Toree's Panic Pack

I hesitate to call this a gem because the camera is really busted and some parts are super cryptic and ridiculous, but... it's very good, and probably my favorite game in this series. Much of the complaints about the game have been patched, though it can be really hard to understand what you're supposed to be doing. Basically, the title screen shows three games that look like old Dreamcast-era titles. The first one is a linear three stage game where you collect three crystals on each stage and progress to the exit. The second one is very similar but labyrinthian, with a stage select screen. The third and final one is styled like "Metal Gear VR" but they aren't stealth missions, just missions where you complete an objective as quickly as possible to open up the exit. It gets odder than that. When you actually collect the crystals in the first game, you will be granted a "Golden Toree" mode (Obviously a reference to golden Sonic). Now, the three stages in the first game will now appear in the stage select screen. You can toggle Golden Toree mode on or off, but you will have a seperate ranking for both regular and Golden Toree. I had no clue what was going on for the first several hours playing this. Each of these stages also has star collection, and the ranking is basically designed to go for "A" or "S" rank. Achieving "S" rank on all these stages is difficult, but it's much harder in Toree Missions. Toree Missions is by far the most brutal thing in this game, mostly due to stages where you fly through rings and the camera makes it super unclear where you can go. But it's also fun because it's more arcade style of gaming, with lots of really tricky sections that require slight adjustments to your playstyle to win. I got all the "S" ranks across all three games, found all of the star collectibles, and collected the four CDs. For this you unlock three additional characters, but the only one you really need to bother with is the bat because he can collect the CDs easier. The game's music is fantastic and while it recycles assets from previous games I like the more "Sonic the Hedgehog" vibes and the fact that the stages are much more labyrinthian and open. It's more complex and interesting than Toree 1 and 2, but also more broken. Still, I was thoroughly challenged and got an adrenaline rush when I finally powered through the final few mission stages and completed this monstrosity, so I highly recommend it IF you don't mind hard and broken games.