amphibious_ReViews

When The Skywalker Saga was announced, I was excited, but I was a little wary of the possibility of going back through the same levels I've played dozens of times already in The Complete Saga and the original two LEGO Star Wars games. As soon as screenshots and footage started appearing, all of those fears were gone. I still didn't know much about it at the time, but it certainly wasn't just an expanded version of the game I've played to death. Now that I've played it, I can gladly say that the spirit of those older classics remains but the play-experience carves out its own identity, creating something familiar, yet refreshingly independent. The Skywalker Saga marks a major evolution in the Traveller's Tales LEGO formula. The world is still highly destructible, studs are still the main currency, and there is still an intense focus on collectibles and unlockables, but the gameplay itself has experienced a significant shift from the previous twenty-or-so mainlin

Almost assuredly inspired by the "Yoshi Commits Tax Fraud" meme, Turnip Boy Commits Tax Evasion is a comedy adventure that I was genuinely surprised by. I wasn't sure what to expect when I started the game, as I was drawn in purely by its name and hadn't actually done any research before diving in. What I got at the start felt like a Flash game from 2012, and I was honestly a bit disappointed. I stuck it out for a while longer though, and found that there was actually a lot more to Turnip Boy's world, and I became surprisingly invested. Now, I just wish there was more game and more answers. The little root veggie won me over. Turnip Boy is a delightful little protagonist with a penchant for tearing up documents. This gets him in trouble at the start of the game when he rips up his property tax bill and gets a visit from Mayor Onion himself. On an unceasing power trip, Mayor Onion essentially makes Turnip Boy into his slave, saying he needs to work off his debt or

After six long years, the sequel to Breath of the Wild finally came out. There was a gap of four years between the game's announcement and its release that saw the launch of a remake, a remaster, and two official spinoffs from the same franchise. In fact, there was less time between the launch of Breath of the Wild and the launches of either release of Skyward Sword than there was between the Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom. So, was it worth the wait? My answer would be a doubtless, unequivocal, resounding yes! When I finished Breath of the Wild, I thought "How are they possibly going to top that?" but when I first plummeted into the depths of Tears of the Kingdom, I realized "Oh, that's how." There's so much to say about this game. People who haven't played it complain that it's just a glorified DLC for Breath of the Wild, and while it may reuse assets, concepts, and much of the map, I think it's pretty clear that the two are sti

Over the past 25 years, Pokémon's pop-culture dominance has grown astronomically, making it the highest-grossing media franchise of all time by a pretty significant margin. At the start of it all was a humble pair of monster-collecting RPGs that encouraged collaboration and competition between real-life friends, classmates, and coworkers. Now, over two decades later, we have received seven more "generations" of Pokémon games, each leaving that classic formula virtually untouched. Each of them saw massive success, showing just how strong the foundation is, but with repetition often comes boredom. Because the competitive side of Pokémon is so important, major adjustments can't really happen without running the risk of inadvertently damaging a huge draw to the franchise. However, with each successive release that avoids altering the formula, players' interest in retreading old ground fades a little more. Pokémon Legends: Arceus singlehandedly destroys that compla

A Link to the Past is often referred to as the best 2D Zelda game. While I agree that this is where the series really started to understand what it wanted to be, I don't think people are remembering the game for what it actually is. Anybody familiar with a non- Breath-of-the-wild  modern  Zelda title will feel comfortable in A Link to the Past from the very start, as an impressive amount of what this game does end up becoming a trope for the series. However, the unbelievable amount of cryptic and unnecessary gatekeeping that you'll encounter as you progress is a reminder that this is truly a game for a different era. A Link to the Past is a fairly standard adventure game with some puzzle elements, tasking you with traveling throughout the kingdom of Hyrule in order to rescue Princess Zelda from the dark wizard Aghanim and restore peace. At the start of the game, the world is pretty blocked off, and there's a fairly straightforward path that you're supposed to follo

The original  LEGO Star Wars games were a huge part of my childhood. Alongside my brother and my dad, I completed both of them, unlocking every character, finding every collectible, and finishing every challenge. As a testament to their quality, I kept on playing them, even hours after there was nothing new left to do. My love of the first two games made  The Complete Saga  an appealing title. Not only did it offer the entirety of both games in one seamless package, it included a bunch of brand new content to keep me engaged. I'll admit, I never actually hit 100% in this game, but I do own it on four different platforms, so I have plenty of places to go if I need a quick hit of nostalgia, or just some humorous Star Wars fun. LEGO Star Wars: The Complete Saga takes you through the first six Star Wars films, retold in an abridged format by humorous, non-speaking Minifigures. Each movie is represented by around half a dozen stages. These levels take some necessary liberties with t

When A Link Between Worlds came onto the scene, its biggest claim to fame was the fact that it revisited the Hyrule of A Link to the Past . However, I have yet to play through that game, so my experience with its iteration of Hyrule was brand new when I played A Link Between Worlds . This led me to focus a lot more on how this game breaks conventions, crafting a revitalized approach to the Zelda formula while still feeling familiar and approachable. A Link Between Worlds ' story is a pretty standard Zelda affair. Everything is peachy in the start, giving you a chance to learn the world and the mechanics, but then the villain shows up and does villain things, and you are the only one who can stop him. While the game advertises the ability to flatten yourself against a wall as its neon gimmick, that isn't what sets this title apart. Where most other Zelda games require you to challenge the dungeons in a predetermined order, using the items you find to progress further in the

I couldn't tell you how excited I was to finally get my hands on this game. Four Swords Anniversary Edition was released as a free download on DSi and 3DS to commemorate the 25th anniversary of The Legend of Zelda , and once again to celebrate the critical success of A Link Between Worlds . However, it was removed from the shop shortly after release both times and has never been re-released since. I'm a huge fan of the Zelda series, but I completely missed the limited availability of this title. I could technically have played the GBA original, but then I would need a second player with their own hardware, and I would miss out on all of the extra content. Luckily, I did finally end up getting my hands on the game. When Four Swords originally came out on the GBA packed in with A Link to the Past , it was the first of its kind. While it still looks and feels like a Zelda game, with its engine even being reused for The Minish Cap ,  the series-staple sprawling solo adventu

I originally got Car Quest for a few cents alongside a few other massively-discounted Switch titles just for the fun of trying them all out with a friend. This game was the only one we played for more than five minutes that day. Maybe it was the smooth gameplay, the nostalgic PS2 vibes, or the addictive simplicity of the objectives, but I was hooked. With a backlog like mine, I normally don't give non-mainstream indie games a second thought, so this title   is definitely something special in my eyes. Car Quest  feels a lot like a PS2 -era 3d platformer if your player character was a little car rather than a costumed anthropomorphic animal. The structure is somewhat similar to that of Super Mario 64  or Banjo-Kazooie , where you travel from a small-but-expanding overworld to unique self-contained levels where the bulk of the game takes place. However, Car Quest  forgoes the standard of scattering enemies throughout the levels in order to keep the players' focus on the puzzles.

  Before Breath of the Wild , Ocarina of Time was arguable the definitive 3d Zelda adventure, and honestly, it might still be. It was a remarkable feat in video game development that Nintendo was able to translate the item-collecting, dungeon-exploring, world-saving structure to three dimensions almost perfectly on their first try. A Link to the Past set the series standards for decades to come, but Ocarina of Time showed, without a doubt, that those standards worked just as well outside of two dimensions. The game definitely had areas for improvement upon its first release, but practically everything I had an issue with on the N64 was fixed in the 3DS remake. Quality-of-life improvements, such as making the boots an item, or displaying the map on the screen at all times, made this adventure largely seamless. Plus, the graphics are leagues better than before, which is always a win. The story in Ocarina of Time is nothing exceptional, but it got the job done. Starting as a young boy,

  For almost a decade now, The Pokémon Company has been cranking out free-to-play games to varying acclaim. Some have become international phenomena , while others have fizzled into obscurity . I've made an effort to play each of them, both because I love Pokémon and because I'm a sucker for free, but only a select few have really stood out to me. This game was not one of them. Pokémon Quest was enjoyable enough to hold my attention until the final few stages (which didn't take very long to reach), but I started to get fatigued with the repetition and began relying very heavily on the auto-attack mode. Pokémon Quest is a quasi-adventure game that has you exploring a voxely island in the search of treasure. The original 151 Pokémon , also voxelized, are available to help on the adventure, and they can be strengthened with the help of little medals that you collect at the end of each stage. In addition to the medals, each stage rewards ingredients that can be cooked at y

Evoland  is a delightful, gimmicky, tongue-in-cheek exploration into the history of RPGs and adventure games. For those familiar, the  Gameboy / SNES / Playstation  reminiscent journey will undoubtedly bring a smile to your face. My time with Evoland  was spent on my phone, where it felt surprisingly at home. I imagine it is just as fun on PC and consoles, as it imitates multiple console experiences, but I found that picking it up to play for my short down-times was a pretty enjoyable approach. As a fan of The Legend of Zelda  and Final Fantasy , this game was right up my alley, and anything I say about its gameplay mechanics would essentially just be a comparison to those two franchises, so I won't go down that road. Simply put, if you enjoy classic RPGs and adventure games, you will enjoy Evoland . It's a short game, so it won't pull you away from bigger name games for too long, but it is absolutely a joy to play. The game can be purchased for Android here (as o

Starting its life on the Gameboy , Link's Awakening  offered a full Zelda  adventure on the go. Now, its remake for the Nintendo Switch  offers the same, and so much more! My first experience with the game was the DX  edition on the Gameboy Color . I had a lot of fun with it, and the introduction of Mario  characters to a canon Zelda  title felt impossibly delightful. However, the limitations of the console did cause the first two releases to suffer in a way that the remake remedied nicely. The Switch  version offers the same quirky atmosphere as the original, and it faithfully recreates the island of Koholint and its inhabitants, while also adding content that deepens the experience, making it worth the investment for new and returning players alike. The world that was (re)crafted in this game holds so much to enjoy. The interactions between characters range from heartwarming to comedic, the puzzles are never easy, but always rewarding, and the story is unique within the franc

I enjoyed the Rumble games on the 3DS for the cute art style, the enormous collection of  Pokémon , and their simple gameplay. When I found out that I could have that on my phone, I jumped in immediately. Although plagued with far more microtransaction schemes than its free-to-play predecessor on the 3DS , I never felt frustratingly compelled to put any money in the game, which I appreciate. Most of the gameplay consists of exploring an island and defeating increasingly stronger bosses in an effort to uncover more of the island and collect stronger allies. This gameplay loop kept me engaged most of the time but offered an auto-attack mode for when I was feeling lazy (which was more often than I care to admit). Unique to this game within its series is the event-style island switching. Every two weeks, the available island would be replaced by a new one with new  Pokémon available, leaving the previous island permanently inaccessible. This kept the game fresh by letting me start agai

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

Although I love the Legend of Zelda franchise, Phantom Hourglass was a game that I was skeptical about revisiting. This was one of the first titles that I ever played on the DS , and for some reason I was unable to make it past the first run of the temple of the ocean king (granted, I was very young). Ultimately, I traded my copy away for Pokémon Ranger  (a move that I do not regret) and forgot about it for a long time. My attention was brought back to the game when my interest in the franchise was being rejuvenated by Ocarina of Time 3d  and Skyward Sword , but many reviews online recommended skipping it due to the tedious repetition of the temple of the ocean king, as well as the slight annoyance that comes with almost-pure touch-controls. I heeded that warning for a while, but I am currently on a mission to beat every Zelda game, so I needed to play this one eventually. Upon finally playing it, I realized that the touch controls were far from ideal at certain times, but Nint

My first experience with this game was truly phenomenal. I was searching for games similar to Universal Paperclips (I was on a minimalism high) and this game blew me away. My girlfriend teases me all the time because I'm pretty crappy at visualization when I read, while she creates entire worlds in her head. However, A Dark Room somehow managed to temporarily fix my literary handicap, and it was amazing! The text that scrolls down the side of the game essentially explains what's going on from the perspective of the player, and when the first straggler stumbled into my cottage, I immediately decided that this was a movie that I wanted to see. As the game progressed, new gameplay elements continued to be introduced, requiring me to learn how they work and take advantage of them as best I could to grow and protect my village. Although I won't go into further details about the story for the sake of spoilers, I do recommend reading everything, especially when exploring

The origin to my favorite series is still quite the adventure, despite its age. However, the amount of ambiguity surrounding what is required of the player to advance in the game makes it rather frustrating. Without neighborhood friends to talk about game secrets with, or the fabled assistance of Nintendo Power , this game almost guarantees that modern players will reference an online walkthrough if they intend to beat it. However, that ambiguity seemed to really be the game's only major flaw. The Legend of Zelda is exciting, and progression always feels fantastic. Plus, though the story is rather thin on the surface, details within the game, such as the sparse and hidden population amongst the monster-ridden world, fueled my curiosity like body spray in a campfire. Although this game ultimately doesn't earn a place as one of my favorites in the franchise, I always enjoy returning to it for an adventure through the first Hyrule that the world ever knew. This is absolute

I'm going to start this review by saying that I regard The Legend of Zelda  franchise as my favorite video game series of all time. The story, music, characters, environments, and everything else that comes together in a Zelda  game always seems to make me smile and keep me engaged every second of my playthrough. Because of this, I had extremely high expectations coming into  Breath of the Wild , and I am ecstatic to report that it most definitely delivered! My first step into the world of Hyrule  felt both nostalgic and fresh at the same time - a feeling that the game built upon continuously as I played. Because most of the mechanics in the game were either altered heavily from previous Zelda  titles, or entirely new for this title, I did find myself extremely giddy anytime I found something left in from previous games. The fact that the experience I had in this game was different from the series' roots ensured that references to older games (such as highly recognizable sh