amphibious_ReViews

Dragon Quest was not that fun for me. It was absolutely a worthwhile experience, and I'm glad that I played it, but I have been spoiled by the likes of Final Fantasy and Xenoblade Chronicles 2 , so I know how amazing JRPG's can be. However, all of those games have roots somewhere, and Dragon Quest is almost indisputably the granddaddy of my favorite genre. The whole game was rather short, extensive grinding was an absolute must (not really my cup of tea), and the story was simple, but all of the bones were there and they were strong. Dragon Quest offered a relatively large world to both explore and interact with, it had opportunities to grow stronger with experience or better gear, and it had a grand villain to defeat. That was enough to keep me playing to the end. After playing through the whole game, I concluded that it earned its place as a milestone, but everything that it offers can be found better somewhere else, so it really only holds a place as a relic. I rec

Although it was technically released before Cube Escape: The Lake , I believe that Seasons  really shines as a sequel. It's longer, it's deeper, and it's far more confusing. However, it "calls back" to The Lake  in perfectly subtle ways that both answer questions and create more, in a way that Seasons  feels like the first chapter in a story with The Lake  as it's prologue. Like all of the other Cube Escape  games, Seasons  is a room-escape style hand-drawn horror game. I use horror lightly though, as it is less scary and more unnerving. The game had a way of making me feel on-edge while still keeping me wanting more. The puzzle gameplay is also engaging, with each new discovery feeling like a true accomplishment. Unfortunately, this is still a rather short title, and it left me wanting more. On the other side of that coin, it is part of a pretty lengthy series, so I will have no shortage of follow-ups! The game can be played online here (as of 5/11/2

Save for Team Fortress 2 , online shooters have never really been my thing. However, Fortnite has held its ground as such a huge cultural phenomenon... and it's free. I had to give it a try at least once, and for a while, I was actually pretty interested. I'm not proud to say it, but I did buy the battle pass once, and I had some fun trying to complete the challenges it came with. However, the only time I was really enjoying myself with the game was when I would play online with my friends. Fortnite is a battle royale shooter with destructible environments, which allows players to harvest materials and build their own protective structures. This adds a nice layer of depth not present in other battle royale games, but I found it kind of difficult to learn, especially when I'm trying to dodge the bullets of 99 other people. Thus, most of my time was spent trying to sneak up on my opponents or trying to snipe them from a safe distance. Although I'm not great at the g

The 3d Mario games have always been fantastic. At this point, it's practically an objective statement to say that they are some of the best games ever made. Continuing this spiritual series started by Super Mario 64 is Super Mario Odyssey . As the name alludes, this game brings Mario on an epic adventure through a huge variety of kingdoms in order to save the ever-distressed Princess Peach. Each of these kingdoms has a starkly different atmosphere from the last, making progression in the game feel like a real adventure. New to this title is Mario's companion Cappy- a ghost of sorts that inhabits Mario's hat and allows him to possess various enemies and objects throughout the kingdoms. Although I wouldn't consider it the biggest draw to the game, it is definitely fun to swim as a cheep-cheep and fly as a bullet bill! However, the feature that I appreciate the most is actually just a quality-of-life change from Odyssey 's predecessors. Upon collecting a moon (equ

With Minish Cap being the only full-size original Zelda game on the Gameboy Advance , Capcom had their work cut out for them. Based on my experience, they were absolutely ready for the challenge. A common theme in Zelda games is the traversal between two parallel worlds, as introduced by A Link to the Past 's dark world. However, I would have never considered how cute, clever, and enjoyable an experience I would have if those worlds were only separated by the hero's size. The Minish Cap  has gameplay that is almost immediately recognizable for anyone who has played a 2d Zelda  game, and it feels very comfortable to jump into. However, additions like Kinstones (allowing players to open up new secrets in the world by matching collectibles with NPC's) and the ability to shrink to the size of a bug help this entry to stand apart. The developers were able to create dungeons that seamlessly combined the abilities of both full-size and mini Link, making the mechanic feel like

When I saw the announcement that remakes of the original Pokémon games were coming to the Switch , with Pokémon Go integration, no less, I knew that I had to buy one. The first teaser trailer actually prompted me to redownload Pokémon Go in preparation! Right off the bat, Let's Go had some big draws for me. As Kanto was the first region that I explored, I was pretty excited about seeing it reborn in 3d. Pokémon Go integration meant that effort I put in on my phone translated to reward in the game, which made Go even more fun. Plus, it was the first full-fledged Pokémon title on the Switch , so it was almost necessary for me to buy it. After all of my excitement, I am happy to report that the game totally delivered! One aspect of the gameplay that I didn't expect to be a huge draw was interactions with your partner Eevee (or Pikachu). However, that became one of my favorite parts of the game! I gave my Eevee an adorable hairstyle and outfit, and we crushed the elite fou