KanbaruLover
1994
This is the one 2D Metroid game you should play if you only ever had to play one. I thought people were just overrating this game for years whenever they would lament that the newer 2D Metroid games never recreate the same kind of magic. The short of my experience with Super Metroid is that they were right, and I even played it on the uncomfortable handheld mode for Nintendo Switch on their SNES emulator. It was still a blast going through it for the first time. Anyone who says Metroid Dread recreates the same feeling you get running through Super Metroid is either a sicko or just really wants to believe that it is.
You and your band of criminal friends are on a mission to make sure a metal monster doesn't destroy the world. No, this is NOT Metal Gear Solid. It's better. There's really not much else to say. This is the perfect Sly Cooper game and probably the best 3D character platformer I've ever played. You might like it, too. So much so that maybe you'll want to play the third game, Sly 3: Honor Among Thieves. Sadly there was never a game that came out after Sly 3. Damn shame.
2018
Judgment feels like the game people describe when saying newer Yakuza games are nothing like the older Yakuza games. That's to say older Yakuza were more story/combat focused and new Yakuza are more side stories/minigame focused. I think I've always landed on liking when a Yakuza game can balance the story with it's side content, but Judgment feels like it could never strike that balance, and I feel like the game suffers for it.
So how's does this poor balance affect the game? I noticed it the worst when trying to engage with the games story. What often would happen is a moment in the story would happen where Yagami has to wait for new information to come to him or get from point A to point B. In between this time, an unavoidable side event with nothing pertaining to the story would happen, which must be done to make story progress. This can vary from something at least more charming like an Ace Attorney homage in the law office, or literal who characters just showing up to make you do something for them.
I normally wouldn't point this out in a Yakuza game for being such a big problem, but I got this impression this game wanted to be a more focused crime drama type of story, but it's still falling into all the same pitfalls we've been dealing with since Yakuza 4.
The elephant in the room here is I've been calling it a Yakuza game for this whole review so far, despite the game not having Yakuza or RGG in it's name whatsoever. The reason for that is simple; this is a Yakuza game. And I think that's my biggest problem with it. I was excited for this game initially because I thought RGG Studios was finally making something that wasn't just template Yakuza again. But they just couldn't help themselves, I suppose.
It just sucks because there's some really fun ideas in this one, like incorporating wall running into combat for another layer of street brawling the series is so well known for now. But I also can't overlook how often the game felt like it was wasting my time when I wanted to see the story unfold and it would stop me for another side story.
I'll keep spoilers out of this review, but I will also say I felt like once I finally got there, the story ends up being a bit more of a mess than I was hoping for. For a detective crime drama story that also focuses on attorneys, the Japanese court system, and the law, a lot of revelations are made with no smart basis or evidence and are just accepted by so many characters as facts. It made for a really unsatisfying ending in my opinion, even if those last couple fights looked really cool.
Overall I think this game had some good ideas but just fell into the trap of being just another new Yakuza game despite the new cast and some new systems.
So how's does this poor balance affect the game? I noticed it the worst when trying to engage with the games story. What often would happen is a moment in the story would happen where Yagami has to wait for new information to come to him or get from point A to point B. In between this time, an unavoidable side event with nothing pertaining to the story would happen, which must be done to make story progress. This can vary from something at least more charming like an Ace Attorney homage in the law office, or literal who characters just showing up to make you do something for them.
I normally wouldn't point this out in a Yakuza game for being such a big problem, but I got this impression this game wanted to be a more focused crime drama type of story, but it's still falling into all the same pitfalls we've been dealing with since Yakuza 4.
The elephant in the room here is I've been calling it a Yakuza game for this whole review so far, despite the game not having Yakuza or RGG in it's name whatsoever. The reason for that is simple; this is a Yakuza game. And I think that's my biggest problem with it. I was excited for this game initially because I thought RGG Studios was finally making something that wasn't just template Yakuza again. But they just couldn't help themselves, I suppose.
It just sucks because there's some really fun ideas in this one, like incorporating wall running into combat for another layer of street brawling the series is so well known for now. But I also can't overlook how often the game felt like it was wasting my time when I wanted to see the story unfold and it would stop me for another side story.
I'll keep spoilers out of this review, but I will also say I felt like once I finally got there, the story ends up being a bit more of a mess than I was hoping for. For a detective crime drama story that also focuses on attorneys, the Japanese court system, and the law, a lot of revelations are made with no smart basis or evidence and are just accepted by so many characters as facts. It made for a really unsatisfying ending in my opinion, even if those last couple fights looked really cool.
Overall I think this game had some good ideas but just fell into the trap of being just another new Yakuza game despite the new cast and some new systems.
What an exhaustibly unfunny game. Yes, the Turnip Boy does commit tax evasion, and that's the funniest bit the game has. Under the surface, it's a pretty mediocre 2D Zelda style fetch quest into dungeon loop for gameplay. I don't have much to say having not finished it, but the novelty just wore off within the first hour. Good for a quick gag and then never to really be thought about again.
2014
Ah shit, don't look at this review, fellow Bayonutters.
Yeah I like this game more than Bayonetta 1. It just feels like a better game to go back and play. The arguments I hear is that the combo system isn't as in depth (or busted) as Bayonetta 1, and I did feel that initially when going straight from one to the other. But I adjusted pretty quickly.
A lot of the weapons are really fun to play around with this time around, and exploring levels and finding secret missions feels more worth it since they aren't so difficult to complete like in Bayonetta 1.
No one plays these games for the story, but I like that it's just about Bayonetta wanting to save her bestie from Hell. It's simple but good motivation, and they made Balder kinda cool too.
I'd call this game a good game and a great sequel. I can only hope Bayonetta 3 is just as enjoyable.
Yeah I like this game more than Bayonetta 1. It just feels like a better game to go back and play. The arguments I hear is that the combo system isn't as in depth (or busted) as Bayonetta 1, and I did feel that initially when going straight from one to the other. But I adjusted pretty quickly.
A lot of the weapons are really fun to play around with this time around, and exploring levels and finding secret missions feels more worth it since they aren't so difficult to complete like in Bayonetta 1.
No one plays these games for the story, but I like that it's just about Bayonetta wanting to save her bestie from Hell. It's simple but good motivation, and they made Balder kinda cool too.
I'd call this game a good game and a great sequel. I can only hope Bayonetta 3 is just as enjoyable.
2020
This feels like a waste of potential. For context, I lean much more towards remakes being something that stands on it's own from the original. This is the exact same experience from Demon's Souls on PS3 with a worse coat of paint and faster load times.
I don't want to discredit Bluepoint like they did a terrible job though, there was clearly a lot of effort put into the visuals and making it run smoothly on PS5. But I honestly feel like that's kinda it. Like they were tasked to just make a pretty looking remake with not much else going into it. If that was the goal, they succeeded. But I don't think it's worth replacing the original over.
The new music also sucks.
Edit: Went back and beat it. Yeah I still feel about the same. The OG filter cuts out a bit of my complaints about the worse coat of paint and some of the GRAPHICS are actually pretty impressive. But it's still original Demon's Souls underneath all that with some QOL mixed in. Not the worst but still kind of a waste of potential that a remake for DeS could've been.
Music still sucks, too.
I don't want to discredit Bluepoint like they did a terrible job though, there was clearly a lot of effort put into the visuals and making it run smoothly on PS5. But I honestly feel like that's kinda it. Like they were tasked to just make a pretty looking remake with not much else going into it. If that was the goal, they succeeded. But I don't think it's worth replacing the original over.
The new music also sucks.
Edit: Went back and beat it. Yeah I still feel about the same. The OG filter cuts out a bit of my complaints about the worse coat of paint and some of the GRAPHICS are actually pretty impressive. But it's still original Demon's Souls underneath all that with some QOL mixed in. Not the worst but still kind of a waste of potential that a remake for DeS could've been.
Music still sucks, too.
2002
And so my journey to become the Armored Core Freddie begins! I decided to start with this one on a recommendation and I'd say it was a fairly good idea.
I'd want to believe you get just about everything you can hope from in the series from Armored Core 3. Several different mech builds to design to your liking, lots of arena fights, and missions that test your ability to control your mech in different combat environments. I'll admit, I fought with the controls for most of the game and even got very frustrated near the end with a few missions in particular. But I'm still coming away from this game more positive than negative.
Not many games I've played give me this many options to customize a mech to have spider legs and a chain gun on my shoulder. And I think those aspects will always outshine a less than favorable control scheme. I'm willing to admit with time that I could definitely get used to how this game feels to pilot your mech. But I also hope they make it a bit easier going forward.
Would recommend!
I'd want to believe you get just about everything you can hope from in the series from Armored Core 3. Several different mech builds to design to your liking, lots of arena fights, and missions that test your ability to control your mech in different combat environments. I'll admit, I fought with the controls for most of the game and even got very frustrated near the end with a few missions in particular. But I'm still coming away from this game more positive than negative.
Not many games I've played give me this many options to customize a mech to have spider legs and a chain gun on my shoulder. And I think those aspects will always outshine a less than favorable control scheme. I'm willing to admit with time that I could definitely get used to how this game feels to pilot your mech. But I also hope they make it a bit easier going forward.
Would recommend!
2021
And so my journey through No More Heroes comes to a conclusion. Not with a bang, but with a resounding "yeah alright". This game was probably the one I had the highest expectations going into. After seeing how disappointing No More Heroes 2 was as a sequel to No More Heroes 1, I thought maybe all the time since would give them an opportunity to bring in something fresh. Instead, this game felt like a half finished mess that every now and then did feel like a No More Heroes game.
Gameplay felt serviceable here but also repetitive in a way that I thought I would be used to by now with this series. The side jobs still aren't very fun or engaging, and the combat arenas I ignored almost entirely when I realized the entire game was going to just be the same looking combat arenas with remixed enemies.
The enemy variety does exist this time around but I didn't feel like it did anything too crazy other than throwing in a mish mash of different enemy types to keep it "fresh". Honestly I think the combat is just serviceable if I'm being charitable with that descriptor. I got excited when I saw the chip skills coming back from Travis Strikes Again, but all they do is drop all four of them on you and they never change or upgrade for the rest of the game.
The story was very nothing which feels worse than the other games by advent of trying to have a story at all. It works in No More Heroes 1 because all you need to know is Travis wants to be #1 so he can fuck Sylvia and that's all you ever really need. FU and Damon are terrible villains, and I can only take so many rug pulls of "oh you aren't actually fighting THIS boss" before I get tired. Part of me was hoping from the intro that Bad Man, Bad Girl, and Shinobu would play a bigger role this time around but that was never the case. They also ruined the cat by making him this obnoxious navigator that has to shout stupid things like "SUPER KILL" and "MONSTER KILL" every couple combos.
I'm coming away from No More Heroes 3 being more disappointed than I can really put into so many words. I'd had my eye on this series for a long time and felt that it was worth a deep dive, but now I'm not so sure I should've played any of these past No More Heroes 1. That first game feels like such an entity by comparison. Not quite lightning in a bottle, but a game that represents Suda51's style and doing everything it needed to do to be a memorable game for the ages.
Gameplay felt serviceable here but also repetitive in a way that I thought I would be used to by now with this series. The side jobs still aren't very fun or engaging, and the combat arenas I ignored almost entirely when I realized the entire game was going to just be the same looking combat arenas with remixed enemies.
The enemy variety does exist this time around but I didn't feel like it did anything too crazy other than throwing in a mish mash of different enemy types to keep it "fresh". Honestly I think the combat is just serviceable if I'm being charitable with that descriptor. I got excited when I saw the chip skills coming back from Travis Strikes Again, but all they do is drop all four of them on you and they never change or upgrade for the rest of the game.
The story was very nothing which feels worse than the other games by advent of trying to have a story at all. It works in No More Heroes 1 because all you need to know is Travis wants to be #1 so he can fuck Sylvia and that's all you ever really need. FU and Damon are terrible villains, and I can only take so many rug pulls of "oh you aren't actually fighting THIS boss" before I get tired. Part of me was hoping from the intro that Bad Man, Bad Girl, and Shinobu would play a bigger role this time around but that was never the case. They also ruined the cat by making him this obnoxious navigator that has to shout stupid things like "SUPER KILL" and "MONSTER KILL" every couple combos.
I'm coming away from No More Heroes 3 being more disappointed than I can really put into so many words. I'd had my eye on this series for a long time and felt that it was worth a deep dive, but now I'm not so sure I should've played any of these past No More Heroes 1. That first game feels like such an entity by comparison. Not quite lightning in a bottle, but a game that represents Suda51's style and doing everything it needed to do to be a memorable game for the ages.
2021
The half star this game gets over Judgment is for it feeling like an improved version of that game. But then that begs the question, is this an improved version... of itself? This might end up being one of my longer reviews, so skip to the end if you want my short summary of how I felt overall. But I'll be going over a couple different areas here. Starting with...
The Combat:
It feels great! Maybe the best the combat has felt for an individual character since Yakuza 0 introduced multiple styles. Snake style is a great addition, and one I feel like they included with the mercy EX moves for all the children you'd be brutalizing using any other style. Not that that's stopping you from smashing kids faces into the pavement. Crane and Tiger style also feel like they got a good revamp while keeping their individual strengths.
Gone are mortal wounds in exchange for tougher enemies having big charge moves that just hurt a lot. But the addition of the mortal counter system feels great, giving you more reason to stay and dodge rather than just run from the high damage moves.
The last couple encounters and final bosses all felt fantastic. They did a good job in the story to give them a nice level of emotional impact for their fights as well. Never has fighting a huge group of enemies felt quite so satisfying either with how long you can string your combos and how quickly you can change styles without breaking your flow.
The combat does a lot of heavy lifting for this game, so let's now move on to...
The Not Combat:
Modern Yakuza games have been polarizing with their split focus between great combat/narrative and side activities for the Japan simulator they've become. I regret to report that Lost Judgment does not solve this problem in any big way.
I will be fair and say Lost Judgment, unlike Judgment, did not have any half hour long diverging side quests because someone in the main story said to wait for a phone call.
However the game does try to get you invested in the detective agency by peppering in new devices to help solve mostly side quest related mysteries sprinkled throughout your playtime. I don't have nearly enough time to do even most of these side quests, and was shocked when I saw I hadn't even completed 10% of them before seeing my end of game report card. I don't have an exact number, but it was somewhere upwards of 700.
Most of the mandatory slow tailing and chase sequences are gone this time around, but the new sneaking section they've included was never something I looked forward to. That and what I can only assume is trend chasing a bit too late with Uncharted style ledge climbing and parkour with observation minigames to look for the cum stains on pipes and ledges you can climb on. I'm never sure why these sections are included in games like these. The combat speaks for itself as the highlight of the series. One section near the end had a ledge climbing sequence that, if failed, you fight a room full of guys. But is it really a failure if my punishment is playing the part of the game I enjoy the most?
Lost Judgment is just so full of stuff, but never much stuff that makes me want to drag myself away from the main narrative that I end up getting very invested in. The side quests and club activities at the school were definitely some of my favorites, but by the time the story was really ramping up and more quests were unlocking, I didn't want to derail myself too hard.
The not combat stuff in Lost Judgment isn't bad so much as it never feels like much else besides bloat to what's become some kind of sicko forever game of doing side quests, crafting items and gear, and checking off everything on what never stops feeling like just a big To Do list. I suppose it's a blessing then that Lost Judgment has a good...
Story:
I'll try my best to not spoil anything major in here, but overall I thought the story was pretty damn good this time around. What starts as a dive into the daily lives of high schoolers and combatting bullying becomes a look into the lives of people that are deeply affected by victims of bullying on a much greater scale. Our main characters have to uncover a deep conspiracy into what happened to a recently deceased bully, someone that I don't imagine most players feel any great mourning for.
That's the short of it without spoiling anything, but an important theme throughout the story is that the law can end up being a very flawed system. Those who feel the ramifications of bullying the hardest can feel stifled that bullies get off too easily by ruining the lives of others. But is taking justice into your own hands the right thing to do when you don't consider the consequences?
I really dug a lot of the new characters they introduced, and it was nice to see some of the returning cast. The villains this time around are also an incredible step up from the previous game, but them also being very prominent throughout the story helped to establish them as real threats that I could still enjoy.
The story was pretty touch and go for me a decent amount of my play time, but I did come around to the overarching message the game was trying to convey. You could say I had moments of...
Lost Judgment in Conclusion:
The game's fun! Most of my complaints about Judgment are either very sparsely present or gone entirely. Yet like any new entry that has to create more new content, that content feels much more shallow in exchange. Must we now wait for Judgment 3 to improve on those systems, only to create a similar situation? I say probably, but Johnny's says no.
I made this review longer than usual to also try and say that I think the Yakuza magic is starting to die in me again. Yakuza 7 brought back the spark when I saw how much the series could change and still keep everything I've grown to love. But entries like Lost Judgment cloud my vision of this series, showing that you really can fill a game with too much stuff to do. I don't want this combat to just disappear after this game because I think it's just that refined now. But with Ichiban and his JRPG pals being the new mainline focus and side games like these still having the same not combat problems, I'm not sure if I'll be so terribly excited for the future.
That is to say, I am definitely going to be playing that Ishin remake because me likey the samurai Kazuma Kiryu game, and I've been clamoring for this game for years.
The Combat:
It feels great! Maybe the best the combat has felt for an individual character since Yakuza 0 introduced multiple styles. Snake style is a great addition, and one I feel like they included with the mercy EX moves for all the children you'd be brutalizing using any other style. Not that that's stopping you from smashing kids faces into the pavement. Crane and Tiger style also feel like they got a good revamp while keeping their individual strengths.
Gone are mortal wounds in exchange for tougher enemies having big charge moves that just hurt a lot. But the addition of the mortal counter system feels great, giving you more reason to stay and dodge rather than just run from the high damage moves.
The last couple encounters and final bosses all felt fantastic. They did a good job in the story to give them a nice level of emotional impact for their fights as well. Never has fighting a huge group of enemies felt quite so satisfying either with how long you can string your combos and how quickly you can change styles without breaking your flow.
The combat does a lot of heavy lifting for this game, so let's now move on to...
The Not Combat:
Modern Yakuza games have been polarizing with their split focus between great combat/narrative and side activities for the Japan simulator they've become. I regret to report that Lost Judgment does not solve this problem in any big way.
I will be fair and say Lost Judgment, unlike Judgment, did not have any half hour long diverging side quests because someone in the main story said to wait for a phone call.
However the game does try to get you invested in the detective agency by peppering in new devices to help solve mostly side quest related mysteries sprinkled throughout your playtime. I don't have nearly enough time to do even most of these side quests, and was shocked when I saw I hadn't even completed 10% of them before seeing my end of game report card. I don't have an exact number, but it was somewhere upwards of 700.
Most of the mandatory slow tailing and chase sequences are gone this time around, but the new sneaking section they've included was never something I looked forward to. That and what I can only assume is trend chasing a bit too late with Uncharted style ledge climbing and parkour with observation minigames to look for the cum stains on pipes and ledges you can climb on. I'm never sure why these sections are included in games like these. The combat speaks for itself as the highlight of the series. One section near the end had a ledge climbing sequence that, if failed, you fight a room full of guys. But is it really a failure if my punishment is playing the part of the game I enjoy the most?
Lost Judgment is just so full of stuff, but never much stuff that makes me want to drag myself away from the main narrative that I end up getting very invested in. The side quests and club activities at the school were definitely some of my favorites, but by the time the story was really ramping up and more quests were unlocking, I didn't want to derail myself too hard.
The not combat stuff in Lost Judgment isn't bad so much as it never feels like much else besides bloat to what's become some kind of sicko forever game of doing side quests, crafting items and gear, and checking off everything on what never stops feeling like just a big To Do list. I suppose it's a blessing then that Lost Judgment has a good...
Story:
I'll try my best to not spoil anything major in here, but overall I thought the story was pretty damn good this time around. What starts as a dive into the daily lives of high schoolers and combatting bullying becomes a look into the lives of people that are deeply affected by victims of bullying on a much greater scale. Our main characters have to uncover a deep conspiracy into what happened to a recently deceased bully, someone that I don't imagine most players feel any great mourning for.
That's the short of it without spoiling anything, but an important theme throughout the story is that the law can end up being a very flawed system. Those who feel the ramifications of bullying the hardest can feel stifled that bullies get off too easily by ruining the lives of others. But is taking justice into your own hands the right thing to do when you don't consider the consequences?
I really dug a lot of the new characters they introduced, and it was nice to see some of the returning cast. The villains this time around are also an incredible step up from the previous game, but them also being very prominent throughout the story helped to establish them as real threats that I could still enjoy.
The story was pretty touch and go for me a decent amount of my play time, but I did come around to the overarching message the game was trying to convey. You could say I had moments of...
Lost Judgment in Conclusion:
The game's fun! Most of my complaints about Judgment are either very sparsely present or gone entirely. Yet like any new entry that has to create more new content, that content feels much more shallow in exchange. Must we now wait for Judgment 3 to improve on those systems, only to create a similar situation? I say probably, but Johnny's says no.
I made this review longer than usual to also try and say that I think the Yakuza magic is starting to die in me again. Yakuza 7 brought back the spark when I saw how much the series could change and still keep everything I've grown to love. But entries like Lost Judgment cloud my vision of this series, showing that you really can fill a game with too much stuff to do. I don't want this combat to just disappear after this game because I think it's just that refined now. But with Ichiban and his JRPG pals being the new mainline focus and side games like these still having the same not combat problems, I'm not sure if I'll be so terribly excited for the future.
That is to say, I am definitely going to be playing that Ishin remake because me likey the samurai Kazuma Kiryu game, and I've been clamoring for this game for years.
Metal Gear Solid 3: Subsistence is my favorite single player video game. I won't endlessly gush about it, but you should probably play this one if you've ever played Metal Gear Solid and really enjoyed the parts where you're actually sneaking. To this day, I've played Metal Gear Solid 3: Subsistence so many times that I've lost count, but what I find interesting is that I always seem to discover something new about it every new playthrough, even if it's something minor. Overall it's just a very fun video game and a great entry in a series of some of the greatest bangers in video games.
Yakuza: Like a Dragon might be the best Yakuza game ever made. It's not my personal favorite, but I have to give the game a lot of credit for reigniting my love of the series this late in. Ichiban Kasuga is the perfect main character to swap in for tired Kazuma Kiryu because, where Kiryu was the soul of the action brawling part of Yakuza, Ichiban is the soul of the light hearted and immersive part of Yakuza. I don't mean that Kiryu was never a good fit for the other side of Yakuza outside of the main story. If anything, it was way more funny seeing someone with the type of background and serious demeanor like Kiryu partaking in the antics going on in this simulation of real life in the seedy underbelly of Japan. Ichiban just feels like a much better fit given how willing he is even in the main story to help people out, even when he's going through some of the worst moments in his adult life. Side content now feels so much more engaging when you're behind the wheel of someone you can actually see going out of their way to do most of these said activities, and that's a big factor in why I think back on this game so fondly. I'll try and keep this review short like always but just know I also don't mind the switch to turn based combat over the 3D beat-em'-up Yakuza is known for. I think it works well and it's a good move for the series since I don't think combat has had the same shine to it like it did in previous entries. I love this game as a long time Yakuza fan and I think you can love it too even if it's your first one. They left the 7 off of this one for a reason. You might not get a lot of the inside jokes, but maybe it will encourage you to go back and take a look at the rest of the series.
2022
This game makes me feel Big Stupid. Regular Stupid is rushing head first into a boss and hitting the attack button until it's dead, regardless of how many times it takes. Big Stupid is when you still know that fully knowing it will never work. My big stupid keeps me from enjoying this game like many others, but maybe one day I will overcome my Big Stupid and get back to this game. There's a lot of fun hidden somewhere in here, but it could very well just not be for me.
2021
Not the biggest Metroid Dread fan, but it got me curious enough after finishing it that I went and played Super Metroid for the first time. Super Metroid is a much better video game, and I think about it after finishing it way more than I do about Metroid Dread. This one is pretty good though.
Nah, I give up. This game just doesn't feel good to play. I was told the story is pretty good and also necessary for Kingdom Heart 2, but I don't want to suffer through this anymore.
2007
If aesthetic could ever carry a game hard, it's definitely this one. I'll be honest, this game really isn't all that fun to play. But you do start to develop a flow of doing side jobs before every ranked match that become oddly compelling. The story doesn't make much sense but it never really tries to either. There's probably some deep, underlying message gamers try to find about the cycle of violence mixed with the mundane repetitive society we're all subjected to day in and day out. But I think Suda51 just really liked light sabers.
I'd say if you plan on playing this game in the future, just go in wearing your good time hat and strap in for stupid.
Trust your force, and head for the Garden of Madness.
I'd say if you plan on playing this game in the future, just go in wearing your good time hat and strap in for stupid.
Trust your force, and head for the Garden of Madness.