I don’t recommend this to anyone but the most dedicated of anglers.
Romance Dawn is a misfire all around that only the absolute most completist of One Piece fans should give it a look. It’s a shame, because One Piece is normally something quite wonderful. Such a waste.
It's worth a peek, but probably not until it's on sale
Though the game has nice visuals and is the continuation of a creative series, Two Realms failed to maintain the magic Drawn to Life had on DS. Unfortunately, my disinterest in the story kept me unmotivated to wait through cut scenes to get to the next levels. Levels could be fun, but they could also be terribly too easy or frustratingly hard. The best moments in the game are dispersed too far apart and they don’t feel worth the hassle to get to.
A unique game that mixes dungeon crawling with classic Pong gameplay but quickly becomes dull.
Kudos to Konami for not abandoning Rogue Corps or its players, but it’s still not quite the game Contra’s return deserved.
Trailblazers is a compilation of gorgeous race tracks with not a lot to do on them. If a sequel ever manages to come about, it’s easy to imagine a version of Trailblazers with better combat, a wider variety of ways to take advantage of painting the track, and more changes/tweaks besides, but until then this is a wasted opportunity on Supergonk’s part. Trailblazers can be fun, but it’s fleeting.
When Rise & Shine‘s gameplay works, it works well, providing a fascinating take on the run and gun genre that I hope Super Awesome Hyper Dimensional Mega Team has a chance to refine and perfect at some point. If you can take the pounding, Rise & Shine might be worth a look.
Sonic Frontiers deserves credit for being a true departure from previous series installments. The open-zone structure is a great concept that frees the developers up to experiment with Sonic’s speed and abilities in new ways. Where the game comes up short is in its stale rehashing of classic stages, a control setup that could stand to be simplified, and performance woes that suck players out of the gameplay experience. With plenty of DLC and patches on the way, hopefully Frontiers can become a better version of what came out at launch. In the interim, it’s a buggy affair that entertains and frustrates in equal measures.
It might not be packed with content, but Missile Command: Recharged is an engaging new take on an arcade staple.
For those who do get the chance, especially if they’re a fan of Cooking Mama, they can do a lot worse. For everyone else, this is a mostly middling effort that might have risen above with greater polish and ambition from all involved.
This is by no means a bad game, but unlike the best Kirby titles where a lack of difficulty doesn't come at the cost of creative game design, Hey! Pikmin feels like it scales back to the detriment of the core experience itself.
It's fun in spurts, but overall a disappointment that hopefully doesn't consign this series to years in limbo.
Had Square not played it so safe, Explorers would be a much better game than it is; as it stands, I'd definitely recommend this one for those who feel the Monster Hunter series is a bit too inaccessible and/or those who love Final Fantasy, but for everyone else, they might be safe to pass on this one in favor of greener pastures elsewhere.
It's hilarious to me that this version of the game feels the most natural, when it's treated as nothing more than bonus material! The Wii iteration of Rodea comes packed with the first run copies of the game, and Naka himself actually announced on Twitter that he'd like fans to play it, specifically. Was that a subtle indictment of the other two versions of Rodea? Hopefully not, especially because (as you've seen in my reviews of both games) neither is terrible by any stretch of the imagination. That said, playing Rodea on Wii it becomes clear that the system was the true destination for the game. The controls here feel the most natural (though still, sadly, imperfect), taking full advantage of the Wii Remote's excellent motion-sensing capabilities. The Wii version of Rodea feels more unique than either of the other takes, and though it's nowhere near as pretty to look at as the Wii U iteration, it's also packing a respectable presentation. Why the motion controls couldn't have at least been an option for the Wii U Rodea is confusing, and I walked away wishing Naka and company would have given that proposition some more thought before moving forward with the control scheme they ultimately settled upon. I'm pleased that all three Rodea games are available to experience, however, and this bonus disc should act as some compelling frosting for those who choose to buy the game for Wii U.
If not for the mishandling of Arkham Knight, I would be much more inclined to recommend Arkham Trilogy. Arkham Asylum, Arkham City, and Arkham Knight are three of the best action games to have been made in the last 20 years. Their mix of atmospheric settings, talented voice performances, and kinetic, thoughtful combat combine for some of the most memorable software Rocksteady has ever produced. Sadly, with an entire third of this compilation in such a shoddy state, I have no other choice but to mark Arkham Trilogy as a mild recommend. For many, the state of Arkham Knight might prove to be an insurmountable deal breaker. If you can look past it, or struggle through the game in its rough state, there’s still a lot to love in Arkham Trilogy.
Overall, Lost Ember isn’t a terrible game; it does, however, strive to be profound and ultimately is not quite so. The narrative is ambitious but never strays from the beaten path. Navigation is problematic and leaves players lost when it shouldn’t. Performance is also far from optimized for Switch. While the body swapping and visual design are solid, the former is let down by linear traversal and the latter isn’t enough to make up for the other flaws. Hopefully a patch will come along to tackle some of these problems, but in the meantime consider Lost Ember if you’re willing to put up with a number of different issues.
There’s a solid foundation that’s been built, but it’s not going to be a game that wows or amazes its players.
All in all, Claybook has its faults, but there’s a lot to love that makes any blemishes worth tolerating.
Watching the shop grow and working towards the end goal of reviving the kids' mother is absolutely worthy of your time. It's just a matter of how patient you can be towards Little Dragons Café's hiccups and blemishes.