CHOVI
A Megaten game on the Gameboy Color sounded good in theory.
Unfortunately, this one is just too grindy for me. Plus the demon negotiation sucks... and even when you recruit demons, they don't level up. It's hard to justify their use when they die so often and reviving them is expensive.
Unfortunately, this one is just too grindy for me. Plus the demon negotiation sucks... and even when you recruit demons, they don't level up. It's hard to justify their use when they die so often and reviving them is expensive.
1995
Maybe the game is good on PC, but the controller experience is just torture.
2019
A very short game which nevertheless manages to be fun, relaxing, and emotional at the same time.
I love the Nintendo DS-like graphics; the colorful environments really pop on the Switch's screen. The music is also very pleasant and doesn't get tiring on repeat.
The game has a relaxing tone but at the same time, it's really fun to control. Navigating the environments through jumping, climbing, and gliding sort of feels like a refined, smaller-scale Breath of the Wild.
I have no complaints about the game other than the fact that I would've liked it to be longer.
I love the Nintendo DS-like graphics; the colorful environments really pop on the Switch's screen. The music is also very pleasant and doesn't get tiring on repeat.
The game has a relaxing tone but at the same time, it's really fun to control. Navigating the environments through jumping, climbing, and gliding sort of feels like a refined, smaller-scale Breath of the Wild.
I have no complaints about the game other than the fact that I would've liked it to be longer.
2001
Dynasty Warriors 3 is a step in the right direction, but it still has too many issues for me to recommend it. While I acknowledge that it's a vast improvement from the previous game, the gameplay loop is just not good enough for me.
The graphics and music are way better than those of Dynasty Warriors 2. The music from 2 is reused sometimes and so are some of the levels, but Dynasty Warriors 3 has a new layout for all recurring levels, and it also includes completely new stages like the Nanman campaign, plus some new, exciting music tracks.
The combat is also improved. The combo system has more options now, and new attacks are unlocked as you play. You can also ride elephants now. But my favorite addition is that commanders no longer heal when you know them down!
That said, the storytelling is still not compelling. I feel like the game is definitely made first and foremost for fans of Romance of the Three Kingdoms. The cutscenes are better than in the previous game, and there are also more of them, but I still felt lost when trying to piece together the story. The game would greatly benefit from a better storytelling, explaining who the characters are and the relationships between them.
The most annoying thing in this game is that archers are too powerful. Sometimes they overpower you and kill you very quickly, without giving you a chance to defend yourself. It feels unfair. While you can now save anywhere in a stage, I feel like I should be able to overpower enemies with my skills. Instead it feels like, at certain points in the game, if I'm low on health, then I'm dead.
Without a compelling story or a more interesting gameplay loop, I can't really recommend this game. It's a step in the right direction for sure, and the franchise has potential, but there is still some way to go before the games in this franchise can be called "good".
The graphics and music are way better than those of Dynasty Warriors 2. The music from 2 is reused sometimes and so are some of the levels, but Dynasty Warriors 3 has a new layout for all recurring levels, and it also includes completely new stages like the Nanman campaign, plus some new, exciting music tracks.
The combat is also improved. The combo system has more options now, and new attacks are unlocked as you play. You can also ride elephants now. But my favorite addition is that commanders no longer heal when you know them down!
That said, the storytelling is still not compelling. I feel like the game is definitely made first and foremost for fans of Romance of the Three Kingdoms. The cutscenes are better than in the previous game, and there are also more of them, but I still felt lost when trying to piece together the story. The game would greatly benefit from a better storytelling, explaining who the characters are and the relationships between them.
The most annoying thing in this game is that archers are too powerful. Sometimes they overpower you and kill you very quickly, without giving you a chance to defend yourself. It feels unfair. While you can now save anywhere in a stage, I feel like I should be able to overpower enemies with my skills. Instead it feels like, at certain points in the game, if I'm low on health, then I'm dead.
Without a compelling story or a more interesting gameplay loop, I can't really recommend this game. It's a step in the right direction for sure, and the franchise has potential, but there is still some way to go before the games in this franchise can be called "good".
2018
I love RPG Maker games. This one has a good horror atmosphere and surprising jumps cares. Beware however, because the game is really sad.
2000
The Dynasty Warriors franchise is slightly controversial because of how "mindless" the games appear to be. To an extent, I agree with this assessment, but the franchise still displays fun gameplay, interesting ideas, and good difficulty throughout some of its entries.
That said, while Dynasty Warriors 2 is not a mindless game, it's also not a good one. Its difficulty mostly comes from broken mechanics and bad controls.
You control a warrior of your choice. The characters are based on the "Romance of the Three Kingdoms" book, of which I don't know anything, but they're basically historic warriors from China.
Your objective in each stage is to kill the enemy general, which you accomplish by conquering small parts of the map little by little. To do this, you have to kill enemies, of which there are bosses and nameless soldiers.
The gameplay is engaging in two ways. On one hand, conquering parts of the map is inherently satisfying. It feels like you're cleaning areas one by one.
The other engaging element is your character's ability to wipe an enemy's army by themselves. It feels great to hit 30 or so enemy soldiers with one combo.
These two parts are well-designed, so it's no wonder that they constitute the base of what is nowadays a pretty big franchise. However, this particular entry does not execute on its concepts well.
For starters, enemy bosses can recover health when knocked down, which means that you need to be careful not to finish your combos with them. This design choice is just baffling and it makes fights less fun. As if that were not enough, your "allies" can also hit enemies, which means that they can knock them down and recover their health despite your best efforts.
It doesn't help that you can't manually adjust the camera, except for looking ahead with the L button, so orienting your character is difficult.
Something else that I didn't like is that some enemies are too strong to beat on your first try, meaning that you need to go back to previous levels in order to grind your stats.
The story is also told in a poor manner. The cutscenes are really short and lack any context. Even the endings are basically 5-second cutscenes that say: "We won!".
As you can see, this game is an example of executing a good concept badly. I'm glad it exists because of what it represents, but I wouldn't recommend playing it today.
That said, while Dynasty Warriors 2 is not a mindless game, it's also not a good one. Its difficulty mostly comes from broken mechanics and bad controls.
You control a warrior of your choice. The characters are based on the "Romance of the Three Kingdoms" book, of which I don't know anything, but they're basically historic warriors from China.
Your objective in each stage is to kill the enemy general, which you accomplish by conquering small parts of the map little by little. To do this, you have to kill enemies, of which there are bosses and nameless soldiers.
The gameplay is engaging in two ways. On one hand, conquering parts of the map is inherently satisfying. It feels like you're cleaning areas one by one.
The other engaging element is your character's ability to wipe an enemy's army by themselves. It feels great to hit 30 or so enemy soldiers with one combo.
These two parts are well-designed, so it's no wonder that they constitute the base of what is nowadays a pretty big franchise. However, this particular entry does not execute on its concepts well.
For starters, enemy bosses can recover health when knocked down, which means that you need to be careful not to finish your combos with them. This design choice is just baffling and it makes fights less fun. As if that were not enough, your "allies" can also hit enemies, which means that they can knock them down and recover their health despite your best efforts.
It doesn't help that you can't manually adjust the camera, except for looking ahead with the L button, so orienting your character is difficult.
Something else that I didn't like is that some enemies are too strong to beat on your first try, meaning that you need to go back to previous levels in order to grind your stats.
The story is also told in a poor manner. The cutscenes are really short and lack any context. Even the endings are basically 5-second cutscenes that say: "We won!".
As you can see, this game is an example of executing a good concept badly. I'm glad it exists because of what it represents, but I wouldn't recommend playing it today.
2022
Apparently this is a classic in the RPG Maker horror genre. While obviously less refined than other similar games (Corpse Party, Omori), I think the game accomplished what it set out to do, which is to provide an enjoyable horror adventure.
The characters are interesting, the story is good (even though there's not much of it), and the visual design is nice, creative, and horrific at the same time. Every decision in the game matters, making you feel like someone with actual agency. Depending on the actions you take, there are 7 different endings.
The game managed to captivate me and tell a lovely horror story in its two hours of runtime. It's not really scary, nor very hard, but still disturbing and well worth playing through.
The characters are interesting, the story is good (even though there's not much of it), and the visual design is nice, creative, and horrific at the same time. Every decision in the game matters, making you feel like someone with actual agency. Depending on the actions you take, there are 7 different endings.
The game managed to captivate me and tell a lovely horror story in its two hours of runtime. It's not really scary, nor very hard, but still disturbing and well worth playing through.
I kind of hate Sonic 1, but I keep coming back to it despite that.
The music and graphics are great, and so is Sonic's sense of speed.
There are some annoying levels, especially the water levels and the special stages. However, I've played the game enough that they don't annoy me as much as they did. That's why I'm conflicted. I don't think this is a good game by today's standards, but I enjoy replaying it. Plus the first couple of zones are super fun.
The game would be good if not for the chaos emeralds, which are required for the true ending and are annoying to get. Thankfully, the Switch version has save states, letting you replay the special stages and making the game a lot more tolerable.
The music and graphics are great, and so is Sonic's sense of speed.
There are some annoying levels, especially the water levels and the special stages. However, I've played the game enough that they don't annoy me as much as they did. That's why I'm conflicted. I don't think this is a good game by today's standards, but I enjoy replaying it. Plus the first couple of zones are super fun.
The game would be good if not for the chaos emeralds, which are required for the true ending and are annoying to get. Thankfully, the Switch version has save states, letting you replay the special stages and making the game a lot more tolerable.
1997
Awful 3D fighter that probably felt dated the day it came out.
The idea of a weapon fighter was good, but the controls are too stiff.
Good thing the Warriors franchise went in another direction.
The idea of a weapon fighter was good, but the controls are too stiff.
Good thing the Warriors franchise went in another direction.
2022
I absolutely loved this game. I didn't feel bored at any point of my playthrough. I love the variety that the game provides; there's a lot of different activities to do, making the experience feel fresh and fun.
The pixel art and music were also great. The music when diving is especially immersive and relaxing.
I feel like this game was a labor of love. At every point of it, I could feel the developer's dedication, from the silly cutscenes to the funny dialogues.
I can't recommend this game enough.
The pixel art and music were also great. The music when diving is especially immersive and relaxing.
I feel like this game was a labor of love. At every point of it, I could feel the developer's dedication, from the silly cutscenes to the funny dialogues.
I can't recommend this game enough.
I'm conflicted on this game. On one hand, I love Shu Takumi's humor and style. I also love the Ace Attorney-like music, the beautiful animations, and the character designs.
That said, I didn't enjoy the game's story. The conclusion was too clichéd and there were some plot holes here and there.
The puzzles also weren't that great. All of them can be solved by just trial and error.
I want more games like this, but some parts still need perfecting. Still, it's good to see a big company like Capcom tackling a niche genre, so I commend them for that.
That said, I didn't enjoy the game's story. The conclusion was too clichéd and there were some plot holes here and there.
The puzzles also weren't that great. All of them can be solved by just trial and error.
I want more games like this, but some parts still need perfecting. Still, it's good to see a big company like Capcom tackling a niche genre, so I commend them for that.