Reviews by Neppy

We live in a day and age where Pokemon is still a very relevant franchise in the eyes of gamers. But since it is over 20 years old now, new fans have come and so have many new games and even remakes. Generation 1 is by many even seen as ''badly aged games''. Do I agree? Yes and no. I had my very clear issues which are for example but not limited to:

- Bag space being extremely limited and not showing TM/HM names.
- Not being able to see in battle if you've captured a pokemon before, nor being able to see experience.
- If a box is full, you have to manually switch to a new box before being able to capture new Pokemon.
- Having to select a HM from the Pokemon menu before being able to use it outside of battle.

But honestly? These are outdated issues that were fixed pretty fast in the next generation, but if you leave competitive battling aside, generation 1 are still mighty fine games. I am probably affected by Nostalgia since Pokemon Yellow is one of my first games ever, but the core Pokemon gameplay is still there and that's all that matters for me: go on a journey through a region to capture all Pokemon and become a Pokemon master by beating all gyms and finally the elite four. Kanto is not a particularly great region, but it was the first and it was a really good first region in my opinion. I also really liked most of the Pokemon from this generation, special shoutout going to Nidoking/queen and Rhyhorn. I never really bothered with completing the Pokedex but I did always try my best regardless. In future cases I'll probably prioritize the remakes over the original games, but this is definitely still a game I can pop in at any time and enjoy. It also has a good difficulty that I unfortunately miss a lot in later games.

Kirby's Dream Land set out to do one major goal and succeeds in that regard pretty well: to be accessible to anyone and everyone. It now has an entire franchise that's still going strong to this date, and it all started with this game. Simple platforming with Kirby's defining feature that he can inhale air to float, or inhale enemies to shoot at other enemies. Copy abilities were not a thing yet in this game, so the basic Kirby gameplay is all there is to the game. The game is pretty short with only 4 worlds which can easily be done under an hour. However, what Kirby does offer that makes it stand out amongst other easy, short platformers on the Gameboy is a significantly harder mode that can be unlocked with a cheat or after clearing the game once. This mode is no joke and can even challenge Kirby veterans. I find this a very welcoming addition to an already fine but short platformer.

It is very clear that Super Mario Land is one of the launch titles for the Nintendo Gameboy. The graphics are not the game's strong point (though graphics do not affect the quality of this game) and the game is extremely short and easy. The difficulty can be increased when selecting hard mode, but since this game has no save battery, that means the hard mode can only be selected when beating the game once in a single session. A cheat would have fixed this issue but unfortunately that was not the case. Don't let my negative review so far discourage you from trying out this game however. While the game is short, it is still classic platforming gameplay like we're used to. There's a replacement power-up for the fire flower being the powerball which bounces off walls, and there are even a few shoot-m-up stages! The entire theme and story of the game is different as well, which I greatly appreciate because even when this game released, it was pretty much just ''princess is kidnapped by evil koopa, kill evil koopa for this week'' the game. There's still a princess being kidnapped here, but the villain this time is an evil alien and the stages are based around real-world locations such as Easter Island and China. The enemies are designed around these inspirations as well, such as the Jiangshi. I greatly appreciate the game for taking a different, while still familiar approach to the franchise.

I could see Deployment being a very enjoyable game to play online casually or competitively. Rounds are pretty short, only lasting about 4 minutes and skill is clearly needed for this game. Without the right strategies the opponent can easily defeat you in battle. That's because Deployment is not only a twin-stick shooter, but also a strategy game with random generated maps. You have to think carefully on what systems to prioritize that will benefit you in battle, and also what ones to destroy since you can't spam your shooting without running out of energy quick, and a bad timed reload will definitely be the end of you. There's also a total of five classes, each with six perks to customize them to your own liking. I personally really disliked using the Pyro, but I could work with all the other classes no sweat. They each have their own ''super attack'' as well to possibly give you an edge in a fight. Lastly, there are boosts that randomly appear in the stages. This all sounds very good doesn't it? It is, but there is one major problem that's not necessarily the game's fault: nobody is playing this. Online multiplayer is one of the main attractions to this game, but in all the time I've played I have not encountered a single online player. And when online isn't an option, your only other option is bots. The bots mode on it's own is alright but will get boring eventually. There is no incentive either to play against bots other than achievements and perks that you can unlock. There is no selectable difficulty for the bots, neither can you customize the mode to your own liking. Outside of perks there is nothing to gain, no customizable items, nothing. And in my opinion that's the game's biggest weakness: it doesn't have a lot to offer. The game has been out for over a year now, yet has not seen a single update. An extra class would be an easy addition, or the customizations I mentioned earlier. This is a game you will play for a few hours, possibly with friends and then drop probably forever. Unless updates will happen or this game suddenly gets a lot of attention, I'm afraid this game will never get the glory it deserves because honestly, the main game is a lot of fun.

I was pleasantly surprised by revisiting Eversion. My memories of it weren’t too positive, but after playing it again and learning about the Lovecraftian inspiration, I gained a new admiration for this game. Gameplay works and the multiple parallel dimensions allow for the puzzle aspect to rise, and the multiple endings allow for different methods to play the game. That said however, it would be unfair to deny the simplicity of the gameplay, and the game being an experience allows for less replayability. My recommendation would be to play through it once, probably complete it as well since it is a short game anyways.

Spoiler Alert has an interesting theme going for it, and is the main selling point for the game. The gameplay functions but unfortunately gets repetitive relatively fast due to it mostly coming down to pressing a few buttons. There is potential for this concept to grow even bigger however, and I would love to see that executed someday. There is little replayability, but going for the gold medal in Speedrun mode extends playtime. As does the level creator but do keep in mind the Collector’s Edition is necessary. My personal recommendation is to play it, but since it is so short you might as well go for beat or even complete it.

Titan Quest has a mythological theme going for it, and executes it very well with its inhabitants and world the game takes place in—though you have to take some stuff with a grain of salt. The many different combinations in masteries and the loot hoarding gameplay makes every playthrough different, but the huge non-randomized world counteracts that statement. For one playthrough however, we had a lot of fun despite our (minor) complaints. The gameplay is overall fine, though I would’ve loved to see more active than passive skills. The game can be played alone or co-op with up to six players, both methods being viable options.

Tales of Berseria is a great entry in the Tales franchise, with a good theming and a cast of characters I personally very much like. The gameplay is fine overall and especially improves on what can be done on the overworld over the older games. There is a lot of side content, allowing for lots of playtime. The characters their looks and gameplay can be set perfectly to your own liking. The very low difficulty does hamper the game somewhat, which makes the different amount of combinations and the extensive gear system less effective than they should have been. Still, I absolutely recommend playing and beating this game as all the hours I have spent on the game were well worth it.

If I could sum up my experience with Hollow Knight briefly: I’ve played it for six hours straight and I just could not put the controller down. The days after were the exact same story; that’s how much I love this game. Whichever way you decide to go, it will only reward you because of the huge amount of content Hollow Knight has. Not to mention the interesting areas bundled together with the Knight’s mobility, making the game an absolute joy to play. The Charm system also gives that degree of variability in gameplay style, tuning the Knight to your preferences and giving you a lot of new strategies. A fair difficulty for people who just want to beat the game, while completing requires mastery of the game. I don’t know if it’s my bias or if this game is just that good—but it’s probably both. I can’t help but give this game a very high recommendation to beat, and eventually complete depending on if you can handle the difficulty provided by the additional content.

Spark the Electric Jester isn’t a game that should be regarded as a ‘’Sonic clone’’, as it is far more than just that. Spark controls smoothly with many different abilities and melee options to check out. The electricity bar is pretty much useless and wall jumping is also finnicky, but those aren’t necessarily negative points and more improvements that could make the game even better than it already is. Few framerate issues aside, the 16-bit graphics and soundtrack are both amazing, and there is enough replayability with the large, diverse stages and additional modes.