Kanan
2024
The developers should've put more time in the world building and story because this game is insanely generic and not that engaging, especially with how the game's main conflict is happening because of possession spells
The game gets points for its visuals because duh Vanillaware and there's a good foundation on the team building and gambit system. Just kind of wish there was a bit more to the gameplay.
The game gets points for its visuals because duh Vanillaware and there's a good foundation on the team building and gambit system. Just kind of wish there was a bit more to the gameplay.
Shu Takumi just cannot miss with the creativity and story telling of his games. A really creative idea that is executed greatly with the ghost and trick mechanic, that is also incredibly implemented into the story. The characters are all fantastic as per usual with Shu Takumi's games.
My favorite character was obviously Missile :)
My favorite character was obviously Missile :)
Note: I have not played the original titles and I do plan on playing them in the future.
I don't think this game will land for everyone, especially on the gameplay department. But what really got me to absolutely love this game was the art style, atmosphere, story, and especially its characters. This is such a tightly knit story about memories and being able to connect with others, with a lot of sincerity behind it. The game also just has such a cozy feel to it, where a lot of I would just walk around and take in the music as I was playing because of how much I was taken in by the music.
I loved this game a lot and I especially got teary eyed by the end. Maybe this review will change once I play the originals, but at this time I will remember this game fondly.
I don't think this game will land for everyone, especially on the gameplay department. But what really got me to absolutely love this game was the art style, atmosphere, story, and especially its characters. This is such a tightly knit story about memories and being able to connect with others, with a lot of sincerity behind it. The game also just has such a cozy feel to it, where a lot of I would just walk around and take in the music as I was playing because of how much I was taken in by the music.
I loved this game a lot and I especially got teary eyed by the end. Maybe this review will change once I play the originals, but at this time I will remember this game fondly.
2002
A platformer with rollerskates never felt any better than this. Sega somehow made the presentation even better with how much more stylized, grungy, funky, and dystopian the city of Tokyo-to looks. The way the levels are structured makes for some really fun and challenging platforming, while also telling a story of the city that you're in through its presentation. Like seriously, levels like the roofs of upper class sky scrapers, an area that's just purely one big roller coaster, the lower class cities that are built very strangely, the big sewers with a cult room says a lot about the world building of this game. Everything just makes sense for a messed up city taken over by a totalitarian business. Just like the game's message, this game in general is just pure funky art that doesn't get old from start to finish.
Also the music is obviously incredible, but I didn't want to put too much space on that since most people only talk about the music but haven't played the game itself.
Also the music is obviously incredible, but I didn't want to put too much space on that since most people only talk about the music but haven't played the game itself.
As the first of this duology epic, Path of Radiance really gets the job done in terms of establishing its setting, characters, and conflicts that will be played it in both this and Radiant Dawn.
The world of Telius is so dense and tightly written that it's hard for me to put it all into words to how grand the world feels. A lot of care was put into the relationships between the different continents, species, and the relationships between the people that inhabit the world of Telius. You can feel how much history that the setting of Telius has through the dialogue in the game that you can see through the story, info cutscenes, supports, and many other times when you're not doing battles. It feels so carefully crafted in a way where you can really tell why there's a lot of conflict occurring in this continent which really helps give the story a lot more weight to it.
Supports in this game do such a fantastic job at giving so much depth to the Greil Mercenaries and crew, as well as giving such fantastic character arcs and revelations with a few examples coming from Jill and Soren. Like the worldbuilding in this game, the character supports are so tightly written in a way that make these characters seriously stand out from the rest of the FE casts that have come before and after. Also helps that these characters are also very attached to Telius so they bring even more weight to the world that they inhabit. Just seriously some amazing stuff for the world of these games.
My review for these games continue with my review for Radiant Dawn, as that game really continues a lot of what I said here but way more.
https://backloggd.com/u/Kanan/review/1375387/
The world of Telius is so dense and tightly written that it's hard for me to put it all into words to how grand the world feels. A lot of care was put into the relationships between the different continents, species, and the relationships between the people that inhabit the world of Telius. You can feel how much history that the setting of Telius has through the dialogue in the game that you can see through the story, info cutscenes, supports, and many other times when you're not doing battles. It feels so carefully crafted in a way where you can really tell why there's a lot of conflict occurring in this continent which really helps give the story a lot more weight to it.
Supports in this game do such a fantastic job at giving so much depth to the Greil Mercenaries and crew, as well as giving such fantastic character arcs and revelations with a few examples coming from Jill and Soren. Like the worldbuilding in this game, the character supports are so tightly written in a way that make these characters seriously stand out from the rest of the FE casts that have come before and after. Also helps that these characters are also very attached to Telius so they bring even more weight to the world that they inhabit. Just seriously some amazing stuff for the world of these games.
My review for these games continue with my review for Radiant Dawn, as that game really continues a lot of what I said here but way more.
https://backloggd.com/u/Kanan/review/1375387/
2006
The best and most unique action game that I've ever played. It's like playing a cartoon for adults.
2023
I went out of this game feeling kinda unsatisfied by the end, not getting why I felt this way. But after a week, I can confidently say that this game could've been a lot more. The platforming of this game is embarrassingly easy and way too grind heavy. There's not much variety to said platforming and challenges in the game, with a lot of the character duels just being just getting a higher score or do a pretty easy platforming challenge. The game itself has a really solid foundation with how tight and fluid the player is with all the options in the world for mobility.
Combat is just straight up tedious and not great, and the game puts you in a lot more combat scenarios more than it should. There's no impact to landing hits and the game overwhelms you with cops after just completing tags in the overworld, which makes maneuvering around so annoying to do when you're trying to find the last tags. Bathroom stalls are also not that prevalent so it makes it annoying to get rid of cops. The only parts of combat that I liked was fighting against the turrets, helicopters, and the bosses since they actually incorporate the game's movement and tagging.
The presentation itself is pretty good but honestly nowhere near as bold and expressive as Jet Set Radio Future. The level design too doesn't really give me much in terms of challenge or even world building like Jet Set Radio Future. This game is just Jet Set Radio Future on the surface level, which is the game's biggest detriment but it also at least makes the game stand on its own with what it wants to do. Maybe a sequel or DLC expansion can fix a lot of the problems that I have with this game, there's a lot of good for this game.
Combat is just straight up tedious and not great, and the game puts you in a lot more combat scenarios more than it should. There's no impact to landing hits and the game overwhelms you with cops after just completing tags in the overworld, which makes maneuvering around so annoying to do when you're trying to find the last tags. Bathroom stalls are also not that prevalent so it makes it annoying to get rid of cops. The only parts of combat that I liked was fighting against the turrets, helicopters, and the bosses since they actually incorporate the game's movement and tagging.
The presentation itself is pretty good but honestly nowhere near as bold and expressive as Jet Set Radio Future. The level design too doesn't really give me much in terms of challenge or even world building like Jet Set Radio Future. This game is just Jet Set Radio Future on the surface level, which is the game's biggest detriment but it also at least makes the game stand on its own with what it wants to do. Maybe a sequel or DLC expansion can fix a lot of the problems that I have with this game, there's a lot of good for this game.
Admittedly I played this game because I knew it had some Alan Wake stuff, didn't go in with such high expectations. I came out now with this game reaching in my top 3 favorite games of all time.
One of my big praises for this game is the incredible and distinct art direction that this game, which is even shown through the game's cover art. I haven't seen a lot of triple A western games that have such vibrant and amazing art direction as much as Control's. Even on lower settings I was able to really take in the game's atmosphere with the eerie and dreamy environments that the game presents. Using a familiar setting like a 21st century office and being able to create such imaginative environments that really push graphical quality that I expect from the next generation of games. One of the best segments that I've experienced in any video game utilizes this direction beautifully while being accompanied by an awesome song. I can't praise the art direction of this game enough.
The third person shooter gameplay is a big standout to me and a big reason why I absolutely loved playing this game. It's pretty simple in what it offers, but how the game executes it with its enemies and difficulty makes it such an addicting loop. The ammo being now attached to the meter makes combat feel extremely fast with a very good flow to it, not having to worry about running out of ammo like every other game that uses a gun. I mainly used the shotgun like variant of my gun, but there's a lot of other options for other playstyles like sniping or having your own explosives. Psychokinesis also allows fun ways to fight enemies while you're waiting for your ammo meter to raise back up, which doesn't take too long anyways. There's just a lot of ways to express yourself with what your given without the game feeling dull in the combat department. The other abilities that the game gives you like the levitate and dash just add on to the wide amount of expression that the player has access too, as well as having fun platforming that I wasn't expecting to see in this game.
The game's writing was something that I had to warm up to. The main story is nothing to special really. It feels more like a prologue and establishment of the main setting, as well as just setting things up for a sequel with a much more rich story. Although the game's establishment and world building is where this game truly shines. Throughout the game you acquire many reports, videos, and recordings that give a lot of insight and information about the FBC which the game takes place in. By the end of the game, I was just so engrossed with the world that the game presented because of how detailed and concise the world building is for this game. It's so good that while doing the AWE expansion I literally went "Yeah, the events of Alan Wake 1 was definitely an Altered World Event." Remedy continues their streak on how incredible they are at implementing the collectibles in their games for really good world building.
All in all, I legitimately love this game to bits and it makes me so excited for what Remedy has next in store in the future. Alan Wake 1 was definitely a fun time, Quantum Break was a neat experiment, but Control was easily the game that really made me hooked into whatever Remedy does next. I can't recommend this game enough, it's a 10/10 in my eyes.
One of my big praises for this game is the incredible and distinct art direction that this game, which is even shown through the game's cover art. I haven't seen a lot of triple A western games that have such vibrant and amazing art direction as much as Control's. Even on lower settings I was able to really take in the game's atmosphere with the eerie and dreamy environments that the game presents. Using a familiar setting like a 21st century office and being able to create such imaginative environments that really push graphical quality that I expect from the next generation of games. One of the best segments that I've experienced in any video game utilizes this direction beautifully while being accompanied by an awesome song. I can't praise the art direction of this game enough.
The third person shooter gameplay is a big standout to me and a big reason why I absolutely loved playing this game. It's pretty simple in what it offers, but how the game executes it with its enemies and difficulty makes it such an addicting loop. The ammo being now attached to the meter makes combat feel extremely fast with a very good flow to it, not having to worry about running out of ammo like every other game that uses a gun. I mainly used the shotgun like variant of my gun, but there's a lot of other options for other playstyles like sniping or having your own explosives. Psychokinesis also allows fun ways to fight enemies while you're waiting for your ammo meter to raise back up, which doesn't take too long anyways. There's just a lot of ways to express yourself with what your given without the game feeling dull in the combat department. The other abilities that the game gives you like the levitate and dash just add on to the wide amount of expression that the player has access too, as well as having fun platforming that I wasn't expecting to see in this game.
The game's writing was something that I had to warm up to. The main story is nothing to special really. It feels more like a prologue and establishment of the main setting, as well as just setting things up for a sequel with a much more rich story. Although the game's establishment and world building is where this game truly shines. Throughout the game you acquire many reports, videos, and recordings that give a lot of insight and information about the FBC which the game takes place in. By the end of the game, I was just so engrossed with the world that the game presented because of how detailed and concise the world building is for this game. It's so good that while doing the AWE expansion I literally went "Yeah, the events of Alan Wake 1 was definitely an Altered World Event." Remedy continues their streak on how incredible they are at implementing the collectibles in their games for really good world building.
All in all, I legitimately love this game to bits and it makes me so excited for what Remedy has next in store in the future. Alan Wake 1 was definitely a fun time, Quantum Break was a neat experiment, but Control was easily the game that really made me hooked into whatever Remedy does next. I can't recommend this game enough, it's a 10/10 in my eyes.
2001
This game set a pretty strong foundation for its sequel on the gameplay department. Tight and fluid controls that feel extremely satisfying to play, although there were some moments where I felt kinda lost or felt frustrated trying to have precise shots with small targets. The graphics are honestly pretty impressive for an early PS2 title, and its clear that this game was inspired by Mobile Suit Gundam with its whole premise.
2001
After a replay on Hard Mode, I legit think this game is fantastic and deserving to be known as one of the best third person shooters out there. Super fun yet simple gun combat with a art style that works so effectively well with the hard boiled modern Noir story that it wants to tell. The dream sequences are also pretty insane for what they were able to pull off at the time.
As a follow up to Path of Radiance, this is honest to god the best way that Intelligent Systems could've done it.
I'll get my one gripe out of the way. This game not having traditional supports really hurts a lot of the new cast for me but I personally already have such a deep attachment to the Greil Mercenaries and Ike that it doesn't bother me too much. Still if this game had supports like other games this would've been a perfect game. But alas we don't live in such a world.
Now onto everything else, and hooboy do I love everything about this game the moment I started it.
The way the game goes around with its units and strategy aspects is honestly kind of genius. You barely get any money in the game, abilities are expensive, you switch around units a lot, bonus exp level ups now only increase 3 stats instead of how level ups normally go. All of your choices in how you want to build your party really matter, and this game doesn't push around in terms of difficulty even on easy. You have to really decide if you want to invest in certain units and how much money you're willing to spend on weapons and other items so that you can actually proceed with the game. Even when playing as the Greil mercenaries the game doesn't pull any punches despite you basically having all pre promoted units from the start. It feels like a natural next part to what players experienced from Path of Radiance as it ups the difficulty from that game. You feel so powerless when you're playing as the Dawn Brigade because of what happened to Daein in the last game, which really goes on to my next point.
The story is so tightly written in a way that feels like a natural next part to Path of Radiance. All the events that happen in this game makes a lot of sense in creating such a complicated world that Telius presents. No country is truly in the right even if the choices that the new rulers like Elincia make are going to make a perfect world that they envision. It plays onto the themes and messages of humans being imperfect so well that I seriously got to applaud the writers for really committing to said themes. I don't want to go more into the story since I feel many need to experience how this game plays out, especially the buildup to the game's incredible endgame where all the loose ends that this duology set up have such a satisfying end to it.
One other aspect I want to talk about before I end is the music, and man do I think the music is a massive step up from Path of Radiance. Don't get me wrong, the music in Path of Radiance is really fucking good despite it being Midi, but Intelligent Systems really went all out by having the game being fully orchestrated for its soundtrack. It really helps give such a grand scope of the conflict that the world of Telius has fallen to, especially after what Ike's crew did to Daein in Path of Radiance. There's a bigger sense in the war because of the booming orchestral soundtrack. The battle themes themselves don't start from the beginning once you engage another fight, it continues off from where the last battle ended off so that you can truly embrace how amazing this score is.
I cannot give anymore praises to how much this game truly delivered in what Path of Radiance set up. I don't think one game is better than the other, since I truly believe these games tell a grand epic that cannot truly exist without the other. The Telius games aren't perfect, but just like humans no one is perfect. I can embrace the strengths that these games have and they delivered everything that I was hoping for. It's hard for me to not give these games a perfect score for me.
I'll get my one gripe out of the way. This game not having traditional supports really hurts a lot of the new cast for me but I personally already have such a deep attachment to the Greil Mercenaries and Ike that it doesn't bother me too much. Still if this game had supports like other games this would've been a perfect game. But alas we don't live in such a world.
Now onto everything else, and hooboy do I love everything about this game the moment I started it.
The way the game goes around with its units and strategy aspects is honestly kind of genius. You barely get any money in the game, abilities are expensive, you switch around units a lot, bonus exp level ups now only increase 3 stats instead of how level ups normally go. All of your choices in how you want to build your party really matter, and this game doesn't push around in terms of difficulty even on easy. You have to really decide if you want to invest in certain units and how much money you're willing to spend on weapons and other items so that you can actually proceed with the game. Even when playing as the Greil mercenaries the game doesn't pull any punches despite you basically having all pre promoted units from the start. It feels like a natural next part to what players experienced from Path of Radiance as it ups the difficulty from that game. You feel so powerless when you're playing as the Dawn Brigade because of what happened to Daein in the last game, which really goes on to my next point.
The story is so tightly written in a way that feels like a natural next part to Path of Radiance. All the events that happen in this game makes a lot of sense in creating such a complicated world that Telius presents. No country is truly in the right even if the choices that the new rulers like Elincia make are going to make a perfect world that they envision. It plays onto the themes and messages of humans being imperfect so well that I seriously got to applaud the writers for really committing to said themes. I don't want to go more into the story since I feel many need to experience how this game plays out, especially the buildup to the game's incredible endgame where all the loose ends that this duology set up have such a satisfying end to it.
One other aspect I want to talk about before I end is the music, and man do I think the music is a massive step up from Path of Radiance. Don't get me wrong, the music in Path of Radiance is really fucking good despite it being Midi, but Intelligent Systems really went all out by having the game being fully orchestrated for its soundtrack. It really helps give such a grand scope of the conflict that the world of Telius has fallen to, especially after what Ike's crew did to Daein in Path of Radiance. There's a bigger sense in the war because of the booming orchestral soundtrack. The battle themes themselves don't start from the beginning once you engage another fight, it continues off from where the last battle ended off so that you can truly embrace how amazing this score is.
I cannot give anymore praises to how much this game truly delivered in what Path of Radiance set up. I don't think one game is better than the other, since I truly believe these games tell a grand epic that cannot truly exist without the other. The Telius games aren't perfect, but just like humans no one is perfect. I can embrace the strengths that these games have and they delivered everything that I was hoping for. It's hard for me to not give these games a perfect score for me.
2007
On an aesthetic and tonal standpoint, this game completely oozes of style and does a very unique take on Noir style with its pencil drawn art style. The music also compliments the tone and aesthetic of the game perfectly, really giving off that 60s era America vibe. Everything about the presentation of this game is super experimental, even the way you hold the DS to play is fitting for a detective game. Cing really nailed it here.
I also really liked how every plotline in this is connected and have a very strong theme of betrayal and dreams. Makes the story feel surprisingly cohesive despite the game basically having a "victim of the week" formula with its chapters.
I kinda wish there was a thing that told you where to go half of the time. I was kind of stumbling on where to go a lot of time and committed to a lot of trial and error unless the game outright told me where to go. Puzzles can also be very brutal at times, but the puzzles that really utilized the DS's capabilities were genuinely really cool.
So yeah really cool and experimental DS game that has me super curious in checking out Last Window next.
I also really liked how every plotline in this is connected and have a very strong theme of betrayal and dreams. Makes the story feel surprisingly cohesive despite the game basically having a "victim of the week" formula with its chapters.
I kinda wish there was a thing that told you where to go half of the time. I was kind of stumbling on where to go a lot of time and committed to a lot of trial and error unless the game outright told me where to go. Puzzles can also be very brutal at times, but the puzzles that really utilized the DS's capabilities were genuinely really cool.
So yeah really cool and experimental DS game that has me super curious in checking out Last Window next.
2013
(This is prior to playing the DLC)
I love how this game is practically just a showcase of incredible art, that just so happen to also be an action game. There are many points in the game where you have to run far distances while having to fight enemy encounters, but I honestly took this opportunity to look at the backgrounds and take in the incredible soundtrack that's just rocking traditional Japanese music but with a modern take. The story really works with the type of aesthetic that the game is going for, be that of a journey to achieve enlightenment with a new sword. It's nothing too groundbreaking, but it works in the context of the game's aesthetic and premise.
The was a big surprise to me for a game that's primarily a one button action fighter. Really helps that there are different blades that play differently with their secondary effect to make things refreshing. A lot of quick thinking is involved with this game where a lot of times you're constantly using the air slash or floaty jump to get around some hectic battles.
This game is goddamn awesome and absolutely worth it just with the game's art style on it's own.
I love how this game is practically just a showcase of incredible art, that just so happen to also be an action game. There are many points in the game where you have to run far distances while having to fight enemy encounters, but I honestly took this opportunity to look at the backgrounds and take in the incredible soundtrack that's just rocking traditional Japanese music but with a modern take. The story really works with the type of aesthetic that the game is going for, be that of a journey to achieve enlightenment with a new sword. It's nothing too groundbreaking, but it works in the context of the game's aesthetic and premise.
The was a big surprise to me for a game that's primarily a one button action fighter. Really helps that there are different blades that play differently with their secondary effect to make things refreshing. A lot of quick thinking is involved with this game where a lot of times you're constantly using the air slash or floaty jump to get around some hectic battles.
This game is goddamn awesome and absolutely worth it just with the game's art style on it's own.
Idk if the whole game is better than ok, but that ending was definitely pretty powerful.
Very cool additions to the lore of Alan Wake as well as slight changes to the combat makes this a pretty great expansion. Kinda wish we didn't play every level 3 times though, two would've been enough