persona 3 was a game with identity, intent, purpose, intentionality, heart, and, most importantly, creativity. i don't enjoy the lot i've been cast in life where i have to play bad versions of persona 3 and say why they're bad, whether it be the answer, portable, or this. reload is not just a bad remake of persona 3, it is a bad game that tells an interesting story in a ho-hum and pedestrian way. it takes so many narrative risks and choices from the original presentation and either waters them down or overly explains them to make sure the lowest common denominator doesn't have to interpret art. even divorced from its source material, this game fails to create a gameplay experience worth investing time in. as a remake, it fails to capture what persona 3 meant. as a JRPG, it is a dull affair with little challenge or complexity. persona 3 reload fails to be worth the effort it takes to play it.

the design doc of persona 3 reload had a very clear goal: leave no one behind, whether it be in story or gameplay. this results in story cutscenes being more explicit and less interpretive (compare the opening FMV with yukari) and gameplay that refuses to obstruct the player in meaningful ways. to be more specific, reload sacrifices any need for the player to become competent with its systems to make sure that anyone can beat this game. theurgy makes the game brainless and poisons basically every boss fight (ken can get a theurgy skill a little over halfway through the game that casts mediarahan + samarecarm + tetrakarn + makarakarn on the entire party). resource management is embarrassingly easy to trivialize (yukari can cast media for literally 1 (one) SP; there is a veritable buffet of SP items that you can trip over in daily life for little to no investment; theurgy overall negates the importance of SP and running out of SP is not the death knell it could be in orginal). social links as a whole are extremely easy to manage both due to point requirements being lower to accommodate for needing to spend more days on new content like linked episodes. hell, remember persona fusion? now it's been greatly dumbed down such that even triangle fusion isn't available anymore. this game is a concession that persona 3 was too ambitious and needed to be toned down. this is a remake that asserts that persona 3 did too much and tries to do less instead.

i'm not even beating the dead horse that is my opinion on party control because there's so many more issues to address. on basically every level, this game has either simplified or deescalated the complexity of its mechanics to accommodate a mainstream audience. i don't think there's inherently anything wrong with making persona 3's systems more accessible, but i think these capitulations go overboard and rob the game of compelling gameplay moments. there are no bosses in the game that truly force me to approach a challenge in a new way or think outside the box in the way that bosses like change relic did. every boss in this game is made longer to accommodate for theurgy damage values without any sort of intelligent design to make the fights feel more exciting for that length of time. boss fights are longer and easier because it's more cinematic to see mitsuru skate around and use her theurgy instead of letting the player use their own competency-based skills and strategy to end the fight. i am not the person who's going to cry that atlus sold out or whatever, but i am the person who's going to tell you that persona 3 reload feels like an undercooked experience because it consistently refuses to ask anything of the player. this game is easy, this game is simple, and this game is uninteresting.

above all else, this game begs one question: who on earth is telling atlus/sega that persona games need to be longer and have more content? persona 3 was a game that had a slowburn start that reload now turns into a bloated nightmare. everything takes so much longer in reload and everything feels more belabored, so i can't blame anyone for getting burnt out or even fucked off from this game's plot by the time things start picking up steam. on top of this, a lot of the new slice of life content wastes so much of the player's time. why do we need multiple scenes dedicated to kenji's performance on job day? i remember when saying that persona 3 was 70 hours felt like i was talking about this gargantuan piece of art. meanwhile, in reload, i hit 70 hours somewhere between september and november. these games do not need to be this long, and it actively ruins the experience to do so. persona 5 being a triple digit hour experience was a bad thing, not something to aspire to.

it's hard to not be at least a little offended because, whether or not P Studio intended it, they have basically hollowed out what made persona 3 so unique, so special. reload looks drab and unimpressive in UE4, and so much of the moody visuals get lost in the graphical fidelity. iwatodai dorm feels too bright, and then when january rolls around, they make the color scheme so muted that it is genuinely comedic. and there's just some really baffling and ugly visual decisions they made, like how everyone in club escapade stands motionlessly in pose. meanwhile, lotus juice has his fingerprints all over the OST in a way that just doesn't work ("mindin' my biz, so mind your own biz"). persona 3 was more than just a game with impressive systems that engaged the player, it was also a piece of art that had an aesthetic that gets lost here. this game feels completely identity-less when compared to the original because the original was both a deconstruction and a hybrid of genres. in many ways, reload doesn't just fail to live up to that artistic intent, it outright doesn't seem to know it was even there in the first place.

and i get it, as a fan of persona 3, my opinion has a giant asterisk at the end of it. why listen to a star wars fan tell you about why phantom menace is the worst movie ever? i will own up and openly admit i expected this game to be bad and had greatly wanted it to not exist. i had a feeling atlus would fuck it up somehow. i don't like being right about that. at the same time, i think there are missteps here that would stand out regardless of familiarity with the source material. yukari's edginess is completely deleted from her character here and she now just sounds and acts like chie on vyvanse rather than a girl with abandonment issues and trauma. fuuka got turned from "weird girl who serves as the empathetic core of the cast" to "girl who could have a thrilling conversation about spoiled milk". and reload isn't the first time akihiko's been sanded down to "protein fanatic who trains a lot", but it's probably the most offensive here. wouldn't it be really fucking funny if, the whole time you were studying with him, akihiko was doing something wacky like squatting above his chair instead of sitting normally?

these characters have been reinterpreted so much that they've lost their core identity that was integral to the plot of persona 3. i don't get the feeling that i'm seeing akihiko or mitsuru, i instead sense that i'm getting how someone interprets them after nearly 2 decades of fandom and spinoff content. yukari still has those "mean" lines but they lack any emotional root, so they come off as nonsense mood swings rather than a scared girl lashing out. and i'll just say it, karen strassman clears the fuck out of dawn bennett when you compare the final aigis monologues (fwiw, in both these instances, i blame the direction, not the VAs). these characters have been done better and it's really jarring that reload tries to flatten them rather than give them more dimensionality.

there's room to broadly interpret these characters, but constantly trying to make a self-serious character like akihiko the butt of a joke that he's in on speaks to how much he's being mischaracterized here. when akihiko was in a comedic scene, it was because he was the straight man, not because he was a this big goofball constantly playing to the crowd. these characters don't feel like themselves in a profound way, and i'd have to wonder how much that comes across to anyone who hasn't played original. does akihiko just seem like a wildly contradictory character to new players? truthfully, i have no idea if any of these people would've resonated with me had this been my first exposure to them.

i don't hate all of reload's new content wrt characterization, and i honestly really liked some of the stuff they added for shinjiro and ken. but there's just as much that is unnecessary and outright bad. when we said they wanted more backstory on strega, we didn't mean that we wanted you to turn takaya into another akechi. if you're going to remake persona 3, why even bother if you're going to do such a disservice to its characters and setting? sure, you made some of the UI stuff look neater and more Persona 5-y, but what does that meaningfully add to the experience? when i saw the trailer for reload, i immediately asked myself "what does the water motif have to do with persona 3? why is the main character sinking into water? what are they going to do with that?" and it turns out they just wanted a cool main menu animation and nothing else. i want to say that P Studio was just misguided, but some of this content is so actively bad that it makes me wonder if any of them even liked persona 3. so much of this feels like it's trying to fix something that isn't broken, like it's an apology for the source material. this isn't a persona 3 remake for people who liked persona 3. but, then again, who else was it supposed to be for if not people who wanted another persona 5? persona 5 is the new cash cow and my dread for this being a P5ified version of persona 3 was well-founded.

i kept trying to go "how would i feel about this game if it wasn't a remake of a game i love?" and that's an impossible question for me to answer. i can never know because i will never play this with the eyes and ears of someone who didn't play the original. again, as much as i've come to detest this game, i don't have it in my heart to give this a lower score, mostly out of pity, but also out of overcorrecting my harsh opinion as a fan of the original. still, i think many of reload's failings come from a place of trying to simultaneously be a remake and game for everyone. i don't think it's wrong for games to put off people. in fact, the best games often aren't for everyone because they can't be. P Studio emphasized making a game that was so mainstreamed and accessible that it would never present any obstacle or mechanic that could alienate players at the cost of making a game that players could actually be engaged with. i can't think of a broader way you could miss the mark with a persona 3 remake.

‘This game is fucking awezome’ - sincerely, the zombies
I barely replay games, idk why but whenever i try replaying something i just can't! Not even games that i love like Hollow Knight or Subnautica. There is one game that i replay often tho and that is plants vs zombies. Pvz is also a game that has a special place in my heart simply because it was the first game i ever played. As you can tell by the title, in Pvz you have to defend your house from zombies by using plants. You have a couple of rows where you can place your plants, and each plants costs a certain amount of suns which can be gained with plants that generate sun and if you're on a level with sunlight, sun will sometimes fall off the sky. The game has a total of 5 areas, each one containing 10 levels, one of them being unique, and on the last level the plants cost no sun but instead a conveyor belt gives you the plants. The day area is very generic but its whole purpose is pretty much being a tutorial, and it serves it really well. The unique level here is bowling BUTT with wall nuts, explosive wall nuts and zombies, pretty damn awesome if you ask me. The night area is similar to the day but there's a catch. Since it's night sun won't fall out of the sky and sunflowers generate sun slower, using the sunshroom is obviously the most effective way to gain sun in this area. There are also gravestones scattered around the yard which spawn zombies on the last horde and you can't place any plants on them unless you use a grave buster which is unlock on the 3rd level in the night area. On the unique level here you beat the shit out of zombies that spawn on a grave with a hammer and i personally found this to be the best unique level in the game.All the plants that you unlock in this area start sleeping when you try to use them on an level with daylight unless you use a coffee bean which is unlocked on the last area.
This area also has the dancing zombie which is one of the sickest enemies i've seen in any videogame.
The third area has a fricking pool! To place most plants on the pool you will have to place a lily pad . Unlike in the other areas you have six rows this time. The unique level here is a conveyor belt level except this time the zombies are really small and faster. Zombies will also emerge from the pool on the last horde of the level. The fog area is the same as the pool area except this time is at night and there's a fog. The fog keeps you from seeing on which row the zombie is coming from and obviously which zombie it is. You can remove the fog by using 2 planterns or the blover. The unique level has a bunch of vases that you have to break and in those vases you either have a plant or a zombie. Also the conveyor belt level here straight up makes your screen black and you can only see when a lightning strikes. The final area is the roof. On this area you have to place a vase to place a plant. The unique level here tho kinda stinks, its basically a conveyor belt but with only chompers (one of the worst plants), pumpkin, vases and cherry bombs. Some plants here like the peashooter are kinda useless. The final level has the only boss fight of the game and i would say that they nailed it, you basically fight this giant ass robot that can spit fireballs and ice balls, throw vehicles at you and spawn zombies.
These different areas and unique levels are also really great ways to keep the game from getting stale.With so many plants available there's a ton of different ways to beat levels which gives pvz a lot replayability (ok now i see why i replay this game so much lol). The game also has a dope enemy variety, there are zombies:that ride dolphins, miner zombies, zombies that fly using a baloon, a zombie on a pogo stick and much more.
Oh and how can i forget about crazy Dave! He is your only human friend in this whole game, you can also buy a bunch of stuff from him. Pvz also has a bunch of minigames such as the one where you place zombies instead of plants or the one where the zombies have the head of plants. Another thing that pvz brings to the table is a garden zen and that shit is just dope as fuck. One of the best parts about this game is the music, mowing down zombies with lame music would be lame.
I would get 54 different kind of strokes if i tried to make a ranked list of my favourite songs from this game since they're all so good! I find it funny how this game looks miles better than pvz3, a game that came out much later!
Do i have any complaints about this game tho? Well after a long time of thinking, my only complaint is the 5th level on the roof annnndddddd yep that's it. I've seen ppl complain about the game being too easy but for me it wasn't a problem.
Even with my nostalgia glasses off i still think that pvz is an amazing and charming game, who needs crack when you can watch a bunch of plants tear down hordes of zombies. Oh and the sequels must be good right? Right?
This game is not only great, its CRAAAAAAAAZY
10/10

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!

OO VENATOOOR
Beatus Sanctus
Bonum fati par dia.
Domus aeternus fiat morte
Erit sanguinem opulentuuum

This is Bloodborne, the best PlayStation exclusive in my opinion. It was my first FromSoftware game, and man, I loved it!
They really nailed the atmosphere in this one, blending Gothic, Victorian, and Lovecraftian horror into a seamless and immersive experience. The game's world is dark and strange with every corner hiding new horrors and secrets. The specific architecture, the environmental storytelling, and the overall aesthetic create a unique and captivating setting that draws you in and doesn't let go.

The soundtrack... my God, what a soundtrack. It's art, nothing else. The haunting melodies and powerful orchestral arrangements perfectly complement the game's dark and mysterious atmosphere. Each piece of music enhances the tension and drama of the encounters, making every moment feel epic and significant.

I gotta be honest, though, The Old Hunters DLC is what makes this game a complete masterpiece. It's definitely one of the best DLCs ever created. Without this DLC, Bloodborne would still be a great game, but it wouldn't reach the same level of excellence. The Old Hunters adds new areas, weapons, and some of the most memorable and challenging boss fights, elevating the entire experience to new heights.

The game itself was very easy, the easiest in the series (excluding Demon's Souls). No boss fight took me more than five tries, and it was my first FromSoftware game, like I said. Despite this, the game still offers a satisfying challenge and requires players to learn its mechanics and master its fast-paced combat.
Personally, I don't want a remaster or remake; I'd rather have Bloodborne II. But maybe we can have them both at some point. The original game still holds up remarkably well, and a sequel would be the perfect way to expand on its rich lore and gameplay mechanics.

Despite the negative backlash Crysis 3 faced at launch, it turned out to be the installment in the series where I had the most fun playing. The game made me feel like I was in a Predator movie, stalking my enemies with a bow while using the invisibility cloak. It was an exhilarating experience that truly captured the essence of a high-tech hunter.
For me, Crysis 3 felt like a "best of" compilation of the series' greatest elements. The stealth mechanics were particularly well-executed, and I found that taking a stealthy approach was the most satisfying way to play. Sneaking around, picking off enemies one by one, and using the environment to my advantage made for incredibly engaging gameplay.
As with the previous games in the series, Crysis 3 is no exception when it comes to impressive visuals. The game looks good, with detailed environments and top-notch graphics that push the boundaries of what we expect from a first-person shooter.

However, one area where Crysis 3 fell short was in its length. The game could have benefited from a few extra levels, as I found the campaign rather short.
Looking ahead, I'm not sure what to expect from Crysis 4. I hope the next installment will be better than the first 3 games.

Crysis 2 was better than Crysis 1 in almost every aspect. It's more polished, better optimized, and it just feels better.
The game feels more grandiose, and Hans Zimmer probably helps with that. The atmosphere was on point with its concrete jungle theme, shifting the setting from tropical to an urban environment. The soundtrack was good, and again, Hans Zimmer's production played a significant role in elevating the game's feel.
But despite the improvements, the gameplay still had its flaws, particularly with the AI. The alien AI was notably bad, detracting from the overall experience. While the game takes about 8 to 12 hours to complete, it feels lengthy due to its repetitive nature and lack of enemy variety.
Overall, Crysis 2 is a decent shooter but far from being anything amazing. It improved upon its predecessor in many ways but still fell short in key areas.

The first Crysis is pretty much a tech show-off and... that's about it.
I can't say I've ever been a fan of the first Crysis, but I must admit that it was impressive for the year 2007. It looked really good, and not many PCs could run it. The game was known for pushing the limits of hardware, making it a benchmark for PC gaming.
It had cool mechanics like the invisible cloak and the fact that the environment was destroyable. These features added a layer of strategy and interaction that was novel at the time.

The tropical setting, reminiscent of the first Far Cry, was now in North Korea with robot aliens. On paper, this sounds great.
However, in reality, the game doesn't excel in anything beyond its technological achievements. The story and gameplay felt lackluster compared to its visual prowess.
The remaster isn't that great either.