Heartman
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the only good and correct opinions on this site
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really did not expect to like it this much.
im kind of a sucker for those pre-rendered graphics that you could find in stuff like ff7 through 9 and though the game isn't completely made of those when it uses them it forces to stop and just look at it. similarly the 3d cutscenes used to mark significant story moments are the most shiniest and prettiest thing ever put on a ps2 disk and they instantly grab your full attention.
didn't think i would like yuna as a character but she turned out to be surprisingly great. i really like the trope of characters having to deal with the weight of the expectations put upon them in general and thought the way she developped really well throughout the game. tidus i thought was a bit annoying but in the end was kind of endearing (though maybe in a somewhat ironic way).
the combat was fun. the way it forces you to use several party members makes it very dynamic (though i kinda feel like you kinda need auron at almost all times with how good he is). the sphere system was interesting. idk how people are feeling about it. i personnally enjoyed seeing your progression and feeling like almost every fight was important.
the biggest problems are a bunch of small stuff that really add up together like the encounter rate being pretty high in some areas and every single minigame (that you need to accomplish to finish the game because i know there is stuff i didnt do like chocobo racing) is absolutely terrible. the worst part is at the end of the game right before the final boss (thats locked behind a 5 minutes cutscene) where you have a chance of dying and having to redo the whole thing again. also, the beginning of the game felt very sluggish, with the story having trouble to pick up and being bombarded with tutorials. there are also some incredibly bad puzzles at several points in the game that bring nothing of value.
though honestly as much as it feels like a cop out i almost want to say that those flaws make the bright spots of the game shine so much more
im kind of a sucker for those pre-rendered graphics that you could find in stuff like ff7 through 9 and though the game isn't completely made of those when it uses them it forces to stop and just look at it. similarly the 3d cutscenes used to mark significant story moments are the most shiniest and prettiest thing ever put on a ps2 disk and they instantly grab your full attention.
didn't think i would like yuna as a character but she turned out to be surprisingly great. i really like the trope of characters having to deal with the weight of the expectations put upon them in general and thought the way she developped really well throughout the game. tidus i thought was a bit annoying but in the end was kind of endearing (though maybe in a somewhat ironic way).
the combat was fun. the way it forces you to use several party members makes it very dynamic (though i kinda feel like you kinda need auron at almost all times with how good he is). the sphere system was interesting. idk how people are feeling about it. i personnally enjoyed seeing your progression and feeling like almost every fight was important.
the biggest problems are a bunch of small stuff that really add up together like the encounter rate being pretty high in some areas and every single minigame (that you need to accomplish to finish the game because i know there is stuff i didnt do like chocobo racing) is absolutely terrible. the worst part is at the end of the game right before the final boss (thats locked behind a 5 minutes cutscene) where you have a chance of dying and having to redo the whole thing again. also, the beginning of the game felt very sluggish, with the story having trouble to pick up and being bombarded with tutorials. there are also some incredibly bad puzzles at several points in the game that bring nothing of value.
though honestly as much as it feels like a cop out i almost want to say that those flaws make the bright spots of the game shine so much more
This review contains spoilers
an absolute great gem that manages to shine on its own. the pinocchio aspect of the game, which is probably the most bizarre aspect about it, is genuinely well done and interesting. theres a great part where they cite asimov's laws of robotics and turn it on its head by reversing the importance of the first two laws (the first being that a robot cannot harm a human and the second being that a robot must obey its master), which you can see in the streets because there are puppet policement and soldiers (the plot twist regarding this i personally did not really like to be honest). my favorite line in the whole game is when someone (i dont remember who or what exactly they said) said something to the effect of "lying makes you human".
the exploration feels somewhat shallow. which is fine. they wanted to make a linear game and they did. the problem is that by doing that you feel like you're just walking through a corridor the whole game. so in effect the very well constructed and detailed world they built doesnt really feel like one. which is kind of unfortunate tho i dont know how you would remedy that.
The game is at its best during boss fight. combat encounters outside of it are fine, even good, you can feel that the mechanics were built around boss fights with how beautifully it all works. the parry system, like most well executed parry systems in games, feels like absolute crack. the only gripe i have with it is that the sound it makes isnt that much different from when you normally block something. this is despite having the thing flashing red when you do parry, which i am not looking at because im fighting a boss. with the parry system, and because the stagger you cause is also inflicted by attacking, so you have to keep being aggressive. Romeo and laxasia were stand outs for me personally because they utilised those mechanics the most.
what i think the most about this game, besides the whole pinocchio thing, is that there are some genuinely psychotic choices in this however. the first is gemini which ruins a lot of moments by himself. the game tries to do environmental story telling but because of what feels like lack of confidence coming from the devs he comes in and start narrating about what is happening. in itself its fine but the main thing is is that he sounds so out of place. By that i mean that no one in the game sounds remotely like him when he talks, he sounds like hes coming from a marvel movie but without saying any of the jokes (dont know if that comparaison is appropriate). the only other character who sounds weird is venigni but with him its more like a joke because unlike anyone in the game he sounds so violently italian.
the most insane part was towards the end, right after fighting laxasia. After the fight, you enter a building, and see sophia totally messed, dying, asking you to kill her. and that emotional moment gets totally ruined, ravaged, by gemini simply opening his mouth and commenting that it really is a terrible choice to make. the worst part somehow comes after where, 15 secounds after the end of that encounter (yes i timed it), you run up the stairs, as you're still thinking about and without any separation you get jumped by three enemies attacking you and it creates such a bizarre, brutal whiplash.
Despite that its still a great game and good jumping point to whatever that studio is planning to do.
the exploration feels somewhat shallow. which is fine. they wanted to make a linear game and they did. the problem is that by doing that you feel like you're just walking through a corridor the whole game. so in effect the very well constructed and detailed world they built doesnt really feel like one. which is kind of unfortunate tho i dont know how you would remedy that.
The game is at its best during boss fight. combat encounters outside of it are fine, even good, you can feel that the mechanics were built around boss fights with how beautifully it all works. the parry system, like most well executed parry systems in games, feels like absolute crack. the only gripe i have with it is that the sound it makes isnt that much different from when you normally block something. this is despite having the thing flashing red when you do parry, which i am not looking at because im fighting a boss. with the parry system, and because the stagger you cause is also inflicted by attacking, so you have to keep being aggressive. Romeo and laxasia were stand outs for me personally because they utilised those mechanics the most.
what i think the most about this game, besides the whole pinocchio thing, is that there are some genuinely psychotic choices in this however. the first is gemini which ruins a lot of moments by himself. the game tries to do environmental story telling but because of what feels like lack of confidence coming from the devs he comes in and start narrating about what is happening. in itself its fine but the main thing is is that he sounds so out of place. By that i mean that no one in the game sounds remotely like him when he talks, he sounds like hes coming from a marvel movie but without saying any of the jokes (dont know if that comparaison is appropriate). the only other character who sounds weird is venigni but with him its more like a joke because unlike anyone in the game he sounds so violently italian.
the most insane part was towards the end, right after fighting laxasia. After the fight, you enter a building, and see sophia totally messed, dying, asking you to kill her. and that emotional moment gets totally ruined, ravaged, by gemini simply opening his mouth and commenting that it really is a terrible choice to make. the worst part somehow comes after where, 15 secounds after the end of that encounter (yes i timed it), you run up the stairs, as you're still thinking about and without any separation you get jumped by three enemies attacking you and it creates such a bizarre, brutal whiplash.
Despite that its still a great game and good jumping point to whatever that studio is planning to do.
i lost patience with this one sorry. went through the midway part of the saejima story. its probably the yakuza that suffers the most of the multiple protagonist thing. even tho i only got to the second main character im just kind of burned out of constantly getting exposition dumped because they need to explain the story of each character on top of almost good but unfocused combat (once again because of the multiple main characters). there might be a chance where i go back to it eventually but im not sure about that.