Dragon Quest XI is a game I have a little bit of a funny connection with. For years now, I’ve been wanting to get it, but fate just chose otherwise. It went on sale a month or two ago at this point, and right as I was about to buy it, I found out that I got robbed, and couldn’t buy it. Only thanks to a friend buying it for me was I able to get, and finally play Dragon Quest XI. I don’t have much experience with Dragon Quest, I’ve only beaten 8, and I’ve played a small bit of 9, so I don’t have much familiarity with the series. But I had a great time with Dragon Quest XI, though I know I haven’t seen all of it.

I have to say, first and foremost, having a game with simple turn-based combat like this is really nice. And I like how you’re able to walk around the little arena as well, it just adds a nice amount of juice into something that’s rather stagnant in other games. I’ll be honest, I don’t know if the position of your characters matter or impact things in some way, but even if they don’t its fun just to move them around. And I was able to try out each of the playable characters in this game, and honestly they’re all really good. I think the general structure of the game allows you to try out each character enough to get used to them. Especially for me, the characters you get first in Act 2 were the ones I passed on using in Act 1. It may have just been coincidence for me, but it was a really smart choice all things considered.

And I adore exploring the game’s world. The main overworld of Edrea is certainly massive, but it creates this wonderful sense of scale that makes me enjoy just walking through it. The dungeons are also really fun to explore. Since (outside of the sea) enemies aren’t random encounters, it makes exploration feel so good. Especially since you’re not interrupted by random encounters all the time. That was one of my biggest pet peeves with Dragon Quest 8, so I’m glad to see that not being an issue here.

As well, the level grind didn’t seem too bad. In fact I don’t think I level grinded at all during the game, though I don’t know if that’s for better or for worse. By the end of Act 2, I was level 53, with the other characters being between 49-51. I had some challenge with the end boss of Act 2, so it’s hard to say if I was underleveled or not. This is more a feel thing than anything, but it really feels like it takes a long time for a character to level up, oftentimes taking so many battles before even one character levels up. Yet again this isn’t a negative, as I said I never needed to grind in the first place. It’s just odd in a feel sort of sense.

One of my favorite little options in Dragon Quest XI is Tickington. Being able to explore locations from previous Dragon Quests is really cool, even though I’ve only played 2 of them. And since it incorporates the 2D Mode that you can switch to, it’s nice to see all of the spritework made for the game as well. It’ll be funny when I finally get to the other Dragon Quest titles, and recognize the locations I saw from this game.

I also really love the story of the game. I wont go into too much detail here, especially with what occurs during Act 2, but there’s a lot that I really love. I think the main playable cast of Dragon Quest XI is absolutely perfect. There’s genuinely nothing I would change about them. Their growth, their personalities, everything. I just think particularly, I adore everything about Act 2, from the story, characters, and just general events.

When it comes to Dragon Quest XI, I know technically I’m not “done” with the game. But I’m satisfied with the ending I got, and I don’t really have much of an interest in playing Act 3. Honestly, with what I’ve heard about the general premise of Act 3, it would probably leave me unsatisfied, and I feel like I’d prefer ending the game at Act 2. Is that sacrilegious? Probably. But I’ve been playing this game for 60 hours now, I think I’m Dragon Quest’d out, and I did get an ending, even if it isn’t the final ending. Maybe after a decent break I’ll return to play Act 3, but I do feel like I have beaten the game regardless of playing Act 3 or not.

But I will say though, I really enjoyed my time with Dragon Quest XI. It’s probably been 2 years since I’ve been trying to get it, so to finally get around to playing it feels like a dream come true. I really would like to play the other Dragon Quest titles at some point, though I definitely need a bit of a break from them, this one took me quite a while to beat. Yet again, I may return to DQXI to play Act 3 at some point, but not today.

Metal Gear Solid 3 is a game unlike any other. While I would say of the series I probably enjoy MGS2 more, MGS3 is still an absolute masterpiece. There are still things I’m thinking about even as I type this, from the characters, to themes, just to everything about it. It’s really been a long time coming for me to finally getting around to playing MGS3, but I’m so glad that I did.

One thing that I immediately loved about MGS3 was how much of the game was dedicated to stealth. While I loved MGS2, I wish more of the game allowed for stealth sections, it didn’t feel like there were enough for what I was hoping for. In MGS3 on the other hand, stealth is absolutely the name of the game. Being able to create disguises to help increase your camouflage, sometimes even needing necessary disguises to progress. Being able to hide in the grass, or just blend in with the environment is so fun. I think the general jungle setting of MGS3 really helps with how refreshing the stealth feels. Not only that, but with enemies wearing green, they too can at times, blend into the environment, which is really cool.

The Stamina and Curing mechanics are really cool too. I thought they were going to be a bit of a nuisance at first, but I really got attached to them as I played through the game. Needing to use surgery or medical equipment to actively heal wounds feels much more realistic, and while yeah, it can make things difficult or annoying at times, that’s the point. I also think Stamina as a mechanic feels the same way, purposefully frustrating, but because of that, realistic. If these mechanics weren’t there, the game would have an entirely different, and probably weaker feel. Even then, they’re not as bad as they seemed at first, though maybe cause I was playing on easy they just didn’t affect me as much as they would on higher difficulties.

As well, the bosses of MGS3 are interesting. I say that because I don’t know if they’re my favorite set or not. If we were looking at them from a gameplay and actually fighting them sort of perspective, yes, they would be. They were probably the collection of bosses I had least frustration and the most fun with, and I was actually excited to fight certain bosses. But it gets complicated when looking at their characters. Obviously the ones that are well written are amazing characters, I don’t think I need to explain how The Boss is one of the best characters made for a videogame. But early bosses like The Pain, or The Fear don’t feel memorable as characters, only memorable as fights. It’s hard to say whether or not this is purposeful though, I have some interpretations that could explain why it’s a purposeful choice, but that’s simply an interpretation, not fact.

But god, the story of MGS3 is a masterpiece. It didn’t hit me as hard a MGS2, but beginning to end, MGS3 is a downright perfect story. So much so that, much like many other games I adore, I’m not saying anything about it. MGS3 is probably one of the most important games of all time, and I feel like it’s one of the games that must be played in a person’s lifetime. Of course, that would also require playing MGS1 and 2 beforehand, don’t jump immediately into MGS3. Even though it is a prequel, and the earliest game in the Metal Gear timeline, it’s far more rewarding to play it after 1 and 2 with the knowledge you know from those games, and not before. The ending is one of the best in a video game ever, and I’m so glad I got to see it with my own two eyes.

And just, what a thrill Metal Gear Solid 3 turned out to be. I’d give my life to play MGS4, but that’s stuck on PS3, and I don’t have any way of actually playing it. But I do really hope that I’m able to see this series through to the end in my time, as I’ve just constantly been blown away by each entry. I still technically have some other games of the franchise I could play, I do want to at least try and play the Metal Gear games, since I technically jumped ahead when starting with MGS1. But going back to the topic at hand, which is MGS3, this game is a genuine masterpiece, and I’m glad I was able to play it finally. I haven’t gotten over the ending at all, it’s like I’m still in a dream of some kind, I don’t if that makes sense.

I wonder how I’ve gotten here. If you were to ask me my general thoughts on Persona, I’d be rather neutral, I had only played one game of the series, and I didn’t like it. Then, not even a month ago, I played Persona 5, and it rewired my brain in a way, I found a Persona game that I loved. I loved it so much that I immediately bought Persona 3 Reload, and I played through it immediately after. Of course, it took me longer to beat it, I didn’t have as much free time, as unlike Persona 5, I was in classes at the time. From what I’ve heard about FES and Portable, I’m glad I chose Reload over them, there were some design and gameplay decisions in those versions that I’m glad aren’t here (though I would’ve loved FeMC). Persona 3 Reload has further rewired my brain, making me love this series even more.

Of course I don’t want to go too in-depth into all of this. While Persona 3 has existed for over a decade now, Reload released barely over 2 months ago (at the time of typing this). Saying anything even somewhat specific, even now, might be too much of a spoiler, and I’d like to try and avoid it as much as possible. Especially since Persona 3 as a game is something that I think deserves a blind experience, I want to avoid saying anything too revealing. But I will say as much as I think I can.

Combat-wise the game is amazing. One Mores are as amazing as a mechanic as ever. The adaptability, switching between your teammates in battle to help hit certain weaknesses, or heal if need be. I still love that enemies benefit from this system as well, it makes enemies feel more dangerous, especially if they luck out with crits. It’s interesting how there’s three different types of physical attacks, Slash, Strike, and Pierce. Each character’s regular attack differs too, being one of those three types which I think is really cool, and can help determine your team composition.

Social Links are interesting in Persona 3. If I hadn’t played 4 and 5 beforehand, I would be fine with Social Links in 3. What I mean by that is that Social Links only give EXP boosts when fusing, and there’s no other bonuses. This critique though is of minimal importance, contextually, Persona 3 was the first to introduce Social Links, so of course it wouldn’t have the things that were added in 4 and 5. But with that being said, I think of the three, Persona 3 has my favorite set of Social Links. The best way I have of describing it is that it’s the most realistic. Some Social Links are just normal people, some of them are unlikeable, and some of them feel meant to be hated. But that in itself feels purposeful, and meant to mirror relationships you may have in real life. You’re not gonna like everyone you know, and I’m glad that this game was able to emulate that experience. One thing that I’m grateful about with Reload though is that you’re not locked into Romance routes with social links.

Tartarus as a dungeon is another interesting aspect of the game to me. It made me further realize why I don’t like the dungeons in Persona 4, and I apologize for the oncoming tangent. Persona 4 in a way is a mid-transition, between the randomly generated dungeon of Tartarus, and the personal dungeons of Palaces. While Persona 4’s dungeons are meant to represent certain ideas about relevant characters, they only really do it aesthetically, but because of it being randomly generated spaces, it still feels impersonal. It makes them all blend together, aesthetics alone don’t feel enough to differentiate the dungeons of Persona 4. Now bringing this tangent back to Tartarus, it feels purposeful that Tartarus is like this. It’s long, it’s randomly generated, it’s purposefully impersonal. It’s meant to feel like an uncomfortable, otherworldly place, and I think it does that really well. And honestly it never felt too long. Sections are unlocked over time, and usually you unlock about 20 floors at a time. As well, it feels clear to me that while I did it this way, I wasn’t supposed to clear each section in a single day. The game gives you a good number of checkpoints, so if you need to, you can take a break, and come back another day.

And what can I say about the story. The answer, really? Nothing. I’m saying nothing. This is the part of the game that the less you know, absolutely the better. The story itself is why this game is probably my favorite of the Persona titles that I’ve played thus far, and I don’t want to potentially ruin that for anyone else. Yet again, at the time of typing this, the game came out barely over 2 months ago, so there’s still some recency here. What I can say though is that it’s absolutely amazing, and also Fuuka is my favorite character. That’s all I’ll say here.

I don’t think there’s much else I can really say here. I absolutely adore Persona 3, I haven’t played the other versions of the game yet, but I can’t imagine any would be better to play than Reload. I swear, I’ve drastically changed my tune on the Persona series in less than a month thanks to this game and 5, it’s somewhat crazy to look back on. I already bought the Expansion Pass for Reload, so it’s assured I’ll hop on The Answer as soon as it releases, and I can’t wait. Reload may be a pretty expensive buy, 70 dollar base price is a lot, but if you can afford it, please get it. It’s just such an amazing game.