Moister
2001
The most simple entry in the series. Also the most revolutionary at the time.
It didn't kickoff or totally invented the open-world genre. But it did perfected the crime open world genre in specific, which later would spawn an array of copycats.
Now, talking about the game itself. Nowdays I mean. It isn't very good but hear me out, it isn't as restrained as modern GTA games with it's scripted scenes all over the place.
The simple nature of this game opens for a wide range of possibilities in missions. The objectives are simple but varied. Everything is simple for the most part in this game, but that doesn't totally need to be something negative.
It's also for some reason one of the hardest to beat. The AI is overly aggresive, the layout of Liberty City is confusing and there isn't a world map to guide you, unless you had the physical paper map included with the console relesase. Probably you will have a hard time in your first playthough.
It was the first, it shows. Be patient and you'll eventually get to the end. The map design forces you to learn it's structure, where to take the best routes durng a mission, etc. It isn't as braindead as later games, you really need to think outside of the box at times. It can be unfair at times too.
It didn't kickoff or totally invented the open-world genre. But it did perfected the crime open world genre in specific, which later would spawn an array of copycats.
Now, talking about the game itself. Nowdays I mean. It isn't very good but hear me out, it isn't as restrained as modern GTA games with it's scripted scenes all over the place.
The simple nature of this game opens for a wide range of possibilities in missions. The objectives are simple but varied. Everything is simple for the most part in this game, but that doesn't totally need to be something negative.
It's also for some reason one of the hardest to beat. The AI is overly aggresive, the layout of Liberty City is confusing and there isn't a world map to guide you, unless you had the physical paper map included with the console relesase. Probably you will have a hard time in your first playthough.
It was the first, it shows. Be patient and you'll eventually get to the end. The map design forces you to learn it's structure, where to take the best routes durng a mission, etc. It isn't as braindead as later games, you really need to think outside of the box at times. It can be unfair at times too.
2007
The Second Part of a Trilogy that Never Came to a Conclusion
Last canonical entry in the mainline series, huh. Expected a bit more out of this game just for being the very last one, but it's alright.
It's the direct sequel to Mega Man ZX, though it doesn't feature the old protagonists. Instead we take control of either Ashe (Female Protagonist) or Grey (Male Protagonist).
The main difference I quickly noticed is this game is barely a Metroidvania, even though it features a map. Most of the levels are linear or are very easy to navigate. There are still some questionable decisions like making a teleporter being the only method to travel to a remote zone, not conected in any way to the main map.
In all honesty I would have liked a more realised Metroidvania styled map, since ZX did it very poorly. I just didn't like the execution. But I could've worked in this one if fixed. The map in this game comes up as a middle ground that doesn't satisfy me personally.
Biometals are back in this game. Their use is simplified from ZX, we defeat a boss, we get his/her Biometal without having to collect the other half. As you may expect most of them are fulfill a specific role, for a specific use case. The one you'll probably using the most is Model A (Based on Axl from the X Series, yeah him). It's the default Biometal you get at the start of the game and it's solid. There are two types of Biometals in this game:
Pseudoroid: These Biometals are obtained after defeating a boss that aren't human. Based on animals for the most part, easy to spot the difference between this and the "Model" bosses.
Models: These Biometals are obtained after defeating a boss that resembles a human. Model L, H you name it.
Main differences is that the Pseudoroids are pretty useless outside of certain situations. You can use them as usual but they won't be an optimal option for anything compared to the models, some are pretty big, slow or very gimmicky compared to the Models which are the same as in ZX. Pseudoroid end up being nothing but filler by the end.
The story again, is nothing to write home about. Big evil man wants to reset the world nonesense, again. I did liked some of the new characters though.
So, in short. More ZX. Expanded but changed some of it's fundation, mainly the map not being structured as a Metroidvania. And for being the last game in the series, is a bit disappointing for not trying to stick out more. I do think ZX even with it's flaws, is a bit better and special than this one.
Last canonical entry in the mainline series, huh. Expected a bit more out of this game just for being the very last one, but it's alright.
It's the direct sequel to Mega Man ZX, though it doesn't feature the old protagonists. Instead we take control of either Ashe (Female Protagonist) or Grey (Male Protagonist).
The main difference I quickly noticed is this game is barely a Metroidvania, even though it features a map. Most of the levels are linear or are very easy to navigate. There are still some questionable decisions like making a teleporter being the only method to travel to a remote zone, not conected in any way to the main map.
In all honesty I would have liked a more realised Metroidvania styled map, since ZX did it very poorly. I just didn't like the execution. But I could've worked in this one if fixed. The map in this game comes up as a middle ground that doesn't satisfy me personally.
Biometals are back in this game. Their use is simplified from ZX, we defeat a boss, we get his/her Biometal without having to collect the other half. As you may expect most of them are fulfill a specific role, for a specific use case. The one you'll probably using the most is Model A (Based on Axl from the X Series, yeah him). It's the default Biometal you get at the start of the game and it's solid. There are two types of Biometals in this game:
Pseudoroid: These Biometals are obtained after defeating a boss that aren't human. Based on animals for the most part, easy to spot the difference between this and the "Model" bosses.
Models: These Biometals are obtained after defeating a boss that resembles a human. Model L, H you name it.
Main differences is that the Pseudoroids are pretty useless outside of certain situations. You can use them as usual but they won't be an optimal option for anything compared to the models, some are pretty big, slow or very gimmicky compared to the Models which are the same as in ZX. Pseudoroid end up being nothing but filler by the end.
The story again, is nothing to write home about. Big evil man wants to reset the world nonesense, again. I did liked some of the new characters though.
So, in short. More ZX. Expanded but changed some of it's fundation, mainly the map not being structured as a Metroidvania. And for being the last game in the series, is a bit disappointing for not trying to stick out more. I do think ZX even with it's flaws, is a bit better and special than this one.
Hah uhm- You look absolutely stunning tonight - I just thought I'd let you know that haha... so uh- what do you like to do- in your free time? Yeah I'm actually a- I'm actually a game developer, I've been making this game- it's called yandere simulator an-and a- and it's gotten a pretty - big following on the internet... uh- so basically in this game you play as - a yandere who - it's-it's a japanese term for a girl who loves her senpai so wha- senpai, it-it's a direct translation of upperclassmen, it's a term you would use in school, a-anyways, it's been kind of westernized as this term for - y'know a girls crushy calls him "senpai, senpai!" and uhm, hehe, so uh - you have your senpai and you have to eliminate any op- you have to eliminate- hah... ah- like, anything - anyone standing in-- mumbling sounds uhm... haha..- haha- I-I think our guy is coming... What's up guys welcome to pizza hut you guys ready to order? I'll take uhh, I'll take the breadsticks. Alright breadsticks anything else? What do you want beautiful? You don't want anything? That's fine. She'll uh- she'll share the breadsticks with me- Alright man i'll be back in a moment thank very much! Thank you- Really don't want anything? That's fine. I'll let you share your breadsticks with me- excuse me, I'll let you take some of my breadsticks haha... tongue clack I just wanna say um... inhale you look absolutely stuning tonight. Your eyes they're so- they're so beautiful... I... I think I love you...
Apocalypse is somewhat of an expansion of Shin Megami Tensei IV to put it lightly. But reality is it's own beast with a new story, set of characters, etc. It still uses most of the assets of IV as it was planned to be the refined final revision of the title but ended up being bigger than previously intended. It takes place around the Neutral Ending on SMT IV, almost by the end so I recommend you playing that one before going deep into Apocalypse in case you care about the world building.
It does a lot good, and a lot bad as well. Let me clear out the bad first. The story it's-- alright. Main problem comes from the party cast itself. Ever played a Persona title? The modern ones at least? It's almost the same feeling, whereas most SMT games for the most part never center their stories around characters as any Persona game does. So the story pacing takes a hit, stopping at certain moments to center and develop these characters. That would be all fine and dandy, but the story itself doesn't have enough time to develop them like a Persona game would, which gives us an oportunity to see who they really are. Here instead, a glimpse of it is shown but it isn't enough time to make us really want to care about them. Outside of maybe Navarre.
However, this alone doesn't throw the whole game down. If you end up liking the party cast, you'll have a blast since as most JRPGs tend to flesh out as much of the party members as possible. If you don't like them, well. Look, they're not intolerable or anything but don't expect to see big deep character growth in it. Just stick to the already stablished archetypes and run with it, in case you didn't end up liking them. Personally they were just whatever.
For that very reason I choose to side with Dadga, he's interesting and mysterious. Even after all the tries this game had to convince me that the Bonds Route is the way to go. Denied that in hopes to witness a more interesting take on the Neutral Routes and what Dadga really meant by his plan of going beyond everything: Demons, Angels, Deities and even the creator himself [!$#&]. The game gets really good around the endgame, after about 45 hours or so. Won't get in depth into the combat system just in this review or I'll be here forever and because there are already fantastic videos explaining how it works, better than I ever could here.
As for the positives, the story and battles were really good. Boss battles in particular were much better than in base SMT IV if you ask me. The story itself goes way beyond SMT IV. Remember that I said Apocalypse was supossed to be the "Maniax" version of SMT IV? It is similar from going base SMT: Nocturne to SMT: Nocturne Maniax Edition. I can't get into the meaty parts of the story since there are major spoilers of both SMT IV and Apocalypse itself.
I'm not here to sell you on Apocalypse by any means. However, I think it's a very enjoyable title, but it can't be compared to the more centered experience of SMT IV. It's more of a power fantasy trip in the world of SMT IV rather than a title of it's own, like something totally separated from it that you really don't need to take seriously for the most part.
It does a lot good, and a lot bad as well. Let me clear out the bad first. The story it's-- alright. Main problem comes from the party cast itself. Ever played a Persona title? The modern ones at least? It's almost the same feeling, whereas most SMT games for the most part never center their stories around characters as any Persona game does. So the story pacing takes a hit, stopping at certain moments to center and develop these characters. That would be all fine and dandy, but the story itself doesn't have enough time to develop them like a Persona game would, which gives us an oportunity to see who they really are. Here instead, a glimpse of it is shown but it isn't enough time to make us really want to care about them. Outside of maybe Navarre.
However, this alone doesn't throw the whole game down. If you end up liking the party cast, you'll have a blast since as most JRPGs tend to flesh out as much of the party members as possible. If you don't like them, well. Look, they're not intolerable or anything but don't expect to see big deep character growth in it. Just stick to the already stablished archetypes and run with it, in case you didn't end up liking them. Personally they were just whatever.
For that very reason I choose to side with Dadga, he's interesting and mysterious. Even after all the tries this game had to convince me that the Bonds Route is the way to go. Denied that in hopes to witness a more interesting take on the Neutral Routes and what Dadga really meant by his plan of going beyond everything: Demons, Angels, Deities and even the creator himself [!$#&]. The game gets really good around the endgame, after about 45 hours or so. Won't get in depth into the combat system just in this review or I'll be here forever and because there are already fantastic videos explaining how it works, better than I ever could here.
As for the positives, the story and battles were really good. Boss battles in particular were much better than in base SMT IV if you ask me. The story itself goes way beyond SMT IV. Remember that I said Apocalypse was supossed to be the "Maniax" version of SMT IV? It is similar from going base SMT: Nocturne to SMT: Nocturne Maniax Edition. I can't get into the meaty parts of the story since there are major spoilers of both SMT IV and Apocalypse itself.
I'm not here to sell you on Apocalypse by any means. However, I think it's a very enjoyable title, but it can't be compared to the more centered experience of SMT IV. It's more of a power fantasy trip in the world of SMT IV rather than a title of it's own, like something totally separated from it that you really don't need to take seriously for the most part.
2023
Beautiful 2D puzzle-platformer
If you ever played Playdead's Limbo or Inside. This will feel familiar to you aside from some mechanics unique to this game. Not as dark as the games from that studio, it's a more lighthearted take from it.
The puzzles were a bit easy, but entertaining. But what sells this game is how beautiful it looks. It's a joy to to look at, just don't expect a lot of action here. Besides, it's on Game Pass; both PC and Xbox.
Give it a try if you feel like it. Short and sweet.
If you ever played Playdead's Limbo or Inside. This will feel familiar to you aside from some mechanics unique to this game. Not as dark as the games from that studio, it's a more lighthearted take from it.
The puzzles were a bit easy, but entertaining. But what sells this game is how beautiful it looks. It's a joy to to look at, just don't expect a lot of action here. Besides, it's on Game Pass; both PC and Xbox.
Give it a try if you feel like it. Short and sweet.
2015
Yakuza 0 was the game that introduced me to the series.
It's a nice crime story. Fun and simple combat. Crazy ass bosses and yeah. A fun time for sure, give it a try.
Had to learn mahjong for the achievements.
It's a nice crime story. Fun and simple combat. Crazy ass bosses and yeah. A fun time for sure, give it a try.
Had to learn mahjong for the achievements.
2006
The Start of a Promising Era
Mega Man ZX is the succesor game to the Zero Saga, from Zero 1 ending in Zero 4. It ditches some of the complexity and inconsistencies of past titles gameplay wise, to a more straightforward experience.
The Biometals are the star of this game and esscencially the evolution of Boss Weapons from past titles. This gives you a whole new weapon and armour. For example if you defeat a boss they'll give you their Biometal which means it's their armor and a weapon. It only applies to 4 of the 8 bosses because the rest gives you the other half of the biometal which is just a new weapon for the base 4 different biometals.
Each Biometal has it's own function, strenghts and weaknesses. For example; HX gives you a big advantage on air and movement in general while lacking in combat. LX is excelent underwater but not as good on ground and so on. Wished they could've been equiped without killing the flow of the game.
I do have to clarify Armours don't work the same as the Mega Man X games where they gave you a pair of overall advantages. ZX only uses, as I said before a specific advantage on a Biometal. So the armour is purely cosmetic and doesn't go beyond being a big indicative of what Biometal you are currently using. Biometals like FX only make use of their special weapons while HX specializes on movement rather than combat.
Believe it or not this game is a Metroidvania. I'm not particullary fond of this genre, just tend to get lost so much and backtracking ain't totally my thing. Navigating the map on this game is a bit of a mess. It separate the areas with letters, in alphabetical order to be exact. Say A-1, and A-2 and that leads to B-1 for example. It's not always the case for latter areas. For example you can only enter Area F through Area B or Area G through D. That seriously messed up with my head. But outside of that the levels are pretty fun to explore because of the movement and level design.
Upgrades like vitality and e-tanks are scattered around the map unlike the Zero Saga, which is a huge plus for exploration.
The story more or less is what you expect. Defeat big bad guy from taking over the world. But it builts from the mainline Mega Man lore. For example, no one knows who Mega Man really is at this point. Everyone with a Biometal calls themselves "Mega Man", introducing it more as a general concept. Zero is barely mentioned here. Still prefer the Zero Saga tone overall, more dark and sinister.
In conclusion, a great Mega Man game that streamlines some mechanics from the Zero Saga. Adding a Metroidvania exploration and elements as a replacement of the linear structure of past title. While not perfect at it's core, it is a great first attempt into a new era.
Mega Man ZX is the succesor game to the Zero Saga, from Zero 1 ending in Zero 4. It ditches some of the complexity and inconsistencies of past titles gameplay wise, to a more straightforward experience.
The Biometals are the star of this game and esscencially the evolution of Boss Weapons from past titles. This gives you a whole new weapon and armour. For example if you defeat a boss they'll give you their Biometal which means it's their armor and a weapon. It only applies to 4 of the 8 bosses because the rest gives you the other half of the biometal which is just a new weapon for the base 4 different biometals.
Each Biometal has it's own function, strenghts and weaknesses. For example; HX gives you a big advantage on air and movement in general while lacking in combat. LX is excelent underwater but not as good on ground and so on. Wished they could've been equiped without killing the flow of the game.
I do have to clarify Armours don't work the same as the Mega Man X games where they gave you a pair of overall advantages. ZX only uses, as I said before a specific advantage on a Biometal. So the armour is purely cosmetic and doesn't go beyond being a big indicative of what Biometal you are currently using. Biometals like FX only make use of their special weapons while HX specializes on movement rather than combat.
Believe it or not this game is a Metroidvania. I'm not particullary fond of this genre, just tend to get lost so much and backtracking ain't totally my thing. Navigating the map on this game is a bit of a mess. It separate the areas with letters, in alphabetical order to be exact. Say A-1, and A-2 and that leads to B-1 for example. It's not always the case for latter areas. For example you can only enter Area F through Area B or Area G through D. That seriously messed up with my head. But outside of that the levels are pretty fun to explore because of the movement and level design.
Upgrades like vitality and e-tanks are scattered around the map unlike the Zero Saga, which is a huge plus for exploration.
The story more or less is what you expect. Defeat big bad guy from taking over the world. But it builts from the mainline Mega Man lore. For example, no one knows who Mega Man really is at this point. Everyone with a Biometal calls themselves "Mega Man", introducing it more as a general concept. Zero is barely mentioned here. Still prefer the Zero Saga tone overall, more dark and sinister.
In conclusion, a great Mega Man game that streamlines some mechanics from the Zero Saga. Adding a Metroidvania exploration and elements as a replacement of the linear structure of past title. While not perfect at it's core, it is a great first attempt into a new era.
2018
Quite a departure of the games I use to review on this site. Whacky chaos, violence, emotionally gripping moments, thought-provoking narratives with a nice sense of style. I'd argue those are the type of games I like to play for the most part, but more ofthen than not I'm willing to give other genres a chance once I get tired, and Gris caught me at the right mood to enjoy it.
Gris doesn't try to be more than what already is. An artsy game that talks about the loss of a loved one and how to ultimately deal with that event, through acceptance. Yeah, it's the so common message about just moving forward with your life facing the reality that it is in front of you. But Gris is subtle as there isn't any dialogue present, just some little interaction between the characters. So, the overall narrative is hidden under a layer of pastel colors and abstract geometry.
The lack of gameplay from the start is quite a letdown, but towards the end it starts to get really good might I say I was having fun doing some puzzles and I suck at puzzles. These were really enjoyable to figure it out alá Limbo just not as extreme. Mix it with a gorgeus art direction and everything just fits together. Doesn't try be more than that, it is a beautiful artistic and technical showcase for Nomada Studio.
And please, buy the soundtrack as well. Just lovely, happy mellow vibes.
Gris doesn't try to be more than what already is. An artsy game that talks about the loss of a loved one and how to ultimately deal with that event, through acceptance. Yeah, it's the so common message about just moving forward with your life facing the reality that it is in front of you. But Gris is subtle as there isn't any dialogue present, just some little interaction between the characters. So, the overall narrative is hidden under a layer of pastel colors and abstract geometry.
The lack of gameplay from the start is quite a letdown, but towards the end it starts to get really good might I say I was having fun doing some puzzles and I suck at puzzles. These were really enjoyable to figure it out alá Limbo just not as extreme. Mix it with a gorgeus art direction and everything just fits together. Doesn't try be more than that, it is a beautiful artistic and technical showcase for Nomada Studio.
And please, buy the soundtrack as well. Just lovely, happy mellow vibes.
No Rest for the Living
2007. What a prolific year for the FPS scene. We got Halo 3, The Orange Box, Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare, Bioshock among other gems left in the 7th generation of consoles. One of those titles that released was Clive Barker's Jericho in collaboration with the Spanish game studio: MercurySteam.
Jericho could've been something great if a little more polish went into it. It's essentially a corridor shooter with possession-like elements, that's one of the main premises of the gameplay.
Sounds interesting in paper, in practice it is as well. You're Ross, the commander that died in this very operation at the beginning of the game. Among the team we have other 6 members to control with our powers, which have their own abilities to contribute both the gameplay and the story itself. It might sound odd, but for the modern age it can be the equivalent to a hero shooter. At least to me.
It is a total game changer once you get use to it, since every member has a different method of dealing with enemies and each members is indirectly effective to a certain type than others, in all comes for a very cohesive game mechanic that I haven't seen in any other shooter as of now.
What drags this games down is for the most part what and where you fight. The levels are not bad, just basic and if it wasn't for the achieved hellish atmosphere I would've dropped this game. It isn't objectively long, but it felt it was more than really needed. Enemies are often very aggressive, since they were made to resist all your teammates bullets, but they wouldn't survive long enough for that very same reason so the developer approach to difficulty was to make them bullet sponges. Not to mention they come in hordes, huge never ending hordes, so be prepared to sink some minutes in the same section.
Unironically the parts I liked the most were when we had fewer members in the team for me to control. Or even better, the parts were I just controlled one member in a asolated area, apart for the squad. The shooting chaos was much more manageable even if the game got harder by being handicapped only with one individual. One thing I forgot to mention is that if one of the members dies, you'll have to revive them. And the IA that controls set members isn't particullary smart so they die rather quickly and by the end it just becomes a daunting task.
This game also suffers from the 7th gen starting lineup game jank visually speaking. Everything looks wet, glossy and shinny in the depths of hell with brown and reds alike being shown most of the time with little to no variation. Though I can say the hellish landscapes were a joy to look at, and the monsters were as part creepy, unpleseant as creative and well achieved for this particular game.
All and All I think it was entertaining weirdly enough as a movie of the style would be. It does not particularly stand out in the gameplay department, it walks in that thin line between being a boring mindless shooting gallery and a compelling horror game with ghost mechanics. But the great atmosphere, deep interesting lore and the fun possesion mechanics makes up for a enjoyable game, but a just very rough one.
2007. What a prolific year for the FPS scene. We got Halo 3, The Orange Box, Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare, Bioshock among other gems left in the 7th generation of consoles. One of those titles that released was Clive Barker's Jericho in collaboration with the Spanish game studio: MercurySteam.
Jericho could've been something great if a little more polish went into it. It's essentially a corridor shooter with possession-like elements, that's one of the main premises of the gameplay.
Sounds interesting in paper, in practice it is as well. You're Ross, the commander that died in this very operation at the beginning of the game. Among the team we have other 6 members to control with our powers, which have their own abilities to contribute both the gameplay and the story itself. It might sound odd, but for the modern age it can be the equivalent to a hero shooter. At least to me.
It is a total game changer once you get use to it, since every member has a different method of dealing with enemies and each members is indirectly effective to a certain type than others, in all comes for a very cohesive game mechanic that I haven't seen in any other shooter as of now.
What drags this games down is for the most part what and where you fight. The levels are not bad, just basic and if it wasn't for the achieved hellish atmosphere I would've dropped this game. It isn't objectively long, but it felt it was more than really needed. Enemies are often very aggressive, since they were made to resist all your teammates bullets, but they wouldn't survive long enough for that very same reason so the developer approach to difficulty was to make them bullet sponges. Not to mention they come in hordes, huge never ending hordes, so be prepared to sink some minutes in the same section.
Unironically the parts I liked the most were when we had fewer members in the team for me to control. Or even better, the parts were I just controlled one member in a asolated area, apart for the squad. The shooting chaos was much more manageable even if the game got harder by being handicapped only with one individual. One thing I forgot to mention is that if one of the members dies, you'll have to revive them. And the IA that controls set members isn't particullary smart so they die rather quickly and by the end it just becomes a daunting task.
This game also suffers from the 7th gen starting lineup game jank visually speaking. Everything looks wet, glossy and shinny in the depths of hell with brown and reds alike being shown most of the time with little to no variation. Though I can say the hellish landscapes were a joy to look at, and the monsters were as part creepy, unpleseant as creative and well achieved for this particular game.
All and All I think it was entertaining weirdly enough as a movie of the style would be. It does not particularly stand out in the gameplay department, it walks in that thin line between being a boring mindless shooting gallery and a compelling horror game with ghost mechanics. But the great atmosphere, deep interesting lore and the fun possesion mechanics makes up for a enjoyable game, but a just very rough one.
2018
It's more classic Mega Man alright, but with a twist. The Double Gear System; Speed and Power. Both are really nice additions to the series but I'd say the level design tends to use them as much as possible. Speed is most effective for levels and platforming and Power for bosses to deal more damage per second. Don't try to force your way to the end without this Gear System, it can range from being the easiest Mega Man ever to the hardest one, if you don't use it.
Boss Weapons are really useful tools not just to hit bosses weaknesses but throghout the levels. The enemies are mostly in spots that are hard to reach with the normal buster. Being able to instantly change weapons with a button is also great, that feature is carried from Mega Man 9 and 10 so playing with Boss Weapons on levels is as fun as it should've been on the NES titles.
It's a decent game overall. I also do like the amount of effort that went into the presentation in this one, looks really good. But ultimately I didn't feel anything by the end, specially knowing Capcom hasn't released anything Classic Mega Man related since this game hit the shelves in 2018. I could consider it a wasted effort on Capcom's part for not following the momentum Mega Man 11 gathered for the classic fans like myself, perphaps. It came and went like the wind.
I believe the classic formula hasn't evolved since the NES era, for the bad. It doesn't hit that charm past games had even with a modern coat of paint unless you truly want to be a tribute for the classic like Inti Creates did for Mega Man 9 and Mega Man 10. But it's just that, a throwback to simpler times.
Mega Man needs to evolve, in general. And have a modern standard beyond what the classics offered.
Boss Weapons are really useful tools not just to hit bosses weaknesses but throghout the levels. The enemies are mostly in spots that are hard to reach with the normal buster. Being able to instantly change weapons with a button is also great, that feature is carried from Mega Man 9 and 10 so playing with Boss Weapons on levels is as fun as it should've been on the NES titles.
It's a decent game overall. I also do like the amount of effort that went into the presentation in this one, looks really good. But ultimately I didn't feel anything by the end, specially knowing Capcom hasn't released anything Classic Mega Man related since this game hit the shelves in 2018. I could consider it a wasted effort on Capcom's part for not following the momentum Mega Man 11 gathered for the classic fans like myself, perphaps. It came and went like the wind.
I believe the classic formula hasn't evolved since the NES era, for the bad. It doesn't hit that charm past games had even with a modern coat of paint unless you truly want to be a tribute for the classic like Inti Creates did for Mega Man 9 and Mega Man 10. But it's just that, a throwback to simpler times.
Mega Man needs to evolve, in general. And have a modern standard beyond what the classics offered.
Awesome. From start to finish. It will kick your ass, hard.
Now with the actual review. It's awesome. The characters altrough there aren't many, are really flesh out on this one. The dudes on the cover are end up being the center of the game as a whole.
The combat system "Smirk" is chaotic to say the least. You may have been winning this whole time but whoops, some demon hit your weakness then you are dead in a blink of a eye. Skill issue.
The OST is godlike, a banger. Everything rocks in this game.
The only sad thing is that is stuck on the 3DS.
Now with the actual review. It's awesome. The characters altrough there aren't many, are really flesh out on this one. The dudes on the cover are end up being the center of the game as a whole.
The combat system "Smirk" is chaotic to say the least. You may have been winning this whole time but whoops, some demon hit your weakness then you are dead in a blink of a eye. Skill issue.
The OST is godlike, a banger. Everything rocks in this game.
The only sad thing is that is stuck on the 3DS.
2012
An ambituous mess that wanted to appeal to everyone
Resident Evil 6 is a jumble of a lot ideas stuffed in a single game. Why? It features 4 campaigns, each one lasting for about 4 or 5 hours at best. Four campaigns that were very disjointed from one another and weren't really good to begin with.
6 as well as 5 are relliant on Co-Op play. But 6 improves so much on this aspect that I can't be less thankful. IA partners don't need to be babysit, they basically don't have a health bar thus they can't die. They don't have an inventory to keep track of, so you are more focused on yours. In short they are nothing more than a little help whenever you need them, or when paths branch they instantly know what to do and don't come off more than little time wasters moments until they achieve their goal. Of course, all of this only applies if you're playing it alone like me.
Continuing with the gameplay. You get a lot of movement options; flip, dodge, slide, run. It's a pleasure to see so action in a Resident Evil game for once. But there is a big caveat, level design is very restricted and could essencially be a straight corridor which you end up clearing without much thought.
One thing that really puts me off about this game are the ridiculous amount of QTE's there are. QTE for this, QTE for that. I feel there are more QTEs here than in RE5.
The combat in this game can get boring after a while, specially in Chris's Campaign. The guns don't feel as powerful as previous games, the feedback from the enemies is hard to read. Melee attacks are really powerful in this entry. You can basically punch an enemy to death, thus saving you some bullets. One last thing that I want to mention. There is no inventory menu now, it's replaced with a simple item selection menu which most of the time you will be using to mix herbs. Not as engaging as the inventory system from past games may be, but it works decently for a fast-paced action shooter were you do very little.
The story by itself is nothing special, hell when was the last time a Resident Evil story was good? But giving this game length and build up you'll think it would be something decently enjoyable. It is enjoyable, as a goofy action movie would be. Yes, we ride to sillytown with this one. Explosions absolutely everywhere, some so big it would make Micheal Bay blush. Ridiculous one liners, and so much more. It's not RE4 cheese, is Chris punching a boulder in an active volcano type of goof, just streched for all the canpaings.
But in all seriousness, the story as a whole is a total mess. Four campaings that don't end up doing much for the story, little pieces here in there are thrown for you to put together on different campaigns as I mention at the start of this review, clash at some point. I believe Leon's Campaign is the most complete out of the bunch in terms of story. Don't bother finishing all campaigns if you don't want to, one or two can be enough. Leon and Chris to be exact, as the rest don't add much to the story more than you already may expect.
There is a lot of pacing issues with this game as well. Bloat is what I would call it, unnecessary and the annoying type of bloat. Even though the campaigns last for about 4 or so hours they do feel more longer than needed. Why it does feel that way? You have a simple objective from the start, that streches for much more than needed without much interesting events happening in between. I struggle to remember what happened on most campaigns, resulting in a very forgettable plot.
So in short, this game is all over the place when it comes to anything really. You'll probably have a good time playing this while listening music or podcast if you into that, stopping it once in a while to watch a cutscene.
Resident Evil 6 is a jumble of a lot ideas stuffed in a single game. Why? It features 4 campaigns, each one lasting for about 4 or 5 hours at best. Four campaigns that were very disjointed from one another and weren't really good to begin with.
6 as well as 5 are relliant on Co-Op play. But 6 improves so much on this aspect that I can't be less thankful. IA partners don't need to be babysit, they basically don't have a health bar thus they can't die. They don't have an inventory to keep track of, so you are more focused on yours. In short they are nothing more than a little help whenever you need them, or when paths branch they instantly know what to do and don't come off more than little time wasters moments until they achieve their goal. Of course, all of this only applies if you're playing it alone like me.
Continuing with the gameplay. You get a lot of movement options; flip, dodge, slide, run. It's a pleasure to see so action in a Resident Evil game for once. But there is a big caveat, level design is very restricted and could essencially be a straight corridor which you end up clearing without much thought.
One thing that really puts me off about this game are the ridiculous amount of QTE's there are. QTE for this, QTE for that. I feel there are more QTEs here than in RE5.
The combat in this game can get boring after a while, specially in Chris's Campaign. The guns don't feel as powerful as previous games, the feedback from the enemies is hard to read. Melee attacks are really powerful in this entry. You can basically punch an enemy to death, thus saving you some bullets. One last thing that I want to mention. There is no inventory menu now, it's replaced with a simple item selection menu which most of the time you will be using to mix herbs. Not as engaging as the inventory system from past games may be, but it works decently for a fast-paced action shooter were you do very little.
The story by itself is nothing special, hell when was the last time a Resident Evil story was good? But giving this game length and build up you'll think it would be something decently enjoyable. It is enjoyable, as a goofy action movie would be. Yes, we ride to sillytown with this one. Explosions absolutely everywhere, some so big it would make Micheal Bay blush. Ridiculous one liners, and so much more. It's not RE4 cheese, is Chris punching a boulder in an active volcano type of goof, just streched for all the canpaings.
But in all seriousness, the story as a whole is a total mess. Four campaings that don't end up doing much for the story, little pieces here in there are thrown for you to put together on different campaigns as I mention at the start of this review, clash at some point. I believe Leon's Campaign is the most complete out of the bunch in terms of story. Don't bother finishing all campaigns if you don't want to, one or two can be enough. Leon and Chris to be exact, as the rest don't add much to the story more than you already may expect.
There is a lot of pacing issues with this game as well. Bloat is what I would call it, unnecessary and the annoying type of bloat. Even though the campaigns last for about 4 or so hours they do feel more longer than needed. Why it does feel that way? You have a simple objective from the start, that streches for much more than needed without much interesting events happening in between. I struggle to remember what happened on most campaigns, resulting in a very forgettable plot.
So in short, this game is all over the place when it comes to anything really. You'll probably have a good time playing this while listening music or podcast if you into that, stopping it once in a while to watch a cutscene.
1999
If people dodged this fast, I would drive like this irl
1996
120 Stars :)
The best movement in a 3D platformer, pure perfection. Level design is a bit wacky. But to be one of the first, is a huge achievement.
I don't find the camera to be an issue personally, my only gripe with it, is that it gets stuck on some areas or can block my vision. Other than that is great. Modern Mario games for the most part have locked camera angles.
The best movement in a 3D platformer, pure perfection. Level design is a bit wacky. But to be one of the first, is a huge achievement.
I don't find the camera to be an issue personally, my only gripe with it, is that it gets stuck on some areas or can block my vision. Other than that is great. Modern Mario games for the most part have locked camera angles.
2019
"We are the Yakuza 4" -Yakuza 4
I do not like this one. It's the one I least think about it with time.
Altrough the inclusion of 4 characters was a nice addition, Yakuza 5 did it much, much better. I seriously struggle trying remembering what happen on this one. It goes to so many places I got lost mid game.
What was that final boss too? No seriously, is stupid but very funny.
I do not like this one. It's the one I least think about it with time.
Altrough the inclusion of 4 characters was a nice addition, Yakuza 5 did it much, much better. I seriously struggle trying remembering what happen on this one. It goes to so many places I got lost mid game.
What was that final boss too? No seriously, is stupid but very funny.