The Impossible JRPG Marathon (In Progress)
A Backloggd version of the google spreadsheet list; games are ordered by date of completion.
Original ver + reviews: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1hvEPeTcu-cWoEUQGny15M_m4f6VOdOySOGd_nSmio0g/edit?usp=sharing
Ratings Guide:
6 - For fans
6.5 - Good ('Worth a try')
7 - Great (‘Get it eventually’)
7.5 - Excellent
8 - Essential (‘Get it now’)
8.5 - Near-masterpiece
9 - Masterpiece
9.5 - Top 5
Start Date: 10/Nov/2017
Original ver + reviews: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1hvEPeTcu-cWoEUQGny15M_m4f6VOdOySOGd_nSmio0g/edit?usp=sharing
Ratings Guide:
6 - For fans
6.5 - Good ('Worth a try')
7 - Great (‘Get it eventually’)
7.5 - Excellent
8 - Essential (‘Get it now’)
8.5 - Near-masterpiece
9 - Masterpiece
9.5 - Top 5
Start Date: 10/Nov/2017
225 Games
WolfTeam's Tales series introduced a new approach to JRPG combat, opting for fast-paced, active, visceral fights that helped popularize the action-rpg genre.
6/10
https://www.backloggd.com/u/Blah_Blee/review/71174/
6/10
https://www.backloggd.com/u/Blah_Blee/review/71174/
Based on the Chinese novel Shui Hu Zhuan, Suikoden is one of the most significant JRPG series of the 90s.
7.5/10
https://www.backloggd.com/u/Blah_Blee/review/71147/
7.5/10
https://www.backloggd.com/u/Blah_Blee/review/71147/
8.5/10
https://www.backloggd.com/u/Blah_Blee/review/71148/
War and politics were ultimately the common themes that directed Suikoden's initial two releases, themes that disposed of the previous era's epic sense of adventure but nonetheless fashioned some of the most tragic, touching, poignant, and brutal concepts of its genre. Suikoden II in particular almost completely jettisoned the fantasy stereotypes of their ancestors, and stretched the 'medieval' aspect of JRPGs to its horrific terminal point.
https://www.backloggd.com/u/Blah_Blee/review/71148/
War and politics were ultimately the common themes that directed Suikoden's initial two releases, themes that disposed of the previous era's epic sense of adventure but nonetheless fashioned some of the most tragic, touching, poignant, and brutal concepts of its genre. Suikoden II in particular almost completely jettisoned the fantasy stereotypes of their ancestors, and stretched the 'medieval' aspect of JRPGs to its horrific terminal point.
5/10
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5/10
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4/10
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The tradition of old first person dungeon crawlers persisted in the 00s with Atlus’ Etrian Odyssey, which coined a unique take on the formula.
6.5/10
https://www.backloggd.com/u/Blah_Blee/review/71103/
6.5/10
https://www.backloggd.com/u/Blah_Blee/review/71103/
Paper Mario was the next project of the Nintendo-affiliated prolific developer Intelligent Systems, that expanded on the idea inaugurated by Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars.
5.5/10
https://www.backloggd.com/u/Blah_Blee/review/71124/
5.5/10
https://www.backloggd.com/u/Blah_Blee/review/71124/
5/10
Their next few followups were pure routine, presenting the same quirks in variations just distinct enough from each other to avoid a sense of deja vu. Gold/Silver - which simply doubled the amount of areas and Pokémon, Ruby/Sapphire - with a laughable concept, and Diamond/Pearl - cashing in on a generation that grew older and has money to spare this time.
Pokemon Black/White: 6/10
https://www.backloggd.com/u/Blah_Blee/review/179878/
Their next few followups were pure routine, presenting the same quirks in variations just distinct enough from each other to avoid a sense of deja vu. Gold/Silver - which simply doubled the amount of areas and Pokémon, Ruby/Sapphire - with a laughable concept, and Diamond/Pearl - cashing in on a generation that grew older and has money to spare this time.
Pokemon Black/White: 6/10
https://www.backloggd.com/u/Blah_Blee/review/179878/
5/10
Then came the next products from the assembly line: Black/White 2 - a collection of leftovers, X/Y - their most accessible outing yet (whose gameplay loop is so tired and dull at this point that their dress-up feature ends up being the standout), Sun/Moon - a tiny step forward mechanically, Ultra Sun/Ultra Moon - that reached Digimon levels of overdesigned monsters, and Sword/Shield - which despite all the uproar surrounding their decision to cut back on the bloated roster, turned out to be Pokémon's best selling entry since Gold/Silver, proving (again) that their devout followers will happily accept whatever slop Game Freak churns out no matter what.
In the end, Pokémon is a global phenomenon first and a video game second.
Then came the next products from the assembly line: Black/White 2 - a collection of leftovers, X/Y - their most accessible outing yet (whose gameplay loop is so tired and dull at this point that their dress-up feature ends up being the standout), Sun/Moon - a tiny step forward mechanically, Ultra Sun/Ultra Moon - that reached Digimon levels of overdesigned monsters, and Sword/Shield - which despite all the uproar surrounding their decision to cut back on the bloated roster, turned out to be Pokémon's best selling entry since Gold/Silver, proving (again) that their devout followers will happily accept whatever slop Game Freak churns out no matter what.
In the end, Pokémon is a global phenomenon first and a video game second.
5/10
https://www.backloggd.com/u/Blah_Blee/review/71166/
Monolith Soft's works fully represent the languid, cinematic, and ultimately tedious gameplay lessons of the 6th generation: They aim for the epic-length (monolithic?) experience not by offering an ambitious story but by simply padding their games to an almost comical degree. Regardless of the amount of ground covered (narratively, thematically, functionally, visually, etc.), their output is consistently overlong and self-indulgent.
https://www.backloggd.com/u/Blah_Blee/review/71166/
Monolith Soft's works fully represent the languid, cinematic, and ultimately tedious gameplay lessons of the 6th generation: They aim for the epic-length (monolithic?) experience not by offering an ambitious story but by simply padding their games to an almost comical degree. Regardless of the amount of ground covered (narratively, thematically, functionally, visually, etc.), their output is consistently overlong and self-indulgent.
Crawlers such as Shiren the Wanderer 2 had already experimented with dungeons as a more resource-gathering endeavor, but few were as deep and as cleverly integrated as Level-5's Dark Cloud.
7/10
https://www.backloggd.com/u/Blah_Blee/review/71098/
7/10
https://www.backloggd.com/u/Blah_Blee/review/71098/
4 Comments
^ this
Those Paper Mario ratings are bananas but I appreciate your tenacity
hell yeah
Akkusativ
2 years ago