Donkey Kong Country 2 Level Ranking

Continuing on, Donkey Kong Country 2 is a very solid sequel that improves upon the original game in almost every aspect. It's got more creative levels, more side content, better boss fights, more impressive visuals and music, and more fleshed-out character movesets. In terms of overall atmosphere and presentation, I'd easily call it the best in the trilogy, as I love its darker tone, bizarre environments, and haunting soundtrack. And at its best, DKC2 boasts some of the best platforming the SNES has to offer, but at worst, it suffers from some massive difficulty spikes and an overabundance of Animal Buddies. As a result, expect a much wider range of quality in terms of the stages.

39. Animal Antics

Did you know that over 50% of Donkey Kong Country 2's stages feature an Animal Buddy? Personally, I think that's a bit too much, but whatever, most of them are generally fine to control even if I prefer playing as the Kongs. However, the one Animal Buddy that I absolutely despise playing as is Squawks. His movement feels unwieldly, his hitbox is baffling, his projectile arc is deceptively hard to gauge, and most of all, he lacks the same skill ceiling of all the other Animal Buddies. There's little player expression to Squawks, dude doesn't even have a charge move like all the other Animal Buddies, so his stages are a glorified autoscroller at best and an exercise in frustration at worst. And the worst part is that someone at Rare seems to love the guy because he has the most stages out of any Animal Buddy in DKC2 at a whopping ten stages.

This is all to say that Animal Antics is a perfect example of DKC2 at its worst. It's meant to be the ultimate test to make sure you know how to use all five Animal Buddies, and for the first four, it does its job well. Hell, I'd even argue the Squitter and Rattly segments are kinda fun. And then Squawks comes in to ruin everything. Not only do you have to carefully pilot Squawks through a cramped, lengthy, checkpoint-less bramble maze, but you have to do it while dealing with intense winds constantly changing directions at what feels like a random pace. I swear, I think most of this trilogy is really well-designed, but this one section feels so blatantly cheap that I can't imagine defending it. As someone who hates playing as Squawks, his segment in Animal Antics is so miserable that it alone makes this my least favorite DKC level, probably of all time.

38. Screech's Sprint

Okay, so look, in theory, Screech's Sprint is a really cool stage. The final main level being a race against the evil counterpart of the game's most iconic Animal Buddy is a neat concept. The race track has a lot of shortcuts you can take if you're skilled enough, and since you're not carrying the Kongs around, Squawks flies a bit faster than he did in some of the earlier levels. However, I still don't like playing as Squawks and while Screech's Sprint is one of his better-designed stages, I don't enjoy playing it at all. Even the early section with the Kongs is kinda frustrating, especially that part with the two Cat O 9 Tails.

37. Glimmer's Galleon

So, remember Torchlight Trouble? That one level in the first game where you have to use a flashlight Squawks is carrying to see, but Squawks flashes the light every time he turns around making for a really unpleasant stage? Well, that mechanic is not only back in DKC2, but now you have to deal with it underwater. As a stage, Glimmer's Galleon is once again pretty inoffensive, with tighter paths but still generally fair enemy placement. However, having to deal with Glimmer's light constantly flashing in your eyes every time you turn, in a level where turning around is designed to be a lot more frequently, really drags this stage down for me.

36. Gusty Glade

The wind mechanics in DKC2 are really annoying. While probably not random, they are erratic, constantly changing on the fly which makes a stage like Gusty Glade incredibly frustrating and seemingly unfair for a first time's player. Sure, you can probably memorize the wind patterns but that just makes the stage trial and error, and it doesn't exactly fix how unfun dealing with the wind is in the first place. Getting Rattly early on does make the first third of the stage a bit more manageable, but once he's gone, Gusty Glade is a real slog.

35. Arctic Abyss

Arctic Abyss is the Enguarde stage and it's fine, it's whatever. My big problem with Enguarde is that he can only hit enemies from the side, and even then, his hitbox feels small and inaccurate, so his signature stage featuring multiple cramped vertical stages can be a bit frustrating. The one thing that saves Arctic Abyss for me are the moments when you can use Enguarde's fast and fun charge move which this stage thankfully has in abundance.

34. Red Hot Ride

Red Hot Ride is the first truly jarring difficulty spike most players are going to experience, and not in a good way. The stage revolves around piloting these incredibly sluggish balloons across long stretches of lava, only using tiny wind gusts to keep yourself afloat. It's not an especially fun mechanic, and the sheer crushing length of this stage makes having to replay it pretty dull. This is also the first stage where Zingers start to become a real problem as having to carefully weave yourself around them while piloting the balloon will really start to make you notice how weird the hitboxes in this game are.

33. Bramble Scramble

So apparently Bramble Scramble is pretty widely beloved as a stage. I mean, I know the brambles as a setting is iconic, and for good reason. Stickerbush Symphony is one of the most transcendant pieces of video game music ever made, and the serene skybox only heightens the vibes. But as a stage, Bramble Scramble doesn't do it for me at all. The parts where you're just playing as Diddy and Dixie, carefully platforming through the tight brambles are decently fun, but let's be real, that's like 10% of the stage. Most of Bramble Scramble is a Squawks level that's bad for most of the same reasons the previous ones were bad, though having to carry around the Kongs who extend your hitbox and weight you down makes this stage in particular feel like even more of a chore.

32. Web Woods

Squitter is the Animal Buddy I'm the most mixed on. He plays totally fine, and making your own platforms can be a fun mechanic, but only in moderation. When you give him an entire level, you start to realize just how slow Squitter's gameplay is. As a result, while Web Woods isn't really a bad stage, it drags pretty hard, especially when even accessing the bonus levels requires you to wait out those slow-moving cannonballs.

31. Toxic Tower

Toxic Tower is basically an early version of Animal Antics, testing you on Rattly, Squawks, and Squitter, and as such, it has the same issues. The Rattly section is awesome, basically being a combination of Rattle Battle and Slime Climb. It's a tense test of your reaction time that I find really satisfying to beat. The Squawks section on the other hand isn't especially fun, and having to quickly scale a wall as Squitter of all characters is especially miserable (though thankfully, you can skip most of Squitter's segment, albeit with a similarly hard bonus stage).

30. Topsail Trouble

Topsail Trouble is basically two levels in one which does make it feel a tad unfocused, but neither half is especially bad or unfun. The first half is a Rattly introduction, and he's probably my favorite animal buddy in this game. He feels really smooth to control and you can use the superjump to pull off some fun skips. The second half is your introduction to the Zingers as you have to dodge them while climbing across some nets. Zingers in DKC2 specifically can feel pretty jank in terms of their hitboxes, but they're generally fine in this stage.

29. Hornet Hole

The beehive is probably my least favorite location in DKC2. I already don't like dealing with Zingers so having a whole location built around them isn't ideal. Hornet Hole on its own isn't an especially fun stage due to having to deal with all that sticky honey slowing you down, but I'd say it really comes to life if you can find Squitter since he can walk over all the honey at the cost of slower vertical movement. I like how the stage is designed so that you can beat it either with Squitter or with the Kongs, and it showcases how I think the Animal Buddies should've ideally been implemented, not forcing them on you but giving you the option to tackle the stage in a different, equally challenging, way.

28. Windy Well

Windy Well is a bit of a weird stage. The main mechanic is that now the wind pushes you upwards, and you have to dodge enemies and obstacles while floating up. It can be a fun challenge, almost like a reverse Parrot Chute Panic, but it also feels a tad awkward in its implementation. The wind only activates when you pass invisible triggers, and while it's not hard to intuit where those triggers are, it leads to this strange feeling that you have to just trust the stage will take you where you need to go rather than having any agency yourself.

27. Gangplank Galley

Gangplank Galley is a stage I always found pretty forgettable, but it's really not bad at all. The main mechanic are these hooks you can hop between, nothing too crazy but I like how they don't really stop your momentum allowing you to platform across them at a brisk pace. There's a big focus on exploring what enemies can do as well, between the abundance of chests you can use them to break and that pretty fun setpiece with the invincibility barrel. But the thing that stood out to me the most with this stage was the gorgeous sunset that slowly shows itself as the stage progresses.

26. Squawks's Shaft

Well, this is it. The first level to introduce the worst thing about DKC2. That technicality aside, though, this is a fine level. The Squawks segment is short and inoffensive enough, even if having to carry the Kongs means he generally controls even worse in this stage, and that's not to discount that the vast majority of Squawks's Shaft is still a pretty fun cannon-centric level more reminiscent of the first game.

25. Jungle Jinx

For as hit or miss as the Lost World stages are, Jungle Jinx is pretty much right in the middle for me. It's a fine stage with a simple gimmick involving bouncing across rolling tires that it slowly expands upon over the course of the level. Honestly, I'm just not a huge fan of the Lost World jungle setting as I find it a bit generic, but as a stage, Jungle Jinx totally does its job.

24. Mudhole Marsh

Mudhole Marsh is a fairly solid swamp level with some fun platforming across small platforms, but a lot of it feels especially derivative of Krockhead Klamber without adding much new to help it stand out. In a game where each stage brings at least something new to the table, Mudhole Marsh's sole addition being the Cat O 9 Tails, probably the most annoying enemy in the game, just doesn't feel like it's enough for me.

23. Fiery Furnace

Fiery Furnace introduces probably the weirdest barrel type, these barrels that you can just straight-up move from one position to another. At its best, it can feel really satisfying to perfectly lineup each cannon with the next one, but I think they move a bit too slowly to be especially fun to mess around with. Bump up the movement speed of those barrels and Fiery Furnace probably would've gotten a higher spot on this list.

22. Rambi Rumble

Poor Rambi, he's the only Animal Buddy to not even get a full level to himself. Rambi Rumble is still like 50% Kong. The first half of the stage is pretty standard beehive fare, but once you turn into Rambi, his section is quite fun. The highlight though is definitely that King Zing chase, which isn't even especially hard but does a great job at getting the player to panic at first. For all my misgivings towards King Zing's boss fight, more on that later, the decision to introduce him the level before was brilliant.

21. Chain Link Chamber

Out of all the endgame stages, I think Chain Link Chamber is one of the more successful ones, being a comprehensive test on the climbable nets, one of DKC2's most defining new additions. The only problem, however, is that this stage is Zinger spam incarnate. There are rooms in this stage that are absolutely littered with these bugs and their massive hitboxes, to the point where this stage lags more than any other stage in DKC2 from my experience.

20. Pirate Panic

Pirate Panic isn't quite as perfect of a tutorial as Jungle Hijinx was, but it's still a strong first level that covers all the necessary ground to introduce the player to the new mechanics and setting. I like how you can visit the captain's cabin to get a bit of backstory, and how there's a hidden path that utilizes the team-up toss before the stage properly teaches you how to use it. The stage also introduces Rambi and while I have my gripes with the animal buddy abuse in later stages, I do think it's worth noting that the introduction of the charge move does a lot to make Rambi in particular more fun to mess around with.

19. Bramble Blast

Bramble Blast is easily my favorite of the two bramble stages, mostly down to the fun but tight barrel cannon sequences. While some of the mazes can feel a little annoying to navigate, I do like how you're rarely ever timed on using the barrel cannons. Complementing the calming atmosphere, you're encouraged to take your time and examine your surroundings. The only thing preventing this stage from being higher is, of course, the "optional" Squawks path which is mercifully short but still ends the stage on a sour note.

18. Castle Crush

Castle Crush is a stage I am a little bit mixed on. It's certainly an iconic stage, and for good reason too. Dealing with the rising platform and not getting squished is a fun challenge, the enemy placement is actually really clever, and even the Squawks section is fun since he serves as a means to let you get ahead of the platform. However, it's hard to deny the fact that this stage is just an autoscroller, and a lengthy one at that.

17. Mainbrace Mayhem

The ship mast is one of my favorite settings in DKC2 for a number of reasons. It's primarily vertical allowing for some solid platforming variety, the audiovisual presentation is absolutely breathtaking, and it allows for the introduction of the climbable nets which are really the only reason you would ever pick Diddy over Dixie. As a second level, Mainbrace Mayhem makes the most of these advantages, and is the first stage to truly show how much more cinematic DKC2 is than its predecessor.

16. Lockjaw Locker

As a first underwater stage, Lockjaw Locker already has way more going on than the underwater stages in the first game. The water is constantly rising and lowering, there's tons of hidden paths through all the crates, and there's a variety of enemies to deal with but also fairly wide open areas to deal with them. Special props go to how well this stage uses Engaurde, most foes can be easily taken out by his horizontal stabs, and the DK Coin requiring you to charge up a dash just as the water starts to lower is a fun challenge. 

15. Black Ice Battle

Black Ice Battle is a stage that requires patience above all else. It's a long vertical drop down an icy chasm filled with Zingers to dodge, and if you try to rush through it, you'll definitely be hit with hazards you don't have time to see coming. However, if you're willing to takes things a bit slower, Black Ice Battle is still pretty fun as you carefully weave around hazards and try to maintain your footing while dealing with all the Klobbers. I always liked this stage, even with its difficulty.

14. Parrot Chute Panic

With how much I rant about Squawks, you'd think I'd dislike Quawks as well, but no. As a one-off Animal Buddy, Quawks is actually quite fun to control, and carefully weaving around Zingers is a fun challenge. This stage makes plenty of clever design decisions too, Quawks is placed at the top of the screen so you always have enough time to react, and you can use the D-pad to speed up and slow down his descent which gives his gameplay a bit of extra depth. My only gripe is that the hitbox issues are probably at their worst here, since this stage really makes you deal with some tight gaps between Zingers, but overall, Parrot Chute Panic is a pretty fun time.

13. Ghostly Grove

Ghostly Grove is just a solidly designed level all around. The main mechanic are these ghastly ropes that appear and disappear in cycles, but they usually pop up once you spawn them on-screen, meaning that the stage doesn't really have any downtime for those who want to speed through it. These ropes are fleshed-out well over the course of the stage, with the amount of time they spend on-screen getting smaller as it goes on. It's just a classic, well-designed DKC level, no complaints here.

12. Kannon's Klaim

Kannon's Klaim is the first level centered around the cannons, and if you know me, you know that I love cannon levels. But I like how Kannon's Klaim doesn't just settle for the same timed cannon challenges that the first game has in spades, instead utilizing them in a new way with upward facing cannons that you have to launch yourself between. Like with all the best levels, it's got a nice flow and uses the vertical layout of the mine setting quite well. I also like that early bonus stage where you have to quickly swap between Diddy and Dixie to use their designated cannons, even if hiding a DK Coin there is pretty BS.

11. Clapper's Cavern

Clapper's Cavern brings back Clapper from Lava Lagoon, but this time he freezes the water into ice you can walk across. Like with that stage, I think this is a really fun premise that adds a nice level of tension since the fish from Slime Climb is swimming around in the water if you do happen to fall in. The only reason why I still prefer Lava Lagoon though is the random Enguarde section in the middle of the stage which distracts from the more interesting concept.

10. Rickety Race

As usual, I personally tend to love the minecart or minecart-adjacent stages, so expect all the rollercoaster levels to be high up on my list. However, Rickety Race easily stands out as the weakest of the pack solely for conveyance issues. This is the only minecart stage in the entire series where you can actually control your speed, and to beat the race and get the DK Coin, you'll even need to know that you can reverse your minecart and hit a speed booster behind the starting line. I honestly don't know how you can figure this out without looking it up, and I used to always get confused as to why I was losing.

However, once you do know what to do, Rickety Race is really fun and blisteringly fast. You get a chance to really play aggressive and the stage is designed generously enough that you can afford to go at max speed without worrying you won't have time to react to anything. I also like the bonus level in this one, getting there with precise mid-air team-up tosses feels really nice.

9. Klobber Karnage

This is a very love-it-or-hate-it stage, and I used to not like Klobber Karnage all that much either, but the more I play this stage, the more I come to love it. Klobbers have a very specific movement pattern and while it is totally possible to get bounce-locked into spikes if you're not careful, there is a strategy to dealing with them, you just have to play cautiously. The same thing applies to that infamous rotating cannon sequence which I actually really like, just stay calm and focus more on being precise than fast and you'll find it's a really satisfying challenge to conquer. The only thing preventing this stage from being even higher is that one part where you have to very precisely launch yourself over Zingers which I'll concede is kind of BS.

8. Barrel Bayou

Most of the swamp levels have a pretty smooth sense of flow to them and Barrel Bayou is no exception, primarily being focused around these barrels that you can aim yourself. Precise control of the barrels can really help you get through the stage fast, and it makes for a level that feels great to master. Beyond that, the Kloaks are pretty cool enemies since they can toss a variety of objects at you including bananas, and you can use them to access some of the bonus levels. The early-stage Rambi section is also quite fun since the horizontal layout allows for some crazy charge dashes. Overall just a really smooth and well-crafted stage.

7. Lava Lagoon

Lava Lagoon is yet another really creative underwater stage, with its main premise about using these seals to turn the lava into water for brief periods of time. It's not only an inventive concept explored quite thoroughly, even having bits where you can use the invincibility barrel to swim through the lava, but it also gives the stage an excellent layer of tension as you'll never truly know when the water is going to turn back.

6. Hot Head Hop

Hot Head Bop is one of the most iconic DKC2 stages in my eyes, just impeccably-crafted all around. The main mechanic of hopping across crocodile heads, some of which can launch you into the air, is a fun one that's slowly developed over the course of the stage. Squitter also gets a very well-done introduction, easing you into probably the trickiest animal buddy to learn, which also hiding a ton of bonus stages and collectibles in the air for those who've already mastered his moveset. Add in the striking volcano setting and one of the best music tracks in the game, and you get a stage I've always held up as one of my favorites.

5. Krockhead Klamber

Krockhead Klamber is basically Hot Head Hop 2 in that it's yet another stage focused around hopping across crocodile heads. However, I'd say this stage surpasses its predecessor with the addition of the Krockhead Barrels which cause crocodile heads to pop up for only a short period of time. It's a very classic tension-adding DKC mechanic that encourages you speed through the stage, and that's good because this stage, more than any others in the game, feels like it's built for speedrunning. I constantly bring up how good DKC levels can create a satisfying sense of flow as you platform across obstacles at a brisk pace, but no level encapsulates this more than Krockhead Klamber. There's no downtime and you'll never need to lose momentum for anything, so it feels absolutely incredible to master.

4. Target Terror

Target Terror is the first rollercoaster stage, and it's as fast and frenetic as you could want. The main mechanic being to hit or avoid certain target barrels to raise the gates is a bit more involved than the minecart stages in the first game, but it's still really fun and satisfying to nail without messing up. I also really like the Klanks that ride in front of you and toss barrels for you to dodge, which helps to give the stage a more varied and dynamic feel.

3. Slime Climb

Slime Climb is another one of the more infamous difficulty spikes in DKC2, but I also think it's one of the most fun levels to master. There isn't really anything unfair about Slime Climb, if you slip up and fall into the slime, it's usually your fault for being too slow or being too careless. This makes for a stage that feels really rewarding to beat for the first time, especially as a kid, and being able to blaze through it with little issue now feels great. I also like how you still have a tiny grace period if you do fall since you only get damaged if the fish touches you, and the multiple collectibles doing the Lava Lagoon thing where you have to get an invincibility barrel and purposefully enter the slime is a nice touch. Definitely another really iconic level in probably the best world of the game.

2. Haunted Hall

Haunted Hall is easily my favorite rollercoaster stage, and one of my favorite minecart stages period. It basically plays out like a fusion of a minecart stage with Tanked Up Trouble, tasking you to collect Plus barrels to keep you from being caught by an evil ghost furiously chasing you. The stage escalates at a perfect pace, starting with only Plus barrels, then having you deal with Minus barrels that decrease your time, then ending it off with a tense final challenge that has you dealing with both type. Also, props go to the bonus levels which really mess around with the minecart mechanics in some fun ways.

1. Rattle Battle

Now, with all I've complained about the Animal Buddies, it might surprise you to hear that my favorite level in Donkey Kong Country 2 is an Animal Buddy stage. As a matter of fact, it's the first stage that lets you transform into one entirely. But what makes this stage so fun for me is that the Animal Buddy in question, Rattly, is easily my favorite one in the game. He controls incredibly smoothly and reliably bouncing off of enemies with him feels intuitive and satisfying, he's really the only Animal Buddy that I like controlling as much as the Kongs. At first, Rattle Battle may seem like a bit of a difficulty spike as the stage tests you on how accurately you can platform as Rattly, especially once the Kannons come in and add an element of timing. However, once you master Rattly's controls, Rattle Battle almost feels like a fun breather stage that really lets you let loose on all the enemies in your path. Being able to bounce around most of the enemies in the stage without hitting the ground feels like such a power trip.

As for the bosses, as I mentioned, they are a massive improvement over the first game. While there's still a few stinkers here, the high points rank among my favorite bosses in the series.

7. King Zing

In case you still think my hatred for Squawks is overblown, keep in mind that he's the only Animal Buddy in DKC2 to get a boss fight. If that's not developer bias, I don't know what is. It's a shame too because, as mentioned, King Zing being teased at the end of Rambi Rumble is such a cool set-up and it pains me that his boss fight is so dreadfully annoying. Having to hit King Zing's tiny weakpoint with Squawks' wonky projectile arc is just an exercise in frustration and the very inconsistent hitboxes doesn't help much. The second phase where King Zing turns into a normal Zinger isn't as bad, but it's not especially fun either. Either way, this is easily the least enjoyable fight in DKC2, if not the entire series.

6. Kudgel 

The fight against Kudgel is boooorrriiiing. Not only is he just a reskin of Klubba, but his fight solely consists of waiting out his jumps before hitting him with a TNT barrel. The second phase doesn't do anything to make the fight more interesting, and once you get the very easy pattern down, there's no reason why you should ever get hit.

5. Krow

The first fight against Krow doesn't do anything especially remarkable, but it's still a more interesting fight than most in the first game. The addition of a second pinch phase where Krow bonks his head on the mast causing eggs to fly all over the place is a fun touch, though it's still pretty easy to deal with.

4. Kreepy Krow

Putting aside the disappointment of getting a reused boss fight as the penultimate encounter, I do think Kreepy Krow is a solid step-up from his original incarnation. Dodging the Neckies seems easy at first, but by the end of the fight, you'll have to deal with a ton at once and it can be genuinely challenging. The real highlight, though, are the interims between each phase which have you climbing up the mast dodging eggs coming from all directions. It can feel a bit too random for its own good at points, but I'd still say it's a decent challenge.

3. Kaptain K Rool 2

K Rool's secret second fight is honestly more of a glorified final phase to that first fight, with him launching an onslaught of cannonballs at you in various patterns before you land that final hit. It's not especially complex and some may even call it underwhelming, but some of those aforementioned patterns can be quite difficult to dodge and slowly build on each other as the fight goes on.

2. Kleever

Kleever is the point where you truly realize just how much better DKC2's bosses are. Despite the weird premise of fighting a flying sword, this is a really tense and dynamic encounter. The first phase has you dodging fireballs while trying to find an opening to hit Kleever with a cannonball, but once again, the fight really shines in its second half as Kleever starts furiously chasing you and you have to try and buy time until another cannonball drops down. This boss really made me tense as a kid, and I love it for it.

1. Kaptain K Rool 1

Rare has always been great with final bosses that test you on everything you've learned and Kaptain K Rool is the best example of this. This is pretty much a perfect final boss, each phase tosses something new into the mix that builds on the phases that came before, constantly surprising you with twists ranging from cannon fire that reverses your controls and K Rool turning invisible. It's all totally fair and learnable though, and the fight keeps up a brisk pace so having to replay it doesn't become too tedious.

Smallville (Season 9)

The more I think back on Season 8, the more I come to appreciate it. Even with its flaws, it felt so thoroughly well-balanced between fun superhero antics and really personal drama and angst. It was both comfy and gripping. Season 9, in theory, should just be more of the same with a bit more of an emphasis on the angst part. This is, after all, Clark's darkest hour. However, in practice, I just wasn't vibing with this one, man. And not for the obvious reasons like Season 4's bad witch plotline, Season 6's LanaXLex, and Season 7's... everything, I just didn't find this season especially engaging.

Despite how generous I was towards Season 8's finale, I can't exactly say it led to the most thrilling start for Season 9. Between Clark cutting himself off from humanity and Oliver quitting being the Arrow entirely, the first few episodes were such a mopefest that mostly led to a dry spell of fun Clois moments. Thankfully, things did pick up a bit with those two as the midpoint of Season 9 had Clark and Lois finally start properly dating, and it was great. Their relationship was easily the best thing about Season 9 and generally remained the one thing that kept me going, because the rest of the cast felt really lacking. With Davis and Jimmy dead, Lana gone, the rest of the League generally MIA, and Oliver and Chloe spending decent chunks of the season isolating themselves, Season 9 felt really sparse in terms of the character roster. It really was primarily about Clark, Lois, and the season's villain and it made the whole season feel kinda lonely. Maybe this was the point, maybe the writers intended for Clark to distance himself from most of the rest of the cast, but man, did it make for a dull season a lot of the time. Metallo was here which is cool, but he wasn't around much and was a shadow of his animated self in terms of characterization. Chloe was definitely the lowpoint, though, as her whole arc about her secret surveillance kinda came out of left field and made her really unlikable compared to how much I enjoyed her in earlier seasons.

But ultimately, what really ruined Season 9 for me was the main overarching plot. Out of every season of Smallville so far, Season 9 is the most Kryptonian-centric, featuring none other than Zod as the villain. And it really made me realize that I could not give less of a shit about Kryptonians, just in general. I never found them interesting. Zod can be a fun antagonist when given a charismatic or interesting performance (I don't even like Man Of Steel but Michael Shannon freaking killed it), but Callum Blue just doesn't have the sauce, especially compared to how much of a tough act to follow Witwer was. I couldn't really believe him as this powerful war leader, and as such, wasn't really invested in the Kandorians that much. The main plotline also just felt really hard to follow for me, between all the cloning, Clark's unconvincing attempt to befriend Zod, and his ridiculously complex coup. The Doomsday arc was a lot simpler, sure, but I ended up really loving the moral complexities at play over whether or not Davis should be killed, protected, separated from Doomsday, etc. Zod's storyline just didn't engage me in quite the same way. And this is kind of a problem because Season 9 was also very light on one-offs compared to the previous season, practically every episode had something do with Zod and I just wanted it to all end by the second half. 

Now, were there some good elements? Sure. The Checkmate plotline was actually pretty fun because it is always fun to watch Amanda Waller manipulate everyone around her, Chloe and Oliver's new relationship was actually kinda cute, the JSA two-parter was a very welcome change of pace, and of course, I can't deny that the finale was incredible, and built up to quite effectively at that.

Highlights

Absolute Justice: As I said, I really liked the Justice Society of America two-parter. It was a fun distraction from all the Zod, and most of the new characters like Stargirl and especially Doctor Fate were done quite well. It's got a lot of comic book-y charm to it, and I honestly wish the whole season had this kind of energy to it.

Salvation: Despite how much I disliked the main storyline of Season 9, I'm really surprised the writers still managed to stick the landing so well. Salvation doesn't quite have the overwhleming clusters of plot twists that prior finales like Tempest, Covenant, Commencement, and Phantom had, but it still feels big in that pretty much every character and plot point from this season is brought to a head. The fight between Clark and Zod was actually genuinely lengthy and satisfying, especially coming off the heels of last season, and Lois finally learning Clark is the Blur was a long time coming.

I'm gonna be honest, Season 9 might be my least favorite season of Smallville. And I know that's quite a high bar considering like half of this show's seasons are frankly pretty subpar, but here's the thing. Prior to Season 9, all of the worst Smallville storylines were still kind of enjoyable in a dumb fun sort of way. The early seasons had a lot of that teen drama charm, and Seasons 6-7 were so balls to the walls crazy that I couldn't help but remain invested. Season 9 lacks the glaring flaws of prior seasons, but it also commits the worst sin a season of TV could be, it's boring. The Zod plot just isn't interesting enough for how much the season revolved around it,  and the cast wasn't strong enough to make up for that. 

I really wish I liked Season 9, especially with how much good things I've heard about it. I've even seen some people say this is their favorite season, and hey, good on them. It is a more focused season, after all, it just so happens to be focused on a storyline I found insufferable. Hopefully, Season 10 can end things on a stronger note.

1/5 Stars

2024 Games I Played: Grapple Dogs Cosmic Canines

Last year, I bought a cute little indie title called Grapple Dog. It's a fun momentum platformer about a dog with a grapple hook, and while it wasn't anything spectactular, it was a pleasantly enjoyable time thanks to its fluid movement, charming presentation, and the potential it laid for a truly great sequel later down the line. The recently released Cosmic Canines is that sequel.

So before we talk about Cosmic Canines, though, I want to quickly touch on my thoughts on the original Grapple Dog. Overall, I thought this was a pretty good game with a strong baseline but some notable flaws. The movement of using your grapple hook to get around each stage was pretty much on point, it's fluid, fun, reliable, and while it had a bit of a learning curve, it was truly satisfying to master. The level design, while often tough, was generally fair and rewarding to conquer, and there's a decent amount of collectibles and side content for the truly expert players. The GBA-esque art direction reminiscent of games like Drill Dozer gave Grapple Dog a ton of extra visual flair, the story while simple was quite charming thanks to the likable cast of characters, and the sample-heavy new jack swing OST is a real bop of a soundtrack. Most of my gripes with Grapple Dog are the kinds of things that can easily be fixed with a sequel. The level variety within each world just wasn't all there, and the fact that each world only had a single music track only led to more repetition. Some of the boss fights felt like pretty notable difficulty spikes, with the final one in particular really giving me a ton of grief. And aside from some truly inspired setpieces (that dragon boss blew me away), I couldn't help but feel like Grapple Dog played things a bit safe overall.

Grapple Dogs: Cosmic Canines kicks off where the previous game left off. Main protagonist Pablo and his friends Toni and the Professor learn that their actions in Grapple Dog unintentionally freed an evil force named Vyr who threatens to destroy the multiverse, so Pablo has to team up with another Grapple Dog, the no-nonsense Luna, to stop Vyr. As I said, I liked the story in the first game, and Cosmic Canines does a good job at amping up the stakes while keeping things feeling fun and light thanks to the strong character interactions. You can spot most of the other major characters within the levels, and it's worth chatting to them since you get to see them bond and connect, especially with the new face Luna. I was also surprised to learn that the plot actually had a bit of political subtext to it, definitely not a direction I was expecting but it's weaved into the story really naturally. It's also pretty obvious that Luna was meant to Shadow both in terms of her design and how much of a polar opposite she is to Pablo, but I couldn't help but shake the feeling that this game reminded me of Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart more than anything else. They're both these frenetic multiverse-hopping adventures involving the series lead teaming up with who is essentially their counterpart.

And ultimately, that's the big hook. Grapple Dog has been promoted to Grapple Dogs, so you now get two characters to play as. The game is essentially a 50/50 split between Pablo and Luna stages so you'll have to really get used to playing as both of them, but that's cool because both characters feel really nice to place. Pablo roughly controls the same, with his levels being more about fast-paced swinging and bouncing off of enemies. I always thought his grapple hook felt nice to use and rewarding to master, and nothing about that has really changed here. The big addition for his stages are these situational powerups that augment his movement, like an electric power that lets you dash across walls and this insanely OP fireball power that lets you boost in any direction infinitely, basically allowing you to fly. These powerups help a lot to give the game some much-needed variety, and they flow with Pablo's movement in a way that feels really natural and fluid. Introducing more gimmicky movement options are always a bit of a risk, but the powerups in Grapple Dogs were so fun and satisfying to use that I was always excited to see them pop up in a level.

However, the true star of the show is Luna, who gets her own set of levels with an entirely unique moveset. Luna can still use a grapple hook, but she can't slam or bounce off of enemies. Instead, she has a dash move and a gun that you can aim with the R-Stick. Like Pablo in the first game, Luna has a bit of a learning curve in juggling both the grapple hook and the gun at the same time, but once you get used to her, I actually found myself preferring Luna to Pablo. I guess it appeals to the Shadow 05 fan in me. She's got so much fun movement tech like shooting downwards to slow your descent and using well-timed dashes to wall jump infinitely, and juggling all of her various moves feels really satisfying in the harder stages. It also helps that shooting your gun feels incredibly punchy so the simple act of blowing your enemies to bits feels really nice. On top of that, Luna also has her own powerups in the form of alternate guns each with their own unique shottypes and applications, like an electric shotgun or a flamethrower. They're not quite as transformative as Pablo's powerups but they once again add some extra depth and variety to Luna's stages.

When you take in the two playable characters along with the powerups and shottypes, you already get a game with much more varied gameplay than its predecessor. However, the thing that really compounds this increased variety is the level design. As you'd expect from a game that has you hopping across the universe, you visit a much wider range of biomes in this game compared to Grapple Dog 1. Now pretty much every level in every world feels vastly different from each other, with way more action-packed setpieces stuffed in to keep them varied. You get to visit a swamp planet overrun by a frog dictatorship, a black-and-white noir world, a silhouetted rhythm-driven universe, and so much more. Even the level structure can feel varied as several stages toss you in a more open, explorative area and task you with finding collectibles before moving on, and it makes for a fun change of pace. And of course, with more biomes comes a much larger soundtrack with more unique tracks per world, which also very much helps to prevent any feelings of monotony. All of this combined makes Cosmic Canines feel like much more of a fresh, dynamic, varied, and well-paced adventure than its predecessor, fixing most of my biggest issues with the game.

As I mentioned above, one of the bigger sticking points the first game had with a lot of people was its difficulty. The second half of Grapple Dog 1 was quite tough, and the final world in particular felt especially brutal. The boss fights could also feel like pretty tough walls to surpass if you're having enough trouble with one of them, and while I managed fine with the first four bosses, the final encounter with Null really had me frustrated. As for Cosmic Canines, I'm pleased to say that I had a generally easier time with one, only really game-overing once on a boss during the main campaign. Whether or not it's because this game is actually easier than the first, though, I'm not too sure. It could totally just be that I have all that experience and muscle memory from the first game. As for the bosses, I could still see some of them being a difficulty wall for new players, but I didn't have much trouble with them either. The final boss in particular felt noticeably easier than the one against Null which I'm very grateful with. As a whole, I felt the bosses were more fun on average in Grapple Dogs, but none of them even came close to topping that dragon fight in the first game.

Grapple Dogs: Cosmic Canines also seriously ups the ante in terms of side content. Most of what the first game had is still here, from collectibles tucked away in each stage, to a Time Trial mode for each level, to unlockable bite-sized challenge stages to conquer. However, there's also now a shop filled with outfits and grapple hook skins to buy for both Pablo and Luna, a whole bunch of entirely new hidden collectibles like these especially hard-to-find Duck Bands, and a far beefier postgame world complete with super hard bonus stages, boss rematches, and an unlockable true ending. As far as the presentation goes, Cosmic Canines is roughly on par with the previous game, boasting the same colorful and chunky artstyle that made Grapple Dog stand out so much, though the more wacky and varied environments are a definite upgrade in my eyes. Like the original game, though, it does have a few performance issues on Switch. The loading times aren't awful, but they're not especially fast either, and when tons of particles are flooding the screen (especially in Luna's stages), you can definitely notice a few drops. It's not unmanageable, but it is noticeable. The soundtrack, on the other hand, is quite a bit different. Not only is it over double the length of the first game's OST, but even the tracks themselves go on a lot longer. The music is also a lot more varied here too, as while there are still a few of those catchy funk tunes that defined the first game, there's overall a wider variety of genres ranging from some truly heavenly synthwave tracks and some banger industrial rock themes for every single boss. It's a more ambitious, experimental, and dynamic score that complements the game itself incredibly well, and gets even better the more I listen to it. As for which OST is better? Well, the first game's soundtrack will always be a really comfy listen for me with its upbeat mid 90s Sega vibe, but Cosmic Canines' music is certainly a lot more complex and substantial meaning that I think it just barely beats out the former for me.

Overall, Grapple Dogs: Cosmic Canines was a surprisingly stellar sequel, maintaining the strong core of the original game and patching up all of its flaws. I love the new playstyle introduced with Luna, the level design is more interesting and inventive thanks to the wider range of environments and the fun powerups, the difficulty is seemingly a bit more reasonable, the side content and postgame is a bit more compelling, the soundtrack is longer, the story feels more consequential, and the level of quality remains high the whole way through. It's a textbook example of how to do a killer sequel, and I'm happy to see just how much the developers seem to have grown and improved with their craft.

4.5/5 Stars

Why I Loved Curse Crackers: For Whom The Belle Toils

Recently, I bought a few Switch games I've been meaning to get for some time, including the Castlevania Dominus Collection and Grapple Dogs: Cosmic Canines (review coming shortly) from this year. However, on a complete whim, I also decided to check out Curse Crackers, a pretty under-the-radar game that I've been hearing really good things about. Little did I realize that I was going to be in for one of the best platformers I've played all year.

Curse Crackers: For Whom The Belle Toils is the second game by an indie studio named Colorgrave, who've gained a bit of a following for their intricate world-building. They've made three games so far and they all take place in the same two universes, though I've only played Curse Crackers so I can't exactly say how they connect. Thankfully, I can say this game generally still manages to hold up pretty well on its own merits, starting you off easy with its simple premise before building up the lore from there, like all the best games do. That being said, the true ending does kinda leave a decent amount of mysteries and plot points left open which I'm assuming will be addressed in later games? Anyway, Curse Crackers has you play as an acrobat named Belle whose boyfriend is taken by her rival Bonnie, and now you have to set out on an adventure to save him. Across the adventure, you meet all sorts of colorful characters and learn about this unique magical world.

But before I get into all the narrative stuff, it's important to start with the gameplay. Curse Crackers is a fast-paced platformer with an aesthetic harkening back to the Game Boy Color. Belle can run, jump, and is able to toss her little bell friend Chime at enemies, but that's only the tip of the iceberg. Being an acrobat, Belle is able to do a ton of different moves from a crouching jump, to a long jump, to vaulting across enemies, to bouncing off of Chime to reach higher heights, Cappy style. All of these moves flow seamlessly between each other and it allows for some of the wildest schmovement I've ever seen in a 2D platformer. The stages are perfectly built for allowing you to speedrun through them too, and the movement is so fun and well-calibrated that I purposefully went out of my way to attempt the timed challenges solely because it was just that enjoyable. At its best, there's an incredible sense of flow to Curse Crackers as you precisely bounce across enemies and fly through tough platforming segments without slowing down. As many have said, if you have a good movement system in your platformer, you've basically done half the work, and even then, Curse Crackers overdelivers.

The level design in Curse Crackers is also pretty great all around. There's tons of hidden nooks and crannies hiding collectibles for the more exploration-minded folks like myself, but as I mentioned, they're also meticulously laid out to encourage speedrunning, and pulling off a bounce chain across a series of enemies always feels really satisfying. Each stage also introduces at least one new gameplay mechanic to mess around with, all of which slowly get more developed across the rest of the game, which really helps to keep the stages within each world feeling varied and dynamic. There's even a few secret character swaps from time to time, but to elaborate on them would be going into spoiler territory. The boss fights are also surprisingly good, as despite mostly utilizing a simple three-hit structure, they all introduce fun gimmicks and wrinkles to help them stand out, from the incredibly goofy guitar battle against Riff, to the soccer fight against Ardas, to some truly wild postgame fights.

So even on its own merits, Curse Crackers is an incredibly fun and well-designed platformer with satisfying movement, fun level design, and just enough variety to keep things feeling fresh and interesting. But then, there's all the side content. Curse Crackers has an absolute metric ton of collectibles scattered across its world. Each stage has three hidden roses along with three challenge medals which task you to beat its Melee-inspired break the targets room, beat the best time, and hit the goal from as far away as possible. But even outside of that, there's a whole bunch of other collectibles ranging from hidden swords, to lore books, to achievements that grant you color palette skins for Belle and banners for the menus, to unlockable artifacts you can bring along with you to make levels easier or harder, to multiple hidden harder worlds. And that's not even getting into the extensive multi-phase postgame that almost feels like a second game in itself, with exclusive areas, tucked-away superbosses, a second ending, and a bunch of hidden tickets so tucked away that the Colorgrave Discord needed to band together to even figure out where they were. There's even an unlockable Arcade Mode that encourages you survive through each stage back-to-back. You can easily beat the main campaign with only like 30% of the game completed, that's how massive this game is.

But despite its gargantuan size, all the collectibles feel meaningful in uncovering the many secrets of Ledarma. It's honestly staggering just how fleshed-out this world feels, there's so many memorable, fleshed-out, and well-defined NPCs with their own individual conflicts, desires, and subplots. The sheer amount of completely optional and situational dialogue exchanges you can stumble upon in this game is immensely impressive, and I love how most of the characters will show up in several of the game's many hub areas as it really helps create the sense that Ledarma is this living, breathing, cohesive world. Thankfully, the charming and thoughtful dialogue makes interacting with Curse Crackers' cast feel like an absolute joy, and I got genuinely invested in and attached to most of these side characters. But it's also not all just for show, as if you really take the time to engage with the rest of the cast, you'll even trigger a good number of sidequests, many of which even have their own unique stages and minigames accompanying them. I just love how the sheer ambition that goes into the world-building feels totally aligned with the gonzo spirit that I've praised in my Game Boy Color games. There was no reason this already fun action platformer also needed to have Falcom levels of intricacy in its world-building, but it truly elevates Curse Crackers into something special.

On top of that, the presentation is pretty much spot-on. Curse Crackers looks like the idealized version of a Game Boy Color game in the same way something like Shovel Knight would for the NES, boasting a lovely pastel color palette and utterly adorable chibi character sprites, but also some cool modern embellishments like parallax scrolling and widescreen. Special mention needs to go to the many wonderful character designs that span a wide variety of species, along with each having a number of cute portrait shots for dialogue exchanges. I also think Curse Crackers is just a perfect fit on the Switch, not only running pretty much flawlessly but complementing its portable nature incredibly smoothly. The soundtrack is also quite solid, going for this unique blend of GBC chiptune and modern instruments like guitar and synth. Most of the level themes are quite addictive, and there's a wide variety of unique event themes that further helps to build out the world.

As far as gripes go, my only real issue is with the inventory system. So Curse Crackers has a whole bunch of different items you can equip ranging from useful artifacts to food that you can use to augment Chime's abilities, however you can only hold one at a time. This is kind of an issue since several stages have multiple collectibles locked behind the food, pretty much demanding multiple runthroughs to even be able to get anything. It also doesn't help that many of these inventory items cost money, and you can only hold up to 999 coins. Considering that many purchasable items in this game can go up to the 100s, it adds this bizarre element of money management to the game that isn't especially fun to engage with. One notable quest tasks you with paying 2400 coins in 600 coin intervals, and since you couldn't stockpile your cash in any way, it just turned into a grindfest. None of these issues are deal-breakers though, they just make going for 100% a tad more annoying than it probably should've been. And as mentioned above, the true ending is kind of a "What Now?" ending that leaves a decent amount of stuff hanging, but not too much that I was left super unsatisfied.

But otherwise, yeah, Curse Crackers is shockingly good. This is one of those platformers that just checks all of the right boxes for me. It's got satisfying movement, fun level design, creative bosses, a metric ton of side content, fantastic visuals, catchy music, a lovable cast of characters, and an impressively fleshed-out world with a ton of lore hidden under the surface. Curse Crackers punches far above its weight and somehow manages to accomplish pretty much all of its goals and then some, making for one of the freshest platforming experiences I've played in a long time. 

And in case all that still isn't enough, Curse Crackers is only $15! For this much content and this much quality, it's an absolute steal if I do say so myself.

5/5 Stars

2024 Games I Played: Castlevania Dominus Collection

Ever since I first played and fell in love with the DS Castlevania games, I have been begging for a DS Castlevania collection just like we got for the GBA games, and at long last, it has arrived. I'm just going to get right to it, Castlevania Dominus Collection exceeded my expectations entirely and I believe will be remember as one of the greatest game compilations ever made, between the sheer amount of extra features, perfect quality of life and community feedback, and one of the most extra additions to a collection I've seen.

So, let's start by going over what this collection contains. As you'd expect, we have the three DS Castlevania games: Dawn Of Sorrow, Portrait Of Ruin, and Order Of Ecclesia. These are three of my favorite games in the franchise, so having them all in a single collection makes for an incredible deal. Overall, I find the engine that's used for the DS games to be really fluid and smooth, along with being quite visually-striking with its blend of detailed spritework, prerendered visuals, and full 3D assets. The fact that all three games share the same engine also allows for quite a lot more consistency compared to the very hit-or-miss GBA games, though that also means that they all share like 80-90% of enemy sprites. I do want to individually review the Igavanias some day, though probably once I've actually played the PS2 entries, but to sum up my thoughts on all three of the DS games individually:

• In so many ways, I think Dawn Of Sorrow is an improvement over Aria. The castle design is more fun to navigate and boasts more inventive level design, the bosses are generally really strong, the visuals and sound design are top notch, and the pacing is spot-on making for an incredibly breezy experience with little downtime. It has its fair share of issues like a weaker story and the weapon crafting only exacerbating the issues with soul grinding that Aria had, but in this most recent playthrough, the strong points massively overshadowed the issues for me. I also actually found myself liking the magic seals this time, maybe because I actually had a touchscreen I could use.
  
• Portrait Of Ruin is the most interesting and experimental game of the bunch, shaking up the Igavania formula in a number of ways. The level design is even more wacky thanks to the addition of paintings that take you outside the castle, the partner system makes for some of the most fun moment-to-moment gameplay in the series, the more personal and emotional story really works for me, and the game has so many charming little interactions that give it so much life. However, the flaws did feel more apparent on this playthrough, like the tedious subweapon mastery system, the tedious and often missable sidequests, the frustrating true ending requirements, and the second half being a complete asset flip. Portrait has a lot of rough edges, and yet, it's so fresh and stylish that I'd still probably rank it as one of my favorites in the series.
  
• Order Of Ecclesia is, and has always been, my favorite Castlevania game. It too has its flaws like some underwhelming level design in the first half and the sidequests still not being very fun, but everything else feels like a complete refinement of the ideas Portrait introduced. The glyph system combined with the ability to swap builds makes for one of my favorite combat systems ever which I'd argue carries the whole game on its own, but I also love how the structure combines the classic and metroidvania styles. On top of that, the boss lineup is easily the strongest, the narrative rivals Portrait's in terms of sheer emotion, and the darker visual style and moodier soundtrack give Ecclesia a wonderfully gothic and slightly edgy atmosphere that always stuck with me.
  

In terms of the porting job, they're pretty much spot-on with the original games. No upscaling, no embellishments, but also no concessions made either. The two biggest exceptions are with the online multiplayer and the touchscreen. Both Dawn Of Sorrow and Order Of Ecclesia had a side mode with wi-fi functionality, and sadly that has been removed, though the singleplayer elements are thankfully still there. As for the touchscreen, you now have quite a lot of options for dealing with it. If you own a Switch or Steam Deck, you can still use the touchscreen as intended, and there's a number of screen arrangement options you can pick between. You can also just use the R-Stick and ZR to simulate it which works totally fine for menu navigation. And then there's Dawn Of Sorrow in particular, in which M2 allows you to replace the touch screen inputs with button inputs, so the magic seals have turned from frantic swiping across the screen to a basic QTE. Your mileage may vary on this, I actually found myself preferring the touchscreen controls since I didn't need to memorize which buttons to press, but I appreciate the extra options regardless for those who found the magic seals a huge deal-breaker.

But on top of that, M2 also included Haunted Castle, one of the earliest entries in the series and arguably the worst. This was my first time playing it, and yeah, it's not very good. I know, what a shock. Your movement is slow, your jumps are floaty, using your whip has no impact, the colors are garish, the soundfont is grating, the hitboxes are janky, the levels and bosses are bizarrely short, and the game loves to toss cheap gotcha moments at you. It's obviously an important piece of Castlevania history, and it should be preserved like every other entry in the series, but I can't exactly say this enhances the Dominus Collection on its own. It's a neat novelty for like a minute before you go jump back over to the DS games, or at least, that's what I would normally say. However, M2 went the extra mile and also included a full top-to-bottom remake of Haunted Castle called Haunted Castle Revisited. This isn't the first time M2 has done something like this, they made a sequel to the GG Aleste games for their Aleste Collection and it was awesome, but it still stands out as incredibly extra. All we really needed was the DS games, so the fact that this collection also comes bundled with the first traditional Castlevania game in over a decade just elevates it so much more.

But how is Haunted Castle Revisited? Pretty great, actually. This is M2's second Castlevania game since The Adventure Rebirth, and that was a game I thought was generally solid. It got the controls and game feel right, but the level design was long, mazelike, and kinda dull which held it back from being a personal favorite. Haunted Castle Revisited, on the other hand, is a lot more streamlined, linear, and setpiece-heavy and I think that makes it a more fun entry than its predecessor. Each level is fun and memorable, and I love the way the visuals perfectly capture the look of arcade games from the early 90s. But what really makes Revisited special is how it reimagines Haunted Castle, taking the mediocre stages from the original game and expanding them with more interesting platforming mechanics, vastly improved boss fights, and an incredible remixed soundtrack by chibi-tech. It is admittedly on the easier side, if it weren't for the final boss being a bit of a difficulty spike, I could've easily gotten a 1cc on my first try on Normal. Considering how brutally hard many Classicvanias can be, though, that's not really something that bothers me much. Haunted Castle Revisited is a great return to form for the franchise, and an incredible addition to an already top-notch collection.

Beyond just the games, though, this collection is so dense and feature-rich. The DS games have savestates along with a rewind function (which most DS emulators don't even have), along with newly added achievement systems, the ability to play all the different regional versions of each of the games, and full compendiums listing out all the weapons, items, souls, enemies, glyphs, etc across each of the three games. As you'd expect, there's also an art gallery with tons of concept art including screenshots of each of the games' manuals, along with a music section that lets you listen to all of the games' tracks along with being able to create a playlist of your favorite tracks. All of these features are tied together with an incredibly intuitive and easy to navigate user interface that's just oozing with that gothic Castlevania style, with a particular highlight being the cool clocktower motifs that display whenever you use the rewind. M2 put so much care and love into this collection, and it shows in every aspect, from the few quality of life tweaks they did make like the aforementioned magic seal fix, to the fact that they recently released an update that purposefully reimplemented speedrunning exploits that were in the original DS versions.

Overall, the Castlevania Dominus Collection is an incredible compilation, easily ranking up there alongside the likes of Sonic Mega Collection and the Mega Man Zero/ZX Legacy Collection as one of my absolute favorites. Not only does it contain a selection of some of the finest Castlevania games, but M2 truly went the extra mile to deck it out with so many comprehensive features along with a pretty great original Castlevania entry to boot. But most importantly, it just makes me so happy to see that more people are going to be able to experience what I feel is secretly the peak of the Castlevania franchise.

5/5 Stars

Mega Man 7: A Deep Dive

Mega Man 7 is the first Classic Mega Man game to not release on an 8-bit console, and it very much suffered from the circumstances of its release. Between Mega Man X already being considered the future of the series, and Mega Man 2 bias already at full swing, MM7 just didn't have a chance. And that's a real shame because on so many levels, Mega Man 7 is the perfect Classic Mega Man game. It excels on pretty much every level, from weapon and level design, to aesthetics, to the way it brings in elements from the X and Game Boy games without losing the Classic series' identity. It's 99% of the way to being my favorite entry in the subseries, if only it just didn't drop the ball right at the very end. Let's talk about it.

In Defense Of Starlow

With the release of the first Mario & Luigi game in almost a decade (which I have not gotten yet so don't expect a review any time soon) comes the unwelcome revival of Starlow discourse. If you're at all familiar with the ever argumentative Mario RPG fandom, you should know that so much as mentioning Starlow is enough for people to get at each other's throats over her. It's gotten to the point where the reveal that she's even showing up in Brothership as not even a companion but a minor character, boasting around an hour of screentime in a 30-40 hour game, is still enough for the fandom to completely freak out. And that's a real shame, because Starlow is one of my favorite Mario characters of all time. So against all my better judgement, I'm going to jump into the discourse and defend Starlow.

Starlow debuted in Bowser's Inside Story as the obligatory companion character, and since I first played the game, she was an immediate hit for me. Her snarky personality meshed with BiS's style of humor pretty much perfectly, and she played a noticeable role as a communicator between Bowser and the Bros. She had a solid character arc too, as she arrived with this idealist mindset of Mario being the sole shining hero, Luigi being the cowardly second fiddle, and Bowser being an irredeemable monster only to slowly learn the latter two had more to them under the surface. Being a kid, I had no idea she was even the slightest bit divisive, and from what I can tell, it wasn't as intense back then. Her appearance in Dream Team stoked the flames a bit more since Starlow was the first companion character to reappear in a second Mario RPG, but I actually saw more people come to like her in this one. This game leans a lot more on Starlow's growing respect of Luigi, as she has to spend the entire game watching him as he sleeps (trust me, it makes more context in-game). Starlow witnesses Luigi's moments of courage and determination to help his brother, and by the end of the game, is completely on board and is rooting Luigi on. Of course, she also serves a much larger gameplay importance as she's the one who activates most of Luigi's dream world powers.

It was Starlow's appearance in Paper Jam where everything really fell apart. People could forgive a single reappearance, but this was Starlow's third game as partner and people wanted something different. On top of that, Paper Jam is pretty infamous for having more mean-spirited writing than most, which from what I've heard is more down to a poor localization. Pretty much every character is mean to Luigi in this game, but of course, Starlow looked like the worst case since she's been with the Bros for multiple games now and seemed to have grown in Dream Team. At this point, it was 100% cool to hate on Starlow. It was totally normal to cheer when the first trailer for Brothership launched with her nowhere to be seen, and it was totally normal to panic when she ended up showing up in the next trailer. Honestly, I do get the complaints over Starlow being reused as a partner too many times. When the Paper Mario series is right there offering incredible partner after incredible partner (minus Kersti), I'd get wanting the Mario & Luigi games to shake things up. But hating Starlow to the point of not even wanting her as a cameo feels like a step too far. Like it or not, Starlow is engrained in the identity of the Mario & Luigi series, it wouldn't feel the same without her.

Though, of course, Starlow's constant reappearances probably wouldn't have gotten as much flack if it wasn't for the main reason why people hated her: Starlow insults Luigi too much. But why is this such a deal-breaker for so many people? Why is Luigi so important? Well, Luigi is important because he's the most relatable character in the Mario series. He's anxious, he's scared, he's imperfect, but he always pushes through his anxiety and tries his best to do the right thing and support Mario. Luigi isn't the eternally upbeat hero that Mario is, he's the underdog, and a lot of people see themselves in him. So when Luigi gets put down by others, it can be easy to want to protect him. The Mario & Luigi games have always made Luigi into a bit of a butt monkey, people forgetting his name is basically a running gag, but the reason why Starlow gets the brunt of the hate is because she goes on adventures with Luigi. She witnesses his heroism firsthand and still chooses to rib him. Don't get me wrong, I see why people don't like Starlow.

But here's where my defense begins. Fans often point as a few choice moments of Starlow being especially mean to Luigi. The one I see the most is when Mario & Luigi tell her about the events of Partners In Time and how they saved the world as babies, where she jokes about how Luigi must've "attacked them with some ferocious crying". This is often depicted as Starlow being mean, and yeah, she is kind of abrasive here. And yet, people conveniently tend to forget that Mario pulls Starlow off to the side, makes it clear that this actually happened, and Starlow immediately apologizes. She recognized when she crossed a line. But also, if you were to tell me your baby self saved the world and defeated an alien race, yeah, I'd be pretty skeptical too. Paper Jam is a bit tougher to defend due to the aforementioned localization issues, but it's hard for me to solely call out Starlow when Peach, the canonical kindest character in the franchise, spends the game insulting Luigi even more severely. At this point, it's not a Starlow issue, it's a writing issue. And then there's Brothership whose only sin is Starlow simply calling Luigi the wrong name, a running gag that has lasted since even before her debut. Just ignore that Starlow still says Luigi several other times in the game including directly before her gag line.

I feel like people tend to expect the worst from Starlow, assuming that she is always malicious towards Luigi and any attempt to show support is her being fake or disingenuous, and that just completely removes my favorite aspect about her relationship with the Bros. The advantage of being a reoccurring partner is that Starlow has this history with Mario and Luigi, she gets them. Her remarks in Bowser's Inside Story come from a lack of understanding of what Luigi's capable of, but most of the dialogue I've seen from her in Brothership give off a more playful, sisterly vibe. And this even applies to Bowser, as their oddball relationship in Bowser's Inside Story is honestly one of the strongest things about the game. You can't imagine how happy I was to learn that she has a scene with Bowser in Brothership where she shows her ability to get under his skin unlike anyone else. I like Starlow because in a series as lighthearted as Mario, she has a more cynical, abrasive, and witty vibe to her and her ability to take the piss out of pretty much anyone makes for a really funny and endearing character. But I love Starlow because of those few moments where she drops the bullshit, supports her friends wholeheartedly, and seems to know exactly what to say every single time. There's a reason her cheering on Bowser at the end of Bowser's Inside Story and her cheering on Luigi at the end of Dream Team are two of my favorite moments in the series. Even Paper Jam, for all its flaws, has a moment just like this when Starlow encourages Luigi to rescue the other Marios, even making a funny fourth wall break referencing the Year Of Luigi.

But wait, let's not forget about Luigi because this goes two ways. The thing about underdogs is that if they're not going through any form of conflict, they're not underdogs anymore. What makes Luigi and many characters like him so appealing is how they overcome the odds and do things no one believes they were capable of. If everyone loved Luigi and treated him like a treasure and a hero on the same level as Mario, moments like his kaiju fight with Bowser in Dream Team or his mini-adventure in Superstar Saga to save Mario's life wouldn't be nearly as impactful or memorable. Hell, there is an entire spinoff series built around pushing Luigi outside his comfort zone, a huge chunk of the appeal of the Luigi's Mansion games is seeing Luigi freak the hell out every time he enters a room. So when I see fans getting mad every time Luigi gets insulted or depicted as a coward, I just get confused. Do you want Luigi to be less interesting and relatable? People get so fiercely protective over Luigi too, like he's an adult, he doesn't need to be "protecced". And the sheer vitriol I see towards Starlow, seeing comments wanting to step on her or shove her into a blender, I just can't imagine how people can get so violent over this goofy character. It just kinda unnerves me how weirdly personal this discourse can get.

Though, I'd also be remiss not to mention that Starlow is also just her own character, completely separate from Luigi. The amount of actual "Luigi insults" she lets out across four games is no more than a dozen, and she's had at least several hundred lines of dialogue at this point. Even on her own merits, I just like Starlow as a character and I find her to be a welcome and pleasant addition to the series. I like her snarky dialogue, I like her silly "Yello hello!" catchphrase, I like her simple but cute design and how utterly goofy it looks in 3D, I like how quotable Starlow is across all of her games, I like her friendship with Peach and her rivalry with Bowser, and I genuinely like how mean she could be. At her most biting, Starlow reminds me a lot of Kazooie, another one of my favorite video game characters (What can I say? I like the deadpan snarkers). When you compare Starlow to the other major partners in the Mario & Luigi series, she stands out as a lot more multi-faceted and colorful in her personality. I like Dreambert a lot, his more prim and proper personality plays off of Starlow really well. But Stuffwell? I'm sorry, I don't get why people seem to like this guy so much. His only personality is shouting "Back To Adventure!" and after smothering you with tutorials for the first hour, he pretty much dips from the plot entirely. But I guess he doesn't make fun to Luigi, so he's obviously better than Starlow, right?

I'm not trying to force anyone to like Starlow more with this, I mostly want to articulate on why I personally find her to be such a fun character, and also argue against some of the misinformation I see used against her. As someone who got into the series with Bowser's Inside Story, Starlow is a character that I have a lot of fondness for, and I really couldn't imagine the Mario & Luigi series without her. I know Brothership is quite the divisive game at the moment, which I guess is part of the reason why I'm not planning on getting it immediately, but I'm at least glad that it kept Starlow around and seems to have showed off some of her best qualities.

Smallville (Season 8)

Season 8 of Smallville almost feels like an entirely new show. It's now set in Metropolis, Lana and Lex are both demoted to very minor characters, and the main romantic focus has been shifting to Clark and Lois. In some ways, it feels like Smallville should have made this kind of shift years ago, maybe even after Season 4. And while this season still has its fair share of issues, it still feels like a refreshing change of pace.

Season 8 has a pretty messy first episode that tries to unravel a lot of the messy plotlines set up by Arctic. You can tell the showrunners want to pull off a soft reboot of sorts with this season, but they also realized they still have those pesky cliffhangers to deal with so we get shit like Clark being trapped in Russia. Once that's all resolved though, Season 8 really comes alive with its second episode where Clark finally moves to Metropolis and gets a job at the Daily Planet alongside Lois. It's been a while since we really got Clark and Lois sharing a lot of screentime, but I immediately remembered why I love these two together, they have such incredible chemistry and seeing them actually develop their relationship for the first time since Season 5 makes the whole season for me. Oliver Queen being promoted to a major character was also great, Justin Hartley got to really shine as the Arrow more than he has in previous seasons. With Lex and Braniac both (partially) gone, Smallville also needs to find some villains to replace them, to mixed results. The Lex replacement is Tess Mercer, and yeah, she's alright. No one can top Michael Rosenbaum's Lex so they didn't try to, Tess is her own unique character whose cold exterior makes you wonder what she's hiding. Even better is the season's main antagonist Davis, aka Doomsday. His whole Jekyll & Hyde arc isn't usually my cup of tea, but Sam Witwer's charistmatic, layered, and intense performance does so much to sell his conflicted nature. I'm not at all familiar with Doomsday from the comics so I don't know how accurate this version is, but hey, it's well-executed enough that I don't think it matters. At its best, Season 8 feels so fresh, almost as if it had a renewed sense of energy and inspiration to it.

Barring that shaky first episode, the first half of Season 8 was some of the best Smallville I've seen in a while. Between the fun episodic storylines involving Clark and Lois, the surprisingly well put together series of storylines that pay off in two of the best Smallville episodes in quite some time, and the strong balance of tone makes for an incredibly fresh experience. Even if I have a few issues with some of the plot points, like Chloe briefly forgetting about Clark's identity and Lana showing back up only to push Lois out of the show for a few episodes, that midseason payoff was so strong that I didn't really mind. However, once again, I do think the second half is noticeably weaker. I didn't mind Lana's return at first since Bride and Legion were such good episodes, but then she and Clark got back together again and her arc just kept dragging on, leaving me desperately waiting to see Lois again. After that's over, we have to deal with Chloe's messy relationship drama with Davis and Jimmy's already irritating jealousy issues being cranked up to eleven, culminating in a fairly unsatisfying and messy finale that resolves it all by killing both. Not to say that there weren't great moments in Season 8's second half, though, it's got its highlights. Tess had some fantastic character development with her faith in Lex being shattered, and the more lighthearted experimental outings like Infamous, Stiletto, and Hex gave this stretch of the season a real sense of fun. However, it was a noticeable step-down and it's a real shame that what was slated to be one of Smallville's best-crafted seasons just couldn't stick the landing.

Highlights:

Bride: As I said earlier, I think the double whammy of Bride and Legion make for some of the best Smallville episodes we've gotten since, like, Phantom at the latest. Even with those aforementioned controversial bits like Lana's return, Bride manages to cram so much into itself. The creepy documentary-style opening, all the cute throwbacks to early Smallville, the reveal that Lex is in fact alive, and of course, the Red Wedding-esque debut of Doomsday make for an episode that feels like it can rank alongside Smallville's best season finales in terms of sheer spectacle and shock factor.

Legion: And right off the heels of Bride, Legion is a surprisingly fun payoff for pretty much the entirety of Season 8's first half. Despite my misgivings with the Chloe/Braniac stuff, it felt really rewarding to see Clark finally send Braniac away for good. I actually really liked the Legion and how they serve as a commentary on the consensus around Smallville, all the jokes about "no flights, no tights" and Chloe being an original character were not only quite funny and charming, but gives the episode a lot of interesting subtext.

Hex: Was this the funniest episode of Smallville? Hex starts off as a pretty standard body swap where Chloe ends up in Lois's body, but it really comes alive when Clark accidentally wishes to be a normal reporter. Tom Welling's performance as "skeptic Clark" was absolutely hysterical, and made for a nice bit of levity just as the season was starting to get a bit darker again, almost reminiscent of Buffy's seminal Tabula Rasa. Also, Zatanna showing up was nice, she's always a fun presence. 

Doomsday: Doomsday is often considered the worst finale, and one of the worst episodes, of the series for a number of reasons, and I... didn't hate it? Pacing-wise, it is an absolute mess and tries to cram so much into its short runtime, not properly conveying a lot that happened. Just to cover everything, you have the returning Legion, the introduction of the Watchtower, the Justice League vs Clark, Clark vs Doomsday, Davis and Jimmy killing each other, the reveal that Jimmy has a younger brother also named Jimmy, Tess summoning Zod, and Lois traveling through time. It's a lot and naturally not everything is as well-executed as it could've been, particularly the Doomsday fight which felt really short and cheap since Clark couldn't actually fight Doomsday this early. However, the central conflict at play with Clark warring with the Justice League over his belief Davis could be saved, only to have his faith in humanity shattered when he realizes Davis was always a monster is a genuinely compelling one. Jimmy was also at his most likable for the entire season, and the thing he left behind being the Watchtower itself is pretty cool. And of course, the Zod cliffhanger was very exciting. There is a lot here to like, it just could've been a bit more refined.

Overall, Season 8 is very much a transition season, an attempt to bring the show in a new direction while also pruning all the elements of prior seasons that weren't working. While the process was at times awkward and frustrating, it's hard to deny that this season was a massive breath of fresh air, with more thoughtful and engaging writing, a great tonal balance, and a far stronger core in the lovable relationship between Lois and Clark. If Smallville can keep up this pace and smoother over those rougher edges, we might be in for the best arc of the entire show.

3/5 Stars

Light Crusader

As I've said quite a lot, Treasure is one of my favorite game developers of all time, but Light Crusader was always my least favorite game from them. I remember trying it when it popped up on NSO and quickly bouncing off of it. Treasure's bread and butter has always been wacky, cartoony action platformers with creative and surreal imagery, hardware-pushing visual effects, and complex, diverse, ever-changing gameplay. So to see them put out what seemed like a drab, realistic-looking isometric action adventure game felt like such a weird step away from what makes Treasure so special. But I decided to revisit the game recently to give it another shot after finding out that it's actually quite well-respected, and little did I know that it actually does manage to have a lot of that Treasure magic, just hidden a bit deeper under the surface.

Light Crusader's unskippable opening is as unassuming as it gets. You play as a knight named Sir David who arrives at a town only to discover that the townsfolk have been disappearing, and you are tasked to investigate. It seems like your standard fantasy fare, maybe even a bit too cliché for the brilliant minds at Treasure. But once the intro ends and the game actually gives you control, I was immediately surprised by how... smooth movement felt? It manages to dodge the common mistake that many isometric games make where pressing up moves you up-right, essentially skewing the directional inputs to match the perspective. It's a control style I could never get used to, so I'm glad Light Crusader keeps things simple. Up makes you go north, just as it should be. Your movement speed is fast and your jumps are floaty, so I found it really easy to make precise movements with confidence, quite the impressive feat for a game with this perspective. Talking to NPCs will also reveal that dialogue boxes display in real-time in this game, meaning you can start a conversation and then just continue walking around. This combined with the fast movement speed means that once you take control of David, Light Crusader really never stops moving, keeping up a brisk, frenetic pace throughout its entire playtime.

Another thing you'll notice right away is the absolutely wacky NPC interactions. Walk up to the several other characters around the castle you're in and you'll discover that you can just kinda push them around, even down the stairs. As a matter of fact, Light Crusader actually has an entire physics engine built for it, and many in-game objects from enemies to items to chests can all be physically pushed around. And this is a pivotal part of the game, more than even being an adventure or action game, Light Crusader is a physics-based puzzle game. The first task the game has you do is go to the graveyard, find the interactable grave, and push it to the side to unveil the entrance to a large dungeon underneath the town, which shows you that looking for context clues is important and that you should try to push around everything you see. This is the first area where the sheer Treasure-ness of Light Crusader really becomes apparent. Designing a full, working physics engine for a Sega Genesis game and allowing you to use it on pretty much everything in the game is just the kind of goofy ambitiousness that always seemed to define Treasure.

Once you enter the dungeon, the true gameplay loop of Light Crusader reveals itself. This is a dungeon crawler through and through, and you have to work your way through six varied dungeon floors to find the evil dude responsible for all the disappearances. I actually really like games that take place entirely within a dungeon, like Ys Origin or Swordcraft Story, it's like I can get the fun puzzle-solving action-exploration of a Zelda dungeon but stretched out across an entire game. And as far as the core exploration goes, Light Crusader is pretty damn great. Right from the get-go, the dungeon sprawls into a number of different rooms and directions, and you have a simple map to help you keep track of which doors you haven't checked out yet. There's a solid amount of collectibles from health upgrades to equipment, and there's even a few secret areas the map doesn't tell you about that tend to hide easter eggs and optional, powerful items like a fast travel sextant and a dedicated cat room. This is honestly a perfect balance for exploration in an adventure game like this. While by no means trivial, I was able to beat the game with max health and equipment relatively guideless, but I also probably missed a lot of those hidden rooms. This can also really increase replay value since players will be likely to notice things on a second or third playthrough they haven't the first time around.

As I said earlier, the bread and butter of Light Crusader are the physics puzzles. Many rooms will have you pushing a variety of objects to accomplish certain tasks. There's standard blocks, statues that shoot out lasers, explosive bombs and barrels you can use to blow open doors, and boulders that you can roll around. The game gets an impressive amount of mileage out of all of these objects and puzzles will have you utilizing switches, elevators, wind, or even other physics objects to get them to where they need to go. Later floors will even have you start juggling multiple different types of physics objects and trying to figure out which does what. But with all that said, is the physics engine even... good? I mean, it is still a Genesis game and to be fair, yeah, it is a bit janky. Pushing certain objects around can even be a bit overly sensitive making it frustratingly easy to accidentally push something into a corner and force a reset. However, I still found it not only impressive but fun to mess around with. Most of the puzzles are still quite well-crafted around the engine's limitations, and for the ones that aren't, reseting is as easy as leaving the room and trying again. On top of that, the freeform nature of physics in general meant that I honestly feel like I was able to solve a few rooms with completely unintentional methods which did genuinely make me feel pretty clever.

Of course, there's also a fair amount of enemies to fight, and this is probably where Light Crusader is at its weakest. Combat is as basic as going up to an enemy and swinging your sword. You can attack in mid-air to do a dive attack but that's pretty much it, and between your stubby sword and the depth perception, it's pretty easy to whiff your attacks. On top of that, this game doesn't give you gold for fighting enemies. Instead, you can either get gold as a rare pick-up, find it in a few hidden chests, or grind for it in a few random spots across the game. This means that I often found myself unable to buy anything in the game's shops. And yet, on the other hand, despite all these combat issues, Light Crusader is actually kind of a cakewalk. This game absolutely showers you with health restoring items, pretty much every enemy drops one and you have a massive inventory. On top of that, there's an auto heal function so you don't even need to think about healing yourself, meaning that most enemies and bosses can be easily taken out by standing right in front of them and spamming attack. I'll be honest and say that I'd rather a game be broken but easy than broken but annoyingly hard, but the item drop rate doesn't fix the fact that combat isn't especially fun, it's just a bandaid on the greater issue.

That being said, there are a few combat-related aspects of Light Crusader that I did genuinely really like, and of course, they're the most Treasure-esque parts of the whole system. The magic system seems pretty standard in that you have a number of spell types based on elements like fire and earth, but you'll quickly realize that you can actually combine the element types to create different kinds of spells, almost like Threads Of Fate's similarly fantastic magic system. With four elements, there's a total of 15 spells you can use, which adds a ton of fun experimentation. Not every spell is especially useless, but if you take the time to mess around with the system, you'll probably find a few favorites. This is a very Treasure take on a tried-and-true system, imbuing it with a lot more player freedom. The boss fights are also generally really fun, as you'd expect from Treasure. They're all big, varied, visually-impressive, and at times very creative. I especially love the floating armor fight as you'll need to hit the shadow of the person manipulating the armor to take it down. On a smaller note, I also love how you can deflect certain projectiles with a well-timed sword press, such a cool little feature that didn't need to be there.

As I said, the dungeon spans six floors, and each one is different from the last in terms of structure. Floor 1 is a fairly simple introduction to Light Crusader's gameplay loop. Floor 2 is probably the one you'll need a notepad for the most, as you need to find codes you can use to unseal four orbs scattered on the far reaches of the map. From a puzzle standpoint, this was definitely one of the high points of the game for me. Floor 3 has a huge orc village in the center, which you can infiltrate using an orc disguise (which can also help you skip a few combat encounters). Floor 4 is more platforming-focused as it has a ton of icy floors to deal with. And Floor 6, being the final floor, has the most devious puzzles in the game along with the vast majority of the disappeared townsfolk you need to rescue. This variety helps keep the game fresh despite taking place almost entirely within a dungeon, and really helps keep the pacing up throughout. But if you've played Light Crusader, though, you probably already know that Floor 5 is the highlight. You'll stumble upon eight teleporters each taking you to a small mini-dungeon you need to complete to recruit one of the eight wizards. These mini-dungeons take place pretty much all over the world, from a western town, to an active warzore, to the far future, and more. You'll be fighting a giant tank, fast-moving ninjas, and even the elements themselves, it's so much fun. And in what's otherwise a fairly standard fantasy setting, this sudden shift to a random genre roulette feels so wonderfully Treasure.

As for the presentation, Light Crusader does genuinely look pretty impressive. Not only are the characters and isometric environments quite detailed, but Treasure manages to squeeze a lot of cool effects into this thing. Floating platforms along with the player have dropshadows which helps to make platforming a cinch, the dialogue boxes are formed seamlessly with wireframes, many of the bosses utilize multiple sprites like in many of Treasure's action games, and doors, effects, and several in-game objects are fully 3D rendered. And the game manages to do pretty much all of these with zero performance issues, it all runs super smoothly. That being said, I can't deny that the artstyle itself can feel a bit generic by Treasure standards. The color scheme is fairly drab and Koichi Kimura's distinct visual style that defined games like Dynamite Headdy and Silhouette Mirage feels entirely absent here. Similarly, the soundtrack is more ambient and baroque-inspired than you'd expect from Treasure, but honestly, it's not too bad overall. The boss themes feel a bit twangy, but most of the floor themes are quite catchy, with the more energetic ones sounding like they came right out of a Castlevania game.

Overall, Light Crusader was honestly a pleasant surprise. It's by no means a perfect game, the combat system is not especially great, some of the physics puzzles can be pretty finicky, and the game probably could've gone a bit weirder in spots. However, it's honestly a really pleasant and enjoyable dungeon crawler with fun movement that dodges pretty much all of the pitfalls that come with isometric gameplay, engaging exploration, brisk pacing, an impressive physics engine that's fun to mess around with, and a lot of charming, little quirks that only a company like Treasure could've thought up. As far as top-down Genesis adventure games go, it easily surpasses stuff like Landstalker and Beyond Oasis for the sheer fluidity of play alone. I don't think this is Treasure's worst game anymore, it's not even their worst Genesis game. I'd easily play this again over their McDonalds game, that's for sure. It might seem unassuming under the surface but if you give Light Crusader time to show its true colors, you'll find a unique, fresh, and well-thought out adventure game.

3.5/5 Stars

Kirby's Dream Land 2: A Deep Dive

Kirby is a series known for not having a bad game, and I generally still think that's true. When the generally regarded worst Kirby games include a perfectly fine game with microtransactions, a reskin of Puyo Puyo, and a pinball game for the Game Boy, all of which are spinoffs, your series is in pretty good hands. But even with how consistently strong the mainline games are, there's gotta be a worst, and for me, Kirby's Dream Land 2 is the worst mainline Kirby game. And it really hurts to call it that, because it's not a bad game. It's honestly one of the Game Boy's most impressive platformers, and makes some pretty big improvements over its predecessor. On top of that, it kickstarts my beloved Dark Matter trilogy and paves the way to two of my favorite games in the series. So what's the problem? Well, let's talk about it.