Reembarking on the journey through the original Shin Megami Tensei V, I found the character's to be unmemorable, unmotivated, uninteresting, and unequivocally dogshit. I played through the original game 2 times, and not once did a single character's name become etched into my mind. This is Shin Megami Tensei we're talking about, I could name over 100 demons just by looking at them. I remember running into a vampire demon and immediately identifying him as Kudlak, so this is inexcusable from Shin Megami Tensei V's standpoint. It was with this version though, that ATLUS seeks to come back with a Vengeance. b-because it's called Shin Megami Tensei V: Vengeance.

Let's just say that Vengeance makes due on the qualms I had with the original game. Tao, Yoko, Dazai, Jacob, and Luke, are just barely scratching by with their memorability this time. They have proper motivations, and hit you with the titular dialogue of ideology that continuously get rehashed with each game, and characters actually converse with one another. Its sparse but consistent. I won't elaborate on too much, so just know that the writing is better, but the bar was very low with this game. The whole Qadistu are basically Zero's sisters, with the exception of Four (the character). Do with this information what you will. I didn't want to mention Drakengard in this review (I'll try to do better in the future), but I really can't not mention the fact that people are out here being turned into salt.

Now let's talk about Shin Megami Tensei V: Vengeance as a video game. Absolute fucking banger. This is by far the best turn-based combat game ever produced. ATLUS has always exceeded at player agency and empowerment when it came to their gameplay. Knocking all the enemies down and performing an all out attack, creating a team composition that makes every aspect of a boss obsolete. Even with these ideas in mind, SMT V:V manages to create a strong middle-ground that is genuinely thought-provoking at every turn, giving the player proper incentives that make them want to play better and hit harder. This was true even in the original version of SMTV, and was made abundantly clear to the player when they are presented with the game's first boss, wherein, they were more than likely forced to use a Mermaid in order to defeat it. Mermaid is weak to fire, the bosses magic attack of choice, which forces the player to use dampener's or guard, as no other alternative other than overcompensating with grinding can over come this challenge.

Likewise, I praised Shin Megami Tensei V for its level design above all else. If there's one thing I haven't gotten tired of in my now 3 times playing this game, it's actually playing the fucking game. This is deeply impressive coming from an RPG. Most RPG's lack that replay value, and rely on a strong story to be engaging enough for a replay. I never get tired of exploring the sand-ridden city of Minato where every sand hill is just another attempt at obfuscating the environment, always leaving you peeking over and around corners to see what's ahead, and is designed in such a natural way to where you never feel like you're looking at a wall. The dilapidated Shinagawa, has fallen into disrepair yet remains lively with demon's populating every crevice, with a fairy village off to the west that hopes to usher in a new age of nature and life into the landscape. The new area, Shinjuku, always seems to expand in size yet never feels overwhelming. The tasteful enemy placement and complexity of Kabukicho made for an experience I'd gladly play again, knowing I'm not following the same linear and uninspired path that most games tend to falter with. Navigating the landscapes of Shin Megami Tensei V never feel's like a chore. There's a strong sense of verticality (scaling buildings to get a good view, sliding down a nice slide and/or hill), the game never sabotages its momentum, only punishing you if you run carelessly into an enemy and get fucked, so you're always on your toes, making it all the more satisfying when you make it to the end.

A similar thing can be said for the demon's. The original game led me into a rhythm of 3 demon's: Yoshitsune, Idun, and Alice. Literally an unstoppable team that never fails. My 2nd playthrough let me fuse an Alice that had +20 magic when fused due to an essence skill that gives exp and stat boosts to demon's when fusing. With Vengeance, however, I know I can't defeat the cock in a wheelbarrow if I have Yoshitsune, because Yoshitsune has physical skills. Even still, I keep the team as my focus because Shin Megami Tensei V just loves encouraging you to be creative and unique with your own team composition. There's truly nothing more satisfying in Megami Tensei games than having a demon you like. I was really worried about the balancing, because I noticed that Persona 3 Reload had homo-demons (everyone was using Siegfried), but the game chose to be easier on hard difficulty by minimizing grinding to the bare minimum in favor of pure strategy.

Lastly, I've already spoken praise about the art direction of the landscapes you roam, but the enemy designs are something to complain about. Doi doesn't design demons, he's just drawing women. When there are 2 female demon's that have unique skills exclusively built around sexualization, while Jack Frost remains assless and unviable, I begin throwing sharp objects at children playing at the park. The death of these children are on Doi's hands. The sexuality is fine. Being in a post-apocalyptic world ran by demons, I'm not exactly expecting puritanism to thrive here--fucking obviously. Hearing moans in the background of SMT IV's Tarvern theme, the Magatsuhi is obviously represented as some form of ecstasy akin to sexual pleasure that Demon's love to absorb, the sexuality is core to the atomsphere, but what Doi's doing here is just pure self-indulgent sexualization. Naamah is literally Five from Drakengard 3, which makes 2 nickels in my pockets for the amount of times a Japanese man has made a sexually promiscuous blonde haired white woman. Will update if more are made.

Resident Evil 2 is an interesting game because I don't find it particularly scary, but I do think it's a pretty good game. The puzzles have more linear solutions, as they're placed in more isolated locations, and the tools used for solving them are simple associations. Gears with gears, use the valve with valve-shaped holes. Most of the time, I was accidentally solving puzzles before the game was properly introducing me to them, and there's so little complexity here, that you play guesswork most of the time. For example: If you hand me a puzzle that says to press 1 2 and 3 in a specific order, I always start with the most unconventional order, because it's not a puzzle if the answer is 123. It's 312 instead. Of course, if there's a number pad, I just look for the note and enter it. I liked the one puzzle where the game halts your progression unless you risk taking health (every time mind you) or use the shotgun to blast the room of zombies (the actual solution). It's very unconventional, since you don't associate puzzle-solving with shooting guns, and the game would've been more interesting if it incorporated more of that. The writing is bad, this is par for the course even though it's the 2nd game. There's some decent notes though, giving context to certain individuals who effected by the virus breakout. The highlight of this game for me is the level design and how they introduce the enemies. The Licker walking past the window, running through a hallway of crows. Balancing is pretty strict. You get a copious amount of Shotgun ammo as Leon, but you'll still be punished if you use it too regularly. Drop the pistol when you get your first round of Magnum ammo. If you pretend Mr. X is in this game, you might actually hesitate more than you should.
Sorry I'm not getting across how bad the writing is. Leon and Claire were upset that they were split up in the opening of the game. Why did they split up again after reuniting again-- whatever. I don't care. Good game.

"The desk is disorganized and untidy. It probably reflects the owner's personality."
This is the funniest flavor text I've ever read. "Hello I'm flavor text, and I am doing my job correctly, thank you for asking."