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Review – Earthworm Jim
When I was younger, I was a massive fan of Earthworm Jim. I remember renting it for the first time, seeing the promo for the cartoon, and even managing to beat it, despite my inexperience and underdeveloped thumbs. I once even wrote a letter to Shiny Entertainment, and asked if they would be creating a sequel, and they wrote back…
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Review – Pilotwings
When the Super Nintendo finally landed on Western shores in 1991, it brought with it three games. Super Mario World and F-Zero have gone on to be legends in their own rights, but the third game is a little more obscure. Pilotwings may seem like the less exciting choice when stood up next to a Mario game and a hyper-fast…
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Review – Celeste
Celeste is a game about climbing a mountain in both the literal sense and allegorical one. And while I feel I'm climbing my own mountain right now, and can relate to a protagonist struggling with depression and anxiety, I'm not sure the view is worth the effort.
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Review – The Messenger
The pixel art style was once rather contentious. Anecdotally, many of the complaints I heard were that it was simply a ploy to try and sucker people who are easily swayed my nostalgia. That may have once been the case, but these days, the emulation of low resolution sprite art seems to more frequently be employed as a way of…
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Review – Snatcher
I can’t say I have the best relationship with Hideo Kojima. On one hand, I respect him as a creative force. On the other hand, he’s an excruciatingly awful storyteller. The Metal Gear series can, at the best of times, be an entertaining experience, but then it stops, lurches in your direction, and vomits exposition directly on your shoes. And…
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Review – Batman Returns (SNES)
Tim Burton’s take on the Batman franchise was so rad. I mean, the movies are as goofy as hell, but between the excellent performances from the cast, and the awesome set design and atmosphere, they’re a sight to behold. The second movie, Batman Returns, also serves as an excellent alternative Christmas movie to people who prefer to avoid the good…
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Review – The Nightmare Before Christmas: Oogie’s Revenge
There's a lot of Nightmare Before Christmas stuff around my apartment. It's a staple in this household. So, it was maybe inevitable that I'd eventually get around to playing the game. I mean, as far as things that will put you in the Christmas spirit go, this isn't one of them.
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Review – Earthbound Beginnings
Earthbound is an extremely meaningful game to me, so of course it feels right to branch out to the other games in the series. Mother (Earthbound Beginnings) was the first game I ever imported on Famicom. However, whether or not I like it is more complicated than just yes or no.
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Review – Snake’s Revenge
It seems that, these days, the once adored NES port of Metal Gear is often looked on less fondly than it once was. A reputation tarnished, perhaps by the rediscovery of the MSX version by western audience. The NES exclusive follow-up, Snake’s Revenge, on the other hand, has always maintained a less-than-stellar reputation. Developed as an NES-only sequel and targeted…
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Review – Undertale
Undertale has become one of the most influential indie games of all time, which is interesting, since it clearly contains a lot of DNA from Earthbound and Love-de-Lic joy-makers. Putting that aside, however, it's easy to see what made it so effective, and I'm not talking about the art style.
