Originally released on the Gamecube, Pikmin is an inventive real-time strategy game that exudes charm and purpose in its design: it’s a meticulously crafted experience that boasts great art direction and offers a unique take on the genre.
We play as Olimar, a space explorer who crash-lands on a strange planet after colliding with a meteor. The air is toxic and his life-support system has only 30 days of energy left, which gives him a narrow timeframe to rebuild his ship, called the Dolphin, and leave. Luckily, he soon finds some strange plant-like creatures that start to follow him around and obey his commands – with the help of these pikmin, Olimar must find the missing parts [...]
This review contains spoilers.
A diamond in the rough, Epic Mickey offers an ambitious blend of elements from 3D Platformers and Immersive Sims. It introduces a fascinating world that encourages exploration with a focus on choice and consequence, but lacks commitment to its design: the game seems hesitant about itself, as if it were afraid to double down on its core concepts.
The story tells that one day, Mickey Mouse was brought to a wizard’s workshop by a magical mirror in his bedroom (“I don’t know if the mirror was being mischievous or malicious,” the wizard ponders…). This character, Walt Disney’s alter ego from Fantasia, is building a maquette [...]
The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword is, to this date, the installment in the series that appears to be the most influenced by the reception of its predecessors. Directed by Hidemaro Fujibayashi, Skyward Sword is a game of a lot of ups and downs, which tries to fix some of the flaws that always plagued the series, but ultimately reaches irregular results.
The story starts above the clouds, on a floating island called Skyloft. Its inhabitants live bucolic lives, completely ignorant to the existence of any land beneath them. They carry several portions of pumpkin from one side of the place to the other and like to race on their Loftwings – birds that are spiritually attached to [...]
It is absolutely fitting that the director of The Last Story, Hironobu Sakaguchi, is the creator of the Final Fantasy series. After all, The Last Story is a JRPG that, unlike the latest releases of the famous but ironically endless Square Enix franchise, develops its ideas and characters in a mature, but modest way.
The plot is pretty basic: Zael, the young protagonist, encounters a beautiful but strange girl in the market of a great city one day. And, after helping her escape from the local guards, falls in love with her before discovering that she is, in fact, the princess of that kingdom, Calista.