AlexB's Reviews

 

 

            From a standalone single player standpoint BioShock will blow you out of the proverbial game water. This game can only be described in one word. Amazing. The game will suck you in so much that you actually feel like your there and you wont want to leave.

 

Story: You are a nameless person on an airplane that unexpectedly crash lands into the middle of the ocean. You gain consciousness and swim to a lone structure in the distance. You walk down a flight of steps and step into a submarine like vessel. You are sucked down into the water and exposed to a giant metropolis. Welcome to Rapture! You emerge and are greeted with a man’s voice via radio and he will lead you along the way. Your mission is to escape the failing Rapture while trying to save the family of the man on the radio. Along the way you will encounter numerous villains and you will try to uncover the secret of the big daddies and the little sisters.

 

Presentation: The game is set in the 1920’s and it really makes you feel like it. You will hear old fashion music and you will see all kinds of cool architecture of that time. The game has amazing production values and the detailed graphics really make you feel like your there. The game succeeds in every way to really pull you into the experience.

 

Graphics: Simply amazing. Some of the most artistic and powerful graphics ever witnessed on a 360 system. It may not be at the level of gears of war. But it has such a style and smoothness it really is unrivaled on its playing field. The elemental effects are incredible and unsurpassed in my mind. The animation is also superb. The characters move like they should and the little sisters will hide behind the big daddies when scared. Everything just feels very real

 

Sound: astonishing. From the music to the voice acting. It is just perfect. It really just sucks you into the experience and never lets you go. The gun shots are so authentic that you almost feel like that pistol has a kickback or that shotgun has just blown a person across a room. It is just that powerful. The voices of the villains are done so well and it adds to their maniacal sense. The music will heighten in aggressive parts and lower in the downtime.

 

Gameplay: Revolutionary is a good word to describe it. Bioshock gives you so many different kinds of gameplay elements it’s incredible. From gun fights, to elemental puzzles. To becoming a big daddy. To hacking systems. To inventing items. It’s incredible how much this game expands the first person shooter genre. All the elemental effects are so interesting and all can be used to dispatch your foes. They also work in combination with your customizable guns to the point where there are endless ways to torture your attackers. Throw some bees on the and then light them on fire. Then freeze them and smack them with a wrench. Then blow them away with a shotgun blast. Set traps with electricity bolts or the cyclone spins. You can literally take the combat as far as you can imagine. The hacking system works well and provides challenging puzzle elements. The ability to upgrade everything is so cool and works well. You will never see the same environment twice which is great for the pacing. You will never be doing the same objective and this really keeps your interest. The good or evil element plays a big part because if you harvest them they will fear you by the end and call you the bad man. If you help them they will love you and help you along the way. The big daddy is a great element. It’s like a separate boss from the games story and it lets you show your skills. They provide a great challenge and test your skills. They also provide a great pay off so it is to your benefit to combat with them. What I am trying to get at is how much variety is jammed into this game. There is so many things to do within this single player experience that it’s amazing.

 

Tilt: being a new and original IP I had my skepticism with this game, but all that was put to shame when the final product was released. The game it so fun that it receives a perfect ten when it comes to just how much enjoyment you will get out of it. The game is so good you could replay the same thing again and have a completely different experience and you will have fun doing so.

 

Lasting Appeal: Oh my god this game has great value. If you try to find everything in the game and explore every nook and cranny you can spend upwards to 25 hours. Especially if you try to get the achievements. There are multiple difficulties so that adds some replayablitiy. Also since the game is so great you will want to try the different difficulties. For a single player experience the game is well worth your money.

 

Complaints: They are very minimal but they do hold the game back from being perfect. There is no online function in the game which is kind of a downer. I am not talking about multiplayer I’m just talking about any online function. Sure there was a game update for it but nothing that really utilizes online. It would have been cool to see a video capturing component that lets you take video of the traps you set up or something of that degree. The gameplay despite it being so great does get a little thin at times. It is such a long game that at a point near the end you do get the feeling of doing the same thing over and over. This can be overlooked just because it is so fun. Hacking also gets a little boring because it is always the same. The AI while being very intelligent doesn’t offer a lot of variety. They basically do the same things and become a bit tiresome. It would have been cool to see a bigger variety.

 

Summary: Play this game!!! Rent it or buy it, you just need to experience it. It is so good in every aspect that it has to be one of my favorite games and it is definitely a contender for game of the year. The game succeeds in drawing you into the experience and making you enjoy it along the way. Do yourself a favor and play this game.

EDIT: Review originally for Gamespot, so if this was on a ten scale it would get a 9.5. But on this grading scale it gets a 5. It's not perfect, but it is about as good as it gets.

Story: The story starts you off as, the protagonist Kratos, you are on the edge of the cliffs of madness. You jump off to attempt suicide and as your falling to your horrific death you recollect all the horrible things that have happened to you and all the horrible things you have done to others, because well let’s face it you’re a complete bad ass. Later on the game reveals that Kratos once was in a giant battle and right before his death he called upon Aries, THE GOD OF WAR, to save his life. Aries obliges Kratos’s wish to defeat his adversaries for the price of Kratos becoming Aries servant of death if you will. Kratos recollects all the horrible things Aries has made him do, including killing his wife and child, and he has had it. He swears vengeance upon Aries and sets out to exact his revenge. So the basic premise of the game it you traveling to Pandora’s temple, to find Pandora’s box, to unleash the ultimate power, to then kill Aries.

 

Graphics: This is easily the PS2’s best looking game, only to be outdone by the sequel (God of War 2). The game is so good it rivals first generation Xbox 360 games, such as GUN.  It’s amazing how good this game looks for a ps2 and it shows that this is one of the final PS2 games. The developers have included dynamic lighting, normal mapping, specular highlighting, etc. and it just makes this game look incredible. The CGI cut scenes are astonishing. There are only a couple, so when they appear they are a real treat to see. Trust me if you’re a graphics W**** you must pick up this game, merely to just marvel at these magnificent graphics.

 

Sound: The sound is incredible. This game has it all. One fantastic orchestral score, amazing sound effects, and the narrator is academy award winning Linda Hunt.

The sound effects are awesome, each slice of the blades sounds real, and you can basically imagine the hurt Kratos is inflicting with each searing blow. Everything sounds realist and the voice acting is amazing. They got a lot of great actors to fill the roles and they all sound like they belong. The score is amazing; it matches the sweeping landscape and makes this game feel really epic.

 

Gameplay: This is where God of War truly shines. This game will get you pumped up. The action is exciting, and it what keeps you coming back over and over. Sure you might mash the buttons a lot but the combat is done so well that it keeps you drooling for more. There are so many ways you can decisively dish, the deadly dicing of Kratos’s blades and magic, the possibilities are endless. There are many moments you will be in awe and ask yourself “DID HE REALLY JUST DO THAT” or “OMG did you see that”. The combat is the reason this game is so perfect. It mainly consists of hitting the square and triangle buttons and using magic with R2. It is so diverse and there are so many ways do dish out the pain. Want to hack up a harpy? Sick of that? Then walk up and rip its damn wings off. Want to filet your enemy in the air with your razor sharp blades? Well how about you just rip its arm with the blade off and stab it through the face. There are no limits to the action. There are also action sequences that make you press specific buttons in order to exterminate you foe. Sure you can slash the Cyclops to death, or you can press the action commands, run up his arm, and rip its eye out in glorified gory fashion. The boss battles are amazing. You will be grinning the entire time at how epic they are. Each boss has a specific strategy to beating it and the game tasks you to finding that out. Once the end is near, you will perform an ultimate button sequence that usually puts the other gory fatalities to shame. (I.e. the hydra battle involves you pulling the mouth over a broken pole until the pole comes out the back of its head). You are equipped with two blades that are chained to your arms, but you also receive one kick ass blade that dominates. In addition to the weapons you receive an abundance of magic. The cool thing about all the powers and weapons you acquire is that you can upgrade them, so you can have new powers and abilities. How do you upgrade them? When you kill someone you acquire red orbs, and once you’ve gathered enough you can upgrade your weapons.  So to sum up the gameplay is where it’s at. It’s the reason you’ll come back and play it again, and it’s the reason why this games so great. YOU MUST EXPERIENCE IT.

 

Value: The game isn’t the longest game ever, 8-10 hours. But the game has 4 difficulties and the final mode is really hard. There are also many bonus features, like unlockable costumes (cow of war lol), developer diaries, making of the game, and challenge of the gods. The challenge of the gods allows you to unlock certain things, and is its own separate mingame that tasks you with doing specific objectives in a certain amount of time. They are definitely a challenge. Overall the value isn’t astonishing, but there is enough of it that will cause you to want to replay it over and over.

 

Tilt: The game is very fun. Obviously I’d give this game a 10 for tilt. It is so entertaining and you will have a blast playing it over and over. The game is a mature rated game and to every extent. But if you can handle the violence, language, and nudity this game is really fun.

 

Summary: This is a must have for any PS2 gamers library. If you don’t have it already I strongly advise you to get off your *** right now and go to the store and buy it. Amazing gameplay, story, sound, value, tilt, the whole package is amazing and you will not regret buying this masterpiece.

Edit: This is my old Gamespot Review. Still how I feel. the game isn't 10 because there are pacing issues, but I do think a 4.5 is how i would rate it on the GiantBomb scale.  

 

 

 

 

I've decided just to speak freely about this game. I think it needs to be reviewed in an abstract form. No form just explanation of why this game owns so much. This little intro is just to show how much I love this game. I never owned it, but that just added my thirst, my addiction, my lust for this game. This game is probably the most beautiful creations by man ever. It’s perfect in every way. I looked at the Gamespot rating criteria surely thinking that I could critique some aspect lower but no, I couldn’t. It just simply overrides the system.

 See, it’s hard for me to explain. This game just brings back so many memories. It makes me cry every time I here the music and I get emotional just thinking about it. This game reminds me of better times, back when I was little and I didn’t know a whole lot. It reminds me of being innocent, just loving life, no cares, no worries. I realize now that I can never feel this again, but even if I can just get a little shred of that feeling I felt it makes me feel happy. Of course this makes no sense to you and by now you’ve probably stopped reading just because this is boring and it’s hard to understand. But this review is more for me than you. This game proves that videogames are surely an art form, not just entertainment. This introduction is long I can see so I’ll break it up into paragraphs and then eventually get to the actual game itself.

When I was little and I went to “day care” my day care had an SNES. It had many games but the only one I can really remember now is Secret of Mana. I was really young and I was too stupid to know how to play it or even to know how RPGs worked. So I would watch my friend Joe (who was 5 years older than me) at the day care play it. I watched him obsessively. We never beat it. Got close but know. Joe grew up and so did I. I no longer went to day care. So months later I remember the game, I call up the local trade-a-game and ask if they have it. The store employee replies “oh my, your have good taste in games, sorry that is a very rare game and we do not have it” those were his exact words. I felt sort of bad that I might not ever get to play it again. So every month I’d call back and get the same reply. So finally I just gave up. But me and my bro did rent it almost every week and play it for a while. But little f****** would delete our saves. Also we use to mark the copies so when we’d go into the store wed know which one was the previous one we rented and we’d get it. Now thinking about it, it seems very sad to me. The game is soooo epic and great and I had to wait that long to play it. Later in life I had a friend named Alex (lol my name too). I went to his lake cabin. Guess what he had a SNES and guess what game he had… Secret of Mana. I nearly died of excitement. I sat there for about 5 hours just soaking in the awesomeness. So I got my SOM fix and since then I feel satisfied. But now I can’t wait for the VC revival so I can finally BEAT IT. (No disgusting joke intended). Lol. *on a side note now I remember that my daycare had Super Mario RPG. No wonder I love that game too*. So finally the game review.

 

Gameplay: Secret of Mana’s gameplay can only be described in one word, perfect. But ironically this would be the only portion of the game that can be faulted. The only thing in the entire game I can criticize is that sometimes the gameplay can be repetitive. But since I love the game soooo much and if you like it too, you can get passed that and it doesn’t hinder the game. The game is an Action RPG. No turn based stuff just plain button mashing, hack and slash, sword combat at its best. The game centered around 3 characters and there journey. The game supports 3 players also which is odd at that time because you need a multitap for your SNES. You control one of the 3 characters and hack and slash enemies in an RPG like atmosphere. Your character would level the more enemies you would kill and he would obtain different, more powerful, weapons and spells as the game progressed. The game can be compared to the Castelvania series in that way in terms of leveling. But the game is most like Zelda in the ways you would attack. The game is top down similar to Zelda. It’s basically a standard action RPG.

 

Graphics: the game can be compared to looking exactly like Chrono Trigger because it had the same artist. The graphics are great for the SNES. The game uses Mode 7 to create the rotatable background and when flying Flammie (a dragon for transportation) it shows uses Mode 7 to make it look 3d. But the graphics are pretty standard. It’s very colorful and the enemies and characters look great

 

Sound: probably my favorite part of the game and in my opinion the greatest game soundtrack of all time. Composed by Hiroki Kikuta this master piece still holds its own today. The opening song is so breathtaking and so magical it still isn’t rivaled in my mind by anything today. Here let the Wikipedia.org show you.

The game's soundtrack was composed by Hiroki Kikuta, and is perhaps his most famous work. It is known for its variety of tunes which tend to focus on the use of percussion and woodwind instruments, ranging from a lighthearted dwarves' polka to a somber, wistful snow melody to a tribal-like dance. Kikuta also incorporated elements of Balinese music into the score, which include gamelan (metallic, pitched percussion) and kecak (a percussive, extremely fast vocal technique). The most notable section of Balinese style music is heard while fighting the Dark Lich. Secret of Mana's title theme, 天使の怖れ/Tenshi no Osore (often translated as Angels' Fear) is well known by video game music aficionados for its haunting, echoing piano melody, and was featured in the third Orchestral Game Concert^[3] as well as serving as the base for many remixes. Parts of the game's soundtrack were incorporated into the Seiken Densetsu 2 Shiikuretto obu Mana/Secret of Mana+ compilation arrangement CD.

 

Value: the games value is astonishing. I can’t even count how many times I died in this game. Leveling is a necessity because if you don’t then you’re going to be screwed. The game is really long to boot. 30-50 hours of solid gameplay and that is without doing certain side quests.

 

Tilt: obviously perfect. As shown by the intro I find this game to be the Mecca of games and I hold it in my heart as a memory holder as well as a piece of fine art. Its fun and priceless.

 

Edit: My old Gamespot Review. My favorite Game of all time. If I could it would be a 6/5. This game is perfect. The nostalgia makes me feel giddy.

*Before you read just know I did this review abstractly and it is very different from other styles of review. Read to get a general impression of the whole package, instead of separate parts*

Intro

Braid; a peculiar specimen. A truly melancholy experience that so much can’t be assigned a score, but really just dissected. Jonathon Blow’s undertaking is a weird dive into an extremely ambiguous tale of one man’s search for the princess. I am still in bewilderment of what has just happened. I just finished the game and I just had to write down something. This could be considered a review, but it’s so hard to critique this game it’s a little unfair to the critic. Anyway I’ll just start in.

 

Oh dear lord where do I begin. You know what I am just going to cut the shit and just say it. Braid is a good game. I am not going to go on and on about the game and then finally come to a conclusion. The game is a good game, but it has so many ‘things’ about it, it is just hard to say why it is good and what is wrong. Now let’s get this straight, there are definitely things wrong, but these complaints shouldn’t be misconstrued as stupidity. Yes, I am not the smartest person ever, but you have to either be the most well read person on the face of the earth to piece the game together, or you have to be some sort of savant. I think it’s funny and ironic that a puzzle game can end up being so puzzling. I know two intros I’ll start.

 

Gameplay:

When I look at Braid I see it as more of a package than a sum of its parts. It’s really something that has to be looked at as a whole because if you are only in it for one thing you will be a little disappointed. To contradict what I just said I will tell you how the game plays. The game plays out as a platformer on the surface, but at its core is a puzzle game that tests your logic of newfound properties of time. The game rips all your prior knowledge of bending time and implements a fresh new take on them, and it really makes you retrain your brain. Your main task is really to reach the end of the level, but along the levels there are puzzle pieces that you can (and should) collect. Really if you aren’t doing so you have wasted fifteen dollars on a game where you walk. The game gives frequent subtle nods to the super Mario series and plays a lot like it. You must use enemies and other variables of the levels to traverse platforms to reach keys and puzzle pieces. The real point of the gameplay is to unlock the ending. And just recently I have learned the unlocked ending really isn’t the ‘real’ ending. I’ll save that for later though. Anyway, you traverse 6 worlds with around 45 levels that all are unique and really fun. Every world incorporates a new type of time bending and it always feels fresh and never repetitive.  I know I am not doing the best job at highlight the gameplay attributes but it’s because I am still a little confused on the whole package. Sorry I apologize. Here: The gameplay is really fun. It’s rewarding and it makes you feel like a genius when you figure out all the puzzles. All the puzzles are ‘possible’ but at times it feels like they are quite the opposite. They are damn frustrating and sometimes you really have no clue. Sometimes when you learn the trick to the problem its kind of a slap to the face like “why didn’t I think of that” and other times it’s the most intricate “who the hell would figure that out” kind of task that makes you a little bit angered. Overall though the gameplay is rewarding and does not disappoint in anyway. The only real thing I could complain about is that since the game is pretty short the ways you manipulate time are sort of limited. While unique and innovative they are pretty scarce. Also this might be a little cliché, but it would have been nice to get a mixture of all the worlds together.

 Internal Conflict

I’m sort of having an internal conflict right now…. I usually right structured reviews, but this game is so different that I don’t think said structure would suit this game. I think I am just going to speak abstractly and leave the gameplay paragraph as it is. Sorry again….

 

Overview

Braid is truly a sight to behold. It’s not something to marvel at extensively, but the art style is very original and is just fun to look at. It complements the story and feeling so well in this game. It really brings the whole package together. All the art has this sort of fluffy blushed out style to it. It is soft and very warm. The music also matches the graphics and the overall melancholy and malaise of the game. Let’s get this straight here; this game is not very happy. It is more something that you tilt your head and look at like a confused child, and try to analyze some sort of meaning out of it. The music is orchestral and it uses an abundance of sad violin play. The art, the music, and the story, heck even the gameplay all fit perfectly together. I realize this article is going to be huge so I’ll spare you with an in-depth story paragraph, but the general synopsis is: A guy named Tim, had a relationship that went bad, and he tries to fix it by finding the princess. Without spoiling anything, but still talking about the story, the story is very ambiguous and vague and I am sorry to say, but it kind of is braid’s downfall. I think the writer must have realized that he wasn’t suppose to write a novel (which would be a great extension) and had to make things more general. Being vague is a great technique to make the audience ponder, and I am all for that, but Braid takes it to another level, and it kind of leaves you with a sour taste by the end. They leave you with little snippets of Tim’s past and present, but never really clue you in on what’s going on. I have read a ton of articles on the true meaning of Braid, but all just reaffirm the notion, that it is vague that nothing is clear. There is obviously an overarching meaning to everything, but you have to really dissect every bit of dialogue and happening, to the point where it’s just a bit ridiculous. It kind of angers me because I love the premise and everything, but he does everything a little wrong. Either he should have focused on gameplay and lessened on the complexities of the story and made it all come together in the end. Or he should have kept the amount of gameplay, but extended the story to give a little more into what the hell he is talking about. Overall it just makes the game feel incomplete. It’s not something that you are begging for more and it doesn’t overstay its welcome, but I feel like it’s a little mean to do that. It would be like if you knew the ending to a movie, you just didn’t get why it happened because your DVD player exploded when they were explaining things at the end. Perhaps I am just not smart enough understand the subtle nuances of the story, but I seriously doubt any casual gamer, let alone anyone will completely understand the game. The ending is nice and everything it just has a ton of unanswered questions. Any explanations in your head just have way too many holes to seem plausible.

 

Overall:

Braid does a tremendous amount things well, and overall succeeds as the game it was meant to be. But it does fall short in its main area which keeps it from being perfect or fawned over. I am sure it will develop a cult following and it does provide enough questions to ponder over. I do think it is a game that is worth checking out if you do have the money. If you are short on cash don’t stress on getting it. You can live without it, but I think you will be better off by experiencing it. I came into Braid with an open mind and I knew I was going to review it. I just didn’t realize it would be such a hard process. It’s really not something that can be represented numerically or even by discussing. It’s a matter of personal opinion. I would say if you are looking for something fresh, completely new, and something that can be looked at abstractly I would recommend. But if you are into shooting aliens and you don’t really care for story and Video Games as art (and vice versa) I would stay away. Mainly if you are considering purchasing it, have an open mind, be prepared for a different style of story, and enjoy the gameplay. If you expect too much out of all its parts you will feel disappoint. But as a whole, Braid does a nice job of breaking the norm, and imprinting itself into the memories of gamers. 4/5

 

 

 

Story: In Kingdom Hearts 2 you play as Roxas, a boy with his summer vacation winding down. Lately, Roxas has been having strange dreams and he can not explain what they mean. Soon enough you take control of Sora (the hero from Kingdom Hearts 1), Donald, and Goofy and continue your quest on eradicating the evil heartless and the nobodies. You are also still in search of your friends Rikku and Kairi. Also scheming is a group called organization 13. They are draped in black robes and are a form of nobodies. They are lead by there leader Xemnas who is the nobody of Xehanort. Sora will fight through over 15 worlds and fight alongside dozens of Disney and Final Fantasy characters.

 

Sound: Utada returns with her amazing song sanctuary made specifically for the game. She also sang in the original kingdom hearts with her song simple and clean. Fighting sounds and voice work are also on par. There was some dialog in the game that was questionable (we totally smoked you lamers), but that does not detract from the overall sound experience.

 

Gameplay: I clocked in over 36 hours of gameplay and that was without going through all the side quests. Later I completed Jimminy’s journal and leveled up enough to fight and defeat sephiroth. After all that I had completed the game lasted about 45 hours. And the amazing thing is I still went back and completed proud (hardest) mode. The game is that awesome. Gameplay is solid with a myriad of different upgrades for the characters. You can even tweak how often players use magic and what types to use. Sora’s movements are fluid and string nicely together. I found that it did rely a lot on button mashing at times and the overuse of only the x button was noticeable, but it didn’t detract from the experience. Later in the game you can also use the square button to fight too. The button mashing was also made up by the overall length of the game. Also at times I felt kind of weird playing a game with Disney characters in it. Its kind of embarrassing when your brother walks down and Donald and Goofy are hugging Sora. Lol. But if you can look past some of the ‘kiddy’ qualities of the game you will find no better story and fighting mechanics. The leveling and upgrading skill set really sets this game apart. You are given a plethora of moves and spells that you have the option to equip. It plays very nicely into some hard battles. For example: The battle with sephiroth. I looked at a guide and realized I was still lacking a ton of abilities that were needed to beat him. Not only that, but many of the weapons and skills I had equipped were completely useless towards defeating him. So I equipped all the items that I had, grinded out a couple levels and obtained a couple new skill sets. These two skills totally transformed the game for me. It made everything easier and they were really cool attacks. So I went to face old Sephiroth and after a couple of tries I finally beat him. I know it’s hard to understand, but things like this really make the gameplay unique.

 

Summary/Overall:  Overall I gave this game a 10 because it’s just a perfect game. Even though it has minor flaws it is masked by the sum of its parts. What I mean is that you can nitpick at look at all its downfalls or you can recognize all of its crowning achievements. The story and the message the game provides you with are so heartfelt and leave you wanting more. The gameplay is satisfying and also keeps you coming back for more. Overall the nostalgia factor is reason enough to play this game. I grew up with these movies and to see them again implemented so well in this square universe is truly something to behold.  Please do not dismiss this review just because I gave it a 10. It truly is that good. And I do recall GS giving THPS 3 a 10 so it can be done. When a game gives you chills you know it is a great game. It gave me chill of joy. It is so good; I can’t stress enough to you that you have to play this game. There is so much to do and so much to explore. Disney and square have done it again with a perfect game. I hope you enjoyed the review even though it was lengthy but I can’t tell you how much I enjoyed this game.

 

Edit: This is an old Gamespot review of the game. Sorry if some of it is written poorly and sort of incoherent. At the time I was trying to convey a sense of happiness the game provides but my review kind of fumbles that incentive. I still feel the same way about the game, its just I could have written it out better and not have been lazy. I could redo the review but again I am way too lazy. Anyway I gave it a 10 back in the day, so now that translates into 5. I truly think this is a must play game and if you can look past the kiddy aspect of the game it does have some groundbreaking story telling and game play. Thanks for reading.

 

Squaresoft and Nintendo come together for this game and it turns out to be one of the most enjoyable and just flat out fun Mario games let alone RPG's ever created. Back in the day, when I was younger, my brother and I worshipped this game. We use to mark the cover of the game with markers so when we'd return in to blockbusters wed find the same one. Well here we go.

 

Gameplay: Basically a pretty standard RPG. It uses attacks, spells, defenses everything in a good RPG. You control a slew of characters but all lead by the silent protagonist Mario. You will platform, fight random enemies, play minigames, even control a minecart. It is one of the most random RPG's ever but that’s why I like it, it is so different and has all the Nintendo charm.

 

Story: Mario, on his way to find and rescue Princess Peach, he meets up with the cloud-like being, Mallow, who believes he's a tadpole. He travels with Mario to find his stolen Frog Coin. Later, he learns the truth that he was found floating in a river by his adoptive father, Frogfucius, and sets off with Mario in the hope of finding his true parents. On their search, they end up meeting Geno, a being from Star Road, who possesses Gaz's doll, Geno, and takes on the name and persona. He explains that they must find the seven stars and stop Smithy who is the main villain of the game. The eventually run in to Bowser, and save Princess Peach. Bowser decides to help Mario, so he can reclaim his castle from the Smithy Gang, and Peach, desperate to help, sneaks out of the Mushroom Kingdom to help on their travels. The only Mario game with Bowser not being the villain, you’d think that would be a bad thing, but it just adds to the games innovation.

 

Sound: The game has great audio. It has the usual Mario sound effects and the usual Mario jingles and even remixed. It also has some great battle sequence songs and all around it is really good. It’s not at a FF level but it’s still really good.

 

Graphics: The game looks really good. The characters and environment kind of have this claymation like texture to them and it looks very cartoony and colorful. There have been better looking SNES games but for the most part the graphics are done very well and it adds to the experience.

 

Value: It’s an RPG so the game will take you probably longer than 20 hours. It is also quite challenging in some spots and the boss battles can be really hard at certain points which is a good thing. So you get a lot out of this game. Also in game you can teach your crew many different skills and spells and attacks so you never play the same game twice. So it has replay value.

 

Tilt: Basically I just love this game. It is so fun and it brings back a lot of great memories. It has tremendous charm and is unrivaled in goofy Nintendo antics. It’s not just a Nintendo game it is actually a very in depth RPG so don’t be turned off by anything. It’s kind of like KH in a way.

 

Overall: This game is fantastic. Buy this game. It is a lot of fun. 9.8 overall I say and it is almost rarely topped off to this day. Seriously give this game a chance and pick it up. It’s still better than a lot of RPG’s right now and just as fun as any other Mario platformer. I can’t wait until it comes to the VC.

 

Edit: This is an old Gamespot Review so sorry for the 9.8 business. Today I would give it a 5. It’s just one of those games you do not want to miss. Growing up with it as a kid, the level of nostalgia is just extreme. Sorry for some part in the review if they were incoherent. I still feel the same way about the game, I just could have written the review better.