Reviews by Emily J.

If you are just as tired of Princess Peach getting captured all the time as the rest of the world are, thank Nintendo for providing us with this game. This time around, Bowser changes up his plans by kidnapping the Mario Bros., possibly to lure her to him.

What are Peach's powers for this game? Well, the setting is an island based around emotions, so naturally, she'll use her emotions to get through all the worlds. If Peach is happy, she can fly. If she's angry, she'll make quakes and set things on fire. If she's sad, she'll go faster, grow plants, and douse flames. And the last one replenishes her energy.

Don't think of this as offensive to feminists because hey, this is the first game made by Nintendo, DIRECTLY from Japan, where she isn't kidnapped for once, and it is enjoyable.

My rating: 8/10

The final third in the MOTHER series, MOTHER 3 will have the quirky humor of the first 2 games, and while the previous installments had a bit of drama, this one has a lot of it. The main character Lucas' mother dies, a megalomaniac (Porky from the second game) has turned the wildlife into menacing hybrids, as well as changed Lucas' hometown into a self-indulgent city, and also, his brother Claus has been brainwashed. Good freaking night.

Lucas is not alone on his quest to save everyone as he is tagged along by his dog, a tomboyish princess, and a Robin Hood type with a bad leg and a lot of thingamajigs. As great as this game is, I personally prefer the simpler gameplay of the second game, but MOTHER 3 is far from disappointing.

My rating: 8/10

Thanks to the success of Paper Mario, a sequel was in order, and Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door was considered just as good, if not better, than the original.

It starts with Princess Peach, who vacations at Rogueport and is intrigued by a mysterious box that has a connection to an ancient treasure. Peach sends Mario and Luigi a mysterious map, which prompts Mario to join Peach on the search for the treasure. However, there is one problem: Peach has been abducted, this time by a mysterious group called the X-Nauts, who are also after the treasure. Tagging along with Mario are an intelligent Goomba girl, a timid Koopa, a drama queen with the power of wind, a feisty Yoshi baby, an emotionally-abused fire mage (who was trans-gendered in the original Japanese version), and a widower Bob-omb admiral. And also, a flirtatious cat- er, mouse burglar.

You not only get to play as Mario, but you can also play as Peach during her time of captivity like in the first game. Bowser is also made playable, and he's the comic relief much like in Super Mario RPG.

If you have a GameCube (or better yet, a Wii, which will make the game less likely to crash), go buy this game, a GameCube controller, and a GameCube memory card, play it, and have fun.

My rating: 10/10

I liked the Hamtaro anime so much that I thought I should get this game. It did not disappoint as it is a lot of fun. The most fun you'll have is earning items playing mini-games. I recommend this for Hamtaro fans of all ages.

My rating: 8/10

I remember 12 years ago that Toonami showcased this game, and at the time, we subscribed to Nintendo Power to get Pokemon Gold. Back when there was a rental store in town, I rented this game, and loved it so much that I kept it for 3 weeks trying to beat it.

The plot involves Bowser, Mario's long-time nemesis, stealing the Star Rod from Star Haven, which is located up in the heavens. With the Star Rod's power, Bowser manages to send Princess Peach's Castle up into the sky on top of his fortress, and, GASP!, defeat Mario! Fortunately for our mustached friend, the Star Spirits, who have been sealed into cards, had enough power to restore Mario (who would have been dead and mangled up from such a long fall) and tell him to go save them so that he can save Peach yet again. Throughout his journey, Mario teams up with a fanboy Goomba, an adventure-loving Koopa, a spunky female Bob-omb, a klutzy Paratroopa mailman, a pampered no-nonsense female Boo, a Li'l Sparky toddler, a motherly Cheep-Cheep, and a somewhat aloof Lakitu.

This game was the crown jewel of the gaming part of my childhood, and I was happy that it got a Virtual Console release. And let me tell you, this game will never leave your mind and soul, so play this to your heart's content.

My rating: 9/10

Welcome to 2009, the year of bad movies... or at least I think so (there's at least 3 bad movies in that year). But Hotel For Dogs is just mediocre and full of cheesy cliches, much like Dunston Checks In. However, while Dunston was a quirky film that I actually found somewhat funny at times, HFD can get rather morbid and depressing at times. Had it not been for a happy yet predictable ending, I would've rated it lower than my final score.

My rating: 5/10

No child wants their parents to divorce, so what's the best solution? Lock your parents in the basement until they learn their lesson! That'll work, right? I don't know, because my parents live happily together, and I never tried testing them that way. And to be honest, I didn't hate this movie. I mean, compare this to another film that came out earlier in the same year: Big Bully. The latter is more mean-spirited than the former, and at least that House Arrest is more watchable. Do I recommend it? Well, given the reception from the general public, no.

My rating: 6/10

I have never heard of this movie, until the Nostalgia Critic reviewed it last year. Yes, this movie can be quite cliche, but to be honest, I thought it can be quite funny at times. If you want to kill about 2 hours, go nuts.

My rating: 5/10

Kirby 64 is another game in the franchise where the stakes have been raised. You get to travel across the galaxy to collect shards of a giant crystal. You can also combine abilities for crazy combos! Not since Kirby's Adventure has there been a Kirby game this epic.

My rating: 9/10

Pokemon Snap came out while the franchise was still in its infancy. This will be the game for you if you can't decide which starter to pick in Red or Blue in case you hated Bulbasaur (which I don't), or if having Pikachu as a starter in Yellow is a lame idea.

Okay, this may be a game starring a one-shot anime character who appeared for 3 episodes of the original series, but it's still fun. You get to take pictures of Pokemon, naturally. But if you want high scores, you'll have to lure them with apples, distract them with Pester Balls, or get their attention with the Poke Flute (Pikachu express their feelings in an unusual way in that case).

In my opinion, it would have to be Gen. I's best game.

My rating: 8/10