Raith
Bio
10/10 A masterpiece. Something that resonated with me like nothing before.
9/10 Amazing. The best games to grace the medium. Everything is best-in-class.
8/10 Great. These are games that helped define a generation, either by pushing the envelope or high level of quality.
7/10 Good. These are overall solid games that have just come up short in a few areas.
6/10 Okay. Overall positive experiences, but it's lacking in some key areas.
5/10 Mediocre. Experiences that are lukewarm. Playable, but there are better options.
4/10 Bad. This is the definitive line between "playable" and "skip it".
3/10 Awful. Got nothing of value out of these games.
2/10 Painful. Actively a chore to play.
1/10 Unbearable. Nothing redeeming about it. Just abysmal.
10/10 A masterpiece. Something that resonated with me like nothing before.
9/10 Amazing. The best games to grace the medium. Everything is best-in-class.
8/10 Great. These are games that helped define a generation, either by pushing the envelope or high level of quality.
7/10 Good. These are overall solid games that have just come up short in a few areas.
6/10 Okay. Overall positive experiences, but it's lacking in some key areas.
5/10 Mediocre. Experiences that are lukewarm. Playable, but there are better options.
4/10 Bad. This is the definitive line between "playable" and "skip it".
3/10 Awful. Got nothing of value out of these games.
2/10 Painful. Actively a chore to play.
1/10 Unbearable. Nothing redeeming about it. Just abysmal.
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Being part of the Backloggd community for 4 years
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Total Games Played
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Played in 2024
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The saying "it's the journey, not the destination" couldn't be more true. After over 70 hours, I was kind of surprised how abruptly everything wrapped up. 18 chapters about political intrigue and war, only for the final battle with Edlegard to kind of just happen without much fanfare. Then, the big baddies are finally revealed, only to immediately kill them lol. But wait there's more! A world ending threat appears?! That's shouldn't take more than exactly one chapter to deal with.
Aside from the ending (which I thought was quite sloppy) the writing throughout the rest of the game was a bit hit or miss. The political backdrop was actually quite interesting, and seeing characters switch sides depending on where their houses allegiance was some of the best writing I've seen in a Fire Emblem game (or dare I say, in gaming in general). Then there are certain parts and dialogues (particularly in support conversations) that vary from stiff to down right comical.
Gameplay follows the writing in the middle of the road aspect. There is so much to do and so many options given to you in the "monastery" portion of the game that allow you to get stat boosting items, improve support ranks, boost skills, gain useful items and gold... only to be paired with one of the easiest Fire Emblems I've played. Ultimately the added gameplay elements introduced feel more like fluff more than anything. They added 20 or so hours to my playthrough probably, only for it to feel like it wasn't at all necessary. I maxed the supports on most of my team by the 3/4 mark without even trying for most of the playthrough, but I still have hundreds of gifts, lost items, teas, and ingredients sitting in my inventory.
Overall, really great Fire Emblem for the cast of characters and interesting story introduced, but ultimately against the larger landscape of games it doesn't hold up so well. I would suggest fans of the series to start off on a higher difficulty to avoid steamrolling the entire game and not getting much out of all the extra mechanics added.
Aside from the ending (which I thought was quite sloppy) the writing throughout the rest of the game was a bit hit or miss. The political backdrop was actually quite interesting, and seeing characters switch sides depending on where their houses allegiance was some of the best writing I've seen in a Fire Emblem game (or dare I say, in gaming in general). Then there are certain parts and dialogues (particularly in support conversations) that vary from stiff to down right comical.
Gameplay follows the writing in the middle of the road aspect. There is so much to do and so many options given to you in the "monastery" portion of the game that allow you to get stat boosting items, improve support ranks, boost skills, gain useful items and gold... only to be paired with one of the easiest Fire Emblems I've played. Ultimately the added gameplay elements introduced feel more like fluff more than anything. They added 20 or so hours to my playthrough probably, only for it to feel like it wasn't at all necessary. I maxed the supports on most of my team by the 3/4 mark without even trying for most of the playthrough, but I still have hundreds of gifts, lost items, teas, and ingredients sitting in my inventory.
Overall, really great Fire Emblem for the cast of characters and interesting story introduced, but ultimately against the larger landscape of games it doesn't hold up so well. I would suggest fans of the series to start off on a higher difficulty to avoid steamrolling the entire game and not getting much out of all the extra mechanics added.
This is going to sound blasphemous for hardcore Tetris fans, but NES Tetris isn't the best retro Tetris game in my honest opinion.
That title goes to Gameboy Tetris. It's just the perfect game to take on the go and play in short bursts.
If you are a hardcore Tetris fan I can see how the improved visuals and control given by the NES release makes it far superior, but as someone who just likes to play for 10 or 15 minutes at a time I'd rather the ease of access the Gameboy provides.
Still the best "match" puzzler on the system though so, so it still has a spot in any collection.
That title goes to Gameboy Tetris. It's just the perfect game to take on the go and play in short bursts.
If you are a hardcore Tetris fan I can see how the improved visuals and control given by the NES release makes it far superior, but as someone who just likes to play for 10 or 15 minutes at a time I'd rather the ease of access the Gameboy provides.
Still the best "match" puzzler on the system though so, so it still has a spot in any collection.
About 20 hours into the game as of writing this review, and I can kinda tell where this one will fall for me in the pantheon of rougelike deckbuilders.
It's great, but the runs can feel WAY to dictated by rng (especially in the early stages of a run) because of the games design around poker mechanics. There are tools in the game to let you stack the odds in your favor, but I have had countless runs so far where I just died in the first few rounds due to bad rng when I didn't even get the chance to access any of those tools.
What elevates this game above others I have disliked for the same reasons is the variety and ease of getting into each run. There are so many different variations of jokers (cards that provide unique abilities), enhancements and powerups that each run can feel unique even when you are playing the same few poker hands. And when you do lose, it's so quick and easy to jump back in. I've found myself in the "just one more run" mindset basically every time I sit down when I have time to spare.
And once you are past the early stages of a run, choices start to matter more and you can mitigate rng with careful planning. Every round comes with a dozen or so different choices, all of which can impact your run in various ways. The strategy is quite deep in these moments, something I love in a deckbuilder.
It's great, but the runs can feel WAY to dictated by rng (especially in the early stages of a run) because of the games design around poker mechanics. There are tools in the game to let you stack the odds in your favor, but I have had countless runs so far where I just died in the first few rounds due to bad rng when I didn't even get the chance to access any of those tools.
What elevates this game above others I have disliked for the same reasons is the variety and ease of getting into each run. There are so many different variations of jokers (cards that provide unique abilities), enhancements and powerups that each run can feel unique even when you are playing the same few poker hands. And when you do lose, it's so quick and easy to jump back in. I've found myself in the "just one more run" mindset basically every time I sit down when I have time to spare.
And once you are past the early stages of a run, choices start to matter more and you can mitigate rng with careful planning. Every round comes with a dozen or so different choices, all of which can impact your run in various ways. The strategy is quite deep in these moments, something I love in a deckbuilder.