Tag Archives: Platformer

Shantae Advance: Risky Revolution Review

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It’s time for the return of Shantae! This game seemed like it would never come out for many years but now it has been finalized and released to the public. It’s definitely a pretty fun title and I’ve always enjoyed the games quite a bit. I would have appreciated a good map for this one since the backtracking can be tricky without it but I don’t have many real qualms with the title. If you like a fast paced Metroidvania then this is the one for you.

The title starts with our half genie hero Shantae faced with a new crisis. Risky Boots has returned and she intends to sink the entire country while looting it to the ground. Shantae will have to find the legendary relic hunters in order to spoil Risky’s plans but to do so she will need to face off against the terrible trio. Three powerful monsters who have sworn allegiance to Risky. So this won’t be easy by any means. Fortunately Shantae has a lot of friends on her side as well.

These games are always pretty light with some dark tones underneath. The banter is always a lot of fun. Now these games do tend to have quite a bit of fanservice but that’s easier to ignore in a game since you’re focused on the combat. It’s still a lot more in your face compared to other titles though so it’s enough to note. The game is especially shameless about this for the ending where they make sure you know what’s going on. Fortunately the script and gameplay are still strong enough here to make up for that.

This is a 2D platformer so you can jump, attack, and use a lot of special abilities to get through. I didn’t use any of the special abilities until the final boss because for the most part your normal attack is already busted enough. Your specials are really good though. For example you can become completely intangible with one of them, double your attack power with another, etc. You can also buy items that completely restore all your hearts and it only costs 10 gems. So this is a game where you essentially control your difficulty based on whether you use these items or not. You could choose to skip them and then naturally there will be more of a challenge.

One of the important things that the title does well is let you feel stronger as you get more power ups. It can often be the tipping point between a good and bad Metroidvania. For example you get a faster swimming form near the end so you can easily dash through areas that took a while at first. Then you get a flying form at the end so you can skip a lot of the platforming. These are absolutely crucial additions to the game because they feel like a suitable reward for playing. It’s nothing new for the series but always worth mentioning.

The game is a little short but there is still a good amount of content here. Finding all of the collectibles will take you some time and if you want the elusive platinum trophy then you are going to have to complete the whole game in under 4 hours which will not be easy. I ended up clearing it in around double that time for reference. You will really have to get a great sense of where the next items are each time. I would often get lost between chapters.

I guess the main advice I’d give is to constantly make sure to talk to everyone for hints and for them to give you more collectibles. I apparently got around 80 collectibles out of 100 so that’s not too shabby if I do say so myself. Perhaps next time I could get that number even higher. Most of the collectibles feel natural to obtain without you having to do a lot of crazy things or take on a fully alternate path. Then there are a few that you can easily see but it’s just difficult to get where they are.

There is a puzzle aspect to Shantae to an extent but it’s not a big focus. Yet another W for the game since we’re here for the platforming. The puzzle exploration stuff should only be something to supplement this as opposed to taking over. There are also several ways to approach a lot of the situations here with all of your abilities so you have a lot of freedom in how you play. There isn’t really a wrong way to enter battle here.

The soundtrack is really solid as always. There are quite a few fun references here and the final world in particular has a really ominous theme that worked really well. It was fitting for the game to let you know that the intensity was going up. The graphics are also really good. The artstyle is very colorful and fun. You’re never confused on what is going on within the levels. At worst, sometimes a platform can be hard to see because it doesn’t stand out next to the rest of the level.

Overall, This was a pretty good Shantae game. It’s definitely nostalgic to be playing through another one since the titles seem to come out so rarely. Hopefully the next one arrives sooner than later because the formula is really a strong one. I could play through these all the time and they are a staple for how Metroidvanias should be. Well, it’s just missing the map but that’s it. I’d recommend checking this one out if you haven’t already purchased it.

Overall 7/10

Beyond Oasis Review

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This is one of those old Genesis games that really pushed the console to its limit. It showed what was possible with these platformers and I can say that it has aged well. Now, I do think there are a certain amount of mechanics and areas that would have been really annoying if I played it without the rewind feature, but as it stands it was a fun game with these quality of life updates.

The game begins with the kingdom being attacked and the princess is captured. Her brother the crown prince has to save her as well as the world and he is armed with a powerful arm weapon. It can be used to harness the powers of the 4 legendary elemental spirits. This will give him a fighting chance at the very least. He will need to defeat the mysterious villains and reclaim the other arm weapon, but it appears to have grown sentient and evil. This will not be easy.

As far as the gameplay goes, it’s an overhead Legend of Zelda type game. No worries though, you can jump and use an assortment of magic. The various spirits you summon can heal you or aid you in battle by attacking foes. They all have their own special abilities as well like being able to go underground or make you become intangible. This will also tie into the puzzles which can really get difficult by the end. Don’t think that you can just walk in and ace any of the puzzles with your eyes closed because it’s not happening.

I breezed through the first half of the game but then the second part really slowed me down. One reason for this is the puzzles but another is how difficult the enemies could be. If you drop a combo mid way then you are going to be eating an absolutely devastating counter that drains a lot of your health away. Additionally the weapons you have all run on a use system kind of like Breath of the Wild. So once you’ve used your sword enough then it will break. You only have one dagger that never breaks and it’s the weakest one.

Personally I would save the big swords for the boss fights but it does mean that the minions become extra dangerous. I never like it when weapons break so that is one area where I would say they should have ditched this mechanic. It is not one that has ever aged particularly well. The game does have a really good map though so that’s another example of something that the game did right. Many games completely mess up on that when it should be a fairly straight forward addition.

You do have a very small inventory of how many weapons and items you can hold onto which also makes you feel really worried about what to keep. I definitely recommend keeping some spirit summons on hand because sometimes it can be hard to find the exact element that you need. You summon spirits by blasting something made out of it. So you blast a river to summon the water spirit for example. One shortcut around this is to have an item on hand that summons the associated spirit but they are very rare. The game will make sure you get 1 per spirit so you should save that for as long as you can. The fire spirit in particular is extremely handy for boss battles because of how much damage he deals. The water spirit is also handy for her infinite health regeneration for as long as she’s active.

Technically the shadow and grass spirits are only really good for puzzles. I think the shadow one absorbs some hits for you but it seems inconsistent and the grass one attacks too slowly to be of any real help. There’s no reason to have them along for the boss fight but I suppose it’s not like they are making things worse. You can also de summon a spirit to save on magic meter as needed. It will regenerate quickly when you are outside of a dungeon or if you use an item to stock up again.

I also thought the combat got an extra boost from how you can actually land combos. That’s not something you would see so often from an older game. Usually it’s a basic slash or two, not throwing every move that you have against the opponents. You can still miss at times but it plays like those old 2D beat em ups. I appreciated the attention to detail here.

The graphics have held up extremely well. The illustrations look really good but even beyond that you have great sprites and character models. The action is always clear and then you also have a really good soundtrack to back it up. When you mix all that together, there’s just not much to worry about here. The technical areas are really good. The game is a little on the short side with around 5 hours of content but since you may get lost that helps add to the time. You also really need to factor in the sheer difficulty here too.

Overall, Beyond Oasis is a pretty good game. I had fun with it and it just has solid fundamentals around the board. It’s the kind of game that you can’t help but enjoy. I would definitely look forward to a modern remake of it someday. If you like retro games then this is definitely a great one t check out because it is considerably more polished than most other games from this era. It feels satisfying to blast through the enemies and get to the end.

Overall 7/10

Tonic Trouble Review

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This is a game that I was not particularly familiar with and that’s surprising because it seems to be a fairly big game that was well thought out. It’s a 3D platformer that can hold its own with all the big guns. I had a lot of fun here and while the game is a little on the short side, I thought it worked well. It made sure that the collectathon parts never got to be too overbearing or anything like that. Fun was the priority here and I appreciate that. You do need to have a lot of orbs to access the final boss but none were hidden away too crazily like they were trying to stump you.

The story starts with the main character making an oopsie and a chemically powered drink lands on a nearby planet and infects everything. He needs to go and clean things up but unfortunately a local viking lord took the serum and has now become extra huge and powerful. Defeating him will not be easy so our lead is going to have to lock in! Fortunately there is a genius inventor who can help you. He will need a lot of orbs and relics in order to create a final instrument of destruction though.

So that’s the format for what you will be doing. Each world has a number of collectibles to be obtained and a bunch of enemies trying to stop you. The game is light on actual bosses though so a lot of the platforming is really about solving puzzles and using a whole lot of athletics. Nothing that you haven’t contended with before though. What I like about this game right off the bat is how fun the hub world is. It’s colorful and big without being a chore to get through. It’s fairly quick to run from world to world as well.

At times it may take you a little while to get it all memorized though. The main menu is also a great way of keeping track of how many collectibles you are missing. The quality of life features are really on point here. The developers did everything they could in order to make this a fun experience. There are still a few puzzles that will give you some trouble and one that I never figured out but you don’t need literally all of the collectibles in order to beat the game. So just get enough of them and you will be all set.

The graphics have aged really well. Like I mentioned, the artstyle is really colorful which fits the game really well. Then we have the soundtrack which is good. There aren’t any tunes in particular that really stood out for me but they all did their part in enhancing the overall experience. This was very well balanced on all sides. While there isn’t really a post game, you can grab all of the collectibles. Maybe that would at least get you a bonus scene at least.

So there is a decent amount of replay value here. Also for platformers you are generally playing them to just have a good time so this definitely works in that respect. I’m surprised they didn’t make a bunch of Tonic games, I guess in general people were less impressed with it than I was. It had good gameplay and a solid amount of cutscenes so you know that would in me over right away.

Aside from smacking your opponents, you also have a little gun at the ready. It’s really useful and for that reason it has limited ammo until the final world begins. You can hit enemies from really long distances and of course it also works on various traps that are out of range. I recommend using this as often as possible. Then you eventually learn how to glide which is super useful. You will quickly wonder how you ever played without it.

It’s another basic, but important fundamental of the game. After each world you will learn a new skill which allows you to reach more locations. The game doesn’t force you to backtrack as often as other titles though. Generally you can reach around 80-90% of the collectibles on your first visit to a location. Then you would go back to grab the very last ones. This is exactly how this kind of game should play out. It’s how you make collectathons fun.

Then in one of the last levels you get a marathon of classic puzzles. For example arranging blocks into a specific image is one of them. Another is connecting lights together where each switch activates all adjacent spots. I always like these brain teasers so those are fun puzzles to go with. They are puzzles that always feel fair as it’s just up to you to logically make your moves. There is also a reset option for all of these if you want a fresh slate.

I’m not saying the game is a walk in the park either. It’s not the most difficult platformer I’ve played but I did die a number of times. I also did use the rewind a bit when falling to save time. So you can’t exactly close your eyes and play this one. Still, I thought that the difficulty was fair the whole time. When you die, it’s generally because of something you did. Only exception is an occasional camera angle that’s kinda wonky.

Overall, Tonic Trouble is a fun game to play through. It’s a very old school platformer and yet it’s one that has more quality of life features than some modern games. It really felt like the devs were thinking of the player the whole time and I appreciate that. If you have the Nintendo Switch Online then you should play this game asap. It’s not one that you will want to keep on the backburner for long.

Overall 7/10

Stolen Review

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It’s time to dive into a stealth game that I didn’t even know existed. Stealth can be hit or miss for me, it all depends on the execution. I suppose you could say that is true of anything but stealth is a particularly volatile area. I am glad to say that this one ended up being pretty good. The beginning of the game gave me a lot of issues but once I mastered the mechanics, then I was really ready for action. The game is over very quickly but you will have had a good time.

The game follows a spy/secret operative named Anya and unfortunately she is blackmailed by another evil spy. She must now help a corrupt politician in his pursuit for power, but only until she can manage to get the upper hand. This guy must not be allowed to rise to power, even if it means bringing back the old mayor who was not particularly good either. Sometimes the status quo is better than the change but will she really be able to pull this off? It’ll be her toughest mission yet.

For most of the game, the objective is to find different data items and avoid detection. If you are detected, you need to find a place to hide or quickly down the attackers. Of course if you do knock someone out, they will sound the alarm as soon as they wake up. You have a number of gadgets that can help like stun guns and such but usually hand to hand is your best bet. There is also a heavy emphasis on platforming here so you should be prepared to be jumping across areas and running quickly.

There’s a rooftop chase that is rather tricky because one wrong move will take you down. Fortunately the game has a good amount of checkpoints which is absolutely crucial for a stealth title like this. Whenever you die, you don’t feel too bad as a result. I certainly died in this one quite a lot but I would always be more prepared for the next run. The gameplay can be a little clunky at times so you do have to be ready for a few deaths that shouldn’t have happened. Trust me, it’s annoying but that’s just how it goes sometimes.

My biggest advice here is to always choke the enemies out. If you knock them out then they wake up in around 30 seconds but choking them out will down them for around 3 minutes. That is an absolutely massive difference when you’re running around. You can choke someone out by sneaking up from behind or from throwing 3 punches which stuns the opponent. The game becomes much easier once you start doing this.

You will still run into issues as their attacks deal a ton of damage. Also be sure not to use your health packs unless you really need them. Sometimes it is better to just die and respawn with your health packs than to clear the level while using them. You don’t automatically get new ones later on after all and you may wish that you had them for the final boss. The final boss is a pretty fun one though as it actually uses the stealth mechanics right up to the end. Now there is a game that never lost sight of its objective.

The graphics are pretty good here. It has that retro PS2 style that has just aged extremely well. The soundtrack was also rather good although it took me a while to even realize that the lyric was saying “stolen” the whole time so it may not be the clearest lyrics that I’ve heard in a while. The technicals were on point the whole time. I do think Anya could have been a cooler main character though. She’s meant to be a fairly tough fighter who has a lot of confidence like Lara Croft would, but Anya falters too much and also ends up letting her partner get away with too many subtle cracks at her. A better main character would really have been able to bounce back with the banter the whole time and that would have been a more fun dynamic.

I also think that if they leaned more into being an action game it would be a good idea because I was looking forward to fighting with the rival but that never really gets to happen. Not directly at least and so the climax feels a little underwhelming compared to what it could have been like. The game saw its vision through to the end so I can’t say that was a mistake but I would have liked a big boss battle. I give the game credit for letting you fight back when you are spotted in the stealth levels though instead of just automatically losing. Now that would have been annoying.

The game is fairly short and there’s no real replay value so that is one thing to keep in mind when it comes to the value. You will probably complete this game in around 5-6 hours I would guess. It will really wrap up before you even know it. The game only has 4 levels after all, but granted they are fairly long. The difficulty is also what makes the game longer than it would have been otherwise.

Overall, This was a pretty good game. I had fun with it and while it won’t go down as a great title, it satisfies the requirement of being entertaining. The story was good and the level designs were fun. The game could be rather dark at times but that’s really because of my TV and not totally the game’s fault. The soundtrack is solid and the writing is good. If you can find this game, I would recommend checking it out as you can really get it for cheap. Maybe one day they will do a remake.

Overall 7/10

The Bionic Commando Review

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Whenever you make a video game where your main character doesn’t have the ability to jump, it should raise some red flags. How do you actually plan your game around that? Surely it can’t be easy and that’s why I would usually recommend not even taking the risk. Well, this game decided to do it anyway and unfortunately it did not go very well. The game goes too far in being as non-linear as possible to the point where you have no idea where to go after a while.

The game starts out with the world’s greatest agent being taken out of the picture. So the world’s second best agent is forced to get in on the action. He has to find the first guy and save him as well as stopping the villains from taking over the world. It will be difficult but this guy has a whole lot of training up his sleeve so it’s nothing that he hasn’t seen before.

The gameplay is your standard 2D platformer at first glance. You can move and jump as well as firing your blaster at folks. As I mentioned before, there is no jumping though. Instead you have an extendable claw that you can use to grab onto walls and mount your comeback. You will have to time the claw throws very carefully because your momentum only lasts for a quick instance. Once it is gone, then you are back to normal and often times you will be in a worse position than when you started.

Each level has a computer room that you must access before you can complete the level. This is a place where you can swap out your current equipment as well as learn some information about the villains and their movements. So this still sounds straight forward right? Well, where the wheels come off is you have to move through the hub world to the last level but you have multiple paths to get there. There are around 19 levels and the numbers are on them but it can be difficult to follow them in order.

You have to endure extra battles based on the enemies who are patrolling those areas. That’s not the only problem, you then have to factor in that you need the right items equipped for different levels to get through. You have up to 3 walkie talkies for example and no clear indicator on which one you need to use in order to proceed. You also have obstacles that can only be broken by specific guns. So there’s a lot of things to consider and none of them are all that fun. I would say that’s the main problem here.

I want to just get to the levels already. The combat is fairly decent and I enjoyed the boss battles. The shine starts to leave as you have to complete those same levels and bosses over and over again though. They keep on respawning and it just feels like that goes against the whole point of the adventure. This should be a fast paced battle to save your friends, not an ever lasting war against foes who refuse to go down. It just doesn’t add up.

The graphics aren’t bad. I do appreciate that we have actual cutscenes of sorts here as well. There is a real story and so this game put in the effort, it was just unfortunately overwhelmed by the fact that the gameplay mechanics were no good. Unfortunately I don’t believe there are a whole lot of ways to get around that. This game was not able to accomplish such a feat after all and that’s why I didn’t really want to rush back to it. The way I see it, this game just failed on a basic level in terms of being really fun to play.

The game’s length is fairly good for such an old game so I can give it some credit in terms of lasting value at least. The soundtrack was okay too so it had some fundamentals here. I think this would make for a good film and I would definitely play a remake of it someday. In the meantime though, this is going to be remembered as one of the weaker Game Boy games. The title just got a little bit too clever for its own good and so the whole thing backfired.

Overall, The Bionic Commando is not a game that I would recommend. It’s not like it’s bad or anything like that but to me it wasn’t that much fun and that’s the biggest thing you need in a game. Actually, I guess I could call it bad in that case as anything under a 5 can earn that title. If you ask me this game should have either kept in the ability to jump or it should have made the levels linear. Either option would have made this better but the whole guessing game doesn’t really work in a game like this. I wanted to be right there in the action, not left to guess on what was going on. Props to folks who figured out how to complete this game back in the day. If you have the Switch Online, I’d recommend playing Kirby instead.

Overall 4/10

Ninja Gaiden II: The Dark Sword of Chaos Review

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This is easily one of the toughest games that I’ve ever played. It’s clear that this is the kind of game that would take many, many hours in order to really master. My hat’s off to anyone who actually beat this one without any rewinding or anything like that. It feels like a near impossible task to me and I like to think that I’m pretty good at platformers. This one will absolutely take you to the edge and back. By the time you conquer it, the title will have either driven you mad or you will have high respect for it.

The game follows Ryu as he ends up going on his toughest journey yet. His friend Irene is kidnapped by a mysterious demon lord and a special agent with a gun warns Ryu that there is something extra dangerous about this mission. Ryu isn’t going up against mere ninja this time, but instead he will be fighting demons and deities. Fortunately Ryu isn’t the kind of guy to ever back down from a fight.

You may be surprised at just how cosmic the game gets. It really isn’t afraid to have Ryu go up against foes that are out of this world. This may as well be a full on sci-fi title. The core gameplay is the same as always though. It’s a 2D platformer where you have to slice away at your opponents as you gradually gain ground to the end of the level. You can avoid enemies but often times that may wind up getting you taken out. The villains also respawn almost immediately if you retreat and then go forward.

The combat itself is fairly straight forward. You have a sword and can slice right in front of you, you can also crouch and hit enemies who are trying to go low. You have a basic jump and can climb up on walls. There is also a whole item system but it really confused me so I didn’t invest much time in it. Basically there are tons of bubbles in the air throughout the level and when you slice them, a power up falls out. Sometimes it will summon an energy clone, other times it will let you shoot out fireballs. Each power up has a symbol but there are so many of them that it is really hard to keep track. You will quickly be overwhelmed unless you really take a lot of time to test them all out.

I decided to just plunge ahead. The bosses are all incredibly difficult but the final boss is in a league of his own. He has multiple phases, each one more deadly than the last. If you want to take them all down, it is not going to be an easy adventure for you. The one thing keeping you going will be the story itself which is really impressive. I would even say that the technicals around the board are super impressive here as it doesn’t look or feel like an NES title. It’s all about a generation above that.

The graphics have aged really well for starters. The colors are striking and the backgrounds are really good. The soundtrack is also better than it ought to be. The game has actual cutscenes and quite a lot of them as you get near the end of the game. So what you’ve got here is a very compelling title but I imagine most people did not make it to the end because of how punishing the game is. You essentially have to be frame perfect a lot of the time and a few good mistakes will completely take you out of the fight. There isn’t an easy checkpoint system here either so you will be seriously sent back if you end up losing.

It’s a little too brutal for my liking. I enjoy a difficult game to a degree but it does need to have quality of life features. I never want to be sent too far back and I like for there to be a way to get stronger. You at least need one or the other and this one doesn’t really have either of those. So without the Switch Online, I don’t really expect this is a game that I would have devoted a whole lot of time to.

Still, if you have the Switch Online then it makes for a perfect chance to play this one. One tip I will give is that the final boss has so much health that it can’t fit on screen. So you must keep on attacking. It may feel like you are not dealing any damage, but you actually are. You have to attack for several minutes before you can see the health go down and then from there you are set. I still expect you will die hundreds of times during this experience though.

Overall, Ninja Gaiden II is a really impressive game. It is obvious that a whole lot of care and detail was put into this game. You will get an enormous sense of satisfaction if you can beat the game without rewinding but you will definitely have to put a lot of heart into it. It’s not my favorite title but I can definitely say that the gameplay is smooth. It’s a fun ride even if it goes too far in being as unrelenting as possible.

Overall 6/10

Landstalker Review

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Landstalker is a game that is definitely a lot longer than you would have figured. The game is filled with lots of puzzles and platforming challenges that will really keep you guessing. Completing them is no easy feat and I tip my cap to the gamers who managed to complete this one back in the day. It is incredibly difficult and any time you choose the wrong passageway you have to fight a bunch of enemies once again. That was a really rough mechanic.

The game follows a treasure hunter named Nigel who is searching for the ultimate treasure. Unfortunately it won’t be an easy journey and along the way he meets many people who are having issues and dealing with corrupt leaders. Nigel didn’t exactly sign up to be a hero but he won’t let these people fall without a fight. His trusty spirit companion is also around to make sure he doesn’t get distracted by matters of the heart. She wants Nigel all to herself but he doesn’t seem to truly notice her.

While the game’s story isn’t super detailed, there is more dialogue and plot than you may have normally assumed from such an old game. So I can definitely appreciate that. The world is also quite large and that contributes to how long the game’s story ended up being. It is not a game that will end too soon, it’s going to take you a little while. Part of the reason for this is that there is no quick travel system until you reach the final dungeon. So you have to be running back and forth a whole lot. You better hope you have the routes more or less memorized too or that will also add onto the extra time. There were several times where I had no idea how to get back to an old town.

The game has no good map system after all. There is a general world map but it doesn’t give many details. There are a few guideposts but they are rarely around when you need them. So that is a quality of life feature that could be addressed in a remake without a doubt. The game’s combat system is pretty basic. You have a single sword strike…and that’s it. So keep on spamming it as much as you need to until you win. Often times the best thing to do is just spam the attack and wait for the minions to walk into it.

Towards the end there are a few minions this doesn’t work on so for those cases I recommend doing a lot of jump slashes. Keep on pulling those off and eventually you will win. Some of the bosses are incredibly durable to t point where you might wonder if you are attacking them correctly. No worries, if they flash then you are doing it right. This is why I do like to have health bars though, so there is no guessing game.

The puzzles come in many variations but the penalties are too large. Like I mentioned, the enemies all respawn when you exit a room and most of these puzzles revolve around going through a bunch of different locations. So that means backtracking and re-defeating the enemies to activate switches and the like. I had to do this so many times and it’s not like the enemies are ultra easy. They will deal you a ton of damage and then you’re sunk.

I died dozens and dozens of times throughout the game. So like I said it’s no picnic and it’s really rough to be dying thanks to a puzzle. Those puzzles absolutely needed a whole lot of work and they just aren’t fun to solve. Why are the villains using so many puzzles? Lets just jump into the combat. If the system focused on the combat more then this could have absolutely been something great.

Meanwhile the graphics aren’t bad. I will admit that the game looks really solid for its age. The colors are striking and the character designs stand out. That’s certainly never a guarantee for a game like this. Meanwhile the soundtrack isn’t anything amazing but works well enough. You won’t be remembering the tunes though. None of them stick in your head and I will ultimately have to blame the game there as you should have a ton of great themes at the ready. The best theme would probably be the background music for the final labyrinth. It felt suitably final at least.

There isn’t really any replay value here as the game ends when you defeat the final boss. At least the campaign is long enough though so if you have the Switch Online it might be worth playing through. I just warn you that you have to love the puzzle aspect or you really won’t be having fun here. It’s absolutely the focus of the game but since that involves a lot of combat then you are stuck playing through a lot of battles which was clearly not a development focus.

Overall, Landstalker is a game that has not aged particularly well. It’s a game that feels old and the gameplay elements just aren’t as good as they could have been. The puzzles tend to be super annoying the whole time and the game overstays its welcome by the end. The lack of attack options makes the combat become repetitive as well. So those are quite a lot of reasons why you will want to stay away from this one. I’m afraid that it just did not manage to succeed in spite of these instances.

Overall 4/10

The Gex Collection Review

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Gex is one of those series that I was not overly familiar with before playing the collection. I knew about him in a vague kind of way but I can’t say that I knew the story behind the games or even the gameplay. Well, now I got to play through the trilogy and it is definitely an example of a game series that has aged well. The first game is definitely the weakest since it’s in 2D, but as soon as it went over to 3D, it was off to the races.

The first game is your classic platformer, only there is an extra objective. You have to find various TV remotes in order to clear each level until you make it to the end. If you finish the level without it, then you don’t unlock the next level and in a way all you’ve done is waste your time there. So you don’t want to let that happen. They aren’t that hard to find once you’re really looking for them but if you don’t know about this objective, you will probably waste a little time when you complete the level the first time.

It’s a pretty quick game all around though. It doesn’t take you very long to beat all of the main levels. There is a bonus world at the end which does take more time since those levels intentionally go crazy. I ended up going through them for the Platinum trophy but otherwise they aren’t quite as fun. I enjoy a good 2D platformer as much as the next guy but it’s just not as satisfying as playing in 3D. You aren’t able to rush on through and do what you want because there are always pitfalls to watch out for. There is also a bit less of a story in this one as the original. So all in all it’s fun, and certainly brings in a good challenge but it doesn’t hold pace with the next ones.

The second game is where things really kick it off. Gex is called back into the TV worlds to beat his arch nemesis and we get our first look at the 3D environments. They’re definitely quite a bit of fun and feel like something out of Mario 64. You have different worlds which each have multiple remotes to obtain. So you will be completing each world several times until you’ve really gotten the knack for it. You need to complete most of the missions in order to reach the final boss, but not every one. So if there’s a mission you don’t like, you can just skip it.

The gameplay is smooth and without any real issues so you’re able to just enjoy it. The game is much easier than the first but that is pretty hard to avoid with the 3D environment. The jumping and tail spinning are both mechanics that are handled really well. You will be moving with purpose the whole time and the only tricky thing can be the camera at different points.

The game continues with Gex’s smooth sense of humor and boundless confidence. He’s always got something to say about everything. The lines do run out early on so you will be hearing the same tunes quite a few times, but that’s fine. It’s still better to have reused lines than to not have voice acting in the first place after all. It’s all about that balance.

Then we have the third game which changes up the flow quite a bit. Gex has gone from being ultra confident to being a very pleading guy as he begs for the attention of a girl who’s been kidnapped. She enjoys making fun of him while waiting to be rescued and it’s definitely a real crazy dynamic. That being said, the gameplay is still really solid here. The game is even easier than the second one as there are even less levels that you need to play through in order to unlock the final boss. You can skip a great chunk of them and so I had to go out of my way to at least get to play one level in each world. The war level is probably the best one in the game. It’s definitely a lot of fun and shows how the game could really tackle different genres.

Control wise it’s basically the same as the second game so it really stayed consistent there. I’d definitely have no real complaints on this end. So the Gex Collection was definitely solid and the graphics have aged well. The art style works and everything is very clear. Additionally, the soundtrack isn’t bad although it could use a few more all timers. The tunes we have here are good, but I doubt you will be remember any of them a few years from now.

The only weakness is that the third game’s story is not able to hold on as well as the others. The nonstop flirting between Gex and the captive gets old quick and the game is leaning a bit too hard on the fanservice angle here. I would argue it even makes Gex look a little out of character since he was always in control for the first two games and suddenly he is ultra desperate in this one. It may be hard for you to be a fan of the guy by the time this one ends.

There isn’t a ton of replay value here because the Platinum trophy is very easy to obtain. I got it upon beating the third game and so your game’s length will really be based purely on the story modes. Fortunately, that’s the advantage of being a collection. You’ve already got 3 games lined up here and clearing them all will still take some time. Between the three of them you’re probably looking at around 10-12 hours or so and that’s definitely not bad. The games are all individually fun as well so this won’t feel like a bad purchase. I’d definitely say to check it out when you have some time.

Overall, Gex is definitely a fun character and the collection ended up working out pretty well. I’d definitely recommend this to anyone who is looking for a solid platforming experience. The story in the third game can definitely be a bit of a weak point as it’s rare for a video game to be relying on fanservice but as long as you can get around that you will be okay. I think the series would definitely do well with a modern reboot someday although we’ll have to see if that’s in the cards. For the most part this does feel like a forgotten series all the way through.

Overall 7/10

Chibi-Robo! Plug Into Adventure! Review

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This is one of those games that I would pass by all the time. I never took the plunge and actually bought it though so now that it was added onto the Nintendo Switch Online, I knew it was my chance. Now I could finally see what all the fuss was about. Ultimately this is a good game although I wouldn’t call it a pretty good game because it is missing some solid quality of life stuff. If it can fix those in the sequel, then we can really be in business here.

The game starts out by introducing us to a really dysfunctional family. The daughter believes that she is a frog while the parents are always fighting. Their marriage has grown really strained thanks to the father always spending their money on toys and then lying about it. Not a really good idea at all and you can see why she would be super upset. Well, Chibi Robo exists to spread happiness and joy so this is really his big chance. His partner Telly is a nice little tv bot that provides moral support. Chibi has to find a way to save his family and may even have to go up against some serious spider bots. This will not be easy at all.

The core gameplay is really about walking around and seeing what everybody needs. It feels like an RPG in that respect. Your ultimate goal is to become the best Chibi Robo in the world in order to unlock your super mode and you do that by collecting hearts. You need thousands of hearts for this and you get them by breaking boxes, helping your friends, and picking up the trash around the house. It’s steady work that will gradually get you to the top although there are also main story quests that you have to accomplish. You won’t be able to get the top ranking without completing them all so you want to be doing both at the same time.

There is also a day and night system to keep track of. Initially the time changes every 5 minutes but eventually you can buy a power up that extends this to 15. Trust me, it’s a mechanic that you will find annoying almost immediately. Sometimes you need the day to end early or to stretch a bit longer and you’re just out of luck. I think this was definitely a mechanic that should have been skipped.

You also have to watch your energy meter. If it goes to 0, you will lose a ton of money and be sent back home. At the start of the game you don’t have a lot of energy at all but by the end you have a sizable amount. This means a lot of recharging at the various sockets scattered around the house. This can get rather monotonous fast and mixing that in with the day/night timer, you are always in a rush. You can’t afford to just survey the area and try to plan things out. For an exploration game like this, it’s a really questionable strategy.

The graphics are fairly good. I do think the art style has aged well and the special effects are solid. Some of the animations/unskippable cutscenes can get old quickly but that’s not the graphics fault. This game does opt for the made-up language/random sound effects of dialogue which is definitely unfortunate. It’s not as bad as in other games but will still get grating rather quickly. The whole time you will be hoping that you don’t have to see the characters talking too much.

Although on the other hand you are glad to have a real plot here. The soundtrack is mainly forgettable although there is a good track or two in there. The game isn’t generally combat heavy btu we actually do get a full boss fight near the end so that was pretty cool. I’d like to see more combat in the sequel since Chibi has his own blaster and everything.

While I didn’t find it to be too captivating, I give the game credit for establishing some lore and actually trying to tell a full story here. It could be a bit too repetitive, but the attempt was at least made. I also think the concept of a platformer that revolves around you being tiny is really good. You just don’t need the other gimmicks along with that. Let me enjoy running around cleaning up the house without putting some kind of a big timer on it.

Overall, Chibi Robo is a game that suffered from its own ambitions. It would have been a great calming game if they had just stuck to the core concept. It reminds me a lot of De Blob in terms of the cleaning efforts but that game was many times better because you could actually take your time and have a lot of fun. While cleaning games won’t be for everyone, I would bet that a large amount of the core fanbase would agree that they want to be able to have fun without constantly rushing the whole time. At the very least I know that’s how I feel about it. If you don’t mind being rushed the whole time, then you should check this one out. I would even say that it can be reasonably difficult at times. At least in finding out how to reach certain areas. You really have to keep a close eye on every part of the house and memorize the layouts for day and night to get to the bottom of this. Things change every few chapters as well so you want to keep that in mind.

Overall 6/10

Hi-Fi Rush Review

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It’s time to look at a game that made a whole lot of waves when it first came out. This one was a really big deal and looked like a lot of fun, although it took a while to get ported. The physical release still isn’t out so it was time to take the plunge on this one. I can say that the game was even better than I expected it would be. This is an elite title with great artistic direction as well as excellent gameplay. As long as you like the beat em up style then you will have a great time here.

The story begins with a kid named Chai breaking into a government area in order to fix his arm with a robotic enhancement. The only problem is that he ends up falling inside the machine along with his IPod which gets embedded into him. Chai must now always move in tune with the beat and is also on the run from corporate. A mysterious cat shows up and offers to help him get out of the area as long as he also helps her. This may end up being a longer partnership than he had bargained for.

The first thing that was really impressive was the large extent of cinematics within the game. We get whole fight scenes within the cutscenes and a good amount of character development. The game isn’t even all that long and yet they still managed to cram a whole lot of content in here. You really can’t go wrong with that and it makes the whole thing fly by. The game even tries to pull off the emotional ending which could be tough since you barely know the characters and yet it actually works.

The script is very witty and all of the characters are very likable so that’s a winning combo. Meanwhile the soundtrack is pretty solid. The tunes all fit in with the gameplay as they are very fast paced. The graphics are most excellent as you would expect. Definitely no issues at all there. Then we have the gameplay which is of course a key element and I can safely say that this was also really great from top to bottom.

The main gameplay is a 3D beat em up as you smash your opponents with a guitar. You also gain the ability to summon your partners who can defeat specific types of enemy obstacles like barriers and shields. You want to strategically use them to complement your own fighting abilities and then win the day. By the end of the game you have 3 different allies who help you out here and basically make you a one man army. Now I will admit that this also made the game a bit easier than the devs were probably thinking.

The characters only have a cool down of around 3-5 seconds per use. So the best way to fight is by constantly spamming all 3 of the summons as you fight. Between switching from character to character while landing your hits, it makes for an unlimited stream of attacks. Yeah you still can’t close your eyes as they can land some shots in but for the most part you’re going to have a hard time losing. One of your special attacks restores 70% of your health and hitting enemies also makes them drop health containers. Mix the two things together and it really increases your overall fighting potential.

There is also a fairly extensive shop that lets you buy various power ups and badges to use. It’s so extensive that I didn’t touch close to 80% of it before I beat the game. There is an absolute mountain of things to buy and you simply won’t have enough money for all of them. The reason for this is likely in connection with the trophies where you are intended to complete the game 5 times in order to get the Platinum. So with the items carrying over, I could definitely see how you would have money for everything after playing through the game 5 times. How could you not right?

The Platinum trophy may not be extremely difficult but it does look to be a very lengthy one so I imagine that most people wouldn’t bother. Still, it does mean there is a lot of replay value here if you are wanting to get the most out of the game. The story itself is not particularly long but still gives you enough bang for your buck. I’d say the biggest advantage it has is in how much fun it is.

I tend to enjoy rhythm games like this and it definitely worked really well here. You will have a fun time rocking to the beats the whole time. Every bit of this game clearly had a whole lot of work and heart put into it. I’d say the only way you would not enjoy it is if you realllllly did not enjoy the beat em up genre. In that case it’s not like it would really be the game’s fault though. There would really be nothing that it could have done about that.

The game did add some mild platforming elements to the levels, maybe anticipating that people might think it was too straightforward. Honestly that’s the part that I could have skipped but it’s not like it was bad or anything. It just felt a bit unnecessary since the fighting gameplay was where the game really shined. There is a clear progression system and lots of achievements within the game to earn you more money to buy things. That’s why fighting always felt so rewarding.

Overall, Hi-Fi Rush is an elite game. Perhaps in a few months I’ll have cooled off on it or it’s just because I played this game after a bunch that all had some quick flaws. Regardless, this was just an absolutely epic game and the kind I could really play all day. It was a true blast and I definitely recommend you pick it up as soon as possible. It’s only around $30 right now which is a great price and also makes the shorter length not feel as bad. You don’t see a whole lot of games like this either so the originality will really stick out for you.

Overall 9/10