Star Fox Retrospective: Part 1

I don't talk much about Star Fox but I assure you, I really like this series. With lovable characters and tight rail-shooting gameplay, Star Fox at its best can be some of the most pure and replayable arcade fun that gaming has to offer. However, it's also a series that I have a lot of Thoughts on since I can't exactly say that it's ever reached its fullest potential. Pretty much every Star Fox game has at least one moment of pure brilliance, maybe even several, but they also all have something that prevents them from being as good as they could've been. So I'm going to look over most of the series (excluding Zero since I don't own it) and see what makes Star Fox so great, and also why I'm still so desperate for another game.

Star Fox: Star Fox for the SNES was the first game in the series I've ever played, and for a while, I confidently called it my favorite. Nowadays, it's firmly in my Top 3. As I said, to this day, we've never really gotten a "perfect" Star Fox game, each and every entry has at least one major gripe that rubs me the wrong way. Star Fox for SNES comes the closest to my ideal Star Fox experience, but it feels almost too ahead of its time.

Star Fox was designed to be the headlining showcase for the SNES's SuperFX chip, demonstrating its ability to generate 3D visuals. Of course, this comes at a cost. It can only generate fairly basic polygons, and even then, it's likely to run into some serious framerate issues. There have been several other full 3D SuperFX games like Stunt Race FX, Vortex, and Winter Gold, but I think the original Star Fox stood the test of time the best because it feels purposefully designed around the chip. Star Fox keeps things incredibly focused and streamlined, it's a simple on-rails shooter with no deviation, it only ever shows you a straight line's worth of each location and leaves you to fill in the blanks. Star Fox as a franchise is pretty infamous for its wild gameplay shifts, so its first entry focusing pretty much entirely on what the series is best at, the rail shooting, helps it really stand out for me. There are no cases of "ugh, that level" in Star Fox SNES like there are in pretty much every later entry, it's all consistently fun arcade shmupping from start to finish. Of course, there are still framerate issues, and they are my one big issue with Star Fox SNES, but it's not deal-breakingly bad because of the simplicity of the gameplay.

And as far as the core game design goes, Star Fox SNES is pretty much a perfect on-rails shooter. The Arwing controls incredibly smoothly and surprisingly responsively given the limitations of the hardware. Right from the start, you can already break and boost, tilt your wing to pull off turns more tightly, and use bombs. Gun upgrades, helping your allies, enemy percentages, there's a lot of mechanical depth in just this first entry and it all fits into the gameplay loop quite well. The level design also manages to get a lot out of these simplistic polygons, spanning a wide range of environments from tighter-packed levels on the surface of various planets to wider and more open stages set in the vacuum of space. A highlight for me is easily the Space Armada as you get to pilot your Arwing into the enemy fleet and blast away the engine in these dodging-focused tunnel sequences. Even the boss fights are great, there's an impressive sixteen different encounters and they all have unique tactics, multiple phases, and exude a surprising amount of personality through their various simplistic animations. 

On top of all that, this is an incredibly replayable game. There are already three difficulty routes to take, each with a bunch of different levels, unique boss fight, and other surprises. But even within the levels, there's a ton of micro-secrets to find on repeat playthroughs. Engaging with pretty much everything in a stage is likely to net you a ton of powerups, and most infamously, the Asteroid stage has two separate secret stages hidden away within it. Star Fox manages to wring so much out of so little, and that's especially applicable to its presentation. It can be very easy to argue that this game looks poorly-aged, what with its textureless polygonal look, but there's also such a charm to it all. I love how cinematic Nintendo tried to make the game, with several automated boss transition cutscenes and a booming Star Wars inspired score by Hajime Hirasawa. It's not my favorite soundtrack to a Star Fox game, but it's certainly close.

Star Fox is a great game. Not even great for its time, but a genuinely impeccably well-designed rail shooter. It has tight controls, brisk pacing, consistently fun level and boss design, tons of replayability, and an impressive presentation that punches far above its weight. With smoother visuals and a clean framerate, I think Star Fox could easily pass for a modern game, the fundamental design at play is that well done. It's a real shame that we never got another entry with the same kind of arcade-y focus but without the hardware limitations, no future Star Fox game would be pure rail-shooting again.

4.5/5 Stars

Star Fox 2: Star Fox 2 is obviously a very historically significant game with a lot of baggage to it, with how it was unreleased and left on the shelf until Nintendo decided to finally re-release it back in 2017. But despite that being a story I'd probably have loved, I don't think I ever really thought of Star Fox 2 as anything other than a cool historical novelty. I did try playing it a few times, but I either got overwhelmed with the real-time strategy elements, annoyed that the rail-shooting was completely replaced with all-range sections, or I stuck my nose up at the crummy framerate because there's no way a game this ambitious on SNES hardware could be that fun, right? 

...Right?

Once again, I'm reminded just how much more enjoyable games can be when you actually play them in good faith because when I did take the time to sit down with Star Fox 2, learn up on its unique mechanics and rules, and gave it a proper chance, I found a deceptively addictive experience. It may not be one of my favorite games in the series but it scratches an itch that none of the other games are really able to.

Star Fox 2 has a very different structure from its predecessor. When the game starts, you are thrown onto a map screen and learn that Andross has taken over a few planets and is launching an assault on Corneria. You have to guide Team Star Fox along the map to intercept missiles, take down Andross's fleet, and free the planets he's taken over before taking the fight to him. Time moves as you travel and fight too, so you need to effectively juggle all of these different threats and prioritize which ones are more important at any give time. This system absolutely overwhelmed me at first, it really felt like I was on the losing foot and the more dour score only enhanced that feeling. But as I played more of the game, I grew to love the more desperate atmosphere Star Fox 2 has, and I grew to find the time management elements really engaging. It's tough at first, but once you get a sense of roughly how long specific tasks will take, it becomes really fun to intuit the best possible route to take out all the threats with minimal stress. And being encouraged to complete tasks as quickly as possible does a good job at making me want to get better at the dogfighting, which I can't really say about other Star Fox games. That being said, each run of SF2 still has a solid amount of randomness to keep you on your toes. There's six planets that Andross that can take over, multiple bosses he can send at you, and you can even choose to play as one of the six members of Star Fox (including the newly introduced Faye and Miyu who sadly never reappeared since) which makes for a really replayable game.

The moment-to-moment gameplay has also dramatically changed from a linear, directed rail shooter to open air all-range dogfighting. I've always preferred rail shooting personally, dogfighting can get kind of annoying if there's an enemy that keeps darting out of range and Star Fox 2 lacking the homing charge shot that the later games have doesn't help matters. However, what keeps Star Fox 2 fun is that most of the dogfights in this game can go by really fast, you'll rarely ever have to take down more than five enemies at a time so they never drag out or overstay their welcome. But where this game really shines is when you land on a planet or enter a battle carrier, at which point you're given the ability to transform your Arwing into a Walker mech. Both modes have their own benefits, the Arwing is fast but turns slow, the Walker is slower but has auto-aim and can turn on a dime, but they both control really smoothly and switching back and forth is really fun. The more enclosed stages are able to squeeze in some Star Fox 1-esque obstacle courses for the Arwing to handle, while the Walker bits are able to add in a bunch of platforming and light exploration. It is worth mentioning that the framerate in Star Fox 2 isn't the greatest, it might even be worse than in the first game at points, but it wasn't as bad as I was fearing. Despite the more complex gameplay and open level design, there was never a point where Star Fox 2 felt completely unmanageable.

Similarly to the routes in the first game, Star Fox 2 has three levels of difficulty. The Normal difficulty is a great practice mode as Andross only takes over two planets, it's a great option for getting to grips with all the mechanics or if you want a more bite-sized Star Fox 2 experience. However, if you only play Normal, you're probably going to be left wanting more since it's fairly lacking in boss fights and most of the level design is simplified. Hard Mode is where Star Fox 2 really comes alive for me. Andross takes over more planets, the base design itself is more involved, there are a lot more bosses and variation in the kinds of setpieces you'll have to deal with, the time management is more challenging, and it feels a lot more satisfying to complete while still being replayable. Normal Mode was what quelled my fears about Star Fox 2 and showed me how fun it could be, but Hard Mode is when I really got hooked. Upon beating Hard Mode, you'll also unlock an Expert Mode where Andross takes over every planet and launches pretty much everything but the kitchen sink at you, allowing you to experience everything Star Fox 2 has to offer in one-go. I've never attempted it though, it's too intimidating. Beyond the difficulties and all the random events, Star Fox 2 also has a bunch of collectible medals, a ranking system, and some unlockable upgrades like permanent twin lasers and (hallelujah!) a charging homing shot, though you'll have to work for them. Despite being released decades later, Star Fox 2 is a truly feature-filled package that I was tempted to sink hours upon hours into.

As I said, Star Fox 2 isn't my ideal Star Fox game. I will always prefer a more arcade-y, streamlined, real shooter experience. But giving Star Fox 2 a proper chance really showed me that this series can be more than just an arcade-y rail shooter. While at times a bit too ambitious for its own hardware, Star Fox 2 is a mechanically rich and highly replayable RTS/dogfight hybrid that feels satisfying to learn and improve at.  I'd make the argument that SF2 is just as tightly-designed, briskly-paced, and immensely addictive than its predecessor, just in different ways. 

4/5 Stars

Star Fox 64: Star Fox 64 is the most beloved Star Fox game and is pretty unanimously regarded as the best in the series, so it might come as a surprise to learn that I don't hold it up as the best Star Fox game. It's definitely in my Top 3 alongside the original and a certain other game we have yet to talk about, but it's not my favorite. The thing with SF64 is that it actually took me a while to really love this game, my first few playthroughs of it were honestly really rough. So let's talk about why that was and what made me warm up on the game over time.

Star Fox 64 improves on its predecessors in two notable ways: Game feel and story. The Arwing controls aren't too dissimilar from how they were on the SNES, but the improved hardware of the Nintendo 64 and far smoother framerate means Star Fox 64 feels so much tighter and more fluid to play. For a lot of people, this single improvement is enough to make 64 the better game and I totally get it, it's hard to go back to the jittery framerate of the SuperFX chip after playing a game like 64 or Assault. Star Fox 64 also formally introduces all-range mode and it feels a lot better too here than it does in Star Fox 2. You're given more maneuvers to make tracking enemies easier, along with having the homing charge shot being made a part of your default kit. The clearer visuals and the fact that no all-range battles take place exclusively in space means it's also easier to figure out where you are in relation to everything else. On pretty much every level, Star Fox 64 simply feels better to play than the SNES games.

As for the story, Star Fox 64 mostly retells the first game but fleshes out pretty much everything. The introduction of the backstory involving Pigma's betrayal of Peppy and Fox's dad gives the whole game more personal stakes, making the Star Fox team's existence inherently more meaningful. Star Wolf is formally introduced as proper rivals, the effect of Andross' terror is shown in more detail, and most of all, the members of Fox's team have more of distinct personalities. Peppy is now more of a mentor figure because he has that connection to Fox's father, Falco is still a jerk and a hotshot but he also gets moments of friendly banter with Fox to prevent him from feeling too unsympathetic, and while Slippy is made a bit more childish here, I still find him really charming and I like that he was made into the tech guy of the team. 64 does a great job to endear the player to the rest of Team Star Fox and it makes you want to keep them alive throughout each run. I can't really talk about 64's story without mentioning the cheesy voice acting though, but honestly that just adds to the charm. I adore the goofy tone that the dialogue has and it makes Star Fox 64 one of the most quotable games ever made, but I also think the writing is genuinely effective at selling the game's stakes.

Beyond just basic improvements, Star Fox 64 is also noteworthy for its increase in variety compared to the previous games this time. As I mentioned, there's now a mix of rail-shooting and all-range battles. The majority of 64 still leans towards the rail-shooting, but you'll still have to do some all-range segments in any given run. The stages themselves also offer more variety, from the stealth focused Zoness, to dealing with your health draining in Solar, to the alternate vehicles like the Landmaster. I actually love the Landmaster, by the way, it's so versatile and Titania and Macbeth are just really fun stages. The boss fights are also pretty fantastic, offering super dynamic attack patterns, multiple phases, and memorable designs. Picking a favorite between Spyborg, Golemech, and the Gorgon is hard enough. Beyond just the stages themselves, the way progression works is drastically changed from the previous two games. Instead of just picking a difficulty and committing to it, many stages have branching paths that allow you to essentially hop between difficulties depending on how you do. This is a neat system because it gives Star Fox 64 more replay value as you constantly discover new routes and secrets, but I also appreciate how generous it is. If you unlock a harder alternate path, you can still choose to take the easier route if you want to so it never feel like I'm forced into doing the harder route. And if you fail an objective, you can always choose to retry the mission at the cost of a life which I think is a fair compromise.

However, with variety comes inconsistency, and this is where Star Fox 64 ended up being a bit of a grower. The decision to give every single planet its own unique gimmick or mechanic means that not every planet is going to vibe with every player. Aquas is the most notable instance of this, being a sluggish and generally unfun water level that just so happens to be the only way to play one of the game's best stages, Zoness. But there's also the several timed all-range missions like Fichina and Sector Z, and I've even seen some hate go towards the Landmaster stages. For me, though, the thing that always gave me a tough time was the Star Wolf fights. As I said in Star Fox 2, I always had a harder time with all-range combat and it meant fighting Star Wolf would also be a brutal difficulty spike for me. For a while, I just straight-up didn't want to play Star Fox 64 because I didn't want to fight Star Wolf. Thankfully, I've gotten much better at that but I still don't find those fights especially enjoyable. And that's ultimately the issue I've always had with SF64, it has some of the highest highs in the series, but it also has some pretty frustrating lows.

The other thing that I'm a bit split on with Star Fox 64 is the visuals. Being an early Nintendo 64 game, it's only natural that SF64 is going to look a bit sparse in places and that's totally fine. I'd say most of the planets like Corneria and Solar look pretty good, and the dark shading can often heighten the game's atmosphere, particularly in some of the more solemn levels like Zoness or Sector Z. The credits scene of Star Fox running off with the sunset behind them looks pretty damn memorable too. However, Star Fox 64 can also feel too dark and muddy at times, with the most notable instance of this being in Aquas where it's just straight-up too dark to see. The 3DS port does improve on this, with much brighter visuals and bolder coloring helping the game pop a lot more, but it comes at the cost of redone voice acting so it feels like more of a side-step overall. On the other hand, though, I actually really like Star Fox 64's soundtrack. I know many find it to be a step-down from the first game's more high-octane music, but the more dynamic, moody, and tense feel of 64's score really elevates the game's atmosphere for me.

So overall, Star Fox 64 is a game that I would probably rank right next to Star Fox for SNES. Whether or not I like it more or less depends on the day, though. Star Fox 64 isn't quite as consistent as its predecessor, but the more memorable setpieces, smoother controls, far superior story, more replayable sense of progression, great atmosphere, and outstanding boss encounters still make for a top-tier rail-shooter that stands out as one of the Nintendo 64's better early games.

4.5/5 Stars

Nintendo Switch Retrospective

With the upcoming Switch 2 presentation, I've noticed a lot of people starting to get a bit reflective about their time with the original Nintendo Switch, and yeah, I get it. This wasn't my first Nintendo console, but it's definitely the one I've been the most invested in, and the fact that it's been around for a whopping eight years is truly impressive. So I wanted to look back on the Nintendo Switch, all eight years of it, and my relationship with it. The highs, the lows, and how I ultimately feel about the Switch going into the new console.

Ranking Kirby Planet Robobot Bosses

Continuing on from my previous post, I replayed Planet Robobot recently and it's a game that I continue to appreciate more with every playthrough, to the point where I'd easily rank it alongside its predecessor now. While Triple Deluxe still wins out in terms of the boss roster, level of challenge, emotional heft, overall atmosphere, soundtrack, and of course the finale, I think Robobot is a much tighter experience with more intricate level design, satisfying combat, cooler side modes, developed theming, a more thought-provoking story, and a lot of the more blatant flaws of TD ironed out like the boss pitfalls, slow pacing, and endgame boss rush. That being said, I'm still gonna flip out if that rumored Robobot remake turns out to be real and HAL decides to skip over Triple Deluxe for whatever reason.

Robobot's boss roster is overall another solid lineup, though I'm not huge on how many of them are reused from prior games. They don't spend as much time in the background compared to TD which is great, but the fact that they lack i-frames means you can absolutely shred through their healthbars with the right abilities which is both incredibly fun and kinda pathetic. So, here's my ranking of Robobot's bosses:

13. COGS
COGS just kinda exists. He's a decent boss for what he is, capping off the Jet Robobot sections and offering up a solid array of attacks, but he's vastly overshadowed by Core Kabula and I can't say that's not deserved. COGS is literally just a wall of cannons, it doesn't really have a face or any visible signs of personality which leaves it feeling really boring for a Kirby boss. Not to mention, it has multiple notable safespots making it pretty trivial to beat without moving around all that much.

12. Gigavolt
It's a real shame that we didn't end up getting more bosses that you fought in your base Robobot form because I think there's a lot of potential in the combat there. For what he is, Gigavolt is a solid enough fight. His design is cool and his hulking scale makes a solid impression, but his slow attacks and limited attack window makes for a pretty basic fight. The Gigavolt II that you fight in the final level is a bit more interesting since his attacks are trickier to avoid and you get a choice between most of the Robobot's copy abilities prior, but you can still tell he's an early-game boss at heart.

11. Mecha Knight
I'm a big fan of Meta Knight's boss fights due to their sense of speed and aggression, and this goes for most of his variants as well like Dark Meta Knight, Morpho Knight, and Galacta Knight. Frankly, this goes for every sword fight in a Kirby game, you can even toss Dark Matter and Sectonia in there. These encounters are often fast and nimble making them much trickier to hit, and they can and will get up in your space forcing you to play a bit more defensively and deliberately than usual. So the decision to put Meta Knight inside a bulky mech doesn't exactly appeal to me. Look, this is still a solid enough fight, it doesn't necessarily do anything wrong, but I can't shake the feeling that Mecha Knight just feels like a watered-down version of Meta Knight's fights in a lot of ways. The + and Stock variants are noteworthy for growing a scorpion tail at the halfway point, which is cool, until you realize it makes them an even bigger, slower target than they already were.

10. Susie
After Triple Deluxe lacked a Taranza fight, I'm sure a lot of fans were excited to get the chance to actually fight the rival character this time around. While getting to fight someone in their own Robobot mech is a cool concept, there are a few elements of Susie's fight that feels underwhelming, especially in her base game encounter. For starters, she's pretty easy, especially when the arena turns circular since her attacks don't cover much ground. Second, Susie's fight is basically just a simpler version of Haltmann's fight, which is a lot more challenging, complex, and overall engaging. Susie's 2.0 fight is a lot faster and more chaotic, which is great, but then again, so is Haltmann's 2.0 fight. On top of that, why don't we get to use the Robobot mech to fight either Susie or Haltmann? Once again, this game is seriously lacking in mech-to-mech fights. That being said, Susie's fight is still pretty fun, just heavily overshadowed.

9. Dedede Clones/D3
I was initially going to rank this fight a bit higher, I mean it's a Dedede fight, those are always great, right? The first phase where Dedede starts cloning himself is a creative and chaotic take on the formula, and the second phase with D3 is an awesome surprise. Fighting a giant cannon atop a huge skyscraper is a ton of fun, even if it can be pretty easy to cheese if you know what you're doing. From a casual perspective, yeah, this is a pretty great fight. But once you you start grinding out the True Arena, you realize it ranks up with Galacta Knight as one of the biggest roadblocks. The first phase of this fight is an absolute clusterfuck, once the Dedede clones desync from each other, there is absolutely nowhere safe to hide and you will tank a ton of contact damage. They're also the only bosses in the game to not back off from you at any point so protective abilities like Leaf, Ice, Archer, or Stone are just flat-out dangerous to use. I've rarely played a Kirby fight that made me feel this cramped before and it makes for a pretty irritating encounter at its worst. If it wasn't for the D3 phase which is still really enjoyable, I'd probably rank this fight even lower.

8. Holo Defense API
Holo Defense API is a really neat concept, a boss rush of entirely original fights in World 2 modeled after Pix from Kirby 64?! This really is a great showcase of how uniquely complex (and fanservice-y) Robobot's boss fights are. Sure, most of the bosses are returning from prior Modern games like Kracko and Coily Rattler, but you also get a cool modernization of the Ice Dragon from DL2. Unfortunately, the problem with Holo Defense API is that it's also absurdly easy. Every mini-boss it spawns can be taken out super fast by most abilities, with the only exception being Coily Rattler, meaning that you won't actually get to see many attacks throughout the fight. And if you add in the fact that you also get to beat Holo Defense up with the Robobot Armor in one of the stages, that really just solidifies this boss as being kind of a joke. I still like Holo Defense API for the concept alone, but I do think its phases could've used a bit more health each.

7. President Haltmann
Putting past the minor disappointment of the penultimate boss being a retread of a previous fight rather than something wholly original like Hyness or Sectonia, President Haltmann's boss fight is still really fun. This dude has a whopping four phases, and a ton of memorable attacks like chaotically spinning around the arena, tossing robotic Susie clones at you, shooting money into the air that covers your screen, and bringing up a giant digital cube that shoots lasers at you. And like with Sectonia's fight, the music is perfectly timed to kick into overdrive. I was genuinely unnerved as a kid when the guitar solo kicked in and Haltmann starting screaming maniacally. He seemed so composed at first, but this boss fight shows just how deranged he really is. And as I mentioned earlier, the 2.0 fight is even more tense and challenging.

6. Sectonia Clone
If you saw my Triple Deluxe ranking, you'd know that I adore Sectonia's fight, it's one of my favorite encounters in the entire series. So why is the refight in Robobot so much lower on my list? Well, Sectonia Clone is still a really good boss fight, but it does lack a few things that the original fight had that made it so special. Obviously, the story relevance and atmosphere of Sectonia's original fight isn't nearly as prevalant here. You do get some drippings of lore like a glimpse of her original form, but it still doesn't compare. The middle phase where Sectonia launches you onto a cramped crystal is completely cut out as well, only being alluded to by a new attack where she smashes into the ground, making for a generally shorter and easier fight. But most of all, this fight is sandwiched between the entirely new Dark Matter fight and freaking Galacta Knight, which leaves Sectonia Clone in a pretty bad light by comparison since it mostly is just an asset reuse from Triple Deluxe at the end of the day. Still a fun fight overall, but definitely not Sectonia's best moment.

5. Core Kabula
Kabula has always been one of my favorite Kirby bosses but despite debuting in the first game, she doesn't actually show up all that much compared to Whispy or Kracko. But of course, that just makes the moments when Kabula does show up all the more surprising and exciting. After what seemed like a dull refight against COGS in the second Jet Robobot level, Core Kabula pops out in a shameless bit of fanservice made for me and me specifically. Thankfully though, she also offers one of the most engaging shmup bosses in the franchise, launching an all-out assault on Kirby with a wide array of weapons ranging from Shotzos to Gordo-launching cannons to a giant laser beam. Like many of the best bosses of this era of Kirby, Core Kabula has so many attacks that it feels like I'm still discovering new things about it.

4. Clanky Woods
Would you believe it? A Whispy Woods fight in the Top 5! And well deserved too, Clanky Woods is easily the best Whispy Woods encounter and the best first boss in the entire franchise, offering up a level of complexity and intricacy that most late-game encounters can only dream of. Clanky Woods' boss fight has a whopping three phases, each ramping up the tension and playing around with the 2.5D perspective in exciting new ways. The first phase despite being the most traditional is already exciting since Clanky Woods is jumping around the arena right from the get-go. Then, the second phase brings back the circular arenas we haven't seen since 64, and the final phase closes the arena back in as Clanky hops in the background and starts trying to stab you with its legs. It's an impressively dynamic fight that remains immensely replayable to this day, and I'd even argue that it's so good that a lot of Robobot's boss roster struggles to live up to just how creative and surprising it is.

3. Star Dream
In terms of pure spectacle and scope, the final boss fight against Star Dream is a staggering achievement from HAL. Fighting the final boss in space while piloting the Halberd, who then proceeds to hijack an entire planet that turns out to be Nova from Super Star, that Kirby defeats by drilling through it Gurren Lagann style all the while the screen goes full psychedelic is one of the most bonkers premises for a final boss I've ever seen. And for what it is, it's so much fun. The Halberd controls incredibly smoothly, and once you realize just how broken the barrel roll dodge it, this fight becomes an absolute joy to master. While it may be a bit long in the tooth, I can't say it's that much of a deal-breaker anymore since it's still such an active and engaging fight on its own merits.

However, there is one notable thing keeping Star Dream from being one of my favorite final bosses in the franchises and it's the lack of an on-foot phase. President Haltmann just didn't really feel like a suitable final test for the base Kirby combat, and I don't think it makes sense for the entire final boss to be centered around a new gameplay style you've never used before. What really adds salt to the wound is the fact that there actually is an on-foot phase, and a great one at that, but it's exclusive to the longest True Arena in the franchise. The final phase of the Soul OS fight is a great and tense throwback to both the Nova fight in Super Star and prior Soul forms, and would've been a perfect final test if it wasn't excluded from the base game. However, even with this issue, I still think Star Dream deserves to stand out in the Top 3 of Robobot's boss roster, it's too impressive and memorable to go any lower.

2. Galacta Knight Returns
As I mentioned with Meta Knight, I love the Galacta Knight fights for how fast and intense they are and the Robobot encounter is no different. While it does take quite a lot from the also incredible Return To Dream Land version of the fight, Galacta Knight Returns adds even more attacks to deal with like opening a rift to Another Dimension, tossing out even more projectiles than before, and utilizing the background a lot more. This fight is easily the hardest in the game and will absolutely shred your health at the end of a True Arena run, but I can't bring myself to care, it's just too damn fun.

1. Dark Matter Clone
There was a point when I realized that despite being one of the most prolific villains in the franchise, you never actually had an on-foot fight with Dark Matter. Every fight with Dark Matter across the series has always been in a shmup format... until now. Robobot finally lets you fight Dark Matter on-foot, and it's a ridiculously fun encounter, fast-paced, flashy, and dynamic in all the right ways. All the moves you recognize from prior games are here and accounted for, from showering you with dark matter projectiles, to using its energy spheres as protection, to zapping you with lightning, to slashing away at you with its sword, but this time, you actually get to utilize Robobot's fantastic combat mechanics to take Dark Matter down. And just to top it off, the remix of DL2's final boss theme is so freaking good, enhancing the atmosphere of the fight even more. I can't say this is the most challenging or impactful boss encounter in the game, but it fulfills a desire I had wanted to see from the franchise for a long time, and in spectacular fashion to boot.

Ranking Kirby Triple Deluxe Bosses

 So I've been replaying the 3DS Kirby games recently since the current Kirby drought has been hitting me particularly hard. They're still great, and I'm continuing to find new things to love about both of them, especially Robobot. For as much as I rave about this series and go on about how much I love its boss fights and combat though, I noticed I never actually did any Kirby boss rankings for some reason. Time to change that, here's my ranking of the bosses in Kirby Triple Deluxe, one of my favorite boss rosters in the series:

9. Kracko
The fact that Kracko is my least favorite Triple Deluxe boss is a testament to how good this game's boss lineup is because it's still pretty solid. This is a great modernization of the tried-and-true Kracko fight, taking his unique cloudy physical attributes and turning them into some really inventive attacks like extended his spikes to use as drills and turning into a massive lightning cloud. That lightning cloud attack is especially fun because I like to try and do as much damage as I can before the cannon he sends out disappears. However, for as much as I will gush about them, Triple Deluxe's bosses also have two notable flaws: Attacks where the boss stays in the background forcing you to wait for an opening, and insta-death pitfalls where you can lose your ability and/or cheaply die. Kracko's fight has both of these issues in the second phase, and when coupled with his multiple "keep-away" attacks, it makes for a fight I find a bit sluggish and tend to dread during the Arena.

8. Pyribbit
Pyribbit is often cited as the worst Kirby boss of all time, and honestly, I think the hate is a bit overblown. This boss is infamous for spending too much time in the background and jumping around too much, but that's what makes it kinda fun. Pyribbit's attacks tend to come quick so you have to try and meet the big frog on his level, trying to judge where he'll land and rushing in for attacks. Some of Pyribbit's attacks like his fire breath that can scorch your 3DS screen and popping out of the lava to grab you with his tongue are fun to dodge, and the cutscenes before and after the fight give him a lot of personality. That being said, this is still one of the weaker bosses mostly because of those meteors that engulf the ground in flames, often cluttering the arena in the second phase and making it harder to track Pyribbit. But hey, at least there's no pitfalls, huh?

7. Dark Meta Knight's Revenge
I'm of two minds about Dark Meta Knight's fight. Whenever he's on the ground fighting you with his sword, shooting giant mirror swords from the ground and slinging tornados at you, this is a very fun fight. It may not be as fast and frenetic as one of Galacta Knight's bouts, but it's still a fun time with fantastic music and a creepy atmosphere. However, the phase where Dark Meta Knight enters a mirror and duplicates himself is one of my least favorite attacks in the game since you have so little time to hit him. I tend to just wait out the phase entirely and resume attacking when he goes back to fighting you on-foot since I usually just end up getting hit by his clones.

6. Flowery Woods
Flowery Woods is definitely one of the more dynamic Whispy Woods iterations out there, starting off simple only for the tree to start hopping and flying around, attacking you with his roots. While there is a bit too much downtime between attacks, this is still a really strong first boss with a wide range of attacks that shows off the 2.5D elements of Triple Deluxe incredibly well. But what really elevates the fight for me is Flowery Woods's genuinely difficult DX form where he proceeds to toss fruit, Gordos, and wind bullets at you all at the same time. Similarly to Dream Land 1, I always love it when Whispy gets upgraded from being one of the game's easiest bosses to one of its hardest.

5. Paintra
One of my favorite running gags in modern Kirby was the decision to randomly base a bunch of characters on Drawcia, but it all started with Paintra. Drawcia was already one of my favorite bosses in the series, so it's cool to get to fight a boss similar to her on foot this time. Paintra boasts a lot of really silly and creative attacks themed around paint and paper, with the highlights being those spot the difference attacks that use the 3D quite effectively. It's a briskly-paced fight too where you're given a lot of opportunities to attack, and the DX form ramps the complexity up in an organic and natural way.

4. Flowered/Soul Of Sectonia
I've praised Triple Deluxe's finale quite a lot so Flowered Sectonia being so high should not come as much of a surprise. The atmosphere in this encounter is truly incredible, with each phase slowly escalating the tension in a gripping way. From giant lasers, to flower buds that try to slice you up, there's no shortage of memorable and genuinely tough attacks here. And as icing on the cake, the Hypernova phase at the end of the OG fight is probably my favorite hypernova segment in the game and my favorite victory lab out of any of these modern final bosses, serving as such an exhilarating power trip perfectly illustrated by the haunting moonlit backdrop changing to sunrise. The True Arena version of this fight also stands out by having an entirely new phase in the form of Soul Of Sectonia, which is also incredible in its own right for how it mixes together attacks from all the previous Soul fights in the series into a near-bullet hell cacophony of projectiles.

However, despite how much I love Triple Deluxe's finale, I can't look past the fact that this part has a major flaw. The Flowered phase of this fight is filled with pitfalls and it has killed many an Arena run in pretty cheap ways, holding Flowered Sectonia back from being a truly top tier encounter, especially compared to the two fights that came before it.

3. Coily Rattler
 As far as original, midgame Kirby bosses go, it doesn't get any better than Coily Rattler. Along with having a sick design, this boss's core concept of only being able to hit its head adds a nice wrinkle to the usual Kirby boss formula, leading to some pretty fun mindgames depending on what kind of ability your using. Between a solid roster of fun attacks that have Coily wrapping around the battlefield or splitting itself into segments that all fly towards you, a fairly fast pace that rarely deprives you of opportunities to attack, and a great DX form that adds just enough wrinkles to each attack to keep you on your toes, Coily Rattler is a shining example of what makes a great Kirby boss.

 2. Queen Sectonia
In any other game, Queen Sectonia's fight would be an easy first place. This is a fast-paced, multi-phase encounter that almost feels like a dance, with both Kirby and Sectonia darting around the room trading blows. It has the same sense of speed and energy as a swordfight with Meta Knight, but with all the bombast and scale of a fight with Magolor, it's so fun and intense throughout and perfectly fits Sectonia's personality. And like with the rest of this game's finale, the backdrop is of course gorgeous, and the music is incredible, doing the Ristar thing of entering the drop just as the fight gets truly frantic. I could play the Sectonia fight any day and have a great time, it never gets old to me.

 1. Masked/Shadow Dedede
Yeah, this one should be obvious. I've raved about Masked Dedede's fight in this game before, you should know it's one of my favorite boss fights in all of gaming, let alone my favorite Dedede fight. It starts traditional enough, but when Dedede picks up that axe, it just escalates into pure mayhem, to the point where even the camera itself is struggling to keep up with Dedede's erratic movement. And this dude has so many attacks, to the point where I'm still discovering new ones every time I play. While I prefer the OG Masked Dedede fight for its story-related drama and gravitas, I also can't ignore the similarly fantastic Shadow Dedede rematch complete with an all original phase that brings back the creepy belly mouth phase from Dream Land 3. Everything about this boss fight just rules, an easy high point in the Kirby franchise as a whole.

Expect a Robobot boss ranking sometime soon!

Ranking Crash 2 Levels & Bosses

It's been a while! Previously, I went ahead and ranked all of the levels and bosses in the first Crash Bandicoot game, but then I kinda just forgot to do the same for the second and third games? Well, now's as good a time as any to change that. As I've made clear before, I think Crash 2 is my favorite entry in the trilogy for its more refined gameplay and level design, consistent difficulty curve, satisfying 100% completion, and vastly improved presentation. I like a lot of the stages in this game so properly ranking them all is probably going to be a bit harder this time around. The bosses, on the other hand, are admittedly the weakest in the trilogy so that'll also be a pretty interesting ranking, I think.

Once again, I'll be basing this off the PS1 version of Crash 2.

28. Totally Fly
One thing I definitely wasn't happy to see return from the first game are the dark levels, but they might actually be even worse here. Totally Fly doesn't make you use your health source as light thankfully, instead you need to rely on these fireflies that disappear super quickly and don't respawn meaning if you don't rush for the entire level, you can absolutely be screwed over by the stage's many uneven pits that are just straight up impossible to see in the dark. But the sickest joke is near the end where you have to blindly fumble around for locked crates in the dark to get the Clear Gem, it just sucks. 

 27. Night Fight
Night Fight and Totally Fly are pretty interchangeable, they both suck ass. That being said, while the split path in this one is pretty bad, the locked crates in Totally Fly are worse in my opinion making this stage marginably better.

 26. Rock It
In general, I think Crash 2's endgame is the weakest part since it contains my two least favorite level themes in the game. The worst is obviously the night stages, but I'm not huge on the jetpack levels either despite them being the game's primary selling point since I just don't find them especially intuitive to use. They're at their best when you're continuously moving forward though, which makes Rock It the lesser of the two jetpack stages since you spend a lot more time fumbling around to get all the crates. Great atmosphere and music though.

 25. Totally Bear
Judging solely by its layout, Totally Bear is yet another solid Polar level that further tests your skill with box placement that forces you to boost-jump a lot more precisely. Unfortunately, it's brought down by the baffling decision to make it really dark so you can't see in front of you... in an auto-runner that already requires quick reaction time. At least it's short.

24. Intro
Ha! Thought I wasn't gonna include Crash 2's intro sequence. It's not anything too special, just a basic tutorial, but it gets you excited for the adventure to come and it's a shame this is the only game to have one.

23. Pack Attack
While slightly harder than Rock It, Pack Attack is also a lot more linear as well. Most of the crates are nitros, so you can focus on dodging the fairly well laid-out obstacles and not have to spend as much time wrapping your head around the jetpack's strange controls.

22. The Pits
Pretty much just a slightly harder Turtle Woods, so there's not too much I can say about it. It's a solid level, though having to backtrack through the split path to get all the boxes is never fun.

21. Snow Biz
Basically Snow Go but with less of the fun ice physics, more 2D sections, and a crushingly long gem route. It's still a fine level, but man can it drag at points.

20. Plant Food
Plant Food is the last of the stream levels in Crash 2 and as the name indicates, it puts a much larger focus on the chomping plant enemies, which are now placed such that they can even attack you while on your jetboard. Otherwise, it's nothing too remarkable, though it has a time trial gem just Hang Eight did.

19. Ruination
I'll talk about the ruin stages as a whole when I get to Road To Ruin, so just know that Ruination is basically just more of that stage but a bit harder and with a more annoying alternate route. 

 18. Diggin It
Diggin' It is a dense with a lot of really cool elements and some baffling choices. I love the digging mechanic, as underused as it is here, it feels really nice. Some of the new enemies like the plants and moving statues are fun to deal with, I like that the boulder chase hazards are brought over to be used in a standard level, and the secret exit is well hidden. On the other hand, the death route placement is a mess since it not only skips the entirety of the titular mechanic but makes you backtrack through it to get the clear gem. And on top of that, this stage introduces the godawful bee enemy that frequently blindsides you whenever you try to backtrack. High highs and low lows, this one. 

17. Cold Hard Crash
Ah, Cold Hard Crash. The posterchild for BS box placement. But even putting aside that infamous box in the bonus room, this stage is a routing nightmare. Having to backtrack through the death route is bad enough, but god forbid you want to get all the gems in one run. This stage is lucky it's otherwise pretty fun, being a decently tight platforming challenge that lets you abuse the ice physics in fun ways. It even brings back the rolling stones from Crash 1!

16. Air Crash
On its own merits, Air Crash is a good level. It expands on the fun mechanics of Hang Eight, hiding secrets behind skipping over the jetboard is a neat concept, and it has the series' first death route and a pretty fun one at that. However, it's also arguably the most flagrantly backtrack-y stage in the game seeing as it has a secret exit, a death route, and an alternate entrance that houses the nitro switch which means you'll have to play this stage a bare minimum of three times.

15. Bear It
The Polar stages are a big step-up compared to the hog stages in Crash 1 as they play a lot better, are a lot more reasonable in terms of difficulty, and give you more space to see what's coming up. Bear It is pretty short and it has a few annoying crate placements, but overall, it's a solid breather stage.

14. Sewer Or Later
This level's just kinda weird in terms of routing. You can get everything in a single run and fairly easily too, but you'll need to die in the yellow gem route after getting the clear gem, and you'll need to zig-zag back and forth across a split path. For the most part, though, this is still another fun sewer level with a few new enemies, one of the game's better bonus rooms, and deeper water making failure more punishing.

13. Piston It Away
While the NST version of this stage has become pretty infamous for having awful hitboxes, the original version of Piston It Away is really just a pretty great, primarily 2D obstacle course filled with some of the most complex enemies and unique mechanics in the game, from tentacle bots that can protect their weakspots to lasers that activate when you step on floor tiles. The only thing really keeping this stage from being higher up is the annoying clear gem route which requires a lot of backtracking and purposefully keeping an enemy alive.

12. Crash Crush
The second boulder chase stage in the game and probably my least favorite of the three, though it's still fun. The sunset lighting helps Crash Crush stand out, and the split path in the middle is kinda surprising for a chase level (and it actually sends you back to the start rather than makes you backtrack!). For the most part, the hazard placement remains engaging and fair, though there are a few cases where it feels like the boosters sent me into a hazard and that one locked crate at the end is an absolute bitch. 

 11. Bee-having
Bee-having is what Diggin' It should've been. It makes far better use of the digging mechanic, it doesn't have any split paths unlike its predecessor, and it doesn't force you to backtrack while dealing with the bees at the same time. Granted, the bees are still a pretty annoying enemy, but this stage makes it much easier to outrun them to stealthily hide from them. Also the nitro staircase is the funniest secret in the series and I will die on that hill.

 10. Snow Go
Snow Go is an iconic stage for a good reason. Gorgeous winter scenery, catchy music, the introduction of Crash's fun yet unwieldy ice physics, and most of all, the first Crash stage to have both 2D and 3D segments. I also really like the secret route, it's tough but it gives you a lot of opportunities to mess around with the ice physics.

9. Road To Ruin
Like in the first game, the ruins levels are fun in Crash 2, with some neat environmental hazards like shifting pillars, crumbling platforms, and fire breathing statues to dodge. The lizard enemies that you must defeat by sliding are pretty annoying, but I do love the death route and its Donkey Kong references.

 8. Turtle Woods
Crash 2's first level is once again a fantastic start to the game, showing off the game's new engine by offering up more dynamic and developed level design than anything the first game had, from bouncing over quicksand to fighting off swarms of rats inside pits. The secrets here are pretty great too, from a lengthy bonus area that has you hopping across giant birds that you can access from the very start if you know how to belly-flop, to the Blue Gem requiring you to beat the stage without breaking any boxes. 

7. Crash Dash
Crash 2 might just have my favorite chase sequences in the series. The level design is a lot more dynamic than in the first game, with more varied platforming and a decent array of hazards like boost panels and land-mines, though it still feels manageable in terms of difficulty. I also adore Crash's expressive animations in these stages. Crash Dash is the first chase stage so it's obviously the easiest, but it's still a fun time.

6. Bear Down
Bear Down is a big step-up over Bear It that makes much better use of Polar's mechanics, introducing new hazards like the lifter lab assistants, forcing you to use the boost button, and generally just being a longer stage. It even has the sunset backdrop from Crash Crush, so that's nice. I also really appreciate that the secret exit is right by the normal exit, so you can nab the Clear Gem and take the secret exit beating the level in one clean run.

 5. The Eel Deal
Crash 2 is a rare game to have sewer stages I actually enjoy. Platforming across electrified water, clambering across monkey bars, and dodging rolling barrels all make for engaging platforming challenges, and the music is an absolute bop. While The Eel Deal does have that one annoying bit of backtracking for the green gem, I still think it's an overall really dynamic level that even gets a cool scenery change by the end, and I like that you have to go a bit out of your way for the Crystal here.

4. Spaced Out
Spaced Out is just Piston It Away but better in pretty much every single way, as in, it lacks any backtracking. This is a great final level, possibly my favorite in the trilogy, because it feels like a worthy test of all your platforming skills. Even better is the fact that it introduces the multicolored gem route, a brutal gauntlet that you need all five colored gems to access, really making it feel like the culmination of everything you've accomplish. Even if I think Crash 2 ends on its weakest note overall, it has one hell of a final level.

 3. Hang Eight
Yet another iconic early stage! I can't understate how good Crash 2's early-game is. Hang Eight is another stage with a lot of firsts. It's the first vehicle stage, introducing the very fun jetboard mechanic. It's the first stage to have a gem route that does a good job at expanding on the stage's mechanics further. And it's the first stage to have a dedicated time trial that'll net you a second gem, laying the groundwork for the Relics to come in future games. But even on its own, this is a fun and varied throwback to the first game's stream levels complete with all the tight platforming that made those stages so fun.

2. Hangin' Out
Basically the final minute of The Eel Deal expanded into a full stage, and it's really fun. The climbing controls in the PS1 games are really fast and snappy which makes stages like Hangin Out an absolute blast, and it helps that this is also the only sewer stage to not have a split path.

 1. Un-Bearable
This is it, this is the one. Un-Bearable isn't just my favorite Crash 2 level, it might just be my favorite level in the entire PS1 trilogy. It fuses the Polar and boulder chase gimmicks together into a brilliant culmination of the game up to this point, having you be chase by a giant terrifying polar bear this time around. The on-foot chases are more fun than ever, introducing even more gimmicks like fences you have to burst through and enemies you need to bat away, but the standout moment is the finale which has you escape from the polar bear while riding on Polar. This stage also has quite a lot of secrets, from a genuinely difficult 2D secret route to the cleverly-hidden exit to Totally Bear, really exemplifying all the best aspects of Crash 2 as a whole.

Bosses:

5. Dr Neo Cortex
Yeah, this fight blows. It's in that unlucky space of being a final boss that's both underwhelming and annoying. Because yeah, Cortex doesn't attack you here, he goes down in three hits, and you can end the fight in minutes. But also, the game never actually makes it clear when you can spin attack Cortex so I often find myself needing multiple attempts to feel out the timing which isn't exactly fun either. No matter where you slice it, this is a bad final boss, to the point where the true final cutscene (which isn't even a boss to begin with) feels more like a satisfying ending than it.

4. Ripper Roo
Once again, Ripper Roo's boss fight is just kinda mid. It's better than the first one, figuring out the gaps between the TNT and Nitro crates he unearths is a decent challenge for a first boss, but it's still just a glorified waiting game as you stay near the bottom of the screen and watch as Ripper Roo blows himself up.

3. Dr N Gin
N Gin's fight is certainly the toughest and most developed out of the fights in Crash 2, boasting multiple phases, though it's also kinda strange. You destroy N Gin's mech by tossing Wumpa fruit at him, but the Wumpa fruit kinda just spawn out of Crash (a rare positive change in the NST is the fact that it animates Crash throwing the Wumpa fruit). Also you can't slide for some reason and that really hampers the fight for me.

2. Tiny Tiger
Tiny Tiger's fight has him chase after you, forcing you to hop across platforms to try and bait him into falling into a pit. It's very easy if you know what you're doing, but it's still a pretty fun fight that at least requires a decent amount of forethought and strategy.

1. Komodo Brothers
The Komodo Brothers aren't an especially hard fight, but they are memorable, likely because this is the only time they actually show up in one of the platformers. It is a fun fight though, dodging flying swords is quite fun, and I like how each phase slowly increases the number of things you have to avoid.

Community Pom

If I had a nickel for every time I've seen an action game crossed with a town-builder, I'd have quite a few nickels because that's a surprisingly common genre-blend. Actraiser, Cult Of The Lamb, Recettear, Sakuna: Of Rise And Ruin, Rune Factory, even the Slime Mori Mori games to a lesser extent. It makes sense though, the gameplay loop of scavenging for material that you can use to build your town, which then feeds back into questing feels tailor-made for an addictive experience. So here's another one those that you probably haven't heard of before: Community Pom.

Released in 1997 for the PS1 in Japan only, Community Pom is a Zelda-inspired action RPG crossed with a animal/town raising sim developed by Fill In Cafe. This was a small game dev team that released a fair amount of great cult classics like Asuka 120%, Mad Stalker, and Panzer Bandit, but Community Pom is probably my favorite work of theirs. As you'd expect, Community Pom eventually got a fan translation by LIPEMCO, a very prolific group whose members have dipped their fingers in a ton of different incredible fantrans and hacks like Madou Monogatari, Idol Hakkenden, the Galaxy Fraulein Yuna games, Layla: The Iris Missions, and even the Mega Man World 2 music fix. The Commuity Pom fantran in particular even comes with a translation of the game's official guidebook, which is just so cool (and as you'll see later, exceptionally helpful).

Community Pom is centered around the titular Poms, cute little bunny-like creatures who the town believes are attacking them. You play as a little witch named Lulu who staunchly believes that the Poms are being falsely accused, so she sets out to find all the Poms and form a community for them to prove their docility. And as per the usual, there's a larger plot involving a villainous wizard trying to use the Poms for his own schemes. The main gameplay loop is split into the Action RPG parts and the Town Sim parts. The Action RPG segments have you go out into the world in search of Poms, collecting materials you can use to help build the town along the way. These will have towns, dungeons, bosses, all the usual adventure game fare. The Town Sim segments have you raise the Poms to help you build a community for them, from buildings that improve their stats, to qualities of life like a Clinic or a Church, to growing even more food to feed the Poms. I'd say this gameplay loop works pretty well, as both halves of the game feed into each other really naturally. Exploring helps you build the town, which in turn makes exploring easier. You have a lot of freedom in terms of how much time you want to dedicate to each half of the game, as you can really expand your town however much or however little you want. If you want to take your time and make your town into something you can feel proud of, you can. But if you only want to build the bare necessities and focus on adventuring, that's an option as well.

The Action RPG parts of Community Pom are absolutely incredible too, especially in terms of the controls and gameplay. Running around as Lulu feels buttery smooth, and I adore the way dashing works. You can double-tap a direction to start a dash that can last as long as you want, and you can even attack in mid-air and maintain your momentum. The flow of starting a run and slashing through enemies with mid-air attacks feels truly incredible, I genuinely think Community Pom plays better than most actual top-down Action RPGs. The overworld is fun to explore, constantly showing you chests just out of your reach encouraging you to go back with new abilities, and it's all centered around your Pom community making it easy to navigate. There's legit dungeons too, with maps, puzzles, locks-and-keys, big boss fights, spatial reasoning, varied locals, and they're a ton of fun. The pacing remains pretty brisk overall too since you're constantly acquiring new abilities and unlocking new areas, and once again, you have full control over how quickly you can progress the story and open up the world. There's minigames, a solid customization element in picking your party of Poms to bring on adventures, and a ton of collectibles to find from rare items to magic upgrades. Everything just works here, genuinely this is one of the best Zelda-likes prior to Ocarina Of Time that I've ever played.

Sadly, the town sim parts are a bit more flawed. Not bad, just flawed. For starters, the game does a godawful job at tutorializing you about how it all works. Thank goodness for that translated guidebook because I really wouldn't have figured it out otherwise. So, the way building your town works in Community Pom is that you need to feed your Poms the food that you collect on your expeditions by tossing the food to them. Depending on what you feed your Poms, they'll perform a variety of actions from building structures, to farming, to studying. Farming allows you to get more food quicker, while the buildings and studying allow you to increase the stats of your Poms to make them more powerful in the field. While I can't say the town sim elements feel as consequential as I would've hoped, there's a decent amount of depth and customization here in terms of how you build up your squad of Poms which does give the package as a whole a bit of extra spice. There are also a few annoying mechanics involved with the town, like the fact that Poms sleep at night so you kinda just have to wait until day for them to do something, or the occasional moments that monsters attack your town during which they'll almost always destroy at least one of your buildings. That being said, I do like the addition of the town overall because of the element of customization it adds, even if it is the weaker half compared to the sublime Action RPG portion.

In terms of the presentation, Community Pom is absolutely gorgeous. Like many 2D games from 1997, Community Pom has some of the best spritework I've ever seen, with the whole game boasting this lovely pastel vibe. The characters are cute and expressive, especially the Poms, and I love how all the menus look like sketchbooks. It reminds me a lot of Kirby's Dream Land 3, which is probably the highest praise I could possibly give it. While the story isn't anything super remarkable, the actual dialogue is flat-out hilarious. Lulu in particular is a very charming protagonist with a surprisingly snark and crass sense of humor. I'm not too sure if that was a fantran addition or if the game was already this witty to begin with, but I love it regardless. The soundtrack is also surprisingly really good, being primarily done by Katamari co-composer Hideki Tobeta. It's hard to really describe the music of Community Pom, it's got such a quirky sound to it, very poppy and frenetic. Some of the tracks even have a muffled sound to them, as if they're being played through a radio which sounds totally unfitting for a fantasy adventure game but it really fits with Community Pom's cutesy, cheeky vibe. My only gripe is that the loops are quite short and I wish most of the tracks had a bit more to them, but they're still catchy enough that they never became too grating. Also, props to the track Ganda's House for sounding way too much like September by Earth, Wind, And Fire.

Overall, Community Pom is an absolute joy of an action-adventure game that nails the fundamentals impressively well for the time. It controls like an absolute dream, the exploration is engaging, the dungeons are impeccably designed, the bosses are mostly a ton of fun to fight, the writing is charming, the graphics are gorgeous, the soundtrack is a bop, and the addition of RPG, pet raising, and town building adds enough depth, customization, and identity to Community Pom to help it stand out even if the execution wasn't spot-on. Community Pom is such a joyous, charming, inventive, and scrappy little gem that shows exactly why I love playing games to begin with.

4.5/5 Stars

Nintendo World Championships Vs NES Remix

The Wii U was arguably Nintendo's most experimental console, and NES Remix was one of its most successful experiments. At the time where Nintendo's constant re-releasing of their NES library was starting to grow a bit stale, NES Remix was a breath of fresh air. At face value, it just seemed like a basic set of bite-sized, almost WarioWare-esque challenges testing you on a variety of NES classics. Cute, a great thing to show my parents who actually had nostalgia for these games, but nothing too crazy. But then you unlocked the remix stages and suddenly all the bets were off, and the WarioWare comparisons felt even more apt. Lighting effects, weather effects, stage reversals, elements from multiple NES games intersecting, the Remix challenges took these tried-and-true NES games and completely turned them on their head, and it was wonderful. For such a cheap and obviously low-budget experimental title from Nintendo, NES Remix was such an inventive and memorable little game that showcased the best aspects of that era.

Last year, Nintendo announced a game called Nintendo World Championships: NES Edition. On the surface, it seemed like a game about completing challenges based on a variety of NES games, very similar to NES Remix. But compared to its older brother, it felt really lacking by comparison. NES Remix Pack had over 350 challenges based on 28 different NES games, while NWC: NES Edition only had a little more than 150 challenges based on 13 games. That's less than the first NES Remix alone, let alone the compilation game. And I don't think I need to tell you that NWC: NES Edition also lacks any Remix challenges, the reason why NES Remix became such a cult hit to begin with. It felt increasingly obvious that NWC was what NES Remix could've been, a low-budget filler game to buy time until the Switch 2's launch and nothing more. Because without what made NES Remix so special, what was going to even be the value of NWC: NES Edition?

Recently, my brother got Nintendo World Championships for his birthday so I decided to give it a try regardless. Even if it wasn't going to have the same magic of NES Remix, I was sure it would at least be somewhat fun in its own right. And you know what? I'd say that's pretty much right. Nintendo World Championships: NES Edition at its best can't top the sheer creativity of NES Remix's best challenges, but it's also not trying to. This game isn't NES Remix beyond that surface premise, it's something entirely different. Not better, not worse, different.

My Definitive, Official 3D Sonic Ranking

Now that I've finally beaten Unleashed, I'm pleased to say that I've officially played all of the 3D Sonic games. So like with the Mario RPGs, it's time I finally make a proper ranking of them all:

20. Sonic Boom: Rise Of Lyric 

In the early 2010s, it felt like we were getting LEGO/Skylander clones everywhere. Lots of multiplayer top-down action games with very, very simple gameplay, but often without the customization or set-dressing that made the LEGO and Skylander games such successes to begin with. Sonic Boom: Rise Of Lyric is a great example of this, being arguably the most flagrant case of Sonic Team hopping on trends which is impressive considering how often they've done that. It's an incredibly barebones beat-em-up with basic combat, basic puzzles, basic exploration, and very basic "speed" sections. But it's not just a boring game on its own merits because it also has an awful story riddled with irritating quips, dull environments, and a complete and utter lack of player agency in any shape or form. And worst of all, Rise Of Lyric is also incredibly buggy and poorly-optimized for the Wii U, just in case it couldn't have been any worse. I don't think it's that controversial to put Rise Of Lyric on the bottom, right? There's just nothing here, not even the witty comedy that would define the TV show it's based on. It's barely even a Sonic game at this point, just a thing that existed.

19. Sonic Frontiers: The Final Horizon

Maybe I'm being a bit harsh putting The Final Horizon so low. It's not nearly as buggy as 06 and it certainly controls better than Secret Rings, like it's probably objectively better than both of those games. But for me personally, as someone who got into the series long after the "dark ages" had passed, this was the most disappointed a Sonic product has ever made me. The Final Horizon takes all the goodwill Frontiers still had and systematically undoes all of it, bit by bit. Tedious vertical platforming sections that show how unequipped Frontiers' controls are for precision, awful combat trials that show how limited Frontiers' combat truly is, a painful boss rush that shows how poorly telegraphed the iconic Titans turn out to be when you actually get punished for failing, and a messy final boss that loses out on all the thematic heft that made the original ending work to begin with. But hey, at least you can play as Amy, Tails, and Knuckles, right? Sure, but they all suck and feel way worse than playing as Sonic. I have never felt as hopeless towards the future of the Sonic franchise as I did after playing The Final Horizon, it genuinely felt like Sonic Team was content just shallowly checking fan criticisms off a checklist rather than make a competently-designed product at the bare minimum. Thank goodness Shadow Generations was as good as it was, geez.

18. Sonic The Hedgehog (2006)

Man, I really wish Sonic 06 was better than it is. I hate to use the p-word here, but it definitely had the potential to be something really special. It feels like an expansion on the Adventure formula with some pretty cool stages and boss designs, I like Mephiles as a villain, I kinda vibe with the more realistic environments, and the soundtrack is of course one of my favorites of all time. I haven't played P-06 so I can't say for sure, but there is definitely a world where Sonic 06 turned out to be really, really good. Sadly, that is not the world we live in. I think some fans nowadays get too wrapped up in what 06 could've been rather than what it actually is, forgetting just how much the final product screwed up. Like, this isn't just a kinda janky game you can learn to live with. The bugs in 06 are frequent and unpredictable, you spend the whole game in a state of fear because you can and will glitch out of the stage at any point. And beyond just the bugs, there's the loading screens, the messy and convoluted story, the horrendously slow character movement, the godawful vehicle sections for Shadow, the broken boss fights, that damn billiards puzzle. Maybe Sonic 06 could've been good, but that's not the game Sonic Team put on store shelves and charged money for. I can appreciate ambition to a point, but if a game's not fun, it's just not fun.

17. Sonic & The Secret Rings

Sonic & The Secret Rings is a game with a lot of cool elements like the creative environments, frenetic level pacing, large-scale boss fights, buttrock soundtrack, genuinely touching story, and a shockingly fun party game that I honestly think is better than Sonic Shuffle. However, most of that doesn't really matter since Secret Rings fails at one of the most important things: The controls. Secret Rings is controlled entirely through motion controls, but since it's an early Wii game, the controls feel really sensitive, unrefined, and inaccurate. But even if the controls did work, the way Sonic's movement has been gimped to accomodate for this strange control scheme just means he feels really awkward to play as, with how you need to charge your jumps and slowly walk backwards if you need to backtrack for any reason. The overall progression of Secret Rings' campaign doesn't help matters either, from the game not telling you which missions you need to do to unlock the next stage, to the fact that you have to unlock tighter controls. Like with 06, I do really wish Secret Rings was able to live up to all of its potential, but it just isn't fun to play.

16. Sonic Forces

Honestly, I do think Sonic Forces gets a bit too much flack. It certainly isn't the worst Sonic game since, at the very least, it's a functional, reasonably polished product with controls that work properly. Instead, the problem with Forces is that it's dreadfully undercooked on pretty much every level. The concept of all of Sonic's villains teaming up with Eggman and successfully taking over the world is cool, but the stakes feel thin, most of the plot takes place off-screen, and half the villains aren't even fought as bosses. The level design has a lot of neat concepts from breaking Sonic out of prison, to fighting your way through a Phantom Ruby-modified city, to escaping a trippy null space world, to racing to the top of a tower to stop a fake sun from blowing everything up, but the stages themselves are so short, easy, and linear that none of these concepts feel properly explored. And while Sonic Team claimed that this game would be the worthy followup to Generations we all wanted, the core gameplay is dramatically simplified and gimped. As a result, Sonic Forces is a game that's at best okay and at worst, really freaking dull. And given all the hype, that just wasn't good enough.

15. Sonic 3D Blast

I've already gone into my thoughts on Sonic 3D Blast before, so I'll be quick here. I think this is a fairly charming little isometric platformer with some fun levels and stellar music that has a lot of issues like slippery controls (especially on the Saturn) and the tedious structure of having to collect Flickies in each stage. While we did get a Director's Cut that fixes a lot of these issues, the original release of 3D Blast is still a fairly mediocre game beyond the novelty of having a "3D-ish" Sonic game on the Genesis. But it has more sauce than Forces which is why it's higher up on the list.

14. Sonic Lost World (3DS)

Sonic Lost World for the 3DS is another game I just find pretty okay. Control-wise, it's pretty much on par with the console version, but it lacks the same sheer level of polish that makes its counterpart fun to go back to. At its best, the argument can be made that Lost World 3DS's levels can actually push you to use the parkour systems more than the console game does, and that's pretty cool. But at its worst, Lost World 3DS also has a few infamously tedious levels like that lengthy watermelon stage, along with some obnoxious gyroscope sequences like the special stages that really drag the game down. As a handheld version of an alright Sonic game, Lost World 3DS does the job but I really don't see much reason in playing it over its bigger brother.

13. Sonic Frontiers

I've made it clear by now that Sonic Frontiers is a game that I have continued to sour on over time, especially with the release of The Final Horizon. It's a game with a lot of problems ranging from the stiff and unoriginal cyberspace stages, to the shallow combat, to the annoying minigames, to the ugly art direction, to the tedious final act. However, when push comes to shove, I still ultimately think Frontiers is a kinda decent game. Like, I was able to play through the whole thing and have a reasonably good time since the exploration is pretty fun, Sonic's movement feels pretty nice in wide open spaces, the atmosphere is engaging, the soundtrack is pretty great, the bosses are memorable, and the game never gets hard enough that its flaws really become a problem. This is definitely the most ambitious Sonic game in years both in terms of story and scope, and while I don't think Sonic Team had the budget to really do everything they wanted, I think most fans can agree it bodes pretty well for the future of the series. That's more than I can say about all the games lower on the list, even if Frontiers is still a game I have no real intention of going back to.

12. Sonic Unleashed (SD) 

Okay, now we're onto the games I actually like. The Wii version of Sonic Unleashed is a solid but unremarkable way to play one of Sonic's best adventures. While Daytime Sonic's movement can be a bit tough to get used to, his stages are overall pretty well-designed and reward mastery just like you'd want from a boost stage. And while Werehog Sonic doesn't have nearly the same level of depth as his HD counterpart, the platforming is still reasonably fun and the smaller length of his stages help them feel a lot more digestible. A lot of the bigger issues in HD Unleashed are gone here like the removal of medal gates, smaller stage lengths, decreased QTEs, less exhausting final stage, and more satisfying final boss which is pretty cool and makes this version of Unleashed worth playing. However, I just don't think the removal of two areas, lack of hubs, simplified Werehog combat and movement, muddier visuals, and more basic boss fights is enough of a worthy trade-off either. This doesn't replace the HD version by any means, it's just a nice supplement at best.

11. Sonic Lost World (Wii U)

Sonic Lost World is a game that gets a lot of flack for trying to be too much like Mario, with slower paced movement and more basic world themes. It's certainly not as cool or fast-paced as you'd want from a Sonic game, but on its own merits, I still think it's a pretty solid and polished platformer. Like, let's be real, planetoid stages are always gonna be cool as hell and it allows Lost World to have a lot of level variety that pushes the otherwise basic world themes in some neat ways. The parkour system while underused is a ton of fun to mess around with too, and for as much as I love the boost, it was nice to have a more slow-paced Adventure-esque 3D entry after all this time. That being said, I still have quite a few issues with Lost World. The occassional gimmicky level, the boring boss fights, the shoehorned Wisp abilities, and most importantly, a very mixed bag of a story. Like many Sonic tales from this era, I think Lost World's narrative has a few moments of brilliance, a few well-framed scenes, a few jokes that land, a few bits of drama that works, but the end product feels really messy and forced. But as long as you skip all the cutscenes, I think Lost World still holds up as a fun time if you're willing to play by its rules.

10. Sonic & The Black Knight

Sonic & The Black Knight is probably the most 7/10 game ever made. It obviously has one of the best and most well-told stories in the franchise, along with stellar visual design and music. But when you get into the gameplay, Black Knight is a bit more of a mixed bag. It makes a lot of mechanical improvements to Secret Rings both in terms of movement and the overall story pacing, and I think the swordplay gets a bit too much flack since it's simple enough that it doesn't drag the gameplay to a halt every time you engage an enemy. However, this is a double-edged sword since the overall gameplay in Black Knight is so simple that it feels pretty one-note, and when the stages start to get tough in the second half, the limitations of your rigid movement really start to show. I think Black Knight is still a really fun time for what it is, and stands out as the last true "Adventure era" game in the series, but it has too many flaws for me to call it truly great.

9. Shadow The Hedgehog

Despite its reputation, Shadow The Hedgehog is a game I will always defend. In terms of the core moment to moment gameplay, I think Shadow 05 improves on Heroes in almost every way, with tighter movement, more responsive grinding and triangle jumps, and simple but fun gameplay that lets the player choose how fast they want to move through each of the stages. And speaking of which, the stage design in Shadow 05 is also quite good all around, with a ton of very memorable setpieces and settings. The one thing that really prevents this one from being higher on the list for me is really just the missions which can range from pretty fun to obnoxiously tedious. If Shadow's campaign was more like the game's linear Expert Mode, I'd definitely like it a lot more. But despite that issue, I still really like Shadow 05 because the core gameplay is just so fun, and I've even grown to admire the charmingly edgy aesthetic that the whole game wears so proudly on its sleeve.

8. Sonic Dream Team

Coming right on the heels of The Final Horizon, Sonic Dream Team was exactly the kind of game I was waiting for. It may not be anything too spectacular, with fairly simplified controls and a slower pace to compensate for it being a mobile game, but Dream Team made sure to keep the scope small, focus on its strengths, and delivered a polished, consistently fun platformer. The inventive dream-themed environments rival Sonic Colors in terms of pure visual creativity, and the level design and controls are perfectly tailored to platforming at high speeds. At a high level, Dream Team just feels incredibly satisfying to play. The fairly large roster of characters, abundance of collectibles that encourage you to look around, and pretty fun boss fights are the icing on the cake, making for what is probably the most Adventure-esque 3D Sonic game we've had in years.

7. Sonic Heroes

Look, Sonic Heroes is obviously a very janky game. Rail grinding barely works, combat is horrible when you're not powered up enough, the speed characters move too fast, the pinball physics are a mess, this game has a lot of very obvious flaws. However, I think Sonic Heroes has enough truly stellar elements to make up for all of this. The team-up mechanics are an absolute joy to mess around with, and the stages do a great job at allowing for multiple strategies for pretty much every situation. The stages themselves are also incredibly focused, fun, and well-designed, and the Genesis-inspired two-act structure means each campaign feels really well-paced and lacking in fluff. The bright Gamecube era visuals are a joy to look at, the soundtrack is arguably Senoue's best, and the story while simple and cheesy has some of the most enjoyable character banter in the series. This was the first 3D Sonic game I ever played from start to finish, so while I may have a bit too much nostalgia for Heroes, I also think it was a great entry point into this new perspective for the series.

6. Sonic Colors

Sonic Colors is definitely one of the most consistent 3D Sonic games, lacking any major flaws that would make it hard for me to recommend to anyone. I know it gets a bad rap from Sonic fans for its story (which I'd argue isn't even that bad) and the abundance of 2D levels, but as a game, I think Colors is just really thoughtfully-designed. Each zone is striking and memorable thanks to their colorful environments and surreal art direction that rivals Unleashed as some of the best in the franchise, but the level design itself is also a ton of fun to replay over and over again as you unlock more Wisps and open up even more of each of the stages, and that includes the 2D stages as well. I also have to praise how much more sparing the boost is in this game, you don't get Boost Wisp capsules that often which adds an element of boost management that helps Colors stand out in particular. Overall, I think Colors strikes a perfect balance between being bite-sized and accessible without lacking in depth, unlike something like Forces, which makes for a rare 3D Sonic game that I actually love to get 100% in. Colors may not have the ambition of other games in the series, but it has a strong sense of focus and knows the kind of game it wants to be: A simple, easy to hop into, pure platformer that brings Sonic back to his roots, and I think it does that well.

5. Shadow Generations

Shadow Generations is easily the best 3D Sonic game we've gotten since the original Generations, and a worthy followup to Shadow 05 that re-rails the titular character after years of mischaracterization. The level design is consistently stellar, filled with shortcuts, branching paths, and satisfying platforming. Shadow's movement is some of the most fluid in a 3D Sonic game, striking the cleanest balance between boost gameplay and precision platforming we've ever seen (even if I'd argue the boost side gets shafted a bit with how much slower this game is). The boss fights are cinematic and memorable, the production values are the highest we've seen in years, and the main hub redeems Frontiers' open zone concept in triumphant fashion. That being said, Shadow Generations isn't really its own game, it's bundled in with Sonic Generations. When combined, Sonic X Shadow Generations is in fact one of the best 3D Sonic experiences of all time, but on its own, Shadow Generations just feels a bit too short to fully stand on its own. Just one extra stage, preferably one from Shadow 05, would probably be enough to fix that.

4. Sonic Adventure 2

Sonic Adventure 2 is probably the closest a 3D Sonic game has ever felt to feeling like an action movie. There are no hubs, no wide open spaces to explore, just nonstop level-by-level action and it's a ton of fun. At its best, SA2 boasts some of the most exciting stages in the series, with the fast-paced speed stages and the explorative treasure hunting stages being notable highlights for me. There's a strong focus on mastery here, with a well-implemented ranking system that's just begging you to get better. And it's all bolstered by the wonderful Dreamcast era aesthetics, varied genre-bending soundtrack, addictive Chao Garden sidemode that supplements the main campaign perfectly, and one of the best and most iconic narratives in the franchise. At its worst, however, SA2 does have lower lows than its predecessors, between the somewhat clunky mech controls and the generally rough boss fights. However, even with its issues, Sonic Adventure 2 is still a game I love playing and I can definitely say it holds up as a worthy sequel to SA1.

3. Sonic Generations

Sonic Generations is probably the most consistently stellar 3D Sonic game, to the point where the only things I can really fault it for are a few weak boss fights and a nothingburger of a story. Otherwise, this is Sonic at his most refined and focused. The Classic Sonic stages while not super accurate are still an absolute blast for their dynamic 2.5D level design and just how fun it is to mess around with physics. And the Modern Sonic stages are pretty much all masterpieces, intricately layered with a ton of hidden shortcuts that are a joy to figure out, and being the perfect length to make mastering them feel totally worth it. The way Sonic Generations takes iconic settings from the series and expands on them still feels impressively fresh to this day, and the sheer amount of thought and polish that went into this package is constantly on show. The only reason why it's not even higher is the fact that it's still an "anniversary game" meaning it doesn't really feel like a cohesive adventure (especially considering how subpar the story is). It's more just a collection of really, really good stages.

2. Sonic Unleashed

Sonic Unleashed was a game I had wanted to play for a long time, and as you can probably tell, I'm pleased to say that it generally lived up to the hype. The day stages are some of the best 3D Sonic gameplay out there, it's exhilarating fast, super responsive, and genuinely challenging. And while the Werehog gameplay certainly doesn't reach that same high bar, it still stands out as one of the best alternate playstyles in the series for having genuine depth to the combat. And the whole game is bolstered with fantastic level design, stellar boss fights, an abundance of side content, and staggering production values the likes of which the series still hasn't seen since. As I said in my review, I think of Unleashed as the absolute peak of Sonic in terms of art direction. It does have a few blatant flaws like its uneven pacing and some of the side content, but they pale in comparison to the highs this game reached. As a full package, Unleashed still stands out as one of the most complete, full-featured, and satisfying experiences in the series.

1. Sonic Adventure

Yep, Sonic Adventure is still my favorite game in the series to this day. I love so much about it. From the charming hub areas that are a joy to get lost in, to Sonic's top-tier movement that nailed the transition to 3D impressively effortlessly, to the stellar open-ended level design, to the cool interweaving story that gives the cast a ton of character depth, to the gorgeous Dreamcast-ass visual style, to that poppy soundtrack, to the myriad of fun and varied character campaigns like Gamma's fast-paced shooting and Amy's survival horror bits. It's not perfect, no Sonic game is. Tails' campaign feels too padded out, Big's campaign doesn't properly teach you the fishing control, and the game as a whole certainly has its fair share of jank, but overall, no other Sonic game gives me as much joy playing it as Adventure does. It's such an immensely charming and seamless experience that still feels unlike anything else in the franchise.

Sonic Unleashed

Sonic Unleashed has been my white whale for years. The one game I so desperately wanted to play, but couldn't. You might think that sounds weird considering how divisive of a game it is, especially when it released, but I'm serious. Even back in the 2010s, when Sonic Unleashed hate was at its highest, I thought the game looked really cool, partially for the stunning visuals but I also just thought it looked like fun. And when the fandom did start to come around on Unleashed, it only made me want to play the game even more. But considering it's been locked on XBOX 360 and PS3 for years, not even getting a Steam release, I thought it seemed pretty unlike that I'd actually get to play it.

But then, out of complete nowhere, the Unleashed Recompiled project was dropped. In one of the most impressive fan projects of the year so far, Sonic Unleashed has been ported to Linux, PC, and after a few extra days, Mac so that anyone can play it. As a Mac user who doesn't usually get to play these Recomp projects, I was stunned. After all this time, I'll finally be able to play Sonic Unleashed. But will I enjoy? Will it live up to all the hype? Or will I end up realizing why it got so much hate to begin with?

So let's just get the obvious praise out of the way. In terms of presentation, Sonic Unleashed is an absolute marvel. The production values on show here are truly stunning. The dynamic lighting, the detailed environments, the charming human designs, the slick menus, the bold coloring, the gorgeous CGI cutscenes, it all makes for what is probably still the best-looking Sonic game ever made. Unleashed is so good-looking that it took until the XBOX Series X for it to run well on console. Thankfully, the Recomp team did a great job at optimizing Unleashed so that I could play it at a fairly consistent 60fps on my Mac M2. The soundtrack is also stellar, I've praised it enough but just know that it easily ranks as a Top 3 Sonic OST for me and one of my favorite game soundtracks in general. The story is pretty solid too, with a nice balance of serious stakes and more lighthearted banter. Chip did feel a bit annoying at first but he grows on you over time and his friendship with Sonic is genuinely heartwarming, and Eggman is probably at his best here with how much Sonic drives him off the deep end. But that's all stuff I already liked about Unleashed prior to playing it, so how is the actual gameplay?

Sonic Unleashed is split into the Day and Night gameplay, the former having you play as the first 3D incarnation of Boost Sonic, and the latter having you play as Sonic's Werehog form. The Day stages are just flat-out incredible. I'm genuinely impressed at how much Sonic Team nailed the formula right off the bat, Sonic moves blisteringly fast in this game but his inputs are super tight and responsive. I never feel like I'm unable to quickly react to the obstacles the game tosses at me, and aside from the drift being a bit slippery, Sonic's movement feels really natural at high speeds. As a matter of fact, I'd even say I prefer how he controls in this game compared to Generations, it just feels easier to aim him where he needs to go. The stages themselves are also stellar, each and every one of them. Filled to the brim with memorable setpieces, branching paths, and genuinely difficult but rewarding high-speed platforming, the Day stages in Unleashed are cinematic and impressively long with many clocking in at over five minutes on a first playthrough. They all have such a great sense of flow to them once you get good, and it's genuinely hard to pick a favorite. It's tough for me to really say if I prefer Unleashed or Generations' approach to boost gameplay overall. Generations has a slightly greater focus on platforming with more open level design, but Unleashed's gameplay is far more immersive, visceral, and legitimately challenging but in a fair way. Most 3D Sonic games are either too easy or hard in a way that feels cheap, but Unleashed is probably the perfect difficulty.

The Werehog stages are where Unleashed get a bit more divisive, since they mark a pretty major gameplay shift. Unlike the fast-paced platforming of Day Sonic, these stages play out like a God Of War clone. They're slower, longer, and more focused on combat than speed. But just because these stages are different from what you'd expect from Sonic, does that mean they're bad? No, I wouldn't say so. The Werehog stages are honestly pretty well-designed all around. Each stage introduces a number of puzzle-platforming mechanics that it iterates on throughout, along with being filled with hidden nooks and crannies that are fun to explore. The platforming in particular can be a ton of fun, from scaling the tall clock tower of Spagonia from the inside, to hopping across slippery slides in Cool Edge, to clambering across buildings in Skyscraper Scamper. I do think they can drag on too long, it would be nice if they were split up into a bunch of smaller missions like the Wii version, but I also don't think they're ever "not fun".

In terms of the core gameplay, I also think the Werehog controls pretty well, with a satisfying sense of weight to his jumps and a dash move that's very fun to use. His various parkour moves chain into each other well, and once you get a handle on his movement, you can fly through levels super gracefully. And most importantly, the combat is pretty fun. You get access to a lot of moves, from a variety of combos with various purposes, to a block, to critical attacks that are very satisfying to pull off, to even aerial juggles. While you can certainly just button-mash your way through the stages, you'd probably find it boring that way. The Werehog combat is at its best when you actually take advantage of the moves you have on offer, using the spread attacks for groups, the dash and stinger moves for closing gaps, the juggles for getting more hits in, etc. Really, it's everything I could've wanted from the combat in Frontiers which very much does not do any of this well. Don't get me wrong, the Werehog combat isn't some of the best character action combat I've ever played and I still vastly prefer the Day Sonic stages, but it does a good job of being accessible for inexperienced players and having a solid amount of depth.

Beyond the main stages, Sonic Unleashed has a few other notable gameplay types. Each major area has an explorable hub with a number of NPCs, hidden collectibles, and sidequests. Hubs in Sonic games seem to get a bad rap for a strange reason but I never understood the hate. The hubs in Adventure 1 is part of what makes that game so special to me, and I'm pleased to say that Unleashed's hubs are just as good if not even better, keeping the same lively feeling which being a lot more dense, varied, and filled with things to do. On the other hand, there's also the Tornado Defense missions which are occassional brisk quick-time events where you shoot down Eggman's fleet from atop the Tornado. They're... fine. Not exactly fun but inoffensive, and once again, I can't escape the comparisons to Adventure's similarly mid Sky Chase levels. And finally, there are the boss fights which are overall a ton of fun. The Day Sonic boss fights taking place in high speed chases that feel super exhilarating, and the Werehog bosses boasting a more varied blend of puzzle and combat that are satisfying to crack.

I also think it's worth noting that Sonic Unleashed has a lot of collectibles, and I mean a lot of collectibles. The most infamous are the whopping 400 Sun & Moon Medals scattered around the stages, hubs, and bosses, of which at least 240 are required to beat the game. But there's also the Records, Art Books, souvenirs, videotapes, upgrades, XP systems, and so on. So, I can see why the medal gating is a problem for a lot of people. Unleashed is long enough already and having to backtrack for more medals can be a pain. But as someone who generally likes exploring, I mostly enjoyed searching for as many medals as I could, particularly in the more slow-paced Werehog stages. The one place where I think the abundance of collectibles is a major issue is, of course, in the Day stages which often have branching paths and a lack of backtracking which would require a lot of replays and trial-and-error to get them all. But even then, I managed to gather up the mandatory medals needed fairly easily, the only times I did replay old levels was because I wanted to.

That being said, I do want to go over a few more of the actual gripes that I have with Unleashed, though most of them are fairly small. The Werehog often doesn't have a drop shadow which can make platforming a bit harder than it needs to. For me, this was only a real issue in Dragon Road Night though, most of the time I barely noticed. I also thought most of the side missions were pretty weaksauce. The NPC sidequests require a lot of running back and forth for not that great of a reward, and the hot dog missions just make you replay entire stages with restrictions which I just didn't feel was worth it. The optional challenge acts are also pretty hit-or-miss, with some being quite fun like the Chao hunt in Spagonia, and others being frustrating like the drifting act in Savannah Citadel or that one Werehog act in Dragon Road where you have to carry gem stones around. That being said, since most of this stuff is optional, I can't exactly say it made the game worse for me since I could just not engage with the side content I wasn't interested in.

Overall, I loved Sonic Unleashed. The Day stages are easily some of the best 3D Sonic gameplay to date, the Night stages boast what is probably Sonic's best combat system, the exploration is fun, the level of challenge is satisfying to conquer, the bosses are memorable, the story is solid, the production values are staggering, and the game feels like a genuinely long adventure in a way that I haven't felt from a Sonic game since maybe Adventure 1? I wouldn't say this is the only Sonic game to have a massive scope, but it's definitely one of the few to be able to back up that scope with legitimate polish and execution. While there are certainly a lot of little nitpicks I could lob at it, they don't do too much to really impact my opinion on the game. Unleashed definitely cracks into my Top 3 as far as 3D Sonic games go, right alongside Adventure and Generations.

5/5 Stars