Mina
2023
This review contains spoilers
This game is seriously something else. I want to just throw all my thoughts down in a longer format than the media thread will allow, get it all out there.
To start, I wanna get gripes out of the way. For me, the gameplay actually isn't a huge one, but it's far from perfect. The combat here is vastly improved from the first game, with both characters fitting into their own little survival horror boxes and accomplishing a lot of what they want to do. Saga feels a bit more action-y, with open environments and enemies that patrol around. Alan, meanwhile, has segments where enemies hide amongst harmless shadows, giving him a very tense stealthy edge to his gameplay. Truthfully, I quite liked it. However, while it's improved... I still struggle to call it entirely engaging. I often describe the first game's combat as tense when it works, and a slog most other times. Combat here feels similar, just more satisfying to actually play. Shooting is better, upgrades feel meaningful, but the actual flow of combat is just... meh? Enemies are a bit bullet sponge-y, and deal a lot of damage. This is definitely an attempt at the classic survival horror design to discourage fighting when it isn't mandatory, but I feel it only works sometimes here. I played this game on hard, I was expecting some rough encounters, and I'm a weird psycho who enjoys having to count my bullets and decide whether a fight is even worth picking in games like this... but I dunno something here feels like it's lacking. I don't think the gameplay ever fully discouraged me, and for what it's worth I thought the bosses were pretty cool, but it's definitely not the most well-polished survival horror combat I've ever played. As a positive though, the puzzles in this game are really fun! Saga and Wake have their own way of navigating the world and progressing in the story. The detective angle was really fun to play, and gets paid off super well.
Speaking of polish, the PC port is a pretty big sore spot for me here. It could genuinely be a combination of my machine, my installation issues because Epic sucks, or any number of things on my end. But judging by other reviews, this game just has some imperfections with regards to stability. I had some frequent crashes, fucky audio during cutscenes here and there, and a few bugs that required a full restart. For a game with presentation this fucking outstanding, bugs that take me out of the immersion really hurt.
With those things said, I still gave this game a fucking ten. The narrative and sheer love for the project you can feel from every second of this game are just that strong. This game has a full musical number, short film, a novel, whole albums worth of original music, and a narrative that's mind-bending and brings in elements from like... Remedy's entire library? This game is endlessly creative, ambitious, and heartfelt. Every chapter left me with questions, answers and most of all a crazy desire to just see where it all goes next. It's gripping, satisfying and honestly among the best narratives I've seen in a game. It uses its gameplay and mechanics to further the story in ways that had me grinning from ear-to-ear. The first game was a fun, cheeky horror-thriller. This game is definitely that in places, and so much more everywhere else.
I feel like I could keep writing about this game forever. That's actually a pretty fitting way to end this. It's spectacular, and I don't think I'll be forgetting anything about it anytime soon.
It's not a loop, it's a spiral.
To start, I wanna get gripes out of the way. For me, the gameplay actually isn't a huge one, but it's far from perfect. The combat here is vastly improved from the first game, with both characters fitting into their own little survival horror boxes and accomplishing a lot of what they want to do. Saga feels a bit more action-y, with open environments and enemies that patrol around. Alan, meanwhile, has segments where enemies hide amongst harmless shadows, giving him a very tense stealthy edge to his gameplay. Truthfully, I quite liked it. However, while it's improved... I still struggle to call it entirely engaging. I often describe the first game's combat as tense when it works, and a slog most other times. Combat here feels similar, just more satisfying to actually play. Shooting is better, upgrades feel meaningful, but the actual flow of combat is just... meh? Enemies are a bit bullet sponge-y, and deal a lot of damage. This is definitely an attempt at the classic survival horror design to discourage fighting when it isn't mandatory, but I feel it only works sometimes here. I played this game on hard, I was expecting some rough encounters, and I'm a weird psycho who enjoys having to count my bullets and decide whether a fight is even worth picking in games like this... but I dunno something here feels like it's lacking. I don't think the gameplay ever fully discouraged me, and for what it's worth I thought the bosses were pretty cool, but it's definitely not the most well-polished survival horror combat I've ever played. As a positive though, the puzzles in this game are really fun! Saga and Wake have their own way of navigating the world and progressing in the story. The detective angle was really fun to play, and gets paid off super well.
Speaking of polish, the PC port is a pretty big sore spot for me here. It could genuinely be a combination of my machine, my installation issues because Epic sucks, or any number of things on my end. But judging by other reviews, this game just has some imperfections with regards to stability. I had some frequent crashes, fucky audio during cutscenes here and there, and a few bugs that required a full restart. For a game with presentation this fucking outstanding, bugs that take me out of the immersion really hurt.
With those things said, I still gave this game a fucking ten. The narrative and sheer love for the project you can feel from every second of this game are just that strong. This game has a full musical number, short film, a novel, whole albums worth of original music, and a narrative that's mind-bending and brings in elements from like... Remedy's entire library? This game is endlessly creative, ambitious, and heartfelt. Every chapter left me with questions, answers and most of all a crazy desire to just see where it all goes next. It's gripping, satisfying and honestly among the best narratives I've seen in a game. It uses its gameplay and mechanics to further the story in ways that had me grinning from ear-to-ear. The first game was a fun, cheeky horror-thriller. This game is definitely that in places, and so much more everywhere else.
I feel like I could keep writing about this game forever. That's actually a pretty fitting way to end this. It's spectacular, and I don't think I'll be forgetting anything about it anytime soon.
It's not a loop, it's a spiral.
Prefacing that this is after one playthrough. I expect my thoughts to only get more positive in NG+ and beyond, so I'm writing them down now. Might add more later.
Armored Core VI is a game that oozes love. It all starts with it being an AC game in the first place. Dude, I was convinced I'd never see another one. Lo and behold they made it, and it's fucking incredible. Top to bottom it succeeds at everything it wants to do. I have my gripes, but overall I have very few negatives and more positives than I can count.
Gamplay is obviously the biggest thing here and it is so, so good. It's fast, snappy, and everything has just enough weight to it to feel like you're piloting a thousand ton mech. Dodging isn't about i-frames (thank the lord), but quick burst movement and misdirection as you weave through enemy shots. It feels so fucking good to play, man. Missions are great, and often times have interesting combat encounters of their own to make them memorable even in the fairly rare instance that the mission lacks a boss. Most of them have something big at the end, be it a mini-boss, an enemy AC, or a big setpiece encounter to cap things off. They're seriously all great. I can't think of one I disliked.
Bosses are universally pretty damn good, too. Admittedly, I don't think they're all that hard. Most of them, while unforgiving, don't have all that much health. It actually helped most of the fights feel fair in my experience. The fights are paced super well, with a pretty wide variety of how they fight and setups to bring. That's the thing, too. You are not locked into a build, moreover you're actively encouraged to change things up constantly to fit your situation. This is AC at its... core, and it's so strong here. My one gripe with bosses is they frequently like to transition to new phases mid-fight, during which they're still targetable but don't take damage? I get making them invulnerable there, but them being targetable threw my off more than I'd like to admit. It's not like- a dealbreaker at all, but it didn't feel good and kinda took me out of it.
The story is... fine. I wouldn't call it great, but it's truthfully just nice to get a narrative with characters that exist out of FromSoft in... like, how many years? The story has one weird point where it's implied a good bit of time has passed but you aren't told how long or even what you were doing. It's... odd. Otherwise though, it's all fine. I quite like Rusty and Walter. Rest of the cast is serviceable. That's a good word for the whole thing, but I'm not griping about it.
Presentation is top shelf. Game looks great, animates super well, and the music is, as you might expect from AC, incredible. Has a very Gundam vibe this time, with a lot of sweeping melodies and guitar backed by synth and the occasional vocals. Really good stuff.
In conclusion this game fucks. It's so good. FromSoft brought their A-game to revive a franchise from a long time ago, and they stuck the landing and then some. Gameplay is awesome, presentation is imo the best they've ever achieved in any game, and the multiplayer goes fucking wild as usual. Great game. Prob my favorite this year.
Armored Core VI is a game that oozes love. It all starts with it being an AC game in the first place. Dude, I was convinced I'd never see another one. Lo and behold they made it, and it's fucking incredible. Top to bottom it succeeds at everything it wants to do. I have my gripes, but overall I have very few negatives and more positives than I can count.
Gamplay is obviously the biggest thing here and it is so, so good. It's fast, snappy, and everything has just enough weight to it to feel like you're piloting a thousand ton mech. Dodging isn't about i-frames (thank the lord), but quick burst movement and misdirection as you weave through enemy shots. It feels so fucking good to play, man. Missions are great, and often times have interesting combat encounters of their own to make them memorable even in the fairly rare instance that the mission lacks a boss. Most of them have something big at the end, be it a mini-boss, an enemy AC, or a big setpiece encounter to cap things off. They're seriously all great. I can't think of one I disliked.
Bosses are universally pretty damn good, too. Admittedly, I don't think they're all that hard. Most of them, while unforgiving, don't have all that much health. It actually helped most of the fights feel fair in my experience. The fights are paced super well, with a pretty wide variety of how they fight and setups to bring. That's the thing, too. You are not locked into a build, moreover you're actively encouraged to change things up constantly to fit your situation. This is AC at its... core, and it's so strong here. My one gripe with bosses is they frequently like to transition to new phases mid-fight, during which they're still targetable but don't take damage? I get making them invulnerable there, but them being targetable threw my off more than I'd like to admit. It's not like- a dealbreaker at all, but it didn't feel good and kinda took me out of it.
The story is... fine. I wouldn't call it great, but it's truthfully just nice to get a narrative with characters that exist out of FromSoft in... like, how many years? The story has one weird point where it's implied a good bit of time has passed but you aren't told how long or even what you were doing. It's... odd. Otherwise though, it's all fine. I quite like Rusty and Walter. Rest of the cast is serviceable. That's a good word for the whole thing, but I'm not griping about it.
Presentation is top shelf. Game looks great, animates super well, and the music is, as you might expect from AC, incredible. Has a very Gundam vibe this time, with a lot of sweeping melodies and guitar backed by synth and the occasional vocals. Really good stuff.
In conclusion this game fucks. It's so good. FromSoft brought their A-game to revive a franchise from a long time ago, and they stuck the landing and then some. Gameplay is awesome, presentation is imo the best they've ever achieved in any game, and the multiplayer goes fucking wild as usual. Great game. Prob my favorite this year.
This is an odd little series that has inspirations from RPG maker horror/adventure games, and like... shounen? It's a strange mix, but as the series go on the series goes in an incresingly chuuni shounen direction that ends up making it a ton of fun to sit down and play through.
The gameplay is... fine? I don't think anything was ever particularly like- difficult, but the boss fights all being based on quick reactions and timing is a consistent method to keep you engaged during them. Otherwise it's a lot of walking and talking. Not a complaint, but it has that distinctly RPG maker vibe, I guess? It's charming to me, so that's what matters I suppose.
The characters and story are really the meat of things here, and they're all great. The main duo of Noel and Caron really carry the bulk of things. Hell, they're the only protagonists for the first quarter of the story. They're both great protagonists who get a ton of time to grow, and their dynamic is always fun. Once the cast started to expand I was... mixed at first, but I quickly grew to like the supporting characters. This especially goes for Fugo that guy is the best. In the second half, the cast expands even further and you really get a lot of time with the characters that matter. Ribellio in particular is awesome.
The villains are also fucking rad. Most of them aren't... redeemable, but you learn enough about them to at least understand them. I was REALLY worried we'd get a 'villain is secretly justified right at the end' moment, especially considering how many of the series' early antagonists end up in at least less villainous roles, but luckily that never happens. These dudes are evil and suck, much worse than our cast of predominantly anti-heroes. Burrows is such a funny dude to watch and definitely gives you the feeling of just loving to hate him.
Presentation-wise the sprites and stock RPG maker assets scattered about are an... acquired taste, but the CGs and character art are consistently great. Series also uses impact font and that's just so funny. The music is largely from libraries, especially early on, but the original pieces here are really standout. This series loves leitmotifs it's fuckin awesome.
All-in-all this is a very special little series, one that I'm glad has finally wrapped up and given me an ending. Certainly has some issues with regards to production most of all I think (those stock assets get pretty distracting,) but the love put into this project really trumps those problems for me. A true labor of love that took many years of work. Really fun, really chuuni, and that's all I need sometimes.
Revenge is based. That's it.
The gameplay is... fine? I don't think anything was ever particularly like- difficult, but the boss fights all being based on quick reactions and timing is a consistent method to keep you engaged during them. Otherwise it's a lot of walking and talking. Not a complaint, but it has that distinctly RPG maker vibe, I guess? It's charming to me, so that's what matters I suppose.
The characters and story are really the meat of things here, and they're all great. The main duo of Noel and Caron really carry the bulk of things. Hell, they're the only protagonists for the first quarter of the story. They're both great protagonists who get a ton of time to grow, and their dynamic is always fun. Once the cast started to expand I was... mixed at first, but I quickly grew to like the supporting characters. This especially goes for Fugo that guy is the best. In the second half, the cast expands even further and you really get a lot of time with the characters that matter. Ribellio in particular is awesome.
The villains are also fucking rad. Most of them aren't... redeemable, but you learn enough about them to at least understand them. I was REALLY worried we'd get a 'villain is secretly justified right at the end' moment, especially considering how many of the series' early antagonists end up in at least less villainous roles, but luckily that never happens. These dudes are evil and suck, much worse than our cast of predominantly anti-heroes. Burrows is such a funny dude to watch and definitely gives you the feeling of just loving to hate him.
Presentation-wise the sprites and stock RPG maker assets scattered about are an... acquired taste, but the CGs and character art are consistently great. Series also uses impact font and that's just so funny. The music is largely from libraries, especially early on, but the original pieces here are really standout. This series loves leitmotifs it's fuckin awesome.
All-in-all this is a very special little series, one that I'm glad has finally wrapped up and given me an ending. Certainly has some issues with regards to production most of all I think (those stock assets get pretty distracting,) but the love put into this project really trumps those problems for me. A true labor of love that took many years of work. Really fun, really chuuni, and that's all I need sometimes.
Revenge is based. That's it.
ftr this gets a 3 because the story behind its development is pretty interesting
game sucks tho
game sucks tho
tenative until tsukihimates finish ciel route
i am bored and it is 4am so i will write a nonsense review of a game i bought for two dollars while i wait on my laundry to finish
so i grew up on mfin newgrounds so of course i got my taste of fancy pants way back in the day trademark, and i thought it was sick! hell, i owned the 360 game as well and played it with my younger brother all the time. art style aside the games are known for crazy ass momentum-based platforming that emphasizes flow and fluidity with precise and satisfying controls. the games were tight and when i saw this thing on the steam store i knew i had to grab it for the nostalgia trip if nothing else.
so this game is... strange. the main game consists of only a handful of levels that are at least decently lengthy, with a fair number of optional challenges you can find in each that reward you with new customization options. in terms of structure the game is straightforward and kind of underwhelmingly short. for two bucks i cant really complain, but i do sort of struggle to see it being worth the normal asking price of ten dollars. not to mention the game abruptly ends after an admittedly pretty cute, but fairly easy final boss. there are a good handful of optional levels and classic fancy pants courses to sink your teeth into, but i was definitely left wanting more. not to mention a good majority of those optional levels dont even give you great opportunities to utilize the new tools youre given in this game.
speaking of, those new tools are actually super fun. i found the ink shooting to be the least interesting and its use was fairly sparse even in its introductory level. the line rider segments were super creative though, and fit perfectly into the flow of the levels theyre included in. the dash, while short-lived, feels like a perfect addition to your moveset and i found myself using it all the time. my only gripe is how you dont really maintain your momentum after using it, which felt kind of awkward. chaining hits on a bunch of enemies feels great though.
the other new moves you can get mostly revolve around combat and while theyre neat, they dont really add much. there are some segments of forced combat in the main game, but i never really found myself wishing i had access to the extra attacks. should go without saying id prefer the combat sections not exist at all, but if nothing else theyre pretty short and easy enough to breeze through. if they had to be included i really wish there was more to them, because truth be told with how acrobatic fancy pants is the combat could have been pretty fun. rather than breaking the flow, i wouldve much rather seen a combat system that emphasizes what the games are already great at.
those gripes aside this game does feel fantastic just to play. my harshness in regards to the game's length honestly comes from a real love for the core gameplay and desperately wanting more out of it. even the bosses are pretty fun, not too intrusive and act as nice bookends to the levels they feature in.
visually the game is as charming as youd expect, and the music is pretty chill and catchy. the fluidity of the game's animation really does add to the overall feel of the game and the tight as hell controls make this game feel great to play.
so... yeah. grab this game on sale and sink a couple of hours into it and youll probably have a fun time. its a shame this one didnt have more time in the oven because there arent a whole lot of 2d platformers like fancy pants. i liked what i got, but i desperately wanted more.
so i grew up on mfin newgrounds so of course i got my taste of fancy pants way back in the day trademark, and i thought it was sick! hell, i owned the 360 game as well and played it with my younger brother all the time. art style aside the games are known for crazy ass momentum-based platforming that emphasizes flow and fluidity with precise and satisfying controls. the games were tight and when i saw this thing on the steam store i knew i had to grab it for the nostalgia trip if nothing else.
so this game is... strange. the main game consists of only a handful of levels that are at least decently lengthy, with a fair number of optional challenges you can find in each that reward you with new customization options. in terms of structure the game is straightforward and kind of underwhelmingly short. for two bucks i cant really complain, but i do sort of struggle to see it being worth the normal asking price of ten dollars. not to mention the game abruptly ends after an admittedly pretty cute, but fairly easy final boss. there are a good handful of optional levels and classic fancy pants courses to sink your teeth into, but i was definitely left wanting more. not to mention a good majority of those optional levels dont even give you great opportunities to utilize the new tools youre given in this game.
speaking of, those new tools are actually super fun. i found the ink shooting to be the least interesting and its use was fairly sparse even in its introductory level. the line rider segments were super creative though, and fit perfectly into the flow of the levels theyre included in. the dash, while short-lived, feels like a perfect addition to your moveset and i found myself using it all the time. my only gripe is how you dont really maintain your momentum after using it, which felt kind of awkward. chaining hits on a bunch of enemies feels great though.
the other new moves you can get mostly revolve around combat and while theyre neat, they dont really add much. there are some segments of forced combat in the main game, but i never really found myself wishing i had access to the extra attacks. should go without saying id prefer the combat sections not exist at all, but if nothing else theyre pretty short and easy enough to breeze through. if they had to be included i really wish there was more to them, because truth be told with how acrobatic fancy pants is the combat could have been pretty fun. rather than breaking the flow, i wouldve much rather seen a combat system that emphasizes what the games are already great at.
those gripes aside this game does feel fantastic just to play. my harshness in regards to the game's length honestly comes from a real love for the core gameplay and desperately wanting more out of it. even the bosses are pretty fun, not too intrusive and act as nice bookends to the levels they feature in.
visually the game is as charming as youd expect, and the music is pretty chill and catchy. the fluidity of the game's animation really does add to the overall feel of the game and the tight as hell controls make this game feel great to play.
so... yeah. grab this game on sale and sink a couple of hours into it and youll probably have a fun time. its a shame this one didnt have more time in the oven because there arent a whole lot of 2d platformers like fancy pants. i liked what i got, but i desperately wanted more.
2014
game sucks but i like my friends so its ok
ayesha has marvelous feet mmmmmmmmmm
with me
idk which one this is i played one of them in elementary school and it was swag
2003
i hate this fucking game
ange