"Until the day we meet again"

Gonna pump out some Shinra propaganda for listening while you read this.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ftFF70_9cog

Bai Gawd it has been a wonderful year for so many great new releases and this one has yet again topped my list so far this year. I am definitely a major fanboy for this one since I grew up around this Final Fantasy as my introduction to this life changing series for me. From playing the games, watching my brother play it, to watching the Advent Children movie when we were younger and reaching this point now and playing the next installment of this remake. Revisiting the locations and witnessing some of these scenes and nearly improving in so many areas and the party feels so alive and the interactions made my heart so damn happy. This game is a rollercoaster of emotions in a great way! From laughing out loud to the unexpected jokes to the tearful emotional moments.

Overall gameplay has been definitely improved on and I love how the quicker you think ahead pays off with the synergy moves and making nearly every party member so damn fun to play and experiment with. RED XIII was definitely one of my absolute favorites to play with! I love how the other party members are in the background in some of the fights as well and you can see them fighting other enemies as well. Could not believe how much mini games they threw in here as well and all are pretty nice to breakup the repetition and have you always doing unique things and Queens Blood is definitely the brightest most addictive diamond of the bunch.

I knew the soundtrack was gonna hit me with some damn fine tunes like the first installment did, but of course I still underestimated them. I will also say some of the side quests are pretty good to do and the banter between party members is so good and makes for some additional lore and fanservice for our favorite characters except Chadley who can go suck a Chocobo egg! I loved how much Barrett was fleshed out in this one they did his story with Dyne damn well and goddamn that man is such a badass party member to have once you get into late game territory.

By no means is it the perfect game, but for longtime fans of the original it is one hell of a treat and I am curious to see where they continue to go with telling the story in its new ways. I was on the fence about this one with its new twists and turns to the story changes, but I feel like it worked out really well. I am definitely cool with waiting a bit for the next part considering all the RPGS I still need to get to, the new and old ones! I could certainly go on and talk about every little detail, but I don't wanna be like these game trailers nowadays that tell you every little thing about games and want you to experience it for yourself!

How did I never know about this, I definitely got to look more into this Sega Ages 2500 era of games! As the last game my brother and I managed to put away before I get on my flight back home. A remake of the original Golden Axe game which introduces a few cutscenes and more detail to the characters and a 2.5D experience that is pretty faithful to the original even with new arrangements of the classic soundtrack. The best part is how when you pick up and throw the enemies they are stiff as a board!

Pretty fun with another person playing with you, but of course the gameplay loop gets alittle bit repetitive by the end. There is no english translation at this moment however mostly everything is in english text besides the very few cutscenes thrown around in there. Any fan of classic Golden Axe will enjoy this one for sure.

Another retro classic my brother and I were able to beat while I am over here for the week. Compared to the original this one does not have as much charm, love that they changed up the characters outfits a bit more. If you are able to clear the first few levels with only losing a life or two you are in good shape to make it all the way to the end and clear the game as it is also pretty short. A little bit of an update to the combo system as well as a crowd control move when you press jump and attack at the same time which is very handy and can do a bit more damage. Tyris Flare’s magic is still unmatched and play it smart you can dominate the boss fights and tougher enemies. Definitely the weakest of the trilogy, but also the easiest.

As I am here hanging with my brother for the past week we decided to play some classic retro Co-op games from our younger days and this was such a nostalgic one. Still hard as I remember it, but man its a weird one because with a few changes it could of been an incredible game. The ability to level up your characters and unlock new moves is great and deflecting laser bolts back at enemies is pretty damn cool. Some of the most tedious platforming though. Every level is trial and error and to learn from your mistakes with some shitty missions thrown in like “finding all the pilots/civilians” Some bosses are quite dirty and to anyone who has beaten this without cheats you are a better man than me! We were gonna see those credits by any means necessary! Kinda wish they would of made sequels to this with episode 2 and 3. Its a fun coop game just don’t expect to get to far and be prepared to hear Yoda’s little “HmmHmm!!” in your head constantly.

"Maybe I've Had A Pretty Crazy Life, All Things Considered. Know What Though? Everyone Else Has Too"- Ichiban Kasuga

The moment I completed Gaiden I was soo anxious to get to this one, ashamed it took me this long to see the credits roll as I may have bitten off my than I can chew with this full-time school schedule. Even so, I have lost sleep and stayed up later than usual because I was so invested in this story, I had to find out what was going to happen and how it would end. Ryu Ga Gotoku has yet to disappoint me and we are definitely in the heyday of these magnificent games.

Improving from the last installment in nearly every way with addictive turn based gameplay and the combos and coop moves were great, so much ways you can make a fight turn into a split-second ass whooping. It practically puts you in the headspace to strategize like "if I use this move ill knock this goon into the other and both will fall then my party member can follow up and split his wig!! Jokes on you Hawaii riffraff, you ain't suing anybody!!"

The cast is some of the best up to this point I have had the pleasure of experiencing, I love everyone of these legendary characters and Kiryu has some of the best conversations and interactions and I am so glad we get to experience him in a party like setting and having conversations with the other members. Speaking of which this game is a rollercoaster of emotions to laughing my ass off to getting misty eyed. Kuroda's performance in here is one of the best he has done and like a fine wine Kazuma just gets more better with age and oozes the coolness, damn I wanna be like him!! To think Kuroda is already back in the studio working on something again is true Kiryu energy, he is him!!

I get what other people have said in regards to some of the pacing in the game and I can agree their is an instance where it does feel a bit awkward and with so much going on in the story and multiple villains, the coup de grace of the main villain here felt pretty average and not as powerful as past villains, felt kind of like textbook yakuza villainy and we didn't get more time to really dive into the character itself. Nonetheless a small dent in such a great game.

The extra content is definitely some of the best the series has to offer with Dondoko Island being its own little addictive thing and the Sujimon battles. You can easily spend 100 hours with this game and get your moneys worth for sure.

Only the second game with Ichiban as our lead and I love him nearly as much as Kiryu. Love him even more in this game and is such a likable and relatable protagonist. Soo much more I can say but I would surmise this is more than enough reason for you to check out this game!! I need more Like a Dragon friends!! Play these games! You certainly won't regret it! Until next time Ichiban, Bon Voyage!!

Simply put, an unforgettable experience. Another one of those games that just blows you away once you sit through the credits contemplating everything you just played through and witnessed. I am so in love with this series and I am a little funked up individual to say the least!

After playing through the first one twice I was so pumped to dive in as my brother watched me complete my first playthrough by me screensharing through a discord call so we both got to witness all the bizarre insanity and horrific situations that ensued. After getting my ass beat time and time again in the first game I managed to have an incredible first run with this one! Albeit, mistakes were definitely made and I had to learn, but I felt more seasoned going through the ringer a few times up to this point. Decided to go with Marcoh for my character and damn was it a good choice (the good ol' 2 piece and biscuit combo for the win!).

Nearly improving from the first in everyway especially when it comes to each character's own exposition and backstory you can choose to hear from the beginning and how they get to this point. Love how many references/inspirations to other games and horror culture they have in this too! There is so much interesting lore and things happening around this crazy town of Prehevil with so many characters it is impossible to take this whole game in with one playthrough with many paths to take and people to meet and recruit. All characters have a unique playstyle and the edition of using firearms before a fight is such a game changer.

Ended up getting a full party all the way to the end and felt so damn powerful with some good gear pickups even though I lost most of my coin tosses (shittiest luck, story of my life lol). First run I managed to get Ending A and the last boss music gave me chills especially at that one part in the song that gave me PTSD flashbacks, if you know...you know...

I know they are working on another one and apparently adding even more content to this one and that just makes me so happy. I love the OST in this game and the way they bring about horror is so different then how some other games do it with jump scares, never knowing what you will run into or what they will throw at you next always makes you feel on edge and gives you that spine tingling feeling. Definitely wanna do some more runs in the near future and get the other endings, I am so damn addicted! Everyone should play this game if you are a fan of horror games and want an unforgettable experience. How did they come up with this stuff?! I love it!

After my October Horror games fest I did I had played this and my older brother happened to try to play it and fell in love with it just as I did. I was so excited to talk to someone else about it. Not long after we happened to find a Co-op mod someone had been working on which got us really hyped as I got to experience everything again with him together. This time instead of being a coward and running away getting Ending E we managed to conquer the second part of the game and get the "All Gods Ending". Such a unforgettable experience and the amount of lore this game has and how interesting it was made me love this even more. Even with two people with two separate parties this game still whooped us and is a relentless beast. The Co-op mod is a work in progress it seems as we ran into a few crashes that would be triggered in certain circumstances, but we were able to get through it to the very end together and so glad someone made this! After seeing some reviews and talks about Termina and coming across one of the creators saying how they will be making another one as well has me really excited and I may jump into Termina very very soon! Again, this series is surely not for everyone with its very bleak and dark tone with a lot of viewer discretion advised. Even so, I love this shit and if you are like me with a deep love for rpg/horror games then this will certainly be your new addiction.

Growing up with the SNES I got to play some Sega genesis games when I went to my uncles, but very few. I always felt like they were more difficult then SNES games. Anyways, now I am glad I can check out their library and play through the games I missed. I did not know about this game until recently. It is a pretty fun and intricate Zelda clone for its time with its animal companions mechanic. Some of the music was really good, and sometimes it would get a little bit on my nerves mainly because I felt like every time I would make some progress I would completely get lost again soon after. Some people like myself may definitely need to use a guide. I do like how close to the end they have a tornado show up on the map that basically lets you know, "hey! go here!". Bosses were pretty fun to fight and exploring dungeons was cool and adding platforming was a fun addition compared to most other Zeldas. I have played a good bit of Genesis titles at this time and this definitely has been one of the best on the console so far!

Glad to finally finish up this one with Astroboymario. A damn good, old-school Mario game that reinvents the classic style with the crazy wonder seeds and loved the throwbacks to some of my favorites especially "Super Mario World". They could really work on giving the bosses more of a challenge though. It is beyond easy even for the younger audience. Biggest complaint definitely is the camera when it comes to playing with friends. It focuses on the one player so if that person makes a mistake more than half the time the other player can't recover since there is a good chance they are off the screen. It almost feels like the developers wanted the little brothers and sisters to fight with their other siblings!! I hear the online multiplayer is really cool as well. By the end of the playthrough I was really getting tired of that chatterbox of a flower, somebody get me some Round-up so I can hose em down!

Crazy how this game has more playable characters than they do actual levels! So glad I picked this one up because it exceeded all expectations and excels in creating a classic arcade experience in the best way. Great combos and attacks you and friends can do and the better the combos the more crazy the game gets and throws you some burgers and weenies for your efforts!! Arc System killed it with this one and really makes you wanna play more Double Dragon games! Kudos to the team and a perfect beat em' up to play with friends. Pick it up, Pick it up, PICK....IT....UP!!

Cover art goes hard and this one was really cool with how it somewhat ties into the previous Dino Crisis title. Took alittle while to get used to it because you basically have to move yourself in most cases while fighting off the Dinos and micromanaging your time as well. It was a awkward system at first, but works well once you spend some time with it. Huge variety in weapons to collect as well, but if you shoot them they disappear and you don't get them. This one is definitely made for Guncons, but can be played with a controller which I did. No matter what I did though in most cases they would always give me a D ranking. Heh heh D for Dinosaur right?! Dialogue was terribly hilarious in classic fashion and ends with the perfect one liner "I was thinking....about... a woman..."

Like Matthew McConaughey playing a Resident Evil protagonist with the mindset of Joe Dirt! After playing all the Gun survivor games this one definitely was the best of all. Given you a full blown game to playthrough with its own unique story and adding a mix of classic Resident Evil with the first person guncon gameplay. Villain was kinda goofy, but a good bit of weapons and locations to explore even though the game was so short. I like how they tie it in to other games as well. I really wish we would get more love of some of these other characters instead of Chris and Leon. So many great characters we need updates on and not just through CGI films "cough" Rebecca Chambers "cough". Can easily be played through controller as well. Once you get used to the controls it feels good to get those headshots in and feels damn satisfying making the zombies bounce to the walls.

I had previously gave this game 5 star rating prior to making my Backloggd account. That was a gigantic mistake after playing this and many other games this past weekend. The lack of health items kind of annoyed and I played other Ninja Gaiden games on hard difficulty and this one just kind of had cheap tricks to make it more difficult. I hate how based on the damage you took how little your health would be even after health upgrades.

Ryu seemed like a shadow of his former self and kept thinking if this was actually a prequel, but it was not. A seasoned veteran with dealing with fiends and crazy people taking over the world is nothing new to this man, but he did not act at all like he would in the prior games and had me shaking my head through several cutscenes. Troy Baker, you better watch yourself.

Close to the end you get to fight the unfair harder enemies and are ridiculously spongey unless you spam ultimate techniques if they give you a few seconds to even charge up. Was stuck at one of the later boss fights because I had decided to level up some of the other weapons added in the "Razor's Edge" version, but apparently they made them weaker, atleast in this boss fight. I had to use my underleveled Jiranmaru which ended up doing more damage than my other "stronger" weapons!

I will be playing Yaiba soon to finish off these games and I hope it will be more enjoyable than this was. What was wrong with the younger me?! Wish I could go back in time and slap myself silly! Despite it all I really want a new installment, I have been begging for one for so long that I even had a dream about a new Ninja Gaiden game! I am just gonna pretend this is just a noncanon spinoff to the other two. Loved playing as Ayane and wished they would of added Momiji stages like Sigma 2. It scratches the itch, but does more harm than good.

"If You Want Peace, Prepare for War."

After a long hiatus of end-of-semester finals and Christmas vacation I am back and have missed this! Also, finally got to sink my teeth into this game and see what it was all about.

Wasn't sure how I would like the tactics style since I have hardly played many besides "final fantasy tactics advance"and "Valkyria Chronicles", but the combat became very cool to learn and fun to do and strategize. Pulling off an all out attack and moving your players around to get the most enemies in the triangle was very satisfying! Classic Persona 5 style OST with an emphasis on a more chill vibe kind of feeling to it.

I am a die-hard Persona fan, but I feel as though the story and dialogue kind of dragged a bit. Erina was a cool character, but I did not get really invested into her and Toshiro's story until around the middle of the 3rd Kingdom of the game. Until that point, it was constant dialogue of just the typical Phantom Thieves banter of what's been going on and what to do next with some off topic conversations for the characters. I love the Phantom Thieves and all of the group, but I feel at this point i'm kind of getting burned out as I still have Strikers and New Cinema Labyrinth to play in the future. Just like my OG P5 and P5R playthroughs my go tos were Haru and Morgana which both dominated just like they did in the original games and were just an unstoppable force with wind and grenade launchers!

Persona fusion was really fun in this one as you can put them on nearly all party members to add extra skills and boost stats even with a higher consistency of fusion accidents, or maybe just my terrible luck! Hitting me with a accident right when I do the 4-way fusion for Trumpeteer was pretty damn dirty. Also, adding the ability to fuse personas and make them into even more powerful weapons was awesome and each had their own cool design. Continuing the Persona/JRPG trend of adding newer mechanics later to freshen up the gameplay loop was nice, but one of them felt like it should of been implemented way earlier in the game.

A nice combo of Persona gameplay elements with the Tactics style works really nice with this one and makes me wanna try other Tactics games. I have a bunch too, this playthrough has got me more keen to give them a go when I get to them. Great game for beginners in the genre as it is pretty damn easy and even a little bit of strategy goes a long way with this one.

I am so ready for Persona3R and everything else coming out very soon, seems like a damn good year for gaming and looking forward to experiencing all the releases with you all! Happy New Year! And remember, "There's 99 ways to start a revolution! I don't know any of em!!"

In short span of a few years I have became a huge fan of this incredible series and one of the forefathers of the FPS genre and Sigil II was a fun ride to remind me why I keep coming back for more!

Definitely an upgrade from the original from the first one and the level and puzzle design is way better this time around. Every level has its own cool design and different gimmicks, but also delivers a hefty challenge to veterans and tests the mettle of newer players and pushes them to the limits. I loved the music, but I wish there was more variety then hearing that one good song of 80% of the levels. A good bit of Barons, but way more Cacodemons meatballs in this Spaghetti dish of DOOM! Impressive...very nice!