All the way back in 2017, I played Persona 5. I picked it up on a whim the day after it released, because my friend loves the Persona series and recommended I get into it, and not too long after I was hooked. That same friend also gave me SMT4 around that same time and I didn't really get into at all. But it did get me more interested in Megaten as a whole. Fast forward to the Summer, I go to TooManyGames 2017. I remember seeing the Persona 5 collectors edition, man good times. Ah anyways, I also stumbled upon Persona 3 FES and Persona 4 inside a glass cabinet along with some other Megaten games. Naturally of them all, I was most interested in P3 and P4 seeing as I was a huge fan of 5. Knowing the price of the Raidou games, I wish I picked those up then since they were only $30 but in the end I bought both FES and P4. Oh, not at the convention btw. I bought them off eBay the day after cuz I realized you could get them for cheaper there. Anyways, to this day I still haven't touched vanilla P4 since I played Golden. But FES, I picked up and dropped several times over the years. I really don't know why it wasn't grabbing me but the furthest I ever until this most recent playthrough was the first full moon operation on the subway. Either way, I can say I've finally beaten Persona 3 FES and I'm happy to say I ended up enjoying it overall.

Let's start with the story. I think overall, it's good and has some really fantastic moments. The beginning scene where the MC awakens to his Persona, to the whole turning point in Junpei's arc near the end of the game (if you know you know) to the whole last hour or two. There's some super good moments throughout the game, I just wish the story's pacing was better. After the MC's awakening in the beginning, I found the story to be super slow up until the middle of the game where it starts picking up again. Then near the end before the grand finale I found it dragged a bit. Pacing-wise, I thought it was the worst of the nusona games but specific moment-wise it's some of the best in the series. I do think the whole theme of facing death head on and not being afraid of it and making the most of life is super strong though, especially in the end-game. They really hammer that theme into you by the end but it works really well.

The main cast is solid overall but it can be a mixed bag. I really liked Akihiko, Yukari, Junpei and Aigis by the end of the game. They all felt really fleshed out and I just liked them the most. Mitsuru is decent but I expected her to be better, idk why I found her somewhat bland. Fuuka and Ken are the definitely the weakest party members imo and a big part of that, besides just not caring about their characters as much, was their voice acting. This game has really solid voice acting (the 4 characters I listed at the beginning) and then it has some really awful voice acting (Fuuka, Ken, Shinjiro, the chairman). Fuuka especially man, she sounded more robotic than Aigis it's crazy. This no doubt took me out of the story a bit just cuz those 4 are so prominent. Oh and can't forget Koromaru, interesting that he's the only normal animal sidekick in which he doesnt actually speak but he's a good boy nonetheless.

Going into more of the game's characters, let's talk about the social links. They're a bit more hit or miss in this game compared to 4 and 5. Akinari may be the best social link in the entire series with how good it is. I was tearing up in literally every rank, no doubt due to the music that plays during it. Yukari, Maiko and Chihiro were probably my favorites then after Akinari. I didn't even think Gourmet King's was bad like some people say considering his whole backstory and everything making me sympathize with him. However, a lot of the others I just thought were decent, very meh or just straight up bad. The worst by far was Kenji's, one of the worst in the series imo and just such a nothing Social Link. Same with Bebe, just did absolutely nothing for me. I didn't love 4's social links either but I think overall they're better in that game, especially since there's no male party member SL in 3. Yeah that's a weird omission, along with being forced to romance all the school girl social links, just overall the weakest of the nusona social links imo. It's not a terrible first try at the social aspect tho, but it's clear it's the first game to try to tackle it. 5 definitely has the best social links I think even if there are a couple duds in that game as well.

Something I actually dissed on stupidly was the game's soundtrack. Idk what was wrong with me but I originally just thought it was out right bad (besides battle for everyone's souls) but have since realized it's actually a super great ost, liking it so much now I think I like it more than 4's soundtrack. 5 is still easily my favorite but never did I think I'd like 3's ost more than 4's. Some of my favorite songs were the aforementioned Battle For Everyone's Souls, Joy, Living With Determination, Memories of the City and many more. Honestly, absolutely insane how much my opinion on the OST changed but I'm super glad I can see now why people love it so much.

Just a couple of random things I liked before I get into the combat. I really like that in part with the theme of death, every single party member experiences the loss of a friend or relative throughout the story. It really makes the dorm's friendship more believable since they can all relate to each other. The 2nd awakenings are easily the best in the nusona games simply because they aren't tied to the social links and are apart of the main story. Really felt impactful, especially Junpei's goddamn man. Also really enjoyed the atmosphere, mostly in the Dark Hour and Tartarus. Seeing how each Tartarus block would look was fun.

Speaking of Tartarus, it's one of the most contentious aspects of the game (along with tactics of course). Some people really love it and some people despise it. Me? It's not terrible but it's definitely the worse of the Nusona dungeons imo (yes I like 4's more) and probably the worst of the PS2 megaten games in terms of its dungeons. Absolutely does not touch DDS1's dungeons for example, but I didn't hate it overall. At first, I was just not getting into it but after a while you get used to the flow of doing a bunch of floors, then social link stuff then Tartarus and repeat. Near the middle of the game is where I was sort of getting burnt out on it a bit, especially since you do have to grind in this game and around that point I feel like enemies weren't giving great exp. Maybe I was over leveled then, idk but near the end game I was getting loads more exp and my personas were actually good so I got over my burn out near the middle of the game. Either way, Tartarus is just meh imo. Thematically it works but gameplay wise it leaves a lot to be desired.

Funnily enough, I ended up thinking more positively on tactics this time around. I still definitely prefer controlling your party members, but tactics works really well for the most part. You just have to not be dumb and engage in the mechanic. If you simply set your party to act freely all the time, then yeah they're gonna do whatever and are more prone to do stupid shit. But if you set them accordingly then I don't see the issue at all really. In fact I found it fun the more tactics you got as you progressed. Though, one issue I personally had is when I want a group heal from Yukari. Someone is super low on health, while the others aren't as low but are still missing a chunk of their health. If only one party member has less than 50% of their health, then she'll single target them and that's it. In that case, I'd want to be able to control my party members but that was about it really. One more still doesn't touch press turn imo, and I'd take controllable party members over tactics I'd say but this game clearly is built around tactics and it works really well.

Honestly, super glad I ended up enjoying FES, even if it's my least favorite nusona and my least favorite PS2 Megaten game. I was expecting to actually dislike this one cuz that's how I felt the few times I tried to get into it. It has its faults but it also has its highs and yeah I recommend playing this even with Reload out now. It may fix some of this games issues idk, but this is still a good time I'd say. Going onto almost 7 years since I got into Persona and Megaten as a whole and I'm just happy to say I've beaten all the nusona games now!

I don't like this review anymore, read at your own discretion

The MGS games were ones I had tried multiple times. The controls always seemed "clunky" to me, and I never really got past the first 30 minutes of the game I tried. Like before, I really did not care for this game when I first started it, but something was different this time...

I began to really like it. I thought the controls sucked, but it turns out maybe I just sucked. At one point, the only reason I was playing the game for was the story. Which, even then, sometimes has its issues, mainly with the women characters. Please learn how to write women. It hurts watching some of the scenes.

I don't think it's perfect, I'm playing MGS2 as of writing this, (it's taken me so long to post this I've beaten it now), and it feels way more comfortable to control. But it's up there... this game is really good. Some of the bosses aren't super fun, such as the final boss. Maybe the only unfun part of the game that I can remember. The only other moments I didn't enjoy were, as I mentioned before, the beginning since I didn't fully get the controls.

Aaaand that's it... I didn't say much, but there's probably nothing else that I can say since everything has been said before. I mean, everything I said in this review has definitely been said before. I found myself having more fun than expected, and now I finally understand why tons of people love this game.

So after playing Mario Wonder and generally enjoying it, I wanted to replay my favorite 2D Mario. I wanted to see if it was total nostalgia that was keeping me from not liking Mario Wonder as much as this and well maybe it still is? Either way, as I did with my other playthroughs, I had an absolute blast playing this and still consider it peak 2D Mario and one of my favorite platformers ever.

I think the main reason I really love it, is there's just so many secrets to find. There's 96 different exits in this game and like at least a third or more are secret exits. They're everywhere and they're really fun to find. Some of them can be quite tricky for newcomers, tho I've played this game so much that I know where everything is. Finding a secret exit in a normal level and then finding a secret exit in that secret level you just unlocked, man it's just so cool. Every single time I start a new playthrough, I always go to the star world really early, it's super fun.

I also love just how weird and wacky this game is, a lot of the stages can feel very dream like with how out there they are. In general the level design is very fresh and there's new ideas thrown out you even until the very end of the game. The game is also chock full of brand new enemies, even ones exclusive to this game that never returned to future titles.

The general gameplay is more slippery than Mario 3 and while some players may dislike this change, I enjoy it. It takes a little getting used to it at first but once it clicks, it feels great. It's more skill based but also never frustrating at least for me. I also think the game as a whole is never super frustrating (well maybe some of those special stages lol) but also never a walk in the park. I think this game has a perfect difficulty curve, it can get a bit challenging in certain levels near the middle and end. Though you could also easily get 99 1-UPs from that one level with the immense amount of Koopas lole.

I really love the OST, it's very simplistic with how it's just different renditions of the same song for most of it but it really works. I absolutely adore the end credits theme too. Another awesome thing this game did was give Mario a lot of personality. Whether it's his hat bobbing up and down when he jumps, to those really wacky cutscenes that play when you beat a castle, this game is full of personality.

Even though I've played this game many times, I still have trouble with it at certain points. I had a really rough time trying to get the secret exit for Cheese Bridge Yoshi-less, and then some of the special stages (specifically Tubular and Mondo) always give me a hard time. Some castle levels also trip me up sometimes too, I don't think this game is super easy like I've heard some people say idk.

So in the end, yeah it may just be nostalgia talking but I truly think this game is peak and definitely peak Mario, at least for me. I love this game so much man.

The first Gameboy game I ever bought for myself was this. My dad had passed down his OG gameboy along with Tetris and Kwirk, but Kirby's Dreamland was special in it was the first one I got of my own volition. I still remember buying it for $5 at the flea market back in the day. I still remember first discovering I could play original Gameboy games on my GBA because of this game. In fact, this might've been my first ever Kirby game period (it was either this or Return to Dreamland). I've played this game several times prior to this, and even now, it was still fun.

The game is quite short, only taking around an hour or less to beat, but I think that's actually really nice with a game like this. It does not overstay its welcome and if it was way longer, idk if I'd like it much. This is the first Kirby game and so it's super simple. There's only 5 stages in the game, with a boss at the end of them. It's really not that hard of a game at all, that's what Kirby is known for and it applies to his first game as well. Copy abilities weren't a thing at all until Adventure, so the gameplay in this is super simplistic. But like I said, it's short so I don't really have much of an issue with it.

For a Gameboy game, this has a super nice soundtrack. Every single song is memorable, though maybe that's also because I've played this several times, but I think a big reason for that besides them being good is the fact they get reused a lot in later games. I think the only song I haven't heard in later games is the spicy curry theme, all the rest are iconic whether it's Green Greens or the invincibility lollipop theme or Dedede's theme. Kirby has been known to never have a bad soundtrack and yeah it applies here too.

Something I'm not really much of a fan of is extra mode. I tried it out a bit again here but I still can never get far. I've never beaten it before but it's because instead of being a bit harder, it goes full into bullshit mode and not only do I not find that fun, it doesn't feel fitting for Kirby. Kirby's known for easy main playthroughs but hard side content but it's too much in this game I feel.

I never found this game amazing at all but I have fond memories with this one. It's one of the better Gameboy games I've played for sure. I plan on going through every Kirby game eventually now so consider this the start of my Kirby reviews cuz yeah I'm gonna review most of them. Don't expect it to be like my Mario Kart marathon tho since there's way more Kirby games and I don't wanna get burnt out lol.

Edit: Bumped up to a 7

Super Mario World is an absolute classic, and is my favorite 2D Mario game due to it being one of my most beloved childhood games. I would always come home from school to play Super Mario World, the bright, cheerful aesthetic and music combined with the addictive gameplay always made me happy and left an impact on me to this day of being very much partial to the SNES, and sprite-based games. Eventually I would branch out and start playing Super Mario World Romhacks way back in the early 2000's as a kid. Romhacks like Kaizo Mario really opened my eyes to how much potential the mechanics of this game had, and Brutal Mario being my personal favorite, showcased just how customizable and adaptive platformers could actually be, it was an incredible experience. This is one of those games I play every other year, so I like to think I have a pretty deep understanding of this game. Today, I'd like to point my critical eye though and see just how good or bad Super Mario World really is.

First thing I think makes Super Mario World incredible is the World Map. Right from the first world, Super Mario World makes it clear that there isn't always one way to go when progressing. You start the game with a fork in the road, the path on the right clearly indicates it'll lead to the first castle, as well as teasing a few levels ahead, such as the first water level which I really enjoy. On the left however, it's a path that leads somewhere we cannot see yet, which adds mystery and curiosity on where exactly it will lead. Progression versus curiosity is a strong opener since either way, both choices are correct and will reward the player regardless. Curious players who decide to take the left path will make their way to the Yellow Switch Palace which will make every level after activating it that much easier by providing blocks that will prevent you from dying to pits or make certain sections easier, and also give you additional super mushrooms in the levels. Going this path also allows you to see the next upcoming World, which not only could excite the player for the future, but also present a great sense of scale in that the first world you're on is just a small island compared to the infinite possibilities ahead of you once you leave it. Even if a player decides to not take the left path, they're rewarded with faster progression which will allow them to leave the first world faster, allowing them to take in that sense of scale still just by comparing how much bigger and open the next world is compared to the island you were just on.

This stays true for the remainder of the game, as every World after this always has multiple paths that can lead to shortcuts, Switch Palaces, hidden levels, and of course, the Star Road. One thing I love about Super Mario World though is how they present striking landmarks to inform you that there might be an alternate route from the one you're taking. Take the pipe in the upper left of Vanilla Dome as an example. The pipe itself seems completely unreachable and potentially just a decoration, but its contrasting coloration and what pipes represent in Mario will make the player notice it and wonder where it'll go. Just as well, Donut Plains does something similar with more pipes and even a Boo House that seems impossible to reach, but since Donut Plains establishes Boo Houses as levels, it becomes immediately apparent to the player that they probably can reach it and be able to play it. However, even with these visual cues, it could be far too vague which levels lead where which could be very frustrating and demoralizing. Thankfully, this is not the case, as levels with multiple exits are marked with a red dot rather than a yellow dot, which is an incredibly important distinction that they establish early with Yoshi Island levels all being yellow dots and the World itself being incredibly linear. Even if you didn’t know what the red dots represented, their presentation alone should indicate some sort of difference that would be easy to distinguish with a bit of thought..

One of my favorite additions to Super Mario World though is The Star Road. Star Road is a secret World that has special teleports to other worlds you can find. Star Road also has five unique levels of its own that upon finding the secret exits for, will connect to another different teleporter. These teleporters can be used anytime, though some of them will lead to dead-ends, but give you a substantial clue to what levels have secret exits in order to unlock them which is a nice consolation and encourages replaying and thoroughly exploring more levels. However, one specific teleporter will actually lead you straight to Bowser’s Castle with the path unlocked for you, allowing you to finish Super Mario World in record time. Star Road by all means is the definitive evolution of Warp Zones from previous Mario games, though instead of just being some pipes, or a world select, they took the time and care to not only make it visually striking, but also give it unique levels that, while short, are very fun to play and find the secret exits to. It doesn’t end there for Star Road however, as by completing every level’s secret exit, you will gain access to a secret sixth teleporter which will lead you into the “Special Zone”. The Special Zone is the final challenge of Super Mario World, as the eight levels here are tremendously more difficult than any other level, even harder than Bowser’s Castle. While these levels are very hidden, I love their inclusion because the levels themselves justify putting so much time into this game, from the amount of effort it takes to unlock, to gaining the mastery of the game itself to overcome these levels. While it’s a staple now to have this sort of “secret final world” in Mario games, I feel like the requirement is less cumbersome from future incarnations, such as New Super Mario Bros. Wii’s 9th World which requires grabbing every star coin in a given world to unlock the correlated level. While it does serve the same purposes of putting in time and mastering the game, it also requires 100%’ing the whole game, whereas Special Zone only requires you find it to play it, which I vastly prefer. Also, I feel as though the final reward for completing the Special Zone is so much more interesting since it could allow someone to play the entire game again and get so much out of it. I personally don’t, but it’s enough to make it feel meaningful and worth doing, which I very much love.

I haven’t even gone into gameplay yet, Super Mario World’s gameplay is amazing. Mario controls like an absolute dream, combined with the SNES graphics, this game not only plays perfectly, but looks fantastic. Every innovation from Super Mario Bros. 3 is here, as well as some new inclusions like Yoshi, the Cape Feather, and the spin jump. Yoshi brings a lot of unexpected depth to Super Mario World, as Yoshi can eat enemies and spit out shells. Koopa shells of different colors give Yoshi different abilities and attributes, such as shooting fireballs, gaining a stomp, or even wings. Yoshi provides you with an extra hit, but he’ll run away, forcing you to chase after him and remounting him to stop. A lot of the time he’ll run into a pit and that’ll be the end of it, but it does require some skill to get him back if you lose him, which is a good negative to have since Yoshi provides you with so much utility You can use Yoshi to gain a lot of extra height on a jump if you think you can’t make it, and is even used for a secret exit or two which rewards the player for learning it. There’s even some niche mechanics utilized as well, like Yoshi being able to eat objects through walls which is also used for a secret exit, which is really clever and makes use of the programming very well. Yoshi cannot enter castles or boo houses, or any level with an anti-Yoshi sign at the start via a cutscene, which I like because becoming too reliant on Yoshi can make this game even easier than it already is. There’s even different colored Yoshi’s that will provide the same ability no matter what shell is eaten, but can only be found in Star World usually, giving Star World even more benefits. Very rarely however, you can find a pair of magic wings in question blocks that you can grab as Yoshi to turn him into a Blue Yoshi. Blue Yoshi is arguably the best one since any shell consumed gives him wings, and wings pretty much allow you to skip levels with ease, as well as find secrets in the skies.

Speaking of wings, the cape feather is the only new power-up in Super Mario World, and is only one of four in the entire game, the others being the Super Mushroom, Fire Flower, and Invincibility Star. It’s definitely arguable Super Mario 3 had the better selection of power-ups, but the cape feather has so many applications, I think the depth it brings to the table is just about equal to Mario 3’s power-ups. You can spin with your cape to deal with pretty much any enemy with ease, but cannot reflect projectiles like it can in Smash Bros. The cape also allows you to fall slower than normal, providing much more control on where you land, and being able to make longer jumps. There is one capability however I think trivializes the entire game a bit too much, and that's flying. In Super Mario Bros. 3, the Super Leaf granted flight upon filling your P-meter and you’d be able to fly for a little bit before you stopped and would float back down. The only time the Super Leaf could fly through an entire level was if you had a “P-Wing” which made your P-meter full at all times for an entire level, essentially letting you fly over it without any issues. The caveat was once you used the P-wing for one level, the effect would go away, reducing it back to just a super leaf in the next level. In Super Mario World, this isn’t the case, with enough practice, the Cape Feather’s ability to fly is endless. You can fly over any level without a ceiling with very little effort, as long as you had a cape feather. It makes so many levels feel so meaningless when you can just fly over everything, it becomes especially bad as a crutch if a level is too hard or feels unfair, you can simply grab a cape feather, practice a bit, and skip the level. That is until you reach a boo house, castle, or most of Vanilla Dome since these levels have ceilings that pretty much disable the ability to fly over them, which is great. Had every level allowed you to skip it by flying, Super Mario world could feel really meaningless and boring, but I think they strike the balance really well here having enough levels that prevent you from doing that. There’s also levels that won’t scroll up for you while flying, which makes the visual cue for timing your flying harder, but unfortunately doesn’t stop you entirely from doing it, but makes it a bit harder which I can appreciate. Overall, the cape is certainly flawed a bit, but I think the amount of mechanical depth it has that is really pushed in Romhacks is incredible, and I think in the original game, it’s a bit over-tuned, but not fully compromising, definitely the largest flaw in the game. Though I will say, mastering the cape is incredibly satisfying, and I quite like the idea of having to get good with it compared to the Super Leaf in Mario 3, though even the Super Leaf has its difficulty curve with utilizing the tail swipe effectively since it’s so small.

The last addition Super Mario World added was the Spin Jump. Spin jumping allows you to jump onto dangerous hazards and enemies by bouncing off them rather than dying, you can also destroy yellow bricks underneath you if you’re big Mario. Spin jumping to me was an amazing idea because it now allows you to jump on enemies like spinies without having to break all of your momentum to slow down and jump over them like hurdles. It helps level pacing, and adds much needed variety to how you tackle obstacles in this game which I think makes this game stand out a bit more. Interestingly, spin jumping on an enemy you can normally jump on crushes them, but you immediately land afterward, you aren’t able to jump off them to gain extra height and momentum, so the spin jump rewards you especially for using it on the correct enemies as well, which helps the balance of both jumps being consistently useful in different scenarios. Spin jumping also has less jump height which is another interesting difference. On obstacles such as the buzz saws, Mario can continuously jump on them with the spin jump, but it requires finesse as well, as you need to keep readjusting to the moving object in question to keep bouncing on it, but spin jumping onto something usually pushes Mario around some, so you really have to make minor corrections every time you bounce off to ensure you don’t die or mess-up, once again, it’s just a minor detail that makes spin jumping incredibly fun, but also requires effort to get good with, it’s not always the best universal option, but when it is the solution, it’s not so simple that you can relax or be neglectful, you really got to pay attention. Yoshi’s boots have the same attributes as the spin jump as well, though the bouncing effect seems a bit more severe, making it a bit harder with Yoshi specifically.

A lot of the new enemies in Super Mario World are very iconic, so much so they’ve been staples in the series ever since. Though their popularity is one thing, what they bring to the table for the game itself is more interesting. Charging Chucks to me are the most interesting new enemy introduced as they have many different variants that make each encounter with one interesting. From triplicating themselves, to throwing different sports balls at you, some of them have unique one-time attributes like the whistling Charging Chuck underwater that wakes up the sleeping Rip Van Fish. You have the underutilized Banzai Bill that really demonstrates the SNES’s capabilities, but also just the potential extent to the size of enemies. You have a lot of very popular enemy debuts here as well like Fuzzy, Wiggler, Magikoopa, and Monty mole, each with their own unique mechanics like Fuzzy following lines, Wiggler getting mad when you jump on it, Magikoopa being able to turn blocks into something different, and monty mole that jumps out of the ground and walls to surprise you. A lot of the level design becomes so much better having these enemies present since it can completely change how you approach a level, and a lot of enemies will have a higher priority to dispose of, which gives levels more depth. Overall, there isn’t a single new inclusion in Super Mario World as far as enemies that feel poorly integrated, or just unbalanced, they’re all great and fun to interact with.

A lot of the music in Super Mario World is awesome, but the level theme is actually always the same song, just with different instrumentation and tempo. It’s a lot like Luigi’s Mansion in that regard actually, and I don’t think it’s a negative. While it is the same song every level, the vibe always changes to fit the theme of the level it’s played in, so it makes it come off very differently every time, and because it’s done so well, it doesn’t feel repetitive, uninspired, or bad, it works really well. Without that though, the world themes are all amazingly well done that really enhances them a lot. I specifically really love Vanilla Dome, Forest of Illusion, and Valley of Bowser the most.

There’s really not much left to say really. While I didn’t go into too much of the staple gameplay of Super Mario World, that’s because at its core, it’s still Mario. I much prefer talking about what the game added to the formula that made it (for the most part) a better, more refined experience. While not everything is to its benefit, I think Super Mario World is an utterly amazing game worth playing. A lot of people I know write off this game in favor of Super Mario Bros. 3 which is such a shame because I think a lot of what Mario 3 introduced was improved substantially here, like the World Map and the amount of different routing choices you have to explore and complete the game. While I don’t think the power-ups are better, I do appreciate the attempt to make a power-up with a skill curve only for the reward to be far too good for the game’s own good. Yoshi was a phenomenal addition, and spin-jumping helped Super Mario world increase the enemy variety a lot more without having to compromise the pacing of levels too much which was another plus. Overall, I think if you’re looking for a game to get into Mario with, I’d easily recommend this one because it’s not too difficult of a game, certainly easier than any previous Mario game, but the charm is unmatched, and it’s just an incredibly fun game with a whimsical and really bright aesthetic. It makes you wanna keep playing it, and can put you in a good mood if you’re feeling down, I know it has for me many times over the years.

Thank you all for reading! It’s been close to three months since I’ve written any reviews. I’ve definitely been in a slump as far as video games go, and I’ve definitely been busier than before, but I’m definitely getting back into things by writing this review. I have since restarted Final Fantasy IV in hopes of finishing it this time. I've also been gearing up to play some other games like VA-11 Hall-A, so please look forward to those reviews and more this year. I also just want to say thank you everyone for the support lately, I’ve broken 60 followers and over 400 combined likes on my reviews, so thank you all so much for that. I’ll try not to fall into another slump this year, but do forgive me if things get a bit slow here and there. Thank you all for reading, I’ll see you in the next review!

I'll keep the introduction short this time and get straight to the point. Phantom Liberty is the best DLC I've ever played.

Dogtown being a closed-off and compact district makes it feel more personal and memorable than a lot of Night City. It being a run-down, bleak area definitely makes it stand out among the rest of the world - characters and lore tidbits always describe it as this hopeless, brutal place and I believe the overall design is quite fitting for that description.

Now, the supporting cast is more grounded and morally grey here than the companions in the base game, which I personally think is great, because it fits the moody vibe of the narrative and makes them more interesting. Each character has their own intentions and it's up to the player to decide who to trust and who to avoid - Phantom Liberty's narrative alone has four endings, depending on your choices throughout the expansion. Don't overthink this aspect too much, since the points where your choices change the storyline are very clear and not your run-of-the-mill dialogue options. If you're a completionist and want to see all endings in a single playthrough, just make a backup save file right before those choices and you're good to go. Speaking of those endings, they're really impressive and you'll definitely think about them for a while.

Aside from the narrative, Phantom Liberty also adds meaningful side content to Cyberpunk 2077. There are ten new gigs, like a dozen new side quests and an entirely new skill tree. I really liked those gigs, because they weren't just "get to this PC" or "kill/spare this person" like in the base game, but all felt like little side quests on their own. The skill tree is not as expansive as the standard ones, but it adds some nice perks for melee combat and an alternative to headshots with the weak point gauge.

You see, I almost entirely forgot to mention the setpieces in the DLC. My bad! Everyone likes a good setpiece and the spy movie setting is definitely on point here - you infiltrate a casino, a triangular-shaped club and a bunch of unique spoilery sceneries where I wouldn't like to ruin the surprise. Make sure to look for the several character cameos in the casino mission!

If you're looking to spend more time in Night City, Phantom Liberty is a must-buy. In my opinion it's everything I wanted from a final arc in Cyberpunk 2077 and I really just enjoy how thought-provoking it was overall. Fantastic DLC.

Here's my review for the base game!

What a ride.

In my eyes, Red Dead Redemption 2 is an absolute masterpiece - and I hardly ever use that word! It has everything I could possibly ask for in a game: an unique and memorable cast of characters, catchy soundtrack, enjoyable gameplay and my favorite story in a video game.

There's many great things to be said about this game, so I'm starting with the immersive world, the scenery and sheer amount of detail put into just about everything. I expected the open world to be as generic as a Far Cry open world outside of the cities, but was pleasantly surprised. Not just in the sense of how it looks in terms of graphics, but also in terms of structure and pathing. It's just a joy to explore and you can always find something new on a trip. Whether it be a random encounter or change in weather, the game will keep you entertained while riding from A to B. Speaking of the weather, I absolutely love the many different weathers in the game. Ranging from a thick fog to a heavy sandstorm, there is a lot of variation in the weathers and not just the "standard" sunny/cloudy/rainy/stormy weathers present in most games. You know your game looks good when photo mode doesn't do it justice and seeing the scenery in-game is just a better experience overall.

As I mentioned before, I believe Red Dead Redemption 2 has one of the best written narratives in gaming and is my favorite story in a game as of right now. The characters act natural and the relationships between gang members also come off as pretty realistic to me. I like that unlike in other games not everyone got along with each other, just because they're part of the same crew. In terms of best written characters in the game, I'd say Arthur and Dutch easily take the top spots. I've also really enjoyed the characters of John, Sadie and even Micah. Arthur is just an amazing protagonist in general and Roger Clark really delivers his lines and the emotions within them. Then again, I believe all voice actors did a really good job for this game; I don't remember even one voice sounding off for a character. And they certainly had a lot of fun recording the lines, you can feel that.

Now onto some other positive tidbits about the game. The customization is great and you've got many different outfit parts to mix and match. Honor as a mechanic is also well done, because you indirectly influence some parts of the game depending on your good and bad deeds. Having high honor will allow you to get discounts in shops and new outfits, while low honor will make NPCs dislike you and you'll get worse loot from enemies. Also here I'd like to add that (in my opinion) there's hardly any real filler content in the game and everything has atleast some meaning to it.

But what about the gameplay itself? Hunting and tracking down animals, fishing and playing cards is a fun way to spend your time, but what's important in a game like this, is how the gunplay feels - and I believe it feels really good! Thankfully the revolvers have a certain power to them already, but rifles are also great to use with their extended zoom.

If I were to mention flaws about RDR2, there really wasn't anything major things that bothered me, just two little things that got annoying at times. The worst offender by far was "Mash A to run/boost horse", which just exists to give you thumb pain for no reason. Second point is the game forcing two weapons on you before any big fight, spoiling the surprise already. I also believe having two large guns on your back looks silly, but as I addressed earlier, this can't really be called an "issue", since it didn't hamper my enjoyment of the game overall.

Personally, I believe I have made my point clear - I like this game! A lot actually. And that's because it is a good game and I would recommend it to anyone looking for a world to just get immersed in. Now excuse me while I go think about Arthur Morgan again.