[{"content":"","date":"6 July 2026","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/tags/game-boy/","section":"Tags","summary":"","title":"Game-Boy","type":"tags"},{"content":"Link\u0026rsquo;s Awakening strips the Zelda formula down to a single island and makes it feel bigger than many open-world epics. No Hyrule, no Triforce, no grand prophecy — just a dreamlike adventure full of oddball characters, fetch quests, and dungeon keys. It is the series at its most personal.\nVersions and platforms # Played DX on the Game Boy Color Notable alternatives Link\u0026rsquo;s Awakening on the Game Boy, Link\u0026rsquo;s Awakening Remaster on the Switch, LADXHD on PC Main review # Koholint Island # The overworld is dense with secrets, and the trading sequence is still a delightful chain of fetch quests that turns every NPC into a puzzle piece. Dungeons are compact but inventive, and the island\u0026rsquo;s small size is a feature: you learn its rhythms quickly, then spend the rest of the game realising how much was hiding in plain sight.\nTone and personality # This is warmer and quirkier than most Zelda games. References to other Nintendo properties, offbeat humour, and a story that slowly turns bittersweet give Koholint a personality of its own. The DX version adds colour and an extra dungeon that deepens the endgame without bloating the original\u0026rsquo;s pacing.\nHandheld friction # The screen is tiny on original hardware, and some backtracking can feel slow without the remake\u0026rsquo;s quality-of-life tweaks. A few puzzles lean on trial and error, which was common for the era but may test modern patience. Play in short sessions and the friction fades; marathon it on a backlit display and you will notice every step.\nClosing words # One of the best handheld games ever made and a perfect entry point if you want Zelda without the lore homework. The Switch remake is gorgeous, but the Game Boy originals still hold up for charm and design — and DX remains the sweet spot if you want the classic feel with a little extra colour.\n","date":"6 July 2026","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/links-awakening/","section":"Posts","summary":"Link’s Awakening strips the Zelda formula down to a single island and makes it feel bigger than many open-world epics. No Hyrule, no Triforce, no grand prophecy — just a dreamlike adventure full of oddball characters, fetch quests, and dungeon keys. It is the series at its most personal.\n","title":"Link's Awakening","type":"posts"},{"content":"","date":"6 July 2026","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/","section":"Low Res, High Bar","summary":"","title":"Low Res, High Bar","type":"page"},{"content":"","date":"6 July 2026","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/tags/nintendo/","section":"Tags","summary":"","title":"Nintendo","type":"tags"},{"content":"","date":"6 July 2026","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Posts","type":"posts"},{"content":"","date":"6 July 2026","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/tags/review/","section":"Tags","summary":"","title":"Review","type":"tags"},{"content":"","date":"6 July 2026","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/tags/","section":"Tags","summary":"","title":"Tags","type":"tags"},{"content":"","date":"1 July 2026","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/tags/metroidvania/","section":"Tags","summary":"","title":"Metroidvania","type":"tags"},{"content":"","date":"1 July 2026","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/tags/snes/","section":"Tags","summary":"","title":"Snes","type":"tags"},{"content":"Few games nail atmosphere like Super Metroid. You drop into Zebes alone, powers stripped away, and the planet feels hostile from the first screen. Rain hammers the surface, doors lock behind you, and every corridor suggests something watching from the dark. Thirty years on, that opening still lands.\nVersions and platforms # Played Original (NTSC) on the Super Nintendo Notable alternatives Virtual Console on Wii and Wii U, SNES Classic Mini, Nintendo Switch Online on Switch Main review # Exploration and level design # The map design is the star. Every new ability opens routes you walked past hours earlier, and the \u0026ldquo;aha\u0026rdquo; moments never feel cheap — they feel earned. Crateria, Brinstar, Norfair, and the rest of Zebes loop back on themselves in ways that reward attention without holding your hand. Even when you are lost, the game is teaching you its logic.\nAtmosphere and pacing # Controls are tight, the soundtrack is iconic, and the pacing rewards patience without wasting your time. Save stations are sparse, which adds tension on a first playthrough, and the sparse storytelling — environmental cues, brief cutscenes, Samus\u0026rsquo;s silence — lets the planet do the talking. It is lonely in the best way.\nWhere it shows its age # Some rooms are deliberately confusing, and a few backtracking segments can drag on a replay. That was part of the design in 1994, but newcomers used to generous checkpoints may find the friction sharper than they expect. None of it undermines the whole; it is worth knowing going in.\nClosing words # If you care about level design or the history of the metroidvania genre, this is essential. It is not just a nostalgia pick — it is still one of the best games on the system, and one of the clearest arguments for why the SNES library endures.\n","date":"1 July 2026","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/super-metroid/","section":"Posts","summary":"Few games nail atmosphere like Super Metroid. You drop into Zebes alone, powers stripped away, and the planet feels hostile from the first screen. Rain hammers the surface, doors lock behind you, and every corridor suggests something watching from the dark. Thirty years on, that opening still lands.\n","title":"Super Metroid","type":"posts"},{"content":"","date":"15 June 2026","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/tags/genesis/","section":"Tags","summary":"","title":"Genesis","type":"tags"},{"content":"","date":"15 June 2026","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/tags/sega/","section":"Tags","summary":"","title":"Sega","type":"tags"},{"content":"Sonic 2 leans into speed and spectacle. Chemical Plant and Casino Night are still showpieces, and Tails gives the adventure a lighter, more playful feel whether you are playing solo or with a friend. Where the first game proved Sega had an answer to Mario, the sequel argues they could go bigger without losing the point.\nVersions and platforms # Played Original cartridge on the Sega Genesis Notable alternatives Sonic Mega Collection on GameCube, Sega Genesis Classics on PC, Nintendo Switch Online + Expansion Pack on Switch Main review # Speed, flow, and spectacle # The Spin Dash changes the flow of every zone, letting you build momentum from a standstill and string together routes that feel improvisational. Special stages are tense and memorable — those half-pipe loops in pseudo-3D still impress on original hardware — and the music defines early-90s Sega as much as any game in the catalogue.\nTwo-player and Tails # Co-op with Tails is chaotic fun: a second player can jump in, collect rings, and generally complicate your careful run without breaking the stage. Even solo, Tails softens the tone. The game feels less solitary than the first Sonic, more like a Saturday-morning adventure shared with a sidekick.\nUneven level design # Marble Zone and some later levels rely on cheap hazards more than clever design, and a few bosses feel rushed after strong opening zones. Multiplayer is fun but shallow compared to the main campaign. The highs are very high; the valleys are noticeable when you know the best zones by heart.\nClosing words # A cornerstone Genesis title and a great entry point for the series. Not quite as focused as Chemical Plant and Hill Top suggest, but absolutely worth playing — especially if you want to understand why Sega\u0026rsquo;s mascot mattered beyond the attitude on the box art.\n","date":"15 June 2026","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/sonic-the-hedgehog-2/","section":"Posts","summary":"Sonic 2 leans into speed and spectacle. Chemical Plant and Casino Night are still showpieces, and Tails gives the adventure a lighter, more playful feel whether you are playing solo or with a friend. Where the first game proved Sega had an answer to Mario, the sequel argues they could go bigger without losing the point.\n","title":"Sonic the Hedgehog 2","type":"posts"},{"content":"","date":"10 May 2026","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/tags/crt/","section":"Tags","summary":"","title":"Crt","type":"tags"},{"content":"Modern TVs are convenient, but lag, scaling, and soft filters can muddy the look of older systems. A decent CRT is still the most authentic way to play much of the catalog — if you have the space.\nWhat to look for # For 8- and 16-bit consoles, a 14\u0026quot; consumer CRT with composite or S-Video inputs is a solid start. Avoid hauling home broken sets; good ones still show up for free locally.\nSafety first # CRTs store high voltage even when unplugged. Do not open the chassis unless you know what you are doing. Cleaning the shell and checking inputs is usually enough for beginners.\nCables matter # RGB is ideal where supported (especially for SNES and Genesis), but S-Video is a huge upgrade over composite. Match the cable to your console and region.\nWhen to stop tweaking # One good display, sensible cables, and a power strip is enough to enjoy the library. You can chase PVMs and switchers later — play games first.\n","date":"10 May 2026","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/crt-setup-primer/","section":"Posts","summary":"Modern TVs are convenient, but lag, scaling, and soft filters can muddy the look of older systems. A decent CRT is still the most authentic way to play much of the catalog — if you have the space.\n","title":"Getting started with a CRT setup","type":"posts"},{"content":"","date":"10 May 2026","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/tags/hardware/","section":"Tags","summary":"","title":"Hardware","type":"tags"},{"content":"Content coming soon.\n","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/about-me/","section":"Pages","summary":"Content coming soon.\n","title":"About me","type":"pages"},{"content":"Does this website use AI? Yes. Yes it does. Whilst I have issues with the social and environmental aspects of AI and the use LLM\u0026rsquo;s, I also see it as inevitable. I work in software development, and the use of AI is omnipresent. The sad state is, if I want to keep up if have to use AI. So one personal goal of this blog is trying to figure out how to use AI sensibly.\nI used AI for the initial setup of the Hugo blog and use it to make changes to the technical stuff. I do not use AI for the generation of text or images. AI provides my the technical support, so I can focus on the creative.\n","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/ai-disclaimer/","section":"Pages","summary":"Does this website use AI? Yes. Yes it does. Whilst I have issues with the social and environmental aspects of AI and the use LLM’s, I also see it as inevitable. I work in software development, and the use of AI is omnipresent. The sad state is, if I want to keep up if have to use AI. So one personal goal of this blog is trying to figure out how to use AI sensibly.\n","title":"AI disclaimer","type":"pages"},{"content":"","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/authors/","section":"Authors","summary":"","title":"Authors","type":"authors"},{"content":"","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/categories/","section":"Categories","summary":"","title":"Categories","type":"categories"},{"content":"","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/pages/","section":"Pages","summary":"","title":"Pages","type":"pages"},{"content":"","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/series/","section":"Series","summary":"","title":"Series","type":"series"}]