Evan Norris's Reviews
Players now have the golden opportunity to try one of the better games on GBA without taking out a second mortgage to do so. Before they do, though, they should understand that this is essentially an enhanced port, not a remaster or remake. If they reconcile themselves with that reality, and prepare for the game's short running time and old-school level of difficulty, they'll be in for a very good time.
As a preservation effort, the Early Days Collection deserves a big round of applause... judged on its software and features, however, it's less impressive. Ultimately, the compilation is best suited for collectors, historians, and older Yu-Gi-Oh! fans interested in reliving fond memories of their own early days.
In the end, Tomb Raider IV-VI Remastered is less essential than last year's Tomb Raider collection, entirely because the games are inferior. While The Last Revelation remains one of the franchise's better entries, Chronicles is merely decent, and The Angel of Darkness is subpar. Still, thanks to control and graphics options, paired with the 60 fps boost, this newest compilation represents the superior way to experience these titles.
While this remake introduces many worthwhile additions — remade sprites, remastered music, helpful quality-of-life upgrades, and a brand new co-op offering — it doesn't do anything to remedy the original's balance issues or elevate its rudimentary scoring system.
Although it's not the celebration DK deserves, it represents the finest version of the game.
Shooting Insight is a remarkably solid space shooter, both for Macross fans and shoot-'em-up players without any allegiance to the anime.
If you're looking for a low-stakes, relaxing life sim to carry you over to 2027, or whenever Nintendo decides to release the sequel to New Horizons, you could do a lot worse than Hello Kitty Island Adventure. It's colorful and cozy, and packed with things to do and discover — as long as you can overcome its faults.
There are a handful of minor flaws — the story is disposable, there aren't nearly enough Survival maps, and the graphics engine shows its age in places — but in general the game delivers the goods, both for devotees of the series and for fans of stealth shooting games. Rebellion and Wushu Studios didn't quite score a bullseye, but they hit the target with ease.
Even if, as a remaster, Ys Memoire doesn't move the needle much, the base game is absolutely worth playing, both for admirers of action-RPGs and for newer Ys fans who want to experience Adol's earlier adventures.
Due to rarities like Dead Connection and Warrior Blade, and a couple of classics in Bubble Bobble and Rastan Saga, Taito Milestones 3 is a fairly good investment for arcade enthusiasts and retro game collectors. Its biggest problem, outside of a handful of middling titles, is the same flaw that has affected all three compilations: a lack of special features and connective tissue binding the games together.
If Ninja 1987 had actually released in 1987, it would be remembered today as a middle-of-the-pack action-platformer.
In the end, Farmagia isn’t a must-play game, but it’s a perfectly fine way to pass the time.
There's a lot of potential hidden away in Divine Dynamo Flamefrit that, unfortunately, goes unrealized. Still, what we do get is fairly good: a silly, knowing storyline; flashy, crunchy action; and rock-solid boss battles.
Despite some faults, including simple puzzles, a clunky control scheme, and tedious exploration, Hifumi Kono's seminal survival-horror game is worth playing, at least once.
Once again, the Gold Master Series proves to be the gold standard in game preservation, documentation, and celebration.
The games here are arguably better overall than those in Volume 1, mostly due to the greatness of GunForce II, but they've received fewer upgrades. Hopefully future installments will include more refinements, more bonus content, and more ways to appreciate and celebrate each game.
For a new IP, Card-en-Ciel shows potential. The premise is intriguing, the core rules and mechanics provide a strong foundation for tactical decision-making, and the replay value is absurdly high. Regrettably, the campaign that houses everything is a slight letdown, due to clichéd storytelling, forgettable characters, and generic, tedious dungeons.
In terms of murder mysteries, it doesn't get much better than Master Detective Archives: Rain Code Plus. The setting is fascinating, the story provocative, the characters full of personality, and the game world dripping (literally) in atmosphere. The only area where it stumbles is gameplay, which, unfortunately, is the most important area.
Even with a short running time and a lack of special set-pieces, Iron Meat does justice to the genre, not to mention its own on-the-nose name.
By marrying the expectations of a typical top-down 2D entry with the improvisational, do-it-yourself gameplay from Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom, Grezzo has arrived at a winning formula that mixes old and new. That said, not everything is perfect: the echo system isn't great in combat situations and the game's dungeons demand more complexity.