The Yakuza games bring this certain feeling of being downtown on a Saturday night (or perhaps more appropriately, Friday Night in this case) that you simply can't get anywhere else

The definitive statement on modern fan culture, and the symbiosis between fiction, reality, and the narratives by which we perceive our own and each other's lives

Shovel of Hope is a great game.
Plague of Shadows is a very good game.
Spectre of Torment and King of Cards are downright transcendent

Doing even a basic juggle combo with Dante in this game for the first time felt like awakening a sixth sense.

With how many imitators (of let's say, varying quality) they've spawned it can be too easy to forget just how special this little trilogy is. Wonderful game, this, wouldn't trade it for the world

I've replayed this every couple years or so (on a different system each time to not overwrite prior saves Because Reasons), and each time has reminded me just how delightful this little game is

An improvement upon the original in nearly every way, a tale of self-discovery in a city where individuality is the norm

I'm aware "Symphony of the Night is the best Castlevania" is something of a basic take but the game simply has impeccable vibes. Perfect game for a cold autumn night

While the story might not be as ambitious as its predecessor's (being more in line with the formula of prior Pokemon games), the myriad improvements to the gameplay make this still a worthy sequel and an excellent game in its own right.

According to an interview with composer Nobuo Uematsu, during the launch party for this game Hironobu Sakaguchi congratulated the team for making what he called "the best game in the world! No! The universe!"

And for the time? I think he was right.

The thing about continuously making the same kind of game for 15+ years, as RGG Studios have done with the Yakuza and Judgment games, is that over time you grow to be really damn good at it

A painfully honest game about the crazy world we live in, and the ways we all go mad trying to make sense of it all

This game made me tear up multiple times

How can a game with a soundtrack this bad still be this good. A riddle for the ages

What for a long time were my favorite Pokemon games. The story here redefined what you could truly do with this series, and together with a wonderful new region and the bold decision (which for me paid off) to implement an entirely fresh regional Pokedex have allowed these games to more than stand the test of time