If roguelike elements are continuing to be the hot independent gaming trend, I’ll tend toward games that make the process more fun. Rogue Aces does a fine job of balancing randomness and giving agency over the flights, and it definitely doesn’t deserve to be buried by the wave of eShop releases every week.

If you like short and comedic games then Time Flies comes highly recommended. You’ll have seen most of what the game has to offer in a few hours, but it has a high “Wait, I need you to play this game for five minutes”-factor that makes it a lot of fun to show to friends and family. It is rare that a game is so sharply tuned that I can be satisfied with having fewer levels to play through. Time Flies is such an easy recommendation to just about anyone who plays games. Your time with it may be short, but it is certainly well spent.

If you're a fan of the classic Blaster Master games but hate the hair pulling difficulty, this modern take will still offer an enjoyable challenge and is easy to recommend. Should you be a returning fan, don’t wait to take one last ride into the Sunsoft sunset, or maybe I should call it the sunset Sunsoft?

What the new Pokémon does right is battling and in the smaller details. There are many little tweaks that keep the experience lighthearted, which I wouldn't have any other way.

Those of you with social lives, grab this game, take it (and your GameCube, if necessary) to your next party. It'll be a hit and people will love you for it.

With no way for Skylanders veterans to dive into the Wii U version without buying the Starter Kit, the best bet may be to stick with whatever system you've been using and wait until the next year's version to consider jumping to Wii U. Skylanders Giants is excellent, and the Wii U version is a fine port, but until the near-field communication technology on the GamePad is used in the game, this version is unfortunately hampered.

A Boy and His Blob looks and plays great, and at forty stages it doesn't wear out its welcome. The main game is just long enough to be satisfying, but there's enough bonus content that you'll be coming back to unlock extra stages and concept art. It's truly meant for all ages and is a must-own title for the Wii.

Scott Pilgrim EX feels less like a movie tie-in game and more like a fully thought-out and unique beat-’em-up. It’s a blast to play, whether you’re playing it solo, local co-op, or online. It might not be filled with replay value after you get through the campaign, but the pieces that make up the moment-to-moment gameplay can lead to a lot of different types of mayhem and challenge. This is an astonishingly stylish video game that sounds incredible, looks beautiful, and plays wonderfully. It’s worth fighting your way through evil exes to play.

To summarize, it’s a little hard to slam-dunk recommend any of these three packs. The collection of games as a whole is nice, with very few true stinkers. If you haven’t dabbled in any of the other Capcom collections, maybe it’s worth seeing the wider assortment of genres here. Strider (in the second pack) and Progear (in the third pack) are the two clear standouts to me, especially since they aren’t also available in another more fully featured package on the platform. I hope Capcom builds out Capcom Arcade Stadium more, because at the very least, it’s a really cool place to mess around with different arcade cabinets.

Overall FUSER is a worthwhile game if you have an interest in music or just want to experience a unique entry into the rhythm genre. Its technology continues to impress me even if the gameplay has a tendency to get a bit stale after long play sessions. There is a Freeplay option that is a really fun way to mess with the game’s music library, and it may even be a cool thing to put on at a party to let guests mix and match songs at their leisure. Technical issues aside, the Switch seems to be the perfect place for this game, as it being easy to transport means the party can go wherever you go. I don’t think FUSER will set the world on fire quite the same way some of Harmonix’s earlier titles did, but I think it’s definitely a game worth looking at.

Bit.Trip Beat is one of the best WiiWare titles available, featuring simple, fun, and addictive gameplay. Gamers interested in unique and original games should definitely download this title.

The addition of multiple mini-games and more hidden secrets throughout the levels certainly makes up for it not being an exact port.

For those with an interest in either strategy games or RPGs, but not sold on the other, Conquest is the perfect introduction to both.

From its singular mixture of card game and board game mechanics, to its wide variety of game modes and content (including online co-op, a real treat for a game in this genre), to its consumer-friendly progression system that eschews microtransactions, Faeria is attempting to stake out a special place in the pantheon of digital card games, and despite a handful of technical flaws it absolutely succeeds.

There’s been a fair few games where I’ve thought about the events of the game for a while afterwards. Maybe it’s my choice of romance games, but Olympia Soiree is the first time the good route of a game still caused me to have a nightmare when I went to sleep that night. If you’re ready to deal with this kind of story, then take the plunge.

Although the original Trauma Center is a fantastic game, I wouldn't say it's for everyone, due to the extreme difficulty. Second Opinion fixes that issue while providing options to make the game even harder for veteran players.

Like most kids, I grew up playing and absolutely adoring classic Zelda games. Blossom Tales successfully accomplishes it’s goal of recreating the tried and true simplistic gameplay found in the classic action/adventure genre, but also adds a bit of its own personality as well. By adapting new mechanics for a more fluid experience and combining that with the charming story-telling narrative, Castle Pixel has created an elegant love letter to one of Nintendo’s most cherished and beloved titles. So if you yearn for a polished Zelda experience, look no further - Blossom Tales: The Sleeping King is a beautiful homage.

World War II buffs will certainly enjoy this game, but if you're looking for a great GameCube shooter, you'll probably want to look elsewhere.

The main story of Atelier Ryza 2: Lost Legends & the Secret Fairy takes upwards of 30 hours to complete, but filling out the item and monster guides and seeing your way through every companion’s individual stories will add a dozen or more hours to that total. Three initial difficulty modes, in addition to two unlockable ones, let players tailor the experience, and a paid season pass promises to add costumes, recipes, and new areas to explore. The slow beginning of the first Ryza game is remedied somewhat here, and the ability to fast-travel from anywhere to almost anywhere else is pure bliss. The story’s lighter fare, doubly so for the side quests, won’t appeal to everyone, but the solid battle system, intuitive but deep crafting system, and decent overall gameplay loop were all enough to hold my attention and then some. Even though the concoction might not have come out perfect, it absolutely Ryza’s to the occasion.

Any search can act as a doorway to a juicy, hard-to-reach scene, or even lead to a whole new storyline. Any unusually placed word could be a clue leading to a game-altering revelation. It’s a compelling mechanic that leads to easy immersion. Anyone who’s used a simple video editor will feel at home scrubbing back and forth through digital videos, and jumping between clips. The Switch’s touch screen makes this even more intuitive than it would be using a mouse.

There’s still some structural issues with Persona 3, but it’s probably the most underappreciated member of its trilogy.

It’s a very strange feeling singing the praises of a modernization of a classic game over its source material. I’m the guy who complained that Final Fantasy Origins went too far by showing the equipment strength values. Even an old guy like me who was the target age demographic when Pokémon made its debut can admit that Let’s Go does an exemplary job of implementing modern improvements while still maintaining its strong sense of nostalgia. Up until this point, Pokémon Yellow has perhaps been my favorite of the franchise, but now I’m not sure I’ll need to search my house for batteries anymore.

There are a lot of things I hate about the Spider-Man 2 game. The movie-based missions are horrible, the graphical quality is wildly inconsistent, and the game is infested with bugs and glitches. Yet the game's primary strengths are enough to make it enjoyable in spite of its shortcomings.

The truly sad part is that Lock's Quest is just a few design tweaks away from being a fantastic game. All the ingredients are here, but the overzealous chefs at 5th Cell screwed up the recipe.

While my review may seem overly positive, the game's small number of flaws are incredibly frustrating at times. That said, if you feel you can look past a few missed opportunities and a flawed but fun combat system, I can't see why you wouldn't enjoy The Last Story. Just don't expect it to be as genre defining as previous Sakaguchi titles.

Crash Bandicoot 4: It’s About Time resurrects this classic series in an authentic fashion. While a modern adventure with maximum replayability is a godsend for fans, a lot of what made the original Crash games rough around the edges is also present in this iteration, with inaccurate platforming and frustrating difficulty. However, for those looking for a return to form for the Bandicoot, Toys For Bob has proven themselves yet again in this long-awaited sequel.

Boxboy is another 3DS eShop gem that, if we’re lucky, will be the start of a new downloadable series in the same vein as Pushmo.

On the whole, Undercover is the most polished LEGO game I’ve ever played. The humor, while often hokey, works alongside the gameplay in a manner that makes the game charming for its long campaign. LEGO City Undercover isn’t the game to save the Wii U from its recent dearth of games, but it is still a solid, fun romp for anyone who has an affinity for LEGO games.