Joob (@joob)
@joob
Dad, RPG Addict, Trivia guy.
Speed Tapping
That's a no from me dawg
10/20/2024 - 10/20/2024
0
Bowling 3D
If there's a way to pull of a good bowling game on mobile, this isn't it.
10/7/2024 - 10/7/2024
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Sea of Stars
Back from completing the game, getting the true ending and a secret beyond that, and I'm ready to write a proper review for this masterpiece. Props to @dennis for posting a review that gave me the nudge to finish this.
40 hours played 5/12/2024 - 9/25/2024

Sea of Stars Review

0
Marble Madness
Lots of fun and the puzzles were clever, but suffered from NES-era punishing difficulty - too hard for anyone not named @bitzdad . You had to move your marble carefully down slopes, over jumps and past obstacles to the end but there was a lot of dying. Nowadays I just enjoy watching videos of it and feeling nostalgic.
1
F-ZERO 99
I loved the OG, and this is a fun expansion of it that brings the nostalgia with modern game modes. I almost gave it 4 stars but since I bounced off it pretty quickly, it gets 3.
0
Tabletop Race for the Galaxy
Another one @infocynic introduced me to, as we played together at lunch everyday for what, 2 years? It took a few tries to learn, then a few more to get the strategy, then a few more to be on even footing with Info. It's an incredibly fun with multiple strategies to secure victory. Theres a lot of expansions too that are well thought out and do a great job of spicing things up. Best with more than 3 players but I think it was passable with 3 (maybe even 2).
0
Tabletop Codenames
Great game, this is my go to for small gatherings. Shout out to @infocynic for introducing me to it during our lunchtime board games years ago
0
Tabletop Sorry
This was a favorite of mine growing up, it never got old sending my brothers' pieces back to the start.
0
Boom Blox
My wife and I played this quite a bit when it came out. You throw blocks at other stacks of blocks usually to knock them down, sometimes for other objectives, and the motion controls worked well from what I remember.
0
Shantae and the Pirate's Curse
I played this on the 3DS, it was my first Shantae game. This game executed the Metroidvania formula very well, even from the beginning there were areas that you couldn't explore with your current abilities. Using Shantae's hair as her main weapon was a fun mechanic at first but I did grow a little tired of it by the end - thankfully I had more abilities by then. The 3D features were well utilized, and there was some well done level design. Not to mention fun quirky characters, good soundtrack, epic boss fights. Absolutely would recommend it. Played for probably 4-5 hours, I did some extras but I don't recall 100%ing it
0
Strands
I would give this 3.5 stars if I could. It's a fun daily game, I enjoy searching for the words and the theme. They are clever about using letters that form other words, and sometimes almost form words that relate to the clues. Does what it sets out to do well, but not enough depth to deserve 4 stars.
0
Pinball
I didn't play this until adulthood. As a kid it might have been great, but I've played several much better pinball games since then. Giving it 3 since it set out what it needed to do for the NES era.
0
Connections (2023)
I play every day and love this game. If you like brain teasers, you'll enjoy this. The goal is to identify 4 sets of 4 words/phrases that belong together. A very simple example would be cities, that would occupy the yellow (most direct connection) category most likely. There are tricks they throw at you though - some are not easy to spot, such as "homophones for numbers" (won, too, for, ate in place of 1,2,4,8). Typically there's a red herring as well - maybe 3 words fit a category perfectly, but it's not one of the categories they set up so it's not correct, you have to ignore that connection. Each of these sets vary in difficulty - yellow are generally easiest, purple are hardest. The best part of this is sharing results with people, like Wordle. Perfect for the C3 chat room or a family group text.
Some days they are clever, other days they are obnoxious. You might know a category but can't find a 4th word because it's a very obscure use of that word. So it isn't perfect, and I don't easily give out 5 stars, but it's a very fun daily word game.
0
Tuff E Nuff
Played for 5 minutes, had a terrible time. It's definitely a skill issue for me but also it felt like a poor man's Street Fighter. The controls were clunky. I give it two stars just because the characters had interesting designs.
0
Crossy Road
Decent Frogger clone, but the controls hamper it. It’s fun for short bursts of time.
0
Marbles On Stream
Maybe the best passive game ever. It’s simple yet unpredictable. A good host like @dan makes this a really enjoyable experience
0
Minesweeper
It's fun, easy to pick up and play, it's much better than a lot of things I've rated 3 stars but also there's not enough game to give it a 4 I'd say.
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Inside
This game was incredibly well done in terms of visuals, audio and atmosphere. I rolled credits last night and just sat there trying to process what just happened. It was a creepy adventure with some heart racing moments, had solid pacing and was not too long. The only reason I give it 4 stars is that I can’t justify it belongs with the likes of Tears of the Kingdom or Super Mario World, those are on another level. But I’d recommend this game to anyone.
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Metroid Prime
I had a feeling this would be a 5/5 for me, but since I hadn't played through the original in 15 years or so I waited until completing the remaster to give the rating. I can safely say this is a 5/5. It does a masterful job of pacing, granting new abilities and guiding you back to old places you've visited so you can get to that door that used to be out of reach. The atmosphere is incredible, great music, love the weapons and gameplay. Ridley and the Metroids are haunting as ever.

The only gripe I had was the controls - it was a pain to press the buttons that shoot a super missile while staying locked onto an enemy. Switching weapons in general took some getting used to as well. But those are minor gripes that wouldn't knock this down a star. Highly recommend it!
0
Minit
This is a short, quirky fun game that's like a hybrid Zelda/rogue-like. You play in bursts of 1 minute - after the minute countdown, you die and respawn at your house. You have to collect things to make yourself go further on the next run. I played it start to finish in a day and had a good time, would recommend.
0
Full Tilt! Pinball
Wow seeing this brought me back. I loved playing this on our old PC back in the day. A well done pinball game, several boards if I remember correctly and loads of fun.
0
Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp
I hate that this is such a money maker for Nintendo and hope it isn’t a direction for their future. I love New Horizons. This is ok for what it is but the game doesn’t fit well on mobile. I still play it just to get the platinum coins for Nintendo rewards, that’s about it.
0
Coffee Golf
I appreciate quick fun with games without ads. I just can’t justify giving it 4 stars when I think about what incredible games I’ve already given that rating.
0
Flappy Souls
I want to get out the NES Zapper and shoot the bird
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ToeJam & Earl
Such a strange, distinctly-90’s game. From my memory it was a mediocre action adventure with funky music and unique characters.
0
Paperboy
I think God invented Game Genie because of this game.
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Terraria
Exploring underground is a blast. My first playthrough was in 2012 I think and there were only 3 bosses at the time. Since then they’ve had a ton of updates, I’m interested to see what’s new some time. It’s pretty easy to get the hang of this game after a little while.
118 hours played (Steam)
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The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom
I am 70-80 hours in and ready to declare this the best game of all time. BOTW brought fresh open world exploration to the series, and executed it perfectly. Every part of the world had something interesting. Tears of the Kingdom has that same level of quality in the environments and redid a lot of the ground map AND added in the sky and the depths!
Exploring the world is my favorite part of the game but the new abilities are extremely fun and well thought out. I feel like each ability could be a core mechanic for a game on its own, and they have them all here.
As if that wasn’t enough, there’s the crazy zonai building aspect of the game. I haven’t gone too far with this yet but it feels like the possibilities are endless. QoL improvements from BOTW are there, and the story has improved. Puzzles are short and sweet with several ways to solve them in most cases. I’ll be playing this for a long time, and don’t want it to end.
1
Warcraft: Orcs & Humans
Like others, this was my first RTS. The sequels were better since they expanded on it so much but this gets 4 stars for breaking ground on the series. Thinking about this is making me nostalgic for the LAN parties of the late 90’s - this, Warcraft 2 and Starcraft were my favorite LAN games of that era.
0
Super Mario 3D World
I played through this single player when it initially came out and finished everything except the final bonus level (which bugs me). Just a really solid, fun Mario game with that’s easy to jump into and hard to master the endgame. I would have said 4 stars initially but I’m giving it 5 because of how great it is now to play with my kids.
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Super Mario Party
I played this for a little while with friends and family - it was fun and deserving of 3 stars for continuing the series' enjoyable, frantic variety of minigames. But it seemed very light on content, it was only 4 boards if I remember correctly.
0
Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories
The card-based battles were surprisingly fun, I was prepared to be disappointed since it wasn’t a traditional Kingdom hearts but it worked. The story is bananas as always, but the core gameplay plus the Disney environments were great
0
Bejeweled Blitz
I come back to this every now and then. It’s fun for awhile each time I play, and I like how they have new f2p power ups now. But the ads are horrible.
0
Crash Bandicoot
This was a very fun platformer but the view angles made it really difficult. I loved all the hidden stuff in the game.
0
Overwatch
Played it a bit, I can see the appeal and it seems like a polished game but it is not for me. I'm willing to give OW2 another chance at some point and maybe it'll click.
0
Pokémon GO
I played this daily for probably 5 years after launch. The first summer it came out was magical, seeing everyone out and about playing. Later when raids came out I made new friends doing raids at lunch time. The core collectathon mechanic is addictive as always. Lots of great updates have come over the years. I only give it 4 stars because it is still a simple mobile game, but it's one of the best. I've been playing a lot less lately but still open it up on my phone here and there.
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Ori and the Blind Forest
This is one of the best Metroidvanias ever. Gorgeous visuals, incredible music, tight gameplay, emotional story. I’m glad people have discovered this through C3
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Super Punch-Out!!
I’m slowly playing through this and enjoying it so far. It’s all about pattern recognition. Worth 3 stars but I may bump it up after finishing it
0
Temple Run
This was one of the first mobile games I ever played, and in 2023 it just feels like an old, early mobile game. The gameplay loop is ok which is why it’s still kinda popular. But I get tired of it quickly, especially with ads
0
What Remains of Edith Finch
My wife and I played this from start to finish in one day last week. Visual novels are a strange breed of games to me but this one had some amazingly creative ways of weaving gameplay into its storytelling. The mysteries that Edith unveils are compelling (though I wish we had more answers to them) and the music is beautifully haunting. Lewis’ story is very memorable. It’s a nice game to play in between your other, much larger games.
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Vampire Survivors
Very fun and addicting game. There’s a lot of rogue like elements here, many different ways to level up and eventually become an invincible killing machine. I played on mobile and my only complaint is the touchscreen controls were not as good as using a controller would be.
Started: 11/24/2024
0
Fruit Ninja
Simple, fun, but gets stale quickly.
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Donut Dodo
This is a really well done classic arcade style game. I’ll come back to this to get those donuts!
0
Candy Crush Saga
It’s well done as a dopamine trigger kind of game but it’s simple and I lost interest after awhile.
0
Pac-Man 99
I don’t feel like they have the competitive aspect nailed down, but at its core it is a fun pac-man game with a few new mechanics
Lists: Abandoned
0
Splatoon 3
I'm not a fan of realistic shooters, but throw in some Nintendo weirdness and I'm in! The core mechanics sound ridiculous on paper - shoot paint, the transform into a squid to swim in your ink - but work really well in practice. I've played all 3 but this is the first one that really clicked with me. The single-player campaign is more fleshed out. Multi-player has a great variety of modes. The online scene is very competitive and can be frustrating - you can't just pick up and win like you can with Mario Kart - but with practice you'll start seeing more victories. Highly recommended, and I'm looking forward to the DLC.
0
World of Warcraft
I played this for a couple months, it was very fun with friends. It’s crafted to be played endlessly though which I think hurts the overall quality of it
0
Pong
Its historic importance bumps it up to 5 stars. I almost gave it 4 because it’s just not as fun today, but then I remembered the spinny dial controllers and decided alright, it’s a 5.
0
Sonic Dash
I enjoyed playing it in today's quest. It brings some Sonic elements to the runner genre in a neat way, but in the end it didn't really grab me.
0
Kirby Super Star
Top tier Kirby game. This includes a variety of game types from collectathons to boss rush. It’s a casual, fun game to play over and over.
0
The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening
This is an incredible game and even more so at the time. I’m only giving it 4 stars because a few other Zelda titles are better games.
0
NFL Blitz
The most fun football game IMO. I’m all about the arcadey less realistic sports games (like NBA Jam).
0
Crash Bandicoot 2: Cortex Strikes Back
Crash games were some of the first I played on PlayStation. This fun challenging but fun. And I really enjoyed all the secrets you could find.
0
Mario Kart Wii
Every Kart game is great. This one introduced motion controls which were more of a novelty to me - I played better without them. The online experience was pretty solid for an era where Nintendo was really struggling online (looking at you, Smash Brawl). It’s not the best Kart but well deserving of 4 stars.
0
The Jackbox Party Pack 3
Trivia Murder Party is great. Overall a solid party pack
4 hours played (Steam)
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Microsoft Solitaire
I loved playing this growing up and had a blast revisiting it recently. Solitaire IRL is a favorite of mine too, especially with multiple people
0
Enhance
I love this game, I get my family in on it most days. It rarely happens for me but getting it on the first or second guess is a rush
0
Minecraft Dungeons
This is a review from my son
Lists: Own It, Backlog
0
Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3
This may have been the best THPS game, and it's really sad they killed the plans to remake it like the first two. Carries on the series' tight gameplay and awesome soundtrack. I think this is the one that added reverts for massive combos.
0
Hugo's House of Horrors
I have no idea how we managed to get through games like this back in the day, guessing at what items to interact with and what commands would interact with them.
0
Starcraft
I played this for hours upon hours solo, at LAN parties and a bit on battle.net. Super well done RTS mechanics. Zerg rush ftw!
0
Lego Star Wars: The Complete Saga
My first Lego game - come for the humor, stay for the insane amount of collectibles
0
Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars
This captures the joy of a Mario game while adding the excellent RPG mechanics Square is known for. Geno is a great character even if Nintendo won’t see it and put him in Smash.
0
Super Mario All-Stars
Good package of some all time classic Mario games. I enjoyed the challenge of the lost levels but pretty sure I never finished it.
0
Grandia II
Fun RPG, I don’t remember too much of it but the battle system was enjoyable and it was rewarding to level up and learn new skills
0
Katamari Damacy
The quirkiest, most delightful game I’ve ever played. And the soundtrack is amazing.
0
Final Fantasy VI
The best Final Fantasy game in my opinion. This solidified my love of JRPGs. I really liked that there's no set protagonist - though one could argue it's Terra - it made the cast feel like more of a group ensemble than other games in the franchise. The steampunk aesthetic, epic story, and the variety in character abilities all make this one of the best games of all time.
0
Metroid
I considered 4 stars since Super Metroid is the better game, but since this created the Metroid world it deserves the full 5 stars
0
Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door
I concur that this is the best Paper Mario game. I loved the different abilities that helped you reach areas you couldn't before, kinda adding a Metroidvania element to this.
0
Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater
Great story, memorable bosses, incredible stealth and combat gameplay
0
SimCity 2000
Spent a lot of time building and destroying cities in this game. Even editing the terrain before creating your perfect city was fun
0
The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Seasons and Oracle of Ages
Quality Zelda games with well-crafted puzzles
Lists: Completed
0
Wii Fit U
I want to give this 4 stars for introducing the pedometer. My wife and I used them for years, even replaced the original ones after they went through the wash accidentally. But that was the main draw for us and we didn’t do the exercises nearly as much as we did for the original Wii Fit so I can’t give above 3 stars
Lists: Own It
0
Wii Fit
It did get my wife and I to exercise more, even though some of the games/exercises got stale pretty quickly. I still have the board though and used it to play We Ski and Wii Fit U, so at least it wasn't a one-off peripheral
0
Super Smash Bros. 64
Just pure fun - I played this more than any other smash since I brought it to my dorm freshman year where it quickly became our go-to 4-player game. This is the only smash I can confidently say I’m good at and I’ll accept a challenge from anyone, anytime!
0
The Oregon Trail
Buffalo hunts were thrilling as was the element of chance around everything. You never knew when your axle would break. It was tough and well made for the time.
10 hours played (Steam)
0
Celeste
Excellent platforming, music and graphics. It does what it set out to do perfectly but I couldn’t give it a perfect score since I had a more enjoyable platforming experience playing several mainline Mario games
0
The Jackbox Party Pack 5
Not the best Jackbox bundle but split the room is fantastic
0
Wii Play
It was mostly an excuse to get another Wii-mote. Some of the mini games were well done but overall a let down.
0
BioShock
I’d give the atmosphere 6 stars, it’s such a cool, creepy setting. The story is really engaging and combat gameplay is enjoyable, even for a guy like me who’s not into most FPS games. This is not a game to miss.
29 hours played (Steam)
Lists: Steam Owned
0
Diddy Kong Racing
Adventure mode was really great though Wizpig needs to be nerfed
0
Half-Life 2
The gravity gun was incredibly fun to play with, the story and atmosphere were great and some of the sequences matched with the music superbly.
4 hours played (Steam)
0
Kirby: Planet Robobot
I think this is the best Kirby game. Lots of variety and great level design, and the 3D effect is well utilized.
0
Target
This game is great and with the BOTW maps mixed in it fully deserves 5 stars!
0
Pac-Man
It’s a classic and a very important game, only giving 4 stars because I reserve that for masterpieces
0
Super Mario Run
For a mobile Mario game, this was a good first start. Compared to traditional 2D Mario games, the mechanics of jumping, collecting coins, defeating goombas are all there, but the main differences are that it's an automatic runner with touch controls. The controls are very simple - touch to jump, hold down for a higher/longer jump. You're also encouraged to time your jumps on enemies to string combos for more coins, and to help reach high up places. In the Tour mode, there are a few set worlds with individual levels to play through.
Completing these are usually pretty easy, but the challenge is in collecting the 5 colored coins. First you get the 5 pink coins, which unlocks the purple coins, and finally the black.
The difficulty of getting all 5 black coins in one run is pretty high in most cases, but that's what makes replaying the levels fun. There are some secret paths to find too which brings more variety to these otherwise bite-size, simple levels.

The other main mode is Rally, where you compete against the ghost of another player to collect the most coins in one run. The game offers you 5 different opponents to choose from, each in a different level. The airship is probably my favorite since you can string up big combos jumping on cannonballs. The ghost house has more of a puzzle-solving aspect to it, where you collect keys to get to the next area (and have to do so quickly to get more coins). This mode is also linked to MyNintendo - playing it once a day nets you 10 platinum coins, and 3 victories a week earns even more. That's the main reason I'm still playing this, I'm a junkie for the MyNintendo real world swag you can buy with platinum coins.

Apart from those modes there's also a hub, the mushroom kingdom, which you can build out with the stuff you collect from completing levels, rallies and events. These can include houses for characters, which then unlock those characters to play as.

I'm convincing myself that this is worth 4 stars and I'm bumping up my rating, it really is a good game even if it's not a great Mario game. Yes it may be overpriced for mobile, but it's often on sale for $5 and with no ads, it's a great experience.
0
Secret of Mana
I have really fond memories playing this game with my brothers and a friend. Probably the first co-op RPG I played. I remember getting nervous about the first boss so I just grinded in the opening area FOREVER to get to level 7 or so before tackling that boss. The gameplay is fun, the combat system is simple and works well and the world is memorable.
0
Breath of Fire IV
It's been a while since I've played this, but I remember it being a solid JRPG. The series itself ranks high for me, and this had a lot of different dragons that you could summon (or maybe transform into? it's been awhile). 4 stars.
0
Super Mario Kart
Great game that launched arguably a top 3 Nintendo franchise.
0
Mario Party
Fun times though I gravitated towards Smash Bros more at the time. I definitely got a few callouses from spinning the joystick with my palm too aggressively
0
Wave Race 64
Th graphics seemed incredible when we got this around the launch of the N64. I remember it was hard but a fun game. If I ever decide to get the NSO expansion I’ll be playing this for sure.
0
GoldenEye
In 1997 I would have given this a perfect score, unfortunately it doesn’t hold up so well today. Back then there was nothing better than getting together with 3 siblings/friends, ordering a pizza and throwing down in Goldeneye. It’s one of the few FPS games I absolutely loved. I was deadliest at complex with remote mines, but I enjoyed the huge variety of weapon options for multiplayer.
1
Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos
I played this a ton with my roommates in college. A great RTS game, very replayable and fun with friends.
0
Ori and the Will of the Wisps
One of the best if not THE best Metroidvania game. The music is beautifully done, the graphics are impressive, the gameplay mechanics improved on an already great foundation from the original game. Like @elrey and @alden said it’s a must-play game.
0
Mario Kart Tour
I still play this nearly every day but I don’t like that I do that lol. Sometimes I’ll catch myself and go play a real game.
0
The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask
I love that they went in different directions for this, many of them worked for me but I didn’t enjoy the time mechanic. It’s still a great game, but 4 stars because it’s not in the same tier as BOTW, Link to the Past, Link Between Worlds or OOT.
0
Portal 2
Incredible puzzles and the humor was top notch.
24 hours played (Steam) Started: 9/19/2024
0
Super Mario World
This game aged like a fine wine. It’s incredibly replayable, and just pure joy to experience. I love all the secrets to find, the variety in levels, the music, graphics, the castles. Everything about it makes this a masterpiece.
1
Fall Guys: Ultimate Knockout
Coming back to write text on my review. The game feels like you're playing through Ninja Warrior or American Gladiator as an especially clumsy bean with toddler-like mobility. Which naturally leads to lot of hilarity. I like that there's a lot of variety in the minigames, from the good (most races, blast balls, hex-a-gone) to the bad (volley fall). It's an excellent game for party night, since it really shines when playing in private groups. The different skins you can get in the shop are enticing enough to keep you interested in the grind. Winning is a real thrill.
0
Mario Kart: Double Dash
I like that Nintendo swung for the fences with dual riders. It was very different and I enjoyed strategizing on which pairs were the best (the babies with chain chomps were always a favorite). Also, hooking up two GameCubes on two TVs to play 8-player was an amazingly fun time. It doesn’t quite live up to MK8 so I could not grant it 5 stars.
0
Luigi's Mansion
Perfect type of game for Luigi. I love all the humming and scared noises he makes
0
The Legend of Zelda
Coming back to add text to my review. This was the first adventure game for myself and many others. I remember struggling to find where to go but loving every second of it. My mom helped draw in the blank squares of the paper map that came with it, which is a fond memory. This game launched my fav series of all time, but I only give it 4 stars because future games not only iterated on the design - they transformed it, making true masterpieces.
0
ClayFighter 63⅓
It wasn’t great to play but I did love hearing “DUMB COMBO”
0
Pikuniku
It’s got a childlike goofy aesthetic but some adult themes like government corruption. My kids and I loved it.
0
Professor Layton and the Curious Village
This is a game with a series of small puzzles (over a hundred) that are woven together with some overarching mysteries that make an excellent story. Very charming game with great characters and plot twists. It used the touch screen very well in the puzzles. Great start to the franchise.
0
Animal Crossing: New Horizons
A fun, stress-free experience. It’s best played socially - obviously had a huge moment in the pandemic- I play most often with my family. Walking around collecting fruit, fishing and catching n bugs is mindless fun. I wish there was more to do in the endgame but I’m starting to enjoy finding random items and seeing how I can use them on the island. The DLC is fun as well, creating dream homes for villagers given certain parameters. This might be a 3 star game if not for the extreme polish Nintendo gave it.
0
Final Fantasy VIII
It’s not a top tier FF in my opinion but the FF series is so excellent as a whole that this game is absolutely worth playing.
0
Final Fantasy Tactics
My first tactical RPG. I bought this knowing absolutely nothing about it, I just saw "Final Fantasy" (this was right after FF7 came out) and went for it. In the long run I enjoyed this more than FF7, I've replayed it all the way through at least half a dozen times. There were so many excellent permutations of team makeup - like the calculator with black magic that could cast flare on every enemy standing on ground with elevation of a multiple of 3. The story was deep as well, blew my 7th-grade mind. It was really tough in the beginning but my man Orlandu was OP, we all know the game was waaay easier after he joined. The OST is amazing as well, I still listen to it on occasion.
0
Earthbound
I loved the quirkiness of this game. In the first couple areas you’ll battle dogs, hippies, aliens and policemen. I had the players guide too that includes scratch and sniff cards - I wish game companies would get weird again like that! Fun classic RPG gameplay, great environments, very replayable.
0
Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island
I might be taking away a star because of the crying baby noises. Otherwise it’s another incredible Mario game
0
The Incredible Machine
Great memories playing this as a kid. I loved building ridiculous machines
0
Final Fantasy
I gave this 4 stars awhile back and since I completed it again recently, I'm adding a writeup. To start, it's still a 4 star game. This game deserves so much praise for launching the Final Fantasy series. So many staple gameplay elements for the series were born here - airships, crystals, classes. Many items, spells, abilities, enemies and bosses the series is known for are first represented here. A plot twist at the end.

This was my 3rd or 4th play through. I didn't play the game on NES, my start with the series was FF2(4) on SNES. I originally played this game on Playstation in the Final Fantasy Origins bundle. Then again in the Dawn of Souls "remaster" on GBA, which is what I used for my most recent playthrough as well, on the Analogue Pocket this time. My party was a fighter, monk, white mage and black mage. This was a little challenging at first since the monk is weak in the early game, but towards the end the upgraded monk was an OP attacking machine. With mages, you have to be strategic in your spell selection. Each spell level has 4 spells available, but you only have 3 slots. Most of the time you have 2-3 spells that stand out, but in some levels it feels like you'd want all 4.

The story is pretty standard fantasy stuff - save the world by saving the princess, and also restoring the crystals. As mentioned, there are fantasy elements like airships, castles, dwarves, monsters, etc. There really isn't any story around the characters, other than they have been deemed the 4 warriors of light sent to save the world. It's the NES, it was difficult to make nuanced character arcs.

Gameplay involved exploring the world, fighting battles, leveling up, visiting towns and upgrading weapons/armor/spells. In the early game, gil (your currency) is in short supply.
I had to grind a lot to purchase new stuff at each town. By end-game, I had maxed out on gil. The random encounters are very prevalent - thankfully the Pixel Remaster allows you to turn them off - but this was common in those days. Finding where to go is very hard at some points. I used a guide this time, but I remember on my first playthrough getting very frustrated using the obtuse clues on where to find the airship for example. It gets kudos for having a non-linear path through the game.

Sound for this game is amazing - Nobuo Uematsu is the renowned Final Fantasy composer who gained popularity after his work on this game.

Graphics are also great, they're what you'd expect for a classic JRPG - lots of colors, creative enemy designs, but very limited due to the hardware.

Overall if you are an RPG fan, this is a must-play since it laid the foundation for the legendary series. My only gripes are the random encounters that I am averse to in this stage of my life, and the confusion around where to go next. The Pixel Remaster as I said fixes the first issue, so I'd recommend that for anyone playing it. I may not replay the Dawn of Souls version again knowing this.

Total playtime around 30 hours.
0
Final Fantasy IX
I was glad to be back to crystals, dragons and more traditional fantasy elements after the sci-fi aesthetic of 7 and 8. For some reason I really enjoyed the mini games (Choco hot and cold comes to mind) too. Not the best mainline FF game but probably top 5.
0
Paper Mario: Color Splash
Very fun and polished game. The writing in this series is top notch, some incredible puns are peppered throughout. I miss the more RPG-like progression of Thousand Year Door though.
Lists: Own It
0
Wayne Gretzky's 3D Hockey
Press A and B at the same time in a fight to grab and punch your opponent for maximum damage. That’s the most important thing. To know. Such a fun game
0
Quest 64
I was really hyped and subsequently let down.
0
Super Mario Galaxy 2
The best Mario game of all time! It took the great formula from the first and added much more to it. Replaying as Luigi after finishing with Mario added a lot more enjoyment to the game.
0
Shovel Knight
Really nails the feel of an old-school game while adding modern amenities. Loads to do in this and the core gameplay is great
0
Hollow Knight
My wife teased me when I kept saying this game was gorgeous, but I’m right! The hand-drawn look is amazing! I love the atmosphere they created, it feels creepy, melancholic, tense, and funny at times. The sense of exploration is nearly perfect - I enjoyed getting lost time after time, then somehow managing to find the mapmaker NPC. Combat is challenging and satisfying. I got to about 106% completion (out of 115% or so, due to DLC) but everything beyond that was way too tough for me.
0
Sonic Adventure
It took Sonic in a new direction and did so pretty well. I had fun with it.
0
Mario Kart DS
A good game, but not a top tier Mario Kart. I did enjoy the missions that were introduced here.
Lists: Top 10 Racing
0
The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds
How do you make a better 2D Zelda than a Link to the Past? By making a sequel in the same world! I got really excited going to each area and hearing new versions of the same Link to the Past songs. The freedom to tackle dungeons in any order was a really nice change.
0
Xenoblade Chronicles X
I’ve played every Xenoblade game and they all have their own strengths and weaknesses. This one absolutely nailed the open world gameplay. There are 5 major areas from what I recall. Three are in one continent, and two (more difficult) areas are far across the sea. I got lost in so many areas, in a good way. I remember describing to my friend that I somehow found a large spiral tree in the forest area, he knew what I was talking about and gave some advice to “just keep going, it’s worth it”. I was curious early on about the other continent so I just swam over there, which took forever (your supposed to wait until you have the giant mechs called skells that travel much faster) but hey I got to see it! The main weakness in the game is the story in my opinion, it didn’t grab me nearly as much as Xenoblade 1. Battles improved over the first, but Xenoblade 2 improved even more on them. This may be the last major Wii U game that hasn’t been ported to Switch or 3DS so try it if you can find it!
Lists: Own It
0
Metroid Fusion
The GBA Metroid games were a lot of fun. They took what’s great about Super Metroid and expanded on them, plus this had some horror elements as you were pursued by SA-X!
0
Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story
Hitting stuff inside Bowser’s body to make him do stuff was way more fun than it should have been
0
Super Metroid
This is still the definitive Metroid. It’s replayability is off the charts, I play all the way through it every year or two. The ambience is perfect and the way it encourages you to backtrack once you’ve collected new power ups is pure joy.
0
Mega Man X
Really fun game, great revolution of the Mega Man series. I love collecting all the X upgrades and the secret Hadouken
0
Crazy Taxi
YA YA YA YA YA! I can still hear the Offspring intro. Super fun to play in short bursts. I had this on Dreamcast.
0
Dragon Quest IX: Sentinels of the Starry Skies
I put a couple hundred hours into this one. Like all DQ games it doesn’t stray much from the series’ traditional JRPG format - same enemies, same turn-based battles, a lot of the same abilities - but the formula works. The postgame was endless since you could collect random dungeon maps through the Wi-Fi service that let you fight bosses from previous DQ games, which was a lot of fun.
0
Star Fox 64
The definitive Star Fox experience. I had a blast playing this, especially discovering all the secrets. Only giving this 4 stars because I don’t think it belongs up there with the games I rated 5.
0
Mega Man 2
5 stars for the iconic music alone! It lives rent-free in my head all the time. The gameplay was great too, and expanded well upon the first game.
0
Pokémon Red and Blue
Don't listen to the bulbasaur haters, it's the best starter! Playing this in the 90's - trading pokemon with my bros, fighting gym leaders, filling the pokedex - was the best. I can probably still name 90% of the gen 1 pokemon from memory because of this game and Pokemon Go.
0
Dragon Quest XI: Echoes of an Elusive Age
DQ11 is a turn-based, character driven JRPG with a story that is light but still has some surprises. I describe the game as "JRPG comfort food". It's oozing with charm, from the memorable characters to the silly and sometimes outrageous enemies. It's not a hard game to beat, but there are some difficulty settings that can be enabled when you first start to make it more interesting (I turned on "stronger monsters", "protagonist death results in game over" and "reduced experience from easy fights" - though "no shopping" and "townsfolk sometimes lie" were very intriguing options). There are 7 characters, only 4 in your party at a time, and they're very well balanced - I rotated them constantly.

There are some great QoL enhancements in this game that I wish earlier games in the series had. For example: you unlock the fast travel spell early on, you can ride horses almost right away making it easy to avoid encounters if you want; skill trees can be respec'd for a small fee; you can play the entire game in 2D with old school graphics if you want (Definitive Edition only). No missable items/bosses/story/anything. And arguably the best QoL feature especially for those of us adults that have little gaming time - every time you load up your save you get a brief reminder of where you're at in the story.

Overall, this is my favorite Dragon Quest of all time, and I love the series. It's a great game to unwind to before bed or play throughout the day. You don't need to be a longtime fan of the series to enjoy it.
0
Mario Kart 64
I only rented the original Mario Kart and this was the first one I owned. It’s the first game I remember playing 4 player with my 2 brothers and whichever friend was over at the time. We had a blast! Every Mario Kart is a great time - we’d play late into the night on Royal Raceway, Wario Stadium, Rainbow Road and the rest of our faves, then mix it up with some battle mode. Wario was my main, I loved that he could bounce everyone around (probably because I was a scrawny 13 year old at the time 😀). This game got a second life for me in college. Even though double dash was already out, my roommates and I all chose this and played endlessly. Not to mention we made drinking games out of it (everyone drinks on a lightning was one rule). I don’t think it holds up as well today so I almost brought it down to 4 stars but couldn’t do it; it’s too near and dear to my heart.
0
Super Mario 64
While future games in the series did it better, I have to give this 5 stars for bringing the series into 3D and creating so many new game mechanics. This is still a very replayable game in 2022. As a kid I loved hunting down all 120 stars, looking for the secret caps, and ultimately finding Yoshi on the roof of the castle was an awesome discovery.
0
Pokémon X and Y
Pokémon at its finest. All the games in the series succeed at making me want to fill out the Pokédex. This one stands out since it’s new enough that it looks great and the modern amenities like online trading are well realized, but it’s also old enough that the game doesn’t hold your hand every step of the way. I also love the new Pokémon introduced this gen, and the cities were really well designed.
0
Super Mario Bros.
I beat this game (my first game) when I was 5 or 6 and immediately called my grandma to tell her I saved the princess. 5/5
1
Hades
It nails the rogue-like gameplay loop very well, but the way that each death gets woven into the story line really makes it shine. Other rogue-likes I've played always feel like the story resets each run - you still get the same "welcome to the castle!" dialog from that first NPC - but here, your father belittles you for getting killed by Medusas, and it's hysterical.
0
Mario Golf: Super Rush
The single-player campaign is enjoyable except for XC golf. Multiplayer is where it's at, but I wish battle golf was more thought out, and would love even more courses.
0
The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time
This was my favorite game of all time until Breath of the Wild dethroned it. It brought so much to the series, still plays well today other than the Water Temple, and I'm excited to get my kids into it.
0
Chrono Trigger
This is one of those games I still vividly remember reading about, trying the demo and subsequently purchasing at Toys 'R Us. This game assembled a JRPG dream team of Hironobu Sakaguchi (creator of Final Fantasy), Yuji Horii (creator of Dragon Quest) and Akira Toriyama (artist for the Dragon Ball series). One of the earliest games to feature multiple endings (who else did new game plus and beat Lavos an hour in?), it had an epic time-traveling story to it and a simple, tight battle system that encouraged swapping your active party members.
0
Stardew Valley
My wife and I have over 1000 hours combined on this. Super chill, lots of little details to discover, nails the "just one more day" game loop.
1589 hours played (Steam)
0
NBA Jam
I had so much fun playing this on SNES. Seeing arcadey gimmicks like flipping and dunking a flaming basketball to break the backboard was amazing.
0
Mario Kart 8

Super Smash Bros. Ultimate

Wordle

The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild

Contra III: The Alien Wars

Donkey Kong Country

F-Zero

Pilotwings

Zombies Ate My Neighbors

Aladdin (Sega/PC/NES)

Streets of Rage

Sonic the Hedgehog

Sonic the Hedgehog 2

Sonic the Hedgehog 3

Altered Beast

DuckTales

Final Fight

Aladdin (SNES)

The Lion King

Dr. Mario

Battletoads

Duck Hunt

Tetris

Final Fantasy VII

Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest

Guitar Hero II

Pokémon Sword and Shield

New Super Mario Bros. U

Splatoon 2

Luigi's Mansion 3

Paper Mario

Super Mario Bros. 2

Super Mario Bros. 3

Kirby's Adventure

Bubble Bobble

Resident Evil

Resident Evil 4

The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker

Link's Crossbow Training

Rock Band

Bubsy in Claws Encounters of the Furred Kind

Contra

Zelda II: The Adventure of Link

Top Gun

The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess

The Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks

The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword

Tecmo Bowl

Tecmo Super Bowl

Super Meat Boy

The Witness
-
Portal

Star Fox

Braid

Counter-Strike: Source
-
Metal Gear Solid

Blades of Steel

Kingdom Hearts

Kingdom Hearts II

Mike Tyson's Punch-Out!!

Ice Hockey

Halo: Combat Evolved

The Binding of Isaac

Mega Man

Mega Man 3

Mega Man 4

Asteroids

Centipede

Dig Dug

Metroid Dread

Joust

Missile Command

Pitfall

Space Invaders

Fire Emblem: Three Houses
-
No Man's Sky
-
Pikmin 3

Pokémon Snap

Metroid: Zero Mission

Metroid Prime 2: Echoes

Tetris 99

Super Mario Maker

Street Fighter II

Street Fighter II Turbo

Batman: Arkham City

Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty

Xenoblade Chronicles

Castlevania

Castlevania II: Simon's Quest

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: The Arcade Game

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles IV: Turtles in Time

Baseball

Excitebike

Doom

Tekken

Donkey Kong 64

Banjo-Kazooie

Balloon Fight

Batman: The Video Game (NES)

Battletoads & Double Dragon

Super Mario Land

Super Mario Galaxy

Super Mario 3D Land

Call of Duty 2

Call of Duty: World at War

Super Smash Bros. Melee

Super Smash Bros. Brawl

Kung Fu

SteamWorld Dig 2

Super Mario Sunshine

Left 4 Dead

Left 4 Dead 2

Super C

Killer Instinct

Ms. Pac-Man

Command & Conquer

Mortal Kombat

Clayfighter

Mortal Kombat II

Mortal Kombat 3

Cruis'n USA

Bomberman 64

Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order
-
Wii Sports

Crash Bandicoot: Warped

Twisted Metal 2

Pokémon Yellow

Half-Life

Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic

The Beatles: Rock Band

Ninja Gaiden

Star Wars: Rogue Squadron

Star Wars Rogue Squadron II: Rogue Leader

Final Fantasy X

Final Fantasy X-2

Blast Corps

Perfect Dark

Ōkami

Marvel vs. Capcom 2: New Age of Heroes

Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle

Illusion of Gaia

Baba is You

Command & Conquer: Red Alert 2

Mario Bros.

Donkey Kong

Donkey Kong Jr.

Donkey Kong 3

Golden Axe

BioShock 2

BioShock Infinite
-
PaRappa the Rapper

Psychonauts
-
Undertale

Hot Shots Golf 2

Spyro the Dragon

Star Wars Episode I: Racer

StarTropics

Mario Party Superstars

RollerCoaster Tycoon

Dragon Warrior (Dragon Quest)

Lemmings

Untitled Goose Game

Dynasty Warriors 2

Breath of Fire

Suikoden

Suikoden III

Shenmue

The Dad Driving School

The Legend of Dragoon

Rampage

Rampage World Tour

Rampage 2: Universal Tour

Galaga

Gauntlet

Guitar Hero

Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock

Guitar Hero World Tour

Guitar Hero 5

Guitar Hero: Aerosmith

Batman: Arkham Knight
-
Super Mario Bros. 35

Final Fantasy XII

Mario Kart 7

Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time

Super Mario Bros.: The Lost Levels

Mega Man X2

Mega Man X4

Goat Simulator

The Jackbox Party Pack (2014)

The Jackbox Party Pack 2

The Jackbox Party Pack 4

The Jackbox Party Pack 7

The Simpsons (1991)

F-Zero X

SSX (2000)

Mario Golf

1080° Snowboarding

Final Fantasy Tactics Advance

Final Fantasy Tactics A2: Grimoire of the Rift

Final Fantasy Tactics: The War of the Lions

Q*bert

Darksiders
-
Stray
-
Wolfenstein 3D

Spider-Man and Venom: Maximum Carnage

SkiFree

Warcraft II: Tides of Darkness

The Bugs Bunny Crazy Castle

Batman: Arkham Asylum

Kid Icarus: Uprising

Heroes of Might and Magic: A Strategic Quest

Heroes of Might and Magic II

Heroes of Might and Magic IV

Heroes of Might and Magic V

Goat Simulator 3
-
Arkanoid

Where in the World Is Carmen Sandiego?

Dinosaur Game (Chrome Dino)

Fire Emblem Awakening

Earthworm Jim

Worms Armageddon

Bastion

Bad Dudes

Soulcalibur II

Jetpack Joyride

Time Crisis II

Bionic Commando

Blaster Master

Day of Defeat
-
Don't Starve

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Fall of the Foot Clan

Final Fantasy II

Final Fantasy III

Final Fantasy IV

Final Fantasy V

To the Moon
-
Limbo

Double Dragon (1987)

Frogger (1981)

Kirby's Dream Land

Geometry Dash
-
Plants vs. Zombies

Angry Birds

Street Fighter

Fire Emblem Heroes

Marvel Snap

Yoku's Island Express

Rogue Legacy
-
Pilotwings 64

WCW/nWo Revenge

WWF War Zone

WCW vs. nWo: World Tour

Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker

Thief: Deadly Shadows
-
GoldenEye 007 (2010)

Just Dance 2021

Just Dance 4

Human: Fall Flat

Jet Set Radio
-
Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 4

Kahoot!

Viewtiful Joe

Mega Man Legends (Mega Man 64)

Tony Hawk's Pro Skater

Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2

Command & Conquer: Red Alert

Major League Baseball Featuring Ken Griffey Jr.

RollerCoaster Tycoon 2

Jelly Boy
-
GRIS
-
The LEGO Ninjago Movie Video Game
-
Firewatch
-
The Murder of Sonic the Hedgehog
-
Drawful 2

Cave Story
-
Battletoads In Battlemaniacs

New Super Mario Bros. U Deluxe

Costume Quest
-
Super Mario Bros. Wonder
-
Torchlight II
-
Grim Dawn
-
Puzzle Agent
-
Bejeweled 3
-
Hylics
-
Where in the World is White Thunder?

Disney Emoji Blitz

Stumble Guys
-
Team Fortress Classic
-
Counter-Strike
-
Ghouls 'n Ghosts

Magicka
-
The Game Of Life 2
-
Old Man's Journey
-
Machinarium
-
Suika Game

Half-Life 2: Lost Coast
-
Half-Life: Blue Shift
-
Half-Life: Opposing Force
-
Full Void
-
Pinball FX
-
Fez
-
BioShock Remastered
-
Marvel’s Spider-Man Remastered
-
BioShock 2 Remastered
-
Counter-Strike: Condition Zero
-
Day of Defeat: Source
-
Deathmatch Classic
-
Ricochet
-
Counter-Strike: Condition Zero
-
Half-Life: Source
-
Half-Life Deathmatch: Source
-
Half-Life 2: Deathmatch
-
Half-Life 2: Episode One
-
Half-Life 2: Episode Two
-
Plants vs. Zombies GOTY Edition
-
VVVVVV
-
Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel
-
SEGA Mega Drive and Genesis Classics
-
Batman: Arkham City - Game of the Year Edition
-
Sonic Generations Collection
-
Squad Busters
-
Big Money! Deluxe
-
Feeding Frenzy 2 Deluxe
-
Pizza Frenzy Deluxe
-
Peggle Deluxe
-
Peggle™ Nights
-
Orcs Must Die!
-
Amnesia: The Dark Descent
-
Superbrothers: Sword & Sworcery EP
-
Gratuitous Space Battles
-
Lone Survivor: The Director's Cut
-
AudioSurf
-
Cogs
-
Penny Arcade's On the Rain-Slick Precipice of Darkness 3
-
Orcs Must Die! 2
-
Osmos
-
Atom Zombie Smasher
-
Shank
-
BIT.TRIP RUNNER
-
Jamestown
-
NightSky
-
And Yet It Moves
-
Crayon Physics Deluxe
-
Hammerfight
-
Chip's Challenge 1
-
Hell Yeah! Wrath of the Dead Rabbit
-
My Time at Portia
-
The Tiny Bang Story
-
Steel Storm: Burning Retribution
-
Trine Enchanted Edition
-
Batman: Arkham Asylum Game of the Year Edition
-
Darksiders Warmastered Edition
-
A Castle Full of Cats
-
Virtual Villagers: A New Home
-
Virtual Villagers: The Lost Children
-
Plant Tycoon
-
Fish Tycoon
-
Virtual Villagers - The Secret City
-
Tales of Monkey Island: Complete Season
-
Tales of Monkey Island Complete Pack: Chapter 2 - The Siege of Spinner Cay
-
Tales of Monkey Island Complete Pack: Chapter 3 - Lair of the Leviathan
-
Tales of Monkey Island Complete Pack: Chapter 4 - The Trial and Execution of Guybrush Threepwood
-
Tales of Monkey Island Complete Pack: Chapter 5 - Rise of the Pirate God
-
Revenge of the Titans
-
Puzzle Agent 2
-
Spiral Knights
-
DLC Quest
-
DuckTales: Remastered
-
Wobbledogs
-
FINAL FANTASY VII REMAKE INTERGRADE
-
Papa's Freezeria Deluxe
-
Do Not Feed the Monkeys
-
Champions Online
-
Virtual Villagers Origins 2
-
Tropico 4
-
Heroes® of Might & Magic® III - HD Edition
-
Clue/Cluedo: Classic Edition
-
Pokémon Trading Card Game Pocket
-
Flappy Dunk

Channel 3 (the game)

Azul