But let me be clear: Shin chan: Shiro and the Coal Town is a great experience that has me fully invested in Millennium Kitchen's flavor of adventure games. Between a well told slice-of-life narrative, an improved structure, a super fun minecart racing mode and some really pretty art, this is a top tier adventure game for anyone hungry for some weapons-grade nostalgia.
My hope is that a potential sequel to this would alleviate some of these issues, and I really hope it gets one. Bayonetta Origins: Cereza and the Lost Demon is a tremendous surprise that, while imperfect, beautifully blends Platinum design with light Zelda and Metroid trappings. The game's quiet release (and cumbersome title), to me, betrays Cereza and the Lost Demon's status as perhaps Platinum's best Switch game yet.
I just wish the game wouldn't get in its own way so much. If Treasures had more monsters, a more thoughtful combat experience, fewer annoying interruptions, and some more bosses, Treasures would hit the Saturday morning cartoon highs of Level-5s best titles. This, unfortunately, misses the mark a bit.
It's not perfect though, and I think your mileage is going to vary on some of its slower aspects. Still, I can't believe this was released worldwide in the first place. What a time to be alive.
I think this game is perfect for a hardcore Disney fan who wants an incredibly low-stakes game with very chill vibes where you hang out with your favorite Disney characters. Having this cool, cute Disney World has a strong appeal to it, and the final result is a polished game. I came out of this a little bored by the slow pace and limited gameplay, but in his review, Daan was more, ehrm, enchanted by the title on 3DS. Your mileage may vary.
The Stanley Parable is an extremely worthwhile video game and, I would argue, one of the finest examples of meta-humor (as well as humor in general) in the medium. Just don't read too much before you play it.
For the most part, the game has aged quite well. The combat, gore, and boss fights remain a delight, and even while my issues the less-good stuff-the time-wasting open world and the mini-games-have become more pronounced with over a decade removed from the classic, I still love this thing. No More Heroes is filled to the brim with style, and the Nintendo Switch version is a fine place to experience it for the first, or second, or tenth time.
Captain Tsubasa: Rise of New Champions is a good game with strong arcade soccer gameplay and a good deal of content to sink your teeth into. While the story modes didn't click with me too much (which is no small problem), the core game could keep me picking up Captain Tsubasa for some time to come.
If you like tapping to the beat while colorful Vocaloid characters dance around, this game has a lot of that. However, if you're looking for a story mode, a campaign, or anything beyond an excuse to tap to the beat, this isn't the game for you. It does one thing and one thing quite well, and for me, it'll do.
The writing and gameplay are both quite enjoyable, though I can't shake the feeling that they both kind of seem like almost-as-good Shin Megami Tensei games that are a little more accessible and have a hint of Pokémon. If that sounds good to you, I recommend the collection wholeheartedly. If not, well, there you go.
My Friend Pedro seems like the kind of game that either clicks with you or it doesn't. If you're a patient player who likes killstreaks, points, and stylish gameplay, you might like this a lot. If you're like me and have less patience for a game that feels unintuitive for the first 20 levels out of 40, the final product might not click so easily.
Overall, I'd say I like World Mission as a fun game to pick up once in a while, watch DB characters beat each other up, and enjoy a Japanese arcade experience on the go. For longer play sessions, the game can sometimes dip into monotony, but as far as fanservice-powered Dragon Ball spin-offs go, you could do a lot worse.
Garage is a game that, to put it bluntly, feels unfinished.
The mechanics and cutscenes capture the essence of the show quite well, making it one of the less-one-note Omega Force games I've played. Unfortunately, the story moves at a plodding pace, and the game falls into more unfortunate strides of repetition than I'd hoped for. It could be better, but as 3DS's Humanity in Chains taught us in 2015, it could also be much worse.
Last Day of June is mostly quite good. It's a story-driven game with one of the best-told stories I've seen in some time, and it offers an emotional edge that's likely going to leave you with a lot of feelings by the time you reach the credits. The gameplay, however, is passable at best and annoyingly repetitive at worst, and while it didn't fully keep me from wanting to reach the end, it added a somewhat frustrating slog to get there.
Its story, visuals, and sound flawlessly accomplishes what (I think) the game is trying to convey. At the same time, these things are experienced through slow, somewhat dull adventure gameplay. It does hinder the game somewhat, but despite this caveat, I still think Detention is absolutely a game—if not story—worth experiencing.
Overall, it's a game that feels explicitly made for fans of a very specific series in a very specific genre. If you don't like Advance Wars, you almost certainly won't like this. If you like Advance Wars and come into Tiny Metal with slightly measured expectations, you will find a good strategy RPG that borrows unashamedly yet reverently.
Pokémon Ultra Sun and Moon are very good third-version games. They expand the story alongside as well as the post-game, and barring some not-ideal motion controls and a slow intro, there's very little to complain about. It may be the same game as last year with a bunch of new stuff on top, but considering this is one of Pokémon's finest generations yet, I have zero problem with more of a good thing.
I'll have more to say when I beat it, especially because these third-version games always seem to load the super-cool, crazy stuff into the back half. Right now, Pokemon Ultra Sun comes across as the same game as last year with a bunch of new stuff on top. I dig it.
River City: Knights of Justice is a game that tries a lot of new things and succeeds at few of them. Despite some clever ideas and a bolder approach to combat, the lack of progression, difficulty, and an engaging plot prevents this River City game from reaching its potential.