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Game 86: there's this girl I think this a very good and bittersweet short tale of how love effects us, and what it really means to drift apart. It's only told through emotional pictures and beats, but the fact you can control when those happen kinda gives way to the fact that love is different for everyone. There isn't much deeper meaning here, but the fact this is drawn in such a heartfelt way, the pictures pop with the swiping mechanic, and the musical choices just hit home really give this game the extra push I needed to keep playing it. Trust me when I say that the only problem with this game is getting it to work. I struggled greatly on the phone, and had to restart a few times on the web browser too, but when this game works, it hits the heart where it needs to bleed again.

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Game 87: PRINCESS POFFIN AND THE SPIDER INVASION

A fun little game about a funny little Moth named Poffin that just wants to eat socks. Despite invasion being in the title, Nomnomnami games are always there for a wholesome time, and this one is no different. You go around talking to people and trying to figure out who did it leading to some pretty humorous moments, and a cute little conclusion. The gameplay is simple, the game itself short, and it kinda just tickles you pink with all the moments in-between. It's free, it's to the point, and most of all it's cute!

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Game 88: My Dinner with André It's not so much a game, but a good joke turned real that makes this probably one of the more interesting indie games out there. It's tongue and cheek, uses plenty of Simpsons references without putting you out of it, and it mainly sticks to the main themes of the movie My Dinner with André. It even makes a pretty great point on the game industry as a whole. It's genuinely meaningful and playful at the same time, but there isn't much actual game here when it comes down to it. Glad this joke has substance, but it's still mainly a joke in the end, a good one at least.

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Game 95: Sonic The Hedgehog (8Bit) Aug2024 I appreciate them making this on a console without horrible screen crunch, but honestly it's also kinda not worth it. While there are some interesting things for this game, like the more focused platforming design and chaos emerald hunting. I just don't see Sonic The Hedgehog (8 bit) really being worth anyone's time. The game still suffers greatly from frame rate issues, enemy design, level design, and boss design. It's not so much that the game doesn't pass as a playable game, but it's a clear downgrade design wise compared to the actual Sonic game on the Genesis.

Everything about this game just feels a little off that makes me just not want to deal with it. The bosses are absolutely a down point for this game with a lot of them just not using Robotnik in an uninteresting way, and giving the player a harder time by not giving you any rings or even a shield to face them. Some of these bosses really just take way too many hits that it really feels more like a trial on patience mixed with the dread of losing all your progression. This is also intermingled with a lot of the games bizarre design choices like their hit detection, enemies you can't i-frame through, and certain level gimmicks that don't quick cut it.

Saying this game is half baked isn't really giving the game justice it deserves; I can recognize that they really tried their best to bring the Sonic experience to the handheld and older consoles. It's really more of a test of hardware sometimes being needed to be better that really makes a game work. While I certainly don't think that's really the case nowadays, Sonic's 8-bit adventure would have absolutely been better if it were remade with more of the modern tools of today mixed with more aesthetic elements to really give this game more personality. As it is now? I honestly think you're only really going to enjoy this one if you're already a fan of Sonic and haven't played this yet, otherwise you're better off with the original console game by the same name.

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Game 97: Mario Kart 8: DLC Pack One Fairly decent start to Mario Kart 8's DLC courses with 6/8 tracks being pretty good. Tanooki Mario and Cat Peach do feel like a waste when we could have had Excite Bike as a representative as well, but Link being here is absolutely a fun cameo to have. The carts aren't exactly better with the only one with notable interesting being the Blue Falcon. It fairness though. seems like a pretty healthy set of content as well, but nothing is particularly interesting as just the pack itself over getting a bundle of it.

Hyrule Circuit and Excitebike Arena are absolutely the best courses in the pack with both paying a pretty great homage to their respective games while still being in line with Mario Kart 8's formula. Dragon Driftway and Wario's Gold Mine suffer a lot comparatively with both courses feeling like they are a bit de-fanged and muddled by 8's racing formula. Perhaps due to the fact that Wario's Gold Mine works better with carts being a danger, and the whole appeal of Dragon Driftaway is lost due to actually racing on the track itself. All the other tracks do a great job of adapting to 8's kart racing or feel at home with the Mario Kart branding, but they honestly don't stand out in any particular way.

Honestly getting this as your only DLC pack for Mario Kart 8 is an odd choice. It's far better delivered as a bundle as the tracks themselves are quite fun to race on. However the rest of the content feels moot with Mario Kart as you already have a main set you like using already so the rest of the content kinda just goes in the pot if you don't plan to use any of it. Good tracks, mildly decent other stuff, better bundled.

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Game 105: Mario Kart 8 Deluxe Aug2024 Despite all these years having the game, and all the time it took to actually sit down and play this game earnestly I never really thought about how truly great Mario Kart 8 Deluxe actually is. While I certainly have mixed feelings with the original Mario Kart 8, the added DLC, the extra cast of characters, and revamped battle mode all make Deluxe a truly amazing, perhaps even the best Mario Kart game of all time. Truly any problems I had with the original are fixed, and any minor problem that I do have is either manageable or entirely luck/friend based.

There is one thing I want to touch on though as perhaps the biggest blotch of ugly on this otherwise wonderful painting that is Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, the AI. Specifically I have noticed that the AI for this game is both completely terrible and a menace to society. It's hard to rightly explain, but the way the AI works in this game seems to only really work against you at set tracks and laps and timing. There have been so many times where the race is nothing for 2/3's of it, than suddenly a hellfire of items hits me causing me to lose my place in the race. Most of the time though? The AI is nothing, consistently makes mistakes, and doesn't seem too reliant on rubberbanding. It's such an odd mix that at times I wonder if the game is gaslighting me or I'm just doing better?

Aside from that? Mario Kart 8 Deluxe is a blast! Playing online or with your friends or what have you. With an actual battle mode mixed together with the Wii U DLC tracks just makes Deluxe feel like the proper game it was meant to be. Not to mention that there is a lot of smaller changes mixed in like an added turbo boost tier, more item carrying, newer items, and vehicles. Legitimately, everything fits in so seamlessly that I honestly forgot about all these changes coming back to the game after all these years. It's part of why I ended up dropping the original and got hooked again playing this game as I noticed the game is just smoother and more enjoyable to play compared to original version.

Without even acknowledging future dlc, changes and what have you, Mario Kart 8 Deluxe just has a lot going for it. Proper balancing, a wide selection of characters and vehicles, and most of all, a lot of tracks to play through. While there is a special place in my heart for it's predecessors Double Dash and DS; I think Deluxe does blow them out of the water both in terms of it's mechanics and track selection. I do wish they added more personal items or at least more uniqueness to give character you can choose from, but in terms of actual gameplay Deluxe works incredibly well. It was a blast to play on the Wii U and it's still a blast 10 years later to play on the Nintendo Switch. An amazing glow up and a rightful spot in nearly every Switch owners library

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Game 72: Honkai Star Rail - Crown of the Mudane and Divine

Honestly, very impressed that Honkai Star Rail is just able to reuse locations, and build on them in a way that feels both refreshing and apart of the world. Crown of the Mundane and Divine's update is, by all means, post game material for the first world we visit in Honkai Star Rail, Herta's Space Station. While the game doesn't really use any of the previous characters in the area, it does introduce us to Ruan Mei and Dr. Ratio. I certainly wish there was a little more interaction between these characters and the previous cast, but what we get is at least serviceable in the acknowledge that other characters do know and interact with them.

Perhaps what makes Crown of the Mundane and Divine a far more interesting update is the new found atmosphere that it gives it's newest area. While most new places feel like an exploration of the planet, the way the devs pivoted to make it far more spooky and sinister adds to the layer of both it's newly introduced characters and provides a great mystery for anyone that happens to be a fan of the spookier Scooby Doo movies. That is to say, there is a sense of seriousness and unsettling bits to the areas we explore. From Ruan Mei meeting up with us, saying very little to what she's doing and strong arming us to explore this area to Dr. Ratio showing up unexpectedly giving us aid in a way that feels like a deal with the devil. Consistently as we explore more and more, it seems like we are acting more as a clean up crew for Ruan Mei's past experiments, and things feel rather bleak due to the abandonment motif this story keeps hammering home. It's certainly a different feeling from the usual Honkai: Star Rail story lines, and one that feels rewarding as you get to the end of it all, finally seeing everyone's motives.

As for problems I really had with this update? It honestly was just how niche the boss feels to beat. While I certainly wanted to fight it with certain characters, it just requires a different strategy from what I was using. This usually wouldn't be a problem in other games, but it highlights a problem I have with Star Rail's level up system. In most gacha games, leveling up characters doesn't take nearly as much time or energy, but with the way Star Rail relies on characters being at their highest level and having the highest assets really makes for a slow moving grind. And with the way Star Rail forces you into the highest setting, sometimes in a way that you do it too fast, makes for that grind to last even longer. So I can see a lot of people, of which I include myself, being stuck on the boss simply because I didn't have the time or energy to grind certain characters. Again, the problem isn't the unique challenge this boss gives, I really like the design choice and ascetics it has. No, the problem is just the inherit flaws that Star Rail gives while trying to prolong it's gaming time and fluffing up hours for people to play over any actual enjoyment.

Overall though, I really did like Crown of the Mundane and Divine. It shows a lot of potential for what Star Rail can provide and built up it's world in a way that was exciting to me. The new characters are interesting and add to the mystery of it all. The new area provided some unique map design choices, and the new enemies feel different to fight compared to the usual affair we see in this game. It's a refreshing update that helps me realize why I like Honkai: Star Rail so much, and one that gets me excitement for the potential new story lines we can get later on.

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Game 100: Jackie Chan's Action Kung Fu Aug2024 Aye ya! JACKIE! You made such an amazing game yet you don't promote it anymore? Seriously, it's an impressive feat to be a beloved platformer on the NES, but to also be rather easy is impressive for the Nintendo HARD era. This isn't to say that Jackie Chan's Action Kung Fu isn't a challenging game, but like Kung Fu, this game will require you to be patience and practice with it. While it did take me longer than most, the game is entirely beatable with all the continues, power ups, and forgiving platforming that's at play here. So what you're really left with is a feeling of accomplishment, one really annoying boss, and Jackie Chan making a lot of funny faces.

What Jackie Chan's Action Kung Fu does is comparable to watching someone spin a bunch of plates all at once and never seeing them drop. How they managed to make all the platforming both as learned as Ninja Gaiden's level design while at the same time not being as brutal as it, is something to be studied. With all the extra mini games attached to any given level and a new gimmick that tends to be added, there really isn't a dull moment in this game that I can point at and say it's bad. All the common stuff like slippery ice, lava flowing, water rafts are here, but then you also got some rare ones like cloud jumping and electric tube dodging. While it's not a long game, it is one that has to be learned and the more and more you understand what is coming up, the better you perform each time. Not to say that this game is a constant trial run, but rather it's approach to level design is more so focused on pattern memorization and knowing when to strike.

If anything, the only real fault I see with this game is at it's second to final boss. While the majority of the game is a simple take down of staying out of the bosses attack range, and spamming special moves, the 1st part of the final boss requires a certain amount of discipline and respect. It's a long fight compared to the rest of the game, and it really felt like a 6-1 loop moment the way Ninja Gaiden had it (having to restart over and over simply for messing up a little). This attached to the fact there is a little trial before hand really makes this part of the game grueling and it's really only because of the limited continues and power ups.

Jackie Chan's Action Kung Fu was a wonderful gem I happened to play because I wanted to get closer with my crush. While I can't say my love life is a 5 star experience, Jackie Chan's Action Kung Fu certainly earns that placement. It's only hindered by mechanisms that were fine for it's time, and aside from one difficulty spike the game gives you, is still a proper challenge thru out. Hopefully more people can find this game through newer services, but for now, a diamond in the rough it remains.

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Game 111: Gigawing Sept2024

I was absolutely blown away by Giga Wing 2, and was hoping for a similar reaction to the first entry, but having played both of them, I have to give it to the sequel. There's some things that hindered my enjoyment overall that made this outing of a shmup not as good as I would hope. That being said, we are talking about one of my favorite games vs. the base of it, and while it certainly didn't capture my heart, I acknowledge that everything that makes 2 great was only because of 1's foundation.

The game plays with a 2 button control scheme, which at the time, I did not know was the default compared to the version of Giga Wing 2 I played that used a 3 button control scheme. Having to compare the two controls, I absolutely prefer 3 button as 2 button really didn't feel like I could be as reactive, which is pretty life saving in shmups. As well, Giga Wing 1 suffers a lot from it's art style matching it's bullets too much, and while most shmups wouldn't have this problem, with the reflect system and the way the game can just blast you with effects can mean that you lose sight of your ship through the visual splendor. On top of that the story for your pilots is mostly done with some mild text boxes, and next to zero context on the screen. Again, not exactly the worst thing for a shmup, but it did make me feel less invested.

As much as it may feel like I want drag this game, I only do so to show the improvements that Giga Wing 2 made on an already winning formula. Visually, character and enemy design really makes it hit that '90s anime aesthetic that just makes everything feel a little more pop with a hint of realism to it that really helps it stand out in this day and age. Combat is absolutely stellar and gives a triumph feeling. The ability to reflect back the bullet hell that swallows you; only to reverse bomb the screen as the bullets get unleashed back at your opponents. The waiting for cool times as you switch between reflecting the bullets back at your enemies and usage of bombs while you try to dodge as much as you can in-between.The various boss designs that feel like ancient machinery trying to stop you, and the bullet and attack patterns it sends as you try to learn how to dodge everything on the fly. Everything that made Giga Wing 2 so adrenaline pumping is here, and while it's a bit toned down comparatively, still provides for an excellent experience.

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Game 73: Sonic Dash June2024

Sonic Dash is such an objective fact that I'm kinda surprised it didn't invent the endless runner. More so, I am shocked that this game was originally from 2013, and still is running as a live service game in 2024. It really shows the power and endearment of Sonic while never really changing much of the formula aside from it's gacha characters. It's wild to me the likes of Surge are in this as well as the songs being pretty great with it's usage of previous game soundtracks. This game feels like both a time capsule of mobile gaming mixed with newer and scummier brand of monetization. At no point did I really feel compelled to spend money on Sonic Dash, but I get the feeling the ad revue was the real money they made along the way.

As a whole, Sonic Dash is a pretty basic endless runner. Going through various stages of increasing difficulty while trying to avoid as many obstacles as you can. The game gives you 3 lanes to navigate as well as a jump and slide action. While the controls are indeed responsive, a lot of times I felt that some of my abilities were hindered by the game itself and were not my fault when I did end up wiping it. Not so much that it was a constant problem, but enough to see that the game would kinda just take one of my life lines I had to continue the game further. This makes for a lot of higher scoring, and going anywhere past 8 stages kinda ridiculous to get to at times. While I'm certainly not a talented runner, I do feel Sonic Dash at times is so harsh on the player simply to get them to keep playing and watching ads to do so. This also helps mask a lot of the repetitive nature that Sonic Dash has by cutting off play time just enough that it feels like you be getting a peak at newer stuff when in reality it's pretty much all the same. This is further proven by Sonic Dash legitimately only having 2 bosses to fight, one of which being a Sonic Lost World villain who would be considered new in 2013.

Thankfully, Sonic Dash does have various content that helps you keep playing and that mostly comes in the form of stage skins, and most importantly, new characters. While each character does have different stats to work with, they all have the same basic kit, and have no voicing acting at all. To make up for that though, they do get to wear neat costumes at times, and even have their super modes available. Stage skins seem like entirely new stages, and while there may be one or two elements that make some of their overall track design seem different, they are, in fact, designed exactly the same. What isn't the same however is the various awards you can get by leveling up their little home bases in the main menu, and all the new songs they give you with each new stage.

I won't lie to y'all though, Sonic Dash had roughly 25% of my time on ads, and while they are manageable to deal with it, still meant time to wait between runs. All the characters you can unlock are a pretty fun drive to have for a bit, and the constant strive to get to newer stages helped fuel a lot of my runs through out. Majorly, however, is just Sonic Dash is a fun game to waste time on and try to go for higher scores with characters you like, level up characters you want, or even get some achievements with. If Sonic Dash had a bit more uniqueness to it or was a bit more ad free I think I would have liked this game far more, but for what it is, it's enjoyable enough for anyone who is a fan of Sonic and friends, and kinda not much else.

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Game 122: Hello Charlotte: Delirium Oct2024

The game says it's more of a tech demo for what the dev wants to do later, but I have to say I like what it does with it. Despite the fact that the dev writes this one off as both non-canon, while also extending the lore helps this games case. It's short, free, and pretty much for the fans of the series. There really isn't much here structurally as the narrative heavily depends on players having played the first two games of the series. Hello Charlotte Delirium really just uses the run button more, something I forgot about from the last two games. It's not very transformative, and doesn't really change gameplay in a meaningful way. But Delirium never tries to be more than it's mission statement, and while there is a certain amount of love to it, it's really a letter to the fans of the series over something to satisfy everyone.

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Game 115: Revue Starlight Re Live Sept2024 "If I had a nickel for each time a story carried a gacha game, I have 2 nickels, which isn't a lot, but it's weird that it happen twice"

Like Revue Starlight Re Live I don't think remotely resembled a good game at any point of it's 7 years of live service. It was clearly banking on people that loved Revue Starlight and himejoshis (if you don't know what those are you are very far from home or probably don't know you already are one). That being said the actual badness didn't come from a badly designed combat, but one that just went off the rails in terms of power scaling and easy baby mode difficulty. While I didn't much care for the gacha or battle system, the one brilliance to this game is the story that it has and the themes it lands on. The story is told in 3 parts, and while I can't say the first part leaves much of an impression on you, it's the 2nd and 3rd parts that begin to piece everything together and express the characters and writing in a way that I've only really been griped by another gacha game, Fate Grand Order. So while the game will likely be down by the time you read this, the actual part that matters will likely be up somewhere on the ethers of the internet in which I implore you to consume it. It's heartfelt, endearing, and pretty impactful for what was basically a cash grab.

As for the rest of the review here, I'm just here to let you know you missed nothing in terms of gameplay. While I do fine the actual ascetics and battle system to be intriguing, ultimately the game does nothing with it. While Fate Grand Order gives a lot of weight to certain battles and bosses with various gimmicks and the need to do it yourself, here you just need to be leveled up enough. I'm not even joking either. Aside from the lower levels, being around level 40 with each character nearly guarantees any win from a given battle, and having them all fully leveled means you'll probably 3 turn most battles. There are a few challenge mode battles and Player vs. Player modes to be had, but none of this was really needed to deal with the story, and only helped power up your characters faster through various means of additional rewards. Because every battle that would matter happens in story, and none of them challenge the player really meant that there was no place to actual showcase or really play with the power you had when you finally did get it. Plus all the battles have zero emotional thought behind them. They are all meaningless when it comes to the story and so few even connect remotely to it that it might as well not be there. It's such a while disconnection that ultimately they might as well be two separate entities.

Even a lot of the presentation in this game feels a bit separate from the rest of itself with all these various modes like making a room for your stage girls to hang out, the various birthday mini games that would pop up, and just the way the game lets you customize a lot of it. Like most gacha games you were able to set your own support team, add additional players and friends, and even participate in various timed storied events. Newer gacha girls would be added with neat ascetics and powers, and nearly the whole game is entirely voice acted. So like Re Live did have a lot going for it and clearly there was care in the actual game, but because none of this was balanced or felt it had weight kinda made all these bells and whistles meaningless in the long run. Then you add in all the predatory business of what gacha games entail and the constant wait that the game had for roughly 5 years to finish up this story and build of a game that I saw, and I can see that this kinda wasn't a great experience to go through without truly being able to binge thru it.

While I don't know how truly tiring this game has gotten, I can say I enjoyed this game without having watched the anime or movie that came before it. For those that did watch it, Im sure there was a lot of callbacks and nice pay offs to what happened, but I was able to enjoy it for the story we got here. Re Live was a gacha game that was probably good for 2 out of it's 7 years, and even then I have to say that a lot of this adds up to the fact I was able to binge the whole story throughout the course of a month over several years. The story is great, the theming works, the writing is well done from start to finish, and I teared up a little while playing this game. That being said. All the joy I had came from the entirely watchable part of this game and none from the battle system. Was the battle system interesting? Yes. But it never goes anywhere, and never impacts the story the way it does for other games. Please enjoy the best part of this game because the rest of it will be gone.

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Game 70: Virgo Versus The Zodiac May2024

I think what hurts the most about Virgo Versus the Zodiac is just how ascetically pleasing yet misunderstood it is. Like I legitimately thought I was getting the next Undertale + Paper Mario hybrid out there, but this game plays far closer to a game called Child of Light. So instead of a reliance on meta narratives or action prompts, the game is far heavier geared toward a defensive mindset that can be pretty jarring if you take this game lightly. Virgo Versus The Zodiac is kinda stubbornly it's own thing though, and while it does takes a lot of inspiration from various RPGs, ultimately it's a unique experience with a wonky difficulty curve, bloated gear system, and interesting take on the zodiac that remains true to what they are.

Like I can't stress enough that the hardest part of the game is the beginning. You have very little options, allies, or understanding of your moves. So when you make a wrong choice, the game penalizes you super hard. The way choices matter both through battle sequences, and during key moments in the game also impact just what route you may take, and how everything plays up through the course of the worlds you visit. Not so much that it changes the settings, but enough to change the order of Zodiac's met and the significant they have to your story path. Add this together with a weapon system that exponentially grows into a massive headache of upgrade grieve, and a constant changeable moveset for both Virgo and her allies means that the game almost exclusively becomes easier the further you go in the game as opposed to the usual difficulty curve of progressively harder fights. Like I really do like the system they have in place here, but often I felt paralyzed with too much choice and the dread of tediousness to test out all these new move sets from each individual gear change. So much so that I kinda just upgraded the ones I felt most comfortable to use rather than the best or even experiment on other gears later on.

Virgo Versus the Zodiac is just kinda like that though, and once you get past the first two chapters, things start to fall into place. Fun space magic starts happening all over the place, we start learning more about the characters and Zodiacs we are facing off, and most of all, we keep meeting really interesting enemy designs and worlds to explore. Like there is clear thought and placement to the lores of each individual area and what the governing Zodiacs have done to each place. How we react to, and go through various story events helps further show the motives that Virgo ultimately wants to change. And like the game only gives explanations through there characters and interactions, and rarely does it have blatant exponentiation just laying around. The game isn't completely serious though, often leaning into comedy bits through various lore explanations or even becoming rather dark with how bleak the worlds we visit truly are. Basically, the ascetics that we see on the surface of Virgo Versus The Zodiac really do help do the game just for what story it wants to tell while still delivering us a rather deep lore ridden game.

Do I think Virgo Versus the Zodiac is a good game? It's a bit rough to say as much, but I think the better point here is that Virgo Versus the Zodiac is an interesting game, which some good games don't always get a grasp of. There is plenty of love with it's lore, characters, relationships, and art style that make me want to praise it to anyone that finds it interesting. The fact it's also queer as heck is just a wonderful topping on such a charming game. Would love to see more from this universe, but what we got is good too.

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Game 118: Mega Man Battle Network 4: Red Sun Oct.2024 It's hard to really say where I stand on this series because if you ask me, the first battle network game is still the best one. 2 had interesting stuff to it, but felt a bit flat, and 3 I just straight up didn't like the changes with it. So 4 basically taking elements from all previous entries really gives me whiplash because, in theory, I should like this game the most. It has the interesting chip battling combat 1 has, the tournament setting of 2, and the customization of 3. It even has it to where you can experience the game differently multiple times, and a proper fast travel system that the previous entries desperately needed. And i stand here today, acknowledging that I do indeed like this game more than the third game, but I personally don't like this game because of all the needless padding it has.

Like, I thought 3 Blue had a lot of padding to it, but 4 Red Sun really took the cake for me. It's not even long padding, it's just a lot of it at various parts without really being clever about it. So many pre-tournament events have you set on a wild goose chase to do this or that while also making it a point that you visit the same area again and again and again. Like it rarely ever does anything different when it comes to new areas, and the new areas you do get, quickly get swarmed with the same type of fetch quests of visiting those areas before moving on. I know it's not exactly adding much new to it, but I really wish they would have used more individual jack ports rather than visiting the same net areas to give it a nice sort of hide and seek motif instead. What we get with Red Sun is a more formulaic version of the usual Battle Network story with hearing about a tournament, finding out how to get in, do an event related to the match, then finish it off with said match. Repeat this action 9 times, and that's the majority of the game. Even the stuff before the game really kicks off it's tournament centered story has a lot of needless padding as you have to do a lot of the usual exploring of the hub world, and the places connected to it, but like in a way where you can't do everything at once, but keep coming back to it. Like it be different if I could just get everything done in one go or it felt more like exploration to new areas, but a lot of it is just going back and forth as a knowledge check of areas you know about. MMBN4's editions really just set out to try to make the experiences of 4 new for each individual player, but really just ends up reusing far too much of it's assets to really feel like it's as big of a world as they try to make it out to be. I understand reusing assets is a way to save money, and time when it comes developing games, but too much of it makes a lot of the game feel like a rehash, and Mega Man Battle Network 4 threads that line too close for comfort for me.

All the negative out of the way, and I will be real, I like the concept of MMBN4's story. I am a super huge fan of tournament arcs, and making new characters, bosses, and designs for each takes a lot of time. I can excuse a bit of them using generic sprites and characters considering that a lot of the characterization and story tend to be there too. It's also really really cool that each tournament can go a number of ways with a bunch of different characters based on rng and the editions you are playing. All the dark chip stuff is super neat too, but I certainly wish it was a bit more prompt in the story. Even the tie in with the main plot and final arc of this game is kinda woven out of no where, but it at least gives the game a sense of urgency needed from the usual tournament stuff. The new elements and chips of the game are mostly interesting and useful to a degree. The new enemy designs are absolutely spot on, and feel right at home with the rest of them. Them adding fast travel is a long time coming to the series, and I really hope they continue that trend by also giving the series a map. Even the game uses almost entirely new areas for each segment to really help give a distinct feel for this version of the game compared to the past. In a lot of ways, Red Sun / Blue Moon feel like a bit of a soft reboot for the series, and in a way that's ambitious enough to warrant the notice.

Still, I just can't sign off this game. I really like facing the various different robot masters, and while 2 certainly delivers that, 4 either screw me with rng or just demands too much when it comes facing all the unique robot masters in the game. 1 and 2 both give you far more unique areas to explore both with individual items and as set pieces for the next dungeon area. 4 replaces all of these features I like with faceless generic enemies, constant fetch quests, and backtracking akin to Blue 3. Even the ending dungeon of this game has it's own annoying mechanic that makes solving it's puzzles adding on both a JRPG level and a mechanic level. And that's such a shame because there is a lot of highs here for the battle network series. It also has my favorite final boss so far, and genuinely felt like a fair battle system. I don't blame anyone for liking this game, but I'm hesitant to sing praises for Mega Man Battle Network 4 due the constant high and lows.

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Game 74: Ace Attorney Investigations: Miles Edgeworth - Prosecutor's Path Oct.2023 *This is based on the fan translation.

I've heard so many good things about Ace Attorney Investigations 2nd game, and by the time I got to play it I was more or less happy with it. Like the way people talked about it, it certainly seemed like it had big shock and surprise, but mostly what this game does right is just make every case for it interesting and connected to it's narrative. Not every case is directly connected, but there are plenty of established lines and character parts that never feel like this game loses it's story focus. With that in mind, it does feel it abandons a bit of it's episodic structure into a more chapter based narrative, but it's so moot that I hardly call attention to it. Mostly though, what this game does is help answer why Edgeworth remains a prosecutor, and what exactly that means for his character, hence the subtitle, Prosecutor's Path.

Like compared to the first game, Investigations 2 just has an identity. There is a reason for why it exists, it sets up a proper theme, and even gives a backstory to Edgeworth's father. While I certainly don't think the 1st Investigations game is bad; it really boggles my mind why we got it to began with aside from fan service. Here though? Investigations 2 really utilizes both it's predecessor and Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney. Making both those games nearly mandatory in order to enjoy this game to began with. Character motivation between all the older characters, and the growth that Edgeworth makes as a main character really help set why Ace Attorney as a franchise is so compelling. So while I do hold to the fact that most Ace Attorney games can be played out of order, Investigations 2 really plays out more like a love letter to fans of the series by taking several bits and parts of games before it, and making it the game that it is today.

As well, Prosecutor's Path updated a lot of parts of Investigations format to make it both run smoother, and have a more narrative driven mechanic. When arguing with an opponent, the game plays out more like a chess match as you try to response properly to the lining of question, leading exactly to the answers you want. The logic pieces are now more so used to connect evidence together to help strength your argument, and all the overall sprite work are just done better to help make exploration more of a fun experience. The game also has plenty of newer cast members to help test Edgeworth as a character and as someone with patience. There are plenty of moments where these characters help give a proper foil or motive to why Edgeworth wants to do what he does, and this all happens while they each are given their own chances to shine and/or grow.

There just isn't much here to really blatantly say it's good or bad as a lot of the game follows along with a story that is both pretty compelling, and not really replayable. Honestly, I'm always stricken at the thought of how to rate these games because the biggest part of what makes these games good is how the narrative hooks you in with it's mystery and how it unfolds. I do think that Investigations 2 has a really good story, quality characters, and proper use of it's lore, but I just don't see myself ever going back to it. I'm sure for others they can replay it or even watch someone play this game and enjoy it just as much as their first playthrough. But for everyone else, I think just being able to play it once is enough to be touched by it's magic. Ace Attorney as a series continues to be great regardless, and while I don't think this is close to my favorite in the series, I can see how it would be for some.

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Game 28: Fate/unlimited codes Jan2024

I struggle to say we have the first Fate fighting game because in reality this game plays more like a touch of death combo maker. Like that motto to buff and not nerf in the fighting game community really applies well to this game because nearly every character has an infinite, and it's really just a matter of who can pull it off better. That being said, the game still has plenty of legs to stand on, and as a single player experience, actually has a lot going for it. From different unlock methods to costumes or mission modes; Fate/unlmited codes honestly works well has it's own "babies first lab".

As mentioned before, every character in this game is busted. It really is just a matter of how busted they are, and how well you can handle that character. While you do often feel pretty powerful comboing the cpu, ultimately there is always a lingering feeling that the tables can turn on you if you fumble your attack or block strings. Obviously, the higher the difficulty the more likely you will be shut down, but for the most part, this game is easier than most single player arcade experiences. On top of arcade mode we also have mission mode and survival mode. And considering the previous conditions, survival mode really starts to become anxiety inducing due additional lowering health bar, and the thought a cpu can just get one good combo on you can ruin your run in an instant. Aside from that though, again, there isn't much difficulty to it. Mission Mode, however, is legitimately a wild card in terms of how difficult it can be, and I honestly struggle to look at it at sometimes. Some of the missions are simply beating this enemy with certain conditions, but a lot of these missions are combo based, and it's crazy what they ask for. You can really tell Capcom was testing waters here when it came to a trial for movesets by just giving long stringed combos as the starting point. You do thankfully get a moveset list for each character, but it really is up to you to figure out how to string everything together. It's not even that these are hard string combos, just that they can be rather long to the point they would be considered around the 15th trial of 24 in Street Fighter 4 terms. That's basically putting a beginner player in an intermediate player environment; which can be quite discouraging for new players out there.

Ultimately, I honestly don't know who this game is for. Like it has a super niche audience of combo lab makers mixed with Fate/ Melty Blood enjoyers, but aside from that there isn't much here to encourage newer players of either side. For fighting game fans not familiar with the series they get a mediocre retelling of some of Fates events along with a bunch of characters doing busted moves. For Fate fans, you get a rather intermediated level fighting game with the ability to spam combos in hopes that you get a few extra tiny bits of story from games you previously played or read about before. Like I'm not even mad about it though, just confused how this all happened. Like I love Fate's lore and characters, and getting a fighting game centered in that universe is great. It's really just a shame that it couldn't be much more appealing then what it is, but at the least I appreciate their effort.

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Game 40: Burnout Legends Feb2024

I don't think it's wrong to say a greatest hits album is your favorite album, but if that's all you listened to, then is it really your favorite? That's my thought process on Burnout Legends. I really really like this game! The soundtrack is stellar with a lot of callbacks to '90s music I grew up and around with. The amount of racing tracks and cars to pick from are huge, and really kept me feed as I went through the campaign. The controls feel comfortable yet arcade like with a lot of the hit detection being lax in some areas while hitting an object makes a nice crunch for those mess ups that you can't avoid. In many ways, Burnout Legends steals my heart with it's simplistic racing and arcade style crashes. But I just couldn't place if the success was built from the previous games or because it's only taking the best from them.

Burnout Legends has two main modes, racing and demolition. While I certainly thought I spend more of my time in demolition mode, I kinda grew tired of it after the first few missions. Not in the sense it's a boring mode, just that I find racing more rewarding while demolition mode is more of a catharsis. Like seeing things crash is really cool, but you can only do so much of it before it starts blending in.

Racing mode in Burnout Legends tho? We got cops vs. robbers, time trials, take down, and GP racing. As well you're going through a variety of car classes that progressively get harder by getting faster and faster. It's honestly a great blend of difficulty progression, and instant reward that really helps make Legends an interesting ride. Which is saying something as the harder difficulty AI is absolutely cheating with it's rubber-banding and faster than normal cheater cars. It never gets to the point you'll be splitting hairs till you start trying to get gold medals tho, the highest obtainable rank. The two more interesting and unique modes, Cops vs. Robbers and Takedown are each a different take on the same idea. While Cops Vs. Robbers gives you an allotted time to fully take down one car trying to escape your pursuit, Takedown is more interested in seeing how many times you can takedown a number of your opponents in the time they give you. This can often led to Cops Vs. Robbers ending shockingly fast if you know how to takedown cars well enough, making most golds super easy to obtain because of it's simple task. Takedown, however, is probably the worst mode the AI comes out to attack you with though. From the various amount of obstacles to dodge to track layouts needed to memorize, and cars to catch up to, getting a gold can be a time consuming affair. Add that to the constraints of time, and often you can find yourself restarting simply because you didn't hit your marks fast enough. GP races and time trials are pretty straight forward, thankfully, with most of it's difficulty coming from track memorization.

It's really not a matter of if Legends did it better or not as it really is more about this being a great entry point into the series. While I'm not sure how much is recycled or used from previous games, to me, everything is new and hits where it needs to be. Attached that with very simple controls, pick and play nature of handhelds, and an obscene amount of content really makes me not care so much about what came before it. That doesn't mean I'm not interested in these older games, just that because of Burnout Legends I now have my curiosity peaked for the rest of the series. I can't compare what this entry does better or worse, but I can say that it was a blast to play through as an entry point.