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Metroid FusionBeat
Recommended
9
Took me about 4.5 hours to finish at 55% completion for collectibles. The save states for this through Nintendo Switch Online honestly saved me from tons of frustration that without probably would have made me rage quit for good. Hilariously I defeated the end boss but still died…but was saved by a save state… The game doesn’t apparently allow you to save through a long stretch of the late game but thankfully I kept making save states to go back to if something went bad (and it did). I’ve never used save states as aggressively as what I did for this game. I even did save states between boss phases just in case I lost my rhythm and took too much damage to avoid starting completely over.
That aside, I enjoyed the overall game a lot. The atmosphere and creepy bosses were fun, though a few were a little frustrating at first. Finding secret upgrades makes it a bit of a puzzle game. I’m a bit baffled by my 55% completion rate though, I really felt like I collected a ton of upgrades!
I’m not sure if this was true throughout the whole game but the few times I tried to go explore for more upgrades I was disappointed to find previously accessible rooms were then locked off permanently. It’s unusual to see a game like this have missable upgrades.
I spent a lot of time playing this and the Zero Mission game with the SNES controller which just felt exponentially better than using any joystick controller. It’s the closest thing I have to the GBA d-pad which made some parts of the game much more manageable and enjoyable. For some reason when using a joystick it would keep canceling mid-jump, probably just the way I roll the joystick I guess flooded the game with too many inputs. In intense parts of the game where precision jumping is needed it became to bothersome.
Otherwise, glad to finally play and finish these awesome Metroid GBA games.
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Metroid: Zero MissionBeat
Recommended
9
Played through with Nintendo Online + Expansion with GameBoy Advance games. Missed out on this one back when GBA was big. Really enjoyed most of the game all through the end. Believe I got stuck once or twice but for the most part the game was good about giving you a general idea of where you need to go next. It was never straight-forward to get there but at least you knew you were working the right way.
I’m still not a big fan of the way some secrets have nothing to really clue you in sometimes. Most of the time you will see something like a crack in the wall or an unusual opening in the floor that gives you a hint, but not always. One area I missed and was a bit of a cheap trick was fake lava areas. If u jumped in the lava it just magically disappears and you fall into a new area. This happens in a couple of areas and I just don’t get it design wise. How would a player know to do this? It’s counterintuitive.
That aside, this remake of the original Metroid looks and plays great. The controls feel great also. I especially like using the SNES controller for GBA games like this. Also, there are some really awesome pixel-drawn cinematics that look very cool.
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Gran Turismo 7Beat
Recommended
8
Finished the main campaign of menu books. With all the intensity around sim racing in recent years GT7 is an interesting game. To enjoy this you need to be in the right mindset. If you’re looking for a console equivalent like Assetto Corsa or iRacing you’re likely to be disappointed. In my mind this is more a ‘car’ game than a ‘raci****me. If you are looking for a chill car game to take a break from the online racing of other games this is definitely for you.
The structure of the single player game is all about collecting and driving different cars. This is evident in the leveling up as it is based largely on collecting cars. And it gives you cars pretty much nonstop. I think the structure is overall effective in that it gets you to drive some cars you’d probably not bother with otherwise. However, if you just want to specialize with a specific car or run GT series the grind to get there will probably turn many away.
I like the punchy classical music, menus, and whole cafe chill aesthetic. I also tried out VR2 and it really is great. The level of immersion is really incredible. For whatever reason I can judge deceleration so much better in VR. Nurburgring in particular was so much easier to drive in VR. Is it worth VR2 ‘s hefty price just for GT7, I’d say no. But if you want to play other VR2 games too then yes.
Some mild criticisms. While I enjoyed cafe and little lessons about different car makes, why is none of this voiced? Some great narration could have put this over the top. It feels like they only half-committed to this instead of going all in on it. I’m really puzzled by this. Professional motorsports in general is kinda underrepresented in the menus. It would have been nice if there were a book for each major motorsport type but probably asking too much due to licensing.
I did not touch online multiplayer much, I play iRacing so this was more a break from that for me.
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Tales of Arise: Beyond the DawnBeat
Recommended
8
A good excuse to jump back into Tales of Arise. Combat is fun and switching up which character I was using kept things interesting also. It had been awhile since I played the original game. There were no animated cutscenes in this DLC which was a little disappointing. Also, I was hoping we’d get two more party characters but sadly none.
Plot of the DLC was ok, a bit overdramatic but that is the style of the game so I guess it fits. I wouldn’t call this essential DLC but if you enjoyed the base game then it is worth it.
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Alan Wake II: Night SpringsBeat
Recommended
7
A series of mini side-stories that allow you to play as some different characters. They’re weird and I’d say non-essential side content. Some parts were interesting and experimental.
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Sonic SuperstarsBeat
Recommended
8
Fun Sonic game on par with Sonic Mania. I hope SEGA keeps this art style and the side-scroller series going. It’s a great game with just some minor issues that have plagued Sonic games from the beginning. If u like classic Sonic side-scrolling games you will love this entry too. My only real gripe would be once you get some momentum going expect it to get interrupted by a random enemy or hazard or surprise death trap. I wish when you get up to speed the game would move the screen a bit more to the right of the character so you get more time to see what’s coming.
Enjoyed the bosses, a couple of em can be annoying until you memorize their patterns. Multiple-phased bosses in particular can be annoying cause you have to start over but thankfully none of them were too long and once you got the pattern down you can fly through first phase quickly.
It’s a shorter game in line with these types of titles and I think it’s about perfect. Long enough to get a satisfying end but short enough it’ll be fun to go back and play again in short bursts later.
There is a little space shooter level later in the game that was really fun, love to see them keep adding in more variety like that. There was also a cool looking 3-D pixelated world level where you occasionally shape-shift into other creatures. I hope they keep experimenting like this in future entries, those were some of the best levels.
A few minor technical hiccups while playing but nothing significant, just noticeable. In a later level you can open up big bins of coins. One of em dropped a ton of coins and the game slowed to a crawl for a few seconds. It honestly made me laugh cause it was a ridiculous amount of coins on screen at once. Later in the game there was a very prolonged load between levels to the point I thought the game crashed but I waited and it was fine. Lastly, on the final boss there was a particular swinging motion that caused repeated frame drops for whatever reason. Didn’t impact anything. Other than
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Theatrhythm: Final Bar LineBeat
Recommended
8
I believe this is the third iteration of this game. If you played prior versions it hasn’t changed much. It looks a bit nicer but uses same art style as before. Mechanics as far as hitting beat is mostly the same but with buttons only. There are some new combinations though such as needing to flick both joysticks in same or opposite directions. Lots of double button presses. It’s cute and fun to pick up for brief game sessions.
If you like Final Fantasy music it’s really a no brainer, definitely worth picking up, especially if on sale for premium edition. If you already have access to Curtain Call on 3DS like I did I think it depends how much you like that one. If that one was so-so to you or you were satisfied I wouldn’t bother as there is inevitably a good bit of redundancy.
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Team Sonic RacingBeat
Recommended
8
Team Sonic racing has some nice tracks and is a respectable arcade racer. The team mechanic with slingshot maneuvers and item sharing were creative and following how your teammates are doing becomes a key part of the gameplay and fun. Story mode is the main single player offering and mixes in graphic novel style storytelling which is serviceable but not particularly exciting. The plot is just silly for the sake of being silly.
To add variety the campaign throws in some different objectives such as ring collection challenges and driving by cone checkpoint challenges. However, the normal races and mini championships were the best experience. I didn’t particularly like the other challenges and mostly found them annoying, sometimes frustrating.
The cars are quite customizable and have various modifications for front, mid, and rear. That said, instead of using currency to buy the parts you want instead you must use a randomized loot box. At least it doesn’t ask for real money. I would have preferred a shop where rarer parts are just more expensive.
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Final Fantasy VII RebirthBeat
Recommended
9
Upon reflection FF7Rebirth felt like two games. The traditional story-focused part and the sandbox open-world one. I enjoyed exploring the worlds and appreciate the care that clearly went into making this game as big as it possibly could be. At times it goes overboard with all the extras but overall I did enjoy the ride regardless. That said I enjoyed the main quest line much more than all the diversions. Tone-wise, the open-world often conflicts with that of the main game which is much bleaker and dire. Ultimately the characters make the game. I’m not crazy about multiverses but I’m left wondering what is the ultimate end-game of all this? Part III could make or break this entire trilogy.
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Double Dragon Gaiden: Rise of the DragonsBeat
Recommended
8
Fun, somewhat nostalgic, little beat’em up. I was a bit skeptical based on overall review scores but had a blast running through it in one evening. Short weekend/evening game which is kinda refreshing given how bloated games have become.
Like Super Smash Bros. Ultimate or Kid Icarus Uprising you can alter the difficulty with various sliders that reduce or increase the difficulty while also altering potential for award tokens that can be earned. Tokens are earned at the end of a play through based on currency remaining and used to unlock characters, art, and music.
Picking up and throwing dropped weapons from enemies is still very satisfying. There are special moves with each character and the tag team approach where you swap out two for a run really adds to the fun also. I liked the weighty feel of this game, punches feel impactful. Plot is cheesy Saturday-morning cartoon nonsense.
Got it on sale for $14, definitely worth that price. Music is good, enjoy the destructible items in the environments. Art style works for the retro style they were going for. Only thing I didn’t like was the weird audio effect they used for dialogue. It sounds off, like a glitch.
If I understand correctly early reviews critiqued no online coop but I believe the later free DLC added that in. If you have any interest and see it on sale definitely recommend.
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Princess Peach: ShowtimeBeat
Recommended
9
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Golden Sun: Dark DawnBeat
Recommended
8
I found a used copy recently (in 2023), played it on my 3DS, and overall I thought it was a fun game. Took about 25 hours to finish. This is an original DS game so the graphics were a bit rough, early 3D style (similar to the look of the DS remakes for Final Fantasy III and IV). Honestly, in my opinion the 2D style of old looked better but it’s fine.
Otherwise, it’s really just more of Golden Sun. The Djinn, environmental puzzles, and overall game design remained the same as the prior two games. If you enjoyed those then this is definitely worth playing. It follows the children of the original heroes. If the prior games didn’t grab you then I wouldn’t recommend it. If new to Golden Sun and curious play the original GBA game available through Nintendo Switch Online + Expansion.
There is no voice acting in this game, but lots of dialogue and text. Quite a bit of silly banter throughout. Not a serious game, though it does have plenty of heartfelt moments. The plot was ok. I mentally checked out a bit in the middle frankly so if someone quizzed me about it I’d probably fail. Some of the areas you explore drag on just a bit too long.
The battles are over quick which is nice. You can speed them up by holding down the A button. It’s a bit slow to get going though until you get enough Djinn and spells to make things interesting. Typical RPG in that regard. Summons look interesting but again the 3D graphics are rough so some may prefer the 2D summon sprites of the prior games.
The oddest thing about this game to me is the cliffhanger ending. I get the sense there was an intent to do a pair of games again like the original two, but low sales may have killed it? If so, that is a real shame. I believe the developer has since closed up shop also. I hope Nintendo brings it back someday though.
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Another Code: RecollectionBeat
Recommended
8
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Spider-Man 2Beat
Recommended
8
Great production value. Overall enjoyed the story and main campaign. Impressive world to explore.
A few major annoyances throughout including multiple hard game crashes during scene transitions. Fortunately the autosave put me right back where I was but surprised to see this kinda issue. While I enjoyed the game I found some boss battles dragged on way too long, forcing you to basically repeat the same fight three times. It gets exhausting.
For some reason I found the controls more floaty and had some issues controlling the character when traversing the world. The fighting can be fun but also frustrating. It’s designed to constantly interrupt you, forcing constant dodging. It’s ok when the number of enemies is small but when it gets too hectic it becomes aggravating, partly because you don’t fully control what character Spiderman attacks next. He tends to auto-target the next closest enemy when I’d rather go after the ones with guns. If enemy is offscreen behind you he won’t target them until you rotate the camera and get them in view. It’s not bad, just occasionally gets a little over the top.
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The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the KingdomBeat
Recommended
9
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Alan Wake IIBeat
Recommended
8
Alan Wake II is odd in that it puts a more serious tone on the rather B-grade campiness of the first title. Yet at times it can itself be ridiculous too. The game splits into two styles with Saga Anderson being a more traditional survival horror experience (akin to Resident Evil) whereas Alan Wake missions reminds me a bit of The Evil Within with environmental shifts and puzzles that defy reality (he is in the “dark place”).
I found the game to be more about environmental puzzles and clue collection than I expected. It’s also heavy on live-action videos and features lengthy exposition dumps. I enjoyed Sa****issions more than Wake’s. At times I found Wake’s puzzles exhausting. I was a little bummed you couldn’t drive any vehicles around like in the first one. It was kinda silly back then but fun.
There didn’t seem to be any quick travel, so trekking back on foot for extras was a bit tedious. I had a few technical issues while playing on PS5, both occurring late in the game. In one instance Wake just froze and couldn’t move after doing a scene switch. System still worked but had to reload the game. Also had a late game issue where Saga seemed to get stuck in an out of bounds region and I couldn’t get back to area to progress, again reload and fine. Lastly, during a boss encounter Saga got hit by something and she just seemed to be stuck jittering. I’m thinking she got stuck in the environment somehow when getting knocked down by an enemy projectile, it was bizarre but eventually the character worked free and it was fine after that.
Certainly worth playing for those invested in the story from the first one. For other survival/horror fans be aware lots of puzzles, less action.
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Super Mario Bros. WonderBeat
Recommended
9
A delight to play. The wonder seeds add in a lot of variety, at times reminds me of Odyssey where you could control some enemies. Plot is just silly nonsense. Levels look amazing for a 2d style platformer. I really like the approach to online where you can indirectly help other players by leaving items and pseudo checkpoint stands.
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Super Mario RPGBeat
Recommended
8
Missed out on playing the original and didn’t get around to playing it on any later virtual console or other releases so this was mostly all new to me.
The graphics on the remake are impressive. A bit of a unique chibi-style, it gives it a distinct look from other Mario games. It’s also a bit indicative of this being a bite-sized RPG more generally. It is short by RPG standards at about a dozen hours. This is not a negative though, I’m glad they kept it short (and sweet).
Though there was no real grinding required, I did get a bit burned out by the battles by the end. The battles are fun with live button presses but still it gets repetitive. It’s clear the 1996 game paved the way for the Paper Mario and the Mario & Luigi series that would come around later. I’ve played nearly all of these and I’d have to say the original Mario & Luigi Superstar Saga remains my favorite of all the Mario “RPGs.”
The plot is quite simple and straightforward. The antagonists were not particularly memorable. The music was good overall but no specific tracks stood out. While I liked that the game tried to inject variety with mini-games and light platforming I didn’t find many of these diversions to be very fun. The game’s locked diagonal perspective made platforming particularly annoying. The lack of any voices was a bit jarring. Even just gibberish expressions with some enemies would have helped add some personality.
All that said, it’s clear this game is a love letter from Nintendo to its older fans that played the original.
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Hi-Fi RushBeat
Recommended
8
Had the opportunity to play through with Game Pass. Definitely worth giving it a try. I’m not very good at any sort of rhythm-based games but I managed ok. It’s a playful game with a very crisp and clean animation style. I thought the voice acting was great. The music was good but didn’t necessarily blow me away. The main character and general vibe of the team is very similar to Guardians of the Galaxy. If you enjoyed anything Guardians-wise (movies, etc) then you will likely enjoy this too.
While the battles were mostly fun, some of the platforming could get annoying. It was hard to judge some gaps. With currency/gears to collect it had a bit of an old-school 3D platformer feel at times which was probably the weakest aspect of the game. Later battles can also get a little overwhelming with too many enemies at once. Otherwise, I thought the length was reasonable and it didn’t include any needless grinding/filler.
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Monster Hunter Stories 2: Wings of RuinBeat
Recommended
8
The story and voice acting were a lot of fun. Getting a new guest throughout the campaign helped keep things fresh also. I really liked all the characters, especially Ena and Tsukino. The battles are not overly complicated but feature enough depth to stay entertaining throughout the 50 hours I played it.
There are some frame-rate issues in a particular town early in the game that I’m surprised was never fixed with a patch. Outside of that I rarely noticed or found the frame-rate to be distracting on Switch. Battles can get a bit repetitive but there are some quick battle options later that allow you to even skip some (as well as quick speed-up options during battles).
I didn’t get into egg collecting so much but I did find a small group of monsties I liked and used through much of the game. The idea is you will collect a lot of eggs and then use the extras to add active/passive skills to the ones you like and want to keep. For those really into it I could see this loop becoming addictive in a way.
I’m a bit mixed on the idea of beating up monsties and stilling their eggs, a strange premise of a gameplay loop. Otherwise, I really enjoyed it.