Talk:Hamtaro: Ham-Hams Unite!/GA1

GA Review
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Reviewer: Alexandra IDV (talk · contribs) 22:28, 8 September 2019 (UTC)

I love this series, particularly the later games for GBA~! Will do a review of this soon, hopefully within a day or two.--Alexandra IDVtalk 22:28, 8 September 2019 (UTC)
 * Apologies, been sick! (but you know this because I told you on Discord). But yeah, here is the review - I've split it up by section:


 * Lead
 * The current single-paragraph lead is quite lengthy - split into two for improved readability
 * If you at all want to include the Japanese title in the lead (rather than in a footnote), it is preferable to list the romanized title (Tottoko Hamtaro 2: Hamu-chanzu Daishuugou Dechu) in the lead, and footnote the Japanese spelling, as the average English-speaker will not be able to even parse Japanese characters.
 * Italicize names of works, such as Hamtaro, IGN and Eurogamer
 * It being the final GBC game published in Europe is not mentioned in the article body; either add this to the body with a source, or strike it from the lead
 * Players control protagonist Hamtaro, who is tasked with collecting all of his friends and returning them to the clubhouse as well as collecting words missing from the "Hamchat" dictionary. - "collecting" friends is an odd way of phrasing it. I would prefer to have it phrased something like "gathering his friends and bringing them to the clubhouse". Additionally, unless otherwise stated, it is assumed that the player-controlled character is the protagonist, so this feels a little superfluous - I would probably write "Players control the hamster Hamtaro"
 * It received generally positive reception The last it mentioned was the Hamchat dictionary. I know what you mean, but you should change "it" to "The game" or something similar since we're talking about a new subject here.
 * with 497,061 copies sold - this is the lead, which aims to summarize the article briefly. I would probably only mention the exact number in the reception section, and stick to saying it was the seventh best-selling GBC game in Japan in the lead.
 * I think should be mentioned that Unite is the second game in a series, and that you should mention the first game, Tottoko Hamtaro: Tomodachi Daisakusen Dechu, by name, not just the sequels.


 * Infobox
 * You should add Hamtaro to the series parameter. This should also be linked at some point in the lead ("It is the second game in the Hamtaro series, based on the anime series of the same name", or something to that effect).


 * Gameplay and premise
 * This is a minor thing, but there is a subtle difference between a character doing something within the game world and a player playing the game - make sure not to mix these up. For example, saying that Hamtaro gathers his friends works, but "using the appropriate dialogue options" seems more like a player thing. Consider using "The player" here rather than "he"/"Hamtaro".
 * This, too, is a rather lengthy paragraph. Consider splitting it in two for improved readability.
 * What do the four basic Hamchat words mean? (You and I may know, but you should be able to understand the article without being familiar with these)
 * We know what a question mark is, it is not necessary to specify with a "(?)"
 * Players can trade outfits using the Game Boy Color's infra-red port. - may be good to specify that players can trade with each other.


 * Development and Sequel
 * These are two very short sections. I would recommend merging them, and mention the sequel(s) at the end of the development section.


 * Reception
 * We round GameRankings scores, so change that 76.31% to 76%
 * Because we have a table, naming scores in actual text is unnecessary. GameRankings is also written as one word.
 * Italicize names of works
 * This is not a requirement for the GA review to pass, but it would be an improvement to group comments together when possible.
 * It is the seventh best-selling Game Boy Color game in Japan, with 497,061 copies sold. This is one of the Big Ideas presented in this sentence. I would consider opening with a paragraph about the sales and the GR score, and then continue with a new paragraph containing the reviewer comments.


 * References
 * Not a requirement for GA, but adding archive links to all articles would be good, especially with this being an older game mostly covered in older articles.


 * Images
 * The rationale for the cover art is quite lacking. Please fill it in and explain that it is used for identification purposes, is in a low resolution, and cannot be replaceable with free media.
 * The gameplay screenshot's rationale is not entirely filled out, see above for specific comments.
 * I would also consider replacing the gameplay screenshot with one showing off the gameplay that is discussed - that is, solving puzzles with Hamchat
 * I would also consider not uploading a screenshot of a GBC game that is of a higher resolution than that of the GBC itself. Scaling the picture like this is unnecessary, and deforms pixel art (notice how some pixels are larger than others).
 * Not necessary for GA, but consider adding alt text for images, for improved accessibility for readers with a screen reader. These do not have to be long - the one for the cover art may be something like "The cover shows an illustration of Hamtaro in front of a sunflower." for example.


 * Checklist
 * GA review (see here for what the criteria are, and here for what they are not)


 * 1) It is reasonably well written.
 * a (prose, spelling, and grammar): b (MoS for lead, layout, word choice, fiction, and lists):
 * 1) It is factually accurate and verifiable.
 * a (reference section): b (citations to reliable sources):  c (OR):  d (copyvio and plagiarism):
 * 1) It is broad in its coverage.
 * a (major aspects): b (focused):
 * 1) It follows the neutral point of view policy.
 * Fair representation without bias:
 * 1) It is stable.
 * No edit wars, etc.:
 * 1) It is illustrated by images and other media, where possible and appropriate.
 * a (images are tagged and non-free content have fair use rationales): b (appropriate use with suitable captions):
 * 1) Overall:
 * Pass/Fail:
 * 1) It is illustrated by images and other media, where possible and appropriate.
 * a (images are tagged and non-free content have fair use rationales): b (appropriate use with suitable captions):
 * 1) Overall:
 * Pass/Fail:
 * 1) Overall:
 * Pass/Fail:

All right! This looks like a lot, but it's really quite close to GA status - each bullet point should, for the most part, be rather easy to address. I'm putting this on hold for now - ping me when you're done, or if you need to ask me something.--Alexandra IDVtalk 00:48, 14 September 2019 (UTC)
 * Comments/discussion
 * Thank you for taking care of these! Congrats on the new GA, I will pass the article now~!--Alexandra IDVtalk 02:21, 14 September 2019 (UTC)