“Few will consider Devil’s Third a landmark. It’s a real world anachronism, beginning development in the late 2010s, looking and playing as if it’s from ten years earlier than that, and not coming out until 2015. Storytelling rolls out as if a parody of Itagaki’s style: ninja warriors at the government’s employ, the essence of a spaghetti western, lots of bad guy Russians, and the fantastical involvement of political subtexts such as Guantanamo Bay.”
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“Accessibility is often underrated, even under-appreciated. There is a reason the Wii darted into mainstream stardom, blindsiding the insular, closed off corners of the usual game marketplace. Ultra Smash has the same appeal of before, so empty and sparse, yet invigorating to someone unfamiliar with video games in general. Nintendo’s lean offering is one of the few still trying to appease new or newer players. Nintendo still sees a premium in simplicity, even if it could mean ostracizing their dedicated followers. They did it before and they’re trying it again, even if the surprising surge of original Wii adopters have mostly moved on to mobile platforms for their gaming.”
“Now it’s Yoshi’s turn to be that cleverly beautiful, graced with a visual pluckiness and backing from delicate piano keys. Both games play like gentle lullabies, delightful in their easiness and attractive in their quaintness. They’re seen through child-like vision—how could they not be? Ease of play is nostalgic, catchy stage themes recede into the vintage, and the aesthetic form feels built by physical hands.
“Death” in Woolly World is an adorable oops. The music doesn’t stop—no discordant themes play. Few games reach for such tranquility. Another Yoshi is waiting and a soft fade acts as a cushioned transition. All of those pitfalls are probably stacked with mattresses too.”
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“Shantae is a perfect character, more so than Dracula hunting whip snappers or the space faring bounty hunter which whom she shares a genre. Shantae’s adventures carry a feminine (yet inclusive) playfulness, undoubtedly brought over to Pirate’s Curse which splashes with literal and figurative color. While a touch disinterested, Pirate’s Curse layers safe Western mysticism and jittery pacts for its lean narrative. Series heel Risky Boots is brought into the mold of anti-hero for a bit of scintillating role reversal even if this tosses a central villain away into the final moments of the last act.”
Read my full Shantae and the Pirate’s Curse review at GameSkinnny
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“Size does not matter. Nintendo’s release has no pretense of being anything other than a smart, whimsical discount adventure with a bantam twosome. Operation Rescue Toadette and it’s obvious counterpart, Operation Rescue Captain Toad, are bright, cheerful, and even a touch twisted. A bevy of hidden items pull Indiana Jones-ian travelers into the deep recesses of these carefully laid out maps.”
Read my full review of Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker at GameSkinny
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“NES Remix barely tweaks the bulky pixel craft which bore these console giants originally. A softening filter is a touch egregious, while shiny, crinkly backgrounds and drop shadows provides a darling puppet show-like display in certain Remix stages. Otherwise, they exist as remembered. Pure, untouched, and modestly beautiful – no HD re-skinning required. While Nintendo’s lauded appreciation for their antiquities may be financially propelled first, their treatment and respect of this material remains unparalleled.”
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“Characters need their vocal fortitude to bust through Lyric, an overtly obvious villain. He’s a sniveling space snake in a space suit. Lyric worships life saving technology, not organic medicine (he took some and now needs the suit, you see), turning Rise of Lyric into a loose parable against the overuse of automatic blood pressure machines, inorganic meat, and high-fructose corn syrup. Clearly, that is what can save Sonic, turning him into a defender of nutrition for the generation of children turning against the overlords of McDonalds. Sonic is fighting against an indirect representative of the Happy Meal; how the once mighty have fallen.”
You can read my full Sonic Boom: Rise of Lyric review at Pulp365
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“The work is an audacious and expensive statement in a period of industry maturation. Bayonetta 2 churns through the uncomfortable, but executes a firm split of self-parody and empowerment. Bayonetta herself is a figure-ful conqueror of masculine evil. Bending and contorting to allow room for a camera to slip into areas oft considered inappropriate, Bayonetta issues a wink and roundhouse to one of many relic-adorned nightmares. Her playfully colored sexuality is partially a figment of her identity. She is also a defender of whole feminism, created with the foreign ideals of physical warrior-hood rather than those hidden within macho guns.”
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“Yet, there is a personality here. As a cross-brand, picturesque blending of Nintendo’s adventurous soul and Tecmo/Koei’s sword brandishing chaos, Hyrule Warriors is allowed a fluffy, goofy charisma. Zelda’s stuffed fantasy of elven kind and treasure hunting is finally inserted onto a battlefield which allows hero Link to exude heroism on a proper scale. The elf-ish star is saving an entire kingdom at once rather than in parts. Stare downs with dragons or other fear-manipulating species lack credence – they exist as something else to whack into the air during any particularly splendid combo string – but it’s a gloriously fun bit of Japanese expression.”
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“This is stop-and-go material, broken up by death or patches of logic tests. Another World’s unique animation slate forces a thick bond to the controller or Haykin perishes with alarming frequency. There are no apologies. Another World is not harnessing invincible space marines for surface level spectacle, and instead embraces a methodology of luck. Historians will clash as to whether misfires are laid at a central fault of the design or as an example of widely stretched brilliance, yet this is the reality: Haykin should be cautious and he should be careful of his motions. He is as much an alien as the unknown inhabitants are to him. If trepidation is not forced, the blood soaked massacre would lose all of its lush, crafted definition.”
Read my full review of Another World: 20th Anniversary Edition at Pulp 365
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Matt Paprocki 