Persephony
2024
This review contains spoilers
To prephice, P3 Reload's a worthy purchase simply because Tartarus doesn't actively make you want to die.
I like that most of the dialogue is exactly the same, but with the functionality of seeing the scenes play out. And while the UI is gorgeous, some parts of the menu like the save and load are obnoxiously near the bottom.
Though I'm still iffy on the 3D models, there's no facial textures or realistic movements, so they're left kinda emoting.
One more point of praise is making nights more functional. With the changes to Tartarus not being a nightmarish slog, and the computer, hanging out with SEES, part-time jobs, etc. made the nights not boring for the majority of my run after completing the two available nighttime S.Links and maxing all my social stats.
There's still a lot of little things that bother me because they didn't add more utility or fun to them. For example, I always wanted the bookstore couple to have SOME involvement in the plot, or even being an accessible store outside of their S.Link. Or, and this one especially ticked me off, the infamous typhoon event ruining what could have been a much needed emotional reprieve from the plot at that point in the form of maid outfits at the school festival.
And while the Linked Episodes are all charming, the schedule for the last month is so damn tight that there's basically a window of less than a day to platinum the game AND complete the Linked Episodes AND 100% the compendium (I only barely managed to platinum). The random days that they're available is shitty too. If Atlus is going to lazily keep the insane amount of wasted days from base P3, then they should have at least allowed Linked Episodes to be accessible during those days, since they barely affect anything.
Mechanically, Atlus definitely knew that Ken, Koro, and (early) Aigis in the original were pretty awful party members, and decided to buff the everloving shit out of those three. Frankly, they might be too OP now. Aigis' Orgia Mode used to be a mechanic I never used unless I was already close to winning, but now she finished off 6 different boss fights without ever getting to the cooldown.
To finish off on a bunch of minor, whinier complaints: Why is the shop dialogue so goddamn repetitive? Igor, telling me to "take all the time you need" every 30 seconds makes you sound full of shit. Why do you need to watch each individual social stat level up? Why is All-Out Attack still a slow, unskippable cutscene? Why do Monad doors only allow fast travel while going in, but not for the long trek out?
I like that most of the dialogue is exactly the same, but with the functionality of seeing the scenes play out. And while the UI is gorgeous, some parts of the menu like the save and load are obnoxiously near the bottom.
Though I'm still iffy on the 3D models, there's no facial textures or realistic movements, so they're left kinda emoting.
One more point of praise is making nights more functional. With the changes to Tartarus not being a nightmarish slog, and the computer, hanging out with SEES, part-time jobs, etc. made the nights not boring for the majority of my run after completing the two available nighttime S.Links and maxing all my social stats.
There's still a lot of little things that bother me because they didn't add more utility or fun to them. For example, I always wanted the bookstore couple to have SOME involvement in the plot, or even being an accessible store outside of their S.Link. Or, and this one especially ticked me off, the infamous typhoon event ruining what could have been a much needed emotional reprieve from the plot at that point in the form of maid outfits at the school festival.
And while the Linked Episodes are all charming, the schedule for the last month is so damn tight that there's basically a window of less than a day to platinum the game AND complete the Linked Episodes AND 100% the compendium (I only barely managed to platinum). The random days that they're available is shitty too. If Atlus is going to lazily keep the insane amount of wasted days from base P3, then they should have at least allowed Linked Episodes to be accessible during those days, since they barely affect anything.
Mechanically, Atlus definitely knew that Ken, Koro, and (early) Aigis in the original were pretty awful party members, and decided to buff the everloving shit out of those three. Frankly, they might be too OP now. Aigis' Orgia Mode used to be a mechanic I never used unless I was already close to winning, but now she finished off 6 different boss fights without ever getting to the cooldown.
To finish off on a bunch of minor, whinier complaints: Why is the shop dialogue so goddamn repetitive? Igor, telling me to "take all the time you need" every 30 seconds makes you sound full of shit. Why do you need to watch each individual social stat level up? Why is All-Out Attack still a slow, unskippable cutscene? Why do Monad doors only allow fast travel while going in, but not for the long trek out?
2021
Really satisfying platforming and collectibles. Somehow transitioned its 2000s humor seamlessly into the modern age without sacrificing its identity.
2017
Phenomenal story. Lots of interesting ways to portray its philosophical/romantic subtext through gameplay, but that gameplay isn't always as good as it looks.
2023
I wish this game was half as good as its characters or OST
2015
Ah, the days when I went on each international server and got 1st place through the connection lag on school computers. At least before Miniclip acquired it, added powerups, and spawned a bunch of lame Facebook type clones
W H Y did I insist on this being my only sonic game growing up
2022
My first FromSoft game, my first PS5 platinumed game at 150 hours and nearly every single boss iteration.
Every criticism that came up for Elden Ring were minor quality of life or mechanical issues which could be patched out, like not being able to open your map when even a squirrel gets aggro'd, or the auto-lock camera controls. For every tiny speck of dirt on this Mona Lisa of a game, there's around 10 major positives which outshined them. Ridiculously engrossing and I have no idea how this even possibly worked as a game. Lots of critics say "11/10" to appease fans but fuck that, Elden Ring's an 11.5 to me.
Every criticism that came up for Elden Ring were minor quality of life or mechanical issues which could be patched out, like not being able to open your map when even a squirrel gets aggro'd, or the auto-lock camera controls. For every tiny speck of dirt on this Mona Lisa of a game, there's around 10 major positives which outshined them. Ridiculously engrossing and I have no idea how this even possibly worked as a game. Lots of critics say "11/10" to appease fans but fuck that, Elden Ring's an 11.5 to me.