4 Yrs♥✓#
R2D21999
4 Yrs♥✓#
Game #160: SNK vs. Capcom: Card Fighters DS
Platform: Nintendo DS
Main Story: 23h 23m 12s
Rating: 6/10
Date Completed: February 5, 2022
Game Synopsis: An evil computer has mind controlled everyone in a building, get to the top by defeating your opponents in a card game.
Blog: This game made me realize that card games are actually kind of fun.
SNK vs. Capcom is a pretty fun card game but it has some glaring flaws.
There's the story which is not only generic, but halfway through the game they introduce a villain team. It feels incredibly forced and they come out of nowhere. Also things that are suppose to be a "secret" to the player are incredibly obvious to figure out.
There's also these card quests where in order to progress through the game you need to get a character a few specific cards. This was the worst! It completely halts the game and forced me to have to keep buying packs of cards in order to get the ones that I need. It's completely RNG based and it's even worse that you don't get the option to skip it.
The card game aspect itself is fun though. I loved seeing all of the various SNK and Capcom characters. I'm always happy to see characters I know about and then also learning about characters I've never heard of.
I also love the restriction floors where you're forced to only use certain cards. Unfortunately it's only used on two floors in total. I wish it had been used more often.
Overall I liked SNK vs. Capcom: Card Fighters DS.
TL;DR: SNK vs. Capcom: Card Fighters DS makes me like card games. I wish that the story was as good and that the card quests had been done away with.
Platform: Nintendo DS
Main Story: 23h 23m 12s
Rating: 6/10
Date Completed: February 5, 2022
Game Synopsis: An evil computer has mind controlled everyone in a building, get to the top by defeating your opponents in a card game.
Blog: This game made me realize that card games are actually kind of fun.
SNK vs. Capcom is a pretty fun card game but it has some glaring flaws.
There's the story which is not only generic, but halfway through the game they introduce a villain team. It feels incredibly forced and they come out of nowhere. Also things that are suppose to be a "secret" to the player are incredibly obvious to figure out.
There's also these card quests where in order to progress through the game you need to get a character a few specific cards. This was the worst! It completely halts the game and forced me to have to keep buying packs of cards in order to get the ones that I need. It's completely RNG based and it's even worse that you don't get the option to skip it.
The card game aspect itself is fun though. I loved seeing all of the various SNK and Capcom characters. I'm always happy to see characters I know about and then also learning about characters I've never heard of.
I also love the restriction floors where you're forced to only use certain cards. Unfortunately it's only used on two floors in total. I wish it had been used more often.
Overall I liked SNK vs. Capcom: Card Fighters DS.
TL;DR: SNK vs. Capcom: Card Fighters DS makes me like card games. I wish that the story was as good and that the card quests had been done away with.
4 Yrs♥✓#
R2D219994 Yrs♥✓#
Game #161: Crystal Monsters
Platform: Nintendo DS
Main Story: 10h 16m 47s
Rating: 5/10
Date Completed: February 8, 2022
Game Synopsis: A world where some people can see monsters and others can't.
Blog: There's not much going for Crystal Monsters unfortunately.
I think it has a neat RPG system at the very least. It's a Pokemon clone, but all the battles are 3 vs 3. There's also an interesting breed mechanic where you sacrifice 2 of your monsters for a new monster with new moves. I didn't really use it though and getting rid of 2 monsters seemed like it wasn't that good of an idea.
The monsters themselves are the laziest part though. The monsters are able to "evolve" as they do in Pokemon, but they're only palette changes. So instead of an orange fire cat, I now have a red fire cat that looks the same. That's so lame.
The battles are also kind of iffy. They're very easy, and stat boosting moves don't really seem to be doing much of anything. Stick with moves that can cause damage and you'll be ok.
In order to catch new monsters, you need to mash on the A button in hopes of even getting a chance to catch them. I'm not a fan of this, mashing A just makes my thumbs hurt. Eventually though I just stopped catching monsters altogether.
There's an X-Form camera thing where for your monsters you need to take a picture of your face and it's suppose to help their stats or something. It didn't seem to have changed much other than their sprite so I think the game was wrong about the stats boosting.
The story is also generic. Nothing to write home about, just a boy who wants to be the best monster battler or whatever and eventually has to save the world. Typical anime stuff.
TL;DR: Crystal Monsters is an interesting looking Pokemon clone game, but the game itself is rather mediocre.
Platform: Nintendo DS
Main Story: 10h 16m 47s
Rating: 5/10
Date Completed: February 8, 2022
Game Synopsis: A world where some people can see monsters and others can't.
Blog: There's not much going for Crystal Monsters unfortunately.
I think it has a neat RPG system at the very least. It's a Pokemon clone, but all the battles are 3 vs 3. There's also an interesting breed mechanic where you sacrifice 2 of your monsters for a new monster with new moves. I didn't really use it though and getting rid of 2 monsters seemed like it wasn't that good of an idea.
The monsters themselves are the laziest part though. The monsters are able to "evolve" as they do in Pokemon, but they're only palette changes. So instead of an orange fire cat, I now have a red fire cat that looks the same. That's so lame.
The battles are also kind of iffy. They're very easy, and stat boosting moves don't really seem to be doing much of anything. Stick with moves that can cause damage and you'll be ok.
In order to catch new monsters, you need to mash on the A button in hopes of even getting a chance to catch them. I'm not a fan of this, mashing A just makes my thumbs hurt. Eventually though I just stopped catching monsters altogether.
There's an X-Form camera thing where for your monsters you need to take a picture of your face and it's suppose to help their stats or something. It didn't seem to have changed much other than their sprite so I think the game was wrong about the stats boosting.
The story is also generic. Nothing to write home about, just a boy who wants to be the best monster battler or whatever and eventually has to save the world. Typical anime stuff.
TL;DR: Crystal Monsters is an interesting looking Pokemon clone game, but the game itself is rather mediocre.
4 Yrs♥✓#
R2D219994 Yrs♥✓#
I want to add that this is the first time in months that I've finally caught up to my blog posts. This won't be the last post here but I won't be doing them as consistently as I have been recently.
4 Yrs✓#
Leowe
4 Yrs✓#
I would almost reply the previous post asking if you beat chapter 9, but I've seen that you broke the two apart :P
For me the DLC was really hard as well, but really engaging despite it being that long. However, I do remember being stuck in the last screen for like 2-3 days. It's just so hard but at the same time so good. You immerse yourself so much that you almost reacting solely on reflexes and muscle memory. I'm almost feel the need to play again only to experience again haha
Glad you enjoy it! It was fucking long, but well worth it
4 Yrs♥✓#
R2D219994 Yrs♥✓#
Man that sounds crazy I don't think I could play it again. Not any time soon anyway lol. I think I was just at a point where I just wanted to be done with the game. Probably had something to do with me having to stop halfway into Chapter 9 and go back to clear the B-side stages as well for those other hearts
4 Yrs♥✓#
R2D219994 Yrs♥✓#
Game #162: Freedom Wars
Platform: PS Vita
Main + Extras: 23h 50m 41s
Multiplayer - VS: 13m 10s
Rating: 6/10
Date Completed: February 11, 2022
Game Synopsis: Fight for your panopticon in a world where you have to earn your freedom.
Blog: My first time playing a Vita game.
Freedom Wars is a game that I would compare to something like Monster Hunter. Although I've never played Monster Hunter, I feel like from the way that gameplay looks it's not too far off from Freedom Wars.
You fight giant monsters called Abductors, and sometimes other humans, and the gameplay isn't too bad here. I was a guy who appreciated the light guns and swords, I especially liked cutting off the limbs or weapons of the Abductors. It's just so satisfying. Although the gameplay is a bit repetitive, as it's largely the same 2 kinds of missions that you'll have to do.
With this being an RPG, it has a story. I will like to say that I like the premise. You're in a world where people are seen as property. You are what's known as a sinner, someone who is essentially a prisoner to the government of the area you live at. Sinners are people who are forced into doing missions in order to take a few years off their sentence, while also being careful not to add on to it anymore which is easier said than done. Yours starts off at 1,000,000 years due to you committing one of the biggest crimes: getting amnesia.
I think that's a cool premise and it even has some gameplay elements to it. Talk to the wrong people, 200 years added to your sentence. Stand around for too long, 100 years added. It's really cool and really makes the player feel as though they need to be careful about what they do. Although I they stop leaning on this premise a bit once you get past the second set of missions.
What I don't really enjoy is the story itself that revolves around you and the other characters. I feel as though the writers would often just wing it as they go, bringing up random plotlines that seemed rather forced in. No joke, they introduce the bad guy two-thirds into the game and before that there was really no mention of him at all. The game also makes it seem at the beginning that the Abductors just exist as mindless creatures or are a part of something bigger, but no not really it's actually just other groups similar to your own that control the Abductors. It's very confusing.
Then there's some key plot points that don't make much sense. So before your character gets amnesia they're seen in the starting cutscene helping their team fight an Abductor, and in the middle of the fight they get hit really hard and get amnesia. What I don't get is that these same teammates seem to act as if they don't know you at all. They didn't get amnesia, only you did. Why are they acting as if they have never met?
Then there's the ending. The ending doesn't resolve the story. In fact it ends as if to imply that they're off to fight a huge battle but then nothing becomes of it. Is this sequel baiting? I don't like this. The ending just makes me disappointed.
Freedom Wars is still fun game but don't expect much from the story.
TL;DR: Freedom Wars is a good game that makes me think of Monster Hunter. I wish the story wasn't such a mess however.
Platform: PS Vita
Main + Extras: 23h 50m 41s
Multiplayer - VS: 13m 10s
Rating: 6/10
Date Completed: February 11, 2022
Game Synopsis: Fight for your panopticon in a world where you have to earn your freedom.
Blog: My first time playing a Vita game.
Freedom Wars is a game that I would compare to something like Monster Hunter. Although I've never played Monster Hunter, I feel like from the way that gameplay looks it's not too far off from Freedom Wars.
You fight giant monsters called Abductors, and sometimes other humans, and the gameplay isn't too bad here. I was a guy who appreciated the light guns and swords, I especially liked cutting off the limbs or weapons of the Abductors. It's just so satisfying. Although the gameplay is a bit repetitive, as it's largely the same 2 kinds of missions that you'll have to do.
With this being an RPG, it has a story. I will like to say that I like the premise. You're in a world where people are seen as property. You are what's known as a sinner, someone who is essentially a prisoner to the government of the area you live at. Sinners are people who are forced into doing missions in order to take a few years off their sentence, while also being careful not to add on to it anymore which is easier said than done. Yours starts off at 1,000,000 years due to you committing one of the biggest crimes: getting amnesia.
I think that's a cool premise and it even has some gameplay elements to it. Talk to the wrong people, 200 years added to your sentence. Stand around for too long, 100 years added. It's really cool and really makes the player feel as though they need to be careful about what they do. Although I they stop leaning on this premise a bit once you get past the second set of missions.
What I don't really enjoy is the story itself that revolves around you and the other characters. I feel as though the writers would often just wing it as they go, bringing up random plotlines that seemed rather forced in. No joke, they introduce the bad guy two-thirds into the game and before that there was really no mention of him at all. The game also makes it seem at the beginning that the Abductors just exist as mindless creatures or are a part of something bigger, but no not really it's actually just other groups similar to your own that control the Abductors. It's very confusing.
Then there's some key plot points that don't make much sense. So before your character gets amnesia they're seen in the starting cutscene helping their team fight an Abductor, and in the middle of the fight they get hit really hard and get amnesia. What I don't get is that these same teammates seem to act as if they don't know you at all. They didn't get amnesia, only you did. Why are they acting as if they have never met?
Then there's the ending. The ending doesn't resolve the story. In fact it ends as if to imply that they're off to fight a huge battle but then nothing becomes of it. Is this sequel baiting? I don't like this. The ending just makes me disappointed.
Freedom Wars is still fun game but don't expect much from the story.
TL;DR: Freedom Wars is a good game that makes me think of Monster Hunter. I wish the story wasn't such a mess however.
4 Yrs♥✓#
R2D219994 Yrs♥✓#
Game #163: Wii Sports Resort
Platform: Nintendo Wii
Main + Extras: 4h 28m 04s
Rating: 8/10
Date Completed: February 26, 2022
Game Synopsis: It's Wii Sports but with new motion controls and new sports!
Blog: The original Wii Sports was a pack-in title to show the capabilities of the Nintendo Wii.
Wii Sports Resort is a game that shows the capabilities of the Wii Motion Plus while also expanding the number of sports to play.
I'm going to do exactly what I did with the original and review the games individually.
Swordplay: This is a contender for the best sport in the game.
Swordplay not only has one mode, it has three! Duel, Speed Slice, and Showdown.
Duel is your average 1-on-1 where you have to beat your opponent off the platform. You're also able to block attacks which if done correctly could stun the player. It's just a fun mode and I had fun.
Speed Slice is where you need to cut items put in front of you at the correct angle and do it before your opponent does. Another solid and fun game, the cpus can be really difficult with this one.
And my favorite Swordplay mode is Showdown. This is where your character runs through a part of the island and you have to defeat waves of enemies in an on-rails type of gameplay. It's really fun although I could feel that sometimes my blocks wouldn't work correctly even if facing the right way. It's a fun mode anyway.
Wakeboarding: Do flips and tricks in the air from being launched by waves.
You hold the Wii remote horizontally and tip it side by side to move the board. Shake the Wii remote while on the wave to do a neat trick.
This one is probably the worst sport. It's not necessarily bad but compared to the others this one is kind of lacking.
Frisbee: Frisbee has two modes: Frisbee Dog and Frisbee Golf.
Frisbee Dog is where you have to throw a frisbee at an area and have the dog catch it. The closer the dog catches it to the center of the area, the more points you get. It's a simple highscore type of deal.
Frisbee Golf is pretty self-explanatory. It's like golf but with Frisbee. It's treated the same here but except with a frisbee of course.
Should also mention that in order to throw the Frisbee in-game, you act like the Wiimote is a Frisbee as you throw it. It's pretty cool.
Archery: A game where you shoot an arrow at a target. The closer you get to the center, the more points you get
Honestly I quite like this one too. It doesn't give any sort of new spin on Archery of course but the movement and the resulting action is pretty addicting.
Plus there's also some secret targets, which is quite neat if you're into that.
Basketball: I'm sure you know what this is.
There are two modes with Basketball. Both having 3 in the name. There's 3-Point Contest and 3-On-3 Game.
3-Point Contest is where you stand at certain points of the 3 point line and throw basketballs. I had fun with this even though it's very simple on paper. I just like the feeling.
3-On-3 is just a 3-on-3 basketball game. It's fine but I'd like it if my ai teammates would get to a good area that I can pass to them. You do get to dribble the ball though.
Table Tennis: Table Tennis in general is just fun.
Table Tennis gets two modes: Match and Return Challenge.
Match is a regular Table Tennis match. Hit the ball and beat your opponent by getting the better score. Controls are exactly as you think they'd be.
Return Challenge is a high score challenge. Try to return as many of the balls as you can, miss one and you lose. You can also hit cans for more points.
Golf: Oh it's back.
I didn't care too much for Golf on the original Wii Sports, I don't care too much for it now.
It does what it sets out to do. Honestly I'm not sure what Motion Plus added to golf. Like I think it's easier to accidentally curve the ball when you hit it. That seems like that's all.
They could have added more modes to it. Like what they did to the next sport.
Bowling: The best from Wii Sports has returned.
There are three modes: Bowling, 100-Pin Game, and Spin Control.
Bowling is normal good bowling. Like with golf, it doesn't feel too different with the Motion Plus. Maybe I'm just weird though.
100-Pin Game is like the normal bowling but with 100 pins to hit! It's fun and I love watching the pins fall and the serotonin I get from the sound.
Spin Control is where you try to maneuver the bowling ball around obstacles and knocking down as many pins as you can. It's fun and tricky.
The added modes were fun of course, nothing wrong with bowling. Motion Plus didn't really add anything for me though.
Power Cruising: Easily the most forgotten sport in the game.
Your goal is to drive a small power cruiser and pass through goals as quickly as you can for points.
There's also a VS mode. I didn't play it because I didn't care.
Power Cruising is just boring. It's forgettable and not fun.
Canoeing: Apparently canoeing isn't spelled canoing. Thank god this is the only place where I've ever had to write/type that word.
Canoeing is the best of the three water sports. Not a high bar to clear and it's still not amazing.
Paddle a canoe as far as you can before the time runs out.
Oh this also has a VS mode.
Yeah it might be the best water sport in Resort, it still needs a bit more to get my attention.
Cycling: Peddle to the metal in a bicycle race.
Cycling is fun but it suffers from a slight flaw being the stamina gauge. I feel like it goes down too fast and can often come back too slow.
Other than that it's fun. I love going crazy on the Wiimote and nunchuck.
Air Sports: I never considered these as sports but I suppose they are.
Air Sports contains modes Skydiving and Island Flyover.
Skydiving isn't really much of anything as a game. This is actually the first game you play as it's the opener for when you start a new game of Wii Sports Resort.
Island Flyover is the real treat here and might be one of the best sports.
It's so relaxing and I love touring Wuhu Island, learning about all of the places, including areas where the other sports are usually played. It's a pretty place and I hope Nintendo uses it more often... they don't seem too much interested in Miis nowadays so I doubt they will.
TL;DR: Wii Sports Resort improves on the controls and content from the previous game. A few of the sports aren't very standout but the ones that do are very fun.
Platform: Nintendo Wii
Main + Extras: 4h 28m 04s
Rating: 8/10
Date Completed: February 26, 2022
Game Synopsis: It's Wii Sports but with new motion controls and new sports!
Blog: The original Wii Sports was a pack-in title to show the capabilities of the Nintendo Wii.
Wii Sports Resort is a game that shows the capabilities of the Wii Motion Plus while also expanding the number of sports to play.
I'm going to do exactly what I did with the original and review the games individually.
Swordplay: This is a contender for the best sport in the game.
Swordplay not only has one mode, it has three! Duel, Speed Slice, and Showdown.
Duel is your average 1-on-1 where you have to beat your opponent off the platform. You're also able to block attacks which if done correctly could stun the player. It's just a fun mode and I had fun.
Speed Slice is where you need to cut items put in front of you at the correct angle and do it before your opponent does. Another solid and fun game, the cpus can be really difficult with this one.
And my favorite Swordplay mode is Showdown. This is where your character runs through a part of the island and you have to defeat waves of enemies in an on-rails type of gameplay. It's really fun although I could feel that sometimes my blocks wouldn't work correctly even if facing the right way. It's a fun mode anyway.
Wakeboarding: Do flips and tricks in the air from being launched by waves.
You hold the Wii remote horizontally and tip it side by side to move the board. Shake the Wii remote while on the wave to do a neat trick.
This one is probably the worst sport. It's not necessarily bad but compared to the others this one is kind of lacking.
Frisbee: Frisbee has two modes: Frisbee Dog and Frisbee Golf.
Frisbee Dog is where you have to throw a frisbee at an area and have the dog catch it. The closer the dog catches it to the center of the area, the more points you get. It's a simple highscore type of deal.
Frisbee Golf is pretty self-explanatory. It's like golf but with Frisbee. It's treated the same here but except with a frisbee of course.
Should also mention that in order to throw the Frisbee in-game, you act like the Wiimote is a Frisbee as you throw it. It's pretty cool.
Archery: A game where you shoot an arrow at a target. The closer you get to the center, the more points you get
Honestly I quite like this one too. It doesn't give any sort of new spin on Archery of course but the movement and the resulting action is pretty addicting.
Plus there's also some secret targets, which is quite neat if you're into that.
Basketball: I'm sure you know what this is.
There are two modes with Basketball. Both having 3 in the name. There's 3-Point Contest and 3-On-3 Game.
3-Point Contest is where you stand at certain points of the 3 point line and throw basketballs. I had fun with this even though it's very simple on paper. I just like the feeling.
3-On-3 is just a 3-on-3 basketball game. It's fine but I'd like it if my ai teammates would get to a good area that I can pass to them. You do get to dribble the ball though.
Table Tennis: Table Tennis in general is just fun.
Table Tennis gets two modes: Match and Return Challenge.
Match is a regular Table Tennis match. Hit the ball and beat your opponent by getting the better score. Controls are exactly as you think they'd be.
Return Challenge is a high score challenge. Try to return as many of the balls as you can, miss one and you lose. You can also hit cans for more points.
Golf: Oh it's back.
I didn't care too much for Golf on the original Wii Sports, I don't care too much for it now.
It does what it sets out to do. Honestly I'm not sure what Motion Plus added to golf. Like I think it's easier to accidentally curve the ball when you hit it. That seems like that's all.
They could have added more modes to it. Like what they did to the next sport.
Bowling: The best from Wii Sports has returned.
There are three modes: Bowling, 100-Pin Game, and Spin Control.
Bowling is normal good bowling. Like with golf, it doesn't feel too different with the Motion Plus. Maybe I'm just weird though.
100-Pin Game is like the normal bowling but with 100 pins to hit! It's fun and I love watching the pins fall and the serotonin I get from the sound.
Spin Control is where you try to maneuver the bowling ball around obstacles and knocking down as many pins as you can. It's fun and tricky.
The added modes were fun of course, nothing wrong with bowling. Motion Plus didn't really add anything for me though.
Power Cruising: Easily the most forgotten sport in the game.
Your goal is to drive a small power cruiser and pass through goals as quickly as you can for points.
There's also a VS mode. I didn't play it because I didn't care.
Power Cruising is just boring. It's forgettable and not fun.
Canoeing: Apparently canoeing isn't spelled canoing. Thank god this is the only place where I've ever had to write/type that word.
Canoeing is the best of the three water sports. Not a high bar to clear and it's still not amazing.
Paddle a canoe as far as you can before the time runs out.
Oh this also has a VS mode.
Yeah it might be the best water sport in Resort, it still needs a bit more to get my attention.
Cycling: Peddle to the metal in a bicycle race.
Cycling is fun but it suffers from a slight flaw being the stamina gauge. I feel like it goes down too fast and can often come back too slow.
Other than that it's fun. I love going crazy on the Wiimote and nunchuck.
Air Sports: I never considered these as sports but I suppose they are.
Air Sports contains modes Skydiving and Island Flyover.
Skydiving isn't really much of anything as a game. This is actually the first game you play as it's the opener for when you start a new game of Wii Sports Resort.
Island Flyover is the real treat here and might be one of the best sports.
It's so relaxing and I love touring Wuhu Island, learning about all of the places, including areas where the other sports are usually played. It's a pretty place and I hope Nintendo uses it more often... they don't seem too much interested in Miis nowadays so I doubt they will.
TL;DR: Wii Sports Resort improves on the controls and content from the previous game. A few of the sports aren't very standout but the ones that do are very fun.
4 Yrs♥✓#
R2D219994 Yrs♥✓#
This is a new kind of review I want to try out every once in a while. Let me know if you like it
Peripheral #1: Sports Pack 8in1 for Wii Sports Resort
Games Used In: Wii Sports Resort
Buy Rating: Avoid
Blog: The Nintendo Wii is infamously recognized for the numerous amounts of accessories. You've got guns, swords, maracas, a baby, and so much more.
One of the more iconic accessories for me was the Sports Pack 8in1 for Wii Sports Resort. I remember getting this for a birthday or Christmas along with a copy of Wii Sports Resort, used them once or twice and then never touched the accessories again.
I've recently gone back to Wii Sports Resort, and after going through all the sports I thought it'd be fun to try and use the accessories. And my opinion on them being terrible is unchanged.
Sword: The sword is the only one that I would determine to be alright. I didn't feel like it elevated my experience with the Swordfighting games but I could see people having fun with it.
My one issue with it is that for whatever reason the "blade" portion if it feels loose and wobbly. I tried to fix it but it didn't seem as if it could be tightened or pulled apart without breaking it.
Wakeboarding Handles: This is easily the poorest designed of the bunch.
The box shows the "correct" way of putting the Wiimote in. If I try it that way, the midsection of the attachment gets stretched and the controller falls out.
When I tried putting the controller on its back that seemed to hold better. Although I had to hold it in place a few times due to having to shake the controller during the game.
Unfortunately that way also doesn't let me point at the screen or allow me to press any buttons. So I end up having to take the controller out anyway.
Frisbee: This is probably the one peripheral that stands out aesthetically as it's different in terms of shape and color.
That doesn't change the fact that this is rather frustrating to use. The thing with the frisbee game is that the Wiimote goes along with your hand motions. With the frisbee attachment you are instead guiding the accessory rather than the controller which isn't very accurate when comes to throwing and often takes a lot of tries for the frisbee in-game to actually be thrown.
Another thing pertaining to the Frisbee Dog mode is that after every throw you need to grab the frisbee from the dog by pressing the B button. With the frisbee I have to move my hand to the B button instead of the normal way where I wouldn't have to move more than a finger. It's just unnecessary movement.
Archery Bow: This one literally hurts.
Imagine shooting a rubber band point blank at your thumb. That's what using this peripheral is like. Sure it's only a pinch, but it's not comfortable to do. I stopped using the elastic band after a few times because I was tired of it.
Even without the rubber band, I had to point downwards with the bow instead of pointing forward at the tv. So it's not even correct without the band.
Table Tennis Paddle: This one is fine I guess.
Really my only complaint is that I feel like my swings had to adjust for the added weight. I'm sure that would have been more manageable had I just stuck with it. Still not something that really added to my experience though.
Golf Club: This is also fairly inoffensive to me.
My only issue is that I feel that the end portion should be twistable because the part that's suppose to hit the ball seems like it's facing the wrong way with the stance
Power Cruising Handle: This one is just incredibly awkward to hold.
With the attachment the Wiimote and the nunchuck seem so far apart, as opposed to without when they would be much closer. It's just something I can't get used to even with it being slightly adjustable.
Canoe Paddle:Finally we end with the canoe paddle.
This is similar to the golf club where it doesn't do anything to offend me. With my only problem being fairly minor. The issue here is that I think the paddle should be a tad longer as I can end up hitting my knees with the length they went with.
Overall: So would I recommend buying this? Absolutely not. They all either don't work correctly or in the best case scenario they don't add any value. Just play Wii Sports Resort without it.
Peripheral #1: Sports Pack 8in1 for Wii Sports Resort
Games Used In: Wii Sports Resort
Buy Rating: Avoid
Blog: The Nintendo Wii is infamously recognized for the numerous amounts of accessories. You've got guns, swords, maracas, a baby, and so much more.
One of the more iconic accessories for me was the Sports Pack 8in1 for Wii Sports Resort. I remember getting this for a birthday or Christmas along with a copy of Wii Sports Resort, used them once or twice and then never touched the accessories again.
I've recently gone back to Wii Sports Resort, and after going through all the sports I thought it'd be fun to try and use the accessories. And my opinion on them being terrible is unchanged.
Sword: The sword is the only one that I would determine to be alright. I didn't feel like it elevated my experience with the Swordfighting games but I could see people having fun with it.
My one issue with it is that for whatever reason the "blade" portion if it feels loose and wobbly. I tried to fix it but it didn't seem as if it could be tightened or pulled apart without breaking it.
Wakeboarding Handles: This is easily the poorest designed of the bunch.
The box shows the "correct" way of putting the Wiimote in. If I try it that way, the midsection of the attachment gets stretched and the controller falls out.
When I tried putting the controller on its back that seemed to hold better. Although I had to hold it in place a few times due to having to shake the controller during the game.
Unfortunately that way also doesn't let me point at the screen or allow me to press any buttons. So I end up having to take the controller out anyway.
Frisbee: This is probably the one peripheral that stands out aesthetically as it's different in terms of shape and color.
That doesn't change the fact that this is rather frustrating to use. The thing with the frisbee game is that the Wiimote goes along with your hand motions. With the frisbee attachment you are instead guiding the accessory rather than the controller which isn't very accurate when comes to throwing and often takes a lot of tries for the frisbee in-game to actually be thrown.
Another thing pertaining to the Frisbee Dog mode is that after every throw you need to grab the frisbee from the dog by pressing the B button. With the frisbee I have to move my hand to the B button instead of the normal way where I wouldn't have to move more than a finger. It's just unnecessary movement.
Archery Bow: This one literally hurts.
Imagine shooting a rubber band point blank at your thumb. That's what using this peripheral is like. Sure it's only a pinch, but it's not comfortable to do. I stopped using the elastic band after a few times because I was tired of it.
Even without the rubber band, I had to point downwards with the bow instead of pointing forward at the tv. So it's not even correct without the band.
Table Tennis Paddle: This one is fine I guess.
Really my only complaint is that I feel like my swings had to adjust for the added weight. I'm sure that would have been more manageable had I just stuck with it. Still not something that really added to my experience though.
Golf Club: This is also fairly inoffensive to me.
My only issue is that I feel that the end portion should be twistable because the part that's suppose to hit the ball seems like it's facing the wrong way with the stance
Power Cruising Handle: This one is just incredibly awkward to hold.
With the attachment the Wiimote and the nunchuck seem so far apart, as opposed to without when they would be much closer. It's just something I can't get used to even with it being slightly adjustable.
Canoe Paddle:Finally we end with the canoe paddle.
This is similar to the golf club where it doesn't do anything to offend me. With my only problem being fairly minor. The issue here is that I think the paddle should be a tad longer as I can end up hitting my knees with the length they went with.
Overall: So would I recommend buying this? Absolutely not. They all either don't work correctly or in the best case scenario they don't add any value. Just play Wii Sports Resort without it.
4 Yrs♥✓#
R2D219994 Yrs♥✓#
Game #164: Monster Hunter Rise
Platform: Switch
Main + Extras: 55h 51m 05s
Rating: 9/10
Date Completed: February 27, 2022
Game Synopsis: Hunt down monsters and protect the village from the rampage.
Blog: Rise is my first ever Monster Hunter game and I like it!
I like the gameplay of Monster Hunter Rise. It's pretty complicated to get a handle of all the mechanics as it does throw lots of things at you all at once. Once you go out a few times to hunt monsters players will definitely get the handle of things.
I'm sure some people may find the gameplay loop tedious with preparing, do missions, repeat; and I'll admit I even stopped playing a few missions after the story campaign. Even so, I found the loop absolutely addicting and I wasn't tired of it.
This game is also visually beautiful. The monster designs are absolutely fantastic and seem realistic. The environments are absolutely stunning. It's amazing how Capcom was able to do all this and have the game run like butter.
In my opinion the story is the biggest flaw. It's just sort of there, it ends pretty abruptly, and it seems like they're trying to shoehorn character issues that have never been brought up before. Play for the gameplay, not the story.
TL;DR: Monster Hunter Rise is a beautiful game with great gameplay. Don't be expecting a good story though.
Platform: Switch
Main + Extras: 55h 51m 05s
Rating: 9/10
Date Completed: February 27, 2022
Game Synopsis: Hunt down monsters and protect the village from the rampage.
Blog: Rise is my first ever Monster Hunter game and I like it!
I like the gameplay of Monster Hunter Rise. It's pretty complicated to get a handle of all the mechanics as it does throw lots of things at you all at once. Once you go out a few times to hunt monsters players will definitely get the handle of things.
I'm sure some people may find the gameplay loop tedious with preparing, do missions, repeat; and I'll admit I even stopped playing a few missions after the story campaign. Even so, I found the loop absolutely addicting and I wasn't tired of it.
This game is also visually beautiful. The monster designs are absolutely fantastic and seem realistic. The environments are absolutely stunning. It's amazing how Capcom was able to do all this and have the game run like butter.
In my opinion the story is the biggest flaw. It's just sort of there, it ends pretty abruptly, and it seems like they're trying to shoehorn character issues that have never been brought up before. Play for the gameplay, not the story.
TL;DR: Monster Hunter Rise is a beautiful game with great gameplay. Don't be expecting a good story though.
4 Yrs♥✓#
R2D219994 Yrs♥✓#
Game #165: Meow Tower
Platform: Mobile
Main + Extras: 17h 46m 31s
Rating: 5/10
Date Completed: February 16, 2022
Game Synopsis: Furnish apartments for cats and gain currency through nanogram puzzles.
Blog: Meow Tower does things that I don't really like about a lot of free mobile games in that it's got some ads, it has an energy system that recharges a single energy after 30 minutes, and it looks like one of those games that will eventually get an endless amount of content over time and even though I finished getting all the available cats and their furniture it's clear that's not truly it but that stuff hasn't been added yet.
However it also gets one of my puzzle weaknesses. It's a Picross/Nanograms puzzle game. I love these kind of puzzles. They're relaxing and they're so addicting to play. I love following the numbers and getting the squares filled in. I would have liked a zoom in for the bigger puzzles though.
I know I complained about the energy system and the ads, but if you want to you do have the option to watch a quick 15 second ad to get like 6 energy. So that's cool I guess if you like that.
One thing this game does is that it has you talk to the cats and become friends with them over time. I personally didn't really care about this part and would often just skip through it. I just wanted to do the puzzles.
TL;DR: Meow Tower is a nanograms puzzle game but has ads, an energy system, and still has incoming content of the same exact thing.
--------------------------
Game #166: 2048
Platform: Mobile
Main Story: 1h 18m 56s
Rating: 6/10
Date Completed: February 18, 2022
Game Synopsis: Match number blocks as they slide around.
Blog: 2048 is a simple game. So simple that I'll be surprised if I can manage to write 2 full paragraphs talking about it.
The goal of the game is to get as high of a score as possible by combining blocks of the same number. The way of combining them is sliding all of the blocks to the other end of the screen. If the screen is completely full with no ways of combining blocks then your game is over.
That's all there is to it really. A fun game but it's really simple with not much else going on.
TL;DR: 2048 is a classic but it's very simple and very short lived if you're not interested in just getting highscores.
--------------------------
Game #167: There Is No Game: Jam Edition 2015
Platform: Mobile
Main Story: 10m 17s
Rating: 7/10
Date Completed: March 3, 2022
Game Synopsis: This is not a game synopsis.
Blog: There is No Game: Jam Edition 2015 is not a meta game.
That's partly a joke. It is indeed a meta game but I'd compare it to more of a demo of a game concept. It's got good ideas and plays with them. It's very puzzle-esque but it's pretty short.
It's free, so just check it out. There's of course a different game by the same creators that I imagine goes much more in-depth. I haven't played it though.
TL;DR: This is not a TL;DR of short meta game There is No Game: Jam Edition 2015.
Platform: Mobile
Main + Extras: 17h 46m 31s
Rating: 5/10
Date Completed: February 16, 2022
Game Synopsis: Furnish apartments for cats and gain currency through nanogram puzzles.
Blog: Meow Tower does things that I don't really like about a lot of free mobile games in that it's got some ads, it has an energy system that recharges a single energy after 30 minutes, and it looks like one of those games that will eventually get an endless amount of content over time and even though I finished getting all the available cats and their furniture it's clear that's not truly it but that stuff hasn't been added yet.
However it also gets one of my puzzle weaknesses. It's a Picross/Nanograms puzzle game. I love these kind of puzzles. They're relaxing and they're so addicting to play. I love following the numbers and getting the squares filled in. I would have liked a zoom in for the bigger puzzles though.
I know I complained about the energy system and the ads, but if you want to you do have the option to watch a quick 15 second ad to get like 6 energy. So that's cool I guess if you like that.
One thing this game does is that it has you talk to the cats and become friends with them over time. I personally didn't really care about this part and would often just skip through it. I just wanted to do the puzzles.
TL;DR: Meow Tower is a nanograms puzzle game but has ads, an energy system, and still has incoming content of the same exact thing.
--------------------------
Game #166: 2048
Platform: Mobile
Main Story: 1h 18m 56s
Rating: 6/10
Date Completed: February 18, 2022
Game Synopsis: Match number blocks as they slide around.
Blog: 2048 is a simple game. So simple that I'll be surprised if I can manage to write 2 full paragraphs talking about it.
The goal of the game is to get as high of a score as possible by combining blocks of the same number. The way of combining them is sliding all of the blocks to the other end of the screen. If the screen is completely full with no ways of combining blocks then your game is over.
That's all there is to it really. A fun game but it's really simple with not much else going on.
TL;DR: 2048 is a classic but it's very simple and very short lived if you're not interested in just getting highscores.
--------------------------
Game #167: There Is No Game: Jam Edition 2015
Platform: Mobile
Main Story: 10m 17s
Rating: 7/10
Date Completed: March 3, 2022
Game Synopsis: This is not a game synopsis.
Blog: There is No Game: Jam Edition 2015 is not a meta game.
That's partly a joke. It is indeed a meta game but I'd compare it to more of a demo of a game concept. It's got good ideas and plays with them. It's very puzzle-esque but it's pretty short.
It's free, so just check it out. There's of course a different game by the same creators that I imagine goes much more in-depth. I haven't played it though.
TL;DR: This is not a TL;DR of short meta game There is No Game: Jam Edition 2015.
4 Yrs♥✓#
R2D219994 Yrs♥✓#
Game #168: Osmose
Platform: Mobile
Main Story: 11m 36s
Rating: 7/10
Date Completed: March 13, 2022
Game Synopsis: A game about matching colors to defend yourself.
Blog: Osmose is a small game with not much to do in it other than getting highscores.
The way the game works is that your a ship sitting in the middle of the screen with ships flying at you in a set clockwise pattern. As the game goes on the ships will spawn faster and faster. If one area gets more than 3 ships, it's game over.
The way to defend yourself is that the ships are color coordinated to be either green, blue, pink, or orange. Your ship is able to destroy enemy ships by using the same color that your ship currently has. If your ship "attacks" an enemy that doesn't match your ship's color, then you actually swap colors with that ship. This allows for strategy and being able to manipulate how many ships you destroy in one shot allows for more points.
One issue I have is that the controls don't always seem to work and will often have me shooting the wrong ship than where I had actually tapped the screen at. This could be a case with the game having not been updated since 2015. I actually do get a message when starting the game about that, so I guess that has something to do with it.
What else is there to the game? Well nothing else really. As I mentioned before; you can try to get a highscore but there isn't an online system for it or anything. So if you have friends to compare it with, well there ya go I guess.
TL;DR: Osmose is a mobile game with a cool mechanic but the game doesn't have much else of substance to it to keep me playing.
--------------------
Game #169: Seedship
Platform: Mobile
Main Story: 7m 50s
Main + Extras: 17m 21s
Rating: 6/10
Date Completed: March 14, 2022
Game Synopsis: You're the AI of a spaceship and you must choose a new home planet for your travelers.
Blog:Seedship is a text-based game. It's one of the few I've played and certainly the first one I've recorded playing on HLTB. The goal is to find a planet habitable enough for your human passengers. While looking you must also go through situations where you must walk away as unscathed as possible or else you'll be putting your ship and passengers more at risk.
The main draw of the game, aside from it being a text adventure, seems to be that it's randomized. On my first playthrough I didn't find a planet that seemed good enough until the third or fourth one I came across. On my second it wasn't until way past the tenth when I found one good enough. Events are also randomized and events that you may have gotten a certain outcome before may have a different outcome the next time.
Now as fun as Seedship might be, it gets kind of old. It can just be over so quick and after a second playthrough I felt as though I'd seen it all
TL;DR: Seedship is a text-based adventure game with randomized elements. However it's quick and a second playthrough made me feel like I've seen everything already.
--------------------
Game #170: What's Inside the Box?
Platform: Mobile
Main + Extras: 1h 54m 38s
Rating: 6/10
Date Completed: March 15, 2022
Game Synopsis: Solve 100 puzzles to open the box.
Blog: What's Inside the Box is a puzzle game. What fun!
The puzzles are fun. It varies from moving a ball with your phone, sliding blocks around to make a picture, solving a code, and more. The puzzles can be quite fun.
However my main complaint is that some of the puzzles repeat without really adding anything. The sliding block puzzle for example is done so often. Honestly those kinds of puzzles are more of a waste of time if anything.
TL;DR: What's Inside the Box? Is a good idea for a short puzzle game but I wish some of the puzzles didn't repeat as often as they do.
Platform: Mobile
Main Story: 11m 36s
Rating: 7/10
Date Completed: March 13, 2022
Game Synopsis: A game about matching colors to defend yourself.
Blog: Osmose is a small game with not much to do in it other than getting highscores.
The way the game works is that your a ship sitting in the middle of the screen with ships flying at you in a set clockwise pattern. As the game goes on the ships will spawn faster and faster. If one area gets more than 3 ships, it's game over.
The way to defend yourself is that the ships are color coordinated to be either green, blue, pink, or orange. Your ship is able to destroy enemy ships by using the same color that your ship currently has. If your ship "attacks" an enemy that doesn't match your ship's color, then you actually swap colors with that ship. This allows for strategy and being able to manipulate how many ships you destroy in one shot allows for more points.
One issue I have is that the controls don't always seem to work and will often have me shooting the wrong ship than where I had actually tapped the screen at. This could be a case with the game having not been updated since 2015. I actually do get a message when starting the game about that, so I guess that has something to do with it.
What else is there to the game? Well nothing else really. As I mentioned before; you can try to get a highscore but there isn't an online system for it or anything. So if you have friends to compare it with, well there ya go I guess.
TL;DR: Osmose is a mobile game with a cool mechanic but the game doesn't have much else of substance to it to keep me playing.
--------------------
Game #169: Seedship
Platform: Mobile
Main Story: 7m 50s
Main + Extras: 17m 21s
Rating: 6/10
Date Completed: March 14, 2022
Game Synopsis: You're the AI of a spaceship and you must choose a new home planet for your travelers.
Blog:Seedship is a text-based game. It's one of the few I've played and certainly the first one I've recorded playing on HLTB. The goal is to find a planet habitable enough for your human passengers. While looking you must also go through situations where you must walk away as unscathed as possible or else you'll be putting your ship and passengers more at risk.
The main draw of the game, aside from it being a text adventure, seems to be that it's randomized. On my first playthrough I didn't find a planet that seemed good enough until the third or fourth one I came across. On my second it wasn't until way past the tenth when I found one good enough. Events are also randomized and events that you may have gotten a certain outcome before may have a different outcome the next time.
Now as fun as Seedship might be, it gets kind of old. It can just be over so quick and after a second playthrough I felt as though I'd seen it all
TL;DR: Seedship is a text-based adventure game with randomized elements. However it's quick and a second playthrough made me feel like I've seen everything already.
--------------------
Game #170: What's Inside the Box?
Platform: Mobile
Main + Extras: 1h 54m 38s
Rating: 6/10
Date Completed: March 15, 2022
Game Synopsis: Solve 100 puzzles to open the box.
Blog: What's Inside the Box is a puzzle game. What fun!
The puzzles are fun. It varies from moving a ball with your phone, sliding blocks around to make a picture, solving a code, and more. The puzzles can be quite fun.
However my main complaint is that some of the puzzles repeat without really adding anything. The sliding block puzzle for example is done so often. Honestly those kinds of puzzles are more of a waste of time if anything.
TL;DR: What's Inside the Box? Is a good idea for a short puzzle game but I wish some of the puzzles didn't repeat as often as they do.
4 Yrs♥✓#
R2D219994 Yrs♥✓#
Game #171: Fire Emblem Echoes: Shadows of Valentia
Platform: 3DS
Main + Extras: 53h 26m 13s
Rating: 10/10
Date Completed: March 14, 2022
Game Synopsis: Control two armies to fight evil and bring prosperity to the land of Valentia.
Blog: Fire Emblem Echoes: Shadows of Valentia is not only my favorite Fire Emblem game: it's one of my favorite games period.
Just like every Fire Emblem game before and likely after it: you have the usual turn-based tactics. This is of course something that they've done for years, so it'd be pretty hard to mess it up.
However, this is the first game where they've added a rewind feature known as Mila's Turnwheel. So if you mess up, you can essentially redo it. You only have a limited amount per battle though. So it helps to use it conservatively.
Another big thing that sets this apart is that this is the only Fire Emblem game that lets you play as two different armies. I think this is really cool. It makes it interesting for the story, for all of these characters to be used. I like it.
Another thing I like is along the story, you're allowed to use all of your units at once, with an exception I'll mention later. In the past, games would often limit the player on how many units they can bring. I think this is also the case with Three Houses. This game allows you to use your units all at once. This made me feel respect for characters I probably would have largely ignored otherwise and they wouldn't be behind in levels.
One of my favorite new things are the 3D dungeons. Unfortunately they do limit you on bringing only a maximum of 10 units into these dungeons, but that's only a minor inconvenience. These dungeon sections are amazing. Exploring a 3D environment in a series that's usually 2D and stagnant is refreshing to see. They're a lot of fun with multiple battles to trigger and lots of treasure and even permanent stat boosts. Certain dungeons even have a fountain that can revive fallen units in classic mode. They're limited of course.
Then there's the story. Aside from the brief spoiler at the very beginning, the story is phenomenal. As mentioned, I love seeing the two armies and their different perspectives of Alm and Celica on the ongoing war and the struggles they each go through. I love the idea that they're trying to take back a kingdom that used to prosper from a Goddess' fruitful powers that has mysteriously fallen to ruin. It's all fantastic.
Only negative I can think of is the final battle is insanely long. A whole 2 hours long. Other than that I love this game.
TL;DR: Fire Emblem Echoes: Shadows of Valentia is a fantastic game that represents peak Fire Emblem. I highly recommend it for anyone interested.
Platform: 3DS
Main + Extras: 53h 26m 13s
Rating: 10/10
Date Completed: March 14, 2022
Game Synopsis: Control two armies to fight evil and bring prosperity to the land of Valentia.
Blog: Fire Emblem Echoes: Shadows of Valentia is not only my favorite Fire Emblem game: it's one of my favorite games period.
Just like every Fire Emblem game before and likely after it: you have the usual turn-based tactics. This is of course something that they've done for years, so it'd be pretty hard to mess it up.
However, this is the first game where they've added a rewind feature known as Mila's Turnwheel. So if you mess up, you can essentially redo it. You only have a limited amount per battle though. So it helps to use it conservatively.
Another big thing that sets this apart is that this is the only Fire Emblem game that lets you play as two different armies. I think this is really cool. It makes it interesting for the story, for all of these characters to be used. I like it.
Another thing I like is along the story, you're allowed to use all of your units at once, with an exception I'll mention later. In the past, games would often limit the player on how many units they can bring. I think this is also the case with Three Houses. This game allows you to use your units all at once. This made me feel respect for characters I probably would have largely ignored otherwise and they wouldn't be behind in levels.
One of my favorite new things are the 3D dungeons. Unfortunately they do limit you on bringing only a maximum of 10 units into these dungeons, but that's only a minor inconvenience. These dungeon sections are amazing. Exploring a 3D environment in a series that's usually 2D and stagnant is refreshing to see. They're a lot of fun with multiple battles to trigger and lots of treasure and even permanent stat boosts. Certain dungeons even have a fountain that can revive fallen units in classic mode. They're limited of course.
Then there's the story. Aside from the brief spoiler at the very beginning, the story is phenomenal. As mentioned, I love seeing the two armies and their different perspectives of Alm and Celica on the ongoing war and the struggles they each go through. I love the idea that they're trying to take back a kingdom that used to prosper from a Goddess' fruitful powers that has mysteriously fallen to ruin. It's all fantastic.
Only negative I can think of is the final battle is insanely long. A whole 2 hours long. Other than that I love this game.
TL;DR: Fire Emblem Echoes: Shadows of Valentia is a fantastic game that represents peak Fire Emblem. I highly recommend it for anyone interested.
4 Yrs♥✓#
R2D219994 Yrs♥✓#
Game #172 to #177: Yellow, Red, Black, Blue, Green, and Pink
Platform: Mobile
Yellow: 24m 13s
Red: 1h 01m 34s
Black: 33m 32s
Blue: 40m 09s
Green: 54m 00s
Pink: 37m 20s
*all times are Main Story
Rating: 7/10
Date Completed: March 14 & 15, 2022
Game Synopsis: Puzzle games that are about turning the screen a certain color.
Blog: This is one of the more unusual reviews I've ever done. For it is the only review where I'm reviewing 6 games in a single review. The games all being from the color puzzle series by Bart Bonte. The reason I'm reviewing them together instead of individually is because they're fundamentally the same.
The goal in these games is to turn the screen into a single color, that color being whatever the name of the game is. Each game has 50 levels to go through in order to reach the end. Some of the later games do have a few themes with some of the puzzles, such as Black having some light-based puzzles, Blue having to do with water, etc. So the puzzles thankfully aren't all the same but there are some similarities.
There are also hints with all the puzzles, unfortunately you will have to watch an ad to see them. I didn't rely on these too much, but the times I did it was usually 50/50 whether they would actually help or not. There were countless times where I was given a hint that was something I already know but needed more specification to. If I needed help to get to the top of a mountain, it wouldn't be very helpful to tell me I need to travel to the top. In one case in a Blue level one of the hints actually told me the wrong thing entirely. So I just looked up the solution instead.
The games have good ideas, but they're pretty short and really only something I would play once.
TL;DR: Bart Bonte's color series are filled with great ideas for color-based puzzles. However their pretty short, give no reason for replayability, and the hints often don't help at all.
Platform: Mobile
Yellow: 24m 13s
Red: 1h 01m 34s
Black: 33m 32s
Blue: 40m 09s
Green: 54m 00s
Pink: 37m 20s
*all times are Main Story
Rating: 7/10
Date Completed: March 14 & 15, 2022
Game Synopsis: Puzzle games that are about turning the screen a certain color.
Blog: This is one of the more unusual reviews I've ever done. For it is the only review where I'm reviewing 6 games in a single review. The games all being from the color puzzle series by Bart Bonte. The reason I'm reviewing them together instead of individually is because they're fundamentally the same.
The goal in these games is to turn the screen into a single color, that color being whatever the name of the game is. Each game has 50 levels to go through in order to reach the end. Some of the later games do have a few themes with some of the puzzles, such as Black having some light-based puzzles, Blue having to do with water, etc. So the puzzles thankfully aren't all the same but there are some similarities.
There are also hints with all the puzzles, unfortunately you will have to watch an ad to see them. I didn't rely on these too much, but the times I did it was usually 50/50 whether they would actually help or not. There were countless times where I was given a hint that was something I already know but needed more specification to. If I needed help to get to the top of a mountain, it wouldn't be very helpful to tell me I need to travel to the top. In one case in a Blue level one of the hints actually told me the wrong thing entirely. So I just looked up the solution instead.
The games have good ideas, but they're pretty short and really only something I would play once.
TL;DR: Bart Bonte's color series are filled with great ideas for color-based puzzles. However their pretty short, give no reason for replayability, and the hints often don't help at all.
4 Yrs♥✓#
R2D219994 Yrs♥✓#
Game #178: SOCOM: U.S. Navy SEALs Fireteam Bravo
Platform: PSP
Main Story: 5h 32m 31s
Rating: 7/10
Date Completed: March 16, 2022
Game Synopsis: Go on military missions across the world to protect people from terrorists.
Blog: I didn't really grow up with any shooter games. I've played some Call of Duty whenever I'd visit my cousins. That's what my general exposure has been to shooters
SOCOM is one of those kinds of traditional shooters. From what I've heard SOCOM is a classic. However, I believe those people are usually talking about the PS2 versions. I only have the PSP version, so what about that?
Right off the bat I'll mention that I wasn't able to connect to the internet. Whether or not the servers are down, I don't know. However my PSP can't connect to my WI-FI but can connect to some of the other (locked) WI-FI signals nearby. So I don't know what's with that.
All I can really talk about is the story mode. The story itself is nothing particularly amazing. It's your average bunch of military missions. There's four groups of three missions that have their own story interconnected. Other than that the missions don't really seem to relate to each other.
However the missions are pretty good. While I did have to get used to the controls on the PSP, they managed to make it work and feel natural once I got used to it. Instead of a right stick to aim, the R button auto-aims on an opponent and the L button changes aim if there's multiple enemies. Really aiming was the only obstacle they had to overcome. Everything else works great without having to sacrifice anything.
I will say that the only exception to aiming is anything with a scope. You do actually have to aim with the left stick if you do that and aiming is incredibly slow. That's something that should be adjusted.
Another thing is your one AI partner isn't great when it comes to giving them orders. I'll tell them to breech a door, which usually gets him to shoot at any enemies on the other side after opening the door. Sometimes he just stands there though and becomes a target. There's also a few times where he's following me and he will just randomly stop unprovoked. Great!
The game is pretty fun though with what's there. I do wish I could do more stuff in it aside from playing missions.
TL;DR: SOCOM is actually a good shooter on the PSP. I do wish that some things were improved like aiming with scopes and ally AI..
Platform: PSP
Main Story: 5h 32m 31s
Rating: 7/10
Date Completed: March 16, 2022
Game Synopsis: Go on military missions across the world to protect people from terrorists.
Blog: I didn't really grow up with any shooter games. I've played some Call of Duty whenever I'd visit my cousins. That's what my general exposure has been to shooters
SOCOM is one of those kinds of traditional shooters. From what I've heard SOCOM is a classic. However, I believe those people are usually talking about the PS2 versions. I only have the PSP version, so what about that?
Right off the bat I'll mention that I wasn't able to connect to the internet. Whether or not the servers are down, I don't know. However my PSP can't connect to my WI-FI but can connect to some of the other (locked) WI-FI signals nearby. So I don't know what's with that.
All I can really talk about is the story mode. The story itself is nothing particularly amazing. It's your average bunch of military missions. There's four groups of three missions that have their own story interconnected. Other than that the missions don't really seem to relate to each other.
However the missions are pretty good. While I did have to get used to the controls on the PSP, they managed to make it work and feel natural once I got used to it. Instead of a right stick to aim, the R button auto-aims on an opponent and the L button changes aim if there's multiple enemies. Really aiming was the only obstacle they had to overcome. Everything else works great without having to sacrifice anything.
I will say that the only exception to aiming is anything with a scope. You do actually have to aim with the left stick if you do that and aiming is incredibly slow. That's something that should be adjusted.
Another thing is your one AI partner isn't great when it comes to giving them orders. I'll tell them to breech a door, which usually gets him to shoot at any enemies on the other side after opening the door. Sometimes he just stands there though and becomes a target. There's also a few times where he's following me and he will just randomly stop unprovoked. Great!
The game is pretty fun though with what's there. I do wish I could do more stuff in it aside from playing missions.
TL;DR: SOCOM is actually a good shooter on the PSP. I do wish that some things were improved like aiming with scopes and ally AI..
4 Yrs♥✓#
R2D219994 Yrs♥✓#
Game #179: Super Mario Bros.
Platform: Game & Watch
Main Story: 1h 32m 04s
Rating: 7/10
Date Completed: March 17, 2022
Game Synopsis: Save the princess in another castle.
Blog: The original Super Mario Bros! Probably one of the most important video games if not THE most important.
Super Mario Bros. is a classic, but I will be the first to admit that it's kind of aged. It's a stepping stone for games but it's been like 30 years and so many games have improved the side-scrolling formula since then.
Not that it's a bad game by any means, I still consider it a 7/10 after all, and I think it's much better than its sequel The Lost Levels. It's still a good game.
I also want to add that I played the Game & Watch version that was released back in 2020. This allowed me to play with infinite lives, which I utilized because I personally didn't want to feel any pressure of game overs at the time of playing.
There's also a level select, which I didn't use but it's there and I'm glad it has these options available.
I realize I'm not going too much in depth about the game as I usually might with other games, but Super Mario Bros. has been talked about to death for decades. So I think I can make an exception just this once.
TL;DR: Super Mario Bros. is an important video game but after 30 years it has aged quite a lot.
Platform: Game & Watch
Main Story: 1h 32m 04s
Rating: 7/10
Date Completed: March 17, 2022
Game Synopsis: Save the princess in another castle.
Blog: The original Super Mario Bros! Probably one of the most important video games if not THE most important.
Super Mario Bros. is a classic, but I will be the first to admit that it's kind of aged. It's a stepping stone for games but it's been like 30 years and so many games have improved the side-scrolling formula since then.
Not that it's a bad game by any means, I still consider it a 7/10 after all, and I think it's much better than its sequel The Lost Levels. It's still a good game.
I also want to add that I played the Game & Watch version that was released back in 2020. This allowed me to play with infinite lives, which I utilized because I personally didn't want to feel any pressure of game overs at the time of playing.
There's also a level select, which I didn't use but it's there and I'm glad it has these options available.
I realize I'm not going too much in depth about the game as I usually might with other games, but Super Mario Bros. has been talked about to death for decades. So I think I can make an exception just this once.
TL;DR: Super Mario Bros. is an important video game but after 30 years it has aged quite a lot.
4 Yrs♥✓#
R2D219994 Yrs♥✓#
Game #180: Quiz Wiz
Platform: Game.Com
Main Story: 28m 10s
Rating: 1/10
Date Completed: March 17, 2022
Game Synopsis: Answer trivia questions!
Blog: I've been in the mood for some trivia recently. No particular reason, I had just felt like testing out my brain.
I thought Quiz Wiz on the Tiger Game.Com would help ease that craving. If anything it ruined my appetite.
Quiz Wiz is like any other trivia thing. A question is brought up, and you're given 4 multiple choice answers. Very basic. It has 5 categories: Sports, Famous People, Film and TV, Potpourri (which just seems like questions that don't fit anywhere else), and General Knowledge.
One problem I encountered is that one of the questions I answered had an incorrect solution. The question was "What do honey bees help make?" I chose honey as my answer, because that's factually correct. According to Quiz Wiz it isn't. They actually make saccharin, which is an artificial sugar. Do I have to point out why bees don't make ARTIFICIAL sugar?
That was the only question I noticed that was wrong. If they got a simple question like that wrong though, what are the chances that they got another, more complicated question wrong?
Another error is that there was a sports question in the famous people category. Now, I could see if it was referring to an athlete themselves, but the question was asking sports stats on a specific basketball player. I feel like that'd be more appropriate for the sports category, especially since the sports category already has those same questions.
Let me wrap up with my last complaint, a complaint that might be more towards the hardware than the game itself.
For a reminder of what the Game.Com is, this is what it looks like:
That screen is terrible. It's not backlit and even with a lamp directly behind me it's extremely hard to see. Sometimes I'll get a question but I don't see anything in the answers, and suddenly the question just disappears. I wear glasses so obviously I don't have the greatest vision in the world. But come on! Who approved that this looked good?
TL;DR: Avoid Quiz Wiz at all costs!
Platform: Game.Com
Main Story: 28m 10s
Rating: 1/10
Date Completed: March 17, 2022
Game Synopsis: Answer trivia questions!
Blog: I've been in the mood for some trivia recently. No particular reason, I had just felt like testing out my brain.
I thought Quiz Wiz on the Tiger Game.Com would help ease that craving. If anything it ruined my appetite.
Quiz Wiz is like any other trivia thing. A question is brought up, and you're given 4 multiple choice answers. Very basic. It has 5 categories: Sports, Famous People, Film and TV, Potpourri (which just seems like questions that don't fit anywhere else), and General Knowledge.
One problem I encountered is that one of the questions I answered had an incorrect solution. The question was "What do honey bees help make?" I chose honey as my answer, because that's factually correct. According to Quiz Wiz it isn't. They actually make saccharin, which is an artificial sugar. Do I have to point out why bees don't make ARTIFICIAL sugar?
That was the only question I noticed that was wrong. If they got a simple question like that wrong though, what are the chances that they got another, more complicated question wrong?
Another error is that there was a sports question in the famous people category. Now, I could see if it was referring to an athlete themselves, but the question was asking sports stats on a specific basketball player. I feel like that'd be more appropriate for the sports category, especially since the sports category already has those same questions.
Let me wrap up with my last complaint, a complaint that might be more towards the hardware than the game itself.
For a reminder of what the Game.Com is, this is what it looks like:
That screen is terrible. It's not backlit and even with a lamp directly behind me it's extremely hard to see. Sometimes I'll get a question but I don't see anything in the answers, and suddenly the question just disappears. I wear glasses so obviously I don't have the greatest vision in the world. But come on! Who approved that this looked good?
TL;DR: Avoid Quiz Wiz at all costs!
4 Yrs♥✓#
R2D219994 Yrs♥✓#
Game #181: Spelling Challenges and More!
Platform: Nintendo DS
Main + Extras: 1h 21m 16s
Rating: 5/10
Date Completed: March 18, 2022
Game Synopsis: Spell words and play minigames about the English language.
Blog: As someone who grew up in the US I know a thing or two about the English language. However it's been a while since I took an English class, so I thought I might play Spelling Challenges and More to familiarize myself.
For the most part Spelling Challenges works. The main game is that a word flashes on screen for a brief second and you're suppose to memorize what the word was and how it was spelled. There's a bunch of other minigames like figuring out what words are spelled correctly, playing a hangman style of game, and unscrambling letters to make a word.
However there's certain minigames that revolve around identifying nouns, verbs, and/or adjectives. These need to be changed or something because often times I'll get words such as handcuffs or orange which can be a noun, verb or etc, and since I'm not given context to how those words are being used I'm forced into guessing. That isn't really fair in a game about education, and it doesn't really teach those who wish to properly learn English rules.
The menus in this game are also painfully bland and simple. It's all just red with only a bit of yellow and the text itself is all lowercase as well. At least capitalize it! I could have made something like this in 10th grade programming.
There is one thing I will commend this game for over all else: the menu music kind of slaps. Here it is:
The game isn't terrible but had it done things correctly it'd be better than a 5/10.
TL;DR: Spelling Challenges and More is an alright educational game but its usage of nouns and verbs in minigames is often misleading and incorrect.
Platform: Nintendo DS
Main + Extras: 1h 21m 16s
Rating: 5/10
Date Completed: March 18, 2022
Game Synopsis: Spell words and play minigames about the English language.
Blog: As someone who grew up in the US I know a thing or two about the English language. However it's been a while since I took an English class, so I thought I might play Spelling Challenges and More to familiarize myself.
For the most part Spelling Challenges works. The main game is that a word flashes on screen for a brief second and you're suppose to memorize what the word was and how it was spelled. There's a bunch of other minigames like figuring out what words are spelled correctly, playing a hangman style of game, and unscrambling letters to make a word.
However there's certain minigames that revolve around identifying nouns, verbs, and/or adjectives. These need to be changed or something because often times I'll get words such as handcuffs or orange which can be a noun, verb or etc, and since I'm not given context to how those words are being used I'm forced into guessing. That isn't really fair in a game about education, and it doesn't really teach those who wish to properly learn English rules.
The menus in this game are also painfully bland and simple. It's all just red with only a bit of yellow and the text itself is all lowercase as well. At least capitalize it! I could have made something like this in 10th grade programming.
There is one thing I will commend this game for over all else: the menu music kind of slaps. Here it is:
The game isn't terrible but had it done things correctly it'd be better than a 5/10.
TL;DR: Spelling Challenges and More is an alright educational game but its usage of nouns and verbs in minigames is often misleading and incorrect.
4 Yrs♥✓#
R2D219994 Yrs♥✓#
Game #182: Gunpey
Platform: WonderSwan
Main Story: 1h 15m 08s
Main + Extras: 1h 53m 32s
Rating: 9/10
Date Completed: March 19, 2022
Game Synopsis: Link up lines from one end of the screen to the other.
Blog: Gunpey is an underrated puzzle game that is on the same level as Tetris in terms of goals and how fun it is.
The objective in a game of Gunpey is that you're moving lines in a column to make it so that you can connect the left side and right side of the screen to clear a line and earn points. It doesn't have to be a straight path also, you can earn more points by making loops and multiple paths so long as the lines connect from one side to the other.
The original WonderSwan version of Gunpey has multiple modes like endless, stage, puzzle, etc. They're all pretty basic modes for a game like this.
The one mode I would like to touch on is the story mode. This was a surprisingly hilarious story where you're a cowboy and you're protecting a young woman from some criminals. Every criminal you face against in a game of Gunpey also has an ability that sometimes activates that will shake things up. One criminal will shift all the rows of lines, another will narrow your vision, and so on. It's surprising how varied they made it. I do think the story mode has a huge difficulty spike very early on, but it's still fun.
TL;DR: Gunpey is a fun puzzle game that I recommend to fans of Tetris or other games similar to it. I don't feel like it's a 10/10 for me personally though.
Platform: WonderSwan
Main Story: 1h 15m 08s
Main + Extras: 1h 53m 32s
Rating: 9/10
Date Completed: March 19, 2022
Game Synopsis: Link up lines from one end of the screen to the other.
Blog: Gunpey is an underrated puzzle game that is on the same level as Tetris in terms of goals and how fun it is.
The objective in a game of Gunpey is that you're moving lines in a column to make it so that you can connect the left side and right side of the screen to clear a line and earn points. It doesn't have to be a straight path also, you can earn more points by making loops and multiple paths so long as the lines connect from one side to the other.
The original WonderSwan version of Gunpey has multiple modes like endless, stage, puzzle, etc. They're all pretty basic modes for a game like this.
The one mode I would like to touch on is the story mode. This was a surprisingly hilarious story where you're a cowboy and you're protecting a young woman from some criminals. Every criminal you face against in a game of Gunpey also has an ability that sometimes activates that will shake things up. One criminal will shift all the rows of lines, another will narrow your vision, and so on. It's surprising how varied they made it. I do think the story mode has a huge difficulty spike very early on, but it's still fun.
TL;DR: Gunpey is a fun puzzle game that I recommend to fans of Tetris or other games similar to it. I don't feel like it's a 10/10 for me personally though.
4 Yrs♥✓#
R2D219994 Yrs♥✓#
DLC/Expansion #19: Fire Emblem Echoes: Shadows of Valentia - Battle of Zofia Harbor
DLC/Expansion #20: Fire Emblem Echoes: Shadows of Valentia - Outpost Rescue
DLC/Expansion #21: Fire Emblem Echoes: Shadows of Valentia - Flight from the Ruins
DLC/Expansion #22: Fire Emblem Echoes: Shadows of Valentia - Siege of Zofia Castle
Game: Fire Emblem Echoes: Shadows of Valentia
Platform: 3DS
Battle of Zofia Harbor: 22m 12s
Outpost Rescue: 17m 51s
Flight From the Ruins: 15m 39s
Siege of Zofia Castle: 31m 03s
*All Main Story
Rating: 6/10
Date Completed: March 20, 2022
Synopsis: Prequel chapters about the Deliverance before Alm joined.
Blog: A rare instance of me putting 4 DLCs in one post.
So these all have different scenarios and such within their stories. However I'm reviewing them all together as they're all short prequels of an overlapping story and talking about them individually wouldn't take very long anyway as they all have the same idea. So might as well talk about them together.
I think as much as I like these missions, they really should have been a part of the game from the get go. They're really short and don't offer much to the overall story anyway, at least not much that you already know. The only exception is that you know a little bit more about Ferdinand, but even then you only see him in 2 out of the 4 missions.
I will give them credit that the missions do have different objectives than the main story, which was mainly to beat all of the enemies. Most of the missions here are different in that regard except for the first one.
You also do get special weapons from them if you do things perfectly, so I suppose that's cool?
TL;DR: The four DLC missions should have been included into Shadows of Valentia from the start.
DLC/Expansion #20: Fire Emblem Echoes: Shadows of Valentia - Outpost Rescue
DLC/Expansion #21: Fire Emblem Echoes: Shadows of Valentia - Flight from the Ruins
DLC/Expansion #22: Fire Emblem Echoes: Shadows of Valentia - Siege of Zofia Castle
Game: Fire Emblem Echoes: Shadows of Valentia
Platform: 3DS
Battle of Zofia Harbor: 22m 12s
Outpost Rescue: 17m 51s
Flight From the Ruins: 15m 39s
Siege of Zofia Castle: 31m 03s
*All Main Story
Rating: 6/10
Date Completed: March 20, 2022
Synopsis: Prequel chapters about the Deliverance before Alm joined.
Blog: A rare instance of me putting 4 DLCs in one post.
So these all have different scenarios and such within their stories. However I'm reviewing them all together as they're all short prequels of an overlapping story and talking about them individually wouldn't take very long anyway as they all have the same idea. So might as well talk about them together.
I think as much as I like these missions, they really should have been a part of the game from the get go. They're really short and don't offer much to the overall story anyway, at least not much that you already know. The only exception is that you know a little bit more about Ferdinand, but even then you only see him in 2 out of the 4 missions.
I will give them credit that the missions do have different objectives than the main story, which was mainly to beat all of the enemies. Most of the missions here are different in that regard except for the first one.
You also do get special weapons from them if you do things perfectly, so I suppose that's cool?
TL;DR: The four DLC missions should have been included into Shadows of Valentia from the start.
4 Yrs♥✓#
R2D219994 Yrs♥✓#
Game #183: Madden NFL '95
Platform: Game Gear
Main Story: 45m 12s
Rating: 2/10
Date Completed: March 20, 2022
Game Synopsis: Foootballllll!
Blog: Oh hell yeah! Madden NFL '95! On the Game Gear! WHOOOOOOO!!!!
I'll be straight and to the point here. I don't enjoy sports games. Never really did. What's more is that I really don't enjoy sports games on a handheld like this.
And then to top it off, for some reason the opposing team is faster than mine. Like, what? Why? I somehow won a match, probably from luck.
TL;DR: I don't like sports games. I don't like sports games that put me at a disadvantage.
Platform: Game Gear
Main Story: 45m 12s
Rating: 2/10
Date Completed: March 20, 2022
Game Synopsis: Foootballllll!
Blog: Oh hell yeah! Madden NFL '95! On the Game Gear! WHOOOOOOO!!!!
I'll be straight and to the point here. I don't enjoy sports games. Never really did. What's more is that I really don't enjoy sports games on a handheld like this.
And then to top it off, for some reason the opposing team is faster than mine. Like, what? Why? I somehow won a match, probably from luck.
TL;DR: I don't like sports games. I don't like sports games that put me at a disadvantage.
4 Yrs♥✓#
R2D219994 Yrs♥✓#
Game #184: Super Monkey Ball
Platform: N-Gage
Main Story: 13m 34s
Main + Extras: 41m 45s
Rating: 3/10
Date Completed: March 23, 2022
Game Synopsis: Tilt the stage to roll the monkey to the goal.
Blog: I have never played a Monkey Ball game before this. So everything I'm about to say is only toward this version of Super Monkey Ball. I don't know if this game is the same as the GameCube versions or any of the other series, but I'm only going to be talking about the N-Gage version.
Anyway, this isn't a great game. I can see that it can potentially be fun but it's poor overall.
First of all, the game is essentially a 3D game on a 2D plane. That's very disorienting, and for a game where you need to direct the ball, that's not good. Makes it a bit more difficult to play than it otherwise would be.
Second, the game lags. A lot. So it's bad enough that the game messes with my mind, but bursts of lag every now and then will potentially just ruin me and get me killed.
Then the final mark against the game: it's short with little content to make up for it. You get 3 different difficulties of courses: each having 10, 15, or 20 levels to play though. There's also minigames. However, you have to earn enough cumulative points from the courses to be able to buy the minigames. I'm not grinding the same few levels for those, so I didn't stick around.
I didn't hate the game so I didn't give it lower than a 3. But it's surely not good.
TL;DR: The N-Gage version of Super Monkey Ball is pretty poor with its disorienting gameplay, plenty of frame rate issues, and very limited content. If you must play a Super Monkey Ball game, play any other version.
Platform: N-Gage
Main Story: 13m 34s
Main + Extras: 41m 45s
Rating: 3/10
Date Completed: March 23, 2022
Game Synopsis: Tilt the stage to roll the monkey to the goal.
Blog: I have never played a Monkey Ball game before this. So everything I'm about to say is only toward this version of Super Monkey Ball. I don't know if this game is the same as the GameCube versions or any of the other series, but I'm only going to be talking about the N-Gage version.
Anyway, this isn't a great game. I can see that it can potentially be fun but it's poor overall.
First of all, the game is essentially a 3D game on a 2D plane. That's very disorienting, and for a game where you need to direct the ball, that's not good. Makes it a bit more difficult to play than it otherwise would be.
Second, the game lags. A lot. So it's bad enough that the game messes with my mind, but bursts of lag every now and then will potentially just ruin me and get me killed.
Then the final mark against the game: it's short with little content to make up for it. You get 3 different difficulties of courses: each having 10, 15, or 20 levels to play though. There's also minigames. However, you have to earn enough cumulative points from the courses to be able to buy the minigames. I'm not grinding the same few levels for those, so I didn't stick around.
I didn't hate the game so I didn't give it lower than a 3. But it's surely not good.
TL;DR: The N-Gage version of Super Monkey Ball is pretty poor with its disorienting gameplay, plenty of frame rate issues, and very limited content. If you must play a Super Monkey Ball game, play any other version.
4 Yrs♥✓#
R2D219994 Yrs♥✓#
Game #185: Bust-a-Move Pocket
Platform: Neo Geo Pocket
Main Story: 2h 14m 37s
100%: 2h 47m 09s
Rating: 8/10
Date Completed: March 23, 2022
Game Synopsis: Shoot the bubbles!
Blog: Bust-a-Move Pocket is a great game. It's one of those puzzles that you would see as a mobile games where you shoot colored bubbles with more colored bubbles.
It's pretty good of course. I'm pretty sure most bubble games stem from this series. It's also a perfect fit for handhelds like the Neo Geo Pocket which I played this on.
There's also some modes like a bunch of premade levels, a VS computers mode, and so on. That's a pretty good bunch of stuff to pass the time with. It took me 2 hours with the levels alone.
Now my only issue with this game is that there's nothing too standout about this game. It's pretty basic with the only thing you can do is aim and shoot. You can't even store bubbles, which I know the DS version has.
That's all with this game. Just a basic bubble shooter. It's pretty good though!
TL;DR: Bust-a-Move Pocket is a fun time but I wish it wasn't so basic of a bubble shooter.
Platform: Neo Geo Pocket
Main Story: 2h 14m 37s
100%: 2h 47m 09s
Rating: 8/10
Date Completed: March 23, 2022
Game Synopsis: Shoot the bubbles!
Blog: Bust-a-Move Pocket is a great game. It's one of those puzzles that you would see as a mobile games where you shoot colored bubbles with more colored bubbles.
It's pretty good of course. I'm pretty sure most bubble games stem from this series. It's also a perfect fit for handhelds like the Neo Geo Pocket which I played this on.
There's also some modes like a bunch of premade levels, a VS computers mode, and so on. That's a pretty good bunch of stuff to pass the time with. It took me 2 hours with the levels alone.
Now my only issue with this game is that there's nothing too standout about this game. It's pretty basic with the only thing you can do is aim and shoot. You can't even store bubbles, which I know the DS version has.
That's all with this game. Just a basic bubble shooter. It's pretty good though!
TL;DR: Bust-a-Move Pocket is a fun time but I wish it wasn't so basic of a bubble shooter.
4 Yrs♥✓#
R2D219994 Yrs♥✓#
Game #186: Demon's Souls
Platform: Playstation 3
Main + Extras: 42h 43m 22s
Rating: 8/10
Date Completed: March 26, 2022
Game Synopsis: An easy game! I totally didn't die a thousand times to bosses and lose millions of souls haha!
Blog: I've never played a Souls game until now. I've played games that have taken inspiration from it, such as Hollow Knight and Blasphemous. But never the games which inspired them.
Demon's Souls was the very first of the Souls series and it's fitting that it's the one I started with. Unfortunately the online servers for the original PS3 version have gone down a while ago, so I will have unfortunately missed out on part of the experience. Nevertheless, it's not as if I know what it is that I'm missing.
First thing I want to mention is that I didn't realize this game was a full-blown RPG going into it. I knew nothing about Souls games going into it, so it caught me off guard when I learned two bosses into the game that I could level up using the souls that I had earned.
Second is that this game is pretty hard. Not only with its bosses and enemies, but also with its way of presenting the mechanics to new players that would otherwise benefit them. You wouldn't know that carrying a 50% on your equipment would give you a slower dodge. You wouldn't know that the NPC that wandered off out of sight would die and never respawn leaving you to miss out on something important. You wouldn't know that an NPC you rescued would try to kill you or other important NPCs. You just have to pay attention and learn. This gives a really unique feeling to the game that I've never felt anywhere else. A sense of accomplishment when learning these mechanics and using them to win a boss fight where you had trouble with before.
Some bosses are challenging and fun. I had great fun with bosses such as the Tower Knight. However I would say that a lot of bosses felt kind of like pushovers. Old Hero is a good example where he sort of just walks around and only really reacts if you attack him but he's easy to dodge and block. Then there's the Maneater boss who is hard for the wrong reasons and not fun. Genuinely one of my least favorite bosses in video games.
There were also frame drops. It didn't happen too much but it happened enough to where I noticed it and have died because of it a few times (no I'm not just making excuses).
It's a great game and I can't wait to try out more of the series in the future.
TL;DR: Demon's Souls is fun and challenging. Although I felt that some bosses were pushovers moreso than others.
Platform: Playstation 3
Main + Extras: 42h 43m 22s
Rating: 8/10
Date Completed: March 26, 2022
Game Synopsis: An easy game! I totally didn't die a thousand times to bosses and lose millions of souls haha!
Blog: I've never played a Souls game until now. I've played games that have taken inspiration from it, such as Hollow Knight and Blasphemous. But never the games which inspired them.
Demon's Souls was the very first of the Souls series and it's fitting that it's the one I started with. Unfortunately the online servers for the original PS3 version have gone down a while ago, so I will have unfortunately missed out on part of the experience. Nevertheless, it's not as if I know what it is that I'm missing.
First thing I want to mention is that I didn't realize this game was a full-blown RPG going into it. I knew nothing about Souls games going into it, so it caught me off guard when I learned two bosses into the game that I could level up using the souls that I had earned.
Second is that this game is pretty hard. Not only with its bosses and enemies, but also with its way of presenting the mechanics to new players that would otherwise benefit them. You wouldn't know that carrying a 50% on your equipment would give you a slower dodge. You wouldn't know that the NPC that wandered off out of sight would die and never respawn leaving you to miss out on something important. You wouldn't know that an NPC you rescued would try to kill you or other important NPCs. You just have to pay attention and learn. This gives a really unique feeling to the game that I've never felt anywhere else. A sense of accomplishment when learning these mechanics and using them to win a boss fight where you had trouble with before.
Some bosses are challenging and fun. I had great fun with bosses such as the Tower Knight. However I would say that a lot of bosses felt kind of like pushovers. Old Hero is a good example where he sort of just walks around and only really reacts if you attack him but he's easy to dodge and block. Then there's the Maneater boss who is hard for the wrong reasons and not fun. Genuinely one of my least favorite bosses in video games.
There were also frame drops. It didn't happen too much but it happened enough to where I noticed it and have died because of it a few times (no I'm not just making excuses).
It's a great game and I can't wait to try out more of the series in the future.
TL;DR: Demon's Souls is fun and challenging. Although I felt that some bosses were pushovers moreso than others.
4 Yrs♥$✓#
churros
4 Yrs♥$✓#
when I learned two bosses into the game that I could level up using the souls that I had earned
Ouch...
You wouldn't know that (...)
Welcome to the Souls experience! That is present in all games of the series in some way, but it gets easier to predict what you probably don't know in your second game. I also think that Demon's Souls is the most experimental game of the series.
I had great fun with bosses such as the Tower Knight
Tower Knight is one of my favorites, together with Old Hero. For better or worse, Demon's Souls have the most memorable bosses of the series IMO, they hardly recycle anything from each other.
4 Yrs♥✓#
R2D219994 Yrs♥✓#
I also think that Demon's Souls is the most experimental game of the series.
I had no idea that tendency was even a thing that affected the game. I saw it mentioned when killing a boss but had no idea what that meant. Too late now to do anything about it I suppose.