Games Beaten 2020

Post by **BoneSnapDeez** » Mon Dec 28, 2020 10:00 am

@prfsnl_gmr

Are ya looking forward to the sequel??

Post by **alienjesus** » Mon Dec 28, 2020 10:08 am

prfsnl_gmr wrote:82. Landstalker (Genesis)

Finished!

Your heroic deeds will live in our hearts forever.

Are you going going to continue your adventures?

Yes —> No

I’m so sorry you had to ensure Landstalker. The worst bit for me was the one puzzle near the end where you needed to move perfectly into crevices in the wall so a statue could walk over your head twice.

I hope you get to enjoy a good mega drive game next time!

Post by **prfsnl_gmr** » Mon Dec 28, 2020 10:37 am

BoneSnapDeez wrote:@prfsnl_gmr

Are ya looking forward to the sequel??

I own that, actually. :lol:

I understand that, while the perspective is the same, the gameplay is considerably different. Along those lines, HG101 published an article not that long ago regarding Dark Savior, another spiritual successor by the same developer. Apparently, it’s really good. Who knew?

alienjesus wrote:I’m so sorry you had to ensure Landstalker. The worst bit for me was the one puzzle near the end where you needed to move perfectly into crevices in the wall so a statue could walk over your head twice.

I hope you get to enjoy a good mega drive game next time!

It was listed among the greatest games of all time in EGM 150 and beating all of the games on that list is one of my life goals. (I’m down to brass tacks at this point.) That puzzle near the end was awful. I had to attempt it at least two dozen times. At least, however, I could reset it by exiting and reentering the room, however. The jumping “puzzles” that sent me down two screens for not beating able to judge depth due to the isometric perspective are what drove me to distraction.

Post by **MrPopo** » Mon Dec 28, 2020 9:31 pm

First 50:

51. The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel III - Switch
52. Star Control Origins: Earth Rising - PC
53. Gunvolt Chronicles: Luminous Avenger iX - Switch
54. Jedi Knight: Mysteries of the Sith - PC
55. Wizardry: Labyrinth of Lost Souls - PS3
56. Silicon Zeroes - PC
57. Warcraft - PC
58. Serious Sam 3: BFE - PC
59. Wasteland 3 - PC
60. Iron Harvest - PC
61. Serious Sam 3: Jewel of the Nile - PC
62, Homeworld Remastered - PC
63. Homeworld 2 Remastered - PC
64. Offworld Trading Company - PC
65. F-Zero - SNES
66. F-Zero X - N64
67. Gauntlet (2014) - PC
68. Gauntlet Legends - Arcade
69. Halo 3: ODST - PC
70. 13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim - PS4
71. Star Wars Squadrons - PC
72. Serious Sam 4 - PC
73. The Bard's Tale - PC
74. The Bard's Tale II - PC
75. The Bard's Tale III - PC
76. The Bard's Tale IV - PC
77. Outbuddies - Switch
78. Ghostrunner - PC
79. Shining Force Gaiden: Final Conflict - GG
80. Zombies Ate My Neighbors - SNES
81. Spider-Man: Miles Morales - PS5
82. Demon's Souls - PS5
83. Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War - PC
84. Wild Arms 5 - PS2
85. Halo 4 - PC
86. Breath of Fire 2 - SNES
87. Typing of the Dead - DC
88. Cyberpunk 2077 - PC
89. Popful Mail - Sega CD
90. Breath of Fire 3 - PSP

Figured I'd use the remaining time I had in the year to knock out BoF 3. I've heard mixed things about 4 and the gameplay systems in Dragon Quarter are 100% no for me, so I figured I'd use this to wrap up the series for me. Unfortunately, this ends up being the weakest of the three I've played, though it's still a decent enough RPG.

BoF3 is set a long time after the first two games, though the connections are much more tenuous compared to the connections between the first two games. The intro includes a mural which depicts the final battle of BoF1, and the Wyndians are now completely flightless (which was the trend they were going on as seen in BoF2). But a major plot point doesn't really jive with BoF1, so it's kind of a weird sequel story-wise. You still have the collection of animal people that make up the populace and the nice spritework on them really brings those old SNES designs to life.

One thing that really stood out is the plot is very sedate; you basically send the entire game investigating a mystery from 500 years ago, so there's never really a sense of urgency. At the VERY end (as in, in the corridor leading up to the final boss) you finally get answers to your questions and at that point it's like "oh, this is a problem that needs to be solved". Compared to the first two games it again stands out as a weird choice. BoF1 gave you a main plot from the get go, while BoF2 dropped a hint about it before giving you a "build your party" diversion and THEN kicking off the main plot, but at that point the main plot is very vital. Here it always feels like just being a relaxed journey, though even that takes a bit of time to kick off as you start off with some "well, you're living your life" stuff.

The game drops the party to three people, which doesn't seem necessary. It feels like it was because they wanted a smaller cast and felt the need for you to always have half the party on the bench. I'd rather they kept four people and dropped the bench size if they didn't want a larger cast. What actually gets annoying, though, is each character has a field action they can do, which means you need to do some party swapping at times to underleveled members in order to get treasures. Or in one instance late game, progress the story. The game had required you to use party members when you first get them as part of a story segment, but at those moments said party member would be appropriately leveled. This instance, which drove me crazy, required me to use a party member who was 2/3 the level of my main party. So I spent the entire time running from battles until past it and could change parties again.

Speaking of frustrations, the game is chock full of FF7 style minigames that pause the plot, but unlike FF7 these are all incredibly long and tedious with a high failure rate. Basically, every single minigame is like the CPR minigame of FF7. Except the one segment which is like Capcom looking at the blizzard in the snowfield segment and going "what if we made this take five times as long and hide treasures that require you to take weird paths?"

But if we ignore those parts we have a solid enough game. They added a fair amount of complexity to the systems that don't necessarily add a lot, but also don't get in the way much. You can learn a bunch of enemy skills by watching enemies use them in battle, but that is an active process. Only one character can equip a particular enemy skill at a time, and transferring skills requires a rareish item. I'd say 3/4 of the enemy skills are garbage, but the other 1/4 are fantastic, so it's a system worth interacting with. Replacing the Shaman fusions is a system of you having characters apprentice under masters. These masters usually have a requirement to unlock (sometimes rather annoying requirements) and they adjust your stat gains at level up. This can be used to create some really powerful characters by emphasizing strengths. They also teach skills (like enemy skills, only one exists across the party), but annoyingly you have to revisit them to learn it. And if you learn multiple skills in between visits you have to talk to them multiple times, which involves a shocking amount of dialog and menu options. Overall it feels clumsier than the Shaman fusions, and the skills are again in a 1:3 useful to garbage ratio.

The final change is in how Ryu's dragon transformations work. In BoF1 it was a godlike "you spend a bit of AP then spam high damage attacks for the rest of battle". In BoF2 it was a nerfed "you spend all your AP and do a ton of damage if your AP was full", but you could exploit it by cooking up AP restore items and spam 999 damage every turn by endgame. Here we have a sort of middle path. Ryu will collect a series of dragon genes, which he can then apply to himself in battle to transform. The first turn is only the transformation, then future turns he can act. The initial transformation costs X AP, and then each turn afterwards drains him X/2 AP (rounded up). If he ever gets drained for more AP than he has he reverts back to human form. He also reverts back if his dragon form runs out of HP; this basically serves as a second health bar (and it's usually at a significant multiplier to his normal health) in the manner of a D&D 5e druid. Some transformations just change Ryu, others take up the whole party (which can be a good thing in some fights, as it takes them out of the line of fire, and these forms are buffer in general). When transformed Ryu gets a new set of special abilities; some are free while others cost additional AP. The net result of this system is early game it is fairly weak, as you only get a handful of turns, but if you can hit an elemental weakness it's worth it. Later game it becomes your primary boss killer with your party focusing on buffing Ryu and tossing him AP restorative. There's still more complexity here than it needs; you end up having base genes and modifier genes and then that all gets tossed out later game with special fixed transformations that are better than anything you had before. The mechanics of the AP usage is solid, just it probably would have been better to just award you with fixed forms.

Overall I found BoF3 to be a middle of the road RPG, with the best thing being the lovely spritework. This was the same era of Capcom that gave us Mega Man X 4&5, which for all their faults in control had gorgeous sprites and animations. You get the same here. The game won't blow you away, but if you're in the mood for a PS1 RPG you can do worse.-

Post by **REPO Man** » Mon Dec 28, 2020 10:57 pm

Replayed Diet GoGo, an arcade-only game from Data East that is essentially a Bubble Bobble clone, not unlike Snow Bros or Nightmare in the Dark. Fatten up your enemies and hit them to send them flying, though how far is how fat they get. But if they fatten you up you move slower and if they fatten you up twice, or if they touch you, you lose a life. But if you're feeling pudgy, grab a diet tonic to get fit again. Wish weight loss in real life was that easy!

I've played this before, though this time I didn't mess with the DIP switch settings in the MAME menu, mostly because in the emulator I couldn't figure out how. I think that's due to how I had the controls set up for my SteelSeries controller, which had a weird effect on Android, with many apps treating the select/back button as though it were the back key on an Android device.

But if you like single-screen arcade games check it out.

Post by **PartridgeSenpai** » Wed Dec 30, 2020 1:53 am

Partridge Senpai's 2020 Beaten Games:
Previously: 2016 2017 2018 2019
* indicates a repeat

1-50

51-100

101. Goemon Mononoke Sugoroku (N64)
102. Breath of Fire (SFC)
103. Blasphemous (Switch)

104. Castlevania: Lords of Shadow - Mirror of Fate HD (PC)

That, in that monster of a title, is the final officially released Metroid-like Castlevania game by Konami, and also the last one I hadn't beaten yet. After completing this (and Circle of the Moon last year), I've finally beaten all of them! And it was... not the WORST one I've played, I guess ^^;. As I understand is the case with the rest of the Lords of Shadow games, Mirror of Fate is hardly a 10/10 game, but it also isn't the worst thing ever despite being a rather unconventional Metroidvania. It was also originally a 3DS game, but it was ported to the Xbox 360 and PC with this HD release. It took me a little over 8 hours to 100% the game using an Xbox One controller on my PC on normal mode (you need to collect 100% of the collectibles to unlock the secret extra bit of the ending, which is boring and honestly not really worth it ^^;).

Mirror of Fate takes place after the original Lords of Shadow and explores the lives of Gabriel's descendants after he defeats the titular lords of shadow and becomes Dracula. His son, Trevor Belmont, and his grandson, Simon Belmont, (and even Aclucard) all make appearances in their own acts of this three act game. It certainly has an interesting core concept in how it handles this reboot: turning Castlevania into a family drama instead of some amorphous centuries old battle of good vs. evil, but it's also very boringly done. None of the character writing, dialogue, or even the flavor text is all that interesting at all despite the game clearly thinking that it's VERY interesting. It's only really noteworthy in how much potential the idea has, but even then the execution is so lackluster that it doesn't really matter.

The mechanics and design of the game are also flawed but interesting (but mostly flawed). While you CAN go back to older areas to use new abilities to hunt around for stuff, that really isn't the purpose of the game. Despite the fact that you CAN backtrack and there are some (fairly awkwardly placed) warp points, the game was clearly designed to be gone through one-way, so back tracking is quite slow and not very fun. This is also because the combat is like the combat in the proper Lords of Shadow game: it's like God of War. Enemies are way too spongey and take way too much punishment to kill, making combat a constant slog. Throw that in with just how little health you actually have, and combat is often quite frustrating rather than satisfying. The God of War spongey enemies simply don't work well in 2.5D compared to 3D.

The multiple playable characters is neat but not all that remarkable. All three characters have those Kratos-glaive-like whips (super ridiculous range) as well as two magic states you can toggle on and off on top of two sub weapons. Each character has a magic state geared towards defense, and one geared towards offense, but it's not terribly interesting. If anything, Simon's power to just simply convert his mana bar into an extra health bar trains you badly at how you should handle fights, so then when you get to Alucard's chapter things are suddenly way harder now that you don't have that anymore. The sub weapons also have very infrequent ammo at the cost of being far more powerful per hit, but I found myself barley using them until the very end of the game, and even then that was just to clear through more tanky enemies. The fighting does work fine enough, and the bosses (especially Dracula) are usually pretty good fun, but for normal enemies the combat feels boring more often than it feels satisfying or fun.

The platforming is also fine but nothing totally special. The graphics are fairly nice for what was once a 3DS game, but there are points where the visual style is too cluttered to obviously tell what is and isn't a platform, so I nearly fell into a pit once or twice because it had looked like the ground instead of like a pit. The jumping feels a bit floaty and weird, and the back-dash doesn't really feel like it goes back as far as it should, but those aren't unforgivable sins. The most annoying thing about the platforming is that about halfway into act 1 you get a hook shot sort of weapon that can grapple onto certain wall holds and ceiling tiles, but the range on that hook shot is entirely arbitrary to the particular grapple point. The grapple points tend to shine a certain way when you're close enough, but I found it often fiddly and weird, and the grapple points on walls weren't nearly well-distinguished enough from non-grapple wall holds, so there were a good few times I fell to my death (because bafflingly enough this game has fall damage) because I didn't realize I wasn't supposed to drop down instead of start rappelling off of the wall.

The presentation is also pretty "meh" at the end of the day. The in-game models look quite nice, especially for what was once a 3DS game. I'm honestly kinda interested to see how nice it looks on an actual 3DS. But there are also cutscenes done in this cell-shaded comic book style that, while not how the actual gameplay models look, looks absolutely hideous. They really should've went for 3D stills that really look like a comic book, because seeing these cell-shaded character models move and especially talk in herky jerky awkward ways is far more often unintentionally hilarious than anything else XD. The music is also just atmospheric orchestral stuff whose only meaningful quality is that it's VERY forgettable.

Verdict: Hesitantly Recommended. It's not an outright awful game, and I wouldn't even say it's the worst Metroid-like Castlevania game (I still say that's Circle of the Moon), but it's a pretty weak entry in a genre increasingly filled with more and more all-time greats. If you MUST play every Castlevania game in this style, like me, or somehow already own it, you probably won't hate your time with the game, but it's also just so sorta average I can't recommend anyone not into Castlevania seeking it out willingly (or paying more than a couple bucks for it).

Post by **REPO Man** » Wed Dec 30, 2020 3:08 am

Nightmare in the Dark, another single-screen arcade platformer, this time for the Neo-Geo. An MVS exclusive, this title from 2000 casts you as a gravedigger who throws fireballs at ghouls in order to bubble them and toss them at other ghouls, all which take the form of various horror tropes such as ghosts and zombies, all across five stages with five levels apiece, the fifth being the boss level.

It's another great game that sadly never left the arcades, never seeing ports or rereleases to other consoles, including the MVS's home counterpart the AES or the Neo-Geo CD. Perfect if you enjoyed Snow Bros, which this title has more in common with than it does with Bubble Bobble.

Post by **Ack** » Wed Dec 30, 2020 12:55 pm

The First 50:

51. Kid Dracula (Switch)(Platformer)
52. Castlevania (Switch)(Platformer)
53. Akumajō Dracula (Switch)(Platformer)
54. Akumajō Dracula [Castlevania IV](Switch)(Platformer)
55. The Witcher 3: Hearts of Stone (PC)(RPG)
56. Castlevania III: Dracula's Curse (Switch)(Platformer)
57. Castlevania II: Belmont's Revenge (Switch)(Platformer)
58. The Witcher 3: Blood and Wine (PC)(RPG)
59. The Darkness II (PC)(FPS)
60. MOTHERGUNSHIP (PC)(FPS)
61. SNK vs. Capcom: Card Fighter's Clash - SNK Version (NGPC)(Card Game)
62. The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind (PC)(RPG)
63. STRAFE (PC)(FPS)
64. Shadow Warrior [2013] (PC)(FPS)
65. Shanghai Mini (NGPC)(Puzzle)
66. Shadowrun: Hong Kong (PC)(RPG)
67. Shadowrun: Hong Kong - Shadows of Hong Kong (PC)(RPG)
68. Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic II - The Sith Lords (PC)(RPG)
69. Call of Cthulhu: Shadow of the Comet - The Lovecraft Museum (PC)(Point and Click Adventure)
70. The Mummy Demastered (Switch)(Action Adventure)
71. Just Cause 2 (PC)(Action Adventure)
72. Prey (PC)(FPS)
73. Prey: Mooncrash (PC)(FPS)
74. The Signal From Tölva (PC)(FPS)
75. Death Rally (PC)(Racing)
76. Bastion (PC)(RPG)
77. Cosmic Star Heroine (PC)(RPG)
78. Ultimate DOOM (PC)(FPS)
79. DOOM II: Hell on Earth (PC)(FPS)
80. DOOM II: No Rest for the Living (PC)(FPS)
81. DOOM 3: The Lost Mission (PC)(FPS)
82. DOOM 3: Resurrection of Evil (PC)(FPS)
83. DOOM 3 (PC)(FPS)
84. The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim (PC)(RPG)
85. DOOM: SIGIL (PC)(FPS)
86. The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim – Dragonborn (PC)(RPG)
87. Final DOOM - TNT: Evilution (PC)(FPS)
88. The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim - Dawnguard (PC)(RPG)
89. Helltaker (PC)(Puzzle)
90. Elderborn (PC)(Action)
91. The Haunted Island, a Frog Detective Game (PC)(Adventure)

While many games try to thrive off action and intensity, the ones that succeed on charm can make for the most memorable. The Haunted Island, a Frog Detective Game is one of these types of games, alternating between charming, funny, and noirish...though not literally so, more in a sense of parody. It was the aim of the developer, Grace Bruxner, to break apart the stereotypes found in the heavy handed detective games that dominate their section of the Adventure genre, and well, she succeeded.

In The Haunted Island, you play the Frog Detective. A ghost is supposedly haunting an island, but since the crew of ghost scientists have found nothing, you are sent to investigate. It's up to you to talk to the island locals and scientists, discover the mystery, and judge a dance contest. It will probably take you an hour. That's it, that's the game, and it is delightful and quirky, exactly what I wanted.

I almost considered saying this is a point-and-click, but it's not. You do everything in first person, and there is no real pointing and clicking, more walking up and picking up a couple of items and then trading them to do the bulk of the game. While this is simple (and no, The Haunted Island is not a challenging game at all), you're here for the absurd writing and sense of humor. The characters and camera shots are where you find it, so what might feel like a chore of walking between people to chat is actually quite entertaining. Bruxner made it a point to investigate detective games and cinema to understand the cinematography and tropes of these works, and she subverts them repeatedly and effectively. My personal favorite? A conversation with an alligator on lounge chairs that involves bizarre poses and a discussion on dental hygiene.

Yeah, the game is short, but I laughed, chuckled, and snickered my way through as I played. The Haunted Island, a Frog Detective Game is a delight.

Post by **BoneSnapDeez** » Wed Dec 30, 2020 1:03 pm

cool game ack

Post by **BoneSnapDeez** » Wed Dec 30, 2020 3:22 pm

61. Kirby Star Allies (Switch)
62. Super Mario Maker (Wii U)

As of this writing (December 2020) Kirby Star Allies is the latest "mainline" Kirby game to appear in the series. A solid platformer starring the lovable rotund pink alien(?), I'll most remember this as the first video game one of my kids finished before I did. Star Allies borrows liberally from past Kirby installments and its gameplay is predicated on two recycled-but-modified ideas: the inclusion of allies who assist Kirby along his journey and the ability to combine acquired special abilities.

The game's plot is as fluffy and airy as Kirby himself. A giant magical heart, housed far away from Kirby's home planet of Popstar, explodes. Shards of the heart possess Kirby's friends and other wholesome creatures, turning them malicious. Meanwhile, Kirby is granted the power to befriend enemies -- without inhaling them first! It's up to Kirby to gather allies, travel into deep space, and defeat the ultimate evil that threatens the galaxy. The journey is interspersed with some adorable (and well-crafted) cutscenes, and there's an appropriately small amount of voice-acting as well. Typical Kirby stuff. The game moves along at a fairly steady clip, without the need for story exposition, though the load times before each stage transition are puzzlingly long.

This a 2D (okay, 2.5D) platformer, divided into the typical segments: "worlds" that are then split further into individual stages. Though "pathways" from one stage to the next are displayed, Kirby is able to explore world maps at his leisure, revisiting old stages, popping into special areas, and even collecting stars scattered around the map (the "coins" of this game). Stages themselves either conclude with an "exit" that's followed by a brief bonus round, or a boss battle. As the title indicates, "allies" take center stage here -- and Kirby can be joined by a whopping three friends, as opposed to the old standard of one. In single-player mode, these allies are controlled by the game's AI, though up to three additional human players can scrub in as well. Allies are gathered by tossing hearts (pressing the X button) at foes who then immediately become Kirby's pals. If Kirby already has three allies and attempts to recruit another, the game will give the player the option to dump one out for a replacement. Note that Kirby can still gain abilities buy swallowing enemies, which means that a Kirby team could consist of, say, a swordfighter, a bomber, a flamethrower, and a cutter. As the game progresses, "legendary" characters (like King Dedede) can be recruited as well. These heroes typically possess abilities that are more powerful, or at least more interesting, than the standard options. The possibilities are near endless.

Controls are smooth and near perfect, and with so much going on it's no surprise to see that Star Allies has the most nuanced (and "complex") control scheme of any Kirby title. Kirby himself can walk, duck, dash via a double-tap of left or right, and fly via repeatedly tapping the jump button. The shoulder buttons can be used to block enemy attacks, and a swift dodge is executed by pressing a shoulder button in tandem with a directional button. Kirby can abandon a special power quickly (the select button) or slowly (Y button). He can also unfriend a nearby ally. There are additional (two-step) methods that allow Kirby to remove an ally and gain its power for himself, and vice versa. Food can be shared among the crew for health restoration, and there's even a way to revive fallen comrades, though their health doesn't replenish completely. This may all sound overwhelming when compared to Kirby games of old, but the logical and consistent controls, combined with the charming on-screen pop-up labels, guarantees that things run smoothly.

A couple of things to note about the ally AI. Computer-controlled allies are wholly functional and helpful, but guaranteed to be "slower" than those characters controlled by human beings. The AI allies seem to prioritize defense over offense, and behave rather cautiously during boss battles, striking only when a clear opportunity presents itself and otherwise retreating. Kirby's pals are also prone to follow him throughout stages in a sort of "conga line" fashion if no enemies are present, which can make them susceptible to instant death traps. Outside of boss battles, death of an ally means little, as recruitable enemies appear frequently and respawn.

The ability to combine special powers dates back to Kirby 64, but it's implemented much differently here. Instead of Kirby grabbing and mixing two powers for himself, he can instead combine his presently held ability with that of another party member. Or, a couple of his pals can combine powers. So, for instance, if Kirby wields a sword and has a buddy who breathes fire, Kirby's sword can be infused with fire abilities. This is done with a simple press of the up button. Some of these new super-powers are long-lasting effects, while others are grandiose explosive type things that wither quickly. Occasionally, specific abilities must be fused to complete a stage, but more often than not such mixing is required to unlock an entrance to a secret stage (which will then appear on the world map) or to grab an elusive "puzzle piece" collectible (useful for those going for 100% game completion). Explicit hints are displayed onscreen to indicate how to proceed to grab these puzzle pieces, but such hints can be turn off. The game encourages the player to frequently swap out allies, in order to have access to an ever-changing cluster of abilities. It's a bit of a double-edged sword: while it does keep things fresh and forces players to experiment a bit, it can also get tedious to continuously change out one pal for a new one. Anyone who wants to solidify a party of four early on in the game and then just "roll with it" will find this impossible (that is, unless you have zero interest in the game's collectibles or hidden stages). There are additional segments where a group of four is needed to "fuse" into a massive marauding cluster of cuteness: transforming into a rolling wheel or a flying ship. These stretches are hilarious and a joy to play, with Kirby and his teammates being all but unstoppable when bundled together.

With only four "worlds" to explore, the game may appear small at first glance. But the stages are pretty massive with all the classic Kirby elements: there are horizontally-scrolling pieces, vertically-scrolling pieces, auto-scrollers, flying stretches, underwater areas, insta-kill crushing block areas, and more. That said, individual stages don't always feel logically designed. Rather, it's like the developers yoked a bunch of disparate elements together until each stage felt long enough. Likewise, the worlds themselves don't adhere to any overarching coherent themes. Bosses, old and new, arise periodically. Yes, the tree (you know..... the tree) is back, along with his dad, Dedede, and the big eyeball. New villains include a group of creepy masked sisters and there is of course the terrifying indescribable final boss. Most of the game's challenge is loaded into these boss battles. A single player certainly can't rely on AI helpers to whittle down boss HP fast enough. Also, it's easy to lose sight of Kirby amid all the chaos. In fact, during my playthrough all five (or so) of my deaths were caused by momentarily "misplacing" Kirby onscreen. There's arguably too much happening at once, sometimes. Bosses are cleverly designed with loads of intricate attack patterns, and it's often recommended that Kirby ditch his acquired power to damage bosses directly by spitting back their star projectiles. The final boss deserves a special mention: this fight is incredibly lengthy and detailed and just plain over the top in regards to how many "forms" the thing possesses. Just when you think it's over...... it isn't.

This is a Kirby game so there's a bunch of extras tacked on beyond the main quest. Two of these minigames (Chop Champs and Star Slam Heroes) are of the waggle motion control variety. Totally worthless and crappy. There's a great arena segment (called The Ultimate Choice for some reason) similar to the one that first appeared in Kirby Super Star: it's a massive boss rush with limited opportunities to refill health. Tons of fun. The final two minigames are more traditional and similar to the main quest, with some modifications to stage design and the allies system. This kind of thing can be amusing to play around with, but Kirby's primary journey still remains the most compelling aspect of Star Allies.

The graphics are decent. The game is pretty and oddly shiny -- many sprites and backgrounds appear to have a spacy starry glistening sheen. The characters are all appropriately cutesy -- friend and foe alike -- and longtime fans will enjoy spotting all the cameos that are crammed in here. The soundtrack is an expected mix between new and old tunes, though the old ones tend to greatly overshadow the new. Don't worry -- "Gourmet Race" was included among the tracks. Oh, and if you were wondering if the game contains a black & white throwback level with the original stage one theme -- of course it does (you just have to find it).

In summary, this is far from the best Kirby game. But it's a Kirby game nevertheless and all Kirby games are good. The fresh "gimmicks" manage to distinguish it from the rest of the series, it's great for newcomers (and young kids) and loyal fans alike, and it's certainly a worthy and necessary addition to the Nintendo Switch library. Chef Kawasaki = best ally.

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