Deathix
This review contains spoilers
By now, Final Fantasy 2 is infamous for being arguably the worst mainline entry in the series, but I was curious, is it really that bad? Yes, yes it is.
It didn't take me long to feel this way since after about 10 minutes of grinding in the overworld, I went about 6 steps south of Altair and ran into high level enemies that killed me. That's my first, of many, issues with Final Fantasy 2. If you don't go exactly where the game wants you to, you'll stumble on late-game enemies that kill you, and you won't be able to flee from them either since levelling up Agility in this game is non-sensical. I hate the levelling up system in this game (or lack thereof). The Nature vs Nurture system of Final Fantasy 2 makes sense in concept, the more you do something, the better you are at it, and this works for some stats like Strength being tied to how many times you use the Attack command or the potency of your Magic spells being determined by how often you cast them. But to use this system optimally you have to do some really non-sensical things. Firstly, to get the most HP upgrades, you're best off taking of all your armor so you take more damage. If you want to increase Agility, you need to increase Evasion, to increase Evasion, you're best off defending while the enemies absolutely wail on you. If you want to level up the Life spell so characters are revived with more than 1 HP, the best thing to do is constantly kill and revive your party members like its I Have No Mouth and I Must Scream. Granted, none of this is ever necessary since the game is pretty easy all things considered (to the point of being mindless), but it just goes to show how poorly implemented this system is. Also, this system just does not work for magic spells, by the time you get spells like Holy, Flare and Ultima you're never using them because they're Level 1 while your other spells like Fire are level 10 and above.
The way stats are raised isn't even my main issue with the game, it's the dungeons. It's like they're designed to be as frustrating as humanly possible. This is because these dungeons are completely loaded with dead ends, or they have a treasure chest with a Monster-in-the-box, FF2 is the first to introduce them, yey... There's also an absolutely ungodly amount of trap rooms where you're thrown into the middle of the room, and these rooms have such a sky high encounter rate that you'll often fight 2 battles in these areas. These dungeons also drag on for about 4-10 floors and it's exhausting and the constant encounters everytime you take 5 steps drove me nuts. The dungeons are designed to drag on as long as possible to drain you of your MP so when you fight the boss at the end, you're Fucked, because the bosses have an absurd amount of physical defence so magic is the only real way to damage them. FF1 dungeons were basic but you never felt like the designers were going out of their way to piss you off like they do here.
Another thing I don't get is the temporary party members that assist you throughout your adventure. Minwu and Josef are useful, but Leila, Ricard and Gordon suck, they have no magic, die in record speed and you never want to use them because having them perform actions decreases the chance of your other characters levelling up. Leon also joins way too late for him to be useful.
The reason they're temporary is because most of them die. FF2s story is surprisingly depressing and it's the high point of the game for me. Right from the start you see the Empire wreaking havoc and that continues for the entire game as NPCs you once interacted with get killed by the Dreadnought and towns get completely destroyed to the point where you can't go to them anymore. It does wonders in establishing the Empire as a threat and some moments are genuinely gut-wrenching like when you inform Nelly about Josef's death. There's too many deaths for them all to hit hard though and the characters are all very basic, but the story is a huge step up from FF1 regardless. I also like Emperor Mattheus as a villain, you feel his presence for the entire game and him going to hell and overcoming Satan is hilariously badass, he's my favourite villain out of the ones from FF1-5. The music (atleast on the PSP) is pretty solid, with highlights for me being Magician's Tower and the Rebel Army Theme.
The PSP version also does a lot of things to improve on the original FF2. Grinding spells doesn't take forever, you don't have a limited inventory, spells aren't insanely expensive and improving one stat won't lower a different one in this version.
But even with the improvements, it doesn't salvage what I think is a pretty terrible game overall. I can appreciate FF2 for introducing a lot of series staples like being the first game to have Cid, Chocobos, the Ultima Spell, Phoenix Downs, enemies like Flans, Malboros, Behemoths, Bombs etc. Most importantly though, I admire the fact it set the precedent for other games to follow by having a standalone story that doesn't tie into the previous game. But appreciating and enjoying something are two different things, and I got almost no enjoyment from playing this.
It didn't take me long to feel this way since after about 10 minutes of grinding in the overworld, I went about 6 steps south of Altair and ran into high level enemies that killed me. That's my first, of many, issues with Final Fantasy 2. If you don't go exactly where the game wants you to, you'll stumble on late-game enemies that kill you, and you won't be able to flee from them either since levelling up Agility in this game is non-sensical. I hate the levelling up system in this game (or lack thereof). The Nature vs Nurture system of Final Fantasy 2 makes sense in concept, the more you do something, the better you are at it, and this works for some stats like Strength being tied to how many times you use the Attack command or the potency of your Magic spells being determined by how often you cast them. But to use this system optimally you have to do some really non-sensical things. Firstly, to get the most HP upgrades, you're best off taking of all your armor so you take more damage. If you want to increase Agility, you need to increase Evasion, to increase Evasion, you're best off defending while the enemies absolutely wail on you. If you want to level up the Life spell so characters are revived with more than 1 HP, the best thing to do is constantly kill and revive your party members like its I Have No Mouth and I Must Scream. Granted, none of this is ever necessary since the game is pretty easy all things considered (to the point of being mindless), but it just goes to show how poorly implemented this system is. Also, this system just does not work for magic spells, by the time you get spells like Holy, Flare and Ultima you're never using them because they're Level 1 while your other spells like Fire are level 10 and above.
The way stats are raised isn't even my main issue with the game, it's the dungeons. It's like they're designed to be as frustrating as humanly possible. This is because these dungeons are completely loaded with dead ends, or they have a treasure chest with a Monster-in-the-box, FF2 is the first to introduce them, yey... There's also an absolutely ungodly amount of trap rooms where you're thrown into the middle of the room, and these rooms have such a sky high encounter rate that you'll often fight 2 battles in these areas. These dungeons also drag on for about 4-10 floors and it's exhausting and the constant encounters everytime you take 5 steps drove me nuts. The dungeons are designed to drag on as long as possible to drain you of your MP so when you fight the boss at the end, you're Fucked, because the bosses have an absurd amount of physical defence so magic is the only real way to damage them. FF1 dungeons were basic but you never felt like the designers were going out of their way to piss you off like they do here.
Another thing I don't get is the temporary party members that assist you throughout your adventure. Minwu and Josef are useful, but Leila, Ricard and Gordon suck, they have no magic, die in record speed and you never want to use them because having them perform actions decreases the chance of your other characters levelling up. Leon also joins way too late for him to be useful.
The reason they're temporary is because most of them die. FF2s story is surprisingly depressing and it's the high point of the game for me. Right from the start you see the Empire wreaking havoc and that continues for the entire game as NPCs you once interacted with get killed by the Dreadnought and towns get completely destroyed to the point where you can't go to them anymore. It does wonders in establishing the Empire as a threat and some moments are genuinely gut-wrenching like when you inform Nelly about Josef's death. There's too many deaths for them all to hit hard though and the characters are all very basic, but the story is a huge step up from FF1 regardless. I also like Emperor Mattheus as a villain, you feel his presence for the entire game and him going to hell and overcoming Satan is hilariously badass, he's my favourite villain out of the ones from FF1-5. The music (atleast on the PSP) is pretty solid, with highlights for me being Magician's Tower and the Rebel Army Theme.
The PSP version also does a lot of things to improve on the original FF2. Grinding spells doesn't take forever, you don't have a limited inventory, spells aren't insanely expensive and improving one stat won't lower a different one in this version.
But even with the improvements, it doesn't salvage what I think is a pretty terrible game overall. I can appreciate FF2 for introducing a lot of series staples like being the first game to have Cid, Chocobos, the Ultima Spell, Phoenix Downs, enemies like Flans, Malboros, Behemoths, Bombs etc. Most importantly though, I admire the fact it set the precedent for other games to follow by having a standalone story that doesn't tie into the previous game. But appreciating and enjoying something are two different things, and I got almost no enjoyment from playing this.
2001
Heading into Golden Sun I was hoping for a solid RPG and while I did get just that, I'm still left a little underwhelmed.
A part of the reason why is due to the story. Overall, it's just Bad. None of the characters develop aside from maybe Ivan in the beginning, the ending is extremely anticlimactic with how many loose threads there are and the main characters do nothing in the story other than react to the villains' actions and try to stop them. The reason why I find it so underwhelming though, is because the prologue is so fantastic. The stakes in it are high, it establishes the villains as a huge threat and is surprisingly tragic and it just set my expectations for the story so high but everything that came after the first 2 hours was so forgettable and generic. I wish the game explored Felix's relationship with Saturos and Menardi, or spend more time exploring Garet and Isaac's guilt over feeling like they're responsible for what happened in the prologue but that sadly doesn't happen. Also, I really dislike the fact that you get dialogue options. It's a minor thing but they don't affect the events of the story in any way so it just feels like a cheap way of trying to make the player feel like they're involved in the plot.
Where the game fares much better is in the gameplay. Golden Sun uses the Djinn system, they're these creatures you can collect and equip them to your party members to boost their stats and give your characters different abilities. You can also cast Djinns and use them as spells, and if you use enough of them you can use a summon for massive damage. Using Djinns as spells does decrease your stats so it adds a layer of decision-making by having the player decide whether you want to cast a spell at the cost of temporarily lowering your stats. I really like this system and trying out different Djinn combinations to see what kind of spells I'd get was very fun. I really like the game's difficulty too. Golden Sun has party members recover mana simply by walking and to circumvent this making the game too easy, the random encounters in this game are decently challenging and you can very easily have a party member die if you're careless. This may not sound like much, however it is very punishing as reviving items are extremely scarce, it takes a long time to acquire a reviving spell and the only reliable method of reviving party members is to go to a town and pay a ton of money for it. This means you always have to be on your toes which makes random encounters very engaging. It's also helped by the encounter rate being very fair in this game, you can often go entire rooms without running into a single enemy so I never felt frustrated when trying to progress. The game also has really great dungeons thanks to Psynergy. Psynergy acts as spells that you get throughout the game that help with puzzles. They range from being able to move blocks, to turning invisible, to freezing puddles of water into a platform. The puzzles this creates are really fun and it makes for some of the best dungeons I've played in any RPG. The only blemish on the gameplay is the inventory system. Characters can only hold 15 items at most. There also isn't any storage mechanic and if an item is necessary for plot progression, it's taking up a slot in your inventory for the rest of the game. Therefore, the farther you go into the game, the more clogged your inventory becomes and it leads to a lot of tedious and completely unnecessary inventory management. I just don't understand why they put a limit on how many items you can have.
The music is decent, but is very held back by being on the GBA and it results in none of the tunes sticking in my head aside from a few great town themes and Saturos' boss theme.
Despite my issues with the story, I wouldn't say the game does anything offensively poorly to the point where I was disappointed but it also doesn't do anything exceptionally well. I like the Djinn system, the puzzles, the dungeons, how it looks (especially in battle) but nothing really resonated with me to the point where I was desperate to keep playing. The game is certainly a step above being a jack of all trades, but it's still a master of none.
A part of the reason why is due to the story. Overall, it's just Bad. None of the characters develop aside from maybe Ivan in the beginning, the ending is extremely anticlimactic with how many loose threads there are and the main characters do nothing in the story other than react to the villains' actions and try to stop them. The reason why I find it so underwhelming though, is because the prologue is so fantastic. The stakes in it are high, it establishes the villains as a huge threat and is surprisingly tragic and it just set my expectations for the story so high but everything that came after the first 2 hours was so forgettable and generic. I wish the game explored Felix's relationship with Saturos and Menardi, or spend more time exploring Garet and Isaac's guilt over feeling like they're responsible for what happened in the prologue but that sadly doesn't happen. Also, I really dislike the fact that you get dialogue options. It's a minor thing but they don't affect the events of the story in any way so it just feels like a cheap way of trying to make the player feel like they're involved in the plot.
Where the game fares much better is in the gameplay. Golden Sun uses the Djinn system, they're these creatures you can collect and equip them to your party members to boost their stats and give your characters different abilities. You can also cast Djinns and use them as spells, and if you use enough of them you can use a summon for massive damage. Using Djinns as spells does decrease your stats so it adds a layer of decision-making by having the player decide whether you want to cast a spell at the cost of temporarily lowering your stats. I really like this system and trying out different Djinn combinations to see what kind of spells I'd get was very fun. I really like the game's difficulty too. Golden Sun has party members recover mana simply by walking and to circumvent this making the game too easy, the random encounters in this game are decently challenging and you can very easily have a party member die if you're careless. This may not sound like much, however it is very punishing as reviving items are extremely scarce, it takes a long time to acquire a reviving spell and the only reliable method of reviving party members is to go to a town and pay a ton of money for it. This means you always have to be on your toes which makes random encounters very engaging. It's also helped by the encounter rate being very fair in this game, you can often go entire rooms without running into a single enemy so I never felt frustrated when trying to progress. The game also has really great dungeons thanks to Psynergy. Psynergy acts as spells that you get throughout the game that help with puzzles. They range from being able to move blocks, to turning invisible, to freezing puddles of water into a platform. The puzzles this creates are really fun and it makes for some of the best dungeons I've played in any RPG. The only blemish on the gameplay is the inventory system. Characters can only hold 15 items at most. There also isn't any storage mechanic and if an item is necessary for plot progression, it's taking up a slot in your inventory for the rest of the game. Therefore, the farther you go into the game, the more clogged your inventory becomes and it leads to a lot of tedious and completely unnecessary inventory management. I just don't understand why they put a limit on how many items you can have.
The music is decent, but is very held back by being on the GBA and it results in none of the tunes sticking in my head aside from a few great town themes and Saturos' boss theme.
Despite my issues with the story, I wouldn't say the game does anything offensively poorly to the point where I was disappointed but it also doesn't do anything exceptionally well. I like the Djinn system, the puzzles, the dungeons, how it looks (especially in battle) but nothing really resonated with me to the point where I was desperate to keep playing. The game is certainly a step above being a jack of all trades, but it's still a master of none.
2002
Even a day after beating it, I struggle to understand how I feel about this game. I think I enjoyed it, but objectively it's pretty middle of the road.
Well, to begin with, the CGI cutscenes are some of the best PS2 has to offer. They are mesmerizing but, the same can't be said for the regular cutscenes. The models look great and hold up today but the characters move so much when barely anything warrants it that it just becomes confusing. I'm not really sure what Kinji Fukusaku was going for. Also, the younger characters sound noticeably older than they should be and it's just really jarring.
As for the story, firstly, it doesn't have anything to do with the previous games but I don't have an issue with that since CT2 wrapped up the Scissorman story nicely. What I do have an issue with though is the tone, this game has no idea whether it wants to be over-the-top hilarious with the hammy vocal performances and the final sequence which is just ridiculous, heartwrenching with the genuinely nice resolutions to the subplots in the first two levels, or scary or all of the above and it's just a mess though it's a very fun and enjoyable mess nonetheless.
In terms of gameplay, it ditches the point and click style of the previous games in favour of a survival horror style very similar to Silent Hill. Personally, I prefer this approach and in terms of being different from its contemporaries, Clock Tower 3 has Subordinate chases in which you try to run away from bosses in a level. Unlike Scissorman, these bosses are relentless, they appear for most of the level and basically never stop. They are great at instilling the same sense of panic that was present in Clock Tower 2 but to a much greater extent here. Also, I do like how getting hit by them raises your Panic meter, which was a mechanic that was extremely worthless in the previous games. The problem is that in other survival horror games, you could take it at your own pace which made the camera a non-issue, in CT3 that's not the case and the dynamic camera angles make it really confusing when trying to frantically run away. This is made worse by the fact that the subordinates have some of the worst hit detection I've seen in all of gaming. If they wind up their attack while you're anywhere near them, You're Getting Hit. Even if you're far away by the time they finish their attack animation. It's really infuriating and the 3rd Subordinate, Chopper, can go to hell.
The game does have other aspects I like, the music is fantastic and I love the use of piano in it, the boss fights are pretty fun if a little repetitive (besides the final boss which is just a boring damage sponge that takes 5 times as long, but is no more engaging than regular boss fights) and the Ghosts which you set free by finding an item that lets their soul move on was a really enjoyable mechanic that reminded me a lot of Echo Night. Despite this though, I can't shake the feeling that anything I like about the game is in some way countered by something I dislike. It's such a hodgepodge of things that work and things that fail that it ultimately results in a mediocre game.
Well, to begin with, the CGI cutscenes are some of the best PS2 has to offer. They are mesmerizing but, the same can't be said for the regular cutscenes. The models look great and hold up today but the characters move so much when barely anything warrants it that it just becomes confusing. I'm not really sure what Kinji Fukusaku was going for. Also, the younger characters sound noticeably older than they should be and it's just really jarring.
As for the story, firstly, it doesn't have anything to do with the previous games but I don't have an issue with that since CT2 wrapped up the Scissorman story nicely. What I do have an issue with though is the tone, this game has no idea whether it wants to be over-the-top hilarious with the hammy vocal performances and the final sequence which is just ridiculous, heartwrenching with the genuinely nice resolutions to the subplots in the first two levels, or scary or all of the above and it's just a mess though it's a very fun and enjoyable mess nonetheless.
In terms of gameplay, it ditches the point and click style of the previous games in favour of a survival horror style very similar to Silent Hill. Personally, I prefer this approach and in terms of being different from its contemporaries, Clock Tower 3 has Subordinate chases in which you try to run away from bosses in a level. Unlike Scissorman, these bosses are relentless, they appear for most of the level and basically never stop. They are great at instilling the same sense of panic that was present in Clock Tower 2 but to a much greater extent here. Also, I do like how getting hit by them raises your Panic meter, which was a mechanic that was extremely worthless in the previous games. The problem is that in other survival horror games, you could take it at your own pace which made the camera a non-issue, in CT3 that's not the case and the dynamic camera angles make it really confusing when trying to frantically run away. This is made worse by the fact that the subordinates have some of the worst hit detection I've seen in all of gaming. If they wind up their attack while you're anywhere near them, You're Getting Hit. Even if you're far away by the time they finish their attack animation. It's really infuriating and the 3rd Subordinate, Chopper, can go to hell.
The game does have other aspects I like, the music is fantastic and I love the use of piano in it, the boss fights are pretty fun if a little repetitive (besides the final boss which is just a boring damage sponge that takes 5 times as long, but is no more engaging than regular boss fights) and the Ghosts which you set free by finding an item that lets their soul move on was a really enjoyable mechanic that reminded me a lot of Echo Night. Despite this though, I can't shake the feeling that anything I like about the game is in some way countered by something I dislike. It's such a hodgepodge of things that work and things that fail that it ultimately results in a mediocre game.
1996
If Clock Tower 1 was like a decent albeit forgettable horror film. Clock Tower 2 is like, a very enjoyable B movie. Some of the stuff that happens in this game, specifically in Gotts'/Nolan's level made me laugh out loud. The game has some really campy moments that I dare not spoil that overall makes this game much more memorable than its predecessor. Because of this, the game isn't really scary at all but it does have things going for it. For starters, there's way less telegraph to when Scissorman will appear and it makes for some pretty startling jumpscares. I also like how Scissorman can arrive at almost any moment instead of being relegated to showing up in specific rooms. The game isn't scary whatsoever, but it did make me panic quite frequently.
CT2 also makes a lot of improvements over the original. For starters, the game thankfully feels much faster. You're no longer needlessly punished for running and you can also run up stairs. The game is also set out much differently, instead of exploring one mansion for the whole game you explore different areas from a University, to a House to finally, the Barrows Mansion. This of course means the levels are much shorter and I prefer this approach because the areas here never overstay their welcome and I never felt like any area was a slog to get through. The only exception is the Barrows Mansion because it's not only bigger, but traversing through it is really frustrating since interacting with some items is locked until you interact with other, seemingly unrelated items. It's definitely the low point of the game for me. One thing CT1 has over this game is replayability. In CT1, how you play the entire game will impact your ending. In this game, only very specific actions in the Barrows Mansion would change what ending you get, the first 2 scenarios have you doing the exact same thing every time and it gets really dull if you're trying to get every ending. There's also no quick start feature this time around so you're forced to sit through the pretty long prologue with each and every playthrough which only makes things worse.
As for the story, I enjoyed it. Outside of the campy moments, it ties up the previous entries loose threads, gives more backstory on the Barrows family and overall just feels like a solid resolution to the plot.
All in all, I was positively surprised by Clock Tower 2 and I'd say I much prefer this game over the original. It was entertaining, paced much better, had great voice acting for its time and was overall a pretty enjoyable time.
CT2 also makes a lot of improvements over the original. For starters, the game thankfully feels much faster. You're no longer needlessly punished for running and you can also run up stairs. The game is also set out much differently, instead of exploring one mansion for the whole game you explore different areas from a University, to a House to finally, the Barrows Mansion. This of course means the levels are much shorter and I prefer this approach because the areas here never overstay their welcome and I never felt like any area was a slog to get through. The only exception is the Barrows Mansion because it's not only bigger, but traversing through it is really frustrating since interacting with some items is locked until you interact with other, seemingly unrelated items. It's definitely the low point of the game for me. One thing CT1 has over this game is replayability. In CT1, how you play the entire game will impact your ending. In this game, only very specific actions in the Barrows Mansion would change what ending you get, the first 2 scenarios have you doing the exact same thing every time and it gets really dull if you're trying to get every ending. There's also no quick start feature this time around so you're forced to sit through the pretty long prologue with each and every playthrough which only makes things worse.
As for the story, I enjoyed it. Outside of the campy moments, it ties up the previous entries loose threads, gives more backstory on the Barrows family and overall just feels like a solid resolution to the plot.
All in all, I was positively surprised by Clock Tower 2 and I'd say I much prefer this game over the original. It was entertaining, paced much better, had great voice acting for its time and was overall a pretty enjoyable time.
1995
Despite being one of the first horror games ever made, I'd say Clock Tower manages to hold up surprisingly well, but not without flaws and I would still say the game is very dated overall.
The first thing that jumped out at me immediately was the sound design, or lack thereof. Footsteps are about 90% of everything you'll be hearing in Clock Tower and it's very effective at unnerving the player. It makes other sound effects more impactful because you're so used to silence when they occur.
However, the other thing that jumped out at me was just how painfully slow the game is. Jennifer's running speed leaves a lot to be desired, walking up stairs takes forever and I wish the dialogue didn't move at a snail's pace. This is amplified by how easy it is to get lost on a first playthrough. The rooms all look distinct but the doors look identical to eachother and it can be hard to see which rooms you've visited before and which ones you haven't which leads to a lot of tediousness as you try to desperately look for a room with an item that you might've missed. It completely kills the atmosphere that the sound design builds up. Granted, this is much more bearable after you beat the game once.
Once you power through the relatively rough start the game has, you'll notice that Clock Tower actually has a lot of replayability with 9 different endings and a lot of hidden scenes and scenarios which are easily missed but do wonders in fleshing out the game's story which I found enjoyable enough as being a pretty standard horror plot. It's really neat to see new things happen even when you've already beaten the game multiple times.
The last thing worth mentioning is of course the scare factor. It just didn't do it for me. The first encounter with Scissorman is great, the buildup, anticipation and his eventual reveal leave an impression however the game never really matches that level of fear again. That's because Scissorman is too easily avoidable, any time he shows up, simply run out of the room, go to a room where you can hide, rinse and repeat for an hour and congratulations! Clock Tower will do Nothing in terms of scaring the player again.
Despite my issues, I can cut the game some slack for being a pioneer of the genre and I'm still glad I played through it multiple times.
The first thing that jumped out at me immediately was the sound design, or lack thereof. Footsteps are about 90% of everything you'll be hearing in Clock Tower and it's very effective at unnerving the player. It makes other sound effects more impactful because you're so used to silence when they occur.
However, the other thing that jumped out at me was just how painfully slow the game is. Jennifer's running speed leaves a lot to be desired, walking up stairs takes forever and I wish the dialogue didn't move at a snail's pace. This is amplified by how easy it is to get lost on a first playthrough. The rooms all look distinct but the doors look identical to eachother and it can be hard to see which rooms you've visited before and which ones you haven't which leads to a lot of tediousness as you try to desperately look for a room with an item that you might've missed. It completely kills the atmosphere that the sound design builds up. Granted, this is much more bearable after you beat the game once.
Once you power through the relatively rough start the game has, you'll notice that Clock Tower actually has a lot of replayability with 9 different endings and a lot of hidden scenes and scenarios which are easily missed but do wonders in fleshing out the game's story which I found enjoyable enough as being a pretty standard horror plot. It's really neat to see new things happen even when you've already beaten the game multiple times.
The last thing worth mentioning is of course the scare factor. It just didn't do it for me. The first encounter with Scissorman is great, the buildup, anticipation and his eventual reveal leave an impression however the game never really matches that level of fear again. That's because Scissorman is too easily avoidable, any time he shows up, simply run out of the room, go to a room where you can hide, rinse and repeat for an hour and congratulations! Clock Tower will do Nothing in terms of scaring the player again.
Despite my issues, I can cut the game some slack for being a pioneer of the genre and I'm still glad I played through it multiple times.
2000
Right from the beginning of the game, Vagrant Story grips you with what is one of the most captivating openings to a game I've experienced with its refreshingly serious tone, its mysterious, almost menacing music and its presentation which is unlike anything else on the PS1 with how detailed the 3D models are.
Though the presentation certainly helps the cutscenes be enjoyable to watch, the story manages to stand on its own two feet and understanding more about the setting of Lea Monde as well as seeing Ashley's journey of self-acceptance regarding his past was extremely fascinating to me. The story is also helped by having a fantastic translation that feels so authentic it's as if it's ripped straight from the time period the game is set in as well as having jaw-dropping cinematography. So much can be inferred from simply the camera angles and lighting that it adds another layer to the already great narrative the game has.
When it comes to the gameplay, the game is much rougher around the edges. Starting with the positives, I do think Vagrant Story avoids a lot of issues that I have with RPGs. For starters, there's a level of skill involved in Vagrant Story that's absent from other RPGs with how the game has a rhythm aspect to its attacks and pressing the action button at the appropriate time leads to a follow-up hit. This means being good at Vagrant Story is more about getting to grips with the game's mechanics rather than being a question of how much time you want to put in mindlessly grinding, grinding is basically non-existent in this game. Also, the skill aspect makes beating enemies in this game feel more rewarding than in any other RPG I've played especially when you pull off a 10+ hit combo. I also like how buffs and debuffs play a key role here and aren't completely negligible.
However, it's not all good, for starters, the game explains absolutely Nothing about any of its systems and the game is pretty complex for RPGs of this era which only makes the issue worse. Explanations are in the manual but It makes the game show its age regardless. Additionally, the menus are terrible, they feel counter-intuitive and everything just feels really cluttered which is made worse by the fact that you'll spend more time in the menus than actually fighting as you change blade types, weapon affinities, gems and other equipment prior to most fights in the game. If there's one word to describe it, it's clunky and the same can be said about other aspects of the game like the platforming, the completely unnecessary block puzzles and the random traps in the rooms that do nothing more than cheapshot and annoy the player. Another weird design decision is teleportation, the game's fast-travel mechanic. It costs mana, and a ton of it at that, sometimes more mana than you're capped at. This means that often, if you want to backtrack, you'll have to teleport to an area that's closer to your destination, wait for all your mana to refill, then finally teleport to your destination. It feels slow and I don't understand why they couldn't make it cost less MP.
An aspect of the game I'm split on is the Risk system, the more attacks you do and the more attacks you endure, the higher the risk meter goes up, the higher the risk meter goes, the less accuracy your moves have but you also do increased damage and the same goes for the enemies. I do like how it's not an entirely black and white system and I also enjoy the layer of decision-making it adds with having to pick between taking the risk and potentially doing more damage or playing it safe and lowering the risk meter with items. What I don't like about it, is that if you pull off a long combo, it'll usually max out the risk meter and your next action is almost guaranteed to miss. In that regard, the risk meter essentially punishes you for playing well.
For all my grievances about the game feeling slow and its questionable design decisions, It's still a game I'm glad I played and I'd recommend it to anyone who is a fan of RPGs. It does some things wrong, but what it does well, it does so masterfully that it overshadows any issues I had.
Though the presentation certainly helps the cutscenes be enjoyable to watch, the story manages to stand on its own two feet and understanding more about the setting of Lea Monde as well as seeing Ashley's journey of self-acceptance regarding his past was extremely fascinating to me. The story is also helped by having a fantastic translation that feels so authentic it's as if it's ripped straight from the time period the game is set in as well as having jaw-dropping cinematography. So much can be inferred from simply the camera angles and lighting that it adds another layer to the already great narrative the game has.
When it comes to the gameplay, the game is much rougher around the edges. Starting with the positives, I do think Vagrant Story avoids a lot of issues that I have with RPGs. For starters, there's a level of skill involved in Vagrant Story that's absent from other RPGs with how the game has a rhythm aspect to its attacks and pressing the action button at the appropriate time leads to a follow-up hit. This means being good at Vagrant Story is more about getting to grips with the game's mechanics rather than being a question of how much time you want to put in mindlessly grinding, grinding is basically non-existent in this game. Also, the skill aspect makes beating enemies in this game feel more rewarding than in any other RPG I've played especially when you pull off a 10+ hit combo. I also like how buffs and debuffs play a key role here and aren't completely negligible.
However, it's not all good, for starters, the game explains absolutely Nothing about any of its systems and the game is pretty complex for RPGs of this era which only makes the issue worse. Explanations are in the manual but It makes the game show its age regardless. Additionally, the menus are terrible, they feel counter-intuitive and everything just feels really cluttered which is made worse by the fact that you'll spend more time in the menus than actually fighting as you change blade types, weapon affinities, gems and other equipment prior to most fights in the game. If there's one word to describe it, it's clunky and the same can be said about other aspects of the game like the platforming, the completely unnecessary block puzzles and the random traps in the rooms that do nothing more than cheapshot and annoy the player. Another weird design decision is teleportation, the game's fast-travel mechanic. It costs mana, and a ton of it at that, sometimes more mana than you're capped at. This means that often, if you want to backtrack, you'll have to teleport to an area that's closer to your destination, wait for all your mana to refill, then finally teleport to your destination. It feels slow and I don't understand why they couldn't make it cost less MP.
An aspect of the game I'm split on is the Risk system, the more attacks you do and the more attacks you endure, the higher the risk meter goes up, the higher the risk meter goes, the less accuracy your moves have but you also do increased damage and the same goes for the enemies. I do like how it's not an entirely black and white system and I also enjoy the layer of decision-making it adds with having to pick between taking the risk and potentially doing more damage or playing it safe and lowering the risk meter with items. What I don't like about it, is that if you pull off a long combo, it'll usually max out the risk meter and your next action is almost guaranteed to miss. In that regard, the risk meter essentially punishes you for playing well.
For all my grievances about the game feeling slow and its questionable design decisions, It's still a game I'm glad I played and I'd recommend it to anyone who is a fan of RPGs. It does some things wrong, but what it does well, it does so masterfully that it overshadows any issues I had.
I've had an interest in playing this game ever since I was a kid grinding Sonic All Stars Racing Transformed where I used Vyse non-stop and now, years later, I've finally played it to completion.
The first thing that jumped out at me was just how expressive the characters are, it's really impressive and that goes for the graphics too. Despite all of it taking place in the skies every area looks distinct and colourful and the same can be said for the combat in which the super and magic moves all really sell the impact of how powerful they're meant to be. The game's music is also great, it's varied but it maintains this feeling of going on an epic adventure and is a joy to listen to.
The gameplay is pretty standard RPG stuff, though I do like the magic system in this game and how you can have certain characters specialize in a specific attribute of magic which makes them feel more distinct from eachother but you can also go out of your way to grind so every character has every spell so no one feels less useful.
The standard elements of an RPG are all there and the main thing the game does to help it stand out are the ship battles. They look really great for their time...and that's where my praise for them end because they are absolutely dreadful. Near the start, they all boil down to you guarding and occasionally healing until you use the Harpoon Cannon, rinse and repeat and it gets really boring and it's made worse by them taking fucking forever. A single turn in ship battles takes almost a minute and from a gameplay perspective, they just feel like drawn out random enemy encounters. Other times they're just confusing, sometimes the game tells you to fire away to knock the enemy off balance, so I select all attacking options and I still get hit and lose. They get slightly better once your ship powers up later in the game but I still rolled my eyes anytime one of the ship battles was about to happen.
The story was also disappointing but there are some good things. The main cast is very likeable and seeing Vyse progress from an unknown kid wanting to see the world to a Legend of the Skies was cool to see and the stuff with Drachma and Rhaknam was excellent. My main issue with the story are the villains. They're evil, want power and that's all there is to any of them besides maybe Belleza. They're all interchangeable and completely forgettable. Also, about 80% of the scenes in this game boil down to a character saying how Valua is evil and how they've been wronged by them and by the 50th time, it gets old.
People call this game a classic so I had very high expectations, I went out of my way to get every crew member and collected every moonfish and did almost every bounty hunt in the game so I clearly enjoyed my time with the game overall. But outside of the complaints I've already mentioned there are other things that bother me. Enemies run away all the time in this game, sometimes before you even kill any of them and it just wastes time, the enemy encounter rate is a bit high and the Legends version lowers it so I can only imagine how unbearable the original is. The game feels slow overall but when I tried running from enemy encounters to hopefully speed it up, I found out the game punishes you for it by lowering your swashbuckler rating. I can keep going but you get my point. To sum up, while I did enjoy the game, I can't help but feel like the game is dated in many areas and I'm left ultimately disappointed.
The first thing that jumped out at me was just how expressive the characters are, it's really impressive and that goes for the graphics too. Despite all of it taking place in the skies every area looks distinct and colourful and the same can be said for the combat in which the super and magic moves all really sell the impact of how powerful they're meant to be. The game's music is also great, it's varied but it maintains this feeling of going on an epic adventure and is a joy to listen to.
The gameplay is pretty standard RPG stuff, though I do like the magic system in this game and how you can have certain characters specialize in a specific attribute of magic which makes them feel more distinct from eachother but you can also go out of your way to grind so every character has every spell so no one feels less useful.
The standard elements of an RPG are all there and the main thing the game does to help it stand out are the ship battles. They look really great for their time...and that's where my praise for them end because they are absolutely dreadful. Near the start, they all boil down to you guarding and occasionally healing until you use the Harpoon Cannon, rinse and repeat and it gets really boring and it's made worse by them taking fucking forever. A single turn in ship battles takes almost a minute and from a gameplay perspective, they just feel like drawn out random enemy encounters. Other times they're just confusing, sometimes the game tells you to fire away to knock the enemy off balance, so I select all attacking options and I still get hit and lose. They get slightly better once your ship powers up later in the game but I still rolled my eyes anytime one of the ship battles was about to happen.
The story was also disappointing but there are some good things. The main cast is very likeable and seeing Vyse progress from an unknown kid wanting to see the world to a Legend of the Skies was cool to see and the stuff with Drachma and Rhaknam was excellent. My main issue with the story are the villains. They're evil, want power and that's all there is to any of them besides maybe Belleza. They're all interchangeable and completely forgettable. Also, about 80% of the scenes in this game boil down to a character saying how Valua is evil and how they've been wronged by them and by the 50th time, it gets old.
People call this game a classic so I had very high expectations, I went out of my way to get every crew member and collected every moonfish and did almost every bounty hunt in the game so I clearly enjoyed my time with the game overall. But outside of the complaints I've already mentioned there are other things that bother me. Enemies run away all the time in this game, sometimes before you even kill any of them and it just wastes time, the enemy encounter rate is a bit high and the Legends version lowers it so I can only imagine how unbearable the original is. The game feels slow overall but when I tried running from enemy encounters to hopefully speed it up, I found out the game punishes you for it by lowering your swashbuckler rating. I can keep going but you get my point. To sum up, while I did enjoy the game, I can't help but feel like the game is dated in many areas and I'm left ultimately disappointed.
It's more Cuphead. So the gameplay is still fun, the animations are even better than the base game, Chalice is fun to play as but I personally stuck to using Cuphead since I'm more used to him and I feel that Ms.Chalice makes some segments in the bossfights too easy. The new weapons are also good additions though I think Crackshot is a bit too good but still, more Cuphead is great even if I wished there was a bit more content to this DLC.
I'm a casual Yugioh fan, I spent an unhealthy amount of time playing Duel Links and watched the first 4 anime series (Zexal is the best) but never bothered with playing the actual TCG. Despite this, after several recommendations from a friend of mine I eventually picked the game up in March and I CAN'T STOP PLAYING IT. My backloggd account became completely dead once I started this game because this is all I play. Help!
As for the good, the music has no reason to be as good as it is. It gives of Persona vibes so as a fan of that series, it's absolute joy to my ears especially the Monarch theme. Additionally, the deck building is really fun, I love making archetypes I tried out in Duel Links like Six Samurai and Cyber Dragons as well as making newer meta decks like Eldlich. The game is pretty fair with how many gems it gives out in my opinion so, unless you waste your gems on useless decks that haven't been good for 5 years, you'll be a-ok. Also, the game just looks really clean, no complaints in terms of the games visuals and there's also a crafting system, so you don't have to bend over backwards to get cards unlike in Duel Links where making a new competitive deck would take months.
But the game is so damn flawed. It severely lacks content which is only made worse for me since I played Duel Links previously and that game never went a day without having some event taking place. In this game, all you get is a Ranked Mode and Solo Mode which you only use to get a few gems. There's really nothing to do aside from those 2 modes and the occasional event that takes place in the middle of the month (which are extremely poorly designed for the most part). The balancing can turn people off, it uses a modified version of the OCG banlist which has way more cards being legal than the TCG. A new player has to face so many crazy cards it can easily turn someone off from playing completely. Personally though, I love the OCG banlist, you've got so many more crazy decks and strategies to choose from that it creates such a wild and fun power level of decks. Once you build your first deck or two and can transfer the staples to other decks, the game becomes way more manageable and fun but I can't see a casual player sticking out with the game for that long.
Despite my love for the game, I can't see someone who never played YuGiOh getting much enjoyment out of this, but I'm still addicted to it and probs won't finish any other game until I get bored of it.
As for the good, the music has no reason to be as good as it is. It gives of Persona vibes so as a fan of that series, it's absolute joy to my ears especially the Monarch theme. Additionally, the deck building is really fun, I love making archetypes I tried out in Duel Links like Six Samurai and Cyber Dragons as well as making newer meta decks like Eldlich. The game is pretty fair with how many gems it gives out in my opinion so, unless you waste your gems on useless decks that haven't been good for 5 years, you'll be a-ok. Also, the game just looks really clean, no complaints in terms of the games visuals and there's also a crafting system, so you don't have to bend over backwards to get cards unlike in Duel Links where making a new competitive deck would take months.
But the game is so damn flawed. It severely lacks content which is only made worse for me since I played Duel Links previously and that game never went a day without having some event taking place. In this game, all you get is a Ranked Mode and Solo Mode which you only use to get a few gems. There's really nothing to do aside from those 2 modes and the occasional event that takes place in the middle of the month (which are extremely poorly designed for the most part). The balancing can turn people off, it uses a modified version of the OCG banlist which has way more cards being legal than the TCG. A new player has to face so many crazy cards it can easily turn someone off from playing completely. Personally though, I love the OCG banlist, you've got so many more crazy decks and strategies to choose from that it creates such a wild and fun power level of decks. Once you build your first deck or two and can transfer the staples to other decks, the game becomes way more manageable and fun but I can't see a casual player sticking out with the game for that long.
Despite my love for the game, I can't see someone who never played YuGiOh getting much enjoyment out of this, but I'm still addicted to it and probs won't finish any other game until I get bored of it.
2005
It's pretty good
Since it'd be almost impossible to improve on Zero 3, Zero 4 instead opts to completely change multiple aspects of the series with really mixed results. Firstly, there's the Zero Knuckle, a new weapon that lets you take the enemies weapons and use it for yourself, it's used to get a few hidden materials but aside from that, it sucks. Its poor range meant I never used it over the Z-Saber, the weapons you get with it have really limited ammo and ngl, It really made me miss the Shield Boomerang and Rod weapons from the previous games. The game also changes the Cyber Elf system, by completing stages your cyber elf levels up which allows you to equip various perks and by feeding crystals to the cyber elf, you unlock better abilities to equip. I'm not really a fan of this system since you're really limited on what abilities you can equip unless you go out of your way to grind for crystals. That's right, GRIND. Why is it here, it was the worst part of Zero 1, Zero 2 made it more it way more bearable, Zero 3 removed it completely and 4 decided to bring it back to Zero 1 territory. Why? Crystals aren't the only thing you'll be grinding for though, if you want parts like the double jump or auto-charging, you'll have to find specific chips that drop from enemies and then use those chips to craft those items. It's another pointless implementation that complicates something that was so simple in Zero 3. One new change I can praise though is the way EX Skills are handled. You can get them all fairly easily if you just decide to go through a stage with unfavourable weather that causes some stage hazards to appear like the wind pushing you in Pegasolta's level. For once, I got a lot of use out of them with my favourite being Heat Genblem's weapon. The game also removes the Elemental Chips from the previous games and instead has boss weaknesses tied to the Cyber elf abilities and EX Skills. It does make the bosses more challenging. Craft, Heat Genblem and Pegasolta are tricky but fun but other fights just suck. Noble Mandrago barely tries to hurt you and Tech Kraken spends most of the time shooting the slowest projectiles in the series.
As for the level design, I don't care much for it. Most of Teck Kracken's stage is just a boring maze where enemies cheap shot you from underneath, most of Noble Mandrago's stage is just you hitting vines that don't fight back, Cockapetri's stage has those super annoying moving blocks that one hit kill you and Titanion's level has some of the worst enemy placement in the entire series. The story on the other hand is brilliant, seeing the humans viewpoint on everything that’s transpired was really interesting and I was on the edge of my seat during the climax to the Zero series. It works so well as not just an ending to the Zero series, but as an ending to Megaman as a whole.
Despite how negative I come off in this review. It’s still Megaman Zero at its core and it still controls very smoothly, has pretty solid music (though 3s is way better) and an engaging plot. But ultimately, I prefer Zero 2 and 3 way more, and I think I might even prefer Zero 1 for nostalgia reasons. The game changes a lot, but rarely does it improve anything.
Since it'd be almost impossible to improve on Zero 3, Zero 4 instead opts to completely change multiple aspects of the series with really mixed results. Firstly, there's the Zero Knuckle, a new weapon that lets you take the enemies weapons and use it for yourself, it's used to get a few hidden materials but aside from that, it sucks. Its poor range meant I never used it over the Z-Saber, the weapons you get with it have really limited ammo and ngl, It really made me miss the Shield Boomerang and Rod weapons from the previous games. The game also changes the Cyber Elf system, by completing stages your cyber elf levels up which allows you to equip various perks and by feeding crystals to the cyber elf, you unlock better abilities to equip. I'm not really a fan of this system since you're really limited on what abilities you can equip unless you go out of your way to grind for crystals. That's right, GRIND. Why is it here, it was the worst part of Zero 1, Zero 2 made it more it way more bearable, Zero 3 removed it completely and 4 decided to bring it back to Zero 1 territory. Why? Crystals aren't the only thing you'll be grinding for though, if you want parts like the double jump or auto-charging, you'll have to find specific chips that drop from enemies and then use those chips to craft those items. It's another pointless implementation that complicates something that was so simple in Zero 3. One new change I can praise though is the way EX Skills are handled. You can get them all fairly easily if you just decide to go through a stage with unfavourable weather that causes some stage hazards to appear like the wind pushing you in Pegasolta's level. For once, I got a lot of use out of them with my favourite being Heat Genblem's weapon. The game also removes the Elemental Chips from the previous games and instead has boss weaknesses tied to the Cyber elf abilities and EX Skills. It does make the bosses more challenging. Craft, Heat Genblem and Pegasolta are tricky but fun but other fights just suck. Noble Mandrago barely tries to hurt you and Tech Kraken spends most of the time shooting the slowest projectiles in the series.
As for the level design, I don't care much for it. Most of Teck Kracken's stage is just a boring maze where enemies cheap shot you from underneath, most of Noble Mandrago's stage is just you hitting vines that don't fight back, Cockapetri's stage has those super annoying moving blocks that one hit kill you and Titanion's level has some of the worst enemy placement in the entire series. The story on the other hand is brilliant, seeing the humans viewpoint on everything that’s transpired was really interesting and I was on the edge of my seat during the climax to the Zero series. It works so well as not just an ending to the Zero series, but as an ending to Megaman as a whole.
Despite how negative I come off in this review. It’s still Megaman Zero at its core and it still controls very smoothly, has pretty solid music (though 3s is way better) and an engaging plot. But ultimately, I prefer Zero 2 and 3 way more, and I think I might even prefer Zero 1 for nostalgia reasons. The game changes a lot, but rarely does it improve anything.
2004
Yeah, this blows the previous 2 games out of the water in almost every aspect.
To begin with, the gameplay is better than ever. The weapon level system is completely gone so you can just jump right in and have fun without feeling needlessly restricted. Which is helped by the game having level design that is leagues above the previous games. Almost every stage has something memorable from the fast-paced platforming of Flizard’s stage to the snowboarding sections of Cactank’s stage. Every stage stands out in some way without having random difficulty spikes or bullshit spike placement that plagued Zero 1 and 2. The game as a whole is a lot easier so I can totally see someone who didn’t enjoy the previous games liking this one. Another important gameplay change is the disk system. They’re scattered across the stage just like cyber-elves were in the previous two games but aside from cyber-elves, the disks also can hold bits on info on the characters and enemies as well as Chips. Chips serve as the replacement for Forms and they’re handled way better since you acquire them naturally through beating bosses or exploring stages instead of having to fulfil random requirements. Cyber-elves are also much more varied in what abilities they hold since here they can hold special moves like the Rolling Slash and other elves can give you an automatic S Rank which allowed me to play around with some of the EX Skills. Plus, you don’t have to go back to the base to equip them so you get way more use out of them here since all you have to do is go to the cyber elf menu at any point and you can use them immediately.
The story is also the best one yet. Weil’s a good villain purely because he’s so irredeemable completely unlike Elpizo. But aside from him, every character gets some attention from Ciel rejecting Copy X’s offer or Harpuia speaking out against Weil’s actions. Also, the entire third act is just a rollercoaster of emotions and is probably the most fun I had in any Megaman game I played this year.
Then there’s the music that, again, trumps the previous 2 titles. None of it sounds like it’s held back by being on the GBA with highlights for me being Reborn Mechanics, Final Countdown, Trail on Powdery Snow and everything that plays during the final boss.
My only gripes with the game would be that if you get a gameover, you must collect all the Disks you found in the stage all over again. It didn’t work like that in the previous titles, if you got a cyber-elf you kept it regardless if you had to restart the level so I felt this was a needless change. Granted, the easier difficulty means I didn’t die often anyway, so this is really just a nitpick. My main issue is the bossfights. They’re much easier here, almost too easy once you use cyber-elves and so, they don’t feel nearly as satisfying to learn and defeat. Plus, some are just completely forgettable like Volteel Bilbio or Glacier le Cactank. The final boss was so easy it made the ending feel slightly less impactful because I beat him so quickly which was a shame.
Minor flaws aside, this game is still incredible. It removes every issue I had with the previous games while improving on what those games already did well.
To begin with, the gameplay is better than ever. The weapon level system is completely gone so you can just jump right in and have fun without feeling needlessly restricted. Which is helped by the game having level design that is leagues above the previous games. Almost every stage has something memorable from the fast-paced platforming of Flizard’s stage to the snowboarding sections of Cactank’s stage. Every stage stands out in some way without having random difficulty spikes or bullshit spike placement that plagued Zero 1 and 2. The game as a whole is a lot easier so I can totally see someone who didn’t enjoy the previous games liking this one. Another important gameplay change is the disk system. They’re scattered across the stage just like cyber-elves were in the previous two games but aside from cyber-elves, the disks also can hold bits on info on the characters and enemies as well as Chips. Chips serve as the replacement for Forms and they’re handled way better since you acquire them naturally through beating bosses or exploring stages instead of having to fulfil random requirements. Cyber-elves are also much more varied in what abilities they hold since here they can hold special moves like the Rolling Slash and other elves can give you an automatic S Rank which allowed me to play around with some of the EX Skills. Plus, you don’t have to go back to the base to equip them so you get way more use out of them here since all you have to do is go to the cyber elf menu at any point and you can use them immediately.
The story is also the best one yet. Weil’s a good villain purely because he’s so irredeemable completely unlike Elpizo. But aside from him, every character gets some attention from Ciel rejecting Copy X’s offer or Harpuia speaking out against Weil’s actions. Also, the entire third act is just a rollercoaster of emotions and is probably the most fun I had in any Megaman game I played this year.
Then there’s the music that, again, trumps the previous 2 titles. None of it sounds like it’s held back by being on the GBA with highlights for me being Reborn Mechanics, Final Countdown, Trail on Powdery Snow and everything that plays during the final boss.
My only gripes with the game would be that if you get a gameover, you must collect all the Disks you found in the stage all over again. It didn’t work like that in the previous titles, if you got a cyber-elf you kept it regardless if you had to restart the level so I felt this was a needless change. Granted, the easier difficulty means I didn’t die often anyway, so this is really just a nitpick. My main issue is the bossfights. They’re much easier here, almost too easy once you use cyber-elves and so, they don’t feel nearly as satisfying to learn and defeat. Plus, some are just completely forgettable like Volteel Bilbio or Glacier le Cactank. The final boss was so easy it made the ending feel slightly less impactful because I beat him so quickly which was a shame.
Minor flaws aside, this game is still incredible. It removes every issue I had with the previous games while improving on what those games already did well.
2003
Rarely does a game hook me as much as Zero 2 did and that's probably down to how satisfying the gameplay feels.
Initially the game absolutely kicked my ass. I'd die repeatedly, get frustrated and annoyed, but I never felt compelled to stop playing because when I died it felt like it was my fault. The game is challenging but rarely does it feel cheap and because of this, beating the levels and taking down the bosses that gave me an initially tough time such as Phoenix Magnion or Kuwagust Anchus felt incredibly satisfying. The majority of bossfights here are well done with them all having recognizable patterns and telegraphed attacks that are still hard to dodge, the only exception being the Anchus brothers since fighting two bosses at once was just a mess.
The level design on the other hand is probably my main issue with the game mainly due to how the difficulty between the stages is so inconsistent. Some can be difficult like Fenrir's stage which has lava everywhere and requires tight platforming skills whereas others like Leviathan's stage are surprisingly easy with the entire level consisting of dodging mines that are clearly visible and easy to avoid. Overall I'd say the level design is hit and miss because for every fun one like the forest levels that require using the chain rod to swing around there's a stage like the aircraft one where I swear you're forced to take damage at points because of the bombs.
Regardless, I still had a lot of fun with the levels due to how the game lessens the need for grinding that Zero 1 had so this game flows much better. Here, I got the weapon abilities naturally and actually got use out of cyber-elves this time. The game also introduces the Form system, if you fulfill certain requirements during a stage like using the Chain Rod 30 times, you get a form that slightly alters Zero's stats. I never felt like they were necessary to beat the game but they were a welcome addition even though they vary in terms of usefulness. The Defense form is worthless since, while you do take less damage, you also deal so little damage that every enemy becomes harder to kill and you end up getting hit way more often. My favourite was the Active form since the Rolling Slash just looks so cool but I liked using the Rise, X and Power form too on the rare occasion.
The story I'd say is also a step up from Zero 1. Elpizo is a great villain since he's well meaning but ultimately too reckless in his actions and the build-up to his bossfight during the game's second half is something I wish Zero 1 had with Copy X. The entire story just feels way more fleshed out
Overall, I beat the game in a single day, I think that about says everything. Aside from the inconsistent level design, there really wasn't anything I had major issues with. The forms are fun, the game feels more streamlined and the story kept me engaged throughout. I had a lot of fun with it, but if someone didn't enjoy Zero 1, I don't think Zero 2 is worth playing since it doesn't make any drastic improvements outside of the grinding.
Initially the game absolutely kicked my ass. I'd die repeatedly, get frustrated and annoyed, but I never felt compelled to stop playing because when I died it felt like it was my fault. The game is challenging but rarely does it feel cheap and because of this, beating the levels and taking down the bosses that gave me an initially tough time such as Phoenix Magnion or Kuwagust Anchus felt incredibly satisfying. The majority of bossfights here are well done with them all having recognizable patterns and telegraphed attacks that are still hard to dodge, the only exception being the Anchus brothers since fighting two bosses at once was just a mess.
The level design on the other hand is probably my main issue with the game mainly due to how the difficulty between the stages is so inconsistent. Some can be difficult like Fenrir's stage which has lava everywhere and requires tight platforming skills whereas others like Leviathan's stage are surprisingly easy with the entire level consisting of dodging mines that are clearly visible and easy to avoid. Overall I'd say the level design is hit and miss because for every fun one like the forest levels that require using the chain rod to swing around there's a stage like the aircraft one where I swear you're forced to take damage at points because of the bombs.
Regardless, I still had a lot of fun with the levels due to how the game lessens the need for grinding that Zero 1 had so this game flows much better. Here, I got the weapon abilities naturally and actually got use out of cyber-elves this time. The game also introduces the Form system, if you fulfill certain requirements during a stage like using the Chain Rod 30 times, you get a form that slightly alters Zero's stats. I never felt like they were necessary to beat the game but they were a welcome addition even though they vary in terms of usefulness. The Defense form is worthless since, while you do take less damage, you also deal so little damage that every enemy becomes harder to kill and you end up getting hit way more often. My favourite was the Active form since the Rolling Slash just looks so cool but I liked using the Rise, X and Power form too on the rare occasion.
The story I'd say is also a step up from Zero 1. Elpizo is a great villain since he's well meaning but ultimately too reckless in his actions and the build-up to his bossfight during the game's second half is something I wish Zero 1 had with Copy X. The entire story just feels way more fleshed out
Overall, I beat the game in a single day, I think that about says everything. Aside from the inconsistent level design, there really wasn't anything I had major issues with. The forms are fun, the game feels more streamlined and the story kept me engaged throughout. I had a lot of fun with it, but if someone didn't enjoy Zero 1, I don't think Zero 2 is worth playing since it doesn't make any drastic improvements outside of the grinding.
Damn, I wanted to like this one so much more...
Heading into Lament of Innocence I didn't really know what to expect. All I knew was that the game dove into the origins of the Belmont family which piqued my interest and in terms of the story, I'd say the game does a good job, it answers some questions regarding the Vampire Killer and how it got the name as well as establishing the conflict between Leon and Dracula while also giving Dracula some backstory. What's there in terms of the plot is great, my only gripe is, I just wish we got more of it, maybe explain why Death is Dracula's right hand man or give a better reason why Dracula keeps reappearing rather than the vague "The people want him back because they're all dumbasses ig" the others games go with. Maybe I was expecting too much, plot's still good though.
Since I went in almost completely blind, I was surprised to see the game play like a 3D Metroidvania. It's all there, non-linearity which allows you to pick what level to play through in what order, optional bosses and plenty of hidden goodies you can find ranging from accessories, elemental whips, HP and MP upgrades and extra item slots. On paper, it sounds great, I adore the igavania titles in the series, so why don't I like this one? Well it's down to the gameplay. It's way too barebones. It plays like the most basic hack n' slasher you can find. You've got some basic combos and special moves, of which there are a ton if you go try out all the various attacks you can make by combining orbs with sub-weapons and that's about it. The entire gameplay just boils down to you using subweapons followed by mashing the square and triangle buttons for every stage. It got really monotonous and the stages all looking like an identical set of hallways only made the gameplay feel more dull. Because of this, I didn't really bother with exploring the game to find all the hidden items like I would with any other Metroidvania and that's really disappointing to me. The game is pretty short though, I beat it in under 6 hours. Also, the bossfights are fun, Doppelganger being my favourite since it's basically a war of attrition on whether you can get your attacks out before he does.
Despite how negative I sound when talking about the gameplay, I never felt extremely bored and that's because I was too busy adoring the OST. Most of what plays here is pure Castlevania gold. Some highlights for me being House of the Sacred Remains, Anti Soul Mysteries Lab, Leon's theme and this game's Cross of Fate.
Overall, I feel the game is best played in short bursts, and if I took my time with it I probably would've enjoyed it a lot more. As it stands though, the combat is way too lacklustre for me to say I've really enjoyed the game as a whole despite all the things the game has going for it.
Heading into Lament of Innocence I didn't really know what to expect. All I knew was that the game dove into the origins of the Belmont family which piqued my interest and in terms of the story, I'd say the game does a good job, it answers some questions regarding the Vampire Killer and how it got the name as well as establishing the conflict between Leon and Dracula while also giving Dracula some backstory. What's there in terms of the plot is great, my only gripe is, I just wish we got more of it, maybe explain why Death is Dracula's right hand man or give a better reason why Dracula keeps reappearing rather than the vague "The people want him back because they're all dumbasses ig" the others games go with. Maybe I was expecting too much, plot's still good though.
Since I went in almost completely blind, I was surprised to see the game play like a 3D Metroidvania. It's all there, non-linearity which allows you to pick what level to play through in what order, optional bosses and plenty of hidden goodies you can find ranging from accessories, elemental whips, HP and MP upgrades and extra item slots. On paper, it sounds great, I adore the igavania titles in the series, so why don't I like this one? Well it's down to the gameplay. It's way too barebones. It plays like the most basic hack n' slasher you can find. You've got some basic combos and special moves, of which there are a ton if you go try out all the various attacks you can make by combining orbs with sub-weapons and that's about it. The entire gameplay just boils down to you using subweapons followed by mashing the square and triangle buttons for every stage. It got really monotonous and the stages all looking like an identical set of hallways only made the gameplay feel more dull. Because of this, I didn't really bother with exploring the game to find all the hidden items like I would with any other Metroidvania and that's really disappointing to me. The game is pretty short though, I beat it in under 6 hours. Also, the bossfights are fun, Doppelganger being my favourite since it's basically a war of attrition on whether you can get your attacks out before he does.
Despite how negative I sound when talking about the gameplay, I never felt extremely bored and that's because I was too busy adoring the OST. Most of what plays here is pure Castlevania gold. Some highlights for me being House of the Sacred Remains, Anti Soul Mysteries Lab, Leon's theme and this game's Cross of Fate.
Overall, I feel the game is best played in short bursts, and if I took my time with it I probably would've enjoyed it a lot more. As it stands though, the combat is way too lacklustre for me to say I've really enjoyed the game as a whole despite all the things the game has going for it.
Pretty solid remake. At its core it still Rondo of Blood so it checks out in the gameplay but the new stuff like all the new cutscenes for the bosses and Maidens, the voice acting, the orchestral soundtrack and Dracula's 3rd phase are all welcome additions.
Still, I prefer the original since the graphics here don't stand out nearly as much and the game looks really washed out at times, plus the original's got the best Castlevania soundtrack.
Regardless, you can't go wrong with playing either version
Still, I prefer the original since the graphics here don't stand out nearly as much and the game looks really washed out at times, plus the original's got the best Castlevania soundtrack.
Regardless, you can't go wrong with playing either version
The Final of the DS games and probably my least favourite.
To start off with though, the visual design is great, the more gothic aesthetic fits the series so much more than what DoS or PoR tried to do that it's a very welcome change that's also helped by the various areas you'll go to ranging from a Lighthouse to Mountains to Manors. For me it's the best looking game out of the DS trilogy, closely followed by Dawn.
With that said, the level design didn't really work for me at all, so many of the areas are just straight linear lines with nothing to offer aside from enemies or the areas are so bite-sized you'll forget them instantly so I find most of the areas in the game to be really forgettable aside from Dracula's Castle which was a great return to the non-linearity the previous games had so much of. It also helps that all the areas in the game are accompanied by a GREAT soundtrack (it is a Castlevania game after all).
As for the story, I did enjoy it, Shanoa is a cool character and her arc is genuinely touching once you get to the end of the game. The setup is also really well done since it leaves so many questions that it left me so puzzled on what the characters real motivations are that it made me want to keep playing.
My main issue with the game is the gameplay. Order of Ecclesia uses the Glyph System where you can assign a weapon or spell to 2 separate buttons and be able to use them simultaneously. I like the concept on paper but in execution it fails. At first I was excited, thinking mixing and matching different weapons would net me different results with glyph unions which are attacks that fuse your 2 weapons together into a super attack. Like an expansion of the system in Circle of the Moon. The problem however is that glyph unions use up hearts and the only reliable way of restoring hearts is by going back to the main town, it kills the pacing and removed any motivation I had for experimenting with the weapons. Plus it's unnecessary, if you did some super attack in the previous DS games you could just wait and the bar for them would fill automatically, you didn't need to go back to the main hub. Since I never bothered with glyph unions I just equipped whatever had the strongest attack alongside the glyph that gives you a STR or INT boost and mashed X and Y against every enemy with little trouble. It's a real far cry from how customizable DoS could be if you went out of your way to grind for the souls or how PoR gave you the option to play the game with two characters who operated very differently. I also hate how you have to find villagers in order to unlock things like the item shop, food, better equipment. The story purpose for it is cool but it still feels like a needless limitation overall. However, the quests the villagers give you are atleast better than how random Wind's quests were in PoR. One aspect of the gameplay I do legitimately love though are the bossfights, they're all so challenging (except Wallman) yet never frustrating (besides Eligor and the Crab). They're all memorable and are extremely satisfying to learn their patterns and eventually take down. Some of the best bosses in the entire series.
Overall the game leaves me pretty mixed. It has a great soundtrack, great bossfights and the best visual design and probably the best story of the DS games (PoR's story is tied with it for me though). But I don't like the level design or the glyph system to the point where I can't help but feel disappointed. It's still a very good game though. Recommended
To start off with though, the visual design is great, the more gothic aesthetic fits the series so much more than what DoS or PoR tried to do that it's a very welcome change that's also helped by the various areas you'll go to ranging from a Lighthouse to Mountains to Manors. For me it's the best looking game out of the DS trilogy, closely followed by Dawn.
With that said, the level design didn't really work for me at all, so many of the areas are just straight linear lines with nothing to offer aside from enemies or the areas are so bite-sized you'll forget them instantly so I find most of the areas in the game to be really forgettable aside from Dracula's Castle which was a great return to the non-linearity the previous games had so much of. It also helps that all the areas in the game are accompanied by a GREAT soundtrack (it is a Castlevania game after all).
As for the story, I did enjoy it, Shanoa is a cool character and her arc is genuinely touching once you get to the end of the game. The setup is also really well done since it leaves so many questions that it left me so puzzled on what the characters real motivations are that it made me want to keep playing.
My main issue with the game is the gameplay. Order of Ecclesia uses the Glyph System where you can assign a weapon or spell to 2 separate buttons and be able to use them simultaneously. I like the concept on paper but in execution it fails. At first I was excited, thinking mixing and matching different weapons would net me different results with glyph unions which are attacks that fuse your 2 weapons together into a super attack. Like an expansion of the system in Circle of the Moon. The problem however is that glyph unions use up hearts and the only reliable way of restoring hearts is by going back to the main town, it kills the pacing and removed any motivation I had for experimenting with the weapons. Plus it's unnecessary, if you did some super attack in the previous DS games you could just wait and the bar for them would fill automatically, you didn't need to go back to the main hub. Since I never bothered with glyph unions I just equipped whatever had the strongest attack alongside the glyph that gives you a STR or INT boost and mashed X and Y against every enemy with little trouble. It's a real far cry from how customizable DoS could be if you went out of your way to grind for the souls or how PoR gave you the option to play the game with two characters who operated very differently. I also hate how you have to find villagers in order to unlock things like the item shop, food, better equipment. The story purpose for it is cool but it still feels like a needless limitation overall. However, the quests the villagers give you are atleast better than how random Wind's quests were in PoR. One aspect of the gameplay I do legitimately love though are the bossfights, they're all so challenging (except Wallman) yet never frustrating (besides Eligor and the Crab). They're all memorable and are extremely satisfying to learn their patterns and eventually take down. Some of the best bosses in the entire series.
Overall the game leaves me pretty mixed. It has a great soundtrack, great bossfights and the best visual design and probably the best story of the DS games (PoR's story is tied with it for me though). But I don't like the level design or the glyph system to the point where I can't help but feel disappointed. It's still a very good game though. Recommended