Having never played any of the other games in this series, I can't say where it stands within the series, but as a standalone title, I think this game is simply fantastic. The level design is fun and varied, with a steady trickle of new enemies that never completely replace the original handful of foes you see in Turtle Woods. Each of the "styles" of level is fun in its own way, and the devs did a great job of really boiling down what made each type of level fun and challenging in a way that made each style feel unique. Visually, the game is a (remastered) PS1 game...that being said, the various "death" animations are weirdly hilarious to watch, and I always knew what I was looking at (so to speak). The colors are bright without being garish, and again, each level and enemy felt unique. Story-wise, a mutant bandicoot goes to "help" his former opponent and learns he's been duped...it's not super deep or thought-provoking fare, but for the target audience and for what the game is, I think it does a good job of getting the story across without being TOO dumb or too preachy. The music is quite good as well, with each of the soundtracks doing a good job of establishing the action and setting of the stages. From a gameplay standpoint, the game is beatable in about 4 hours with only a few sections that you may find frustrating, but attempting to 100% the game requires dedication, skill, and maybe a little bit of luck. I feel the game strikes a great balance in how this is handled, with the primary paths to beat each stage being separated from the secret or "difficult" ones so as to offer good challenges to those who WANT them. As far as weak points go: 1) I personally HATED the jetpack sections because the controls felt so unnatural, but there's only three of them so it wasn't terrible enough to ruin an otherwise great experience. 2) The boss fights were more like speed bumps than actual obstacles to prevent your advance through the game, and felt a bit "tacked on"...however, they also act as a nice cap to each warp room, and the levels themselves are so varied and challenging that I didn't mind a handful of 3 hit KO bosses mixed in.