A more refined Xenoblade 2 experience that I wish was of similar scope to the mainline games that ultimately ends up tripping itself by asking the bold question “what if we made 6+ hours worth of optional content mandatory at the eleventh hour?”.

I fully get from a ludonarrative standpoint asto why they made side quests a crucial element of the writing, but given the urgency of the story at that point, that’s not something that should suddenly be of importance to get to the end and I wish that element was incorporated into the game in a way that doesn’t outright kill its momentum in order to inflate playtime. Still a more consistent experience compared to the base game and a good time with some great OSTs, but it did leave me wanting more out of what we got with its characters and writing.

What I thought would be a bizarro battle royale that's slightly cringe ended up being (kinda) that but more cringe, with Ace Attorney-inspired elements and contents that absolutely make this a product of its time...

...but I also like it? It's weirdly endearing in a way seeing a decent amount of likable and/or fascinating characters trying to sort and debate their way out of insane circumstances and the mysteries into their situation with some great ass OSTs, fun court mechanics, and overall just a unique vibe and aesthetic that can be apart of an embodiment of the late-2000's - early-2010's.

but damn this bear is fucked up bruh.

It’s no secret that I love Kingdom Hearts and especially Kingdom Hearts II as it was the very first video game franchise I’ve ever became a fan of, however, there is one secret I do have: I never played the Final Mix version until now.

Crazy, I know! Played the vanilla game so many times day in and day out growing up, remembering being so jealous knowing that Japan had an exclusive (at the time) version of the game where you get to challenge all of the Organization XIII and more, and even witness the numerous re-releases of Final Mix in the West, but for some reason, I only just now recently gotten around to experiencing the game, and man I really wish I started sooner.

The same overall package is still here. The grand stories, the memorable characters, the iconic music, the worlds, and the incredible fast-paced combat, but now there’s more and it’s completely fine tuned to perfection. The changes under the hood makes the combat feel even more snappy and satisfying, the new additional boss fights feel like a dance that can overwhelm either yourself or your opponent, the inclusion of Cavern of Remembrance adds even more depth to the gameplay with its movement and enemies, and overall the entire experience is just amped up to a 10. I know the whole “power of friendship” troupe can be so overdone in a lot of media, but I think KH2 does it best while it can be as cheesy as the first game, it fully embraces it without shame and wears it proudly on it sleeves, which works so well because Kingdom Hearts overall is essentially a shonen anime with Disney and Final Fantasy characters. Even with how absurd it can get for some people, there’s so much heart in the writing to where you can’t help but to at least find it extremely endearing.

I feel like I could REALLY go on about this, but I think I wanna save a much deeper depth into KH2 for a review in the future. I think right now it’s hard to fully capture the words and things I wanna say, because this game and series left such a strong impression on me and the impact it has had on me is something that very few games or even pieces of media have ever accomplished, it really altered how I view the medium and understanding of video games and what they could be. Growing up with KH2 has left me wowed and in awe of what an amazing game looks like, and with Final Mix, it gives me another example of what a masterpiece can look like.

It's somehow better and worse than Yakuza: Like a Dragon, with the better side being the more refined, consistent, and very satisfying gameplay and huge amount of (mostly) quality content within, and the worse side from RGG's crazy ambition of shoving two games worth of narrative ideas that ends up with Kiryu's strong portion of the game eclipsing Ichiban's weaker side of the story, which is a bit disappointing because when it was just one party with both of them and the two new characters (Chitose and Tomizawa) who are really cool, I was loving where the game was going initially. While I loved Kiryu's part of the game and felt slightly underwhelmed with Ichiban's second-half of the story, I still feel overall I had a great time with the game and its story and characters old and new, and hopefully they can finally retire Kiryu as a character when he basically has a three-part epilogue now.

With that being said though, I really hope to God they scale back to LaD7 with its tighter story and content, I genuinely do not think I could handle another Like a Dragon entry this long and bloated for the next 10 years despite my enjoyment and I would not blame anyone who feels like the content and narrative overload makes the game worse for them.

So this is gonna be a first impressions preview since I just started the game not too long ago, but as some might know, I think that Persona 3 FES is a good game with a lot of potential that's held back by the fact that it was ATLUS' first attempt at a 3D, modern Persona. There were things that I disliked about it, including how mediocre and weirdly handled some of the social links can be, how repetitive and eye-straining Tartarus gets towards the end, I'll even admit I found the song quality a bit all over the place at times and for lack of better terms, somewhat shitpost-y. There were a few other things I had issues with as well, but those were my core problems I had with the original game, so you could only imagine my excitement when I found out that the long-awaited remake was actually a real thing that was coming out, the thing that would finally resolve all my issues with Persona 3 and could claim the title to be the best of the modern games without the baggage it comes with. I spent months waiting and researching and anticipating this thing, and that day has finally arrived....

Yet it feels weird in a way? The visuals are absolutely there and they're stunning, the new voice acting is wonderful and a step up in some areas compared to the original game, the combat is snappier and fun....but I can't help but to feel that something is off. The ingredients are there, the recipe is coming together, but I cannot tell if something is missing or if the flavor isn't what I expected. It's like going from a car that feels like sometimes it might pop a tire any second now but it gets the job done and you grow really fond of it throughout the times you have it, to a brand new fancy sportscar with all the new bells and whistles, yet it feels more comforting to drive your old flawed junky vehicle. I know I'm basically just going on a tangent at this point, and my feelings could easily change as I keep playing the game, but I just can't help but to think of that silly little ol' JRPG from the PS2-era and the dubbing that had a budget of a penny and a dream.

I don't wanna say P3R is "generic" or "soulless" (though I think soulless as a criticism is severely abused and misused) because I don't think it is and it still feels endearing like FES, but is it as endearing as that game, even with the flaws it carries? I don't know. Maybe I've been so used to FES and how it presents itself, with the endless memes and clips and voice audios, and how much it stands out with its darker tone, that art style, that original soundtrack even if there are times where it feels like a panic attack is coming on (Although I think the genuine criticism I have of Reload so far is the remixes of the old soundtrack are also hit or miss for completely different reasons).

Maybe it’s the nostalgia goggles being on way too tight for its own good. I wish I knew the exact feelings right now, but I'm still figuring it out as I'm going along. Ultimately, I think anyone who's really into Persona 3 or has been extremely used to that game's existence may have a strange transition into this one, but for anyone who's new to the series or only exposure is Persona 4 and 5, this should feel right at home for you! Despite it all, I think it's great that Persona 3 has a chance with a new generation that isn't just a lazy AI-upscale version of Persona 3 Portable, and I hope those experiencing this story for the first time love it. Hopefully I find out how I feel about it soon as well.

Remember when Naughty Dog used to make games like Jak & Daxter and Uncharted while not being held hostage by a egotistical Zionist who believes he can do no wrong and a bigger company who so desperately wants the same 7 franchises they've relied on heavily since 2017 to be cinematic video game showcases so they can easily translate them into movies and TV shows because said-company's previously existing movie/TV IPs have either underperformed or is forced to have shared custody with the Mouse™?

On a completely unrelated note the Last of Us Part II is a very nothing remaster and they're now announcing the new cast for season 2 of the show.

If Yakuza: Like a Dragon is the soft reboot of the series, then Gaiden is the epilogue for everything before it.

I think a lot about RGG is reflected back here, with its most thoughtful and personal journey of Kiryu and a study of not only the character, but the franchise. It's kinda crazy how once was a series that started out as open-brawler influenced by the likes of River City and Shemue has turned into a giant that is now basically juggling multiple genres, storylines, and side-content that might as well be games in themselves. I think Gaiden really does continues to embody Yakuza and its becomes self-aware in a way, while still finding ways to refine itself and improve on what was built before. It's a beautiful thing in a way, not often do you see franchises keep finding ways to keep topping itself without becoming unrecognizable from its origins. I really hope we get more side-games like this one and maybe some deeper character studies on others in the franchise.

(and oh yeah the game itself is great of course)