Zachary Reynolds

I feel like this game was made for those who grew up in the NES/SNES era when platformers were very punishing. That is exactly what you get with this game. It’s very fun but very punishing, prepare to die A LOT. So if that’s not your cup of tea you won’t like this game. I found myself really enjoying the boss fights in this game as they were difficult, but attainable. Every attempt got easier to move through the progressions and predict what would happen next. What I didn't enjoy as much was the platforming in particular because of the immediate respawn of enemies once you went back to an area. It made some parts of the game extra annoying. At times I wished I had more range with my sword stroke too than just forward slash but can also respect that feature making the game more challenging. This game pays a lot of homage to that older era of platformers and for the most part I loved it. The music and graphics are sick. The story is funny too. I felt like I pulled a gem out of the used video game bin. Overall a really fun game just a few tweaks would make would make it that much more enjoyable.

After dumping 130 hours into the game and beating it on hard mode this Fire Emblem just left me with a feeling of missing the mark. It’s certainly the best looking game in the series to date and I loved the addition of voice acting, but I couldn’t have cared less for the story or any of the support conversations. After playing three houses too fire emblem games just have too much non battle stuff going on these days. I found myself craving the old classic GBA 2003 game and how it was just a pure fun battle based game (which you can simply play with a Nintendo online membership if your thinking of buying this one). The somneil is the place to go in-between battles to develop your team and there are all these mini games. If you’re struggling to get through the next battle you can come here and grind to make your team as good as it can be. I felt like the somneil paid homage to all the non battle stuff you could do in three houses and in a way Nintendo wanted to carry that three houses crowd into the next game. Doing stuff while always optional just felt like a chore with not a lot of meat on the bones. I liked having a place to manage my items and being able to engrave weapons was cool. Going through inherited skills was also cool, but overall there was just too much to manage and at times the game just felt heavy. I feel like we are in an era where each game has to out do itself and games are just getting loaded with more and more STUFF and getting away from what we loved in the first place, THE BATTLE! The addition of online battles I really liked and would be fun to have the next game in the series explore that more. Overall I hope Nintendo scales back its next Fire Emblem game and focuses more on the battles with a little bit of features you manage between games but not TOO MUCH like the last two installments. Having a good off brand story with some drama would be cool too think, game of thrones, like actual people talking about the story in reviews. Overall though if you’re a fan of strategy this is an all you can eat buffet. From the main story to paralogues to skirmishes if you want to get your fill of strategy it’s here but I started getting full after my second plate.

My favorite Metroid game yet! The game is absolutely fantastic and I just couldn't put it down from start to finish. MAP: I will say this game stands out from previous Metroid games because of the map.... yes I said that right the map. Usually what I hate about Metroid games is getting lost and not knowing where to go next. The map in this game is different because if you see a missile upgrade or energy tank it will mark it on the map as well as door/areas that you can't access. So every time I got an upgrade I would pop open the map and see where I could suddenly go to progress. I didn't need to look up a walkthrough once. GRAPHICS: Putting the glossy Metroid Prime graphics on a 2D side scroller made this game stunning. The game often leaves its 2D format to make it feel like a 3D game. Before and after every boss fight Nintendo was pulling out the fire works. BOSSES: They all were certainly hard as is typical of the series. They weren't so hard that I couldn't start to get a rhythm of the fight and slowly start to be more consistent with the fights to get past them. I'd say they toe a perfect balance of being difficult but manageable giving you a sense of accomplishment after each one. You respawn close to the fight each time so you can just focus on the fight. ROBOTS/EMMI: A lot of peoples reservation with this game was Emmi the robot that would stock you and kill you instantly. This actually ended up being a pretty fun part of the game though a bit of a learning curve at first. Don't let this part of the game stop you from buying it, it's a solid play.

It’s the perfect game to always have on you. Play for 3 hours at home or 15 minutes on your lunch break. It fills in those boredom gaps and gives you something new to pursue every day, every month, and different times of the day. This game is designed to be played a little bit each day. Don’t come to this game for something you could play 8 hours straight. That’s the beauty of Animal Crossing New Horizons it’s gives you a break from your real world but not too much of a break.