4 Yrs♥✓#
R2D21999
4 Yrs♥✓#
Game #70: Super Metroid
Platform: Switch
Main + Extras: 12h 48m 37s
Rating: 9/10
Date Completed: June 7, 202
Extra Details: NSO Version
Game Synopsis: Head into planet Zebes and take back the metroid that the space pirates stole from you.
Blog: About a month ago the only Metroid game I had ever played was the original NES game on the Switch, and I really did not enjoy my time with it. It put a bad taste in my mouth. I wondered if the rest of the series was similar.
Then I played Super Metroid. This game was a godsend and I really enjoyed it! This game is nearly perfect and I can see why there's an entire genre partly named after it.
I loved how the game didn't hold your hand, but it'd make sure you wouldn't be too lost at times.
I loved that there were secrets in almost every corner, and that you never really had to guess when looking. You could usually use a bomb and it would either blow up, change the tile to give a hint of what's needed, or not change at all. It's great!
Movement felt great for the most part. Shooting and aiming felt good, running and jumping was good. The only complaint about the movement is that near the end you'll receive upgrades that makes your jumps feel really weird and uncomfortable.
The moment I felt Super Metroid overstayed its welcome was Maridia. Maridia was just not very fun, neither was the section before Ridley. I just wasn't feeling it up to that point and I felt that's when some BS started to pop up.
Another thing: I wish that there was a better map. The map it has currently is good for the specific area that you're in but sometimes I want to see a map of other areas too. Why am I not able to see the other areas? That would be so much better!
TL;DR: Super Metroid is great but it there are some parts that brought it down a bit for me.
Platform: Switch
Main + Extras: 12h 48m 37s
Rating: 9/10
Date Completed: June 7, 202
Extra Details: NSO Version
Game Synopsis: Head into planet Zebes and take back the metroid that the space pirates stole from you.
Blog: About a month ago the only Metroid game I had ever played was the original NES game on the Switch, and I really did not enjoy my time with it. It put a bad taste in my mouth. I wondered if the rest of the series was similar.
Then I played Super Metroid. This game was a godsend and I really enjoyed it! This game is nearly perfect and I can see why there's an entire genre partly named after it.
I loved how the game didn't hold your hand, but it'd make sure you wouldn't be too lost at times.
I loved that there were secrets in almost every corner, and that you never really had to guess when looking. You could usually use a bomb and it would either blow up, change the tile to give a hint of what's needed, or not change at all. It's great!
Movement felt great for the most part. Shooting and aiming felt good, running and jumping was good. The only complaint about the movement is that near the end you'll receive upgrades that makes your jumps feel really weird and uncomfortable.
The moment I felt Super Metroid overstayed its welcome was Maridia. Maridia was just not very fun, neither was the section before Ridley. I just wasn't feeling it up to that point and I felt that's when some BS started to pop up.
Another thing: I wish that there was a better map. The map it has currently is good for the specific area that you're in but sometimes I want to see a map of other areas too. Why am I not able to see the other areas? That would be so much better!
TL;DR: Super Metroid is great but it there are some parts that brought it down a bit for me.
4 Yrs♥✓#
R2D219994 Yrs♥✓#
Game #71: Lego Star Wars III: The Clone Wars
Platform: Wii
Main + Extras: 12h 31m 00s
100% Complete: 26h 12m 34s
Rating: 8/10
Date Completed: June 15, 202
Game Synopsis: Play through episodes from the Star Wars the Clone Wars show... in Lego form!
Blog: Oh man, another Lego game! Surprise, surprise!
And just like every other Lego Star Wars game, it's pretty good! With this one being centered on the Clone Wars show. Which in my opinion is the best thing in the Star Wars franchise.
One thing this game adds are special levels where you're able to use money to buy plots of land in order to make buildings to produce things like barracks of clones, and vehicles. A very cool addition and it would be a lot more fun if the computer enemies could destroy your buildings. At least give the player a switch to turn that on or off, something like that. It's just stupid easy.
A type of level that isn't so great are the ship sections, or the hub world section where you can fly ships. The ships aren't great to control. I swear when I move I just randomly do barrel rolls and flips. I know the ships consistently flip when you double tap the stick, and perhaps I'm accidentally slightly double tapping. However, even if that's the case then the flips are too sensitive.
There are also certain parts of this game where I'm confused on how I should have known something without looking it up. The bounty hunter missions where you need to look for characters hide n seek style are a great example. Some characters aren't too difficult to find, but some are just in the dumbest spots that I wouldn't have known. There's one in particular where I knew where the character was but the time limit was extremely unforgiving.
Then there's the case of buying characters. I like the idea that they went with by having the characters walk around, but it can be such a hassle tracking them down and then waiting for them to finally spawn. I've had to wait over a minute, and I wish that wasn't the case for multiple characters.
Despite my post being mostly negative toward the game, the game is great. I just don't have much else to say about it that hasn't been said about other Lego Star Wars games. It's good!
TL;DR: Lego Star Wars III: The Clone Wars is good Lego game with a cool battlefield concept. But I do wish ships had better controls and that some things like buying characters wasn't such a chore.
Platform: Wii
Main + Extras: 12h 31m 00s
100% Complete: 26h 12m 34s
Rating: 8/10
Date Completed: June 15, 202
Game Synopsis: Play through episodes from the Star Wars the Clone Wars show... in Lego form!
Blog: Oh man, another Lego game! Surprise, surprise!
And just like every other Lego Star Wars game, it's pretty good! With this one being centered on the Clone Wars show. Which in my opinion is the best thing in the Star Wars franchise.
One thing this game adds are special levels where you're able to use money to buy plots of land in order to make buildings to produce things like barracks of clones, and vehicles. A very cool addition and it would be a lot more fun if the computer enemies could destroy your buildings. At least give the player a switch to turn that on or off, something like that. It's just stupid easy.
A type of level that isn't so great are the ship sections, or the hub world section where you can fly ships. The ships aren't great to control. I swear when I move I just randomly do barrel rolls and flips. I know the ships consistently flip when you double tap the stick, and perhaps I'm accidentally slightly double tapping. However, even if that's the case then the flips are too sensitive.
There are also certain parts of this game where I'm confused on how I should have known something without looking it up. The bounty hunter missions where you need to look for characters hide n seek style are a great example. Some characters aren't too difficult to find, but some are just in the dumbest spots that I wouldn't have known. There's one in particular where I knew where the character was but the time limit was extremely unforgiving.
Then there's the case of buying characters. I like the idea that they went with by having the characters walk around, but it can be such a hassle tracking them down and then waiting for them to finally spawn. I've had to wait over a minute, and I wish that wasn't the case for multiple characters.
Despite my post being mostly negative toward the game, the game is great. I just don't have much else to say about it that hasn't been said about other Lego Star Wars games. It's good!
TL;DR: Lego Star Wars III: The Clone Wars is good Lego game with a cool battlefield concept. But I do wish ships had better controls and that some things like buying characters wasn't such a chore.
4 Yrs♥✓#
R2D219994 Yrs♥✓#
Game #72: Ashen
Platform: N-Gage
Main Story: 6h 14m 49s
Rating: 6/10
Date Completed: June 16, 2021
Game Synopsis: Other worldly creatures have appeared and are attacking the city. Pick up a gun and start shooting!
Blog: Ashen an example of a potentially good game stuck on bad, obscure hardware.
Ashen is a first-person shooter akin to something like the original Doom.
The worst part about Ashen? This:
That right there for those who don't know, is the Nokia N-Gage. It's a phone that also doubled as a handheld console.
And because Ashen is stuck on there, it has some infuriating controls. Up is forward, down is back, right and left turns right and left, 1 is turning on invisible goggles, 2 and 3 are aiming, 4 and 6 are strafing, 5 is shoot, 7 is jump, 8 and 9 are cycling through weapons, * manually reloads your weapon, and 0 checks your objectives. That's a lot, and it'll take some muscle memory to making sure you're not pressing the wrong buttons on accident, especially if you emulate it on a phone.
It's especially horrible when the game decides to introduce some platforming. I hate platforming in first person games, and I especially hated it in Ashen.
I'm so grateful that I don't need to properly aim in Ashen. Ashen has an auto aim where you only need to shoot in the direction of an enemy in order to hit it. I'm so glad they thought of that, I'm not sure if I would have stayed with it otherwise.
The story is forgettable. You're trying to find your sister and then get roped into stopping the invasion of these creatures. That's fine. What bothers me is at the end, without spoiling too much, a character partly responsible for the invasion is traumatized from the events... but then a few months later they decide to research it again. Aside from setting up a sequel(lol) why would that person decide to do it again if they knew it was very bad? That doesn't make sense to me.
What saddens me is that Ashen has the makings of a great first person shooter game. If only it would work on a real controller, then this game would probably be an 8/10 for me. The N-Gage is the main problem here. Unfortunately unless it gets remade, Ashen is stuck with this control scheme.
TL;DR: Ashen is a good game brought down by the very hardware it's on. If only it could be remade.
Platform: N-Gage
Main Story: 6h 14m 49s
Rating: 6/10
Date Completed: June 16, 2021
Game Synopsis: Other worldly creatures have appeared and are attacking the city. Pick up a gun and start shooting!
Blog: Ashen an example of a potentially good game stuck on bad, obscure hardware.
Ashen is a first-person shooter akin to something like the original Doom.
The worst part about Ashen? This:
That right there for those who don't know, is the Nokia N-Gage. It's a phone that also doubled as a handheld console.
And because Ashen is stuck on there, it has some infuriating controls. Up is forward, down is back, right and left turns right and left, 1 is turning on invisible goggles, 2 and 3 are aiming, 4 and 6 are strafing, 5 is shoot, 7 is jump, 8 and 9 are cycling through weapons, * manually reloads your weapon, and 0 checks your objectives. That's a lot, and it'll take some muscle memory to making sure you're not pressing the wrong buttons on accident, especially if you emulate it on a phone.
It's especially horrible when the game decides to introduce some platforming. I hate platforming in first person games, and I especially hated it in Ashen.
I'm so grateful that I don't need to properly aim in Ashen. Ashen has an auto aim where you only need to shoot in the direction of an enemy in order to hit it. I'm so glad they thought of that, I'm not sure if I would have stayed with it otherwise.
The story is forgettable. You're trying to find your sister and then get roped into stopping the invasion of these creatures. That's fine. What bothers me is at the end, without spoiling too much, a character partly responsible for the invasion is traumatized from the events... but then a few months later they decide to research it again. Aside from setting up a sequel(lol) why would that person decide to do it again if they knew it was very bad? That doesn't make sense to me.
What saddens me is that Ashen has the makings of a great first person shooter game. If only it would work on a real controller, then this game would probably be an 8/10 for me. The N-Gage is the main problem here. Unfortunately unless it gets remade, Ashen is stuck with this control scheme.
TL;DR: Ashen is a good game brought down by the very hardware it's on. If only it could be remade.
4 Yrs♥✓#
R2D219994 Yrs♥✓#
Game #73: Star Wars the Clone Wars - Lightsaber Duels
Platform: Wii
Main Story: 1h 12m 22s
Rating: 5/10
Date Completed: June 17, 2021
Game Synopsis: Fight as some of the cast from the Star Wars the Clone Wars show in 1 on 1 lightsaber fights.
Blog: Have you ever wanted a Star Wars fighting game? Do you like iffy motion controls? Do you like the Wii? If you said yes to all of these, Star Wars the Clone Wars - Lightsaber Duels is for you.
The way the game works is that you swing the Wii remote in order to fight. Swing the remote right, your character swings the lightsaber right. Swing left, lightsaber goes left. Same with straight, up, and down. These swings replace the usual buttons you would have to make a combo in a typical fighting game. You can also hold the Z button as you swing for stronger hits at the cost of some of your force meter. The force meter can also be used for special attacks as well as force throwing objects. There's also scenarios in a fight where you'll need to hit a combination of specific swings or just a single swing in order to come out on top.
The game is fine but I feel like it's more aggravating than fun. First of all, I think the fights take too long. It's like I'm fighting a sponge with how much I do against a computer versus how much damage they actually get. I also think that on the other hand, I often take more damage than the computers. Which if they also received as much damage I would be fine with, but it's just not consistent.
I can't believe I haven't talked about it yet, but the motion controls are inconsistent. When I swing left, sometimes it'll swing left but it might also swing up, down or even forward sometimes. This messes up the aforementioned combos or combat scenarios where I need to hit a combination of swings. Even just a single swing can be difficult apparently. I think maybe the swings are a bit direction-sensitive? But I'm not sure.
The game is overall okay-ish and I'd probably have a better time with friends than I would alone, but it's just aggravating to play against CPUs.
TL;DR: Star Wars the Clone Wars - Lightsaber Duels is a fighting game that suffers from aggravating motion controls as well as unbalanced health bars. I wouldn't get this unless you really like waggle fighting games.
Platform: Wii
Main Story: 1h 12m 22s
Rating: 5/10
Date Completed: June 17, 2021
Game Synopsis: Fight as some of the cast from the Star Wars the Clone Wars show in 1 on 1 lightsaber fights.
Blog: Have you ever wanted a Star Wars fighting game? Do you like iffy motion controls? Do you like the Wii? If you said yes to all of these, Star Wars the Clone Wars - Lightsaber Duels is for you.
The way the game works is that you swing the Wii remote in order to fight. Swing the remote right, your character swings the lightsaber right. Swing left, lightsaber goes left. Same with straight, up, and down. These swings replace the usual buttons you would have to make a combo in a typical fighting game. You can also hold the Z button as you swing for stronger hits at the cost of some of your force meter. The force meter can also be used for special attacks as well as force throwing objects. There's also scenarios in a fight where you'll need to hit a combination of specific swings or just a single swing in order to come out on top.
The game is fine but I feel like it's more aggravating than fun. First of all, I think the fights take too long. It's like I'm fighting a sponge with how much I do against a computer versus how much damage they actually get. I also think that on the other hand, I often take more damage than the computers. Which if they also received as much damage I would be fine with, but it's just not consistent.
I can't believe I haven't talked about it yet, but the motion controls are inconsistent. When I swing left, sometimes it'll swing left but it might also swing up, down or even forward sometimes. This messes up the aforementioned combos or combat scenarios where I need to hit a combination of swings. Even just a single swing can be difficult apparently. I think maybe the swings are a bit direction-sensitive? But I'm not sure.
The game is overall okay-ish and I'd probably have a better time with friends than I would alone, but it's just aggravating to play against CPUs.
TL;DR: Star Wars the Clone Wars - Lightsaber Duels is a fighting game that suffers from aggravating motion controls as well as unbalanced health bars. I wouldn't get this unless you really like waggle fighting games.
4 Yrs♥✓#
R2D219994 Yrs♥✓#
Game #74: Star Fox
Platform: Switch
Main Story: 53m 52s
Rating: 6/10
Date Completed: June 17, 2021
Extra Details: NSO version
Game Synopsis: Play as Fox McCloud, the pilot of an Arwing and leader of the Star Fox group. Help save the Lylat System!
Blog: The original Star Fox is fine but I feel it has some parts about it that just aren't very fun for me or just annoying as well as I largely think that it's just kind of forgettable.
First of all I will say I like how you can take different paths. I don't know if they bring a significant gameplay difference because I didn't want to do 3 whole playthroughs but I at least thought it was a cool idea at the least.
Level design is good for the most part. Except for the last level which I thought was rather quite frustrating as obstacles would pop out at the last minute and you would need some insane reaction time. Aside from that, the levels were quite fun.
What I really don't like are how indistinguishable the enemies and your allies are. Not only that, even when I'm not shooting at my allies they'll often tell me stuff like, "Hey watch it!" even though my lasers are nowhere near them! Augh
Aside from that, I don't remember much about the game. Largely I just feel like most of it was forgettable and didn't really impact me.
TL;DR: Star Fox is a fine on-rails shooter, but is largely forgettable.
Platform: Switch
Main Story: 53m 52s
Rating: 6/10
Date Completed: June 17, 2021
Extra Details: NSO version
Game Synopsis: Play as Fox McCloud, the pilot of an Arwing and leader of the Star Fox group. Help save the Lylat System!
Blog: The original Star Fox is fine but I feel it has some parts about it that just aren't very fun for me or just annoying as well as I largely think that it's just kind of forgettable.
First of all I will say I like how you can take different paths. I don't know if they bring a significant gameplay difference because I didn't want to do 3 whole playthroughs but I at least thought it was a cool idea at the least.
Level design is good for the most part. Except for the last level which I thought was rather quite frustrating as obstacles would pop out at the last minute and you would need some insane reaction time. Aside from that, the levels were quite fun.
What I really don't like are how indistinguishable the enemies and your allies are. Not only that, even when I'm not shooting at my allies they'll often tell me stuff like, "Hey watch it!" even though my lasers are nowhere near them! Augh
Aside from that, I don't remember much about the game. Largely I just feel like most of it was forgettable and didn't really impact me.
TL;DR: Star Fox is a fine on-rails shooter, but is largely forgettable.
4 Yrs♥✓#
R2D219994 Yrs♥✓#
Game #75: New Super Mario Bros. U
Platform: Wii U
Main + Extras: 9h 4m 21s
100% Completion: 11h 20m 16s
Rating: 6/10
Date Completed: June 25, 2021
Game Synopsis: Oh my god! Princess Peach has been kidnapped by Bowser and Mario has to save her! Who could have seen that coming?!
Blog: New Super Mario Bros. U is a fun game but I feel like it doesn't do much for the Mario formula. That includes the New series and the old traditional series from the NES and SNES days.
It's just... New Super Mario Bros. Wii with the only thing new is the flying squirrel power-up which is honestly just a worse Tanukii suit.
Other than that it's not a bad game. The platforming is fun and tight, especially on World 9. That being said... this could also probably describe the Wii version.
So I guess play this if you haven't played the Wii version: the Wii U version exists.
TL;DR: New Super Mario Bros. U is a fun basic platformer, but it doesn't bring anything new to the table.
Platform: Wii U
Main + Extras: 9h 4m 21s
100% Completion: 11h 20m 16s
Rating: 6/10
Date Completed: June 25, 2021
Game Synopsis: Oh my god! Princess Peach has been kidnapped by Bowser and Mario has to save her! Who could have seen that coming?!
Blog: New Super Mario Bros. U is a fun game but I feel like it doesn't do much for the Mario formula. That includes the New series and the old traditional series from the NES and SNES days.
It's just... New Super Mario Bros. Wii with the only thing new is the flying squirrel power-up which is honestly just a worse Tanukii suit.
Other than that it's not a bad game. The platforming is fun and tight, especially on World 9. That being said... this could also probably describe the Wii version.
So I guess play this if you haven't played the Wii version: the Wii U version exists.
TL;DR: New Super Mario Bros. U is a fun basic platformer, but it doesn't bring anything new to the table.
4 Yrs♥✓#
R2D219994 Yrs♥✓#
These are both short games I found on Itch.io, so this is a single post for the two of them to be in.
Game #76: NextDoor
Platform: Browser/Itch.io
Main Story: 11m 1s
Rating: 7/10
Date Completed: July 1, 2021
Game Synopsis: A short horror game inspired by Junji Ito's manga.
Blog: NextDoor is a short little horror game. You play as a girl who's trying to study but gets distracted by her neighbor's loud music.
The pixel art designs are well-made and the music is suspenseful, fitting right in with the setting.
Unfortunately I just wish there was a bit more to it. Maybe add in another hiding or escape sequence. Maybe have some sort of choices system. It's still good otherwise though.
TL;DR: NextDoor is a well-made horror game, but it's so short you'll probably finish it in under 10 minutes.
-----------------
Game #77: Heaventaker
Platform: Browser/Itch.io
Main Story: 7m 13s
Rating: 5/10
Date Completed: July 1, 2021
Game Synopsis: A puzzle game about picking up angels.
Blog: Heaventaker is another short game. The game has 2 sections: a puzzle section where you have to get to an angel girl in a limited amount of moves. There's also the dating section.
The puzzles in of themselves are fine and basic. You'll be able to figure out what to do.
The dating sections are also pretty straightforward. There's usually one or two questions with two or three responses to choose from. If you choose the right one you win the angel's trust, if you're wrong you have to do the puzzle again before getting another attempt at the angel.
The dating sections are rather bland because there's not any risk of getting them wrong other than playing the puzzle section again, and if you've gotten to the angel then you already know the puzzle solution.
Another thing is that the game doesn't seem to be complete. I think this because there's 3 puzzles but you date 5 or 6 angels. So I think it's still being worked on.
TL;DR: Heaventaker is just fine. It's free so it doesn't hurt to try it out.
Game #76: NextDoor
Platform: Browser/Itch.io
Main Story: 11m 1s
Rating: 7/10
Date Completed: July 1, 2021
Game Synopsis: A short horror game inspired by Junji Ito's manga.
Blog: NextDoor is a short little horror game. You play as a girl who's trying to study but gets distracted by her neighbor's loud music.
The pixel art designs are well-made and the music is suspenseful, fitting right in with the setting.
Unfortunately I just wish there was a bit more to it. Maybe add in another hiding or escape sequence. Maybe have some sort of choices system. It's still good otherwise though.
TL;DR: NextDoor is a well-made horror game, but it's so short you'll probably finish it in under 10 minutes.
-----------------
Game #77: Heaventaker
Platform: Browser/Itch.io
Main Story: 7m 13s
Rating: 5/10
Date Completed: July 1, 2021
Game Synopsis: A puzzle game about picking up angels.
Blog: Heaventaker is another short game. The game has 2 sections: a puzzle section where you have to get to an angel girl in a limited amount of moves. There's also the dating section.
The puzzles in of themselves are fine and basic. You'll be able to figure out what to do.
The dating sections are also pretty straightforward. There's usually one or two questions with two or three responses to choose from. If you choose the right one you win the angel's trust, if you're wrong you have to do the puzzle again before getting another attempt at the angel.
The dating sections are rather bland because there's not any risk of getting them wrong other than playing the puzzle section again, and if you've gotten to the angel then you already know the puzzle solution.
Another thing is that the game doesn't seem to be complete. I think this because there's 3 puzzles but you date 5 or 6 angels. So I think it's still being worked on.
TL;DR: Heaventaker is just fine. It's free so it doesn't hurt to try it out.
4 Yrs♥✓#
R2D219994 Yrs♥✓#
Game #78: Foto Showdown
Platform: Nintendo DS
Main Story: 12h 47m 28s
Rating: 4/10
Date Completed: July 2, 2021
Game Synopsis: Take photos of real life and use them in a team to fight other monsters.
Blog: It's a shame, Foto Showdown has so much potential.
Imagine a Pokemon-like game where you can have 3 monsters out at a time, and the battlefield is a grid in a straight line and the monsters have attacks that go different distances. That's Foto Showdown and if you have no idea what I just said, here's a picture:
This game has such a unique battle system and the battles are really difficult on top of that. I've had battles that would take up like 40 minutes they were so tough. There's no leveling up or exp system so you can't grind to get better, but rather it's based on the monsters you have vs your opponent's.
But this game has issues and negatives that add up to make a more frustrating experience.
The main gimmick of the game is that you're able to capture monsters by taking real world pictures. Then through a combination of picture colors, the type of game camera being used, the quality of bullets that are used(yes that's what they're called), and random chance. Despite all of this, the creature you'll see the most are wyverns. From what I understand, if the camera doesn't recognize the combination of colors: then it defaults to a wyvern. Which is just so frustrating and shows me that it doesn't function properly with the tech. I wish the game had a tutorial or something to explain how this works.
Bringing up another point: the game doesn't really explain anything, and stuff that the game does try to explain is either confusing or entirely unhelpful. The battle tutorials for example try to teach skills that are useful to know. Unfortunately in the mock battles, if you do anything other than just straight up attacking you will lose. Did they bother testing their own tutorials?
Being an RPG you would expect a good story. No! Not here! Foto Showdown has a story that would be best described as generic and confusing. It feels like so much is happening at once, and yet it feels like none of it is interesting at all. Doesn't help that the characters have the most cookie cutter personalities and that their designs are just terrible. Not a game to play for the story.
TL;DR: Foto Showdown has a creative and difficult battle system but the main game mechanic really brings the game down and the awful story only adds salt to the wound.
Platform: Nintendo DS
Main Story: 12h 47m 28s
Rating: 4/10
Date Completed: July 2, 2021
Game Synopsis: Take photos of real life and use them in a team to fight other monsters.
Blog: It's a shame, Foto Showdown has so much potential.
Imagine a Pokemon-like game where you can have 3 monsters out at a time, and the battlefield is a grid in a straight line and the monsters have attacks that go different distances. That's Foto Showdown and if you have no idea what I just said, here's a picture:
This game has such a unique battle system and the battles are really difficult on top of that. I've had battles that would take up like 40 minutes they were so tough. There's no leveling up or exp system so you can't grind to get better, but rather it's based on the monsters you have vs your opponent's.
But this game has issues and negatives that add up to make a more frustrating experience.
The main gimmick of the game is that you're able to capture monsters by taking real world pictures. Then through a combination of picture colors, the type of game camera being used, the quality of bullets that are used(yes that's what they're called), and random chance. Despite all of this, the creature you'll see the most are wyverns. From what I understand, if the camera doesn't recognize the combination of colors: then it defaults to a wyvern. Which is just so frustrating and shows me that it doesn't function properly with the tech. I wish the game had a tutorial or something to explain how this works.
Bringing up another point: the game doesn't really explain anything, and stuff that the game does try to explain is either confusing or entirely unhelpful. The battle tutorials for example try to teach skills that are useful to know. Unfortunately in the mock battles, if you do anything other than just straight up attacking you will lose. Did they bother testing their own tutorials?
Being an RPG you would expect a good story. No! Not here! Foto Showdown has a story that would be best described as generic and confusing. It feels like so much is happening at once, and yet it feels like none of it is interesting at all. Doesn't help that the characters have the most cookie cutter personalities and that their designs are just terrible. Not a game to play for the story.
TL;DR: Foto Showdown has a creative and difficult battle system but the main game mechanic really brings the game down and the awful story only adds salt to the wound.
4 Yrs♥✓#
R2D219994 Yrs♥✓#
Game #79: Doodle Champion Island Games
Platform: Browser
100% Complete 1h 51m 50s
Rating: 7/10
Date Completed: July 23, 2021
Game Synopsis: Play various games around an island themed around the Olympics
Blog: The Summer 2021 Olympics happened, and to celebrate Google has released a free little game called Doodle Champion Island Games. Is it good? I'd honestly say yes.
Island Games is essentially a mini game compilation with RPG elements. The mini games are based on a handful of sports from this years Olympics. Not every sport is represented but I don't have any issue with that.
The mini games are generally fun, although the marathon game felt dislikable and un-fun to me with how you essentially just need to guess the whole time. The games aren't generic sports games, they're pretty well thought out for their controls. My favorite has to be the artistic swimming but I think I just like rhythm games.
There's also the RPG mechanics. There's a whole overworld to explore, characters to talk to, secrets to find, and even side quests to do! Which can unlock achievements or even harder difficulties for the mini games.
Unfortunately there's some annoyances I have with the game and they all just stack up. You can't see your objectives from your main menu so you have to try to remember what you need to do. My speed decreases dramatically when indoors, I wish it were the same as if it were outdoors. When finished with the main story objective, a filter covers the screen and you can't get it to go away.
The game's not bad but it there's things they can do better, and I don't feel like it's anything more than a 7/10.
TL;DR: Doodle Champion Island Games is a great mini game collection but there's lots of quality of life improvements that should be considered if they release another similar game.
Platform: Browser
100% Complete 1h 51m 50s
Rating: 7/10
Date Completed: July 23, 2021
Game Synopsis: Play various games around an island themed around the Olympics
Blog: The Summer 2021 Olympics happened, and to celebrate Google has released a free little game called Doodle Champion Island Games. Is it good? I'd honestly say yes.
Island Games is essentially a mini game compilation with RPG elements. The mini games are based on a handful of sports from this years Olympics. Not every sport is represented but I don't have any issue with that.
The mini games are generally fun, although the marathon game felt dislikable and un-fun to me with how you essentially just need to guess the whole time. The games aren't generic sports games, they're pretty well thought out for their controls. My favorite has to be the artistic swimming but I think I just like rhythm games.
There's also the RPG mechanics. There's a whole overworld to explore, characters to talk to, secrets to find, and even side quests to do! Which can unlock achievements or even harder difficulties for the mini games.
Unfortunately there's some annoyances I have with the game and they all just stack up. You can't see your objectives from your main menu so you have to try to remember what you need to do. My speed decreases dramatically when indoors, I wish it were the same as if it were outdoors. When finished with the main story objective, a filter covers the screen and you can't get it to go away.
The game's not bad but it there's things they can do better, and I don't feel like it's anything more than a 7/10.
TL;DR: Doodle Champion Island Games is a great mini game collection but there's lots of quality of life improvements that should be considered if they release another similar game.
4 Yrs♥✓#
R2D219994 Yrs♥✓#
Game #80: Go! Go! Kokopolo 3D: Space Recipe for Disaster
Platform: 3DS
Main Story 6h 4m 24s
Rating: 4/10
Date Completed: July 24, 2021
Game Synopsis: You're a cat feeding mutant food to a plant. It's confusing.
Blog: In Go! Go! Kokopolo 3D, your objective is to run around very quickly, attack enemies, and leading them to their doom. As interesting as this sounds, I wasn't a huge fan.
Honestly the main gameplay isn't bad. It's actually quite fun. My issue lies in how repetitive it ends up being, and how quickly it can feel that way.
One thing this game allows you to do, you're able to follow three storylines each with their own character who will all meet each other at the end. I wish the characters were actually unique though. They all play the exact same. Not only does that reiterate my previous issue of how repetitive the game is, it wastes the potential of having three different characters in the first place. Their storylines aren't unique from each other either. So you might as well just not have made two other characters. Should just be the one.
Then there's the problem with the top-down camera. It's just too zoomed in. Every once in a while I'll turn a corner and run into an enemy or obstacle that I just couldn't see due to the camera. If it was zoomed out just a tad, it'd make all the difference.
Alternatively, there's also a map on the bottom screen. Its visibility size is perfect and it even shows where enemies are in the area. Unfortunately, it doesn't show obstacles or other things such as cannons and springs. Effectively making the map almost useless to rely on. Great...
One more thing: I kept running into a bug in the game pertaining to a certain enemy. There's a bird enemy where if it attacks the player it'll chase them around. If you attack at just the right time as the enemy attacks, the player is locked in place and can't move. Effectively causing me to have to softlock. This wasn't a one time issue, it happened multiple times often on the same levels. It was maddening.
Go! Go! Kokopolo 3D is just a frustrating game for me to play, but it does have a charm to it. For that, I give it a 4/10 but certainly nothing more.
TL;DR: Go! Go! Kokopolo 3D: Space Recipe for Disaster is a game I would recommend playing until you get bored or else you'll only end up frustrated.
Platform: 3DS
Main Story 6h 4m 24s
Rating: 4/10
Date Completed: July 24, 2021
Game Synopsis: You're a cat feeding mutant food to a plant. It's confusing.
Blog: In Go! Go! Kokopolo 3D, your objective is to run around very quickly, attack enemies, and leading them to their doom. As interesting as this sounds, I wasn't a huge fan.
Honestly the main gameplay isn't bad. It's actually quite fun. My issue lies in how repetitive it ends up being, and how quickly it can feel that way.
One thing this game allows you to do, you're able to follow three storylines each with their own character who will all meet each other at the end. I wish the characters were actually unique though. They all play the exact same. Not only does that reiterate my previous issue of how repetitive the game is, it wastes the potential of having three different characters in the first place. Their storylines aren't unique from each other either. So you might as well just not have made two other characters. Should just be the one.
Then there's the problem with the top-down camera. It's just too zoomed in. Every once in a while I'll turn a corner and run into an enemy or obstacle that I just couldn't see due to the camera. If it was zoomed out just a tad, it'd make all the difference.
Alternatively, there's also a map on the bottom screen. Its visibility size is perfect and it even shows where enemies are in the area. Unfortunately, it doesn't show obstacles or other things such as cannons and springs. Effectively making the map almost useless to rely on. Great...
One more thing: I kept running into a bug in the game pertaining to a certain enemy. There's a bird enemy where if it attacks the player it'll chase them around. If you attack at just the right time as the enemy attacks, the player is locked in place and can't move. Effectively causing me to have to softlock. This wasn't a one time issue, it happened multiple times often on the same levels. It was maddening.
Go! Go! Kokopolo 3D is just a frustrating game for me to play, but it does have a charm to it. For that, I give it a 4/10 but certainly nothing more.
TL;DR: Go! Go! Kokopolo 3D: Space Recipe for Disaster is a game I would recommend playing until you get bored or else you'll only end up frustrated.
4 Yrs♥✓#
R2D219994 Yrs♥✓#
Game #81: New Super Luigi U
Platform: Wii U
Main + Extras: 6h 32m 21s
100% Complete: 7h 19m 24s
Rating: 6/10
Date Completed: July 29, 2021
Game Synopsis: Oh my god! Princess Peach has been kidnapped by Bowser andMario Luigi has to save her! Who could have seen that coming?!
Blog: If you've played New Super Mario Bros. U then you pretty much understand how Luigi U plays and looks for the most part.
The key difference is that the time limit is at 99 seconds. Because of this, levels are made to be shorter. Which I don't actually mind as I think it's a nice change of pace. There's also secret Luigi statues and art around that you can find. They don't do anything more of just a visual easter egg.
I actually slightly prefer Luigi U over Mario U. I would even give it a 7/10. Unfortunately, I'm really not a fan of Luigi's floaty jumps. That alone bumps it down for me to a 6/10.
Other than that... there's nothing more to say about this game. It doesn't do much to change from the usual New Super Mario gameplay.
TL;DR: New Super Luigi U changes up the New Super Mario formula by shortening the timer... but not much else.
Platform: Wii U
Main + Extras: 6h 32m 21s
100% Complete: 7h 19m 24s
Rating: 6/10
Date Completed: July 29, 2021
Game Synopsis: Oh my god! Princess Peach has been kidnapped by Bowser and
Blog: If you've played New Super Mario Bros. U then you pretty much understand how Luigi U plays and looks for the most part.
The key difference is that the time limit is at 99 seconds. Because of this, levels are made to be shorter. Which I don't actually mind as I think it's a nice change of pace. There's also secret Luigi statues and art around that you can find. They don't do anything more of just a visual easter egg.
I actually slightly prefer Luigi U over Mario U. I would even give it a 7/10. Unfortunately, I'm really not a fan of Luigi's floaty jumps. That alone bumps it down for me to a 6/10.
Other than that... there's nothing more to say about this game. It doesn't do much to change from the usual New Super Mario gameplay.
TL;DR: New Super Luigi U changes up the New Super Mario formula by shortening the timer... but not much else.
5 Yrs♥$✓#
Nice one! Keep those posts coming!
4 Yrs♥✓#
R2D219994 Yrs♥✓#
Game #82: Metroid Fusion
Platform: Game Boy Advance
Main + Extras: 9h 35m 54s
Rating: 10/10
Date Completed: August 2, 2021
Game Synopsis: A deadly parasite has taken control of a space station. Samus must stop it before the entire galaxy is at risk.
Blog: Oh boy I really loved this game. It's just so much fun and such a good time.
The movement felt fluid and nice. Even stuff like the screw attack, which I complained about with Super Metroid felt so much better. I like the newly added ledge grabbing although I had to get used to it after a while. Fighting felt as great as it did in Super Metroid.
The game is linear, which I can see why people might dislike that as the earlier games allowed for more exploration. Personally, I didn't mind because since the game allowed me to backtrack with new abilities to allow me access to other areas I couldn't before, I still felt that the sense of exploration for items was just as strong as it had been in something like Super Metroid.
The pixel graphics looked great. It was bright and colorful, it gave a good feeling when I looked at it. The sound design was also addicting, listening to every little jump and step was so enticing. The music also perfectly fit whatever situation.
Is there flaws with Fusion? Probably, but they were insignificant enough for me to ignore them as a whole with the game. Metroid Fusion is my favorite Metroid game so far. I can say that with absolute certainty.
TL;DR: Metroid Fusion is an amazing game that I recommend everyone to play at least once.
Platform: Game Boy Advance
Main + Extras: 9h 35m 54s
Rating: 10/10
Date Completed: August 2, 2021
Game Synopsis: A deadly parasite has taken control of a space station. Samus must stop it before the entire galaxy is at risk.
Blog: Oh boy I really loved this game. It's just so much fun and such a good time.
The movement felt fluid and nice. Even stuff like the screw attack, which I complained about with Super Metroid felt so much better. I like the newly added ledge grabbing although I had to get used to it after a while. Fighting felt as great as it did in Super Metroid.
The game is linear, which I can see why people might dislike that as the earlier games allowed for more exploration. Personally, I didn't mind because since the game allowed me to backtrack with new abilities to allow me access to other areas I couldn't before, I still felt that the sense of exploration for items was just as strong as it had been in something like Super Metroid.
The pixel graphics looked great. It was bright and colorful, it gave a good feeling when I looked at it. The sound design was also addicting, listening to every little jump and step was so enticing. The music also perfectly fit whatever situation.
Is there flaws with Fusion? Probably, but they were insignificant enough for me to ignore them as a whole with the game. Metroid Fusion is my favorite Metroid game so far. I can say that with absolute certainty.
TL;DR: Metroid Fusion is an amazing game that I recommend everyone to play at least once.
4 Yrs♥✓#
R2D219994 Yrs♥✓#
Might be a little late, but there's another one!
4 Yrs♥✓#
R2D219994 Yrs♥✓#
Game #83: Cool Spot
Platform: Genesis
Main + Extras: 2h 17m 35s
Rating: 7/10
Date Completed: August 5, 2021
Game Synopsis: Your friends are trapped in cages. Use your platforming skills and the power of 7-Up to rescue them.
Blog: I wasn't expecting to like Cool Spot as much as I did.
Cool Spot is a platformer based on the 7-Up mascot of the same name. Your objective is to collect enough red dots around the level to unlock the cage and free your friends. In addition to jumping, Cool Spot is also able to shoot 7-Up (I think?) from his hands to kill enemies.
It's actually a pretty fun game. However, it still has some significant flaws which hold it back from getting a better score.
First of all is the walking speed. Cool Spot's initial walk is pain-stakingly slow, with the only way to get him to go faster from there is to let him build up speed by walking. Unfortunately there's barely enough room most of the time for him to run. My work around was to just keep jumping, but I wish I didn't have to do that.
Another thing I wish existed was being able to crouch and therefore also shoot forward while crouching. Some enemies hit boxes can be a bit short, and a crouch would help with that. Once again though I have to solve an issue by making jumps where I'm able to weird diagonal shots. Which just feels really awkward to do a lot of the time. So a crouch would really help that.
The hitboxes are also pretty jank. On obstacles such as spikes or mouse traps I would often jump out of the way, but even though I didn't get touched by the object itself, I would still get damaged as the hitboxes were bigger than the obstacle itself. What bull shit is this? It especially doesn't help when there's red dots two pixels above a spike, so I have to take damage taking on those as well. Did the development team not bother to look at their placements of things?
Some levels are very vertically big and it can take a lot of time to scale up one. Fortunately in this game if you fall, you don't take fall damage. On the other hand, you now have to climb all the way back up and it usually takes a long ass time. I wish there were shortcuts that I can trigger on the way up so it wouldn't take as long to get up if I fell down. That would be so much better.
My last complaint is very specific. Fuck the train level. The background moves so fast, and with it being so detailed it's disorienting to see on the screen. It was a miserable time.
Not everything about Cool Spot was bad though! The movement was good for the most part. The projectiles you shoot are really great and can go through walls. Level designs, except for the train, are all fantastic for a Genesis game. Music is bopping. It's a good time overall.
TL;DR: Cool Spot is a very flawed game with plenty of jank in a lot of areas. That said, it's a good time even in spite of that.
Platform: Genesis
Main + Extras: 2h 17m 35s
Rating: 7/10
Date Completed: August 5, 2021
Game Synopsis: Your friends are trapped in cages. Use your platforming skills and the power of 7-Up to rescue them.
Blog: I wasn't expecting to like Cool Spot as much as I did.
Cool Spot is a platformer based on the 7-Up mascot of the same name. Your objective is to collect enough red dots around the level to unlock the cage and free your friends. In addition to jumping, Cool Spot is also able to shoot 7-Up (I think?) from his hands to kill enemies.
It's actually a pretty fun game. However, it still has some significant flaws which hold it back from getting a better score.
First of all is the walking speed. Cool Spot's initial walk is pain-stakingly slow, with the only way to get him to go faster from there is to let him build up speed by walking. Unfortunately there's barely enough room most of the time for him to run. My work around was to just keep jumping, but I wish I didn't have to do that.
Another thing I wish existed was being able to crouch and therefore also shoot forward while crouching. Some enemies hit boxes can be a bit short, and a crouch would help with that. Once again though I have to solve an issue by making jumps where I'm able to weird diagonal shots. Which just feels really awkward to do a lot of the time. So a crouch would really help that.
The hitboxes are also pretty jank. On obstacles such as spikes or mouse traps I would often jump out of the way, but even though I didn't get touched by the object itself, I would still get damaged as the hitboxes were bigger than the obstacle itself. What bull shit is this? It especially doesn't help when there's red dots two pixels above a spike, so I have to take damage taking on those as well. Did the development team not bother to look at their placements of things?
Some levels are very vertically big and it can take a lot of time to scale up one. Fortunately in this game if you fall, you don't take fall damage. On the other hand, you now have to climb all the way back up and it usually takes a long ass time. I wish there were shortcuts that I can trigger on the way up so it wouldn't take as long to get up if I fell down. That would be so much better.
My last complaint is very specific. Fuck the train level. The background moves so fast, and with it being so detailed it's disorienting to see on the screen. It was a miserable time.
Not everything about Cool Spot was bad though! The movement was good for the most part. The projectiles you shoot are really great and can go through walls. Level designs, except for the train, are all fantastic for a Genesis game. Music is bopping. It's a good time overall.
TL;DR: Cool Spot is a very flawed game with plenty of jank in a lot of areas. That said, it's a good time even in spite of that.
5 Yrs♥$✓#
I remember renting Cool Spot and thinking it was okay, way back when. Not the worst rental that kid me ever chose, for sure.
4 Yrs♥✓#
R2D219994 Yrs♥✓#
Oooh. Which version did you get? I think I remember hearing the Genesis and Snes versions are pretty different (don't remember in what way).
4 Yrs♥✓#
R2D219994 Yrs♥✓#
Game #84: Scooby-Doo! Unmasked
Platform: GameCube
100% Complete: 6h 31m 08s
Rating: 6/10
Date Completed: August 15, 2021
Game Synopsis: Fred's cousin Jed has gone missing. Even worse, his monster animatronics have gone haywire. Play as Scooby and help uncover the mysteries!
Blog: Scooby-Doo! Unmasked is another representative of the 3D platformer genre of its time. Which admittedly was filled with lots of quality games. Is Scooby-Doo! Unmasked one of those games? It's good but I wouldn't say it stands out.
The game is good for the most part. I can't imagine that this is a game that anyone would dislike but I also don't see anyone becoming excited with this game unless they were young. Movement is fine, along with the combat.
In the game you have 3 different costumes, each one being introduced in the 3 different worlds. There's a ninja, a bat costume, and robinhood. Out of all of them, I think the robinhood costume just feels so useless. It just makes close range fighting worse and it's only really used as a key instead of really adding anything to the gameplay.
Something else to add is that there's weird mis-placed invisible walls. Like, I try to grab a collectible that's right across from a broken bridge or ledge and all of a suddenly I hit something that isn't there and I plummet to the ground. I found out that you can get around them but it's very awkward to maneuver when I can't see anything.
Speaking of not being able to see, this game is often too dark to see things. Unfortunately I can't adjust the game's brightness. I just have to suffer. I've missed entire collectables and had to use guides to find them because I couldn't see something such as a tree with branches to climb.
Now let's talk story and characters. The story is like watching a few episodes of Scooby-Doo with an overarching narrative. It's nothing out of the ordinary but it doesn't need to be. Then there's the characters. Every main character has a gameplay use, except for Daphne. Daphne just doesn't really serve a purpose... except to be kidnapped... in every world's third level. Why is she there? To just be pretty? I wish she could maybe do something with cosmetics in the game, like changing how the outfits looked. Guess not though.
Yeah. The game's fine.
TL;DR: Scooby-Doo! Unmasked is a game that while not bad, doesn't make itself stand out compared to other 3D platformers.
Platform: GameCube
100% Complete: 6h 31m 08s
Rating: 6/10
Date Completed: August 15, 2021
Game Synopsis: Fred's cousin Jed has gone missing. Even worse, his monster animatronics have gone haywire. Play as Scooby and help uncover the mysteries!
Blog: Scooby-Doo! Unmasked is another representative of the 3D platformer genre of its time. Which admittedly was filled with lots of quality games. Is Scooby-Doo! Unmasked one of those games? It's good but I wouldn't say it stands out.
The game is good for the most part. I can't imagine that this is a game that anyone would dislike but I also don't see anyone becoming excited with this game unless they were young. Movement is fine, along with the combat.
In the game you have 3 different costumes, each one being introduced in the 3 different worlds. There's a ninja, a bat costume, and robinhood. Out of all of them, I think the robinhood costume just feels so useless. It just makes close range fighting worse and it's only really used as a key instead of really adding anything to the gameplay.
Something else to add is that there's weird mis-placed invisible walls. Like, I try to grab a collectible that's right across from a broken bridge or ledge and all of a suddenly I hit something that isn't there and I plummet to the ground. I found out that you can get around them but it's very awkward to maneuver when I can't see anything.
Speaking of not being able to see, this game is often too dark to see things. Unfortunately I can't adjust the game's brightness. I just have to suffer. I've missed entire collectables and had to use guides to find them because I couldn't see something such as a tree with branches to climb.
Now let's talk story and characters. The story is like watching a few episodes of Scooby-Doo with an overarching narrative. It's nothing out of the ordinary but it doesn't need to be. Then there's the characters. Every main character has a gameplay use, except for Daphne. Daphne just doesn't really serve a purpose... except to be kidnapped... in every world's third level. Why is she there? To just be pretty? I wish she could maybe do something with cosmetics in the game, like changing how the outfits looked. Guess not though.
Yeah. The game's fine.
TL;DR: Scooby-Doo! Unmasked is a game that while not bad, doesn't make itself stand out compared to other 3D platformers.
4 Yrs♥✓#
R2D219994 Yrs♥✓#
Game #85: Kirby Mass Attack
Platform: Nintendo DS
Main + Extras: 12h 01m 08s
Rating: 4/10
Date Completed: August 20, 2021
Game Synopsis: Kirby is attacked by Necrodeus and is split into 10 versions of himself. Use Kirby, Kirby, Kirby, Kirby, Kirby, Kirby, Kirby, Kirby, Kirby, and Kirby to put them back together and save the world from Necrodeus.
Blog: What makes this a Kirby game? And why does it suck?
Kirby Mass Attack decides to change things up with the usual Kirby formula by allowing you to play as multiple Kirbys. You can have as few as 1 Kirby or at the most you can have 10, and if you don't have the max amount of Kirbys, just eat enough fruit until you get more. It's a fine idea that sometimes works but the execution is very poor.
The main offender are the controls. Everything is done by touch controls. Why?! What is the reason for this? If I want to move: I hold the stylus on the screen. If I want to run: I double tap the screen. If I want my Kirbys to float, I hold onto a Kirby and they all float. If I want to fling a Kirby at an enemy or something else; I have to make a swipe with the Kirby I want to fling. If I want all Kirbys to attack; I double tap an enemy.
The issue with the controls is that since there's so much going on with tapping and swiping that the game doesn't seem to fully understand what I'm doing. I try flinging a Kirby at an enemy. Sometimes it works; sometimes it'll either have the Kirbys run into a spot or at the enemy, or they all decide to float and follow my stylus. It's very frustrating and its like this with everything I do in the game. Here's an idea: let me move with the d-pad. It's just sitting there, doing nothing. Why were the developers so afraid of it?
Levels are also pretty tedious the longer you stay with the game. Some are astronomically long too. What's worse is that in order to fight the final boss, you have to find the hidden rainbow medals in every level. So don't miss one!
This is all I really wanted to talk about. I only really complained about two things being the controls and level design. However, these are both really big reasons as to why I dislike this game as much as I do. It's just not good.
TL;DR: Kirby Mass Attack is a DS game plagued by bad touchscreen controls and boring levels. Might want to look elsewhere for your Kirby fix.
Platform: Nintendo DS
Main + Extras: 12h 01m 08s
Rating: 4/10
Date Completed: August 20, 2021
Game Synopsis: Kirby is attacked by Necrodeus and is split into 10 versions of himself. Use Kirby, Kirby, Kirby, Kirby, Kirby, Kirby, Kirby, Kirby, Kirby, and Kirby to put them back together and save the world from Necrodeus.
Blog: What makes this a Kirby game? And why does it suck?
Kirby Mass Attack decides to change things up with the usual Kirby formula by allowing you to play as multiple Kirbys. You can have as few as 1 Kirby or at the most you can have 10, and if you don't have the max amount of Kirbys, just eat enough fruit until you get more. It's a fine idea that sometimes works but the execution is very poor.
The main offender are the controls. Everything is done by touch controls. Why?! What is the reason for this? If I want to move: I hold the stylus on the screen. If I want to run: I double tap the screen. If I want my Kirbys to float, I hold onto a Kirby and they all float. If I want to fling a Kirby at an enemy or something else; I have to make a swipe with the Kirby I want to fling. If I want all Kirbys to attack; I double tap an enemy.
The issue with the controls is that since there's so much going on with tapping and swiping that the game doesn't seem to fully understand what I'm doing. I try flinging a Kirby at an enemy. Sometimes it works; sometimes it'll either have the Kirbys run into a spot or at the enemy, or they all decide to float and follow my stylus. It's very frustrating and its like this with everything I do in the game. Here's an idea: let me move with the d-pad. It's just sitting there, doing nothing. Why were the developers so afraid of it?
Levels are also pretty tedious the longer you stay with the game. Some are astronomically long too. What's worse is that in order to fight the final boss, you have to find the hidden rainbow medals in every level. So don't miss one!
This is all I really wanted to talk about. I only really complained about two things being the controls and level design. However, these are both really big reasons as to why I dislike this game as much as I do. It's just not good.
TL;DR: Kirby Mass Attack is a DS game plagued by bad touchscreen controls and boring levels. Might want to look elsewhere for your Kirby fix.
5 Yrs♥$✓#
It was the SNES version.
4 Yrs♥✓#
R2D219994 Yrs♥✓#
Game #86: Aura-Aura Climber
Platform: Nintendo DS
Main Story: 41m 23s
Rating: 5/10
Date Completed: August 25, 2021
Game Synopsis: You're a star that's fallen from the sky. Climb all the way back up with your tentacle thing.
Blog: Alright, alright! I'll finally talk about Aura-Aura Climber, so you can all calm down now.
Aura-Aura Climber is a DSi Ware game about a star climbing to reach the sky. It climbs using a grappling hook-like thing to attach to rocks. Along the way you need to grab power ups, some used to boost upwards, some used to extend your reach.
The gameplay is rather lackluster however. It really has nothing going for it unless going for high scores is your thing.
One problem I do have is that I feel the camera is too zoomed in. I wish it had a slightly bigger view.
Honestly that's all there is to talk about Aura-Aura Climber. It's just a small, basic little DS game. Maybe you'll like it but I found it to be underwhelming.
TL;DR: Aura-Aura Climber is a game that will have no impact on your life and you'll probably forget playing it.
Platform: Nintendo DS
Main Story: 41m 23s
Rating: 5/10
Date Completed: August 25, 2021
Game Synopsis: You're a star that's fallen from the sky. Climb all the way back up with your tentacle thing.
Blog: Alright, alright! I'll finally talk about Aura-Aura Climber, so you can all calm down now.
Aura-Aura Climber is a DSi Ware game about a star climbing to reach the sky. It climbs using a grappling hook-like thing to attach to rocks. Along the way you need to grab power ups, some used to boost upwards, some used to extend your reach.
The gameplay is rather lackluster however. It really has nothing going for it unless going for high scores is your thing.
One problem I do have is that I feel the camera is too zoomed in. I wish it had a slightly bigger view.
Honestly that's all there is to talk about Aura-Aura Climber. It's just a small, basic little DS game. Maybe you'll like it but I found it to be underwhelming.
TL;DR: Aura-Aura Climber is a game that will have no impact on your life and you'll probably forget playing it.
4 Yrs♥✓#
R2D219994 Yrs♥✓#
Game #87: Bird Alone
Platform: Mobile
Main Story: 2h 02m 13s
Rating: 7/10
Date Completed: September 02, 2021
Game Synopsis: Chill back with a bird friend.
Blog: Bird Alone is a game all about hanging out with your bird every real life day. Write poetry, make music, share secrets, and ponder life with your bird friend.
Bird Alone is not your typical game. It encourages you to play every day, but no longer than about 2 to 10 minutes a session.
It's quite a touching game and I cherished the small moments with my bird, whose name was Howdy Doody.
If there's one thing that brought me out of the experience, I occasionally had audio glitches. Very bad crackling. Not sure why, it's never happened before with other games or apps.
There's not more I want to say. It's a game that should be experienced.
TL;DR: Bird Alone is a light-hearted game about hanging out with a bird, but I wish there wasn't any of these audio issues to take me out of the experience.
----------
Game #88: Orwell
Platform: Mobile
Main Story: 5h 28m 58s
Rating: 8/10
Date Completed: September 07, 2021
Game Synopsis: You work for Orwell, a secret government group whose mission is to go through articles, websites, private messages, and even phone calls. Your task is to find the identity of a terrorist bomber and prevent any more harm.
Blog: Orwell is a game based primarily on narrative. The thing with narrative games is that if you don't have a good story, then the game probably isn't going to do so well to get the player's attention.
Orwell doesn't need to worry about that as it has a great story.
The game's story revolves around the player being able to read through various social media in order to make choices that could have a big impact on the story and characters.
Gameplay is rather simple but it really works as you have to sift through text and investigate clues that could lead you down another path to investigate. Now, fortunately you don't have to read through every line of text as certain lines and data will be highlighted to let the player know that they can interact with it. The player has to decide from there whether that information should be used, or if it's a waste of time or incorrect.
You can take as much data as you usually want, however there's one chapter where the game limits you on how much data you can download in that session. I wish this wasn't secluded to only one chapter and that the game did it more. It was so nerve-racking to make sure I picked what I thought to be relevant.
One problem I had which was very annoying is that the game screws with my phone's rotating settings. I have my phone set to where it's always vertical unless I tell it to rotate horizontally. For some reason, Orwell is able to bypass that permission and rotates the game anyway. I understand that if the game needs to be played that way then it would be fine, but you're able to play the game vertically anyway. It's just so annoying to have to deal with when I'm trying to lay in bed and play.
Orwell is a rather fun game though. I recommend it. It's on PC too I believe.
TL;DR: Orwell is a great game about digging through people's private information. I wish that some of the more interesting aspects used in later levels were used more though.
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Game #89: Squaredance
Platform: Mobile
Main Story: 2h 25m 32s
Rating: 7/10
Date Completed: September 07, 2021
Game Synopsis: A puzzle game about combining colors.
Blog: Puzzle games can be fun. Squaredance is fun but it has issues.
Firstly, the game is about figuring out how to get rid of all the colored squares on the map by combining them with other squares of the same color. You have to swipe your finger around the map and hopefully the squares don't get caught in an endless loop.
The game is about being smart and figuring out an order that works. Or at least, that's what it should have been.
In the later levels the game introduces some "puzzles" that are more about bs precision timing than actually thinking about the order. And when I say bs precision timing, I mean timing right down to what feels like half a second. It's not fun and is just so frustrating.
I also hate the swipe controls, my hatred multiplied by the timing-based levels. I wish there were some arrow buttons on the screen in addition to it. They have the room for it, I'm not sure why they decided not to.
What's also terrible is that in order to go to the menu in the middle of a level you need to tap the screen. Not even a double tap, just a tap. This has caused me great issues when trying to move squares as it'll sometimes register my swipe for a tap somehow. Is it my phone? Maybe. The issue can still be easily avoided if there was just a menu button. Seriously! I can't think of any other level-based mobile game that doesn't use a menu button.
Check out Squaredance if you want to, but I'd recommend quitting before the timing levels.
TL;DR: Squaredance is a good puzzle game at the start, but is ruined by terrible controls and levels with timing involved.
Platform: Mobile
Main Story: 2h 02m 13s
Rating: 7/10
Date Completed: September 02, 2021
Game Synopsis: Chill back with a bird friend.
Blog: Bird Alone is a game all about hanging out with your bird every real life day. Write poetry, make music, share secrets, and ponder life with your bird friend.
Bird Alone is not your typical game. It encourages you to play every day, but no longer than about 2 to 10 minutes a session.
It's quite a touching game and I cherished the small moments with my bird, whose name was Howdy Doody.
If there's one thing that brought me out of the experience, I occasionally had audio glitches. Very bad crackling. Not sure why, it's never happened before with other games or apps.
There's not more I want to say. It's a game that should be experienced.
TL;DR: Bird Alone is a light-hearted game about hanging out with a bird, but I wish there wasn't any of these audio issues to take me out of the experience.
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Game #88: Orwell
Platform: Mobile
Main Story: 5h 28m 58s
Rating: 8/10
Date Completed: September 07, 2021
Game Synopsis: You work for Orwell, a secret government group whose mission is to go through articles, websites, private messages, and even phone calls. Your task is to find the identity of a terrorist bomber and prevent any more harm.
Blog: Orwell is a game based primarily on narrative. The thing with narrative games is that if you don't have a good story, then the game probably isn't going to do so well to get the player's attention.
Orwell doesn't need to worry about that as it has a great story.
The game's story revolves around the player being able to read through various social media in order to make choices that could have a big impact on the story and characters.
Gameplay is rather simple but it really works as you have to sift through text and investigate clues that could lead you down another path to investigate. Now, fortunately you don't have to read through every line of text as certain lines and data will be highlighted to let the player know that they can interact with it. The player has to decide from there whether that information should be used, or if it's a waste of time or incorrect.
You can take as much data as you usually want, however there's one chapter where the game limits you on how much data you can download in that session. I wish this wasn't secluded to only one chapter and that the game did it more. It was so nerve-racking to make sure I picked what I thought to be relevant.
One problem I had which was very annoying is that the game screws with my phone's rotating settings. I have my phone set to where it's always vertical unless I tell it to rotate horizontally. For some reason, Orwell is able to bypass that permission and rotates the game anyway. I understand that if the game needs to be played that way then it would be fine, but you're able to play the game vertically anyway. It's just so annoying to have to deal with when I'm trying to lay in bed and play.
Orwell is a rather fun game though. I recommend it. It's on PC too I believe.
TL;DR: Orwell is a great game about digging through people's private information. I wish that some of the more interesting aspects used in later levels were used more though.
----------
Game #89: Squaredance
Platform: Mobile
Main Story: 2h 25m 32s
Rating: 7/10
Date Completed: September 07, 2021
Game Synopsis: A puzzle game about combining colors.
Blog: Puzzle games can be fun. Squaredance is fun but it has issues.
Firstly, the game is about figuring out how to get rid of all the colored squares on the map by combining them with other squares of the same color. You have to swipe your finger around the map and hopefully the squares don't get caught in an endless loop.
The game is about being smart and figuring out an order that works. Or at least, that's what it should have been.
In the later levels the game introduces some "puzzles" that are more about bs precision timing than actually thinking about the order. And when I say bs precision timing, I mean timing right down to what feels like half a second. It's not fun and is just so frustrating.
I also hate the swipe controls, my hatred multiplied by the timing-based levels. I wish there were some arrow buttons on the screen in addition to it. They have the room for it, I'm not sure why they decided not to.
What's also terrible is that in order to go to the menu in the middle of a level you need to tap the screen. Not even a double tap, just a tap. This has caused me great issues when trying to move squares as it'll sometimes register my swipe for a tap somehow. Is it my phone? Maybe. The issue can still be easily avoided if there was just a menu button. Seriously! I can't think of any other level-based mobile game that doesn't use a menu button.
Check out Squaredance if you want to, but I'd recommend quitting before the timing levels.
TL;DR: Squaredance is a good puzzle game at the start, but is ruined by terrible controls and levels with timing involved.
4 Yrs♥✓#
R2D219994 Yrs♥✓#
Game #90: The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
Platform: Switch
100% Complete 134h 47m 44s
Rating: 9/10
Date Completed: September 09, 2021
Game Synopsis: Link wakes up from a loooooong nap and realizes that the kingdom of Hyrule has gone to shit. All thanks to technology!
Blog: Surprise, surprise! I think Breath of the Wild is a good game.
Breath of the Wild is like a playground. There's so many things to do and play around with. So many mechanics to try something new if one thing feels old. It's just so... fun! Every once in a while I'll see a group of enemies or an enemy fort and I'll just go ham on them in anyway I know how.
One thing that I've heard complaints about is that people feel that the weapon durability is too much and that weapons break too quickly. I don't feel that way personally. It's just that there's lots of good weapons everywhere and it's not like I'm suppose to grow an attachment to a specific one. Hell, there's so many times when I've run out of space to hold anymore weapons. The weapon durability just seems like a non-issue to me.
One thing I do have a bit of an issue with is that I don't feel like there's that many memorable characters. At least for a Zelda game. Some characters who are important also just aren't fully fleshed out, such as the Champions.
Honestly the story in general just sort of takes a backseat. It's rather unusual for a Zelda game and I miss that with Breath of the Wild.
Breath of the Wild is a fun time and I can't wait to see how it gets improved in the sequel.
TL;DR: Breath of the Wild is so much fun, but I wish the story was as good and interesting. Especially in comparison to other Zeldas.
Platform: Switch
100% Complete 134h 47m 44s
Rating: 9/10
Date Completed: September 09, 2021
Game Synopsis: Link wakes up from a loooooong nap and realizes that the kingdom of Hyrule has gone to shit. All thanks to technology!
Blog: Surprise, surprise! I think Breath of the Wild is a good game.
Breath of the Wild is like a playground. There's so many things to do and play around with. So many mechanics to try something new if one thing feels old. It's just so... fun! Every once in a while I'll see a group of enemies or an enemy fort and I'll just go ham on them in anyway I know how.
One thing that I've heard complaints about is that people feel that the weapon durability is too much and that weapons break too quickly. I don't feel that way personally. It's just that there's lots of good weapons everywhere and it's not like I'm suppose to grow an attachment to a specific one. Hell, there's so many times when I've run out of space to hold anymore weapons. The weapon durability just seems like a non-issue to me.
One thing I do have a bit of an issue with is that I don't feel like there's that many memorable characters. At least for a Zelda game. Some characters who are important also just aren't fully fleshed out, such as the Champions.
Honestly the story in general just sort of takes a backseat. It's rather unusual for a Zelda game and I miss that with Breath of the Wild.
Breath of the Wild is a fun time and I can't wait to see how it gets improved in the sequel.
TL;DR: Breath of the Wild is so much fun, but I wish the story was as good and interesting. Especially in comparison to other Zeldas.
4 Yrs♥✓#
R2D219994 Yrs♥✓#
DLC/Expansion #2: The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild - The Master Trials
Game: The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
Platform: Switch
Main Story: 5h 44m 19s
100% Complete: 6h 53m 46s
Rating: 7/10
Date Completed: September 01, 2021
Synopsis: Link hears of a way to power up his Master Sword to the max!
Blog: The Master Trials is a group of 3 trials. Upon completing a trial, his Master sword is upgraded to do more damage. Each trial increases the difficulty and the number of floors you have to face where you need to defeat all the enemies on that floor.
The trials are pretty fun and challenging. It tests your knowledge and skill of the game and is pretty great. I find it a lot of fun.
Some other things that were added in the DLC were some outfits of characters from previous Zelda titles.
Unfortunately for these outfits, while they're pretty nostalgic they just don't serve much of a use because they're completely outclassed by other armor already in the base game. They can't be upgraded for more defense either. While the outfits also have abilities, they all have abilities that another armor set has. Except for the Korok mask which the main purpose for that is to help find nearby Koroks. Which is actually pretty helpful.
At least the Master Trials are fun.
TL;DR: The Master Trials are really great fun with a good reward of upgrading the Master Sword. However, I just wish the included outfits were more than just for show.
-----------
DLC/Expansion #3: The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild - The Champions' Ballad
Game: The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
Platform: Switch
Main Story: 7h 10m 31s
100% Complete: 8h 50m 54s
Rating: 7/10
Date Completed: September 04, 2021
Synopsis: After defeating the four divine beasts, Link is given another task that will delve deeper into the lives of the Champions.
Blog: Another DLC with goodies. This time around, the DLC is a bit more story-based, as it delves deeper into the history of the Champions each with their own set of challenges that you must go through.
At the end there is also an exceptional boss battle, as well as a very fun reward at the end. I won't spoil what it is, but it's so much fun.
Unfortunately the Champions' Ballad DLC has the same issues as the other Breath of the Wild DLC, in that it adds more outfits but the outfits are merely for nostalgia only and the abilities are irrelevant compared to base game armor with better defense.
At least you get cool horse gear this time... that's what everyone wanted right?
TL;DR: DLC that adds much needed character information for the Champions but the new outfits are once again irrelevant.
Game: The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
Platform: Switch
Main Story: 5h 44m 19s
100% Complete: 6h 53m 46s
Rating: 7/10
Date Completed: September 01, 2021
Synopsis: Link hears of a way to power up his Master Sword to the max!
Blog: The Master Trials is a group of 3 trials. Upon completing a trial, his Master sword is upgraded to do more damage. Each trial increases the difficulty and the number of floors you have to face where you need to defeat all the enemies on that floor.
The trials are pretty fun and challenging. It tests your knowledge and skill of the game and is pretty great. I find it a lot of fun.
Some other things that were added in the DLC were some outfits of characters from previous Zelda titles.
Unfortunately for these outfits, while they're pretty nostalgic they just don't serve much of a use because they're completely outclassed by other armor already in the base game. They can't be upgraded for more defense either. While the outfits also have abilities, they all have abilities that another armor set has. Except for the Korok mask which the main purpose for that is to help find nearby Koroks. Which is actually pretty helpful.
At least the Master Trials are fun.
TL;DR: The Master Trials are really great fun with a good reward of upgrading the Master Sword. However, I just wish the included outfits were more than just for show.
-----------
DLC/Expansion #3: The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild - The Champions' Ballad
Game: The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
Platform: Switch
Main Story: 7h 10m 31s
100% Complete: 8h 50m 54s
Rating: 7/10
Date Completed: September 04, 2021
Synopsis: After defeating the four divine beasts, Link is given another task that will delve deeper into the lives of the Champions.
Blog: Another DLC with goodies. This time around, the DLC is a bit more story-based, as it delves deeper into the history of the Champions each with their own set of challenges that you must go through.
At the end there is also an exceptional boss battle, as well as a very fun reward at the end. I won't spoil what it is, but it's so much fun.
Unfortunately the Champions' Ballad DLC has the same issues as the other Breath of the Wild DLC, in that it adds more outfits but the outfits are merely for nostalgia only and the abilities are irrelevant compared to base game armor with better defense.
At least you get cool horse gear this time... that's what everyone wanted right?
TL;DR: DLC that adds much needed character information for the Champions but the new outfits are once again irrelevant.
4 Yrs♥✓#
R2D219994 Yrs♥✓#
Game #91: WWE 2K Battlegrounds
Platform: Switch
Main + Extras: 6h 33m 20s
Rating: 1/10
Date Completed: September 11, 2021
Game Synopsis: Wrestle as your favorite WWE wrestler in this shitty wrestling game.
Blog: This is probably the only game so far I rated a 1 that's also from a triple A studio. Not a good look, 2K.
This game was horrible. I'm so glad that I technically got this for free.
I don't even know where to begin. There's just so much trash to unpack. Maybe start with the main appeal: the wrestling. It's so boring. Like, wow. Imagine a fighting game where everyone has the same movesets. That's what this is. Nobody is unique, they're all the same person. The most interesting thing are the stages as each one has a unique interactable thing to help out the person who used it. That's still not great though as the interactables can be very OP. Too OP in fact. I won most of the story missions by solely using those.
So the gameplay is uninteresting. How about the technical aspect? Does it run well? As long as you don't do anything more than a 1-on-1 fight you'll be alright. Anything more and you run the risk of really bad framerate. Just terrible. I've actually crashed a few times too. The game just isn't stable.
And if you were hoping the story to somehow redeem the game then you'll be very disappointed. It's just so bland... you play as a cast of wrestlers that are trying to be recruited by Stone Cold Steve Austin and it's just so awkward and unfunny. Also, the text is super small to read on my TV. I had to use the Switch's zoom feature multiple times. Did nobody in development check this? Seriously?
Character creator was honestly the reason I bought this game for. I remember having such a fun time with my cousin with the older WWE games and trying to make the strangest wrestlers. This game? The character creator doesn't let you do anything over-the-top. There's not even that many options as there used to be on the older games too. It's like someone specifically designed it so you can't have fun.
The final nail in the coffin was the microtransactions. Oh god there were so many characters and costumes locked behind paywalls of virtual coins which had to be earned from either playing through the story/daily challenges or using real world money. Disgusting. Absolutely disgusting.
Don't buy it. This was genuinely one of the worst games I've played in 2021 if not THE worst.
TL;DR: WWE 2K Battlegrounds is a mess that no one should ever even think about, much less play.
Platform: Switch
Main + Extras: 6h 33m 20s
Rating: 1/10
Date Completed: September 11, 2021
Game Synopsis: Wrestle as your favorite WWE wrestler in this shitty wrestling game.
Blog: This is probably the only game so far I rated a 1 that's also from a triple A studio. Not a good look, 2K.
This game was horrible. I'm so glad that I technically got this for free.
I don't even know where to begin. There's just so much trash to unpack. Maybe start with the main appeal: the wrestling. It's so boring. Like, wow. Imagine a fighting game where everyone has the same movesets. That's what this is. Nobody is unique, they're all the same person. The most interesting thing are the stages as each one has a unique interactable thing to help out the person who used it. That's still not great though as the interactables can be very OP. Too OP in fact. I won most of the story missions by solely using those.
So the gameplay is uninteresting. How about the technical aspect? Does it run well? As long as you don't do anything more than a 1-on-1 fight you'll be alright. Anything more and you run the risk of really bad framerate. Just terrible. I've actually crashed a few times too. The game just isn't stable.
And if you were hoping the story to somehow redeem the game then you'll be very disappointed. It's just so bland... you play as a cast of wrestlers that are trying to be recruited by Stone Cold Steve Austin and it's just so awkward and unfunny. Also, the text is super small to read on my TV. I had to use the Switch's zoom feature multiple times. Did nobody in development check this? Seriously?
Character creator was honestly the reason I bought this game for. I remember having such a fun time with my cousin with the older WWE games and trying to make the strangest wrestlers. This game? The character creator doesn't let you do anything over-the-top. There's not even that many options as there used to be on the older games too. It's like someone specifically designed it so you can't have fun.
The final nail in the coffin was the microtransactions. Oh god there were so many characters and costumes locked behind paywalls of virtual coins which had to be earned from either playing through the story/daily challenges or using real world money. Disgusting. Absolutely disgusting.
Don't buy it. This was genuinely one of the worst games I've played in 2021 if not THE worst.
TL;DR: WWE 2K Battlegrounds is a mess that no one should ever even think about, much less play.