Eduardo Rebouças's Reviews
For preservation purposes, as well as discoverability ones, this re-release of Avenging Spirit is incredibly valuable. Given that the general gaming audience probably haven’t even heard of it in the first place, credits are due to Ratalaika Games for doing the work that they’ve been doing with these. Avenging Spirit is easily my favorite among these re-releases so far, and I can’t wait to see what’s coming next out of their seemingly bottomless treasure chest of little known old hits.
With the hindsight that there is now, with spiritual successors to Pyro Studios’ work like Mimimi’s Desperados 3 getting it so right, I hope to heaven that whoever is minding the supposed new entry in Commandos takes heed and avoid the errors that were committed in both the original version Commandos 3 and were further worsened in this HD remaster. It could have been so much better…
If you’re at this point still in doubt if this compilation is worth getting, well, you shouldn’t anymore. The fact that Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Cowabunga Collection includes the classic assortment of TMNT games in an easily accessible package is reason enough to pick it up. Now, add in Digital Eclipse’s extra efforts in making them better with the many different tweaks and online multiplayer, coupled with the insane amount of historical material that makes up the museum only go to cement that The Cowabunga Collection as a must-buy. That goes for just about anyone with even a passing interest in retro games, let alone a fan of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. No ifs, ors, ands, or buts about it.
While I wouldn’t exactly call Destroy All Humans! 2 Reprobed awful per se, it goes to show that being too faithful when remaking a game can be quite harmful to the end product. The way over the top humor and juvenile tone, along with the potentially boring and definitely dated mechanics make Destroy All Humans! 2 Reprobed feel like a relic of the past and hard to recommend. For those who enjoyed its original run years ago when they were most likely impressionable teens, it might end up being more of an embarrassing memory than a nostalgic trip down memory lane.
Murder at Castle Nathria is another strong expansion to the now venerable Hearthstone, but it doesn't address the game's core problems.
I did enjoy what I got to see of the characters that make up your new Saints crew, for as ridiculously all over the place as their personalities are. At the start of Saints Row, you’re already an established group of friends that had no business being as tight as they are, with the protagonist initially being cog in a paramilitary group’s machine and the rest individual members of each of the ruling gangs in town, all unhappy with how things are run and wanting to make something for themselves. It’s a silly setup and a tinsy bit more grounded and held back than usual Saints Row, but the idea of putting together a new crew would’ve made for an otherwise tremendous game. Sadly, Saints Row is a halfway reinvention at best, one that both fans and newcomers to the franchise are likely to be bored with due to how repetitive and by-the-numbers it turns out to be.
Cult of the Lamb’s strength lies in its core formula, giving you great rewards for quick sessions and even better ones if you decide to stick around for even longer. It might leave you dry when it comes to combat, but its management mechanics and adorable aesthetic are sure to please those looking for something more in their next roguelite, making joining this cult a no-brainer for sure.
River City Saga: Three Kingdoms is yet another quality entry in the franchise, taking the Kunio Kun crew on a fun romp across ancient China.
Klonoa Phantasy Reverie Series is a decent way to enjoy these classic platformers. For as close to the landing as the collection sticks when it comes to content, the fact that there are more accessible options is something to be lauded. While I was never a particularly huge fan of Klonoa, it would be silly to dismiss this for what it is: a new, fresher, and extremely colorful way for an entirely new group of players to enjoy the dreamy antics of Klonoa and co.
There are plenty of games that approach the subject of the upcoming apocalypse by the hand of humans and their constant influence on Earth’s decay, and although Endling: Extinction is Forever shows but a slice of the effects of our actions upon the planet, it does so in a way that’s sure to leave a mark on you. It isn’t the most action-intensive game you’ll ever play, but it’s fantastic in a way that very few games manage to be with the limited scope that it’s given.
Double-dip on some of the best Capcom arcade games ever and enjoy some good surprises along the way with Capcom Arcade 2nd Stadium.
A hunter’s work is never done and there’s certainly plenty to be done in Monster Hunter Rise: Sunbreak.
If you’ve enjoyed Cuphead, The Delicious Last Course is a must buy as it not only provides a handful of new and exciting bosses to fight, and a host of different challenges in the way of the King of Games levels, but also an entirely new way to play both the expansion and the main game with the inclusion Ms. Chalice. Hope you’re not too full as this is one hell of a dessert!
Capcom could go on for years and years just surviving via collections such as this. Their catalog is immense and there’s plenty of hits which players are hungry for in the current gen systems. The games included in Capcom Fighting Collection were among some of the most requested by fans and they should be pleased with how it turned out. If this is any indication to how they are willing to treat older games and update them to modern standards, more power to Capcom to keep releasing these!
For as much of a scaredy cat in regards to horror as I generally am, I have to say I’ve enjoyed my time with The Quarry a whole lot. As the game progressed and the story started to unfold, I found myself wanting to see more of it and stopped worrying about how uncontrollable some aspects of playing it are, something I was dreading when just starting out. If you’re anything like me, I urge you to give this game a chance, you might be surprised with just how surprisingly engaging it can be.
As a compilation on its own, Sonic Origins is still a neat albeit slightly overpriced package that sums up most of the very best Sonic games you could ever play in new and improved forms, maintaining their original incarnations for preservation’s sake. While the historical documentation could’ve been better, the unlockables contained within are neat in their own way and provide plenty of reason to keep playing. On the other hand, it’s sad to see the path that Sega took in trying to make certain that this is the only reasonable and legit way to play old Sonic games, an approach that might serve as a preview to how future compilations might be handled – a scary proposition to be sure to any retro fan who doesn’t wish to resort to less savory means of playing some bonafide 16-bit classics such as these.
With that in mind, I would recommend Souldiers with caveats to those looking for a familiar challenge that won’t mind the repetition that comes with games that borrow from the Soulslike formula with the added detractions that this particular one throws into the mix. Souldiers is an enjoyable take on combining popular genres and mostly succeeds at keeping it together, and should provide plenty of replay value in a way of experimenting around with its classes and character builds, and of course, forging a path ahead.
Honestly, I couldn’t be happier with how Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder’s Revenge turned out. Tribute Games hit it out of the park with this one, a game that is reverent to its source material in a way that will surely please die-hard fans of TMNT and is sure to garner an entirely new audience not just to that property, but to the beat ‘em up genre as a whole. It’s games like this, developed these days by those who enjoyed them in the past and know what they are doing that will keep brawlers alive in the future, and I simply cannot wait to see what’s in store. So if you have yet to give this a go, what are you waiting for? Calling dibs on Donatello!
All in all, Cotton Fantasy keeps the series tradition of providing plenty of eye candy and a pushover level of challenge that should please newcomers to the genre even though veterans might find themselves somewhat bored by the straight ahead approach that the franchise is known for and it kept intact in this new entry. Regardless of where you stand, there’s no denying Cotton Fantasy is one heck of a charming little game any way you look at it.
If you’re into building a collection of historical pieces, the Switch is amounting to be quite the little museum. Between the many Sega Ages releases of the last few years, the bevvy of Switch Online older console games, and SNK’s effort at porting every single game they’ve ever released back in their golden days, we’re just spoiled as all hell here. Hopefully Biomotor Unitron isn’t the last of these releases. Even if it’s not the most exciting game you’ll ever get your hands on, the fact that it is readily available on Nintendo’s digital marketplace when it would otherwise be relegated to purely illegal means otherwise is worthy of praise.