“Klonoa… It’s time for you to go home, back to your Phantomile.”
My first experience with Klonoa was just about 2 months ago, right at the end of January. I knew next to nothing about this little guy and the extremely niche series that he hailed from, but what sparked my interest in these games was the profound and impactful impression that they left on people when I stumbled across its review page on this platform. Luckily for me when I was checking out my local game store, a copy of the Klonoa Phantasy Reverie series was sitting on the shelf and I instantly purchased it.
What appears as a simple, colorful mascot platformer at first glance, turns out to be so much more. Halfway through the game, Klonoa experiences pure rage and sadness in a turn of events that completely threw me off guard. It was this moment that made me realize what everyone had been talking about and why this game was so special. Door to Phantomile isn’t just a cheerful game with a cute mascot catered to children, it hides a much darker and deeper meaning beneath its shallow facade of innocence. I continued onward and found myself becoming attached to Klonoa and Huepow, two characters that I had literally just been introduced to only a couple of hours prior, and in no time I had defeated the final boss. I felt satisfied and glad to have witnessed Klonoa and Huepow’s teamwork and friendship triumph over Ghadius’ vile intentions to enshroud the world in an endless nightmare. Everything was wrapping up happily and was very wholesome… until the final scene of the game played out.
Even after experiencing Door to Phantomile twice (initial Phantasy Reverie playthrough, and a replay of the original PS1 version), I still find it hard to put into words how the ending makes me feel. One thing is for certain, it’s genuinely one of the saddest video game endings I’ve ever experienced.
No punches are pulled when the truth of Klonoa’s existence comes out from who he assumes is his long time best friend. A revelation so shocking and yet so heartbreaking all thanks to the masterful use of music, phantomilian voices/dialogue, and of course the expressive sprite work. The conclusion of Door to Phantomile stunned me, and I couldn’t shake the emotions I had towards its ending for days… and weeks… and at this point a month had passed, a time frame in which I usually would have moved on to the next game in my backlog and forgotten about the previous games I had played.
But Klonoa isn’t just the “usual” game. I was constantly listening to the soundtrack, reading how it impacted other people’s lives, and thinking about it all the time. I would get lost in thought over this game to the point that I would ponder my own life, dreams, and purpose. It sounds silly, but I had to experience this game again. So fast forward two months from my initial completion of Door to Phantomile’s Phantasy Reverie remaster, I bit the bullet and secured myself a copy of the original game for the PS1.
The original version of Door to Phantomile is undeniably the best way to play the game. Graphically, it is absolutely beautiful, delivering a presentation of vibrant 3D environments, with characters and enemies appearing as 2D prerendered sprites. This style works so well with the game and completely outclasses the all 3D look that the remaster has. Not only does the gameplay look better, but the FMV cutscenes throughout the game are gorgeous and show so much more emotion and drama than what is shown in the remaster.
The childlike whimsy and dreamy aesthetic of Door to Phantomile oozes with so much charm, I truly can’t get enough. The theme of dreams and where they go once you wake up is delivered even better when you realize that as the game goes on, the environments and music begin to change, reflecting the atmosphere and tension of what is occurring during Klonoa and Huepow’s adventure. The opening stage throws the player right into a breezy and uplifting windmill village stage, the accompanying music consisting of woodwinds, acoustics, and stringed instruments. But during the last stages of the game, the music has completely transformed from natural melodies to something far more artificial, electronic, and otherworldly.
I could talk about how absolutely brilliant the soundtrack is for this game, but I want to move on to the gameplay aspects. Klonoa is a 2.5D platformer that, while mostly linear, does have branching paths and optional areas to explore in every level. The main gameplay gimmick is that Klonoa can use his wind ring to grab enemies a short distance from him, inflate them like a ball, and use them as a projectile or jump off of them for a second mid-air jump. This mechanic paired with the 3D environments leads to some pretty creative puzzles, such as throwing an enemy into the foreground or background to obtain a collectible, or inflate and jump off of multiple mid-air enemies to gain a ton of height whether it be to reach a high ledge, or to avoid falling into an endless abyss or pit of lava. For a game that only uses four buttons (left, right, jump, and shoot), Klonoa somehow manages to only get more interesting and ramp up the difficulty with super fun level designs and a large variety of enemy types. While most of the enemies are mindless drones that can easily be inflated, some of them can be very annoying to deal with in those late game levels.
Where the gameplay of Klonoa really shines however is in its boss fights. Every single one progressively gets more challenging, the music absolutely slaps, and they feel completely unique despite the objective always being to grab and throw enemies at the boss’s weak point. The late game bosses in particular can be pretty difficult and they have multiple phases in which different strategies need to be utilized. Overall the difficulty curve is pretty steady and goes from being a super easy platformer to a test of mastery and precision of the game’s mechanics.
What makes Klonoa standout amongst its competitors and the droves of other mascot platformers however, is its story. Door to Phantomile tells a tale deeply personal to so many people, including myself. I never imagined in my wildest dreams that this would be the game that touched my heart and reminded me that it’s okay to cry, even when it’s something as simple as a videogame about a little rabbit cat creature jumping around inflating his foes. For a 3-4 hour long experience, I was fully immersed into this world and its characters to the same degree that I would be with a 40+ hour long videogame. Door to Phantomile expertly combines music, dialogue, and sprite work to express emotion in a way that few games can even hope to achieve, and I genuinely consider this game to be a masterpiece. It tackles the idea of dreams in a manner that is freakishly relatable to experiences I have had with them, such as the perfect reality or absolute bliss, only for it all to be stripped away because you’re waking up. It’s a concept so beautiful and yet so harsh, realizing that when you do wake up, you can barely even remember what it was you dreamt. Imagine the friends you made, the memories you shared, and your life as you knew it all being a fabricated lie. It is with this dread that Klonoa’s tale comes to a close.
“It's strange... Sometimes I can't remember my dreams, though I'm sure I saw them. Where do these dreams go? But I remember this one dream, as clearly as if it were reflected in a mirror...”
My first experience with Klonoa was just about 2 months ago, right at the end of January. I knew next to nothing about this little guy and the extremely niche series that he hailed from, but what sparked my interest in these games was the profound and impactful impression that they left on people when I stumbled across its review page on this platform. Luckily for me when I was checking out my local game store, a copy of the Klonoa Phantasy Reverie series was sitting on the shelf and I instantly purchased it.
What appears as a simple, colorful mascot platformer at first glance, turns out to be so much more. Halfway through the game, Klonoa experiences pure rage and sadness in a turn of events that completely threw me off guard. It was this moment that made me realize what everyone had been talking about and why this game was so special. Door to Phantomile isn’t just a cheerful game with a cute mascot catered to children, it hides a much darker and deeper meaning beneath its shallow facade of innocence. I continued onward and found myself becoming attached to Klonoa and Huepow, two characters that I had literally just been introduced to only a couple of hours prior, and in no time I had defeated the final boss. I felt satisfied and glad to have witnessed Klonoa and Huepow’s teamwork and friendship triumph over Ghadius’ vile intentions to enshroud the world in an endless nightmare. Everything was wrapping up happily and was very wholesome… until the final scene of the game played out.
Even after experiencing Door to Phantomile twice (initial Phantasy Reverie playthrough, and a replay of the original PS1 version), I still find it hard to put into words how the ending makes me feel. One thing is for certain, it’s genuinely one of the saddest video game endings I’ve ever experienced.
No punches are pulled when the truth of Klonoa’s existence comes out from who he assumes is his long time best friend. A revelation so shocking and yet so heartbreaking all thanks to the masterful use of music, phantomilian voices/dialogue, and of course the expressive sprite work. The conclusion of Door to Phantomile stunned me, and I couldn’t shake the emotions I had towards its ending for days… and weeks… and at this point a month had passed, a time frame in which I usually would have moved on to the next game in my backlog and forgotten about the previous games I had played.
But Klonoa isn’t just the “usual” game. I was constantly listening to the soundtrack, reading how it impacted other people’s lives, and thinking about it all the time. I would get lost in thought over this game to the point that I would ponder my own life, dreams, and purpose. It sounds silly, but I had to experience this game again. So fast forward two months from my initial completion of Door to Phantomile’s Phantasy Reverie remaster, I bit the bullet and secured myself a copy of the original game for the PS1.
The original version of Door to Phantomile is undeniably the best way to play the game. Graphically, it is absolutely beautiful, delivering a presentation of vibrant 3D environments, with characters and enemies appearing as 2D prerendered sprites. This style works so well with the game and completely outclasses the all 3D look that the remaster has. Not only does the gameplay look better, but the FMV cutscenes throughout the game are gorgeous and show so much more emotion and drama than what is shown in the remaster.
The childlike whimsy and dreamy aesthetic of Door to Phantomile oozes with so much charm, I truly can’t get enough. The theme of dreams and where they go once you wake up is delivered even better when you realize that as the game goes on, the environments and music begin to change, reflecting the atmosphere and tension of what is occurring during Klonoa and Huepow’s adventure. The opening stage throws the player right into a breezy and uplifting windmill village stage, the accompanying music consisting of woodwinds, acoustics, and stringed instruments. But during the last stages of the game, the music has completely transformed from natural melodies to something far more artificial, electronic, and otherworldly.
I could talk about how absolutely brilliant the soundtrack is for this game, but I want to move on to the gameplay aspects. Klonoa is a 2.5D platformer that, while mostly linear, does have branching paths and optional areas to explore in every level. The main gameplay gimmick is that Klonoa can use his wind ring to grab enemies a short distance from him, inflate them like a ball, and use them as a projectile or jump off of them for a second mid-air jump. This mechanic paired with the 3D environments leads to some pretty creative puzzles, such as throwing an enemy into the foreground or background to obtain a collectible, or inflate and jump off of multiple mid-air enemies to gain a ton of height whether it be to reach a high ledge, or to avoid falling into an endless abyss or pit of lava. For a game that only uses four buttons (left, right, jump, and shoot), Klonoa somehow manages to only get more interesting and ramp up the difficulty with super fun level designs and a large variety of enemy types. While most of the enemies are mindless drones that can easily be inflated, some of them can be very annoying to deal with in those late game levels.
Where the gameplay of Klonoa really shines however is in its boss fights. Every single one progressively gets more challenging, the music absolutely slaps, and they feel completely unique despite the objective always being to grab and throw enemies at the boss’s weak point. The late game bosses in particular can be pretty difficult and they have multiple phases in which different strategies need to be utilized. Overall the difficulty curve is pretty steady and goes from being a super easy platformer to a test of mastery and precision of the game’s mechanics.
What makes Klonoa standout amongst its competitors and the droves of other mascot platformers however, is its story. Door to Phantomile tells a tale deeply personal to so many people, including myself. I never imagined in my wildest dreams that this would be the game that touched my heart and reminded me that it’s okay to cry, even when it’s something as simple as a videogame about a little rabbit cat creature jumping around inflating his foes. For a 3-4 hour long experience, I was fully immersed into this world and its characters to the same degree that I would be with a 40+ hour long videogame. Door to Phantomile expertly combines music, dialogue, and sprite work to express emotion in a way that few games can even hope to achieve, and I genuinely consider this game to be a masterpiece. It tackles the idea of dreams in a manner that is freakishly relatable to experiences I have had with them, such as the perfect reality or absolute bliss, only for it all to be stripped away because you’re waking up. It’s a concept so beautiful and yet so harsh, realizing that when you do wake up, you can barely even remember what it was you dreamt. Imagine the friends you made, the memories you shared, and your life as you knew it all being a fabricated lie. It is with this dread that Klonoa’s tale comes to a close.
“It's strange... Sometimes I can't remember my dreams, though I'm sure I saw them. Where do these dreams go? But I remember this one dream, as clearly as if it were reflected in a mirror...”
Actually insane how much of an improvement this game is from its predecessor. DKC2 honestly blew me away, for an SNES game it controls great and looks stunning (undoubtedly the best graphics I’ve ever seen for a game on this console). The difficulty was ramped up far more in this sequel which was needed for sure and made full completion all the more satisfying. The level variety, atmosphere, and overall vibe of this game was truly immaculate, the pirate aesthetic was nailed flawlessly and really made this game stand out as an epic adventure of revenge and family. We can’t forget that soundtrack though!! Truly a masterpiece of a score, honestly DKC2 triumphs in every regard when compared to the first game and serves as a perfect video game sequel in my opinion.
This game is exactly what I would call a love hate relationship; there’s just so much that I enjoyed and about an equal amount that flopped or straight up demotivated me from continuing.
For starters, this remaster of the original Star Ocean (Super Famicom) does wonders to the presentation of the game adding a sort of PS1-esque visual sense reminiscent of Star Ocean the Second Story. The pixelated character sprites set against prerendered backgrounds was neat, but the real shining factor was how the combat looked aka my favorite aspect of the game.
The battle system is fast paced with easy controls and a fun ability to choose a single character to control manually while the other three party members could have tactics set, altering the way the AI controlled their abilities and movement. It’s sort of a precursor to how FFVIIR handles its battle system and overall I looked forward to the battles… sometimes. Unfortunately the random encounter rate is astronomically high and gets extremely annoying while trying to traverse dungeons, so there’s that.
The skill point system is pretty innovative, but can also curse you if you don’t upgrade certain skills wisely. It’s easy to abuse how this system works by upgrading, for example, your Determination skill for each character, that way every single other skill they can learn requires less skill points to obtain. I restarted my first save because I blew all of my skill points up to level 10 or so unknown to the fact that Determination existed, so that was really fun…
Later on in the game when you get to the Silvalant Continent, the difficulty spike in random encounter enemies is INSANE. I was breezing my way through 15-20ish hours of gameplay and the instant I set foot outside I was getting demolished by the enemies. Through hours of level grinding and careful skill point distribution, I managed to get ahold of my party and continued on with the game, but that brutal jump in difficulty seriously made me question finishing the game or not.
Just before the end game stretch to the Demon World, I spent a whole day delving into Star Ocean’s specialty and super specialty system, which I slept on heavily throughout most of my playthrough. This is where I started to enjoy the overall experience more, and where the fun really began. Level up your main party’s skills so that they learn the abilities to play and compose music so you get Orchestra. Then make sure you level up more skills so your characters are proficient in customizing weapons and crafting new armor/accessories. With this you can have Orchestra play in the background to greatly increase the success rate of performing your specialties and completely break the game by obtaining ridiculously overpowered pieces of equipment.
With that, the remainder of Star Ocean FDR was a walk in the park and the final bosses all perished to me in mere seconds :)
If you couldn’t already tell, the gameplay systems and their implementation in battle is by far the best this game has to offer. Story wise it’s extraordinarily bland. I liked all the characters the game had and the ability to recruit certain ones while being locked out of others adds to the replayability. The Private Action scenes too were enjoyable and gave me lots of laughs with the interactions between party members, but main story wise it’s nothing to write home about.
At the end of it all, I’m still super glad I gave this title a shot. I tackled the learning curve of Star Ocean’s ingenuity and gained not just understanding for the importance of its series defining gameplay systems, but also a thirst to explore what other titles come after First Departure.
For starters, this remaster of the original Star Ocean (Super Famicom) does wonders to the presentation of the game adding a sort of PS1-esque visual sense reminiscent of Star Ocean the Second Story. The pixelated character sprites set against prerendered backgrounds was neat, but the real shining factor was how the combat looked aka my favorite aspect of the game.
The battle system is fast paced with easy controls and a fun ability to choose a single character to control manually while the other three party members could have tactics set, altering the way the AI controlled their abilities and movement. It’s sort of a precursor to how FFVIIR handles its battle system and overall I looked forward to the battles… sometimes. Unfortunately the random encounter rate is astronomically high and gets extremely annoying while trying to traverse dungeons, so there’s that.
The skill point system is pretty innovative, but can also curse you if you don’t upgrade certain skills wisely. It’s easy to abuse how this system works by upgrading, for example, your Determination skill for each character, that way every single other skill they can learn requires less skill points to obtain. I restarted my first save because I blew all of my skill points up to level 10 or so unknown to the fact that Determination existed, so that was really fun…
Later on in the game when you get to the Silvalant Continent, the difficulty spike in random encounter enemies is INSANE. I was breezing my way through 15-20ish hours of gameplay and the instant I set foot outside I was getting demolished by the enemies. Through hours of level grinding and careful skill point distribution, I managed to get ahold of my party and continued on with the game, but that brutal jump in difficulty seriously made me question finishing the game or not.
Just before the end game stretch to the Demon World, I spent a whole day delving into Star Ocean’s specialty and super specialty system, which I slept on heavily throughout most of my playthrough. This is where I started to enjoy the overall experience more, and where the fun really began. Level up your main party’s skills so that they learn the abilities to play and compose music so you get Orchestra. Then make sure you level up more skills so your characters are proficient in customizing weapons and crafting new armor/accessories. With this you can have Orchestra play in the background to greatly increase the success rate of performing your specialties and completely break the game by obtaining ridiculously overpowered pieces of equipment.
With that, the remainder of Star Ocean FDR was a walk in the park and the final bosses all perished to me in mere seconds :)
If you couldn’t already tell, the gameplay systems and their implementation in battle is by far the best this game has to offer. Story wise it’s extraordinarily bland. I liked all the characters the game had and the ability to recruit certain ones while being locked out of others adds to the replayability. The Private Action scenes too were enjoyable and gave me lots of laughs with the interactions between party members, but main story wise it’s nothing to write home about.
At the end of it all, I’m still super glad I gave this title a shot. I tackled the learning curve of Star Ocean’s ingenuity and gained not just understanding for the importance of its series defining gameplay systems, but also a thirst to explore what other titles come after First Departure.
2023
“FATE IS WRITTEN IN FIRE”
My hype for this game was already astronomical upon XVI’s initial reveal trailer, but it wasn’t until my hands-on experience with the demo when I knew this game was going to be special. Trying to leave my review of this game as spoiler free as possible will be tough, but here we go.
Simply for the fact that XVI has an M rating, the portrayal of realism and grounded tones leave a bitter and lasting impression throughout the story in ways that previous games in the Final Fantasy series struggled to tackle, let alone hint on. Slavery, torture, religion, politics, suicide, this game has it all! I personally found it really refreshing to play a game in the series that was so standalone in its attempt to make a dark, violent Final Fantasy game, and I felt XVI met the mark with flying colors.
The game’s wide cast of colorful heroes and villains paired gloriously with the narrative, adding a clash of elements (quite literally) that led to not only some of the most profound character writing I have witnessed in a work of fiction, but an attachment that I struggle to find anywhere else. I would argue that XVI has easily one of the best main protagonists and group of supporting roles in the series, but EASILY my favorite cast of antagonists. There are just way too many good characters to choose from, but I can easily say that each and every Dominant receives an impressively even amount of development and purpose throughout the entire narrative.
I personally am a turn based combat over action RPG guy, but the gameplay style that XVI went with takes Final Fantasy in a direction that didn’t bother me whatsoever. Swift, fast paced, and lots of player freedom and customization as far as your abilities go, but not so much on the equipment and especially status effects front. I definitely expected more role playing game staple elements to be prevalent in the gameplay, but there wasn’t much. Not a huge blunder on the experience, but other than limit breaking and being able to increase your attack and defense temporarily, XVI is pretty dry in terms of altering play styles and strategies in the wake of battle.
The music is in a realm of its own with this one. Spectacular through and through, not really any other way to put it. This title was my first experience with Soken’s work as a composer, and he carried the flame from Uematsu’s torch firm and proud. The range in his work is masterful and heartfelt, my favorite tracks by far being the various battle themes, particularly those when fighting the Dominants, and the entire final boss composition.
Zero competition, the BEST part of this entire game was its boss fights. Each and every one, specifically against the Dominants, is on a scale so grand they each could resemble that of a final boss battle. One after another, something even more badass is brought to the table in every phase of every fight. These moments in the game were always the ones I looked forward to the most, and they never failed to leave me in absolute awe with the visual and technical masterpiece of direction that was put into these world-shattering clashes. Culminating quick time events (that had massive windows for the sake of battle flow), the evolving music, banter between foes, and the ferocious animosity of Eikon against Eikon, Final Fantasy XVI breaks the fucking limit for what makes a boss fight in a video game carry so much weight.
From beginning to end, I was reeled into the mystery and intrigue of the world of Valisthea. Familiar settings, foes, and even some motifs in both dialogue and music strummed familiar cords seen in the earliest Final Fantasy games, while also breaking the chains that bound the series and went against everything we knew. I enjoyed the changes that were made to deviate XVI from the typical JRPG experience, but many of the things I enjoy in the genre such as fun side quests were either dumbed down to lots of hand holding, or lacking thereof. Regardless, the pros far outweigh the cons and I personally can say that XVI serves as the revival of the single player Final Fantasy experience.
“The only fantasy here is yours. And we shall be its final witness!”
My hype for this game was already astronomical upon XVI’s initial reveal trailer, but it wasn’t until my hands-on experience with the demo when I knew this game was going to be special. Trying to leave my review of this game as spoiler free as possible will be tough, but here we go.
Simply for the fact that XVI has an M rating, the portrayal of realism and grounded tones leave a bitter and lasting impression throughout the story in ways that previous games in the Final Fantasy series struggled to tackle, let alone hint on. Slavery, torture, religion, politics, suicide, this game has it all! I personally found it really refreshing to play a game in the series that was so standalone in its attempt to make a dark, violent Final Fantasy game, and I felt XVI met the mark with flying colors.
The game’s wide cast of colorful heroes and villains paired gloriously with the narrative, adding a clash of elements (quite literally) that led to not only some of the most profound character writing I have witnessed in a work of fiction, but an attachment that I struggle to find anywhere else. I would argue that XVI has easily one of the best main protagonists and group of supporting roles in the series, but EASILY my favorite cast of antagonists. There are just way too many good characters to choose from, but I can easily say that each and every Dominant receives an impressively even amount of development and purpose throughout the entire narrative.
I personally am a turn based combat over action RPG guy, but the gameplay style that XVI went with takes Final Fantasy in a direction that didn’t bother me whatsoever. Swift, fast paced, and lots of player freedom and customization as far as your abilities go, but not so much on the equipment and especially status effects front. I definitely expected more role playing game staple elements to be prevalent in the gameplay, but there wasn’t much. Not a huge blunder on the experience, but other than limit breaking and being able to increase your attack and defense temporarily, XVI is pretty dry in terms of altering play styles and strategies in the wake of battle.
The music is in a realm of its own with this one. Spectacular through and through, not really any other way to put it. This title was my first experience with Soken’s work as a composer, and he carried the flame from Uematsu’s torch firm and proud. The range in his work is masterful and heartfelt, my favorite tracks by far being the various battle themes, particularly those when fighting the Dominants, and the entire final boss composition.
Zero competition, the BEST part of this entire game was its boss fights. Each and every one, specifically against the Dominants, is on a scale so grand they each could resemble that of a final boss battle. One after another, something even more badass is brought to the table in every phase of every fight. These moments in the game were always the ones I looked forward to the most, and they never failed to leave me in absolute awe with the visual and technical masterpiece of direction that was put into these world-shattering clashes. Culminating quick time events (that had massive windows for the sake of battle flow), the evolving music, banter between foes, and the ferocious animosity of Eikon against Eikon, Final Fantasy XVI breaks the fucking limit for what makes a boss fight in a video game carry so much weight.
From beginning to end, I was reeled into the mystery and intrigue of the world of Valisthea. Familiar settings, foes, and even some motifs in both dialogue and music strummed familiar cords seen in the earliest Final Fantasy games, while also breaking the chains that bound the series and went against everything we knew. I enjoyed the changes that were made to deviate XVI from the typical JRPG experience, but many of the things I enjoy in the genre such as fun side quests were either dumbed down to lots of hand holding, or lacking thereof. Regardless, the pros far outweigh the cons and I personally can say that XVI serves as the revival of the single player Final Fantasy experience.
“The only fantasy here is yours. And we shall be its final witness!”
I don’t think I’ve ever played a game that embodies the cheesiness and charm of 90’s JRPGs in one package more than this game does. Featuring your run of the mill teenage boy and more than meets the eye love interest, Lunar SSSC lunges you into a hero’s journey across a vast and colorful world sprawling with danger and adventure.
For starters, I think Lunar has arguably the best English translation I have ever seen in a video game for it’s time. I noticed practically zero grammatical errors and I audibly laughed countless times reading the game’s hilarious and brilliantly written dialogue.
Every character is full of personality, and the NPCs too offer so much to building the world of Lunar. I genuinely looked forward to talking to everybody with every new town I explored. My favorite characters in particular had to be Kyle and Jessica, their relationship was a rollercoaster that I enjoyed all the way through.
With as many tropes and cliche moments, there were equally as many twists and shocking reveals that kept me looking forward to what was next to come in the story. Overall I was honestly pretty sad when the journey was over because I had a great time with everything.
Lunar serves its purpose as a staple PS1 JRPG, and finally getting around to playing it was much worth the wait. Having this one under my belt makes me even more excited to dive into Lunar 2 Eternal Blue in the near future.
For starters, I think Lunar has arguably the best English translation I have ever seen in a video game for it’s time. I noticed practically zero grammatical errors and I audibly laughed countless times reading the game’s hilarious and brilliantly written dialogue.
Every character is full of personality, and the NPCs too offer so much to building the world of Lunar. I genuinely looked forward to talking to everybody with every new town I explored. My favorite characters in particular had to be Kyle and Jessica, their relationship was a rollercoaster that I enjoyed all the way through.
With as many tropes and cliche moments, there were equally as many twists and shocking reveals that kept me looking forward to what was next to come in the story. Overall I was honestly pretty sad when the journey was over because I had a great time with everything.
Lunar serves its purpose as a staple PS1 JRPG, and finally getting around to playing it was much worth the wait. Having this one under my belt makes me even more excited to dive into Lunar 2 Eternal Blue in the near future.
1999
Perhaps the pinnacle of not just the gaming medium, but entertainment as a whole.
1999
Racing Lagoon is undoubtedly one of the coolest video games I have ever played. Literally every single screen and piece of dialogue culminates in a sleek, artistic aesthetic of its own domain. Characters have shonen-esque appearances, upheld by their hip, slang filled street talk, and even at times poetic speech styles thanks to the brilliant English translation provided by Hilltop and the rest of the crew that helped bring such an underrated gem into the light of Western audiences.
Gameplay is a mixture of high speed drift racing, with the addition of JRPG elements such as vehicle upgrades and customization that is surprisingly in-depth and far more involved than simply equipping a better engine or cooler looking body onto your car. Building the proper vehicle requires analysis and consideration depending on the challenge that awaits you on the road.
The story itself absorbs you into the moody and heated rivalry of street racing teams competing for the title of “Yokohama’s Fastest Legend” in Japan’s 1990s nightlife. In addition to the beautiful presentation of Racing Lagoon, I immediately fell in love with its jazzy and techno soundtrack, one that I consider to be a favorite of any video game score.
There is very little that this game suffers from. Times where you might feel lost in the winding streets of Yokohama’s cityscapes are deliberate, and exploring various gang hangout spots and street corners are necessary to progress further into the plot. What starts off as the exciting progression of Sho Akasaki’s street racing career soon unveils a darker, more disturbing tale of loss and misidentity in typical Squaresoft fashion.
Put simply, my experience with this game went beyond my initial excitement when I first found out that Squaresoft developed a racing JRPG for the PS1 with a jazz soundtrack and anime aesthetic. Racing Lagoon is impressively ahead of it’s time in many regards, and fans of Square or JRPGs in general need to look into this game.
Gameplay is a mixture of high speed drift racing, with the addition of JRPG elements such as vehicle upgrades and customization that is surprisingly in-depth and far more involved than simply equipping a better engine or cooler looking body onto your car. Building the proper vehicle requires analysis and consideration depending on the challenge that awaits you on the road.
The story itself absorbs you into the moody and heated rivalry of street racing teams competing for the title of “Yokohama’s Fastest Legend” in Japan’s 1990s nightlife. In addition to the beautiful presentation of Racing Lagoon, I immediately fell in love with its jazzy and techno soundtrack, one that I consider to be a favorite of any video game score.
There is very little that this game suffers from. Times where you might feel lost in the winding streets of Yokohama’s cityscapes are deliberate, and exploring various gang hangout spots and street corners are necessary to progress further into the plot. What starts off as the exciting progression of Sho Akasaki’s street racing career soon unveils a darker, more disturbing tale of loss and misidentity in typical Squaresoft fashion.
Put simply, my experience with this game went beyond my initial excitement when I first found out that Squaresoft developed a racing JRPG for the PS1 with a jazz soundtrack and anime aesthetic. Racing Lagoon is impressively ahead of it’s time in many regards, and fans of Square or JRPGs in general need to look into this game.
1999
My first actual horror game playthrough, and damn does it hold up well. Silent Hill offers an ominous and devoid experience, paired with incredible ambience and a uniquely chilling atmosphere. The plot, while pretty basic, was delivered quite well with a good balance of gameplay and story elements. The controls which seemed clunky at first, were easily adaptable and served in favor of the gameplay and especially in high tension moments such as multiple enemy encounters and boss fights (While sometimes a bit frustrating, you have to cut the developers some slack, the moveable camera alone was quite impressive). Overall the presentation and execution, especially for an entirely 3D PSX title, are only praise worthy, and I can whole heartedly say that Silent Hill lived up to all of my expectations. Despite some instances of repetitive level design and enemy types/encounters, these pale in comparison to everything else the game has to offer. Very much looking forward to continuing this awesome series.
“When the clash of swords echo, the journey chasing the past ends and the journey to know today begins.”
There is this really special feeling that I get when beginning a new PSX JRPG that I know personally, but putting it into words can prove to be troubling. Maybe it’s those gorgeous and blood pumping FMV sequences that tend to occur before the title screen, reflecting epic scenes that throughout the gaming journey you’ll encounter with full context, or the mysterious dialogue that reveals itself to the player, hinting at the overarching theme of the story you’re about to witness. Whatever that feeling is, The Legend of Dragoon captured me almost immediately during that initial bootup. As far as first impressions go, I was exhilarated and ready to dive into this journey that I was sure to enjoy.
LoD was Sony Interactive Entertainment’s answer to a Final Fantasy-esque title, one that attempts to capture that same sense of wonder and magic that Squaresoft’s hit series was praised so much for. I personally felt it succeeded in this, however much of my intrigue in LoD comes from how polarizing the game is among players who often feel like the combat system is too slow or challenging, or that the game either lacks substance or is even a Final Fantasy VII knock off. While certain scenarios throughout the game ring some major FFVII bells, the plot as a whole felt unique in its own right, and the characters especially I found to be much better rounded than most of the casts throughout the Final Fantasy series.
I want to begin first and foremost with the aspect of The Legend of Dragoon that clicked with me within minutes of playing the game, and that is the soundtrack. Composed between two groups of musicians primarily based in New York and Tokyo, the style and tone for the music featured in LoD is quite unlike any game I’ve ever played. It brilliantly captures the otherworldly vibe that I hunger for when playing high fantasy games such as these. Titles like Chrono Cross with its tropical, almost dreamlike aesthetic and Vagrant Story’s dark, atmospheric nature are captured phenomenally through their iconic scores, and dare I say The Legend of Dragoon competes on that same tier. Despite having a noticeably smaller tracklist than the PlayStation’s bigname JRPGs, LoD presents a wide range of foreign/ethnic inspired pieces that hit right in every aspect, from the exciting and groovy battle themes, melodic and soothing town themes, and ominously devoid atmospheric tracks.
Let’s talk about the characters. I seriously liked them all, even Kongol who is that one obligatory party member who has his brief moment in the spotlight and for the remainder of the game is cast aside until some endgame dialogue. Dart is the blonde, spiky haired, sword wielding protagonist who is thrown into an epic journey of revenge and self discovery after his home town is burned down… sounds kind of familiar. Along the way we meet the mysterious and brood Rose, the total bro and epic knight Lavitz, and Dart’s sisterly but also excessively implied love interest, Shana (it’s very forced and overall kind of weird but it gets better after the first disc). There are a few more main party members that join in along the journey who all struggle with past and personal demons that are resolved throughout the course of the game and it’s all done very well I’d say. The balance of character development is better here in LoD than most games of that time period.
The plot for LoD is super good, and it’s backed up with a massive amount of ingame lore. The story starts with Dart’s hometown being destroyed by the evil Serdian emperor Doel’s army, and his childhood friend Shana is taken prisoner. Dart, being the nobel lad he is, rushes head first into the prison fortress of Hellena to rescue her, and during the rescue joins forces with Lavitz, head of the knighthood of Bale. Upon her rescue, Dart finds himself wrapped up into the Serdio War that ravages across the country, and it’s through these events that he awakens the dormant power of the Dragoon. What starts off very focused on a single main objective soon branches off to reveal many mysteries about the world of Endiness and the intentions of the game’s antagonists. Without giving away too much, the story for LoD is up there with the likes of FFVII (afterall it served as the biggest piece of inspiration) and is filled with jaw dropping reveals, bittersweet discoveries, and a rollercoaster of twists and turns.
The combat system in The Legend of Dragoon is awesome, I personally find it to be one of the most fun and addictive battle systems of any turn based game I’ve played. The highlight here is the use of the game’s addition system, which are increasingly complex combos utilizing quick-time events that occur during a character’s attack animation. Nailing the proper button presses during an addition can lead to devastating damage, and each addition can be leveled up to increase damage output. The most similar thing to it is the deathblow mechanic from Xenogears and how more combos can be unlocked through repetition and leveling up, but it has that extra layer of interactivity with the timed button presses. Longer additions can be interrupted by an enemy counterattack, so you have to press a different button in order to continue the addition.
Then we have the Dragoon transformation, an ability that can also be leveled up to increase the amount of magic spells and turns that can be used while in this form. Fully maxed out late game additions have higher damage output and are generally a safer option as opposed to transforming into a Dragoon due to the fact that you cannot use items while in Dragoon form, but damn the battle animations are truly incredible. For the people who don’t like the lengthy summon and attack animations from the Final Fantasy games on PS1, LoD answers this with a menu option to shorten the duration of these sorts of occurrences. I personally loved them so I kept this option off, and that’s another thing I wanted to mention again, the battle animations and additions in this game are fluid as fuck, satisfying, and generally impressive.
As much as I could go further in depth into my review for LoD, I think I’ll save further thoughts for a replay review when the time comes. It hasn’t even been two weeks since I finished the game and my mind is constantly wandering off to the spectacular time I had playing through it. My expectations were met, if not exceeded by pretty much every single aspect LoD had to offer. While I don’t think this title would click with most people the way it did with me, I am truly glad that I had such a sensational time with it. More than ever, The Legend of Dragoon deserves as much recognition as it can get, and I implore any reader of this who has a sliver of interest to do themselves a favor and play this underrated gem.
“Farewell…. People who confront the fate of Soa….”
There is this really special feeling that I get when beginning a new PSX JRPG that I know personally, but putting it into words can prove to be troubling. Maybe it’s those gorgeous and blood pumping FMV sequences that tend to occur before the title screen, reflecting epic scenes that throughout the gaming journey you’ll encounter with full context, or the mysterious dialogue that reveals itself to the player, hinting at the overarching theme of the story you’re about to witness. Whatever that feeling is, The Legend of Dragoon captured me almost immediately during that initial bootup. As far as first impressions go, I was exhilarated and ready to dive into this journey that I was sure to enjoy.
LoD was Sony Interactive Entertainment’s answer to a Final Fantasy-esque title, one that attempts to capture that same sense of wonder and magic that Squaresoft’s hit series was praised so much for. I personally felt it succeeded in this, however much of my intrigue in LoD comes from how polarizing the game is among players who often feel like the combat system is too slow or challenging, or that the game either lacks substance or is even a Final Fantasy VII knock off. While certain scenarios throughout the game ring some major FFVII bells, the plot as a whole felt unique in its own right, and the characters especially I found to be much better rounded than most of the casts throughout the Final Fantasy series.
I want to begin first and foremost with the aspect of The Legend of Dragoon that clicked with me within minutes of playing the game, and that is the soundtrack. Composed between two groups of musicians primarily based in New York and Tokyo, the style and tone for the music featured in LoD is quite unlike any game I’ve ever played. It brilliantly captures the otherworldly vibe that I hunger for when playing high fantasy games such as these. Titles like Chrono Cross with its tropical, almost dreamlike aesthetic and Vagrant Story’s dark, atmospheric nature are captured phenomenally through their iconic scores, and dare I say The Legend of Dragoon competes on that same tier. Despite having a noticeably smaller tracklist than the PlayStation’s bigname JRPGs, LoD presents a wide range of foreign/ethnic inspired pieces that hit right in every aspect, from the exciting and groovy battle themes, melodic and soothing town themes, and ominously devoid atmospheric tracks.
Let’s talk about the characters. I seriously liked them all, even Kongol who is that one obligatory party member who has his brief moment in the spotlight and for the remainder of the game is cast aside until some endgame dialogue. Dart is the blonde, spiky haired, sword wielding protagonist who is thrown into an epic journey of revenge and self discovery after his home town is burned down… sounds kind of familiar. Along the way we meet the mysterious and brood Rose, the total bro and epic knight Lavitz, and Dart’s sisterly but also excessively implied love interest, Shana (it’s very forced and overall kind of weird but it gets better after the first disc). There are a few more main party members that join in along the journey who all struggle with past and personal demons that are resolved throughout the course of the game and it’s all done very well I’d say. The balance of character development is better here in LoD than most games of that time period.
The plot for LoD is super good, and it’s backed up with a massive amount of ingame lore. The story starts with Dart’s hometown being destroyed by the evil Serdian emperor Doel’s army, and his childhood friend Shana is taken prisoner. Dart, being the nobel lad he is, rushes head first into the prison fortress of Hellena to rescue her, and during the rescue joins forces with Lavitz, head of the knighthood of Bale. Upon her rescue, Dart finds himself wrapped up into the Serdio War that ravages across the country, and it’s through these events that he awakens the dormant power of the Dragoon. What starts off very focused on a single main objective soon branches off to reveal many mysteries about the world of Endiness and the intentions of the game’s antagonists. Without giving away too much, the story for LoD is up there with the likes of FFVII (afterall it served as the biggest piece of inspiration) and is filled with jaw dropping reveals, bittersweet discoveries, and a rollercoaster of twists and turns.
The combat system in The Legend of Dragoon is awesome, I personally find it to be one of the most fun and addictive battle systems of any turn based game I’ve played. The highlight here is the use of the game’s addition system, which are increasingly complex combos utilizing quick-time events that occur during a character’s attack animation. Nailing the proper button presses during an addition can lead to devastating damage, and each addition can be leveled up to increase damage output. The most similar thing to it is the deathblow mechanic from Xenogears and how more combos can be unlocked through repetition and leveling up, but it has that extra layer of interactivity with the timed button presses. Longer additions can be interrupted by an enemy counterattack, so you have to press a different button in order to continue the addition.
Then we have the Dragoon transformation, an ability that can also be leveled up to increase the amount of magic spells and turns that can be used while in this form. Fully maxed out late game additions have higher damage output and are generally a safer option as opposed to transforming into a Dragoon due to the fact that you cannot use items while in Dragoon form, but damn the battle animations are truly incredible. For the people who don’t like the lengthy summon and attack animations from the Final Fantasy games on PS1, LoD answers this with a menu option to shorten the duration of these sorts of occurrences. I personally loved them so I kept this option off, and that’s another thing I wanted to mention again, the battle animations and additions in this game are fluid as fuck, satisfying, and generally impressive.
As much as I could go further in depth into my review for LoD, I think I’ll save further thoughts for a replay review when the time comes. It hasn’t even been two weeks since I finished the game and my mind is constantly wandering off to the spectacular time I had playing through it. My expectations were met, if not exceeded by pretty much every single aspect LoD had to offer. While I don’t think this title would click with most people the way it did with me, I am truly glad that I had such a sensational time with it. More than ever, The Legend of Dragoon deserves as much recognition as it can get, and I implore any reader of this who has a sliver of interest to do themselves a favor and play this underrated gem.
“Farewell…. People who confront the fate of Soa….”
Easily the best graphics and my favorite gameplay of any video game I’ve ever played. I love the original TLOU but damn this one always manages to blow me away with every playthrough.
Seattle Day 3 as Abby is top notch, the Seraphite Island section never fails to leave me in absolute awe at both its horrific and inhumane presentation, but also the drastic difference in setting compared to everything else seen throughout both games. The Ellie portion of TLOU2 is fucking awesome, but damn the Abby days go absolutely insane.
Seattle Day 3 as Abby is top notch, the Seraphite Island section never fails to leave me in absolute awe at both its horrific and inhumane presentation, but also the drastic difference in setting compared to everything else seen throughout both games. The Ellie portion of TLOU2 is fucking awesome, but damn the Abby days go absolutely insane.
Aside from the gorgeous graphical reworking and much better AI for both enemies and allies, this game felt identical to the original/remaster of TLOU. While I don’t think a $70 price tag is justified for what this package delivers, I still had an amazing time revisiting this beautiful story in all of its pristine new presentation. TLOU Part 1 is easily the best way to experience the adventure of Joel and Ellie, however I would recommend people either wait for a sale or simply just play the $20 remaster instead (which holds up incredibly to this day).
The reviews and ratings of Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door really speak volumes as to how beloved and cherished this game is among it’s fans, so going into it my expectations were already set pretty high. Upon completion I can gladly say that TTYD achieved an absolutely unforgettable gaming experience and is easily my favorite Mario RPG game.
Everything about it is executed so damn well; from the chapter based pacing like the original on the N64, to the brilliantly, always hilarious dialogue. Even the iconic partner based combat was fine tuned to somehow be even more addictive, not to mention the larger focus on proper button timing which adds an extra layer of interactivity.
The plot is engaging and introduces so many unique locations, each presenting a new view on the world of Mario and the inhabitants within. From the otherworldly loneliness of Chapter 2’s Boggly Woods, to the 3 day train trek murder mystery case of Chapter 6’s Excess Express, every scenario present in TTYD stands on its own as a memorable experience. My favorite part of the game would have to be the entire pirate adventure that takes place during the game’s fifth chapter at Keelhaul Key. The way that it’s presented through Flavio’s diary plus the whole ‘quest for pirates booty’ theme really goes hand in hand with the overarching plot of treasure hunting that defines TTYD.
While I can’t give the game a perfect score due to the uninspired and often tedious side content, TTYD is a nearly flawless masterpiece of a video game. I’m so glad to finally have this gem under my belt and can’t wait to revisit Rogueport again someday.
Everything about it is executed so damn well; from the chapter based pacing like the original on the N64, to the brilliantly, always hilarious dialogue. Even the iconic partner based combat was fine tuned to somehow be even more addictive, not to mention the larger focus on proper button timing which adds an extra layer of interactivity.
The plot is engaging and introduces so many unique locations, each presenting a new view on the world of Mario and the inhabitants within. From the otherworldly loneliness of Chapter 2’s Boggly Woods, to the 3 day train trek murder mystery case of Chapter 6’s Excess Express, every scenario present in TTYD stands on its own as a memorable experience. My favorite part of the game would have to be the entire pirate adventure that takes place during the game’s fifth chapter at Keelhaul Key. The way that it’s presented through Flavio’s diary plus the whole ‘quest for pirates booty’ theme really goes hand in hand with the overarching plot of treasure hunting that defines TTYD.
While I can’t give the game a perfect score due to the uninspired and often tedious side content, TTYD is a nearly flawless masterpiece of a video game. I’m so glad to finally have this gem under my belt and can’t wait to revisit Rogueport again someday.
2000
This game was a lot more fun than I thought it would be, especially since I really enjoyed SMRPG and thus I held Paper Mario to high expectations.
The partner system was a neat feature that differentiates the game from SMRPG in a great way, and it’s loads of fun swapping between the different party members you meet along the way to help solve puzzles in the world or utilize properly in battles. I was very glad to see the button timing mechanics brought back as well which generally makes battles far more enjoyable than standard pick your move and watch the character perform it.
The story was charming and the style of everything was cute but I was expecting a bit more “paper” to be prevalent in the game (Super Paper Mario does a good job at this with being able to flip the camera around). Aside from the stylistic choice of making all the character models flat, there aren’t really any creative liberties I noticed that took advantage of the paper aesthetic aside from some character/enemy animations. Either way the game still looked and played great, and it’s proof that simplicity in a game works.
While I still think SMRPG is the slightly better game, Paper Mario is a wonderful successor that pleased me once again with Mario’s dive into the RPG genre.
The partner system was a neat feature that differentiates the game from SMRPG in a great way, and it’s loads of fun swapping between the different party members you meet along the way to help solve puzzles in the world or utilize properly in battles. I was very glad to see the button timing mechanics brought back as well which generally makes battles far more enjoyable than standard pick your move and watch the character perform it.
The story was charming and the style of everything was cute but I was expecting a bit more “paper” to be prevalent in the game (Super Paper Mario does a good job at this with being able to flip the camera around). Aside from the stylistic choice of making all the character models flat, there aren’t really any creative liberties I noticed that took advantage of the paper aesthetic aside from some character/enemy animations. Either way the game still looked and played great, and it’s proof that simplicity in a game works.
While I still think SMRPG is the slightly better game, Paper Mario is a wonderful successor that pleased me once again with Mario’s dive into the RPG genre.
2018
God of War has some of the greatest video game design I have ever seen, literally every single nook and cranny contained valuable loot and exploration felt adventurous and meaningful. The story itself with the father and son narrative was inspiring and so incredibly intriguing. Right from the beginning I was pulled into the world of this game and I was constantly looking forward to seeing how the plot would advance. The writing of all of the characters and their line deliveries were phenomenal, so many of the arguments felt powerful and the light hearted moments were soothing and enjoyable to watch. The combat was addictive and loads of fun to master, and the boss fights (especially that final one HOLY SHIT) were purely badass. As soon as one moment in this game left me speechless, another was soon to exceed it. GoW only got better as I played through it, and truly the only thing I felt this game could’ve done better was wrapping up it’s ending properly, but besides that it is a cinematic masterpiece of story telling in a video game I would argue.
THE TIME HAS COME TO AN END!!
YEAH, THIS IS WHAT NATURE PLANNED!!!
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YEAH, THIS IS WHAT NATURE PLANNED!!!
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⣿⡋⠀⠀⠀⠎⢸⣿⡆⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⣴⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⠗⢘⣿⣟⠛⠿⣼
⣿⣿⠋⢀⡌⢰⣿⡿⢿⡀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠙⠿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⡇⠀⢸⣿⣿⣧⢀⣼
⣿⣿⣷⢻⠄⠘⠛⠋⠛⠃⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⢿⣧⠈⠉⠙⠛⠋⠀⠀⠀⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿
⣿⣿⣧⠀⠈⢸⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠟⠀⠀⠀⠀⢀⢃⠀⠀⢸⣿⣿⣿⣿
⣿⣿⡿⠀⠴⢗⣠⣤⣴⡶⠶⠖⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⣀⡸⠀⣿⣿⣿⣿
⣿⣿⣿⡀⢠⣾⣿⠏⠀⠠⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠛⠉⠀⣿⣿⣿⣿
⣿⣿⣿⣧⠈⢹⡇⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⣰⣿⣿⣿⣿
⣿⣿⣿⣿⡄⠈⠃⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⢀⣠⣴⣾⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿
⣿⣿⣿⣿⣧⡀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⢀⣠⣾⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿
⣿⣿⣿⣿⣷⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⢀⣴⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿
⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣦⣄⣀⣀⣀⣀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠘⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿
⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣷⡄⠀⠀⠀⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿
⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣧⠀⠀⠀⠙⣿⣿⡟⢻⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿
⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⠇⠀⠁⠀⠀⠹⣿⠃⠀⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿
⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⡿⠛⣿⣿⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⢐⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿
⣿⣿⣿⣿⠿⠛⠉⠉⠁⠀⢻⣿⡇⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⢀⠈⣿⣿⡿⠉⠛⠛⠛⠉⠉
⣿⡿⠋⠁⠀⠀⢀⣀⣠⡴⣸⣿⣇⡄⠀⠀⠀⠀⢀⡿⠄⠙⠛⠀⣀⣠⣤⣤⠄