Tag Archives: Nintendo Switch Online

Wario Land 3 Review

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All right guys, it’s time for a game that was really trying to be different and I can respect that to an extent but ultimately this was definitely not the way to go. The gameplay gets overshadowed by how often you have to keep replaying the same levels over and over again. The bosses tend to be rather annoying and you don’t get stronger by enough of a margin to make the whole experience worth it. And so in the end this game could not surpass all of these hurdles.

The game starts with Wario messing around a bit too much and so he crashes and then falls inside a music box where he is isekai’d into a whole new world. There, a mysterious being asks Wario to free him and stop the dark lord. If he does this then he will be given a ton of treasure and can go back home. Wario is never one to turn down a bunch of treasure so he gets to work. The musical instruments are scattered across the planet and all of them must be secured in order to rescue this guy. The problem is that each one is guarded by a monster and then those monsters can’t be accessed without different power ups that are found by getting other treasures.

So you get the idea, this is a game about journeying through the different worlds and finding all of the items that you need. You start with only basic moves like being able to run and jump. Then as you beat more levels you obtain stronger abilities like ramming through walls, picking up enemies, etc. Each level has 4 treasures. The treasures are hidden through different obstacles and paths so generally they are blocked behind obstacles that you cannot get past with your current skill level. What this means is you will be replaying the levels a whole lot of times so get ready for that. There are 25 levels so you will be playing through 100 times if you get everything.

Fortunately you don’t have to get all 100 in order to move on so you can skip some of them. That was definitely a relief because they definitely get old after a while. A game only works like this when you get noticeably stronger to the point where you can blow through the levels. Let me just blast along but the problem is that the distance tends to be the same in this one. So you are stronger but you don’t feel nearly as strong as you should and that’s the real problem here. I think there was a reasonable amount of potential here but the level designs would have needed to be just a little bit better.

At least we did have a quality of life feature where the guy trapped in the chest would tell you which level to go to next if you were lost. This is good because you rarely know where to go next after you beat a level. It’s annoying that you have to run to the guy constantly but I do appreciate that this was at least a feature since other games would have definitely missed out on that. With this, you will eventually be able to beat the game even if it will still take a while to clear.

The length is actually fairly solid so I can give the game some credit there. It may be forced because of having to replay it so much but you won’t be beating this game in an hour or two. This is a full length Nintendo title so we’re looking at around 5-6 hours I’d say. Add more if you get lost since it is quite easy to do that. The replay value is also there in getting the rest of the treasures so you don’t need to worry about that either. This is definitely a game that will be there for you…for better or worse.

The graphics are pretty good. I thought the colors were on point and the level designs were fun to look at. I may have had some issues with the layout at different points but definitely nothing against the look of the game. As for the soundtrack, that’s more on the underwhelming side. There are no tracks here that will really excite you or anything like that. A modern game could at least fix this aspect which would definitely make things more fun. The game is also desperately missing more of a story. If we had more cutscenes in between the levels that would do a whole world of good for the game as a whole. It would absolutely jump to the next level and could actually be a good game.

Overall, Wario Land 3 is definitely not one of Nintendo’s stronger titles. I would say it has enough going for it where I’m not jumping right into the negative score levels but at the same time it’s definitely not doing wonders for itself either. It’s a game that tried too much and got too ambitious in the end. It should have focused on having more levels instead of having to replay the same ones over and over again. Just focus on the platforming. If you don’t really have anything to play on hand then at least the length ensures you will be kept busy for a little while. It can pass the time but I wouldn’t actively recommend it to anyone when there are way better games out there.

Overall 5/10

Mega Man V Review

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It’s time to end my Mega Man game marathon. This one definitely ends things on a real high note. For starters, it is the most plot based Mega Man game that I’ve played in the classic series. You actually have a sense of danger here and it’s not the usual story of Wily trying to cause some trouble. I appreciated the difference here and then the game actually gets rather long for a classic title. You definitely won’t be running out of content here, I can tell you that much.

The game starts off with a mysterious robot appearing and defeating Mega Man effortlessly. After that, other robots from space show up and conquer the planet with ease. Mega Man must now gain some upgrades and find a way to take these guys down. If he doesn’t, then the world itself will be doomed to destruction. It will be his hardest fight yet but Mega Man is ready for this. He’s never fallen short when it counted before after all.

There are actual cutscenes and automated fights here which really feels ahead of its time. In a lot of ways you could say this game is light years ahead of the first 4. It’s just in a completely different league and this goes back to the length as well. In addition to the usual 8 robot masters, you fight a bunch of bosses from previous games. There are so many bosses in the climax that I wonder how people did it back in the day without the rewind feature. Particularly for the older game bosses since it always takes time to get used to a moveset and I doubt you would have had the previous games memorized. The difficulty climb is really crazy by the end.

Still, it is ambitious and I like that. One of the main critiques for the Mega Man games is generally that they are a little too short. You blast through them and then that’s it. So at least with this one you do have all of this extra content which does make the actual campaign longer. It’s also worth noting that while the collectibles have been removed, you still do have the Dr. Light shop where you can buy items and collectibles as needed. It’s definitely a big help since you can actually work on grinding out E tanks if you need them for the climax. They are super handy so of course you will need them.

The graphics still have that sad green tint that makes everything a bit hard to look at. You eventually get a little used to it but yeah that part’s a bit rough so you will definitely want to avert your gaze. The soundtrack isn’t bad although I wouldn’t say that any of the tunes were super memorable. The game stands strong mainly on the story and gameplay in this case. The rest of the title isn’t quite able to keep up.

The gameplay is what you’re used to with the series so I don’t need to go into it very much. I still mainly stuck with the mega buster for all bosses except when they force you to change. The Mega Buster is just such a great all around weapon that they almost went too far and ended up making it the best weapon. Why use anything else right? The firing speed and amount of damage per shot is just handled exceptionally well. It may not be broken but it’s extremely steady and will take out any opponent before long. It also works seamlessly with your movement since there is no delay so you can really do your best on dodging enemies and this won’t slow you down one bit. This is exactly the right way to handle things but if you want a challenge you can try to figure out which weapon is good against each boss and win that way. It’s technically how the developers likely envisioned you beating the game at least.

Overall, The story is really good here. I appreciated that the game took itself rather seriously the whole time. The final boss is also a very interesting figure. Certainly not someone that Wily could ever hope to control. There was definitely a lot of potential here if the game had decided to continue down this path for future installments. Of course the color situation would be fixed for the next console. If you have the Switch Online then you should definitely check this one out. It may even change how you look at classic Mega Man in general.

Overall 7/10

Mega Man III Review

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It’s time for the next Mega Man title. In III we get to see more bosses to take down and the gameplay will be pretty familiar from the previous two games. I would say it’s also in the middle of those two in a few aspects. It’s harder than 2 but not as brutal as the first game. In terms of length I would say it’s in the middle due to difficulty as well. There is finally some real incentives to using the various robot master abilities as well since they help to get more extra lives and energy tanks. So that’s a good thing even if you still won’t use them much for the actual boss fights. You also finally get access to the charged shot.

So you can tell that the game is getting more modern. Ultimately the story is still more of the same in a lot of ways. I would like the games to get a little more ambitious here but at least I know by Mega Man 8 things tend to get pretty cool with the stories. In the meantime seeing Mega Man dominate and shred all of the robots in his way is pretty cool. It shows just how far he has come over the years and why he is such a dominating threat. Nobody can stand in the way of the blue bomber!

The gameplay is fun as always and I already broke down the various improvements. In a pure gameplay sense this might be the smoothest title although II is still my favorite because of the difficulty balance. This game has the highest item drop rate though which is also important. So basically if you want extra lives or energy tanks then you are really in luck here. You will definitely find them around every corner without exception. So feel free to stock up on them and it also helps to counter the difficulty to an extent. I still think that the series should user endless lives as an incentive to keep fighting the boss though. Just let me keep trying until I run out of time to continue the game. The way I see it, that should be the only way to get to the game over screen. Even if I have 3-4 lives, that’s not enough time to master the boss’ movements without the rewind system.

In terms of graphics, the game still falls into the same issue of the green palette backgrounds the whole time. It doesn’t let you enjoy the colors or adventures quite as much as you would be able to otherwise. It just makes everything look the same which isn’t quite as hype as it could have been. I would also still say that the soundtrack is only okay. I’m waiting for the tracks that will really knock my socks off. Give me those and then we’re really in business! Until then it’s just not really going to be enough here to really boost the game.

In terms of replay value, I wouldn’t say there is any here. There are no collectibles yet so when you beat the game that is it. The credits roll and then you are satisfied with the knowledge that you beat the game. It’s not particularly long but you can play it via the Switch Online so at least you aren’t spending anything extra. If you were buying it for console then I would definitely say to make sure you get a good price for it. You don’t want to spend a whole lot because while it is fun, it’s just not really long enough to justify the price.

Overall, Mega Man III is a pretty fun game. It’s definitely a title that I would recommend checking out right away. It is very similar to the first two games so at least you will know right away if you will enjoy it or not. There is something to be said for consistency. Massive fans of the franchise are really blessed to be able to get new levels and more bosses in the same style thanks to this. It helps the adventures to never run out and adds replay value to them as well. I’ll be continuing the Mega Man marathon shortly with IV coming up. We’ll see if it is able to surpass this game or if the series is about to fall off hard.

Overall 6/10

Mega Man II Review

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It’s time for the return of Mega Man! This is my favorite out of the Game Boy titles. It has the perfect balance of difficulty where you don’t have to be absolutely perfect when playing. Granted, it’s still really tough so you should expect to lose quite a lot but this time you actually feel like you always have a chance. That’s not something that you can say for some of the other games. Already that’s a pretty good jump. The rest of the game is pretty similar to the others so by this point you either like Mega Man or you’re tired of him.

The basic plot is that Wily is causing some trouble so Dr. Light is forced to call in the world’s #1 defender, Mega Man. Mega Man is one of those heroes of legend who never backs down and is always ready to fight off his opponents. Unfortunately he didn’t keep the powers of the villains from the first game so he is back to his mega buster. That might be for the best though since for the most part the other powers aren’t that handy anyway. Perhaps when you’re an expert player who has optimized everything but otherwise the mega buster is always good for me. It’s basically ole reliable and is always around when I’m in a pinch.

Naturally like the first game the graphics aren’t great here. The green still absolutely destroys all of the art that the game is trying to pull out. It’s too bad they couldn’t filter the green somehow. It’s just not the best look for any game. The soundtrack is okay but again there aren’t really any tunes to write home about. As for the game’s length, it’s still fairly short. You have around 4 main intro bosses, the Wily fight, then 4 more bosses and then the climax. Each stage is fairly quick so the length will come about based on how often you die. Even though the game is easier than the first, I would still expect a lot of deaths which would definitely be extending the play time. Some of the jumps are just tricky or enemies are in a spot where you will end up crashing to your doom if you end up fighting them.

Try to grab any energy tanks that you can. They come in real handy because you can use them in the middle of a level or boss to replenish your health all the way to the top. It’s incredibly handy at all times. Usually they are in tough places to get of course but the journey for them is definitely worth it. I was certainly glad to have them. Also, don’t forget that you have the various Rush techniques at your disposal. This came in a lot of handy this time around and I think in some sections they were even mandatory. It took me a little while to figure out because I wasn’t used to opening the weapons screen since I was using the mega buster for everything.

As always I do recommend using the mega buster for pretty much everything though. Trust me, it will get the job done and it also forces you to move around a lot and get used to the stage. Unless you are absolutely sure which weapon is the most is the most effective then this is definitely something you should consider. It can also be hard to tell which weapon is the counter in these old games. A lot of the time the one you figure is correct ends up not doing any damage or being useful at all.

The game follows the same format as the other Game Boy titles with 4 bosses, then Wily, then 4 bosses, then climax. So you’ll be speeding through the game even with all of the deaths. I do recommend checking it out if you have the Switch Online though. No real downside even if it is over very quickly. It’s a fun game through and through so at the end of the day that’s the important thing.

Overall, Mega Man II is another fun game. I tend to prefer the other parts of the franchise more than the classic Mega Man series but it’s still consistently good. It really does help you hammer in the fundamentals of movement and how to get around obstacles. If you get lazy about this then you are going to absolutely get dominated when it counts. You have to always be shooting while managing to keep a good amount of space between you and the boss. If you get close then you are at a disadvantage because the boss will keep on bumping into you and taking out chunks of your health at a time. You have to prevent that from happening no matter what. Then if you pull it off, you get the satisfaction of knowing that you ended up saving the world.

Overall 6/10

Mega Man: Dr. Wily’s Revenge Review

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It’s time for a Mega Man marathon thanks to the Nintendo Switch Online. These game boy titles may appear at first glance to be straight remakes of the original games but that isn’t the case. Instead they are merged hybrids of sorts with a new villain thrown into the mix. It’s a pretty good time although the games do feel a bit compact so you will be done with them quickly. The sheer difficulty in some of these is so intense that I wonder how people pulled this off back in the day.

The game starts with Wily up to his old tricks so Dr. Light is forced to call in the legendary Mega Man to take down the evil robot masters. Mega Man is one of the strongest robots out there but beating up on his fellow robots isn’t exactly the guy’s idea of a good time. Still, he will do what he has too, because that is the role of a true hero. Mega Man is not one to shirk his responsibilities after all and will do whatever he can in order to achieve victory.

The gameplay is your classic 2D shooter style. You have your mega buster and you jump past obstacles and enemies. In most cases it’s best to beat the minions as they come along because otherwise they will really make you feel the pain. Trust me, they definitely don’t hold back. One wrong hit and you’ll find yourself falling off the platform and being defeated. That or you’ll just lose because you are out of health points. To be honest, either outcome is definitely a real possibility here.

I died numerous times while playing this one. It has to be one of the hardest Mega Man games that I’ve played. You have to be near frame perfect to get past some of these obstacles. I had to use the rewind feature quite a lot because they were just too tricky. The bosses are also really difficult particularly since they don’t always move the same way. For example, lets say I lose to a low attack that I needed to jump over. When I rewind and jump, the boss goes for an aerial attack instead. It’s definitely something that makes this title even harder.

To all of the players who actually pulled this off back in the day though, more power to you. That’s definitely not an easy feat by any stretch of the imagination. It is still a fun game though. You really get to test your reaction times and fundamental skills. You may not always come out on top but that’s okay. I do have a pet peeve as far as the gameplay is concerned though. The bosses appear to be immune to all of the special weapons except their specific weakness. That feels like a shame because it removes the point of having them to a large extent. Even if they only do as much damage as a mega buster, all weapons should work.

This is something that I’m glad they changed for future games. I always liked switching up the weapons but figuring out which one would work ended up being too tedious at times so what I would just do is use the mega buster for everyone. It’s a really well balanced weapon so either way I would say that it worked pretty well. I just would have liked to have had more of a choice.

The soundtrack is not bad. Not really any boppers that you’ll be looking up on Youtube though. They tend to blend together and will be forgotten rather quickly. The graphics also don’t get a chance to show out since the whole thing is covered in green. So it doesn’t age nearly as well as it should have otherwise. Turning any game into a single color is usually going to be a recipe for disaster.

In the end, this may be a short game but the sheer difficulty will help to extend the replay time. The boss battles are all extremely difficult and the same goes for the stages. When you complete this game you will really feel like a champion. While it’s on the Switch Online you should give it a shot and see just how far the series has come. We desperately need more Mega Man games in the present but for some reason Capcom has been fumbling the bag on that for a very long time.

Overall 6/10

Tetris Review

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It’s time to dive into the world of Tetris. I’ve played Tetris 99 a lot before and I want to say that I’ve played the original Tetris at some point before but this is the first time I get to formally dive into the world of the original one. It’s a fun game and I can see how it got really big over the years. Mainly I’d just say the problem is that I’m so used to the fast paced adventures of Tetris 99 and having to dodge a bunch of obstacles and play around the enemies’ movements. So going back to solo play just doesn’t go as hard as it would have otherwise.

The goal of the game is to continue filling each row with the shapes as quickly as possible. If you can pull this off then you will be in a good spot and ready to claim victory. However, if you don’t properly fill the rows then the blocks will reach to the ceiling and you will lose. So you really need to be careful where you put the shapes because if you put them in the wrong way then you will create a blind spot which will really come back to bite you. It’s the kind of game that you definitely improve on as you get used to the shapes and which ones connect perfectly with others.

Online you see people landing really crazy high scores after they have gotten used to the game and that makes sense. It is a game that absolutely encourages replaying and it’s a very calm experience so that also makes things a bit easier.

In terms of the graphics, the game looks good. It’s aged well and this one used a simple artstyle so it’s not like it needs a lot of power to run. There’s not much chance for the game to really show off either because there aren’t any real backgrounds or special effects. This is again where Tetris 99 really stepped up to the plate because that game really went all out with the bonus features. I’m not saying that they’re necessary or anything like that but they definitely do help to balance things out.

There isn’t much of a soundtrack here either. I would like for them to have added some more. Imagine if you were hearing Mario music or something as you played through the game. These are subtle elements that would just help boost the game to the next level if you ask me. They aren’t necessary for the game by any means but it still would have been cool. At the end of the day the game is just super basic and there’s nothing wrong with that but it does mean that there isn’t much to say about this one.

With Tetris, what you see is what you get. You either really enjoy the gameplay or you don’t. I do enjoy the gameplay but at the same time I don’t love it enough to keep playing and try to test my skills or anything like that. I’ll play it for a little bit but it doesn’t even work as a multiplayer title where you alternate because it would take too long between turns. Maybe if you put it on high speed mode then that would change things up. I do appreciate that you can alter the speed of the game to make things more difficult and really test if you know what you’re doing.

Overall, Tetris is a good game. It’s not really my thing for long periods of time though. It just won’t capture my attention the way that it would for long time fans. That said, I would still recommend checking it out. It’s a part of video game history and it is made in a very well crafted way. You won’t be seeing any bugs or glitches while playing this game. Yes there is RNG in terms of what shapes appear but for the most part if you win or lose, you can really only blame yourself. I remember a kid was on the news for actually beating the entire game so it is possible, but incredibly difficult. Over 99.9% of people on the planet will never be able to complete the game and that’s fine. Just playing it is still a good experience.

Overall 6/10

Castlevania Legends Review

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It’s time for a really old school Castlevania game. I haven’t really gotten very deep into the series just yet so this was a pretty fun preview. This isn’t going to really reflect the average Castlevania experience but it was pretty fun. It plays out like a classic sidescroller just with some vampires thrown into the mix. I’m always up for that in this context because you don’t have to worry about much of the ole bloodsucking in a Game Boy game. The title definitely ends rather quickly though.

You play as Sonia who is working to stop Dracula once and for all. To do this she will have to find him and destroy a bunch of vampires along the way. Fortunately she is ready for this. With her trusty whip she has slain many opponents over the years so this will really be no different. She can also shoot energy blasts out of the whip when she has enough power ups. So this is definitely not a fighter to be taken lightly. Underestimate her at your own peril!

Each level is fairly long but to make up for that there are only 5 real levels here. Each one has a boss at the end that you have to conquer. Once per level you can use your bomb energy to become completely invincible for about 10 seconds which is super handy. Obviously you should save that for the boss each time or you may be in for a bit of trouble. You can also use hearts to mess with the timer but I couldn’t quite figure out how that works. So I guess it’s not very important. I only lost via a time out once so you should be fine. The game just has some passages that lead to dead ends in an attempt to trick you. It’s a bit slippery and dare I say underhanded…but you’ll get used to it. Trust me, getting used to these things is what we do best.

The final boss really spams different attacks at you that are difficult to dodge though. He throws out so many shadow heads at once that your head will be positively spinning. It’s extremely difficult to dodge these attacks. You basically have to create a lot of room between you and the boss right away because if you’re anywhere close then you are doomed. There’s even one minion that’s really difficult to deal with. It’s a flying bat that is always around, plotting its next move. If it gets close to you then you don’t have any easy way to hit it before you are also attacked. Yeah the game definitely gives you a whole lot to think about at all times but that’s one of its charms I suppose.

The soundtrack is extremely limited though. Be prepared to hear the same tunes over and over and over again. It would have been nice if they could have squeezed some more variety in. As for the graphics, they’re really not bad. I don’t like all of the green everywhere but that’s more of a console thing than the game itself so I can’t say much there. Since the gameplay is good, the 2 hours go by quickly. I just would have liked if there was some more content. I’ll take what I can get of course and this game is quite old but they probably could have added a few more bosses or something.

I give the game credit for actually having some cutscenes near the end though. For a little while there it seemed like the game was not going to have any cutscenes which would have been a bit much. I need something to show off the story and hype up the characters right? So that did the trick and did boost the game further. It definitely made a good difference while also making the final boss feel more personal. I’d definitely be up for Sonia returning some day and of course checking out more Castlevania games will be fun. There are definitely a lot that have come out over the years.

Overall, Castlevania Legends is a good game. It’s a bit of a basic platformer but I still had a good time with it. There aren’t a lot of frills and excitement here in particular but you won’t be bored which is the most important thing here. Just keep on going through the levels and you will have it completed in no time. You want to be patient when approaching the enemies because of how easily you can be hit. Additionally they reappear when you get them out of view so be careful about that. Otherwise you’ll keep fighting the same enemies. Without the rewinds I dare say that this could have actually been quite the challenge too. They really don’t make games the way that they used to. To think that this was considered an easy title back in the day.

Overall 6/10

BurgerTime Deluxe Review

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I could use a good burger right now. A triple cheeseburger, well done with extra bacon? Yes sirrrrrrr that sounds good. Playing a game like this definitely makes me hungry and it’s easy to see why because the ingredients all show up here. You even fight using black pepper! It’s a simple enough game but one that manages to stay fun all the way through so I had a good time.

The basic gameplay is that there are parts of the burger scattered across different floors. You have to send them all to the basement and you do that by walking on each ingredient. For example if there is a burger patty on the third floor and you walk on it, it will get sent down to the 2nd floor. Go to the 2nd floor and then it’ll go to the first floor. Finally, step on it there and it will land in the goal in the basement. Once you have gotten all pieces to the goal then you are all set for the races.

You can move around but you can’t jump which is a key thing to note. So if the enemy is behind you and there are no exits in front then you have just fallen into the trap and are doomed. At that point there is nothing you can do and you are absolutely finished. Always keep some black pepper around for times like this since you can throw it in the enemy’s face and then you will be safe. At this point that is all you can do but those vials are very rare so you won’t come across many of them.

The game definitely gets really difficult as you move through it. In some levels there are long segments where there is no backup exit meaning that getting those pieces is next to impossible. In the 6th world I couldn’t figure out how to get those pieces even with rewind. No matter where you went or how fast you walked, the enemies would catch up to you. The A.I. is actually really smart here. They will actually surround you and basically make traps all the way around the levels. So don’t underestimate them if you want to claim victory here.

I liked the simplicity of the gameplay and it reminds me of Pac Man to an extent. There are other games that are even more similar with the whole layered setup. This is the kind of game you could picture having a lot of fun with on a mobile device and a modern remake with a whole story would really be fun. There’s a ton of potential for this kind of game and I miss the simple arcade concepts. The artstyle has aged quite well here so the graphics are good.

The soundtrack is more forgettable but that’s how it goes. In terms of replay value, it seems like the game just keeps on going and paired with the difficulty you should definitely be here for a while. You can also try to just improve your score and efficiency in the levels as well. Definitely a lot to enjoy here and the fun never has to stop. Realistically I do think you will eventually call it a day because there are just too many other games to have fun with but this one does hold its own.

With a game like Burger Time I’m assuming you were thinking of something super low budget but that wasn’t the case here. I dare say that the developers really took this one seriously all the way through. No corners were cut. There’s not much else to say about the game due to the nature of the gameplay but it definitely does take real skill. If you are able to really predict your opponent’s movements and take advantage of them then you will be in a great spot without a doubt.

Overall, BurgerTime Deluxe is a good game. It would need a little something more to reach the next level but I was satisfied with the product. It can be reasonably addicting and when you lose you really want to keep on trying until you win. The difficulty level is really high but aside from the final level I was up to, it never really felt impossible. You just have to be very careful on your tactics and strategy. Once you go in one direction then you’ve really got to live with it because turning back just gives the enemy more time to catch you.

Overall 6/10

Kirby Tilt ‘n’ Tumble Review

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It’s time for my next Kirby experience. Typically these games are always a lot of fun. Kirby makes for a good lead and the platforming genre is always on point. Well, this time it’s a bit different because this isn’t your classic Kirby title. It’s actually using motion controls and we already know how that tends to pan out. It’s unfortunate…but I’m afraid that Tilt n Tumble is really not going to be able to stick with the all time greats.

The basic plot is that King Dedede seems to be off to some mischief so Kirby decides to stop him. We have no proof of any wrongdoing mind you, but Kirby has seen this guy around a lot before and he’s usually getting into all kinds of trouble. So why wait for the trouble to arrive when you can do something about it now right? Unfortunately the game’s ending doesn’t give much closure either, we get a handshake but that’s about it. So you’re not playing the game for its story but I suppose in a way it’s rare that you would be doing that.

So lets talk about the gameplay. Basically it’s like Monkey Ball. You have to roll Kirby past a bunch of obstacles so that he can get to the goal. This should be a pretty easy proposition right? Just focus up and get the job done! Unfortunately this is where the motion controls come in. You have to tilt your controller in order to move him and so you can’t even use the pro controller. The motion controls are super sensitive and tilting backwards too quickly will have you use the jump command by mistake.

The game is definitely harder than other Kirby games as a result. I found myself using the rewind feature as needed in several instances. It’s a game you could definitely beat without the rewind, it’ll just take a bit longer for the random points where you roll off the map. That’s always my problem with motion controls, I don’t mind losing because I messed up. But to lose because the controls weren’t precise and I rolled too far off the map? Nahhhhh that’s not satisfying at all. That just feels bad in the end. Whether I win or lose it should all come down to my own gaming skills.

So the gameplay itself had some potential with a proper control setup. I really liked the classic Monkey Ball games for Gamecube after all. They were the right balance of being really difficult and satisfying without ever being cheap or annoying. These were games that always kept you wanting to play no matter how many times you died. It took a ton of skill and you had nobody to blame but yourself. This game is different because half of the times you die, you will feel like you should have lived and the game messed you over. Yeah that might be you being a little on the salted side. I can’t argue with that but we will never know for sure.

The soundtrack is nice and pleasant though. It has all of the fun Kirby themes that you will recognize because of how iconic they always are. Then you have the graphics which are pretty good. The colorful vibes work well with the title as they always do. So I have no issues there and the technical elements really help to balance out the gameplay really well. At the very least it helps to mask my issues with the motion controls a little bit since I have less time to dwell on them. Instead I’m having fun listening to all of the tunes.

One last complement I will give to the game is that all of the boss battles are fun. The ground ones are all reskins so it’s the same boss over and over but I liked how you had to try and jump on him using your motion controls. It’s the one time I thought the style was actually rather clever. Then you had the aerial boss battles where you had to fly around and blast away at him with your air buster. That was a lot of fun and you had to balance being aggressive with grabbing another balloon so you could stay in the air. A lot of balance right there.

Overall, Kirby Tilt is a game that I won’t soon be forgetting but it’s too bad because it could and should have been way better. Motion controls don’t always have to automatically hurt a game but it does feel like more often than not they do a whole lot of damage. Just give me the traditional controls and I’m all set. Check this one out if you have the Switch Online but don’t expect that it’ll be all that great for you. It’s a unique experience but as with many other unique things, it’s a nice way of saying that it’s not as good as the standard option.

Overall 6/10

Alleyway Review

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Alleyway is one of those games with a very simple premise but if it is executed well enough then there won’t be a problem. The issue is that this didn’t happen so the game isn’t nearly as fun as it should have been. I really feel like this game could and should have been a lot better. All it would have needed was one change too…increasing the gameplay speed. Seriously that’s it.

So the general gameplay here is the kind where a ball is launched up and down and you slide your paddle around to keep it from falling below the screen. This naturally takes a lot of skills and split second timing. If you can pull it off though, you will have saved the world! It’s cool that Mario is the one piloting the ship but otherwise it just isn’t very plot heavy as a game. There are no other cutscenes to be honest and the whole game is really just bouncing the ball around. The level designs can’t really change that much either due to the nature of the gameplay.

They do create some nice shapes in the background though. For example I liked seeing Mario’s head floating around and it shows how creative you can be with the different blocks. As someone who is not very artistic, it would take me ages and ages to actually pull that off. So the visuals are fun, the sprites are used well. The soundtrack is a little more forgettable but I want to say that it’s not bad. It still gets the job done at the end of the day.

The technicals are really not holding this one back at all. It’s just the gameplay which is really not that cool. It’s too easy and you don’t hear me saying that very often. So you just get bored at how slowly the ball is moving around. Don’t get me wrong, you’ll definitely die eventually when you don’t time things right but it’s all so slow paced. There should either be obstacles trying to get in your way or the ball should be zooming around. The game doesn’t capture your attention this way and I tend to like a lot of the block titles like Tetris. Alleyway though? Ehhhh it just wasn’t fun the way that it should have been.

There’s really not much else to say about it either because the gameplay is as simple as possible and there are no other modes. This is the definition of a one trick pony. That’s not a bad thing per say as some of the most iconic games of all time were basic. Take Pac-Man, you can describe that game to anyone very quickly but it’s still a lot of fun that you can play through for hours. Why? Well, it may be simple but it is still really challenging and rewarding. You know that you have to bring out your best if you want to win it all. It’s always very tense as the ghosts speed up.

There is a clear progression of difficulty in the game and that is something that Alleyway lacks. I played a bunch of levels in the game and the speed in level 11 is the same as level 1. Yes, there are slightly more difficult level layouts now since some blocks are blocked by different objects but all that means is that the level will take longer to complete. It doesn’t actually solve the issue of the game being way too easy the whole time. That’s the real problem here.

Overall, Alleyway is one of those games that is just not too much fun to play for long batches. You might have some fun for say 10-15 minutes but not even that. I was over the game very quickly and in large part it’s because of how slow it is. Make the speed 2X and it would be a lot easier to get through. I still need some kind of story to make this one really stand out though. I know you have to cut the older games some slack since stories weren’t always such a huge thing but they really do enhance a game. If you have the Switch Online then you may as well check this one out for free but otherwise you can give it a hearty skip.

Overall 4/10