Review Round-Up - January 2026

Whether it was a big gorilla with Donkey Kong Bananza or big hops with... well, Big Hops,
there was a lot of fun 3D platforming to be found this past month! 

Did you know and can you believe it's been nearly five years since we've last done a Review Round-Up on SuperPhillip Central?! It's true! I'm not one to make up for lost time, but there's been just enough in the way of reviews on the blog this January that we can take a fond look back at the month that was.

The year started off strong on SuperPhillip Central with one heck of a block party in quite the literal sense with LEGO Party!, celebrating its way to a B+. From there, the first of two Sonic the Hedgehog reviews, perfect to do our own kind of celebrating of his 35th anniversary, was Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds, racing around at the speed of sound with an A-. 

It went all downhill from there--but that was a good thing--with a perfect winter-themed snowboarding sensation, SSX 3, as a retro review. It slid down the slopes superbly with a B+ grade. 

From there, a pair of 3D platformers, one indie and one decidedly NOT-so-indie, took center stage on SPC with Big Hops and Donkey Kong Bananza respectively. The indie effort earned a super respectable B- with some bugs and glitches needing to be ironed out, while Nintendo's big banana of a first-party, single-player game this year scored an A, making it our Game of the Month.

Finally, not all of our games reviewed this month made the grade. Sonic Heroes disappointed me upon a modern look at the game, over 20 years since I last played it. It stumbled a bit in its red and white sneakers with a D+.

It's starting to all come back to me with these Review Round-Ups! Last but not least, I would be amiss if I didn't remind you about the SPC Review Archive where every review posted in this blog's nearly 18 year history resides... for better or worse (some of those early reviews are ROUGH). 

LEGO Party (Multi) - B+

I'm surprised by how much I absolutely enjoyed LEGO Party. The developers really did a fantastic job with this party game, offering mostly well-crafted boards with relatively fast paced rounds (not looking at you, Space Zone), a colorful and creative collection of mini-games (some stinkers notwithstanding), and plentiful amounts of charm thrown in as well, with that latter part being expected from a LEGO game. The developers are also listening to feedback within the community, such as adding bonus Golden Bricks at the end of games, something that LEGO Party lacked by the time I finished up the Platinum trophy on the game a month ago. All this, plus a budget price, deliver a party worth having for any kind of player, young/old, casual/hardcore, and so forth.

Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds (Multi) - A-

Overall, the addition of CrossWorlds definitely keeps races feeling fresh and somewhat unpredictable, and I'd love to see more added down the road. SEGA and Sonic Team both seem committed to keeping up with updates and bringing more goodies to the game, which is fantastic to see after Team Sonic Racing. They have an incredibly good thing going here with the base Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds package--plenty to love, some minor frustrations, but mostly all positives. It feels great to control, it gives Sonic fans copious amounts of way past cool callbacks, and it's got a ton of love and energy under its hood. 

SSX 3 (PS2, GCN, XBX) - B+

...this third entry is one hell of a snowboarding package, both overwhelming in positive and negative ways, but well worth playing for any extreme sports enthusiast or just gaming fan who wants a proper challenge and enjoyable snowboarding title to play. 

Big Hops (Multi) - B- 

When it comes down to it, Big Hops nails the most important aspect of a 3D platformer--its movement is fast, fluid, fun, and feels right. Everything else is gravy, really, and while some of it fares better than other parts, overall, Hop's first adventure shows a stellar amount of understanding of what makes a modern 3D platformer enjoyable: with its remarkably tight controls, genuinely delightful level design, and mostly impressive presentation.

Donkey Kong Bananza (NS2) - A

While minor frame-rate issues and most of the boss battles being rather breezy might make for some modest moaning from myself, those complaints are quickly diminished by the absolute amount of fun that Bananza delivered in banana bunches to me. This 20 hour epic is one that constantly escalates the action, and keeps it going through the finale and beyond. Donkey Kong Bananza delights and delivers a 3D action-platformer that offers enough open-ended design to kick some serious potassium. 

Sonic Heroes (PS2, GCN, XBX) - D+ 

...the positives about Sonic Heroes--the level design, the colorful visuals, and superb soundtrack--greatly are betrayed by the game's poor controls, obnoxious mission design with Team Chaotix, abhorrent boss battles, awful camera, and glitches aplenty. Even despite all of these negatives, I did enjoy rolling around at the speed of sound, flying high, and throwing my weight around with this cast of 12 playable characters. Does that make Sonic Heroes an enjoyable game overall? Absolutely not. 

SPC reminded itself to take the good with the bad, particularly with the Blue Blur this month 
as we looked at both Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds and Sonic Heroes.

Sonic Heroes (PS2, GCN, XBX) Retro Review

This marks the 35th anniversary of the Blue Blur himself, Sonic the Hedgehog. At SuperPhillip Central we're going to look back at all facets of the fastest hedgehog alive, both good and bad. We partook in the good with Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds earlier this month. Unexpectedly, and against memories from my youth, now we're going to be looking at the bad with Sonic Heroes. 

What goes up, must come down. And wow, does it come down hard!

Sonic Heroes originally released on the PlayStation 2, GameCube, and Xbox back in 2003. I remember being incredibly hyped after coming off of Sonic Adventure 2: Battle, greatly enjoying that GameCube release, and then feverishly pouring play after play of the first level of Sonic Heroes as part of a bonus demo disc released alongside some copies of Mario Kart: Double Dash!!. Then, the game came out, and I actually ended up enjoying it.

That said, my gaming habits and preferences have decidedly changed since 2003. For one, I was in high school then, and had so much more free time and patience in general. As an adult, I definitely have much less of both to dedicate to games that try said patience. Sonic Heroes is one of those games nowadays, and it's an unfortunate reminder that nostalgia can blind. What one might have considered a fantastic game back in the day, or one worth challenging themselves to overcome, nowadays is an effort of utter frustration. 

Sonic Heroes is a unique game in the 3D line of Sonic the Hedgehog games, as it features teams of characters running, jumping, and otherwise moving through the game's 14 stages. There are four trios in all: Team Sonic (Sonic, Tails, and Knuckles), Team Dark (Shadow, Rouge, and Omega), Team Rose (Amy, Cream, and Big), and Team Chaotix (Vector, Espio, and Charmy), the latter of whom returned after last being seen all the way back in Knuckles Chaotix on the SEGA 32X. 

While Team Sonic and Team Rose are like Seaside Hill Zone, great for beginners and getting their feet wet...

Each team has their own story set of stages to play through, though the stages have similar designs with some changes here and there across all campaigns. Whereas Team Rose features shortened stages and even a tutorial level at the beginning of their story, Team Dark is more focused for veterans of the game, containing longer, more difficult stages with more tricks and traps to watch for and persevere against. Meanwhile, Team Sonic is your "standard" difficulty, while Team Chaotix is a mishmash between Team Sonic and Team Dark. Team Chaotix's story stages all tend to have a specific mission to complete: whether that's finding 10 hermit crabs in the opening Seaside Hill Zone, or defeating three specific gold-shelled turtles in the Power Plant Zone.

...Team Dark and Team Chaotix's stories are better left for later playthroughs, as the levels can be long and unforgiving.

It's recommended to start with Team Rose or Team Sonic to get your speed sneakers wet and obtain a taste of what you're in for with Sonic Heroes. Playing each team's story means 14 zones with seven boss battles interspersed after every two zones for a total of 21 per team. Multiply that by four, and you get a general idea of what awaits. Unfortunately, each level strikes a resemblance to other teams' levels, so it can feel like a lot of retreading and repetition. You can't play the final story featuring all four teams without playing through and completing each teams' story mode. This took me about 12 hours to do all in total.

If the idea of three characters bantering back and forth for most of each level 
doesn't sound like hell to you, then Sonic Heroes might be worth checking out.

As for the overall story, each team has their own reasons and motivations for setting out for adventure. Whereas Team Sonic gets a letter from Eggman revealing a three-day plot to rule the world, Team Rose has each member wanting to track someone down: whether it's an amphibious friend suitably named Froggy for Big the Cat, a missing Chao for Cream the Rabbit, or simply Amy's fixation, Sonic and his love. Across each story campaign, the characters occasionally cross over, but seeing as boss battles are the same, just with different dialogue, it can be confusing to try to keep up with any kind of a cohesive, canon plot since some of the stories have conflicting, contradictory elements with others. Eh, it's a Sonic game, so I won't rack my brain over it.

"Froggy?" No, this one's unfortunately a little too large, Big...

When getting to the game itself, Sonic Heroes takes the formula and foundation of Sonic Adventure and its sequel and attempts to expand upon it. Innovative is the team-based mechanic, having players press one of the top face buttons to switch between the two other characters on the fly. Speaking of which, each of the characters in each trio conveniently enough has their own ability type. For instance, Sonic is speed-based, Tails is flying-based, and Knuckles is power-based. Thankfully, most of the guesswork is eliminated in needing knowledge for what character to use at a specific moment in a level, as helpful floating monitors with words like "Speed", "Fly" and "Power" readily indicate the best character type to utilize. 

Speed characters like Sonic, Shadow, Amy Rose, and Espio have the fastest running capabilities, can generally homing attack from enemy to enemy, and also sport the ability to create a tornado, used to remove shields and other defenses from foes, as well as spin up special poles. Meanwhile, Flight characters like Tails, Rouge, Cream, and Charmy understandably can fly, though for limited amounts of time before running out of stamina, dropping to the ground without any momentum left over whatsoever (which screwed me over plenty of times), and can also throw their teammates at other enemies from afar. Lastly, Power characters in the vein of Knuckles, Omega, Big, and Vector are great for busting through walls, blocks, and swarms of shielded enemies with relative ease. You can also hold the jump button to have the characters tag up with a Power character to ride up wind shafts and hover across gaps.

The bigger they are, the more throws it takes from Vector to beat 'em.

Throughout stages are colorful orbs, either in blue, yellow, or red quantities (for Speed, Fly, and Power characters respectively) that not only add to the player's score at the end of levels, but also boost that given character type's abilities. Throwing your teammates as Tails against foes generally just stuns the enemy, but getting two yellow orbs will level up Tails' throw to deal damage. Each enemy has a health gauge, showing a number beside it (its HP). Some foes, like more powerful baddies and also the godawful bosses, possess high HP, requiring you to whittle away at them. Usually best saved for a Power character. 

Finally, as rings--the livelihood of all teams, as if they get hit with at least one ring stored, they won't die--are collected and enemies are vanquished, a gauge for screen-clearing attack using all three teammates known as a Team Blast fills up and can eventually be used. For each team, this Team Blast shows a unique animation as well as a bonus. For Team Rose, an activated Team Blast will give the team invincibility for several seconds, while Team Dark's Team Blast will freeze everything on screen, including the timer, while Shadow, Rouge, and Omega can run around freely during all this. 

After seeing Team Blast animations like this one ad nauseum, I decidedly won't be checking out your record, Team Chaotix.

Levels in Sonic Heroes essentially follow the classic 2D Sonic games approach in design. And I don't just mean in the "two acts per themed locale then a boss battle" approach, either. No, these levels tend to feature plenty of alternate paths, with the higher paths being the most challenging to stay on, but also the fastest way to skip parts of stages entirely. Not every level is full of these, with Rail Canyon, for instance, having a more linear design with less in the way of detours--but something like the opening Seaside Hill and Ocean Palace possess a plethora of paths to take and uncover. 

...And here we go!

I feel the level design in Sonic Heroes is pretty commendable, honestly. There's lots of secrets, lots of hidden-away elements and pathways, and well thought-out concepts. Unfortunately, it's the actual gameplay that sort of betrays the competent level design. So many set pieces that are meant to be cool in both spectacle and fun, in theory, occasionally just don't play well in execution. Seemingly automated sections of stages more often than I'd care to have happen, resulted in my team jerking out of the path, falling into the abyss. Oh, and how each team seemingly LOVES to fall off levels. It's the number one way I died without question in Sonic Heroes. Between homing attacks that wouldn't register properly on enemies, the slippery feel of characters sliding off stages, and camera issues, deaths by pit was the number one way hedgehogs perished in 2003. ...I believe I remember seeing that statistic in National Geographic back in the day...

At any rate, the camera is a constant problem throughout the adventure, oftentimes resulting in less than ideal viewpoints. I felt like maybe one of the Eggrobos might have been controlling the camera as a means to mess my teams over, like a corrupted version of Lakitu in Super Mario 64. More of a hindrance than a help! 

This extends to the absolutely awful boss battles that infest the game. Here, the boss is public enemy number two, right behind the camera and other gameplay quirks of Sonic Heroes. The hit detection is off the charts in being bad, homing attacks, and just any attack that hones in on a foe usually goes after the wrong target, oftentimes ending in a premature and anger-inducing death. Plenty of times I got stun-locked where my characters were flat on their backs, given just enough invincibility frames to stand up, and then get attacked again. This occurs especially in the "Team Battles" where two teams from the story take on each other. These basically end up being battles of mashing the attack buttons to win. It's random, sure, but so is actually attempting to play them seriously and how they're how ever "meant" to be played. 

I'm having flashbacks of an unsettling variety just by glancing at this screenshot!

While it can be tempting at first to play Sonic Heroes as a score attack game, earning coveted "A" ranks from scoring high, beating levels with a fast timer completion, all without dying--it's simply not worth the aggravation. You're playing a Russian Roulette of "which glitch or gameplay quirk will potentially screw over your run" each time you play a level or boss battle in Sonic Heroes. Seeing as stages, especially with Team Dark, can take upwards of ten minutes just to beat, it's just not something I want to do nowadays. In 2003, I do remember getting all emblems from beating every level, clearing every post-game challenge (like clearing levels in a limited amount of time as Team Sonic, or collecting a set amount of rings as Team Rose), and obtaining every score-based "A" rank, and all I got for it to my incredibly diminished excitement was a super hard mode and some lame competitive multiplayer options. 

Each character type has a different formation the other team members get into.

Outside of glitches both technical and in gameplay, Sonic Heroes remains a relatively good looking game to this day. The zones definitely have that Sonic feel and look to them--colorful, vibrant, and it's something I definitely appreciate--something much more than Sonic Frontiers' drab and dreary approach to its art style (not to say Frontiers is objectively bad there or as a game). Meanwhile, the soundtrack is full of awesome rock tunes, and honestly, even with the cheese factor dialed up to 11 with some of the lyrical tracks, Sonic Heroes remains one of my favorite Sonic soundtracks even in 2026. The voice acting and cutscene direction are all over the place, offering lots of characters enjoying talking over each other or not giving each other enough pauses, and the audio balance is up and down as well. It was standard fare for Sonic games of that era, for sure. 

My fondness for Sonic the Hedgehog as a character and series remains to this day, despite replaying games like Sonic Heroes. Ideally, I would have started this celebration of Sonic's 35th anniversary on a higher note. Well, technically, I did with Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds earlier in the month! That said, the positives about Sonic Heroes--the level design, the colorful visuals, and superb soundtrack--greatly are betrayed by the game's poor controls, obnoxious mission design with Team Chaotix, abhorrent boss battles, awful camera, and glitches aplenty. Even despite all of these negatives, I did enjoy rolling around at the speed of sound, flying high, and throwing my weight around with this cast of 12 playable characters. Does that make Sonic Heroes an enjoyable game overall? Absolutely not. 

[SPC Says: D+] 

Top Ten 3D Sonic Games

Sonic the Hedgehog's newest 3D entry, Sonic Forces, had debut footage last week at a SXSW panel. With the prospect of a new Sonic coming fresh in my mind, it seemed like an opportune time as any to take a look at past 3D Sonic games with a special SuperPhillip Central top ten list. Sonic the Hedgehog has had it rougher than most franchises trying to transition from 2D to 3D. Some of his attempts were quite good. Others? Not so much. This list details some of his best and brightest as well as some of his worst and wackiest.

10) Sonic and the Black Knight (Wii)

Let's start with an entry on this list that more closely walks the line between a good Sonic game and a bad one. Sonic and the Black Knight continued the fairy tale series of the games that was established Sonic and the Secret Rings. Unlike Secret Rings, however, Black Knight wasn't an on-rails game. It was controlled with both the Wii Remote and Nunchuk, using the analog stick for Sonic's movement and the Wii Remote to use Sonic's sword. Yes, Sonic had a sword in this game, which started off the "okay, this was probably a bad idea for a game" line of thought that most players had with Black Knight. While the level design offered more in the way of exploration, the controls themselves weren't as responsive as many would have liked. It made for a game that was sometimes frustrating and never quite as precise as players craved.

9) Shadow the Hedgehog (PS2, GCN, XBX)

Here's a game that's a bit of a guilty pleasure for me, or at least it was back when I originally played Shadow the Hedgehog. It's a game in the darkest era of the 3D Sonic games, coming out near the 2006 abomination on then-next gen consoles. What can you say about a game with a hedgehog with enough edge to be a Gillette razor using guns, driving motorcycles, and with a story that takes itself way too seriously? You can say a lot of things, all really bad (like wow, how edgy, how cringe-inducing), but overall, Shadow the Hedgehog wasn't overly awful. The level structure had players choosing between doing one of two tasks (one good, one evil), which determined which level they would move onto next. With multiple endings to the game based on these choices, Shadow the Hedgehog certainly contained lots of longevity for those that could stomach the game.

8) Sonic Adventure (DC)

The developers behind Sonic Adventure had a good amount of pressure when developing this game. Not only did they have to create a competent transition from 2D to 3D for Sonic much like Nintendo did with Mario with Super Mario 64, but they had to make a killer app to debut with Sega's Dreamcast. Overall, they nailed the latter point. The former? Maybe not so much, especially now that a lot of time has passed since. Sonic Adventure featured six characters to play as, each with their own level goals and play styles. While Sonic was a speedy trip through levels, Knuckles needed to search 3D areas for rare treasure, and Omega was required to lock on and blast foes through linear levels. What was impressive then isn't so much now, and even then, Sonic Adventure possessed plenty of problems such as an annoying camera, various bugs and glitches, and having to play as Big, which made the pace of Adventure slow to an almost full stop.

7) Sonic and the Secret Rings (Wii)

I mentioned Sonic the Hedgehog (2006) earlier. Sonic and the Secret Rings had part of that game's development team picked from it to work on this Wii exclusive title. The story took Sonic into the fairy tale world of the Arabian Nights, doing his best to save the magical world from being erased by a djinn tyrant. Taking the Wii Remote's motion control functionality and using it to craft a unique Sonic game, players tilted the controller to move left and right down on-rails style levels, making Sonic's mobility a lot more limited than in other games on this list. Still, levels played out relatively well, and with the customization system available in the game, Sonic could get updated to feel extraordinarily nice (he's a bit sluggish in the beginning). Sonic and the Secret Rings doesn't have the traditional feel or freedom of a 3D Sonic, but that doesn't make it a bad game by any stretch of the imagination.

6) Sonic Heroes (PS2, GCN, XBX)

Anything's possible through the power of teamwork! That's the mantra of Sonic Heroes, the first all-new 3D Sonic game in what was a good while after Sonic Adventure 2. Sonic Heroes contained four teams of three to play through the game's dozen+ levels. Each team had a character of these types: speed, power, and flight, and players could switch between these characters on the fly when the necessity presented itself. The teams consisted of Team Sonic (Sonic, Tails, and Knuckles), Team Dark (Shadow, Rouge, and Omega), Team Rose (Amy, Cream, and Big), and Team Chaotix (Vector, Espio, and Charmy). Sonic Heroes sort of possessed the two act system from the 2D Sonic games, as there were two levels with a common aesthetic theme followed by a boss battle, and then a new set of two levels were played. Despite the new team-based mechanic, old haunts from the series remained, such as a poor camera and numerous bugs. Still, I hold fond memories of my time with Sonic Heroes.

5) Sonic: Lost World (Wii U, PC)

At first glance, Sonic: Lost World seemed like an attempt by Sega and Sonic Team to have level d
esign based off Nintendo's Super Mario Galaxy games with floating platforms of varying curved dimensions in the skies of each level. Unfortunately, the execution of Lost World was nowhere near as good as the Galaxy games gameplay-wise. A parkour-like system of movement for Sonic was available, and it took a lot of practice to nail it down. Really, the first half of Sonic: Lost World was quite good and held a great deal of promise, but by the second half, half-cooked or totally uncooked ideas made for a rough go of it. I'm looking at you, Frozen Factory pinball stage, Lava Mountain boss fight against Zavoc, and more! While I enjoyed the game overall, there was definitely room for improvement.

4) Sonic Adventure 2 (DC)

Sonic Adventure laid the foundation for many of the 3D Sonic games that followed. The direct sequel of that game, Sonic Adventure 2, took the foundation and ran with it, offering an abundant amount of content and gameplay. Instead of six gameplay types, there were a more reasonable three, meaning that these were more nuanced in feel and design, though still somewhat problematic at times. There were your standard speedy Sonic levels (sporting some of the most memorable levels in Sonic series history); there were levels where Tails or Eggman piloted mechs, locking onto and blasting away at foes; and there were treasure hunting levels where Knuckles or newcomer Rouge moved through 3D arenas searching for pieces of the Master Emerald. Combine these two stories, the hero and the dark sides, and a highly addicting Chao Garden attraction with mini-games, and you have a popular game within the Sonic fandom.

3) Sonic Unleashed (PS3, 360, Wii)

What could have been a truly masterful 3D Sonic game was brought down by the need to add some kind of gimmick to it. Sonic Unleashed's daytime stages, where Sonic rushed and platformed through gorgeous levels, were absolutely divine gameplay experiences. What brought the entire Sonic Unleashed experience down, however, was the gameplay seen in the nighttime stages, the dreaded Werehog. This brought the fast pacing of Unleashed down to sluggish at best levels. It turned the game into a slow brawler with some very frustrating platforming portions. That said, it says something about Sonic Unleashed that the daytime Sonic levels are so good and enjoyable that they keep the game from being bad despite the Werehog portions of the game, and they are portions that I truly dreaded playing. The HD versions of Unleashed and the Wii version have different levels to them-- all named the same but different in design-- so it's worth checking out both games if you have the time.

2) Sonic Colors (Wii)

After Sonic Team tripped themselves up with the Werehog mechanic in Sonic Unleashed, the team's next title managed to be a seriously good game-- and that's without any asterisks like "seriously good for a Sonic game"-- it was just seriously good in general. Sonic Colors saw an impressive blend of 3D Sonic with some 2.5D design brought in for pleasant measure. There was some fear there when Sega and Sonic Team announced the implementation of a new feature called Wisps, as in the past, any new feature generally brought the overall game. However, Wisps lent themselves well to the overall game, allowing Sonic a myriad of powers and abilities based on the Wisp type. The level design featured a mix of short and sweet levels as well as lengthier, traditional affairs. Sonic Colors also wasn't overly serious to a point of being absolutely ridiculous. Overall, Colors was a terrific 3D Sonic game, something that Sonic Team hadn't been consistent at making.

1) Sonic Generations (PS3, 360, PC)

A 20th anniversary Sonic the Hedgehog game, Sonic Generations brought the worlds of Classic Sonic and Modern Sonic into one stellar and speedy experience. Taking levels and zones from Sonic's past and present, Sonic Generations was a wonderful love letter to Sonic series fans, many who had been disappointed time and time again by Sonic Team's efforts. Thankfully, this effort was hardly a disappointment, offering mostly 2D gameplay with Classic Sonic and more 3D-style gameplay with Modern Sonic. Whichever Sonic was controlled by the player, they were going to get a highly capable, highly competent Sonic the Hedgehog game more than worthy for the 20th anniversary. Here's hoping that Sonic's upcoming entry, Sonic Forces, gives the franchise the game both the fans and the franchise deserve.

Happy Halloween: Spooky Levels in Non-Horror Video Games

Happy Halloween to all readers regular and passersby here at SuperPhillip Central! May your day be full of terror-ific fun! Man, I'm using puns as bad as the Cryptkeeper here! Nonetheless, it wouldn't be Halloween on SuperPhillip Central without some special article, and what better way to bring this haunted holiday than with a collection of some of my favorite spooky levels from video games. However, it'd be way too easy to mention those twisted locales from horror games, so we're going to take a look at some scary sights from non-horror video games. This list is hardly all of my favorites, so for some others, I guess we'll just have to wait until next Halloween!

Ghost Houses - Super Mario World

Super Mario World introduced a lot of new concepts to the world of Mario. From Yoshi to secret exits in levels to a new level type: ghost houses. The various ghost houses in Super Mario World are usually the most fiendish levels in the game. The enemies are usually impossible to keep down or even defeat for that matter, and if the enemies don't do you in, the multitude of fake doors leading to areas you've already been will play with your mind. The exits to these ghost houses are usually found through some type of puzzle, not quite like the normal levels where you can just run from one end of the level to the other. Some ghost houses are even home to the behemoth Big Boo, which makes for a rather exciting boss fight against someone other than Bowser or his Koopalings.

Twisted Mansion - Mario Kart 8 (Wii U)

I was mulling over which spooky race in Mario Kart I would have represent the series on this list. It was between this pick and Luigi's Mansion from Mario Kart DS and again in Mario Kart 7 as a retro race. However, Luigi's Mansion will be represented next, albeit in a different game series. Regardless, Twisted Mansion takes place under cloudy skies in a mysterious mansion where the track starts by driving through the entrance. After a split consisting of two parallel undulating pathways, a left U-turn curve is made. A shortcut that cuts off this curve is available to those with a Mushroom, jetting them through a tunnel full of bookshelves. Either way, you end up going underwater in a submerged basement filled with ultimately harmless but gruesome all the same fish made of nothing but bone. After escaping this damp dungeon, you glide over an outdoor fountain, ride up some steps on a slight curve and head towards the finish line, attempting to avoid a trio of statues that wish to pound you into pudding. Twisted Mansion has the look of a scary course, and it's just an overall fun haunt to race around on.

Luigi's Mansion - Luigi's Mansion (GCN)

Not only is Luigi's Mansion the star of the game of the same name (besides Luigi, of course), but it's also its own character really as well. The entire game takes place in and around the grounds of the mansion. The mansion only allows Luigi to explore a small amount of rooms at first, investigating them with his trusty Poltergust. Through gaining keys from solving simple to complex puzzles and taking on bosses, Luigi gains access to larger parts of the mansion. The environments of Luigi's Mansion are teeming with personality and ambiance, providing the character of the mansion that I talked about earlier. While the game is hardly scary at all, this ambiance gives the entire mansion an endearingly haunted charm.

Mad Monster Mansion - Banjo-Kazooie (N64, XBLA)

From one mansion to another, a late level in Banjo-Kazooie, which just so happens to remain my favorite 3D collect-a-thon-style platformer around, Mad Monster Mansion is a sprawling but dense level set under a midnight sky. Full of skeleton enemies, ghosts, and tricky bats, Mad Monster Mansion also contains lots of unique landmarks. The mansion itself rests in the center of the level, as the main point of interest. Banjo and Kazooie can even explore many of its rooms through smashing through windows. To the mansion's west is a shrub maze where ghoulish ghosts make their home, while to the north of that is an old cathedral where a ghostly hand tickles the ivories of a massive church organ. It's a haunted level full of tricks and treats, Mad Monster Mansion is a favorite spooky level of mine.

Haukke Manor - Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn (Multi)

There's nothing like a good story and background on a spooky setting to send chills down one's spine. The story behind Haukke Manor is one of a vain woman who desired to keep her beauty no matter what. It started with simple creams and tinctures, but when that wasn't enough, the woman started using the blood of her servants. Eventually she signed away her soul for eternal beauty, and her damned spirit still roams the halls of Haukke Manor. The manor itself is dripping with creepy atmosphere, and the battle encounters players find themselves participating in whether intentionally or not takes them fighting a myriad of macabre foes, including the vain woman of legend herself.

Pumpkin Hill - Sonic Adventure 2 (Multi)

The first level that players assume control of Knuckles during the Hero side of Sonic Adventure 2's dual-story setup, Pumpkin Hill is littered with the titular produce whether it's small pumpkins or massive-sized pumpkin structures strewn about in the horizon. Alongside the pumpkins are other spooky sights, such as villainous ghost enemies, gravestones, and skeletons. The goal of Knuckles' levels is to find three emerald shards hidden in different locations. Each time you play, the locations are switched up. But Knuckles ain't gonna let it get to him, as he's just gonna creep. Why let me say it, when you can hear it and see a jaunty little dance simultaneously?

Hang Castle - Sonic Heroes (PS2, GCN, XBX)

A less notorious pick from the Sonic the Hedgehog series than Sonic Adventure 2's Pumpkin Hill, due to a massive lack of memes and Knuckles raps, Hang Castle is a level in the second half of Sonic Heroes. It features Gothic-style architecture, crazy loops, and a foreboding sky. However, that isn't the main draw of this level. You see, Hang Castle has a rather clever mechanic to it. At different points in the level, Hang Castle becomes inverted, so the sky is now below Sonic and friends' feet and platforms that couldn't be accessed before can now be walked on. It's a wonderfully ingenious idea for a Sonic level, pending you can stomach Sonic Heroes long enough to reach it.

Shade Man's Stage - Mega Man 7 (SNES)

Let's go retro for this final example of a spooky level from a non-horror genre video game with Shade Man's stage from Mega Man 7, an often underrated entry in the series. Shade Man's stage feels very much like it escaped from Capcom's own Ghost 'n Goblins series, which is pretty coincidental that you can actually input a code before entering the level to hear the famous Ghost 'n Goblins theme instead of the stage's normal song. Regardless, you get robotic zombies rising from the ground and out of standing coffins, bats that awaken and fly downward in the Blue Bomber's path, and dangerous obstacles like platforms that smash downward, not inflicting instant death, but lots of pain instead. The midboss, a robotic pumpkin, holds the secret to two different alternate paths in the level, depending on where you inflict the final shot on it. From exploring the outside cemetery to entering the manic mansion, Shade Man's stage is highly memorable, probably the most memorable stage in Mega Man 7's decidedly impressive collection of levels.

SuperPhillip Central's Favorite VGMs - Cyber VGM Day Edition

Welcome to a special Cyber Monday edition of SuperPhillip Central's Favorite VGMs. I recommend taking a break from your online shopping pursuits and mellowing out with this fine assortment of five brand-new VGMs. There's music for everyone here, stuff from Star Fox, Parasite Eve, Sonic Heroes, and even some goodies from the Xbox 360 exclusive Beautiful Katamari and the PS1 classic Xenogears. Though if you think spoiling the final boss of a 15+ year-old game is irresponsible, you may have a problem with this edition!

To check out more VGM goodness, look no further than SuperPhillip Central's VGM Database.

v1016. Star Fox (SNES) - Asteroid Stage

Star Fox, report in. Time to fly your Arwings through the myriad of hazardous asteroids of all shapes and sizes. Perhaps if you're a skilled ace pilot you can find the means to travel to the mysterious Black Hole level from this stage. It's no easy task, so keep calm and steady your ships! With Star Fox Zero releasing early next year, it felt like a good time to hearken back to the Super Nintendo original with this theme.

v1017. Parasite Eve (PS1) - Out of Phase

A catchy theme that plays an ostinato throughout most of its duration, Parasite Eve's Out of Phase is a composition from the incomparable Yoko Shimomura, better known for her work on the Kingdom Hearts franchise and the upcoming Final Fantasy XV. Parasite Eve deserved better as a franchise than to end on a sour note with the PSP's The 3rd Birthday.

v1018. Sonic Heroes (PS2, GCN, XBX) - Frog Forest

Time for a mellow rock theme with Frog Forest from Sonic Heroes, a game that tried a lot of new things, most specifically its three character team approach. Depending on who you talk to, the outcome of Sonic Heroes and its quality remain debatable. However, one point that can't be argued by SuperPhillip Central's standards is the excellently done soundtrack, a mainstay in the Sonic the Hedgehog series for the most part.

v1019. Beautiful Katamari (360) - Guru Guru Gravity

Time to get grooving with the tubular rhythm of Guru Guru Gravity, a lively track from Beautiful Katamari, the Xbox brand's lone Katamari Damacy title. If you're like SuperPhillip Central, you might agree that the Katamari Damacy series got milked for all it was worth, removing a lot of the innovation in future games. Still, we can't help but enjoy immensely wacky franchises like this one.

v1020. Xenogears (PS1) - Awakening

The final boss theme of Xenogears, Awakening is a tense thrill ride from beginning to end. Released in a limited capacity, Xenogears ended up outselling Squaresoft's expectations, making it one of the more valuable PlayStation games from the company. Regardless of the gameplay, what makes Xenogears truly shine in SuperPhillip Central's book is the soundtrack, composed by the phenomenal Yasunori Mitsuda.