Connor Nichols's Reviews
Aero 2 is a far improved followup to the dull original. Better level design, better gameplay, better variety, all better, all around! Of the two Aero games, this is the one to play for sure.
Ratalaika ported Aero 1 the best way they could have, and outside of the lack of the Genesis version, I can’t really think of much they could have done to improve this package. You get a well emulated version of Aero with the usual QOL features, and it plays as good as it can. The problem is well, you’re playing Aero The Acro-Bat.
As a game it shouldn’t be one to expect in-depth action from, but the interactivity you do have provides a great backdrop for a charming tale. It may seem asinine for a game this short to be worth the $15 price, but stories like this with shelter animals are seldom expressed in gaming, and for an honest to god effort and a lot of fun moments I really enjoyed a good chunk of Copycat and it had me go “aw!” many times.
The little bit of identity Night Slashers had that wasn’t the gore is just gone now, and I can’t say the game feels that great to play even after playing through it twice.
The bosses were clever, but the other stages didn’t really engage all that much, and I feel if you want a Mega Cat puzzler on Switch, Roniu’s Tale is still the must-have game to nab. That one just has a lot more brain-pushing puzzles from the get go, while The Meating takes a bit too long to get going, and doesn’t exactly excite once it does.
Really when the only complaints I have about this set are that the rewind timer is a bit short, the audio gets briefly weird when loading a save state and that I wish it had something related to the VS version of Wing of Madoola in here, this is just a great set of three fun gems worth discovering for the first time ever.
All in all, Gimmick 2 is a wonderful followup that shows Yumetaro’s game having a bright modern comeback akin to Blaster Master Zero and Ufouria before it.
BAKERU is just plain ol fun, and we could always use another game like that.
Still, this ride is worth clearing once for that stellar presentation, even if maybe you’ll have to leave a friend behind to do so.
I just wish there was more game here in general, but what you do get here is rock-solid platforming action. Hopefully the Retro Revengers make another comeback so we can see more of what crazy things they could do a throwback to!
Nevertheless, I can’t say that this triple pack is worth the money for the amount of polish these games were given. A little disgraceful honestly, and a big shame with how great these shooters are.
If you persist and enjoy the loop however, you’ll find one heck of a RPG to kick off quite an influential legacy.
Still, when you’re dealing with one of the best Hucard games on the entire console, the only thing that gets in the way comes from the price being a bit steeper than a VC title on the Wii would have been. For the leaderboards, I still think that Parasol Stars is a pretty great deal, and an absolute gem worth playing for score again and again, especially if you bring a friend along.
Still, the game is great fun for an afternoon romp, and playing with a friend makes it even better. Sure, you might not have much in terms of in-game options, but what you do get here is a very enjoyable brawler, ending the legacy of a fun, underrated Masaya series. Just don’t expect to remember much about it after you finish it.
But when the core gameplay loop, the literal core of a roguelike is done in such a haphazard way, and the Xbox Series X upgrade didn’t even seem to happen at all and there are still moments of jank to be seen, this really is a weak entry in the genre and pales compared to the dozen of similar indie roguelikes you could pick from.
Ultimately, as a newcomer to the Tomb Raider series, I’m definitely a fan now, and the outstanding quality of these remasters is a big reason why. It got me into the first game with ease, and got me to try the others long enough to see their own individual merits and appreciate them. This may just be a simple drop into the game experience, but when the work to polish these up and look gorgeous was done as well as they could be, I still find these releases the best possible way I could have experienced these classics.
Still, when games like Top Racer or Stunt Race FX exist on the same system, it’s hard to argue that Rider’s Spirits tries to approach that high bar, because it just doesn’t. A truly middle of the road, fun obscurity for racer fans wanting to check add another one to their backlog.
Link’s Awakening, it is not, but Kudzu still stands out as a fun memorable romp I think fans of that game will still enjoy anyway, especially if you like the puzzles or exploratory aspects and want something more simple to kill an afternoon with, and don’t mind a little bit of jank here and there. All in all, a fun nostalgic throwback!
This truly is a love letter to the MSX2 just as much as Nigoro’s classic was, and one that I argue exceeds the original inspiration in quality just like Mulana did.
Definitely a solid way to spend an afternoon or two, but you’ll probably get more desire to keep coming back with friends and family around, than playing versus the computer opponents over and over again. A title where the silly premise is a lot more appealing than the actual game.