The Sands of Time is a very fluid and exhilarating platformer, with smartly designed environmental puzzles, a killer soundtrack and fun chemistry between the Prince and Farah. The game is just held back by garbage combat encounters that overwhelm you with tons of enemies and it gets very frustrating and very repetitive as the game goes on. Not enough mechanical complexity or enemy types to justify these lengthy encounters. Still, this is a solid atmospheric adventure through ancient Persia that is worth playing for the stellar platforming alone.

Less substantial than the Dredge DLC as the rewards are just a few new dishes and a Godzilla bowhead, and its mostly one big boss fight which isn't the game's strongest aspect. Still they have Miki from the Heisei era movies and Ebirah show up so there was clearly some genuine fan love here instead of just getting the Godzilla name for the publicity alone so it’s all worth it. Make sure to add this to your account though, because apparently it'll only be available until like the end of the year or so.

Billy Basso, you beautiful bastard, you did it. How did one guy make this?

I've always been a victim of hyperbole. The internet told me that Animal Well was making people feel things. I listened to YouTube reviewers describe it as a game that reminds you of what gaming is all about. I read tweets calling it an obvious front-runner for GOTY and one of the best, most unique games in a very long time. I'm not about to say those people were speaking disingenuously--I truly believe the 5/5 reviews--but I do think that Animal Well is at its best when its understated and allowed to silently speak for itself.

Not unlike your biological mother, Animal Well is a short, tight, and gorgeous experience that manages to rapidly shift between quaint charm and instinctive terror at the drop of a hat. How Basso managed to jump scare me with a kangaroo that many times is beyond me. A friend described the artstyle as "Neon Wet" and that's probably the best short hand I can give for the game's look without really taking away some of its magic. Just go play the game if the visuals even remotely interest you.

Like all the best horror-adjacent games, your combat options here are extremely limited. Unlike those same horror games, Animal Well takes that lack of offensive capability and uses it to empower you. You are challenged to pause, and contemplate, and plan, and observe--to ask yourself "wait can I do that?" And you usually can. It takes a special game to offer you that sort of reward to meet your effort.

I'm not done with Animal Well. I rolled credits but there's so much game still here (think Fez or Tunic), but I do think I'm at a point where its socially-created hooks aren't as deeply in me. I can sit with it now and enjoy it. That may be how I should have approached the game from the start.

If you plan to play the game, I recommend that you don't go too quickly. Poke around. Mess with things that look out of place and let yourself consider Billy Basso's first game as its own world rather than a "GOTY contender" or "reason to game again." Be a little pensive dude and let yourself get swept up in it all. It's worth that.

"By the numbers" this "by the numbers" that, well the number is over 9000 sir like holyyy shit me when the shit is holy in Ohio 🤯 well, this is a more by the numbers entry indeed. But Squeak Squad has painstakingly mastered the mundane! Everything is so polished! Enough to put the G in griddy and gyatt and gadzooks. This does not have a hub like Amazing Mirror, but Kirby was never Git in the first place so why should it Github? Anyways, behold the return of a world map. It informs you how many chests you have obtained, which is cool.

Oh yeah. Oh Yeah. You heard it here folks. Chests do return! They're fun to get, and give an extra incentive to redo a level since it can be up to luck whether you get some. That would sound like the trademark of a dogshit slop game, but thanks to the extra widescreen view and polished movement, I am absolutely vibing going through levels. It truly encapsulates Kirby's cake: it's my comfort food, and that's why it's worth every ounce of pain.

Seems Kirby caught his opps lacking. He managed to knock out more than a hundred of those chests unceremoniously by having that big penguin launch him. That's what I like to see ! ! They didn't want no smoke after this. Little by little, each level, ambushing the poor guy mano a mano, 1v1, final destination style. Those fights are pretty easy to pull off. You just need to lay it on thick, nothing screams "inoffensive" like a big guy that can't get a punch in. The little mice might set a new record as the cutest Kirby enemy ever made.

Well, as far as other things go, there is also a lot of assets from Amazing Mirror, as you can imagine. But it has been reworked to be more enjoyable. The background flow more naturally, there is more space to do shit in. After a decade, I still remember a lot of levels. I remember always picking citrus Kirby. The color. I thought the blinding ahh color fit him, and I was also testing my eyesight a lil bit. Who knows how I got away with not having to wear glasses yet.

Not to yap too much, but fuck you I'll yap away. I did play this game a long time ago, but I replayed half of it just to make sure I wasn't capping. I wasn't, this is the peak I remember. It didn't lose its luster, I've played half of it because nothing had changed about I felt, so there was no point in going further. There are two major point left for me to tackle: the bubble system, and copy abilities. Let's start with the bubbles. The bubbles. End. No but. The bubbles. I feel indecisive, despite only having to tell you guys that you have five bubble slots that lets you store various items in your stomach, including abilities.

...You can also get a random ability by mix and matching two ability bubbles, collect slices of a 1-up and combine them, AND you can COOK. Matching food bubbles. Hooray! fr though this isn't the most batshit crazy mechanic, but it's excellent QoL for a very simple mechanic, and it utilizes the stylus without being a skill check. One of the new ability even makes bubbles, though this is more humoristic than anything.

Of course, abilities are the bread and butter of the series. This one fucking nails them. You have quantity and quality here, much like Super Star. Although some may seem underwhelming at first, completely identical to Amazing Mirror's, finding chests can give you more moves for an ability. Holy moly, lock tf in! You can do almost anything but sniff toes! what if we wanna compare it to Super Star further, the abilities get their own animations. Different movesets, in general. The ghost ability is niche, it would be a 10/10 if you could control mini-bosses, but it was not meant to be. A lot of the other abilities are wacky as heck. It's a weird bunch. Neurodivergent, if you will. A part of why they all feel different is also that crunchy SFX. The ears eatin good 👏

Not to mention elemental fusions. Fire sword woooow. That's some Genshin Impact shit. Euuuuugh changes the rating muscle reflex oop

I've said in a number of reviews that I'm not a big fan of FPS games, but really I've quietly come to the conclusion that I do like "boomer shooters". Fast, crazy high paced gameplay where you're expected to run around strafing the enemies and collecting health, not hiding behind cover for most of the fights. The recent Doom game revivals embody this philosophy very well, and I've really taken a liking to both their new games. Doom Eternal exemplifies this gameplay very well, featuring about a dozen enemy types you learn how to combat and avoid, eight weapons with various powerups and alternate modes, and a level design meant to invoke a sense of fighting in an arena. It's a really fun and action packed game and is right up my alley. I had actually heard some negative rumblings about this game compared to the 2016 Doom title, but I thought it was on par with that game. I didn't mind the platforming sections, as they never overstayed their welcome and were a nice break from the action. I do have two complaints about this game though. Firstly, the game is balanced around having a full arsenal of weapons. You actually run through your ammunition pretty quickly, but the game gives mechanics making almost all weapons viable, and for replenishing your supplies at once. However, in the first level or two you only have two weapons, meaning you're going to be running out of ammo constantly. Once they give you your third or so weapon, the balance begins to work out, but that first level or two does not give a good first impression. My other issue is the length. Not so much the length of the overall game, although it did just start to drag a bit, but the lengths of the individual levels. I would often play for a bit before dinner or during lunch breaks, and I don't think I ever finished a level in one sitting. It doesn't matter too much, as they're pretty generous with checkpoints and you can quit and resume right back at your most recent checkpoint, but playing through the same level without any indication of when it's going to end gets a bit tiring. There's also more of a plot in this one, but it doesn't really matter and I didn't follow anything that was happening in it. Overall, a strong recommendation for Doom Eternal for me, and I think I need to start re-evaluating which FPS games I should invest in playing.

I always preferred symphony of the night over aria of sorrow, but my opinion has changed... I am now part of the aria of sorrow gang💯

Anyways this is a metroidvania game where you play as the best boi Soma Cruz. Soma Cruz is just a regular dude who wanted to see a solar eclipse but he accidentally awakens in a castle with monsters and now he has to find a way to escape.

In this big ass castle you will find many different items that you can equip. You can stumble upon many weapons that have different speed, range and damage. You can also find stuff that will increase some of your stats such as armours and rings.
Something new that aria of sorrow introduces is the amazing soul system. Every enemy can drop a soul that you can equip, and these souls can change your stats, give you a new attack and give you an ability. The soul system is such an amazing new feature to the game since it makes Soma Cruz a very fun character to play as thanks to the huge variety of souls that he can equip.

The story is actually pretty memorable because of its great cast of characters. My favorite character is the GOAT Hammer who is a soldier that sells you a bunch of stuff that can be very helpful and he will buy all the items that are useless to you but obviously our protagonist Soma Cruz is also goated.

This time the castle is actually fun to explore UNLIKE A CERTAIN CASTLEVANIA CIRCLE OF THE MOON! And i barely got lost in this game because you can find castle maps which are super helpful.
Oh and the progression is very satisfying UNLIKE A CERTAIN CASTLEVANIA CIRCLE OF THE MOON!

This game probably has my favorite boss lineup in any castlevania game. There's many great boss fights such as headhunter, balore, legion, graham and chaos, but the best boss in the game is easily Julius Belmont, his fight feels like you're against another player and i love it.

The ost is obviously really good.
My favorite tracks are: heart of fire, forbidden area, you're not alone, top floor and chapel.

I don't have many complaints with the game.
The first 4 bosses of the game become normal enemies for some reason and getting the best ending for the game was pretty tedious (not as tedious as getting sotn's best ending tho) but other than that i can't think of any other complaint.

Overall this is easily the best gba castlevania game and i highly recommend it if you are looking for a good metroidvania to play.
10/10

Persona 3 was one of first video games I played where I felt myself become increasingly emotionally invested in the characters and the world as the game went on; eventually culminating in being the first game that invoked a cascade of tears upon my viewing of the ending. The subject matter was heavy but grounded and relatable, unlike many other JRPGs that strive to pull someone into their worlds only for it to feel a bit too alien and fantastic to have the same effect. As you could expect, Persona 3 has long been a favorite of mine as a result.

It would be very easy for me to put on my blinders and dismiss this remake as having no way of recapturing the feeling that the original invoked and I admittedly spent the first few hours pretty skeptical as I groaned over the new VAs, OST, and the lack of an ability to program your comrades as AIs. Thankfully, the more time I spent with the game the more I began to love it. While the new VAs can't quite stand up to the star-studded original cast, I respect the decision to give some newer talent the spotlight as opposed to sticking with the same industry mainstays we've grown accustomed to. The OST is a bit more of a mixed bag where I enjoy some of the new tracks (such as the fantastic new battle theme) while I'm not a fan of some of the rearranged tracks from the original (looking at you Iwatodai Dorm T.T). Presentation-wise, it looks sleek and stylish as you would expect but not quite as over the top and busy as Persona 5 which I appreciate; though I would recommend turning down the brightness a few notches from the default if you want the appearance of the game to be more in line with the original lighting-wise.

The amount of extra time dedicated to party members outside of Tartarus, specifically the ones without social links, is absolutely my favorite addition to the game as it really encouraged me to grow attached to and learn more about each of the characters who didn't get as much development previously. This really paid off with Aragaki in particular whom I did not feel nearly as invested in on my original P3 playthrough as I did in P3R.

I have some mixed thoughts on the large amount of additional tools/abilities provided in combat as they do result in the game being a tad too easy (I played on 'Hard' for reference) but they were to be expected and are overall pretty fun in execution. I especially enjoyed the new implementation of the Fusion Spell system which is far more intuitive and easy to take advantage of this time around. As alluded to previously, and I understand why a lot of players did not enjoy this, I was a fan of how your companions acted mostly independently in the original as it really made them feel like actual people, rather than merely pawns for the player to control. This really helped personify the characters and made me feel more immersed within the world; I don't believe it was too much of a hinderance either as the tactics menu provided plenty means of controlling them. I'd be lying if I didn't say I miss this system at least a little bit.

It's clear a lot of effort has been put into P3R to ensure that the soul of the original game is left intact while aiming to deliver a more thorough and fleshed out experience, which I can appreciate. Story and character-wise, I would say it certainly surpasses the original. Gameplay-wise, I think they dumbed down the dungeon crawling and combat a little too much but it's definitely more approachable and 'fun' now which I assume was their intention. Atmosphere-wise, it loses some of the lingering dread, uncertainty, and mystery of the original but only a small amount of each. I prefer the original overall but this was still a fantastic game and my time with it absolutely flew by.

Honestly, I understand why people say Crossbell is peak because this duology probably has the best two games overall in the series.

I just love everything about Crossbell. I initially played this game wih the horrid translation, but still enjoyed my time with it. It wasn't until last year where I actually got to play it with a real translation in my Trails marathon, and my opinions on it definitely changed for the better.

Honestly, I think I prefer Crossbell as a setting much more to Liberl, not to say that Liberl is bad per se. Crossbell is just that good. I just love talking to each NPC in each Crossbell District after every story interaction and seeing how their dialogue changes. I also love walking along the highways (or taking the bus) and visiting the more remote locations of Crossbell like Mainz and Armorica. Crossbell is just the perfect setting for this game, especially when they explore the dark sides of Crossbell, like the Mafia. I just found it interesting how after Liberl, we were sent not to Erebonia, but to Crossbell of all places. A highly contested autonomous state between two major superpowers in Erebonia and Calvard. Crossbell is definitely my favourite country worldbuilding wise because of how much it has to even further paint the world of Zemuria. If you couldn't tell already I think Trails is the only game series ever to actually get me interested in its political structure and world.

Now let's actually start this review. From a story standpoint alone, I think this is the best game that the series has to offer (so far). I say that because, yeah, the game does start extremely slow, but I think that's valid because the Special Support Section are a new section of the Crossbell Police Department, and haven't earned the trust of locals, like the Bracer Guild has. The group has only been functioning for a little while and they're already trying to deal with Mafioso's and threat letters to celebrities. The Arc en Ciel part of Chapter 2 got me hooked into the story, exposing Mayor MacDowell's secretary and apprehending him. Chapter 3 was probably the most hype I've ever been. You got the anniversary festival with high highs with Estelle, Joshua, Wald, Wazy, and Randy. You also got the auction where you get more interested in Wazy, Mariebelle, and Lechter as characters. This chapter introduces you to KeA, who's just the ray of sunshine that the SSS needed to feel complete. The boss for Chapter 3 after stealing one of their prized posessions from the auction is probably the highlight for me. It's just so badass. I love the little intermission that gives us a little glimpse into the life of the SSS with KeA being added to their numbers. Also, storming a mafia base is just badass, and mkaes me love Chapter 4 as well.

I think the finale deserves it's own little section. Everything just hits the roof. The army and mafia have been drugged with Gnosis, and we find out one of the doctors at the hospital is the leader of a cult. The raid on the SSS and the IBC was great, but I hate how side characters like Grace and Cao were just commenting on us fighting hordes of enemies, like bro, help us? Anyways, I love the badass driving scene with Sergei and Noel, and we get to use Joshua and Estelle in the final dungeon. The final dungeon was creepy, stupid D:G cult. Honestly, the final dungeon felt rather underwhelming till the Garcia boss, and then the final boss, Joachim. Dude just downed a bunch of pills and became a demon. If not for Renne, it would of been curtains for everyone. The final boss dies, and the Brights finally adopt Renne which made me shed a tear not going to lie, it's been a three game journey for them. Overall, a very epic story, and personally one of my favourites.

Character wise, there's a bunch that stick out to me: Randy, Tio, Wazy, Fran, Jona, etc. Randy is interesting because on the surface he's all silly, but he's actually very serious. I just love and adore Tio and Fran. Jona just makes me laugh with his silly shenanigans, and Wazy is probably my favourite because he's just so mysterious and intrigues me and makes me want to know more. I actually thought Lloyd improved over time, and is a great protagonist. I know people don't really like Lloyd, but I just like how he's supportive of the entire group, and you can really tell that he cares for the entirety of the SSS, even in the little time that they spent together. Elie, I'm a bit iffy on, because I don't know what exactly she brings to the story, but maybe that's just me. Overall, this game has really good characters.

Battling, there's not much that's different from Sky, besides new Arts. At least they kept the orbment system, which I adore. I also enjoyed the addition of Evasion. Evasion Builds are just so fun in any game. Yeah, not much to say with battling, it is mostly the same.

The music. slaps. so. hard. The crossbell main theme, the highway themes, the Mainz theme, the Revache theme, the Stargazer Tower theme, the Ancient Battlefield theme, it's all just such a bop. I actually think I might prefer the Zero battle theme to Sophisticated Fight from Sky, idk it just hits differently. But yeah, the music slaps.

Some extremely minor gripes. I hate how the translators treat Lloyd like a playboy and oblivious, idk it just grates me for some reason. Also, I do not understand Wald as a character at all, he actually might be my least favourite in the series so far. That's about it for the gripes.

Overall, the game is extremely enjoyable, and I would honestly love to redo it all and experience it all again. It was that enjoyable.

so, big shocker here considering i log and review japanese role-playing games on the internet, i'm autistic. this is a facet of my life that i wasn't comfortable with for a long time; i remember as a child being confused about what my diagnosis meant, and i remember as a teenager denying my diagnosis. something most people with autism will say is that there's not a lot of art out there that really captures the experiences we have, which often makes it really difficult to compare for people. you're stuck with either comparing yourself to robotic characters, or cheap one dimensional versions of autism written by neurotypicals. while i was playing 358/2 days, all i could think of was that if i had played this when i was younger, it would have really stuck with me as a formative experience, and one that i could use as a point of comparison for how i feel.
roxas is a really odd protagonist; when we're first introduced to him, he can barely speak, and most concepts don't come naturally to him. he's a Nobody, a being that is missing a heart, and therefore isn't supposed to be capable of emotion. it's not that roxas is a husk or has no personality; he's just been stripped of anything resembling a self, and has no frame of reference for what that may be. what's beautiful about days' narrative, to me, is the way roxas' character writing closely resembles concepts like social masking, which were so integral to my life when i was younger. roxas does things because he knows they're expected of him to do. he doesn't understand what a friend is, but he sees how friends are supposed to act, and so that's how he acts. it's all learned behaviors with roxas, the things he thinks of naturally are things he's not "supposed" to. this is shown excellently with the ice cream motif, which stays consistent throughout nearly all the repetition in this game. i really can't believe that nomura is a talented enough character writer to make a bar of ice cream from disney sea into an effective metaphor for life.
358/2 in general touches very well on themes of authority figures defining identity; we see so frequently that roxas and xion are thrown aside or deemed failures for acting in ways that don't benefit the bottom line. their identity is trampled upon and diminished solely because their identity isn't convenient. these kids exist for no reason other than to work, and their job sure doesn't give a damn if they exist. dissociation is touched upon quite a lot as well; it's a very odd blend of stuff that occasionally borders on denpa with childhood melancholy that only KH is really capable of.
so after all that discussion on the story, how's the game? pretty bad! 358/2's comboing doesn't feel very good, the bosses are extremely slow, easy, and tanky, and magic trivializes most sections while also feeling like total shit to use. quite a fair amount of writing has been done about 358/2 as a game that's "bad on purpose", and i think that's giving it too much credit and not enough. the stuff that's bad about 358/2 days isn't the repetitive nature of the missions, nor is it even the trivial nature of many of the missions you receive. the problem is that everything takes way too long and the bosses especially are crazy timesinks. it's forgiveable because this is a game you play in 10-30 min intervals, but some parts of this game are up there as some of the most boring experiences i've ever had with a game. there is a case to make for some ludonarrative elements here, but it's pretty far from feeling intentional.