It was definitely a step up from 64, and this is where the 3D mario nostalgia hit my veins with full force. It has a neat aesthetic with some great little details such as E. Gadd and the sky box featuring additional parts of delfino and overall it has a lot more personality that was refined from 64. It does have some odd choices, like even beginning the 3D mario per-game gimmick. FLUDD and the general controls are better than what's in 64 but it does have its share of difficulty in maneuvering. It also has some wildly shifting difficulty and while easier to figure out than 64, it can be overly vague on what one should do. In general it still feels great to control with some additional locomotion tricks beyond 64, but it can be a bit of a pain. Also it's dearly important to confirm bowser fucked at some point

I revisited this once I found an easier way to operate it on a US account. It is actually pretty ok. It's an idle gacha game, so that comes with a ton of baggage, and from koei-tecmo who has thoroughly monetized every inch of their games to death lately, but it is otherwise a good analogue to any other mobile gacha game. Another knock against it is that it isn't mobile. And really it's mainly if you want to have some sort of horny DOA xtreme type content on PC legitimately, rather than pirating and emulating older consoles. Despite its trashy parts, it's an easy thing to throw up on your second screen and idle while you're playing better games and it's decently rewarding for that, even with its microtransactions. Frankly, its less predatory than DOA6 in its own right.

wow, is this an amazing and slept-on game. I feel like I hardly have heard anything about it surrounding its release and especially since then, but it has been a fantastic example of how Platinum Games operates.

The core DNA carried from capcom and clover is here, with multiple iterations, recessive genes reappearing(such as MGR's blade system) and some entirely new systems.

On its face and until you get the hang of it, partway through the 2nd file, it seems daunting and convoluted, but it feels just as good as any of the more straightforward(and in fact is a little bit simpler) platinum action games. The chain mechanic feels a bit like the concept on display in Okami, only with more 3D space to grasp. and it's not quite like anything else I've seen in a game. it works fluidly and dynamically, and it's a bit suprising I haven't found any sort of frustration in it. There's almost no downfalls to its execution which is a feat.

Aesthetically, the game drips much like most of their other games. extremely flashy, colorful and probably the best cyberpunk game I've played this year(barring that other Cyberpunk game if it can make it in time before 2021) The character designs are alright, though their faces are a bit odd but that's really digging for a complaint. It's very odd that this and control came out in the same year and had fairly similar depictions of the Astral Plane, being a lot of simple colors(mostly red in control, extremely red in AC). I wonder if they're both drawing on some source material, copied or compared notes, or it's some bizarre coincidence. Either way, it's definitely cool. And I didn't love or hate the zelda-like puzzles in it(get a power up, progress in the "dungeon"), and made it a bit more interesting to have these unique powers tied to legions

It also has a lot of customizability, including the UI which is always a surprising and welcome plus. And several unlockables that are worth hunting for, even if they're fairly minor cosmetic apps(hologram cat face projected in front of your character's face is top tier).

The sidequests are pretty fun for the most part and range from slide puzzle traffic jam minigames to boss rushes. I also really enjoyed the investigation segments, which felt fairly close to the Arkham asylum games.

My biggest complaint which the story helps quell is the copaganda in it. I don't have a ton to say about the effects of copaganda, but I do feel that even without the path the story takes, it doesn't feel close enough to real police officers to feel too icky, save for the couple sidequests about busting graffiti artists.

The story itself is good, although not extremely unique. If you're decently well-versed in anime you'll pick up on its beats pretty quickly as having seen them before. That being said, it still is interesting and enough to make me want to continue it beyond the stellar gameplay.

also you can pokemon amie to rip crystals off your fighting pets. that rules. And unlock the lappy suit. that also rules.

A great game to play with some pals. It has some very interesting systems at play, and while it's marred a bit with some early access jankiness, it has a lot of really interesting moments. Some of it can be kind of frustrating, not knowing whether you've been struck by a bug or an intentional feature. But given the nature of what you're trying to do, it actually works to the game's favor most of the time. It's fun to fuck around and just get spooked or go in like a well-oiled ghost hunting machine team. I do wish there were some additional vr features like a seated mode and better inventory mgmt(the beltloop method is fine, but could be tighter).