Merp
Ramped up encounters and satisfying build diversity feed into a compelling endgame for Monster Hunter Rise.
2021
Great turn-based battles and addicting fusion. However, the endgame has some balancing issues and some strategies end up becoming repetitive. The story is also a major weakpoint, though I enjoyed the alignments this time around a bit more than I was expecting.
The combat is ridiculously good and the bosses are the best out of the Fromsoft games. An excellent game all around. The learning curve is immensely satisfying.
Kinda dumb, kinda fun.
2003
Was concerned towards the start but the characters won me over in Extra. Unlimited was great, though a bit slow paced, and I am eager to revisit this review upon completing Alternative, which is already making Extra and Unlimited feel much more weighty than they were before..
Absurd and a super cool combat system. The autolock is kind of a pain at times but the soundtrack, characters, and gameplay are worth it.
2020
Fun, albeit somewhat unbalanced combat. The story feels like a retread of most of the themes of Persona 5, but still has a bit to offer. The new additions to the cast are fantastic and seamlessly integrate into the main cast.
Short and sweet, with surprisingly great boss battles. The swap mechanic is fantastic. A more fleshed out version of this with more movement options or even more swappable party members would be insane.
This review contains spoilers
Voice of Cards is not grand, but it never needed to be. Unlike Taro's other games, it is much more relaxing and it was super easy to simply vibe with it. The gameplay, especially towards the end, was simple but compelling. The battle system removes MP entirely and replaces it with a shared gem resource that creates an fun flow to combat encounters, particularly later bosses.
The style is a beautiful example of how limitations can create art.
Since Taro is connected to the project, the story is necessary to mention. While not nearly as insane as his other games, Cards has a fun narrative with a few twists and turns (especially towards the end) that were entertaining and even moving at times.
The biggest thing that surprised me was the game's humor. This is a legitimately hilarious game and it has a constant snarky undertone that never failed to get a laugh out of me. The characterization of the protagonist in particular was especially fun if you went out of your way to pick the dumbest options possible. Going with this method, I accidentally got the true ending and that was a trip.
There are a few problems with Voice of Cards that I noticed that could potentially be a detriment. Progression is ridiculously linear, and there are few places to actually explore off the beaten path. Additionally, some aspects of the game such as the high random encounters can be frustrating at times. This is compounded by the slow battle animations and world movement at the time of review. The team is currently working on a patch for this issue. Depending on the situation, the combat can stagnate when an optimal build is uncovered. The story, while fun, does lull a bit towards the middle, but the humor was able to carry much of the game for me.
Regardless of these complaints, Voice of Cards really surprised me, and I would love to play a potential sequel that builds off of the ideas presented here.
The style is a beautiful example of how limitations can create art.
Since Taro is connected to the project, the story is necessary to mention. While not nearly as insane as his other games, Cards has a fun narrative with a few twists and turns (especially towards the end) that were entertaining and even moving at times.
The biggest thing that surprised me was the game's humor. This is a legitimately hilarious game and it has a constant snarky undertone that never failed to get a laugh out of me. The characterization of the protagonist in particular was especially fun if you went out of your way to pick the dumbest options possible. Going with this method, I accidentally got the true ending and that was a trip.
There are a few problems with Voice of Cards that I noticed that could potentially be a detriment. Progression is ridiculously linear, and there are few places to actually explore off the beaten path. Additionally, some aspects of the game such as the high random encounters can be frustrating at times. This is compounded by the slow battle animations and world movement at the time of review. The team is currently working on a patch for this issue. Depending on the situation, the combat can stagnate when an optimal build is uncovered. The story, while fun, does lull a bit towards the middle, but the humor was able to carry much of the game for me.
Regardless of these complaints, Voice of Cards really surprised me, and I would love to play a potential sequel that builds off of the ideas presented here.
In retrospect, I think this is better than Smash Wii U. Smash Run is brilliant and the portability was a fun twist on the Smash formula. However, like Wii U, most of its other features have not aged well and there is a certain limitation to control due to it being only on 3DS.
2000
Pretty solid. I think the story was quite safe, but the way it was presented and the writing in particular was fantastic. RPG Bowser never gets old. The combat also deserves a mention as the action based system is great.
2017
This game finally got me to enjoy a competitive multiplayer shooter, but most matches are entirely reliant on how the objective is pressed in the last 30 seconds. The campaign was a pleasant surprise and felt almost Marioesque.
I loved to restart this game every time I took a break. Playing it at 2 in the morning looking for beetles are such good memories. The soundtrack will forever be one of my absolute favorites.
An unsettling atmosphere and large amounts of time micromanaging leads to the most compelling Zelda game. As controversial as some of the changes in the remake were, I still thought the overall package was better than the original.
The gameplay loop has not aged well at all, but the amount of heart and content within cannot be emphasized enough. Still a classic.