NoahHerbert
A short but passable jaunt through the Black Mesa Research Facility once again, this time from Barny's perspective. Unfortunately Blue Shift doesn't really do anything to set itself apart from both the original game and it's other excellent expansion, Opposing Force. The levels here are all quite homogenous and flat, Barny also has no weapons that are unique to him, making this expansion feel like a poor quality map pack to keep fans abated whilst Half Life 2 was still being developed. However the charm of the GoldSrc engine was enough for me to still enjoy this.
1999
Having loved Silent Hill 2 I was very excited to work my way through the remaining Team Silent titles. Silent Hill’s first entry does well in establishing so many of the ideas that are developed in its successor. To begin the presentation of the town is excellent, its uniquely eerie, uncanny atmosphere is already in full force here, the sound design is stellar throughout, I especially love how visceral it can be during segments in the other world, the strangeness of the town is further reinforced by the unnatural performances of its residents, although this may not be an intentional choice. However, an aspect of the game that frustrated me were the riddles, the puzzle solving here is awfully simplistic, usually boiling down to using items in the right place and solving riddles, although this is surely somewhat of a hardware limitation. I found the solutions to some of these riddles to be needlessly obtuse and even those I managed to solve on my own didn’t give me much satisfaction. Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to glean much from the story here, but I did expect this going in. I love how the invasion of the other world is depicted here and the implementation of it, seeing the world transform at a moments notice was very novel. The textures in the other world are so incredibly grimy I love it, as do I for the visuals as I whole, which certainly possess a charm that is unique to this era of 3D graphics. I look forward to experiencing the subsequent entries.
2024
This review contains spoilers
As expected, I absolutely adore Persona 3 Reload. I would like to preface this by stating that I have not played either of the original versions, opting instead to wait for this remake after seeing the announcement trailer last year.
I love how you are thrust into world of Persona 3. The game opens in typical Atlus fashion with an anime cutscene, it depicts the protagonist travelling to the dorm, intercut with flashes of a girl pointing a gun to her forehead before collapsing to her knees in failure. Obviously, I knew, the mystery behind this setup entirely, the girl, Yukari, being a future party member, the gun being an Evoker, and its purpose being to summon a Persona. However, I can still appreciate how good of a hook it is, I envy those who got to experience the original 17 years ago without the preconceptions I had. The cutscene continues as the protagonist witnesses the Dark Hour for the first time before transitioning to gameplay. The in-game lighting is mesmerising, these city spaces are transformed into something so alien. Again, I like that this poses questions to the player. The mystery continues to unfurl further, as the protagonist awakens to his Persona and is subsequently recruited into S.E.E.S, where we learn of Tartarus and visit the Velvet Room.
As the game goes on it is great to see it offer varied relationships between the party members, their dynamics and conversations were always engaging, there is sometimes tension and awkwardness, which provides realism to their interactions. Even unvoiced lines of dialogue echo this as we learn tidbits about their habits and daily occurrences that really help colour them in. I enjoyed watching the S.E.E.S members become gradually closer throughout the duration of the story as their experiences together build trust and true friendship. I appreciate that the protagonist is separate from the relationships of others here, not just the sole connection between them, which is as it should be. I was further pleased by how much agency they often had in the story.
Shinjiro’s pseudo social link notably illustrates the interesting dynamics between the senior students, alluding to the storied history between them; their start in S.E.E.S and the now quite strained relationship between Akihiko and Shinjiro, I love that we are often informed about past events such as this and as it allows us to understand each character’s mentality, and reason for fighting.
The characters of P3 establish a lot of the archetypes we see in the later entries, as many characters share the same Arcana. Nonetheless, there is a lot of diversity here, for example the third years, as well as Aigis, Ken and Korumaru feel quite unrepeated. In the evening, I often found myself talking to everyone, to learn their perspectives on recent events, which again provides deeper insight into who they are. The dorm activities available during the evening, were sometimes better than the social links, which I know are exclusive to this remake. The pseudo social links they added for the male party members were also particularly good, especially Shinjiro’s which I mentioned earlier, they do well to stand out from the social links as they don’t revolve around school and take place in a variety of locations for example events with Akihiko’s take place at night, in and around the dorm.
Elizabeth is easily the best velvet room attendant, by a large margin. Even her unvoiced dialogue made me crack up. The scenes where you take her out places were better than most social links, her unfamiliarity with the world makes for really effective comedy and is something that is echoed in Marie’s social link in Persona 4. I cannot believe they traded out good comic relief in the form of Elizabeth and Aigis for annoying mascots such as Teddy and to an extent Morgana. Aigis especially is endlessly funny when she is first introduced, for example the scenes of her interpreting for Korumaru, and is my favourite character in the game. Her character arc was so endearing as we watch her embrace her humanity and attempt to figure out the clumsy, haphazard process that is living. Her monologue at the end was beautiful too, but I will get into that later.
I was completely caught off guard by Shinjiro’s death partway through, as the game smartly misleads you, introducing him as the last playable party member, and only giving you a short amount of time to spend with him, I think about a month of in-game time. However, the way in which it is handled was tragic and memorable. I cannot think of another game that made me care so much about a fictional character’s death, this is largely thanks to the pseudo social link episode for him that you can participate in, which really develops him and makes you empathise for him, as something obviously terrible is eating away at him. I love the way in which these scenes cryptically allude to events in the past that led to his abandoning S.E.E.S, whilst leaving you in the dark enough so that when the big reveal later happens it still has the necessary impact, in other words I had to draw my own hazy conclusions to the actions and attitudes of Persona 3’s characters before the game abruptly confronts you with these devastating truths.
Out of the three modern Persona games, this easily has the best portrayal of opposing Persona users. Every time they were on screen was a treat, and the first boss fight against them is built up to excellently, seeing their cut-ins and use of shift, to coordinate was just magnificent. The scenes between the protagonist and Takaya help illustrate his motives and mindset, as he tries to cajole you into preserving the Dark Hour. Through these scenes you come to understand how someone who awakened to this power could become warped by it and subsequently refuse to give it up, as they believe being stripped of it would be a fate worse than death, and an utter waste of a gift bestowed upon them by some higher power.
One of the biggest improvements Reload makes, is fully voiced social links. The social link system is so fundamental to Persona’s identity so seeing it get this treatment was great, the dialogue being voiced makes even the boring ones a lot more compelling, and truly elevates the best social links such as Akinari’s to greater heights. I really hope we see this carry over into Persona 6. It is interesting that the social links roster is not so dominated by your party members as in other entries, unfortunately the quality of the social links is not as strong here. However, a few, namely Akinari’s, which I mentioned earlier make up for the shortcomings of others.
As for gameplay, this is a Persona game through and through. The fusion of life-sim and dungeon crawler is what makes these games so special and addictive to play. I had a lot of fun going through Tartarus, however on hard difficulty it was mostly quite easy which is a shame when in the original was characteristically difficult. This is partly my fault for playing on ‘Hard,’ but from what I have heard even ‘Merciless’ is not much of a step up. During my playthrough I derived a lot of fulfilment fusing and optimising my Personas, however I do wish there were some way to release Personas without leaving the Velvet Room, as having to watch the door opening animation multiple times at one instance was inconvenient.
Even though most encounters were steam-rolls, hitting weakness’s and optimising your moves to defeat shadows in the least number of turns never loses its lustre, it also helps that Reload has extravagant and stylish visuals and this is no more apparent than during its combat. This is definitely Atlus’s most striking rendition of turn based combat, I like the way the party runs into battle, the animation that transitions exploration to combat is seamless. As soon as you initiate your first battle in Reload you will be absolutely overwhelmed by what is displayed, the lighting and reflections are gorgeous, each skill is visceral and vibrant, cut ins are breathtaking, as are the amazing animation’s that play during shift, especially Yukari’s, my god, I always shift to her because of how expressive it is. All out attacks are importantly very satisfying, I love watching the party run up on a shadow before it transfers to the enchanting splash screens that close out each encounter. In many ways this is the definitive version of turn-based combat in a Persona game.
Persona 3 Reload’s soundtrack is a constant delight. Everything you do is accompanied by distinctive music, which lends itself to building the identity of these spaces. From the bombastic ‘Mass Destruction’ to the bouncy ‘Iwatodai Dorm.’ Additionally, the tone in key scenes can be efficiently conveyed and amplified, for example, in the use of the devastating ‘This is How it Should Be’ to the melancholic but hopeful ‘Living with Determination’ in key story beats. The use of music in these games is very liberal, there is rarely a moment spent without it, however I believe the application of it really elevates the experience. Also, I never found myself tiring of any of the tracks, which is a testament to its calibre.
The ending to Persona 3 is so evocative. I half knew what was coming but I was still surprised by the beauty in its execution. The final cutscene is intimately framed, as Aigis gives her heart-wrenching monologue about living, and how she will go on doing so even without you, perfectly highlighting the core themes the story explores. In this moment you really feel the special bond between them, and how she is grieving deeply for you. ‘I Will Protect You’ augments this scene perfectly. As everything draws to a close, ‘Memories of You’ swells up melancholically, leaving you with a profound sense of closure to this wonderful journey.
This review has been all over the place, but I am simply happy to have captured, somewhat messily, the aspects I appreciated most in this fantastic game.
I love how you are thrust into world of Persona 3. The game opens in typical Atlus fashion with an anime cutscene, it depicts the protagonist travelling to the dorm, intercut with flashes of a girl pointing a gun to her forehead before collapsing to her knees in failure. Obviously, I knew, the mystery behind this setup entirely, the girl, Yukari, being a future party member, the gun being an Evoker, and its purpose being to summon a Persona. However, I can still appreciate how good of a hook it is, I envy those who got to experience the original 17 years ago without the preconceptions I had. The cutscene continues as the protagonist witnesses the Dark Hour for the first time before transitioning to gameplay. The in-game lighting is mesmerising, these city spaces are transformed into something so alien. Again, I like that this poses questions to the player. The mystery continues to unfurl further, as the protagonist awakens to his Persona and is subsequently recruited into S.E.E.S, where we learn of Tartarus and visit the Velvet Room.
As the game goes on it is great to see it offer varied relationships between the party members, their dynamics and conversations were always engaging, there is sometimes tension and awkwardness, which provides realism to their interactions. Even unvoiced lines of dialogue echo this as we learn tidbits about their habits and daily occurrences that really help colour them in. I enjoyed watching the S.E.E.S members become gradually closer throughout the duration of the story as their experiences together build trust and true friendship. I appreciate that the protagonist is separate from the relationships of others here, not just the sole connection between them, which is as it should be. I was further pleased by how much agency they often had in the story.
Shinjiro’s pseudo social link notably illustrates the interesting dynamics between the senior students, alluding to the storied history between them; their start in S.E.E.S and the now quite strained relationship between Akihiko and Shinjiro, I love that we are often informed about past events such as this and as it allows us to understand each character’s mentality, and reason for fighting.
The characters of P3 establish a lot of the archetypes we see in the later entries, as many characters share the same Arcana. Nonetheless, there is a lot of diversity here, for example the third years, as well as Aigis, Ken and Korumaru feel quite unrepeated. In the evening, I often found myself talking to everyone, to learn their perspectives on recent events, which again provides deeper insight into who they are. The dorm activities available during the evening, were sometimes better than the social links, which I know are exclusive to this remake. The pseudo social links they added for the male party members were also particularly good, especially Shinjiro’s which I mentioned earlier, they do well to stand out from the social links as they don’t revolve around school and take place in a variety of locations for example events with Akihiko’s take place at night, in and around the dorm.
Elizabeth is easily the best velvet room attendant, by a large margin. Even her unvoiced dialogue made me crack up. The scenes where you take her out places were better than most social links, her unfamiliarity with the world makes for really effective comedy and is something that is echoed in Marie’s social link in Persona 4. I cannot believe they traded out good comic relief in the form of Elizabeth and Aigis for annoying mascots such as Teddy and to an extent Morgana. Aigis especially is endlessly funny when she is first introduced, for example the scenes of her interpreting for Korumaru, and is my favourite character in the game. Her character arc was so endearing as we watch her embrace her humanity and attempt to figure out the clumsy, haphazard process that is living. Her monologue at the end was beautiful too, but I will get into that later.
I was completely caught off guard by Shinjiro’s death partway through, as the game smartly misleads you, introducing him as the last playable party member, and only giving you a short amount of time to spend with him, I think about a month of in-game time. However, the way in which it is handled was tragic and memorable. I cannot think of another game that made me care so much about a fictional character’s death, this is largely thanks to the pseudo social link episode for him that you can participate in, which really develops him and makes you empathise for him, as something obviously terrible is eating away at him. I love the way in which these scenes cryptically allude to events in the past that led to his abandoning S.E.E.S, whilst leaving you in the dark enough so that when the big reveal later happens it still has the necessary impact, in other words I had to draw my own hazy conclusions to the actions and attitudes of Persona 3’s characters before the game abruptly confronts you with these devastating truths.
Out of the three modern Persona games, this easily has the best portrayal of opposing Persona users. Every time they were on screen was a treat, and the first boss fight against them is built up to excellently, seeing their cut-ins and use of shift, to coordinate was just magnificent. The scenes between the protagonist and Takaya help illustrate his motives and mindset, as he tries to cajole you into preserving the Dark Hour. Through these scenes you come to understand how someone who awakened to this power could become warped by it and subsequently refuse to give it up, as they believe being stripped of it would be a fate worse than death, and an utter waste of a gift bestowed upon them by some higher power.
One of the biggest improvements Reload makes, is fully voiced social links. The social link system is so fundamental to Persona’s identity so seeing it get this treatment was great, the dialogue being voiced makes even the boring ones a lot more compelling, and truly elevates the best social links such as Akinari’s to greater heights. I really hope we see this carry over into Persona 6. It is interesting that the social links roster is not so dominated by your party members as in other entries, unfortunately the quality of the social links is not as strong here. However, a few, namely Akinari’s, which I mentioned earlier make up for the shortcomings of others.
As for gameplay, this is a Persona game through and through. The fusion of life-sim and dungeon crawler is what makes these games so special and addictive to play. I had a lot of fun going through Tartarus, however on hard difficulty it was mostly quite easy which is a shame when in the original was characteristically difficult. This is partly my fault for playing on ‘Hard,’ but from what I have heard even ‘Merciless’ is not much of a step up. During my playthrough I derived a lot of fulfilment fusing and optimising my Personas, however I do wish there were some way to release Personas without leaving the Velvet Room, as having to watch the door opening animation multiple times at one instance was inconvenient.
Even though most encounters were steam-rolls, hitting weakness’s and optimising your moves to defeat shadows in the least number of turns never loses its lustre, it also helps that Reload has extravagant and stylish visuals and this is no more apparent than during its combat. This is definitely Atlus’s most striking rendition of turn based combat, I like the way the party runs into battle, the animation that transitions exploration to combat is seamless. As soon as you initiate your first battle in Reload you will be absolutely overwhelmed by what is displayed, the lighting and reflections are gorgeous, each skill is visceral and vibrant, cut ins are breathtaking, as are the amazing animation’s that play during shift, especially Yukari’s, my god, I always shift to her because of how expressive it is. All out attacks are importantly very satisfying, I love watching the party run up on a shadow before it transfers to the enchanting splash screens that close out each encounter. In many ways this is the definitive version of turn-based combat in a Persona game.
Persona 3 Reload’s soundtrack is a constant delight. Everything you do is accompanied by distinctive music, which lends itself to building the identity of these spaces. From the bombastic ‘Mass Destruction’ to the bouncy ‘Iwatodai Dorm.’ Additionally, the tone in key scenes can be efficiently conveyed and amplified, for example, in the use of the devastating ‘This is How it Should Be’ to the melancholic but hopeful ‘Living with Determination’ in key story beats. The use of music in these games is very liberal, there is rarely a moment spent without it, however I believe the application of it really elevates the experience. Also, I never found myself tiring of any of the tracks, which is a testament to its calibre.
The ending to Persona 3 is so evocative. I half knew what was coming but I was still surprised by the beauty in its execution. The final cutscene is intimately framed, as Aigis gives her heart-wrenching monologue about living, and how she will go on doing so even without you, perfectly highlighting the core themes the story explores. In this moment you really feel the special bond between them, and how she is grieving deeply for you. ‘I Will Protect You’ augments this scene perfectly. As everything draws to a close, ‘Memories of You’ swells up melancholically, leaving you with a profound sense of closure to this wonderful journey.
This review has been all over the place, but I am simply happy to have captured, somewhat messily, the aspects I appreciated most in this fantastic game.
2023
I really enjoyed the first few hours I played as I was progressing at a steady pace and was charmed by this quaint little game. However, once you get stuck, the experience becomes miserable. This is because there is no map to fall back on, to help you figure out what you are missing or where you need to go at this stage in the game, as in all other metroidvania style games. The omission of a map may have been acceptable if the level design wasn't so labyrinthine and the visuals often homogenous. As a result of this I convinced myself I was missing a vital upgrade, so I tirelessly explored for over an hour, which really made me sour on the experience as I refused to give in to looking anything up, which is a customary practice for me. Eventually I gave in, thankfully, and realised I was misunderstanding the message located before the Tower Remains, which allowed me to progress. The game being in 3D further exacerbates the problem of uncertainty regarding what is gated by which ability.
Once I overcame this hiccup, I did begin to enjoy the game again, and I was able to appreciate the full range of Cybil's move-set, the movement is exceptional and makes traversing these mostly bland levels satisfying. The Sun Greeves are its only iffy aspect, however you become less and less reliant on them as the game goes on. The combat in this game is very poor but the game knows this and does not force it upon you often, instead most enemies function as a refill for your health, to prevent you from dying to acid damage received while platforming. The game also possesses a very pleasing atmosphere, which is dreamlike and almost surreal, this is thanks to its tranquil music and hazy visuals.
I know I’ve been mostly very negative here however I largely enjoyed my time with Psuedoregalia. I would like to commend the dev who designed this game, its successful parts are outstanding and have me extremely excited for what they produce next. I do however hope that they revisit the creative ideas offered up here, with more development time and resources.
Once I overcame this hiccup, I did begin to enjoy the game again, and I was able to appreciate the full range of Cybil's move-set, the movement is exceptional and makes traversing these mostly bland levels satisfying. The Sun Greeves are its only iffy aspect, however you become less and less reliant on them as the game goes on. The combat in this game is very poor but the game knows this and does not force it upon you often, instead most enemies function as a refill for your health, to prevent you from dying to acid damage received while platforming. The game also possesses a very pleasing atmosphere, which is dreamlike and almost surreal, this is thanks to its tranquil music and hazy visuals.
I know I’ve been mostly very negative here however I largely enjoyed my time with Psuedoregalia. I would like to commend the dev who designed this game, its successful parts are outstanding and have me extremely excited for what they produce next. I do however hope that they revisit the creative ideas offered up here, with more development time and resources.
1991
This is the first Classicvania game I’ve played, and it has won me over. Super Castlevania IV is frenetic fun, and I found myself greatly appreciating its simplicity. The gameplay is very straightforward, you must progress through linear stages, using your whip and a sub weapon to defeat enemies that obstruct you, whilst managing your health and lives so that you have enough to vanquish each concluding boss. The draw of it is learning from each mistake or death, then adjusting and optimising your approach accordingly, so that you can get a clean clear of each stage.
Initially I felt a great rush completing a stage, as the limited lives system urges you to lock in and play precisely, however later stages become bloated endurance tests, with an increase in awkward enemy positioning, and atrocious platforming, where making a mistake often results in an instant death and reset. Thankfully though this can be mitigated by the use of save states. These stages also exacerbate the issues with the boss battles, as you frequently reach these with less resources to expend. Unfortunately, the majority of boss battles in Super Castlevania IV are frustrating because the arenas are too small, bosses recurrently bump into you and many attacks feel unavoidable, as a result they are more so a test of if you can initiate the fight with full health and lots of hearts so that you are able to out DPS them, rather than that of positioning, reflexes and recognising patterns. Regardless there are some exceptions, such as Dracula which is a tremendous but difficult fight.
Overall, I really enjoyed my first foray into classic Castlevania, however I feel like because of my use of save states in the latter half of the game, I circumvented a lot of frustration and tedium. I also derived additional enjoyment from playing this handheld on my RG35XX, a vertical Anbernic emulation device modelled after the original Gameboy, which I can’t shill for enough.
Initially I felt a great rush completing a stage, as the limited lives system urges you to lock in and play precisely, however later stages become bloated endurance tests, with an increase in awkward enemy positioning, and atrocious platforming, where making a mistake often results in an instant death and reset. Thankfully though this can be mitigated by the use of save states. These stages also exacerbate the issues with the boss battles, as you frequently reach these with less resources to expend. Unfortunately, the majority of boss battles in Super Castlevania IV are frustrating because the arenas are too small, bosses recurrently bump into you and many attacks feel unavoidable, as a result they are more so a test of if you can initiate the fight with full health and lots of hearts so that you are able to out DPS them, rather than that of positioning, reflexes and recognising patterns. Regardless there are some exceptions, such as Dracula which is a tremendous but difficult fight.
Overall, I really enjoyed my first foray into classic Castlevania, however I feel like because of my use of save states in the latter half of the game, I circumvented a lot of frustration and tedium. I also derived additional enjoyment from playing this handheld on my RG35XX, a vertical Anbernic emulation device modelled after the original Gameboy, which I can’t shill for enough.
Rondo of Blood is my favourite classic Castlevania, and the remaining titles I’ve yet to play don’t seem likely to change that. Releasing only two years after Super Castlevania IV, also on a 16-bit console, there is a surprising leap in audiovisual quality. This was due to Rondo of Blood being one of the first games released on CD format. This is fascinating as it meant that Rondo of Blood could feature CD quality music, as well as charming anime style cutscenes with fittingly corny and compressed voice acting all while still being a 2D side-scroller. These cutscenes still look great on the small display of a handheld device despite the limited animation, the best of these is the opening montage which establishes the simple premise of the game and acts as a bit of a hype reel for our new Belmont, Richter. Watching this after booting up the game for testing purposes skyrocketed it to the top of the games, I was interested in playing next and was what got me to consider Castlevania games pre- Symphony of the Night.
The first stage immediately makes an impression on you with a flashy confrontation with Death on top of a moving chariot, a significant step up in sprite work is clear, from the galloping horses pulling you along to the expressive animations of Death himself as he goads Richter, wagging his finger before vanishing from sight. God, I love parallax scrolling, Dracula’s castle just visible in the distance above the trees. The detail in this scene alone is astonishing, pure 16-bit perfection. After a fade to black you make it to the burning village in the opening, another beautiful intertitle slides in, reading “Dinner of Flames” before it dissolves away and the triumphant Blood Relations of Heaven and Earth kicks in, you step forward watching Richter’s Chad walk animation cycle gloriously, you whip the skeletons in front of you and smile, this is Castlevania at it’s peak.
The game ceases to lose this momentum one bit, as each successive stage introduces new locales that are colourful and distinct, alongside new enemies and exhilarating boss battles, which are some of the best designed encounters in any 2D game, certainly the finest in the series. The level design is excellent with lots of verticality and secrets to uncover, enemy placement is challenging but the stages are the perfect length for you to lock in for, without it feeling exhausting, this also mitigates frustration if you get a game over on a boss and have to restart the Stage, as it cuts down on the run back to attempt the battle again. Another improvement Rondo makes is in the removal of frequent insta death pits present in other entries, which can be extremely easy to fall into thanks to knock back and poor enemy placement which often times cannot be reacted to without foresight. Now in Rondo a lot of these ‘would be’ insta death pits lead to alternate paths, adding an element of exploration absent in previous titles, investigating these alternate paths, whipping suspicious blocks, can lead to entirely different alternate stages with hidden maidens to rescue and new bosses that are exclusive to them. I found myself liking the return to the two directional whip as it encourages you to learn effective sub-weapon usage and diagonals aren’t aways consistent on certain D-pads, because of this there is a form of resource management as you collect fuel for these in the form of hearts dropped from candlesticks, conserving hearts is important in giving yourself the upper hand against the concluding boss of each stage as the more your enter the arena with, the more Item Crashes you can unleash. Item Crashes are ultimate moves that you can perform with enough hearts, they launch you into the air where you perform an attack that reflects the current sub-weapon in your possession, these last a long time and deal lots of damage, and depending on the sub weapon can hit the boss when he is out of reach, they can also be used tactically to deal damage while avoiding incoming damage from attacks that cover a large area or are hard to avoid. Some more minor improvements Rondo makes is the ability to jump on stairs and pick up sub-weapons after they’ve been replaced, these changes sound small on paper but they make a huge difference, especially the latter as it allows you to be more tactical in what sub weapon you bring along with you whilst letting you optimise heart collection from candlesticks without worrying about losing you current sub-weapon.
In conclusion Rondo of Blood is a great entry point for the fans of the succeeding non-linear Castlevanias willing to explore the series roots. Rondo of Blood is one of the finest games of its era, sadly overlooked due to it lacking a worldwide release until many years later, with truly incredible stage design, boss battles and a spectacular soundtrack that is one of only two in the series that isn’t constrained by hardware limitations. It’s absolutely an essential play.
The first stage immediately makes an impression on you with a flashy confrontation with Death on top of a moving chariot, a significant step up in sprite work is clear, from the galloping horses pulling you along to the expressive animations of Death himself as he goads Richter, wagging his finger before vanishing from sight. God, I love parallax scrolling, Dracula’s castle just visible in the distance above the trees. The detail in this scene alone is astonishing, pure 16-bit perfection. After a fade to black you make it to the burning village in the opening, another beautiful intertitle slides in, reading “Dinner of Flames” before it dissolves away and the triumphant Blood Relations of Heaven and Earth kicks in, you step forward watching Richter’s Chad walk animation cycle gloriously, you whip the skeletons in front of you and smile, this is Castlevania at it’s peak.
The game ceases to lose this momentum one bit, as each successive stage introduces new locales that are colourful and distinct, alongside new enemies and exhilarating boss battles, which are some of the best designed encounters in any 2D game, certainly the finest in the series. The level design is excellent with lots of verticality and secrets to uncover, enemy placement is challenging but the stages are the perfect length for you to lock in for, without it feeling exhausting, this also mitigates frustration if you get a game over on a boss and have to restart the Stage, as it cuts down on the run back to attempt the battle again. Another improvement Rondo makes is in the removal of frequent insta death pits present in other entries, which can be extremely easy to fall into thanks to knock back and poor enemy placement which often times cannot be reacted to without foresight. Now in Rondo a lot of these ‘would be’ insta death pits lead to alternate paths, adding an element of exploration absent in previous titles, investigating these alternate paths, whipping suspicious blocks, can lead to entirely different alternate stages with hidden maidens to rescue and new bosses that are exclusive to them. I found myself liking the return to the two directional whip as it encourages you to learn effective sub-weapon usage and diagonals aren’t aways consistent on certain D-pads, because of this there is a form of resource management as you collect fuel for these in the form of hearts dropped from candlesticks, conserving hearts is important in giving yourself the upper hand against the concluding boss of each stage as the more your enter the arena with, the more Item Crashes you can unleash. Item Crashes are ultimate moves that you can perform with enough hearts, they launch you into the air where you perform an attack that reflects the current sub-weapon in your possession, these last a long time and deal lots of damage, and depending on the sub weapon can hit the boss when he is out of reach, they can also be used tactically to deal damage while avoiding incoming damage from attacks that cover a large area or are hard to avoid. Some more minor improvements Rondo makes is the ability to jump on stairs and pick up sub-weapons after they’ve been replaced, these changes sound small on paper but they make a huge difference, especially the latter as it allows you to be more tactical in what sub weapon you bring along with you whilst letting you optimise heart collection from candlesticks without worrying about losing you current sub-weapon.
In conclusion Rondo of Blood is a great entry point for the fans of the succeeding non-linear Castlevanias willing to explore the series roots. Rondo of Blood is one of the finest games of its era, sadly overlooked due to it lacking a worldwide release until many years later, with truly incredible stage design, boss battles and a spectacular soundtrack that is one of only two in the series that isn’t constrained by hardware limitations. It’s absolutely an essential play.
I actually really enjoyed my time with this one. I just needed something immediate and easy to play in the evening, and something Persona felt comforting. The rhythm gameplay is intuitive and satisfying, executing long combos to the best tracks from Persona 3 is exactly as it sounds, fun. It also helps that Dancing in Moonlight has great remixes that sound wholly different to the originals, whilst also sounding more in line with typical dance music. The character customisation is another highlight, boasting great outfits in particular; however, it is hampered for the duration of the game as Yukari’s and Junpei’s social links are reliant on you swapping in new outfits and accessories every dance to rank up, forcing you to put together awful, incoherent looking outfits for the characters, instead of letting you play around with stylish combinations. The social links are still underbaked and largely uninteresting, however the scenes with Elizabeth in were surprisingly amusing.
In conclusion, Persona 3 Dancing in Moonlight is a great way to appreciate Persona 3’s music whilst being further entertained by sharp rhythm gameplay. Overstimulation at its finest.
In conclusion, Persona 3 Dancing in Moonlight is a great way to appreciate Persona 3’s music whilst being further entertained by sharp rhythm gameplay. Overstimulation at its finest.
After finishing Persona 3 Reload in February I was eager to substitute it for another Atlus RPG. Nocturne seemed like the perfect choice as I had already bought it some months prior and I was excited to play it after hearing so many people rave about it, especially regarding it’s Press Turn system and rewarding difficulty. Unfortunately, the early game wasn’t moving at the pace I would like, and I was most likely feeling burnt out on RPGs, so I decided to put it down for a while.
I picked it back up again in April and managed to work my way through the frankly slow and unimpressive early game. Thankfully it really picks up after about 15 hours when options for demon fusion open up and I could get into the nitty gritty of curating my demon roster. Consequently, encounters also improve, as a more diverse set of skills are available to you, so strategising and optimising your turn count becomes deeper. Additionally, around this point in, the complexity and quality of the dungeons also sees a significant rise as they become far more labyrinthine; with pitfalls, dead ends, teleportation tiles, and puzzles to solve. My favourites being the Obelisk, Amala Temple, and Diet Building. This makes traversal far less monotonous and does well to break up the persistent and oftentimes overwhelming random encounters. Although obviously limited and quite primitive, I actually really enjoyed the dungeon crawling aspect of the game, navigating these homogenous environments is disorientating, obtuse, and unlike anything I’ve played before, so it was a new and refreshing experience for me.
The best aspect of Nocturne is easily it’s Press Turn Battle System. It’s fast and dynamic, encouraging players to exploit half turns so that they can gain every move and advantage at their disposal. This is achieved through careful consideration of the party’s skill set, the enemies’ strengths and weaknesses as well as the order of every action, and sometimes even foresight from the player to mitigate their own party’s weaknesses. Nowhere is the strength of Nocturne’s combat clearer than in its challenging boss battles, with highlights like Beelzebub, Baal Avatar, and Satan, which really require careful planning in regard to how to build your party and the execution of your strategy. No other game quite has you second guessing yourself as frequently as in Nocturne, weighing risk against reward, where whiffing a physical attack or striking an enemy strength can lead to the loss of two turn icons and subsequently even sudden death. This element of apprehension is fundamental to the experience this game offers as save points can be few and far between, so death has consequence, perfectly reflecting the hostility of the desolate wasteland that is the Vortex World. The soundtrack also excellently echoes this, from the eerie and ambient electronica that plays during exploration to the fierce and demonic rock in battles. All in all, Nocturne has great atmosphere thanks to its unique vision of a post-apocalyptic world both audibly and visually.
Although a tad antiquated, Nocturne is a fundamental title that establishes so many of the best elements found in Atlus’s modern RPGs such as Press Turn and streamlined Demon Fusion, however it is harder to appreciate when this hasn’t been my first exposure to these systems and 20 years after its initial release.
I picked it back up again in April and managed to work my way through the frankly slow and unimpressive early game. Thankfully it really picks up after about 15 hours when options for demon fusion open up and I could get into the nitty gritty of curating my demon roster. Consequently, encounters also improve, as a more diverse set of skills are available to you, so strategising and optimising your turn count becomes deeper. Additionally, around this point in, the complexity and quality of the dungeons also sees a significant rise as they become far more labyrinthine; with pitfalls, dead ends, teleportation tiles, and puzzles to solve. My favourites being the Obelisk, Amala Temple, and Diet Building. This makes traversal far less monotonous and does well to break up the persistent and oftentimes overwhelming random encounters. Although obviously limited and quite primitive, I actually really enjoyed the dungeon crawling aspect of the game, navigating these homogenous environments is disorientating, obtuse, and unlike anything I’ve played before, so it was a new and refreshing experience for me.
The best aspect of Nocturne is easily it’s Press Turn Battle System. It’s fast and dynamic, encouraging players to exploit half turns so that they can gain every move and advantage at their disposal. This is achieved through careful consideration of the party’s skill set, the enemies’ strengths and weaknesses as well as the order of every action, and sometimes even foresight from the player to mitigate their own party’s weaknesses. Nowhere is the strength of Nocturne’s combat clearer than in its challenging boss battles, with highlights like Beelzebub, Baal Avatar, and Satan, which really require careful planning in regard to how to build your party and the execution of your strategy. No other game quite has you second guessing yourself as frequently as in Nocturne, weighing risk against reward, where whiffing a physical attack or striking an enemy strength can lead to the loss of two turn icons and subsequently even sudden death. This element of apprehension is fundamental to the experience this game offers as save points can be few and far between, so death has consequence, perfectly reflecting the hostility of the desolate wasteland that is the Vortex World. The soundtrack also excellently echoes this, from the eerie and ambient electronica that plays during exploration to the fierce and demonic rock in battles. All in all, Nocturne has great atmosphere thanks to its unique vision of a post-apocalyptic world both audibly and visually.
Although a tad antiquated, Nocturne is a fundamental title that establishes so many of the best elements found in Atlus’s modern RPGs such as Press Turn and streamlined Demon Fusion, however it is harder to appreciate when this hasn’t been my first exposure to these systems and 20 years after its initial release.
I adore Disco Elysium. It is truly a one-of-a-kind experience, and sadly after almost 5 years have passed since its initial release, it seems even more mythic and unrepeatable now. The creatives behind it delivered a narrative experience that is frankly unparalleled with anything I’ve ever played. From the mesmerizingly melancholic world of Elysium to its riveting plot and conflict informed by the detailed politics and history of Revachol. This being conveyed naturally through tidbits you learn from its inhabitants and the environment as you explore it. Every character you meet along the way feels as though they really live and breathe, existing separately from the player’s interaction, they communicate their own views and temperaments in a way that is astonishingly lifelike and individual. This is bolstered by the diverse array of voice talent, each of which sound exactly how they read, perfectly understanding the nuance and tone of the script. A particular highlight for me was the presence of Kim Kitsuragi, he feels like a real companion throughout, having him by you side at all times facilitates intricacy in your interaction with the environment and other characters which otherwise wouldn’t be possible. The way he voices his interpretation of the investigation as it progresses, interjecting in interviews, pulling you aside to talk over things in private, scolding you when you act up; it lends so much legitimacy to the role of the detective you are playing as well as the experience overall. To sum it up Disco Elysium’s writing is vivid, wry, authentic, and truly singular.
The genius of Disco Elysium’s design lies in its decision to abandon conventional gameplay, so that it can tell a story completely unconstrained, while importantly maintaining a traversable, interactable, and compelling world to explore and immerse yourself in. I’m really hopeful we will see future games adopt this approach as it will allow for new and more sophisticated stories to be told, furthering games as a narrative medium. The gameplay in Disco Elysium is essentially there to reinforce the story, there is no twitchy real time combat to keep you hooked, purely exploration, interfacing with the environment and others and roleplaying in the form of decision making, equipment and stat distribution. For example, the commitment to make certain choices partly up to chance in the form of white and red checks, is exciting, adding tension and gravity to key moments. This in combination with the skill system determining Harry’s abilities and thoughts makes each playthrough feel unique and I’m eager to see what changes on a replay using a different archetype. Crucially the gameplay makes you feel like detective Harrier Du Bois, its unglamorous but immersive and cohesive with the story and because of that its pacing is excellent throughout.
The genius of Disco Elysium’s design lies in its decision to abandon conventional gameplay, so that it can tell a story completely unconstrained, while importantly maintaining a traversable, interactable, and compelling world to explore and immerse yourself in. I’m really hopeful we will see future games adopt this approach as it will allow for new and more sophisticated stories to be told, furthering games as a narrative medium. The gameplay in Disco Elysium is essentially there to reinforce the story, there is no twitchy real time combat to keep you hooked, purely exploration, interfacing with the environment and others and roleplaying in the form of decision making, equipment and stat distribution. For example, the commitment to make certain choices partly up to chance in the form of white and red checks, is exciting, adding tension and gravity to key moments. This in combination with the skill system determining Harry’s abilities and thoughts makes each playthrough feel unique and I’m eager to see what changes on a replay using a different archetype. Crucially the gameplay makes you feel like detective Harrier Du Bois, its unglamorous but immersive and cohesive with the story and because of that its pacing is excellent throughout.