well is the combat. It’s nothing fancy I’ll grant you that but it’s a classic beat em up where you stomp a bunch of enemies. There is no EXP system though which means there is no incentive to fight the minions. As a result I recommend skipping literally every optional minion. There are times where you have to beat a few to complete a mandatory challenge but outside of that don’t give them the time of day. There’s seriously just no benefit or reason to beat them. Not to mention that they endlessly spawn anyway.

You can cheese the gameplay a lot as well. Your roll stun locks an enemy so the trick I found is to roll, land 3 hits, then roll again, 3 hits, etc. Outside of bosses this will take out any minion without you getting hit. Now the bosses can be a little tough for sure and may take you some attempts. Best thing is to just try and hit them as fast as possible. There is rarely a lot of strategy that you have to use and I wouldn’t even try to make big plans. The camera angles will likely mess you up if you try anything too intricate so you want to be careful about that. Just go in and smash stuff, trust me it works pretty well.

King Kong himself feels pretty out of character. I get why the underdog story is appealing for a lot of characters but that’s never been King Kong’s thing so it feels really forced here. Personally I would have just kept him as a pure threat the whole time. You can still have his parents get bumped off as it’s well established that Kong is the last of his race but make him look tough or put up a fight and lose in the intro. Then the rest of the game is his quest to avenge them. Immediately it’s a much more compelling story right?

Overall, King Kong is a game that surprisingly will not be forgotten because of just how bad the rep is. Make no mistake this is not a good game but it’s not as awful as you may be thinking. Personally I recommend giving it a shot when the game inevitably drops down to the $5 bargain bin. Once that happens then there isn’t really a downside to giving it a chance right? You can at least see the potential while playing through the game even if the awful level designs and lack of a map hold it back. It’s too bad that this will likely send the King Kong game franchise back at least 50 years. You never forget the rep of a title like this.

Overall 5/10

Super Mario Bros. Wonder Review

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Whenever Nintendo releases a big Mario game you better believe that the whole planet is put on notice. It really feels like ages since the last big Mario game too, particularly the last 2D one. Fortunately Wonder is a great game that adds a lot of new mechanics and really feels like a fresh experience. It takes a few chances and not every gamble pays off but ultimately it’s just great to have more Mario content. I just wish Nintendo wouldn’t put their mascot on break for so many years at a time.

The basic plot here is that Bowser has merged with a giant ship and now he intends to take over the entire planet! Mario must team up with Daisy and co. to stop him. They’re in the Flower Kingdom this time which is a nice way to incorporate new supporting characters and whole new environments. I don’t think these guys will ever be as iconic as the Toads but they’re fun enough. We even have talking plants for full voice acting although I doubt most people will be big fans of them. I kept the voices on for the whole game but I did change the language to Japanese near the end for kicks.

The gameplay has a lot of the classic Mario elements you will recognize like running and jumping to the goal. You have some big power ups like the fire flower which are classic but also new ones like a bubble flower and elephant mode. I can’t say that Elephant mode is my favorite but the bubble form is really helpful. It can one shot almost any enemy and also gives you extra jumps by using the bubbles you shoot out. It is incredibly handy in a pinch! You’ve also got a drill hat to plunge into the ceiling. Most of the time you don’t really need to use the power ups so you can have fun in normal form but it’s nice to experiment a bit.

A new gimmick for this game are the badges which you can equip for all kinds of special abilities like an extra jump, being notified when you’re near a secret, etc. I held onto the glide from the tutorial but mainly stayed away from the badges so they wouldn’t make the game too easy. It’s easy to see how they would make this a bit of a cakewalk in the end. In terms of difficulty I would say this is easier than the last few 2D titles like New Super Mario Bros and Mario World but it has some reasonably tough levels so it’s not going to be on easy mode or anything.

One odd choice is that the worlds don’t get progressively harder the way they normally would. Every world has some easy levels and some hard ones and you get to see the difficulty counter before entering a level. This is because you don’t have to beat every level in order to move on. It’s all about the collectible like stars in this game. So for example you may need to get 15 collectibles in order to move onto the next world out of 25. So then you can skip like 3-4 levels. I actually 100% completed world 1 initially because I figured the stars would carry over but they don’t so just a heads up on that. When you have enough to fight the boss, just go ahead and fight him. There is no real benefit to waiting longer than that.

In addition to the normal levels there are mini ones that are like break levels. You get to master a badge in each level and some will just have a fun theme like trying to solve a puzzle or unravel a song. They are a nice break from the standard levels and are good additions to have here. I’m not always thrilled about the open world nature of the areas as you can sometimes waste some time trying to find the place you want to go but that’s mainly just an issue in the desert world which is the worst one by far. The rest are still pretty clearly labeled the whole time. When you lose a level you are also thrown right back in with incredible speed which is really a good thing.

The graphics are really top tier and this is some of the best visuals we’ve seen for a classic Nintendo type title. The environments are all very colorful and there are a lot of different enemies to take on. Each world feels different as well. The soundtrack is filled with a lot of fun themes and also some nice remixes. My favorite new theme has to be the final boss battle but in general I liked the villain themes here. They weren’t afraid to go all out and even seem a little towards the rock genre.

The actual campaign likely won’t take you too long, maybe around 6 hours or so. That said there is a good amount of replay value if you aim to 100% the game. I don’t actually know what you unlock for doing so yet. Hopefully a bonus ending or something cool like that. I don’t tend to 100% these since there are no trophies involved but if the reward is good enough then I’ll consider it. I also played the whole game as Daisy so it’ll be fun to play around as some of the other characters. I could even have fun using a bunch of badges now that I’ve beaten the game. So I can just relax and hang out while playing the levels.

Bowser not kidnapping Peach for a change is a nice twist but I would still like the series to take the story a bit farther at some point. It’s Mario so I’m not asking for something dark or super serious. Even happy type games can have a good story ongoing and that’s all I want. Give us some fun cutscenes, a cool journey to follow and I’m set. That would be completely ideal and I don’t think it would be all that hard. It’s hard to picture it ever happening but mix in the great gameplay with an awesome story and then we could be looking at one of the all time all stars.

Overall, Super Mario Bros. Wonder is definitely a great game. It is a lot of fun to play through and as you’d expect from Nintendo’s flagship character every detail has been given a lot of polish and attention. The only things keeping it from going a bit higher is the lack of a true story and the game also feeling a little short. In general platformers aren’t very long of course and that makes sense but I do feel you tend to need a certain amount of length in order to be one of those elite 9 star titles. I would definitely recommend picking this game up though. It’s not a title that you want to miss out on!

Overall 8/10