Messages

1

General / Re: 52 Games Challenge 2026!!!

« on: September 24, 2026, 12:56:34 pm »

I normally avoid playing remastered versions unless there's good reason to visit them, yet this is one of those few instances when it's worthwhile since a considerable amount of new content that was originally planned but ultimately dropped has been added. For all intents and purposes, the original game is obsolete.

I played the original Nier on the 360 years ago and I absolutely loved it (still one of my favorite games ever). I plan on revisiting it some time again through the remaster, but if there's two reasons why I'm a bit weary of playing it: one, the original western release uses an older, father-figure protagonist instead of the younger one in the remaster (in my mind, it's hard to picture another person in the role). Two, the art direction of the original to me is superb, and it's hard getting used to some of the screenshots I've seen of the remaster (Kaine to me looks too clean and made out of plastic).

2

General / Re: 52 Games Challenge 2026!!!

« on: September 09, 2026, 10:23:20 pm »

37. Touhou Koumakyou: New Classic - the Embodiment of Scarlet Devil | 2026 | PC | 9/9:



     Ignore the "Easy" mode in the screenshot, I was able to beat the game on "Normal" twice! (with sub-30 deaths on Challenge Mode with also given infinite lives -- still pretty decent by my standards!).

     This is a remake of Touhou 6, a bullet-hell shooter in the long-running franchise that has long-expanded from its original roots. It's a safe bet to say that 50% of the fandom has never played any of these bullet-hell games (I was one of them until today). This game is really well-done, and I'd say it can go toe-to-toe with the best from Treasure and CAVE. Really cool bullet patterns that are fun to dodge despite being incredibly difficult at times. I felt like I was dying at times on something so simple right after getting through a tough pattern. There are also moments however, where you have to use a bomb due to being either stuck in a corner or having a bad pattern that's impossible to navigate.

     The bosses feel like the bulk of play-time spent during stages and for good reason: they're fantastic! There's multiple phases in every boss fight. You can tell when you're close to the next phase by the health-bar at the top of the screen. There is sometimes an exhiliterating rush getting the boss into their next phase just before an unavoidable projectile hits you (projectiles disappear immediately as you finish a phase). Music is great and gameplay is easy to pick-up, but takes time to master. Also buying a copy on Steam gets you the original game as well, so that's always a plus. Grade: B+

3

General / Re: 52 Games Challenge 2026!!!

« on: September 09, 2026, 10:18:09 pm »

Have you tried out the game's multiplayer mode? Playing multiplayer is actually the only way I've played since a friend of mine owns the game, and it's been a lot of fun the few times we've played. It's been quite the challenge too—we haven't even been able to complete three of the level 3 stages despite both being well acquainted with the series.

I've wanted to! Unfortunately, I've haven't gotten a group together IRL to play yet. One of my groups is near impossible cause they only want to play Smash Bros. or Jackbox.

4

General / Re: 52 Games Challenge 2026!!!

« on: September 07, 2026, 05:30:35 pm »

36. Grand Theft Auto IV | 2008 | 100% (Completed on 9/23) | Xbox 360 & Xbox Series X | 8/31:



     It's been too long since I last completed a single-player game; and this one was well-worth the 30 hours to complete. GTA IV is a game I've had fond memories of growing up, but haven't really played at all since GTA V had released. Going back to it brought back a whole wave of nostalgia for me... well almost. Playing from the Series X to start, I noticed something was off when "Glukoza - Schweine" wasn't the first song to play when getting picked up by Roman fresh off the boat. Then I realized soon after that all of Vladivostok FM was reworked cause the licenses for every track wasn't renewed. Damn you greedy Rockstar & Take-Two! So, I cycled between the revamped Series X version and the slow, sluggish Xbox 360 version for GTA IV.

     No matter what version you play, GTA IV looks very rough and ugly. And to be completely honest with you, I wouldn't have it any other way. The main reason I'd go back to GTA III despite later entries being objectively better games is because of the setting. Even in broad daylight, GTA III's atmosphere is foggy and desolate. The map of GTA III is 90% concrete jungle and has yet to feel stale between numerous playthroughs; personally because it's dense -- with as much detail as a game from 2001 can show. GTA IV has kept the philosophy's of its numbered predecessor to heart by not only honing in on the mood that GTA III had and capturing it perfectly, but also developing a dense urban landscape that really showcased what 7th generation gaming can really accomplish -- just like what GTA III did for the PS2. Skyscrapers, city parks, Times Square -- all of it is captured like a time capsule of what the year 2008 was really about. From the flip phones with ringtones and dynamic wallpapers, to the internet cafes with websites and hyperlinks that lead to more unhinged websites involving conspiracy theories and overnight mail-to-order brides. GTA IV captured the world before the internet had taken over while also overly-satirizing it in a way that has aged really well today.

     The Euphoria physics engine is the real big technological leap made by GTA IV, which hasn't been really matched by any other game since. Car crashes are visceral, and the impact made after a fatal crash can impact the way your car handles (e.g. a big impact to the upper left corner of your car will cause your car to always veer left). Crashing into pedestrians looks silly, but the impact can always be seen, felt, and heard. I remember the reception of GTA IV's driving physics being mixed before the release of GTA V (and I'd say is still mixed to this day), yet I'm more fond of it than ever. Each car to me has its own subtle differences in control & weight that makes driving feel like its own game within the game. I can be driving an Infernus or a shitbox Vigero and be almost equally satisfied navigating the world of Liberty City.

     The story of GTA IV is slow, but very entertaining. Niko's story in Liberty City is only really touched upon in a few mission. For most of the game, you are helping other characters with their problems (usually involves committing some sort of crime as you can imagine). These missions to me are very much worth the grind to beat the game thanks in part to the excellent writing & vocal performances. Some of the writing would definitely be hard to capture today, whether it be the vulgar language or the sheer absurdity of it all. There's Little Jacob for example: who is a real day one, ride-or-die homie who helps you throughout the game (one of the best characters in the GTA franchise IMO). Very calm & collective. Then you have Brucie on the complete other side of the spectrum (I don't need to explain him if you've played GTA IV, but he's very unhinged). There's never a moment I felt fatigued with his missions or hang-out events despite very much being a gag character with no extra depth or development.

     This game does a lot to try to make you laugh, but there's plenty of detail to the in-game world and characters that I missed the first time I finished GTA IV. You meet and work for people of all ethnic backgrounds: Jamaicans, Italians, the Irish, the Russians, etc.. It's a whole mixing pot of cultures that affects not only the main story, but the music on the radio as well. You have Kanye West 'Flashing Lights' playing on one station and Fela Kuti 'Zombie' on another (the latter being a complete surprise to hear considering what it is and the history behind the song). There's plenty of areas off the beaten path to discover in the 4+ islands that make up Liberty City. There's just enough distinctions between every island that gives them their own identity. I think some people back in the day felt disappointed seeing GTA IV compared to San Andreas with the three different cities, rural sprawl, and sheer amount of activities to do. GTA IV feels like only half of San Andreas in some ways, but it more than makes up for it in refinement. GTA IV is, in some ways, a product of its time as much as it was a cut above everything back then. In other ways, it may very well be the best in its genre still.



Grade: S

5

General / Re: 52 Games Challenge 2026!!!

« on: September 07, 2026, 04:55:22 pm »

35. Rhythm Heaven Groove | 2026 | Switch 2 | 7/31:



     Nintendo has been quietly on a roll with all of their new releases as of late. No exception to this rule is Rhythm Heaven Groove. I have not played any of the prior entries, and from what I've heard this new entry is a little different from the prior games. It borrows quite a bit from WarioWare: from the varied, sometimes crudely drawn artstyles of the numerous rhythm minigames to the weird ways in which you are forced to groove to these minigames. You go from using two kids to communicate to an alien to bouncing lemons and apples off a bodybuilder's biceps for example.

     Despite being a very short game to complete, there's a lot to master. You're introduced to harder and harder variants of the same minigames you've played, which sometimes forces you to go back to the easier ones just to master the concept of said minigame. Unless you are used to playing on a specific setup, it's highly recommended by both myself and the game to play in handheld mode. Even though it tries its best, there's always gonna feel like there's some kind of latency when using the game's 'TV Input Delay Settings' to auto-calibrate the timing of the rhythm.

     There's a lot of charm to Rhythm Heaven Groove, and you can definitely tell it's a passion project from its creator, Tsunku -- a musician who cannot sing anymore after having his vocal cords removed due to laryngeal cancer. The option of having text-to-speech dialogue for blind players is really cool, and the game does a good job of introducing the basics of each minigame to all players alike. It's very much a good pick-up-and-play style game that can last anywhere from a few minutes up to a couple of hours. Very addictive! Grade: A-

6

General / Re: 52 Games Challenge 2026!!!

« on: August 09, 2026, 02:49:01 pm »

34. DJMAX RESPECT V | 2020 | Clear Pass: S19 | PC | 7/29:



     I don't know if I should've counted this, but screw it -- I played a fair amount to justify this as a 'completion'.

     DJMAX RESPECT V is quite possibly the best rhythm game I've ever seen grace the Personal Computer. There's so much content and even more ways of playing said content. Almost every song has 4 different charts to choose from. You can play a chart that uses only 4 keys to using every finger on each hand to push through the 8B charts. A wide variety of music is available to pick from, each accompanied by its own background music video. You can customize chart placement, speed that notes come in at, different UI for charts that can be earned from beating challenges or from the shop. There's a competitive Ladder Mode, an Air Mode which lets you and others around the world play the same song and chat simultaneously, missions, and so on. I'm gushing a bit, but it's like the Pandora's Box of rhythm games to me.

     Now let's get to the main part of the review. DJMAX RESPECT V has a battle pass. Yes, game with 20-something DLC packs also has a season pass on top of it. There's 30 tiers to unlock over the course of one season -- usually around 3 months. Everything unlocked from the pass consists of customization options for either your profile or your in-game experience. You also get a shuffling grab bag of songs from the various DLC packs and a couple of exclusive songs that can only be played via. the battle pass (or 'Clear Pass' as the game calls it). I see it more as a way of supporting the developer if anything.

     The thing is: DJMAX RESPECT V will have sales going on for both the base game and DLC. Older DLC packs (say, 2 years or older) will always be 65%-80% off MSRP. You can get the base game with 3 DLC packs for about $20 and be set for a while. There was one refresh of the Clear Pass tracklist where I owned most of the songs already, so it was kind of a waste for me. The next refresh however, I was able to play through songs from DLC I didn't own, which led me to purchasing them off Steam because I enjoyed the music that much. I can't really rate something like this, but thought I'd just share my thoughts anyway. Probably not something I'd do again given the time commitment, but I got my money's worth. Grade: N/A

7

General / Re: 52 Games Challenge 2026!!!

« on: August 09, 2026, 02:23:33 pm »

33. Shift At Midnight | 2026 | PC | 7/27:



     Working a dead-end job in the middle of the night, your goals are to ring up customers, restock the shelves, and get a phone call every so often by a boss who's purpose is to make you feel even more miserable. Oh, and there's also a flesh-eating monster that will try to murder you every night if you make one mistake.

     That's essentially Shift At Midnight for you, but I did leave out some details. It reminds me of Papers Please where you have to thoroughly look over every customer in line to see whether or not they are legit. Any detail that's missing, such as a customer wearing baggy clothes when the real person hates baggy clothes, will tell you that they are an imposter. You can also have two other chumps join you in this game as well (the dev pushed lobby sizes up to 6 people, though not the intended way to play).

There's also an endless mode once you do beat the regular game, though you're not missing much. The regular game gives you pretty much everything to see in the roughly 4 hours it takes to beat it. You also start getting repeat customers in this endless mode, so there's not much replayability after the main game is over with. Maybe I've just been comfortable with most of these 10-ish dollar co-op indie games feeling never-ending in replayability. I kinda wish there was a little more content: some more randomization with the customers and other enemies to face when you mess up a shift would be nice. Me and my mates did have a lot of fun, but it's only worth playing with the right group. Grade: C+

8

General / Re: 52 Games Challenge 2026!!!

« on: July 24, 2026, 05:52:50 pm »

32. Kameo: Elements of Power | 2005 | Xbox Series X | 7/18:



Overall, pretty boring. Doesn't feel all that inspiring in any department: gameplay, story, art direction... This is a T-rated game, yet plays like a kids game.

Kameo was an Xbox 360 launch title, and the environments still hold up quite well today. However, the art direction is kind of all over the place. Each location introduces a new NPC species that are just there to be there. They may have a side quest or two, but almost all of it boils down to rescuing someone. The big eyes on characters may have been a cool signature of Rare's in their N64-era, but here it's just jarring. Mixed with some poor CGI-rendered cutscenes -- with animations that look Sega Saturn-esque -- and you got some real uncanny valley going on here. There's not one character I thought looked impressive or had some attachment to; the design is just real generic.

There's 8 or so different "Elemental Warriors" that you swap in between to deal with either puzzles or enemies. Some enemies require a specific warrior to defeat them, while puzzles are simple and usually require the most recent unlocked warrior to complete. Finished encounters will usually spawn more enemies that you can farm to obtain a higher score (pretty useless unless you're going for the Score Attack achievements or you just want bragging rights). Combat is pretty clunky, switching between warriors is annoying, and the main story is overall insignificant. There's worst games in this Rare Replay collection, but I'll have to hand 'most boring' so far to Kameo. Grade: D-

9

General / Re: 52 Games Challenge 2026!!!

« on: July 11, 2026, 10:21:16 pm »

31. R.C. Pro-Am II | 1992 | Rare Replay Collection | Xbox Series X | 7/11:



     Plays a lot better than its predecessor. For one, I don't feel like I'm sliding into oil slicks as often and there's more control over the vehicle you're driving. A cool change to Pro-Am II is being able to buy upgrades for your car -- using the money you earn after every round of driving. Sometimes, I feel as if buying the upgrades doesn't impact the game as much as I would've liked. Sure, I can feel my car going faster compared to where it was at round 1, but then -- when I go to purchase an engine upgrade and race afterwards, there's always one NPC that somehow drives a lot faster than me.

     That's some of that signature Rare BS I've come to know by now, rearing it's ugly mug at me. There's some stages where a plane will show up to target you and ONLY you with either pellets or hydrogen bombs that one-hit KO your ass. And one thing that they still haven't learned from the 1st title: the camera is positioned way too close to your car. You really have to memorize these tracks in order to win, especially when you don't. In other words: NPC drivers can earn cash as well, and use their cash to purchase upgrades. If you don't win enough races, you will fall behind in developing a competitive vehicle and it's a very difficult hole to climb out of.

     I'm sure R.C. Pro-Am II was meant to be played in a group setting, rather than played for achievements in a 30-game compilation. Still, the upgrade system is an awesome feature and it's a graphically appealing game (makes sense for a late NES title). The button masher mini-games are pretty fun too. Grade: C-

10

General / Re: 52 Games Challenge 2026!!!

« on: July 11, 2026, 10:06:26 pm »

30. Burnout Revenge | 2006 | Xbox Series X | 7/9:



     I played all the way until I unlocked the final "Dominator" levels, and decided that was good enough for a 'completion'.

     Burnout Revenge is all about completing challenges. They pretty much boil down to races, time attacks, or crashing into cars. The third and final category is probably the greatest, most well-known part about the Burnout franchise -- and the thing you'll be doing the most of throughout this game. There's the 'Traffic Attack' mode for example: where you crash pedestrian vehicles into other pedestrian vehicles to achieve a higher score. It gets tougher later on; when you have to go through stretches where there's no vehicles to hit. The timer runs out quickly when you don't crash into vehicles, so there's some strategy involved when deciding the right moments to attack and when to speed up.

     The races are a mixed bag. They are pretty engaging, don't get me wrong, but this game has some of the wonkiest AI I've seen in a while. On early stages, even when multiple opponents are ahead of you, they will all slow down abruptly right at the finish line so you can win. In later stages however, if you don't have any boost saved up while you're in the lead, prepare for opponents popping out of nowhere to knock you off course. It seems the only way to get past them without boost is by either performing a takedown to gain boost or just wait for the AI to crash themselves (which happens quite a lot).

     The Xbox 360 version apparently uses a tweaked physics system different from the last-gen ports, along with enhanced graphics. The visuals lean heavily on the sepia (probably popular at the time), but it's a little too much for me to handle at times. It's harder to keep up with the later challenges that feature faster cars when there's so much visual stimuli to distract you: bloom, motion blur, the blur of brown colors mixed together, all the icons on screen at once, etc.. Sometimes hitting into other racers won't register as you hitting them, but them hitting you. Even when you're practically T-boning them, if you get the red text of "Slammed!" as you both approach the oncoming wall, you're screwed.

     As much as I'm ranting on, I do like this game. 'Crash' mode is the signature highlight. Crashing into cars feels visceral and pure eye-candy to observe, yet the mode requires some thought regarding where to crash in order to achieve the highest score. You start understanding the tracks more as the game gets faster and it really puts your memory to the test. It also helps that Burnout Revenge is a buttery smooth 60 FPS all throughout. Not my ideal arcade racer, but it's still stupid fun. Grade: C+

11

General / Re: 52 Games Challenge 2026!!!

« on: July 11, 2026, 07:51:15 pm »

29. MECCHA CHAMELEON | 2026 | PC | 7/4:



     Got roped into buying another 'friendslop' game. MECCHA CHAMELEON combines the idea of Prop Hunt and art into one game. You can't morph into other objects, but you can paint your stick figure guy to work into the background of objects. Hiding in cheap or glitch spots will only get you so far. The best way to fool my friends, I found out, is by picking some Looney Tunes-ass spot and sticking to it. I'm not the best artist, but I found out hiding in plain sight works wonders for me.

     Unlike a lot of these popular cooperative games, MECCHA CHAMELEON already has mods built in using Steam Workshop. I've been able to hide in Bikini Bottom, Delfino Plaza, and Clock Town from LoZ: Majora's Mask, among other random locations. A lot of these Workshop maps had kind of been one and done between my friend group, but I can only imagine what the future may bring if this is only the first month since the game has come out. The base maps (despite not playing them enough) have been pretty fun as well. They have expanded some of these maps with a much larger layout (the Backrooms map for example), though I can see these maps getting to be over-familiar with constant replays. There's no procedural generation element to this game like with R.E.P.O. or Lethal Company, so what you see in each map is what you get every time. This isn't necessarily a bad thing: there's a whole oasis of maps to choose from via. the Steam Workshop, and this seems like the kind of game to come back to every so often, not every day. As long as there's a community for MECCHA CHAMELEON, the game will continue to thrive. Grade: B+

12

General / Re: 52 Games Challenge 2026!!!

« on: July 11, 2026, 07:34:34 pm »

Omg nice! I love Picross 3D, definitely underappreciated if you ask me. Glad you enjoyed it! I have the 3DS sequel laying around, I should really get to it sometime.

From what I read, the sequel was only available as digital download in the US. That's pretty cool that you have a copy! I'll have to try playing it sometime in the near future.

13

General / Re: 52 Games Challenge 2026!!!

« on: July 05, 2026, 07:37:26 pm »

28. Picross 3D | 2010 | Nintendo DS (Played on 3DS) | 6/29:



     It seems like with any good picross game, you always get your money's worth. For $10 on a used copy, I got pretty much 400 or so puzzles I can solve with this game. I haven't completed all of them, but I can firmly say I've been addicted to Picross 3D in my downtime over the past few weeks.

     The big change-up that this game offers over all the picross games that came before it is... wait for it... full 3D! There's an X, Y, and Z-axis that you have to simultaneously worry about at all times when filling in & breaking blocks. The preferred way to go about solving every puzzle is by doing things layer by layer. When you reach the end of one side, you turn the puzzle 90 degrees and start going from one end layer to the other side again. Circling back to a more completed puzzle is very addicting each and every time. Once you complete a puzzle, you get to see a crude representation of the final shape: representing either a person doing something, a place, or an object. You also get a looping animation that plays as well with the completion of a puzzle, but it doesn't add much to the excitement. For a 2010 DS game, I wish the presentation was a little cooler. I also think this game very much needs a zoom-in feature when attempting to break blocks in a larger puzzle. You don't know how many times I've accidently broken a block I didn't mean to just because it was too far away from my POV. No matter what I do to finagle the camera, I have to clench my teeth and hope I break the right block.

     The concept of playing picross in a 3D environment is not a novelty. This game won't change your mind on picross if you didn't like it before. However, it's a really fun idea that switches up how you play the game in more ways than you'd expect. Grade: B

14

General / Re: 52 Games Challenge 2026!!!

« on: June 21, 2026, 04:00:22 pm »

27. Super Mario 64 | 1996 | Switch 2 | 6/18:



     Super Mario 64 is about to be 30 years old later this year. It's hard for me to imagine, because that game was out before my time. I didn't have the experience of transitioning from the 2D sprites of the SNES/Genesis to full-fledged 3D graphics promised by fifth-generation consoles, such as the Nintendo 64. I've had an N64, and I have played a bit of SM64 growing up, so I do have some nostalgia for the game.

     All of this is to say: Super Mario 64 is without no doubt a masterpiece, and will continue to be so as long as 1+1=2. I don't think it's a perfect game by any stretch of the imagination. The camera, while NOT as bad as everyone makes it out to be, can become unintuitive when moving on a thin surface or lining up for a jump. Even when using the Mario Cam instead of the Lakitu Cam (I think a lot of people forget it exists), it can still be troublesome. Yet if the camera system of Mario 64 was reworked, we wouldn't get the cinematic moments of the Chain Chomp narrowly avoiding you with its bite in Bob-omb Battlefield, nor the piano coming to life in Big Boo's Haunt. Those moments wouldn't have been as memorable or cherished if captured at any other angle.

     The designers of Nintendo were so ambitious with this game. I can imagine kids bewildered at getting to explore Peach's Castle for the very first time, and discovering all the castle's secret levels in the process. Imagine going from 8 or so worlds in a 2D Mario game, to almost double with 15 in SM64. Sure, there's repeat themes -- two snow courses and two water for example -- and some courses are a lot better than others. But that doesn't matter; you don't have to play every level. I ended up skipping Cool, Cool Mountain and Tiny-Huge Island entirely; not because I don't like them but because I got involved with trying out other levels first. I really wanted to fully complete all the water courses (yes, I like the water levels) and the very first two courses as well cause they are both classics. It ended up being more than half of the 70 stars I needed to finish the game, so the rest of the stars I got were just whatever I felt like getting at the moment.

     There's just something special with the design of Mario 64. Take the 3rd mission in Bob-omb Battlefield for example: "Shoot to the Island in the Sky". You're supposed to walk halfway up the mountain and use the cannon to fire yourself at the tree. The game doesn't tell you this of course, but that's the easiest, most simple path to the star. You can however, also use the cannon that's almost directly underneath the floating island to get there. It's a quicker, but more difficult solution as you get a lot less wiggle-room to line up the perfect shot. If you aim too high, you'll miss the top of the tree and end up sailing towards the mountain. It sucks when you miss, but you end up a lot closer to the easy cannon shot in return. Was this all by design, or is it all one big coincidence?

     Whatever the case may be, it adds more and more to Mario 64's crowning achievement: the freedom. You have the freedom to pick out what stars you want to get, and how you want to obtain them. There's some exceptions to the rule, but you ultimately decide what you want to do. You have an entire arsenal of tricks at your diposal to obtain these stars: the triple jump, the mid-air dive, the long jump, the ground pound. You can combo some of these moves together to get to other areas quicker, or places that may or may not have been available yet by design. It really opens the game up for a high skill-ceiling, and it's ultimately why SM64 is still the #1 speedrunning game in the world.

     There's skips like the backwards long jump up the infinite staircase that anyone can do, lore ("L is Real"), memes ("So Long Gay Bowser"), and theories outside of the game ("Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized"). These are all elements that make this game stand out beyond the game, but never overshadows it; because SM64 is timeless to play. Mario 64 is not even my favorite 3D Mario game, but there's no denying the fact that Super Mario 64 is eternal.

Grade: S

15

General / Re: 52 Games Challenge 2026!!!

« on: June 21, 2026, 11:20:02 am »

26. Star Fox 64 | 1997 | Switch 2 | 6/12:



     Now here's a game I should've played a long time ago, but never did: the original Star Fox 64. The Star Fox franchise was something I never really thought of playing at all. Maybe it's because there hasn't been a real full-fledged entry since the GameCube era? Regardless, the upcoming remake of this game did have me curious to check out the classic and see what it's all about.

     I don't think I had fully understood the N64 controller prior to playing Star Fox 64. Despite feeling a bit unorthodox at first, the N64 controller and Star Fox 64 go together like butter on toast. It uses almost every button from the middle to the right side of the controller, and it feels real intuitive once you get the hang of it. Maybe it's common knowledge to anyone who's played the game before, but I would have never thought of such a control scheme if I was given a full day to think about it.

     As for the game itself: I found myself completing Star Fox 64 twice; once the common route, then going through the harder alternative route in my second go-around. I can definitely see myself having the itch to come back a year or two from now to play it all over again, like I would with something like Super Mario 64. Going for a higher score or picking a different order of levels to play through next time sounds like a blast. The battles and presentation are both so seamless and cinematic that I was kind of absorbed with everything happening; I can't really think of anything that I disliked aside from one boss fight in the alt. route. Taking down enemies is satisfying, the voice acting is memorable, and there's plenty of replay value. I'll give it some time, but Star Fox 64 may just join the S-rank pantheon in the near future. Grade: A