RJCW

This game is incredible. The first time I played I made what is probably a common mistake early on. The game never beat me over the head with it, just quietly let me reap the emotional consequences for the whole rest of the playthrough. I just had this lump in my throat for the whole 7 hours. Despite that, it's also the funniest game I've ever played. Truly brilliant creation.

@DoctorFunfrock
I just finished the first Dreadrock and really enjoyed it. Lots of fun and a great sense of humour. Nice work! Looking forward to picking up the second one. Any ETA on the third?

Also, great username - nice bit of late 90s nostalgia

@Akibiyori
Yeah, this is generally how I feel too, especially re most FF extra content.

I'm disappointed - because having played both, the WotL version did feel more polished and engaging overall - but I also kind of get it. By the end of my PSP playthrough I leaned pretty hard on that dark knight class, and that definitely upset the gameplay balance a bit.

But - the WotL cutscenes were amazing, and even though the tone of the script became a bit more self-serious, the overall quality of the localisation was a big improvement compared to the FF7-era original translation. I hope they at least do a fresh edit of that original script to improve how it flows.

One of my top 10 games ever. Can't wait!

@cmbaum I logged in just to recommend Master Key. Glad someone else appreciated it too. I LOVED that game, and it just seems to have sunk without a trace.

Looking forward to watching this. I took a punt on Elliot Quest via the 3DS eShop about 7 years ago based on screenshots alone and it ended up being a top 5 game on the system for me.

Would love to see some of the earlier Ultima games get this treatment - I don't need updated graphics for those, just a better way to play them on the go than via Dosbox on my phone! Ultimas 3 to 6 would still hold up pretty well for the right modern audience, especially with some U5-style tweaks to the combat in U3-4.

Some great early-game changes here. Might make the black deck a bit more fun. I was on a pretty good winning streak when I got to that deck (first three stakes of all the prior decks), then had about 10 losses in a row on the black deck.

Some advice for those who are struggling: Don't neglect your chip jokers. An extra 100-ish chips is basically equivalent to a x2 mult for a lot of the game. Don't use seeded runs when you're trying to unlock stuff - they don't count. And it seems like you unlock more jokers, vouchers etc if you exit the game and go back in after runs. For a few weeks I didn't play anything else so just put the switch to sleep without exiting the game. First time I came back to it after playing something else, I got a HEAP of new unlocks.

Also - give the challenges a try. I just started them this week and they're really fun. Not actually very challenging so far, but they encourage some creative thinking that you can take back into the main game.

@Diogmites
Ah, I didn't know any of that! Thanks for the info.
@KateGray
You're welcome - now I'm all excited for Moonstone Island!

@Diogmites
100% with you that Kate is a bankable star.

More reviews, Kate! I keep hoping to see your name at the top of reviews. Excellent read, and an intriguing-sounding game.

I've had a chance to play through this now, and I have to say I both thoroughly enjoyed it, and was slightly disappointed.

There's been some rebalancing since the DS version. In some cases this results in improvements, but mostly it seemed to defang some of the most fun units. The animations and sound effects also aren't as punchy as in the original version, and the new graphics aren't as easy to read (unit colours in particular are difficult to separate in some cases). It seems a little too easy - the AI constantly wastes turn after turn. I don't remember the original being quite so easy, but maybe I'm just better at it now. Finally, I was very disappointed that there's no local multiplayer over wifi, so my wife and I will stick to DS for our regular matches.

The core gameplay is still fantastic though, the soundtrack is amazing, and the new art style looks great when you're not battling. 8/10 seems right to me, whereas the original is my favourite DS game and pushes close to 10/10.

I bounced hard off the Kokiri forest opening the first two times I tried to play it, on N64 then a few years later via the Zelda collection on Gamecube. It was only on the third attempt that I pushed through it, on 3DS. Actually, it spoiled 3D Zelda for me for almost 15 years, to the point that I skipped MM, WW, TP and SS entirely (I eventually played and loved MM on 3DS).

LttP has by far the best Zelda intro for me - right up there with 1-1 and Super Metroid. Zeldas I, II and BotW also rate pretty high for me.

This is great! They have such good rapport, and Sakaguchi in particular seems like such a lovable character. I'm looking forward to watching the second video when I've finished the next three remaster.

My favourite DS game. My wife and I still play the multiplayer regularly. Like others have said, it's a shame this release doesn't include the original art but it's still mighty tempting, even just for an excuse to run through the excellent campaign for the 4th time.

Probably my favourite DS game, and sooooo much fun in multiplayer. My wife and I have been playing this head-to-head regularly for the last 12 years. Not sure if I'll double-dip but I'm so glad it's getting a chance at reaching a broader audience.

I'm not sure how hidden they are, and some of them are a bit older than 2022, but for me these are the Switch games that seem to get less fanfare than they deserve:

Crown Trick - great turn-based rogue-like
Vigil: The Longest Night - what I think you'd get if the Gothic/Risen developers decided to make a Witcher-themed Metroid-like
Elliot Quest - fantastic homage to Zelda II, without the tight sword combat but with better puzzles
Dandara - atmospheric Metroid-like with vector-based movement
The Count Lucanor - creepy little gem, perfect for clearing on a Halloween afternoon
Loop Hero - deck-building rogue-like (sort of) with a brilliant Mega Drive/Genesis aesthetic
Operencia: The Stolen Sun - best first-person dungeon crawler I've played.

@Moonborne Ha, snap! It's a testament to how amazing the game is that I want to start the remaster straight away!

I literally finished Metroid Prime for the first time a week ago - using my original Wii copy of the trilogy, with mouse control, HD textures and 1440p up-res via PrimeHack.

The game is so amazing that I'm already looking forward to buying and playing the Switch remaster.

We've recently adopted a young greyhound named Zelda (just lucky - we didn't name her, and chose her because we'd previously adopted her mum)... so I was always going to be playing a lot of Zelda games this year.

Rush Rally 3 is pretty much the only rally game I need. Nothing else I've tried on Switch comes close.

@Brownmonster
This has been on my radar for a while now and I finally took the plunge a few days ago. Wow - I love it. Gameplay is excellent - challenging, fun and rewarding, even if I haven't yet figured out how to rename my profile.

I don't get all the complaints about the graphics. I've tried several racing games on Switch and I bounced off most of them (including GRID, Burnout Paradise and NFS, which are all recognisably great games) because I found the overly-detailed graphics too difficult to read on the small Switch screen - by the time I knew there was a corner coming I'd have overshot it. There was still a learning curve for me with reading the graphics in RR3, and I think some tracks could use a little more contrast to make them visible against the surroundings, but it's the most readable realistic racing game I've played on the system. And so smooth!

Just excellent, and a solid 9 for me.

All those Divine Beast / sage names actually appeared as town names in Zelda II.

I also want to give props for the great title, and thanks for the excellent article - I'm always excited to see your byline. Congratulations on going back and finishing Portal. I must be in the minority of gamers who prefer this first one, but they're both sensational games.