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R.C. Pro-Am II Review
R.C. Pro-Am II is one of those games that I hadn’t really thought about before but it’s a pretty decent game. There isn’t a whole lot of extra content to play around with here but this is a fairly old game. The overhead style works well enough although I much prefer full 3D so I can see where I’m going. Every time I miss a turn or a hit an obstacle I inevitably end up blaming the game. Probably not the best move but hey…it made sense to me at least.
The main mode here is the grand prix. You race in a bunch of levels against the other cars and can keep on moving forward as long as you’re in the top 3. Every time you fall to last then you lose a life but the grand prix continues forward. The mode stops once you have lost 3 times. I got as far as level 8 but then the RNG starts to hit hard. There is some kind of a thunder cloud that blasts you when you get too close and bumping into other cars becomes a real threat.
Additionally there are tons of little boost cans and boost arrows all along the track. Falling into any of those will help you out but the computers have them memorized while you will have to figure them out one at a time. This is definitely one of those times where the computer just has an inherent advantage and I’m not really sure how you would remove that. To an extent all racing games will run into this issue.
It’s why this kind of title is just a lot more fun when you’re playing against other people. Against the computer it is going to get old quickly. The core gameplay is still solid enough where I would give this one a positive score but it’s certainly not knocking you out of the park. It’s a solid racing game with good gameplay controls and that’s about as much credit as I’d be giving it right from the jump. That’s still a pretty good amount of credit though.
The game succeeds on fundamentals even if it has long since been surpassed by newer racing games. There is not much reason to play it in 2026 but that doesn’t take away from this game since I don’t score on a sliding scale. If you have the Nintendo Switch Online then you should check this one out. It can at least be a good way to test out your reaction speeds with all of the obstacles. Maybe you could even play this as a memory type of game because technically the obstacles don’t change places during the level. You can try to memorize them and then ace your second lap.
In theory that doesn’t even sound so hard because it’s not like the levels are all that big. You’re talking about having to memorize 1 minute of screentime to ace the second lap. For some speedrunners who have to memorize hours of content, this would be a no brainer. Still, I didn’t find it to be an easy task. Perhaps I need to work on those skills but I would just fall for the same obstacle more than once.
The graphics aren’t bad here. They’re fairly bright and have a good amount of character behind them. That soundtrack is more on the bland side so you won’t be remembering any of the tunes. That’s fine, it would have been a nice bonus but I don’t think anyone was expecting anything too fancy out of this title. Everything passes the bar of being “good enough” which for this title is satisfactory.
Overall, I’d say to check this one out. There isn’t a whole lot to it but sometimes it’s nice to check out a retro game and see just how much the genre has changed. I’m sure that a modern remake to this title would look and feel completely different. That isn’t necessarily always a good thing but in this case I do think the modern quality of life features could make a world of difference. This one may have gone as hard as it could for the NES but it will be a world of difference on the Switch 2.
Overall 6/10
Ninja Gaiden III: The Ancient Ship of Doom Review
Ninja Gaiden has consistently been a really fun platforming title. It’s one of the rare NES titles to go all the way with actually having a really fun plot. A lot of these old games keep that to the booklets but Ninja Gaiden dared to be different! This one really gets out there with a lot of sci-fi and supernatural elements all coming together. Without the rewind feature the difficulty in this game would be absolutely crazy though. It’s impressive how anybody could complete this game back in the day.
The story starts off with “Ryu” seemingly murdering a lady. The real Ryu finds out about this and swears to clear his name. It won’t be easy though as this conspiracy runs deep and he will have to risk his life across many trials in order to come away victorious. Still, if anyone can pull this off, Ryu can. He has been through a whole lot over the years and has been training to defeat all opponents. This game also has at least 2-3 fake-outs where you think the game is ending and then it keeps on going. You’re getting quite a lot of content here.
The 2D gameplay is classic as you try to slice away at the opponents in front of you. You have to use a whole lot of your platforming skills to stay one step ahead as well. One wrong jump and you will fall to your doom. Additionally there is a heavy emphasis on speed since you will be one step too slow and hit the spikes if you aren’t careful. Then you have all of the enemies to deal with and your health will go down real fast as they strike. Technically most of them go down in a single hit but it’s still tough to knock them all out of the sky before you get hit. In a way that’s where most of your damage is going to come from. Even more than the obstacles, the enemies are what will be the end of you.
Naturally the bosses aren’t about to be outdone without a fight. They have health bars which is nice to see since you can pace yourself. That said, it can still be a bit misleading. Their health goes down extremely quickly but they also deal massive amounts of damage. You have to have incredible reaction times in order to properly dodge their attacks. The final boss also has several phases with each one being crazier than the last.
The entire game is really meant to show you just how crazy strong Ryu is to be able to deal with all of this. It’s definitely not something that just any ninja could handle. The graphics and soundtrack are both really solid as well. The stages have a lot of great variety and the music is fitting for the levels. The game really succeeds across the board. Really the only issue you can have is the difficulty. I don’t think I would have really tried to complete the game if I had played the whole thing live back in the day. I would have badly needed some quality of life features at the bare minimum. Little things like save points across each level for starters.
There also isn’t much in the way of replay value here. The game is really meant for a full playthrough and that’s about it. You’re not really playing for a high score or anything like that after all. Just beating the game should take you a long enough period where that’s not a big factor though. Trust me we’re talking hours and hours here at minimum.
As far as gameplay tips go I would say to just think about which power you prefer to use. You can only hold one power at a time. I liked the one that would send shockwaves above and below you. It’s great for hitting those hard to reach enemies. You also have the classic ninja stars which are strong but shoot in front of you which is the direction of your normal sword anyway. So it doesn’t feel like as much of a big deal. I could see a modern sequel really expanding this into 15-20 powers. The series really has less games than you would expect considering how popular it is.
Overall, Ninja Gaiden III is a pretty solid game. I really enjoyed the story and the whole game feels really creative. It’s easy to see why the series got a lot of popularity right away because it would have definitely stood out from the average title. The concept is also very sound so if you have the Switch Online then you should be checking this one out. It really ends the original 3 game saga with a bang.
Overall 7/10
Ikari Warriors Review
It’s time for one of those really old NES games. This one wasn’t all that good though and feels very dated in the wrong ways. Some retro games have a real charm to them so you just want to go through as many levels as possible. This one doesn’t quite match up to that and the gameplay just isn’t fun enough to keep you going. It’s sort of like an old school bullet hell.
The games starts with your chopper crashing so the main character has to now get past a whole army with his gun. It won’t be easy though as the opponents have tanks and other powerful weapons at their disposal. Additionally the main character can run out of bullets while the enemies have unlimited ammo. That doesn’t sound very fair right? Well, that’s just how it goes here and it shows you just how difficult it would be for one man to beat a whole army.
You are able to commandeer any tanks you come across though which is handy. The catch is that you will lose a life if the tank is destroyed while you are in it. That is fair I suppose though. I would say the toughest part of the game is how one hit from any attack will defeat you. There are bullets everywhere and they move awful fast. You have to try and stay out of firing range while blasting the enemy but this takes a ton of precision. You get 3 lives per playthrough but you will have a hard time even making it past the first level. This is not a game for the faint of heart by any means. This game is meant to really bring you to the brink of destruction with each fight.
The graphics are pretty decent though. This is a very bright game and the villain sprites really stand out. It doesn’t feel low budget in that respect so I appreciate that. The soundtrack is more on the forgettable side. It’s the kind of classic themes you might expect so they aren’t bad but you won’t remember them by the time you have completed the game. There is also a good amount of replay value here since you can keep playing the game over and over again to try and improve your score.
That’s the angle this game is going for but the gameplay was still lacking too much to make this fun. I like when I can play a game long enough to really test my skills and feel the progression. In a game like this, you may die extremely early on if you take a wrong bullet and then that’s it. I’m not necessarily saying that the game should have been easier but that the style should have been different. Bring in some objects that you can use to block the bullets or a good old fashioned shield. That would really go a long way here. It would let you actually play the game more instead of constantly having to dodge.
The other big issue with the game is the fact that you can actually run out of bullets. There is seemingly no way to reload your ammo either until you get to the next level which is no fun. That means you now have to measure your ammo and be careful when you fire. This stuff all starts to really add up and just becomes annoying instead of fun. I’m trying to just have fun playing an arcade type of game. This turns the game too much into a simulation instead of focusing on just being a fun game.
I’ve said it before but the top priority for any game is to be fun. Everything else is absolutely secondary and so this game forgot that rule. You could have the best technical elements in the world but if the gameplay isn’t fun then that will be game over. This one ends up being well below average as a result because it’s just too unrelenting in a way that feels like it is partially RNG. Good luck reacting to every hit at least.
Overall, Ikari Warriors was really not my kind of title. I tend to like overhead beat em ups. I liked Black Hawk Stryker from back in the day on PC. That one had unlimited ammo and a ton of fun power ups though. It remembered to be a game first and foremost. I’ve played many other titles like that which were just a whole lot of fun. It’s too bad that this one couldn’t match up but I suppose some titles inevitably have to fall short at some point. If you have the Nintendo Switch Online then you should probably check this one out at some point. It’s effectively free at that point so why not right?
Overall 3/10
Splatoon 2 Review
Splatoon 2 is one of those games that I didn’t think I would be buying for a long time. Still, it’s hard to turn down a great deal and so now I can say that I’m a bit deeper into the franchise. It makes for a pretty decent sequel. I still wish the games had a bit more aura to them and more compelling story elements but the title itself isn’t bad. I’ve got my nitpicks here and there but on the whole it is a good game.
The general plot revolves around a famous singer going missing. The prime suspects are those Octo fighters that are always causing a whole lot of trouble. They will need to be dealt with but it won’t be easy. These guys have been behind the scenes for years and the original Splatoon agent from the first game is busy on another mission. As a result the agency is forced to hire a new guy to take charge. Is he ready for this?
One thing about the mute main characters is you can always let them get right down to business. There is no hesitation or anything like that as he leaps right into action. The game has 5 worlds which each have around 4-7 levels in them. You use your variety of weapons to complete each level but in most cases you will be forced to use a specific one. I figured the final boss would be a level where you could pick any weapon so imagine my surprise when they forced me to use a weapon that I had not upgraded at all? It actually made for a reasonably challenging final boss as a result since I had to make the best of it. I even lost once which is pretty impressive for a Splatoon title. The boss also had 3 phases which was pretty detailed.
The core gameplay here is that of a 3D shooter. You can’t move very quickly on land so you shoot paint on the ground so that you can submerge in it and then zip around the level. You have to do some platforming to get past obstacles and then you shoot down any opponents who get too close. This will take a lot of practice and timing to master as you just feel very sluggish at first. I don’t think the controls are amazing but this game is built for online play. In theory since everyone has to deal with the same limitations then it works well enough.
You can shoot bombs which takes up a significant amount of ink and then of course you have all the guns I mentioned earlier. I personally prefer the dual guns which is why I maxed them out. It was just too bad that I couldn’t use them for any of the bosses past that point. You have to find bonus fish throughout the levels as well as orange orbs in order to level up each weapon. They can be a little difficult to find but granted I was prioritizing the story above all so I wasn’t searching a whole lot.
I do think that one thing which would immediately make the gameplay better would be to increase the default movement speed. It feels like you’re moving through molasses half the time unless you’re swimming and I think that can be a bit much. Just make the running speed around 20% faster and it would make an absolutely massive amount of difference. Trust me that would be a really good thing all around. It would automatically make the gameplay feel a whole lot more intense.
The graphics aren’t bad. They are going for a very colorful look with this one as the characters are very cartoony. It’s aged well and that’s definitely not an area where I would take fire at the game. The soundtrack is much weaker, it’s just not really my style. They even try to add a big song at the end since the game is about finding a singer and it did not really work. The made up squid language just isn’t all that engaging and so it ends up bringing everything down around it. Not a good idea if you ask me. They should just have them all talk normally and that would be better.
In terms of replay value, well it depends if the servers are still up. I’m actually not sure if they are and either way they probably won’t have a lot of traffic since everyone would be playing the newer titles. The story doesn’t have any real replay value. I guess you could find more fishes but there’s no real reason to do so. No more bosses to defeat or levels to unlock so that basically defeats the purpose there.
Overall, Splatoon 2 is a good game but not one that I would feel the need to pick up again. I commend it for having an actual story and even providing a decent amount of levels though. A lot of times nowadays you will see online games completely forsake the offline portion of the adventures which is not a good idea. You want to have some balance and this game would have been much weaker if there was no story. If you see it around for an easy $10 then I would definitely recommend this one. We don’t have a ton of third person shooter titles out there so you have to take what you can get. The game may not be hype but the actual gameplay is fun enough.
Overall 6/10
Wario Land: Super Mario Land 3 Review
It’s time to jump into a classic Wario game. The style tends to be fairly similar to Mario while still being different enough to stand out. This one definitely follows that formula and makes for a fun game. I would say that the Mario style is ultimately better though. Wario puts a bit more emphasis on puzzles and slow gameplay which keeps it from having Mario’s energy. That’s not completely crippling to the series or anything but does mean that you can’t just turn your brain off and have fun like some of the other titles.
The story follows Wario trying to do what he does best, get rich! Most of the plot is really in the booklet here so you mainly just know that you need lots and lots of money. It won’t be easy as a lot of enemies continue to get in your way but they are not ready for this level of power. In order to complete levels you have to donate 10 gold coins to a mysterious tower. I know that has to hurt Wario quite a lot since giving away money is definitely not his main thing. Wario is all about keeping money after all.
This is also a pretty unique gimmick since usually just making it to the end of a level is how you complete a platformer. The whole money thing took me by surprise at first as I wandered for a little bit before realizing what I had to do. The levels are extremely plentiful when it comes to coins though so you aren’t going to run into a scenario where you have none. You can also spend 10 coins to unlock checkpoint throughout the level. I recommend doing so of course. It is worth the price since not having checkpoints is always going to be super rough.
Even with that you will still have a lot of coins. That’s because this isn’t a Sonic game so you don’t drop the coins when you are damaged. You have to actively try to avoid the coins in order to not get them so the game is really working with you here. I would say the toughest part just tends to be about navigating through the levels. Even the enemies aren’t very difficult because bumping into them hurts the enemy instead of you. I thought that was a really nice twist because it’s the opposite in virtually every other video game. It was a subtle, but effective way of showing how powerful Wario is.
All of his power ups also feel like brand new forms which was impressive for the game. For example he has one form where he can shoot out fire breath. It’s an incredible ability and makes every boss go by quickly. I highly recommend hanging onto that one. Another one lets you temporarily fly which is good for cheesing levels. Then of course there is normal Wario which can body slam into opponents. The forms each have their uses to be sure and none of them are weak by any means.
That’s why the game feels like it got a lot of effort by Nintendo. You’re not seeing recycled abilities here or anything like that. It is a fresh Wario experience right from the start which is definitely impressive. The levels are also fresh. They can be a little mazy but nothing crazy. The bosses are also fun and actually have some rather sinister designs by Nintendo standards. Yes, Nintendo has had scary designs over the years but I wouldn’t say that it was routine even back in their more intense days.
The graphics are also on point. The colors are all gone since that’s how all of the Game Boy games look here but the designs are good. I will admit that I miss the color though, it can be hard to play a game when it’s so washed out for large periods of time. I guess I wouldn’t have lasted in the really old days. As a medium I just think movies and books work much better in black and white. Although this is more of a green and white which might be why it is tough.
The soundtrack is okay but definitely does not approach Mario levels. That is par for the course though as the only big Wario theme that I tend to remember is Mona’s pizza. Now that was a really fun song back in the day. This game is fairly long with over 30 levels and has solid replay value with another 20 bonus levels after that. You have enough bang for your buck to be satisfied here and again I would expect nothing less from Nintendo.
I’d say my biggest problem with the game is how slow Wario moves. There is no way to run in this game so you have to slowly walk everywhere. This makes the levels feel a bit more dragged out than they would be afterwards. I know that Wario isn’t the fastest guy on the block but I would have made him just a touch faster. There could be all kinds of game reasons used to explain why he is faster. It’s a relatively small nitpick but at the same time I would say that it is the difference between a 6 star game and a 7 star one.
Overall, I would recommend playing through this Wario title. Naturally as part of the Switch Online you can play it for free but even aside from that it is just a well rounded title. I still find it impressive how Nintendo succeeded in making the Wario series actually be a mirror to the Mario series in the same way that the characters are reflections of each other. They really got creative there and showed off their imagination. The Wario series may never become my favorite titles but they are still fun to play through.
Overall 6/10
Dr. Mario & Puzzle League Review
It’s time for a double pack of puzzle adventures! I played Dr. Mario a while back so that was a little nostalgic but Puzzle League was brand new. They are both similar you could say and are fairly decent. I personally think Tetris is still more fun but they are operating on a similar wavelength. Dr. Mario is probably the most different since you need to connect 4 pieces in a row instead of 3. They also don’t give you the connections mixed between vertically and horizontally. It has to really be 4 in a row.
Both games have a lot of variety when it comes to the modes. You can play the endless battles, the vs mode, puzzles, etc. I decided to do a little bit of everything to try and get my money’s worth. Well, this was free through Nintendo Switch Online but you get what I’m talking about. I spent the most time in Puzzle League’s puzzle mode. Essentially you are given around 70 levels where you have to try and solve a situation in a certain amount of moves. The first 10-20 levels are about solving puzzles in one move. I was able to ace all of those but once you got to the 30s then it started getting really tricky. I ultimately switched to other modes at that point but definitely see how this would be really difficult to get through.
The main mode is set up to be ultra easy as you learn how to play. You could basically win that one without any knowledge of the game because of how slow the speed is. If anything you’ll probably get bored so then it’s time to speed things up. At the highest setting you will have the blocks fill up the screen before you can really do anything. I suppose it’s all about balance and not immediately falling on one of the extremes. Either way I would say it works out pretty well if you like this style.
If you enjoy the classic puzzles then this game delivers completely. While the gameplay essentially stays the same throughout, the game is giving you a ton of options on what to do here. You can play the game in the way that most suits your playstyle. You can’t really ask for much more than that. The graphics are okay. Nothing out of the ordinary but these puzzle types tend to look the same after a while. Dr. Mario definitely has more personality to it thanks to the ole Nintendo shine. It just works better compared to the more generic look of the Puzzle League.
There have just been so many other versions of these puzzle games over the years. I would probably enjoy it more if this was the first version that I had played. Of course that isn’t very fair to this game but that’s just how it goes sometimes. It’s still not a bad game by any means but without a story mode you’ll just get bored pretty fast. Some games can operate without a story mode. Just look at basically any sports game after all. Others absolutely need one though and this is one of those cases. Throw in a story and I would be having a blast. It’s no exaggeration to say that this would probably jump up 2 stars. That’s how much a story can help a game like this.
It would also just add more weight to the replay value. There is technically an infinite amount of replay value here as you can keep challenging your high scores on the puzzles. It just isn’t super fulfilling on its own. I need a true reason to keep playing on this one and that’s because the puzzle style just isn’t enough for me. A potential hot take is I would say that the Candy Crush gameplay style absolutely crushes both of these. It’s a lot more fun. Dr. Mario’s is a step down in that area because the viruses are super annoying and do not enhance the gameplay at all. They just come across as super annoying the whole time.
Overall, I would say to check this double pack out if you have the Switch Online. It does give you double the value of a normal game after all. Pairing these two titles together also makes a whole lot of sense since they are both puzzle games. That said, neither one is really going to be landing a home run here. They are very basic puzzle games. There are no frills or special features to be found here. That is fine if you are just looking for a fun time for 30 minutes but I would have never purchased this game back in the day. I just need way more value than all of that while I’m going through the puzzles. If I saw this game at Gamestop back in the day I probably would have just kept on walking without a second thought. Still, I can find solace in the fact that Dr. Mario got an incredible mobile game later on. It may have gotten shut down but it proved the fact that the series could really be amazing in the modern day.
Overall 5/10
Spark The Electric Jester 3 Review
It’s finally time to jump back into the world of Spark! Well that’s what I would be saying except the first two games never got a console port. So this ends up being the first one that I’ve gotten to check out. Well I can say it does a great job of reliving the glory days of the Sonic series. The 3D gameplay is incredibly fast paced and even the soundtrack sounds like Adventure 2 Battle. If you have enjoyed playing those Sonic games then you should definitely play this one, it is an amazing homage.
The story starts off with Jester running around and having fun as normal but then the stakes get higher. Not only is his old foe back but a mysterious girl has appeared who also has a grudge with him. Powerful forces are operating within the shadows and Spark is about to learn some things about his own past. Nothing will be the same after these revelations and Spark will need to try and keep himself in one piece by the end of this. It won’t be easy though.
I was not expecting an almost 30 minutes series of cutscenes at the end of the game but it shows how much thought the writer put into the story here. At first you mostly get context from short text bubble cutscenes but then later on you have full cinematics and everything. We learn knowledge that recontextualizes the entire trilogy which is no small feat. I can see this being a little jarring for longtime fans of the series but as someone starting with this title it was just hype.
The ending also stuck the landing which was important. Then we also have a top tier soundtrack. All of the stages sound excellent and then of course there is the one lyrical song that slips in during the 3rd last boss of the game. The song was excellent and I had fun Youtubing it afterwards. Some games may have been satisfied with replicating the Sonic gameplay but going the extra mile and getting the soundtrack was an extra cherry on top. The graphics are also really good so that is another point in Spark’s favor. It just kept on winning and winning throughout.
So lets talk about the gameplay. The main gameplay style is your classic 3D platforming. There is a big emphasis on speed so you use that to zip through the stages and try to get to the goal. Some stages are around 2 minutes while others can go up to 4. You have two jumps and 2 boosts so you have to use each one strategically to get to the end. You also have the homing attack and even a blaster. The game is designed to give you a ton of gameplay options and it’s up to you to choose the right ones.
There are also car segments where you have to drive around which was handled well. These levels were a fun change of pace. Then there is the free falling where you have to activate different moves to slow your fall as well as some levels where you have to locate coins around the level. It was pretty neat to have so many different gameplay styles in here. You don’t actually have to beat every level to get to the final boss, but about 90% of them are required. Beating the extra 10% will net you bonus lives on the final trial.
There are also combat segments where you have to use combos to destroy every robot in the way. These levels are pretty fun and can be challenging. You have to get very good at parrying every blow or they will really add up and deal massive damage. I got pretty good at it although sometimes I would just use my speed to dodge instead. It’s what Sonic would have wanted anyway I’d say.
Now for the final trial that was really intense. It’s a level that is over 20 minutes long and you have to get past every obstacle that appeared throughout the game. You have to have mastered every different element or you will not be completing this level. Before now you had unlimited lives with which to get past the levels but this time you only have a few. If you run out of lives by the end then that will be game over and you have to start again. I got the game over 3 times in this level so I got to spend over an hour on this single stage. Man that was easily one of the tougher 3D platforming levels that I’ve played. It really makes you stop to appreciate how tough Sonic gameplay can get if it tried.
Now if I could choose I’d have split it up into several levels. I like a good challenge but I think it’s better to keep that difficulty into smaller bunches so you can challenge each part without having to replay everything. I understand why you’d merge it though because that does inherently make it even harder. The mental strain of having to stay 100% focused through each obstacle can be challenging and then you start to overthink yourself. Suddenly even basic jumps start to get difficult. Whew, it was really a journey.
I’d say the most challenging part for me were the circular loops. Usually in these games you can count on it keeping you in the center but here you are in charge of keeping yourself level. So you have to react incredibly fast at every turn or you just fall off. I was able to cheese this a few times by reacting very quickly and jumping as soon as I started to fall off but that wasn’t always easy. I even ran across the outside of a bridge on the final trial to bypass 3 of the challenges. Probably not the intentional design but hey you have to break out all of the tricks to win.
Overall, Spark is definitely a great game. I had a blast playing through it and I just love fast paced gameplay like this. The stages were super creative as well as all of the gameplay tweaks to the usual Sonic formula. I wish they’d bring in the first two games at some point, or at least the second one since the gameplay is really similar. If you like 3D platforming then I definitely recommend getting this game as soon as possible. You definitely won’t regret it, this is AAA quality right here.
Overall 8/10
The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Ages Review
The Legend of Zelda has returned but of course long time fans remember when the series was not doing so well. It has had some really impressive highs but unfortunately the lows are quite strong as well. It’s what keeps me from putting the series higher than where I have it. You just never know if it’s going to end up being the next top tier showcase or if it’ll be more of a stinker. Unfortunately this one was the latter.
The game follows a young man named Link who is tasked with saving the world. A queen has turned evil in the past and this is having a negative effect on the present. Link will now have to travel back and forth from the past to the present to find a way to save the day. It won’t be easy though as the villain appears to have similar abilities. Link may need some help this time around.
Now first up I do want to say the game has some interesting ideas. I was glad to have a different setting re than the usual Hyrule days. The supporting cast wasn’t even bad like another hero who wants to be the one to save the day and a happy witch that is always flying around. There is a decent plot going on in the background here which can be more than what you see for other Zelda titles. That said, it can still vanish for large chunks of time since this isn’t first and foremost a story driven title.
I would also say that the soundtrack is pretty good. There is one track in particular that is much better than I would have expected. It just works really well as a suspense theme. Of course on the flip side, the worst themes are pretty bad. The hub world theme in particular is super jarring because of how loud it is. Your ears will definitely be hurting by the end of that because you’ll be hearing the tune so often.
This is where most of the game’s issues come from. It just isn’t fun to play for decently large periods of time. The levels are tedious and the backtracking makes this worse. We needed a better form of quick travel and other movement options to help with the quality of life. In theory you should always be able to get past an area quicker the next time you enter it. I felt like the series didn’t really understand that part and that just made things tougher than it needed to be.
The hints aren’t always very helpful so you will be wandering around for a lot of the time. Ironically the dungeon puzzles ended up not being as difficult in comparison. The hub world is what took up the most amount of time. This ended up being my game with the most amount of play time on the Nintendo Switch Online’s game boy section.
A big problem with the gameplay is how you can only equip 2 weapons. As a result you have to constantly be pausing the game to switch weapons over and over. Let me tell you, that part’s not fun after the 20th time. You want to be able to just quick change your weapon. It’s those little things that make such a big difference after a while because it heavily inflates the play time but not for any fun reasons. It’s almost funny how quickly the bosses go down in contrast.
Still, the story is a bright light here. If they ever made a 3D remake of the game with great quality of life features then I actually think it could be really good. The potential is absolutely there after all, the game just has to live up to it. You also won’t be able to play the complete game without having a file for the other game. The true ending is only obtained by having save data for both oracle games which is a really bold strategy. Not one I’d recommend since it seems a bit greedy towards the gamer.
I’d also say the game’s graphics are pretty good. A minor nitpick is that it can be hard to tell when you are in the present or the past though. The coloring is just so similar at that point. The past has a slight blue tint but trust me when I say that it is incredibly slight. You need to have a really strong pair of glasses to be able to consistently note the difference. Otherwise you are really out of luck there. There’s not really any replay value but the main campaign is long enough where this doesn’t feel like a problem.
In theory if you don’t get lost at all and crush every boss then the game will be much shorter but that still feels like a stretch to me. I don’t see how you would be able to ace everything on your first go. It would be very impressive though and would make the game more fun. It steadily becomes less and less fun as you run around in circles so if you are able to counter that, then it goes without saying that the game itself would improve quite a bit. It would almost allow the game to hide its biggest flaws from you but maybe for that reason it is better than you do run into them.
Overall, Oracle of Ages is about on par with the Oracle of Seasons title but that’s not a big complement. The game just has too many downsides that take away from the experience the whole time. With modern quality of life upgrades it would be easy to fix this title. It’s not something that you an ever take as a given though. Some companies just aren’t as on the ball about that and I suppose this may be one of those times. I would only get this game if you are a massive Legend of Zelda fan. Otherwise it’s time to skip this one.
Overall 4/10
Fire Emblem Engage Review
I remember having a great time with the Fire Emblem Engage video game for the Switch. It was cool to see all of the old FE main characters teaming up even if I hadn’t played through almost any of the original titles at the time. The manga does a good job of adapting the full experience as well and was quite detailed. If you are unable to buy the game then this is a good way to experience the journey. Hopefully the new game coming up will get a solid manga adaption as well.
The game started by introducing us to a guy named Alear. He has complete amnesia but when he wakes up the guy is told that he is the legendary hero who will save the world. Alear seems to be completely immortal and has the ability to interact with the souls of legendary warriors. Alear may not know what is going on but he wants to do his part to save the world. There are powerful threats everywhere and Alear does not intend to give up or allow for any of the chaos to proceed. He will need to recruit powerful allies to stop the Fell Dragon and his army of corrupted warriors.
Right away I remember liking Alear’s design from the game and of course it translates well into the manga as well. To an extent you could say that his character is fairly generic but that’s also due in part to the amnesia. He doesn’t really know what is going on and is just trying to do the responsible thing in every situation. Alear is quick to act and doesn’t hesitate so I appreciated that. At times he can be a little timid though and it takes a while for him to obtain a true level of resolve. That’s something that Marth and the other Emblems have to beat into him for a while there.
Alear may not come close to the level of Roy, Ike, or Marth in terms of being a leader but does well enough. His abilities also make him a real force to be reckoned with on the battlefield. He gets overshadowed a bit by his mother who really gets several standout scenes. She probably should have told Alear certain truths before it was too late though. I really think he would have been able to handle the truth sooner and it could have avoided a lot of manipulation from the villain side. I suppose you can’t account for every eventuality but she had to suspect that this would come up at some point. I would have liked an extra fight scene for her but the manga did have to cover a lot of content in 40 chapters.
As far as the pacing goes, one thing that is always tough for adaptions is balancing out the side characters. The game has over 20-30 hours to flesh out each of the characters and give them all kinds of fun interactions. The manga has to be a lot more selective here and so things move at a very fast pace. Not a bad thing, but it does mean that most of the characters don’t get to do a whole lot. If you played the game then you’ll just be happy to see them but if you are a manga only reader then you’re going to start mixing some of the characters up. Most of their character arcs also take place off screen.
Ironically the villains get far more screentime and each of them gets their full origin story here. In a sense it might be more important to cover them since there are less villains and that is a more achievable goal. These are all tough choices though and at the end of the day I do think that the manga did a good job here. The Emblems themselves didn’t get to do a whole lot even in the game so it’s not like that has changed all that much. It’s just cool to see them but realistically only Marth does anything. Marth looks solid and has always been a great face of the franchise even if I’m a bigger Roy and Ike fan.
The artwork is pretty solid, it’s going for a not so detailed approach that makes every page really easy to read. The ink shows up for all of the fight scenes though so those definitely still get a lot of focus. It’s better than the average adaption art I would say. Additionally this makes it pretty new reader friendly. The writing is on point as with the game of course. Fire Emblem has always been a pretty classy series so there aren’t any big issues throughout the story either. This is what I would call a straight forward read. It may not have super strong highs but there are no lows so it ends up being a pretty good read all the way through.
As for the rest of the characters, the series has a pretty decent supporting cast even if their roles are smaller. I always enjoyed Yunaka who plays out a bit like a wild card. That aspect of her character is dialed back in the manga but she’s a bit of a thief with a shady past so the heroes do have to be careful on just how much they trust her. Her side plot was the most interesting back in the game. Vander’s role drops significantly once the story gets going but was a good guardian/body guard for Alear back in the intro. His years of experience on the battlefield definitely come in handy throughout.
Alfred and Celine are good examples of characters who had a big role in the game but don’t do as much in the manga. They are generally supportive throughout though. Fogado and Timerra are the same way. Basically each kingdom has a prince and a princess who join the party. In the game you will usually get a full chapter to each character and then they’re around for all the bonus content and conversations between missions. They technically stick around here too but don’t get much dialogue. I think you will still understand their general personalities well enough though.
On the villain side Hyacinth is definitely a pretty imposing figure. Initially it is definitely unclear on why he is even helping the Fell Dragon at all. Likewise most of his comrades are unsure about their directions but follow as loyal soldiers. It is definitely the big downside to being loyal like this because just following someone out of duty to the crown is not a good excuse. You always need to have a strong moral compass and the ability to make your own decisions if you ask me.
Veyle is a character who I can give a pass to because she has a lot going on with mind control and different things like that. Ordinarily she would have been moving very differently in the story and you feel bad for her as well because bad things keep happening to her and she doesn’t even know what is going on. I always feel like you should be able to just resist mind control outright but in the meantime it can be a tragic plot device. The villains do tend to look rather dumb with how obvious they act though. It would have been super easy to keep on manipulating Veyle but they couldn’t help themselves with the classic villain laughter and explaining their goals within earshot.
Zelestia is a big example of this as she is supposed to be a super strategist and yet she makes the biggest rookie mistakes. I also think that her redemption arc is really late in the game. She gets a big emotional ending and all but she has already committed so many crimes by that point. It’s just a little late for all of that. Griss goes down a similar route but it’s even more unbelievable because his whole persona is being sadistic and crazy. A bit late for second thoughts eh?
There is a difficult line to walk where you could make a character who is super evil just because that’s the only thing he/she knows and didn’t grow up in a normal environment. That can absolutely be effective but it didn’t really work here. Mauvier is the most reasonable villain as he used to be an honorable knight but he still ends up working with the villains. No real way to get around that fact in the end. I still did appreciate him and his honor code though.
Ivy and Hortensia are two other crazy type villains who get more of a redemption arc but theirs is much more impressive. The manga at least allows them moments of doubt throughout the story so it doesn’t come across as something out of nowhere. This makes a huge difference and so it didn’t feel abrupt when they decided to help the heroes. They were able to see past their usual sense of loyalty which was good. Well, Ivy more than Hortensia since Ivy was much easier to convince.
Even from the summaries you can see how the villains got much more development but I don’t want to totally undersell the heroes. They are still around and make for good characters. The manga just has to go on with the story and it’s a very classic story of the heroes trying to topple an enemy empire. Whether you’ve read a Fire Emblem story before or not, you should be able to enjoy this one pretty well. I was also glad that it answered the question of whether Alear can be summoned since he will eventually be an Emblem. The title really uses all of the concepts that it introduces instead of doing so half heartedly. A story like this will be enjoyable in any medium, maybe one day we will get a proper Fire Emblem anime to adapt some of these titles.
The story also does have time to really hit the emotional beats like Alear saying goodbye to his mother and pretty much all of the scenes with Veyle. That’s something that helps it stand out as something more than just being a basic defeat the kingdom story. The story would still be 100X better if all of the Emblems of legend were around as physical bodies instead of being spirits but I do get how they would quickly take over the story. Hopefully they can do that next time. In a longer series you probably could have given them some subplots as well.
Overall, Fire Emblem Engage is a series that I would recommend checking out. It’s a pretty good story and I always like seeing Fire Emblem content. The setting and feel of the story is much different than most of the other adventures though because it has more of a sci-fi feel to it with the various gizmos and the locations as a whole. There are a few standard kingdoms but it’s not like a lot of the older Fire Emblem stories where they are very clearly told from the perspective of the far past. This one is mixing in elements from different time periods all the way through. I’d like to see a sequel some day or a Fire Emblem game that is more of a true crossover between the characters instead of keeping them as spirits the whole time.
Overall 7/10
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