aymr
9 Reviews liked by aymr
Writing this review is bittersweet for me, as I'm a die-hard fan of the Final Fantasy series. Final Fantasy VII on the original PlayStation was a pivotal game that shaped my gaming journey, introducing me to a genre I've never looked back from. Witnessing its Remake (and now its Rebirth as part 2 of 3) triggered a profound reaction in me, making it the remake I've longed for the most.
That said, Final Fantasy VII: Rebirth has left me conflicted. While it boasts moments of soaring highs, it also descends into valleys of significant lows. I'll refrain from delving into the story, as its impact is highly subjective and I believe the game is worth experiencing for oneself. Is it perfect? No, but it continues to explore unique themes and twist tropes in refreshing ways that I hope will be further explored.
Approaching this review after completing a blind run through the main game, my perspective might evolve if, and it's a big if, I manage to achieve 100% completion. However, at this point, I don't foresee the desire to grind out the rest.
The combat feels refined from the remake, yet it still suffers from frustrating moments. The blend of action RPG with a turn-based system is starting to show its age, and while the stagger system may be the best version of it, it's evident that it's been utilized across multiple games. However, I appreciate the introduction of new character combos (synergy) that add flair and satisfaction, especially when finishing off enemies.
Truthfully I might just not be good at this version of action RPG. Some battles proved exceedingly frustrating, surpassing the challenges of even the most daunting encounters in Souls-like games. There seems to be a lack of action cancelling or sufficient invincibility frames, though I can't pinpoint the exact issue. It's possible my age is catching up with me!
The last open-world Final Fantasy, XV, received mixed reviews for its lackluster implementation. However, Final Fantasy VII: Rebirth manages to both shine and falter in its open-world design. The side quests are exceptional, building upon the success of meaningful story additions seen in previous titles. With over twenty side quests, each offering unique player interactions, the game avoids common MMO-trope requirements, providing a refreshing experience.
Each area feels meticulously crafted, offering familiar yet fresh vistas. However, some areas are cumbersome to navigate due to the absence of a jump button or limited climbing options. Despite this, the variety of activities in each area, from relic hunting to unique monster slaying, ensures engagement without overwhelming the player.
Character growth undergoes slight changes with the addition of "folios" for each character, although this doesn't significantly deviate from previous systems. Weapon leveling follows a flat scale, which, while forgettable for the most part, adds some depth to customization. Materia makes a return with minor tweaks, with the enemy skill materia standing out as particularly noteworthy as well as some new support materia combos that do aid the party in their battles.
Overall, Final Fantasy VII: Rebirth is a solid game, though it falls short of securing a place among my most cherished gaming experiences in the series. However, it's possible that a more complete picture will emerge with the release of the entire arc of the remake. With the anticipated release of the third installment in 2027, despite my reservations with Rebirth, I eagerly await Resurrection... or Revival... or Regeneration. Yeah, my money's on Regeneration.
That said, Final Fantasy VII: Rebirth has left me conflicted. While it boasts moments of soaring highs, it also descends into valleys of significant lows. I'll refrain from delving into the story, as its impact is highly subjective and I believe the game is worth experiencing for oneself. Is it perfect? No, but it continues to explore unique themes and twist tropes in refreshing ways that I hope will be further explored.
Approaching this review after completing a blind run through the main game, my perspective might evolve if, and it's a big if, I manage to achieve 100% completion. However, at this point, I don't foresee the desire to grind out the rest.
The combat feels refined from the remake, yet it still suffers from frustrating moments. The blend of action RPG with a turn-based system is starting to show its age, and while the stagger system may be the best version of it, it's evident that it's been utilized across multiple games. However, I appreciate the introduction of new character combos (synergy) that add flair and satisfaction, especially when finishing off enemies.
Truthfully I might just not be good at this version of action RPG. Some battles proved exceedingly frustrating, surpassing the challenges of even the most daunting encounters in Souls-like games. There seems to be a lack of action cancelling or sufficient invincibility frames, though I can't pinpoint the exact issue. It's possible my age is catching up with me!
The last open-world Final Fantasy, XV, received mixed reviews for its lackluster implementation. However, Final Fantasy VII: Rebirth manages to both shine and falter in its open-world design. The side quests are exceptional, building upon the success of meaningful story additions seen in previous titles. With over twenty side quests, each offering unique player interactions, the game avoids common MMO-trope requirements, providing a refreshing experience.
Each area feels meticulously crafted, offering familiar yet fresh vistas. However, some areas are cumbersome to navigate due to the absence of a jump button or limited climbing options. Despite this, the variety of activities in each area, from relic hunting to unique monster slaying, ensures engagement without overwhelming the player.
Character growth undergoes slight changes with the addition of "folios" for each character, although this doesn't significantly deviate from previous systems. Weapon leveling follows a flat scale, which, while forgettable for the most part, adds some depth to customization. Materia makes a return with minor tweaks, with the enemy skill materia standing out as particularly noteworthy as well as some new support materia combos that do aid the party in their battles.
Overall, Final Fantasy VII: Rebirth is a solid game, though it falls short of securing a place among my most cherished gaming experiences in the series. However, it's possible that a more complete picture will emerge with the release of the entire arc of the remake. With the anticipated release of the third installment in 2027, despite my reservations with Rebirth, I eagerly await Resurrection... or Revival... or Regeneration. Yeah, my money's on Regeneration.
Unfortunately, a very average game. A 2016 game rather than a 2024 one, and if the extreme pacing issues don't frustrate you into oblivion the bloated plotline will instead.
I will not deny some wonderful character high moments (Barret in North Corel, Loveless in Gold Saucer), but otherwise a great potential squandered. My only hope is that they learn from this for the final game, particularly as I loved the first game (Remake).
The entire final act was JRPGs at their absolute worst.
I will not deny some wonderful character high moments (Barret in North Corel, Loveless in Gold Saucer), but otherwise a great potential squandered. My only hope is that they learn from this for the final game, particularly as I loved the first game (Remake).
The entire final act was JRPGs at their absolute worst.
The gameplay is great, the characters are great like in Remake part 1, but the game completely falls apart at the back half when the story becomes even more of a mess than part 1. The game once again has a bloated, far too long final dungeon and a complete mess of a reinterpretation of the events at the Forgotten Capital. Even the final boss of the game is too long.
I will never not be irritated at this "remake" series being a bloated and bad sequel to the original game. Seriously, play the original FFVII. Oh well.
I will never not be irritated at this "remake" series being a bloated and bad sequel to the original game. Seriously, play the original FFVII. Oh well.
Persona 3 Reload
2024
It feels like its missing something that the original had
Persona 3 Reload
2024
most social links feel like a waste of time and there’s not actually much to do. Story was great and combat didn’t get boring
This is a tough one. I played roughly 30 hours but I can't get myself to like this game.
I was really looking forward to it, because I love the original and also enjoyed Remake. I really hope that I will enjoy it in a few months or maybe a year...
What I don't like about it:
- Open World activities just feel bland. I also feel like that traversing the world isn't fun.
- Crafting... just why do we need this in FF7, feels just unnecessary and annoying because you have to pick up all this random stuff
- Too many minigames. Some of these are really cool, like Queen's Blood, but a lot feels like a waste of time. The Original had a decent amount of minigames too, but it did not feel that oppressive
- Way too much recycling of side characters from the first game makes the world just feel unnatural. And also Chadley and his sister are the most annyoing characters I have encountered in a long time.
- Addition of weird high tech technology does not fit this world in my opinion and makes it totally unbelievable
- Sadly I have to say that I think this game is badly written. Remake had it's problems too, but this game is way worse
I was really looking forward to it, because I love the original and also enjoyed Remake. I really hope that I will enjoy it in a few months or maybe a year...
What I don't like about it:
- Open World activities just feel bland. I also feel like that traversing the world isn't fun.
- Crafting... just why do we need this in FF7, feels just unnecessary and annoying because you have to pick up all this random stuff
- Too many minigames. Some of these are really cool, like Queen's Blood, but a lot feels like a waste of time. The Original had a decent amount of minigames too, but it did not feel that oppressive
- Way too much recycling of side characters from the first game makes the world just feel unnatural. And also Chadley and his sister are the most annyoing characters I have encountered in a long time.
- Addition of weird high tech technology does not fit this world in my opinion and makes it totally unbelievable
- Sadly I have to say that I think this game is badly written. Remake had it's problems too, but this game is way worse
This review contains spoilers
This game is plagued with a lack of restraint. So many great ideas get thrown in here, and quickly soiled by the developers inability to know when to stop and move on. From the mini games, to the combat simulators, and to boss fights, including the final boss fight that goes on way too damn long. They introduce so many cool things and quickly make you start souring on them by how much they just won’t give you the satisfaction of it ending when it feels it should.
That being said, the character moments and interactions are fantastic. So much personality and fun interaction between the party, with lovely banter and rpg conversation decision making. The score is great even though I will say it does not live up to the fantastic score from remake.
The overall story is painfully convoluted by the end for someone who has only an inkling of the original story, and I would be willing to say its convoluted in general even for fans who will feel more rewarded. When I thought I understood based on my prior knowledge of what happens in the OG, the lack of restraint leads them to continue on and make it more and more convoluted. It’s a shame because so much of the story I was vibing with until the conclusion came along.
Overall this game is a good time if you show a lack of restraint yourself. Do what feels fun and ditch the shit that sucks and feels like a chore, but be ready for an insanely difficult final boss fight that feels like it belongs in a different game at the end no matter what.
That being said, the character moments and interactions are fantastic. So much personality and fun interaction between the party, with lovely banter and rpg conversation decision making. The score is great even though I will say it does not live up to the fantastic score from remake.
The overall story is painfully convoluted by the end for someone who has only an inkling of the original story, and I would be willing to say its convoluted in general even for fans who will feel more rewarded. When I thought I understood based on my prior knowledge of what happens in the OG, the lack of restraint leads them to continue on and make it more and more convoluted. It’s a shame because so much of the story I was vibing with until the conclusion came along.
Overall this game is a good time if you show a lack of restraint yourself. Do what feels fun and ditch the shit that sucks and feels like a chore, but be ready for an insanely difficult final boss fight that feels like it belongs in a different game at the end no matter what.
Just so disappointing, my respect for this game decreases more and more as time goes on. Bogged down by the weight of its own ideas, lacking in integrity and a travesty of pacing that felt like it didn't remotely respect my time. These issues were present in Remake but they feel worse here, at least that game didn't have a dogshit open world to worry about. Ty Ubisoft towers. God I hated the ending, way to ruin one of the most impactful moments in the history of the medium. I don't need things to be the same but I would prefer they be good
mymymy we are back to the fire emblem shithole you had to see my face when i ended up enjoying shadow dragon way more than the gba counterparts in the series maybe my tastebuds are busted because this was very flawed and very good at the same time even though kind of a weird installment in the series but we love to see it nonetheless
soooooooo im playing this series completely wrong and it was time to play this wicked game from the most powerful console of the entire planet with some of the most next gen graphics and incredibly clean audio apparatus thats right the godsent nintendo ds
I wasn't expecting too much from this installment but it definitely managed to crash my expectations out of the way from most of its playtime at least
while I definitely did enjoy most of the things here I gotta address the elephant in the room rn or im gonna go crazy . unfortunately the art direction in this one is SUBPAR the character portraits have this really weird art style that is like anime ish that looks pasted upon a 3d model which is definitely not the worst thing in the world but it just looks kind of weird compared to the gorgeous spriteworks of the earlier gba titles . the overworld sprites arent too different from the usual ones and the maps kind of look good ill give them that but what really sets this game wayyyyyyyyyyy below the other ones artistically is the in-battle ugly as shit 3d models now i usually end up disabling the animations because im adhd yada yada we been there that being said i have never disabled them THIS fast literally such a fucking step down from the earlier titles theyre not ugly for the ds but they wouldve benefited with some more sprite animations (which honestly already refined incredibly well in the previous titles so might as well use them again but i digress) . fortunately enough theres some bomb tracks most of the time (the song that plays out after you seize is SOOOOOOOOO GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOD and epic FOR NO FUCKING REASON)
but whatever where this game lacks in art direction it more than makes up for it in the other departments
ill get this out of the way the story isnt the most intricate shit in the world prince marth got exiled and he has to take his throne again going through (and annihilating) all the other pieces of lands and thats the main gist of course theres some kind of insight on some characters and characters interactions but it doesnt get too deep than that then you add a dragon at the end and boom you get the title of the game . ideally i liked a lot of stuff here but its so damn weirdly paced theres some chapters of nothing and than chapters where stuff happens all at ones (not as bad as binding blade tho lets be real) so it definitely was kind of weird for the most part but still has some good moments if i gotta be honest
i did find most of the main characters likeable caeda is an highlight im literally in love with her and i was expecting a damsel in distress kind of archetype but when i realised shes one of the cuntiest girls in the fire emblem franchise literally cunning persuasive hot determinate gorgeous a fucking beast on the battlefield and waited 25 chapters for marth to get a clue of her undying love for the twink LITERALLY an angel i love her dont touch me i will be a dog and bark for her wag my tail roll all that for the other characters i gotta say theres SO FUCKING MANY ??? i think this is the game with the biggest character pool because each chapter they would just throw at me 2 or 3 characters like theyre trash and then be like “ok do something with them i guess” and sometimes they would just die on me and i would be like ok whatever but the reality is the best characters are the ones you get at the beginning of the game and theyre the only ones worth to actually put some work into leveling up all the other characters youll get later are just there so that you could steal a steel lance or sword from them also the fact that theres no supports is so fucking detrimental to the character development because theres literally no way in hell i should know a characters whole 3 pages essay of personality after one (1) interaction
so if you want my serious ass lineup i gotta say Cain (i want to fuck him) Abel Frey Catria Palla (i want to fuck her) Sedgar (i want to fuck him) Barst (i want to fuck him) Lena and then idk for the other units i just put Ogma Wolf sometimes Minerva sometimes Julian shit like that
now you have to know that im fucking stupid and i forgot to get merric in chapter 4 and i remembered hes in this game in like chapter 15 because suddenly the game required me to go against magic users and i was like umhhhhhhh why do i feel like im missing something and THEN i realised i FORGOT MERRIC ???????? and because of that i had to skip an entire chapter because i didnt have a strong magic user to go against the dragon guy literally ruined my entire playthrough what the hell
also i cannot stress this enough but i basically played the entire game with caeda solo shes so fucking CRAZY literally forged wing spear and she would kill anything in front of her and when i got the shield to protect her from archer weakness if i wanted i could end the game with her alone at this point so much fucking fun
so these are the characters that i used now this is definitely not as hard as binding or blazing blade but it sure has some really fucking hideous stuff like 10 reinforcements in a chapter that come out completely out of nowhere (that are usually wyverns so end up instakilling your weaker party members i MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM) a lot of janky mechanics like only marth able to visiting towns and the fact that the rescue option is completely gone this was pretty much for the detriment of the usual gameflow but i still had a lot of fucking fun (savestates required) and in general i liked this way more than the gba titles which makes me wonder why people are so rude to this installment sure its not the greatest game in the series thats shadows of valentia but i dont feel it deserves so much criticism sure i havent played the original because i dont like cock and ball torture but it was a good remake that made me experience marths story without the need to cut my veins and ballista maps made me really consider it lets just say that
im not an expert on the series nor am i the biggest fan of classic fire emblems but this was a good ride nonetheless the plethora of characters and short but challenging maps made for a really great bite sized experience with a lot of personalisation and variety maybe this was not the remake people were expecting but seeing caeda serving cunt was all i needed peace
the other day i realised that fire emblem is inspired by shogi and not chess and my brain expanded to no limits
forgot to say that I think ogma has the biggest cock in the entire cast and I also think its very homophobic for him not to show it to me
soooooooo im playing this series completely wrong and it was time to play this wicked game from the most powerful console of the entire planet with some of the most next gen graphics and incredibly clean audio apparatus thats right the godsent nintendo ds
I wasn't expecting too much from this installment but it definitely managed to crash my expectations out of the way from most of its playtime at least
while I definitely did enjoy most of the things here I gotta address the elephant in the room rn or im gonna go crazy . unfortunately the art direction in this one is SUBPAR the character portraits have this really weird art style that is like anime ish that looks pasted upon a 3d model which is definitely not the worst thing in the world but it just looks kind of weird compared to the gorgeous spriteworks of the earlier gba titles . the overworld sprites arent too different from the usual ones and the maps kind of look good ill give them that but what really sets this game wayyyyyyyyyyy below the other ones artistically is the in-battle ugly as shit 3d models now i usually end up disabling the animations because im adhd yada yada we been there that being said i have never disabled them THIS fast literally such a fucking step down from the earlier titles theyre not ugly for the ds but they wouldve benefited with some more sprite animations (which honestly already refined incredibly well in the previous titles so might as well use them again but i digress) . fortunately enough theres some bomb tracks most of the time (the song that plays out after you seize is SOOOOOOOOO GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOD and epic FOR NO FUCKING REASON)
but whatever where this game lacks in art direction it more than makes up for it in the other departments
ill get this out of the way the story isnt the most intricate shit in the world prince marth got exiled and he has to take his throne again going through (and annihilating) all the other pieces of lands and thats the main gist of course theres some kind of insight on some characters and characters interactions but it doesnt get too deep than that then you add a dragon at the end and boom you get the title of the game . ideally i liked a lot of stuff here but its so damn weirdly paced theres some chapters of nothing and than chapters where stuff happens all at ones (not as bad as binding blade tho lets be real) so it definitely was kind of weird for the most part but still has some good moments if i gotta be honest
i did find most of the main characters likeable caeda is an highlight im literally in love with her and i was expecting a damsel in distress kind of archetype but when i realised shes one of the cuntiest girls in the fire emblem franchise literally cunning persuasive hot determinate gorgeous a fucking beast on the battlefield and waited 25 chapters for marth to get a clue of her undying love for the twink LITERALLY an angel i love her dont touch me i will be a dog and bark for her wag my tail roll all that for the other characters i gotta say theres SO FUCKING MANY ??? i think this is the game with the biggest character pool because each chapter they would just throw at me 2 or 3 characters like theyre trash and then be like “ok do something with them i guess” and sometimes they would just die on me and i would be like ok whatever but the reality is the best characters are the ones you get at the beginning of the game and theyre the only ones worth to actually put some work into leveling up all the other characters youll get later are just there so that you could steal a steel lance or sword from them also the fact that theres no supports is so fucking detrimental to the character development because theres literally no way in hell i should know a characters whole 3 pages essay of personality after one (1) interaction
so if you want my serious ass lineup i gotta say Cain (i want to fuck him) Abel Frey Catria Palla (i want to fuck her) Sedgar (i want to fuck him) Barst (i want to fuck him) Lena and then idk for the other units i just put Ogma Wolf sometimes Minerva sometimes Julian shit like that
now you have to know that im fucking stupid and i forgot to get merric in chapter 4 and i remembered hes in this game in like chapter 15 because suddenly the game required me to go against magic users and i was like umhhhhhhh why do i feel like im missing something and THEN i realised i FORGOT MERRIC ???????? and because of that i had to skip an entire chapter because i didnt have a strong magic user to go against the dragon guy literally ruined my entire playthrough what the hell
also i cannot stress this enough but i basically played the entire game with caeda solo shes so fucking CRAZY literally forged wing spear and she would kill anything in front of her and when i got the shield to protect her from archer weakness if i wanted i could end the game with her alone at this point so much fucking fun
so these are the characters that i used now this is definitely not as hard as binding or blazing blade but it sure has some really fucking hideous stuff like 10 reinforcements in a chapter that come out completely out of nowhere (that are usually wyverns so end up instakilling your weaker party members i MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM) a lot of janky mechanics like only marth able to visiting towns and the fact that the rescue option is completely gone this was pretty much for the detriment of the usual gameflow but i still had a lot of fucking fun (savestates required) and in general i liked this way more than the gba titles which makes me wonder why people are so rude to this installment sure its not the greatest game in the series thats shadows of valentia but i dont feel it deserves so much criticism sure i havent played the original because i dont like cock and ball torture but it was a good remake that made me experience marths story without the need to cut my veins and ballista maps made me really consider it lets just say that
im not an expert on the series nor am i the biggest fan of classic fire emblems but this was a good ride nonetheless the plethora of characters and short but challenging maps made for a really great bite sized experience with a lot of personalisation and variety maybe this was not the remake people were expecting but seeing caeda serving cunt was all i needed peace
the other day i realised that fire emblem is inspired by shogi and not chess and my brain expanded to no limits
forgot to say that I think ogma has the biggest cock in the entire cast and I also think its very homophobic for him not to show it to me