As the credits rolled I didn’t feel satisfied or accomplished at all, which is pretty messed up considering how much of a feat completing a 20-plus hour video game is for an adult these days.
Aside aside, that’s what this particular Legacy Collection is all about, to me. In a lot of ways the early Game Boy Advance years were all over the place. The rules hadn’t been established yet, and the potential was higher than ever. Anime had penetrated the mainstream, Call of Duty didn’t exist and nobody really hated Sonic the Hedgehog yet. Experiments and sequel vomiting could happen at the same time, and games were still small enough to support niche audiences of all sizes. Battle Network, especially in retrospect, feels like a poster child of that time. It’s probably a little overwhelming to dive in now, and lord knows how corny the Y2K tech jargon reads, but you can’t find a better singular piece of media that sums it all up so neatly.
If you’re the kind of person out there on the internet reading “Dungeon Core” fiction and cursing EA for its mismanagement of the Dungeon Keeper IP, Meet Your Maker is right up your alley. From spike traps to blocks made entirely of corrosive acid, the level of shenanigans you can put other players through is pretty high. There are kinks for the developers to figure out of course, but there’s enough raw potential here to keep even a frustrated player coming back for more. The foundation is important, and Behavior has really nailed that part. I’d love to see the big, creepy science baby like, change form or something though. Like a disgusting, Gigeresque Digimon or something.
It’s a massive swing and a big miss, with enough force to crack the sound barrier while the ball stays in the catcher’s mitt. It’s neither a cynical corporate cringe like Sharknado, nor is it a low-budget dud you’d expect to see a crew of robot puppets heckle. It’s weird, loud and uncanny. Frankly I’m surprised Christopher Walken didn’t show up.
The best parts of Return to Castlevania are all the times the DLC says, “hell yeah, Castlevania!” The not so best parts are whenever the DLC tries to invoke Castlevania in its gameplay. Chasing the unlockable outfits, listening to the music and exploring the new biomes were all awesome, but most of the new items didn’t feel good and Richter Mode was kind of a bummer. I appreciate the love and scale, and the commitment to the idea of a “Return” to Castlevania. But now I want to put Dead Cells down and play more Castlevania.
Ender Lilies was a home run with a compelling story, unique mechanics and a well-formed balance between challenge and progress. Redemption Reapers isn’t really more ambitious, but far more clumsy, managing to contradict itself so sharply it cleaves itself in half.
Despite all the big colors, cute puppets and obscure tracks there’s still a distinct feeling that something’s missing. At the same time, I’m having a blast playing anyway.
Metroid Prime’s iron-clad pedestal makes even more sense today in our post-Dread world, showing what it actually means for an outside party to treat a creative work with some serious reverence.
Like any other game in this series, SaGa can be a lot to get used to at first. You have to figure out if things like random skill activations and stat bumps (instead of EXP), enemy power scaling, obtuse event flags and generally having no obvious clues as to what the hell to do can work for you. But if you can settle into the vibe and just go with the flow, Romancing SaGa: Minstrel Song Remastered is a tremendous adventure that only gets better over time.
Dragon Quest Treasures is not the console Monsters sequel of my dreams, but it does an excellent job carving its own identity out of this historied IP. It runs great for a Nintendo Switch exclusive, and is absolutely dripping with personality quirks and a whimsically romantic view of treasure hunting.
If you like anime, John Wick-like gunplay and have a certain tolerance for jagged edges, Gungrave G.O.R.E. is a fantastic use of your gaming time. If you’ve been around since Gungrave on the PS2 and Madhouse’s weirdly brilliant anime adaptation, I’m surprised you’re even reading this.
Bayonetta 3 makes me question its existence at every turn. For as much fun as it can be in a classic Platinum Games character action sense, there’s so much bs you have to wade through to get there.
From the way the storytelling really takes advantage of its genre hybrid to the distinct and action-packed combat system, this is an excellent JRPG that hits its targets far more often than it misses.
Sure there are technical snaggles and pitfalls here and there. Some of them deeper than others. But I’m so glad Gotham Knights cares enough to take that home run swing in the first place.
It’s hard to tell what exactly I’m getting out of this game sometimes, but it’s so fluffy and silly it’s equally as hard to care about scrutiny.
Potionomics isn’t a “chill vibes” kind of management sim. It’s a “survive misery by being ironically miserable yourself” kind of management sim. It’s like when you work at Walmart and everything about it is terrible, but you find relief in commiserating with your coworkers. But instead of having fun talking trash and doing dangerous things like mishandling equipment or flirting, you’re doing reckless magical chemistry and trading ribs with a talking owl. And flirting.
Even if I need a bit to wipe the rust off, I know I can fall back and make sure to cover all the spots the sickos left open by the home base and help bring in the wins. And there’s no disgusting wartime propaganda blaring at me on loading screens.
It’s neat to see it here with a translated manual and all, but an as-is release makes this a curious part of a set at best for most players, and loses value as a standalone offering.
It turned out to be a pretty interesting combination of classic SMT systems, lots of nerdy skill tinkering and a story about adults fighting for a world very similar to our own and figuring out why along the way. Not bad for a series that can’t get its own name straight!
Live A Live is easily an instant classic for me, a JRPG experience that will remain memorable for a long time.