Mario & Luigi Brothership: Early Impressions

So yeah, as I said in my last post, I got Mario & Luigi: Brothership as a gift. It kinda felt like a big wrench in my plans for the new year at the time, since I purposefully held off on getting it due to its infamous length and divisive nature. Considering I tend to not beat lengthy RPGs unless it's under very specific circumstances, I wasn't sure if I'd actually have the patience to stick it through, especially if I ended up not liking it. So to make things easier on myself, I'm just going to give my relatively early impressions after playing Brothership for the first 10-or-so hours, as in up to the third sea. I'd say that's a pretty good place to gauge whether or not the game is working for me.

So, what do I think so far? Well, honestly I'm kinda mad. I put off getting this game for a month because of all the negativity surrounding it. I probably would've put off getting it for even longer if I hadn't gotten it as a gift. With the way people talked about Brothership, I was expecting an absolute mess of a game but... no! I'm actually really liking Brothership. It's a fun Mario RPG, really fun even. It certainly has its flaws and I probably wouldn't call it a top-tier entry in the series, but it's a totally solid Mario & Luigi game that does so much right.

The main premise of Brothership is that Mario, Luigi, Peach, Bowser, Starlow, and a whole bunch of other Mario characters have been teleported over to this plug-themed world called Concordia which has been fractured into a whole bunch of different islands. So now you have to sail around, find the various islands of Concordia, and reunite them while also stopping whichever evil force is trying to keep them apart. As far as the core plot goes, it's not anything particularly special so far. The villains are fun but don't have too much going on yet, and it's very obvious early on that Brothership is a game about connection, and it lays down these themes pretty thick. The comedy is also admittedly not as snappy or prevalent as it has been in prior Mario & Luigi games. Not to say Brothership didn't make me laugh, because it definitely did, but it's not as uproariously funny as something like Bowser's Inside Story. And yet, that's not really all that bad of a thing because that's not what Brothership's story is primarily trying to achieve. But at its core, Brothership is a slow burn, character-driven narrative. Over the course of the game, you'll slowly meet a large array of different characters, each with their own struggles, subplots, sidequests, and contributions to the narrative. The hub of Shipshape Island starts out pretty barren, but as the game goes on, it slowly gets populated with people from the other islands and really starts to feel like a home base you can get attached to. It may be different from your average Mario RPG story, but I honestly really vibed with this approach, it feels very akin to a Trails or Pokemon Mystery Dungeon game in how it slowly eases you into the world to set up future plot points.

But none of this would work is Brothership didn't have a strong cast of characters, but thankfully, it does, boasting both memorable new cast members and plenty of great returning faces. Connie and Snoutlet are great partners, super charming and wholesome, and helpful without being obtrusive. The IDLE crew is a ton of fun, especially once Peach and Starlow join them. Maykit's poetic dialogue was surprisingly charming, and Technikki quickly became a standout for her cool design, smart and friendly personality, and surprisingly real arc. While I haven't gotten to those parts yet myself, I also need to praise how Starlow gets a sidequest hinting at her dynamic with Bowser, and how Bowser Jr's character development is continued from prior games. Even Mario and Luigi feel more emotive than ever before, with their brotherly dynamic shown in full force. But despite the size of its cast, not a single character feels like they're being lost in the shuffle, everyone gets a chance to interact with the other characters and make their voices heard during major story events. So yeah, I'm really enjoying Brothership's story so far. I think there's a place for more deliberately-paced RPG stories like that of Brothership and more frenetically-paced RPG stories like that of Bowser's Inside Story, one approach isn't inherently better than the other.

The main gameplay loop, as expected, has you visit a variety of different islands and work your way to the lighthouse at the end of each of them. While the early game definitely suffers from having a few too many forest-themed islands, I generally found these islands fun to explore since they balance fun platforming and varied puzzle-solving quite well. Being the first properly 3D Mario & Luigi game, the exploration in Brothership definitely reminds me of the more recent Paper Mario games in how each island almost feels like a 3D Mario stage in its own right. I also like how the world has a real metroidvania feel to it, as I'm constantly running into paths I can't access yet and collectibles tantalizingly out of reach that make me want to return in the future with new abilities. My biggest concern with the overworld in Brothership was the fact that you aren't really able to directly control Luigi like you could in the previous games. In Brothership, Luigi follows along you automatically, and while you can make him jump, it's usually more efficient to instruct him to move on his own. In theory, I thought this was the dumbest change Nintendo could've made, but in execution, I do kinda get it? This definitely feels like a response to the shift towards more three-dimensional movement, and 90% of the time, it feels pretty natural. That being said, this is the first game in the series where Mario and Luigi can get actively desynced from each other and that always feels pretty crummy.

The combat, on the other hand, is left almost completely untouched. It's just as great as always. The action commands are snappy, enemy attacks and animations are well-telegraphed and clear, and every time I enter into a battle, it feels like the series hasn't even left in the first place. One notable change is that standard attacks are more complex, often playing out like one of the Bros Attacks in Superstar Saga. This had me worried at first since the more complex attacks in Partners In Time are a big reason why I find it to be one of the weaker entries, but the timing is generous enough that they didn't feel super overwhelming here. My actual gripe is the fact that you can't select Luigi's actions with the B button, it really just throws me off. The bros attacks work pretty much the same as well, and they're just as fun as ever. Definitely in the vein of the more interactive and flashy ones from the 3DS games (which is a good thing in my eyes), and the camerawork does a great job at making these attacks feel exciting without losing clarity. And that's what I think this combat system primarily excels at. Each fight feels like this cinematic fluidly-animated spectacle but it never gets in the way of the actual mechanics and button timing. The one big new system is the addition of these Battle Plugs that are these buffs that you can equip at the cost of using up their limited charges. It definitely has the potential for a decent amount of strategy since you're encouraged to constantly be switching up your Plugs and changing up your tactics, but I feel I'm still a bit too early on in the game to really be taking advantage of this.

Speaking of which, the biggest criticism a lot of people seem to have with Brothership is the pacing and I can definitely see why, especially compared to other Mario & Luigi games which are known for their blistering pace. I think the biggest culprit is how slowly certain abilities and characters are doled out to the player. It takes way too long the player to get access to the full battle system, and it definitely takes too long for mainstay characters like Peach or Bowser to show up. The load times also aren't great, entering battles takes a bit too long and I really hope Nintendo's future console is able to improve on this. These are issues that I definitely won't defend. However, I think the majority of the pacing accusations are a bit overblown. You don't spend very long in any particular location, cutscenes can almost all be sped up or skipped entirely which is a rarity for Nintendo, and the tutorials which are often the worst thing about a Mario & Luigi game have now be relegated to brisk pop-ups that can be quickly dismissed. Even backtracking to previous islands isn't that bad and sailing around isn't that tedious since the game quickly gives you a whole bunch of fast travel options to speed up the process. I just really don't think Brothership's pacing is that much worse than your average RPG, and even compared to other Mario RPGs, it mostly falls roughly in line with games like TTYD, Origami King, and Dream Team for me, all of which I still really like in spite of their pacing issues.

Putting aside the aforementioned loading times, though, I do think Brothership is a very pretty game. The cel-shaded look is a joy to look at, the environments are incredibly vibrant, and the characters are very expressive. This applies the most to Mario and Luigi themselves, and I'd argue that this is the most lively the two brothers have ever looked. There's a real Gamecube vibe to how much everything squashes and stretches and it really makes for a great translation of the original M&L artstyle. It's not the most polished game out there, Brothership definitely has its fair share of jankier animations, but the sheer charm of the visuals vastly overpowers any seams. On the topic of sound design, I also love the cute character voices, and the soundtrack is not that bad. Obviously, I was very skeptical since Shimomura is my favorite composer and replacing her is such a tough task, but while it's definitely not on her level, Hideki Sakamoto did a fine job. The area themes in particular I found to be really pleasing and comfy to listen to, and the battle themes while unusual-sounding at first do really grow on you.

Overall, I'd say Mario & Luigi: Brothership is a good time so far. Considering this is essentially a new start for the Mario & Luigi series with a new developer, this is a more than solid first attempt that I would love to see expanded upon. It certainly has its fair share of rough edges like the slow rollout of abilities, iffy optimization, weaker soundtrack, and the Luigi controls, but those are all nitpicks in the grand scheme of things. At its core, Brothership nails most of the fundamentals of what I like from a JRPG. The world design and exploration is solid, the combat is fantastic, the story is fantastic, and the presentation is charming. Even if it's not on the level of a Thousand Year Door or a Bowser's Inside Story, it's at the very least around the level of something like Dream Team and that's more than good enough for me.

Tentative Score: 4.5/5 Stars

Update: So I did end up beating Brothership making it the longest RPG I have ever beaten. It was good, and most of my early impressions did hold true. The story definitely kept getting better over time with the ending in particular being incredibly emotionally effective, and I think I feel comfortable calling it one of the best Mario RPG stories right alongside Super Paper Mario. My biggest gripe aside from the obvious pacing issues is that the combat got a tad frustrating in the second half with how lengthy certain enemy attacks were, but that's really it. Overall, I absolutely adored Brothership and I think it's a game that will really stick with me for years to come.

If I had gotten Brothership before making my end of the year list, I'd probably have placed it right above Princess Peach Showtime. And as far as my current ranking of the Mario RPGs go, maybe I'll save that for when I finish Brothership...

2024 Winter Games Sale

With the winter sale, I decided to get a few more games to end off the year: Momodora: Reverie Under The Moonlight, the Blaster Master Zero trilogy, and the Bleed Complete Bundle. These are all games that I've heard pretty good things about for years, but I've never actually gotten around to playing them so now's a better time than ever, I guess. Let's see if they live up to the hype:

Bleed Complete Bundle

The Bleed games are a duo of short but sweet action platformers that feel like a blend between Gunstar Heroes, a twin-stick shooter, and Devil May Cry. Both games are just constant, nonstop, all killer no filler action with chaotic level design and tons of large-scale bosses each. Once you get used to the dual-joystick control scheme, it's a blast to just shoot your way through these stages. With only seven brisk stages each, both games are incredibly short, but they each come with a lot of replayability between a ranking system, multiple difficulties, sidemodes like a one-life Arcade Mode and a Challenge Mode for fighting bosses, and a variety of unlockable weapons, upgrades, and alternate characters. Both Bleed 1 and 2 are just really fun and fast-paced action games and while they can be pretty tough at first, they're both incredibly fair and reward mastery.

However, in terms of which game is better, I am a little mixed. Bleed 1 is certainly more rough around the edges as movement doesn't feel quite as precise, the visuals can seem a bit washed out, and the music is fairly forgettable. However, I absolutely adore its DMC-esque upgrade system where you get points from doing well in the levels that you can use to buy more weapons, health and energy increases, and a few other perks. Bleed 2 is infinitely more polished, with refined movement, a fun dual-wielding system that lets you use both a gun and a bullet-parrying katana, a more rocking soundtrack by the composer of Minit and Fall Guys, and even more sidemodes like an Endless Mode with procedural level design and a slew of unlockable modifiers. However, there are elements that I prefer about the first game. Bleed 2 takes place in one continuous journey which means the level design isn't quite as weird and varied as in the first game, it reuses a few too many bosses from Bleed 1 as well, and it removes that aforementioned upgrade system entirely. That being said, while both games are great in its own way, I do think Bleed 2 is still the better package .

The Bleed Complete Bundle as a collection is pretty barebones though. It just contains the first two games and nothing else. On Switch, you can't even switch between the two games, you have to exit out which kinda sucks. Thankfully, though, the porting job is pretty much top-notch. Both games run incredibly smoothly even with all of the action, and aside from a minor sound bug in Bleed 1, lack any glaring issues. If you want a pure fun, highly replayable arcade experience, I'd definitely recommend both of the Bleed games. There's never a dull moment in either of two games, and they're constantly bursting at the seams with creativity and charm.

4/5 Stars

Momodora: Reverie Under The Moonlight

Momodora is quite the fascinating little series, initially starting as what was basically a Cave Story clone before evolving into one of the more beloved indie metroidvania franchises, and Reverie Under The Moonlight is regarded as the point when Momodora really solidified its new identity. RUtM is a fairly small metroidvania where you play as a priestess named Kaho who's trying to purify the land from a deadly curse. Just to get it out of the way, this game is absolutely gorgeous, with bold, colorful, and fluid spritework. The characters all have a cute chibi look to them, but don't let that fool you, this game is dark. Most of the NPCs you meet are suffering from the aforementioned curse in some way, and the somber music and occasionally moody backdrops create a really haunting and depressing tone that helps Momodora 4 stand out. In general, I think Momodora's presentation is outstanding, though my only gripe is that the game is stuck at a 4:3 aspect ratio with no widescreen support or even any border options. Not that I have a problem with 4:3 mind you, but having two large black bars on the side of my Switch for the entire game can feel a bit distracting.

Gameplay-wise, Momodora mostly plays like a 2D soulslike. You have melee and ranged attacks, a dodge roll, and a variety of both active and passive items you can use to help with combat. The control here feels pretty good all around, super tight and responsive, not too sluggish but still feeling deliberate in its pacing. As you'd expect from the genre, this game is quite tough as you can only take so many hits, but it mostly felt totally fair and satisfying to conquer. The world design is more open than I'm used to seeing from a metroidvania, utilizing a hub-and-spokes system. Early on in the game, you stumble upon a city that basically serves as a central hub, and from there, you can uncover a variety of areas in whichever order you want. There's a nice balance between linear challenges and nonlinear exploration, and the world is so small and contained that I never felt like I got lost or was being punished for peeking around. The boss fights are definitely the highlight of Momodora 4 though, with each one being visually creative and boasting challenging but well-telegraphed attacks.

That being said, there are a few elements that prevent RUtM from being something truly extraordinary. For starters, it's just too short. While I appreciate the game's compact layout, I was able to beat it in around 3 hours on a casual playthrough and it feels like it ends just as it's getting really good. I think the difficulty balancing also contributes to this feeling, as since most of the world is open to you from the start, a good chunk of the game keeps a consistent difficulty only to pick up in the final area. Otherwise, though, Momodora 4 was a fun metroidvania with solid control and combat, thoughtful world design, and a fantastic sense of atmosphere. I can't wait for Moonlit Festival to come out on consoles so I can see if it's able to expand on this strong base.

4/5 Stars

Blaster Master Zero 

As a fan of both Blaster Master and Inti Creates, it took me way too long to get to the Zero trilogy. I've even heard some claim that this trilogy, and particularly the third game, ranks as Inti's best work period. Considering how much I adore their work on the Mega Man Zero and ZX series, that's a damn high bar, but I'll try to keep my expectations in check. That being said, I did actually play the demo for Zero 1 back when it released so I already know what to expect with this entry.

Blaster Master Zero is essentially a complete reimagining of the original Blaster Master for the NES, which I actually previously reviewed. While the gameplay loop is pretty much the same and the first area is even 1:1, Zero 1 does quickly diverge with its level and boss design, along with making a lot of gameplay tweaks that take advantage of the newer hardware. Most of my gripes with that original NES entry have pretty much all been smoothed over here. Your hover refills over time, you have a separate button for special weapons, there's now a proper map screen, the wall slide doesn't activate automatically, you get multiple charge shots to let you blow through blocks faster, enemies respawn far less often, and there are permanent upgrades that give you a reason to explore in both the side-scrolling Sophia segments and the top-down Jason segments. Jason himself gets a few permanent upgrades and sub-weapons too, so it feels like he actually grows alongside his tank in this one. The level design is also a lot more interesting in Zero. Past the first area, Blaster Master Zero introduces a variety of level gimmicks in both the Sophia and Jason segments to shake up the original level theming. Area 2 was reimagined from a dingy castle to a vibrant city, Area 3 took the factory setting of the original and added conveyor belts and movable gates, and Area 5 elevates the worst area in the original with the addition of currents to help you move around underwater faster. While it still can be pretty hard to shake the blatant similarities to the original, I think most stages in Zero manage to be improvements on their original counterpart. Emphasis on most though, because Area 7 was an active downgrade from a pretty fun combat-focused stage to a stealth-focused one. It was a frustrating difficulty spike since getting spotted means being ganged up on by enemies and losing a ton of health due to the lack of i-frames, and god forbid you miss something and have to backtrack. I spent over an hour in this fucking place, easily the low point of an other consistently fun game.

Inti Creates also aimed to improve the weapon upgrade system during those top-down segments, but this is probably where the execution fumbled the most. So the way it worked in the original was that the more power you had, the more powerful your weapon, but getting hit makes you lose power. This system had two major issues: Firstly, it sucks to have your weapon be downgraded, and second, the "best" weapon (a wave gun) was actually a downgrade thanks to its inconsistent hitbox. Zero 1 fixes these issues to a degree. You get an upgrade early on that gives you a temporary guard that protects your power for a single hit, the wave gun properly works, and you can choose between any of the weapon types you're able to use given your power. However, this is a double-edged sword since the weapons are pretty horribly balanced. The wave gun is far and away the best weapon as it should be, but it's so good that you can wipe the floor with any enemy or boss with minimal effort right from the very start of the game, making the vast majority of Zero 1 an absolute cakewalk. But on the other hand, most of the other weapons are pretty weak, and as I mentioned, the lack of i-frames means it's very easy to get trapped between a bunch of enemies and lose your entire arsenal (especially in Area 7, my god). The difficulty balancing is all over the place, which I'd argue is the biggest flaw with Zero 1. I can only hope that the sequels are able to smooth that out.

Another area where Blaster Master Zero stands out is in its story elements. Despite having the same basic premise as the first game, a guy named Jason piloting a tank called the Sophia III to rescue his pet frog Fred, it similarly diverges once you come across a girl named Eve in the second area. So now you have two characters riding Sophia at any given time, which helps the adventure feel a bit less lonely. Jason's developing relationship with Eve is pretty endearing too, and her presence does a lot to flesh out the lore of why Sophia III and Fred are even here in the first place. It all culminates in an entirely original true final level that lets you take an upgraded Sophia through a trippy gauntlet that tests you on all of the game's mechanic, before using it to fight an infected Sophia III with Eve trapped inside for the tense but impactful final boss. This was easily the highlight of Zero 1 for me and it made me very excited to see what Inti does with the sequels. Beyond the story, the presentation in Blaster Master Zero is great. The spritework manages to stay true to the art direction of the original Blaster Master, though it's also a lot more detailed and polished, with widescreen, a smooth framerate, and no flickering whatsover. While Naoki Kodaka's score for the original Blaster Master is a tough bar to meet considering it's one of the best on the NES, I'm also pleased to say that Blaster Master Zero has a really strong soundtrack with exciting chiptune techno that manages to capture that distinct Sunsoft energy.

Overall, Blaster Master Zero is a great reimagining of the original Blaster Master which expands on its mechanics, level design, and story in all the right ways. That being said, the fact that it's so reliant on that original game means I don't think it was fully able to establish a distinct individual identity yet, and the difficulty balancing could definitely use some work. It's a strong start for the trilogy though, and considering that Zero 2 and Zero 3 are apparently completely original, I'm excited to see which direction Inti Creates takes the series.

4/5 Stars

Blaster Master Zero 2

Blaster Master Zero 2 is an improvement on the original in pretty much every way, and shows Inti Creates charting an entirely new path for the series that I'm very much vibing with. The story follows right after the first entry as we learn that the mutant Jason defeating in the last game has infected Eve, so the two launch into space to find a possible cure. It's a solid premise since it means Zero 2 is going to be a much larger-scale planet-hopping adventure that can expand upon the world of Blaster Master Zero, introducing a variety of new planets and characters inspired by series from Sunsoft's past, including the more niche stuff like Ikki (Gonbei), Trip World (Kanna), and one of my all-time fighting games, Waku Waku 7 (Tesset). It's truly a love letter to the company's history, and it makes me happy that the folks at Inti Creates seem to be even bigger Sunsoft geeks than I am. The game also introduces a proper rival character in Leibniz, who lost his own support droid and wants to take it out on Jason and Eve, and I'm mixed on them. I found myself absolutely despising the guy, from their annoying boss fights to their irrational meddling in Jason's life, but I also can't say Inti didn't accomplish exactly what they were going for with this character. I've never seen a rival character this blatantly despicable, and Leibniz's sheer hater energy is almost charming in how over the top it is.

As for the gameplay, Zero 2 makes some pretty bold changes to the Blaster Master formula that I'd say work out for the better. Sophia's energy system has had a complete reworking, as it's now an energy bar that you can recover by dropping onto the ground from high up. It sounds weird at first, but it adds a unique element of resource management to the game since you can use special weapons more often as long as you're actively seeking out places to drop from. Her wall climb has also been replaced with a wall jump and I think that's for the better, it's a lot snappier in my opinion. The top-down Jason segments are what really got overhauled though, and generally for the better. The weapons have been rebalanced and all degrade with overuse encouraging to actively pace yourself, and you now have a counter move that feels great to pull off at the cost of enemies and bosses being far more aggressive. In general, I think Zero 2 is definitely a harder game than its predecessor since the Wave 8 weapon isn't as overpowered and most foes put up more of a fight, but it remains pretty fair the whole way through. Inti Creates finally struck a perfect difficulty balance, fixing my biggest issue with the first game.

The world and boss design are also pretty outstanding, albeit with one caveat. In a big departure from series tradition, each area now occupies its own planet meaning the interconnected world of the first game and the original Blaster Master isn't really a thing here. While I do miss the heavy sense of exploration that Zero 1 had, I do think the pros of this decision far outweigh the cons. Zero 2 being set on a bunch of different planets means the level variety is off the charts, with each area being a lot more engaging and complex than in the first game. From dodging sudden bamboo shoots popping out of the walls in Montoj, to solving strange puzzles in a trippy nature world, to dodging dimensional rifts that split a planet in half, there isn't a single weak stage in the bunch this time. In addition, being able to quickly hop from planet to planet seriously reduces backtracking, and the addition of smaller optional planetoids that hide collectibles gives the game more replay value. As for the bosses, there are a lot more Sophia-centric bosses this time around and I think that's for the better since they tend to be my personal favorites. The changes to the energy system means most of the Sophia fights have a great sense of verticality to them, and taking down these hulking monsters in your giant tank always feels awesome.

Going in, I'll admit that my biggest concern with Zero 2's story going in was that Eve being infected would mean she gets sidelined or damselfied but I couldn't be more. If anything, this is Eve's biggest role in the trilogy as she's constantly chiming in and interacting with the other characters, which in turn made her more endearing. I also really like her new mutated design, the cutesy body horror look really helps her stand out visually. But nothing prepared me for Zero 2's final area where Jason unleashes and gets petrified by a new multidimensional overlord, forcing you to play as Eve as she fights her way across a planet, scrounges up a new tank, reunites the aforementioned cast, and saves Jason all on her own while still suffering from the mutation virus. Compared to the power trip of Zero 1's final area, Zero 2's final area is more puzzle-focused as Eve's abilities are fairly limited requiring you to use your wits to survive, but it all leads to an absolutely wild final boss and one of the most intense button-mashing sequences this side of The Legendary Starfy. It's an incredible conclusion to an already fantastic action platformer, and finally seeing the series' deuteragonist get her time in the spotlight was just the icing on the cake.

Overall, Blaster Master Zero 2 is everything a good sequel should be. It expands on the Blaster Master formula mechanically, boasts a stellar lineup of levels and boss fights, bumps up the visuals and music substantially, increases the scope with its story, and ends on an incredible final act that gives me everything I didn't know I needed. It left such a high bar that I just couldn't see how any sequel could possibly improve on it, and uh, spoiler alert, it didn't.

5/5 Stars

Blaster Master Zero 3

Blaster Master Zero 3 is often regarded as one of Inti Creates' best games, held up right alongside Mega Man Zero 3 and Azure Striker Gunvolt 2. And now that I've played it... oh man, I hate having to say this. I think this might be my least favorite of the trilogy, and by a wide margin too.

From a story level, Zero 3 has me pretty split. It takes a lot of bold swings, but in turn, it does a lot that I like and a lot that I'm not huge on. Once again, it follows right after the previous game as Jason and Eve finally arrive at Planet Sophia only to get immediately arrested. Jason quickly breaks out only to learn Eve has disappeared, and just to twist the knife further, he discovers that Leibniz is now hanging out in Sophia. I'm not huge on this trilogy's tendencies to just immediately override the happy ending of the previous game, but at least Eve's infection felt like the natural consequences of her and Jason's actions in Zero 1. This just felt like convoluted conflict for the sake of it, and the fact that it means Eve got completely sidelined for this whole game right after her playable role leaves a bitter taste in my mouth. On the other hand, though, Leibniz as a partner actually kinda ruled. For most of the game, they kinda just act like a petty child content to sit back and watch Jason flail about, and their constant snark throughout the adventure is admittedly a lot more enjoyable and sharply-written than most of Eve's dialogue in the previous games. I also kinda liked how increasingly desperate Jason got over the course of Zero 3, you can tell he was just completely fed up with being constantly dealt a bad hand. The main duo pretty much carried the story for me, since the actual main plot just felt too convoluted.

Thankfully, in terms of the moment-to-moment gameplay, Zero 3 is pretty much on par with its predecessor if not slightly better. Sophia plays pretty much the same with a few quality of life improvements, like the ability to fast travel between save points (thank god), having a separate energy bar for the various shot types, and giving Jason a hover pack to make those platforming segments way less punishing. The real changes are with the top-down segments, and for the most part, they're all fantastic. Jason now has a dash which allows him to quickly get out of the way of enemy fire and speed through the dungeons faster, and instead of having eight weapons that you progressively unlock as your power increases, you now have five weapons that you always have access to and can level up on your own. This is a great change since the game can now make proper use of all of your weapons and losing a single bit of power doesn't feel as crippling anymore, though it comes at the cost of your energy guard now being made temporary. I'm not huge on this, especially since if you lose your energy guard it respawns in the world forcing you to recollect it. I also found Zero 3 to be easily the hardest game of the trilogy, but not entirely in a fun way. Enemies feel tankier in both modes, counter tells are much shorter and harder to notice, and bosses now have multiple health bars, it felt like Inti pushed the needle too far in the other direction here.

But I think the biggest downgrade coming off of Zero 2 was the level design. Zero 3 takes place almost entirely on Planet Sophia and brings back the more metroidvania-esque design of the first game with far larger and more labyrinthe areas. This sounds awesome in theory, but in execution, ehh. The planets in Zero 2 were super creative and varied, but now, most of the locations in Planet Sophia feel like the same mechanical environments with a different color palette. The only exceptions are the two areas to not take place on the planet, but that's because they're both reused from previous games (Stranga, all of Zero 1). The layout of each area is also a lot more disjointed with walls, tunnels, and rifts making it hard to just explore without abusing the fast travel, and it doesn't help that so much of each area is left inaccessible on the first visit meaning Zero 3 has one hell of an endgame item cleanup. Speaking of rifts, the main gimmick of Zero 3 is that you can now enter these superdimensional portals to travel around, but I'm not huge on that either. Most of the superdimensional areas look pretty much the same regardless of which location you're in which only further reduces the feeling of variety. But easily my least favorite thing in Zero 3 are the Sophia Force Bases, which are randomly generated top-down dungeons with brutal tanky enemies that you can (and are encouraged to) skip with superdimensional portals. It's like the cyberspace system in Mega Man Zero 3 but bafflingly flipped on its head, and I had no interest in engaging with most of these unless I really needed to. In general, the sheer amount of fluff and messiness in the map design means this is the only game in the trilogy I didn't bother to 100%.

When I was playing Blaster Master Zero 2, I couldn't keep myself unglued from the screen, everything was so perfectly calibrated. But with Zero 3, I actively found it hard to keep playing. Dealing with the sloppy level design, the tanky enemies, the constant cheap deaths, it just wasn't fun. Remember when I complained about Area 7 from the first game? Yeah, every level in Zero 3 feels like Area 7. Eventually, it got to a point where dealing with the game's bullshit was too much and I just... dropped it, at least for now. I hear the finale was really good, it certainly sounds pretty cool from what I've seen of it, but when I was enjoying the gameplay this little I couldn't bring myself to see it through.

I don't want to say Zero 3 killed my interest in Blaster Master since I still really liked the first two games, nothing can take that away from me, but it was probably one of the most disappointing games I've played since Tears Of The Kingdom and the first time Inti Creates really let me down.

3/5 Stars

So yeah, that should be just about it for 2024. Quite the eventful year as far as my gaming library is concerned, but I'm ready to move forward to... Oh... So, umm, just at the last second, I got Mario & Luigi: Brothership as a gift. Guess I gotta start working on a review for it, get ready for a big one...

Top 15 Games Of 2024

Well, it's that time of the year again. I've played a lot of games in 2024, and now it's time to rank my favorites. Unlike last year, I really couldn't just leave it at 10 games, so this time, I picked a whopping 15 games that I want to shine a light on. But first, some honorable mentions:

HM. The games I'd probably have loved
Being a Mac user with only a Switch, there's always going to be a fair share of games that I'm not going to be able to play, and 2024 is no exception. So here's a short ode to the games I probably could've placed on this list if I was actually able to play them: 

Astro Bot: Yeah, this one's a given. The game that everyone's touting as a spiritual successor to the Mario Galaxy games and references niche Sony series like Ape Escape feels like it was made for me, but sadly, I don't have a PS5.

UFO 50: The concept of a fictional console with an entire in-universe game library is so cool. I'm still holding out for this one to get a console release someday.

Rabbit & Steel: I know some people who are going absolutely crazy over this one. As a bullet hell fan, it looks like a unique take on the formula, the artstyle is adorable, and the soundtrack's a real bop.

HM. The Non-2024 Games I Discovered
I also want to give a shout-out to the games that came out in the last two years that I just happened to get my hands on in 2024, because some of my favorite gaming experiences of the year were with the games that I just barely missed out on the first time. 

Freedom Planet 2: One of my new Top 5 favorite games of all time, Freedom Planet 2 gave me everything I could've wanted from a sequel and then some. It's double the length of the original, refines the gameplay to a razor sheen, vastly improves upon the storytelling, is stuffed to the gills with content, boasts some of the most gorgeous sprite art I've ever seen, and packs in an absolute behemoth soundtrack. It systematically checks off every single box of what I personally want in a game.

Spark The Electric Jester 3: Probably the most successful indie game I've seen so far in terms of capturing the freeform linear platforming of the Sonic Adventure games while still having its own feel. While it certainly has its rough edges, the movement in Spark 3 is an absolute joy and the sheer amount of fantastic levels across both the main campaign and the postgame still has me chipping away at it to this day.

Curse Crackers: Curse Crackers is the definition of "you didn't have to go this hard". What on the surface seems like a fairly basic GBC-inspired platformer gives way to some of the smoothest movement I've seen in a 2D platformer, a shockingly developed world with detailed lore and an incredible cast of characters, and an absurd amount of content ranging from collectibles to time attacks to secret levels to Fez-esque obscurities. Definitely the best impulse buy of the year.

Pizza Tower: What can I even say about Pizza Tower that hasn't already been said? This instant indie classic takes the strong groundwork that Wario Land 4 laid and really runs with it, making for a longer and stranger experience than its inspiration. It definitely has a bit of a learning curve, but once Pizza Tower really clicks, the chaotic movement, endearingly strange characters, and varied levels made for one of the most charming experiences I've played this year.

Vividlope: Vividlope may have released in 2023, but its Switch release this year came with a slew of QoL improvements that seem to have fixed pretty much all of its issues. It's an incredibly addictive and charming arcade puzzler with a ton of content squeezed into such a small package, but the real star of the show is Vividlope's adorable Dreamcast-inspired presentation that taps into a visual style that I'll always be a sucker for. More games like this please!

Okay, now, without further ado, let's get into my actual ranking:

15. Super Monkey Ball: Banana Rumble

After countless mediocre Super Monkey Ball games, Banana Rumble is the return to form I've been waiting for. It may not fully recapture the magic of the original Gamecube entries, but it manages to forge its own unique magic with its more character-driven storytelling and the addition of the spin dash that makes speedrunning more fun than ever before. It's also worth noting just how much content this game has crammed into it, and it's still getting bigger and more polished through a steady stream of updates across the second half of the year. Banana Rumble feels like a real labor of love from Sega and RGG Studio in a way that I haven't really felt from Super Monkey Ball in so long.

14. Arzette: The Jewel Of Faramore

Arzette: The Jewel Of Faramore did something that I didn't think any game could do, it redeemed the Zelda CD-i games. It manages to perfectly replicate the look, feel, and sound of the CD-i while also being an actually polished, satisfying, and purposefully funny action platformer. Speaking of labor of loves, you can tell the team behind Arzette saw so much potential in Zelda CD-i, and they had the knowledge and the know-how to actually utilize that potential. Like with Cavern Of Dreams though, it was way too short and I definitely could've used more of it.

13. Celeste 64: Fragments Of The Mountain

Right at the start of 2024, the indie scene was blindsided by the sudden drop of a new Celeste game. In the grand scheme of things, Celeste 64 is a goofy little itch.io demo made in a week, and as such, it does have its fair share of jank. However, it still manages to do a remarkable job at translating the feel of Celeste into this 3D format, and the platforming still has a lot of fun movement tech in it. The package is also all tied together with an adorable N64-inspired visual style, and a charming coda that gives these characters the truly happy ending they kinda needed after the more downbeat Farewell.

12. Duelists Of Eden

Duelists Of Eden is more of an expansion than its own full-on sequel, but it gives fans of One Step From Eden what they've been wanting for a while, a multiplayer mode. Duelists does a great job at converting OSFE's gameplay to a more competitive format that really puts it more in line with its Battle Network inspiration, all the while tossing in more great new characters, plenty of cool indie cameos, and another roster of incredible music tracks from STEEL_PLUS.

11. Splatoon 3: Side Order

As someone who isn't exactly a huge fan of either Salmon Run or roguelikes, I'm still impressed with how well Side Order managed to combine them to create an incredibly replayable experience that I really enjoyed. It's forgiving enough that anyone can beat it for the first time with enough practice, but actually uncovering all of the DLC's secrets and unlockables will definitely be quite the challenge. I'm also glad to say that Side Order was a satisfying continuation of my beloved Octo Expansion, with more fun character interactions among Agent 8's gang, some interesting expansions to the Splatoon lore, and of course, another fantastic lo-fi and EDM soundtrack.

10. Grapple Dogs: Cosmic Canines

The first Grapple Dog was a fun but somewhat flawed little indie platformer, but Cosmic Canines is an incredible sequel that not only improves on all of the first game's issues but ranks as one of the most inventive platformers I've played all year. With a solid story that expands on the characters from the first game in some fun ways, a great second protagonist with a gameplay style just as fun if not even more enjoyable than the titular grapple dog, consistently inventive level design facilitated by the multiverse hopping premise, and another wonderful soundtrack makes for one hell of a glow-up.

9. Princess Peach Showtime

Despite its fairly simple gameplay, Princess Peach Showtime manages to get by through its aggressive amounts of charm. The fun variety of gameplay styles, consistently dynamic levels, solid exploration, and banger soundtrack make for a pretty fun 3D platformer on its own, but it's truly elevated by just how much love the developers clearly have for the medium of theater and how it shows in the sheer attention to detail every single stage has packed in. There's some real experimental PS2 game energy coming from Showtime and I'm all for it.

8. Legend Of Zelda: Echoes Of Wisdom

As someone who felt severely burnt by Tears Of The Kingdom, Echoes Of Wisdom managed to strike a strong balance between a more guided progression with stronger pacing and damn solid dungeons, and also packing in an open world that's a joy to explore along with the inventive emergent echo mechanic that feels just limited enough to be fun to mess around with. It's not one of the best entries in the series by any means, but it's the first Zelda in a while that actually feels like it lives up to the franchise's lofty standards.

7. Antonblast

Out of every game I played this year, Antonblast is the one that I have the most complicated relationship with. It offered me some of the most cathartic, stylish, thoroughly enjoyable platforming goodness I've experienced all year, with fun movement, wild levels and bosses, satisfying carnage-induced exploration, and fantastic visuals and music. But it also really put me through the ringer as I slowly learned to play by its rules, almost filtering me at several moments. And yet, as I look back on Antonblast, the game just looks better and better in my eyes, those rough edges all part of its scrappy charm. It's such a potent love letter to gaming as a medium and it shows in every frame.

6. Pepper Grinder

Pepper Grinder may be a bit too short, but for what it was, it's impeccably crafted. Each and every level stands out as fun and unique, the movement of drilling around at high speeds is perfectly tuned, the collectibles are fun and intuitive to discover, the bosses are a blast, and the intricate spritework and eclectic soundtrack are just unhinged to perfectly fit the game's chaotic mood. Pepper Grinder does exactly what it sets out to do and leaves you wanting more.

5. Super Mario Party Jamboree

Super Mario Party Jamboree marks the true return to form for the Mario Party series on pretty much every level. Strong board design that's equal parts fun, varied, and cruel. Genuinely interesting mechanical improves that add to the strategy of board gameplay rather than takes from it. A massive lineup of minigames and side modes that are, for the most fun, almost as fun as the main board mode. And a strong, surprisingly cohesive presentation with the best music the series has had in so long. The future of Mario Party as a series has truly never been brighter.

4. Penny's Big Breakaway

I mentioned that Princess Peach Showtime felt like a experimental PS2 game, but Penny's Big Breakaway absolutely lives and breathes the early 2000s. With a bright and poppy aesthetic, slightly jank movement with a huge skill ceiling, fun level design that encourages you to master said movement, wacky boss fights, and of course, a fantastic soundtrack, Penny's Big Breakaway packs in everything I love about 3D platformers as a genre. Right when it came out, I was sure this would be my favorite original game of the year, and yeah, that hasn't really changed.

3. Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door

I used to be on the "The Thousand Year Door is overrated" train, but the TTYD Remake did the unthinkable feat of fully converting me. This remake smartly picks and chooses the best elements of The Origami King and uses them to enhance TTYD in so many ways, from its gorgeous new visual coat of paint, to its vastly expanded soundtrack, to the removal of all the worst bits of backtracking, to Vivian's fixed characterization. TTYD Remake was the longest game I've beaten from this year, and yet my eyes were glued to the screen for the whole week I spent working my through it.

2. Sonic X Shadow Generations

As someone who's never played Sonic Generations prior to this year, this might as well be two entirely new games as far as I'm concerned, and I couldn't be happier with the result. Sonic Generations is easily one of the best 3D Sonic games with its addictively fast-paced gameplay, slick visuals, and incredibly well thought-out level design, but the fact that Shadow Generations manages to rival and even surpass it in some aspects is truly impressive coming off the heels of the lackluster Sonic Frontiers. I have no idea what happened in this game's development, but Sonic Team managed to make one hell of a comeback and put out their first genuinely GOTY-worthy package in over a decade.

1. Castlevania Dominus Collection

I tend to be a bit iffy when it comes to ranking compilations, but Castlevania Dominus Collection truly deserves its flowers for being one of the best compilations I've ever seen. This is the best way to play three of the best Castlevania games period (one of which is just straight-up one of my favorite games ever made), and it's all tied together with a cohesive, slick, feature-rich interface. But the true clincher is the fact that the madlads at M2 tossed in an entirely new Castlevania in Haunted Castle Revisited, a genuinely great 2D entry that truly solidifes Dominus Collection's spot as my favorite game of 2024.

And in case you're wondering about my favorite soundtracks of the year, here they are:

15. Metal Slug Tactics
14. Arzette: The Jewel Of Faramore
13. Legend Of Zelda: Echoes Of Wisdom
12. Haunted Castle Revisited
11. Grapple Dogs: Cosmic Canines
10. Splatoon 3: Side Order
9. Antonblast
8. Yars Rising
7. Super Mario Party Jamboree
6. Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door
5. Berserk Boy
4. Rabbit & Steel
3. Princess Peach Showtime
2. Penny's Big Breakaway
1. Duelists Of Eden

Overall, I thought 2024 was definitely one of the more interesting years in gaming as of late. Coming off the heels of 2023, we were all expecting something a bit more tame in terms of AAA gaming and that's exactly what we got. I can't exactly say this was a great year in that department, between the lack of heavy-hitters, the many layoffs and studio shutdowns, and the several high profile flops. But in terms of the kinds of games that I'm into, this year still had a lot to offer. From countless incredible indie games, to some of the strongest remasters and compilations we've seen in a while, to some of Nintendo's most experimental work since the start of the Switch era, to many long-awaited console re-releases, 2024 really did have a lot of gems for those who bothered to dig for them.

2024 Games I Played: Antonblast

Well, here it is, my final game of 2024. I do intend to get to Brothership eventually, but probably not this month, which leaves Antonblast as the last game I was really excited for this year. And after hearing all the glowing praise and being forced to wait about a week for the Switch port to be released, did it live up to my expectations? Well... I hate to say it, but, not entirely.

So let's start with the good stuff because there is a lot of good stuff here. Antonblast immediately hits you in the face with its fantastic presentation. The game is filled with crunchy, fluid spritework that feels like that tried-and-true GBA artstyle on steroids. The main characters Anton and Annie are incredibly expressive, the boss fights are huge, and all the environments just pop. But while Antonblast is primarily inspired by Wario Land, it's also almost just as inspired by Crash Bandicoot and that shows in how the game looks like a love letter to 90s cartoons. I especially love how the main antagonist, Satan, has a voice that sounds almost exactly like Dr Neo Cortex. Speaking of sound, Antonblast's soundtrack is absolutely fantastic. Every track is energetic and catchy, often dripping with that 90s synth. When I heard the theme for Slowroast Sewer and realized how much it sounds like Castlevania's Wandering Ghosts, I knew I was in for something special. However, with the default options, the music is seriously drowned out by the game's many sound effects to I'd recommend adjusting that a bit. Sadly, despite the delays, the Switch port still suffers from a decent amount of slowdown, especially during the intense escape sequences. From what I can tell, the devs are being really vigilant with pushing out patches for both this along with other bits of fan criticism, but I'd be lying if I said I wasn't tired of games not just launching in a decent state.

As I said, Antonblast plays like a fusion between Wario Land and Crash Bandicoot. The movement is more Wario, with weighty momentum-based platforming and your primary move being a dash. But there's also a lot of Crash-esque touches like an abundance of boxes to wreck and a CTR-ass boost system for your dash. In terms of the moment to moment gameplay, I still think Antonblast controls quite well. Both Anton and Annie play almost exactly the same, but they have a solid sense of weight and momentum to them and feel really responsive when moving fast. All the moves flow well together but it's tight enough that I feel like I'm always able to reliably go where I need to. In general, I think Antonblast's control scheme works best when you're moving really fast. When the game makes you do more precise platforming, however, the weighty movement can feel like more of a hindrance, as it's very easy to undershoot platforms. Similarly to Crash Bandicoot itself, bouncing across crates in particular can feel a bit iffy and unreliable which is a shame since collectibles are often hidden behind these kinds of platforming sections. This issue aside though, I do think Antonblast controls really well especially once you hit that flow state.

As for the level design, Antonblast's stages are generally really fun. They all have enjoyable and memorable gimmicks, and scouring them for hidden areas, tokens, and collectibles is really engaging. They lean into the more explorative side of Wario Land compared to a certain other recent indie release of similar inspiration, and not only does that help Antonblast stand out but it's also just a style of level design that I personally prefer. There's some wild concepts here too like a pinball stage, a mall filled with shooting galleires and ball pits, and even a backrooms stage with non-euclidean level design. That being said, I think Antonblast's stages peak around the middle of the game, as that was where most of the examples I listed came from. The last few stages (barring the final final stage) are pretty unmemorable and drag on way too long, though that can be said about the whole game frankly. There's only twelve stages but most of them can go upwards of a half-hour which makes actually replaying them for time trials or getting the collectibles you missed a real commitment (thank goodness for the Restart From Checkpoint option). I'd rather we got like 20 normal-length stages rather than just twelve of these behemoths.

However, while most of my gripes with Antonblast are fairly minor in the grand scheme of things, there is one especially big issue that really dragged down my experience with the game: The bosses. Antonblast's boss fights are certainly impressive in terms of scope and scale, often boasting colorful personalities, multiple phases, and some truly sick visual effects. However, in terms of the actual gameplay, they are pretty rough. Outside of the genuinely great Freako Dragon, most of the fights into Antonblast have one of two issues, or even both. Either they're lengthy waiting games that force you to outlast long attack patterns before you can get a hit in (Smallbuster), or you can get hits in whenever you want but it's such a visual mess that I can barely tell what I'm hitting half the time (Jewel Ghoul). Even when the bigger fights have checkpoints, I found myself repeatedly walled by multiple boss fights. It's a real shame too because I generally really liked the levels, but I found myself always dreading the boss encounters. The final nail in the coffin was the final boss fight against Satan himself which I genuinely don't think I can beat. I can't even get past the first phase, it's both of the aforementioned issues combined and then some. 

It's a shame that my time with Antonblast ended on such a sour note though, because at its best, it is really fun. When you're blasting through the large explorative levels, messing around with Anton's fun movement and taking in the chaotic visuals and bopping music, Antonblast can be one of the best gaming experiences of the year. Most importantly, it's got a lot of heart and soul, and the developer's love for series like Wario Land, Crash Bandicoot, and Sonic is on full display. But when Antonblast drops the ball, it really drops the ball. As I said, it seems the developer is trying to push out updates as a response to player feedback so maybe I'll come back in a few months and see if I can beat it. But as of now, I respect Antonblast a hell of a lot, but I can't quite say I love it yet.

Initial Score: 4/5 Stars

 

Update: Well, the performance patch has been released, and while it's not perfect, it does a lot to fix those really severe dips. I also tried turning off hitstun and that combined with the improved performance does quite a lot to help me keep my bearings. But most importantly, I took the opportunity to give the final boss another try, and while he was certainly very tough, I'm happy to say that I finally beat it. For as much as the first phase gave me grief, the rest of the seven phases were really fun and cinematic so I'm glad I came back to stick it through to the end. Now that the initial friction and frustration seems to be behind me, and I'm now genuinely excited to get back to fully getting all of Antonblast's collectibles, I will admit that I'm looking back at the game a lot more fondly now. In the end, what really stuck with me was the fluid movement, the memorable stages, the wacky visuals, and all those references to games and internet culture. So you know what, I think I'm going to bump my score up a bit.

Current Score: 4.5/5 Stars

Touhou Before EoSD

For as much of a gargantuan fan of the Touhou series as I am, it might come as a surprise that I still have not played any of the PC-98 games. Despite putting a lot of effort into getting the Windows games to run on my Mac, I never even tried to see if I could get a PC-98 emulator working. Though as it turns out, it's not actually that hard if I use Retroarch. So now, I have all five PC-98 Touhou games downloaded and I'm very excited to check them out. Let's see how ZUN grew into his own, and if any of these earlier entries are still worth playing today.

Highly Responsive To Prayers: Highly Responsive To Prayers is ZUN's first game and it was a study project that he only sold alongside its sequel. It's often regarded as the black sheep of the franchise due to being not a bullet hell but an arkanoid game, albeit with bullet hell elements. You play as Reimu and try to knock a yin-yang orb into a bunch of cards to progress to the stage, all the while dodging bullets and not getting squashed by the orb. The act of moving around and hitting the orb is actually really fun, as you get a decent amount of options like a simple gohei whack, tossing cards at it from afar, and a sideways dash move. You can even choose to not hit the ball and let it continue on its trajectory, though it'll eventually lose height and roll into you. There is a genuine amount of depth here which I appreciate seeing in such an early game from ZUN, and the aesthetic is top-notch. While HRtP certainly looks pretty messy and crunchy, I always adored the surrealist backgrounds and atmosphere, only amplified by its stellar soundtrack. However, there is a problem... I don't like arkanoids much.

Aside from Kirby's Block Ball, I have the same issue with arkanoid that everyone else has. When you get down to your last one or two bricks, actually being precise and hitting them feels like total RNG. Despite the added movement options, this issue feels magnified in HRtP since you now have projectiles to dodge while also trying to manage the ball, so the more time wasted, the more likely it is you'll get yourself hit. This issue is at its absolute worst during the boss fights, who often move or teleport around the room while attacking you at a relentless pace, so even getting a hit in feels like a struggle. Bullet hell bosses tend to be fairly easy to hit allowing the player to focus on survival, but that definitely doesn't apply here. I also despise the bombs in this game, not only because they're so easy to accidentally trigger, but because they flashbang you with some aggressive flickering, easily some of the worst I've seen in a game.

Overall, HRtP is a really weird game. For an arkanoid, I do think the gameplay loop is really inventive and the presentation is striking given the limitations. I can acknowledge that for what it is, this is a creative and fun take on the genre, but it's obviously unrefined and very much not my thing.

3/5 Stars

Story Of Eastern Wonderland: Story Of Eastern Wonderland is the first proper shmup of the series, and as you'd expect, it does have a solid amount of obvious limitations compared to its sequels. However, it does establish the groundwork quite well. Movement feels fairly tight, the power system is already here pretty much fully formed, and the simple Z/X control scheme is as easy to pick up as ever. There's now a proper story with dialogue and while it's not anything groundbreaking, the banter between Reimu and Genji is endearing, and Mima is a surprisingly charismatic antagonist. I can see why fans want her back now. The visuals are already a huge step up from the previous game with some pretty sick-looking backgrounds, especially the 3D effects in the Mima fight, and the soundtrack is as great as ever. There's even a proper menu now with all the expected features like a difficulty select, high score board, music room, and extra stage.

However, while SoEW is a huge improvement on a surface level, it has its issues in terms of game design. I won't fault the game for not having a focus button considering it's just the first one, but my real beef is with its pacing. Despite only having five stages, SoEW absolutely draaaaaaaaaags. The stages play out more like traditional shmups with the focus being on taking out repetitive swarms of enemies rather than dodging intersecting bullet patterns, and it's just so dull. The stages go on for what feels like ages with little deviation. As for the bosses, most of them are actually pretty fun... in theory. The problem is they also love to waste your time. The Five Magic Stones are a fun fight, until the last one turns itself invincible for like a minute. Marisa has some neat attacks, but she spends like 80% of the fight hiding behind shields you have to take out to get to her. And Mima's just long, like way too long, she took me like 10 minutes to beat. Of course, if you've played SoEW, you'd know that you actually have to mash the shoot button to take down bosses quickly, but it's not like I knew that because the game never told me!

Story Of Eastern Wonderland is a functionally fine shmup, and it obviously deserves a lot of praise for laying the groundwork for the Touhou series as we know it, but man does it have a lot of rough edges. I may not have loved what HRtP was going for, but at least I can say it did what it was trying to do. I prefer playing SoEW because I'd take a mediocre shmup over a decent arkanoid, but it's definitely the weakest mainline Touhou game.

3/5 Stars

Phantasmagoria Of Dim Dream: Ah, finally, we've gotten to the good stuff. Phantasmagoria Of Dim Dream is the first of the currently three VS Touhou games, all of which are very much inspired by the competitive bullet hell arcade game, Twinkle Star Sprites. Outside of the lack of focusing, Dim Dream actually plays quite a lot like its sequels, introducing the same spell attack system that they would also use. The one big difference, of course, is that Dim Dream is way faster and more aggressive, and I love that about it. The bullets fly so fast and furiously, and elongated battles can often devolve into a frenetic back-and-forth of increasingly powerful boss attacks. Of course, this also makes Dim Dream very difficult, it might even be the hardest game in the series, but it's hard to get too frustrated when I'm having this much fun.

It also helps that Dim Dream makes a huge jump in terms of presentation. The pixel art is a lot crisper and ZUN shows his increased mastery of the PC-98 hardware by taking the cool 3D effect I mentioned in SoEW and putting it right into the character select. Speaking of the characters, I also love Dim Dream's roster, there's not a single character who I think is uninteresting. Mima, Kotohime, Rikako, Chiyari, Yumemi, Kana, Ellen, all awesome Touhous with cool stories, sick designs, and fantastic theme songs. I honestly don't have many gripes here, Dim Dream is just a genuinely good shmup that feels way more polished than the previous two. It's easily the best PC-98 game so far and spoiler alert, one of my favorite PC-98 games in general.

The only question is, is it better than Flower View? Well, I'm honestly a bit split. On one hand, I love how aggressive and fast-paced Dim Dream is compared to its predecessor, along with it being the only VS entry with a mostly original cast. On the other hand, this game can feel pretty cheap and the lack of a focus button makes dodging the denser patterns harder than it could've been. If you had a game with the speed of DD and the player movement of FV, that would be the easy winner, but as for now, I'd say these two are at a solid tie (with 19 at a distant third).

4/5 Stars

Lotus Land Story: Lotus Land Story makes a lot of strides compared to SoEW, adding in so many important Touhou mechanics. You can now focus, thank goodness, and enemies now have a healthbar on the right side of the screen. Spell cards won't be properly introduced until 6, but boss attacks will now be disrupted in a similar manner if you take out enough of their health. I shouldn't have to say that the visuals and music are once again even better than before, and there's even a decent amount of extra content like two extra bosses and slight differences depending on if you play as Marisa or Reimu. Though I'd say the biggest improvement LLS brings to the table is in the stage and boss design. The stages are much faster paced with denser and more varied enemy patterns, and the bosses still have unique mechanics that don't feel like they're wasting your time. I was so scared when Marisa brought back her shield from SoEW only to sigh in relief after realizing you can still hit her through it and it goes down a lot faster.

However, I also think Lotus Land Story still shares a decent amount of quirks with the other PC-98 games so far, some good and some bad. I noticed that these entries seem to give out Extends much more often which is pretty cool, but on the other hand, the bullet patterns still come at you really fast with little time to react and process them. In general, I can definitely see a lot of the quirks that I disliked in EoSD in this game, particularly how random some of the patterns can feel. But the worst thing about Lotus Land Story, and the one element that really stopped me from loving it is the fact that it blocks you from playing Stage 6 if you use a continue. From what I can tell, this is the only game in the series to do this and it really sucks.

However, despite my gripes, Lotus Land Story is still pretty good. It makes some really important additions to the franchise and shows ZUN further refining his craft. That being said, it does kind of suffer from being sandwiched between my two favorite PC-98 games.

3.5/5 Stars

Mystic Square: Mystic Square was the entry I was most excited to play considering how much I love it's soundtrack, and I'm pleased to say it generally lived up to my expectations. While not quite as groundbreaking as SoEW or LSS, Mystic Square is both a great refinement of the Touhou formula and a fitting conclusion for the PC-98 era. I've always praised the game's OST for having a strong sense of finality to it, and playing the game only amplifies that feeling. I've raved about the story before and how it blends a seemingly simple premise with some interesting dramatic ambiguity, and the playable character roster is stellar. In addition to the usual Reimu and Marisa, you can play as the final bosses of the two prior bullet hell games, Yuuka and Mima. Mima is an absolute beast too, with her high speed and power, and her dialogue with the bosses further solidifies her as a really fun character. I love how much gleeful chaos Mima causes in her story, constantly lying just for the hell of it, all with the same trademark confidence.

As for the game itself, I think the most noteworthy change is with the bullet patterns. Touhou's bullet patterns in the Windows games tend to be very slow and dense, and even the faster ones either telegraph themselves or slow down as they approach the bottom of the screen. In contrast, the bullet patterns in SoEW and LLS are usually really fast and keep a consistent speed, but Mystic Square feels like the first entry to actually adopt the more deliberate pacing that the later entries would be known for. This probably makes MS the easiest of the PC-98 games, but it's also the most fair, especially since using a continue doesn't bar you from the final boss. Speaking of which, the boss fights are all really strong, each creating difficulty and complexity by tossing multiple intersecting bullet patterns at you. My only big gripe with MS is of course the infamous Stage 4 which has you fend against blue bullets against a blue background. Thankfully, I got through unscathed but that doesn't make it not bad design and it doesn't mean that certain players won't have serious trouble with it.

But yeah, overall, Mystic Square is great. It's easily the most fair and refined in its design, boasting strong boss fights, an interesting story, a large playable roster, and a truly incredible soundtrack. When my only issue with it is a single bad stage, that says a lot about how it stacks up compared to the other PC-98 games.

4/5 Stars

Overall, the PC-98 games were fun. While I wouldn't really call any of them one of my favorites in the series, I'm pleasantly surprised by how 3/5 of them are still quite fun. Playing these games in order really makes it apparent how ZUN evolved his craft and why the Windows Touhou games are the way they are, and it also helps you realize how much of a step forward Embodiment Of Scarlet Devil was even with all its jank. I'd definitely recommend playing all five of the PC-98 games if you're interested in the history of Touhou as a series, with 3-5 in particular still holding up to this day.

And in case you're wondering how I'd rank them among the rest of the games, here's my current Touhou tier list. Anything C and above is a game I like, so don't get too mad if one of your favorites isn't especially high up:

Smallville (Season 10)

Oh, thank god, it's finally over. Smallville has been an absolute rollercoaster of quality since the very start, going from "let them cook" (Seasons 1-2) to "let's fucking go" (Seasons 3-5A) to "it's so over" (Seasons 5B-7) to "we're so back" (Season 8) to "it's so over again" (Season 9). But I've gone too far to stop now, so will Season 10 manage to stick the landing?

The cool thing about seasons that know they're going to be the final season going in is that they're usually able to pull out all the stops, and Season 10 of Smallville has so much going on, maybe even too much. This season brings in so many DC characters, from the Suicide Squad to Apokalips, and it even promotes the JSA to reoccurring side characters. Even Supergirl is back, and she's pretty great too in her few appearances. Where Season 9 focused too much on a single storyline, I'd argue Season 10 is so overstuffed that not everything is able to be properly developed. However, the stuff that worked this season really worked. Lois learns about Clark's identity early on in one of my favorite moments in the series, and seeing them form a truly loving and healthy relationship just makes my day, it was absolutely adorable. Chloe being sidelined was a bit of a shame, but in exchange, we got Tess becoming the Watchtower for the season and it was great. The storyline in the first half of the season about the vigilante ban was also a fun plot that involved pretty much the entire cast of superheroes, and felt like a strong payoff to all the metahuman discrimination plotlines across the series. Even The Suicide Squad was surprisingly fun too, especially the show's charmingly western take on Deadshot. As a whole, Season 10 had a much lighter and more fun tone. We even got some fun and experimental one-offs like Homecoming and Fortune, and they easily stood out as some of the best episodes in the season, if not the entire series.

That being said, Season 10 did have its underwhelming bits as well. Nothing unforgivably bad, but not quite as good as they could've been. In particular, this season has a villain issue. Season 10 has so many villains that the show struggles to fully develop or utilize it all, leaving it feeling like it doesn't really have a proper one. Darkseid could be argued to be the main threat, but he feels wasted since he's basicaly just a mist that could possess people rather than an actual threat. The implication that he's responsible for all of humanity's worst moments including both the vigilante ban and real life tragedies like the Holocaust also just sucks. One of my least favorite tropes is when a show reveals all of human's failings are because of some mythical threat. Like no, sometimes people just suck, I'm sorry. For as much as I loved the vigilante ban arc, I also thought Slade Wilson was a real waste of the name even if on his own merits, he's a decent threat. And then there's the Luthors. I don't envy the writers for having to find a way to bring Lex back to keep the show in line with Superman mythos, but it means that the result is this convoluted storyline of clones, alternate universes, and the return of a very hammy Lionel that would be enjoyable if it didn't feel so aggressively CW. And yet, despite all of these issues, none of this really frustrated me all that much aside from maybe Darkseid. The concept shuffling of villains did keep Season 10 feeling propulsive and well-paced, with each episode bringing something new to the table. I don't think most of these ideas are inherently bad, just a bit underdeveloped.

Highlights:

Homecoming: This is up there with Reckoning as one of the most beloved episodes, and it works really well as a 200th episode in how it pays respect to the high school era of the series. There's been so much crazy superhero drama that I almost forget how humble the first few seasons were. Clark's "christmas carol"-esque plotline is the best use of Braniac in years and does so much to right his character after the events of Season 9, elevating his relationship with Lois so much. The subplot about Oliver coming out as the Green Arrow is quite compelling too.

Icarus: I've already voiced my praise for the VRA arc and Icarus is probably that storyline at its best, with the whole heroic cast being forced into hiding. Befitting a midseason finale, this episode has quite a lot of strong plot swerves like Clark finally making his proposal, Carter's tragic death, and Slade being banished to the Phantom Zone.

Fortune: Easily the best one-off in the entire series, Fortune is a hilarious riff on The Hangover that manages to squeeze in all-timer comedic moments like Clark running into a wall, Oliver dressing in drag, Emil doing his best Elvis impression, and just the pure joy of seeing the whole cast get sloshed together, Tess included. I criticized Season 9 for feeling fairly lacking in terms of cast, but Fortune really hit home how much Season 10 fixed this. Also, Chloe's farewell was quite well executed too.

Finale: It's very easy to want to be hyperbolic with series finales. Besides, they're one of the most important parts of a show. A perfect ending can elevate a show, and a bad ending can possibly tank it. But sometimes, a series finale is just fine. It does its job. There are things I would change about it, but it still leaves me generally satisfied. Smallville's finale is one of those. I'm not huge about how it treated the Luthors, between Tess's unsatisfying death and Lex losing his memories, and of course, I'm still not huge on Darkseid as a whole. But on the other hand, Clark finally learning to fly, the ending timeskip, and Clark and Lex having one last proper meeting were all great moments. I know some were annoyed we didn't see Clark fully in the suit, but that final shot is still quite iconic in its own right.

Season 10 of Smallville may not be as lovably angsty as Season 3, nor as much of a rollercoaster as Season 5, nor as tightly-written as Season 8, but it was easily the most fun season of Smallville. Even if not all of its ideas were the most developed, there was never a moment when I was bored, apathetic, uninterested, or frustrated. It brings together all the characters, plot points, concepts, iconography of all previous nine seasons into what feels like the ultimate farewell for this behemoth of a show. So yeah, I'd say, against all odds, Smallville really does stick the landing.

4/5 Stars

 

Well, now that the show's over, here's my ranking of the seasons:

1. Season 3
2. Season 10
   
3. Season 5
4. Season 8
5. Season 4
6. Season 2
7. Season 6
   
8. Season 7
9. Season 1
10. Season 9
    

And here's my ranking of Smallville's season finales:

1. Commencement (Season 4)
   
2. Phantom (Season 6)
   
3. Salvation (Season 9)
   
4. Tempest (Season 1)
5. Covenant (Season 3)
6. Exodus (Season 2)
7. Doomsday (Season 8)
8. Finale (Season 10) 
   
9. Vessel (Season 5)
10. Arctic (Season 7)
    

Favorite Non-2024 Games I Discovered This Year

With the year coming to a close, I'm starting to prepare my yearly GOTY post. I just have one game left to play (Antonblast) before I can finalize it, but for now, I thought I might as well post this smaller list I've been working on that compiles some of the primarily retro games that I really liked from this year.

Metal Slug Series

As you could probably tell from the influx of Metal Slug posts I made early this year, I really got into these games. They're just such a fun and addictive approach to action-platformers, less focused on genuinely challenging your abilities and more focused on just giving you a good time with tons of wacky setpieces, gargantuan bosses, inventive weapons and vehicles, and absolutely banger soundtracks. I've already reviewed each of these games and their soundtracks in detail, but just to recap, I grew particularly fond of Metal Slug 3, Metal Slug 5, Metal Slug XX, and especially Metal Slug X, my personal favorite of the series. However, even the weakest Metal Slug games are still really fun, even after Nazca left, it's just that consistently quality of a series.

Garou: Mark Of The Wolves

At this point, I can definitely say that I've played a lot of fighting games, but I don't think I've ever played one that feels as polished and smooth as Garou. It's hard to even articulate how well Garou feels to play, you kinda just have to experience it for yourself. It's just so comfortable, so tight, so responsive. Every move flows into each other, and every single command move and combo can be pulled off consistently and reliably. And the animation, holy crap, the animation in Garou is some of the best and most fluid spritework I've ever seen, without also getting in the way of the actual fighting gameplay. Despite introducing an almost entirely new cast compared to the Fatal Fury games it's based on, each and every character exudes so much personality through just their animations. I feel like I learned more about Garou's cast in a single playthrough than I did with Fatal Fury's cast after playing that entire series. SNK is known for their fighting games, but Garou is their best and most-refined, and it was an absolute joy to discover. It's a testament to quality over quantity.

Twinkle Star Sprites 

Okay, this is the last Neo Geo game. Twinkle Star Sprites is the game that really popularized competitive shmupping, and was the direct inspiration for ZUN's Phantasmagoria games. And while I do really like those games, I think Twinkle Star Sprites still stands up as the best iteration of the concept. The premise is simple, you shoot enemies to make them explode, which takes out any enemy caught inside it. The more enemies you chain together with explosions, the more bullets you can send out at your opponent. But if you time your chains right, you can cancel out your enemy's bullets and send out even more powerful projectiles. This makes Twinkle Star Sprites this tense and frenetic back-and-forth, a compelling action/puzzle hybrid that forces you to constantly be ready to adapt your strategy while also being good at bullet hell games. It's an absolute blast, and the strong 90s magical girl aesthetic and catchy soundtrack (which itself also sounds like it inspired Touhou in some places) make for an overall great arcade package.

Shatterhand

If there's one console that I've gained a much stronger appreciation for this year, it has to be the NES. I always found the console not worth coming back to because of how simple its games were and how abundance its sprite flicker was, but when I decided to really delve into its library and give many of its biggest games an honest chance, I was surprised at how much depth and fun I could wring out of them. I even found myself enjoying games I had previously despised like Zelda II and Castlevania II just by taking the time to play by their rules. However, no NES game has surprised me quite like Shatterhand.

Shatterhand is a tight and tough action-platformer in the same vein of the Mega Man games focused around melee combat, it's actually surprisingly similar to Gravity Circuit which I raved about last year. The real depth comes in a variety of robot companions you can recruit by getting powerups in a certain order, and by keeping them alive, you can fuse with them into a super-powered robot suit that always feels great to use. The level design is also so cool for an NES game, consistently surprising me with neat and interesting level gimmicks, even tossing in a surprise antigravity segment in one stage, and the bosses are fast, dynamic, and always fun to fight. The spritework is stunning for the NES employing some beautiful parallax scrolling effects all without any slowdown, and the soundtrack by Shadow Of The Ninja's Iku Mizutani is an absolute banger. Shatterhand was such a pleasant surprise and I'm glad I gave it a shot, it not only stands up as one of the best games on the NES, but I'd even argue it manages to hold up to modern standards impressively well.

 GG Aleste 3

For their 2020 compilation of the 8-bit Aleste games, the madlads at M2 brought together a dream team of shmup developers to make a third Aleste for Game Gear, and I think it might be the best game in the entire franchise. The folks at M2 just get shmups and they get what makes Compile's shmups so great: Huge screen-clearing weapons, blistering levels of speed, and bombastic setpieces. GG Aleste 3 keeps things faithful to its predecessors while also fleshing out the formula a bit with a neat combo system, and some truly jaw-dropping visuals that push the Game Gear's hardware to incredible degrees, with a 360-degree rotating rocket in Stage 5 being the notable highlight. The difficulty curve is pretty much perfect, every boss and stage is an absolute blast, GG Aleste 3 is such a remarkably solid game. It's also worth noting that the director of GG Aleste 3 was the absolute legend himself, Manabu Namiki, in his first role directing a game, and he knocked it out of the park. Of course, he also made the soundtrack and it's as great as you'd expect. Even on its own merits, GG Aleste 3 is an incredibly tight and well-made shmup, but the fact that M2 made an actual Game Gear game that feels like it could've easily been made in the early 1990s, and that they made a sequel to a game from 30 years ago that surpasses it on pretty much every level, is just so incredibly cool.

Cotton Series

After wanting to check it out for the longest time, I finally went ahead and checked out the entirety of the Cotton series, and it was overall a great experience. I was expecting simple but cute cute-em-ups, but what I got was an ever-expanding amount of unique mechanics that kept getting further and further refined with each new installment. From XP systems, to fairy companions, to spell combinations, to the ability to pick up and toss enemies in Cotton 2, to straight-up command moves. In terms of gameplay, it felt like each game was better than last. I was also pleasantly surprised by the story and characters. Cotton is kind of a aggressively selfish little gremlin of a protagonist, with her only motivation being food, which makes for a super refreshing lead akin to Mint from Threads Of Fate. The other cast members like Silk and Appli are fun and goofy in their own rights, and as of the recent games, Cotton and Umihara Kawase became sister series meaning they now cross over constantly. The visuals are often cute and colorful, but also genuinely impressive at times. Cotton 100% has some of the brightest colors on the SNES, Panorama Cotton is a sprite-scaling technical marvel, and Rainbow Cotton has fully-animated cutscenes and an adorable low-poly model of Cotton. On top of that, the soundtracks are often fantastic, with the rocking redbook audio score of Fantastic Night Dreams on the PC Engine being a particular highlight.

As far as the games themselves, here's my take on all of them:
Despite some difficulty and control quirks, Fantastic Night Dreams is a strong start to the series with solid level design, a breakneck pace, a fun spooky atmosphere, and that aforementioned incredible soundtrack.
Cotton 100% is a lot easier and safer, but it refines the controls, looks amazing, and has probably my favorite final act of any Cotton game.
Panorama Cotton is my favorite game in the series, an absolute whirlwind of stunning visual effects, surreal imagery, and consistently memorable setpieces. Despite being a 3D on-rails game for the Genesis, it still plays quite well while further iterating on the Cotton formula with a better spell system, alternate paths, a focus on high-scoring, and a hidden Silk campaign.
Cotton 2 is a close second favorite. The new mechanics it introduces are so fun to use, particularly the addicting chain system and tossing enemies into each other, and some of the unlockables and rewards you can unlock like tying command moves to buttons are ridiculously overpowered in all the best ways. The pacing is tight, the new characters introduced are great, and the spookier vibes of the first game are back in full force making for the most atmospheric Cotton game hands down.
Cotton Boomerang is mostly a redone version of Cotton 2 with the same environments, music, and bosses, but different enemy patterns and drastically different gameplay. Having eight characters to play as and command moves tied to buttons by default is nice, but the brutally punishing one-hit death system compared to Cotton 2's healthbars and multiple lives made me dramatically prefer its predecessor.
Rainbow Cotton is a game that should've turned out fantastic. It's a sequel to Panorama Cotton which takes cues from games like Panzer Dragoon, and its level design does have a fair amount of neat setpieces and environmental interaction. The visuals are also so ridiculously charming, the anime cutscenes are a joy to watch (Cotton canonically swears and it's glorious), and the soundtrack is one of the series' best. It's just a shame that Rainbow controls so poorly and so sluggishly, with the game having drawn-out pacing, loose controls, an inaccurate reticle, and worst of all, aggressive auto-centering. Rainbow Cotton isn't bad, but it is a big waste of a lot of potential. We did thankfully get a remake and from what I can tell, it does play a bit better, but it doesn't fix the game's fundamental issues.
And finally, there's Cotton Fantasy, a recent revival of the series with a lot more bombast in terms of its setpieces and bullet patterns. While lacking a bit in polish and it can be a tad visually busy at times, it still has all the tight controls, addictive combo systems, and sheer charm of the rest of the Cotton games. The best part though is the multiple crossover characters which all have their own unique playstyles based around the games they're from, including Appli from Cotton 2, Psyvariar, and of course, none other than Umihara Kawase herself. Also, Fantasy's soundtrack is incredible, easily my second favorite behind FND. It even contains some music by One Step From Eden's composer, Steel_Plus.

Bulk Slash

Bulk Slash is easily one of the best 3D action games on the Sega Saturn. It initially only released in Japan, but it eventually got a full-on English translation complete with a really solid fandub as well, and I'm glad it did because it's great. Bulk Slash is a mecha game not to dissimilar from something like Virtual On. The controls are pretty tight and easy to get to grips with, but the coolest part is the fact that your mech can shift between a land-based robot and an aircraft at any time, which gives you so much range in movement and variety in how you can tackle missions. Speaking of which, the mission design was easily the star of the show here. The first two missions are pretty standard mecha game stages where you shoot your way through an open city finding targets, but eventually, you discover stages with less ground to stand on requiring you to use the aircraft form, along with tighter dungeons requiring your land-based form. Even the missions start to get more diverse, like protecting a ship, ferrying bombs to use on the enemy, and descending further and further into a base. But despite the variety, not a single mission was un-fun or gimmicky, Bulk Slash remains fresh and fun throughout. Of course, I also can't go without mentioning the MISS navigators. There are seven female navigators who you can discover throughout the game, all of whom accompany you, direct you to the right place, and berate you if you screw up. These navigators are all quite likable and have really colorful and quirky personalities, and you get a unique ending for each depending on you beat the game with, which gives the game a good amount of replay value. Bulk Slash also looks pretty great, runs amazingly for the hardware, has some super fun boss fights, and a killer soundtrack, it's really the complete 5th gen action game package.

Muramasa: The Demon Blade

I'm not super familiar with Vanillaware, but I decided to check out Muramasa: The Demon Blade since I was searching for some more hidden Wii gems. And what a gem this is! Muramasa is a 2D action metroidvania not too dissimilar from Dust: An Elysian Tail, another great game. It's basically a side-scrolling hack-and-slash with incredibly fast and flashy combat and a ton of combos. Since this is a Wii game, the controls are pretty simple with attacking only being on a single button, but Vanillaware still managed to wring out a ton of moves from such a simple control scheme, and a ridiculous amount of swords to craft each with their own unique skills keep the combat fresh. Muramasa is also a jaw-droppingly beautiful game with some of the prettiest hand-drawn artwork I've seen in any game to this day, and coupled with a gorgeous orchestral soundtrack, makes for an audiovisual feast that needs to be played to be experienced.

Len'en Series

As I indicated earlier this year, I started to finally get into the Len'en games. Like with Touhou, I started by listening to the music, then I looked into some of the characters, and then I finally went ahead and tried the four main games, and they're fun! It's definitely of a different flavor compared to Touhou. The bullet patterns are less flashy and dense, and more efficient and inventive. It's more generous than Touhou between a Light Mode that lets players follow the story even if they're bad at bullet hells, a difficulty select for the Extra Stage, and a pretty helpful flashbomb system. I also wouldn't call any of the four games bad. There is the occasionally questionable bullet pattern, but each Len'en improves on the last in terms of polish and creativity, culminating in the fourth game being one of the most ambitious and wild bullet hells I've ever seen, going for a complex roguelike system with permanent upgrades, random bosses, and multiple routes. The lore is pretty interesting too, it's a slightly darker and more morally gray take on Touhou's premise with some solid comedic writing. And the music is, of course, very good. It starts a bit slow, but by the third game, Len'en's music has its own unique flair. 

That being said, seeing as I had to do some wacky finagling to even get these games running on my Mac, they weren't exactly the most stable when I played them. I had crashes, music cutting out, text getting all weird. The fourth game, as inventive and admirable as it is, was almost impenetrable for me. However, I can say that the game I actually fully beat and easily had the most enjoyment with was Reactivate Majestical Imperial. RMI is an incredibly refined bullet hell that I'd even hold up alongside some of the better Touhou games. It has some fun and mostly fair patterns, a fun team system to play around with, a strong winter theming that the game really runs with, my favorite cast roster and soundtrack of the four games, and a pretty stunning final act with a fifth boss that feels like a final boss and a final boss that feels like an extra boss.

Mother

As I mentioned before, I started to really come to appreciate a lot of the NES's library this year, but the game I certainly didn't expect to fall in love with as much as I did had to be Mother. I already did a full deep dive into this one, so I'll keep it simple. Despite the many complaints Mother receives over its archaic elements, I was impressed by how ahead of its time it really was. The combat has so much options to play around with and really break the game with, there's a massive open world to explore and run around in, the pacing is brisk as you're constantly tossed into new environments and situations, the story is elegantly subtle in its delivery but still managed to leave me absolutely crushed by the end, the Peanuts-inspired visuals are charming, the atmosphere is impeccable, and the soundtrack is phenomenal. It's a truly ambitious and wonderful work of art that deserves so much more appreciation for what it managed to accomplish on its system.

Metal Slader Glory

Speaking of ambitious NES titles, Metal Slader Glory easily ranks up there with Mother. The development behind MSG is almost as interesting as the game itself, a four-year undertaking by Yoshimiru Hoshi and supported by Iwata himself so large and time-consuming that it nearly killed HAL. The game became a huge cult classic, but it could never make back its massive costs and audiences at the time didn't really click with it, so with hindsight, Iwata had since called it a managerial mistake. But from an artistic standpoint, I'm so glad Metal Slader Glory exists because it's one of the most impressive and awe-inspiring passion projects the NES has to offer.

At its core, Metal Slader Glory is a visual novel about a bunch of kids finding a mech and traveling around the galaxy to learn more about it and its origins, only to find themselves wrapped up in an intergalactic war in which they're completely out of their depth. However, it's all elevated by the execution. The graphics are easily some of the best on the NES, with impressive stills with dynamic coloring and shading, and facial expressions that sync with the line deliveries in real-time. The entire 4-5 hour visual novel is basically full animated and it remains jaw-dropping the whole way through, only complimented by some stellar sound design. The story itself boasts some fairly likable main protagonists with solid banter, even if there's a few iffy harem tropes smattered around, and the main mystery remains engaging, especially after a really effective tonal shift halfway through. At the time, this tonal shift and the subsequent gameplay genre shifts were the most divisive aspect of Metal Slader Glory, but those ambitious swerves are part of what makes the game feel so ahead of its time nowadays. The fact that Hoshi, Iwata, and the team at HAL managed to craft a visual novel that was on par with the PC-98 VNs of the time in terms of art direction and scope on the Famicom is absolutely wild, and if you're at all interested in this niche, Metal Slader Glory deserves to be experienced.

Galaxy Fraulein Yuna 1/2

Speaking of NEC's VNs, though, I do want to briefly shout out the Galaxy Fraulein Yuna duology which were also very pleasantly enjoyable. The gorgeous art and charming writing really made it feel like I was playing through a 90s magical girl show like Sailor Moon. Yuna is a lovably silly protagonist and the variety of goofy scenarios she gets herself in across both games were really fun to follow, and given that these games pretty much marked the end of the PC Engine's lifespan, it was also fun to see all the little references to Hudson Soft's past. Just a really comfy and endearing duo of visual novels that I had a fun time playing through.

Cave Noire

I love the Game Boy as a console, but it had a pretty rough first few years as developers were still really trying to grasp what it made for a good handheld title. I'd argue that the console really found its footing in 1992 with games like Kirby's Dream Land, Super Mario Land 2, and Kaero No Tame Ni Kane Wa Naru, but little did I know that early in 1991, Konami made a perfect handheld title and released it only in Japan.

Cave Noire is a roguelike that feels perfectly suited for the Game Boy in pretty much every way. It's digestible and deceptively simple, stripping the genre to its barest essentials while still cramming in a ton of depth. The moment-to-moment tile-hopping gameplay is easy to understand, but as you delve further into the dungeon, you'll start having to consider enemy movement, item management, picking your fights, and skipping floors. The condensed nature of each room and the simplified controls means that every decision you make matters, and trying to make the most of the limited options you have is surprisingly enthralling. The brilliance of Cave Noire is that the game is divided up into 40 brisk missions that task you to hop into a dungeon to complete increasingly harder objectives, and with each run taking about 5-10 minutes, it makes for a perfect game to play in short bursts on the go. And as someone who finds the sheer time investment of many roguelikes nowadays to be discouraging, this also made Cave Noire way more appealing for me personally. The fact that I can just hop in and get a full, satisfying roguelike experience in a few minutes is something that many entries in the genre don't offer aside from maybe Downwell, another roguelike fav by the way. Add in some incredibly charming spritework and one of the better-sounding early Game Boy soundtracks, and you get one of the best hidden gems on the console, and one of my new favorite roguelikes. 

Battle Mania Daiginjou

 Battle Mania Daiginjou for the Genesis is one of the strangest shmups I've ever played. You don't pilot a ship or anything like that, instead of play as two girls with jetpacks flying through a futuristic city with rock music blaring in the background. In the grand scheme of things, this is just a really solid shmup with tight controls and a cool 90s anime presentation, on a console filled with solid shmups, but it really is all that set dressing that elevated it for me. The sheer variety in Daiginjou is just nuts. The first stage has you fight a doppleganger of yourself, Stage 4 is a lengthy vertical descent with shifting walls and giant sawblades to dodge, Stage 5 has you chase after a train on a motorcycle before infiltrating it in Stage 6, and then there's the final stage, an intense timed escape sequence with multiple boss encounters and absolutely nuts music. Battle Mania Daiginjou may not have the same level of polish as a Treasure game, but it sure as hell has the same creativity, charm, and sense of chaos as them, making for a shmup unlike anything else I've played.

Wagyan Paradise

One series I checked out this year were the Wagyan Land games, and they were... not the best. As much as I like to claim that no game is too easy, the sheer simplicity of the earlier entries felt too basic even for me, and combined with the overlong and tedious boss minigames that were borderline impenetrable as someone who doesn't know Japanese, I bounced off most of them pretty quickly.

However, one of the last entries in the series, the SNES's Wagyan Paradise probably ranks among one of the wildest gaming glowups I've ever seen. Despite following a similar structure to its predecessors, the level design in Wagyan Paradise is consistently varied and engaging, with no two stages playing exactly the same. Even the aforementioned minigames were really fun here as there was a much larger variety of them, they went by a lot faster, and some of them didn't even require me to know Japanese. The pacing has been smoothed out so much, and the entire adventure was an absolute joy. But the real highlight of Wagyan Paradise is the overall presentation. Paradise shared several staff  members with the Klonoa series, and you can really tell colorful visuals and adorable character designs. But most of all, it was even primarily composed by Klonoa's Eriko Imura, who managed to put out an OST so good it genuinely manages to rival Chrono Trigger and Donkey Kong Country 2 as one of my favorites on the console. Seriously, the samples she picked out sound stunningly crisp, and the whole score has this upbeat techno sound that feels like it could come straight out of a Wii game. I'm just going to leave a few tracks here because if there's anything you take from this entire post, it's to check out the Wagyan Paradise OST. I promise you won't regret it.
Continental Shelf, Cape, Forest, Water Duct, Roller Coaster, Sunken Ship, To The Stronghold

Super Nazo Puyo: Rulue No Roux

As a fan of arcade puzzle games like Puyo Puyo and Panel De Pon, I've always had a soft-spot for the dedicated Puzzle Game modes that focus on solving a single-screen in a few moves. Little did I know that there's an entire Puyo Puyo subseries called Nazo Puyo focused exclusively on solving puzzles. I immediately needed to check out the one game in the series that got translated, Super Nazo Puyo, and as you can expect, I was very pleasantly surprised. Super Nazo Puyo is a fun and unique take on the Puyo formula, with its tough puzzles really pushing you to master the nuances of how Puyos work. With two fleshed-out campaigns, one of which letting you play as Rulue, along with a variety of other modes like a classic Endless Mode and a puzzle editor, the game also has quite a lot of content. And the soundtrack is shockingly good, especially the boss themes. No one seems to know about this one, so I think I can easily call it one of if not the most overlooked Puyo Puyo game out there.

Lufia II: Rise Of The Sinistrals

On a console with so many samey medieval RPGs, Lufia II initially doesn't exactly stand out from the crowd. However, the more I played it, the more I was surprised by just how mechanically ambitious it is. On the surface, it's a fairly cozy RPG with a fast and snappy combat system, and a simple but charming story with uniquely naturalistic dialogue and some surprisingly effective emotional beats by the ending. It really reminds me of Game Arts' RPGs like Lunar and Grandia, though not quite as character driven. But beyond that, Lufia II adds in so many cool and forward-thinking mechanics. Each equipment having unique perks encouraging players to not always pick the most powerful equipment, the addition of overworld abilities and the most fleshed-out dungeon puzzles in an RPG until Golden Sun, a light monster collecting mechanic in the capsule monsters, and a hidden 99-floor dungeon called the Ancient Cave that basically plays out like an early roguelike. There's really a lot to love in Lufia II, and when you add in one of the best RPG soundtracks on the console, you get a truly complete package that easily ranks as one of my favorite non-Square RPGs on the SNES.