I honestly don’t know where to begin. Bravely Default was one of the most anticipated JRPGs in years. I remember everyone playing the demo, and progress would carry over into the main game. It’s good at luring you into a false sense of familiarity. You might think this is a typical JRPG with only the need to balance physical and magical attacks. There are over a dozen jobs in this game, and they are crucial to getting through the many, and I mean many, dozens of bosses. Bravely Default is mostly a boss rush game with a few dungeons put in between to level you up.
The game starts out like any other typical JRPG. You have to solve a worldwide calamity; you are in a small town; you can visit shops; and you learn the ropes of the game. The main bulk of combat lies in Braving and defaulting, which allow you to borrow or save up turns. This is the key strategy in this entire game, and it takes trial and error to really learn when to do each of these during boss fights. You can bank up to three turns or borrow up to three. If you borrow turns in the negative, you forfeit those many turns moving forward. This is great if you’re powerful and want to get the battle over with or need to heal everyone fast. In combination with the right jobs and equipment, you can overpower many foes. Half of the jobs are locked away behind optional “asterisk” bosses, while some are acquired during the story. The jobs are well balanced, ranging between offensive and defensive types, with supporting roles as well. The downside to so many jobs is the trial and error of knowing what jobs are best for what bosses. There are 14 levels per job, and they don’t level up super fast. You learn more job abilities as you level up as well.
It’s important to balance your party. You don’t want all offensive characters to support you unless you’re insanely powerful. The goal of the first third of the game is to awaken four elemental crystals with four guardians you have to beat to get to them. These dungeons are full of red chests with items and equipment, but some dungeons and areas have locked blue chests that can’t be accessed until toward the end of the game. They contain some of the best equipment. There are save points usually before each major boss, and you can visit many towns to rest and buy magic, armor, weapons, accessories, and other items. The game consists of a large map that slowly opens up to you, and eventually, you get a ship that can travel the entire map.
Now, I have to address the infamous final third act. These are chapters 5-8. Without spoiling anything, you have to endure these chapters to see the true ending. You can skip this repetitive nightmare by breaking a crystal (I don’t want to spoil more) and ending the game there. I sucked it up and endured cleansing the same crystals 20 times (literally 20) to see this ending. This is one of those things that makes me really want JRPGs. We could have just gotten a cutscene explaining what happens during these acts instead of literally repeating the same dungeons and bosses 20 freaking times. It was insanely boring, and I wound up listening to music to distract me from the frustration. A lot of gamers will most likely just quit the game here or end it early with a false ending.
On top of these repetitive chapters, you can also repeat the optional “asterisk” bosses multiple times to level up your jobs. If you missed these asterisks during the first four chapters, you can get these jobs later on, but the bosses are level with you. The benefit of getting them as they come up early on is that you can level past them and make the fights easier. If you already have all the jobs, you can just use these bosses to grind XP. There are some options to ease the burden a bit, which helped a lot. You can actually turn random battles off or increase them. This is great for exploring a dungeon fully and then leveling up near a save or near the entrance. I really loved this feature and used it a lot. You can also reduce the difficulty to easy at any time or increase it. These options help push JRPGs into a more modern feel and setting.
With all of that said, the graphics are pretty, and the music is great if repetitive. The same world map and dungeon songs will repeat a lot, but they aren’t bad songs. The English voice acting is horrendous, so I suggest the Japanese audio, and the story, while it does have a nice twist in the third act, isn’t worth the extra dozen or so hours it will take to get through that third act to get the true ending. It’s awful, boring, frustrating, tedious, and just plain not fun, and I can’t forgive the game for this. No matter how good the rest of the game might be or how unique the combat is, this third act is abhorrent and an obvious excuse to pad game time. I really hate—I mean, hate—JRPGs that do this. It doesn’t add anything to the game that a cutscene couldn’t solve. Shame on Square Enix for this.
On a side note, there is some StreetPass integration. You can pass buddies off to each other to summon during battles for extra help. You also have a village you can build to forge some of the better equipment in the game, and this requires more helpers to reduce the countdown timer. I never really used these features much, and if you don’t use StreetPass, you’re going to miss out on some content.
Overall, I’m not the biggest JRPG fan, so others will like this more than I did, but that third act is unforgivable. I also felt there were too many jobs, and the game’s difficulty was through the roof. Towards the end of the game, you need to be close to the 9,999 damage limit to finish the game. To really finish this game and see everything that’s here, you will most likely need to hit the 99-level max at some point. This is an insanely hardcore JRPG, and casual Final Fantasy fans will probably quit during chapter 2, like I did when the game was first released. You will need to sink a good 100 hours just to see everything in the game, including the bonus final dungeon that grants you the best stuff in the game to finish off the optional boss. While the graphics, music, and overall aesthetic of the game are pleasing, this is a hate-it-or-love-it type of game.
Many people use video game reviews to determine how to spend their hard-earned dollars. While as an adult I don’t take this as seriously and I now make my own money I am more forgiving of games that aren’t perfect. As kids or teens, we have limited money and are usually picked through gaming magazines to determine if that one game was worth the money because we only got a few a year. For me, it was only during Christmas time that my parents bought games. I mostly rented mine throughout my childhood and teen years. Even for rentals, I was picky as I didn’t want to be stuck on my weekend with a dud of a game. Even a 7/10 or 3.5/5 would be considered a waste of time. This was the last generation in which AAA title after AAA title would be considered fantastic and with so many exclusives it was hard to keep up with. The HD era of gaming would see budgets balloon to insane heights and game releases slowed down as a result.
In my eyes, 7/10 or 3.5/5 games are mostly ignored. These aren’t always considered hidden gems either. Some are, but some are just considered forgettable. Not awful or good, but just passes under everyone’s radar. These aren’t the “so bad it’s good” games either. A few of these games have cult followings; a few I had only heard of while compiling this list and some I played myself growing up. I compiled this list from Metacritic with games between 74-70. I feel that’s the true blue 7 range. 79 and 78-rated games usually only have about 25% of the critics giving it a 7 to bring an otherwise 8 score down some. These games are at least rated by half the critics as 7/10. While I know many people don’t listen to critics and some might feel this game should be rated higher or lower is subjective. Like it or not, critic reviews drive sales and it may be the reason why you might find a few games on this list you’ve never heard of, thought was talked about worse than you remember, or something along those lines
Dead Rising 2: Case West – 2010
An exclusive standalone title bringing back Frank West. It was too little too late as the second game wasn’t a big enough improvement for most people. I personally don’t care for this series but die-hard fans at this one up.
Most Recent Entry: Dead Rising 4 – 2016 (PC, XONE)
Capsized – 2013
This indie title was well-liked for its visuals and atmosphere as well as old-school challenge, but its combat and exploration were a bit one-note and didn’t hold most people’s attention for long
Ridge Racer 6 – 2005
A console launch title that was met with a lot of hype. It was just average. There were better arcade racers at the time and it didn’t advance the series enough to be groundbreaking. For a console launch title, it also didn’t show off the power of the 360 at the time like it did with the PSP.
Most Recent Entry: Ridge Racer: Draw and Drift – 2016 (iOS, AND)
Kinectimals – 2010
One of the most hyped Xbox 360 games to date. This was shown off during the Kinect unveil at E3 and people went nuts. It’s probably the best Kinect game out there and while it was praised for its imagination and whimsy it didn’t have much gameplay or content to keep you coming back.
Comic Jumper: The Adventures of Captain Smiley – 2010
Comic Jumper was praised for innovative gameplay and fun characters, but lacked depth and became very repetitive. It felt like an older Xbox game at best.
Dance Dance Revolution Universe – 2007
A competent yet underwhelming debut on next-gen consoles. The graphics were sub-par and there was no addition of custom soundtracks which many stated was a missed opportunity. It was just more DDR on Xbox 360.
Most Recent Entry: Dance Dance Revolution II – 2011 (WII)
Your Shape: Fitness Evolved – 2010
The short-lived series made its mark at the launch of the Kinect and many praised it for using the device well, but underneath was simply a workout simulator and nothing more.
Most Recent Entry: Your Shape: Fitness Evolved 2013 – 2012 (WIIU)
Jetpac Refueled – 2006
A cheap reimagining of the classic Atari game. It worked well enough, but if you aren’t a fan of high-score games then this wasn’t for you. It didn’t do anything to evolve the series enough.
Motocross Madness – 2013
The final game in the long-running series. Its console debut, and reboot, featured cute avatar characters, and looked good, but had very little content outside of multiplayer.
NBA Baller Beats – 2012
Not to be confused with Midway’s NBA Baller series. It was an ambitious title and probably one of the most unique for the Kinect. You used a real-life basketball and dribbled to a rhythm game. It was great for practicing and a good workout, but hindered the visuals and content department. People also complained of needing said basketball and a hard surface. Anyone living with downstairs neighbors was also left out.
Most Recent Entry: NBA 2K23 – 2022 (PC, XONE, PS4, PS5, XSX, NS)
Hybrid – 2012
Even if you wanted to play this game you can’t. It was online only with no bots and isn’t for purchase any longer. Now it’s just a relic and time capsule. The game was praised for doing interesting things, but was priced too high, had no offline play, and had weird controls.
Small Arms – 2006
An early title that launched with Xbox LIVE Arcade. This four player brawler had a charming roster and fun combat but didn’t offer much in terms of longevity or depth. It’s still available today to play on Xbox One.
Raiden Fighters Aces – 2009
For a budget retail title, it offered three Raiden games that hardcore fans would love. Other than that the game was questioned for being double the price of most LIVE Arcade games and only including three.
Most Recent Entry: Raiden IV x MIKADO remix – 2021 (NS)
Zumba Fitness Rush – 2012
Fitness games were everywhere for the Kinect and motion devices. It was an unstoppable plague. Zumba Fitness was considered one of the better ones, but each version lacked a variety of content.
Most Recent Entry: Zumba: Burn It Up! – 2019 (NS)
Kinect: Disneyland Adventures – 2011
Of course, this was going to happen. Riding the apex of the Kinect’s popularity you can take a trip down a virtual Disneyland. The game was praised for capturing the magic of the theme park but lacked content or challenge.
Scene It? Lights, Camera, Action – 2007
Trivia games have always had their audience and Scene It?burned up and fizzled out fast. This one was exclusive on Xbox 360 for some reason and was critiqued for having trivia that only 20 something’s (who are in their 30s now) would get and understand. It wasn’t great for family night.
Most Recent Entry: Scene It?: Movie Night – 2011 (X360, PS3)
Kinect Sports – 2010
The most popular Kinect game, it launched with the device, and it was a direct rival to Wii Sports. It didn’t have the same charm sadly. While the games were fun the motion controls didn’t register accurately and it lacked overall content. The series would try one last time on the Xbox One before fading out of existence.
Most Recent Entry: Kinect Sports: Rivals – 2014 (XONE)
Crimson Alliance – 2011
Praised for its bright visuals and fun take on the Diablo formula, but was really short and didn’t offer much in terms of content. It was also best played with other people as the AI wasn’t very good.
Omega Five – 2008
A fun yet shallow side scrolling shooter. It looked really good as well with lots of nice effects, but it didn’t have a unique hook or visual style and in the end, many people lost interest.
Race Pro – 2009
A racing sim that was praised for its realism but lacked content and felt too similar to the PC racing sims. It just couldn’t compete with the likes of Forzaand Project Gotham Racing.
Amped 3 – 2005
A system launch title and originally Microsoft’s answer to SSX Amped had its following and crowd. Amped 3 was well…amped up to launch and was one of the better-selling games. Despite this, the game lacked content despite looking next-gen, but it looked bland and didn’t have much flair or style to it. It played like a generic snowboarding game. The series would end here.
Gel: Set & Match – 2009
An original puzzle game indeed, but it just felt like it wasn’t enough or didn’t reach its full potential. It wasn’t super accessible and also not challenging enough at the same time.
Star Ocean: The Last Hope – 2009
Xbox 360 exclusive JRPGs weren’t plentiful and none of them were stellar. Many kept playing them until FFXIII would surface, but Star Ocean hasn’t been a good franchise in over a decade. The Last Hope was full of long drawn out cut scenes, an uninteresting story, and gameplay that was boring and average. However, regular JRPG lovers will find enough to like here. It would later released on PS3 with little fanfare.
Most Recent Entry: Star Ocean: The Divine Force – 2022 (PC, PS4, XONE, XSX, PS5)
Phantom Breaker: Battlegrounds – 2013
This is a hardcore beat ’em up similar to Castle Crashers, however, it’s not as accessible. Some claimed it was too complicated, and some said it had gameplay mechanics that weren’t the best. Overall, if you like this genre there’s something here for you. It’s also getting a new game this year.
Most Recent Entry: Phantom Breaker: Omnia – 2022 (PC, NS, XONE, PS4)
South Park: Let’s Go Tower Defense Play! – 2009
Considered the best South Park game at the time, but that’s not a big shoe to fill. You either needed to be a South Park fan or love tower defense to enjoy this. It offered very little variety and not much outside of multiplayer.
Most Recent Entry: South Park: The Fractured But Whole – 2017 (PC, PS4, XONE, NS)
Axel & Pixel – 2009
A great looking original point-and-click adventure that was praised for being brave enough to bring this genre back, but the story wasn’t interesting enough to garnish sales for a sequel. If you love the genre and haven’t played this then you’re in for a visual treat.
Hexic 2 – 2007
A new game by Tetris creator Alex Pajitnov is exciting. Hexic 2‘s Xbox 360 exclusivity wasn’t a surprise, but it wasn’t much more than the original. The first Hexic game was the first ever LIVE Arcade game I played as it came with my system bundled in. I never bothered with the sequel, but my sister was obsessed with this game. Many complained the game cost too much for how little it offered.
The Splatters – 2012
A unique and fun physics based puzzle game, but players felt the game was too hard, unfair, and overall rough around the edges. It’s still fun for puzzle fans as there’s nothing else like it.
Nike+ Kinect Training – 2012
Nike threw their hat into the Kinect ring a little too late and what we got was a pure training simulator with almost no game. It wasn’t fun, it was very serious and didn’t have the best motion detection setup. If you had one training sim for your Kinect you had them all.
Meteos Wars – 2008
The DS phenomenon came to Xbox 360 but was hampered by an overly aggressive AI and no online play. Despite the name, you’d mistake this for an online only game. While the core gameplay was intact, it didn’t have a lot to offer. This would be the final nail in the series’ coffin.
Lips – 2008 Lips: Number One Hits – 2009
If the name wasn’t dumb enough the karaoke genre was overflowing with shovelware at this point. Despite this one-off game for the 360 being decent as a simulator. It wasn’t really a game. You just sing to the words like any other game with no modes or actual fun.
Fruit Ninja Kinect – 2011
Does anyone remember Fruit Ninja? It was a smartphone phenomenon. It also got a giant arcade version which I actually got to play. While this is one of the better Kinect games it was way overpriced and this hurt sales and reviews. It had about the same content as the smartphone versions at nearly full retail price. It’s a great title to own if you have one collecting dust somewhere.
Most Recent Entry: Fruit Ninja 2 – 2020 (AND, iOS)
Easy Golf: Course Architect – 2008
This was a more high-profile indie game that was made by the community. It looked simple, but played well enough and had a robust course editor. It was best played online. However, the rather ugly visuals and UI hampered the experience a bit.
Chromehounds – 2006
If the cover isn’t the most generic thing you’ve ever seen it doesn’t end there. The game didn’t look up to snuff for the era, but offered a robust customization suite with great online play, but lacked everywhere else. It’s a decent mech game that was exclusive to the system but quickly forgotten about.
Crackdown 2 – 2010
The first Crackdown was loads of fun and felt original. Sadly, due to the surprising popularity, the sequel was greenlit too fast and we got more of the same which wasn’t really a good thing for an open world game. It felt like an expansion if you can say that. The series never reached the heights of the original.
Most Recent Entry: Crackdown 3 – 2019 (PC, XONE)
Bubble Bobble Neo! – 2009
Another arcade version of Bubble Bobble. Nothing new or innovative and incredibly hard, but if you love arcade games then this is for you. At this point in time, any form of Bubble Bobble was heeded with groans as it was a series Taito had beaten into the ground at this point.
A hyped up exclusive that got attention everywhere. It was first looked down upon due to its dated visuals which didn’t look next-gen. It was also a slower paced strategy title that would automatically neuter sales. In the end, the game had fun multiplayer, but was really repetitive. It would have done better as a PC title.
Bomberman Live: Battlefest – 2010
Better than the abysmal 360 exclusive, but plays it too safe to set itself apart from other games. The online play was a good addition, and the visuals are charming, but that’s about it.
Most Recent Entry: Amazing Bomberman – 2022 (MAC, iOS)
Full Auto – 2006
A very short lived series and a not-so-surprising Sega exclusive on Xbox. This was a generic feeling car battler at its core despite the high octane thrills and average track design.
Most Recent Entry: Full Auto 2: Battlelines – 2007 (PSP, PS3)
Haunt – 2012
This Kinect title was late to the game, but provided a charming haunted house to travel through. Ultimately it was over in a few hours and didn’t have much gameplay or depth to keep you coming back.
Ticket to Ride – 2008
There wasn’t anything inherently wrong with the game. It was for hardcore boardgame players really. It had a dry presentation and was simple to learn but hard to master. I feel if it had flashier visuals it would have appealed to more people.
Many people use video game reviews to determine how to spend their hard-earned dollars. While as an adult I don’t take this as seriously and I now make my own money I am more forgiving of games that aren’t perfect. As kids or teens, we have limited money and are usually picked through gaming magazines to determine if that one game was worth the money because we only got a few a year. For me, it was only during Christmas time that my parents bought games. I mostly rented mine throughout my childhood and teen years. Even for rentals, I was picky as I didn’t want to be stuck on my weekend with a dud of a game. Even a 7/10 or 3.5/5 would be considered a waste of time. This was the last generation in which AAA title after AAA title would be considered fantastic and with so many exclusives it was hard to keep up with. The HD era of gaming would see budgets balloon to insane heights and game releases slowed down as a result.
In my eyes, 7/10 or 3.5/5 games are mostly ignored. These aren’t always considered hidden gems either. Some are, but some are just considered forgettable. Not awful or good, but just passes under everyone’s radar. These aren’t the “so bad it’s good” games either. A few of these games have cult followings; a few I had only heard of while compiling this list and some I played myself growing up. I compiled this list from Metacritic with games between 74-70. I feel that’s the true blue 7 range. 79 and 78-rated games usually only have about 25% of the critics giving it a 7 to bring an otherwise 8 score down some. These games are at least rated by half the critics as 7/10. While I know many people don’t listen to critics and some might feel this game should be rated higher or lower is subjective. Like it or not, critic reviews drive sales and it may be the reason why you might find a few games on this list you’ve never heard of, thought was talked about worse than you remember, or something along those lines
Dr. Mario / Puzzle League– 2005
The game is addictive fun. Both games are something you can pick up and play for a few minutes or hours. However, the presentation was rather bland and there wasn’t a lot of content. Your reliance on the formula is what kept you coming back.
Most Recent Entry: Dr. Mario World – 2019 (AND, iOS)
Classic NES Series: Zelda II: The Adventure of Link – 2004 Classic NES Series: Castlevania – 2004
TheClassic NES Series on GBA are highly collectible but necessary. Did we really need these games as full physical releases in 2004? Probably not. While the Wiiware store was yet to come, the only other way to play these was through the original consoles or emulators. While the ports are fine, they are just that. There aren’t any extra features or enhancements.
GT Advance 3: Pro Concept Racing – 2003
The third and final game in the racing sim series on GBA. It was an incredibly impressive third outing with even better visuals, smooth framerate, and great physics. The downside was the lack of content. At this point, you can play any of the three games and it would be hard to spot the difference.
Spyro: Season of Ice – 2001 Spyro: Attack of the Rhynocs – 2003
The Spyro Season games were a great attempt to put the purple dragon in a top-down isometric adventure and still capture the charm of the PS1 classics. It did a great job of this but felt a bit tedious and repetitive. Season of Flame would improve on some features a year later. Attack of the Rynocs removed the platforming and made the game more of an RPG which worked for the most part but felt like a step backward.
A fun and cute puzzle game that gets the job done, but isn’t very addictive and can be really frustrating. A lot of people loved the visuals but didn’t stick around very long to see it through until the end.
Driver 2 Advance – 2002
Trying to make an open-world game on the GBA is pretty much impossible.Driver 2 looks good and has decent missions, but the performance is spotty and it just doesn’t know what it wants to be most of the time. It’s still a decent 3D title on the system.
Most Recent Entry: Driver: Speedboat Paradise – 2015 (AND, iOS)
Lady Sia – 2001
While the gameplay and platforming might be pretty average, the game looks great which is why it got as much attention as it did. Sadly, the sales didn’t pan out, but this is one of the most unique-looking games on the system.
It’s Mr. Pants – 2005
Another unique-looking game for the system with a questionable title. The puzzle elements are very trial and error which brings the experience down some, but the game is better than the sum of its parts. Puzzle fans will get a kick out of this one.
Blender Bros. – 2002
A cute and charming platformer that has a cult following. The gameplay itself might feel too easy at times, but overall gets the job done. Despite the great art direction, the game was also really short. It was later released on Steam in 2020.
Dragon Ball Z: Supersonic Warriors – 2004
Another half-decent DBZ fighting game. This was the first and only outing on the GBA. It looked great but had very simple controls and a fighting system. It was best played with another person. The direct sequel would be released on DS.
A good-looking WWE game that got the job done with simple controls. There wasn’t much content either, but it was a good entry for wrastlin’ fans on the go.
Most Recent Entry: WWE 2K Battlegrounds – 2020 (NS, PS4, XONE, PC)
Fire Pro Wrestling 2 – 2002
While it’s considered the best wrestling game on the GBA it didn’t add much from the original game. It still had a large roster and a fun gameplay system, but that was about it.
Most Recent Entry: Fire Pro Wrestling World – 2017 (PC, PS4)
Sword of Mana – 2003
This was one of only three games I ever bought new for my GBA as a young teen. I picked this up because I wanted a long game to play on my GBA that would take a while to finish. Thankfully, for me at least, the game was rather easy and had a decent length. It looked good and had great music, but many criticized the game for being too simple and easy compared to the SNES game.
Most Recent Entry: Echoes of Mana – 2022 (AND, iOS)
Shaman King: Master of Spirits 2 – 2005
The final game in the GBA franchise, Master of Spirits 2 looked great and had solid gameplay, but for newcomers, it threw you into the middle of the story without any explanation. It was also not well-liked for how repetitive it was. This was mostly for fans of the anime.
Yu-Gi-Oh!: Worldwide Edition – Stairway to the Destined Duel – 2003
It may not look like much and has a steep learning curve, but it has longevity and strategy that will keep you busy. You also really need to like the source material to even bother here. This isn’t for the casual card dueling fan.
The GBA got an exclusive Flash game which is cool and it got the concept right. The Flash‘s combat is very fast-paced, but it’s very average and by the numbers beat ’em up.
Most Recent Entry: Justice League VR: The Complete Experience – 2017 (PC, PS4)
Hamtaro: Ham Ham Heartbreak – 2003
Do you remember the Hamtaro anime? I sure do, and it was popular with the nerdy girls at school. The games actually aren’t all that bad. They’re cute, and fun, and have nice visuals that complement the show. This game just has a lot of trial and error that irked some players. The series stuck to just the handhelds and would come to an end in 2008.
Most Recent Entry: Hi! Hamtaro: Little Hamsters Big Adventures – Ham-Ham Challenge – 2008 (DS)
Ballistic: Ecks vs. Sever – 2002
The weird choice of putting a movie license exclusively on the GBA is what gives this series a cult following. 3D FPS games on the GBA are a novelty and not much as improved in this sequel. It was praised for the great gunplay and controls, but the muddy visuals brought it down a few pegs.
While it wasn’t a true 3D platformer the isometric gameplay hindered the gameplay overall. I personally found the level design to be confusing and poorly laid out, but it kept the series’ charm we’ve all grown to love. I also found the visuals a bit buddy and so did others.
If you want a deep strategy game on the go this one is great. However, due to the heavy anime-themed story you need to like that or the source material at the very least to enjoy this. The series is incredibly popular and lives on to this day.
Most Recent Entry: Super Robot Wars 30 – 2021 (PC, PS4, NS)
Defender of the Crown – 2002
A rework of the original 80’s PC game. It’s a good strategy game, but you will have to stomach the boring visuals to get through it. It was a good port but didn’t bring anything new from the original and excluded multiplayer which is a real shame here.
Most Recent Entry: Defender of the Crown: Heroes Live Forever – 2007 (PC)
Wings – 2003
Another classic PC game ported to GBA. It looked good and the dog fights were fun, but it lacked variety and felt repetitive after a short time. It’s still a very unique game on the system.
The Scorpion King: Sword of Orsiris – 2002
While the movie is infamous for its terrible effects and acting, the GBA game is actually a rather good platformer. It was just critiqued for being overtly hard and not having a good checkpoint system.
Aero the Acro-Bat – 2002
A fun platformer that was ported from the 16-bit era of consoles. It does the job well but is too simple and short providing little replay value.
CT Special Forces – 2004
This series has a cult following due to having three solid entries on the GBA and being quite good for what is it. It’s mindless platforming fun with pretty much no story, but it works. It would get one final FPS game in 2005 and then disappear.
Most Recent Entry: Special Forces: Nemesis Strike – 2005 (PS2, PC, Xbox)
Shrek: Hassle the Castle – 2002
Yep, I’m just as surprised as you are. A good Shrek game?! Apparently, this one had multiple difficulty levels so kids and avid gamers could play it with some challenge. It had charming visuals and played well. Overall, you need to be a Shrek fan to really like this, but it’s there. The series struggled to provide a single decent game and ended with a mobile game a few years back.
Most Recent Entry: Shrek Sugar Fever – 2017 (AND, iOS)
Phalanx – 2001
A port of the SNES game with good results. It was simple yet very difficult and it irked players in this regard. If you love your SNES side-scrolling shooters then this should be a fun one for you.
Game & Watch Gallery 4 – 2002
The final game in the long-running series. At this point, it felt like it was being milked to death or could have been a complete collection. The games are solid fun, but you either love these or hate them. They are simple pick-up and play high-score games with a single goal. Many felt it was too dated for the GBA and for the price point.
Rampage: Puzzle Attack – 2001
A fun puzzle game despite the license, however the lack of battery backup saves and addictive gameplay means you will have fun but get bored after a while.
Most Recent Entry: Rampage: Total Destruction – 2006 (GC, PS2, Wii)
Zone of the Enders: The Fist of Mars – 2002
Going from an action game to a slower strategy game is risky, but it had to be done on the system’s limited hardware. Fist of Mars had some good strategy elements, plus it looked pretty good but didn’t offer multiplayer to extend replay value.
Most Recent Entry: Zone of the Enders: The 2nd Runner – MVRS – 2018 (PS4, PC)
Ultimate Muscle: The Kinnikuman Legacy – The Path of the Superhero – 2003
This bizarre Saturday morning cartoon wrestling game was quirky and hilarious despite its simple design. Thankfully the multiplayer kept people coming back for more, but the lack of depth kept it from shooting to the stars.
Contra Advance: The Alien Wars EX – 2002
The Contra series has had so many ups and downs. It’s insane. While the SNES port plays and looks good on the system, the hardware itself would bring the overall experience down. The zoomed-in view makes the game even harder than it needs to be and an overall lack of extra content.
Most Recent Entry: Contra Returns – 2021 (AND, iOS)
Wing Commander: Prophecy – 2003
A surprising port of the PC game, Prophecy played surprisingly well but suffered from poor controls and muddy visuals. Many applauded the effort, and it didn’t go to waste. A space sim on the GBA is a daunting task.
Turbo Turtle Adventure – 2002
The GBA was no stranger to puzzle games, and this weird one didn’t stand out. It had some fun elements and addictive nature, but the trial and error really got to people and brought the experience down some.
DK: King of Swing – 2005
While not the only DKgame on GBA it was the only unique one. Using the shoulder buttons to swing across vines rather than run was pretty fun. Its downside was its own control gimmick. The game became frustrating fast and many would need a lot of patience to finish it.
Most Recent Entry: Mario vs. Donkey Kong: Tipping Stars – 2015 (3DS, WIIU)
Gekido Advance: Kintar’s Revenge – 2003
A lot of people love this game. It’s one of the few fighting games on the system, but it doesn’t come from a larger franchise. It’s considered one of the best-looking games on the system and plays really well. Sadly, it lacks content and modes.
Sega Arcade Gallery – 2003
Yeah, you can play these on other consoles with better iterations of them, but for the GBA these were four of Sega’s most popular arcade games. They played and ran very well, but that was it. It was just four short arcade games with nothing else to keep you coming back.
Columns Crown – 2002
This was Sega’s last attempt at a unique game in the series without it being a port. The cutesy anime-style graphics won people over, but it didn’t change the overall gameplay formula much. It just felt like a coat of new paint.
CIMA: The Enemy – 2003
Despite the generic-sounding name, this was a good attempt from Natsume to bring a turn-based RPG to the system. It was well-liked but it suffered from a wonky interface and complicated controls.
ESPM Final Round Golf 2002 – 2001
The one and only ESPN-branded golfing game. It was a good attempt at the GBA however it wasn’t very challenging and lacked content compared to the Tiger Woods games.
Paris. A thief by night and a regular Joe by day. A strange symbol your father left you. An Anti-Christ that has risen from the grave. This all sounds like an epic recipe for some crazy National Treasure sequel, and honestly, this kind of feels like an anime version of that movie. You play Phantom R and are trying to uncover an ancient mystery that your dad left you as a small boy while stopping the evil Napoleon Bonaparte himself from taking over Paris.
The story really takes itself too seriously for how silly the plot is. During the 5 hours you will spend with this game, I honestly felt no attachment to the characters or story. They’re very cookie-cutter and don’t really develop any type of personality. The spotty voice acting doesn’t help either. There are a lot of characters in such a short game, and many of them only get a few seconds of screen time to shout at you, and that’s about it. It’s a very forgettable game, not just in the story. The visuals are your bog-standard anime-style graphics. The game plays like a rhythm version of Professor Layton on top of all that.
Once you get a hold of your character and can explore the map, you will be presented with still backgrounds on the bottom screen, like in Professor Layton. You then tap away ferociously until stuff happens. You can collect two hidden presents per screen for golden coins that are used to buy aid during mini-games. Some screens will have secrets, such as notes that need to be found to find a secret music page, a soundtrack CD, or objects that produce sounds that are needed to build the master instrument. These hidden items eventually unlock hidden chapters, but I honestly didn’t care enough for any of the characters to learn any backstory from said chapters.
The meat of the game is the rhythm sections, and these are fairly simplistic but frustrating in nature. In most rhythm games, you can get good at it by following the beat of the song. In this game, you don’t ride the entire beat like in most rhythm games. Small sections are cut out with button presses. For example, you do a sequence with A or B buttons like A-B-B-A-B, and that section follows the beat of the song. This would be fine if the entire game wasn’t a Simon Says game disguised as a rhythm game. You have to listen to a sequence of notes and repeat them regardless of the beat of the song. I wound up failing many mini-games because I wanted to naturally tap or press buttons in time with the beat, but just mashing the buttons worked. Increased difficulty means more prompts to remember, and they sometimes play so fast that it’s almost impossible to remember the sequence on the first try.
While I praise the game for giving a variety of mini-game types, they do repeat very often. The games usually require you to tap two buttons or swipe the screen in certain directions. That’s it. In between the rhythm games are mini-game puzzles that are fairly easy and offer no challenge. There are a few Simon Says ones in here too, but the sequence is remembered, so if you mess up, you just start at the last note you messed up on. That offers no challenge and allows you to basically mash all the buttons and not care about the order. While I could find a groove with some rhythm mini-games, there were many that I just couldn’t get into or kept messing up on and didn’t understand why.
Overall, Rhythm Thief is a Simon Says game disguised as a rhythm game. There’s no true rhythm here outside of repeating every pattern in time with a beat. I could do that without a beat. The increased difficulty isn’t about more complicated songs, but just increased speed and more prompts in a shorter time frame. That’s not challenging, just frustrating. The story is nonsensical and takes itself too seriously, with characters that are one-note and don’t have any time to build a personality to care for. While the visuals are nice, it feels way too much like a cousin to Professor Layton and not its own thing.
The 8-bit era of Atari was before my time. I started the next generation with the Sega Genesis and Super Nintendo as a young toddler. I still respect and have enjoyed iterations and ports of Atari 8-bit games over the years. What hasn’t been done well is anything outside of bundles of seemingly random collections. They’re nearly countless at this point and have spanned nearly every console imaginable. Atari anniversary collections, various Atari-themed packs, and various retro packages with fancy UIs or presentations However, no single retro package has been as cohesive or beautifully created as the Atari 50. Even Sega’s recent Genesis Collection, with its retro 90s bedroom and bookshelf display, can’t beat this.
The entire game is presented like an interactive history lesson. You go through four timelines. Atari’s origin story and their arcade routes You get to see photos, printouts, commercials, and interviews with various Atari developers and industry veterans such as Tim Schafer (Psychonauts) and Cliff Bleszinski (Gears of War). These are presented in chronological order. A game is presented when its release comes up in the timeline. Some games have cover art, photos, and even comics underneath them to view. As you advance in the timeline, you get the feeling that you’re playing an interactive museum tour. There are no fancy 3D menus or anything, but the clean and simple UI works well. There are a few surprises peppered in, like unreleased prototypes and Digital Eclipse’s own recreations of iconic games like Yar’s Revenge and Haunted House.
As you advance to the home console and PC timelines, things get more interesting. You will eventually get to the Atari 5200 and 7800 games, which are a bit more advanced. You will also get to play a few PC games for the Atari home computers. Then you will finish up in the 1990s with the Atari Lynx and Jaguar. Sadly, there aren’t many games in this timeline, and the biggest issue with this entire game is the lack of third-party titles. You only get to play Atari-published and owned games. That’s very limiting, and while I understand this is Atari’s own history, there are many games that helped make their systems great outside of internal developers. The few Jaguar games range from Cybermorph to Tempest 2000 and Missle Command 3D. They aren’t great, but they are interesting to dive into. That’s another thing about this whole collection. Very few games are fun to play for longer than five minutes. Some are pretty clunky and bad. This isn’t a “greatest of” collection, which I really appreciate. You will most likely go back to the more fun games like Missle Command, Centipede, Millepede, Tempest, or their latest versions in this game. You get special bezels, backgrounds, overlays, and control options for every game as well. You can also select various modes, and some games support save states, which is cool. You also get a digital view of every manual for the game, including the arcade operator’s manuals. They didn’t leave anything out.
By the time I spent around 5 hours in the game, I got to the end of the timelines. You can go back and play any game in the library view and pick your favorites. These games run really well and look great, but many gamers who didn’t grow up in the 80s will probably find this nothing more than a history lesson. Even more, will find pretty much every game boring or uninteresting. However, that’s not a knock to the games, but just a warning to younger audiences. Anyone younger than 30-35 will most likely not find this game interesting or fun. If you have a curiosity about Atari’s history or games then this is the best place to get that. If you have an itch for trying out 8-bit games or want to go back without emulating anything then this will give you nearly 100 games. I also appreciate how few ports and copies of the same game are in here. Each game was hand-picked and placed with relevancy.
Overall, the Atari 50 is one of the best retro packages you can ever play. Telling an entire developer’s history with games placed in their correct time slots and even including unreleased games and reimaginings of some is just fantastic. The videos are entertaining and interesting, and you will learn a lot. There are so many details added from commercials, print ads, posters, manuals, customizable controls, save states, and more. It’s a complete and cohesive package for Atari lovers out there. Just be warned that there are no third-party games and less of the 90s stuff.
What would happen if you combined Resident Evil with Silent Hill? Probably a game with crazy enemies, creepy music, inventory management, and tank controls. Well, that’s exactly what Signalis is. It combines the best of PS1 horror and shoves it into a nice retro package with great controls and animations. Developer Rose Engine might be a bit on the nose with its inspirations, but it does a good job of making it feel more modern with a retro flair.
The weakest part of the game is its story. I will get that right out of the gate. While most PS1-era horror titles had convoluted and messy stories that usually made no sense or were open for player interpretation, Signalis is very cryptic, but the overall journey has a twist ending that is pretty eyebrow-raising. It will leave you stunned a bit and is a great payoff outside of the fact that there is almost no world-building or lore to get into. You get the occasional note, similar to Resident Evil, that tells a little snippet of what happened just before the current event. See, you’re some sort of AI controller robot in some dystopian German world. That’s all I really got out of the story and the few cut-scenes peppered throughout the game.
Just like the horror games that inspired Signalis you have limited inventory space, very little ammo for your weapons, fewer healing items, and lots of backtracking. I will praise Rose Engine for making backtracking in Signalisless painful than games of the PS1 era. There is a good map system that even marks puzzles that require items. The final area of the game has no map, but you will learn to remember landmarks. The level design in Signalis is fantastic. A game with a lot of backtracking needs good landmarks so you remember where every room is. If you are familiar with the 32-bit era of horror games this style of progression won’t bother you. There were some puzzles that had me write stuff down (math puzzles) or take photos of diagrams. You get a radio about halfway through the game and you can use the frequencies to help solve puzzles. I will admit that inventory management is a little too tight here. You only get 6 inventory slots and there are no upgrades in this game. I wish I had at least eight. I constantly had to leave healing items and ammo behind to dump puzzle items and backtrack a couple of times. At least in my first playthrough, I was able to preserve quite a bit of ammo. I didn’t even end up using two of the weapons. You can easily run from most enemies which I recommend later on when you enter rooms with four or more enemies.
You can only shoot enemies while standing still. There is an aim button that auto-locks, and you can fire. Enemies will fall down, and you have to stomp on them to temporarily kill them. Yes, after the first area, you get thermite, which will permanently burn enemies and keep them from rising. This is why I recommend only killing enemies in main corridors that require you to frequent them often. Most rooms have a one-time entrance. You run in, grab everything, and leave. Rooms with puzzles and save rooms don’t have enemies, so this helps. Just like games of this genre, you will eventually unlock shortcut doors to get back to the main puzzle areas or save rooms, which help cut down on a little bit of the backtracking.
The enemies themselves are very Silent Hill-like. Almost exact copies. There are EULR enemies that look exactly like the Bubble Head Nurses from Silent Hill 2. The STCR enemies look like the Closer enemies from Silent Hill 3 or the Siam from Homecoming. Everything aesthetic and atmosphere-wise is very close to Silent Hill. Even the music is similar. The entire game looks similar to the Otherworld from Silent Hill as well. I have to say I like it a lot. We need more Silent Hill, and this is the closest you will get. There’s a little cyberpunk infusion with the AI robots and dystopian world. It’s a great fusion, and I couldn’t get enough of it.
I didn’t find much of the game frustrating. Puzzles are fairly straightforward. You may have to look up one or two, but the solutions were mostly right in front of me, and I just didn’t see them. There are only two boss fights in the game, and they are pretty fun but not very challenging. The challenge in the game’s combat arises from getting swarmed. As long as you run, you will always be safe. Enemies usually have to stop to swing, and unless you’re backed into a corner, you won’t get hit. The variety of weapons helps, and you can store everything in your save room chests and go back to get what you need. I did finish the game with plenty of healing items and ammo. I can’t express enough how much running helps in this game. There were occasional rooms that needed my flashlight too.
Overall, Signalis nails the feeling and atmosphere of Resident Evil and Silent Hill. The monster designs are great, the music is haunting, and the level design is done in such a way that memorizing the layout of an area isn’t that hard, which is key for games that need a lot of backtracking. Puzzles aren’t insanely vague or obtuse, and it’s obvious what items go where once you find both. I just wish there were more than six inventory slots. It just adds artificial fluff to the playtime by constantly having to go back to your storage chest and dump off items. I also wish the overall story and world-building were better. The game is only about 6 hours long, so there isn’t much time or room for character or world-building anyway. Thankfully, the atmosphere, enemy design, tight controls, and well-designed areas are all tight. This is easily the best retro horror game to be released in the last couple of decades.
Infinity Blade was a big deal when it was released. It was the Dark Souls of mobile games at the time, before Dark Souls even came out. Chair Entertainment started a revolution that many tried to copy but failed. It was a rogue-lite that had you dying over and over to only use the gold and XP you acquired to level up and get further each time. Some consider it a repetitive grind, but others feel it makes them want to get further and further and find the chiseling of progression addictive. Rage of the Gladiator tries this and doesn’t do any of it very well. Forget a story; it’s pretty much nonexistent outside of a few stills with text.
There are ten bosses to fight through. Each one does more damage, has faster moves, and has more of them. Despite this sense of progression in difficulty, the game is very easy. You have to dodge left or right in first person, jump, swing your sword left or right, and even kick when you successfully dodge. You can get a maximum of a 5-hit combo in unless you use a special move before that fifth hit. There’s no strategy involved, and I only died once during my entire playthrough. Moves are easy to predict and rather slow. The repetition gets worse when you have to win three rounds per boss. That’s 30 rounds in total before unlocking medium difficulty. Yeah, you work your way up through hard work, but the moves are just faster, and one or two more are thrown in. You also take more damage.
You can buy weapons, shields, armor, mana, and health potions, acquire passive and offensive abilities, and increase your stats. You win gold after each match and earn one measly XP per match. Yes, it’s a complete grind, and this is leftover from this being a mobile game. At the end of the tenth boss, I was only able to buy two new weapons: a single shield and an armor piece. You can use gold to buy XP, but this system is in favor of grinding or slowing you down enough to make you buy this stuff via microtransactions, which aren’t on the 3DS version. So, instead of rebalancing the game, they kept the grind.
This would be fine if the game was as epic or good-looking as something like Infinity Blade. Instead, we get generic Greek mythology bosses, a ninja, and a Chinese martial arts master, and that’s about it. Medium and Hard difficulties have one additional boss at the end, but they’re not exciting. However, the animations are stiff, the visuals are ugly, and everything is just on repeat forever. There’s no strategy involved in the fights, or even how to go about your attacks. Instead of adding a parry system that allows you to counter an attack, you just dodge. There are a few attacks that can be paired, but they’re only on a few of the bosses. It would even be cool to change up the background, but instead, it’s the same Roman arena forever.
Overall, Rage of the Gladiator is a repetitive, boring, easy, and weak attempt at a genre that has been done better and to death. There’s no rebalancing of the shop or winnings, so you’re grinding as if you can buy these things to advance quicker. The bosses are uninteresting and boring, the game is ugly and drab, and there’s no story to speak of. Shoving a mobile game onto the 3DS was a bad move, and it shows here.
As time goes on, I’ve learned to appreciate engaging casual games that don’t require intense focus. Small adventure games that only take a few hours to beat, relaxing puzzle games that don’t really have an ending, and anything in between are fun to enjoy and veg out on. It has the same effect on me as binge-watching a show.A Little to the Lefttries to be that. It has engaging puzzles and serotonin-squirting organization puzzles, along with cute visuals, but it does come with issues.
The game’s puzzles start out fairly simple. There are around 75 puzzles in the main game, with 365 daily puzzles. Puzzles start out with just straightening photos on a wall, putting cat toys in a basket, arranging a dinner set, aligning colored pencils in a certain order, stacking rugs, etc. These first dozen puzzles are relaxing and really give you a taste of what this game could be. Yes, I said it could be, as the game quickly ramps up the abstractness, and even with a full-on guide and accessible hint system in the game, it still doesn’t make sense. The arrangement puzzles are the absolute worst. These are abstract shapes that don’t snap together but instead are arranged in a specific pattern. The patterns usually make no sense since the pieces are so far apart. These puzzles will frustrate most players and lead you into a false sense of relaxation and simple organization and stacking.
That’s not to say I don’t like a challenge. One puzzle has you sliding a mirror to the left and right and arranging the objects according to the reflection. Another has you stacking cat food cans in colored columns that match. These puzzles were enjoyable. My favorite was the organization puzzle. Put all the junk in the correct cubbies. That’s a lot of fun with the process of elimination. Sadly, there are only about four of those puzzles, and I wanted more. The difficulty is all over the place, but it’s artificial difficulty. The puzzles are just so obscure sometimes that most people may quit the game.
I also found the snapping system pretty broken. Sometimes you place an object in the right spot, and it will snap into place and make a faint ding sound. However, abstract pattern puzzles require two symmetrical objects in the same spot in the scene before they will snap into place. This hinders progress, as there are no tactile hints that you are making progress. There is a hint system that shows you the solution by erasing and uncovering. This was nice, as I would try to just erase one part and still be able to solve the rest on my own. However, even the hints sometimes make zero sense.
Thankfully, you can still move on with the “Let It Be” system, which skips the puzzle for you. There are some puzzles that have two or more solutions, such as sorting from highest to shortest, then by color, and then by matching an image on the same object. While the first solution may seem easy to spot, the additional solutions can be insanely abstract and obscure. I really tried to solve as many as I could on my own, but in the end, I solved maybe a quarter of the puzzles by myself. There were just too many that were frustrating, and I felt I wasn’t making any progress. Some were just me overthinking the puzzle, but some were just poorly designed.
The visuals are cute. It has a pastel, minimalistic look. Lots of colored pencils, charcoal, and watercolor art designs The music is great and relaxing to listen to in the background; it’s just too bad the game isn’t as relaxing. In the end, A Little to the Leftis misleading in its first dozen puzzles and quickly ramps up the abstractness and obscurity too much, requiring too many puzzles to be skipped. The most enjoyable ones are too few. This isn’t a bad game at all. There are fun puzzles peppered throughout the bad ones, and the overall cat aesthetic is enjoyable with great music.
Game of the year doesn’t always been the most expensive or best selling. It has to be one of the most well-rounded games of the year or be revolutionary in some way. A great story, fun characters, excellent gameplay, and great visuals also help, but it’s not always a factor. This is the hardest category to pick every year and this year was probably one of the hardest in a long time. Usually, there are only a few obvious choices, but not this time.
Ragnarok isn’t just one of the best looking games this year, but it’s evolved combat, fantastic story, lovable characters, insanely good voice acting, and exploration and puzzle solving add to an otherwise nearly perfect game. They don’t make games like this often, and when they do, gamers rejoice.
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