So, after playing all of the mainline Yakuza titles prior to this in release order, I’ve finally arrived at Yakuza 0. I do like this game, but I don’t really get it like most others. People online and my friends had kept telling me about how good this game is, but I didn’t always see it. For a while during my playthrough, I was skeptical of all the praise Yakuza 0 had received, although now that I’ve reached the end, I understand it a lot better now.
Starting with the combat, I found myself enjoying it as it feels very arcadey and flows well. Heat actions did feel overly long at times, which isn’t a problem exclusive to this game, however it felt particularly annoying here. Overall, I didn’t have as much fun with Kiryu’s new styles as I did in Yakuza 5. For the record, I didn’t bother with any of the Legend styles. I thought the grinding for them was a bit too much. Majima is simply fantastic though, with a varied moveset that’s very fun to experiment with. As for the bosses, most of them were pretty solid, with only a few that were… just okay. Kuze especially was a fun boss to repeat. Like I said, I had a good time with the gameplay, but I definitely prefer Yakuza 5’s or even Yakuza 2’s.
Moving onto the story, it was great and serves well as a prequel without needing to retcon past stories for fanservice. The pacing in the beginning is a bit slow, though I can look past that since the rest of the story is so engaging. Each of the new characters are also al interesting in their own right. I really love Tachibana and Makoto’s roles in the narrative. Characters are killed off in a meaningful way, which similarly reminded me of Yakuza 1 in ways. And oh boy the finale. It’d be difficult for me to put my thoughts on it into words, so I’ll just say it’s done extremely well.
Looking at the presentation, it is insanely colorful and stylish, much like the previous entries. I was wholly surprised at how consistent it performs on PS4 due to this too. Yakuza 0 doesn’t have my favorite aesthetics in the series, especially compared to Yakuza 2 and 5, but damn is it amazing nonetheless. The music has prominent electronic and dubstep, with some great themes on top of it. Although I would still say it’s not as memorable as 1-3’s to me.
In summary, I really do owe this game a lot in the end, as it’s the entire reason I even got interested in this franchise in the first place. Yakuza 0’s popularity is what sparked my interest initially, and it’s led me to this point where I absolutely fell in love with the series as a whole. While I may not have appreciated this as much as others have, it was still a blast to play through. It’s an excellent Yakuza title all the way through. Next I tackle Yakuza Kiwami. And boy, do I have some things to say about that fucking remake.

GET IT ON NOW
SELECT AND MAKE YOUR FIRST PICK
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10 9 8 7 6
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5 4 3 2 1

STOP POSTING ABOUT MEGAMAN X7. I’M TIRED OF SEEING IT. MY FRIENDS ON YOUTUBE SEND ME MEMES, ON DISCORD IT’S FREAKIN’ MEMES. I WAS IN A SERVER, RIGHT? AND AAAALL OF THE CHANNELS WERE MEGAMAN X7 STUFF. I-I SAW A CAMPFIRE GOING ON IN THE WOODS, I NUDGED MY GIRLFRIEND AND I SAID “REMINDS ME OF MEGAMAN X7 HAHA BURN BURN BURN BURN BURN BURN TO THE GROUND!” I FREAKIN’ LOOKED AT A TRASH CAN I SAID “MEGAMAN X7 BELONGS IN THERE”, I LOOKED AT THE FLAME SWORD FROM MEGAMAN 8, IT REMINDED ME OF THE KOMBINAT STAGE AND I WENT “FLAME SWORD? MORE LIKE FLAME HYENARD!” AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

I’ve felt a bit hesitant about writing this review. To say that Persona discussion on this site, especially regarding 4 and 5 is toxic would be a massive understatement, it’s almost absurd. But at the same time, I wanted to write a few things about this long journey I’ve gone through.
Inaba is one of my favorite settings in a video game, the small town vibes with the fog and the friendly nature around you gives Persona 4 a distinct feel from all the other games which usually take place in bigger city areas. There’s a certain mood about the culture of Inaba that’s been imposed by the older folk there, while it's slowly being taken over by commercialization and such. The once peaceful town has now become flowed with a sense of unease because of the murders, but that laid back feel is still ever so present.
Of course the inhabitants of the town add to what makes Inaba so homely, and Persona 4’s main cast is a major contribution. While Persona 3 had a group of people teamed together who always felt at odds with each other for different reasons, 4 puts more focus on a tightly knit group of friends. A major complaint about this is that it makes the relationships between our characters feel rather shallow if there’s no real conflict, and while I understand that criticism, there’s something so nice about all these goobers just.. being friends, y’know? There’s also the protagonist’s found family, the Dojimas. Nanako is a pretty well written child character all things considered, and I think her strained relationship with her father is one of the best pieces of the game narratively. I found it the most interesting part of the story, mostly.
But on the topic of writing, Persona 4 is… pretty rough. I think when 4 hits its high points, it soars, but those lows… are really damn low. There’s a lot of “anime”isms with 4’s content, not helped by the many added scenes in Golden that pile up the anime factor. As someone who has an unnatural tolerance for shitty anime writing, I was able to push through some of it, but scenarios like the school festival (aside from teddie wearing you know what) is just flat out hot fucking garbage. Like actually abhorrent. Some handling of 4’s themes are lame or poorly done, and the excessive homophobia in the first 1/3rd of the game is extremely awkward even for 2008 standards… I’m really conflicted here, I dunno. On a more positive note, there’s a lot of character arcs and interactions that really touched my sensitive ND brain, and I’m sure most people wouldn’t care for those great moments, but it meant a lot to me at least.
I’m not really good at talking about JRPG gameplay, but what I will say is the combat is pretty solid, dungeons not as much. I think both 3 and 4 made me realize I’m just not a fan of the whole RNG floors gimmick.
That’s mostly what I wanted to say about Persona 4 Golden. I plan on revisiting this game through the (much better) original version on PS2, but it’ll be a while, especially when I still have Persona 2, 5, and 3 FES/Reload to cover. I’m really glad I played this game. Persona 4, flaws and all, is still a great experience. It might not be your thing, but it mostly was mine. And I’m happy for that.
Great Vegetables/10

I am genuinely astonished at how far this franchise has come from the fun, but very flawed first entry in the series to eventually become this: Danganronpa V3. V3 absolutely knocks it out of the park when it comes to what I like about these games, and generally succeeds in every aspect across the board. This is a bit of a harder review to do, as I have so many things to say but don't know how to accentuate them, but I'll try.
Presentation
This game looks amazing, plain and simple. The new art style I absolutely vibe with, and the sprite quality is very good as usual. The UI has such a unique look and appeal, and I think that you can now see Kaede's facial expressions during first person conversations in the corner is a nice touch. The school is fantastic as well, with the overgrowing grass motif feeling so fresh and original. AND MY GOD, THE SOUNDTRACK IS GOOD ONCE AGAIN, please give it a listen even if you don't play the game I beg of you.
Characters
Guys, this is the one for me. I love this cast so much, even if there's one stinker, even tho she isn't that bad. Kaede is one of my favorite characters and protagonists, and Shuichi just flat out IS my favorite character in this series period. Kaito feels like what Hagakure should've been and he absolutely triumphed at being a character I rooted for. The mage girl Himiko is also a favorite (my Trucy Wright bias could be speaking here tho), and I really enjoy Maki + how her role is integrated into the story. Like I said, Tenko is the only major miss here, I don't know who thought a misandrist character who gets no flack for her behavior was approved. Kokichi is basically this game's Nagito, albeit not as fascinating. Still tho, awesome cast, I would hug about half of them.
Gameplay
I still think Trigger Happy Havoc was the best Danganronpa game in terms of gameplay, but this one feels like a step up from Goodbye Despair. The bullet absorbing mechanic has been replaced with the Perjury system which is MUCH better, and I like it's thematic purpose. Debate Scrum is very easy but that ost do be banging tho, and Mass Panic Debates are solid as well. The only minigame that actually sucks this time is the car one, it's like Logic Dive but WAY longer and more boring. Hangman's Gambit is just ok in this one, definitely a step up from 2's but I think 1 did this minigame the best honestly.
CH1 Twist/Ending Rant (Semi-Spoiler Free, proceed with caution)
I am still in denial that a Danganronpa chapter 1 legit made me cry, especially when I KNEW it was coming from exposure to it online. The way it's executed is fantastic, and I wouldn't have it any other way. Hands down one of my favorite trials in the series.
Alot of people hate this ending but I can get behind it. Ambiguous endings in general I've loved because I like seeing constructive discussion and interpretation of how other players feel about it. Personally with this ending. I do hope this is actually the last game (within this continuity at least, Spike pls), because this is such a fantastic way for the series to go out in my opinion.
Summary
I loved this game. It still falls under several issues that this series just- generally has, but I can't get myself to hate it, I got so sucked in and wanted to see what happened next. To those who have been reading my reviews on this series since my Trigger Happy Havoc one, thank you for joining me on this adventure. However, I'm glad that this was the last one because these games burn me out LMAO.
-End of Danganvelion-

I adore Thracia 776. Never in my life have I been so positively passionate about such a frustrating, punishing, but mechanically complex and rewarding video game than this one. Each chapter was some form of struggle, but I eventually would understand how everything worked, and after executing long thought out strategies for several chapters, I had done it. I had beaten one of the most infamous Fire Emblem games ever made. I have a lot of things to say, and I probably won’t be able to word them all out here, but please read the rest if you can.
Chances are if you’ve been a fan of Fire Emblem for a decent time, you’ve more than likely heard of the infamous Thracia 776, a sidequel to 1996’s Genealogy Of The Holy War. The game’s reputation has been so widespread, however, very few people have seemed to actually play it. It’s very easy to be intimidated by Thracia because of what you may have heard online, but the truth is, the game really isn’t that unfair as fans online make it out to be. Not to say the game doesn’t have its moments, or that it’s an easy game (believe me, it most certainly is NOT) but Shouzo Kaga and his team put their best efforts to create a very tough, but totally learnable game that would reward players who can wrap their head around its mechanics.
I think what will doom you most about going into Thracia is trying to approach it like most other Fire Emblem games, because this entry is almost a polar opposite in some regards. An oversimplification of Fire Emblem gameplay is “position all the blue guys to kill the red guys until they’re all gone and then seize the throne”, which is honestly mostly true, and I’m not saying it’s a bad thing. It’s just that this one is less about the combat of Fire Emblem and focused on pure strategy.
A good example I think is Thracia’s emphasis on staves. Without a doubt, this is the Fire Emblem with THE most heavy stave usage in the series, with entries like The Binding Blade getting sort of close. The amount of warp and rescue staves you’re gonna be finding while also dealing with is crazy, and you’re going to want to train up your staff users as much as possible. A pretty frowned upon strategy in Fire Emblem games is the act of “warp skipping”, which is effectively warping a strong player unit to immediately kill the boss then sending your lord over to seize the throne. It’s viewed as “cheap”, and while I can understand that sentiment, it fits the tone of Thracia 776 like a glove. Absolutely EVERYTHING is stacked against you in the enemies’ favor if you try and approach each chapter like a normal Fire Emblem game, chances are the struggle will be unreal. The appeal of warp skipping and other “cheap” tactics is what makes the game so damn fun. Seeing how you can easily clear a chapter by outsmarting enemies with the tools given to you is never not going to be satisfying. Like as one instance, chapter 22 has the probably the hardest boss in the game, but if you’re a creative player there’s plenty of ways that you can cheese him. Maybe cast sleep on him, which permanently renders him useless for the rest of the chapter (since status ailments last forever until a chapter is over). Or if you think even HARDER you can steal a berserk staff from another boss, then use it on the other guy which will make him more than likely kill every single unit on the right side of the map, which I’ve seen in action through YouTube clips and it’s amazing. There’s huge potential that players who invest enough time into the game can tap into, and it is absolutely fascinating.
Tonally the game is literally perfect. The constant reinforcements and extremely tight chapter design makes Thracia a game about how it feels to be the underdogs of a war, but ultimately still shine through with enough wit and perseverance. I’d be lying if I said that I wasn’t so heavily touched by the narrative, as it can be so bleak and depressing, and yet there’s always that feint light of hope that kept me going. The further I got, the more it felt that I was seeing the light at the end of this long, long tunnel. Actively seizing the throne in the final chapter was like a thousand tons being thrown off my shoulders at once, the feeling was absolutely AMAZING.
Story wise I’m not sure if I like this one more than Genealogy, but what I AM sure of is that Leif is my favorite Fire Emblem protagonist. It’s not even a contest. If anything, Leif feels like a reflection of the average player. He’s young and inexperienced, and he loses many battles, but he NEVER gives up. Even after all he’s suffered, he has something to live for, and grows as a person. He grows with the player. I’ve seen arguments online that Leif is a weak lord, but that’s just flat out not true, both narratively and gameplay wise. He’s no Seliph in terms of sheer power, but he has good growths and his light brand is a really handy weapon especially early game. But once again, I think that ties back to the core problem….
Thracia 776 is misunderstood. Horribly. Now, I’m not saying that if you dislike the game, your opinion is invalid, or that you got “filtered” or whatever. I’m more so talking about the regurgitated opinions I hear about this game online that convinces me that most of these people have never even played the game. The constant reminder of the same few points such as “did you know staves can miss?” or “the status effects are terrible”. Now I will admit that some aspects of Thracia’s design can be unfair, mainly fog of war chapters with enemy staves or ambush spawns, that is absolutely not fair. But conversely, about 90% of the game’s unique quirks either don’t matter that much or are just actively great mechanics.. Like I never see anyone mention the genius of the capture system, or being able to trade items multiple times in a turn, or in the case of things like status ailments, can use them in YOUR favor. Or how about how basically every single unit in this game is viable and has valid usage? You can’t say that about really any other FE game. What I’m getting at is that the same misconceptions that Thracia being “too unfair” are more than likely from people who never even experienced the game firsthand.
And I completely understand that is the thing. I’m not faulting ANYONE for saying things like that, because I doubt it has any harmful intention. I was scared of playing the game myself, and look where I am now! I took the time to understand, analyze, and absorb myself in it, and now it’s something I consider an all time classic. Is Thracia a game for everyone? No, absolutely not. It will test you in a lot of ways. Your good items will break, some units may die, you’ll have to reset a lot, failure is inevitable. But the best part is, these hardships were made to be overcome. Just like Leif, you must press on, and never give up to prove your worth. I implore you give this a shot, especially if you love Fire Emblem, or unique SNES games, or Tactical games, or just good ass video games as a whole. Maybe you won’t like it, or maybe you will. But I think if I could do it, then hey, maybe so can you.

DREAM BIG
Everyone has that one game where you just start playing it, and somehow the hours fly by. This happened to me with Yakuza 5. I booted up the game, went “I’ll play for about an hour or so before I log off tonight”. Then I look at the clock and two hours are gone. Yakuza 5 is an immensely entertaining and polished experience, and I hope this review will entice you to try it out eventually.
I’m still trying to process the story of this game. Out of the five entries I’ve played thus far, this one is super convoluted and has many, many things happening at once, which means that this game’s story has earned its divisive nature among fans. Tie that with the fact that this is easily the longest game in the series so far, and it sounds like a disaster waiting to happen. Personally… I’m very mixed on this. I like my games a bit shorter (normally clocking in around the 20 hour mark), but I’m not opposed to a lengthier title if it makes worthy use of its play time. Yakuza 5, for the most part, earns its longer length by having a variety of gameplay styles and gimmicks to keep itself from getting stale.
What I admire the most about the story of Yakuza 5 is the main message it contains: Dreams. Everyone has dreams, and how we accomplish them comes in many different shapes and sizes. I love the emphasis several characters have about carrying on the dreams of those who are gone, it gives the plot a very personal feeling to it, and I hope all people who play this game take at least something away from what the game is trying to tell you.
What mainly sells the expanded plot of Yakuza 5 is its characters. Kiryu, like Yakuza 2 is once again pushed to new limits emotionally, and this is furthered by his dynamic with Haruka. Saejima focuses more on his prison buddies and relationship with Majima, while Akiyama is once again being his Akiyama self and helping the troubled in need. The big hit with this game is our new character, the retired baseball star Shinada, as he deals with the seemingly sadistic but secretly caring loan shark Takasugi. The dynamic between these two is excellent, and I really love how they play off one another as Shinada discovers what really happened behind the big incident he was involved in all those years back. Shinada well earned his place as one of the most popular characters in the series, and he’s definitely up there for me.
But of course, what is a Yakuza game without mentioning its ass kickin’ combat? Returning from the last game we have Kiryu, Saejima, and Akiyama back, each of them feeling much better to use and more versatile than before. Our newest brawler is Shinada, with a unique play style that is creative by utilizing elements of his past job in entertaining ways. Yakuza 5 EASILY has the best combat in the series, and it’s personally on par with the second game for me. The enemy AI is more aggressive, but that incentivizes smart play with even the most basic of foes. The physics are pitch perfect, and the combat in general has a nice flow to it. While not as arcadelike as Yakuza 2, this game regardless has very fun and rewarding combat that just makes me ready for the next battle. What about the fifth play style, you ask? Well, it’s Haruka! Instead of being a brawler (although admittedly that would’ve been awesome LOL), Haruka gets to play a rhythm minigame by having “dance battles” with other dancers in the streets. It’s a simple minigame, probably so people who are more so in it for the brawling don’t have to play a frustratingly complex or difficult rhythm game alternatively.
However, that’s only one side of the coin when it comes to gameplay in Yakuza 5. The game contains several alternate gameplay modes in the side stories. Kiryu gets two different Taxi Driver modes, one being a pretty realistic one where you must follow the rules of the road, with the other being a crazy taxi-esque race on the highways. Saejima gets to go hunting in the cold wilderness, and Haruka has several pop idol events she must attend. And lastly, Shinada gets to show off his batting skills at the range. I can’t stress enough how nice all of these modes are, they add a lot of content to the game and in true Yakuza series fashion, are all deep and enjoyable in their own right.
Aside from the PS2 games, this is my favorite visual style in the series. Character proportions are a bit better, the lighting of cutscenes and areas is a big improvement, and generally the game looks SUPER nice to look at, especially for a 2012 PS3 game. All five districts offered have their own kinda aesthetic and vibe to them which adds to the variety aspect of the game. The remaster also has this game run at 60fps, which makes this absolutely stellar presentation even 10 years later.
The soundtrack is no doubt fantastic. While it doesn’t hit the same highs as Y1-3 for me personally, I think it’s an improvement over 4, offering alot of variety for each character. I’ll have to give it a bit more of a listen to get full thoughts on this OST, but it’s great nonetheless
Yakuza 5 is RGG studios giving it their all to make a large and memorable video game experience, offering a boat load of content, a fantastic story, great presentation, and satisfying combat. You can really tell that the team behind this one had a realized vision, and put everything into making this the Yakuza game to top them all. This game isn’t perfect, far from it, but at the same time I feel like the 10/10 rating I gave it is earned. This is easily one of my favorite games of all time and I’ve even considered the possibility of 100%ing this game someday. If you consider yourself a fan of the Yakuza series, you owe it to yourself to finish this one, no if, ands, or buts. Next up I will be playing the ever so popular Yakuza 0, and I’ve been looking forward to this one. I hope it lives up to the massive hype train it’s gained for the past few years, that’s for sure.
Never Give Up.

No you're NOT a gamer

I'm so sick of all these people who think they're gamers. No, you're not. Most of you are not even close to being gamers. I see these people saying

"I put well over 100hrs in this game it's great!"

That's nothing, most of us can easily put 300+ in all of our games. I see people who only have the Nintendo switch and claim to be gamers.

Come talk to me when you pick up a PS4 controller then we be friends.

Also DEAR ALL WOMEN: Pokémon is not a real game. Animal Crossing is not a real game. The sims is not a real game. Mario is not a real game. Stardew Valley is not a real game.

Mobile games are NOT.REAL.GAMES. Put down the baby games and play something that requires challenge and skill for once

-sincerely, all of the ACTUAL gamers

I ended up putting this game off for a long time despite knowing I’d really like it. So color me surprised when I played it and… I liked it. The insanely tedious and repetitive tasks each day when combined with the immaculate tropical atmosphere makes for one of the most unique experiences I’ve ever had in a video game. The writing is also really clever and metatextual, and I appreciate the ties this game has to The Silver Case both narratively and thematically. Plenty of other reviews on this site have said why this game is so great, so I’m not gonna waste your time with a long analysis of the sort. funny blah blah blah DS feeling! meta! ludonarrative! vibes! localize the PS2 version! suda!!! mondo!! KILL THE PAST! For my second KTP game, it’s another swing and a hit as far as I’m concerned.
KILLER7 IS COMING SOON….

Fighting games are a divisive genre in video games. Many people directly avoid them because of the learning curve or sometimes toxic communities. I used to feel this way about the genre. That being said, one day I saw the Street Fighter 30th Anniversary Collection on sale and decided to pick it up. I had started to become a Capcom fanboy at the time, and Street Fighter was somewhat inevitable thing I had to experience. I thought it would be fun!
This game was so, so hard for me. I always say that I'm mediocre at fighting games, but when I started this game up I was absolutely awful. I didn't know how to do inputs correctly, I didn't understand many basics of fighting games, I basically just winged it and pressed buttons. It was pathetic, and I even thought it was just the game being harder then it actually was. But, eventually, I started to figure things out. Street Fighter became my hyperfixation, with my obsession becoming a joke within my online friend group. It was a fun summer.
Yeah, this game is great. Movement is fluid, it's easy and fun to experiment with move cancelling and seeing the variety of combos to play with. The hidden custom combo system is an entire extra level of complexity to the game and it's absolutely broken in many ways. I love the roster, graphics, music, everything. It's always stuck with me.
Sakura Kasugano was the first character I ever picked when playing this game, and it's stayed that way since. She's remained my fighting game comfort character, because what isn't there to love? She's an upbeat, peppy highschooler who reaches out to challenge and learn from her personal idol. She's a fan favorite for a reason, her energetic and adorable animations and voice clips are timeless and memorable.
I love playing this game with friends, even with our different skill levels it's just such a blast. With the matches being so engaging and short I can never tire of it. If anything, losing is just a learning experience for me to improve slowly to become a World Warrior myself. And that's just an appeal of fighting games for me. You aren't gonna start out great, but dedicating the time to master your abilities feels great to earn. I've even considered learning this game competitively, it's that fun.
This game is what started my interest in fighting games. It's still one of THE most important video games in my life, as cliche as that may sound. Whenever I see that opening start up with Akuma in the flames, man I just know I'm in it for the time of my life. I may prefer KOF in a lot of ways to Street Fighter, but I don't think this game will ever be forgotten by me.
It's fun, it's charming, it's memorable, it's fantastical.

It's Street Fighter Alpha 2.

I’ve been playing this game nonstop for two weeks, constantly thinking about how I want to get my thoughts out on this one. Radiant Dawn gets a fair amount of distaste these days because of what it does wrong, and it’s totally fair, but I can’t get myself to dislike this game even with the myriad of problems.
For every stupid thing RD does, it does three other things that are pure genius. The sheer scale of everything makes this the largest and most ambitious FE game to date, even outdoing Genealogy of the Holy War. There’s a huge amount of map variety, with objectives and units constantly changing to help tell the story. It’s far from being a boring FE game because the game never stops mixing things up every chapter or so. While it can be very hectic both in gameplay and story, I can’t help but admire what was done here. Every single map, even the ones I disliked, made me go “wow, that was a neat concept for a map and it feels unique compared to everything else so far!” The gameplay-story integration is also up there with the Jugdral titles, especially the finale of part 3 which is one of my favorite maps in the whole series. When in tandem with the fantastic Tellius mechanics such as shove/rescue and BEXP it also creates an immensely fun gameplay experience.
The story is mixed overall and i think PoR had a more solidly constructed narrative, but RD has a lot of interesting concepts and plot threads that are thrown around, and when combined with the ludonarrative aspects of the gameplay, makes it super engaging. There’s definitely a lot of “huh” moments closer to the end, though, and the final part is a really odd curveball after the very dense political drama the rest of the game was, but the themes it uses are probably the best use of said themes in the entire series.
I dunno man, I adore Radiant Dawn. There’s like 800 problems you could pick at with this game and I still wouldn’t give a shit. It’s the quintessential Fire Emblem game in my eyes, it has something for really any fan of the series. Maybe not the whole package will jive with someone, but I think you’ll get at least one section of the game that appeals to your tastes. Radiant Dawn is messy, ambitious, and maybe tries to bite off more than it can chew. But at the same time, I almost wouldn’t have it any other way.