Switch Game Review: Samba De Amigo: Party Central

 Samba De Amigo was featured at different Nintendo Directs. It was a game promoted to be a good rhythm game with a lot of songs from major bands or singers.  It also featured a deluxe edition which is essentially a DLC. Either way, a lot of people clamored for this as they were a fan of rhythm games.  Does this game do well? Does it not? All that and more below.

Positives:

1. Lots of Great songs- And I mean A LOT.  There are a ton of songs on the Deluxe Edition that will make people really clamor for what they want overall. There are so many big songs on there from Carly Rae Jepsen to Bon Jovi.  Another good thing that this game does is..

2. Songs You May Not Know- There are some that I didn't know but others may not know either overall.  This was a cool thing as there were songs where I said "What is this song?" "What is that song?" but then I researched and it worked very well.  So not just the big bands but also a curious look into lesser known songs.

3. Rhythm- I like the rhythm of this game. All of them seem to be good.  It was fun to be good overall! I also think this kind of rivals Melody of Memory to how good the rhythm-based sequences are here.

Negatives:

1. Limited Scope- This is the problem with the rhythm-based game like this, if you don't get enough people to be on board with your game to put their song/songs in the game it won't go much of anywhere even with DLC.  Unlike a Square or a Disney, where you have hundreds of songs to go from, this is a limited amount of a scope for big bands and getting songs on a game.

2. Monotonous- This game did seem to be monotonous over a short bit of time.  I never really got a major feeling out of this and never really felt involved outside of doing the songs overall.

3. No Story- This is where MoM does much better than Samba De Amigo, as there isn't really any story to this game. It feels like if this had some sort of story, this would be a lot more fun to this game.  Unfortunately it was not that.

Overall Rating: 

7 out of 10. While fun and with the songs from big and small artists and singers and bands, it was very limited and got boring quick.  With no story, it was a struggle overall. I would recommend as a cheap playthrough but that's it really.

Nintendo DS Game Review: Kingdom Hearts Re:Coded

 Kingdom Hearts Re:Coded is another game on the Nintendo DS, much like Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days. This one goes back to the Sora group, but with some twists. Instead of following a story of what may be seeing where Kairi went to or seeing where the King (Mickey) is like after KH1, this story follows.. well I think Sora and Riku but in a different way.  Here's what is good and bad about the game!

Positives:

1. Combat- Combat is terrific in this game. It is MILES better than the nonsense that was Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days combat.  However, this game is fluid, great, and efficient in its combat overall. I absolutely found a lot of love with this game's combat overall.

2. Command Board- I liked how it was instituted and how it was different but it works.  I like how you can use a lot of different chips to make things work and can use blank chips just to fill space for whatever you want or need to do.  Overall a fun way to learn abilities.

3. Graphics/Sound- This was also going to be a positive at any point as it is with nearly every KH game.  The graphics, even on the DS, are sound and great. The sound is also a positive and the music is terrific.

Negatives: 

1. Rehashing KH1- Yeah I got super annoyed really, really quickly when I just saw this as rehashing KH1 in at least one time in the game.  I counted it as twice, but it could have been more.  I never got the understanding as to why you would do that or try to rehash Chain of Memories either.  To me that is a major flop on the developers parts.

2. Story- This probably goes with the above, but the story in this game is brutal.  Like egregiously bad.  And I don't like saying that. But this game's story overall was just putrid altogether. I wish I could put it nicely but that's me being nice overall.

Overall Rating: 

5 out of 10. The Rehashing and Story takes away from great combat and a skillful use of the command board.  I don't understand the idea here.  It felt just nonsensical that they would make this game that way.

Nintendo DS Game Review: Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days

 Kingdom Hearts is a series that tells a story through a lot of games and/or cinematics.  One such game that became a cinematic is 358/2 days. The game itself was for the Nintendo DS. This was after another game, Chain of Memories, was part of the Nintendo DS system as well as Re:Coded. What I will discuss below is the positives and negatives about the game itself. 

Positives:

1. The Story of Roxas/Axel/Xion- If there is a major positive to the game, its the fact that this story is done exquisitely. The story of this game between the three of them is done extremely well from the start of them coming together to the end of the game.  Each way there is a twist or turn in the story, including the ending which brings me to...

2. The Ending- Emotional, sensational and twisting are the main words that come to mind here. On top of that, it sets a scene for later games that gets capitalized on in a big way. I felt the ending was exceptional and yes emotional. It is sensational in the way of what you wish could happen instead but it leaves you wanting something else. It is twisting because if you are a first time person like I was, you didn't think that it would go that way. The graphics, being on the DS, were exceptional to the end.  Which brings me to...

3. Graphics- For a DS game, beautifully executed. Bring this game to updated graphics like the Switch or other consoles, it would be immaculate.  What else would be immaculate with a new part..

4. Music- I also thought the music was fantastic overall.  Square/Disney deserve a lot of credit here.  Beautifully done overall.  Another thing they did well and I will put as a positive with time to sit on this was..

5. Level up System- I like the command board of leveling up/using abilities with this game. Using a sort of Tetris style system is unique and it does work here overall. 

Negatives:

1. Missions- Oh dear lord are these incredibly boring. They are just absolutely annoying to deal with.  Its the same 4 to 5 things. It is very, very monotonous and very boring. It's a shame because outside of the story, this is the other significant thing about the game and it is a major negative that I shouldn't write about but unfortunately have to. 

2. Combat- With the missions, the combat is also.. boring.  It's frustrating too because there isn't something really all that great about this.  The 2nd, maybe 3rd, most important thing in the game and it is a very mundane system overall. It's rather unfortunate that it is.  If they improved this, the game would be much more palatable to have, even with the lackluster missions. 

Overall Rating: 

As much as there are positives, the two major negatives cast a major pall on the game.  I couldn't rate this more than a 7 at best, but even then it is a 6.5 for me. I wish I could love this game more but I just don't. If you do like this game, I appreciate the fact you do!

PSP Game Review: Ape Escape Academy

 I was dreading this review coming up but alas, even bad games get their own independent review. Ape Escape Academy is vastly different than those of the other Ape Escape games of the past. This one involves a lot of mini games to progress in the game.  If you played Pokemon Stadium, think of it as if you had only the mini games and nothing else that is involved in said game. That's what this is.  What does this game do well, what does it not do well? All that and more below.

Positives:

1. Amount of Mini-Games- The one thing this game did well was have a lot of mini-games for this game of mini-games.  If they were going to make this game, it had to have a lot of variety. And they do that in spades. 

2. Graphics- I guess this is a plus, and yes I am grasping at straws. The graphics are actually good, but this shouldn't be looked at as an overt positive. It's a mini-game game, so graphics had to be good to begin with.

Negatives:

1. Boring- None of the mini-games are really all that exciting. In fact a lot of them are just dull and monotonous and it just becomes a drag. They just become boring after about two times of playing them.

2. No story- Yeah this is like if Pokemon Stadium had just the mini games because it doesn't add a story or anything to it which is a let down.  It would be cool if the mini games served some purpose, but it doesn't. It just is a mini-game type game.

3. No replay value- Yeah this doesn't have to go much into the explanation too much here. 

Overall Rating:

This is a bad game with no replay value and no major ability to do well. It's just a lackluster game that doesn't hold well today to any standard.  I can't rate this game higher than a 5 out of 10.

PSP Game Review: Ape Escape: On The Loose

 Ape Escape: On The Loose came to the PSP in 2005 following the successes of Ape Escape and Ape Escape 2 on the preceding Playstation consoles. There was a lot of anticipation for this game to do well on PSP as well (it later came out on PS4 and PS5 through the store.) However this game was a flop on terms of ratings and sales overall.  For a recollection of what I think it did well and not well, here it is below.

Positives: 

1. Graphics- It's a good graphics game. Everything flows well together but they did well on the graphics overall I felt for this game. Really every level looks good and is done well from a graphics standpoint.

2. Linear Story But it Works- Story is straight forward, much like Ape Escape 1 and 2, but it works here too. Sometimes Linear works for a story and missions, and it works. For this game, it works as well!

3. Short Load Times- This is crucial for the PSP. There was so much lag on this system that it became rough to deal with. However with this game it was pretty crisp overall and you didn't deal with long waits like other PSP games.

Negatives:

1. The Luster Fades Here- Yeah, the novelty of Ape Escape just seems to fade a lot here. It just doesn't seem to be fun like other games and feels more like a chore than anything to complete this game overall. I wasn't overall thrilled this game felt that way. If you enjoyed it, that is great! I just didn't feel much enjoyment overall with it.

2. Controls- This was a major issue on the PSP. The controls were either very slick or very rough in responsiveness. It's fine with one or the other, but not both.  Even then, you prefer them to be slick because when they aren't responsive, you aren't going to be doing anything good. And these were major issues overall.

Overall rating:

Ape Escape: On the Loose gets a 7 out of 10 from me. Wasn't a great game, the controls were rough and it felt like a chore to complete rather than fun.  Some good things to come of it, especially on the graphics and smooth nature of the game.  However if you like the series and want to play it.. go ahead!

PSP Game Review: Hot Shots Golf: Open Tee

 Hot Shots Golf is a series since the days of Playstation that brings fun, arcade-like golf to the player. Nothing like World Cup Golf, Tiger Woods or anything, Hot Shots is just that, hit the ball like crazy and hope it lands in the hole. It has a variety of courses, none of which are licensed or brought on by real life.  Open Tee is one of the Hot Shots Golf games that was on the PSP. Today I will review it and say what is good, what is bad and my overall rating.

Positives: 

1. Course creativity- I like how they designed all of these courses in terms of difficulty, layout and just overall fun.  Yes some courses are easy and some difficult but that's golf really in a nutshell anyway. I admire how they made the courses and the creativity that went into them.

2. Challenge Level- It's a nice thing to have. I understand this game and series isn't going to have a career mode, so the challenge level is good too.  To win on courses and then face an opponent to get items or a character for later is a nice thing to do. 

3. Surprisingly Smooth- It honestly runs smooth for a game on the PSP.  There's not a lot of lag, not a lot of dragging moments and you can get a full 18 holes done in less than half an hour.  The pace is pretty good and not like a Tiger Woods game today.

Negatives:

1. Limited Scope- I've said this for a long time with the Hot Shots series, but until they make a game with a lot of online challenges or a career mode.. it's going to be very limited in scope and it isn't going to be more than a niche stuff.  That's just how limited the game is.

2. No Career Mode- This is where it would be great to have. The challenge mode is all well and good, but the stroke play feature is just.. not needed. A career mode would be really cool to have and likely would have been good to have for replayability.

3. No Replayability Factor- Which speaking of the replayability factor, there honestly is none.  There is no career mode or online to go with so that's already making it limited. Once you beat all the stuff on challenge mode, there's nothing left to really do but either let the game collect dust or sell it.

Overall rating: 

This game is limited in scope but does do well in a lot of factors. A lot of these Hot Shots games are fun, but don't score more than a 7.5 or 8.  That's essentially where I will put it, a 7.5 out of 10. Until they would get one that has a lot to go with and be super ambitious, that's where a game like this would rate. 

Switch Game Review: Metroid Prime Remastered

 Metroid Prime is a game for the GameCube that came out to mass acclaim in late 2002. A game that won a ton of awards (Yeah this was before the Game Awards kicked everyone off after 9 seconds of an acceptance speech) Metroid Prime won nine awards across multiple formats and media and garnered high scores across all formats of media. The game was remastered and was met as well to that same high acclaim as the original game.  I never played the original Metroid Prime, so I am basing my thoughts off of the Remastered game that came out in February 2023.  What are my positives and what I thought could be improved on? All that and more below.

Positives: 

1. Graphics- This was always going to be a major plus. The remastered graphics are absolutely terrific and splendid. The team at Nintendo did a superb job with remastering GameCube graphics to make it amazing for the Nintendo Switch.

2. Music- Right away you get the feel that this is Metroid. Any song that came on is reminiscent of current or past Metroid games. You have the absolute bangers of current and past that even intersect to make terrific tunes overall.  I thoroughly enjoyed the entire soundtrack of the game. 

3. Controls- This is something I criticized Nintendo on when they put The Mario 3-D games on the Switch with the Super Mario 3-D All Stars game. Their controls were super slippery and not well refined.  For Metroid Prime they are well done here. Nothing feels slippery, everything seems smooth and good with input of the controls. Overall, a very well done remaster on this behalf.

4. The World Map- I think this is done well but what is cool is with the visor view, you see a lot of the artwork done to make the world top notch. Every detail is fantastic and well done. I think the folks at Nintendo made this a major plus overall.

5. Linearity Again- I've said in the past that for some games, being very linear works. Yes you can explore in Metroid Prime Remastered but the end goal is the same overall. You have to beat Ridley and Mother Brain. That may be a spoiler (Though if you have played many Metroid games in the past, it probably isn't) but how you get there is the cool part.

6. Challenging- This game is difficult. But, unlike some games who just make it unbearable to deal with, this game is beatable and is rewarding.  You beat a major boss, you get rewarded for this difficult fight. You get through a major challenge unscathed, you get rewarded. That's what I like out of a game like this, where you can be challenged almost to the brink but then it pulls you back in and makes you like it and rewards you for your patience and perseverance. 

Negatives:

1. Visor Cam- This is honestly the only negative. I feel that the first person viewpoint just isn't necessary. It's not a big detractor by any stretch but this just feels like they were trying to provide the cherry on top but instead they put a cherry-flavored raisin on there instead. It's difficult to get a full perspective of the map and leads to a lot of enemies hitting you or just not knowing where an enemy is unfortunately due to this limited view.  It's probably the only detractor to the game overall.

Overall Rating: 

Metroid Prime Remastered gets a 9.5 out of 10 for me.  It's easy to see how this game on the GameCube won so many awards. I know Nintendo just wanted to remaster this gem of a game, therefore it is very well done overall.  Just a couple of tinkerings would make it a 10 out of 10 but nonetheless it is a terrific rendition of the GameCube game and I thoroughly enjoyed this game. 

Switch Game Review: Crash Bandicoot 4

 Crash Bandicoot 4: It's About Time is a game that came out in the later part of 2020, amidst a lot happening around the world. It was nominated for four awards across two award shows. It brought back the Crash Bandicoot cast of characters to the big stages of PC, PS4/5, XBOX, and Nintendo with the Switch.  I played the Switch version of this game. What do I think this game does well, what does it not do well? All of that and more below.

Positives: 

1. Graphics- Okay this was always going to be a step up from the past to now anyway but this game does well on every format for graphics on any levels.  The developers swung big, and they hit a home run in this department here.

2. Crash- I feel his character is done very well here. He has the same springing type nature of his games predecessors. He also is good with the levels that are presented in the game.

3. Crash's Partners- I will also bring this up later, but I like the type of Spyro-ish nature of using multiple buddies to do levels. I think it is a thing that works well with this game as well!

Negatives:

1. Difficulty- Yep the ridiculous nature of the difficulty of the first games strikes here as well.  There's a point where a game just becomes way too annoyingly difficulty-wise. It's absolutely this game in a nutshell (and likely with the second and third games as well.)

2. Crash's Partners are limited in scope- One thing I found also kind of annoying was that Crash's partners, while neat, are limited in scope in a way.  They all have their advantages but some significant disadvantages too.  I would love to point everyone of them out, but I feel like that's a bit of a spoiler so I would let you play the game yourself to point it out!

Overall:

I have to give Crash 4 an 8 out of 10. There are some negatives but the levels and what you can do with Crash really exemplify how this game can be pretty special and unique overall. It's a well made game and I would recommend playing it. 

PS1 Game Review: NFL Gameday 99

 NFL Gameday was a huge addition to the PlayStation library back in the late 90's as it competed with NFL Blitz and Madden to be a major force among the NFL gaming landscape.  Sony produced NFL Gameday and then NFL Gameday 98 before giving way to 989 Sports to make NFL Gameday 99 and then the series went under that from there onward. The sort of arcade theme gave way to more of a simulation feel football game, and with that came big advantages and more clear disadvantages.  What were those? How does this game compare to NFL Gameday 98? Maybe more importantly, how does it compare to Madden NFL 99? All that and more below.

Positives: 

1. Feels more simulation football- This is a good thing because it was clear they were stepping away from the last two games and more into a simulation method here. The player models are more realistic, the feel of the game feels and looks more simulation, and something like the wide receiver routes, or speed is noted that they don't break into full speed right away. That goes with the running game as well. That can also be evident on defense as well. So they started going in the right direction with simulation here.

2. Good stadium looks- This is where they kept the transition well.  Most of the stadiums looked the part of what they were in 1998.  Yes the seating looks weird, but it's better than Madden in a lot of ways (Madden still had Houlihan's Stadium but changed the namesake to Raymond James just because for example) so it is a step in the right direction.

3. Realistic Rosters- These were set up essentially like what 1998 would be for the most part. You can pick up players if needed but the rosters were set to what they would be in 1998 which is a plus. Remember, this was before roster updates were able to be had on a moments notice.

Negatives:

1. Realism- Yeah the team realism here is a joke. San Francisco was in the Divisional playoffs in 1998, but were terrible in this game. Dallas struggled most of the year in 1998 but we played them in the divisional round. San Diego was rough in 1998 yet made the Super Bowl with Ryan Leaf in this playthrough. I am not sure how the rating system could have been more far off here but it was.

2. The Crowd- For some reason they pump in the crowd the ENTIRE game. I have absolutely no idea why they do it. I have no idea why they thought it was a good idea. It's actually a major annoyance to the game that is just unneeded.

3. Route Running- It is far from crisp in this game. In fact.. it is horrific tbh. The route running in this game, even as simulation as it tries to be, is just bad.  It also does not help that the defenses hardly react to anything and that the player figures are stiff as can be but the route running on pass plays is just rough overall. The defense and running plays are done better overall. 

Rating:

Overall, a 7.5 out of 10 is fitting here. NFL Gameday 99 is a better simulation game than Madden NFL 99, but it does lose some luster over NFL Gameday 98. It's a fine football game and something they could build off of going forward in future games. 

Reconnect: The folzyfantasy15 Experience

 I have been to Daytona. I have been to Indianapolis three times. I have been to so many Bucks and Brewers games. I have been to Lambeau when the Packers were undefeated in December. I have even been to a concert before. I can say up until last week, I had never really been to a convention.  That was until I got the chance to go to Reconnect.

 For those that wonder.. what is Reconnect? Well the best way that I have a definition for it is: It's a convention for people who love Kingdom Hearts but who also like being a part of amazing communities in video game streaming. We descended upon Dallas, TX the weekend of September 15th (Spoiler: My birthday was the 13th so to say this added a bit of extra meaning was cool.) I drove the distance there, and I would have regretted not flying if I didn't save money. I got there on the 14th which leads to my story really starting.

 When I got to the hotel, I got everything situated. Then I got to the convention hotel.  My first person to see? None other than the guy who makes his own guides for Kingdom Hearts, has a great merchandise line and the creator of Reconnect, KHGuides. After a massive hug and a much nicer hug to his spouse, I got to meet Lanz and Fae, as well as Wally and Churro right after. I think I have mentioned on social medias enough about what I think about all of these amazing people but it goes again, all of these people I met were absolutely fabulous and so beyond terrific and I still might be understating it.  I also met right away my good friend Espy, who got a copy of FF3 on the DS, and I ran (for me, that is full on sprinting, and an athletic persons slow walk) to meet my friend Shawn and give him a massive hug.  In the midst of all of this, Lanz gave me a Jordy Nelson jersey just out of the kindness of his heart.  That guy is absolutely goated and deserves the best ever stuff in the world.  A bunch of us watch the PS State of Play which was honestly cool because it's people I have seen behind a screen finally meeting up in real life and having fun. I guess another good thing that could happen is that we could have a dinner before the event gets real.

 Preconnect was a dinner that we had that had about two dozen people at it, all of whom had a great vibe.  This is where we probably got that selfie game going. Getting pictures with a lot of people there was amazing. Meeting amazing friends like Bambina, Volt, Nick and Snoko just.. made all of the things better. Without these friends, it wouldn't have been as amazing and I can guarantee that. The food was absolutely great as well and just the whole vibe of the event was terrific.  With that, we can transition right?

 Or I can see more people back at the convention hotel, which was led by the SuperSpikeGhettiBros. To say these two are absolute gems to life may honestly be an understatement. They are extremely awesome but also have hearts of gold.  Meeting everyone there that night was absolutely fabulous, and if I put everyone in this blog, it would take you about an hour to read and I want you to have time to do other stuff but the entire time was awesome there. That included me giving JIP my copy of Re:Coded on the DS. Everyone there was having a great time, just being a whole vibe and just supporting each other.  This is also where I met friends RoyalAqua and Xekbar, the latter who I met for the first time ever and we instantly clicked.  With that.. we transition to Friday.

 After the mandatory waking up, seeing a work conference thing, I got to the hotel late in the morning Friday. One of the best highlights was meeting my bestie on Twitch, PreferredWhale. For the context of why besties, So in the SpikeGhettiBros stream, they were playing Cult of the Lamb.  The community got to play this game with the bros, and Whale's character and my character in there gelled right away and one of us said we were best friends, so we just became besties! However, I introduced her in such a monotone way that when I met her partner, Water, I had to laugh at myself due to this because he mentioned who Whale was. After absolutely redeeming for a better introduction, it was a cool rest of the afternoon before the registration. Needless to say, both are incredibly special people and those two, along with Rybs, we went from a bestie duo to a bestie quartet. As the afternoon wore on, we got to registration and I registered and then I made a mistake only I could make but one that I think can live in lore. After registration I went to Raising Cane's.. because there isn't one within 500 miles of where I live. Therefore, I was like "Oh good, time before Chad's concert, we got this." Only.. after dinner at Raising Cane's did I forget that they made dinner at the convention. Listen, I still win because that chicken is freaking fabulous. Chad absolutely killed it at the concert. He is also such a nice guy and a new friend who I hit it off with right away. Same with Garnet, who is beyond a sweetheart and so kind. After Chad's concert, the Women of KH panel took over and all five of them did a terrific job.  Women gaming has been on the rise and I am so so proud of the women creators that find success and those who just try to make a name for themselves.  After that, it was time for hanging out, karaoke and much more.  I got to drive two groups of people, including Damo and Elise in one of those groups.  To say they are just incredibly nice and special is also being an understatement. They are both exceptional people and Damo also became a quick friend.  After karaoke, it was time for some sleep and Saturday.

 To say the mood was tired but energetic was absolutely on par. Seeing Saturday's opening was great.  My friend Landi got his podcast roaring and going and it was a great time. His guests of Bio, Damo, Fae and Aqua were absolutely phenomenal. After that, the Ansem Report Podcast (Featuring the bros I mentioned earlier) got the house rocking as well. Damo rocked that podcast, as did Fabio and Kim.  Fabio's music is goated and I highly recommend seeing his YouTube for this.  When the Million Dreams Awards came around, there was a lot of energy.  When PrincessKaiora won her award for art and illustration, the crowd was absolutely stoked.  When Fae won for Cosplay, it was just as electric. When Damo won for Content Creator of the Year, it was absolutely ballistic.  However, when Lanz won for Gameplay Challenges, that was the absolute loudest of any crowd I have ever been around (remember what I said at the top? Yeah louder than any of those.) Everyone's speeches were absolutely phenomenal. After that, it was chill time.  I don't know if it was Thursday or Saturday but Bambina, Mochocolate and a bunch of others started singing Simple and Clean and I joined in the party and it was just an incredible vibe.  Such a vibe that led into the last day.

 Sunday at Reconnect featured the opening ceremonies, then giveaways with Data Battles and a last day for everyone to meet up again or some for the first time.  One of the coolest things was getting everyone to sign my book.  In total, 57 people signed mine. I never imagined this happening but it did and I was exceptionally happy to get this.  Last selfies were made, talks were done.  However, there was a new twist. A wedding. And before we get to that, I want to shoutout Water for this.  Some people wanted to meet him and he so graciously said yes.  Guides gave him some little papers.  One dropped and Water gave it to me. I was the first person to receive this paper.  After the Data Battles, the surprise finale happened.  The wedding.  To say I was already exceptionally proud of Water and Whale is probably understating this. They are literally two of the most amazing people ever. When Water came to the stage, I smiled widely. When Whale came in, I sobbed a lot.  Credit to Mrs. Guides to come up clutch when I was in my feelings with a big hug and letting me say how my best friend is getting married and I am so proud of her.  I said words failed me then, but I think words were here now.  I am so exceptionally proud of both of them and I wish them nothing but the absolute best. With that, Reconnect ended, but we still had fun for the next several hours.  We had sea salt ice cream, which I got to win.  My prize? Being able to griddy, then griddy with the master Espy, then get a trash can due to the wrappers (Mrs. Guides, you are always amazing.) Then after lunch and dinner, it was a very emotional goodbye.  Fighting back the tears, saying bye to the SpikeGhettiBros group was tough. Seeing my bro Treehouse and Fae and having to say bye to those absolute gems was just as tough, and saying bye to the Guides', Aqua, Wally, and Key (a new friend as well) was just as tough as well.  I never wanted to leave, but unfortunately a vacation is just that, and it ends eventually.

 To say Monday and Tuesday were tough on my emotions was polite.  I was a mess.  I never thought a convention would be this tough to go away from.  I think I know the reason.  My mental health was garbage in July and August, and if ANYONE had told me that this would be the best weekend in my life I would have said you were lying to me.  At one point in August I said "It has to be better than this" and I actually said September can't be any worse.  At the time I was looking for ANY positive.  Well September got better for me. I started believing that this weekend would have been great. I didn't in my wildest dreams though think it would be the best weekend of my life, which it was. This was more than just friends getting together.

 You all that I met at Reconnect are more than friends.  You are family. All of you. Sid, you are family who I enjoyed every single minute of being around. Taking you to Starbucks was amazing, I wear your friendship bracelet all the time minus at work because I don't need that getting work on it. Lanz, for the jersey which I never expected, you are a God my friend. Kokiri, you got 358/2 Days and I couldn't think of a person who deserved it more. Tara, Frank, Corn, Tyler, Espygal, Swarlz, Nesquick, Boomer, Ed, Danghus, Keric, Agro, Panda, Mango, Angel and everyone else who hung out with the SpikeGhettiBros group, you all know already how much like family you became to me. KT, Rich, Kay, Jash, Landi, KTab, Violet and so many more, all of you became family to me that weekend in Dallas. And that just is scraping the surface of those.  I have way too many people to say so if I forgot you I totally apologize. You are literally all family now, and I wouldn't have it any other way. This was my story, and I thank you for reading it.

Switch Game Review: Chicory, A Colorful Tale

 Chicory, A Colorful Tale is a very, very deep game.  It's also a highly successful game, winning two awards in 2022 while being nominated for a boatload more of awards in 2021 and 2022.  A game that is available on pretty much every platform, Chicory sold well for an indie game. However, it's impact is far more huge than copies sold.  The depth of what this game is about is what will be it's lasting impact going forward. What is the main thing this game does well? Let's find out below!

Positives:

1. It's Impact on Mental Health: This game is deep on mental health. From anxiety, depression, needing to be perfect and live up to expectations set upon by others not named you, and just overworking overall. Everything is enveloped here but it is done so magnificently for every part of it. It's a game that will resonate for its impact on mental health and it forces a need to talk about it.  This was a major plus.

2. The Ability to be Your Own World: You can paint the world the way you want, you have the ability to play the game the way you want to in terms of how you paint it and you go from there. It's pretty neat to do and I thought this was a major plus overall.

3. Chicory: A perfect protagonist overall. Chicory is written well for everyone to understand, whether you are an adult, or a kid to play to play this game, or a teenager it just is brilliant how they wrote Chicory.  This is a good game written for a protagonist having the carefree attitude to save everyone and knows why.

4. Length of Game: I was actually going to showcase this as a negative but then I thought about this for a while and actually it is a positive.  Yes it's short, however it's a good thing. The fact this game can be beat in a short length is a good thing because it means it has a lot to it but also it is a game that features a lot of depth.

5. Depth of Game: A lot of this game deals with depth and it has a significant amount of it at every level.  That's one thing this game does exceptionally well. Every level does so well with what you have to do. Overall this is a great positive.

Negative:

1. Ease of game: Honestly this might be the only negative of this game. I feel this game was pretty easy overall which makes it a negative.  There wasn't too much dealing with a difficulty throughout.  However it isn't obviously a dealbreaker.

As an aside, I figured out you can get soft locked on the opening boss fight, which is interesting.  But nonetheless, it was neat to find that trick/tip I guess.

Reaction/Rating:

Chicory is a fantastic game that tells a tale that is significant in real life overall. It's depth into the mental health spectrum and the impact on that is something that cannot ever be ignored. The scope of the game is deep, it's ability to have a lot packed into a short game is something big.  I appreciate how big this game can be on the aspects of mental health but also the depth of the game and of Chicory as a protagonist.  Overall rating of this game is a 9.5 out of 10.

Switch Game Review: Pokemon: Legends Arceus

 Pokemon: Legends Arceus is one heck of an ambitious effort by Game Freak to make this series go open world rather than the top down approach of exploration for the first time (that this writer can recall at least) in its history.  It Came out to mass hype amid release and solid over 13 million copies all told.  A massive success noted afterward, and this game through and through did get a lot right. What did they get right? What was lacking? All that and more below!

Positives:

1. Pokemon Goes Open World: It was ambitious like I said, and it ended up being a good type of ambitious. Open world with Pokemon works. I actually enjoyed the open world ability to Legends Arceus and what you can do with it.  Howevet there is one caveat that I will explain below.

2. The Story: The Story I also liked quite a lot overall.  I felt it was a great adventure, took you to a lot of places that presented challenges and the ability to see a lot of the world you are in.  That next part leads me to..

3. Progression: There's a lot to use here with progression.  You're own progression is a good start.  The story allows for that, and the way you can build a team is entirely up to you, and you can progress your team how you feel.  You can progress a lot of your Pokemon how you feel and I feel there's a lot to your own ability to shape how you do this story mode.

4. Alpha Pokemon: I could have said challenge but this works too because this is a major focus on your team and in some of the quests you do. I enjoyed the challenge of keeping my party alive while also figuring out the right HP to get to catch them (if you can even catch them to be fair.) 

Negatives:

1. Limits to Open World: Ah yes, the dreaded "there is too much of not enough happening" with open world.  I'll give Pokemon this, it's designed to catch Pokemon but again there is a lot of space but not a lot that is being utilized with that space in this game.  There are a lot of games that have this issue with open world before Legends Arceus and after.  This is something that if Game Freak went with in the future it would need to be fixed in time.

2. Bugs: Game Freak struggled with this early.  When I got the game it didn't have bugs or any issues but that's because I bought it so much later so they had all the updates done with it.  Again, this has been an issue Game Freak that predates Legends Arceus and after.  Hopefully they will get these products finished.

Reaction/Rating:

Pokemon: Legends Arceus won a couple of awards in its time and was able to do be nominated for a few more.  However, it's a perfectly good game with some flaws initially and throughout. It's a fine game and honestly has a lot of great qualities.  If Game Freak goes with open world going forward, they could use this as a springboard.  Overall, a 8.5 out of 10 feels like a good grade here.

Switch Game Review: Splatoon 3

 Splatoon 3 is the.. well third game of the Splatoon series of games that has apparently gotten Square Enix to bring a competitor to the fray (Seriously.. Foamstars?!) but the best way to call Splatoon is an action shooting game best served for some online, but some story aspect. It's a game that won 2022's Best Multiplayer Award at The Game Awards. So what does this game do well? What needs to be improved on for Splatoon 4? All that and more below.

Positives:

1. Events- This is directly related to online but they do a great job promoting their events online all the time. This game is made for these types of things, and the multiplayer aspect makes it one of the best around.

2. Multiplayer- Yeah when they awarded this game with the Best Multiplayer Award at the 2022 Game Awards that wasn't a bit. This game is insanely good at the multiplayer aspect and the online aspect of gaming (whenever Nintendo's servers don't crash, which is about every other day.) This is a critical part to the success of this game.

3. Camera- You never really have a problem with this at least from my perspective. I never had an issue with camera angles or having a bad third person angle of it like a Mario 64 would or other games like Crash 4 or Crash 1 or really any of the Spyro series. Something that is big for the game I feel.

4. Story Mode- I actually enjoyed it, albeit it is a short thing and something I will bring up later.  I like more or less all the challenges that story mode brings to you and the way you can use everything that you would use in multiplayer later on. I enjoyed the story but...

Negatives:

1. Story is too short- Yep the story is too short.  That's why it's a negative.  This is also why this game..

2. Is Limited in Scope- If their multiplayer was not so insanely good, this would be a very average game. Their limited story length makes this game limited to having to being so good at multiplayer and its add-ons/DLC content to make it a lot, lot better over time.  They need to find something to enhance their game otherwise it is a release that is good for a slice of time but after a few months it just fades.

Reaction/Rating:

Overall, I would recommend Splatoon 3 but I caution it. It's a series that seems to be very limited to scope. Its' a terrific multiplayer game, and the online features of the game will keep it viable for months at a time until it gets DLC packages. It has a good story, but it needs more in future editions to be more than just an online/multiplayer game. Overall rating for me on Splatoon 3 would be 8 out of 10 

Switch Game Review: Super Mario Odyssey

 For all the issues 3D Mario games have dealt with in their history (Super Mario 64's camera that never got fixed even in the 3D All-Stars version, and especially Super Mario Sunshine as a whole) Super Mario Odyssey is a 3D Mario game done very, very well. A game that was nominated for a ton of awards among game award shows, winning eight of them in 2017 and 2018, focuses on our favorite plumber in red overalls who has to save Princess Peach. You may be thinking "Okay but that's Mario's seeming whole story" but this game is a great twist of a lot of things.  What do I think this game does well? Let's find out what the hype surrounds this award winning game.

Positives:

1. Graphics- I don't really need to go on with this do I? It's a Nintendo based game, they were bound to have amazing graphics.

2. Music- Okay I wasn't expecting to have song lyrics in a Mario game, but then when you have two in a game, that's incredible. The fact they are absolute bangers is the cherry on top of the whip cream. The two songs I am referring to can be looked up on YouTube, as I am going to not spoil them.

3. Cappy- He is absolutely splendid in the game. I felt the way Nintendo did his character to help Mario was nothing short of brilliant because Cappy fills so many roles and all of them are expertly done. The way Cappy helps Mario through the game is something you want out of an extra character or one that is to play a pivotal role. 

4. World layouts- All of them are brilliantly executed and done. From a city, to a desert, forest and even the end level, there is just something to the layouts of these worlds but also the execution you need to make them work overall.  Some are easy, some are challenging but that is all part of what makes this game truly, truly great. 

5. Game mechanics- Everything serves a role here. You can't just rely on Cappy for everything. You have to do things yourself. If you can execute what you are supposed to do, then the game will reward you.  If you do not do something right, the game will punish you.  It's a fair difficulty and that's what you want out of your video games.

Negatives:

1. Difficulty of the last boss- I actually felt the last boss was far easier than the bosses before this and that's kind of a let down. It won't be hard to figure out who the last boss is but it's one that I felt a bit of it being lackluster.  It's probably the only major flaw to this game because a lot of the other boss fights are brilliantly done and executed so well.

Reaction/Rating:

Super Mario Odyssey is a 3D Mario game that is done insanely well. I applaud the job Nintendo did to get this game done with how detailed the graphics are, how great the mechanics are, how well the worlds are laid out for the player. Almost everything is terrific, and while the last boss is almost child's play, that doesn't mean you should scoff at the rest of the game.  The game is brilliant overall and deserving of the massive praise it gets to this day. Overall rating: 9.5 out of 10.

Switch Game Review: Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword HD

 Oh boy, I'm going to be controversial about Zelda here aren't I? Yes, probably I will since I know this game has a good fanbase.  It's not going to be all hate I swear. Was this a game I liked? No. However I felt that this game had a lot of good qualities. We'll see below by what I mean with all of this here. However, on the Wii, it won a ton of awards.  You can just Wikipedia that to be honest.  What does the Switch version of this game get right and what does it get wrong? Let's find out below.

Positives:

1. Story: Skyward Sword's story is very, very well written and very well done.  The game throughout provides this with a new mission for Link but also it's important to the timeline of the story of Zelda itself.  The story itself throughout is terrifically balanced and well done but provides a ton of structure and development throughout the game.

2. Music: Terrific soundtrack throughout the game and one of the best soundtracks probably in the Zelda series. They did a terrific job with this and it deserves a lot of merit. 

3. Graphics: I would expect Skyward Sword's original Wii graphics to be good because HD's was phenomenal overall. I enjoyed the way the game looked throughout on both the sky areas but also the ground level areas looked very, very good overall.

4. Ghirahim: He honestly should have been the true final boss because his boss fights are tough but fun.  They are honestly a lot better done than the true final boss of the game.  I honestly enjoyed the Ghirahim fights and liked the challenge overall with this.

Negatives:

1. Controls: I have not played the Wii version of this game, however the Switch version of this game with the controls is absolutely diabolically bad. Like bad, bad and it is not something you can sit here and exclaim is okay. These are just bad controls that make the game almost feel broken.

2. Control Speed: This goes with controls.  The speed of what you input feels slow.  This is evident in the last boss so much so.  It also just feels awkward when you input the controls and just they feel slow throughout.  I could be wrong on this but to someone like myself it felt slow on the Switch, but they might have been better on the Wii.

3. Why is the last boss this boss?: I won't spoil who it is but I just sit here and wonder why it couldn't be Ghirahim instead of the last boss? It would be a great final boss, with a tough battle rather than what you actually get which while tough to an extent seems a lot easier.

4. The second part of the area around Faron Woods: Just makes no sense.  It is seemingly there for filler and something to do just because. I don't need to learn a song for this game to be better. Just make the world better and provide a better challenge to the gamer themselves.

Reaction/Rating:

This game is one of the more frustrating to rank and rate. Is it better than Majora's Mask, Ocarina of Time, Tears of the Kingdom? Absolutely not. Is it better than Zelda 1, Zelda 2, Zelda CDi? Absolutely. It's one of those more middle of the road games in my opinion of the Zelda series.  It has a brilliant story, terrific music but some of the things there for filler will knock it down. However, you can bypass that as that is part of almost every game.  However, the one main thing that is not forgivable is just how bad the controls are in this game, at least on the Switch side.  If they ever had these fixed, it would be a much better game on the Switch but it didn't happen.  For me, it would be a 7 out of 10 on the Switch, and I would be intrigued to see if it is better on the Wii.

Switch Game Review: Kirby and the Forgotten Land

 Kirby and the Forgotten Land is a new take on the typical Kirby adventure.  First off, have you ever thought, "Man Kirby would be super cool looking as a car, or a cone, no wait A VENDING MACHINE! YES THAT IS WHAT WE NEED!" Well, with Kirby and the Forgotten Land, that is EXACTLY what happens (among other things of course.) If you are wondering what in the actual world I am talking about or if I am legit high on something, then I suggest you YouTube this games trailers and find out. Because yes, that and more happens in this edition of Kirby.  This game has sold nearly 6.5 million copies worldwide, making it the highest selling Kirby game ever, and won the Best Family Game award at the 2022 Game Awards.  What do I like about this game? What do I think needs to be improved on future Kirby games? All that and more below.

Positives:

1. Different molds of Kirby: It's essentially what I said above, as Kirby takes form into a car, a cone, a flight of stairs, a vending machine and others as well.  The fact that they were ambitious enough to go with this many forms of Kirby speaks to the work the development team did to make a great game.  That in itself warrants a lot of praise but the main sticking point here is that all of these forms or molds of Kirby play a specific and important role in the levels you go through.

2. Graphics/Music: Let's be fair, this was always going to be two things that were great about this game. They manage very well on the Switch, which also lets be fair has been not the most powerful system in the history of the world.  Kirby does get the most of everything though and while ambitious on the graphics, doesn't really have much in the way of flaws.

3. Level design: It's short, but there's a lot to them.  This works.  The worst is a game like Crash 4 where there is a lot to do but its a lot of the same monotony to it (Yes I will get to a Crash 4 review some day.) However with Kirby, there's a lot packed into a lot of these levels.  The ones where there isn't much are pretty much just starter levels anyway before you dive deep into a place.  

4. Action: There's a lot to the levels but the main thing that keeps them going is the action in every level.  Most everything has something that you need to do to progress through the story, and it's important for that cause. I appreciated everything Kirby brought to this game.

Negatives:

1. Difficulty: I am aware that this is a major kids game for the most part. However I feel even as a kid this would be too easy.  I liked the last boss but even then I thought a lot of this game was just far too easy to deal with which while made it a short game, one that I felt not much of a challenge.  I suspect that is due to the kid factor and family factor to make a game fun for kids rather than a casual person.

Reaction/Rating:

To be honest those are the main positive and only major negative of this game. It's a terrific game overall and well deserving of the Best Family Game in 2022 and it has a terrific record of selling well and playing well as well.  I think you can overlook the games easy difficulty and focus on how good it is overall in many other facets.  It's outstanding graphics, level design and action play a big role here.  However the ability to have Kirby put on many roles that are so important overall is a terrific thing for this game.  Overall I would rate Kirby and the Forgotten Land a 8.8 out of 10. 

Switch Game Review: Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom

 The Legend of Zelda is a highly successful franchise that has spawned about 4 decades of games at this point. It is no surprise that when they decided to come out with a sequel (for lack of better words) to Breath of the Wild that the game would be highly, highly popular among the Nintendo and Zelda fanbases. What came of it was The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom.  This game set massive markers in terms of copies sold, money and popularity all within the first month of release.  I was someone who bought this game on its release date.  What do I think it did well and what do I think it needed to do better on? All that and more below!

Positives: 

1. Different Abilities- To be able to ascend, build and other things makes this really a neat game overall with these things to do.  It's a very solid addition to the game. I don't think I need to say much on the ascending, but the building is awesome. To get the full experience on that, please YouTube something on Tears of the Kingdom and building things. You have anything from cars, actual boats or even Beyblades. 

2. The Depths- If I am honest, I was very skeptical about this part in the game for starters. I didn't think it would go well at all and I was actually quite wrong.  The Depths were absolutely well done.  You had to evade enemies, while dealing with the Gloom, while figuring out where you are, and on top of that, knowing if you are near a light root at all. All of it was fantastic and I appreciated exploring the depths as much as possible.

3. Two of the final fights- I appreciated two of the final fights as they seemed very end game like. They also brought the flair and the dramatics of it being a final fight to the forefront.  I loved the challenge of it and it was absolutely terrific to go through with. Overall, two of them were great (I'll cover one other in a moment, but I don't want to spoil it.)

4. Graphics/Sound- I don't think it needs to warrant much mentioning but yes the graphics and soundtrack are fantastic.

5. Gleeoks- Yeah these dragon things are on here. I actually made the mistake of running and getting smoked by them a few times. But another time I beat a couple and felt awesome about it. It's one of those optional things that you don't go too far out of the way for but when you do, it's neat to get done. It's one of the cooler side missions Zelda has done over the course of their games.

6. Story- I like the story overall. We already know the main crux of what to do but to get there was pretty neat and to get through to talk to everyone you need to for the game, that was pretty cool. Overall, not sure what else they could have done to elongate the story without it being fluff at that point but they did very well overall with it. 

Negatives:

1. The Sky Level- Yeah for as much as I enjoyed the depths, I found the Sky very much lacking for depth and really.. anything minus one shrine temple. They focused so much on it in promotion but it just fell flat in my honest opinion. I didn't really get much out of it.

2. Too Breath of the Wild Feel- There are a lot of components that are different to this game from Breath of the Wild but it feels map-wise, physics-wise and gameplay wise like Breath of the Wild and I feel that is a tad unfortunate. I feel if the game still had the same map as BOTW or similar to it that's one thing and that's fine. However, when a lot of the same mechanics of the previous game just go along with it, that's an issue that should have been addressed overall I felt.

3. Normal Enemy Difficulty- Okay.. it has to be said. What's with the regular enemies being insanely difficult most of the time in this game? Just regular bokoblins, Talus' and more are just insanely more difficult in this game even with good weapons. That.. just never made sense to me.

4. One of the Final Fights- I'm not going to say which one, but one of them just feels far too easy and at this point dragging the end out a bit too much. It feels like two phases of it was good, three was just a bit too much to this end game. 

Overall Rating:

Despite some of the negatives, Tears of the Kingdom is well worth the play and deserving of the awards it got in 2023. I feel their positives well outweigh the negatives. Therefore, I honestly will rate Tears of the Kingdom an 8.5 out of 10.