Detectivefail
22180 Reviews liked by Detectivefail
A huge improvement over the base game, though some questionable decisions still hold it back from reaching the high heights of XC1 or even Future Connected.
Let's dive into the good: Nearly all of the overly convoluted systems from the base game are GONE, hallelujah! No Blade RNG gacha, far less weapon/blade/pouch management etc. Combat is also greatly refined, a little jarring versus the base game at first, but the faster pace and smaller pool of abilities made for a more satisfying and fluid combat experience. The devs also learned their lesson on the base game's horrendous tutorial management, Torna's tutorials are much more clear and can be read again at any time. The campfire system introduced here is also excellent and actually makes collecting items fun.
Not everything is so positive though: The story's pacing starts well but comes to a grinding halt right at its most climatic moment when, in a baffling move, you cannot progress any further without completing most of the expansion's side quests. The game does a decent job of explaining this away within the story, but it felt ridiculous to have the antagonist obtain a literal world-ending power but then let you take as much time as you want to complete lifeless MMO fetch quests for the last quarter of the game. Even as someone who went out of their way to complete every side quest up to that point, this still felt like a chore.
Torna The Golden Country feels like a bite-sized Xenoblade Chronicles 2 with the polish that the base game was seemingly lacking. Despite troubles of its own, it seems to lay down some excellent foundations that I'm hopeful will be taken on into Xenoblade Chronicles 3.
Let's dive into the good: Nearly all of the overly convoluted systems from the base game are GONE, hallelujah! No Blade RNG gacha, far less weapon/blade/pouch management etc. Combat is also greatly refined, a little jarring versus the base game at first, but the faster pace and smaller pool of abilities made for a more satisfying and fluid combat experience. The devs also learned their lesson on the base game's horrendous tutorial management, Torna's tutorials are much more clear and can be read again at any time. The campfire system introduced here is also excellent and actually makes collecting items fun.
Not everything is so positive though: The story's pacing starts well but comes to a grinding halt right at its most climatic moment when, in a baffling move, you cannot progress any further without completing most of the expansion's side quests. The game does a decent job of explaining this away within the story, but it felt ridiculous to have the antagonist obtain a literal world-ending power but then let you take as much time as you want to complete lifeless MMO fetch quests for the last quarter of the game. Even as someone who went out of their way to complete every side quest up to that point, this still felt like a chore.
Torna The Golden Country feels like a bite-sized Xenoblade Chronicles 2 with the polish that the base game was seemingly lacking. Despite troubles of its own, it seems to lay down some excellent foundations that I'm hopeful will be taken on into Xenoblade Chronicles 3.
Disco Elysium
2019
Favorite game of all time. The most creative writing in any RPG I've ever played. Puts you through various tests of class consciousness, morality, and decision-making at every turn. It's a tabletop RPG combined with a visual novel, the simplest way to explain it to anyone asking about the type of game it is. Revachol is alive with all sorts of people to meet, talk to, learn about, and eventually care about or despise. You can abuse substances to your hearts content or go straightedge and make Kim proud to be your partner. There are times where I just want to make a new save file just so I can stand in the Whirling-in-Rags and enjoy its ambience. I need that type of atmosphere IRL. Anyways, everyone should play this game and enjoy a modern masterpiece.
I'm amazed by how good this game is, I came up knowing absolutely nothing about this after playing TH9 and I don't regret playing it at all, I would even say it has become my favourite TH game for the moment with TH8.
This game is quite unorthodox, you don't shoot anything, don't go through any long stages with multiples ennemies. Instead, you only fight bosses in really short stages which are around 1min max and your goal is to take photos of the boss with your camera.
Your camera also has the power of removing any bullets on its screen, so it's a defensive tool as much as your way to win the stage, this camera must be charged each time, you can wait for it to charge itself slowly OR charge it yourself by being near immobile for a moment, each level requires you to use a different strategy with very different pattern each time and it's a lot of fun to find the way to actually win.
The game is very hard, you'll die a lot of times BUT what I love about this game is that dying has absolutely no consequences, you didn't lose 1 hour and need to beat each stages like any touhou game to fight the final boss again. Here in this game, you'll die, press a button and you're back before the boss instantly and it allows the player to try different things without worrying about the consequences, trying out things is key in this game.
Your character, Aya Shameimaru is very fast and to compensate with her really high movespeed, you get to use 3 different speed modes which allow you to adapt to different patterns. There are times where speed is key and you'll want to cross the entire screen very quickly and other times to be as slow as you can for precise dodging
Overall I had a lot of fun in this game, it becomes a lot harder during the second part of the game where I could take 1 to 4 hours for a single level.
As for the flaws I would say its soundtrack is really poor for a Touhou game, I know it's a spin-off but it's still disappointing.
Lastly I'm a bit bummed that there's no ending, dialogues or anything of the sort in this game.
I recommend it to any touhou fans wanting a different, fresh experience.
This game is quite unorthodox, you don't shoot anything, don't go through any long stages with multiples ennemies. Instead, you only fight bosses in really short stages which are around 1min max and your goal is to take photos of the boss with your camera.
Your camera also has the power of removing any bullets on its screen, so it's a defensive tool as much as your way to win the stage, this camera must be charged each time, you can wait for it to charge itself slowly OR charge it yourself by being near immobile for a moment, each level requires you to use a different strategy with very different pattern each time and it's a lot of fun to find the way to actually win.
The game is very hard, you'll die a lot of times BUT what I love about this game is that dying has absolutely no consequences, you didn't lose 1 hour and need to beat each stages like any touhou game to fight the final boss again. Here in this game, you'll die, press a button and you're back before the boss instantly and it allows the player to try different things without worrying about the consequences, trying out things is key in this game.
Your character, Aya Shameimaru is very fast and to compensate with her really high movespeed, you get to use 3 different speed modes which allow you to adapt to different patterns. There are times where speed is key and you'll want to cross the entire screen very quickly and other times to be as slow as you can for precise dodging
Overall I had a lot of fun in this game, it becomes a lot harder during the second part of the game where I could take 1 to 4 hours for a single level.
As for the flaws I would say its soundtrack is really poor for a Touhou game, I know it's a spin-off but it's still disappointing.
Lastly I'm a bit bummed that there's no ending, dialogues or anything of the sort in this game.
I recommend it to any touhou fans wanting a different, fresh experience.
(This is the 53rd game in my challenge to go through many known games in chronological order starting in 1990. The spreadsheet is in my bio.)
Following 1990's 'Gargoyle's Quest', the next release in the 'Ghosts 'n Goblins' series is Super Ghouls 'n Ghosts, the third main entry after the 1985 and 1988 Arcade games. Super Ghouls 'n Ghosts, developed and published by Capcom, is the first among these three to not be released for the arcade at all, instead focusing all efforts on a SNES release on October 4th, 1991 in Japan initially.
As the challenge started in 1990, I didn't play the other two games in the series, but I didn't have to to have heard of 1985's 'Ghosts 'n Goblins', which is infamous for being one of the hardest games of all time. Just by looking at gameplay for that game, I can tell you that 'Super Ghouls 'n Ghosts' for the SNES is a much easier game, though by no means easy.
Regarding the difficulty, there is a pretty noticeable difference in the NA and Europe versions. The European version is much simpler due to fewer enemies on screen, fewer of the harder enemies and, from what I can tell, less hits needed to take them out. Apart from the lower difficulty, this helps combat the slowdown effect that is more common in the USA version. A slowdown, for those who don't know, is literally that, the game slowing down. This happens when there are many sprites and/or special effects on-screen at the same time as, in this case for the SNES, it pushes the console to its limits. In the European version, I've experienced slowdown only once, and that was very brief. So if you want to play the game and are looking for an easier time, go with the European version.
Accessibility: I might lead off with this one from here on out for all games that have any sort of accessibility options, as those are still not common at all in 1991. For this game, as it is not originally designed for the Arcade I assume, there are some pretty nice options to make the experience even easier / more bearable for yourself. First, there are four difficulty levels, from beginner to professional. Higher difficulties increase enemy amount, boss health, how many money bags you need to collect to gain additional continues and a few other things I haven't noticed. In addition, you can choose the amount of lives you have from 1 to 9. Add to both of these that there is a checkpoint system and all this definitely makes the game much easier than the vanilla experience.
STORYTELLING/CHARACTERS | 2/10
Once again, you are knight Arthur. The setting for this one is described in the manual only. It's titled 'A Knight's Quest'.
"All hail, dauntless knight Arthur! Years ago you quelled the terrifying phantoms of the Ghoul Realm [...] and rescued Princess Guinevere. But now the kingdom is shrouded under an eerie spell. Sardius, the Emperor of Evil, has snatched Princess Guinevere [...]"
It's your typical old-school platformer sequel storyline set-up. Same things happened again, you must save everyone again. It's fine, you didn't play a game like this for the story back then.
In-game, the opening has Arthur and Guinevere in arms in her castle, as someone approaches through the large window behind them. It's Sardius, who kidnaps Princess Guinevere and flies off. Now you must go through 8 levels to defeat Sardius and get the Princess back. But there is a catch. Like is typical for this series, you don't go through the levels just once to win. Once you go through them for the first time, the Princess tells you that she was wearing a powerful bracelet. That bracelet was the reason she was kidnapped and using it is the only way you defeat Sardius. Luckily, she dropped it whilst kidnapped, so you gotta go through all levels and find it. That's the only dialogue in the game, so you're really not playing it for the story, but the game gets a bonus point for having continuity with its main character and, albeit just a tiny bit, for adding to its lore.
GAMEPLAY | 12/20
Let's compare some of this to 1985's 'Ghosts n' Goblins' here to show you where this game changed and, usually, improved.
You control knight Arthur in a 2D platformer where you kill enemies with some sort of a projectile whilst jumping from platform to platform to avoid falling to your demise. There are 8 total levels and a boss at the end of each level. Apart from throwing your projectiles (lance, dagger, crossbow, scythe, torch, axe, tri-blade - yes, these all act as projectiles here), you can double jump and crouch, which I don't think you could do in the NES title.
You have two hit points, which is unchanged from the original, so get hit twice and you die. You either are sent back to the start or, if you've made it far enough, start at a check-point. Each level has a 5 minute time limit, something I never had an issue with. You either die or make it in time.
Many enemies are the same from the NES title, and act the same. Most infamously, there is the "Red Arremer Ace", the red devil-like creature that constantly avoids your hits and swoops down on you out of nowhere. This thing is just as annoying here as in the NES game, because the worst part is, if you don't kill it, it will follow you until you do. Plus, depending on the weapon you got - and plenty of them suck - it will take multiple hits to die, but you're likely going to get hit at least once before you get it down, and often enough twice, which, again, means you die. Horrible little creature.
Gameplay on the easier difficulty levels is mostly controlling well, but there are some issues you will have to live with no matter how many enemies are on screen. For example, jumps can be very hard to control sometimes, a frustration that is exacerbated by the fact that platforms you need to jump on are very small sometimes. Plus, you need to choose the direction you want to jump in while you press jump. No changing direction mid-air, so you can imagine how frustrating that is. On top of that, there are ladders you can climb here. For some reason, you need to hold 'Up' while climbing for much longer than the ladder appears to be long, as your character is stuck in an animation at the top of the ladder for a good second before he stands upright. This second is usually vital as some sort of enemy or obstacle is often placed near the top of ladders. And if you are on top of a ladder and just want to crouch, to for example break open a chest next to it, too bad, your character will start climbing down the ladder instead.
Boss fights in this one, for the most part, are surprisingly easy. Especially if you get the right weapons into the boss fight, you can make a lot of damage quickly.
There are some unique environmental challenges to each level, which I enjoyed. In the first, you need to stand on top of the right platforms while a wave forms, otherwise it will take you out. In another, an avalanche approaches and can throw you to the start of the area, so you need to climb ladders or stand on a platform above that the avalanche can't reach to avoid that. There are some other things like that, which adds to the variety in gameplay, which otherwise isn't all too varied but mostly enjoyable.
The end game condition being that you have to find a bracelet does tank the overall fun factor however, because to get it, you need to open chest after chest without getting hit once until you can upgrade to the golden armor, at which point one of the next chests will reveal the bracelet. Get hit once and you lose your armor and need to keep opening chest after chest once again, because chest #1 gives you iron armor, then a random number of chests later you'll find emerald armor and after another random number of chests later you'll find the gold armor, so this takes a while.
MUSIC/SOUND/VOICE | 7/10
No voice acting. The sound design is fairly average, though with a few sound effects that are odd picks. For example, destroying stone statues gives off the sound of glass breaking. The soundtrack overall is quite fitting with the overall atmosphere that is present here, with some spooky tracks to enhance the immersion. Wouldn't place the OST among the greats, but fits the game well.
GRAPHICS/ART DESIGN | 8/10
Compared to the NES game, this is a great jump in graphical quality in pretty much every aspect. Not a surprise given the jump to the SNES, but this definitely gives off sequel vibes just based on that. The devs did a great job in the enemy design and put plenty of effort in animations to make the game feel much more lively. A nice touch is that your health is indicated by what you're wearing. Wearing armor means you can get hit once without dying.
The first 5 levels have a pretty unique design and weather conditions. Stage 6 to 8 all play in Sardius castle and look similar.
ATMOSPHERE | 7/10
A spooky atmosphere is present throughout. Though the fact that you walk around in your underwear when one hit away from death is kind of an odd pick as it works contra to the atmosphere the game is going for otherwise.
CONTENT | 6/10
The game is not overly long, and most of the duration comes from the trial and error due to the difficulty. Apart from that, there is a slightly average amount of content here for a platformer, with more weapons than usual, more enemy variety than usual and different types of environmental challenges.
LEVEL/MISSION DESIGN | 5/10
Of the eight levels in this game, the final level is just the boss fight with Sardius, the two preceding ones are relatively similar (and one is very short) and then you have five that are unique in design. The mission design for these is pretty basic. Go through a level, defeat the boss at the end to move forward. The time limit present is not that relevant and I never had any issues with it. Having to go through the same levels with a slight increase in difficulty again after going through them once already is something I personally didn't necessarily enjoy, but your experience might vary there.
CONCEPT/INNOVATION | 4/10
It's pretty much the same game compared to the other ones. The most innovative part about this game is the fact that it was made much more accessible to players of lower skill.
REPLAYABILITY | 3/5
Apart from trying to beat your high score and trying to win with higher lives selected, you can also try to win the game on higher difficulty levels.
PLAYABILITY | 5/5
The game worked well at all times. You'll experience a bit of slowdown, if you play the US version, so I'd recommend the European one.
OVERALL | 59/100
A very skippable game. It doesn't take advantage of the SNES at all from a graphical and technical standpoint, it's a much worse version than the one for the Arcades, it's in general a rather basic platformer, very repetitive and lacks features. Not the worst game of the year, but a Top 5 contender.
Following 1990's 'Gargoyle's Quest', the next release in the 'Ghosts 'n Goblins' series is Super Ghouls 'n Ghosts, the third main entry after the 1985 and 1988 Arcade games. Super Ghouls 'n Ghosts, developed and published by Capcom, is the first among these three to not be released for the arcade at all, instead focusing all efforts on a SNES release on October 4th, 1991 in Japan initially.
As the challenge started in 1990, I didn't play the other two games in the series, but I didn't have to to have heard of 1985's 'Ghosts 'n Goblins', which is infamous for being one of the hardest games of all time. Just by looking at gameplay for that game, I can tell you that 'Super Ghouls 'n Ghosts' for the SNES is a much easier game, though by no means easy.
Regarding the difficulty, there is a pretty noticeable difference in the NA and Europe versions. The European version is much simpler due to fewer enemies on screen, fewer of the harder enemies and, from what I can tell, less hits needed to take them out. Apart from the lower difficulty, this helps combat the slowdown effect that is more common in the USA version. A slowdown, for those who don't know, is literally that, the game slowing down. This happens when there are many sprites and/or special effects on-screen at the same time as, in this case for the SNES, it pushes the console to its limits. In the European version, I've experienced slowdown only once, and that was very brief. So if you want to play the game and are looking for an easier time, go with the European version.
Accessibility: I might lead off with this one from here on out for all games that have any sort of accessibility options, as those are still not common at all in 1991. For this game, as it is not originally designed for the Arcade I assume, there are some pretty nice options to make the experience even easier / more bearable for yourself. First, there are four difficulty levels, from beginner to professional. Higher difficulties increase enemy amount, boss health, how many money bags you need to collect to gain additional continues and a few other things I haven't noticed. In addition, you can choose the amount of lives you have from 1 to 9. Add to both of these that there is a checkpoint system and all this definitely makes the game much easier than the vanilla experience.
STORYTELLING/CHARACTERS | 2/10
Once again, you are knight Arthur. The setting for this one is described in the manual only. It's titled 'A Knight's Quest'.
"All hail, dauntless knight Arthur! Years ago you quelled the terrifying phantoms of the Ghoul Realm [...] and rescued Princess Guinevere. But now the kingdom is shrouded under an eerie spell. Sardius, the Emperor of Evil, has snatched Princess Guinevere [...]"
It's your typical old-school platformer sequel storyline set-up. Same things happened again, you must save everyone again. It's fine, you didn't play a game like this for the story back then.
In-game, the opening has Arthur and Guinevere in arms in her castle, as someone approaches through the large window behind them. It's Sardius, who kidnaps Princess Guinevere and flies off. Now you must go through 8 levels to defeat Sardius and get the Princess back. But there is a catch. Like is typical for this series, you don't go through the levels just once to win. Once you go through them for the first time, the Princess tells you that she was wearing a powerful bracelet. That bracelet was the reason she was kidnapped and using it is the only way you defeat Sardius. Luckily, she dropped it whilst kidnapped, so you gotta go through all levels and find it. That's the only dialogue in the game, so you're really not playing it for the story, but the game gets a bonus point for having continuity with its main character and, albeit just a tiny bit, for adding to its lore.
GAMEPLAY | 12/20
Let's compare some of this to 1985's 'Ghosts n' Goblins' here to show you where this game changed and, usually, improved.
You control knight Arthur in a 2D platformer where you kill enemies with some sort of a projectile whilst jumping from platform to platform to avoid falling to your demise. There are 8 total levels and a boss at the end of each level. Apart from throwing your projectiles (lance, dagger, crossbow, scythe, torch, axe, tri-blade - yes, these all act as projectiles here), you can double jump and crouch, which I don't think you could do in the NES title.
You have two hit points, which is unchanged from the original, so get hit twice and you die. You either are sent back to the start or, if you've made it far enough, start at a check-point. Each level has a 5 minute time limit, something I never had an issue with. You either die or make it in time.
Many enemies are the same from the NES title, and act the same. Most infamously, there is the "Red Arremer Ace", the red devil-like creature that constantly avoids your hits and swoops down on you out of nowhere. This thing is just as annoying here as in the NES game, because the worst part is, if you don't kill it, it will follow you until you do. Plus, depending on the weapon you got - and plenty of them suck - it will take multiple hits to die, but you're likely going to get hit at least once before you get it down, and often enough twice, which, again, means you die. Horrible little creature.
Gameplay on the easier difficulty levels is mostly controlling well, but there are some issues you will have to live with no matter how many enemies are on screen. For example, jumps can be very hard to control sometimes, a frustration that is exacerbated by the fact that platforms you need to jump on are very small sometimes. Plus, you need to choose the direction you want to jump in while you press jump. No changing direction mid-air, so you can imagine how frustrating that is. On top of that, there are ladders you can climb here. For some reason, you need to hold 'Up' while climbing for much longer than the ladder appears to be long, as your character is stuck in an animation at the top of the ladder for a good second before he stands upright. This second is usually vital as some sort of enemy or obstacle is often placed near the top of ladders. And if you are on top of a ladder and just want to crouch, to for example break open a chest next to it, too bad, your character will start climbing down the ladder instead.
Boss fights in this one, for the most part, are surprisingly easy. Especially if you get the right weapons into the boss fight, you can make a lot of damage quickly.
There are some unique environmental challenges to each level, which I enjoyed. In the first, you need to stand on top of the right platforms while a wave forms, otherwise it will take you out. In another, an avalanche approaches and can throw you to the start of the area, so you need to climb ladders or stand on a platform above that the avalanche can't reach to avoid that. There are some other things like that, which adds to the variety in gameplay, which otherwise isn't all too varied but mostly enjoyable.
The end game condition being that you have to find a bracelet does tank the overall fun factor however, because to get it, you need to open chest after chest without getting hit once until you can upgrade to the golden armor, at which point one of the next chests will reveal the bracelet. Get hit once and you lose your armor and need to keep opening chest after chest once again, because chest #1 gives you iron armor, then a random number of chests later you'll find emerald armor and after another random number of chests later you'll find the gold armor, so this takes a while.
MUSIC/SOUND/VOICE | 7/10
No voice acting. The sound design is fairly average, though with a few sound effects that are odd picks. For example, destroying stone statues gives off the sound of glass breaking. The soundtrack overall is quite fitting with the overall atmosphere that is present here, with some spooky tracks to enhance the immersion. Wouldn't place the OST among the greats, but fits the game well.
GRAPHICS/ART DESIGN | 8/10
Compared to the NES game, this is a great jump in graphical quality in pretty much every aspect. Not a surprise given the jump to the SNES, but this definitely gives off sequel vibes just based on that. The devs did a great job in the enemy design and put plenty of effort in animations to make the game feel much more lively. A nice touch is that your health is indicated by what you're wearing. Wearing armor means you can get hit once without dying.
The first 5 levels have a pretty unique design and weather conditions. Stage 6 to 8 all play in Sardius castle and look similar.
ATMOSPHERE | 7/10
A spooky atmosphere is present throughout. Though the fact that you walk around in your underwear when one hit away from death is kind of an odd pick as it works contra to the atmosphere the game is going for otherwise.
CONTENT | 6/10
The game is not overly long, and most of the duration comes from the trial and error due to the difficulty. Apart from that, there is a slightly average amount of content here for a platformer, with more weapons than usual, more enemy variety than usual and different types of environmental challenges.
LEVEL/MISSION DESIGN | 5/10
Of the eight levels in this game, the final level is just the boss fight with Sardius, the two preceding ones are relatively similar (and one is very short) and then you have five that are unique in design. The mission design for these is pretty basic. Go through a level, defeat the boss at the end to move forward. The time limit present is not that relevant and I never had any issues with it. Having to go through the same levels with a slight increase in difficulty again after going through them once already is something I personally didn't necessarily enjoy, but your experience might vary there.
CONCEPT/INNOVATION | 4/10
It's pretty much the same game compared to the other ones. The most innovative part about this game is the fact that it was made much more accessible to players of lower skill.
REPLAYABILITY | 3/5
Apart from trying to beat your high score and trying to win with higher lives selected, you can also try to win the game on higher difficulty levels.
PLAYABILITY | 5/5
The game worked well at all times. You'll experience a bit of slowdown, if you play the US version, so I'd recommend the European one.
OVERALL | 59/100
A very skippable game. It doesn't take advantage of the SNES at all from a graphical and technical standpoint, it's a much worse version than the one for the Arcades, it's in general a rather basic platformer, very repetitive and lacks features. Not the worst game of the year, but a Top 5 contender.
Alien: Isolation
2014
hands down one of the best Survival Horror games I ever played, unique atmosphere and visual style alongside the clever use of it's gameplay mechanics.
the Xenomorph is absolutely terrifying and genuinely one of the best threats I ever dealt in an horror game surprassing Mr.X from RE2 Remake or Jack Baker from Resident Evil 7, the unpredictable AI makes his encounters dynamic and kept me on edge even if there is nothing happening since he could show up at anytime during exploration.
the gameplay focuses on evasion among all else with the use of unique tools you can build to avoid and hide enemy encounters, all the tools has unique purposes and each of them are worth using in different situations and all of that suits the game world and story.
it has some gunplay on it but it's very imprecise and somewhat clunky which makes sense considering the character you are playing with but it's still an option to consider when facing enemies.
as I said before the visual style and atmosphere of this game is immaculate, an faithful representation of 1979 Alien's universe and aesthetics, the sound-design is also absolutely incredible from the Xenomorph sounds to gun shots and general ambience, play this with headphones for an fantastic audio experience.
the storyline also works well, it's not an masterpiece but I was entertained through even with the forgettable characters and some odd plot points to make the game feel larger than it should.
speaking about it the only major criticisim I have with the game is by far the overall length of it, this game throws padding at you constantly across it's middle half, objectives start to get repetitive, backtracking to older areas is constant with nothing new to offer not to mention the whole ending sequences that drag for too long, this should have been an 8-12 hour long game instead of nearly 20 hours that feel bloated to say the most, if it had the 8-12 hour of playtime this game would have been pretty much perfect start to finish.
overall I get now why people is upset on why this game doesn't have an follow-up, it's consistently unique and immersive, has some really great gameplay design and fantastic presentation, an must-play to anyone who likes the genre.
the Xenomorph is absolutely terrifying and genuinely one of the best threats I ever dealt in an horror game surprassing Mr.X from RE2 Remake or Jack Baker from Resident Evil 7, the unpredictable AI makes his encounters dynamic and kept me on edge even if there is nothing happening since he could show up at anytime during exploration.
the gameplay focuses on evasion among all else with the use of unique tools you can build to avoid and hide enemy encounters, all the tools has unique purposes and each of them are worth using in different situations and all of that suits the game world and story.
it has some gunplay on it but it's very imprecise and somewhat clunky which makes sense considering the character you are playing with but it's still an option to consider when facing enemies.
as I said before the visual style and atmosphere of this game is immaculate, an faithful representation of 1979 Alien's universe and aesthetics, the sound-design is also absolutely incredible from the Xenomorph sounds to gun shots and general ambience, play this with headphones for an fantastic audio experience.
the storyline also works well, it's not an masterpiece but I was entertained through even with the forgettable characters and some odd plot points to make the game feel larger than it should.
speaking about it the only major criticisim I have with the game is by far the overall length of it, this game throws padding at you constantly across it's middle half, objectives start to get repetitive, backtracking to older areas is constant with nothing new to offer not to mention the whole ending sequences that drag for too long, this should have been an 8-12 hour long game instead of nearly 20 hours that feel bloated to say the most, if it had the 8-12 hour of playtime this game would have been pretty much perfect start to finish.
overall I get now why people is upset on why this game doesn't have an follow-up, it's consistently unique and immersive, has some really great gameplay design and fantastic presentation, an must-play to anyone who likes the genre.
Pirates and Link are both cool, but it would have been even cooler if Link was a pirate
Gameplay:
The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker HD is very much a follow-up to Ocarina of Time and Majora’s Mask as far as core gameplay is concerned. Link controls much like he does in those games, but feels a tad more “natural” to control in a way that is hard to explain (perhaps because his animations were improved?). Like in those games, Link is able to run around and interact with the environment, primarily via his sword, shield, and items. The sword and shield gameplay is about what one would expect, similar to the two previous games but with a new element—a sort of quick-time-event where the player must press A at just the right moment to make Link counter an enemy attack. While cool-looking I feel that the addition of reactions arguably makes the combat worse than other 3D Zelda games since it can feel like a waiting game with little between. Not every enemy operates on this system, but I find it somewhat disappointing that most of the more challenging ones do. There is not much to be said about the shield, it allows Link to block attacks when held up. Items are rather varied in Wind Waker, and while I would not say it is the absolute strongest selection in the franchise it still feels quite solid to me. I would have liked if some of them were utilized more but even as is none of them feel like they drop by the wayside too greatly.
One last main feature of Wind Waker is sailing, a new addition. Since the world of Wind Waker is a vast ocean spotted with small islands, Link must sail to get between them. Wind Waker HD also adds in the Swift Sail, which makes the boat move several times faster than the normal sail. I am sort of split on this addition; in an objective sense it is good because it cuts down on the unnecessary downtime that comes with sailing, a task which is not very engaging. However, the Swift Sail does expose just how short Wind Waker feels. The game is rather small compared to other 3D Zelda games, and in some ways it is quite noticeable. I think this topic would be better saved until I have gone over other elements of the game, so I will shelve it for the time being.
The meat of Wind Waker, as with most Zelda games, is its dungeons. Unfortunately for Wind Waker, it has without a doubt the weakest selection of the 3D games in the series. That is not to say they are bad. Generally speaking, they are fun to progress through and feel rewarding to complete. The atmosphere is great as always, doing a lot of work to sell the unique vibe of each one. The problem for me is that they really do not feel like they offer any real challenge, which makes them a bit dull at times. Barring the last main dungeon none of them are remotely non-linear, and the puzzles and battles present require little-to-no thought on the players part. I can appreciate trying to warm the player up to the game slowly but when it takes until the last dungeon for the game to pose any sort of legitimate challenge, I feel there is a problem. I fully recognize that I am probably a much more experienced Zelda player than most, but even for someone less versed in the series I think a better difficulty curve would have been appreciated. As I said before, the dungeons are enjoyable even with their flaws, but I believe the game could have greatly benefited from having just a bit more complexity. Additionally, though I would not say it is as big a problem, the game definitely feels like it is missing a dungeon or two (which we know is in fact the case based on developer interviews). There are only five main dungeons, plus two shorter segments that are probably best categorized as semi-dungeons (the Forsaken Fortress and Ganon’s Castle). I am all for shorter, high-quality games, but Wind Waker does feel a bit strangely paced and I imagine having another dungeon or two in the mix would have helped.
Despite being somewhat negative in this section, I do think that Wind Waker has pretty good gameplay. The combat is enjoyable and the dungeons are fun to explore. Ultimately, it is just missing depth. If there was a little more to it all I think the game could be even better, but as is it feels unfair to fault it too greatly.
Story/Characters:
Wind Waker leans into having a story more than any prior Zelda game, and while it is nothing complex, I thoroughly enjoy it. Link’s motivation to become a hero is rescuing his sister, making the adventure feel more personal than maybe any other game in the series from the start. Link has a ton of personality in this game, in large part thanks to how expressive his face and animations are. That goes for just about everyone else too, though they also have the benefit of being able to talk. The pirates are all fun, Tetra is a delightful character, and Ganondorf is suitably menacing even with the characterization he receives. It’s just a very solid story overall, and one with a lot for the player to chew on as well as far as subtext goes (which, as I have mentioned in my other Zelda reviews, is one of my favorite parts of the series).
Presentation:
To the surprise of few, Wind Waker HD has excellent presentation across the board. The visuals are somewhat contentious from what I have seen online, but I think they look great for the most part and make the world pop quite a bit. New textures would have been appreciated in some areas, but I cannot say they seem at all necessary to me.
The music is a similar boat (pardon the pun). It establishes an immaculate atmosphere, especially in conjunction with the visuals. The world of Wind Waker feels vast and ready to be explored, like it is just waiting for Link to plunder its lost treasures. Though I would not say it is the absolute best music the series, Wind Waker’s soundtrack goes a long way in creating the game’s distinct personality.
Conclusion:
My biggest criticisms of Wind Waker are all about what the game lacks. I wish there was more complexity in the combat, puzzles, and dungeon layouts, I wish the ocean was a little more fun to navigate, and I wish the game were longer. But personally, I find it hard to fault a game for lacking things too much when what is present is already good. Wind Waker is my least favorite 3D Zelda game having now replayed all of them, but I can safely say that it’s still great and worth the time of anyone who enjoys the series. Personally I prefer the HD remaster, but I know some like the original more, and either way I think most will have a good time with it.
Score: 81/100
Gameplay:
The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker HD is very much a follow-up to Ocarina of Time and Majora’s Mask as far as core gameplay is concerned. Link controls much like he does in those games, but feels a tad more “natural” to control in a way that is hard to explain (perhaps because his animations were improved?). Like in those games, Link is able to run around and interact with the environment, primarily via his sword, shield, and items. The sword and shield gameplay is about what one would expect, similar to the two previous games but with a new element—a sort of quick-time-event where the player must press A at just the right moment to make Link counter an enemy attack. While cool-looking I feel that the addition of reactions arguably makes the combat worse than other 3D Zelda games since it can feel like a waiting game with little between. Not every enemy operates on this system, but I find it somewhat disappointing that most of the more challenging ones do. There is not much to be said about the shield, it allows Link to block attacks when held up. Items are rather varied in Wind Waker, and while I would not say it is the absolute strongest selection in the franchise it still feels quite solid to me. I would have liked if some of them were utilized more but even as is none of them feel like they drop by the wayside too greatly.
One last main feature of Wind Waker is sailing, a new addition. Since the world of Wind Waker is a vast ocean spotted with small islands, Link must sail to get between them. Wind Waker HD also adds in the Swift Sail, which makes the boat move several times faster than the normal sail. I am sort of split on this addition; in an objective sense it is good because it cuts down on the unnecessary downtime that comes with sailing, a task which is not very engaging. However, the Swift Sail does expose just how short Wind Waker feels. The game is rather small compared to other 3D Zelda games, and in some ways it is quite noticeable. I think this topic would be better saved until I have gone over other elements of the game, so I will shelve it for the time being.
The meat of Wind Waker, as with most Zelda games, is its dungeons. Unfortunately for Wind Waker, it has without a doubt the weakest selection of the 3D games in the series. That is not to say they are bad. Generally speaking, they are fun to progress through and feel rewarding to complete. The atmosphere is great as always, doing a lot of work to sell the unique vibe of each one. The problem for me is that they really do not feel like they offer any real challenge, which makes them a bit dull at times. Barring the last main dungeon none of them are remotely non-linear, and the puzzles and battles present require little-to-no thought on the players part. I can appreciate trying to warm the player up to the game slowly but when it takes until the last dungeon for the game to pose any sort of legitimate challenge, I feel there is a problem. I fully recognize that I am probably a much more experienced Zelda player than most, but even for someone less versed in the series I think a better difficulty curve would have been appreciated. As I said before, the dungeons are enjoyable even with their flaws, but I believe the game could have greatly benefited from having just a bit more complexity. Additionally, though I would not say it is as big a problem, the game definitely feels like it is missing a dungeon or two (which we know is in fact the case based on developer interviews). There are only five main dungeons, plus two shorter segments that are probably best categorized as semi-dungeons (the Forsaken Fortress and Ganon’s Castle). I am all for shorter, high-quality games, but Wind Waker does feel a bit strangely paced and I imagine having another dungeon or two in the mix would have helped.
Despite being somewhat negative in this section, I do think that Wind Waker has pretty good gameplay. The combat is enjoyable and the dungeons are fun to explore. Ultimately, it is just missing depth. If there was a little more to it all I think the game could be even better, but as is it feels unfair to fault it too greatly.
Story/Characters:
Wind Waker leans into having a story more than any prior Zelda game, and while it is nothing complex, I thoroughly enjoy it. Link’s motivation to become a hero is rescuing his sister, making the adventure feel more personal than maybe any other game in the series from the start. Link has a ton of personality in this game, in large part thanks to how expressive his face and animations are. That goes for just about everyone else too, though they also have the benefit of being able to talk. The pirates are all fun, Tetra is a delightful character, and Ganondorf is suitably menacing even with the characterization he receives. It’s just a very solid story overall, and one with a lot for the player to chew on as well as far as subtext goes (which, as I have mentioned in my other Zelda reviews, is one of my favorite parts of the series).
Presentation:
To the surprise of few, Wind Waker HD has excellent presentation across the board. The visuals are somewhat contentious from what I have seen online, but I think they look great for the most part and make the world pop quite a bit. New textures would have been appreciated in some areas, but I cannot say they seem at all necessary to me.
The music is a similar boat (pardon the pun). It establishes an immaculate atmosphere, especially in conjunction with the visuals. The world of Wind Waker feels vast and ready to be explored, like it is just waiting for Link to plunder its lost treasures. Though I would not say it is the absolute best music the series, Wind Waker’s soundtrack goes a long way in creating the game’s distinct personality.
Conclusion:
My biggest criticisms of Wind Waker are all about what the game lacks. I wish there was more complexity in the combat, puzzles, and dungeon layouts, I wish the ocean was a little more fun to navigate, and I wish the game were longer. But personally, I find it hard to fault a game for lacking things too much when what is present is already good. Wind Waker is my least favorite 3D Zelda game having now replayed all of them, but I can safely say that it’s still great and worth the time of anyone who enjoys the series. Personally I prefer the HD remaster, but I know some like the original more, and either way I think most will have a good time with it.
Score: 81/100
Coke Wins
1983
This is a declaration of war to all Pepsi drinkers, the Coke Army thinks we’re weak but we will not take this atrocity lying down. I will take it upon myself to do the most righteous and forthcoming plan I’ve ever conceived. Breaking into people's houses at night and replacing all of their Coke with Pepsi by opening each individual can and bottle; dump it all out and replace it with Pepsi and then factory reseal them with Pepsi; that way they can finally realize the taste of pepsi and coke are so different that the label doesn't matter and they’ll go right into out pepsi loving arms. This normally will take a night (or two) but with the help of volunteers we can push back the influence of the Red Menace and make the world a peace loving Pepsi Utopia.
𝐇𝐀𝐈𝐋 𝐏𝐄𝐏𝐒𝐈
𝐇𝐀𝐈𝐋 𝐏𝐄𝐏𝐒𝐈
𝐇𝐀𝐈𝐋 𝐏𝐄𝐏𝐒𝐈 𝐀𝐍𝐃 𝐀𝐋𝐋 𝐎𝐓𝐇𝐄𝐑 𝐒𝐔𝐁𝐒𝐈𝐃𝐈𝐀𝐑𝐈𝐄𝐒 𝐎𝐅 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐏𝐄𝐏𝐒𝐈 𝐂𝐎𝐋𝐀 𝐁𝐑𝐀𝐍𝐃
𝐇𝐀𝐈𝐋 𝐏𝐄𝐏𝐒𝐈
𝐇𝐀𝐈𝐋 𝐏𝐄𝐏𝐒𝐈
𝐇𝐀𝐈𝐋 𝐏𝐄𝐏𝐒𝐈 𝐀𝐍𝐃 𝐀𝐋𝐋 𝐎𝐓𝐇𝐄𝐑 𝐒𝐔𝐁𝐒𝐈𝐃𝐈𝐀𝐑𝐈𝐄𝐒 𝐎𝐅 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐏𝐄𝐏𝐒𝐈 𝐂𝐎𝐋𝐀 𝐁𝐑𝐀𝐍𝐃
Xenogears
1998
I knew it..... somewhere far away others were also felt the same way as I did... a some sort of feeling of
burning in inside... some sort of sensation... we don't really know what exactly it is or where does it come from,
all we know is we all humans feel and experience it, sometimes our connection to it can be a little low,
of course "it" can flow right back into us from various phenomenons happening all around us but through our experience
with "it" we have also developed various techniques to control the "it", these techniques can be somewhat brought together
in a term such as "meditation" or so, and in a sense this controlling of "it" was what some may call as in more simple
terms were exactly sorcery and witchcraft... and if you can control the flow of "it" you were essentially a magician...
the way "it" manifests in our world can sometimes be shown to us in movies, tv shows by the "aware ones"
as in a little bit exaggerated manner yet all their substance is the same...
only the given names to it are changing, "Wave Existence... Force... Emotions..." yet all their substance is the same...
All the subtext that is going on in Xenogears is completely real and Mr. Takahashi does a phenomenal job in materializing all of it, Humans may not always be in a "full tranquility state" with "it", sometimes humans could be in
a low connection level with the "it" but that was okay too so the humans could rely and give affections... "The Wave Existence" to each other and that way they would be keep in connection with the "GOD".
and that was the BEAUTY OF WHAT BEİNG A HUMAN REALLY WAS...
Xenogears was a phenomenal masterpiece that everyone in this universe MUST EXPERİENCE. I was getting a bit overwhelmed through the latter part of the first disc that it would get too complicated but disc 2 is so well crafted that it wraps up everything up so perfectly. Everyone who's going to experience this masterpiece should digest every second of it very throughly with nothing that distracts you in your surroundings. Last month I went on a vacation and becuse of that I took a month break from the game so I can experience it in it's full glory with being immersed in it
without any distractions and it was so well worth it. I think this should be the taken approach with every piece of art,
I suggest everyone doing this and taking this approach aswell. Tetsuya Takahashi... George Lucas... they were not only "Aware and chased after the 'it'" but they guided many with their light. With all these being said, Xenogears is by far the best work of fiction I've ever experienced to this day...
burning in inside... some sort of sensation... we don't really know what exactly it is or where does it come from,
all we know is we all humans feel and experience it, sometimes our connection to it can be a little low,
of course "it" can flow right back into us from various phenomenons happening all around us but through our experience
with "it" we have also developed various techniques to control the "it", these techniques can be somewhat brought together
in a term such as "meditation" or so, and in a sense this controlling of "it" was what some may call as in more simple
terms were exactly sorcery and witchcraft... and if you can control the flow of "it" you were essentially a magician...
the way "it" manifests in our world can sometimes be shown to us in movies, tv shows by the "aware ones"
as in a little bit exaggerated manner yet all their substance is the same...
only the given names to it are changing, "Wave Existence... Force... Emotions..." yet all their substance is the same...
All the subtext that is going on in Xenogears is completely real and Mr. Takahashi does a phenomenal job in materializing all of it, Humans may not always be in a "full tranquility state" with "it", sometimes humans could be in
a low connection level with the "it" but that was okay too so the humans could rely and give affections... "The Wave Existence" to each other and that way they would be keep in connection with the "GOD".
and that was the BEAUTY OF WHAT BEİNG A HUMAN REALLY WAS...
Xenogears was a phenomenal masterpiece that everyone in this universe MUST EXPERİENCE. I was getting a bit overwhelmed through the latter part of the first disc that it would get too complicated but disc 2 is so well crafted that it wraps up everything up so perfectly. Everyone who's going to experience this masterpiece should digest every second of it very throughly with nothing that distracts you in your surroundings. Last month I went on a vacation and becuse of that I took a month break from the game so I can experience it in it's full glory with being immersed in it
without any distractions and it was so well worth it. I think this should be the taken approach with every piece of art,
I suggest everyone doing this and taking this approach aswell. Tetsuya Takahashi... George Lucas... they were not only "Aware and chased after the 'it'" but they guided many with their light. With all these being said, Xenogears is by far the best work of fiction I've ever experienced to this day...
Xenogears
1998
Xenogears is an odd beast to describe. It is a game that was incredibly ambitious for its time, and honestly even ambitious by today's standards. Originally conceived as a single episode of a much larger overarching story, it ultimately wouldn't get the level of support that original vision would have required, resulting in Xenogears's rather infamously truncated second disc. Even despite this, Xenogears is perhaps one of the most impactful gaming experiences that I have ever had the pleasure of playing. Its plot, characters, and themes are genuinely thought provoking, drawing from a number of different religious and philosophical sources. The battle system is easily one of the most unique among its peers, combining the combos of a fighting game with turn based combat. Combat and exploration are even more fleshed out when you add in the game's mechs. The music and art design are also just as memorable. Xenogears is by no means a perfect game. It is noticeably unpolished and is at times frustrating. Despite these frustrations though, it holds a special place as one of a select few JRPGs that have enriched me as a person. If one is willing to put up with its quirks and discomforts, it is a game that I truly think is a must play for all fans of the genre.
Redfall
2023
Easily the worst game I’ve played this year so far. Very questionable and outdated video game.
I’ll get straight to the point, this game sucks hard. So overall gunplay works but the actual gameplay itself is either broken or just flat out boring. I have a high tolerance for bugs but man the glitches in this game made it WAY too easy but at the same time it’s unfair. It’s easy because you’ll encounter enemies (human or vampire) that make no sense. Some people are just randomly floating in mid air for no reason and some don’t even react to you when standing right in front of them. And if they do react all they do is run back and forth all clueless while trying to shoot you but they miss most of the time which made this game way too easy with no fun. It’s also unfair because I had times where I got jumped by a group of vampires and if you take too long to defeat all of them they can revive and kill you out of nowhere. Not only that but some vampires would just randomly despawn with their attacks and power positioned in the spot where they despawned. And HOLY COW the boss fights are a joke. I was disappointed because they’re just as brainless as the rest of the enemies in this game. I also had a bug where some buttons wouldn’t respond and the only thing that fixed it for me is by closing the game and starting it up again. The gameplay is questionable and inconsistent and I hated it. Graphics are just okay but the visuals let down the graphics A LOT. There’s pop in and textures take their sweet ass time to load in right in front of you. Exploration wasn’t worth it either. Exploring is one of my favorite things to do in video games and I couldn’t even enjoy the scenery because there really isn’t much beauty in this game due to visual problems and not much exciting stuff to see anyway. Redfall is such a bland video game, what I mean by that is this game offers almost no diversity in how to complete objectives. The entire game is pretty much run around, shoot a few enemies, find a key, maybe shoot another enemy, unlock a door and move on. Redfall offers a bloated experience with no innovation to make the gameplay worth my time. There’s also side quests as well that literally play out just like main quests and I didn’t even know when is was nearing the end of the video game because of it.
And the story…..
The story is barely even present in Redfall. The way the story is portrayed is by a series of slideshows with paintings and a voiceover to tell the story, other than that there’s not a single cutscene. The dialogue was cringe and voice acting sounded so awkward. There’s nothing at all to enjoy the story, better yet there no reason to even be remotely interested in the story. The characters weren’t likeable in any way. They just say a few lines throughout the story and that’s it. They don’t have a narrative for me to pay attention to and had no attachment to any of them. You can’t even directly interact with NPCs, they say some nonsense of wanting help and assume you want to help with no context.
It’s pathetic that there’s not much story and when there is they rush it or make it so uninteresting so I simply just stopped caring about the story early on in Redfall.
It’s very obvious Arkane rushed this game after Deathloop. This really isn’t the kind of game that should be releasing today. This is the kind of game that shouldn’ve came out in the late 2000s or early 2010s and it’s sad that I even have to say that because Arkane made far greater games around that time unlike how Redfall turned out in 2023. The gameplay is awful, the story was handled poorly and even with all the bugs and glitches out of the way this pretty much is an outdated video game for today’s world. I don’t recommend Redfall for anyone, this game really was just a waste of my time.
I’ll get straight to the point, this game sucks hard. So overall gunplay works but the actual gameplay itself is either broken or just flat out boring. I have a high tolerance for bugs but man the glitches in this game made it WAY too easy but at the same time it’s unfair. It’s easy because you’ll encounter enemies (human or vampire) that make no sense. Some people are just randomly floating in mid air for no reason and some don’t even react to you when standing right in front of them. And if they do react all they do is run back and forth all clueless while trying to shoot you but they miss most of the time which made this game way too easy with no fun. It’s also unfair because I had times where I got jumped by a group of vampires and if you take too long to defeat all of them they can revive and kill you out of nowhere. Not only that but some vampires would just randomly despawn with their attacks and power positioned in the spot where they despawned. And HOLY COW the boss fights are a joke. I was disappointed because they’re just as brainless as the rest of the enemies in this game. I also had a bug where some buttons wouldn’t respond and the only thing that fixed it for me is by closing the game and starting it up again. The gameplay is questionable and inconsistent and I hated it. Graphics are just okay but the visuals let down the graphics A LOT. There’s pop in and textures take their sweet ass time to load in right in front of you. Exploration wasn’t worth it either. Exploring is one of my favorite things to do in video games and I couldn’t even enjoy the scenery because there really isn’t much beauty in this game due to visual problems and not much exciting stuff to see anyway. Redfall is such a bland video game, what I mean by that is this game offers almost no diversity in how to complete objectives. The entire game is pretty much run around, shoot a few enemies, find a key, maybe shoot another enemy, unlock a door and move on. Redfall offers a bloated experience with no innovation to make the gameplay worth my time. There’s also side quests as well that literally play out just like main quests and I didn’t even know when is was nearing the end of the video game because of it.
And the story…..
The story is barely even present in Redfall. The way the story is portrayed is by a series of slideshows with paintings and a voiceover to tell the story, other than that there’s not a single cutscene. The dialogue was cringe and voice acting sounded so awkward. There’s nothing at all to enjoy the story, better yet there no reason to even be remotely interested in the story. The characters weren’t likeable in any way. They just say a few lines throughout the story and that’s it. They don’t have a narrative for me to pay attention to and had no attachment to any of them. You can’t even directly interact with NPCs, they say some nonsense of wanting help and assume you want to help with no context.
It’s pathetic that there’s not much story and when there is they rush it or make it so uninteresting so I simply just stopped caring about the story early on in Redfall.
It’s very obvious Arkane rushed this game after Deathloop. This really isn’t the kind of game that should be releasing today. This is the kind of game that shouldn’ve came out in the late 2000s or early 2010s and it’s sad that I even have to say that because Arkane made far greater games around that time unlike how Redfall turned out in 2023. The gameplay is awful, the story was handled poorly and even with all the bugs and glitches out of the way this pretty much is an outdated video game for today’s world. I don’t recommend Redfall for anyone, this game really was just a waste of my time.
Pandora's Box (or Diabolical Box if you wanna be all American about this) is a very familiar feeling to Curious Village (or Curious Village if you wanna be all American about this). But it's definitely got improvements. Most notable, to me at least, is the introduction of a memo pad. In the last game only certain puzzles let you use the touch screen to take notes, but now every puzzle has a dedicated memo pad function. I would say the screen to write on is a bit small, but still (might be worth noting that I played on a 2DS XL so maybe the OG DS with the OG stylus was better?).
It also has more varied and interesting locations. I loved the first town you visit in the game, so it's a shame you don't get to go back there, but I still like Folsense too. The only real downside to this, if you wanna count it, is that it means certain hint coins are permanently missable from these starting locations. Luckily no puzzle is ever missable, as like the last game there's a dedicated spot to house any puzzle that is tied to a specific chapter that you didn't run in to.
As weird as it sounds for a visual novel, I don't play these games for the story (I just like brain teasers), so I won't say if the plot is any better or worse than before. It's got the same charm, yet weirdly feels like it's aimed at very young kids despite tackling themes like murder, and puzzles that I wouldn't expect the 5 year old certain dialogue and tone seems to market to, to be able to solve.
Speaking of the puzzles, I guess that's where this game hits its biggest snag. Might have been less noticeable on release with a year between them (in Japan they came out in the same year???), but playing the games close to each other you notice how many puzzles are just reworded or otherwise retooled versions of the last games puzzles. Like last game would have you divide a 5x5 square with images on it into 4 sections, so that every section contained the same images of equal amounts. You can find a couple of that exact puzzle here, just with new images so a new set-up can be tied to the explanation. And there's still a ton of block puzzles. I'm not a fan of those... If you are then you're in for a treat.
But no matter what type of puzzles you are a fan of, there's a lot of variety. I'm personally drawn to those ones that give you 5 or so suspects and you get a certain amount of detail of each one, so you have to work out who is lying. I'm really bad at anything involving shapes and trying to imagine flattened cubes as 3D ones. If you only care about completing the story you can skip many. I think you need to complete 80/138 story puzzles to complete the game? At the very least that was the last gated checkpoint I remember seeing. If you're like me you'll just use a guide for the ones that stump you... Don't worry, I didn't set it to mastered!
But I do wanna give the puzzles some credit in this game too. Many of them are much better tied in to what's going on in the story. There's still a lot of "I have no information to give you, but how about a random puzzle!" or "I'm not sure about that, but it reminds me of a puzzle about a similar thing" (so expect a lot of box-based puzzles), but now many puzzles seem like the characters are actually solving them in-universe to work through their quest.
There are also a small amount of those game-wide puzzles that are housed in your briefcase. They're a bit more involved this time too. The most complex has you getting camera parts as rewards from specific puzzles, then finding specific spots on the map to take a picture, then playing a spot the difference game, then finding the secret puzzle from the finished picture. It's puzzles on top of puzzles!
The cutscenes still amaze me for what they pulled off on the DS, and there's even more of them now!
Certain minor things that bugged me from the original are still present too. Like when searching for hint coins you can too often hit random objects that have Layton or Luke say something in a pop-up box, which sounds small (and it is), but given how hint coins could be literally anything, it's annoying to be spam tapping the screen and getting the same box over and over. Traversing long distances is also a pain as you have to keep pressing the movement button in the bottom right to open up the arrows for the next screen.
If you've played the first game you won't need selling on this one. You'll know if you'll love it or hate it.
It also has more varied and interesting locations. I loved the first town you visit in the game, so it's a shame you don't get to go back there, but I still like Folsense too. The only real downside to this, if you wanna count it, is that it means certain hint coins are permanently missable from these starting locations. Luckily no puzzle is ever missable, as like the last game there's a dedicated spot to house any puzzle that is tied to a specific chapter that you didn't run in to.
As weird as it sounds for a visual novel, I don't play these games for the story (I just like brain teasers), so I won't say if the plot is any better or worse than before. It's got the same charm, yet weirdly feels like it's aimed at very young kids despite tackling themes like murder, and puzzles that I wouldn't expect the 5 year old certain dialogue and tone seems to market to, to be able to solve.
Speaking of the puzzles, I guess that's where this game hits its biggest snag. Might have been less noticeable on release with a year between them (in Japan they came out in the same year???), but playing the games close to each other you notice how many puzzles are just reworded or otherwise retooled versions of the last games puzzles. Like last game would have you divide a 5x5 square with images on it into 4 sections, so that every section contained the same images of equal amounts. You can find a couple of that exact puzzle here, just with new images so a new set-up can be tied to the explanation. And there's still a ton of block puzzles. I'm not a fan of those... If you are then you're in for a treat.
But no matter what type of puzzles you are a fan of, there's a lot of variety. I'm personally drawn to those ones that give you 5 or so suspects and you get a certain amount of detail of each one, so you have to work out who is lying. I'm really bad at anything involving shapes and trying to imagine flattened cubes as 3D ones. If you only care about completing the story you can skip many. I think you need to complete 80/138 story puzzles to complete the game? At the very least that was the last gated checkpoint I remember seeing. If you're like me you'll just use a guide for the ones that stump you... Don't worry, I didn't set it to mastered!
But I do wanna give the puzzles some credit in this game too. Many of them are much better tied in to what's going on in the story. There's still a lot of "I have no information to give you, but how about a random puzzle!" or "I'm not sure about that, but it reminds me of a puzzle about a similar thing" (so expect a lot of box-based puzzles), but now many puzzles seem like the characters are actually solving them in-universe to work through their quest.
There are also a small amount of those game-wide puzzles that are housed in your briefcase. They're a bit more involved this time too. The most complex has you getting camera parts as rewards from specific puzzles, then finding specific spots on the map to take a picture, then playing a spot the difference game, then finding the secret puzzle from the finished picture. It's puzzles on top of puzzles!
The cutscenes still amaze me for what they pulled off on the DS, and there's even more of them now!
Certain minor things that bugged me from the original are still present too. Like when searching for hint coins you can too often hit random objects that have Layton or Luke say something in a pop-up box, which sounds small (and it is), but given how hint coins could be literally anything, it's annoying to be spam tapping the screen and getting the same box over and over. Traversing long distances is also a pain as you have to keep pressing the movement button in the bottom right to open up the arrows for the next screen.
If you've played the first game you won't need selling on this one. You'll know if you'll love it or hate it.
ZELDA MARATHON- 5/20
What is there to say about Ocarina of Time that hasn't already been said? It's one of the most influential games ever made, brought one of Nintendo's biggest franchises into the 3D era with a near-flawless transition and holds up nearly 25 years later.
OoT's shadow looms large over the Zelda series, and for nearly 20 years the franchise's big console releases were based on the template of Ocarina. Majora's Mask was only made because of the runaway success of it. Wind Waker was a deliberate departure from the style of it. Twilight Princess is a step further, directly following on from the story of Ocarina, developing on the game's art style with a more powerful system and even having the Link from OoT as a side character. Ocarina of Time is the lynchpin of the infamously complicated Zelda timeline- the only game that can reasonably be argued as more important is Skyward Sword (the game designed to be the first instalment chronologically, setting up future entries). Characters properly established in Ocarina of Time such as Impa and Ganondorf (the humanoid form of the beast fought in previous games) become series mainstays. It's only with Breath of the Wild that Zelda was able to break away from the formula that Ocarina of Time knocked it out of the park with, 4 console generations and 20 years later.
So why did Ocarina of Time resonate so deeply back then, and why does it still hold up so well today?
Let's start with the biggie- the change to three dimensions. A Link to the Past was a phenomenal game with a large open world just waiting for the player to be explored, and OoT takes that winning formula and translates it perfectly into 3D. Hyrule remains a large land packed with charming characters ,secrets and collectibles that reward exploration. The identity of the series kept totally intact, the graphical leap from ALttP to OoT is outstanding. The fantasy aesthetic of older games kept perfectly but just shifted to three dimensions is incredibly impressive.
Hyrule's open world is less of the big grid with rough zones from other games and more of individual areas connected by the central hub of Hyrule Field. Fast travel and the welcome addition of Epona allow for quick trips between varied areas like Death Mountain and Zora's Domain. The huge world of Hyrule feels connected in a way it just hasn't before thanks to being able to take Epona back and forth across Hyrule Field to visit different areas. You could fast travel in A Link to the Past, but the addition of a defined companion who takes you across Hyrule is a significant improvement over having some random bird just scoop you up.
The world design's upgrade has come with the side benefit of better dungeon design. Translation of the top-down dungeon crawling to the in-the-action camera in a 3D environment is flawless- the halls and chambers that make up the dungeons feel just like a natural evolution of the classic dungeons. Earlier Zelda games' dungeons all feel kinda samey- central gimmicks carry across different dungeons and don't have a distinct identity for the most part. In Ocarina of Time the series establishes a winning formula that gets used and reused for the majority of the series' lifespan. Each dungeon has a central gimmick that an item revolves around- the Lens of Truth and Hover Boots in the Shadow Temple, the Boomerang in Jabu Jabu's Belly, the Mirror Shield in the Spirit Temple (which also has the blessing of jumping between past and future). These item gimmicks are also the only way to tackle the bosses in each dungeon, which utilise the items in a way that every boss has a different strategy beyond "hit it with your sword a lot".
The combat in Ocarina is also massively improved as a direct result of being moved to the third dimension. Less relentless sword swinging and more an interesting proto-Dark Souls combat. Targeting one enemy with the Z button and waiting for openings becomes the core combat loop for big enemies. It's a little rough in comparison to most modern games, but gets the job done without feeling too dated- the combat system's DNA is felt all across the gaming landscape which makes it all the more impressive that OoT's combat system has stood the test of time relatively well.
Ocarina's plot has a notable advantage over most of its predecessors with the child-adult twist. About a third of your way into the game, Link sleeps for seven years and becomes a full-grown adult. In this time, Ganondorf conquers Hyrule, and Link sets out to stop him. The core plot isn't as engaging as Link's Awakening, but more than makes up for it by having the narrative directly impact the overworld. The overworld is the same in design in the future, but every area has changed because of Ganondorf's reign- Zora's domain is frozen over, Goron City is empty and bleak, Kokiri Village is filled with monsters, its residents not leaving their homes. Jumping back to the past and causing actions that have ripples in the future is engaging and invites a sense of wanting to explore the whole world in both timelines.
The part of Ocarina of Time that I would argue has held up best is the soundtrack. Zelda games' soundtracks are often packed with iconic songs, but OoT takes it to the next level in a way that only Wind Waker is really able to match. Tracks such as the beautiful and melancholy main theme (which contains a cute reference to Zelda 1's flute track), Gerudo Valley, Song of Storms, Lost Woods, Forest Temple and Lon Lon Ranch are all some of the most iconic pieces of gaming music ever composed (the last one being my personal favourite song from the series), all stemming from OoT. Even tracks that make a return from older games, such as the Great Fairy Fountain music and Ganondorf's theme are more recognised from their OoT covers than the original tracks.
There are a scant few games able to match Ocarina of Time's legacy- there's a reason it's still considered one of the best games of all time nearly a quarter-century after its release. It shaped the gaming landscape that only a handful of other games have ever really done before or since, built off of A Link to the Past's foundations to make an even greater entry that defined the series for years and, along with Mario 64, proved that Nintendo's juggernaut franchises did far more than simply work in three dimensions- they excelled in it.
Ocarina of Time is, to me, the definitive Zelda. All of the series' hallmarks either start here or are improved here from previous entries and it strikes the tonal balance between childlike and a little more mature that the series is known for. An absolutely outstanding game in pretty much every aspect.
The Water Temple still kinda sucks, though.
Next- The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask
Previous- The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening DX
What is there to say about Ocarina of Time that hasn't already been said? It's one of the most influential games ever made, brought one of Nintendo's biggest franchises into the 3D era with a near-flawless transition and holds up nearly 25 years later.
OoT's shadow looms large over the Zelda series, and for nearly 20 years the franchise's big console releases were based on the template of Ocarina. Majora's Mask was only made because of the runaway success of it. Wind Waker was a deliberate departure from the style of it. Twilight Princess is a step further, directly following on from the story of Ocarina, developing on the game's art style with a more powerful system and even having the Link from OoT as a side character. Ocarina of Time is the lynchpin of the infamously complicated Zelda timeline- the only game that can reasonably be argued as more important is Skyward Sword (the game designed to be the first instalment chronologically, setting up future entries). Characters properly established in Ocarina of Time such as Impa and Ganondorf (the humanoid form of the beast fought in previous games) become series mainstays. It's only with Breath of the Wild that Zelda was able to break away from the formula that Ocarina of Time knocked it out of the park with, 4 console generations and 20 years later.
So why did Ocarina of Time resonate so deeply back then, and why does it still hold up so well today?
Let's start with the biggie- the change to three dimensions. A Link to the Past was a phenomenal game with a large open world just waiting for the player to be explored, and OoT takes that winning formula and translates it perfectly into 3D. Hyrule remains a large land packed with charming characters ,secrets and collectibles that reward exploration. The identity of the series kept totally intact, the graphical leap from ALttP to OoT is outstanding. The fantasy aesthetic of older games kept perfectly but just shifted to three dimensions is incredibly impressive.
Hyrule's open world is less of the big grid with rough zones from other games and more of individual areas connected by the central hub of Hyrule Field. Fast travel and the welcome addition of Epona allow for quick trips between varied areas like Death Mountain and Zora's Domain. The huge world of Hyrule feels connected in a way it just hasn't before thanks to being able to take Epona back and forth across Hyrule Field to visit different areas. You could fast travel in A Link to the Past, but the addition of a defined companion who takes you across Hyrule is a significant improvement over having some random bird just scoop you up.
The world design's upgrade has come with the side benefit of better dungeon design. Translation of the top-down dungeon crawling to the in-the-action camera in a 3D environment is flawless- the halls and chambers that make up the dungeons feel just like a natural evolution of the classic dungeons. Earlier Zelda games' dungeons all feel kinda samey- central gimmicks carry across different dungeons and don't have a distinct identity for the most part. In Ocarina of Time the series establishes a winning formula that gets used and reused for the majority of the series' lifespan. Each dungeon has a central gimmick that an item revolves around- the Lens of Truth and Hover Boots in the Shadow Temple, the Boomerang in Jabu Jabu's Belly, the Mirror Shield in the Spirit Temple (which also has the blessing of jumping between past and future). These item gimmicks are also the only way to tackle the bosses in each dungeon, which utilise the items in a way that every boss has a different strategy beyond "hit it with your sword a lot".
The combat in Ocarina is also massively improved as a direct result of being moved to the third dimension. Less relentless sword swinging and more an interesting proto-Dark Souls combat. Targeting one enemy with the Z button and waiting for openings becomes the core combat loop for big enemies. It's a little rough in comparison to most modern games, but gets the job done without feeling too dated- the combat system's DNA is felt all across the gaming landscape which makes it all the more impressive that OoT's combat system has stood the test of time relatively well.
Ocarina's plot has a notable advantage over most of its predecessors with the child-adult twist. About a third of your way into the game, Link sleeps for seven years and becomes a full-grown adult. In this time, Ganondorf conquers Hyrule, and Link sets out to stop him. The core plot isn't as engaging as Link's Awakening, but more than makes up for it by having the narrative directly impact the overworld. The overworld is the same in design in the future, but every area has changed because of Ganondorf's reign- Zora's domain is frozen over, Goron City is empty and bleak, Kokiri Village is filled with monsters, its residents not leaving their homes. Jumping back to the past and causing actions that have ripples in the future is engaging and invites a sense of wanting to explore the whole world in both timelines.
The part of Ocarina of Time that I would argue has held up best is the soundtrack. Zelda games' soundtracks are often packed with iconic songs, but OoT takes it to the next level in a way that only Wind Waker is really able to match. Tracks such as the beautiful and melancholy main theme (which contains a cute reference to Zelda 1's flute track), Gerudo Valley, Song of Storms, Lost Woods, Forest Temple and Lon Lon Ranch are all some of the most iconic pieces of gaming music ever composed (the last one being my personal favourite song from the series), all stemming from OoT. Even tracks that make a return from older games, such as the Great Fairy Fountain music and Ganondorf's theme are more recognised from their OoT covers than the original tracks.
There are a scant few games able to match Ocarina of Time's legacy- there's a reason it's still considered one of the best games of all time nearly a quarter-century after its release. It shaped the gaming landscape that only a handful of other games have ever really done before or since, built off of A Link to the Past's foundations to make an even greater entry that defined the series for years and, along with Mario 64, proved that Nintendo's juggernaut franchises did far more than simply work in three dimensions- they excelled in it.
Ocarina of Time is, to me, the definitive Zelda. All of the series' hallmarks either start here or are improved here from previous entries and it strikes the tonal balance between childlike and a little more mature that the series is known for. An absolutely outstanding game in pretty much every aspect.
The Water Temple still kinda sucks, though.
Next- The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask
Previous- The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening DX
Super Metroid
1994
Super Metroid is an action-adventure game developed by Nintendo in 1994 and published for the SNES. The game is the third game in the Metroid series and continues with the story of the first two games. Super Metroid is a Metroidvania style game. Super Metroid is a 2D platformer. By controlling Samus Aran, players explore a planet and fight the enemies they encounter. The game offers a very large world, especially compared to early 2D platform games. The atmosphere of the game is also quite remarkable, and the mysterious and menacing nature of the planet offers players an exciting experience.
The story of the game is a continuation of the second game. In this game we play as an alien hunter named Samus Aran. In the second game, he delivers the Metroid cub he received to scientists and they detain him for scientific studies that will benefit humanity. Later, Samus' returns to this research station with a signal. These dead bodies (a big step for Nintendo) will be met by the corpses surrounded by the fallen aliens. While trying to save the baby, Ridley and the Space Pirate are hindered by the Mother Brain, the leader of an evil group, and kidnap the baby. Then Samus tries to bring the baby back and defeat the Mother Brain. He sets off to the planet Zebes and thus begins the story of the game.
The game was first announced in Nintendo Power magazine. In the magazine, they introduced the pixels of monsters, the mechanics of the game. The game is the biggest game Nintendo has ever made with 24 Megabits. Super Metroid is a game that takes full advantage of the hardware features of the SNES. It is a Sony game specially designed for the soundtrack. It uses the SPC700 sound processor. As a result, Super Metroid uses the technical features of the SNES quite effectively and has become one of the most memorable games of the SNES console with the game's rich graphics, impressive sound effects and smooth gameplay. The first open map with rooms and lines world game.
The game draws you in from the very first. Beautiful cutscenes and voiceovers await you. Then you head towards Planet Zebes. It creates a wonderful atmosphere with silence and that eerie music. The design of the planet is magnificent. The design of the planet is so wonderful that I felt it was organically self-made. Miscellaneous It has sections. From the fire section to the water section, from the factory section to the underwater section, it is a game that reflects the ambiance really well. Also, each region has its own music. The gameplay is beyond the era with the zones you load on your outfit and the map's own legions. The game is based on acquiring a weapon, returning and using the weapon you obtained just like a key to switch to new zones. Although this perfectly reflects the feeling of exploration, it is boring to pass the same rooms over and over and kill the same enemies over and over again. ..You have difficulty in discovering the hidden compartments that they made it easier with the mechanic you will obtain in the future (fortunately, these hidden compartments became optional in the future games.). Therefore, I recommend you to proceed by looking at the guides. The save system is great frequently and in the right places. You can get bonuses such as bar missles.
It's great that the game rewards you with missles when you have low health. If you have more health, it is awesome. In some rooms, you don't have any problems with bullet economy or health by contracting at the points where monsters spawn. Although the drawings of the enemies are great, they look like an organic way of life. It has a variety of mechanics up to wall jump and my favorite is genius to use them as a platform by freezing the enemies. It can be difficult to set the time when doing Wall Jump or Super Jump, you have to figure out how to use it yourself. It allows you to use the gadgets you get in various ways, especially if you experience this on the boss. It's great. Boss Fighs make the game even better with some of the bosses being second forms that are made great. The drawings of the bosses are very good to fight them. Spo is the strawberry on the cake in the twist Spo. Although the game doesn't tell you, there are Beam Combinations in the Game that are unknown to most of the Players. Don't forget to look at these combinations you made by combining them from the inventory. It will bring your awesome game experience to a whole new level. In short, Super Metroid is the best game of the series for me.
The story of the game is a continuation of the second game. In this game we play as an alien hunter named Samus Aran. In the second game, he delivers the Metroid cub he received to scientists and they detain him for scientific studies that will benefit humanity. Later, Samus' returns to this research station with a signal. These dead bodies (a big step for Nintendo) will be met by the corpses surrounded by the fallen aliens. While trying to save the baby, Ridley and the Space Pirate are hindered by the Mother Brain, the leader of an evil group, and kidnap the baby. Then Samus tries to bring the baby back and defeat the Mother Brain. He sets off to the planet Zebes and thus begins the story of the game.
The game was first announced in Nintendo Power magazine. In the magazine, they introduced the pixels of monsters, the mechanics of the game. The game is the biggest game Nintendo has ever made with 24 Megabits. Super Metroid is a game that takes full advantage of the hardware features of the SNES. It is a Sony game specially designed for the soundtrack. It uses the SPC700 sound processor. As a result, Super Metroid uses the technical features of the SNES quite effectively and has become one of the most memorable games of the SNES console with the game's rich graphics, impressive sound effects and smooth gameplay. The first open map with rooms and lines world game.
The game draws you in from the very first. Beautiful cutscenes and voiceovers await you. Then you head towards Planet Zebes. It creates a wonderful atmosphere with silence and that eerie music. The design of the planet is magnificent. The design of the planet is so wonderful that I felt it was organically self-made. Miscellaneous It has sections. From the fire section to the water section, from the factory section to the underwater section, it is a game that reflects the ambiance really well. Also, each region has its own music. The gameplay is beyond the era with the zones you load on your outfit and the map's own legions. The game is based on acquiring a weapon, returning and using the weapon you obtained just like a key to switch to new zones. Although this perfectly reflects the feeling of exploration, it is boring to pass the same rooms over and over and kill the same enemies over and over again. ..You have difficulty in discovering the hidden compartments that they made it easier with the mechanic you will obtain in the future (fortunately, these hidden compartments became optional in the future games.). Therefore, I recommend you to proceed by looking at the guides. The save system is great frequently and in the right places. You can get bonuses such as bar missles.
It's great that the game rewards you with missles when you have low health. If you have more health, it is awesome. In some rooms, you don't have any problems with bullet economy or health by contracting at the points where monsters spawn. Although the drawings of the enemies are great, they look like an organic way of life. It has a variety of mechanics up to wall jump and my favorite is genius to use them as a platform by freezing the enemies. It can be difficult to set the time when doing Wall Jump or Super Jump, you have to figure out how to use it yourself. It allows you to use the gadgets you get in various ways, especially if you experience this on the boss. It's great. Boss Fighs make the game even better with some of the bosses being second forms that are made great. The drawings of the bosses are very good to fight them. Spo is the strawberry on the cake in the twist Spo. Although the game doesn't tell you, there are Beam Combinations in the Game that are unknown to most of the Players. Don't forget to look at these combinations you made by combining them from the inventory. It will bring your awesome game experience to a whole new level. In short, Super Metroid is the best game of the series for me.
I was looking forward to this game a lot. I loved Fallen Order, and was excited to see what they would do with a sequel, and what they would keep and change.
The story takes place a ways after the first game, once again following Cal and BD-1 as they work towards stopping the Empire once and for all. I really loved this story, I love how the depth it adds to the main characters, especially Cal. Overall the story highlights the struggles of being a Jedi, obsession, and how obsession and emotions can impact your pull between the light and dark side. Overall, it was very well told, well-paced, and thrilling in a way that feels very "Star Wars."
The structure of Fallen Order's gameplay is still here, but greatly enhanced with new lightsaber stances, force moves, perks, as well as an improved skill tree. I loved how much more customizable Cal's combat style is, making it easier for each player to go about the game in a new way.
Speaking of customization, Cal and BD-1's character customizing, as well as lightsaber customization was also greatly enhanced. You can even customize Cal's hair and outfits. Admittedly I spend a ton of time playing around with these options in between combat and missions.
The levels are also similar to Fallen Order, but with a more open world approach to a few of them. Koboh especially was surprisingly massive, acting as a sort of hub world for the game. Each world has a ton of places to explore, as well as a Breath of the Wild-esque system with the meditation chambers that contains various puzzles and challenges.
A rather odd inclusion are things like farming and collecting fish for a massive aquarium, as well as finding inhabitants to make Koboh a livelier place to engage with. None of this is really necessary, but it just adds onto the large number of things you can do.
Now I know performance was a big issue with this game, especially on PC. I played it on PS5 and I was still fairly disappointed in the performance. I experienced frequent lags, a few crashes, and some poor resolution even on the graphics mode. It doesn't even look that much better than Fallen Order visually. Needles to say there's not much about this game that screams next gen to me. Nothing that can't get patched up though in future updates.
Overall I loved my time with Jedi Survivor. If you're a fan of the previous game, you'll find a lot to love here. It's definitely one of my favorite games of the year so far.
The story takes place a ways after the first game, once again following Cal and BD-1 as they work towards stopping the Empire once and for all. I really loved this story, I love how the depth it adds to the main characters, especially Cal. Overall the story highlights the struggles of being a Jedi, obsession, and how obsession and emotions can impact your pull between the light and dark side. Overall, it was very well told, well-paced, and thrilling in a way that feels very "Star Wars."
The structure of Fallen Order's gameplay is still here, but greatly enhanced with new lightsaber stances, force moves, perks, as well as an improved skill tree. I loved how much more customizable Cal's combat style is, making it easier for each player to go about the game in a new way.
Speaking of customization, Cal and BD-1's character customizing, as well as lightsaber customization was also greatly enhanced. You can even customize Cal's hair and outfits. Admittedly I spend a ton of time playing around with these options in between combat and missions.
The levels are also similar to Fallen Order, but with a more open world approach to a few of them. Koboh especially was surprisingly massive, acting as a sort of hub world for the game. Each world has a ton of places to explore, as well as a Breath of the Wild-esque system with the meditation chambers that contains various puzzles and challenges.
A rather odd inclusion are things like farming and collecting fish for a massive aquarium, as well as finding inhabitants to make Koboh a livelier place to engage with. None of this is really necessary, but it just adds onto the large number of things you can do.
Now I know performance was a big issue with this game, especially on PC. I played it on PS5 and I was still fairly disappointed in the performance. I experienced frequent lags, a few crashes, and some poor resolution even on the graphics mode. It doesn't even look that much better than Fallen Order visually. Needles to say there's not much about this game that screams next gen to me. Nothing that can't get patched up though in future updates.
Overall I loved my time with Jedi Survivor. If you're a fan of the previous game, you'll find a lot to love here. It's definitely one of my favorite games of the year so far.
Secretly one of the best igavanias. Probably has the highest skill ceiling of any game in the franchise with both all the intended and unintended tricks and has for the first time ever convinced me to start looking into speedrunning a video game. Maxim mode is just so incredibly fluid, fast and satisfying to play, and also broken enough to the point that it's beatable in under a minute. And guess what, the soundtrack is actually really good? Crazy, right? It's almost as if the lack of midi samples is totally moot because of how fucking crazy Michiru Yamane went with the compositions on this one; easily the best example of a composer saying "fuck sound quality" and still putting out some of their all time best work. Offence and Defence clears most of CoTM and Aria's soundtracks, being completely real. It's so complex and harmonized, yet so gritty and unnerving. Everything about HoD's soundtrack just totally embodies exactly what I think of when thinking of Dracula's castle and sets the atmosphere perfectly.
Oh yeah, the game looks pretty good too, assuming you're playing it on an original model gba or with colour correction in an emulator. As bright as the game is on LCD displays, it's not how it was intended to be shown. Love how Juste and Maxim basically have shounen power aura trailing behind them with every dash, slash and jump they make. Speaking of Juste, he's really cool too. Imagine a Belmont who instead of being a big muscle barbarian guy is actually this cool as hell silver-haired mage who casts screen nukes and augments both himself and the vampire killer with his magic. He has the most personally driven battle against Dracula of all the Belmonts (aside from Christopher but uh I haven't played the gameboy games yet, nor the adventure rebirth and Juste is the coolest anyway because I say so), was the grandson of Simon, the grandfather and likely tutor of Richter, and literally robs Dracula of his furniture. That last thing's the best part, by the way.
Oh yeah, the game looks pretty good too, assuming you're playing it on an original model gba or with colour correction in an emulator. As bright as the game is on LCD displays, it's not how it was intended to be shown. Love how Juste and Maxim basically have shounen power aura trailing behind them with every dash, slash and jump they make. Speaking of Juste, he's really cool too. Imagine a Belmont who instead of being a big muscle barbarian guy is actually this cool as hell silver-haired mage who casts screen nukes and augments both himself and the vampire killer with his magic. He has the most personally driven battle against Dracula of all the Belmonts (aside from Christopher but uh I haven't played the gameboy games yet, nor the adventure rebirth and Juste is the coolest anyway because I say so), was the grandson of Simon, the grandfather and likely tutor of Richter, and literally robs Dracula of his furniture. That last thing's the best part, by the way.