Super Mario Bros. Wonder Review

By nintendo - https://www.ign.com/games/super-mario-bros-wonder, Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=75108015

Some of my earliest and fondest gaming memories was playing Super Mario Bros. 3 for the NES and Super Mario World for the SNES when I was a child. Playing these platforming games and trying to get to the end of the level was captivating to me, and it helped to stoke a love affair for video gaming that I still continue to have. Super Mario Bros. 3 and Super Mario World were hugely influential games and along with Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island, were the pinnacle of 2D platforming games.

The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom - Gameplay Perfection

The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom is, without a doubt, one of the best video games I have ever played. It might just be THE best video game I have ever played. Tears of the Kingdom is the sequel to the previous main-line Zelda game, Breath of the Wild, released in 2017. Even though Tears of the Kingdom plays extremely similarly to its predecessor, TotK makes BotW feel like a Switch tech demo in terms of its scale, immersion, and exploration. I will try to keep this blog post as spoiler-free as possible.

Quick Thoughts: Xenoblade Chronicles 3

I finally finished playing Xenoblade Chronicles 3 (seriously, this game is well over 100 hours in game length if you do many of the side quests), and after playing the first two games in the trilogy, I think it is safe to say that XC3 is the best game in the series, and one of the best (if not, the best) JRPGs on the Nintendo Switch. I felt like XC3 is the sum of the best parts of XC1 and XC2 and improves upon them, which I will explain below:

My Top 5 Games I Played In 2022

I was meaning to write this post earlier in 2023, but I was dealing with a tailbone injury so I could not sit for long periods of time. I feel well enough now to talk about my five best games I have played in 2022. As mentioned in previous lists, this is not my best games that were released in 2022, but rather the games I played for the first time in 2022. Before I get into the list, I have one honorable mention:

Kirby and the Forgotten Land: Good, Wholesome Gaming

I do not believe I ever mentioned talking about the Kirby franchise on this blog before, and with the release of Kirby and the Forgotten Land on the Nintendo Switch, this seems a perfect time as any to talk about the pink puffball and my experiences with playing Kirby games.

Pokémon Legends: Arceus - Is This A Good Game?

When I first heard about Pokémon Legends: Arceus, I could not believe that Game Freak was going to move away from the formula that they have always used to create their mainline Pokémon games and sell millions of copies, despite their fleeting quality. I was critical of Pokémon Sword and Shield, and I thought that because Game Freak was still making huge profits off terrible Pokémon games and the overall Pokémon marketing machine, they would have no reason to innovate. Imagine my surprise when Game Freak announced this new game which is going to be a brand-new Pokémon experience, where the focus is on discovering all the Pokémon in the Hisui region, rather than win a bunch of gym badges and challenge a region's Elite Four and Champion. I still had low expectations, and the lack of marketing told me that Game Freak was not sure how the audience was going to receive this game upon its release.

My Top 5 Games I Have Played In 2021

I am going to write some more cheap filler content and briefly talk about my ranking of the best five games I have played in 2021. These were games that I played for the first time in 2021, not necessarily released on 2021. I expected some certain games to be on my list, but there was a surprise on the list as well. Before I go through the list, I have some honorable mentions that just missed my list.

Quick Nintendo Switch Game Reviews (Part 2)

I created a post last year where I made quick reviews on a number of Nintendo Switch games. Now that I have played many more Switch games since then, I am going to write a second part of my series of quick Switch game reviews. My thoughts are limited to a paragraph or two. Let us get started...

Astral Chain: A Dystopian Nintendo Switch Experience

Astral Chain is a Nintendo Switch-exclusive action-adventure; beat 'em up style game developed by Platinum Games. Platinum Games developed games such as the Bayonetta Series, as well as Nier: Automata, which was one of my favorite games of the last generation of video game consoles. It is safe to say that Platinum Games have some experience in making a satisfying and critically acclaimed action-adventure game. Astral is a solid game, but I think the game falls short of being an outstanding game on the Switch.

Super Mario 3D World + Bowser's Fury: Quick Thoughts

I am not going to spend much of this blog post talking about Super Mario 3D World other than the fact that this game is as enjoyable as any other 3D Mario game. I have already talked about games like Super Mario Galaxy and Super Mario Odyssey, and the great things about those games are similarly prevalent in Super Mario 3D world. Super Mario 3D World has incredible level design, and nice graphics and audio to boot. I would rank Super Mario 3D World as the third best Mario game I have ever played, behind Super Mario Galaxy at #1, and Super Mario Odyssey at #2.

Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity - When Breath of the Wild Meets Dynasty Warriors

I finished playing Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity for the Nintendo Switch. Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity takes the gameplay from hack-and-slash, musou-style games such as Dynasty Warriors, and marries it with all of the other aspects from The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. I remember playing a little bit of the first Hyrule Warriors game and the developers crammed everything Zelda-related into a game with no real sense of direction. Now that Age of Calamity is a direct prequel to Breath of the Wild (set 100 years before the events of BotW) and has a competent story, the experience playing Age of Calamity feels more streamlined and immersive than its predecessor.

My Top 5 Games I Played In 2020

This is going to be a filler post on this blog. I am going to talk about the five best games I have played in 2020, ranked from five to one. Some of these games came out prior to 2020, but these were games I completed in 2020. My only rule is that I have not played any of these games before. Super Mario Galaxy would have been on this list, but I have played the game years before for the Nintendo Wii, so I am not including it. Let us get on with it then...

Quick Nintendo Switch Game Reviews

Over the course of the last six months, I have played a number of games for the Nintendo Switch. I do not want to create a dedicated post for each game, so I have a list of Switch games I have played recently, and I will give my thoughts about each game in a paragraph or two. Without further ado, here we go...

Super Mario Galaxy: The Masterpiece

I saved the best game on Super Mario 3D All Stars for last, and that is Super Mario Galaxy. Super Mario Galaxy came out in 2007 for the Nintendo Wii to universal acclaim, for which I will explain further in this post. Super Mario Galaxy differs from the other two Mario games in the bundle. The focus of Super Mario 64 and Super Mario Galaxy is on open-world exploration and collecting, whereas the focus of Super Mario Galaxy is on completing linear challenges. Super Mario Galaxy feels similar to many of the older 2D Mario platformers in its game design.

Super Mario Sunshine AKA Slime Cleaning Simulator

Continuing on playing all of the games from Super Mario 3D All Stars, the second game I play is Super Mario Sunshine, released on the GameCube back in 2002. This was the only game I have not actually played prior to my purchase of this compilation of Mario games for the Switch. I am happy to say that I enjoyed Super Mario Sunshine and the game deserves its place as a celebrated Mario 3D platformer, despite its noted criticisms. Just as an FYI, I beat the main game of Sunshine, but I did not get every single Shine Sprite.

Is Super Mario 64 Still Fun To Play?

I recently purchased Super Mario 3D All Stars for the Nintendo Switch, which includes Super Mario 64 (from the Nintendo 64), Super Mario Sunshine (from the Nintendo GameCube), and Super Mario Galaxy (from the Nintendo Wii). Three full-length games for the price of one regular-priced Switch is a good value. In addition, I wanted to relive the nostalgia of playing through Super Mario 64 and Super Mario Galaxy again (I did not play Super Mario Sunshine). For the purposes of this post, I will talk about Super Mario 64. I will talk about my experiences with the game, and then talk about if the game still holds up today.

Reminiscing On N64 Super Smash Bros + Quick Thoughts on Smash Ultimate

As the self-isolation takes hold on me, I have been taking measures to decrease my boredom while I am staying home. I purchased 'Super Smash Bros. Ultimate' for the Nintendo Switch, and the purchase got me thinking about my fond memories playing the original 'Super Smash Bros' for the Nintendo 64.

Pokemon Sword and Shield: What It Says About The Pokemon Franchise

I finally played Pokémon Sword for the Nintendo Switch. Pokémon Sword and Shield were supposed to be the long-touted revolutionary main console adventure after being on strictly handheld consoles for so many years. Did the games live up to general expectations? More importantly, did the games live up to my expectations?

Super Mario Odyssey: An All-Ages Game For The Ages

Before I get into a proper review of Super Mario Odyssey, I would like to share the moment I fell in love with this game.

Pokemon Let's Go Eevee: The Easiest Pokemon Game Yet

I just finished playing Pokemon Let's Go Eevee. While the game was an enjoyable re-creation of Pokemon Yellow on the old Game Boy Color with some questionable mechanics fit for the Nintendo Switch, the easy difficulty surprised me. In fact, Pokemon Let's Go Eevee is the easiest Pokemon game I have ever played. You can beat every trainer in this game with minimal amounts of grinding for experience, and the game is a great exposure to the world of Pokemon for younger gamers.