All of this makes for a meaty package, but the gameplay does feel repetitive and unfair at times. Revenge of the Fallen is clearly meant for big fans of the license, but is still a solid game on its own.

Kingdom Hearts: Re: Coded is an odd beast. On one hand, it tells a story that will be confusing to newcomers and too familiar to series experts, with some frustrating gameplay elements. On the other hand, the battle system remains as fun as always, the stat matrix is a fun way to develop your character, and the story does have its endearing moments.

It's just not as fun as the previous games in the series. Too much of the formula has changed, and almost none of it for the better.

To have this style of game on a handheld like the DS is unexplored territory and is quite remarkable. However, those looking for an RPG are left out in the dark.

The game simply has too many design flaws for it to get anywhere near the quality level of its predecessors.

A pretty generic kart racer that is enjoyable, but flawed where it counts: the racing. It's a little too easy to win races, and once you beat it all, there's very little for you to keep coming back to.

I will recommend that you play this on your TV, because any text is hard to read on the Switch screen. I also suggest using the Pro controller if you can, because using the Joy-cons, even in the Grip, isn't great for this kind of game. Despite those warnings, Nights of Azure 2 is a pretty easy pick-up-and-play game given the timed mission structure. It’s not perfect, but I’m having a good time with it. I encourage you to save often, though, because the game crashed on me three times and resulted in lost progress. Annoying, but at least it’s not hard-locking the system.

The Fox n Forests developers set out to create something that both looks and feels right out of the 16-bit era and it’s safe to say they accomplished just that. Not only did they deliver a truly breathtaking rendition of the classic art style, but also introduced an interesting mechanic to the already familiar style of play.

Compelling presentation and mission variety are vital for a winning turn-based strategy title, and Warborn struggles with these elements. While it manages to nail the basics of combat, movement, and deployment, it struggles to hold your attention over its 40 plus missions. Adding to the replay value are a map editor, an AI Skirmish mode, and even online multiplayer, so there is a sizeable amount of content on offer here. Ultimately, the experience feels rote and played out; even though there is some fun to be had, it doesn’t last long enough to make the whole campaign worth fighting through. Fans of the genre should consider picking this one up, but it’s true what they say: Warborn never changes.

Nintendo Pocket Football Club is a great introduction to the football management genre and a fun 3DS eShop title as well.

With its additional shot possibilities (and the ability to control your movement), Wii Sports Tennis looks downright primitive by comparison.

Unchained Blades does shine in its presentation. The anime-style art is unique, as each character was designed by a different manga/anime artist. And of course, there's the music from famed composer Nobuo Uematsu of the Final Fantasy series and The Last Story. It's just too bad that the rest of the game couldn't live up to designs and music put forth by these artists.

Cooking Mama 3 really extends the Cooking Mama series in a fantastic way, and this game is perfect for any fans of the series or for anyone who thinks they might be interested in what Mama has to serve up.

In spite of being pretty fun to play, Galaxy Champions TV is missing the heart and character that made Smash TV so endearing. There’s no loudmouth TV announcer spouting dumb catchphrases; there’s no freedom in terms of how you move from room to room. You exit every arena stage right until you hit the boss stage. The minute-to-minute gameplay is decent, but then you hit a wall and keep playing the same stages over and over again to grind out experience, in hopes that a new perk might be able to give you the boost you need.

This is a very pleasant package that’s not as fully equipped as it could be. There’s a lack of diversity with what you can really do, even just down to the options. I don’t think there is anything particularly bad here, it’s just unimpressively lacking. So for what it’s worth, I think you’d get a few hours of enjoyment out of this budget title. Just don’t expect anything that you can’t find elsewhere.

The Dragon Quest atmosphere of Dragon Quest Swords only goes so far before you start itching for some gameplay variety (although the visuals never get old).

Wii Sports demonstrated just how much depth can be wrung out of the simplest of mechanics like swinging the Remote. FIFA 08’s approach is almost the opposite, offering a huge variety of gestures that only superficially interact with the game. FIFA is a solid game, but this Wii port makes it harder than it should be to enjoy the strengths of the core design.

Beyblades: Metal Masters has some great ideas but falls short on many different levels. Having to play through the Arcade mode 30 times to unlock new characters and the "Let it rip" sections before every match are a nuisance. The gameplay is, for the most part solid, but if you are not a fan of the series already, it will be difficult to really enjoy this game.

Is this the game Mana fans have been waiting for? Probably not. However, Children of Mana is an excellent game in its own right, bringing dungeon crawling to a new level on Nintendo DS.

Heroland relies far too much on the style over substance, and while I do really enjoy the style, especially the Paper Mario-esque pixelated characters, I’m let down by how unsatisfying the game is overall. It’s imminently cute with a solid sense of humor that just unravels into a slog of an adventure that is mostly worth it for the charm of the presentation and not much else.

Although it doesn't look or sound all that great, the awesome gameplay and the long single player mode make for a really good experience overall.

The Legend of Legacy HD Remastered is a solid port of an interesting but flawed game. If you want to explore some dungeon-like areas, rock some SaGa-like combat, and listen to some beautiful music, then it’s worth journeying through Avalon. Otherwise, this remains a game I think is neat but wouldn’t necessarily emphatically recommend to most aside from the specific group I just described.

Pac-Man World Re-Pac is a solid effort to bring back a cult classic. It clearly doesn’t have the money behind some other remaster projects but that has worked to its benefit in some ways, specifically on Switch. The new art looks excellent and the gameplay largely holds up, save for some limitations of the time hitchhiking their way into this new version. The choice to make resolution mode the default display option on Switch is baffling when the game runs so much better in performance mode with a minimal hit to resolution, but this can be quickly fixed with a visit to the options menu. Pac-Man World has never been one of the best 3D platformers of all time, but it is a classic well worth playing today. Let’s hope that Pac-Man World Re-Pac is a sign of more Pac-Man World to come.

The Force Unleashed is a heavily flawed though still enjoyable experience from an era where Star Wars was trying to find its next identity. It tells an interesting story, even if its ultimate effect on Anakin’s perceived story arc means it's better left outside of modern canon. While its gameplay is linear, and repetitive, I can’t argue with the satisfaction of pulling down a section of the environment and using it to take out a whole group of stormtroopers at once. It by no means weaves its story into the greater universe with the expertise of something like Shadows of the Empire, but it almost certainly served as a gateway into better things like Jedi Fallen Order. As for this particular version, Krome Studios and Aspyr deserve immense praise for their efforts to preserve this oft-forgotten version. Outside of the missing bonus levels from the PSP version, this is the definitive version of this release. This is by no means a masterpiece, but it is an excellent version of a fairly good game.

The game takes a little time to get going, and some of the irritations never quite go away, but once you have a full arsenal of moves and an idea of where problematic obstacles are, 2 Fast 4 Gnomz can be a fun and challenging (and occasionally frustrating) experience.

The short runtime might limit some of the appeal of Aerial_Knight’s Never Yield, but even as someone who is decidedly not a speedrunner, I greatly enjoyed my ride through this action movie adventure. Even without online leaderboards, it’s a game designed for speedrunning. The distinctive look and feel make it stand out overall. If you’re looking for a dope, stylish runner, look no further than this never-yielding game.

Action Arcade Wrestling is a fun pick-up-and-play arcade wrestling game to play with a friend. It won’t hold your attention for too long. Still, with the massive pool of customizability and readily available downloads from the AAW community, there is enough here to wet a wrestling fans’ appetite. If only it had the same depth with its available modes, it would have gone from a good game to a great one.

It has its warts - mediocre extra modes, laughable text localization, occasional slowdown, a Story Mode that's over much too soon - but it also has fun and addictive gameplay with a lot of interesting features.