(Played the remake on PS4, streamed on twitch)

I am shocked to say, outside of some annoyances, the game aged extremely well. Obviously fighting with Donald's unconscious body and an occasionally wonky AI, it still presents a pleasent and oddly charming adventure.

DARKNESS DARKNESS FRIENDSHIP HEARTS is basically the entire story and it is, well, what it is. It was slightly before the current curve of shonen anime where it be like "HURRAY FOR FRIENDSHIP" which is why I am fairly forgiving in terms of story.

I did beat all optional bosses, even got the ultima weapon. I truly enjoyed playing all parts of the game. Truly wonderful.

I really enjoyed this game a ton. You can see where games like Phoenix Wright originated.

They kept it very very true to the original which was extremely annoying at times. There isn’t always good hints and sometimes it feels like you’re hearing the same stuff over and over but the story and characters really save it.

Truly a wonderful score, art and story. I also excited a lot of the subtle animations as well. I will be getting the next game.

This was short but very good. Depending on your perception of value to price ratio, for me it’s worth it but the short length might make the price look daunting. Might want to get it in sale if you think the time should reflect price. If you’re looking for a good short story where price isn’t an issue, I’d say jump at it.

I really enjoyed the end despite me guessing it about halfway through.

It isn’t a bad game, it just sucks that they didn’t do many QOL improvements to gameplay.

Played on PS5

The game itself is bad. Very dull. Do I like playing it? Yes because I’m a dummy who loves crossovers. The story is bad, the various character interactions can be fun, and I honestly love the feeling of certain ultimate moves. Not to mention it’s casual af and I’m a filthy casual when it comes to fighters. Admittedly, in this case, it’s more so a “fighting game.”

I’ve seen complaints of load times but it isn’t that bad on PS5. Either that, or I’m really patient.

All in all, I’m very very forgiving. This game is pure nonsense and the fighting part of it I see people disliking a lot. As someone who has grown up with Shonen Jump/anime/manga since I was 3 when my Bachan introduced it to me in Okinawa, this was kind of cool to see.

Not better than Jump Super/Ultimate Stars in any sense but still fun in its own, very very bad, way.

I love CoM’s card mechanic. I know that’s a hot take. I find it extremely fascinating and the depth could really be expanded. I liked the gameplay overall, the pixel art is gorgeous (not surprising since it’s co-developed with Jupiter), and the GBA version of KH1’s score is wild and fun.

However, I have various complaints. Biggest being the GBA has... well, not many buttons. I also have small hands so mashing the R and L buttons constantly was actually really rough on me. Let’s not forget the lack of dedicated button for dodge roll. Despite me really enjoying the gameplay, it was super exhausting.

I very much prefer the PS2 counterpart for the buttons reason mostly. I played it on my stream earlier this year. It felt much easier for me to play and I felt it was a little better suited for 3D anyways.

Overall, the best thing to come out of CoM is leading to the development of one of the best games on the NDS: The World Ends With You. Regardless, the game has a lot of strengths despite its many weaknesses. I still love seeing Jupiter in top form. Their pixel art is always gorgeous and uses every single pixel to its maximum. Fantastic!

More Pokémon Snap if you want it.

It’s fun but my biggest complaint is the progression system. It’s quite slow.

It’s very enjoyable otherwise.

(Played on PS5)

Nexomon is kind of wild. I didn’t play the first but I assume there’s improvements. However, the one thing that is extremely noticeable to me is the progression system. I was sporting a level 36 against a bunch of high teens and some 20s.

It got a bit frustrating because I loved exploring but the levels of monsters scaled with the story rather than per area. Which seems like a great idea but once I traveled and caught so many, my boys were so aggressively high. Even dedicating myself to the story after, I was just so overpowered.

It took me awhile to like Coco. I don’t know if that’s a common thing but Lordy, he chimes in constantly and sometimes I don’t want nor need his commentary. Eventually he started to become more enjoyable but overall, heavily disliked that.

The story itself is interesting enough. It’s the best part of Nexomon, no doubt. The lore is really engaging and told pretty well. Characters I didn’t grow overtly attached to but I did enjoy my time with them.

Overall, the game has small features that are great like being able to change your avatar whenever and having a Nexomon walk with you, but it doesn’t save it from the boredom I got from being far too leveled. That was probably my fault but doesn’t change the dampened experience. It’s a decent replacement for Pokémon but I wouldn’t say it’s a great or permanent replacement. Regardless, if you’re looking for another monster catcher that isn’t Digimon or Pokémon, Nexomon has some stuff to offer.

It is really cute, really fun, really wild and exceptionally funny. As a game for a few bucks and included in Apple Arcade, it was just a real joy to play. It is one of those “just purely for the fun (and lols)” kind of game. It’s wonderful.

I heard you like YGO? Well, it’s YGO and if you like children’s card games with a fun visual novel recap of the shows, well... this is the whole package.

(Played Final Mix on a PS5)

Kingdom Hearts II improves on the general gameplay like no other. The stark differences between 1 and 2 is surreal. It’s like playing the first game in a series to playing the sixth, not to the second. It was remarkable to see their budget skyrocket.

The game itself was really carried by its own charm and fun gameplay. With quick time events combined with amazing animation, every single fight was a blast, even smaller ones. Here is the however though: the story itself is... well... Kingdom Hearts. I enjoyed the original for the fact that it was basic. It was “anime guy meets Disney guys. They go to Disney worlds, fight evil the end”

Not even just that though, Kingdom Hearts II worlds just feel so separate from the rest of the story. I don’t give a fuck about another Hercules level, I want to know what tf the organization is up to. Whereas in the original Kingdom Hearts, visiting each world had a purpose. It was still to experience whatever Disney property but it still felt like it had weight. In Kingdom Hearts II, I could’ve gone through playing none of the worlds other than radiant garden and Tron world. Those were the only ones with any relevance to the story at all.

Don’t get me wrong though, each world was fun—well, I can do without more Hercules Jfc. It just felt like needless filler when I was actually more interested in its awkward convoluted plot.

It use to be “anime boy goes to Disney worlds to find answers” to “anime boy goes to Disney worlds because he’s lost and/or bored.” The Disney stuff is just happening around them rather than to them. I find that to be a bummer.

Regardless, Kingdom Hearts II is an absolute delight to play. I wish they said Darkness more in this one like they did in Chain of Memories and the original. I miss the Darkness.

Anyways! It’s a great follow up!

I truly enjoyed this game. It’s charming and delightful. I do think that the camera needs work because when falling between floors, I die to things I haven’t see yet.

As a rouge lite, I found it fun. It was short but it had gimmicks I was find of. If you like pinball or rouge lites, definitely give it a shot, especially if you have Apple Arcade.

It’s really freaking good. I got nothing else to say about it at the moment. It just blew me away with the depth and mechanics.

Finished the campaign once with every character.

Played on PS5 via Kingdom Hearts 2.5

Aqua is the only adult in the room.

Amazing game, however

holy shit

the rewind is so slow with no additional speed options... just one... really... really... slow speed...

but it is definitely a really neat followup to "Her Story" which I truly loved a lot as well.