Dumb_Woof
2010
Okay never mind I take back what I said. Bri'ish people can write a good story. Fable 3 might miss the mark in how mechanically inventive and special 2 was with its freedom of building your hero/villain, but it makes up for it with a compelling narrative, core characters that you actually care about, and interesting moral choices that really make you feel like a king. The best of the trilogy.
2008
British people sure can't write, but they sure can make a stupid fun world to explore.
Wait! Some French studio made a Naruto game!? It's not foreign for western studios to tackle Japanese IP but this one feels especially weird. There's something off about the character designs and the crude UI and at times it feels like they probably didn't even watch the anime. A majority of the story is just told through anime cutscenes that have almost nothing to do with what you were doing gameplay-wise. It's weird! But is it bad? Not at all.
Exploring the hidden leaf feels odd at first, but once you start to unlock more of the traversal abilities it becomes really fun to run, slide, and jump around. Side missions are a joke however with the ridiculous amount of backtracking that's required when jumping between the small handful of locations.
The fights are fine, but not deep enough to get into. It all adds up to an oddly distorted retelling of the first half of the Naruto anime. As a child, I always wanted to play this and was jealous of it being an Xbox 360 exclusive, and now as an adult, who has finally played it. It's okay, especially for a 2007 next-gen Naruto game! If you like racing trials with some solid mobility it's pretty good actually.
Hopefully, the broken bond improves on the elements that were lacking in Rise of a Ninja.
Exploring the hidden leaf feels odd at first, but once you start to unlock more of the traversal abilities it becomes really fun to run, slide, and jump around. Side missions are a joke however with the ridiculous amount of backtracking that's required when jumping between the small handful of locations.
The fights are fine, but not deep enough to get into. It all adds up to an oddly distorted retelling of the first half of the Naruto anime. As a child, I always wanted to play this and was jealous of it being an Xbox 360 exclusive, and now as an adult, who has finally played it. It's okay, especially for a 2007 next-gen Naruto game! If you like racing trials with some solid mobility it's pretty good actually.
Hopefully, the broken bond improves on the elements that were lacking in Rise of a Ninja.
Manages to create an enticing fishing experience while also carrying a unique aura of dread and some sadness. Would love to see the developer or someone else expand on the concept to make a more feature length fishing experience, since fishing games are seriously missing this level of exploration and mystery.
Dragon Quest 3 is THE game that defined what a Japanese RPG is. The first two games laid a foundation but this game in particular built the house of what a JRPG actually is. It's incredibly ambitious for 1988 game even excluding the famicom additions added on. Being able to build your party showcases just how inspired Yuji Horii was with modern DnD RPGs like Ultima.
For the first time you the player were able to build a party how you wanted. While you could totally royally screw yourself over but picking a team of exclusively merchants just having the option to play how you wanted was incredibly impressive for the time. The story had much more of an ongoing plot with conflicts at the center of every town you visited, which made the locations a lot more rememberable than the previous entries. They weren't overly complex but the dark undertones helped create a world that was in distraught.
The Combat here is where dragon quest 3 feels more complete. With a full party of 4 the battles are more intense and strategic than what was presented in 2. Depending on what class you chose for your crew can greatly change how your party levels, and what skills you end up getting as a result. It's a rewarding system.
That said...DQ3 has the worst grinding I've seen in an RPG. The last third of the game REQUIRES some serious grindage with my party having to go up 8-10 lvls. The Bosses can get downright frustrating with their one hit kills and multihit attacks and it doesn't let up. It doesn't help that normal enemies aren't going to give you enough exp so you'll have to end up hunting for the notoriously rare liquid metal slimes which have a exponentially high rate of running away upon glancing at them once. It's an utter chore and is easily the weakest factor in what is an other wise polished game, especially for the time.
I like Dragon Quest 3 quite a bit. It's a defining classic for the time it released and even now is pretty good game ignoring those early RPG caveats and trappings.
Clear game - Hero Level 47, Solider Level 46, Mage Level 46, Sage Level 42
For the first time you the player were able to build a party how you wanted. While you could totally royally screw yourself over but picking a team of exclusively merchants just having the option to play how you wanted was incredibly impressive for the time. The story had much more of an ongoing plot with conflicts at the center of every town you visited, which made the locations a lot more rememberable than the previous entries. They weren't overly complex but the dark undertones helped create a world that was in distraught.
The Combat here is where dragon quest 3 feels more complete. With a full party of 4 the battles are more intense and strategic than what was presented in 2. Depending on what class you chose for your crew can greatly change how your party levels, and what skills you end up getting as a result. It's a rewarding system.
That said...DQ3 has the worst grinding I've seen in an RPG. The last third of the game REQUIRES some serious grindage with my party having to go up 8-10 lvls. The Bosses can get downright frustrating with their one hit kills and multihit attacks and it doesn't let up. It doesn't help that normal enemies aren't going to give you enough exp so you'll have to end up hunting for the notoriously rare liquid metal slimes which have a exponentially high rate of running away upon glancing at them once. It's an utter chore and is easily the weakest factor in what is an other wise polished game, especially for the time.
I like Dragon Quest 3 quite a bit. It's a defining classic for the time it released and even now is pretty good game ignoring those early RPG caveats and trappings.
Clear game - Hero Level 47, Solider Level 46, Mage Level 46, Sage Level 42
Dragon Quest II feels like a proper step up from the original. There's an actual party now, there's somewhat a series of scenes with some stakes on the world, and it doesn't require over half of the game grinding. That said it's still very much a traditional RPG, which means in terms of a narrative its nonexistent and the game is essentially a huge check list of cryptic objectives...with an obsessively high encounter rate.
It's a good game for what it is and It grew on me the longer I played it. What originally concerned me was if a game twice the length of the original could hold my attention throughout was then met with long extensive sessions in a manner of days. When you do make progress it feels rewarding.
The late game is still flawed with an extensive amount of grinding required near the end to even stand a chance at the final boss, but its nowhere near as lengthy as what the predecessor required. I still recommend playing the first game before this so you can truly get an appreciation for what is otherwise a much better game in a soon to be blossoming franchise. This series revolutionized RPGs for a reason.
It's a good game for what it is and It grew on me the longer I played it. What originally concerned me was if a game twice the length of the original could hold my attention throughout was then met with long extensive sessions in a manner of days. When you do make progress it feels rewarding.
The late game is still flawed with an extensive amount of grinding required near the end to even stand a chance at the final boss, but its nowhere near as lengthy as what the predecessor required. I still recommend playing the first game before this so you can truly get an appreciation for what is otherwise a much better game in a soon to be blossoming franchise. This series revolutionized RPGs for a reason.
2004
Historical for creating the JRPG genre, but lacking in any depth. Barely 9 hrs to get through with more than half of that requiring long stretches of grinding the same set of enemies. Charming despite this but not a game that holds up beside it being the start of a well regarded series. IOS/Android/Switch version less painless thanks to quality-of-life features.