MonsterVine
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Latest Reviews
The soundtrack is largely comprised of familiar Dragon Quest music. I don’t mind, as the series’ soundtrack is iconic and I could (and often do) listen to it for hours on end. The same goes for the sound effects, which remain delightfully dated but as iconic as ever. In regards...
The smaller map and approximately 15-hour runtime make for a pleasantly compact experience, which honestly comes as a bit of a relief in a year so filled with great (and long) games. I’m used to 30+ hour Like a Dragon games, so having this smaller sequel between big entries that...
The distinct visual style of the original game seemed to be a thing of necessity, but this new updated take on that aesthetic is quite pleasing. The goofy characters haven’t lost any of their peculiar appeal, but the uncanny nature of the SNES models is mostly gone. The environments are...
The visual style of Ultimate Ninja Storm Connections really nails the iconic look of Masashi Kishimoto’s charming and accessible art style. Memorable moments from the series are recreated beautifully, while the different stages and ninjutsu just ooze with life and color, making each battle a visual delight. My only real...
Also worth noting is that Charles Martinet doesn’t voice Wario this time around. There’s a surprising amount of voiced dialogue in this one, which makes it a bit more noticeable that this is the first time Wario is talking since Martinet stepped away, but it’s a solid effort for the...
All-Star Brawl 2 addressed a major issue that many had with the first game by bringing a good deal of charm and polish to everything. There’s copious voice acting, more expressive animation that often pays homage to all of these iconic characters and shows and an overall greater feeling that...
If that wasn’t enough, bizarre operatic music that feels like a tonal riff on Queen blares throughout, complementing the mind-bending environments and creatures in a surprising way. I’ve never seen such a tone in a game, and was pleasantly surprised by how much I liked the very weird clash between...
I have to also shout out how much I LOVE the new art. I am not a big fan of the new art the game got on its PSP port so I am very happy to let everyone know the new art is just plain beautiful. ESPECIALLY the art for...
I wish the game was a little bit longer with a bit more side content, but everything that’s present is fulfilling. Possible future villains are teased, the activities range between different neat little minigames, and Insomniac seems to have mastered the endorphin-releasing loop of making me stay up to do...
Because the entire time I played Gordian Quest I kept asking myself, why did this game exist? The campaign is a long and winding trail of loosely strung together plot points and humdrum quest objectives. After a few hours of gameplay your encounters amount to roughly the same things in...
Sonic Superstars has an incredible presentation all around. It’s colorful and fun to look at, expanding upon the “Classic Sonic” look with fresh new characters like Trip and environments that immediately appeal to you. As is almost always the case, the music in Superstars is brilliant and catchy. A few...
A neat thing about the original visuals is that the robot enemies have a CGI-esque look that clashes with the sleek pixel art in an interesting way that lines up with the themes behind the characters themselves – the robots being modern replicas and the gargoyles and Vikings being natural...

















