Mario Kart World: Quality Over Quantity?

Sorry it's been a while since I made a post on here, but that's mostly because I've been busy playing my new Switch 2. It's been great, genuinely, I know it's a pretty big hotbed for controversy for a number of reasons, but I feel like I've really been getting my money's worth. It has some welcome improvements over the original Switch in terms of hardware feel and its performance improvements for Switch 1 games, and some of the new features like the mouse controls are surprisingly fun to use. I got to experience the next two chapters of Deltarune which were absolute masterpieces, finally got into F-Zero GX thanks to the Gamecube NSO, and plan to revisit Tears Of The Kingdom with its improved resolution and performance to see if maybe I was a bit too harsh on it. It's been so long since I was hit with the excitement of a new console launch, and it still feels like I've barely scratched the surface of this neat little device.

But of course, the star of the show is Mario Kart World, the big launch title and the first new console Mario Kart game since 2014. Add in the fact that Nintendo thought the sheer amount of effort put into World meant it deserved to be priced at a whopping $80, and yeah, expectations are very high. Thankfully, I'm glad to say that I absolutely loved Mario Kart World. I wouldn't say it's worth the full $80, but as a part of the bundle, it's definitely one of the best launch titles Nintendo has ever made between its gorgeous visuals, variety of modes, and mechanically-rich gameplay. But where I start to become conflicted is when I start comparing Mario Kart World to its predecessor, Mario Kart 8 Deluxe. Because there are moments when Mario Kart World completely trounces any prior entry in the series by a country mile, but as a complete package, it could use some work.

So here's the thing with Mario Kart 8 Deluxe. I've gone on record saying that it's my favorite Mario Kart game and it probably still is, but that's primarily due to how accessible and content-rich it is. At this point, 8 Deluxe has a whopping 96 tracks, many of which being really high quality, and a bevy of options including item customization, a jukebox, robust player stats, five different battle modes, the list goes on. Mario Kart 8 Deluxe truly offers everything one could want from a kart racer and its simple controls and smooth game feel mean that anyone I show the game is able to quickly get to grips with it. In contrast, World only has 30 proper tracks albeit alongside the 100+ routes connecting them all, and it lacks a lot of the options and convenience its predecessor had. There are only two item sets in VS, only two battle modes, no 200cc, no lap records or going backwards in Time Trial, restrictive online settings, and several characters are unlocked through one of the worst RNG gacha mechanics I've ever seen in a game. Mario Kart World is by no means lacking in content, not even close, but it feels like some of the little things that prior games is missing from it.

But in terms of the core gameplay of Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, I'm honestly kinda bored with it? Like, I can acknowledge that it feels incredibly smooth to play, but it's almost too smooth. Too easy to control. The AI is super generous even in the higher speed classes, and turning is so tight that not a single track gave me any difficulty even when I was playing the game for the first time. Some of the BCP tracks do admittedly have slightly sharper turns, but that feels more like an accidental byproduct of the tracks being ported from Tour than an intended difficulty spike. I love that MK8 Deluxe is so accessible that most of my friends can play it, but I'm starting to feel like I want more from my kart racing games, which I suppose is natural after over a decade of playing the same one. As you can probably tell, I've been getting into some of the stranger and more technical kart racers out there like Ring Racers, Sonic Riders, and Bomberman Fantasy Race and I've grown to absolutely adore them. So now going back to Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, it almost feels like I'm playing on autopilot by comparison. Even some of the earlier entries like Double Dash, DS, and Wii can still give me a run for my money, but Mario Kart 8 just doesn't. It's a great game, but I just want something with a bit more substance, a bit more sauce.

And this is where Mario Kart World truly excels for me. Mario Kart World is the most mechanically-rich game in the series and it's not even close. You have the ability to charge up a jump, grind across rails, wall ride, do multiple directional aerial tricks in a row, bounce off of rival racers' heads, and so much more. There's Wave Race-style jetskiing with its own complex trick system, more freeform gliding akin to how it was in Mario Kart 7, physics-based collisions like in Double Dash, and it all makes for a game that feels amazing to play. Best of all, the track layouts do a fantastic job at facilitating the use of this new tech, often being far more open-ended and sprawling than you'd expect from a traditional Mario Kart track, boasting so many shortcuts that we're still finding new ones over a week after launch. It feels like you have to make so many more decisions while you play, there's so much more to consider and you need to plan out your path through each track more deliberately.

In addition, Mario Kart World is legitimately tough in a lot of ways. While the drifting still feels great, it's a bit looser than it was in Mario Kart 8, so you need to commit to your drift a bit earlier than you might be used. For as counterintuitive as this might sound, I love that I have to put a bit more effort into drifting because drifting in MK8 just felt too mindless. Beyond that, the AI is way more aggressive this time around. I found myself having to content with a lot more blue shells than I used to and I'll admit that it caught me off-guard at first. But as I got to grips with World's item system, I actually quite like the item balancing in World. It's certainly more intense, but unlike in say Mario Kart Wii, you have more tools for dealing with the deadlier items like the Blue Shell and the aforementioned physics-based collision system means getting hit doesn't completely bring you to a stop. The level of challenge in Mario Kart World is pretty much perfect, the closest thing we've seen to Double Dash in terms of difficulty balancing in my opinion.

There's a lot of other things to love about Mario Kart World too, though. As I said, I think the track design is overall stellar with only a few low points. Dry Bones Burnout, Great ? Block Ruins, Shy Guy Bazaar, Dino Dino Jungle, Toad's Factory, Boo Cinema, Cheep Cheep Falls, Dandelion Depths, Acorn Heights, and of course the fantastic iterations of Bowser's Castle and Rainbow Road, there's a lot of heavy-hitters here. The routes are fun for the variety of hazards and cool course variations they offer, Knockout Tour is an instant classic mode for its tense and frantic item play, and the new Balloon Battle ruleset might be the best one to date. I adore how low stakes Free Roam is, encouraging you to explore outside the bounds of each track just to see what you can find. It's purely driven by your own curiosity rather than a massive checklist like so many other open world games (I do think the map could be a bit more detailed though). And of course, the presentation is stellar. There's an incredible attention to detail in terms of the world design, the character animation is some of the most expressive in the franchise, the colors are super vibrant, and the soundtrack is stellar between the catchy original tracks and the whopping 200+ remixes you can listen to in Free Roam.

But then that brings us back to Mario Kart 8. I recently replayed a bit of Mario Kart 8 with some friends and it stunned me how less engaging it felt compared to World, and it's in a lot of ways too. Obviously, the lack of all that movement tech was sorely missed but even the track design felt so much more restrictive. That's obviously not to say MK8's movement and tracks are bad, far from it. There are still a lot of incredible tracks in 8 and I stand by praise towards how smooth the controls are. But at that moment, playing both games back to back made it abundantly clear how much more engaged I was with World's mechanics, my neurons were firing on all cylinders with World, but with 8, I was right back to that mindless slump. But it's not just the gameplay and tracks that felt less exciting, the visuals did too! I used to think Mario Kart 8 stood up as one of the most gorgeous games Nintendo has ever made for its more hyper-realistic environments, but coming off the heels of the far more colorful and expressive World, Mario Kart 8 looks kinda muted and stiff by comparison. I do really love the more slick and futuristic overall aesthetic that MK8 has and the soundtrack is obviously still pure distilled perfection, but beyond that, the less stylized art direction is really starting to show its flaws.

And yet, it feels like despite how tired I've grown with it, Mario Kart 8 Deluxe always just ended up being the best Mario Kart game by default. Double Dash has more fun item play and vibrant visuals, but it lacks a single-player VS Mode and only has 16 tracks, unlike Mario Kart 8. Mario Kart DS has the cool mission and battle modes and fun controls, but its retro courses suck, unlike Mario Kart 8. Mario Kart Wii has top-tier nitro tracks, but it looks ugly and the item balance sucks, unlike Mario Kart 8. I can't say there's much that Mario Kart 8 Deluxe does that was truly exceptional compared to any other game in the series, it's just a really refined and content-rich game on every level with so few holes I could poke in it. But Mario Kart World feels different, because even though it has its fair share of glaring flaws just like all the other Mario Kart games prior to 8, the heights it manages to reach in terms of its mechanics, track design, challenge level, mode variety, musical ambition, and visual presentation is so far beyond any other game in the series.

So then, that begs the question. What's more important? Is it the pure quality and depth of Mario Kart World's design, or the quantity and robustness of Mario Kart 8 Deluxe's content? For some, this would probably be an easy answer, but for me, I can't really say yet. This is mostly because Mario Kart World literally just came out so there's plenty of room for it to get plenty of updates that end up fixing most if not all of my gripes with the game. After all, that is what happened with Mario Kart 8, which I'd argue at launch was way worse than Mario Kart World at launch. So... uhh... sorry to cop out like this, but I'll get back to you in about a year. At the moment, I'll say that 8 Deluxe and World are close to tied for me, both with their own strengths and weaknesses, but there's always a chance that World can overtake it some time in the future...

5/5 Stars 

My Complicated Thoughts On Sonic & The Secret Rings

My thoughts on Sonic as a series has always been a bit strange because I'm not someone who would call themselves ride-or-die for any one particular era of the series. I think the 2D Genesis games are still immensely iconic and replayable 2D momentum platformers, I love the Adventure era for its interconnected storytelling and cast along with its more free-form 3D gameplay, and I even have a real soft-spot for the infamously spotty late 2000s for its high production values, sheer variety and quantity of games, and the phenomenal boost trilogy of Unleashed, Colors, and Generations. I've even defended some of the more disliked entries in the series like Shadow 05, Black Knight, and Lost World, so needless to say, I'm pretty easy to please when it comes to Sonic.

But then there's Sonic & The Secret Rings, a game that has left me thoroughly conflicted unlike no other Sonic game out there. I had only ever played a small portion of Secret Rings just to see what it was actually like, and I felt pretty confident in unambiguously calling it one of the series' worst entries for the motion controls alone, just like everyone else. But I always had this desire to go back to Secret Rings, and give it a proper chance. So I did, and... I kinda enjoyed myself? A bit? I don't know. 

I think the worst thing a Sonic game can do is make me feel nothing (that's part of why I'm always so harsh on Frontiers), and Secret Rings, for better or worse, made me feel pretty much everything. Where it was exhiliration at the game's fun setpieces, investment in the more personal story, exhaustion with the tedious menuing and tutorial system, frustrating with the wonky control scheme, awe at the gorgeous environments, or completely laughing my ass off at the game's ridiculous jank, Secret Rings had me thoroughly engrossed from start to finish. But does that make it a good game? I'm really not sure. I'm not someone who ever believed in guilty pleasures, my take was always that if you enjoy a piece of media, it's doing something right. But with Secret Rings, I wonder if maybe I'm being too charitable. Have my standards gotten too low? Am I only even thinking this because of how unanimously disliked this game seems to be? 

With this review, I want to sift through my thoughts on Sonic & The Secret Rings, and also unpack how I personally think about games. So strap in, this is gonna be a long one.

Star Fox Assault: The Future Of Star Fox

Star Fox Assault is my favorite Star Fox game. It's also the Star Fox game that frustrates me the most, because it comes the closest to fully realizing the series' potential. Nintendo handed the series over to Namco for Assault, and considering their adeptness at making fun dogfighting games (hell, the team behind Assault worked on Ace Combat 2), it's a pretty perfect fit. Assault's campaign is a nonstop ten-stage sci-fi action blockbuster thrill ride with tight controls, addicting arcade-y mechanics, dynamic stages, a compelling story, and a polished presentation. It lays down the perfect framework for an ideal Star Fox game, but it's just too short, and Namco never got the opportunity to make a true masterpiece of a sequel. So let's talk about why I think Assault is so good.

From a story perspective, Star Fox Assault feels like a culmination of everything the series has been building up to. While Star Fox 64's story is obviously a lot more quotable and charming, Assault's story blends the classic Star Fox heroics with a much darker and more threatening antagonists. The Aparoids are a great Borg-style villainous force, and the story surrounding them manages to involve pretty much every single character in some way. Star Wolf briefly teaming up with Fox to take down a greater threat, General Pepper almost being taken over by the Aperoids, Krystal getting to join the team proper, Slippy's father being introduced, Peppy having a personal connection to the Aperoids because the previous Star Fox fought them years ago, Tricky getting a brief cameo when the Aperoids nearly wipe out Sauria, the list goes on. Namco showed a serious respect for the series' legacy and continuity with Assault's narrative, and it makes for what is probably the best story of the bunch. While I do wish we got more Star Fox games, I do also think that if Assault was the last game, it would be a pretty satisfying ending.

Assault's gameplay switches between a variety of modes. The classic Arwing gameplay is here of course, and it controls incredibly well. This is probably the best the Arwing has ever felt to control, and it's hard to fully articulate why. It just feels really tight and fast, with a simplified button layout that doesn't remove any of the mechanics in 64 but rather just makes them feel a bit less cumbersome to use. The fact that Assault generally plays at a silky smooth 60fps certainly helps matters as well. Assault has three dedicated on-rails stages and they're easily some of the best in the series, they're lengthy and dynamic, bringing you through these detailed environments as you try to dodge a variety of hazards. There are also a few all-range sections and they control just as tightly, so they don't feel quite as much like huge difficulty spikes like they did in 64. As a matter of fact, Assault's difficulty curve is top-notch, with each mission feeling properly tougher than the last without feeling too steep at any point.

The more divisive aspect of Star Fox Assault are the other playstyles though. Assault has you spend a lot of time on-foot in these large arenas as you run around trying to take down targets. Personally, I actually quite like these segments. Most enemies can be taken out in one charge shot, you run around really fast, and there's this really snappy and arcade-y feel to everything. Assault's on-foot sections aren't designed like your average third-person shooter, they're fundamentally designed with the same arcade sensibilities that the Arwing sections have which prevent these gameplay styles from feeling too disconnected from each other. My only gripe is the fact that the Twin Sticks control setup isn't the default, this is 100% the way you should play these on-foot sections.

But I think what really elevates Assault's campaign is the mission design. Outside of those three aforementioned on-rail stages, most stages in Assault don't just stick with a single gameplay style. Many of the on-foot stages also give you a Landmaster and at times even an Arwing to use, and others may even have you stand on the wing of Falco or Wolf's ship as you gun down enemies. There is an element of dynamism and variety to Assault's missions that mean you won't be spending much time doing the same thing. There isn't just "the Landmaster level" or "the turret level", because most of the missions have several moving parts and even several different ways to beat them. Add in a variety of difficulties, collectibles, Ally Medals, and a high score system, and there is still a decent amount of replay value and incentive for mastery here even without the branching paths of previous games.

However, for as much as I love the single-player campaign in Assault, I can't deny that it wasn't the main focus here. Star Fox Assault at its core is a multiplayer game, and it's a great one at that. The Versus Mode here has a wide variety of modes, stages, and characters, and it takes advantage of the variety of vehicles and movement options to allow for these large-scale battles to play out. But you can tell Assault was designed with the multiplayer first with the campaign being built around it, with several missions being built around the multiplayer arenas that feel almost designed to introduce you to how all the Versus mechanics work. The focus on multiplayer also shows in how short the campaign is. As I said, there are only ten levels here, and beating Assault always just leaves me wanting more. More on-rails levels, more boss fights, more big and open battles, more character interactions, etc. What we did get was great, but I can't help but wonder what an sequel would look like where Namco focused more on the single-player.

Star Fox Assault is a fantastic entry in the series with so much to love. It's got a great campaign with snappy controls and stellar mission design, it has an addictive multiplayer mode with tons of content and features, and it boasts a top-notch presentation with a gripping story, smooth visuals, and hands down the best soundtrack in the entire series. It's so close to being one of my favorite action games of all time, but I just wish there was more of it! Namco gets Star Fox, you can tell they have so much love for this series, and the fact that they were never able to make more of them will always be a colossal shame.

4.5/5 Stars

Ranking The Galaxies In Super Mario Galaxy 2

In my last post, I ranked all of the galaxies in the first Super Mario Galaxy game. This time, I'm going to tackle the sequel, Super Mario Galaxy 2. If the first game was already a near endless stream of creativity, Galaxy 2 takes things up a notch with some of the most inventive back-to-back levels I've ever seen in a 3D platformer. Tons upon tons upon tons of awesome items, fun gimmicks, memorable setpieces, and unique galaxy designs that simply stick with you. And while it may be lighter in tone than its predecessor, it manages to serve as an optimistic compliment to the first game in a way I find equally touching. As far as I'm concerned, Galaxy 2 absolutely rivals its predecessor in terms of quality, and even exceeds it in some areas.

Unlike the first game, Galaxy 2 doesn't really have main or side galaxies. Every galaxy in the game has either two or three Stars, meaning they're all around the same size and I can actually group them all on the same list. So without further ado, let's get to ranking the galaxies in Super Mario Galaxy 2:

Quick MCU Update: Thunderbolts*

It's been a while since I reviewed a movie, and it's been even longer since I reviewed an MCU movie. But when Thunderbolts* came out to shockingly good reviews, I just knew I had to see it, and I thought I might as well give my thoughts on it.

So to keep things simple, I enjoyed Thunderbolts*, I really did. It reminded me of why I liked the MCU in the first place, going back to basics with a simple teamup premise between a bunch of flawed, complex mercenaries dealing with their own struggles. I can't really say I cared about Yelena, John Walker, or Ghost back in their respective debuts, and I found Red Guardian just straight-up obnoxious, but Thunderbolts* does a great job at making you care about all of them. They all have rough edges that make them interesting, and are carried further by fantastic performances and strong chemistry. Simply watching this team banter and bicker is fun on its own, which is the sign of a good cast. Bob/Sentry was also a surprise hit for me and felt vastly different from a lot of the more one-note MCU antagonists by not really being an antagonist at all. Rather, he's more of a fleshed out character that can stand toe to toe with the main cast, who just happens to take an antagonistic position by the end of the movie.

I also appreciate that Thunderbolts* actually addressed a lot of my criticisms with the MCU. I've mentioned that I found it frustrating how MCU movies tend to only half-commit to their premises, but Thunderbolts* is every bit the psychological character study Marvel pitched it as. This movie tackles its mature subject matter incredibly gracefully and thoroughly, from Yelena's depression, to John's divorce, to Bob's mental health struggles. And the third act wasn't just a manic CGI fest, it felt thematically relevant to what the rest of the film was setting up even if it had to be a bit more unconventional than usual. Speaking of which, the visuals in Thunderbolts* was also a massive step-up from what I was used to. Despite the darker color palette, this movie didn't have the sludgy grading issues other MCU movies had so it was able to use pure black shadows in some really striking shots. I also appreciate that most of the action was shot practically and CGI was only used where it was really necessary. This may seem superficial, but you can immediately notice the difference in how much more tactile the Thunderbolts* looks. I was actually impressed by some of the stunts here, which I've rarely said about the MCU.

That being said, I do have a few gripes. While Yelena, Bob, and to a lesser extent John, Val, and Alexei were all incredibly well-realized, there were a few characters that felt a bit shafted. I'm fine with Bucky not getting as much screentime because we've had years and years to get to know him, but Ghost definitely could've used more of a concrete arc. I also don't love how Yelena-centric the third act was, it would've been nice to see the other characters go through similar psychological struggles even if it meant the movie would've been a bit longer. And frankly, I'd want the movie to be longer because at two hours, Thunderbolts* feels a bit too short. It goes for a strange two-act structure so the movie kinda feels like it lacks a middle section. The team meets, then they go to NYC for the finale, and then the movie ends. 

And finally, I can't say I think Thunderbolts* is going to "redeem the MCU". It's a bit too late for that. This is the first MCU movie post Endgame that feels like it's actually pushing the plot forward, but the big Infinity War-level crossover is already a year away. Marvel has spent so much time goofing around that it still feels too early for Avengers Doomsday. Hell, we still don't have a proper MCU X-Men, Marvel has been teasing them since Wandavision in 2021. Unfortunately, I feel Marvel has made too much of a mess of this universe. There's too many plots being juggled, too many post-credits scenes left unresolved, and not enough new characters to pick up where the legacy cast left off. Thunderbolts* was a great movie and a step in the right direction for Marvel, sure, but it could never clean all of that up itself. And with two movies left until Doomsday, I just don't think that's possible.

But that's fine. Movies should be able to stand alone, after all, and on its own merits, Thunderbolts* is just a good superhero movie. It's got a likable and deep cast of characters, actual themes handled impressively well, stellar practical action scenes and strong cinematography, and most of all, it feels like its own thing. It doesn't feel like it was held back by the larger universe, and it stuck to its guns the whole way through. While it has some issues in terms of pacing, I can absolutely say Thunderbolts* is in my Top 3 MCU movies since Endgame along with No Way Home and Guardians Vol 3. It's not enough to make me want to come back to the MCU full time, but I'm glad it allowed me to check in on a franchise I used to really care for.

4/5 Stars

Ranking The Galaxies In Super Mario Galaxy

It's been quite a few years since I last played the Super Mario Galaxy duology, two of my favorite games of all time for their boundlessly creative level design, joyous antigravity mechanics, stellar atmosphere and soundtrack, and incredible levels of polish and detail. And since I was going to be replaying the Galaxy games, it's time for a project that has been long overdue. I'm going to rank all of the galaxies in both games, starting with the first.

Super Mario Galaxy 1 is my preferred entry of the two, just barely. While it may be a bit rougher around the edges compared to its sequel, it makes up for that with a hauntingly isolating sense of atmosphere and a unique level design philosophy so spontaneous that it manages to make the simple act of stumbling upon a new planet feel so momentous. It's a game that manages to be simultaneously infectiously playful and achingly melancholic, and with almost every level being an absolute blast to play, coming up with a concrete ranking is one of the hardest things I've ever had to do for this blog. 

Metal Gear Solid Boss Ranking

 Metal Gear Solid is a series that's known for its many iconic bosses, particularly in the initial trilogy and Rising. Metal Gear Solid for the PS1 in particular can almost feel like a boss rush at times with how much of your gameplay time is spent fighting bosses, and a lot of those encounters are really fun. So let's go ahead and rank all of the boss fights in MGS1:

10. Sniper Wolf 1
The first Sniper Wolf encounter is one of those fights that sounds a lot cooler than it is in execution, a tense close-quarters sniper battle that has you peeking behind corners and trading shots, on top of it being a race against time to save Meryl sounds really exciting. But first, to even start the fight, you need to backtrack all the way to the start to get a sniper rifle in what feels like an unusually awkward excuse for Meryl to get captured while you're not there. And once you return with the rifle, you realize how limited your options actually are. You can't move while aiming so the only real way to beat Sniper Wolf here is to bait out her shot, quickly run out of cover and shoot her, and then precisely following her to prevent her from getting any shots in. This tactic requires a level of precision that the rifle just doesn't offer even when you're using diazepam, and if you mess up, getting hit whacks your aim so off course that there's no reason not to reset and try again. It's just not an especially fun encounter, especially compared to other sniper boss battles in MGS that allow a much greater degree of player freedom.

9. Tank
While most fights in Metal Gear Solid have some sort of story or character importance, the second boss fight against two soldiers in a tank feels like a notable exception. It's not a bad boss by any means, but it's also not remarkable or even all that challenging. Use a chaff grenade to get up close, then hug the tank while you toss grenades into it and there's no way you'll be able to get hit. I don't even know what else I can talk about here, it's that simple of a fight.

8. Hind-D
The Hind-D comes at the tail end of what is already an exhausting sequence with multiple lengthy staircase climbs, almost nonstop combat and peril, and that tricky rope minigame. And as the cap on what is arguably MGS1's central setpiece, the Hind-D fight is suitably bombastic as it has you shoot down a helicopter atop a rooftop ala Die Hard. However, this fight is sadly not as fun as it could've or should've been. Dodging gunfire from the Hind-D by finding places to take cover is fun for sure, but the Hind-D just takes too long to reveal itself and that only gets worse in the second phase where it spends lengthy amounts of time hiding under your line of sight. I know it may sound a bit oxymoronic to fault a stealth game for having too much waiting, but the Hind-D fight in particular has too much downtime where I'm just not doing anything for what's supposed to be one of the most exhilarating encounters in the game.

7. Revolver Ocelot
Revolver Ocelot's boss fight is deceptively simple. It seems like one of those annoying "chase the boss in a circle" encounters, but there's a lot of other elements you need to keep track of and certain scenarios that can put both you or the boss at a disadvantage. Ocelot can only shoot six times before reloading, but his shots can ricochet, so you need to have a quick trigger finger and let out a shot every time he has to slow down. But you still need to be precise because if you run out of ammo, you'll have to precariously crouch under the center area to get some more, and of course you can't shoot through the center either or else you'll risk blowing up the entire place. It's still a fairly easy first fight since Ocelot doesn't deal too much damage and his shots are fairly slow, but there's enough strategy here to help it stand out regardless.

6. Metal Gear Rex
Metal Gear Rex is one of the most memorable fights in terms of pure spectacle, since destroying a massive mech as just a human with some weapons makes for a truly striking David-vs-Goliath situation. The Grey Fox cutscene in the middle is also a game highlight, especially that bit where the game won't let you shoot at him because Snake can't bring himself to, great showcase of how this game takes advantage of the medium right there. When you don't know what you're doing, it's also a pretty tough fight since Rex has powerful attacks for every situation, several insta-kills, and two phases. However, this fight is also a bit too easy to take advantage of. Hanging around in the middle range, not too close and not too far, means you'll only have to deal with his weakest and easiest-to-dodge attacks, and the fact that this is the last boss where you keep your inventory means there's no reason to conserve ammo or rations. I do think the Metal Gear Rays fight in MGS2 does a better job at mitigating those safe-spots and putting the pressure on the player by comparison while also being one of the most visually-striking moments in the franchise, but I still can't deny how cool its predecessor is by the standards of the PS1.

5. Sniper Wolf 2
Now THIS is a sniper boss fight. The rematch against Sniper Wolf is set in a big open snowfield which gives both you and her a lot more freedom to move around and hide. You don't need quick trigger-finger precision sniper aiming to win, just pure wits and strategy as you try to track her down without getting hit yourself. And with movement freedom also comes freedom of what weapons you use, because while you can use a sniper rifle as intended, you can also use, say, a guided Nikita missile instead? The Nikita strategy had the potential to be a complete utter game-breaker that degraded the fight, but the bumps in the terrain, the fact that Sniper Wolf can spot and shoot down your missile, and the Nikita's limited ammo mean it feels like a legitimate and equally rewarding tactic in its own right. But regardless of the strategy I pick, I just find Sniper Wolf's second fight to be a lot more fun and dynamic than the first.

4. Liquid Snake
Despite how simplistic the hand-to-hand combat is in Metal Gear Solid, I actually quite like the melee encounters in these games. It's already fun to cautiously study your boss's attacks and find openings, and Liquid Snake's fight takes things to another level by removing pretty much every safety net possible. Your inventory is gone, falling off the platform will cause an instant death, and of course, there's now a timer forcing you to play riskier than usual. While it's still a fairly one-note fight mechanically, the dramatic atmosphere and precarious game design still helps it feel like a climactic final boss. And if you really want to count it, the chase scene through the tunnel ends the game as a whole on an exciting bang even if hitting Liquid Snake with your machine gun can feel a bit too imprecise for my liking.

3. Vulcan Raven
When it comes to freedom of strategy, Vulcan Raven is easily the best encounter in the game. This is a simple cat-and-mouse chase against a boss who's immune to pretty much all of your small guns, but everything else is fair game. Want to drop C4 and lure him over them? That works. Want to try using Nikitas at the cost of him shooting them down? Sure. Want to sneak behind him and hit him with a Stinger? Sounds good to me. There are so many potential strategies here making for a really replayable and emergent encounter that really stood out among the crowd, and Vulcan's large radar and the increasing amount of blockades throughout the fight do a good job at keeping a level of tension throughout. The only thing preventing this fight from being even higher up on the list is that I just think the Top 2 are that creative and memorable.

2. Cyborg Ninja
Aka Gray Fox. This is the first melee encounter in the game and only the third boss, but man is it a beefy one. The fight against Cyborg Ninja has a whopping five different phases, where he'll use his sword, teleport around, turn invisible, and even tries to take you down with him once his health hits 0%. His constantly changing tactics make for a really dynamic fight that force you to adapt at a moment's notice, preventing the simple melee mechanics from ever getting stale. The attention to detail in the set-dressing also does a lot to help the fight feel more raw and chaotic, since nearly everything in the environment is completely destructible. You can break computer screens, toss around paper, knock over chairs, it all helps this fight feel so much more immersive.

1. Psycho Mantis
Yeah, this one's pretty obvious. Psycho Mantis is often regarded as one of the great video game boss fights and for good reason too. The sheer meta fourth-wall-breakiness of the entire fight, from Mantis reading your memory card, to the twist of needing to change your controller port to stand a chance still blows me away even having not grown up with the game. But it's not just style over substance. Mantis' telekinesis makes for some quite fun attack patterns to deal with (even if they can be trivialized pretty easily by crouching), and having to deal with protecting a brainwashed Meryl throughout the fight adds a level of tension and urgency that makes the whole encounter all the better for it. If Psycho Mantis's fight was just the cool meta gimmicks, or just the fun gameplay mechanics, or just the exciting personal story stakes, it would already be a pretty good fight. But all three of those things crammed into a single encounter? Yeah, no wonder this is considered one of the best fights in all of gaming.

Ranking Puyo Puyo Games

Puyo Puyo is not a series I talk about too much, but I've been rediscovering the series a bit later and wanted to make a post about my thoughts on the series. While not my favorite arcade puzzle game, Puyo Puyo is always a great time and probably stands as the best competitive arcade puzzler for how much depth it has and how fast-paced and cutthroat it can be. But even beyond the mechanics, Puyo stands out for being more story-driven and character-focused than your average arcade puzzler, boasting multiple stellar casts across both Compile's and Sega's runs with the series. Its fusion of gameplay and story is what helps the series stand out among the genre to this day.

I also have to say Puyo Puyo is a very consistent series in terms of quality, even the weaker games have a lot to love, so ranking the mainline games is a little tricky. Also this is an updated post including Box and Chronicle since I got the opportunity to play them recently.

17. Puyo Puyo (MSX): The very first Puyo Puyo game was released for MSX and the Famicom only, and it's not very good. Frankly, it's the only mainline Puyo game that I'd straight up call bad since it came out before Puyo Puyo found its identity as a character-focused VS arcade puzzler. It's exclusively endless, the only character is Arle and even then you barely see her, there's no VS or multiplayer, and there's no story, which makes for a really sterile, dull, and content-lacking package especially by today's standards. But even back then, this came out after Dr Mario and GB Tetris so I can't even say it was good for the time.

16. Puyo Puyo: The original Puyo Puyo game is pretty good. Obviously, it's a groundbreaking title in terms of competitive arcade puzzling, but I don't find it easy to go back too since offsetting isn't a thing yet. The console ports are also all seriously lacking for single-player content, a common issue in Compile's games that marginally improves over time, only containing a single campaign and an endless mode. Unlike the MSX game, this is definitely a game that was good for its time but hasn't exactly held up the best. I just see no reason to play it over anything else.

15. Minna De Puyo Puyo: Also known as Puyo Pop for the GBA, this was Sega's first entry in the series and it's quite awkward. It feels like a fusion between Compile and Sega's stylings in a package that ultimately just feels like a remake of Tsuu. That's not a bad thing, of course, Tsuu is one of the best Puyo games, but the weaker audio and presentation leaves Puyo Pop feeling pretty disposable. I do like how snarky Arle is in this game though, even by Compile Arle standards.

14. Puyo Puyo Box: Puyo Puyo Box is Compile's true final Puyo game, and it's really strange. It's a bizarre compilation of the Mega Drive versions of Puyo 1 and Puyo Tsuu, complete with a lot of random extras that pay homage to all of the first four games. You can battle with any rule from OG Puyo to Yon of all things. There's a solid endurance mode that pits you against every single Compile character, a strange PocketStation mode, and even a full-fledged RPG mode. However, there are some monkey paws here. While Puyo 1 was always the best on the Mega Drive, Puyo Tsuu on the Mega Drive is lacking some modes and features some of the later versions had so Tsuu feels pretty barebones here. And while the RPG Mode is cool in theory, the execution suffers from an obnoxiously high encounter rate and the bizarre decision to tie basic features like offsetting to specific pieces of equipment (and it doesn't help that this game has yet to see a translation). Puyo Puyo Box as a whole is a cute enough package and a nice tribute to Compile's history with the series, but it's not exactly my preferred way to play any of the Compile games.

13. Puyo Puyo Champions: Puyo Puyo Champions was a fairly cheap entry released in 2018 to accomodate for the competitive scene a bit more. It's got a fleshed-out multiplayer mode with no unlocks required, the best tutorial mode in the series since 15th (though it was added in a post-release update), and that's pretty much it. There's no story mode and not much in the way of singleplayer content aside from an achievements system which does hold it back for me personally, someone who tends to value the single-player in these games. And while the roster is decent, the abundance of Quest characters and lack of Fever characters also holds it back for me more than it probably should. That being said, as a purely competitive-focused outing, Champions does its job and does it well. It's probably my go-to game if I want to hop in and play a quick match, but all the other games just have more to offer beyond that.

12. Puyo Puyo 7: Puyo Puyo 7 is a strange game. This was Sega's second soft reboot of the series that aimed to introduce a new setting in Suzuran, but it wasn't quite as much of a success as Fever was. I like Ringo, but Suzuran's cast of characters is much smaller than that of Primp's stellar cast and as such feels a lot more underdeveloped. It also doesn't help that Fever's story is currently still unresolved, probably because of this game which replaced it with a far less interesting storyline. The new Transformation rule is also pretty unbalanced, basically being an inferior version of Fever that prolongs matches thanks to its overly long timer. It's not a bad game though. I like the unique new artstyle, it brings back Draco finally, it's the first Sega game to introduce a more fleshed-out Story Mode structure that the Tetris games would build on, Ecolo is pretty cool, the soundtrack is once again fantastic, and at the very least, you're not forced to always use Transformation like with prior games. This is a fine entry in the series, just pretty awkward overall compared to the two games it's sandwiched between.

11. Puyo Puyo Chronicle: Puyo Puyo Chronicle is the game I've played the least of so far since the fact that it's a Japan-only 3DS game means it's pretty inaccessible and hard to get running on my computer especially well. But from what I did play, it's solid, but like many of the weaker Sega Puyo games, it feels a bit undercooked. Chronicle is defined by being the first Puyo-adjacent game since Box to have a full-fledged RPG mode, and guess what, it's slightly better! The Skill Battle system is far better and more suited to an RPG than Puyo Box's bizarre equipment system, and the overworld navigation is a bit more involved. It can still be a bit repetitive, but I'd say it does the job. However, from a story perspective, I was expecting a bit more. In this era of Puyo, an RPG mode could've done so much to flesh out the pre-established characters and world with its extra runtime, but Chronicle just tosses everyone into a generic fantasy world and lacks much of the snappy character banter that defines the series.

Beyond that, Chronicle does offer a pretty solid Sega era Puyo game outside of the RPG Mode, boasting a really solid cast of characters, 17 rulesets, and a solid amount of side stuff like achievements, online play, and a shop. Granted, a lot of this stuff are things you can get in other games like 20th or Tetris 2, but it still makes for a really complete package for the 3DS. It also helps that I think the presentation is really charming too. Chronicle is entirely rendered in 3D this time which is a first for the series, and while it doesn't look as sharp as the games with 2D art, the character models and expressions are genuinely adorable. The pastel color palette and patchwork menu design gives the whole game this really comfy feel to it that I quite like, and there's even some full-on cutscenes for the campaign which just rules. I do wish I liked Chronicle more because there is potentially a really cool entry in the series here, but it's buried behind a few missed opportunities with its campaign.

10. Puyo Puyo Tetris 2: In a lot of ways, Puyo Puyo Tetris 2 is an improvement over the original. The Adventure Mode is a bit more involved, with side stories, optional chapters, a proper world map with nonlinear progression, RPG mechanics, and a story with a proper villain. The cast of characters is also far better especially post DLC, with it currently being the largest roster in a Puyo game. Lidelle, Serilly, Ocean Prince, Accord, Harpy, Possessed Klug, Sonic the freaking Hedgehog, so many great characters that weren't in the first game. On top of that, there's also a slicker visual style with flashier spells, more robust online, a new Skill Battle Mode that's more developed than I was expecting going in, a better tutorial mode, and the game feels less biased solely towards Tetris fans. If you prefer Tetris 2 over the original, I totally see why, it's a richer game in terms of what it offers.

However, it's hard to ignore just how much Tetris 2 rips from prior games, even compared to the other direct sequels in the series. The menu is nearly identical to that of Tetris 1, the player card and tutorial modes are nearly identical to the ones in Champions, the first two chapters of the Adventure Mode feel like blatant reintroductions to all the characters, and even the Skill Battle Mode is from Chronicle! Puyo Puyo Tetris 2 has nothing that it can call its own, and it has nothing to offer to people who own the first game unless they just so happen to be diehard Puyo fans already. And that's also not to mention the stuff that I think the first game did better, like gameplay speed, music, comedy, and the Adventure Mode's pacing. Tetris 2 is undeniably a great game, but it just lacks the same magic and novelty as the original for me.

9. Puyo Puyo Puzzle Pop: Puzzle Pop should've been a homerun of a game because it does a lot right. It has arguably the best adventure mode of the bunch mechanically combining the level-based structure of the Tetris games with the multiple character stories of the Anniversary games and the item system of Fever 2. While it's not especially funny and some of the side stories fall a bit flat, I also appreciate that Puzzle Pop is the first game since 15th to actually shine a light on the Fever cast, it's been long enough. This game also has an absurd amount of side content too, from a ton of rulesets, to achievements, to a solid tutorial mode, to a scenario creator. If you said Puzzle Pop was your favorite, I totally get it. However, there's just a lot of little things I'm not huge on. The 3D artstyle, reminiscent of Chronicle, doesn't really do it for me. I also don't love the fact that you have to slowly unlock all the characters by beating their story modes, a process that takes quite a while. And of course, this is an Apple exclusive game which means you either have to use touch controls or forced full-screen on your computer, neither of which is ideal for me. If Puzzle Pop got a proper console release, I think it could jump up a few places, but as it is now, there are other games that are just easier for me to play.

8. Puyo Puyo 15th Anniversary: Puyo Puyo 15th Anniversary is Sega's first anniversary game, and as such, it's probably their biggest package to date in terms of pure content. With a whopping 22 campaigns, a whole bunch of rulesets you can unlock, and an impressive 300 lessons to help new players get adjusted to Puyo gameplay, there's a lot to dig into here. I also quite like the tournament arc premise for the Story Mode as it helps give this entry its own identity even despite it being an anniversary game, coupled with the fact that this is the first game to properly fuse the Compile and Fever casts. That being said, 15th does feel a bit harder to go back to now that 20th is a thing. Characters like Draco and Witch still haven't been reintroduced yet, and I'm not fond of having to slowly unlock all of the rulesets when later entries give you all of them right out of the box. At the time, 15th Anniversary was definitely the biggest Puyo game to date, but that crown has been stolen since.

7. Puyo Puyo Sun: In terms of its presentation, Puyo Puyo Sun is a big step up over the previous games. Sun takes its tropical premise and runs all the way with it, boasting a lovely and bright summer-themed aesthetic, and easily the series' cheeriest soundtrack. The story mode was expanded upon by giving Arle, Draco, and Schezo their own campaigns, and the gameplay is faster and snappier than ever before. I appreciate the Puyo games that are able to have their own unique identity, and Sun is a great example of that. Unfortunately, it's held back by the fact that I just don't like the Sun rule all that much. More than any of the other game-exclusive gimmicks, the Suns overcomplicate the gameplay too much for my tastes, and can easily skew the game towards a player depending on how many Sun Puyos they have. It's not the worst thing in the world and I can certainly put up with them to enjoy Sun for all of its good elements, but it does prevent it from being one of my personal favorite Puyo games.

6. Puyo Puyo Fever: Puyo Puyo Fever is a game that I will always have a soft-spot for. After GBA Puyo Pop's weak showing, this was the game where Sega really gave the series a new identity. I adore the poppy artstyle that Fever established, it's very 2000s and it warms my heart that Sega is still using it to this day. I adore Primp Town and its eclectic cast of characters, it's got such a comfy atmosphere and easily stands as my favorite location in the series. I adore the Fever rule, it strikes a great balance between being chaotic and arcade-y while still requiring a lot of skill to use it well. And I especially adore Fever 1's soundtrack, it's still probably Hideki Abe's best work in my eyes. The only reason why Fever 1 isn't higher up on the list is the fact that it is pretty light on content and is overshadowed by a lot of the later entries, including its own sequel, but rest assured, I still love this game to death. It did a fantastic job at laying the groundwork for the rest of the series.

5. Puyo Puyo~n: You read that right, I actually put Yon in my Top 5. To get the obvious out of the way, this is easily the worst competitive game in the series, being much slower and far more gimmicky. However, as a single-player experience, I think this is probably Compile's best offering. It's their first Puyo game to have a proper Free Battle mode, the Story Mode is longer and always you to save after each battle, there's a full-on Nazo mode, and the additions of alternate arenas and character-specific super attacks adds a nice dose of variety. It may be woefully unbalanced in a more competitive setting for now, but Yon's experimentation did pave the way for stuff like the Fever mode or the alternate rulesets in later games. If Yon simply moved a bit faster, I'd easily call it a top tier entry but even as it is now, it's a really fun time in its own unique way.

But of course, the real highlight of Yon is the entire presentation. Just all of it. The more painterly artstyle looks absolutely gorgeous, and I adore the darker fantastic aesthetic and more mature character designs. The prerendered backgrounds also really stand out for their dramatic and ethereal lighting, the whole game is just an absolute feast to the eyes. The soundtrack is also easily my favorite out of the Compile games, boasting a melancholic and dreamy feel that still feels very Puyo-y. And of course, the slightly darker story is one of the series' best as well. Puyo has always had a bit of a split between its gameplay and story sides, and Yon is probably the series at its most story-focused. While I wish it put a bit more effort into its gameplay, I think the strong presentation and story is still enough to make it a personal favorite of mine.

4. Puyo Puyo Tetris: Like with many people, Puyo Puyo Tetris was the game that got me into Puyo Puyo. It's such a brilliant concept that was also the perfect title to bring to the west after years and years of JP-only entries. Hook people in with the Tetris side and use the story mode to introduce newcomers to the entire Puyo cast and lore, it's great. If you want to just play Puyo or just play Tetris, or if you want to mess around with the Fusion modes, this is a great package with a lot of content and it's still generally faster and snappier than its sequel. The campaign is also easily the funniest in the entire series thanks to a uniquely manic localization and stellar vocal performances, though it still manages to hit some serious emotional highs in its final act as well. The one notable gripe I have with Tetris 1 is that, of course, it is biased more towards Tetris players. Tetris is more blatantly overpowered here, and several Puyo mainstays were cut so the new Tetris characters could join the roster. That is absolutely something the sequel handles a bit better. But despite that, I still love Tetris 1 to death for its creative premise and how effectively it introduced me to the Puyo series.

3. Puyo Puyo Tsuu: Puyo Puyo Tsuu is the game that perfected the Puyo formula with the introduction of offsetting, along with generally smoother gameplay, and it's still probably my favorite Compile era entry to go back to just because of how well-balanced it is. The character interactions are a joy, the music is infectiously catchy, there's multiple rulesets, and the campaign is a lot more involved with its tower structure and the addition of XP. I would complain once again about Tsuu lacking content for single-player, but the Super Remix version adds in multiple campaigns just to sweeten the deal. An absolute classic that still holds up to this day, there's a reason every Puyo game since 15th has made a point of allowing you to use the Tsu rule.

2. Puyo Puyo 20th Anniversary: It shouldn't come as much of a surprise that this is so high up, Puyo Puyo 20th Anniversary has pretty much everything you could want from a Puyo Puyo game. A massive story mode with 26 campaigns, one of the best character rosters in the series, a whopping 20 rulesets including the grand return of the Puyo Sun rule, a fun 2v2 mode exclusive to this game, a cleaner artstyle, and a stellar collection of music tracks both old and new. If I had any gripe it's that the story isn't particularly stellar, coming off as more of a sequel to 7 rather than something that actually takes advantage of the anniversary premise like 15th's story did, but that's really it. And even then, 20th's story does a lot to redeem PP7's story, particularly in how it makes Ecolo a far more interesting character. Otherwise, Puyo Puyo 20th Anniversary is still the ultimate Puyo Puyo package that brings together all the best elements of all of Sega's prior entries, and I don't see its sheer scale being topped any time soon.

1. Puyo Puyo Fever 2: Puyo Puyo Fever 2 is such a gargantuan improvement and refinement of the first Fever, it's hard to even know where to begin. The character roster has been vastly expanded on with great new characters like Sig, Feli, and Lemres. The gameplay feels a lot tighter and faster than in Fever 2, and the artstyle has been further refined to great result. The Story Mode was made much more involved with three character campaigns, a proper item system, and bigger lore bombs like the reveal of the Ocean Prince's true form and the debut of Possessed Klug. The Endless mode has more to offer with the introduction of a Tower mode like in the Compile games, and there's a ton of unlockable stuff ranging from minigames, to lore books, to music tracks, to charming Puyo-themed movie posters. But most of all, the world-building of Primp Town has been amped up to eleven. Being able to explore the town through the menu, interacting with the various characters and getting to know them more, does so much to help Primp Town feel like a living, breathing place. Add in those aforementioned lore books and the mail system and yeah, it's no wonder this is the Puyo cast I have the most attachment to. On a gameplay standpoint, Fever 2 is great, but you can make the argument that the anniversary games often have more content, customization, and competitive viability. But the way Fever 2 expands on the cast and fleshes out its world is what makes it truly special in my eyes.

Brave Fencer Musashi

Squaresoft's Brave Fencer Musashi starts with one of the hardest openings I've ever seen in a game. It's a roughly half-hour-long action sequence that introduces you to all the game's mechanics in spectacular fashion, packing in platforming, combat, puzzle-solving, a manic chase sequence down the side of a tower, and a town-destroying three-phase boss fight where you throw a giant mech 10 times your size through walls and off a cliff, all the while a triumphant and orchestral score plays punctuating your every action. It's truly incredible. If the whole game was like this opening, Brave Fencer Musashi would probably be one of my favorite games of all time.

Unfortunately, Brave Fencer Musashi isn't entirely like that opening. It's still a great game, but it's a lot messier once you actually get exposed to its central gameplay loop. Brave Fencer Musashi is a lighthearted action RPG about the adventures of a chibi version of the titular samurai. The plot is simple, all you really have to go off is that you need to save Princess Fillet, rescue the castle staff, and collect all five scrolls while keeping them out of the hands of the enemy force. So what really gives BFM its charm are the wacky scenarios you get yourself into, along with Musashi's snarky dialogue with the other characters. From a vampire invasion, to giant ant infestations, to multiple steam-related mishaps, to a straight-up dance battle near the end of the game, Brave Fencer Musashi is filled with memorable moments and sequences that just add to the game's fun and goofy tone.

The core movement and combat is generally pretty solid too, though a bit rough around the edges. Musashi moves fast and platforming mostly feels reliable, though Musashi tends to skid a bit upon hitting the ground which can make it easy to accidentally slip off platforms right after landing on them. This is more of an issue in the first half of the game though since you eventually get a double jump that fixes this issue. The combat system gives you a solid amount of combos with Musashi's two weapons, Fusion and Lumina. Fusion is shorter and weaker but attacks faster, and Lumina is longer and more powerful but attacks slower. You can also pick up and toss enemies around, use a variety of magic spells with Lumina, and toss Fusion right at enemies to flat-out steal their powers giving you a ton of options on how to tackle enemy encounters. If I had any gripes with the combat system, it's that your sword range can be a bit stubby and your jump attack with Lumina is absurdly overpowered, but for the most part, it's an incredibly fun and versatile battle system.

However, the combat in BFM is also the first sign of the sheer system overload this game has. As I mentioned, there's a mechanic where you can steal the abilities of almost every enemy in the game which is really cool in theory, but a bit mixed in execution. You can only hold one ability at a time and need to read a tutorial box every time you get a new one (or reclaim an old one), and since the game doesn't always force you to make use of enemy abilities, I often don't even bother. Brave Fencer Musashi also tries to squeeze in life sim elements to mixed results. The game revolves around a real-time day/night cycle where some events will only occur at certain times, once again a cool concept in theory, but in execution it leads to a lot of downtime. You can fall asleep to speed up the timer, but I still spent a lot of time waiting for shops to open or Minkus to appear. I'd say the day/night cycle is best utilized in the main story when the game occasionally gives you a timed sequence, but most of the time, it feels like a hinderance. There's also a very irritating fatigue system where Musashi will get more and more tired over time and lose BP, which can get quite intrusive in dungeons and especially boss fights. Eventually, you can get a quilt that lets you sleep off all your fatigue with no risk pretty much negating the entire system, and guess what? The game is more fun that way!

Brave Fencer Musashi's roughly ten-hour length is mostly split between exploring the town and the areas surrounding it, and linear action stages. The linear action stages are by far the better half of the game. From solving your way through various temples, to platforming across mine shafts, to fighting some of the craziest boss fights on the PS1, to playing a variety of silly minigames, Brave Fencer Musashi is an absolute blast when it focuses purely on action. As a matter of fact, I'd argue that Brave Fencer Musashi at its best is more frenetic, inventive, and varied than Threads Of Fate, its spiritual successor that I generally prefer a lot more. But once again, that's only half the game. You'll also have to do a lot of running around the town talking to people to figure out what you need to do next, and the top-down perspective can make it pretty hard to tell where you are in the town, especially early on. And even outside of the town, there are several areas that you will have to backtrack through entirely multiple times to get everything and it got pretty tedious. Ultimately, my big issue with Brave Fencer Musashi is that when it locks in, it can be a ton of fun. But there are also a fair amount of moments that feel like they're padding out the experience, from the constant backtracking and cryptic event triggers near the town, to waiting out the clock, to dealing with the fatigue system.

Thankfully, Brave Fencer Musashi does get better the more you play it. It has an element of metroidvania progression where you get upgrades that make navigating the world and dealing with stuff like the fatigue system a lot easier, and the game overall gets increasingly action-focused as it goes on. I'd say the Vambee arc is where BFM really hits its stride, since it introduces this creative premise where vampires attack the town, and it puts you through several incredibly fun and challenging platforming sequences in close succession. And as I mentioned, the boss fights are a consistent highlight, most of which being super bombastic and dynamic, boasting multiple phases and a variety of attack patterns to throw you off guard. At worst, some of these fights have a bit too much downtime, but the sheer scale and creativity of most of them more than make up for it. It all culminates in the great final chapter which drops the timer all together as Musashi wages a one-man war on the enemy force all on his own, and it's awesome. The final area tests all of your abilities from platforming to combat, and it contains a whopping five boss fights, including several 1-on-1 duels, a hilarious dancing minigame, a stunningly large-scale fight against a tower, and a stellar final boss complete with multiple chase sequences and a fast-paced final phase that makes excellent use of your assimilation ability.

As per the usual for a Squaresoft game on the PS1, the overall presentation of Brave Fencer Musashi is also good enough to elevate the entire package. The whole game boasts this adorable and expressive chibi look, and the story is conveyed through an impressive amount of fully voice-acted in-engine cutscenes. While I think Threads Of Fate is overall a cleaner-looking game, Brave Fencer Musashi did a great job at laying the groundwork (not to mention Threads doesn't even have any voice acting to begin with). The soundtrack by Tsuyoshi Sekito is also incredible, going for a sweeping orchestral sound that really sells the adventure as grander than it probably is. The main theme in particular is chill-inducingly epic, and BFM knows exactly when to let it kick in for maximum effect. Brave Fencer Musashi has so much sauce and charm that are able to carry the experience even in its weaker moments.

Brave Fencer Musashi is a game that has a lot to love. When it's focused on offering high-octane action RPG goodness, it excels with its fun and versatile combat, varied traversal mechanics, charming scenarios and setpieces, stellar presentation, and sick sense of style. But the slower, life sim elements just don't do it for me and often feel like they intrude on the experience more than they compliment it. There are stretches where Brave Fencer Musashi could absolutely rank among my favorite games, but it's just not at that level all the time, and that's fine. Even if it has its rough edges, Brave Fencer Musashi is still a really enjoyable action RPG that I enjoyed playing through.

4/5 Stars

Ranking Goldeneye 007 Story Levels

It's easy to forget how much of a landmark title Goldeneye 007 was for the N64 and console FPSs in general. Considering it came out in 1997 and its biggest competition at the time was Turok and countless flawed Id Software ports, Goldeneye having these big levels with various mission objectives, impressively clean texture-work for the N64, fairly smooth aiming, mid-stage cutscenes, a huge multiplayer offering, and a wide selection of weapons is quite an impressive fact. There are certainly areas where it hasn't aged well, but I still think it's pretty fun today as a brisk, all filler no killer FPS experience. Since I just replayed it recently, I thought I'd rank the main campaign's stages from least favorite to favorite.

But just to make things clear, I'll be ranking these stages based on how they play in Agent Mode since I'm not good enough to attempt the harder difficulties, and as such I won't be including the two optional levels either for reasons you can probably guess by now. Sorry this won't be a more high-level ranking.

18. Control

I'm always pleasantly surprised at the levels where you have to escort Natalya because she usually doesn't die as easily as you'd think. The exception of course is Control, a level where you'll have to defend her for a minute while being surrounded by enemies that pop out from every angle. This whole protect sequence feels like pure trial-and-error as I was constantly blindsided by enemies that break through the glass, and it really drags down Control for me since otherwise, this is a fine enough stage. The map design is pretty clean and the Boris interaction is funny, though I had a hard time figuring out what the armored mainframes were supposed to be as they're not communicated especially well. It also doesn't help that Control is easily the longest stage so by the time I even get to the Natalya defense sequence, I'm already aching for it to end.

17. Jungle

Right before Control, we have yet another level that gave me a lot of trouble. The first half of Jungle is a slog as you spend most of it walking through a murky, dull-looking jungle while dealing with powerful turret guns that blend in with the scenery. I do like that this is the only time Natalya wields a gun, and she's surprisingly effective with it too, but it doesn't do much to mitigate the frustrating turret gun bits. The second half is thankfully a lot stronger though, between the decent boss fight against Xenia and the cavern at the end which does look a bit more visually-pleasing.

16. Surface 2

Having to revisit Surface and Bunker so soon after playing them for the first time isn't especially fun, but I think Surface definitely had it worse hear. Surface 2 is basically Surface 1 but with a red sky, more enemies, and more objectives that force you to tread more ground in this already massive stage. Most egregiously, the communication dish is now locked and the key is placed in some random cabin, so first time players are probably going to be wasting a lot of time looking in every single cabin until they find the key, if they even know that's what they're supposed to do to begin with. It all makes for another stage that I feel just overstays its welcome, even if it's not "hard" per se.

15. Runway

Runway is just short, at least in Agent mode. You can find the key to the plane right by the entrance, and then the plane isn't that much of a walk from there. Sure, the runway is big and there's a bunch of stuff to interact with including a tank, but as a whole, this stage just feels like an epilogue to Facility rather than its own thing.

14. Bunker 1

Bunker 1 is another level I found pretty short, though its objectives are slightly more interesting like getting a photo and copying a key, as it makes you put some of the game's gadgets to use. However, when the map itself is this compact, the stage still flies by way too fast. It also doesn't help that unlike with Surface, Bunker 1 is vastly overshadowed by its revisit.

13. Surface 1

Surface is noteworthy for how open it is, but the large buildings and paved roads in the snow still make it fairly easy to find your way around. This is one of those stages that allows you to take a more stealthy approach by using a sniper rifle, but just blasting through foes as usual works just as well. The open layout helps Surface feel like a breath of fresh air, but the objectives aren't tedious enough that you'll be wasting time running around like in Surface 2, which makes for a fairly enjoyable stage.

12. Statue

In terms of just the map design, Statue is definitely one of the more memorable and unique stages, as it has you fighting through a cramped junkyard filled with various odds and ends. It definitely has the potential to be one of my favorite stages, but it's held back quite a lot by its objectives. Finding Valentin is confusing since he's hidden in a shipping crate you're likely only to see on your way back, there are multiple context sensitive events that can lead to failure or getting shot if you screw up, and of course, you'll have to backtrack all the way to the start at one point. 

11. Silo

Silo is fine. It's a decently fast-paced level in a unique location that kinda ends in somewhat of a chase, and it even has yet another photography mission like in Bunker 1. The thing that holds this stage back for me is just the sheer amount of copy-pasted halls and rooms which isn't usually an issue in Goldeneye, but by the time I met Ouranov, it became really apparent how one-note this level can feel. Despite that though, Silo doesn't really do anything especially wrong so putting it in the middle of the pack feels fair.

10. Depot

Similarly, Depot is just a really inoffensive level that's also pretty unremarkable, but it makes for a solid breather between the bombastic Streets and Train stages. It's fun to check out the stage's wide variety of warehouses in search of weapons and armor, and fighting your way into the train at the end is pretty fun as well. It's also just too short and lacking in spectacle to really make an impact beyond me not really having any issues with it.

9. Archives

Archives is almost a great level. The setting is fantastic, I always loved the library chase in the original movie and this level captures that environment pretty much perfectly. It opens strong as well with the player having to escape an interrogation without any weapons and there's tons of rooms to explore. The only problem is the fact that leaving the level isn't exactly made clear. There is an exit to an outdoor area, but it's blocked off and a red-herring. Instead, you have to shoot out the windows which the game doesn't even indicate is an option until Natalya tells you to do it several minutes into being lost. And once you do know how to escape, Archives ends up actually being incredibly short.

8. Bunker 2

Bunker 2 starts with one of the most memorable openings to a stage where you get introduced to Natalya, steal a key using your watch magnet, mess around with the guard, and break out. The endless floods of enemies makes Bunker 2 a far more intense experience than the first iteration of the stage, and the map having been slightly changed means you can't just rely on your previous understanding of the stage. It even ends with an easy but still exciting chase sequence to end the stage on a more memorable note.

7. Streets

I remember really loving Streets at first, because who wouldn't? It's the iconic tank level! But the more I play it, the more flaws I notice with it. Piloting the tank is a real power trip for sure, but when it's so easy for enemies to hit your head and when you're likely to have so little ammo, it ends up being optimal to just beeline for the exit, which in turn makes this stage really short. Despite this issue though, I still find Streets to be a really fun spectacle of a stage that will always stick out in my memory, even if it's solely for how fun piloting the tank is.

6. Frigate

Frigate is another really short level but the fact that it's all set on a compact boat setting helps it stand out as memorable. Frigate places a strong emphasis on stealth even giving you a bunch of silencers to take enemies out with, and it's really fun. The fact that the whole mission is a brisk in-and-out affair really gives off the feeling of going on a spy mission, possibly more than any other stage in the game. The main gimmick of rescuing hostages is also quite fun, albeit outside of the rare times the hostages are randomly taken out before you even enter the room.

5. Dam

Dam is an iconic first level for a reason. It has a great setting, banger music, several wide open spaces that encourage a variety of tactics, and even some optional superfluous areas like those docks that solely exist just to flesh out the space. It is on the short side, but every second of its runtime is packed with engaging action that still feels fun to this day.

4. Cradle

Goldeneye's boss fights aren't exactly great, but Cradle definitely stands out as a memorable finale. Despite its short length and compact nature, having to juggle disabling the cradle and chasing after Alec is makes for a fun and frenetic setpiece, and the stage's fast pace is only heightened by its incredible music. The final encounter is also a solid interpretation of the movie's final battle, and it can be deceptively easy to get knocked off the platform making for a worthy last challenge.

3. Train

Train levels are always great, and this one is no exception. The cramped corridors make for some of the toughest shootouts in the game, especially early on with how easy it can be to detonate crates and make the fights even more chaotic. While it can be a bit too easy to miss out on one of the brakes and have to backtrack, I still find the first half of Train to be quite fun. But what really puts it over the head is the second half where you need to carefully take out Ouranov and use your watch to carve an escape before the train blows up in probably the game's most intense escape sequence of them all.

2. Caverns

In terms of just the map design, Caverns is one of my favorite levels to explore with how visually distinct it is. Goldeneye isn't exactly a game with platforming, but careful walking across railways and up tight rock ledges while taking out enemies makes for a nice change of pace. Despite the name, I also didn't find myself getting lost much either. There are a few split paths, but they're made pretty clear. And coming off the heels of Control, Caverns having a relative lack of objectives made for such a nice breath of fresh air.

1. Facility

Yeah, what did you expect, it's Facility. This is easily the most well-rounded, full-featured level in the game, offering so much in the way of variety in objectives, encounter design, and map design. Starting with that iconic opening where you crawl through vents and shoot through a bathroom, and ending with an encounter with Alec and a quick escape, Facility has no shortage of memorable setpieces. But even the standard Goldeneye gameplay throughout the middle of the stage is fun since the stage is so engaging to navigate and filled with little details. You can open the bathroom stalls to find soldiers camping out in there, enter science labs and break all their beakers, and mess around with the final cutscene in a variety of chaotic ways.

Star Fox Retrospective

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. I can't do a full retrospective on every game in the series since I don't own Zero, but I wanted to at least talk about some of the entries I find really notable. This post will just go over the first three Star Fox games: 1, 2, & 64. And at some point later, I'll talk about Assault in its own post, you'll see why.

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.