Sure the combat could be better but if you think its bad clearly you've never impulse mega flare permafrost dancing steel into stagger will-o-the-wykes lightning rod gigaflare zantetsuken level 5-ed before and it shows :/

I struggled a good bit throughout my playthroughs of Final Fantasy XVI. It is now the third mainline game in the series I've beaten but at the time I started it I had intended it to be my first. Its a series I've always known i needed to try to get into, and the demo of this game was absolutely amazing, it completely blew me away. I was very unexpectedly hyped for this. And playing it I was like oh yeah this is def 5/5 material, after the Garuda fight I was so sold on the game. The music is fucking fantastic and I've never seen such awesome boss fights. But then after that the game felt like it had already peaked. There are still great boss fights through the rest of the game but they never were as impactful as the first 10 or so hours were for me. I felt myself increasingly disinterested in the plot and all the lore and by extension - the game itself.

All that changed near the end when I finally actually started doing side missions. I surprisingly ended up becoming quite fond of all the side characters in the Hideaway and to a much lesser extent the different characters out in the various towns and villages. The game has a pretty damn good cast. It was around that point that I was pretty hype for the end. And for the most part the finale delivers. Its plenty epic, and I was having a great time. But in the end, I was a bit disappointed in how everything wrapped up. That's not to say that there's really anything wrong with the ending, it just wasn't what I was wanting. How i feel about that is how I feel about Final Fantasy XVI as a whole. Plenty of great moments, but in the end still just a little disappointing.

Now that I've explained that I still think FFXVI is great, I have a lot more to complain about. Mostly minor things but it all added up over my 90 hours spent with the game. Some minor annoyances like enemy phases being tied to health bars so sometimes when you set up a stagger and start unleashing, the game just lets them sit there and recover without taking damage and you being unable to do anything for like 20 seconds before the next phase begins. There's also some battles in the wild where if the fight naturally goes a little further than where it started, enemies may just become immune and run back to their spawn point at full health. There's also without fail after every big boss, a main quest that's meant to let things settle but it just kills the pacing and feels like the game is wasting your time by dishing out forced side quests, sometimes several in a row. In the more dungeon-y areas the game is also pretty bad at leading the player along, there were several times I ran completely in the wrong direction because it doesn't make it clear what doors you can open unless you're right next to them. My final complaint is that Final Fantasy mode, the supposed hard mode for NG+, is a complete joke. Now I'm sort of glad it wasn't hard because it made the platinum obtainable for me and now that i have one for a mainline game in the series I don't ever have to bother again. But like, the games idea of hard is give every enemy 50x as much HP. For normal enemies it ain't nothin a level 5 Zantetsuken can't solve but any enemy with a stagger bar doesn't actually feel harder to fight, they just take ages to fucking kill. Even though i skipped every cutscene and did minimal side content, my FF playthrough felt longer than my first where I did basically everything. It just isn't very fun.

So that's about all of my thoughts with Final Fantasy XVI. But to end on a more positive note: Jill is hot and Titanic Block + Counter is one of the most satisfying moves of all time.

Thanks for reading <3

-----TLDR----
+ Great cast
+ Amazing soundtrack
+ Awesome boss fights throughout
- Story quality and pacing is wildly inconsistent
- Didn't like the way it ended
- Too many little gameplay grievances that add up

Nancymeter - 85/100
Trophy Completion - 100% (Platinum #278)
Time Played: 92 hours
Completion #6 of November
Completion #210 of 2023

Super Mario RPG is an absolutely essential video game for Mario. It was the starting point of Mario's RPG adventures that would later split into two different RPG series that borrowed many concepts and creativity the original offered, those being Paper Mario, and the Mario & Luigi series. While these two series have their own unique concepts, mechanics, and art styles, at their core they both used Mario RPG as a foundation. It is rather unfortunate then that Mario RPG was left behind in favor of the other two series because Square left Nintendo, but also because Mario RPG still somehow sets itself apart drastically even to this day. Mario RPGs currently aren't in the best position, Mario & Luigi has since ended since AlphaDream's bankruptcy. and Paper Mario being an absolute shell of its former self, it seemed like Mario RPGs were doomed to losing relevancy and positive reception with fans. When the remake was announced, I was unbelievably excited at the prospect that perhaps this was what the Mario RPG space needed, a reminder to both players and developers that there still exists a large fanbase of passionate and dedicated players for these games. Perhaps the success of this game would give Mario RPGs the turnaround it needed to succeed again, but if the game isn't any good, then Mario RPGs as we once knew them may be lost forever. So, was Super Mario RPG's Remake any good?

Super Mario RPG's remake is the most faithful remake I think I've encountered in a very long time. Almost no dialogue was altered from the original, with the exception of some awkward translations and some name changes, everything else was exactly as it was from the original release. This includes a lack of censorship as well, which surprised me. They kept a lot of dialogue and concepts here that I expected to not be included, but I am so glad they did because all of it culminates into what Mario RPG is, and without it, it'd feel just a bit less like how it should.

There's plenty of changes and new additions in this remake as well that are a rather mixed bag for me. Firstly, and most importantly are the changes to timed hits, the remake gives you indications on when to time your attacks, and when to time your guarding. Having an indication to know what the perfect timing is allows players to learn it much more consistently which feels more rewarding overall rather than guessing like in the original. Timed hits and guarding also come in two forms, early inputs, and perfect inputs. An early input like the original will give you more damage and blocking, but not fully, in the Remake this is showcased by the font of the damage that pops up on the screen which is a useful visual aid so players can tune their timings further. A perfectly timed attack or guard have substantial rewards in the remake especially, a perfectly timed attack will allow you to deal smaller splash damage to every other enemy you didn't target in battle, which speeds fights up tremendously. Perfect guarding negates any and all damage you would've taken from the attack, which encourages you to learn the timings of every attack an enemy can use on you which feels really satisfying to master. This new and improved timing system ties into two new mechanics in the Remake which further rewards your mastery of them, chains, and your special meter. Chains is a number that increases the more timed hits you do correctly in a row, the first four or five in a chain will actually buff your stats, which is already a strong incentive to go for, but the chain actually never stops counting your streak. I never found out if there was a limit or not, but my personal best record was seventy-one times. I enjoy that it keeps track of it for so long because it can add a lot of personal challenge to try and hit one hundred which gives the game a small minigame almost within combat to go for which is really fun and can help break up the monotony of random battles if you're feeling a bit burnt out, which is a welcome addition. The special meter ties into timed hits because every correct timed hit will fill up the gauge slightly, when it's filled to 100% you can utilize a "triple attack" where all three of your current party members will do an attack together to deal some really good damage. All of the animations are charming and provide a few unique advantages not found in the original. I actually found them pretty charming and cute, so I liked this addition. Really all of the new additions for combat in the remake are nice because it all ties into the mechanic of timed hits that doesn't make it feel complicated to learn, it's also not as busy as it might look at first glance, which is really important because Super Mario RPG is very beginner friendly for an RPG. This is an easy recommendation for someone who wants to get into the genre.

Unfortunately, while all these new additions do enrich the combat, the side-effect is the absolute downgrade in difficulty. Super Mario RPG was never considered a difficult game, but to make the game even easier can turn a lot of players off if there's no challenge, because then mastering timed hits and all these new additions seems pointless if nothing can stand up to it. Surprise, nothing can, the game is still very much balanced with the original in mind, so a lot of these buffs and the triple moves just decimate everything in their path without any issue whatsoever. I mentioned this in my Super Mario Wonder review, but I do not expect Mario RPG to be difficult, rather I expect the game to at least gradually make me master the mechanics presented to face the ever more powerful and capable enemies and bosses as I progress. That natural progression of the player's skill and game's difficulty is smeared due to the new mechanics in this remake that dulls down the experience a lot, and mastery of timed hits and blocking, while emphasized and rewarded far more than the original, do not matter when said reward one-shots everything. The reward should be justified through the difficulty the game is presenting, but since this game is incredibly easy, those rewards in turn don't feel as necessary or substantial either.

Now, difficulty is incredibly hard to pin down per individual, so obviously someone may have a very difficult time with this game compared to myself. But even in the original, I would get my ass handed to me if I wasn't at least a tad considerate of the capabilities enemies and bosses had against me. That's really my big issue, nothing really poses a threat in this game like the original. You could argue that later in the original, you can damn near one-shot everything anyway, so why am I making this a big deal? Well, there's one extremely big difference I haven't mentioned yet, which is the enemy magic attacks. In the original, every magic attack could not be blocked, meaning you were taking full damage from them every time, along with any status effects those attacks had. In the Remake, most magic attacks enemies cast can be blocked, which I think was a nice change overall, but definitely made the game easier still. There are some magic that still cannot be blocked however, which I think was a good idea to try and keep some stake in fights, but I think they were too broad and selective about which attacks can and can't be blocked, and wished it was more even rather than being able to block most of them. I was overjoyed to be proven wrong with one extremely specific fight I won't spoil, but it was the highlight of the game for me because it rewarded me for mastering my timings and utilizing every single advantage I could possibly get to win, it made all the mechanics and new mechanics feel justified with the extremely challenging nature of that battle, which made it all the more satisfying and fun. If you can just breeze through everything like a picnic, nothing feels as necessary or fun as it should or could be, and that's my biggest problem with this remake.

Graphically, the game is once again amazingly faithful, but does not let this new technological leap go to waste by any means. Every area has backgrounds now that really makes the areas come to life so much more and makes it feel much larger than what you're capable of exploring, which I loved. Every area had an amazing glow-up, and nothing looked off or changed at all, it's honestly impressive how well they nailed the area's vibes while giving them a new coat of paint for them to really shine to their fullest potential. The new remixed music is a mixed bag, some tracks have transcended their originals by a mile, others definitely don't feel as charming or accurate to the originals did. I will concede though that most tracks people know about are done perfectly, they still have their iconic instrumentation and sound, while being upgraded with more depth to make them somehow sound more complete than they already did, which is an achievement. If you don't like the new renditions of the songs, you can actually switch to the original soundtrack in-game, which really shows me how much the devs respected the original, and the fans of the original to even have that option. I very much respect them for that, but I insisted on keeping the new tracks on because I wanted to try and have as new of an experience as possible while playing this remaster, and that was definitely fulfilled in a sense by doing that.

The new cutscenes and boss introductions are phenomenal and really give the game more personality, as well as the bosses. The minigames in the Remake have been altered a bit to throw you a few curveballs for veterans, and for new players, a good sense of difficulty progression. All of the optional content is still here, tons of secrets to find, They give you a specific accessory earlier to help find the hidden treasures in the world much easier, there's a plethora of additional items the game gives you. They updated the inventory system, to where rather than having limited space, you can only hold so many of one item. I like this change, but also don't like it because now the small decision making of what items are essential to you, and which ones aren't is no longer present, you just grab every item you see without worrying about it, and any extras you get go to your storage for safe-keeping. While this helps minimize waste, the player isn't forced to make a tough decision on what item they deem more valuable at that given time anymore, which is a shame, because I personally really enjoyed that aspect of the original, it also wasn't as cumbersome as a game like Earthbound, which made it more bearable as well. You can switch out your party members now mid fight, which makes the game even easier, but I actually like this change because games like Final Fantasy VI already allowed you to do this if you wiped. Unlike Final Fantasy VI however, you can also swap out party members if they have a status that keeps them from fighting for a while, which is another mixed bag. For one, I actually like the change because it no longer kills momentum of the battle to just have one ally not be able to do anything for four turns, but it also doesn't punish the player nearly as hard for not being prepared that something like this could happen. You just switch out your party member and you're good to go. It also just makes specific status nullifying items lose their value later in the game when you can just switch out, though to be fair, status nullifying items got outshined in the original as well in favor of better accessories, and obviously if you swap your party member out for someone else and they suffer the same status effect, it's not even an issue at that point because the fact stands they weren't prepared for it. Platforming sections and other puzzles in this game that were harrowing in the original are still difficult here just due to the isometric perspective of the camera, though I wish they polished it a bit more because some sections were still a nightmare to progress through in this remake.

Super Mario RPG Remake was a fantastic remake of the beloved SNES RPG for me. It definitely has some problems and downgrades as I mentioned, but it's not like the original was perfect either. This is a very solid remake, and I think a lot of the changes could be argued for the betterment of the game, but some of them I wasn't the biggest fan of. It's a super solid remake that respects the original and the fans, and does an immaculate job remastering the graphics and music for the most part that makes it feel familiar, but also new enough to warrant playing. I still prefer the original, although I'd actually recommend this version to anyone who wants to get into RPG's, hell I'd recommend it anyway just because it did a really great job, and I think a lot of the new content I didn't go over to prevent spoiling more than justifying anyone to go out and give it a try, even if you played and loved the original. Thank you all for reading my review of the Super Mario RPG Remake! I'm not sure what games I'll be getting to next since there aren't any new releases for awhile that I'm interested in, so I guess we'll have to wait and see. Thank you all again for reading!

I'd like to start this review by quoting Kiryu himself in Yakuza 5

"I'm not like you. To you, being Yakuza is a way to die. To me... it's a way to live. We walk the same path, but you're barreling towards death, while I fight for life."

While this might be a Kiryu game in all effectiveness, to me this is a game dedicated to the series itself, and to the moment of glimmer the characters see in a way of life trudging through filth. The way of life that the Yakuza follow.

This game lets us finally see the true impact of what the dissolution of the Yakuza brought about. And in a meta-narrative sense, the end of Kiryu's age or the "Yakuza" series with the rebranding into Like a Dragon.

When you reflect on the series' origin, how Kiryu ended up in this way of life by idolizing a man who held guilt towards his actions. The diamonds of his effort resulted in him having ended the cycle by inspiring his children to be people who walk the path of light. He didn't just end the age of Yakuza in this game, he truly brought about something good from Kazama's actions that kicked off his life no matter how morally grey he was.

To quote Kiryu again,

"I can hide my past all I want. But no matter how much I hate it...I'll always be Yakuza."

"I can erase my name all I want but I can't deny who I am."

He unbashedly acknowledges how he is Yakuza through and through in the series, and while his ideal might've been one of hope and strength the path of violence that he has taken has had its consequences in turn bringing about a cycle of violence that threatened all that was precious to him. And inspiring others to follow it in the wake he leaves.

This is where I'll make a tangent to talk about Shishido, I think he is the best thing to come out of this game. On paper, he might be just a man who tried to prevent the end of the Yakuza because that's the only way of life he knew. But to me, he's more than a character in the narrative, he's a figure who represents every single person in this way of life across the series. He is the result of what Kiryu's life influenced in a twisted way.

Confronting Shishido at the end must've felt like facing a crystallization of his own life to Kiryu. When you see him size himself up with the backdrop of the Omi alliance building, that's when I knew he wasn't just representing himself but the very blood, sweat and tears that went in throughout the series that led to this.

While Yakuza is a series that talks about humanity in criminals, it also deconstructs itself by commenting on the modern age of Yakuza where there are no ideals or honour in the men who identify as such. To them, it's just another way to succeed and indulge in the pleasures of life.

Where Someya is a man who was able to walk the path of the lost ideals despite losing himself, Shishido is someone who inherited the one thing about the Yakuza that's universal across all of them. Tenacity.

He is a cry for survival the Yakuza shout out in their dying blaze. And one that calls out to Kiryu as the man who stands atop it all. An effigy of the ideals that breathe no more.

If Yakuza 6 was about his parenthood being tested and the sacrifices he would make to uphold it, Gaiden is about him coming to confront the past he couldn't in 6. The demons he's built and festered, the legacy that nearly consumed him whole. It's impressive how small-scale and contained the narrative is, focusing solely on the end of the Yakuza. We direly needed to see Kiryu's perspective on this as it isn't just a conclusion to the era but also the end of his life as Kazuma Kiryu.

That's all I have to say about the narrative and how previous entries play into it but to make a few footnotes, it's a little disappointing the first 4 chapters don't do a lot for the story but it's fine considering they are primarily here to serve the finale. The gameplay is good it felt unpolished which isn't surprising with how short of a development cycle it had. What I did of the side content was standard fare for the series, the coliseum is good. The music is great and this is the best-looking game in the series undoubtedly.

To conclude the review with the quote I started it off on if a man whose identity and actions are so tied to a path he finds to be rubbish can start over, I can't help but be inspired.

I'm gonna repeat myself a little here but it is incredibly rewarding emotionally to see that Kiryu's life through the mistakes, partings and suffering he bears, leads to something meaningful. Even if his past being bloody is something he regrets, his purpose as Yakuza resulted in lives brightened as the ultimatum.

To be able to destroy the throne he sat on and subsequently wipe off the face of the Yakuza, I can't think of a more perfect ending for The man who erased his name.

I sobbed like a baby at the end of this game.

I can't believe RGG managed to make a short game that bridges Kiryu's story between LAD 6 and 7 this damn good. Kiryu is one of my all-time favorite characters in gaming and fiction as a whole, and getting to play as him again after so long was so nice. The combat was as good as it's ever been and the final boss fight was a satisfyingly tough fight that I really enjoyed. The new characters were all great and the story, while short, did a great job at explaining what happened between 6 and 7 before Infinite Wealth comes out next year.

I love this series so fucking much, and this is up there with 0, 6 and 7 as one of my all-time favorites. Kiryu is such an amazing character, and I truly can't believe how much of an emotional gut-punch the ending was; I don't often cry at games but I feel like I've invested so much time and emotional energy into this man's journey that it almost felt cathartic to cry. This was a such a special gaming experience and I'm so glad I got to play it.

“Fate only binds you if you let it. Do what is necessary, not because it is written”

God of War Ragnarok was a game I’ve been waiting for since the post credit scene to the 2018 game, and safe to say that it did not disappoint.

The game is pretty big improvement over 2018, gameplay feels a lot snappier and more responsive, and having both the Levaithan Axe and Blades of Chaos pretty much from the start makes this more apparent.

The story in this game is absolutely amazing, pretty much a blast from start to finish, and in my eyes the standout character in this game is the leading man him self, the God of War. Kratos in the game is an absolute standout, as the game highlights his relationship with his son, his morals, and his ideals. This game has put him up there among some of my favorite main characters of all time.

The only issues I have with this game are probably some of the puzzles being needless annoying and the rushed endgame.

In short, easily my GOTY for 2022.

Crimson Sin Review - tldr any kingrecon video

A year has gone since kuro no kiseki released and won both veterans fans that grew wary of Cold steel and others such as myself who wanted to see something fresh but still in line with what the series is about.

Of course, questions were left in the air with certain characters and plot threads which a lot of the fandom grew intrigue and started anticipating for the next game. Anticipation was through the roof and people thought Crimson Sin would answer everything.

Why am I saying this at all? Because I think it's best to talk about how I anticipated kuro 2 compared to my peers or other people in the fandom. Going in with barely any expectations I felt gave me more to enjoy and appreciate. I dodged a lot of the promotional material as I wasn't finished with the first game which may have been a life saver somewhat.

This game wasn't gonna solve everything nor is it even "filler." A lot of the complaints originally felt hollow and just meaningless as majority of the reviews came a day after release with half baked summaries from chinaman stream.

These comments feel as if they detract heavily from what kuro 2 was meant to be about from day 1 and how much it feels like an achievement for Falcom in my eyes atleast. It's the most interesting game to me just from how it's structured and took from the best game in the series with a route structure.

The game focuses on the eight genesis after all, a plot line brought forth by the first game and left a mystery since the ending after collecting the 7th genesis. Development to characters such as quatre, risette, swin, renne, feri and so forth and with some of the best moments in the arc thus far that feel integral to the arc as a whole are brought up. Hajimari is consistently brought up and this game feels like a continuation of a lot of the ideas, character stuff and more.

My vision of what Crimson Sin was going to be felt more in line with what was given to me with way more twists and turns that I had thought. It felt nice to play a trails game without knowing spoilers and twists. Intermission was an example of this, what a fucking chapter.

Was I satisfied? Hell yeah even would go out to say this is in my top 2 games in the series because of how much I think I love from the gimmick of this game, the mystery, antagonist roster, side quests so on and so forth.

Though, my biggest praise to this game is the main gimmick, god that was so much fucking fun. Yeah, there maybe some actual funny usages of it but a lot of the time I really loved it.

As I said earlier, it's character moments are so well done and emotionally hit me in the feels, with it also being the point where I feel the Arkride Solutions group grew on me so much and the overall Calvard cast might be my personal favourite as of right now.

Would I say its perfect? Damn near outside of a bit of act 3 which I feel has may have been given too much flack and has been exaggerated in terms of criticism I feel. Of course, I understand some complaints but people saying it ruins the game for them feels funny to me. I'm not gonna sit here and say "I know its flawed blah blah blah" fuck off. I don't care. I really loved the act after all.

LGC points matter less here because of the emphasis on the main gimmick which I understand but really want them to be used next game as how kuro 1 was.

Theres also the music, which I enjoyed a lot but some may also feel inclined to say it doesn't work well. There's a few used tracks from kuro 1 but this is so normal for falcom so it's become a really whatever comment as I loved that soundtrack. (Yeah Kill me I love singa!!! Woooo singa yeah!!!)

Cutscenes have probably jumped up in quality for me, some of the best usage of them thus far in the arc. One especially went crazy and caught me off guard.

Final boss... yeah that shit probably the best one no doubt. It uses EVERYTHING at it resources and doesn't fail to make you blind sided at moments.

Though I think I haven't been as vocal on how much I love this arc, feeling as my thoughts may feel a bit more regurgitated, this game turned it up a notch. Falcom is trying their hardest to put a lot of new ideas into these games which works so well. I want to see what they do next.

Side note, I can't wait to replay this. Probably more to praise whenever I do get to it.

Update : Some really interesting stuff was shown and left off really nicely,

"To be continued... KURO NO KISEKI FINAL CHAPTER."

This game carried so many many expectations on my end, and well having fully beat it I can say it pretty much met all of them and surpassed most.

I'll try to segment this so it's easier to follow and offer general thoughts on the series and game at the end.

The gameplay is the best in the series, MG is a great addition but gets pretty boring down the line as these dungeons usually do. TRC at least had cooler bosses but more of Kuro II gameplay is never a bad thing.

The music, I prefer not to speak about

The visuals and performance somehow both improved despite this being an updated version of Kuro 1's engine? and I played on a PS4 slim so good job falcom for making the game even more optimized, cinematic and well directed.

The side quests are easily the best in the series, this game focuses on all of the cast as much as it can so it's inevitable. The connect/bond events are among the best for sure, dunno if this was necessarily my favourite set overall but a perfect batch regardless.

The character writing is brilliant, the main cast gets widespread damn near perfect focus and a great inspection into them while adding a lot of meaningful development to most. The side cast is focused on equally well, brilliant stuff everywhere.

Alright arghhhhhhhhhhhh this game is such a fucking blast, it feels like a festival if you're invested in the series/kuro. The stretch from act 1 to intermission is legendary. Not a single dull moment or lackluster scene, everything goes full steam at building up this game's themes and characters. Which is a point I wanted to get to, this game is probably the most centered around its themes after Hajimari/The 3rd in the series, which is really surprising. The narrative is also super character driven, and despite being so big it rarely fails to be great. Also fun to note that this game is equal parts sequel to Hajimari as it is to Kuro in my opinion, so if you love those games, not loving this is impossible. Act 3 is a weird case, while I love the amount of payoff it gives to certain characters, and the side character focus is pretty damn good, it runs for too long for its own good and the narrative developments are a bit icky. Regardless, one of the best parts in the game. The hate is pretty funny, I understand why though I just disagree. The finale is a great chapter, rather short but the connect events and ending are perfect. Wish certain characters showed off more in the finale but it's fine even if they didn't. The DLC update leaves so much in air in a good way.

That said this game offers a lot, there's tons of setup and elaboration on past events. The character work as I said is immaculate. And it's nearly perfectly paced outside Act 3. But the way it drives home the theme of sins, your past and where and who you are in this world, acting like a thematic sequel to Kuro/Hajimari while adding its own new grounds that Kuro 3 will hopefully tread effortlessly. The lore bits are so fucking rewarding, the picture they are painting is something I genuinely cannot wait to see. It gives enough to be satisfied and want more. And generally its tendency to resolve stuff across the series while adding more to it is great. Despite being a game so indulgent in its own happenings.

As a last note, THAT FINAL BOSS IS THE FUCKING BEST A TURN BASED GAME WILL EVER HAVE MECHANICALLY UOHHHHHHHHHHHHH I LOVE YOU KONDO (I still prefer certain other boss fights in the series narratively)