Finished: February 8th. Platform: Game Boy Advance. Time: 7h:29m:41s. Rating: 9/10

Fantastic game, and a contender for the best I've played on GBA. Feels a lot like some of Treasure's titles in its wacky, colourful world and focus on slowly teasing more and more complexities out of a seemingly simple set of mechanics. The bosses are fun and creative, the Pokemon-esque soundtrack is excellent, and the pixel art is terrific, with the main character especially having some absolutely adorable animations that are full of personality. I thought the underwater and flight sections weren't quite as good, as movement can feel a little bit slow and clunky in both. But they're fairly short, and I suppose they do add a bit of variety and help the game to stay fresh. Either way, I loved this a whole bunch. Game Freak should really make non-Pokemon titles more often!

Finished: April 28th. Platform: 3DS. Time: 6h:16m:55s. Rating: 9/10

Best ending, all dark bosses. Absolutely lovely and completely authentic retro remake that slots right in with the rest of the series despite being a much later release. Might be even better than Super Fantasy Zone, a game I already loved. Gorgeous visuals with great use of 3D, amazing music, and classic Fantasy Zone gameplay with a few interesting twists like the dark / light side stages and the charge-based super weapons. Weapon balance is a little wonky, just as it was in Super, and the difficulty curve is a bit strange, with the dark side second boss being by far the most dangerous in the whole game, and many of the later ones being pathetically easy. But such a joy to play from top to bottom that it feels like a minor complaint really. Loved it.

Finished: May 2nd. Platform: 3DS. Time: 1h:30m:36s. Rating: 7/10

Pretty cool wee indie action game with awesome pixel art, good music, and interesting (though somewhat imprecise) use of the 3DS touch screen. The weird plot, colourful characters, manic action, and creative bosses feel a lot like Treasure's games, even if it never quite hits the heights of that company's best output. The story is pretty incomprehensible, especially as the dialogue doesn't feel like it was written by a native English speaker. And I think it's a little too short, and a bit too easy to really demand that the player masters its mechanics and boss patterns. But not a bad way to spend an hour, and really accomplished for a game that was largely a solo effort!