[Browser] Demon Quest (2012)

How:
Found out while browsing Indiegames.com.
Pros:
- Nice graphics
Cons:
- Very short
- Glitchy interface
- Useless puzzles (like activating the fire alarm)

[Browser] Guilded Youth (2012)

How:
Covered in the monthly freeware games feature on adventuregamers.com.
Pros:
- A fun and lighthearted augmented IF game
- Nice idea of the BBS game mode
Cons:
- For some reason sound effects do not work

[DS] Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney (2005)

How:
Heard about it on adventuresplanet.it, got it for my girlfriend as soon as she got the console. Then, she heartily recommended it.
Pros:
- Awesome gameplay mixing visual novel storytelling and puzzle solving (especially the "extra" chapter, where you get to examine objects and use Luminol and fingerprint powder)
- Compelling, awesomely written story
- Great FM music
- Amazing characters with very strong features and dialogues
- Puzzles themselves are not difficult, but solving them feels highly rewarding
Cons:
- Too much white flashing during trials
- Must show evidence exactly when the game expects it, cannot forward-think too much
- Some unresponsiveness when doing things quickly
- Typos in the Italian translation
- Some awkward moments (Wright is constantly mocked by anybody for no evident reason, trials often lose focus and some arguments are very shaky) 

[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