Addiholic
2022
If anyone knows me, I'm the king of trying to champion a game that the "gamers" shit on, that's actually not that bad. Forspoken was one of my favorite games last year and was a blast, and early into Gotham Knights I thought this might be another one. Unfortunately, as you get further into the game, you realize that it really is half baked, was clearly planned to be live service, and the talent just wasn't there to make this the game it needed to be.
This game poses a lot of problems for playing it SP. The story doesn't feel as effective, you get really no time with the other characters (unless you switch yourself). Playing it co-op would;d probably be no fun, but this certainly wasn't designed to be a SP first game.
The story has its moments, and some fun boss fights (probably the highlight of the game for me) but the ending is really dumb, and there's a lot of stupid stuff along the way.
The combat is a clear step down from the Arkham trilogy (along with the visuals, and well, a lot of things from that trilogy). I think if this game existed in a timeline without those games, we might look a little bit more positive upon this game. Unfortunately as it is, it's quite mid, and will be forgotten about by next week.
I still have hope for Suicide Squad (perhaps stupidly) but if that's a miss too, WB will have totally lost my trust with anything DC related.
This game poses a lot of problems for playing it SP. The story doesn't feel as effective, you get really no time with the other characters (unless you switch yourself). Playing it co-op would;d probably be no fun, but this certainly wasn't designed to be a SP first game.
The story has its moments, and some fun boss fights (probably the highlight of the game for me) but the ending is really dumb, and there's a lot of stupid stuff along the way.
The combat is a clear step down from the Arkham trilogy (along with the visuals, and well, a lot of things from that trilogy). I think if this game existed in a timeline without those games, we might look a little bit more positive upon this game. Unfortunately as it is, it's quite mid, and will be forgotten about by next week.
I still have hope for Suicide Squad (perhaps stupidly) but if that's a miss too, WB will have totally lost my trust with anything DC related.
1987
Wow what a little piece of gaming history here. Look, I went into this game expecting to either drop or get filtered right the fuck out of it. This game is ancient after all and while the pixel remaster did have some modern boosts here, it's still dated, and I figured that this was gonna be a problem for me.
And to be honest I almost did. I got my ass handed to me in the Marsh Cave a few times, and I quit the game, uninstalled it, and was ready to move on. However, something pulled me back a couple hours, and I'm so so glad I did. This game is genuinely really great for it's time, and it's clear why this series has lasted for as long as it has from the very start.
Obviously the story here isn't anything too special, in its humble beginnings, but it's fun making up your own storylines as you go, with your party members. It's so cozy, and the music is wonderful. The combat is super simplistic but quite fun in a weird way, and even grinding is made to be enjoyable here.
This is where I embark on my journey of playing 1-6, and if this is the starting point, I can't WAIT to see what some of these future games have in store for me. Banger.
And to be honest I almost did. I got my ass handed to me in the Marsh Cave a few times, and I quit the game, uninstalled it, and was ready to move on. However, something pulled me back a couple hours, and I'm so so glad I did. This game is genuinely really great for it's time, and it's clear why this series has lasted for as long as it has from the very start.
Obviously the story here isn't anything too special, in its humble beginnings, but it's fun making up your own storylines as you go, with your party members. It's so cozy, and the music is wonderful. The combat is super simplistic but quite fun in a weird way, and even grinding is made to be enjoyable here.
This is where I embark on my journey of playing 1-6, and if this is the starting point, I can't WAIT to see what some of these future games have in store for me. Banger.
2023
Blame Parrott
Thanks to Raynik for gifting me this!
I played through quite a few endings (spent a couple hours here) and what I've seen there's no really true ending (though I have rolled credits)
What a weird unique and funny game. I really like these guys styles (I was a fan of accounting+ too)
There's so much to do and see here, and so many variations, and the newly added in stuff seems very clever. Marking this as complete for now, but I'll probably fool around with it in down time and try to find any endings I missed. Banger for sure.
I played through quite a few endings (spent a couple hours here) and what I've seen there's no really true ending (though I have rolled credits)
What a weird unique and funny game. I really like these guys styles (I was a fan of accounting+ too)
There's so much to do and see here, and so many variations, and the newly added in stuff seems very clever. Marking this as complete for now, but I'll probably fool around with it in down time and try to find any endings I missed. Banger for sure.
1992
My original plan was to play FF 1-6 this year in order, after falling in love with FFXVI and really realizing what a gap this was for me. I finished FF1 just a few weeks ago, and was surprised how much I enjoyed it and was ready to jump into FF2 but life threw me a little curve ball. I forgot that the final run of GDQ this year was FFV, and at the recommendation of a friend, that I would not want to be spoiled, I decided to jump to this one next so I could watch the run spoiler free (which was 100% the right decision)
This is a fantastic game, very different from what you'd expect from a FF game, so I can see why it's not talked about so much, but it's genuinely great. The Job system is maybe one of my favourite combat mechanics I've ever had in a JRPG period. It made the combat fun for me, trying new styles, and trying to max out whatever I could before my final battle with Exdeath at the end of the game. It's such a shame that this job system was really mostly abandoned from what I've been told and doesn't show up again (albiet it, I've heard 3 has a stripped down version of it).
The story is really good. It takes a while to get cooking, and in the first few hours of my 25 hour adventure, I was wondering if this game was really THAT much of an upgrade over FF1, but once the story gets flowing, the characters fully introduced, and the stakes set, it's clear that this is a decent upgrade.
I think the thing that holds this back from being even higher for me is Bartz. He's a solid character, but as far as FF protagonists go, he's one of the weaker ones for me (which isn't a giant insult, most of the ones I adore have some of the best protagnoists I've played in games). The rest of the cast is great though, with Galuf being a huge stand out, and Gilgamesh perhaps going from a character I couldn't stand, to one I couldn't get enough of by the end of it, totally goated.
Overall though, this was a wonderful game, and while not quite as dire, and dark as some other FF entries (though with plenty of heart break, and tough moments) it's a great game, and worthy of more praise than it gets.
This is a fantastic game, very different from what you'd expect from a FF game, so I can see why it's not talked about so much, but it's genuinely great. The Job system is maybe one of my favourite combat mechanics I've ever had in a JRPG period. It made the combat fun for me, trying new styles, and trying to max out whatever I could before my final battle with Exdeath at the end of the game. It's such a shame that this job system was really mostly abandoned from what I've been told and doesn't show up again (albiet it, I've heard 3 has a stripped down version of it).
The story is really good. It takes a while to get cooking, and in the first few hours of my 25 hour adventure, I was wondering if this game was really THAT much of an upgrade over FF1, but once the story gets flowing, the characters fully introduced, and the stakes set, it's clear that this is a decent upgrade.
I think the thing that holds this back from being even higher for me is Bartz. He's a solid character, but as far as FF protagonists go, he's one of the weaker ones for me (which isn't a giant insult, most of the ones I adore have some of the best protagnoists I've played in games). The rest of the cast is great though, with Galuf being a huge stand out, and Gilgamesh perhaps going from a character I couldn't stand, to one I couldn't get enough of by the end of it, totally goated.
Overall though, this was a wonderful game, and while not quite as dire, and dark as some other FF entries (though with plenty of heart break, and tough moments) it's a great game, and worthy of more praise than it gets.
Interesting game here, and while I found myself oddly unsatisfied by the end of the game, I can't deny the game has a lot of charm, heart, and overall worth playing.
First of all, a huge shout out to the main Frog himself for gifting me this game, and getting this lovely game removed from my spite list. I had no idea this game was made by the creator of Phoenix Wright, so that was a cool little bonus I discovered going in.
First of all, what I love about this game is the style/the music/ the aesthetic and just the visuals in general. It's truly gorgeous. I have no idea if it looked that good on the DS, but this version looks and sounds genuinely great.
The story is fairly interesting most of the way too, it does take a little while to get cooking, but the "who am I" is always a good narrative hook, and there are plenty of interesting characters to keep you chugging along (inspector Cabanela might be the biggest giga chad I've encountered in a game in some damn time.)
Now all that being said, I am a little down on this for a couple of reasons. One, while I think the core gameplay loop was fun at first, it 100% dragged to me by the end, and was hoping for a better changeup/new mechanic than I got (the escort mission was certainly not it and a lowlight of the game for me).
More importantly though, I can't say I was a fan of the final twist/resolution. Without going into spoilers, it just really wasn't all that satisfying as a result. Certainly not enough to "ruin" the game or anything like that, but just a bit of a downer overall.
For the most part though, I had a good time with this game, and there's certainly a lot here to enjoy, even if I'm a bit more down on this compared to other people.
Long live Capgod tho, amirite?
First of all, a huge shout out to the main Frog himself for gifting me this game, and getting this lovely game removed from my spite list. I had no idea this game was made by the creator of Phoenix Wright, so that was a cool little bonus I discovered going in.
First of all, what I love about this game is the style/the music/ the aesthetic and just the visuals in general. It's truly gorgeous. I have no idea if it looked that good on the DS, but this version looks and sounds genuinely great.
The story is fairly interesting most of the way too, it does take a little while to get cooking, but the "who am I" is always a good narrative hook, and there are plenty of interesting characters to keep you chugging along (inspector Cabanela might be the biggest giga chad I've encountered in a game in some damn time.)
Now all that being said, I am a little down on this for a couple of reasons. One, while I think the core gameplay loop was fun at first, it 100% dragged to me by the end, and was hoping for a better changeup/new mechanic than I got (the escort mission was certainly not it and a lowlight of the game for me).
More importantly though, I can't say I was a fan of the final twist/resolution. Without going into spoilers, it just really wasn't all that satisfying as a result. Certainly not enough to "ruin" the game or anything like that, but just a bit of a downer overall.
For the most part though, I had a good time with this game, and there's certainly a lot here to enjoy, even if I'm a bit more down on this compared to other people.
Long live Capgod tho, amirite?
Yo why the hell hadn't I played this game before? As a huge Monkey Island fan this was always a gaping hole for me, but this game was so much fun, hilarious, and one of the best monkey island games I've played!!! First out, huge shout out to Ed for gifting me this one so I could finally stop being lazy and playing this.
This one has some of the best music in the series, some of the best puzzles (that don't feel too crazy obtuse for the most part) it's fully and very well voice acted, and a funny story to continue on Guybrush's crazy adventures.
I think my only complaint here (like a lot of these games) is I really do wish it was a little longer. Only five hours for me to complete here, of course, if you're not good with these types of games that might take longer.
I think overall I still slightly prefer Monkey Island 2, but a genuinely fantastic game, and one of the best monkey islands!!!
This one has some of the best music in the series, some of the best puzzles (that don't feel too crazy obtuse for the most part) it's fully and very well voice acted, and a funny story to continue on Guybrush's crazy adventures.
I think my only complaint here (like a lot of these games) is I really do wish it was a little longer. Only five hours for me to complete here, of course, if you're not good with these types of games that might take longer.
I think overall I still slightly prefer Monkey Island 2, but a genuinely fantastic game, and one of the best monkey islands!!!
1988
Yes I no-lifed this game. Don't judge me.
Shoutout once again to the always wonderful Poot for gifting me this game!!! So, I finished GDQ, I had finished Curse of Monkey Island, and I thought to myself, perfect, I have a nice few day break now until Infinite Wealth comes out. However, me being a big moron decided to start this, and once I got a couple hours in, I realize dropping this wouldn't be a good idea, as I had no idea if I really would come back to it. So we no life, we finished and....yeah? It's good?
I mean, this game gets a lot of hate from what I've seen, and is the "black sheep" of the final fantasy series, and I have some major issues with it, but it does a lot of things good. It takes the non existent story and characters of FF1, and actually tries to do something here, and it's mostly solid. There's a bit too many deaths here (which if you know me, it's funny to hear me say that) but it's a well done simplistic story and cool to see something like that this early on.
The leveling system......ehhhhhhhhh. Great idea, just flawed execution. I never fully knew what I needed to do to level certain things, and it just didn't feel natural. It works, but not as well as it should, and I am glad Final Fantasy didn't really go back to this sort of thing.
The music here is pretty good, especially that finally track (total BANGER).
Overall, definitely not one I'd ever revisit, and the worst of the pixel remasters so far, but hey, not as bad as I was overall expecting, so that counts for something.
Shoutout once again to the always wonderful Poot for gifting me this game!!! So, I finished GDQ, I had finished Curse of Monkey Island, and I thought to myself, perfect, I have a nice few day break now until Infinite Wealth comes out. However, me being a big moron decided to start this, and once I got a couple hours in, I realize dropping this wouldn't be a good idea, as I had no idea if I really would come back to it. So we no life, we finished and....yeah? It's good?
I mean, this game gets a lot of hate from what I've seen, and is the "black sheep" of the final fantasy series, and I have some major issues with it, but it does a lot of things good. It takes the non existent story and characters of FF1, and actually tries to do something here, and it's mostly solid. There's a bit too many deaths here (which if you know me, it's funny to hear me say that) but it's a well done simplistic story and cool to see something like that this early on.
The leveling system......ehhhhhhhhh. Great idea, just flawed execution. I never fully knew what I needed to do to level certain things, and it just didn't feel natural. It works, but not as well as it should, and I am glad Final Fantasy didn't really go back to this sort of thing.
The music here is pretty good, especially that finally track (total BANGER).
Overall, definitely not one I'd ever revisit, and the worst of the pixel remasters so far, but hey, not as bad as I was overall expecting, so that counts for something.
2015
So after seeing Sam Barlow's new games announced (and immortality being one of my favorite games of 2022, I figured it was high time I finally got back to this and finished it (I had started it a long time ago). I knew it was short, and it wouldn't take me too long.
What unfolded over the next three hours was just a wonderful, creepy, chilling, moving, and just all around great little story. I do wish there was a bit more meat on the bone here so to speak (something that Immortality definitely improves on), but this is still something worth checking out one rainy afternoon when you got nothing else going on.
Sam Barlow is a wonderful creative force in this industry, and I can't wait to see what they do next!!!
What unfolded over the next three hours was just a wonderful, creepy, chilling, moving, and just all around great little story. I do wish there was a bit more meat on the bone here so to speak (something that Immortality definitely improves on), but this is still something worth checking out one rainy afternoon when you got nothing else going on.
Sam Barlow is a wonderful creative force in this industry, and I can't wait to see what they do next!!!
So this is a big beautiful and sometimes messy game that's hard to articulate into words just what it's all about.
First of all, let's start from the top. The gameplay here is so much improved over LAD7 (which was already fantastic) and Hawaii is just a wonderful sandbox to explore, this was exactly the shot in the arm this series needed.
The story is fantastic most of the way here, there are some dumb things here and there (like every yakuza game if we're being honest) but just such an incredible amount of heart to go along with this. Ichi is an amazing protagonist, as much as I love Kiryu he's totally captured my heart at this point and will hopefully be the guy going forward.
I do have some issues with this game, the biggest one being how bad the game is at telling you things. The final dungeon had no level requirement, and I was a few levels under, making it very difficult to complete. There are many side quests that you do, and if you do them too early you get wiped and the game offers you no way of knowing this. Stuff like this was a massive time waste, and unfortunate, but not enough to hurt this game overall.
The ending is....interesting. I can't say I love or hate it, I have to see where it goes, but it left more questions than answers for me. It still brought out tons of emotion (as did this entire game) and I can't wait to see exactly where they go from here.
I think realistically, this is certainly a top tier Yakuza game, and I wouldn't be shocked at all to see this one go into people's top spot. For me, it's just going to miss out on that, but a genuinely incredible game, that RGG cooked on.
First of all, let's start from the top. The gameplay here is so much improved over LAD7 (which was already fantastic) and Hawaii is just a wonderful sandbox to explore, this was exactly the shot in the arm this series needed.
The story is fantastic most of the way here, there are some dumb things here and there (like every yakuza game if we're being honest) but just such an incredible amount of heart to go along with this. Ichi is an amazing protagonist, as much as I love Kiryu he's totally captured my heart at this point and will hopefully be the guy going forward.
I do have some issues with this game, the biggest one being how bad the game is at telling you things. The final dungeon had no level requirement, and I was a few levels under, making it very difficult to complete. There are many side quests that you do, and if you do them too early you get wiped and the game offers you no way of knowing this. Stuff like this was a massive time waste, and unfortunate, but not enough to hurt this game overall.
The ending is....interesting. I can't say I love or hate it, I have to see where it goes, but it left more questions than answers for me. It still brought out tons of emotion (as did this entire game) and I can't wait to see exactly where they go from here.
I think realistically, this is certainly a top tier Yakuza game, and I wouldn't be shocked at all to see this one go into people's top spot. For me, it's just going to miss out on that, but a genuinely incredible game, that RGG cooked on.
2024
Playing through FES in 2022 was one of my favorite gaming experiences I've had in quite some time. I guess I didn't realize quite how much until hearing about this remake. No hesitation in wanting to replay a long game like this, and in fact, genuine excitement for what was to come. If this version in 2009 was already one of my favorite games of all time, what would this end up being?
The answer is a truly unforgettable experience, that cements itself as one of my favorite games of all time, and Persona as one of my favorite series of all time.
Everything here is improved, from the improved music, to the combat, to the visuals, to the links, to the voice acting. Almost nothing feels off here. The story remains excellent and in my humble opinion, the best of the big three persona games, with some of the best side links in the series, and some of the best female characters. Makoto is the best protagonist in the series, and, while this game can't quite hit the monumental high and achievement of Persona 5 Royal (including the best OST soundtrack in any game) this game comes damn close to me.
The final boss fight is one of my favorite in all of gaming, and is done total justice here, the game is accessibile and easy if you want it to be (a huge improvement from FES in that way without modding it).
Overall, this game is a dream come true, is probably going to be my GOTY, and quite frankly, one of the crowning achievements for video games in general.
Can't wait to see what Atlus does dipping its toes into the Old Timey Mystical genre next!!!
The answer is a truly unforgettable experience, that cements itself as one of my favorite games of all time, and Persona as one of my favorite series of all time.
Everything here is improved, from the improved music, to the combat, to the visuals, to the links, to the voice acting. Almost nothing feels off here. The story remains excellent and in my humble opinion, the best of the big three persona games, with some of the best side links in the series, and some of the best female characters. Makoto is the best protagonist in the series, and, while this game can't quite hit the monumental high and achievement of Persona 5 Royal (including the best OST soundtrack in any game) this game comes damn close to me.
The final boss fight is one of my favorite in all of gaming, and is done total justice here, the game is accessibile and easy if you want it to be (a huge improvement from FES in that way without modding it).
Overall, this game is a dream come true, is probably going to be my GOTY, and quite frankly, one of the crowning achievements for video games in general.
Can't wait to see what Atlus does dipping its toes into the Old Timey Mystical genre next!!!
2022
Most overrated game and developer of all time.
2021
This review contains spoilers
Wow what a wild fucking ride, and really tough to talk about without delving into spoilers.So I'm going to have too here just a little. I'm gonna mark it as spoiler warning and try not to go too crazy, but some of this stuff just needs to be talked about to get a review out.
So, this is really a tale of three games, then a wild ending. The first part of this game is immaculate. A five out of five from me from act one, from the gameplay mechanics, to the atmosphere, to the exploration around the cabin. This is the best part of the game for me full stop, and leaves such a fantastic lasting impression.
Then you start to get the video bits intermixed in, which I loved, the backstory, and trying to piece together exactly what the hell is going on here.
Act 2, is the weakest act for me. I appreciate what it's doing as a bridge, and visually it looks awesome, love the pixel art, but I found it just fine, and the gameplay in that part isn't nearly as fun as the first or third acts, and I was mostly happy to be done that part fairly quickly. 3/5.
The third act is great. I definitely don't love it as much as the first, but exploring the map, and being able to choose your path, and again, exploring an area around you in between matches. Just great stuff. 4/5
Then the ending. Just bat shit insane, I love it. I don't fully understand it all, but it really uses the medium of video games effectively to create something special that would be hard to do otherwise.
Overall, I really dug this game a lot. While it's not perfect, and it can never quite hit the peak of the first act (besides the ending which is phenomenal) this is a game well worth your time, and a must play. Kudos to such a unique experience.
So, this is really a tale of three games, then a wild ending. The first part of this game is immaculate. A five out of five from me from act one, from the gameplay mechanics, to the atmosphere, to the exploration around the cabin. This is the best part of the game for me full stop, and leaves such a fantastic lasting impression.
Then you start to get the video bits intermixed in, which I loved, the backstory, and trying to piece together exactly what the hell is going on here.
Act 2, is the weakest act for me. I appreciate what it's doing as a bridge, and visually it looks awesome, love the pixel art, but I found it just fine, and the gameplay in that part isn't nearly as fun as the first or third acts, and I was mostly happy to be done that part fairly quickly. 3/5.
The third act is great. I definitely don't love it as much as the first, but exploring the map, and being able to choose your path, and again, exploring an area around you in between matches. Just great stuff. 4/5
Then the ending. Just bat shit insane, I love it. I don't fully understand it all, but it really uses the medium of video games effectively to create something special that would be hard to do otherwise.
Overall, I really dug this game a lot. While it's not perfect, and it can never quite hit the peak of the first act (besides the ending which is phenomenal) this is a game well worth your time, and a must play. Kudos to such a unique experience.
2016
So after finishing Inscyprtion, and not really wanting to start anything major until Final Fantasy Rebirth comes out, I figured this would be a nice little follow up game. Something I've had on my backlog forever, and with the freshness of how fantastic Inscrpytion was in my mind, this seemed like the perfect opportunity to play this.
What followed a pretty uneven experience, but definitely something that would lay the ground work for the brilliance that would be ahead.
First of all, lets start at the top. I finished this game on Steam Deck, and this was NOT an ideal place to play it. The game controls really poorly on that, which really isn't on the game, and it even warns you to not be stupid and attempt to do that. Some better control options would have been appreciated though.
The game itself is interesting. The puzzle segments were okay, though overused, and the arcade bits were fun. I wish there was a bit more playing around on the desktop, and using creative stuff like that in the game to do cool stuff t here.
The ending is pretty great, which I won't go into detail, suffice to say, I think Daniel's strength might be ending his games on a high point after two now.
Overall this was fun in spurts, frustrating in others, but the ending makes me overall positive on it. Cool to experience, once is good enough though.
What followed a pretty uneven experience, but definitely something that would lay the ground work for the brilliance that would be ahead.
First of all, lets start at the top. I finished this game on Steam Deck, and this was NOT an ideal place to play it. The game controls really poorly on that, which really isn't on the game, and it even warns you to not be stupid and attempt to do that. Some better control options would have been appreciated though.
The game itself is interesting. The puzzle segments were okay, though overused, and the arcade bits were fun. I wish there was a bit more playing around on the desktop, and using creative stuff like that in the game to do cool stuff t here.
The ending is pretty great, which I won't go into detail, suffice to say, I think Daniel's strength might be ending his games on a high point after two now.
Overall this was fun in spurts, frustrating in others, but the ending makes me overall positive on it. Cool to experience, once is good enough though.
This was kind of a banger. I really enjoyed my time here more than I was expecting. Kind of a tale of two games though, the original persona 4 arena story was a little messy, and a chore to play through, but the overall story was good and I enjoyed it.
The new "ultimax" content though, was really great, and was tied together in a much better way, and a better flow to it. It was great getting to see the persona 4 cast again, but even more so, it was SO great seeing the Persona 3 cast again, and getting an update on them being older, and what they've been up to since the events of Persona 3. I really wish some of the persona 5 spin offs would have given us this, but they didn't go in that direction for whatever the reason.
The actual fighting game itself? It's fun. I'm not a GIANT fighting game fan, so I won't pretend to know if this is peak quality or not, but it was fun, the graphics were really gorgeous, and a lot of unique characters and way to play in it.
Overall, a fine send off to persona for me. I've played almost everything I've wanted too now (besides Persona 2 and the Q games, hoping they get ported/remastered). But that'll be it for now, with a 5 Royal replay likely in my future.
Bless Persona. The second greatest video game franchise of all time!!!
The new "ultimax" content though, was really great, and was tied together in a much better way, and a better flow to it. It was great getting to see the persona 4 cast again, but even more so, it was SO great seeing the Persona 3 cast again, and getting an update on them being older, and what they've been up to since the events of Persona 3. I really wish some of the persona 5 spin offs would have given us this, but they didn't go in that direction for whatever the reason.
The actual fighting game itself? It's fun. I'm not a GIANT fighting game fan, so I won't pretend to know if this is peak quality or not, but it was fun, the graphics were really gorgeous, and a lot of unique characters and way to play in it.
Overall, a fine send off to persona for me. I've played almost everything I've wanted too now (besides Persona 2 and the Q games, hoping they get ported/remastered). But that'll be it for now, with a 5 Royal replay likely in my future.
Bless Persona. The second greatest video game franchise of all time!!!