I enjoy this game. It's extremely flawed mind you. There's a lot of grinding and there's no bonus EXP to share with reserve party members, meaning you have to prepare for the long haul if you wanna complete every story. I also think the Job system is limiting since only one character can have one secondary job and you have to do some musical chairs to make sure your party is aligned correctly. Same with equipping armor for that matter. The journey to the final boss is also really time consuming

Despite this, I pretty much love everything else about this game. I enjoy the break system and the strategies that come with it, making you feel like a genius when you exploit an enemy's weak point. Each character's unique talent really do help with how you strategize each battle. The boss fights are also exciting when you figure them out, and this game can be pretty hard if you don't play it right.

Also being the first game with the HD-2D pixel art aesthetig of 2D sprites in 3D backgrounds and worlds I think it's a pretty killer style. It's definitely pretty flat compared to the games that came after (Octopath II isn't out yet as I type this), but I really do enjoy how the desert, snow, ocean, and forest area look the most as they really show what you can do with this art style. And the music for each of these areas are my favorite. The music during battle is also full of variety depending on the encounter. Being Yasunori Nishiki's first gig in fully composing his own soundtrack and he knocked it out of the park, and I can only hope he does more from here on out.

If you want to know my favorite character stories it's Alfyn > Therion > Primrose > Cyrus > Olberic > Ophilia > Tressa > H'aanit. I think every character has a good story though I definitely have my preferences. Alfyn's surprised me the most hence why I put him on top

So yeah, not a perfect game at all but I really love what this game set out to do. I disagree with the criticism regarding actual character interactions within the story because this game is about their stories in a vacuum; its like Live A Live in that sense, which is probably why we got a remake.

Those who know me are aware of my history with this title. Went from loving it to absolutely despising it to thinking its a bad game with good qualities. I can't really express how a lot of the game design elements of this game piss me off to no end. The UI is clunky and is somehow worse than when the game was demoed at E3 2017. The titans aren't as interesting to explore compared to the Bionis and Mechonis and now Aionios in 3. The gacha and field skills make me want to tear my hair out due to how much it breaks the flow of the game. The last part may seem small but it adds up so much overtime that I can't ignore what I despised.

I won't go into spoilers but while I think the story at best is just okay, I don't understand the hype and admiration of this story compared to other titles. I think most of the cast is forgettable and are only remembered for the wrong reasons whether it be due to their design or really cringe moments in the story. The English dub is also trash. Rex isn't the worst protagonist ever but he's definitely on the bottom of the barrel in terms of protagonists I never really liked/cared for. Also Chapter 4 SUCKS. The worst filler I've experienced in any video game ever.

And a quick sidenote: if you're one of those Xeno fans who trash on people who dislike this game for thinking that just because it's "more Xeno" doesn't make it a good game, you need to touch every tree in the rainforest because grass isn't enough. The people who defend the story by bringing up lesser moments from 1 are also pretty pathetic.

With that said there are some things I like. I think the soundtrack is pretty awesome and full of energy like the first game. And while I trashed on the story, I at least think there are still some good moments especially by the end. Nia and Zeke are also the only party member I really took a liking to.

But yeah, I really don't ever wanna revisit this game. I never even finished Torna because I was tired of this game so I won't rate that. Hoping I can put this game behind me forever.

Edit: Oh yeah and the combat can be fun. I think the core crystal gacha crap holds it back a bit since while I understand common blades ≠ bad, the fact you created a system for special one of a kind party members anyway is pretty evil design. When you know how to play battles though it's damn satisfying

A step in the right direction. The game is definitely jank in terms of presentation and level design in the cyberspace levels, and I can only hope a future game or updates to this title can improve upon it. Despite all this I really do love the vibes of this game. It tried to make the continuity matter when previously they just played musical chairs in how they'd acknowledge the past. The characters felt so different it was almost uncanny, but I do hope what happened here carries over to the future. I enjoyed exploring the islands and I like that the map doesn't expand until you do a challenge. A nice small thing to make exploring feel more worthwhile. I LOVE the titan boss fights. While the final two fights were disappointing, the first three were serious highlights for me with some badass music. I really hope this energy will continue and only amplify in the future as I think we're close to a renaissance. Almost.

A really graceful 2D-3D conversion. Truth be told Balan Wonderworld was a game that looked like what would happen if you made a 3D Kirby game the absolute WRONG way. Thankfully, Forgotten Land stays focused on solid level design and a good curated amount of copy abilities you can upgrade. If you're a completionist you will be looking out for a ton of Waddle Dees. I used to get annoyed of having to replay a level just to look for one of the secret ones, but thankfully the level design is so compact that you can get your barings real quickly. As for the story, well the context for any Kirby game isn't revealed til the end but man the LORE goes crazy at the end. There's also a pretty solid postgame. Definitely recommend this as not only a good Kirby game but a good game period.

Funny how I played this for the first time a whopping two months before the multiplatform announcement. Despite that, this was a great time. This was my first true Persona game. Most of my Megaten experience comes from playing a little SMTIV before dropping it since I didn't know how these games worked as a kid. Also Tokyo Mirage Sessions was the only other game I played from them.

ANYWHO, Persona 5 Royal. What's more to say that hasn't already been said? I love the art style, music, sense of style, etc. The main gameplay being quick and snappy helped keep me engaged. For non-combat, I really did enjoy ranking up all the confidants I could before the newly added third semester. In case you wanna know which girl I ended up with, well, my friends know lol. I don't really know what else to say other than play this now that it's on all platforms. I even bought a Steelbook copy on PS5 just cuz I can.

Really solid Yakuza-like game from the same team but with a Hokuto no Ken twist. I only read like the first 100 chapters of HnK/FotNS but I loved what I read, and seeing each Hokuto technique being remade as essentially Heat Actions was a real treat, even some moves that really just exist to pay homage to cool moments from the manga. Not the biggest fan of the buggy riding though. I do hear people complain about grinding but I don't remember it being that bad. It was an interesting choice to make an original story where moments from the manga do happen but are executed way differently since it has to be concentrated on this made-up city. In a way it does make the plot limiting so if you aren't big on the plot, just read the manga. As a game though? I don't think you need to be a fan of Hokuto no Ken to enjoy this. Also Kiryu's seiyuu is Kenshiro and hearing him pitch his voice up for each technique is hilarious. S/O to Robbie Daymond as well on the English side of things. He pulled off his screams perfectly.