Finished playing Kirby and the Amazing Mirror

Finished playing Kirby and the Amazing Mirror (2004, Flagship, Dimps, HAL Laboratory, Game Boy Advance) on 10/15/2015.

Gameplay Hours: ~30

The Mirror World above Dreamland has been invaded by something malicious. Meta Knight tries to save the Mirror World but… something caused a change in Meta Knight’s heart as he comes to attack Kirby and divide him into four, different-colored Kirby copies. Curious they jump on a star and follow after Meta Knight into the Mirror World.

7/10 – This game was good. Not much different from the last one I played... Nightmare in Dreamland, I think. But at the same time, it was different. Levels aren't linear. Each level has a map of rooms which adds an exploration feature to the game. Finishing Level 1 doesn't exactly mean you go straight to Level 2. Depending on the paths you take you might end up in Level 5 or 9. I think what really sets the game apart is what its advertised for – multiplayer. If I had played with other friends the experience would've been very different. Perhaps more exciting. I think what I enjoyed the most in this game is the ability to change Kirby into various colors by using spray cans you find by exploring levels and finding treasure chests.

Finished playing Sonic Advance 3

Finished playing Sonic Advance 3 (2004, Dimps, Sonic Team, Game Boy Advance) on 9/25/2015.

Gameplay Hours: ~20 …maybe?

Doctor Eggman has partnered up with his most powerful robot, Gemerl and divided Earth into seven distinct chunks where he plans to build seven separate empires on each one of them. Of course, this means it’s up to Sonic and friends to stop Eggman in his tracks.

7.5/10 – This game was fun. Not as great as the first one, but a big improvement from SA2. Lemme tell you why:

1. All main playable characters are easily unlocked by just beating certain levels.

2. You can team up any two characters and each combination gives you different abilities and moves. Combining Amy with Sonic for example, gives Sonic his own hammer.

4. Special combinations are even appropriately titled. Sonic & Tails for example shows as "The Unbreakeable Bond". Sonic & Amy, "The Cute Couple".

5. Certain combinations even have their own different sprites. For example, when you pair Sonic and Knuckles, they appear annoyed at eachother.

6. You don't have to defeat every single of Dr. Robotnik's boss machines in a row to get to the final boss. This however, is available as a Time Attack feature after collecting all the Bronze, Silver and Golden Special Rings from every single stage (not a frustrating task).

7. Most importantly, Chaos Emerald collecting isn't as frustrating as SA2 was. You do still have to explore the levels however, hunting for lost Chao critters, but once you find them you don't have to go look for them again. You simply have to search the levels in that Zone for a Special Key, which isn't hard at all to find. That one-use key will allow you access to the Special Zone.

8. The Special Zone is similar to Sonic 2 or SA1 in terms of gameplay but even though the difficulty goes up with each new zone, it's not at all frustrating to get all the Emeralds in your grubby little hedgehog hands.

9. This unlocks the Final Zone where you play as Super Sonic and team up with Dr. Eggdoodles to defeat his little robot invention-gone-berserk. This too, although a bit difficult is not a highly frustrating level.

I enjoyed this game and I'm happy I was able to collect everything it has to offer without losing sleep over it.

Balanced difficulty. Little frustration.

Finished playing Sonic Advance 2

Finished playing Sonic Advance 2 (2002, Dimps, Sonic Team, Game Boy Advance) on 5/27/2015.

Gameplay Hours: About 30... maybe.

Dr. Eggman is at it again! Capturing animals and trapping them into robots to build his empire. This time it looks like even Tails and Knuckles were victims too. It's up to Sonic to foil Eggman's plans!

6/10 – The levels weren't the best but they're alright. I think Sonic levels work best when they're linear. The problem is, in this game, and this is where the game gets tedious and difficult, to collect all the emeralds you must first explore the levels looking for seven special rings which will bring you to difficult Special Stages with tight controls. To accommodate this exploration idea, the levels were designed with multiple paths, almost like a labyrinth. Thankfully the game lets you turn off the Time Up feature so you have time to do all the exploring you want. Even so, some special rings were almost impossible to find and I had to use a video walkthrough for about 5 of them.

But does getting all the emeralds unlock the final Super Sonic stage right away? No. It doesn't. You have to finish all the levels with the other four characters. Ugh...

So I finally unlock and beat the Super Sonic level, but something feels... odd. I start thinking there was something I was looking forward to in this game. Oh, yeah! Amy Rose! Apparently you have to collect all the emeralds with all the characters to unlock her............

LOL NOPE. Not me. I'll see you around, Sonic Advance 2!

This game is a little more frustrating than it is fun.