Bioshock Infinite (PS3)

This game is an interesting case.  I enjoyed the first Bioshock greatly and was less than happy with Bioshock 2.  Going into this game, I knew what I was getting but I didn't realize just how in depth they thought about the history and setting.  They took the time to look back at the time the game is set in and draw upon that.  Despite not being able to go back in time, they captured it and made the world feel alive.

Every area in this game feels alive and vibrant.  No matter what you are doing, there is something there that makes the town feel lived in.  Sure sometimes the combat gets in the way and there is often so much going on you miss some of the interesting pieces of the city.  This just leads to having great replay value.  Every time you play it, you will see something new or notice something you have never noticed before.

The combat in this game is as fluid and there are multiple approaches to each confrontation.  You can try to be stealthy, you can try to just blast your way through.  You can usually be succesful.  Some of the vigors that you get are useful in certain situations and will definitely fit different play styles.  You are never pidgeon-holed into a certain way to complete something.  This is good for me cause well, I am terrible at stealth.

The story is great and definitely fits the whole universe.  I only wish I could have spent more time in this world.  The game is rather short and at times feels rushed.  The last section of the game is decent and definitely better than Bioshock 2, it just doesn't hit the major climax like Bioshock does.  Even the twist wasn't that great.  The game does get very heavy in the end and definitely leaves the player thinking what happened.  A great game and definitely worth playing.  I wasn't originally going to buy the game but couldn't resist.  I am glad I didn't it.

Tatsunoko vs. Capcom (Wii)

Fighting games have a strange effect on me.  Sometimes I love them and other times they are a huge pain to get through.  This game was strangely in the middle.  I love the characters and the combat system but unlocking all the characters was a pain.

To begin, this was my first attempt at playing a non Street Fighter game in my life at the time.  Since this game, I have now branched out and played numerous other fighters.  This game is a good gateway into the fighting game genre.  The combo system is simple, each character has some simple combos for beginners and it helps ease them into longer more complicated combos.

Each of the characters to me was new and most of them I had never seen before.  I had fun with this game and it was a nice gateway into the other fighting games that I played after.  I learned how to do some very basic fighting game things like quarter circles or cancels.  This is a great game for anybody that wants to have some fun.

Super Mario World (VC)

Having played this game on the original SNES, I had to play it again when it was re-released on Virtual Console.  It is one of the best platformers that I have ever played.  The controls are solid, the level progression is good, and nothing gets to the point of frustrating.  Sure some things are decently hard but you never feel like something unfair.

As a Mario game, it is pretty simple.  Get from the start to the finish, collecting coins, and trying your best not to die.  The feather power up was the new power-up for this game and honestly, I wish they would bring it back.  It is a great item and was really fun to play with.

The story is okay and by this time, if you had played the NES games, you knew what was happening.  The music is still memorable and by far the greatest in the series at times.  The ghost house theme and others still stay in my mind.  The bosses are fun but do get repeated after a certain point.

If you have a chance and have never played this game.  Play it.  It holds up today and is still one of the best platformers out there.  They should teach classes about this game for game developers, to show them how to take a basic system and make a great game.

Final Fantasy III (NDS)

One of the few games that starts out great, mellows out in the middle and then just falls completely flat at the end.  The job system is great but very exploitable.  The story is there but is not all that enticing.  As a fan of Final Fantasy, I had a hard time finishing this one.

Let's start out with the great parts, it has a good job system.  Each class has a use at times and it does help to switch around at times.  The big problem with this system is the fact that you gain job levels for spamming things.  I remember sitting in the starting area, grinding for hours using Defend to level my jobs.  It is necessary and I will explain that later.

The story has moments but sometimes if gets unclear where to go.  You will often find yourself in areas you shouldn't be in and the game lets you know.  It puts enemies there that will eat you alive.  The story is just a vehicle though, I had to remember that this was originally an NES title.  I appreciate the chance to play this in the US but they could have updated the story a little more so it didn't feel so dated.

Now the worst part and what really just ruins the whole experience for me, the last dungeon.  This is by far the most unfair, frustrating, and tedious experience in my life.  There are no save points in the last area of the game.  Why is this bad?  Lots of games do that.  Lots of games don't force you into an area that you cannot leave that has more than the last boss.  This game has 6 bosses, including the last boss.  Every encounter is a previous boss but beefed up.  To be fair, 4 of the bosses are there to weaken the last boss.  If you don't beat them though, the last boss is near impossible.  In fact, I think you can't beat it unless you do beat the four other bosses.  You have to do all of this without saving.  So if you die against the last boss, guess what.  You have to fight all the other bosses again.  This doesn't sound bad until you remember how big the last area is and that every fight is technically with boss enemies.  Even with max levels on the best jobs, I had a hard time with this.

I don't mind a little challenge but they could have done something to keep this game from falling so flat at the end.  It was just cruel and a poor design choice for this remake.  Having to repeat 2-3 hours of game every time you lose to the last boss and you will lose cause even in a weakened state, it is hard.  It just doesn't make for a good experience.  I would say buy this but only if you are a fan.

Secret of Mana (SNES)

It is very difficult for me to write this review.  In fact, I will make this short.  I cannot be objective about this game because it is my favorite game of all time.  The battle system, the story, the characters, and everything about this game are perfect.  I may be blinded by nostalgia but I simply cannot find fault with this game.  It is just so awesome that I could go on and on about this game for several pages.  But I won't.  Not like anybody reads this.

If you haven't played this game, give it a try.  This is a great game.  It is what inspired me to continue gaming.  I want to make a game like this at some point in my life.  This game influenced my childhood so much, I just can't let it go.

Luminous Arc (NDS)

Witches everywhere and they are evil.  But really they aren't.  Some are?  I don't know.  This game has a plot that is quite silly at times, often makes no sense, but ends up being decent.  It doesn't make up for the clunky battle system and the strange glitches that show up.

First off, I love Strategy RPGs.  This game was hard for me to get through for one reason though, it was paced very poorly.  At one point you are fighting enemies that are giving you little to no experience and then you jump into battle with things that will just eat you alive.  It made grinding a chore and a necessity.  Luckily, using any ability gives EXP to a character so you can spam healing or buff spells to level up.

The glitches do really detract from the fun though.  From characters that take forever to path find to their destination to characters disappearing after using a buff on them.  Only for them to return but with the sprite looking like it is in debuff state.  It makes the game seem really weird.  The voices cut in and out as well.  It is very jarring.

This was a good start to a series that we never got the end of.  I never got the next game in the series but I would hope someday I could.  This wasn't a terrible game.  It had some good ideas and the story ended up being quite nice.  It just needed a little more time for some polish.

Final Fantasy X (PS2)

It is very lucky that the randomizer I use to pick my games to review picked this game.  The date of this review is the same day the HD remakes of X and X-2 came out.  I haven't played X-2 so this will only cover X.

I have always been a fan of Final Fantasy because it blended wonderful battle systems and great stories. This game is now the exception.  The combat system in this game is very simple and very good.  Being able to switch out characters without being punished is great.  It gives the player a lot more choices in combat and can lead into some interesting setups.

The other good things about this game is the Sphere Grid.  It lets you grow the characters however you want.  Especially Kimahri who is almost a blank slate with Blue magic.  Not happy that Tidus is a terrible character and can't do that much damage?  Have him go through Auron's grid.  Wish that somebody other than Rikku could steal?  Put them through her grid.  It leads to some wonderful mixes.

Now where this game falls flat, the story.  Many, many people tout this game as having the last best story in the Final Fantasy series (I disagree cause FFXII has a wonderful story).  I won't disagree that it is a story that is framed well but it also has some really grating moments.  The major story plot twist is predictable, in fact, I picked up on it quite early.  Secondly, the characters (minus Auron and Rikku) are bland and uninteresting.  This is one of the few games that I actually wanted to see the main characters lose.

While this is a good game in it's own right, this is not the best Final Fantasy game ever. I know I will gather some hate from this (although only like 3 people will see this) but I stick by it.  By the end of the game, I was just glad to see it end.  Although, I do wish they would have done more with Auron.  Auron was a great character.

Kirby's Dreamland (GB)

Kirby has always been my favorite simple platformer series.  This game is no exception.  Despite not having the ability system that the series is now known for, this game is awesome.  If you haven't ever played a Kirby game before, this is a good one to start with.

What is Kirby?  Simply put, Kirby is a simplistic platformer game that rarely challenges the player but is fun nonetheless.  In this series, you play as Kirby.  You have on goal, defeat King Dedede and get the snacks back to Dreamland.  You will run, fly, jump, and swim through various worlds.  The bosses are all fairly unique and fun.

One thing that I love about the series is the soundtrack.  Everything is upbeat and cheery.  Boss battle themes are intense but at the same time never make you feel dreadful.  This game is just a series about having fun and being carefree.  You never feel rushed in this game but every level builds on what you have learned in the past.  In all, this game is just a big, fun, happy adventure.

Castlevania: Portrait of Ruin (NDS)

A deep, dark castle.  Very thin lighting.  Walking through a hallway, the eyes of the portraits following me.  It isn't a trick of the mind, they are actually following.  A crash of thunder and a flash of lightning.  All these things are what come to mind when I remember playing this game.

Castlevania is one of those series that I can get immersed in and really feel like I am in the castle itself.  This game is no different.  I enjoy the setup of this one quite a bit.  Taking place in a time where having Dracula around is not only convenient, it borderlines on destruction is great.  The characters are good and it fits into the timeline nicely.

Having essentially two characters to play as really does add to the puzzle solving that is a staple of the series.  It also introduces some interesting aspects to combat.  There are some frustrating fights, especially what you have to do to get the best ending but the switching gimmick and the two different combat styles are great all around.

This is a fun game and I wish that more games like it would come out.  From what I've seen with what Konami has done with the Castlevania series, I'm not too happy.  I don't mind them trying to expand their horizons but the Lords of Shadow series don't really appeal to me.  Give me more games like this and I would be happy.

Castlevania: Circle of the Moon (GBA)

As one of the first Castlevania games I played on the Gameboy Advance, I was a little surprised.  This game wasn't terrible but compared to the high point of Symphony of the Night, it is hard not to be hard on this game.  For one, it is incredibly dark.  Like the contrast between character and some of the backgrounds is not different to the point that you lose where your character is.

The other thing that was annoying was the card system was not explained in the game.  I bought this game without the booklet so I had no idea how to use the cards until I looked them up later.  This game was great though.  As the first GBA Castlevania's it set up the groundwork for later titles.  It opened the door and I have to say, despite my complaints it was a decent game with it's moments.  If you get the chance, find this game.  It is worth a playthrough for any fan of the series.