Shin Megami Tensei V: Vengeance is a considerable improvement over it's 2021 predecessor thanks to the additional attention provided to it's characters, an expanded focus on worldbuilding, numerous QoL improvements, and tons of new side quests and content. For full transparency, I was actually a fan of the original SMT V; sure, it's plot was barebones and felt increasingly disjointed as the game progressed but the gameplay was absolutely top notch with likely the best combat the series had ever seen up to that point while the atmosphere of the major environments was palpable, mysterious, and overwhelming in a way that had me incredibly immersed. With this re-release, I was primarily looking for improvements on the overall narrative, pacing, and performance; thankfully, each of these indeed feels vastly improved upon even if some of them still aren't perfect. If you're expecting this to stray from being a gameplay-first, narrative-second experience, then you may find yourself disappointed.

In terms of discussing the story elements, I'm going to be focusing entirely on the Canon of Vengeance since this is primarily my reason for picking up this rerelease in the first place; I'm also going to avoid any direct spoilers regarding plot events or developments. While the first couple of hours or so of this path remain mostly unchanged from the original, you quickly begin meeting and working alongside various of the main cast of characters who directly join your party. This is a great means of better acquainting yourself with the characters and their motivations; I was always excited when context-specific conversations with them would occur and give me a little respite from the exploration as well as some much needed insight as to how they were feeling at the moment. In particular, the time spent with the two alignment defining characters, Tao and Yoko, who you freely have access to for a sizeable portion of the game always felt well spent. There are various moments during side content where you have to deal with morally grey situations and it was consistently interesting to see the two of them wax poetic about what they believed the RIGHT choice was. As the game progresses, the influence each of them has on the other's perspective of the world is very apparent and the development of each character felt organic and understandable as a result. I do, however, have mixed feelings on these party members occupying one of your 3 active party slots as I generally would much prefer having one of my demons fill that space instead. Having complete control over them is nice and having another party member who can use items early on was occasionally a life-saver but I think I preferred how support characters functioned in IV and IV:A slightly more where they occupy a special 5th slot and only occasionally chime in to help (my head canon is that Atlus was trying to avoid any potential 'Walter using Agi on Minotaur' adjacent memes from surfacing). Of course, using them in your party is entirely optional so this isn't actually much of an issue, just something I felt was worth mentioning.

In addition to an increased focus on allied characters, a great deal of Canon of Vengeance's story revolves around an entirely new faction of antagonists, known as the Qadištu; the likes of which added an increased amount of conflict and texture to the narrative that was sorely missing from the original. I would like to avoid spoiling anything regarding these characters, so will just say that interactions with them are intimidating, memorable, and fun; overall, they serve as a significantly more engaging set of antagonists than Nuwa and Yakumo did in the base game. Interestingly, Nuwa and Yakumo are very much still present but function a lot more like rival characters who are working toward the same goal as the main cast; just through separate means. They admittedly get brushed aside toward the end of the game, alongside the Qadištu, with fairly little fanfare but I enjoyed my time with them whenever they were present. Speaking of the end game, it is relatively in line with the original in many ways despite some different coats of paint having been thrown on it. That being said, the denser quantity of content in the final major area helped the game flow a lot more naturally and in my opinion, the pacing felt much smoother as a result; though, it's still a notable decline from the preceding areas.

Moving on to the turn based combat, this is simply the best the series has ever felt to play. I did not expect there to be many changes in this department, but the addition of innate demon passives opened up a vast ocean of possibilities when it came to party building; it was such a blast fusing demons and experimenting with different compositions. I branched out from my usual Strength-focused build in favor of Magic this time, and felt consistently rewarded for doing so (even if I'm sure Murakumo spamming is still the best build in the game) as exploiting weakness after weakness always feels incredibly strong, as it should. SMT VV also introduced a huge number of new Magatsuhi skills which added some much needed variety and while it's hard to contend with Critical (turns out having 8 press turns is good) or Succession (absolutely melting a fully debuffed boss with a buffed main character while severely exploiting their weakness with 4 consecutive spells had me cackling with joy every time) it was still fun to try out new options and the presence of them absolutely saved a few battles for me (or at least gave me an interesting means of solving a problem). Exploration-wise, this is still a very open game with minor platforming elements thrown in and peeking into every nook and cranny of these maps consistently rewards you with something whether that be a Miman, an Essence/Item, a new side quest, or even just a brief conversation with a demon. They really doubled down on packing this game full of content and I ravenously devoured all of it, especially since it would usually provide some further context on the world or it was just a fun excuse to hang out in the space with your demons.

Keeping that previous sentence in mind, my absolute favorite addition to Vengeance was the massive amount of attention and detail paid to the demons. Demons have always been the heart of the Megami Tensei franchise and so much love and care was put into making them the most expressive, fleshed out, and entertaining that they have every been. There must be thousands of lines of unique dialogue written for the demon negotiations alone and recruiting new allies was the most engaging it has ever been as a result (even if it was admittedly a tad too easy compared to previous titles in my opinion). The fun doesn't end there though, as you can now talk further with these demons and raise your rapport with them within the Demon Haunt; a new area entirely dedicated to spending time with and hanging out with your party members. I honestly did not expect to use this feature much at all, but very quickly found myself genuinely excited whenever one of my favorite demons wanted to have a quick word with me following a battle or quest. In addition to this, there are also dozens of new side quests that involve solving various predicaments for the demons and in some cases, you even get to briefly control a demon remotely while having unique conversations with other demons in the process. These were easily my favorite of the new side content, with the Ace Detective Pixie and the Nahobeeho (I love this little stinker so much) quests in particular being the highlights.

To wrap things up a little more succinctly, Shin Megami Tensei V: Vengeance feels fantastic to play; it has what is likely the best turn based combat in the medium, the exploration is immersive and consistently rewarding, the amount of freedom provided to the player regarding party building and composition is astounding, and the experience as a whole is brimming with a distinct sense of atmosphere and personality. Is the new and improved story incredible or ground breaking? Honestly, no, but it is a significant improvement over the original and I found it engrossing enough that I was consistently excited to see what happened next, which is about all I look for in a video game narrative. The pacing still runs into some of the same pitfalls as the base game and the skeleton of the original plot occasionally becomes visible; however, the game is packed so densely with content that I don't feel this detracted from my experience in any meaningful way, if anything, it more than made up for it.

The pikmin AI is smarter here but the level design is as lack luster if not worse than the first one because they focused on roguelite dungeons (boring) and the surface got the short end of the stick because of it. I don't understand how people are so fond of the caves when they are so basic and mindless. I really thought the introduction of Louie would give better gameplay ideas but there's no point if they only stay still while I control the other, it's rather pointless to have two characters when I can only control one at a time and there are no interesting puzzles that involve using both at the same time.

Between Elden Ring, GOW ragnarok, and now Totk, I’m getting pretty tired of AAA sequels that refuse to fix the mistakes of its predecessors and/or offer a more focused experience in favor of more meaningless content.

BOTW was a revolutionary game because it showed everyone that making an open world where every little corner of the map was not only purposeful and unique, but made with player interaction in mind, was a far better and more engaging experience than the hyper realistic storefronts (“very beautiful but try not to touch anything” design mentality) that many games were and still are.
This could be better appreciated if you read or watched any of the many articles that explained the way the map was designed, with mountains and hills located and shaped in such a way that would incentivize wanderlust and make you wonder what was behind them, along with constant landmarks positioned along the way that made you stray from the main path.

This design marvel caused inadvertedly one of the main problems of the game, which is that at the end of every quest, landmark or curiosity that incentivized said exploration there was ALWAYS either some kind or weapon, a trinket, or a shrine (and very rarely bit-sized, inconsequential stories called memories), and therefore, the moment the player realizes this, most of their wanderlust can disappear because there is no wondering if you know what’s the surprise at the end. This was most likely caused because Nintendo felt that a more relevant story along with better written and more relevant side-quests could make the player feel constricted and less free, but, at least in my experience in, say, Fallout New Vegas, more interesting stories make me want to engage more profoundly with the word and provide with a more rewarding satisfaction than any material in-game reward.

But then again, this, along with the exceedingly simple breakable weapons system, the horrid combat and the dumb-as-bricks shrine puzzles were the imperfect solutions nintendo arrived to while trying to make exploration feel great. And, in my opinion? They absolutely succeeded. Despite my many complaints about it, I can’t deny that I enjoyed every single one of the +200 hours I spent between two different playthroughs of BOTW.

I think it’s precisely because of my enjoyment of BOTW that I have found TOTK to be so unappealing to me, and why I have struggled to finish it despite having “only” played 45 hours, far less than any of my BOTW playthroughs.
My disappointment with TOTK could be reduced to the fact that it not only has refused to learn from the mistakes of its predecesor, but has actively worsened in some aspects.
Why implement Fuse if you are gonna keep the combat as orthopedic as in the first game, and most people won’t take advantage of the synergies between certain materials and will simple fuse two weapons for higher damage?
Why implement Ultrahand (an admittedly quite impressive ability, and, according to the game designers in my timeline, an absolute marvel of programming) if you are gonna keep puzzles both in and outside of shrines as simple and open as the first game, making brute-forcing your way through like an idiot an option.
Why implement Recall if you are barely gonna find situations where it’s useful (at least in my experience)
Why implement Ascend if you are going to trademark it FUCK YOU NINTENDO.
(I won’t talk about Autobuild because I forgot I had one power left to acquire and I couldn’t be bothered to explore the depths more)
I won’t say these abilities are bad, only that they bring to the surface problems the game carried over from BOTW and that it has not tried to fix in the at least six (6!!!!) years it’s been in development.

Now, I will absolutely say that the sage abilities and the world design have worsened enormously from the previous game.
In BOTW, each champion ability you acquired, regardless of the order you got them, made you feel much more powerful and competent than before. In TOTK you have two absolutely useless abilities, one that is a severely handicapped version of urbosa’s fury, and a wind burst that is pretty useful but still feels somewhat limited; and you better get the wind one first if you don’t want to get your time wasted.

And now, the cardinal sin of TOTK, the world design.
Hyrule has been butchered, not only by ganondorf but by the designers too. You are no longer required to interact and engage with the world, you no longer need to arduously cross the landscape to reach a new goal, confronting not only the dangers on the way, but the hostility of nature too.
Hyrule has been stripped of agency and reduced to a land whose only purpose is to endure the whims of the player. Whereas in BOTW hyrule was a dangerous place you had to explore on its own terms, aided by things like revali’s gale or the towers, in TOTK you can ignore everything, get yeeted to the sky by a tower and simply fly wherever you want.
It also doesn’t help that most of the map is the same as in BOTW with some minor variations and that the new zones, the sky islands and the depths, are so visually samey and, to me, kinda boring that they feel more like an addition for content’s sake than an worthwhile incorporation. In fact, I explored so little of the depths because I found them visually boring, and the gloom and absolute darkness such a pain in the ass, that I won’t say definitively that it’s filler.


Every Zelda game I can think of has tried to change and distinguish itself from other entries in an effort to be unique and worth playing. I didn’t finish Majora’s Mask (a mistake I will soon fix), but from the ten hours or so I played I could tell Nintendo didn’t try to simply replicate the success of Ocarina of Time, instead choosing a far darker tone and more unique design philosophy, making an independent experience from OoT.

TOTK biggest mistake is that it tries to one-up BOTW in every aspect, opening itself to far more criticism and comparisons in the process and making it an experience that, at least in my opinion, is not worth your time if you have already played BOTW.


Finally, Tears of a Kingdom, I thank you for making me appreciate more everything groundbreaking Breath of the wild did, and I damn you for making me be so much more conscious about its many problems that I can no longer consider it one of my favorite games ever.

I'll admit I might be nostalgia blind with this one. Sonic Unleashed was the first ever videogame I ever saw. I didn't get to play it but little 5 year old me was hooked on the story and how fun the game looked. And well years later here I am finally playing it.

To say Sonic Unleashed met my expectations and THEN some would be an understatement. The daytime stages are genuinely some of the most fun I've ever had in a videogame, getting a good S rank run or pb is one of the most satisfying things I've experienced in recent years. Stages like Rooftop Run, Cool Edge, or Jungle Joyride never fail to get my blood pumping. Every daystage will put your reaction speed and memorization to the test and finally putting it all together for a good run is super rewarding. Anyways time to talk about the werehog!!!

Honest to god the werehog isn't too bad. Don't get me wrong the DMC fan in me is dying slowly about the combat. All I can say is that it's kinda okay to maybe decent if you just hyper focus upgrading combat and strength, there's also quick time events that look kinda cool that I'm pretty sure is an instakill against enemies. The werehog also has a focus on platforming. I think the platforming is pretty fun but it's by no means remarkable. They're like all 20-30 minutes if you actually participate in the combat sections but if you REALLY hate werehog you can like skip 90% of them and just shove chilidogs down sonic's gullet to make up for the lack of exp.

Should probably talk about medals. They honestly aren't too bad. I played all the night stages looking out for all of them and barely had to replay night stages as a result. If you keep an eye out for them then you'll have enough to get to the next stage, I spent way more time replaying day stages during my play through than I did playing werehog stages in general. During this I accidentally got like most of the medals available in the day stages.

Anyways in conclusion I really love this game and I'm super glad it met 5 year old me's expectations of peak gameplay. I totally get if you dislike this game but for me? This is one of the best games I've ever played.