[PC] Tex Murphy: Martian Memorandum (1991)

How:
Bought in a bundle together with the first one.
Pros:
- Moody sci-fi/noir setting
- Very nice atmosphere and presentation combining 2D graphics and FMV
- Gameplay improvements of the point and click sessions over the previous installment
- Investigation is always fun
- Addition of music is welcome
- Almost all characters have voiceover
Cons:
- Interrogating people involves repeatedly going through dialogue trees until you get the answer that doesn't piss them off
- Music is nice but very low quality
- Many possible dead ends
- The yellow descriptions over location backgrounds are hardly readable
- Some annoying arcade and trial&error parts (kill the snake, pass through the quicksands, ...)

[DS] Professor Layton and the Unwound Future (2008)

How:
Just the well advertised sequel to a game which I enjoyed in its previous installments.
Pros:
- Nice story, well integrated with the puzzles, gameplay never gets boring
- A lot of cut-scenes
- Nice mini-games
- Very long
- Sheds a new light on Layton's past and Luke, endowing them with a real personality
- Puzzles are well balanced
Cons:
- Sometimes contradictory in a creepy way, all feelings are rationalized in an unsettling manner
- Flora is for some reason frequently forgotten and overlooked, she mostly feels (and is treated) like a pain in the ass
- All revolves around the cardinal and awkward concept of "being a gentleman", spoiling the good moments in the story

[PC] The 7th Guest (1993)

How:
Always heard about it from my junior years, always wondered what kind of game that was. Finally came out on gog.com, bought it right away.
Pros:
- Very nice retro creepy graphics mixing simply textured 3D with FMV
- The main character (Ego) speaks!
- Nice music fitting the creepy atmosphere in a mocking way
- Thankfully it's short
- There is one interesting puzzle
Cons:
- The game mostly consist in moving randomly around the house looking for puzzles
- Movements and gameplay are so f*cking SLOW that solving and looking for puzzles is a pain more than anything else
- Puzzle difficulty is utterly unbalanced, with few original puzzles
- The game flow is continuously and annoyingly interrupted by a mocking Stauf or Ego himself
- Music and voice-over are unbalanced
- The storytelling is broken and confused
- Acting is sub-par

[PC] Torin's Passage (1995)

How:
Knew about it from old magazines I had when I was a kid. Grabbed it when I saw its release on GoG.
Pros:
- Very good voiceovers
- Nice cartoon-ish graphics and animations
- Likable characters
- Funny and light humor all throughout
- Mixes 2D cartoon graphics with 3D close-ups of the inventory items, a style that I love
- Well balanced puzzles for a family adventure
Cons:
- Some annoying pixel hunting
- Some screen areas become active only when the correct item is being used on them
- The storytelling feels rushed, character development and relationships develop too quickly (e.g. Torin and Leena) and few motivations are given for most of the puzzles
- Music is of alternating quality
- Underwhelming finale

[SNES] Chrono Trigger (1995)

How:
Suggested by a couple of Japanese friends and finally by an Italian friend willing to play a Japanese RPG together. We considered the game to be the perfect start for testing our new USB gamepad for the SNES.
Pros:
- Beautiful graphics and music
- Very enthralling story
- Grinding is virtually non existent, encounters are for the most part avoidable and integrate greatly with the environment
- A lot of paths and different endings
- Exciting combat system with dozens of different attacks and combinations of them thereof, each with its own gorgeous animation
- Many epic boss fights
- Items and weapons clearly state their characteristics and who can equip them
- Never gets frustrating
- Not exceedingly linear
Cons:
- Overall too easy, only manages to get almost challenging towards the end and only if foes are fought the wrong way
- Some translation defects
- Some glitches
- Main character is always silent and makes it difficult to create a bond with him 

[FC] Ys (1987)

How:
Came to know about it through the extensive HG101 article. Gave it a try and found the gameplay lightheartedly fun.
Pros:
- Fun and light action RPG
- Painless level grinding
- Very nice graphics for the most part
- Amazing music by Yuzo Koshiro
- Can save the game at any time
Cons:
- Boss fights are either frustratingly difficult or excessively easy
- Total lack of magic and such
- Almost no economy at all, gold quickly reaches the maximum allowed and has no use
- Some areas can be utterly confusing (the caves, the mirror maze)
- Very small world, with just two towns, three dungeons, and just a few items

[DS] Another Code: Two Memories (2005)

How:
Saw (didn't read) a positive review on Adventuregamers.com during a DS adventures lookout. Convinced by the fact it is developed by Cing, the same guys behind Hotel Dusk.
Pros:
- Gameplay is light and fun
- Very good presentation overall
- The game just feels good to play and always keeps you interested
Cons:
- Puzzles are too easy
- The plot can be confusing if enough attention is not paid
- Ending is quite anti-climatic and cliche somehow

[DS] Etrian Odyssey (2007)

How:
Somebody mentioned the game on Hardcoregaming101's forums (was looking for good DS RPG's). Got convinced by the music for the first level.

Pros:
- Amazing music by Yuzo Koshiro
- A lot of side-quests, some of which are actually nice
- Cool enemies, graphics and setting in general
- Fights can be hard and rewarding
- Well balanced for the most part
- A lot of weapons, items, magic and character classes make for many different gameplay strategies
- The mapping functionality can be fun
Cons:
- The main game is way too lengthy. Could and should have been one or two strata (5-10 levels out of 30) shorter
- Very shallow story with no side characters and rare events (and dubious ethics as well)
- Very few dialogues, cut-scenes and anything story-related
- The mapping system lacks some necessary tools, e.g. something to paint damage tiles and something to keep track of source/destination warps (quicksands, lily flowers)
- Random encounters are so very frequent

[PC] Juniper's Knot (2012)

How:
Got to this via Dischan's website after having played the demo of Cradle Song. Got to Cradle Song by googling for some visual novels I guess.

Pros:
- Nice, enthralling story and good execution
- Very nice drawings
Cons:
- Music could have been better

[FC] ラディア戦記 ・黎明篇 (1991)

How:
Somebody was suggesting this in some forum, together with STED and Fire Emblem (possibly hg101's); got to it during a NES/FC RPG foray soon after finishing Lagrange Point.

Pros:
- Encounters are not frustratingly frequent as in other RPGs of the time
- Nice, memorable music
- Cool cut-scenes
- Nice graphics
- There's always something happening
- A nice lightweight action-RPG over all
Cons:
- Boss fights are way too easy and unrewarding
- Some nice ideas in the story end up being used in the naivest way
- Items and medicines are mostly useless, can do very well without caring at all
- Magic spells are unclear and underwhelming
- Dungeons are too short
- The plot is a bit confusing

[Browser] Rizzoli & Isles - The Boston Butcher (2012)

How:
After playing the first episode I was actually on the lookout for a second one. Eventually came up in Adventuregamers.com monthly free adventures feature.

Pros:
- Nice mood, fun enough to play
- Crime stories always keep tension high (kind of)
Cons:
- Generally worse and easier than the previous episode
- Graphics are somewhat lacking
- Very short

[Browser] Wentworth (2012)

How:
Came up in Adventuregamers.com monthly free adventures feature. Was convinced in playing it since it's from the same people behind the Reemus series of adventures.

Pros:
- Nice light adventure in a funny setting
- Fun puzzles, mostly based on using the right magic spell on the right object, which feels good
- Greatly animated
- Neat and fitting music
Cons:
- A somewhat confusing premise

[Browser] The Several Journeys of Reemus - Prologue, Chapters 1-4 (2008-2012)

How:
Having heard good things on the full-length adventure (basically on Adventuregamers.com), and people mentioning this free series as "the best adventures you can find for Android", decided to go for it.

Pros:
- Funny writing and nice puzzles
- Nice, colorful characters and animations
- Neat sound effects
- Likable characters all throughout
- Gradually moves from click-your-way-through-the-room to light adventuring
- The red bugs!
Cons:
- Some showstopping bugs (Ch. 3), luckily can reset the level though
- Music is avoidable for the most part
- Moves to ugly font after the first two chapters

[PC] Mystery Case Files: Madame Fate (2007)

How:
Being a fan of Mystery Case Files (essentially Dire Grove and The 13th Skull), didn't think twice when a new offer came up on Bigfish.

Pros:
- Very good graphics in a nicely disturbing setting
- Some interesting Rube Goldberg-like puzzles close each level
- Fun ending twist linking to the Ravenhearst game
- Good voiceover for Madame Fate
Cons:
- A neverending, yet possibly pleasant HOG with a few rooms and frequently recurring items
- The word games can get really tedious
- Few motivations: you, the detective, find yourself in a mysterious amusement park

[PC] Hollywood Monsters (1997)

Pros:
- Nice opening music
- Very nice character animations and general look-and-feel
- Good voiceovers in general
- Some good jokes
Cons:
- Background graphics quality is generally really mediocre and clashes with the otherwise good characters and rooms
- Some annoying characters and stupid humour
- Terrible puzzle design, basically every puzzle is inventory based and there are dozens of items at any given time with no hint on their usage whatsoever
- Frustratingly impossible to play without a walkthrough
- Some annoying reflex puzzles

[PC] Egress - The test of STS-417 (2011)

Pros:
- Very nice graphics and music
- Very smart final revelation, putting the player under judgement
- Compelling from start till end
Cons:
- Very short
- A little mistake in the final dialogue tree will lead you to restart
- Just a few puzzles, which are also a bit annoying
- Events (such as walking) are too slow

[PC] .heartbeats (2012)

Pros:
- Smart idea of having four heartbeats corresponding to four characters and the beat reflecting player choices
Cons:
- Tries to be sad and so on
- Could have worked better with better music and better graphics in general (although minimal, graphics such as fonts could be made better)

[Browser] Exposed (2012)

Pros:
- Fun trial & error short puzzler

[Browser] Memento XII (2012)

Pros:
- Nice pixel graphics
Cons:
- Cannot directly use inventory items, action system a bit illogical
- Forcibly sad

[PC] UNGA needs MUMBA (2012)

Pros:
- A brilliantly humorous and smart prehistoric adventure
- Great, fitting music
- Consistent and colorful graphics
- Fun voiceovers
- Fun puzzles

[PC] He Watches (Demo) (2011)

Pros:
- Very nice retro graphics
- Nice atmosphere, and also the story is promising
- Nice objectives and data gathering system
Cons:
- Very few puzzles
- Descriptions are definitely lacking
- Cannot skip text
- Underwhelming music
- The main character doesn't seem to feel any tension or whatever

[PC] City (Demo) (2011)

Pros:
- Great graphics as always
- Nice background music
- Nice premise and simple yet enjoyable puzzles
Cons:
- Some script and dialogue bugs
- The mood is a bit monotonous, it might help to add more people, sounds, items here and there

[PC] The Old Tree (2012)

Pros:
- Nice atmosphere
Cons:
- Reminiscent of Machinarium
- Too easy and poetic

[PC] King's Quest II: Romancing the Stones (AGDI remake) (2010)

Pros:
- Beautiful drawings and scenery
- Very good puzzles, with different solutions (changing the final score of course)
- Nice story full of humorous takes on fantasy clichés with an original twist
- A great attention to detail all throughout
- Full voice-over with a great narrator
Cons:
- Need to pixel-hunt to exit screens
- Bad speech-music volume ratio, music turns out to be really disadvantaged
- Quality of the voice acting (both the recording quality and the actors themselves) has highs and lows
- The final song is a bit embarrassing

[PC] Submerged - LaSol (2011)

Pros:
- A short and urgent escape-the-room game with enjoyable puzzles
- Some realistic red herrings
Cons:
- Items cannot be deselected quickly and it soon gets annoying since there is so little time
- The game flow is broken by unnerving item descriptions and slow text

[PC] ~airwave~ - I Fought the Law, and the Law One (2011)

Pros:
- Great graphics and smooth animations
Cons:
- Background music gets distracting
- Mediocre voice acting
- A bit dull and boring

[PC] The Unfolding Spider (2011)

Pros:
- A short and dark interactive story with coherent pixel graphics and nice color contrasts
Cons:
- Confusing and unclear in a "spur of the moment" kind of way

[PC] Mystery Case Files: Ravenhearst (2006)

Cons:
- Pure HOG with a letdown story and few motivations
- Hidden object scenes are always the same, often need to find the same objects over again
- Cannot detect objects quickly, have to wait some seconds after each detection
- The diary puzzle sections are silly
- Overly lengthy and repetitive
- Repetitive sounds and spare music

[PC] The Book of Unwritten Tales (2009)

Pros:
- Humorous, fun and packed with references and self-irony
- Beautiful graphics and animations
- Great music
- Intelligent, never obvious
- Cool story and setting
- Nice puzzles with average difficulty and some genius script
- Rather lengthy
Cons:
- Graphic and sound glitches keep the game from being perfect
- Actual dialogues differ quite a lot from dialogue choices and sometimes from spoken audio
- Abrupt ending with no final confrontation
- Inventory looks cool but feels a bit uncomfortable at times

[FC] Dream Master (1992)

How:
Actually found it out myself by randomly clicking my way through the all-roms collection I have, looking for something fun and unusual.

Pros:
- No grinding at all
- A light and immediate hybrid RPG/puzzle/adventure game
- Beautiful illustrations
- There's always something happening
- A replayable RPG for once
Cons:
- A bit too easy
- Sometimes unfair (damned warp tiles)

[PC] Draculator II: Byte of the Draculator (2011)

Pros:
- An enjoyable work of passion
Cons:
- Too short even for a simple homage to the genre
- Too easy and direct, few locations
- Voice acting is just ok

[Browser] Loondon (2010)

Pros:
- Beautiful drawings
- A short and poignant interactive story

[Browser] The Fabulous Screech (2012)

Pros:
- A whimsical, dreamy, touching little story

[PC] Quasar (2011)

Pros:
- Nice retro feel
- Get to play 4 different characters
Cons:
- Gameplay feels rough

[PC] ^_^ (2012)

Pros:
- Neat graphics, fun to play, funny characters
Cons:
- Very short

[PC] ZERO2 (2012)

Pros:
- Nice atmosphere and setting
- Nice renders
Cons:
- No music or sound at all
- So short it makes it pointless

[PC] Hotline (2012)

Pros:
- Nice, little and branching

[PC] Life of D. Duck II (2008)

How:
Having enjoyed the first game, always been curious of trying this one as well but was held back by negative reviews. At some point I remembered it and just grabbed it.

Pros:
- Fun, odd, violent at times
- Puzzles are rather fun and well balanced, somehow reminds of good old Dizzy Island
- Rather long-lived
Cons:
- Can be a bit tedious with all the traveling
- The race minigame is fun but 5 minutes are way too long!

[DS] Rhapsody: A Musical Adventure (2008)

Pros:
- A lightweight turn-based RPG with fairies, sleepy kittens and a princess
- Enjoyable story and characters
- No real grinding needed, gameplay flows easily to provide some light challenges at times
- A wide range of playable characters, each with his powers and special moves
- Nice relaxing music
- Neat pixel graphics
Cons:
- Some really annoying showstopping bugs impose the need to save often, which naturally breaks the game flow
- Other minor graphical / dialogue glitches and bugs
- Side-quests are unclear and easily missable
- It's so easy you will not care for items or equip the characters properly

[DS] Ghost Trick: Phantom Detective (2010)

Pros:
- Amazing use of chromostereopsis gives a sense of depth (especially in the ghost world)
- Great fitting music
- Amazing animations and pixel graphics
- Great mystery story
- Always entertaining from start to end
- Manages to keep gameplay always fresh and satisfying
Cons:
- Sometimes the game gives too many hints (makes you feel dumb, spoils the surprise)
- Very linear, doesn't give much freedom, it would be cool to have the possibility to explore the surroundings in search for clues

[PC] Alter Ego (2010)

Pros:
- Beautiful graphics
- Gloomy, dark mood
- Tension builds up nicely as theories are made and the mystery unravels
- Great voiceover
- Quite entertaining from start to end
Cons:
- A bit too much on the easy side
- Music should be more present throughout
- Some animation glitches
- The ending is totally unrewarding
- With a few touches this could have been one of the best horror adventures ever

[FC] Lagrange Point (1991)

How:
Read a convincing review appearing on HG101 in a regular weekly update. Got interested by the space environment and by the introductory cut-scene.
Pros:
- Amazing music from start to end
- Nice playing characters to create a bond with
- Can choose among various human and robot characters for the roster, each having his/her/its peculiarities and role in the story
- Special moves (きめわざ) evolve (at least for the main character) and are fun to watch
- Many monsters
- Nice story and nice narration
- 武器合体!!! With each single weapon boasting its own graphical effect and sound when used
- Status ailments are not aggressive and annoying as usual
- Penalty for death is minimal, characters faint anyway beforehand
- Overall very enjoyable and friendly
Cons:
- Random encounters are way too frequent
- BP are annoying and useless
- An annoying graphical glitch on the border of the screen (which may be due to the emulation after all)
- The game can be beaten basically with just enough grinding without resorting to special moves and special items, which should have been rendered more essential for making progress

[DS] Professor Layton and the Diabolical Box (2007)

Pros:
- Nice story and final resolution
- Nice minigames and characters
- Nice puzzles overall
- A kind of secluded dark mood permeates the game
Cons:
- The little hamster has a hateful voice (the Italian version is way more cute)
- Some puzzles are unclear, ambiguous or incredibly easy (e.g. the line of trees)
- Difficulty is unbalanced throughout the game
- Is really Flora supposed to be unrecognizable with those glasses? Didn't she leave together with Layton and Luke in the previous game?

[PC] Azada: In Libro (2011)

Pros:
- Neat graphics, good variety of music
- Nice settings
- The crying unicorn!
Cons:
- Sometimes the graphics don't match (e.g. the notary at the beginning)
- Some events are foretold in the diary, in general there are problems with continuity
- Ending is underwhelming and anti-climatic
- A very small world
- Extremely light (not challenging and no hidden object sequences)

[PC] Monkey Island 2: Special Edition (2010)

Pros:
- Beautiful graphics and music
- Can play both versions at any time with a cool transient effect
- Much more fluent and swift than the original
Cons:
- Can't skip dialogue
- Music is not given proper weight, buggy transitions
- Guybrush seems floating when walking towards the screen
- New graphics and voiceovers kill much of the creepiness and goofiness of the original game
- The last part needs a very quick hand