amphibious_ReViews

In 2012, as a spectacular advertising campaign for their new movie,  Wreck-It Ralph , Disney released a few different takes on Ralph's fictional home game. Each based on the clips from the film, they offer similar aesthetics and gameplay, but their different development teams and target platforms meant they wouldn't exactly match each other. Of the different versions, the only one I have played myself is the iOS release that came both as a free standalone and in a dollar combo pack alongside mobile interpretations of all of the fictional arcade games featured in the film. I downloaded both immediately after seeing the movie and absolutely loved the fact that I was actually playing Wreck-It Ralph 's game! However, it was only after replaying it now that I was able to appreciate all of the features the developers managed to pack in to make it feel like a real arcade release. Fix-It Felix Jr! sees you playing as the titular character as you attempt to repair an apartment bu

Most of the mobile games I played during my youth have since been delisted or updated beyond recognition. As technology evolves and people's interests shift, it often just isn't worth it for developers to maintain their older apps anymore. That's what makes something like Pocket Frogs so special. From the moment I started playing again, everything was immediately familiar. I may have started a fresh save, but it still somehow felt like it was just how I left it on my iPod Touch in 2012. Pocket Frogs is somewhat unique in the virtual-pet space thanks to its mechanical implementation of rampant capitalism. Starting off with just a few terrariums, only one of which that can act as a nursery for incubating eggs, you'll quickly realize how much buying and selling of your hoppy little friends you'll need to do if you hope to expand your frog capacity or fill out your froggydex. The main gameplay loop consists of getting a bunch of new frogs, running out of space for th

Four years ago, Nintendo debuted a brand new IP as a part of their mobile game initiative. In less than a month from the writing of this review, that IP will be shelved alongside the likes of F-Zero and Kid Icarus . As someone who just picked up the game for the first time a couple months ago (just before in-app purchases were suspended), I'm disappointed that the franchise seems to be ending already, but I recognize that I didn't really do anything to encourage Nintendo to keep it alive. Nonetheless, I'm glad to have had a chance to play it, and I genuinely enjoyed it far more than I had expected to. As it turns out, playing a game in its end-of-life has its perks too. Dragalia Lost presents a very familiar gacha-RPG structure, but with fairly unique g for what it is. The summoning, team-building, upgrading, and just about everything else you do while you aren't playing through the stages, is ripped straight from the genre playbook. I actually had to double-check th

I've never been very good at fighting games. On more than one occasion, I've tried playing the likes of Mortal Kombat and Injustice , but quickly get put off by the immense learning curve exacerbated by my general lack of talent. I like playing games to have fun, not to "get good," so it's not always easy for me to find my place in the fighting game genre. However, I've been known to try a little harder at learning something new if Pokémon are involved, and I finally experienced firsthand the value of fighting games thanks to the Pokémon -themed Tekken game, Pokkén Tournament .  While I haven't actually played a true Tekken game yet, my understanding is that Pokkén plays the same way, so those familiar with Tekken should feel comfortable jumping in here. For those unfamiliar, combat in Pokkén is one-on-one, with each round of a fight broken into two phases, beginning with the "field phase." The field phase gives the Pokémon access to the

I remember my mind being blown when Pokémon Shuffle was announced. It didn't look like anything super special, especially since I already owned Battle Trozei , which seemed very similar. However, this was the first major free title that I had heard of from the franchise, and getting a Pokémon game for free was more than enough to get me hyped. Upon release, I played the 3DS version of Shuffle until I was sick of it. I had a lot of fun at first, but it eventually got to the point that it seemed nearly impossible to progress without caving to the microtransactions, so I moved on. Now, over half a decade later, I was ready to play it again, but I took advantage of the convenience of the mobile phone version this time. Pokémon Shuffle is a pretty vanilla match-3 puzzle game. There are Pokémon elements implemented that tie it especially well to the sixth-generation games, but nothing that particularly makes it stand out. The general structure of the game is built around defeating

Super Mario Run came out when Nintendo was still testing the waters with their mobile offerings, and it shows. The game is entirely without microtransactions, but to play more than the first couple of levels, you'll need to pay a solid $10. That purchase price does net you a full Mario game that was intentionally designed for one-handed play during bite-sized sessions, but it feels grossly out of place on a platform largely dominated by free-to-play titles. I'm used to seeing console ports like the Final Fantasy series having relatively staggering price tags, but games designed exclusively for mobile rarely require purchases as large as that, at least at one time. Fortunately, once you jump that hurdle, the product you receive is actually pretty good. Super Mario Run is built on the familiar New Super Mario Bros. engine but has a few control alterations to make it feel more at home on mobile. As its title implies, this is a "runner" style game, with Mario consta

When I learned the DLC for Xenoblade Chronicles 2 came with an entire standalone prequel game, I was ecstatic! I was already loving the base game, and this was the most ambitious DLC I had ever seen, so there was a lot for me to get excited about. I didn't play it right away after beating XC2 since I figured it would be better to pace myself with the series, but it wasn't until I started hearing rumors of Xenoblade Chronicles 3  years later that I actually made it around to it. While the game is short and the story lacks a lot of the depth that the series is known for, I still think that Torna has earned its place as a recognized entry in the Xenoblade series. While I believe it to be a standalone game, I highly recommend only playing this after beating Xenoblade Chronicles 2 . Mechanically, I really enjoyed contrasting how the two games approached combat and sidequests; having obviously been cut from the same cloth, they still both have something unique to offer. Plot-wise

I consider Puzzle & Dragons to be the grandfather of all mobile RPGs. While the game itself might feel a little dated today, its mechanics will be very familiar to anyone who has played an RPG on their phone in the past decade. Player levels and stamina, normal and premium currencies, character summoning and fusion, story and event stages, it's all here. Frankly, most of those things are designed more around a player's wallet than their enjoyment, but the addictive tendency of games like this means that people are all too happy to accept the abuse and move on. That usually applies to me too, I did just play Pokémon 's take on this formula not too long ago, but I surprisingly just wasn't hooked this time around. I was actually really excited to play Puzzle & Dragons . I was hankering for some sort of match-3 puzzle game, and P&D 's blend of a super unique matching system and RPG elements seemed perfect for me at the time. When I first opened the app, I

It's hard not to accidentally review the Pokémon Trading Card Game itself when taking a look at PTCGO since it manages such a perfect virtualization of the official game. It even includes the main competitive formats sanctioned by The Pokémon Company , which is the major draw to the title. However, I think that PTCGO is worthy of recognition for all of the choices it made to improve the overall gameplay experience. The steps they took to make the card game itself more convenient, like highlighting playable cards or sorting the discard pile, are fantastic, but I'm more impressed by the decisions made outside of the actual gameplay. One of the biggest surprises is the complete lack of microtransactions. Because every real-world TCG product comes with a code to redeem it in PTCGO , the physical products are treated as microtransactions, and digital-only products can only be earned, never bought. That way, if you never buy real cards (and if you stay away from the second-hand cod

Gunman Clive is one of the best values you can find in a platformer. Although it's rather short, it's both affordable and replayable. I only paid a dollar each of the three times I bought it, and I ended up playing through the campaign multiple times on multiple platforms. The sepia-toned sketchbook style looks absolutely amazing, and the soundtrack was so good that I bought that too, but even if the pure joy of playing isn't enough to keep you invested, you'll still likely appreciate the four unique characters and the ways they change how you approach each of the stages. However, even if you just play through the game once, I think it is a worthy investment. Gunman Clive starts out as a pretty standard action platformer, having you run and gun your way across the old West as you try to save the kidnapped Ms. Johnson (or Clive himself if you play as any of the other three characters). It's not until you come across your first duck that you'll get the subtle fe

Like its predecessor on the NES , Metroid II on the Gameboy hasn't aged all that well. While a technically impressive feat, the clunky controls and crunched screen just aren't something that most people want to put up with anymore. Despite that, the game's story is an incredibly important chapter in the main Metroid narrative, so it's not something that you would really want to miss. Luckily, Nintendo understood the need to retell this story and offered up the second remake in the series. However, Samus Returns is special in the fact that its gameplay was designed to remodel the standard used for Metroid games going forward, replacing the Super Metroid style used in the past few games. When I first started playing Samus Returns , I was a bit jarred by how much the combat mechanics have changed from Zero Mission . However, it didn't take long for me to be so comfortable with this new style that I never wanted to go back. While countering charging enemies seeme

Even though I knew this was a direct spinoff of Super Mario 3D World before I started playing, I was surprised by how familiar it felt. Obviously, the game's whole premise comes from the cute side-levels scattered throughout 3D World , but the two games have more in common than that. Sharing a soundtrack, HUD, enemy selection, and control scheme (even down to the touchscreen) made the whole experience feel very comfortable and familiar. Just like 3D World , Treasure Tracker ends up being pretty short if you just play through the levels to beat them. However, it offers a lot more to do if you tackle all of the additional challenges, making for a pretty meaty experience. Throughout this surprisingly hefty game, you'll play as Captain Toad and Captain Toadette as they hunt for treasure and repeatedly rescue each other from some pretty perilous situations. Just like the side-levels in 3D World , most of the adventure takes place in these meticulously crafted little dioramas, gi

It's a lot of fun showing off virtual reality to people who have never tried it before, but most VR games are a single-player affair. Even when a game is multiplayer, it often requires multiple headsets, which can be really limiting. This makes it a lot more difficult to introduce people in party settings, which is easily the most fun way to do it. That's why Acron was such an exciting discovery for me. Anybody with a smartphone can join the VR player in a "1 v. All" competitive format, keeping the whole group engaged, even though only one person can be in the headset at a time. Acron feels like a combination of capture the flag and tower defense, more of one or the other depending on what side you're on. The smartphone players control a group of squirrels that need to collect all of the tree's acorns and return them to their home before the time runs out. They can play as one of many classes, each with their own specialty, such as forming a temporary shield

I guess I have a thing about playing mobile games that are on their deathbeds. I didn't pick up Harry Potter: Wizards Unite until Niantic announced that it was being shut down. It wasn't for a lack of interest though; I was definitely intrigued by the concept, and I am a fan of the Wizarding World , I just couldn't see myself balancing two location-based games at a time, and I still play Pokémon Go regularly. Now that the game is officially in its end-of-life, there are no long-term commitments to be made, and I can enjoy it for a bit without feeling bad when I decide to move on. I also had an unexpected sense of freedom since I didn't feel like I needed to ration my resources for later use. I could use anything I wanted on a whim without worrying that there would have been better opportunities for use if I had just saved them. With this overwhelming sense of freedom, I was able to dive right into Wizards Unite . Using my Pokémon Go instincts, I just started clickin

When Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp came out, I was blown away by how it managed to look even better than the most recent mainline game at the time, New Leaf . The fundamental structure of the series was obviously modified to allow it to be free-to-play, but it still has all the right pieces to make it feel just like its console counterparts. The developers brought over the models and animations straight from the main series, making this look far more like a true mainline entry rather than just a mobile spinoff, and the Animal Crossing "feeling" is largely there too, with villagers' corny monologues and near-infinite debt ceilings fully in-tact. Pocket Camp differs from its mainline cousins in a few ways in order to support the new pick-up-and-play model. First, you don't actually have access to a whole village in this game. Instead, you manage a campsite and can travel to different islands to collect resources and interact with villagers. These little separated isla

It took me way too long to get to Owlboy . There are so many stellar indies on my backlog that continue to get usurped by the bigger-name games. It's a lot easier to talk to friends about big-budget AAA games since they are so much more likely to have played them, but less recognizable games like this can pull off some really special things. I only chose to start  Owlboy after owning it for nearly four years because I wanted a shorter game to fill the short lull before Christmas beefed up my library again, but I found that the game actually helped me to better appreciate the value of well-crafted independently-developed videogames. Owlboy is a story-oriented platformer that feels incredibly polished, no matter what angle you consider it from. You play as an owl named Otus, and, along with his friends, you go on an epic adventure that covers important themes, like loss, forgiveness, acceptance, and redemption. The characters and their animations can often feel comically over-the-t

Skylanders as a series holds a lot of nostalgia for me. I got the first game for Christmas when it came out, and played the series for years with my dad and brothers. In that time, we collectively amassed nearly 200 figures, all of which I recently rediscovered. Aching to relive that nostalgia, but not wanting to glue myself to a couch, I decided to play the only game in the series to make it to the Nintendo Switch . As the last game in the series, I expected some changes and growth in Skylanders Imaginators  that would bring the series to a new level, but I was surprised to find that it really just rehashed the story and mechanics of the first two entries, while adding light platforming of Swap Force . Like every other game in the series, Skylanders Imaginators asks you to protect the Skylands from the immature, power-hungry villain, Kaos. Instead of doing this with a set player-character, you can play as any one of the Skylanders released throughout the lifetime of the franchise,

If you've been to a party in the past five years, you've likely played a Jackbox game at least once. With eight Party Packs available on every major platform, they offer a ton of accessible fun. However, if you have somehow managed to avoid this whole series thus far, you have a little catching up to do. Luckily, while some of the later games have a steeper learning curve, but the first Party Pack is very approachable, and still a lot of fun! Jackbox Party Pack 1 is home to five games that I categorize into three groups. You Don't Know Jack 2015 and Lie Swatter are pure (albeit comedic) trivia, Drawful and Fibbage XL are creativity-focused competitions, and Word Spu d is a fairly straightforward word game. Lie Swatter and Word Spud were never very interesting for me, but the other three can be absolute blasts when playing them with a good group of friends or family. The Party Pack works by selecting one of the five included games and launching a lobby via the devi

The biggest draw of the mainline Pokémon series for me is the collecting. I get a lot more enjoyment out of filling out the Pokédex than I do out of crafting the perfect team. However, sometimes a good old-fashioned Pokémon battle is just what I need. This urge really picked up for me once news about the Sinnoh remakes and Legends: Arceus started dropping more regularly, but I didn't want to start playing a whole mainline game with those right around the corner for fear of getting exhausted by the formula. That's when I remembered Pokémon Masters . I had previously passed it up thanks to its focus on battling over collecting, but suddenly it felt like the perfect fit. The battle system in Pokémon Masters EX  is far from traditional, but it works well and offers some unique nuance relative to the standard format. To start, battles are no longer one-on-one, or turn-based. Instead, you'll be directing three Pokémon , with the assistance of their trainers, in real-time figh