Josh Speer's Reviews
Overall, I was quite impressed with A Robot Named Fight. It provided a healthy challenge, tons of unexpected variety and just enough exploration to satisfy fans of the genre. It’s clear to me that Matt truly understands the factors that make this genre great, and did his level best to include all of them in this, his very first game. While the base journey is pretty short, the various achievements and the need to find everything keeps me playing. I would venture that even Sundered, another fantastic Metroidvania with random generation, isn’t quite so adept at procedural generation as this one. For only $9.99 (or 25% cheaper for the next few days) this game is one any Metroidvania fan should own. I can only hope that it does well in sales, since I’d love to see it make its way to other consoles, as well as maybe getting some DLC. Now if you’ll excuse me, I need to go and beat the Megabeast for the third time and finish getting 100% of those achievements!
Having said that, I greatly enjoyed my time with Pirate Queen’s Quest. After playing this DLC adventure, I can say with confidence I would love Risky to get her own standalone game, maybe even a prequel that shows how and why she became a pirate queen, as well as where the Tinkerbats came from. Though I had some minor complaints, all in all I feel it fixed the issues the original game had and offered a streamlined and fun experience. I managed to beat it in a little under three hours with 93% item completion. For $9.99, this DLC is a must have for any fans of classic platformers, lovable genies, naughty pirates or who just want to support WayForward. If anything, this just made me hungry for more cartoony adventures in this lush world. Here’s hoping we won’t have to wait too long for the next game in the Shantae series.
In the end, I was very happy with Chicken Wiggle. While comparisons to Renegade Kid’s previous works are unavoidable, I felt it differentiated itself enough and more than made up for any deficit with the expansive Level Editor. While it’s true I was a little disappointed by the total lack of unlockable content, I found myself drawn into this strange new world, and desperately hoping for a bigger and crazier sequel. Atooi has proven it still has that magic touch when it comes to retro styled platformers, and I hope this is just the first of many successful new games. Now if you’ll excuse me, I have more levels to make!
It’s true that Hey! Pikmin might not be for everyone. It’s not a pulse-pounding adventure or an intrigue-rich escapade, but that’s okay. It’s not supposed to be that sort of game. Hey! Pikmin is more like a service animal, meant to help provide a relaxing and comforting experience, not unlike playing a Kirby game. If you enjoy simple, fun and relaxing games or are just a fan of Captain Olimar, you can’t go wrong with this one for $39.99. Arzest and Nintendo have done our spacefaring captain justice on the 3DS.
Overall, while I enjoyed aspects of Cryptark, the unbalanced nature of the game and perplexing difficulty spikes made it a unfortunately frustrating experience. Though I did spend a couple hours with the game, I was unable to beat Campaign mode once, and had zero chance in Rogue mode. While I admire Alientrap Games for their art and sound design, the gameplay needs much more balancing before I can recommend it to any other than the most hardcore of fans, at least without massive future updates. Here’s hoping Alientrap learns some lessons from Cryptark and manages to make a more enjoyable and approachable roguelike game in the future.
Overall, I really had a great time with Runbow Pocket Deluxe. It provides a pretty meaty package for just $29.99, including the base game and all the DLC besides a few costume options. Despite some annoying gameplay issues I encountered, it still ran pretty smoothly and I never experienced any real slowdown to speak of. 13AM Games has made the definitive platformer for every Nintendo fan out there. Now if you’ll excuse me, I need to go back and get the rest of those medals!
All in all, for $29.99 Cave Story+ is still a great deal. It takes all the aspects that make it a classic and further refines them in small ways to offer fans a reason to be excited again. I also personally appreciate that it’s on the Nintendo Switch, especially since the physical version came with sexy preorder bonuses. My only minor complaints are that you can’t skip dialogue and that it’s unclear how to unlock more challenges. Regardless, if you’re a fan of Cave Story already or are just a fan of retro games, I can’t recommend Cave Story+ highly enough. It doesn’t reinvent the wheel, but it does remind fans why this game is still relevant today.
I really enjoyed my time with Mighty Gunvolt Burst. While it does tilt towards the hardcore side of the game spectrum, it was a blast to play on my Nintendo Switch. I hadn’t realized before playing Mighty Gunvolt Burst that this is what I really wanted from Mighty No. 9. For $9.99, you get an incredible bargain which should appeal to any retro gaming fans. Until it comes to the 3DS later this month, I’m glad it gives Switch owners something fun to tide them over until the likes of Super Mario Odyssey and other fantastic games. Mighty Gunvolt Burst is probably the best Mega Man experience not to have that titular character in the title. I can’t recommend it highly enough, especially for old fans like myself.
All in all, I quite enjoyed how Echoes brought Fire Emblem back to its roots. While I have enjoyed recent forays in the series, this felt more like the Fire Emblem I grew up playing. For $39.99, you get a ton of content, and that’s not even taking into account the DLC, which I didn’t sample in order to keep my experience more pristine. There’s a lot of replay value as well, with optional quests aplenty and many hidden memory prisms which unlock more lore. It’s also a long adventure, as my final playtime with the game was just short of 40 hours, longer individually than either Awakening or Fates. While not everyone will appreciate the hardcore emphasis of the game, I feel it’s a great sendoff for the Nintendo 3DS, which has done so much for the series. Now I just have to patiently await the next great adventure in Intelligent System’s fantastic tactical RPG saga.
I admit that it was a bit daunting to review a game like Disgaea after such a long hiatus. That said, Disgaea 5 Complete does a pretty good job of streamlining things and explaining new mechanics at a good clip. While not every little thing was explained to my satisfaction, I shoulder some of the blame, as I’m sure many aspects of the game would be far more familiar had I played any of the recent entries. While there were some frustrating aspects of the game, there is far more to love. The characters and plot were especially enjoyable, though I found myself more invested in Void Dark’s Generals as villains than the big bad himself. If you enjoy tactics games and own a Nintendo Switch, you get endless hours of fun for only $59.99. That’s not even taking into account all the DLC, which I didn’t even touch for the purposes of this review. I spent some 60+ hours and barely scratched the surface of all the content. NIS America has outdone themselves once more, and I’m happy to finally see Nintendo getting a little Disgaea love. I just hope this trend of 3rd party support from fantastic publishers continues. Now if you doods will excuse me, I have plenty more game to tackle!
Overall, I was incredibly impressed with Blaster Master Zero. This is indisputably the definitive version of the classic Sunsoft game. Inti Creates has poured their heart, soul and artistry into making a game from 1988 not only relevant again, but a must-own title for any Switch (and eventually 3DS) owner. I truly enjoyed my time with the game, especially once I realized that the ending I got wasn’t the only one. Now if you’ll excuse me, I have to jump back into the Sophia III and go find that best ending!
I’m glad that Bomberman isn’t dead yet, I truly am. I just wish the game that brought it back to Nintendo consoles wasn’t this one. While Super Bomberman R isn’t utterly horrible, it is such a mixed bag that at best it just feels average. That’s not great, especially when you consider it costs $49.99 and only gave me around three hours of gameplay. While it’s true you can replay Story mode levels and the multiplayer isn’t bad, there’s just not a lot to recommend the game. If you’re an old fan of Bomberman like myself, then I recommend you pick Super Bomberman R up on sale. For everyone else, it’s probably best to wait for the next game in the series and hope Konami gets things right the second time around.
It occurs to me after playing the game that although each version of the game was different, they each dealt with the concepts of love and loss. While Shovel Knight focused on his hunt to save Shield Knight and Plague of Shadows dealt with Plague Knight’s secret feelings for a certain someone, Specter of Torment’s story is not about romantic passion, but camaraderie. However, even then, there is a romance in the campaign between the skeleton Red and his lady love, Scarlet. More than anything though, Specter of Torment is a game about duty and the price of holding on to our humanity. I truly enjoyed my time with it, and spent a little more than 4 hours beating the game, with 85% item completion. The Nintendo Switch is truly fortunate to have Specter of Torment as an exclusive, and for those of you waiting, rest easy knowing it will be truly worth the wait. Specter Knight’s tale is a dark and epic one, and it makes me all the more excited for the next DLC Yacht Club Games has up their voluminous sleeves.
I played 4 hours for first playthrough with Blue Falcon, then tried New Game+ with Amber Fox. After trying out the various modes, I spent a total of 6 hours with the game. Frankly, I can see why William enjoyed Stardust Galaxy Warriors so much. Stellar Climax took an already great experience and made it tighter, more challenging and polished, even though the latter part of the game does start to become a bit bullet hell. It’s a fun little shmup that I would recommend to any fan of the genre, both old and new. There’s enough variety to keep things interesting and to allow those unschooled to have a chance. For $13.99, it’s a great bargain. After playing it, I look forward to seeing what else Dreamloop Games has up their sleeves!
Simply put, The Binding of Isaac: Afterbirth+ is the best possible version of the game. In my time, I unlocked 26% of the 339 achievements, and I can easily see myself playing off and on for a long while to come. Afterbirth+ has managed to perfectly distill that insane Binding experience into a well-designed, challenging roguelike. With tons of new features and new incentives to keep playing, I think the game is well worth the bundle price of $35.97 (which gets you Rebirth, Afterbirth and Afterbirth+). It more than satisfied my lofty expectations, and allowed me to see the game with fresh eyes again. While I can’t see another DLC in The Binding of Isaac’s future, I think Afterbirth+ will help it go out on a very high note. At least until they release it for the Nintendo Switch, and force me to get that sexy physical edition…
That said, I really enjoyed my time with Polara. I was even shocked to learn it had originally released on iOS and Android a few years back as a mobile game with touch controls. Luckily, it seems very well suited to the 3DS family, and I hope to see more great games from Hope This Works Games Inc and Circle Entertainment in the near future. Polara isn’t perfect, but I got 5 hours of fun out of it, and that’s not including all the time I’ll be spending collecting letters and going for a Flawless score on every stage. I highly recommend Polara for any 3DS fan looking for a fun action game. You’ll more than get your money’s worth.
Which brings me to my biggest complaint – the lack of variety. Unlike Rogue Legacy, there is only one class in Bard’s Gold, and that’s the titular Bard. This wasn’t actually that bad, since I grew to enjoy the simplistic yet hardcore gameplay. What was more frustrating was realizing that the 4th World was the last one. I felt the game was starting to hit its stride towards the end, and even thought I would unlock more worlds after the boss. Unfortunately, all you get by beating the game is the Contract of Reaper, which randomizes traps more yet gives you more money. That’s it. No real incentive to keep playing, other than unlocking and maximizing all the upgrades. Which is too bad, because despite all the things holding it back, Bard’s Gold is not half bad. The problem is that for anyone except serious fans of roguelikes, it’s not going to hold any real appeal. It’s definitely a bargain to get 3-5 hours of gameplay at $8.99, but I find it hard to recommend to anyone outside that small crowd. That said, I did actually end up enjoying my time with Bard’s Gold, and hope to see a more robust game next time from Pixel Lantern. If they can build upon what they have here and add a lot more content, their next game might be a legendary quest instead of a small diversion.
Although no Shantae game is really known for its deep plot, I felt that the plot in Half-Genie Hero was a bit haphazard compared to Pirate’s Curse, at least until the twist at the end of the game. I can’t explain why without going into spoilers, but I just felt it would have helped players to have a bit more backstory to push things forward. That said, I definitely enjoyed my time with Shantae Half-Genie Hero. I managed to beat the game in five and a half hours with 84% completion (though I did manage to get the good ending). There is some replay value for completionists, and there are also art pieces to unlock, Hero-Mode and even playing through the game as Risky Boots herself! Half-Genie Hero mostly made good on all of my vast expectations, though I do hope that the next game in the series is more like Pirate’s Curse. That said, if you’re a fan of Shantae, you can’t go wrong with Half-Genie Hero for $19.99, and I’m very happy to have finally been able to play this gorgeous HD game on my Wii U. Until next time, Tinkerbackers! And keep up the good work, WayForward!
Overall, I enjoyed my time with The Shivah: Kosher Edition, but can only recommend it to big adventure game fans. There’s just not a lot of content there, and even for $4.99, it was disappointingly short. Though the Steam achievements do add some replay value, I just wish there was a bigger story. That said, it is a bargain, so if you like quick and cheap adventure games, give The Shivah a shot.
Mostly, I was very happy with Ice Cream Headaches. It plays well, is easy to pick up and took me about 8 hours combined to beat everything. My only real complaints were the lack of integration of the Favour system and one other issue – the DLC doesn’t introduce new achievements. Now normally, I could care less about achievements, but I love the quirky and strange tricks that the developers thought up in a game like this. It would have added just that much more polish and replay value. However, overall I felt the Ice Cream Headaches DLC was strong and enjoyable, and I would heartily recommend it to any fans of the series. Now I’ll just not so patiently await the next DLC, whenever that decides to come out…