Looking back at it roots, Mario Party Superstars brings back some of the biggest joys from the Nineties. A wide selection of the best minigames and classic boards originally debuting on the Nintendo 64 surely will satisfy everbody's nostalgia. On the downside it feels like there's content lacking, since there are only five playable boards, no overarching story and nothing worthwile to unlock. As soon as the nostalgia wears off, this Mario Party almost feels... incomplete.
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The unique selling point for Iron Danger is the time manipulation mechanic, which works admirably in combat situations. Made a mistake? Just rewind time! It is just plain fun to redo your tactical approaches until everything works perfectly. A must play for anybody, who wants to try something new in this kind of genre.
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And again, the grind is real, guys! Octopath Traveler II is insanely beautiful to look at, the story around the eight characters is better realized, and the turn-based battle system is a true joy, reminiscent of the glory days of 16-bit RPGs. If some boss fights drag on forever and random battles also demand their share of playing time, it shows that the sequel also appeals to die-hard fans for the most part. Nevertheless, the improvements compared to the first part are noticeable in every corner - Octopath Traveler II shows itself as a role-playing game on the highest level in 2023.
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Murder on Eridano improves a lot on Peril on Gorgon, alone through the division in different islands the players get a lot more overview of their surroundings. The mix of thriller and conspiracy gets the story elements to a new high, which makes the around ten hours of playtime a great experience. Only the long loading times on the PS4 and the not expandable combat system disturbs the flow of the game.
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Ironically, this straightforward mix of Roleplay and Hack n Slay still holds up strong today. The element that might seem apalling to hardcore RPG-Fans is the same element that saved it from getting irrelevant - easy accessibility! Combined with the motivating story it is still as fun to play in the present as it was back then.
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Final Fantasy VIII Remastered does the job it was set out to do - updating the graphics, adding 'boosting options' and little else. Some additional content would have been nice, but even with that being the case, FF VIII is still the outstanding RPG it was twenty years ago.
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Adding even more content to the hit formula back from 1999, Nitro-Fueled is a prime example how a remake should look like: staying true to the original while updating the graphics and including loads of bonuses.This fun racer is the best alternative to Mario Kart to date!
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With this super hero assemble Ultimate Alliance 3 don't have to hide behind the movies. Exploring every new hero, location and rank keeps on getting better and better over the course of the game. If you don't like marvel movies you still get a fun co-op gameplay paired with a lot of variation between the fights. Besides some camera issues and often losing sight of what is going on in the fights you get a good mix between powerful fights and lots of well known faces from the marvel universe.
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The eleventh entry in the Mario Party Franchise steers away from the gameplay of its recent predecessors and gets back to the roots of the early games. The classic turn-based still works as well as it did in the early Naughties and the new companion system makes Super Mario Party feel like an old-school classic enwrapped in a fresh reboot. If only there would be more playable maps…
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Ron Gilbert and Dave Grossman, the spiritual fathers of Guybrush Threepwood, are back, and you can feel it in every fiber of Return to Monkey Island. Hilarious situations, clever dialogue, memorable characters, beginner-friendly gameplay, and a fresh graphic style that may not be to everyone's taste bring the game series back to where it belongs: at the top of the point-and-click games. This game is definitely more than just pure nostalgia!
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The 2022 iteration of Live A Live shows how remakes for games from the early 90's should be done: a fresh coat of paint, a few quality of life improvments and Live A Live looks like a brand-new title that plays just as well. The story was, with a few minor drawbacks, so great that it still amazes today. It i is a love letter to old school RPGs and a recommendation for everybody who likes them.
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A gaming series as old as LEGO video games has to reshape some of its mechanics to stay relevant. LEGO Star Wars The Skywalker Saga did a formidable with that and therefore has become the new gold standard for all games of its kind. The experience is only troubled by the ubiquitous little puzzle games, which all feel the same and fill the vast space of the galaxy far far away...
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Kirby's Extra Epic Yarn got everything from the Wii-Version and even more on top of that. If the original version was to easy for you, there's a new challenging mode and other nice additions. Besides missing the good coop-mode from the wii-version this is a no brainer for Kirby Fans that haven't played the original version on the Wii.
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Square has conjured up a really detailed role-playing game for the SNES that has been rightly dusted off without changing much of the original: The HD textures and slightly revamped battle system bring Super Mario RPG up to date, and the post-game rematches offer a brand new tough challenge. All summed up, this is a remake of a role-playing game as it should be in the textbook; the only downer is and remains the playing time of the main story, which is too short at roughly 10 hours.
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Deathloop is the newest hit from Arkane Studios and even if it feels very familiar to Dishonored at the beginning, the gameplay loop changes everything. The studio captivates players again with a strong level design and the day and night cycle gets even more out of the different environments. In short, with Deathloop in your hands you'll experience the best the studio has delivered so far and leaves little to be desired.
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After the first two iterations Luigi's Mansion 3 expands in almost every department. A bigger game world, more gameplay mechanics to play with and puzzles that will take you some time to solve make Luigis new adventure the perfect addition for the Switch's game library. And for the first time in the game series' history Nintendo also put some emphasis on the multiplayer aspect apart from the story mode.
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As seventh entry in the series, Anno 1800 plays to all the strength of its predecessors and adds even more content. Some of those additions may be a little off, but in overall this may be the strongest classic Anno title yet.
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If anyone says that 90s role-playing games are out of date these days, should take a hard look at Star Ocean: The Second Story. With the help of stunning 2.5D graphics and a few small improvements to the combat system and other gameplay mechanics, the title shines as The Second Story R in a splendour that rivals any other current RPG of the year. The depth of the original game, including side activities, take care of the rest
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There is a reason Advance Wars is considered one of the best games of all time: It offers something for everyone, from beginners to absolute experts in warfare, and can achieve an incredible depth regarding gameplay. This remaster also does everything right: changes are only made to the graphics, but gameplay and level design remain true to the original. Add online functionality, dubbing and a map editor on top and a Game Boy classic is brought to the modern era in a perfect way.
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You notice immediately that Horizon Forbidden West massively builds upon the first game and offers a lot more of machine models and side activities. The Gameplay stays excellent, only the story takes a lot of time to gain momentum. Forbidden West is still a sequel how most fans would've wanted it to be.
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