For what it's worth, I think this is a testament to how beautifully this game has aged. It's more of the same Persona 3 that you have played before either through Portable or the original, but sprinkled with fairy godmother dust. It's a gorgeous game, the UI is incredible to just stare at, just like Persona 5.

A lot of people will simplify this to "just Persona 5-ifying Persona 3", and they wouldn't be wrong to make that assumption. Certain QoL features, like the Network surveys, trivialize the need for a guide to follow for quiz answers and what to do on a daily basis. Though most are a welcome addition, such as the limit break like theurgy system, or the Monad Passageways. I played through the game with my party on Act Freely to relive that experience I had just like the first time I played FES all those years ago. The game was easier in the later half once I switched over to direct command.

It's a true remake in the best of case: making the game prettier than ever, while adding minor modern changes to improve that experience for newer fans.

The myth of a Persona 3 "definitive edition" has haunted the halls of discussion over the series's fourth game and breakout implementation of its calendar system, with newcomers intimidated by what it attempts to do and how it sticks by it. Many have people hoped for something that combines FES's general presentation and style combined with Portable's gameplay improvements, and Reload sets out to obtain a middle ground while also adding the style and flourish Persona 5 has been known for.

But we've had a definitive edition for Persona 3 already, and it was called FES: nothing of it needed to be changed and what it has been exists perfectly by itself. So Persona 3 Reload inherently misunderstands the assignment by taking a story of simple teenagers scarred by what life has handed them and the consequences of the failures of our fathers, needing to take it into the next generation's hands and believe in our possibility for self improvement, while also recognizing that we are all different individuals, and partially turning it into a flashy power fantasy.

And in that regard, Reload fails: which is why I run into my dilemma. I can talk about the tonal issues implemented by what Reload decides to implement and change, but I still came out of this story with tears once again, even with its uglier animated cutscenes and FMVs. Even after the countless problems sprouted by needing to turn this unique gem of living one's life to the fullest by your own choices into a much easily digestible work for the newest waves of Persona fans, I still reached that final day where I reflect back on all the bonds I've created and tear up at how they've been able to turn around their lives in the face of hopelessness. Even in the sanding down and flanderization of Persona 3, one thing will forever shine through, and it is the core of its story.

"Greatness does not fade away". I can't ignore how worthwhile it was for me to revisit the work that lead me into the Shin Megami Tensei series and changed me for the better because of it; I can't ignore how attached I can get to this cast, and I could never ignore that, even if I can never reccomend this to someone as the definitive way to play over FES, how glad I am that this game can stand the test of time and continue to exist in its timelessness, and in its permanent beauty.

Dino Crisis is a decent survival horror game for the PS1 that does change a lot of things from the RE games, some for better and some for worse but it ultimately doesn't do enough to escape the label of it basically being Resident Evil but with dinosaurs.

A few things jumped out at me when starting the game, firstly, the game uses 3D environments rather than pre-rendered backgrounds so visually, I think it aged quite well, same with the voice-acting which is pretty solid for a PS1 era game. It's easier to take characters seriously because of it and on the topic of characters, I think they're pretty good here, the core trio are all distinct with Regina being level-headed and non-chalant, Rick being easy-going and Gail being stern. It's pretty basic but gets the job done in making them feel unique and I'd say they're all likeable, even Gail who starts off seeming like a typical mission-obsessed asshole ended up growing on me. Characters aside though, I wouldn't consider the story here to be very good, the setup is pretty cool but after that a lot of it feels like filler and the fact that you don't keep the files you read in your inventory makes it hard to piece information together so I'd be lying if I said I really cared about Kirk and whatever that whole Third Energy thing he was developing was.

As for the actual survival horror aspects, I think Dino Crisis does a decent job overall with a few short-comings. Dinosaurs here are way more terrifying than zombies in RE since not only are they just way bigger and faster but the coolest part of this game for me is that dinosaurs can break through doors and chase you into other rooms which surprised the hell out of me the first few times this happened. You can sometimes keep dinosaurs out of rooms by utilizing the laser shutters and they're another cool feature adding a bit of choice between deciding to bolt towards the nearest door and risk being chased down or opting to stay and operate the laser shutters to keep dinos out. So that's all good but the problem is that the game is weirdly light on the Dinosaurs. Enemy variety is severely lacking here and with how often you'll be backtracking in this game, dodging the same couple dinosaurs over and over at points, it makes these encounters feel really sterile after a while. When you're not fighting Dinosaurs, you're solving puzzles and I actually really like them here, outside of the DDK passwords, the puzzles are varied, for the most part they require actual thought and they're pretty enjoyable though I would've liked less puzzles and more dinosaurs in my dino crisis but I'll take what I can get.

As for the inventory management, the actual survival aspect of these games, it just sucks here. Regina can carry 10 items with her at all times so you'd think you'll have a decent amount of room to hold items while also leaving spare room. Nope, that's where the mixing system comes in. Throughout the game you get various healing related items, hemostats, med paks, multipliers etc. It's not well explained what combinations create what and the abundance of items you get end up clogging your inventory big time. Aside from healing items, ammo is the only other item that takes up slots in Regina's inventory. Key items and Weapons are just held on Regina at all times and this means that the decision-making of games like RE1 which made those games so engaging is absent here since it's all been simplified. The way you store items is also frustrating with it requiring emergency boxes that need plugs to be opened. This would be fine if not for the fact that unlike item boxes in RE, these boxes are not magically interconnected so if you leave an item behind in one of these and forget about it, it's gone for good unless you can be bothered backtracking a ton which I just wasn't.

The reason why I couldn't be bothered was because of this game's structure. I just didn't find the research facility of Ibis Island to be nearly as fun to go through as something like the Mansion in RE1 because it's much more linear and areas feel very segmented so I never felt like I got the satisfaction of feeling that I got to grips with the areas layout.

The only other part that I want to mention is the replayability which is one of the strongest points of the game. There's 4 endings all of which are different enough to warrant seeing and at different points in the game, you get choices between going with Gail or Rick. The choices you make changes what you'll be doing with Rick's areas being puzzle-focused and Gail's being action-focused. They're different enough to justify a second playthrough and are way better than the choices in RE3.

Overall though, if you're itching for more survival horror action on the PS1 like I was, you can't go wrong with this game. For me it's just a notch below the original RE but it was still a good time.

Halo 3 knows what it means to be cinematic. If something blows up or there is a landscape-altering event, you are in it driving/flying/running and always in control of Master Chief. When there is a scene that is not as glamourous and mostly dialogue, only then will the cutscenes take over and elevate the conversation with striking cinematography straight out of a $100000000000000000 blockbuster. Halo 3's atmosphere is heroic. The emphasis placed on sweeping acapella vocals and long strings empower the Chief such that both he and the world feel equally threatening. It balances a borderline patriotic leitmotif with soothing, otherworldly ambiance. It never makes the player feel overpowered by their character or the world. Halo 3 is the epitome of the series. It is immortal. It demonstrates a level of modernism and sincerity in knowing that it is the conclusion to the most important trilogy in gaming history that makes it a warm and inviting experience.

Finally, after years of looking around I’ve found it. A rhythm game I really like. And not only that, my 25th game that I’ve given 5 stars to. And oh man what a deserving game. Patapon 2 is the sequel to patapon, a little rhythm game originally released on the psp. However, when the developers realised that the first game didn’t have the best replay value they decided to create a sequel. Well, I guess it’s a sequel? I’ll try and explain why it confuses me a bit later on.

The plot picks up right after the first game…and then proceeds to go through most things from the first game once again. But that’s not a problem, trust me it isn’t. So after the patapons set sail to find new lands, they got into a crash and had to somehow get together and fight off a new enemy known as karmen and later on even more different enemy tribes. This makes it a little more varied from the first game where you were fighting the same type of enemy most of the time.

Gameplay is highly improved from the first game. For starters, you can get into fever mode a hell of a lot easier. And you can keep it easier. You see when you start to flail a tiny bit and miss the beat, instead of putting you out of fever, it’ll give you a warning. This helps a lot more as you’re now more likely to hold onto fever for a longer amount of time and decimate the enemies. Making allies is now much different, you get a certain amount of slots for the type of pons you want and you can develop them into looking like the different types from the first game. And that reminds me, THERE ARE NEW UNITS TO MESS WITH!!! These include the robopon, mahopon, and the hero patapon. The hero patapon allows you to use an online feature known as the patagate. You can connect with your friends and try to bring a boss egg to the finish whilst battling those same bosses. You can get lots of cool stuff by doing these.

So, what do I think of patapon 2? It definitely feels more like a finished product then the first game did. Whilst the first game felt like a very simple first draft, the second felt like a much more finished and all out smoothed package that just doesn’t disappoint. Even though this has been the only rhythm game I’ve enjoyed so far, I’ll definitely try to get into others. As much as I would love to play patapon 3, from the things I’ve heard, I probably won’t be able to enjoy it as much as this game which is honestly a real shame. But oh well, here’s to the eventual success of the kickstarter game ratatan.

Much better gameplay, story is basically the same, music is still excellent, new hero character is cool, pon pon pata pon!

Popular perception of sequels suggests they’re usually worse than the original. This arguably rings truer for films than other media, but I have frequently felt mystified when playing game sequels I’d often heard described as better than their predecessor, usually finding that other cornerstones of the experience are neglected or lost in pursuit of mechanical refinement. This is common enough for me that it’s part of why, despite loving the first, I deliberately avoided playing Lost Judgment for over a year. I’ve rarely been so glad to have my misgivings dispelled.

Judgment’s walljumping, leapfrogging and cancelling moves via EX Boost were exactly the sort of expressive tools that RGG Studio’s combat always needed, but Lost Judgment takes several further steps to result in what’s by far their most cohesive system. Buffing Yagami’s attack speed, damage or knockdown resistance through dodges, charged attacks and parries respectively makes styles far more functionally distinct than the first game’s conceptually sound but imbalanced attempt at separating them into fighting individuals and crowds. Get two or more of these active at once and you can do some pretty fun stuff, EX-actions feeling more congruous now that Yagami’s able to do cool things without them. There’s less to it than it looks, but juggling being easier and more consistent pull off than in Judgment allows for more creativity on the player’s part and encourages better knowledge of Yagami’s moves, while also retaining just enough of a barrier that it feels more proportional to its reward than at least two other Dragon Engine titles’ combat. What accentuates this is that enemies are similarly fleshed out, between heavy ones that can throw each other at you and new status effects to watch out for among those with weapons, while bosses are (generally) no longer Frankensteined out of old assets and feel all the more distinctive for it. There’s enough to chew on that I recall feeling like there was a party going on between my hands at this part early on in my first playthrough.

Most full-on action games are still better alternatives to Lost Judgment if combat specifically is what you’re after, but that’s fine, because it’s stuffed to the gills with other things to do. It deserves as much credit for how much more enjoyable it’s made traversing the hub cities this time around, especially Ijincho. With the simple addition of a skateboard, what was once a mire of either absent-mindedly holding forward for prolonged periods or taxi-induced cuts to black becomes a giant playground of endless obstacles to jump over and grind along. Climbing hasn’t much more going on than something like Uncharted’s, but the grip meter at least adds a degree of tension to it, enough so that there are timed challenges in the (very handy) Gauntlet menu. Side cases retain the thematic harmony with the main plot that they enjoyed in the first game, though I did very few on my first run since I was so gripped by wanting to see what happened next.

What the plot comparatively lacks in personal stakes for Yagami, it makes up for in being thought provoking. The issues at its core are treated with a healthy dose of nuance to the extent that even Yagami’s friends will occasionally comment on sharing Kuwana’s perspective; the Mole was, and is, great in his own way, but they made the right call not trying to one up him and instead opting for an antagonist who’s not so clear cut, handling the (usually tired) angle of grey morality with grace. There’s an apparent step up on various levels of its presentation too. Few bosses have had quite so mythical a backdrop as that of Tesso’s first encounter, with its neon-lit rain and eerie throat singing, while the modellers and artists have gotten noticeably better at making characters created from scratch look believable. I was genuinely surprised to learn that Akutsu isn’t facescanned, for instance, a marked contrast from the days of Yakuza protagonists looking uncanny when onscreen alongside obviously real people.

I’ve only just now mentioned Yakuza by name because, increasingly, I feel that Judgment shouldn’t be lumped in with it as though the two are synonymous. I mentioned part of why I avoided playing Lost Judgment for so long at the start; the other part was Yakuza, or more specifically its approach to sequels. They’d conditioned me to expect that Lost Judgment would either diminish or totally axe some of the original’s good ideas for seemingly no reason other than difference for difference’s sake, something likely brought on by a release schedule that occasionally feels akin to an assembly line. It not only does nothing of the kind, it’s marinated in a palpable albeit not completely successful effort at improvement from top to bottom. In any case, the first Judgment did better than most of its sister series in considerably less time despite technically being a new IP, so I don’t think it’s unreasonable to suggest one has an appeal which the other lacks.

For me, that appeal lies in the relative clarity of what this now-duology wants to be and do. As aforementioned, Lost Judgment isn’t an entirely rosy sequel; among other things, Hoshino’s dragged through the mud to such a cartoonish extent I can only assume one of the writers (understandably) wanted Saori for himself, detective segments are barebones as ever and perhaps the only part of Kaito’s DLC that isn’t underwhelming is its price tag. These are only slight blemishes, though, on what’s otherwise a game which has dug in its heels and demonstrated unwavering belief in its identity as an (arguably for the first time) unambiguously solid beat ‘em up with plenty to say and plenty else to do that all ties into it. I’m simultaneously interested in a potential third Judgment and so satisfied with the two we now have that I don’t think it’s really needed. It’s almost enough to make a man forget about Sawa-sensei for a split second.

RPGs and Horror Games are my favourite genres and Vagrant Story might just be my favourite game that I played last year. Parasite Eve is a blend of all 3 and to no surprise, I enjoyed every second of it.

Everything about this game slaps. The story is really enjoyable in the same way a B-horror movie is and once I learned to just not take the biological jargon about the mitochondria and sperm too seriously, I had a blast with it. I quite like the characters too, Aya is a badass and a lot of the dialogue feels really natural and compelling, especially the exchanges early on between Baker, Daniel and Aya. The game also bolsters a really cool aesthetic and a lot of CGI cutscenes, with my favourites being the scenes of the animals mutating since they feel like they're ripped straight out of a John Carpenter film.

I also really like the gameplay. The combat is a bit similar to Vagrant Story only with way less menu management and an emphasis on dodging attacks and minimizing an enemies' damage after learning their attack radius was pretty satisfying (even if some attacks feel impossible to dodge). You can also take apart weapons in order to give other weapons a variety of perks so old weapons mostly have a use and experimenting with different setups and abilities was quite enjoyable. The game also has RE style exploration and I enjoy it here more than I usually would since instead of exploring one huge area for the majority of the game, Parasite Eve instead has you exploring a variety of much smaller areas and I personally much prefer this approach.

I don't really have any big flaws with the game. I guess the ending is a little lacklustre, the instant kill parts can be annoying, the game isn't very scary at all and the sewer area is pretty frustrating not just in the way the area is designed, but also due to the bat enemies that constantly blind you. For me though, the problems mean very little in the grand scheme of things.

The game is a very short (for an RPG) and tight package that felt like it was tailor-made for my tastes and it instantly clicked with me in a way that very few games do. It might be a little early to say this, but I think this is one of my favourite games of all time

ETG is one of the best rougelike games I've played in a long time. Rather than just rewarding good rng like most in it's genre, ETG makes it so even the worst luck runs can be won with skill thanks to its SHMUP like enemies and bosses. The amount of content in this game is insane and puts others to shame even going so far to include secrets that you might only find once every 100 hours.

The name of the game is guns and there are about 200+ of them to pick up during a run-through. While you have the standard AK, Shotgun & Pistols which are great in their own right, the game has a ton of wacky weaponry that are not only fun to use, but also have a use so you don't just forget about them minutes later.

There are a couple of gripes, the look of the gungeon's floors do feel repeated at times and can get quite boring by the 20th hour. There are some technical problems with the game such as controllers not responding after entering a new floor or the game crashing but most of the original launch issues have been fixed and they're still committed to fixing bad bugs in the final upcoming update. The last problem I have is that the pacing of the first floor could be way better, getting stuck with the beginner pistol at the end of the first floor is a pain as it's not as challenging as it is really slow to clear rooms until you get another weapon.

Overall, the game is really fun and polished and if you like rougelikes I highly recommend you check Enter The Gungeon out.