Trying to improve myself has left this years post to be rather sparse. This may become the norm as my focus has shifted from gaming, I don’t think I can completely remove myself from the hobby but with the decline in quality of games, film and television (from my perspective) it’s not like I’m missing out on too much.
Movies:
Operation Fortune: Ruse de guerre: A rather boring and forgettable movie.
Puss in Boots: The Last Wish: Fantastic movie that really came out of leftfield for me. Fantastic animation and a good story with comedy that’s kind of a mixed bag. Still probably the best western animated movie in a while.
The Super Mario Bros. Movie: Thankfully it wasn’t a train wreck but it could’ve been so much better than this. From odd casting choices (Crank Kong just sounded terrible) and lame writing choices (Peach suffers from the same hyper competence that we see far too much of these days when compared to the rest of the characters) the film is full of flaws. One of the biggest mistakes is an overuse of overused 80s music which while good music felt very out of place in the movie and meant that less of the Mario music was used. Hopefully the inevitable sequel is better.
The Sound of freedom: A rather confronting film that seems to have caused controversy, it’s by no means as well crafted as some other movies about confronting subject matter but it’s not terrible. Not for the faint of heart I would warn (nothing graphic, it’s the dialogue that’s confronting).
Openheimer: Good movie, that kind of gets bogged down towards the end in legalese. I’d say it’s worth at least watching once.
Godzilla Minus One: As someone who is new to ‘home grown’ Godzilla I have no clue how faithful this movie is to the series and what not. However what I can say is that as a stand-a-lone movie this is probably the best movie of 2023, and hopefully we similar well written and relatively good looking films from Japan in the future since Hollywood despite some exceptions has been failing to deliver.
Anime:
Ghost in the shell: Finally got around to watching this one, I can see why it’s influential but the story hasn’t exactly left a lasting impression in my mind.
Dragon Ball Super: Finally finished it… while it has it’s moments the whole thing feels like it lacks the kind of tension that DBZ has overall. Pretty much all the arcs end in an unsatisfying way and they feel inconsequential.
Laputa castle in the sky: This was a fun watch and it’s probably one of the best Ghibli movies I’ve seen in terms of story. I’d say it’s well worth watching.
Ousama Ranking: Yuuki no Takarabako: An entire season of filler content, but some of it’s pretty good. However the overall lack of momentum made me wonder just why this was made at all and why some of it wasn’t in the main series.
JoJo no Kimyou na Bouken – Stone Ocean: Even with the last episode in consideration I actually felt like Stone Ocean often made more sense than Golden Wind and for me personally it was an overall more enjoyable story.
Dragon Ball Super Broly: This was just a glorified advert for future releases it felt very inconsequential and aside from the introduction where we get a retelling of the origin story for the main cast there was very little meat to the bones of this one.
Games:
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredders Revenge (switch): This is a really fun beat em’ up and while I’m not the most nostalgic for the classic TMNT I appreciate the graphics of this game and the care that seems to have been taken in making this game.
Bridge Constructor Portal (Switch): A rather addictive little game that tests your brain but is still rather flexible in how you solve the puzzles. Very worth checking out.
Metal Gear Rising: Revengance (PS3): Probably one of the most entertaining games just for it’s aesthetics and writing alone. I played this mostly in 2022 but I had only really finished my time with it in 2023. I’m glad I did because even though I wasn’t great at it, I had a lot of fun and I doubt I can forget this one.
Shantae and the seven sirens (switch): I’d say this might be the closest to a complete Metroidvania in the Shantae series. Risky’s Revenge was great but ended too quickly and you could even say the same for the GBC original. Pirates curse was so close but the disconnected structure obviously stopped it from feeling like an interconnected world. Then Half Genie Hero took a turn in the Mega Man direction which isn’t what I was wanting from the series. Thankfully with Seven Sirens it feels like the series is finally living up to some of it’s potential in the genre. There were a few moments of cringe dialogue that felt very out of touch mainly involving a certain new Baron but hey I’m just glad the entire script wasn’t garbage.
Mega Man X4 (Switch): I played this through the Mega Man X collection. The X playthrough of this game was mostly a breeze until the final boss. However the Zero playthrough was my toughest gaming challenge last year. It’s worth playing but it’s not as challenging as the 16-bit games. Also the voice acting is so bad it’s good.
The Last of US Remastered (PS4): I finally got around to this due to the show that was airing. Thankfully the game is actually somewhat fun to play and is a pretty decent story. I’m not sure if I’d give it the kind of status people gave it back when it first came out, but I can at least see why it made an impact.
Wario Land 3 (Switch): I’d describe Wario Land 3 as kind of a puzzle platformer with lots of collectables that advance the game forward. It’s quite an addictive game and might be the best Wario Land I’ve played so far. The boss fights can be a little annoying though since they just take up time instead of lives.
ElecHead (switch): Okay so this one is definitely a puzzle plaformer. It’s obscure from what I can tell but it’s fun a little game that’s not much a time sink. I find the mechanics, art style and music to suit my tastes and I hope more people give this one a try.
Metroid Prime Remastered: I’m so glad they didn’t screw this up. Well for the most part at least. Metroid Prime on the switch looks fantastic albeit for the blemish that is the design of Samus’ face/head shown mainly at the end of the game. It looks far too much like something from a generic western game and not in line with the now more iconographic look she’s accrued over time. I will admit this is in part due to the original Metroid Prime going in this sort of direction with this character design but even then I don’t feel this is even properly faithful to that design. Everything else graphically has been handled with great care and purpose so it’s a bit worrying to me and I hope Prime 4 doesn’t reek of generic modern western entertainment. As for the controls they’re a mixed bag, with plenty of customisation but not quite enough to be able to find a perfect fit. The gyro stuff is inferior to the Wii version and I never found myself able to commit fully to the dual analogue style or the classic style for the first half of my playthrough. The game is still fundamentally built around the original control scheme but the scan visor is so much better to control with the dual analogue style. My gripes aside I had a lot of fun revisiting a game I enjoy so much.
Doom (1993): Having played Duke Nukem 3D a few years back I’m not entirely unfamiliar with ‘Boomer Shooters’ as they now seem to be called. Plus Doom 2016 did give some familiarity with some of these levels. Therefore this felt like a mostly breezy playthrough until I reached Part 4 which was a sudden difficulty spike. It’s an incredibly fun game and certainly deserves its reputation.
The Murder of Sonic the Hedgehog: An April Fools’ visual novel that has some funny lines but it ultimately didn’t offer me much worth remembering in terms of story. But adding Sonic special stages to a visual novel is certainly unique I suppose.
We Love Katamari REROLL+ Royal Reverie (Switch): Mostly an improvement over the first Katamari from what I can tell. I enjoyed my time with this one, it was very relaxing and full of charm.
Shadow Dancer: The secret of shinobi: Okay this game is one of those one hit your dead kind of games. It’s pretty damn hard but the Mega Drive collection can let you circumnavigate the bullshit if you want. I’m impressed by the graphics for the time though, and the simple but addictive gameplay.
And that’s all for 2023, who knows if there’ll be anything posted for 2024 and beyond but hey I’m a creature of habit it seems and I’m still making these posts in a half-assed manner.
2022 was another rough year, maybe slightly better than 2021. It’s honestly hard to judge as each year seems to be trying to out-shit the previous. It makes me realise just how much I took for granted pre-2020. I’m now left with more psychological baggage and have found out I may have more rare genetic conditions. A lot of entertainment was also pretty crap as if it’s a reflection of our times, thankfully I have avoided most of the garbage (at least in the cinema) and I don’t really play any new releases so hopefully I can show more positivity in the rest of this post.
Movies in 2022:
The Batman: I was not expecting this movie to be good at all. I was pleasantly surprised by most of the film, the tone was unique compared to previous movies and they tried something new without making too many mistakes. Biggest criticisms are that movie felt too long at times, the batmobile chase sequence was cool but stupid and some of catwomans dialogue was weak.
Sonic the Hedgehog 2: A decent follow up. It’s honestly surprising that the sonic movies were decent family movies with a decent entertainment value for fans. The weakest element is that some dialogue doesn’t land properly but not enough to be too much of a drag. I have no clue if these movies can survive without Jim Carey though.
Top Gun: Maverick: A rather simple film but a really fun one. It seems mostly well made with only one really large co-incidence at the end, but compared to a lot of movies these days it’s a small problem. It was very reminiscent of movies from the 80s and 90s in general. I think it was actually better than the original Top Gun which didn’t age as well as many other classics from the era.
Bullet Train: I was incredibly surprised by how much I enjoyed this movie. It’s full of style and interesting moments, it devolves into nonsense at some points but I think that’s one of the themes of the movie and it works as far as I can tell. I recommend giving it a go.
Violent Night: A Christmas movie that lives up to it’s title. I can easily seeing this becoming a yearly classic with how ridiculous and over the top it gets. I think it’s worth watching at least once anyway.
Anime in 2022:
Kimetsu no Yaiba – Mugen Ressha-hen: I was impressed that movie managed to make me care about a side-character in such a short amount of time. It was overall a good time and I don’t really have any complaints that I can remember.
Kimetsu no Yaiba – Yuukaku-hen: While not as emotionally impactful as the movie this season had some fights that blew me away and I enjoyed it quite a lot. I think the animation is impressive and I look forward to see what spectacle the next season will present.
Mushoku Tensei: Isekai Ittara Honki Dasu: Considering how worn out the isekai thing is by now it’s honestly surprising that something of this quality was made. Hopefully this one actually reaches a conclusion as there’s enough effort put into this story, it’s world and it’s character that it’d be a shame if it ended up on the enormous pile of unfinished anime.
Ousama Ranking: This show makes a really weird and arguably terrible first impression but if you can get a couple episodes in you’ll find an enthralling show full of drama, intrigue and a really unique art style. It’s worth giving it a go.
Record of Lodoss War: It’s a decent anime with a nice art style and an acceptable story. I can’t say it’s a must watch but you could do worse.
Spy x Family: It’s actually good. If for some reason you haven’t watched it yet give it a chance. I was surprised by how moved I was by one particular episode. My only complaint is that opening song sounds off to me. Also it looks like I need to catch-up on the latest season already.
Ryuu to Sobakasu no Hime: At times this movie seemed like it was just trying take ideas from Summer Wars and Beauty and the Beast. Funnily enough it went into a rather different direction that I didn’t predict and while I think some of the ‘how’ is a bit illogical or extremely co-incidental I think it just needed some fine tuning. It hits the emotions it wants to hits so in that regard it succeeds.
Sono Bisque Doll wa Koi wo Suru: I’ll be honest I was expecting this to be vapid and shallow. It was surprisingly wholesome at times but I have no idea if it’ll last in my memory. Still it was better than expected at least, I just hope it doesn’t get bogged down in the usual tropes.
Games in 2022:
Yakuza Kiwami (PS4): I have no frame of reference for this series however I managed to have a decent amount of fun with this title and maybe I’ll play the others eventually.
Metroid Dread: I love this game but I can’t say that it’s the perfect Metroid title. While not obvious the game does hold your hand and tries really hard to guide you in specific directions. However it’s actually possible to sequence break the game and it doesn’t at least feel like the game is bonking you on the head with directions all the time. In many ways I’d argue it takes the ideas of fusion and actually makes a fun game out of them. Instead of scripted SA-X sequences we have the more dynamic EMMI areas that at least have more room for multiple approaches. The music is a little hit and miss suffering from some of the same musical problems as Samus Returns (It’s not bad but not amazing either). The art direction is good, although the removal of the traditional end screens is lame, they were never overly spicy and it just feels like an attempt to doge the ire of a certain class of people (who knows if that’s true or not but it’s difficult for these things not to raise an eyebrow at least). Funnily enough as a standalone action game separate from it’s series it’s incredible, and shows just how much the 3DS held Samus Returns back in terms of controls (and graphics). Samus Returns deserves to be ported to switch so that the gameplay can shine (maybe in a collection?). Dread is probably a must play game, but as a 2D Metroid game it’s fighting for 3rd place with the Metroid 2 remakes. Nothing has quite been able to dethrone Super Metroid in my eyes and Zero Mission is in 2nd place (although sometimes I feel Dread might be able to beat it, as I am often fickle). Anyway I apologise for rambling I just have many disparate thoughts on the series and am a little overly passionate about it.
Part Time UFO (Switch): I ‘m hesitant to put this game here because I know there’s much left to see. However I also know that there’s far more patience needed than I can give to finish it properly. That’s because it’s part puzzle game but also part funny physics game which leads to some frustrating moments. It’s oozing with charm though so it’s not a waste of time per se but maybe not exactly for me.
New Super Lucky’s Tale (Switch): After the the previous 3 games I needed something simple, easy and straightforward and Lucky’s Tale is just that. It’s very much a 3D platformer for beginners but it’s got plenty of charm and I honestly don’t remember much to complain about.
HITMAN (PS4): The menus are pretty shit and unintuitive. The game itself though is a lot of fun and has some decent replay value. I feel a greater focus on fleshing out the game and less focus on trying to monetise it further would’ve made this a lot better overall.
Dig Dug II (NSO): I’m not sure how playable this game is without nintendo switch online but with modern conveniences it’s quite a lot of fun. If you have the service give it a go.
Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon and the Blade of Light (Switch): Thanks to modern conveniences the game holds up way better than expected. I actually had more fun with it than I did with Shadow Dragon on DS it’s also better looking than that remake in spite of it’s limitations.
Kirby and the Forgotten Land: Possibly the only new release I played last year. It’s a little reminiscent of Super Mario 3D World in gameplay perspective but plays much better than that game and is far more creative and interesting visually. They successfully took Kirby into 3D and managed to keep it fresh. The game rarely got stale and I would’ve fully completed it if it wasn’t for the absurd final boss rush tournament thing. I’ll be honest it’s least my favourite part of the series in general because it’s often just a huge difficulty spike that the games don’t really prepare you for properly. But hey I guess that means pretty much every aspect of the series made it into the 3rd dimension.
Arcade Archives The Ledgend of Valkyrie (Switch): An obscure Namco arcade game which I think came out only in Japan. It was fun to play this with family even if we didn’t understand the cutscene’s. It’s got some archaic mechanics but it’s still playable and the challenge is to acquire the easy to miss spells. One spells lets you skip some of the clunky platforming segments at the end of the game (created to chew up coins I suspect) and can only be used once from what I can tell. It’s rough but you can brute force it if you want. I’d be curious if this IP ever gets bought back to life.
Duck Hunt (Wii U VC): It’s interesting playing these old games with relatively modern tech. Duck Hunt is a fun little distraction, and is quite charming.
Wild Gunman (Wii U VC): Less fun than Duck Hunt but not bad by any means. Probably has the best visual flare of the 3 light gun games on here.
Hogans Alley (Wii U VC): This game was the most fun out of the 3 light gun games thanks to the Trick Shot mode which was rather addictive.
Bomberman ’93 (Wii U VC): I think this is both the first Bomber Man game I’ve finished and the first TurboGrafx-16 game I’ve finished. It’s a simple game from what I remember but a very charming one. The sudden difficulty spike at the very end caught me off guard but I guess they felt the rest of the game was too easy or something?
Metal Gear (PS3): I loved this game even if it’s a bit cryptic at points. The soundtrack is pretty great probably one of the catchiest tunes I’ve heard in a long while. The biggest problem is that dumb Bulldozer thing which felt like a crapshoot, just chuck your grenades at it and hope you’re in the exact right pixel.
Metal Gear 2: Solid Snake (PS3): This game improves on the first in almost everyway. There’s an actual story here unlike the first one and it doesn’t bog down the gameplay to insane degrees. That doesn’t mean it’s without issue though. The hand gliding stuff was extremely unintuitive, the rooms with the mannequins are unfair bullshit, and that one boss room having an extra crucial item just ended up being a huge time waster as I either didn’t trigger the codec call or I ignored it thinking it was a repeat call. Considering how ambitious the game is though I think it’s impressive that most of the time it was a reasonable challenge.
Sonic the Hedgehog 2 for Game Gear (3DS VC): I have a soft spot for these 8-bit Sonic games. I originally tried to play this years ago on the Wii Virtual Console and never finished it. You could argue that one is a different version to this one, since that was the Master System version of the game but either way it was nice to finally beat this game and get the good ending. I can’t recommend it to most people but I like it anyway.
Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty (PS3): While an interesting story that was ahead of its time, the gameplay itself has taken a bit of a back seat. It’s a bit clunky especially with it’s boss fights but the fact is I wanted more areas to explore and sneak through and that is a sign the game is fun but just needed some more meat on the bones. The Snakes Tales feature adds some stuff but it’s mostly recycled content. I feel it’s a shame that this is the last game that was built with the overhead view and the radar in mind since I think there was room to perfect this classic style.
Disney Afternoon Collection (PS4): This is actually a lot of games in one package. However I zoomed through them so quick I felt to just lump them together. TaleSpin is kind of a frustrating shoot ’em up but that’s not a genre I’m overly familiar with. Darkwing Duck is a cool Mega Man clone with inconsistent difficulty, it’s easy to see why this is a classic for some people. The Chip n’ Dale games are fun and easy, clearly meant for a 2 player co-op experience. Duck Tales is a classic but it’s arguably been replaced by the Remastered version which is more fleshed out. Duck Tales 2 is a hidden gem that was really fun and probably the best game in this collection. The extra boss rush modes this collection adds is pretty neat but ultimately I’d say it’s a pretty basic collection of games for this day and age.
Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater (PS3): In terms of gameplay this might just be the best game in the series. It took me a while to figure everything out (for example I kept forgetting to use the D-pad early on) and I’m probably still terrible at the game but I think it’s amazing anyway. The whole thing feels rather James Bond inspired too which was a nice change of pace but it’s got a unique identity all it’s own which is why it’s probably persisted in the minds of many players.
Kirby and the amazing mirror (Wii U VC): A Kirby game for GBA that seems designed for multiplayer. Ultimately I think it would’ve worked better if focused on the single player experience which is essentially a more fleshed out version of the great cave offensive from Kirby Superstar. Instead of useless treasures you find alternate colours for Kirby and bits of the soundtrack. The ultimate goal is to defeat all the bosses and get the mirror pieces and there’s a large amount of freedom as to what order you do this in. A certain enemy can also give Kirbys moveset from melee which is a neat addition (and it’s kinda op as it lets you deal with many obstacles in one power up). The only problem is that it’s fairly easy to end up doing pointless loops because of all the one way doors.
Demon slayer – the hinokami chronicles (Switch): It seems to run okay on switch from what I can tell, this is no masterpiece but it’s a fine interactive recap of the anime (it only goes as far as mugen train with the latest season being just represented by DLC characters). I think the combat is fine for a single player experience but there’s not a lot of meat on the bones here you get to do some very basic exploring of small areas and some mini-games (localised to one chapter). There’s a seed of a good idea here but I think they should probably wait until the anime has finished before trying to make another game so that they actually have much more content to base a more meatier game around.
Professor Layton and the Miracle Mask (3DS): As far as Layton games go it’s about average. A lot of the twists were on the predictable side making the mystery not as interesting. However it’s still fun to do most of the puzzles and the story has the same kind of emotional pull that the previous games did. Question is will I remember this games story into the future? that I can’t be sure of.
Fire Emblem: The Binding Blade (???): It was much better than I expected but it did seems like it was missing some of the features the other GBA games had. The difficulty curve was a bit odd, towards the end it got much easier and the final boss was kind of a pushover. Up until that point it was quite a difficult game at times, perhaps the game just wanted to reward the player for making it that far? Just be careful if you play this though since it seems pretty easy to get locked out of the true ending. Make sure you get those sacred weapons and don’t break them. As for the story it’s okay, it’s not as detailed as some later entries but the main antagonist is at least a little bit interesting and I don’t really have any complaints.
Dangan Ronpa S: Ultimate Summer Camp (Switch): Waste of my time. Mildly addicting at first especially when you get to see some impossible character interactions, but once that wears off you are left with a shallow grind fest. Maybe if you have a compulsive need to gacha you’ll get a kick out of it but even that is limited. You’re better off avoiding this even at a discounted price.
Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker (PS3): Considering this was a PSP game it’s pretty good, just not as good as MSG3. The story had some neat ideas and the cutscene art style was interesting. Ultimately though once you’ve seen the credits and seen the huge twist it just becomes a game of grinding. It’s not a fun grind either, enemies are just made to sponge more damage as the mission levels increase and they in turn do stupid amounts of damage to you. It’s a shame because the game is actually quite fun to play up until that point and I was surprised at how much I enjoyed the boss battles. My last complaint is that the scripted button mashing sequence is probably the worst in the series, rivalled only by the original Metal Gear Solid.
Mega Man 10 (Switch): This was the first Mega Man game I finished and quite frankly I didn’t feel much accomplishment because I had played it on easy back then. Now that I’ve actually played through it properly on normal difficulty I can affirm that it’s a good Mega Man game that is reasonably challenging unlike Mega Man 9 which was a much more brutal game.
Record of Lodoss War -Deedlit in Wonder Labyrinth- (Switch): If you like Castlevania sotn then this game tries to scratch that itch while also being an anime tie-in. Watching the anime does provide some context for the story but I’m not sure if I’d say it’s needed. I was impressed with the animation, the music and a lot of the gameplay ideas. Even if the locations feel a little bland to me it’s not a huge knock against the game and the only thing that might hold it back is that the items in the shop are priced either too low or too high. If you can just buy the best weapon the moment you first enter the shop then it’s not priced correctly. I recommend this to enthusiasts of the genre if you need to scratch that itch.
Iconoclasts (PS4): The gameplay is fun but the characters are irritating and the story kind of suffers because of it. I think they attempted to have serious drama but it felt like it was written by a naïve teenager. I think it’s the first time the writing has made a metroidvania game worse for me but hey this broke new ground.
Ape Escape (PS4): Fun monkey game with unique controls that is really easy and relaxing. I remember renting this is a kid but I don’t remember the details so it felt relatively fresh. The unlockable mini-games are kind of lame though.
Halo 3 (Xbox 360): I did play this co-op back in the day when visiting friends but I don’t remember if I ever got to play the whole thing from start to finish. I played on Heroic mode which is probably a first for me but I enjoyed the challenge even if it meant dying to random shots at times. I enjoyed my time with the game unfortunately all the Halo’s tend to blend together in my memory so I’m not someone to discuss it in greater detail.
SOMA (PS4): I typically avoid these types of horror games. Running away from monsters in first person and then hiding isn’t my idea of a good time. However SOMA has such an interesting story and world that I was able to disregard my distaste for the gameplay style. It’s clear to me that this is a game that has earned it’s praise and I recommend it highly. I didn’t use the safe mode (even if sometimes I wish I had) but it exists and should allow even the most timid to enjoy the games story and ideas.
Resident Evil HD (Xbox 360): I’m kind of kicking myself that it took me so long to get to this masterpiece. I will say that the game misled me into playing on easy for my first playthrough, but it sure didn’t feel easy. I made sure to a second playthrough with Chris on normal and at times that felt easier than the easy difficulty. Which to me shows that it just took an entire playthrough to adapt to the game. I’m very impressed with the level design it may be some of the best in gaming as a whole. I’d argue it’s almost a Metroidvania in this regard. I highly recommend this game if you’ve never played it.
Bloodstained: Curse of the Moon 2 (Switch): This game is really cool but I think it has balancing issues. It’s either too easy in the casual mode or stupidly punishing in normal difficulty. I think a middle of the road option where the boss fights remain challenging but the checkpoints are actually decently placed (which they are at the start of the game) would’ve been amazing. It gets increasingly punishing and difficult at the same time and it’s a little infuriating. For those who like that kind of challenge you’ll find it amazing for me though it doesn’t cross the finish line. Casual mode is fine I guess, but the game is constantly dropping hearts in that mode removing any tension.
Oddworld: New n Tasty (PS4): The original Oddworld was on a demo disk I played as a kid. It was hard and confusing. Thankfully this remake is more forgiving yet not devoid of challenge. I actually ended up really liking this game and now I’m curious about the rest of the series.
Gargoyle’s Quest II (Wii U VC): Yet another NES platformer but this one has a rather unique set of moves and has an RPG style overworld. Ultimately it’s a linear game but the extra effort into the presentation gives it some added charm. Once you adapt to the movement mechanics the game is really fun although at the start it’s rough going because you’re under powered in terms of stats and abilities.
Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots: This was a pretty cool movie. As a game it feels like a step back from MGS3, everything seems so focused on spectacle that you don’t really do any sneaking until chapter 3 and then in chapter 4 the stupid mini-gekko things just make everything painful. It’s a shame because I think the game controls better than 3 in some ways and has some good ideas but doesn’t do much with them. As an experience though it was cool, but the gameplay felt like an afterthought to me.
Klonoa Phantasy Reverie Series (Switch): While it’s nice more people can play Klonoa this remake of the first game is nowhere near as beautiful as the original in my eyes. The hitboxes feel a little off as well. On the plus side I got to finally play Klonoa 2 which is a really cool game and that remake seems less jank to me. If you have no alternative this is an okay way to play these great games.
Mega Man X3 (Wii U VC): X3 is brutal at the start, at some points in the middle and right at the end. I can only imagine how much rougher it would be without certain weapons and armour. It’s odd since the game rewards you for not getting everything and instead you need to get everything except the pink capsules. I guess it rewards you for not giving into the temptation? Anyway all that aside most of the upgrades are in straightforward places this time around so it’s not a finger breaking exercise to get 100%. You’ve got the great tunes and mostly solid gameplay with even more movement options thanks to the up-air dash. Just be prepared for an ass kicking at the end.
And hey that’s all for now lets see if we survive yet another year.
Each year seems to be getting worse. This could be my last post and quite frankly this is just a way for me to record the few silver linings of existence or maybe some linings of some inferior metal.
Movies:
The suicide squad – A surprisingly fun movie that completely dwarfs it’s predecessor in terms of quality. Easy recommendation.
Ghostbusters: Afterlife – Got an advance screening. It felt like a nice tribute to the old movies and wasn’t an awful experience by itself. Consider it a tale of redemption for the previous train wreck.
Spiderman: No way Home – Another movie that was surprisingly good. I’m just surprised that a movie with this premise could be done this well. However it has a lot of issues and it’ll be interesting to see how it holds up over time.
Anime:
Princess Connect! ReDive – It wasn’t terrible but outside of animation quality I wasn’t particularly amazed by anything.
Deca-Dence – This show had an interesting story and was quite enjoyable.
Dragon Ball Z: seasons 7,8,9 – Felt like finally re-watching these I’m including because there were some episodes I had no memory of at all. It has obvious problems but a lot of charm.
Ascendance of a bookworm – This show is surprisingly good for such a weird premise. It may be well worth watching if you want something of a slower pace that doesn’t stagnate.
Dragon Ball Super collection 2 – This bluray covers most of the show that wasn’t in the movies from what I can tell. The Future Trunks 2 story felt way too short considering the stakes but perhaps they’re overcompensating for the problems of the original DBZ. There’s more side story episodes with an emphasis on comedy which is a bit ‘hit and miss’ but overall it’s not an awful time.
Made in Abyss: Dawn of the Deep soul – Just like the show it’s well made but really fucked up and not for the feint hearted.
Games:
Sakura Wars (PS4) – As a story based game it’s fun but as an action game it’s repetitive and dull. I found it charming but I can’t recommend it unless you’re capable of turning your brain off for the combat.
ACA NEOGEO REAL BOUT FATAL FURY (Switch) – No expert on fighting games in fact I’m awful at them but this one did provide some enjoyment.
Pokemon Sword – With the release of the dlc I decided to give the game a shot. While it has made some improvements to the series it’s an incredibly disappointing game that’s taken steps backwards from gen 7 and it fundamentally looks low quality for a switch title. Pretty much everything people said about the game before launch holds to be true and while the dlc is a huge improvement it’s still not up to par for what is expected of a switch game. Quite frankly the only excellent features are the character designs and the music which just makes me wish they were in a better game.
Call of Duty World War II (PS4) – An unremarkable fps that just left me in a state of indifference towards it.
Good Job! (Switch) – A fun little game with silly physics and basic puzzles to solve.
Root Film (Switch) – A somewhat basic visual novel from the creators of root letter. It’s an interesting murder mystery story but the ending is a little anti-climatic.
Ori and the Blind Forrest (Switch) – An excellent Metroidvania game that was surprisingly difficult at times. It’s tries very hard with it’s story, art-style and music to be emotionally moving but personally it wasn’t until around the end that I felt anything.
Megaman 9 (Switch) – Been meaning to finish this for ages but when I first played it my ass was handed to me. I would say this is one of the more difficult games in the series but the current collection on switch has a more lenient save system that made the more bullshit areas of the game tolerable (to be fair when I played this on the Wii I made it up to wily castle without such help).
New Pokemon Snap – The best pokemon game of the year, perhaps even this generation of consoles and it’s one where you take photo’s and try to solve cryptic puzzles to get better shots. It’s flawed but I had way too much fun with it to not recommend the game.
Superliminal (Switch) – The game feels like a less funny Stanley parable, it has some neat ideas/puzzles dealing with perspective but the style is severely lacking and I can’t see myself going back to this one.
Back to the Future: The Game (PC) – An okay game I suppose, it certainly has more to do than the modern tell-tale game but of course this was before their famous choice based gameplay was a thing. The story itself is serviceable and goes into some odd places but I can’t say it’s worth it.
Streets of Rage II (Mega Drive Mini) – A fun beat ’em up game but nothing fascinating
Shinsekai: Into the depths (Switch) – A surprisingly good mobile game ported to switch. It’s a fairly unique Metroidvania-esque game that was very engaging. Maybe worth checking out.
Ty the Tasmanian Tiger HD (Switch) – The most Australian 3D platformer. It’s not aged gracefully even with the supposed visual enhancement. It’s not terrible but it’s far from great.
The Great Ace Attorney: Chronicles (Switch) – 2 excellent games in one package. I honestly never thought I’d see these officially translated and perhaps there’s some small hope for the edgeworth games being released in a similar manner. The translation/localisation seems pretty great using a lot of older language (to fit the time period) without being difficult to read. The music is pretty great trying to combine sounds more fitting that era with the usual excellence this series offers. The story in some ways was too predictable but overall I was impressed by it.
Gato Roboto (Switch) – A very short Metrodvania game that I could only recommend to enthusiasts. A more fleshed out sequel could be amazing though.
A short hike (Switch) – This game goes for a nintendo DS aesthetic and it’s a low stakes game that focuses on being cute and relaxing.
Titanfall 2 (PS4) – One of the best modern linear fps game’s I’ve played and since I only played the campaign I can’t give critique to the multiplayer. Just the campaign alone is a blast and far more memorable than the cod game mentioned previously.
Sega Ages: Wonder Boy in Monster Land (Switch) – This old arcade game is pretty brutal missing any upgrade is severely punishing and the final level takes away your continues. Plus some of these important things are behind hidden doors. Thanks to modern save shenanigans I was able to win but by no means easily.
Little Nightmares (Switch) – Sort of a 3D take on the gameplay of Limbo or Inside, this game is fine for the most part with it’s creepy visuals, and decent puzzles and platforming. The stealth side of the gameplay though seems janky though and the loading times are atrocious for a game with this much instant death. Avoid on lower powered devices like the switch.
Castlevania: Circle of the Moon (Wii U VC) – The vania in Metroidvania comes from great games like these. It could be argued this one makes you spend too much time in the menu but I think it has some interesting experimentation that separates it from SotN. It’s perhaps a little too bland but I thought it was a good time outside of some grinding (which is arguably optional). Thankfully all 3 GBA castlevania games are in a collection now for purchase on modern consoles which is worth picking up.
DOOM 2016 (Switch) – It’s amazing that they ported this to switch, from what I can tell it still looks and runs great and puts certain games to shame. This is just a great game to play and it’s feels like an interesting combination of modern and classic fps games. It’s cathartic to just ‘rip and tear’ into waves of enemies using a large variation of weapons. Easily recommended.
Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night (PS4) – Another Metroidvania, this one is heavily influence by SotN in no small part due to sharing the same creative talent. The game is quite large for the genre and does plenty of interesting things. The story is bit harder to wrap ones head around than castlevania but it has some interesting twists I suppose. Overall it’s a great game I can easily recommend (at least on PS4 anyway).
Trials of Mana (PS4) – An action rpg that is kind of simple but has a goofy charm and enough gameplay variety for me to get somewhat addicted. After seeing pretty much everything the game has to offer I can’t say it’s a must play but you can do much worse.
Shaq Fu: A Legend Reborn (PS4) – Fucking waste of time. It was trying hard to be funny and the ‘comedy’ didn’t land. The gameplay is repetitive and boring.
Sega Ages: Phantasy Star (Switch) – An old school rpg that has been made more palatable by maps for dungeons and an optional Ages mode that adjusts the enemy encounter rate, and the amount of xp and gold gained per fight. The game may be too easy this way but even then I had my ass handed to me at random which makes me think the classic/original mode would have required a shit load of grinding to be doable. You may still need a guide though as the game is sometimes vague with it’s objectives.
That’s all folks if by some miracle I make another post I’ll see you then but for now consider this a farewell, if anyone is even reading this that is.
The following is a catalogue of games, anime and movies that I experienced within the year 2020 and is not limited to the year itself in terms of when these things were created.
Anime in 2020:
Senryuu Shoujo: Short romance comedy. It’s very cute but not very memorable.
Hataage! Kemono Michi:Â Â A comedy about a pro wrestler obsessed with animals being transported to a medi-evil world. It’s a ridiculous premise but thankfully it’s not a long enough series to overstay it’s welcome.
Fate Grand Order – Absolute Demonic Front Babylonia:Â Pretty good adaptation of the mobile game but there’s a high barrier to entry and the episodes sometimes suffer from the mobile game format of storytelling. However there’s plenty of cool shit that might make it worth it for those who want spectacle. Worth watching for fans of the game.
Azure Lane:Â Surprisingly good anime that blows the kancolle anime out of the water. Playing isn’t necessary to enjoy it either. There’s like one super fanservice episode I think midway through that kind of contrasted with the rest of the series in tone but whether you consider that a positive or negative is up to you.
ID: INVADED: A pretty good sci-fi detective show that goes in some interesting directions however some of the twists are laughably predictable. Still worth watching though.
Kimi no Na wa:Â Great movie. Quite emotionally moving at times and somewhat worth the hype.
Fate Stay Night Heavens Feel III Spring Song:Â A solid ending to the trilogy. For the most part it’s a good adaptation but I will criticise the soundtrack for not using more of the original games bgm for inspiration. I’m looking forward to watching it again.
Made in Abyss:Â A really imaginative and emotion pulling show. I have small complaints here and there with some stuff that feels a little out of place but for the most part it’s an enthralling show that’s easily recommendable to mature audiences.
Games in 2020:Â
Fate/Extella: Link (Switch):Â The fate series version of dynasty warriors got a sequel and for the most part the plot is more digestible than the first game. Very simple gameplay but worth playing if you like the characters and need to repeatedly mash buttons for some catharsis.
Dragon Quest VII: Fragments of the Forgotten Past (3DS):Â It had been ages since I played through a traditional JRPG to completion but something about the goofy and simple nature of this game drew me in for far longer than I expected. It was fun to play and while the plot isn’t overly complex there’s a lot of emotional moments and great dialogue. A surprisingly good balance of drama and comedy. The gameplay becomes more dynamic once you can change class and when you can take on the form of monsters in order to learn special skills. Good times.
AI: The Somnium Files (Switch):Â An excellent sci-fi detective game from the people behind the Zero Escape series. This one is easier to wrap your head around but has plenty of twists and turns. There’s also a larger attempt at humour but it’s hit and miss. I absolutely loved the game with my only complaint being that the ending credits are only in English while the rest of the game is dual audio. I would highly recommend this if you can get it.
Katamari Damacy REROLL (Switch):Â I had seen this game in action before but actually playing it made me realise just how fun it is and how tricky at times it is to control. It’s very satisfying from an audio, visual and gameplay perspective but some of the missions are bullshit and the game eventually gets repetitive. Thankfully it didn’t overstay it’s welcome.
The Sexy Brutale (PS4):Â I think I played this one in just one day. It was a LONG play session though and it’s this games gripping nature that lead to this development. Unfortunately it lacks some polish and I don’t even remember the story just the events that stood out. Worth at least looking into to see if it interests you.
Golf Story (Switch):Â Another one that lacks polish in some places but is saved by it’s core gameplay. It’s golf though so there’s not much else to say.
Yoshi’s Story (Wii U VC):Â I can see why this game is a classic but also rather flawed. The difficulty is easy but the extra floaty and slippery nature of the Yoshi’s in this game can create difficulty at times. A lot of the boss fights are stupid easy leaving the game feeling anti-climatic. However the charming visuals and music give the game enough charm to compensate for the shortcomings in gameplay (it’s still fun mind you).
Cities: Skylines (PS4): For being a console port of game type that seems specifically designed for PC controls I was surprised by the quality and functionality of this title on PS4. It was entertaining for about a week and then the repetitive nature of genre set in and I had to move.
Animal Crossing: New Horizons: In contrast to the game above Animal Crossing has kept me invested in spite of the repetition through small daily play sessions and a constant flow of new content. However I suspect this is soon to end and so I thank this game for being a constant source of peace throughout this past year.
Root Letter: Last Answer (Switch):Â Somewhat decent visual novel. Far from the best I’ve experienced but it was entertaining and went in several directions I didn’t expect. Just keep any expectations low though.
Pokemon Mystery Dungeon Rescue Team DX:Â This is a pretty good remake and addresses some of the problems I had with the original. In particular the bosses are much easier to recruit which is important since in the original many of these were located in long and difficult dungeons with a small chance to recruit meaning to recruit them all was a time sink and a pain in the butt. Some of the models up close look a bit off but for the most part the game looks and sounds excellent. Probably the best pokemon title on switch so far.
Snake Pass (Switch):Â Kind of a short game but most levels are quite long. The music is excellent thanks David Wise of Donkey Kong Country fame, and the visuals are also high quality. It’s an incredibly unique gameplay experience as far as I’m concerned so it’s one I would at least recommend people try for themselves. However it can get frustrating at times but that’s to expected for such a unique idea.
Legend of Zelda: Links Awakening (Switch):Â An almost perfect remake. Great audio, visuals and plenty of quality of life improvements. However the lack of D-pad control is kind of odd and Dampe’s dungeon editor makes 100% replay playthroughs quite unlikely. I enjoyed it enough to play it 2 times in a row though which outside of some genres is something I never do so I think it did quite a lot right.
Onimusha: Warlords (Switch):Â This game is fun but I wonder if removing the tank controls removes most of the challenge. It’s hard to tell since this was my first look at the series. It wasn’t the most impactful game I played this year but I’m not opposed to checking out other titles in the series in the future.
Star Tropics (NSO):Â Obscure NES game that’s sort of like Zelda but with a Yo-Yo and jumping mechanics. It’s linear and has more of a plot in game than a lot of NES titles at the time. It’s good fun but just be on notice that there are fake walls at some points required for progression.
Sonic Mania Plus (Switch and PS4):Â The best sonic game since Sonic Generations. It does almost everything right and has an incredibly addictive quality (hence why I played on two different consoles). The DLC in the Plus version really adds extra meat to the game providing remixed levels and new characters. Mighty Armadillo quickly became a favourite of mine in this game due to his spike protection. I could also probably recommend this one for just the soundtrack and visuals alone.
Wild Guns (NSO):Â This game is difficult but short and on a platform with rewind capability. It was quite fun though and one of the few co-op games that wasn’t a nightmare to play with my nephew.
Super Ghouls ‘n Ghosts (NSO):Â Less bullshit than the original but still pretty bullshit. Kind of fun but a lot of pain is involved.
Axiom Verge (Wii U):Â This game is a wonderful tribute to classic Metroid but also forms it’s own identity in the process. Some items require cryptic hints more in line with something like FEZ (First example that entered my mind) than Metroid. This game has a great atmosphere and interesting mechanics. There’s even a decent sci-fi mystery plot that is somewhat open ended leaving plenty of room for a sequel.
Luigi’s Mansion (3DS):Â It’s nice to see it in Stereoscopic 3D but in terms of control you’re much better serviced by the original gamecube game if you can find it. If not in possession of the original this could be a suitable substitute since it’s still a fun game at it’s core and there are some small improvements in some areas.
Resident Evil Revelations (Switch and 3DS):Â I went back to the 3DS version for comparison sake and I can confidently say that the Switch version and presumably all the other console versions are superior. The visuals are improved for the most part but more importantly the controls are so much better, even better than the circle pad pro. As for the game itself it was a relatively fun 3rd person shooter at least but didn’t reach the same height’s as RE4. In terms of survival horror I’m not the best person to make that call but I remember that when the game first came out on 3DS it gave me the spooks (the same can not be said for last year).
Helltaker (PC):Â Another free game that caught on due to it’s character design (similar to what happened with DDLC to some degree). The gameplay isn’t horrible but this is most certainly a ‘style over substance’ thing.
Bloodstained: Curse of the Moon (Switch):Â A good attempt at replicating the classic castlevania formulae (Including a pretty good soundtrack). There’s some unique ideas but sticking to what works was probably for the best for now. There seems to be a lack of branching level pathways from what I played and instead each character opens up multiple pathways and shortcuts within a level (reminds me a little of some parts of Castlevania Bloodlines). It’s a tad on the forgettable side but it scratches a particular itch real well and I hope to play the sequel in future.
Return of the Obra Dinn (Switch):Â A fantastic mystery game that was able to creep out more than any other game on this list. The unique style and morbid subject matter helps create this foreboding and simultaneously enticing experience where you want to know what the hell happened but brace yourself for what unfortunate situation awaits you with each new scene. Unfortunately it has the weakness of being a one and done experience for all but the most fish-brained individuals (which also means spoilers are particularly dangerous to your enjoyment). I easily recommend this one.
Pikmin 3 Deluxe (Switch):Â I loved the original on Wii U and for the most part this version is an improvement with extra content. It also has most of the DLC I missed in the original and I found myself spending a lot more time in mission mode than I had predicted. This shows that the core gameplay holds up very well and that mission mode should probably become a series staple. It seems like the final boss was made easier which is fine by me since it seemed like a huge difficulty spike in the original, however the penultimate boss seemed harder to deal with instead. I can’t tell if that was due to having to use a pro controller or if they messed with it somehow. Minor problems aside it’s a fairly easy game for me to recommend (If you have functioning joy-cons it might be even better).
Alex Kidd in Miracle World (Switch):Â Extremely simple old school 2D platformer. It does some interesting things like having vehicles stages and ‘rock paper sissors’ matches in place of boss fights. It’s fun but it’s not aged as well as other games from that time. Alex moves very fast and is very ‘slippery’ which makes some of the more tight platforming a pain (thankfully this version includes save states). Best to ignore since there’s apparently a remake in the works.
Atelier Ryza: Ever Darkness and the Secret Hideout (PS4): Probably one of the bests games I played last year which I wasn’t expecting. The soundtrack has some excellent tracks and you can even download a buttload of extra music for free from previous entries in this rather obscure series. It’s not perhaps the most graphically intensive or the most unique with it’s art style but the majority of this game has this tranquil feeling in it’s visuals and the character designer seems to have found a way to make semi-iconic characters (probably something to do with mild fanservice but I don’t think it’s just that). However it’s the engrossing alchemist gameplay that actually makes this game interesting and what kept me playing for long periods of time. Each weapon, item, armour, tool and key item is pretty much made by the player which means you have a lot of control over the stats and properties and this allows you to make some busted stuff without even trying. Because it’s so flexible I actually recommend playing on hard since it’s easy to make yourself broken. Add to this a somewhat basic but pretty emotional story that fleshes out most of the characters and you end up with a pretty good time. If you do buy the dlc stories though I would recommend you play most of them before finishing the main story since they add extras to the main game. It’s not for everyone but if the core gameplay doesn’t sound like a turn off it may be worth trying.
Super Monkey Ball Banana Blitz HD (Switch):Â Did they make this better or worse? well the controls are better at least, but arguably the levels were made worse by the changes made to them. Making your levels harder thoughtlessly is a bad idea. Also fuck that bumpy floor stage in the final world. However I was able to find some fun here so it’s not a complete turd. I can’t recommend this though.
Movies in 2020:
1917:Â Excellent unique war film. Well worth watching at least once.
Sonic the Hedgehog:Â Exceeded all expectations and became a decent family film. Perhaps the closest we’ll get to classic Jim Carrey content for the foreseeable future.
Happy New Year! It’s time for me to go over the past 6 months, in a somewhat quick fashion.
Okay enough of this nonsense time to actually begin.
Movies
Toy Story 4:Â This movie kind of undoes the great ending to Toy Story 3 but it wasn’t bad and it kind of feels like an epilogue. It had many moving moments but also a lot of crap just thrown in without much thought. Very much a mixed bad and I just hope they stop making these before they drop the ball completely.
Spider-Man: Far from home: A decent movie with a pretty well done villain and nothing that made me actively annoyed while watching it. Although the direction they seem to want to go in future with this character looks unstable to me (Post credit scene made me just kind of disappointed).
Rambo: Last Blood:Â This movie was fun to watch but I think that’s because of the ridiculous nature of the violence and the fact Stallone is looking worse for wear to put it lightly. However it’s more believable than a lot of schlock since most of rambo’s violence in this movie is meticulously planned as opposed to the more spontaneous and athletic violence in the rest of his films. It actually makes some sense that old man rambo just can’t do that shit no more so he’s got to prepare some elaborate traps. Overall it’s an okay film.
Joker: An excellent movie that is probably the highlight of the year in terms of film. Definitely worthy of the praise it’s received and I don’t have much else to say that hasn’t already been said elsewhere by more articulate people.
Ford V Ferrari: A pretty decent biopic but since I’m not the biggest car enthusiast it didn’t exactly amaze me. It was somewhat enjoyable.
Anime
Weathering with you:Â A rather emotional movie that kind of has a silly ending as far as I’m concerned (if I was to go into this it would be spoilers). The cameos were lost on me as I have not seen “Your Name” but all the noise in the theatre at the time suggested they worked as intended.
Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure: Golden Wind (Part 5):Â I really enjoyed the first half of this one. However things got a bit messy in the second half and I’m still not sure what I think about the final battle (it was somehow both really cool and also unsatisfying). Still worth watching but not as enjoyable as what came before.
Dororo: An incredible action show that offers many interesting moral questions. It’s short but powerful and there wasn’t really anything I’d consider an obvious flaw at least not one that has stuck in my mind. It’s violent and the opening episode is gruesome (not the worst mind you) but if you can handle it I can easily recommend it.
Kimetsu no Yaiba:Â Also known as Demon Slayer this show was pretty fucking awesome and I’m looking forward to where the series goes in future (I think there’s a movie coming out next). I can definitely see why this got popular so hopefully it doesn’t go down the tubes.
Games
Pokemon Let’s Go Eevee:Â I saw this on sale so I figured I’d finally give this experiment a shot and unfortunately most of my assumptions were proven correct it was a mostly shallow experience that was quite underwhelming. It is cute and some of the core gameplay is in-tact so it’s not all bad. I was surprised that it wasn’t stupidly easy but it was still easier than the average pokemon affair. Not worth full price.
Super Mario Maker 2:Â This one improves upon the original in almost every way. One glaring omission though is the amiibo costumes that gave the previous game a lot of replay value and charm. However if the latest update is anything to go by they may find ways to further compensate the features removal. It’s a fantastic game worth playing even if you’re not the creative type, just be sure you have nintendo switch online.
CTR Nitro-Fueled (PS4):Â While I’ve gotten a lot of enjoyment out of this title it most definitely wants you to play online and to play frequently. It often devolves into a tedious grind because of how most characters and vehicles are obtained through the shop. This seems to be in place as an incentive to buy wumpa coins directly which is a scummy idea for a game that already costs money. If you can overlook the microtransactions and the grinding then this is a fantastic game but those are very hard things to overlook (they weren’t present when I bought the game).
Untitled Goose Game (Switch):Â A very short game but a rather fun and charming one.
Undertale (PC):Â I did two and a half play-throughs of this one and after getting my ass handed to me at a certain infamous point I figured it was time to move on (might go back one day if I feel some need to feel frustration). The game itself is a mixed bag, sometimes it’s funny and sometimes it’s not, some characters are lovable and charming and a few are just annoying. It’s a solid story that messes with you the player and the fourth wall to some degree while also establishing it’s own world and lore. The graphical style can be charming but some of the designs just reek of the ‘lol random’ humour that was around at the time (some of the dialogue also feels dated in a similar way). The real crowning achievement of this game is the soundtrack it’s freaking beautiful and has already become iconic which is incredibly impressive for a small title like this. It was worth checking out.
The Mummy Demastered (Switch):Â Who new something good came from such a mediocre movie. This game is a very simple but engaging metroidvania with a neat soundtrack and visuals. If you have the itch for the genre like I do this may be worth your time. The only downside was the dark souls-esque design choice of having your items be stuck to your corpse when you die which ended up in some really frustrating bullshit situations late game (it was neat in theory but needed tweaking).
Castlevania the adventure (Switch):Â Originally for the Game Boy this game is a slog but not entirely unplayable thanks to the castlevania collection’s modern features. The real problem is that it’s slow as hell and the game then includes a level that has you trying to out walk/climb a moving wall/floor of death spikes. Probably worth avoiding unless you hate yourself.
World End Syndrome (Switch):Â A cute visual novel that unfortunately has multiple routes but only the one good ending that solves all the plot threads. I say this because while it was an incredibly moving story (I sure as hell cried) the deception might really irk some people and honestly it seems unneeded for the story to work. If you’re wanting a good mystery with some mild spooky themes and several emotional moments this should do the trick although I’d wait for it to go on sale (Also I think it may be on steam).
Castlevania II: Belmont’s Revenge (Switch):Â Much better than the previous Game Boy title in the collection. Difficulty is more consistent and the game is much faster. Only problem is the final boss fights are a little bullshit.
Kid Dracula (Switch):Â This castlevania spin-off for the Famicom plays more like Mega-Man which isn’t a bad thing. It’s also pretty easy compared to a lot of famicom/NES games which seems to be the intention. It wasn’t a long game in fact I played it all in one afternoon, however it was a fun and relatively peaceful afternoon. (Also in the Castlevania collection).
MediEvil (PS4):Â Perhaps not as polished as other PS1 remakes over the last couple of years MediEvil still got a decent upgrade for the most part. It was still a great time and the platforming is mostly improved however the inelegance of the combat is much more obvious this time around. I’d still recommend it though since it should be at a lower price point and the original is included as unlockable content.
Castlevania: Bloodlines (Switch):Â I made sure to play through this one twice. Once with each of the playable characters (John Morris and Eric Lecarde), which differ in terms of weapons and abilities. John plays like more traditional castlevania and some sections seem easier with him however I think Eric was perhaps more beginner friendly just due to the way his spear works. The soundtrack is the usual greatness of the series but the Mega Drive sounds give it enough of a different feel to stand out. The setting is during WWI this time which at the time was unique for the series. It’s still a good looking game and it was a lot of fun. I played it on the Castlevania collection but it’s also included on the Mega Drive Mini.
Detroit: Become Human:Â A mostly compelling story about androids but given the David Cage treatment although the choices felt far more meaningful and story impacting than the previous games of his I’ve played. For the most part it was a fulfilling experience except the one choice that essential boils down to dooming innocents or dooming yourself which is accurate to our reality (these things can happen) but goes against the themes of the game which for the most part rewards the player for ‘doing the right thing’. Thankfully this was just a PS+ game for me and not a retail purchase, I don’t recommend full price on this one.
Luigi’s Mansion 3: An excellent follow up to the 3DS game that adds more mechanics and reintroduces the portrait ghosts in a way. It starts off kind of open ended but once all your abilities are in place it’s quite linear (There’s potential for a more metroidvania luigi game here). This game is a blast though with charming cartoony visuals, location variety and a satisfying gameplay loop. Highly recommended.
Shenmue (PS4):Â This was interesting and I was surprised just how engaging it was to play considering most of the gameplay is just talking to the people in your neighbourhood. For the most part I enjoyed this however the one stealth section blew and at one point you need to learn a fighting move which is poorly explained. Late game becomes combat focused however they do build this up slowly over the course of the game. I’m looking forward to playing the next one sometime this year.
And that’s it for now, I’ll be posting again in another 6 months. I hope this was mildly enjoyable or informative thanks for stopping by.
It’s been 6 months already so that means I’ll be doing a quick rundown of this year so far in terms of movies, anime and games.
Movies
The Mule: This was a pretty funny but also emotionally fulfilling film. Well worth watching.
Cold Pursuit: This one had potential however it tried too hard to be a comedy when the opening sets up a rather different tone. Not to say it didn’t have funny moments but there were bits that felt rather groan inducing.
King of Thieves: A mostly funny movie that was a little slow at times and ended a bit anti-climatically. Might have to give it another watch some day though.
Shazam!: An excellent movie that feels like it could become a classic within time. It was just a lot of fun and relatively well performed with some hard hitting scenes. It might get a little ridiculous at the end but considering previous DC efforts this is a diamond in the rough.
Detective Pikachu:Â This was actually better than the game it was based off in many aspects however it has pacing issues and ultimately some of the spectacle was unnecessary when it could’ve gone into developing the villain and other side characters. If the original game had a story more in line with the movie while maintaining it’s original pacing and game-play it could’ve been something amazing.
Avengers: Endgame: A somewhat solid ending that could have been an amazing ending with some better editing cutting out some of the meh parts and that one time paradox they throw in at the end.
Godzilla: King of the Monsters: I’m not very knowledgeable or experienced with this series but out of all the ones I’ve seen (which only includes western ones at this point) this has to be best one so far. It was a very entertaining watch and the human characters weren’t as bad as I had been lead to believe.
Anime
Beatless: Wasted potential and completely forgettable even after all the recap episodes.
Overlord III: The story is still solid but the animation seemed to take a downgrade from what I could tell (mainly dealing with jank 3d models) which is unfortunate.
Hataraku Saibou: Excellent show that could even be considered educational. It’s a fun comedy at heart although you could argue it’s kind of action show. Worth watching either way.
Fate/Stay Night Heavens Feel – II: Lost Butterfly: Mostly well done with excellent action and I’m honestly impressed with just how much they committed to the more adult themes in the VN considering how previous anime skirted around certain scenes in the past. The pacing is a bit all over the place and I’ll be reserving my final judgement for when the final film is released.
Release the Spyce: The best part of this series was the soundtrack, or at least that was the most consistently good part. Otherwise this one was just decent, not a waste of time but not a must watch series by any means.
Mob Psycho 100 Season 2: Probably the best series I’ve seen this year so far. Everything ramps up to an exciting climax and it has quite a nice amount of depth. Both seasons are probably a must watch in my book.
Kaguya-sama wa Kokurasetai:Â A cute comedy anime about romance except each interaction is treated as some sort of battle. It strays a bit from its premise towards the end of the season but either way the characters are quite charming and it’s got a good amount of laughs.
Games
Earthbound (Wii U VC):Â An incredibly charming rpg that didn’t have the same impact as Earthbound Beginnings for me but improved upon that games ideas in terms of gameplay and visuals.
Marvel’s Spiderman:Â Probably the best spiderman game since the Gamecube era ended. I have some issues with the story towards the end and peter didn’t have the most compelling character (I enjoyed how they handled most of the doc oc stuff). Qualms with the story aside the gameplay is a lot of fun and it looks pretty neat. I’m going through the DLC now but don’t expect to include that in the next post.
Kero Blaster (Switch): A fun platform shooter game that takes some of the visual style and gameplay from Cave Story and gives it a more linear set of levels and a lot more difficulty. Worth looking into.
Octodad: Dadliest Catch (Switch): It was nice to finally play this one but it’s quite short and not the most polished experience. A decent novelty but wait for a sale.
Mega Man 7 (Switch): Played this as part of the Mega Man legacy collection 2. It was mostly a good time although the final boss was a bit of a pain. Don’t have much else to say it was just a solid experience somewhat typical of the series.
Inside (PC): Very interesting game that while not as stylistic as Limbo it was certainly more fun to play. Especially the ending sequence which is a mixture of horrifying and funny.
Kirby: Triple Deluxe: A pretty good kirby game that aside from the use of 3D doesn’t exactly do much to stand out from the others. This does have some good tunes and is pretty fun to play though.
Valkyria Chronicles Remastered (PS4):Â An excellent strategy game with a pretty good story that has plenty of emotion in it. It’s got guns and third person gameplay that lets you aim at the enemies yourself however you can’t play thoughtlessly each move needs some sort of planning and it ends up being a satisfying experience to get through just one battle without losing any units (yep there’s perma-death as well). I really enjoyed my time with this one even if it gave some beatings along the way.
Yoshi’s Crafted World: A beautiful and fun game hampered by too much tedium and a sudden and stupid rise in challenge on the final extra boss level. I recommend just casually playing this one and not bothering with 100%.
Bayonneta (Wii U): Finally got around to this one in my backlog. It was a wild ride and very fun but I can’t see myself constantly replaying it although that seems to be the appeal of this genre of game. Maybe I’ll revisit it at some point since it certainly has style.
The Liar Princess and the Blind Prince (Switch):Â A fairly simple puzzle platformer that’s ultimate appeal is the cute (and slightly unique) visual design and it’s heartfelt story. Well worth trying out if you see it on sale.
Dark Souls Remastered (Switch): I finally got around to trying the infamous Dark Souls and it was honestly one of the most addictive game-play experiences I’ve had in a while. There’s a reason it’s often critically acclaimed and it’s probably due to all the depth in the gameplay itself to the point where I can’t even say I felt like I had learnt most of it. It helps that there’s a metroidvania element to some of the design and while the start was rough, after a certain peak in difficulty the games difficulty plateaued and it was nowhere near the torturous path as expected. I now join the long list of people who recommend this game.
And that’s it for now, I’ll be posting again once the year is over. Hope you all got some enjoyment from this post.
Well 2018 is over so now is a fine time to go through all the stuff I’ve finished and then begin work on the yearly lists. As for the previous part it’s going to be as concise as I can manage and you’ll have some music to listen to while you do other things in different tabs. Speaking of which.
Movies:
Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom: Some interesting ideas with a really dumb ending. It has set up and interesting potential direction for the future of the series though.
Mission Impossible: Fallout:Â More interesting than the previous mission impossible and a good action flick. However it is somewhat forgettable.
Ant Man and the Wasp:Â A really fun flick however it reuses some jokes from the previous entry in an obnoxious way that didn’t seem needed. For the most part it’s solid though.
The Meg:Â An absolutely ridiculous action flick that scratches a particular itch. A fun time.
Johnny English: Strikes Again:Â Somewhat family friendly comedies are hard to find or at least they are hard to find done well. I’d say Johnny English does the job quite well even if it’s not rowan Atkinson’s best work.
Venom:Â I still can’t believe this was actually good. It was a fun action comedy and I hope to see them produce a good sequel.
Anime:
DragonBall collection part 1:Â I can’t easily recommend original dragon ball so far while I enjoy the overall tone and some of the fights the amount crude humour is off-putting and overall it hasn’t aged well. It was very interesting viewing the roots of the series though.
Sonic OVA:Â A rather dated and ridiculous movie, but it was fun to watch even if it was a little strange.
Uma Musume Pretty Derby: A concept that on paper should be garbage but it turned out watchable at very the least and had some really good moments. Funnily enough it felt too slow at times.
Fate Extra: Last Encore: Why does this even exist? It’s a continuation of the game in a sense (the same way Zelda has a fallen hero timeline) however it needs to spend so much time explaining the game that they would have been better off just animating the plot of game instead. So prepare to be confused no matter if you’re new to the story or not and even once the plot clears up there’s no pay-off for anyone who hasn’t played the games in my opinion. Such a waste of potential.
Lost Song:Â Really good, watch the whole thing.
Jashin-Chan no Dropkick: A fun comedy series with a relatively fast pace. It’s also quite violent but I’d say that’s a huge part of the charm and comedy so it’s not for everyone.
Emyia-san Chi no Kyou no Gohan:Â Can only recommend this to fate fans but it’s short and sweet with some nice comedic moments.
Games:
Heavy Rain (PS4): A very dramatic game that can be pretty punishing if you mess up certain QTE’s. Was interesting to play but outside of PS+ I wouldn’t recommend it.
Super Smash Bros for 3DS (3DS):Â This was a fair bit of fun but outside of smash run it’s very lacking in quality single player content. A good game but one that outside a handful of stages has become obsolete.
Castlevania: The dracula X chronicles (Vita):Â 3 excellent games in one. Includes Symphony of the Night, Rondo of Blood and a 3D graphical remake or Rondo of Blood that has some extra content. Very much worth playing these if you want the best this series has to offer.
Pokemon Crystal (3DS VC):Â I’m including this since I never fully played this exact version of gen 2 before. However this is almost the definitive version of this particular gen unless you want specific pokemon.
Ghosts ‘n Gobblins (Switch): How the hell did people deal with this nonsense back in the day before save states? this gets stupidly hard at certain points but thankfully there is still some fun to be found amongst the pain.
Danganronpa V3: Killing Harmony (PS4):Â While no game in the series has surpassed the original this one gets very close at points and that’s mostly due to the final chapter (Not so much the epilogue though). A solid story but one that requires playing the previous games to fully enjoy.
Super Castlevania IV (SNES classic mini):Â Was in the mood for more castlevania this October and this title while no Rondo of Blood was a great time. It’s got some interesting control differences that make it stand out alongside a more linear progression (3 and Rondo both had branching pathways). Some of the jumps are stupid hard in terms of timing which is odd since the game seems like it falls on the easier side things most of the time, thankfully the SNES mini gives you some work-a-rounds for anything you find to be too bull shit.
Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow (Wii U VC):Â A decent Metroidvania game that has a rather absurd story. It’s a lot of fun to play although I don’t know how much I will remember of it in the long term.
River City Ransom (Switch):Â I’m not big on beat em ups but since I had family to entertain I decided to give the co-op on this one a shot. It was a surprisingly fun time and I think that’s due to how forgiving the game is and it’s rpg-esque stats that let you push your way through some of the more nonsense parts over time.
Resident Evil: Code Veronica X (PS4): Having never played an old school Resident Evil this was quite a shock to the system at first. The controls take time to adjust to (I recommend using the d-pad personally) but after that this is a fun and very tense game that I can at least somewhat recommend.
Super Mario Party (Switch): The best Mario Party in years from what I can tell, but then again the last one I played was Mario Party 8 which was a train wreck so perhaps I’m not the best judge here. This is a fantastic return to form from my perspective though and it would be even better if it just had more content (Boards and Minigames specifically).
The Legend of Zelda: Breathe of The Wild (Wii U): I really had to push myself to finally go back and finish this one. It’s a good game but it outlives it’s welcome and it really doesn’t play like Zelda. If anything it feels like a massive over-correction to the problems of Skyward Sword.
Spyro Reignited Trilogy (PS4):Â I had an absolute blast with these games. The games themselves are still great 3d collect-a-thon platformers that are fairly relaxing to play. The audio and visual overhaul is great and while not perfect it’d be difficult to go back to the originals now.
Super Smash Bros. Ultimate (Switch):Â This game consumed me throughout December thanks to the single player content which I actually found to be plentiful and enjoyable. However I’m still keeping myself busy with this one, and I plan to keep going back to it throughout 2019. It’s pretty bloody good and I’m glad to finally have some of my favourite characters in the game.
Adventures of Lolo (Switch): This game is a neat little distraction assuming you can use save states. It’s a good time if enjoy block pushing puzzles (don’t worry it’s not as slow as it sounds) but I doubt it’s for everyone.
BONUS CHAOS VAULT –
Zelda NES and Metroid NES (Switch):Â Thanks to Nintendo’s online NES thingy I got a chance to play some games I had not played before but I also got a chance to replay these two. Surprisingly it feels like the Zelda NES has aged better than Metroid NES. Metroid NES can be too Labyrinthine for it’s own good but Zelda NES for it’s age actually has many distinct screens for most of it’s overworld and the dungeons actually have maps that you can collect. However Metroid does feel more fun to play when you’re not worried about 100% completion and I enjoyed replaying it quite a bit.
Well that’s 2018 over and done with but I’ll be doing some top 10’s soon so keep an eye out I guess.
It’s already been 6 months man this year flying by fast. This is going to be a summary of this year so far in terms games, film and anime (Based on what I’ve experienced this year NOT what was released this year). Anyway here we go.
Movies:
Coco:Â An enjoyable little family movie that was predictable but quite fun.
Black Panther:Â A fun movie but nothing amazing as far as Marvel standards go.
Rampage:Â A surprisingly good movie considering what it sounded like on paper. This was a lot of fun to watch and despite it’s own stupidity it had quite a bit of heart.
Avengers: Infinity War:Â Quite ambitious and went in a different direction than expected. Will have a more solid opinion once the next movie comes along.
Incredibles 2:Â About as good as I expected to be honest. While not always masterpieces Pixar rarely produce anything I would consider even bellow average. This movie wasn’t as good as the original but it worth my time.
Anime:
Net-juu no Susume: A cute slice of life/romance anime that actually had a decent ending which unusual for the genre from what I can tell.
Kakegurui: A pretty damn good show with good style and good writing although it could use a second season.
Fate/Apocrypha: An action packed spin-off of the fate series that takes place in an alternate timeline where the holy grail is stolen during WWII and ends up in Romania (At least from what I remember anyway). There’s plenty of new faces and few old ones showing up here and there. Overall it was a blast to watch even if it’s not of the same calibre as the main series.
Blend S: A simple comedy that has it’s moments. Was often funny but hasn’t exactly stood out in my long term memory.
Killing Bites: Looks like trash at first glance but it’s actually a fun and often brutal battle anime that really needs a second season.
Kokkoku: This show was just really good and well worth watching for yourselves. Probably the best anime I’ve seen these past 6 months.
Shoukugeki S3 part 1: It’s pretty much the same as the previous seasons but with much greater steaks and drama. Looking forward to more.
Overlord II: I honestly didn’t expect the direction this went but I can’t say I’m disappointed. This show is a lot of fun and another that keeps me wanting more.
Hakata Tonkotsu Ramens: This was a pretty good movie… wait why does it keep going? This never really peaked past the first story arc and I guess that happens with some shows.
Saenai Heroine no Sodatekata Flat: A somewhat mediocre follow up to a decent show however there’s a movie on the way that should give this a proper ending.
Violet Evergarden:Â A really beautiful show and a really sad one. It’s no Clannad but it really pulls on the heart strings.
Classroom of the Elite:Â This show has some potential but it felt kind of bland, though it might go in an interesting direction after the reveal in the last episode. I have no clue if more is on the way or not.
Games:
Batman: the telltale series (PS4): A fairly standard Telltale game that’s a little glitchy and didn’t leave a strong impression one way or the other.
Pacman 256 (PS4):Â A fun take on Pacman that while somewhat visually pleasing feels too much like it was designed for mobile at times.
NieR: Automata (PS4): An excellent game that is fun to play, visually interesting, has an in depth narrative and world building, and really makes you think about some heavy topics. Really enjoyed this one.
Grow Home (PS4): Short platformer that was quite charming and fun with a somewhat unique climbing mechanic.
Super Mario Odyssey (Switch): A fantastic game and one of Mario’s best outings giving the series the creativity it was desperately needing as of late.
Detective Pikachu (3DS): While there’s some laughs to be had Detective Pikachu feels like a very bare-bones Ace Attorney Investigations. It was cute seeing all the pokemon but the human characters all look low budget and ugly. The plot also kind of falls apart at the end with the true villain being quite underwhelming. A lot of wasted potential.
Maro Kart 7 (3DS):Â I finally got around to finishing this game and quite frankly it was better than my first impressions lead me to believe. It certainly has a terrible character selection though but it’s not as bullshit unfair as Mario Kart Wii and introduces many of the great mechanics that were perfected in Mario Kart 8.
OPUS: The day we found earth (Switch): A somewhat forgettable point and click game where you locate planets using a telescope. It’s very simple but it’s cute and tells a neat little story.
Kirby: Star Allies (Switch):Â A somewhat standard Kirby game but with a lot more characters for multiplayer and some interesting twists. It’s a little on the short side but there’s more content on the way from what I can tell.
Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Sky (Wii U VC): This game has an addictive quality and I ended up playing to a point where there wasn’t really much fun stuff to do or anything particularly interesting to unlock. I’m quite fond of it but I’m hard pressed to recommend it to anyone.
Hey! Pikmin (3DS): An adorable spin-off to one of my favourite games. It’s a 2D puzzle platformer that reminds me a little of Kirby’s Mass Attack but at a calmer pace. I really enjoyed the presentation and it was a lot fun.
Zero time dilemma (PS4): The final game in the Zero Escape trilogy. It certainly provides an interesting conclusion and many scenes of characters dying in brutal ways. It takes on less of VN feel and looks more like a Telltale game (but without the constant glitching and a lot more polish). However the core gameplay is the same as the first 2 entries. I recommend playing them all in order but good luck finding the first game.
Rime (PS4): Kind of a pretty game with some okay puzzles but it moves too damn slow for my liking.
Beyond: Two Souls (PS4): This was an interesting experience, very similar to other story based games but there was an extra layer of interaction that kept me engaged and intrigued. The story ends on some weird cliffhanger trying to hint at a sequel which kind of sucks (There’s multiple endings though so maybe only some do this?).
Persona 5 (PS4):Â Never played a Persona game before so I was surprised just how much I enjoyed this. I didn’t 100% this one but I can’t say I was expecting to either without looking up a walk-through or having intimate knowledge of the game. Hell maybe I’ll come back one day to play the New Game + it’s just that fun.
Well that’s all for now folks. See you all in another 6 months I guess.
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