KarrotoZetsubou
2018
I fucking hate summer, shitty season.
Gunvolt 2 elevates the previous title by not only introducing 2 playable characters this time around but by having their playstyles be impressively different. Gunvolt retaining his gameplay style from the previous title, the new playable character, Copen, has a hastier gameplay style with flight that allows crossing similar paths overall game design remain fresh.
The quality of life they have brought into the title such as being able to take 3 hits before losing all your kudos is a fantastic change that makes getting hit a lot less frustrating and builds your confidence more as you take on the groups of enemies that's placements within the level design is a lot better than the first game.
What drew me in with this title especially is the step up in the narrative, gunvolt 1 had a straightforward story that was still enjoyable, but the sequel allows itself to bloom into a fascinating universe where I can't wait to see what the 3rd game has in store for me.
The quality of life they have brought into the title such as being able to take 3 hits before losing all your kudos is a fantastic change that makes getting hit a lot less frustrating and builds your confidence more as you take on the groups of enemies that's placements within the level design is a lot better than the first game.
What drew me in with this title especially is the step up in the narrative, gunvolt 1 had a straightforward story that was still enjoyable, but the sequel allows itself to bloom into a fascinating universe where I can't wait to see what the 3rd game has in store for me.
Lightning is an S tier ability!!!!!!!!
Azure Striker Gunvolt introduces enjoyable levels that become an art of mastery when you replay them for specific challenge bonuses and an enticing second ending. This can be shown in aspects such as ambushes where you can end them with haste by destroying sirens or if you want to take a more slow approach you can take on the waves of enemies as they come.
The boss fights in the title are enjoyable, having their own unique movesets. This is great enough for this style of game to have some unique boss movesets but the game goes the extra mile by allowing Gunvolts ability to interact with certain aspects such as repelling drill-based attacks. However, the only problem I find with them lies in the reuse of these bosses throughout the game which can become quite stale when they don't bring anything new.
This is not all Gunvolt provides, it introduces very interesting mechanics such as a cheat death that links itself to lore in a manner that feels natural for it to be there and when it activates in dangerous situations you can't help but feel amped up to deal some serious damage.
Overall I enjoyed this title and I'm excited to jump into the second one.
Azure Striker Gunvolt introduces enjoyable levels that become an art of mastery when you replay them for specific challenge bonuses and an enticing second ending. This can be shown in aspects such as ambushes where you can end them with haste by destroying sirens or if you want to take a more slow approach you can take on the waves of enemies as they come.
The boss fights in the title are enjoyable, having their own unique movesets. This is great enough for this style of game to have some unique boss movesets but the game goes the extra mile by allowing Gunvolts ability to interact with certain aspects such as repelling drill-based attacks. However, the only problem I find with them lies in the reuse of these bosses throughout the game which can become quite stale when they don't bring anything new.
This is not all Gunvolt provides, it introduces very interesting mechanics such as a cheat death that links itself to lore in a manner that feels natural for it to be there and when it activates in dangerous situations you can't help but feel amped up to deal some serious damage.
Overall I enjoyed this title and I'm excited to jump into the second one.
The Nirvana Initiative brings another fascinating tale in the Somnium files franchise, with amazing twists that leave you anticipating what will happen next. The new characters introduced are just as interesting as the previous ones, with the goofy quirks that they bring to the table and by having two protagonists it allows the story to come together.
Honestly, this is an excellent experience that if you are a fan of the first game, will have you hooked in a heartbeat.
Honestly, this is an excellent experience that if you are a fan of the first game, will have you hooked in a heartbeat.
1994
I played Virtua Fighter 2 through the Yakuza franchise many a time and I have to say, play it enough times and you realise how annoying this game can be, the AI most definitely cheats as is tradition for these arcade fighters but this one is easier to cheese.
It's still a game that I can appreciate in ways, especially when you fight a friend but I think Street Fighter 2 is better.
It's still a game that I can appreciate in ways, especially when you fight a friend but I think Street Fighter 2 is better.
This review contains spoilers
Thank you Infinite Wealth
Like A Dragon continues its turn-based RPG approach with its current primary protagonist Ichiban and proceeds to evolve it in every way. The improvements of the job system, changing up some exclusive jobs to make them more aligned with the combat changes, such as showing markers for AOE attacks that show what area they cover, allowing you to move around in the field to align these attacks to make them pull in as many enemies at once. This allows characters like Nanba's exclusive job to be reworked to be more directly AOE focused because you don't have to sit there waiting for the enemies to bundle up to try pull them into 1 big fireball and instead can utilise the movement circle to try position him yourself and know how much coverage you have. This change alone could have been fine as an improvement but they proceeded to go the extra mile by adding new mechanics to the battles that really enhanced the experience such as knock back attacks, grapple attacks to break guards, combo attacks with your allies. This is perfect because it supports the use of normal attacks further because you can knockback lighter enemies into allies while also restoring MP a new feature that appears in this game. But what I was mostly incredibly impressed about this title is how they took the character of kiryu and translated him into an turned-based RPG setting smoothly, the mechanic of being able to break the turned based nature for a short time and it become a watered down brawler game was incredible to see but the thing I found the most exciting was how they allowed him to switch between 3 styles, rush, brawler and beast. Each with their own strengths and unique interactions that the player can utilise whenever its kiryu's turn in battle, it fits into the gameplay system perfectly with beast being able to combat the guard system and rush including more attacks, it was really sweet to see.
That's enough about the combat because in typical RGG fashion they create an abundance of side content that is incredibly charming and hooks you into its world once more and many of them including their own little bits of fun gameplay to go with it, whether that's running across the street dodging oncoming traffic as a stunt double or once again facing off with a giant roomba this game delivers in its wackiness while also bringing Hawaii, a brand new never before seen area in the franchise to life. Farming dungeons becomes more enjoyable because of the precedurely generated rooms making random layouts every time you enter with different enemies in each room makes it less samey as you grind for exp.
Personally I really loved this story, especially near the end of it, they continue to write Ichiban as an incredible protagonist and I continue to be excited to see where his next story will take him and the characters he will take into the fold, because Tomizawa and Chitose were incredible new party members that I would love to see more of.
Kiryu's story I was very worried about going into this title but all those doubts quickly faded away the further the game went on, the way he has to learn to find balance within himself by becoming more open to live for himself was incredible. I also think his own personal set of side content in particular was really touching the soul and was sweet to experience as a fan of this series.
Overall I think Infinite Wealth is a fantastic step forward for the franchise and a huge one as well, the fact they were able to improve the previous game not slightly but majorly gives me hope the next title will do the same.
Like A Dragon continues its turn-based RPG approach with its current primary protagonist Ichiban and proceeds to evolve it in every way. The improvements of the job system, changing up some exclusive jobs to make them more aligned with the combat changes, such as showing markers for AOE attacks that show what area they cover, allowing you to move around in the field to align these attacks to make them pull in as many enemies at once. This allows characters like Nanba's exclusive job to be reworked to be more directly AOE focused because you don't have to sit there waiting for the enemies to bundle up to try pull them into 1 big fireball and instead can utilise the movement circle to try position him yourself and know how much coverage you have. This change alone could have been fine as an improvement but they proceeded to go the extra mile by adding new mechanics to the battles that really enhanced the experience such as knock back attacks, grapple attacks to break guards, combo attacks with your allies. This is perfect because it supports the use of normal attacks further because you can knockback lighter enemies into allies while also restoring MP a new feature that appears in this game. But what I was mostly incredibly impressed about this title is how they took the character of kiryu and translated him into an turned-based RPG setting smoothly, the mechanic of being able to break the turned based nature for a short time and it become a watered down brawler game was incredible to see but the thing I found the most exciting was how they allowed him to switch between 3 styles, rush, brawler and beast. Each with their own strengths and unique interactions that the player can utilise whenever its kiryu's turn in battle, it fits into the gameplay system perfectly with beast being able to combat the guard system and rush including more attacks, it was really sweet to see.
That's enough about the combat because in typical RGG fashion they create an abundance of side content that is incredibly charming and hooks you into its world once more and many of them including their own little bits of fun gameplay to go with it, whether that's running across the street dodging oncoming traffic as a stunt double or once again facing off with a giant roomba this game delivers in its wackiness while also bringing Hawaii, a brand new never before seen area in the franchise to life. Farming dungeons becomes more enjoyable because of the precedurely generated rooms making random layouts every time you enter with different enemies in each room makes it less samey as you grind for exp.
Personally I really loved this story, especially near the end of it, they continue to write Ichiban as an incredible protagonist and I continue to be excited to see where his next story will take him and the characters he will take into the fold, because Tomizawa and Chitose were incredible new party members that I would love to see more of.
Kiryu's story I was very worried about going into this title but all those doubts quickly faded away the further the game went on, the way he has to learn to find balance within himself by becoming more open to live for himself was incredible. I also think his own personal set of side content in particular was really touching the soul and was sweet to experience as a fan of this series.
Overall I think Infinite Wealth is a fantastic step forward for the franchise and a huge one as well, the fact they were able to improve the previous game not slightly but majorly gives me hope the next title will do the same.
2017
As a concept it is interesting, the location in which it is set has a certain atmosphere that personally really drew me in. It has one player take the role of a librarian - A guide that uses the various tools they have in their zones to guide the explorer to solve the puzzles
I rate this game so low because it is a very convoluted mess where things don't work out the way they are addressed to you in ways that are very intuitive and quick to pick up on. A key example of this is the theatre scene where the librarian has to guide the explorer to move props on stage to build the various scenes the narrator tries to spell out but unfortunately, none of the information makes sense. Hence, you find yourself scrambling to figure it out and you probably won't without dying a few times. It's also pretty buggy, my friend somehow moved more than one lever at once which made building the scenes janky.
I however give it some bonus points because of the chess section where I loved guiding my friend who is terrible at the game how to do a scholar mate and it was very funny to do that.
I rate this game so low because it is a very convoluted mess where things don't work out the way they are addressed to you in ways that are very intuitive and quick to pick up on. A key example of this is the theatre scene where the librarian has to guide the explorer to move props on stage to build the various scenes the narrator tries to spell out but unfortunately, none of the information makes sense. Hence, you find yourself scrambling to figure it out and you probably won't without dying a few times. It's also pretty buggy, my friend somehow moved more than one lever at once which made building the scenes janky.
I however give it some bonus points because of the chess section where I loved guiding my friend who is terrible at the game how to do a scholar mate and it was very funny to do that.
My what a fantastic entry into the Like a Dragon series
I loved everything about this game except one thing and that is the coliseum, a staple in the franchise and generally my favourite kind of content to spend time with in these titles. However, in Like a Dragon Gaiden, this is a major part of the game that is necessary for progression and while I can appreciate the fact you can play as other fighters that you recruit under your team, it still feels like a watered-down experience overall with only the special event stages shining here. Something I liked about the previous entries to Like a Dragon with its Coliseum is that if you did a repeat tournament type you would still face off with various opponents, keeping it fresh with their movesets and allowing farming to be enjoyable without just being loopy content through and through. But Gaiden does this instead, it is very loopy you select a tournament type and it is the very same thing over and over, you just aim to earn money that you will use on upgrades and continue this till you eventually max everything out. But there is some stuff I appreciate with the coliseum despite the monotonous nature of most of it and that is when a specific substory starts to go into effect around it because it brings all the grind you've done around it into fruition in a very satisfying way by closing it up with an enjoyable subplot.
But hey enough about the Coliseum, everything else was just wonderful, the new characters they introduce in this title were exciting and I would love to see them return. The two fighting styles in the title were incredibly fun, I did not use one over the other throughout the entire game and kept them balanced in usage because they both have their pros and cons that work perfectly for the obstacles you will be facing.
One thing I think is fantastic for pacing is the change in how substories are encountered, it isn't perfect but they have finally stepped away from randomly pushing a substory in your face for walking down the street a tiny bit while trying to do other tasks and instead made it all linked to the Akame Network where you can accept them more freely. The substories in this title were some of the best, as mentioned earlier in the review about the coliseum, these plot lines will keep you hooked some of which use real-life trends as inspiration, opening up some interesting topics these substories then tackle.
I loved everything about this game except one thing and that is the coliseum, a staple in the franchise and generally my favourite kind of content to spend time with in these titles. However, in Like a Dragon Gaiden, this is a major part of the game that is necessary for progression and while I can appreciate the fact you can play as other fighters that you recruit under your team, it still feels like a watered-down experience overall with only the special event stages shining here. Something I liked about the previous entries to Like a Dragon with its Coliseum is that if you did a repeat tournament type you would still face off with various opponents, keeping it fresh with their movesets and allowing farming to be enjoyable without just being loopy content through and through. But Gaiden does this instead, it is very loopy you select a tournament type and it is the very same thing over and over, you just aim to earn money that you will use on upgrades and continue this till you eventually max everything out. But there is some stuff I appreciate with the coliseum despite the monotonous nature of most of it and that is when a specific substory starts to go into effect around it because it brings all the grind you've done around it into fruition in a very satisfying way by closing it up with an enjoyable subplot.
But hey enough about the Coliseum, everything else was just wonderful, the new characters they introduce in this title were exciting and I would love to see them return. The two fighting styles in the title were incredibly fun, I did not use one over the other throughout the entire game and kept them balanced in usage because they both have their pros and cons that work perfectly for the obstacles you will be facing.
One thing I think is fantastic for pacing is the change in how substories are encountered, it isn't perfect but they have finally stepped away from randomly pushing a substory in your face for walking down the street a tiny bit while trying to do other tasks and instead made it all linked to the Akame Network where you can accept them more freely. The substories in this title were some of the best, as mentioned earlier in the review about the coliseum, these plot lines will keep you hooked some of which use real-life trends as inspiration, opening up some interesting topics these substories then tackle.
2002
Sonic Advance 2 does not make me want to advance to the third... (I'll still do it anyway)
Again just like the first game, this had a horrendous spike in difficulty beyond Ice Paradise. But there is 1 thing I appreciate about this title over the first game: each level's aesthetic is very appealing with the soundtrack also lifting these themes up, and I genuinely enjoyed that.
But why do I dislike this game? Well, it narrows itself down to the very uninteresting boss fights that become an incredible hassle if you reach near the end of the game where you have to do a boss rush (although each phase has much less health) and then just the overall level design philosophy of this game is just a joke. There are so many moments throughout these levels where it honestly just screams "trial and error" where you will most likely make a mistake or miss a jump you did not expect and have to go back to a save state. Now bare in mind this wouldn't typically be that much of a problem, but if you lose your lives you're going to have to start from ground zero just like other classic sonic games, it just makes this questionable design philosophy not a joy at all. An example of this is a certain section that involves you moving at high speed and boosting upward and then using the new mechanic in this game, the mid-air tricks, to gain extra height to make it up areas. The problem is this is something you aren't gonna be accustomed to from the get-go cause it doesn't teach you this mechanic and you will most certainly die to a pitfall
Overall: while aesthetically I enjoy this game more than the first, the actual game itself I can not tolerate and by the time I made it to the X zone I just wanted to stop playing.
Again just like the first game, this had a horrendous spike in difficulty beyond Ice Paradise. But there is 1 thing I appreciate about this title over the first game: each level's aesthetic is very appealing with the soundtrack also lifting these themes up, and I genuinely enjoyed that.
But why do I dislike this game? Well, it narrows itself down to the very uninteresting boss fights that become an incredible hassle if you reach near the end of the game where you have to do a boss rush (although each phase has much less health) and then just the overall level design philosophy of this game is just a joke. There are so many moments throughout these levels where it honestly just screams "trial and error" where you will most likely make a mistake or miss a jump you did not expect and have to go back to a save state. Now bare in mind this wouldn't typically be that much of a problem, but if you lose your lives you're going to have to start from ground zero just like other classic sonic games, it just makes this questionable design philosophy not a joy at all. An example of this is a certain section that involves you moving at high speed and boosting upward and then using the new mechanic in this game, the mid-air tricks, to gain extra height to make it up areas. The problem is this is something you aren't gonna be accustomed to from the get-go cause it doesn't teach you this mechanic and you will most certainly die to a pitfall
Overall: while aesthetically I enjoy this game more than the first, the actual game itself I can not tolerate and by the time I made it to the X zone I just wanted to stop playing.
2022
I liked it more than Overwatch, shame it's gone.
2009
Excellent! - A certain elegant businessman with an explosive swing
Loses points due to Azazel
Loses points due to Azazel
2015
Lost my account, support didn't help. goodbye maxed out Okita you will be missed.
2001
From toddler to "Advance" gamer
This game has a horrific difficulty spike from it being smooth sailing at the start (a lot of automation) to the final act just being so unnecessary in terms of its layout, so many death pits and just ughhh so annoying.
This title also has a lame soundtrack without anything of interest, something I quite like with the classic formula titles is that you can go into a zone and feel the soundtrack and pick up on a vibe they are going for. With this game, however, you feel nothing, just another level to combat without any joy.
Overall: A bland title.
This game has a horrific difficulty spike from it being smooth sailing at the start (a lot of automation) to the final act just being so unnecessary in terms of its layout, so many death pits and just ughhh so annoying.
This title also has a lame soundtrack without anything of interest, something I quite like with the classic formula titles is that you can go into a zone and feel the soundtrack and pick up on a vibe they are going for. With this game, however, you feel nothing, just another level to combat without any joy.
Overall: A bland title.
2001
The homing attack is garbage. The Artificial Chaos enemies are garbage. The gameplay pacing is mind-numbingly garbage, especially in boss fights. Terrible death traps. The Emerald radar is garbage. The Mech gameplay is just Gamma but garbage.
I hate this game
I hate this game
Fire Emblem Echoes tells a fantastic story with a great cast of characters (albeit just a few are 1 dimensional) but is weighed down by some frustrating gameplay.
This is evident in the fact that with Alms side of the story you mostly come across plains with lots of soldiers that you tactically navigate around. While on Celica's side...You come across some of the most painful map designs ever, with a prime example being Dead Man Mire which is flooded with swamp tiles that deal 5 hp per turn and are slower to navigate and I ALSO HATE CANTORS. I also do like the inclusion of dungeons overall but there were a lot of aspects that were just exhausting to get through such as Duma Tower and think the game is incredibly grindy.
I genuinely think that the time wheel as an addition to this remake is a huge saving grace because I would not like to feel what it was like to tackle these areas in Gaiden.
But there is more good to say about this title and that is, I love Hidari's art style and want to consume more games with them behind it like the Atelier Dusk trilogy because it just is so charming.
The soundtrack is phenomenal with this title and helps sell the scenarios that you are undergoing throughout the game, really allowing you to take in each environment that has a special track to go with it.
Overall: I enjoyed how this title came together, with its excellent voice acting, its art style, and the way it sounds. The title delivers those aspects. It's if you want to go into this title expect some real garbage maps because it will force you to go through pain.
This is evident in the fact that with Alms side of the story you mostly come across plains with lots of soldiers that you tactically navigate around. While on Celica's side...You come across some of the most painful map designs ever, with a prime example being Dead Man Mire which is flooded with swamp tiles that deal 5 hp per turn and are slower to navigate and I ALSO HATE CANTORS. I also do like the inclusion of dungeons overall but there were a lot of aspects that were just exhausting to get through such as Duma Tower and think the game is incredibly grindy.
I genuinely think that the time wheel as an addition to this remake is a huge saving grace because I would not like to feel what it was like to tackle these areas in Gaiden.
But there is more good to say about this title and that is, I love Hidari's art style and want to consume more games with them behind it like the Atelier Dusk trilogy because it just is so charming.
The soundtrack is phenomenal with this title and helps sell the scenarios that you are undergoing throughout the game, really allowing you to take in each environment that has a special track to go with it.
Overall: I enjoyed how this title came together, with its excellent voice acting, its art style, and the way it sounds. The title delivers those aspects. It's if you want to go into this title expect some real garbage maps because it will force you to go through pain.