Satjams1
1986
Another Nintendo classic to tick off, Kid Icarus stars Pit as he travels through Angel Land to rescue the Queen Palutena from Medusa. While the story is minimal, I’ll give them honest credit for the presentation, the character sprites are a cut above what you may expect on the NES. The game mostly runs well and the enemy designs really delve into the Greek mythology the story runs with.
The game is like a mixture of Metroid and Zelda, there’s 3 main worlds, and each have 3 normal levels, then a dungeon. The main levels aren’t too bad, they go by pretty fast and challenge your platforming and shooting skills. The dungeons are more complex and honestly just confusing, and that sums up a lot of the experience. Confusing.
There’s a few crucial yet unexplained systems that are going to make things hell. This game is hard when you start with a single health bar, low damage and no items. You need to essentially grind to stand a chance. You can unlock power ups for Pit to make him extremely powerful, but you can’t use them in the dungeons.. which is where the bosses are.. it’s a weird balance that never quite hits right.
There’s a bit of fun to be had with the gameplay, it controls well, but the structure is like oil and water clashing.
The music’s pretty catchy, and the game goes by fast when you get going. But overall, I’m just abit confused with this one - 5/10
The game is like a mixture of Metroid and Zelda, there’s 3 main worlds, and each have 3 normal levels, then a dungeon. The main levels aren’t too bad, they go by pretty fast and challenge your platforming and shooting skills. The dungeons are more complex and honestly just confusing, and that sums up a lot of the experience. Confusing.
There’s a few crucial yet unexplained systems that are going to make things hell. This game is hard when you start with a single health bar, low damage and no items. You need to essentially grind to stand a chance. You can unlock power ups for Pit to make him extremely powerful, but you can’t use them in the dungeons.. which is where the bosses are.. it’s a weird balance that never quite hits right.
There’s a bit of fun to be had with the gameplay, it controls well, but the structure is like oil and water clashing.
The music’s pretty catchy, and the game goes by fast when you get going. But overall, I’m just abit confused with this one - 5/10
Can I just talk about how much of a pain in the ass this was to even download, make sure you get this game on the ps4 and upgrade! Not the ps5 unless it’s brand new!
Anyway… this is basically a bonus chapter to give the optional character Yuffie some additional backstory before her appearance in the next part of the game. She’s depicted really well, almost like a child on a sugar rush, but when things go wrong her reactions are so genuine it hurts.
The story is pretty short, and seemed to be an excuse to bring in some characters from an old FF7 Spin-off. However things move very quickly, it’s over before you know it and big moments about new characters don’t feel that impactful when I’ve only known them for about 4 hours.
The gameplay is ace though, Yuffies combat is so much fun, she’s a glass cannon, but can literally juggle enemies if played right. Her status as a ninja allows for some fun traversal, and the area design is much less drawn out than the base game, hopefully a good sign of things to come.
Before you even really play the missions, there’s a ton of side content, including a board game variation of the Fort Condor Mini game you can learn. It’s quite front loaded, as after this, it’s just a straight shot to the end.
I had a lot of fun, I didn’t wanna put it down to be honest. With side content included it’ll run you about 6 hours, which is worth the £15.. if you can actually get hold of it - 7/10
Anyway… this is basically a bonus chapter to give the optional character Yuffie some additional backstory before her appearance in the next part of the game. She’s depicted really well, almost like a child on a sugar rush, but when things go wrong her reactions are so genuine it hurts.
The story is pretty short, and seemed to be an excuse to bring in some characters from an old FF7 Spin-off. However things move very quickly, it’s over before you know it and big moments about new characters don’t feel that impactful when I’ve only known them for about 4 hours.
The gameplay is ace though, Yuffies combat is so much fun, she’s a glass cannon, but can literally juggle enemies if played right. Her status as a ninja allows for some fun traversal, and the area design is much less drawn out than the base game, hopefully a good sign of things to come.
Before you even really play the missions, there’s a ton of side content, including a board game variation of the Fort Condor Mini game you can learn. It’s quite front loaded, as after this, it’s just a straight shot to the end.
I had a lot of fun, I didn’t wanna put it down to be honest. With side content included it’ll run you about 6 hours, which is worth the £15.. if you can actually get hold of it - 7/10
2023
As a bit of a change from the usual, Tactia’s story focuses on the internal struggle of a single person, telling an extremely personal and emotional plot. This game is much shorter than other P5 titles, so it fits perfectly. The acting is fantastic, and the art style, while different, still captures the fantastic aesthetic P5 is known for. If your gonna do Chibi, this is how you do it.
The game is a tactical RPG, with a battle system very similar to the Mario + Rabbids game. As 3 of the characters, you must plan your next move, use battlefields to your advantage, and defeat enemies of decent variety. The Persona gameplay transitions really well into this style, and the game breaks you in slowly, never overwhelming players with new mechanics. It’s pretty forgiving, but very fun and satisfying to manipulate the enemies into giving you more turns to move, then destroying entire groups with an All Out Attack.
There are optional quests which act as mini puzzles, often testing your mastery of the games mechanics, and these were fun brain teasers.
The game has a pretty breakneck pace, as outside of battles, there’s no overworld to explore. This does make it a little harder to be invested in the worlds you enter, but the game has a focus, and it sticks to it.
The music is great of course, and I find it to be the perfect length. Tactica is more of a side game than a sequel, but it really stands on its own - 8/10
The game is a tactical RPG, with a battle system very similar to the Mario + Rabbids game. As 3 of the characters, you must plan your next move, use battlefields to your advantage, and defeat enemies of decent variety. The Persona gameplay transitions really well into this style, and the game breaks you in slowly, never overwhelming players with new mechanics. It’s pretty forgiving, but very fun and satisfying to manipulate the enemies into giving you more turns to move, then destroying entire groups with an All Out Attack.
There are optional quests which act as mini puzzles, often testing your mastery of the games mechanics, and these were fun brain teasers.
The game has a pretty breakneck pace, as outside of battles, there’s no overworld to explore. This does make it a little harder to be invested in the worlds you enter, but the game has a focus, and it sticks to it.
The music is great of course, and I find it to be the perfect length. Tactica is more of a side game than a sequel, but it really stands on its own - 8/10
2023
An.. Apple Arcade exclusive developed alongside the mobile game team… okay then. This game was announced out of the blue and it’s exclusivity to apple devices had me worried, despite thinking the gameplay looked interesting. In the end I was surprised by how much fun this ended up being, though its mobile game roots still hold it back.
Dream team has a story with full voice acting, and while the plot is nothing to talk about, the animation in the cutscenes is nothing short of amazing. While graphically it’s held back by its mobile nature, the dreamy aesthetics are brilliant , and completely original for the series.
Gameplay is a hybrid between the older more explorative styles, and the modern boost formula. The result is a pretty smooth mix that, with a controller and a few camera issues aside, captures the positives of both styles and incorporates them into some fantastic level design. There’s 3 types of characters and each lets you explore levels in different ways, which is good when there’s only 16 stages.
Now each act does have lots of smaller missions which can be fun, but this is mostly to fill the time. Dream Teams levels are brilliant but I wish there was more here I can see the potential for a really fleshed out game, and apparently it’s getting updated, but as is, Dream Team is a welcome surprise- 7.3/10
Dream team has a story with full voice acting, and while the plot is nothing to talk about, the animation in the cutscenes is nothing short of amazing. While graphically it’s held back by its mobile nature, the dreamy aesthetics are brilliant , and completely original for the series.
Gameplay is a hybrid between the older more explorative styles, and the modern boost formula. The result is a pretty smooth mix that, with a controller and a few camera issues aside, captures the positives of both styles and incorporates them into some fantastic level design. There’s 3 types of characters and each lets you explore levels in different ways, which is good when there’s only 16 stages.
Now each act does have lots of smaller missions which can be fun, but this is mostly to fill the time. Dream Teams levels are brilliant but I wish there was more here I can see the potential for a really fleshed out game, and apparently it’s getting updated, but as is, Dream Team is a welcome surprise- 7.3/10
1994
Okay so this is a weird case, Megaman 1-4 on gameboy are watered down versions of the NES games, but this fifth game is actually completely original, so I wanted to look at it. And colour me surprised, this game is a hidden gem!
They put so much effort in this and it’s ahead of it’s time, considering it included features that wouldn’t show up in the console games for years, such a shop to buy upgrades and a more elaborate story. It’s still simple, but there’s actually dialogue between characters and the setting of travelling the solar system creates a memorable experience. It is all in black and white, but the detail is no less apparent, i really like how this game looks, smaller screen aside.
The game is classic Megaman, you run, shoot and use special weapons which are.. okay, not the best selection but a few stand out with some unique properties, like a gun that can heal you if you catch the ejected bullet.
The levels are fun, and I only noticed a Few cases of overly punishing level design. The bosses are great and overall I think the challenge level is spot on.
While Megaman V may just be more of the same, I think it’s one of the better classic games, and really should been included in the legacy collection. While not mind blowing, this is how you do a gameboy version right - 7.5/10
They put so much effort in this and it’s ahead of it’s time, considering it included features that wouldn’t show up in the console games for years, such a shop to buy upgrades and a more elaborate story. It’s still simple, but there’s actually dialogue between characters and the setting of travelling the solar system creates a memorable experience. It is all in black and white, but the detail is no less apparent, i really like how this game looks, smaller screen aside.
The game is classic Megaman, you run, shoot and use special weapons which are.. okay, not the best selection but a few stand out with some unique properties, like a gun that can heal you if you catch the ejected bullet.
The levels are fun, and I only noticed a Few cases of overly punishing level design. The bosses are great and overall I think the challenge level is spot on.
While Megaman V may just be more of the same, I think it’s one of the better classic games, and really should been included in the legacy collection. While not mind blowing, this is how you do a gameboy version right - 7.5/10
In a rare case on continuity, we're following on from the previous DLC's characters, heading to an undersea training facility just outside fan favourite region, Unova.
The music and Pokemon available are a love letter to Generation 5, but as a standalone I think the story does a great job of wrapping up the character arcs from before, despite stumbling with the teased "secret"... as it's not really that much of a secret when we saw it in all the promotional material. It's not a bad story, it just could have been a lot more.
The Blueberry Academy is a massive undersea dome home to 4 different artificially tempered environments. This leads to an interesting, dense world to travel in, though overall the map design is pretty meh, very big and open but lacking in memorable landmarks outside of a Lion King reference.
The final dungeon is easily one of the best in any Pokemon game, actually allowing you to use your ride Pokemon to explore and discover secret areas and items.
The main reason I enjoyed this DLC was the battles as they actually made this really tough. Every battle is 2 vs 2, which forces you to strategise and pick Pokemon that can co-operate. If you don't, the game will wipe the floor with you, often. But I found it so satisfying growing my team and thinking of combos, it took me back to my youth when I was still figuring all the basics out,
I had a lot of fun with this, it still runs like dog, but if you got this far, I'm sure you've accepted that - 7/10
The music and Pokemon available are a love letter to Generation 5, but as a standalone I think the story does a great job of wrapping up the character arcs from before, despite stumbling with the teased "secret"... as it's not really that much of a secret when we saw it in all the promotional material. It's not a bad story, it just could have been a lot more.
The Blueberry Academy is a massive undersea dome home to 4 different artificially tempered environments. This leads to an interesting, dense world to travel in, though overall the map design is pretty meh, very big and open but lacking in memorable landmarks outside of a Lion King reference.
The final dungeon is easily one of the best in any Pokemon game, actually allowing you to use your ride Pokemon to explore and discover secret areas and items.
The main reason I enjoyed this DLC was the battles as they actually made this really tough. Every battle is 2 vs 2, which forces you to strategise and pick Pokemon that can co-operate. If you don't, the game will wipe the floor with you, often. But I found it so satisfying growing my team and thinking of combos, it took me back to my youth when I was still figuring all the basics out,
I had a lot of fun with this, it still runs like dog, but if you got this far, I'm sure you've accepted that - 7/10
2023
A pretty faithful remake of the original Mario RPG, this game adds some quality of life updates, modernised controls and an incredible graphical overhaul which looks absolutely stunning despite the occasional frame drops.
This game was always like "beginners Final Fantasy" with Mario elements thrown in to make the whole experience a comfortable transition. Alongside combat you will platform on an isometric plane, play mini games and solve puzzles, not unlike what you'd find in a traditional Mario game.
However most of the game is a turn based RPG with "Action Commands", basically you can't just choose a move, you have to perform a certain button action to make it perform to the fullest effect.
Despite this though, the game is a total breeze, it's super easy to get extremely powerful equipment which make your regular attacks just as devastating as the special moves. There's also quite a small number of special modes so elemental weaknesses are pretty rare.
This remake adds these super team attacks that go even further to make you completely unstoppable. There's no random encounters so the pacing is kept brisk, but the game can get mindless.
The story is very simple but the puppetry at work and the humourous dialogue keeps me interested in the plot. The musics great and the world is mostly fun to explore if very linear.
This game set a foundation for other games to follow and its a great entry point, but definitely a little bit too simple at times, with this remake not doing much to change that - 7/10
This game was always like "beginners Final Fantasy" with Mario elements thrown in to make the whole experience a comfortable transition. Alongside combat you will platform on an isometric plane, play mini games and solve puzzles, not unlike what you'd find in a traditional Mario game.
However most of the game is a turn based RPG with "Action Commands", basically you can't just choose a move, you have to perform a certain button action to make it perform to the fullest effect.
Despite this though, the game is a total breeze, it's super easy to get extremely powerful equipment which make your regular attacks just as devastating as the special moves. There's also quite a small number of special modes so elemental weaknesses are pretty rare.
This remake adds these super team attacks that go even further to make you completely unstoppable. There's no random encounters so the pacing is kept brisk, but the game can get mindless.
The story is very simple but the puppetry at work and the humourous dialogue keeps me interested in the plot. The musics great and the world is mostly fun to explore if very linear.
This game set a foundation for other games to follow and its a great entry point, but definitely a little bit too simple at times, with this remake not doing much to change that - 7/10
An indie game by the developers of Sonic Mania, this is a momentum based 3D platformer that clearly takes inspiration from Sonic, but has an almost entirely different focus in terms of gameplay mastery.
The story is very basic, and cutscenes aren’t animated the best. I do like the character designs and art style, and environments look great, but some models, especially the bosses can look pretty rough. However in a game that’s all about quick reaction times and button presses I’m glad we have a consistent frame rate here over anything else.
But the gameplay takes you across 11 worlds where you must simply reach the end of the stage using some pretty damn fun controls. Penny operates almost entirely on momentum unless you’re just jogging along, you use a yo-yo to attack, roll on and perform some incredible acrobatics. Rolling and gaining speed through momentum is a huge part of This games level design, as most obtabcles can be tackled by keeping a good speed up, or by jumping over everything.
There’s a huge speed run potential with this game, and keeping the speed up is a great feeling.
Stages have missions and collectibles to find, but fully completing a stage requires you to keep up a combo of constant movement and get a certain score. Sometimes this is simple and other times it requires a huge amount of practice. Personally I think a Crash styled time trial would have suited the game better.
Once you get into the mindset of how you’re supposed to be playing this game for a high score, it’s very hard to train yourself out of it. This makes appreciating all the dialogue in stages next to impossible without forcing yourself to slow down completely against how the game is designed. I think if this game gets a sequel they could do with integrating the themes of the levels and the dialogue into the stages in a way that doesn’t force you to stop.
The games still fun without going the extra mile, but you will finish it very quickly if you don’t go all the way. Still, I enjoyed myself - 7.5/10
The story is very basic, and cutscenes aren’t animated the best. I do like the character designs and art style, and environments look great, but some models, especially the bosses can look pretty rough. However in a game that’s all about quick reaction times and button presses I’m glad we have a consistent frame rate here over anything else.
But the gameplay takes you across 11 worlds where you must simply reach the end of the stage using some pretty damn fun controls. Penny operates almost entirely on momentum unless you’re just jogging along, you use a yo-yo to attack, roll on and perform some incredible acrobatics. Rolling and gaining speed through momentum is a huge part of This games level design, as most obtabcles can be tackled by keeping a good speed up, or by jumping over everything.
There’s a huge speed run potential with this game, and keeping the speed up is a great feeling.
Stages have missions and collectibles to find, but fully completing a stage requires you to keep up a combo of constant movement and get a certain score. Sometimes this is simple and other times it requires a huge amount of practice. Personally I think a Crash styled time trial would have suited the game better.
Once you get into the mindset of how you’re supposed to be playing this game for a high score, it’s very hard to train yourself out of it. This makes appreciating all the dialogue in stages next to impossible without forcing yourself to slow down completely against how the game is designed. I think if this game gets a sequel they could do with integrating the themes of the levels and the dialogue into the stages in a way that doesn’t force you to stop.
The games still fun without going the extra mile, but you will finish it very quickly if you don’t go all the way. Still, I enjoyed myself - 7.5/10
A remake of the beginning of the original game, FF7R aims to greatly expand this part, and it does an absolutely incredible job of bringing new life into this classic storyline.
They nailed everything about the tone and made me care for characters who were barely an entity before. It adds some new elements, which may go on to change the course of the story.. we will see.
The thing is, this is all a small part of a bigger picture. And while it’s entertaining stand-alone, some parts are rediculously drawn out just to make this feel like an equal part of the whole story. I didn’t mind overall, as the acting and animation carried it, but it’s something I hope the next game improves on.
The gameplay is absolutely incredible, combat takes beats from the original while being its own thing, it’s fast paced and chaotic, making any encounter blood pumping.
There’s plenty of variety in how characters play, and the amount of customisation you can get is insane.
The world is well designed and side quests are often short distractions that can only benefit you. It’s mostly linear, but opens up in an extremely clever way towards the end.
The game looks insane on the PS5 especially and the music is something else, beautifully remastered by the original composer, just wow. FF7R is an extremely enjoyable time, and while it’s clearly part of something bigger, it’s still great - 8.5/10
They nailed everything about the tone and made me care for characters who were barely an entity before. It adds some new elements, which may go on to change the course of the story.. we will see.
The thing is, this is all a small part of a bigger picture. And while it’s entertaining stand-alone, some parts are rediculously drawn out just to make this feel like an equal part of the whole story. I didn’t mind overall, as the acting and animation carried it, but it’s something I hope the next game improves on.
The gameplay is absolutely incredible, combat takes beats from the original while being its own thing, it’s fast paced and chaotic, making any encounter blood pumping.
There’s plenty of variety in how characters play, and the amount of customisation you can get is insane.
The world is well designed and side quests are often short distractions that can only benefit you. It’s mostly linear, but opens up in an extremely clever way towards the end.
The game looks insane on the PS5 especially and the music is something else, beautifully remastered by the original composer, just wow. FF7R is an extremely enjoyable time, and while it’s clearly part of something bigger, it’s still great - 8.5/10
After the… deviation of last time, CastleVania 3 goes back to basics and builds upon the first games more linear structure.
To get this out the way, this game is once again, brutal. And just like the first game it’s down to the stiff controls, pain in the ass enemies and bosses, though generally I think boss fights are better this time around, giving you slightly more room to breathe and having more distinguishable patterns to learn.
However this doesn’t stop the game kerb stomping you. Luckily there are some additions which can help, namely 3 other playable characters you can find and recruit by choosing optional pathways after some levels. You can only use 1 at a time, but you can switch between Trevor and whoever you pick at any point. This adds plenty of replayability and can make your life easier as most of these guys are awesome. One has smoother control, one can use devastating magic spells, the variety is great and experimentation is encouraged.
But level design is still chaotic and often not very fair, mostly due to the amount of things thrown at you while you’re climbing stairs, where you can barely defend yourself. Stages can get out of hand fast, and despite some more interesting platforming, this game is too difficult for its own good.
The music is phenomenal though, I don’t know why we’re killing Dracula again.. but hey it’s consistent. Not a bad time, just a tough one - 6.7/10
To get this out the way, this game is once again, brutal. And just like the first game it’s down to the stiff controls, pain in the ass enemies and bosses, though generally I think boss fights are better this time around, giving you slightly more room to breathe and having more distinguishable patterns to learn.
However this doesn’t stop the game kerb stomping you. Luckily there are some additions which can help, namely 3 other playable characters you can find and recruit by choosing optional pathways after some levels. You can only use 1 at a time, but you can switch between Trevor and whoever you pick at any point. This adds plenty of replayability and can make your life easier as most of these guys are awesome. One has smoother control, one can use devastating magic spells, the variety is great and experimentation is encouraged.
But level design is still chaotic and often not very fair, mostly due to the amount of things thrown at you while you’re climbing stairs, where you can barely defend yourself. Stages can get out of hand fast, and despite some more interesting platforming, this game is too difficult for its own good.
The music is phenomenal though, I don’t know why we’re killing Dracula again.. but hey it’s consistent. Not a bad time, just a tough one - 6.7/10
This story is so good. A plot that spends time building characters up leading to fantastic payoffs. Things are less predictable than previously and performances across the board are fantastic. Only thing I have to say is that the focus of the story is not balanced between the 2 Spider-Men at all, however without both the best moments couldn’t happen so…
The game is the best of the 3, just to say that outright. Combat is at its best when it comes down to grunts and especially bosses, and traversal has been significantly improved by adding one thing - webwings.
These are so much fun and make travelling even better than before. They alone make this the better time. Side content has also been made a lot more varied… at times, but overall this has been improved from before.
There’s also a better flow as there’s no mandatory pace breaking puzzle sections. However, this game does strip back a lot of options in its combat. Gone are the gadget wheels and we now have 4 okay gadgets which work, but lack the experimental factor of before. Because of this stealth is barebones, and combat can get pretty samey.
Your also not really challenged much, it’s a comfy ride, but I wish the side challenges asked a little more.
The game looks incredible, and the ost aint bad, Spider-Man 2 is a fantastic time, and not one to be missed - 8.5/10
The game is the best of the 3, just to say that outright. Combat is at its best when it comes down to grunts and especially bosses, and traversal has been significantly improved by adding one thing - webwings.
These are so much fun and make travelling even better than before. They alone make this the better time. Side content has also been made a lot more varied… at times, but overall this has been improved from before.
There’s also a better flow as there’s no mandatory pace breaking puzzle sections. However, this game does strip back a lot of options in its combat. Gone are the gadget wheels and we now have 4 okay gadgets which work, but lack the experimental factor of before. Because of this stealth is barebones, and combat can get pretty samey.
Your also not really challenged much, it’s a comfy ride, but I wish the side challenges asked a little more.
The game looks incredible, and the ost aint bad, Spider-Man 2 is a fantastic time, and not one to be missed - 8.5/10
This is an extremely influential game, Konamis first attempt at the metroidvania concept they would define later.… but this is clearly a first attempt because Simons Quest is.. honestly awful.
Okay I like the sprite work and the music is banging, but this game is literally next to impossible to play without a guide. Despite the open ended level design, the game doesn’t feel the need to give you any real guidance, a map, area names, item descriptions, or anything that could potentially help you figure out where to go.
The aim is to “prossess” the 5 pieces of Dracula and kill him again in Castlevania. The world isn’t huge but many areas will require certain items to progress, and even then you need to know how to actually use them, like crouching by a wall with an item equipped so a small tornado will carry you to the other side? What’s the correlation?
The actual dungeons are simpler, but still expect you to defy logic and walk through walls.
It’s not as hard as the first game in terms of enemies, but combat is pretty braindead, I didn’t like the sub weapons because they cost hearts to use.. which are also currency needed to get better weapons…
The game has a day and night system which can literally lock you out of progression, and serves very little purpose… yeah this game sucks, don’t play this unless your as curious as me - 2/10
Okay I like the sprite work and the music is banging, but this game is literally next to impossible to play without a guide. Despite the open ended level design, the game doesn’t feel the need to give you any real guidance, a map, area names, item descriptions, or anything that could potentially help you figure out where to go.
The aim is to “prossess” the 5 pieces of Dracula and kill him again in Castlevania. The world isn’t huge but many areas will require certain items to progress, and even then you need to know how to actually use them, like crouching by a wall with an item equipped so a small tornado will carry you to the other side? What’s the correlation?
The actual dungeons are simpler, but still expect you to defy logic and walk through walls.
It’s not as hard as the first game in terms of enemies, but combat is pretty braindead, I didn’t like the sub weapons because they cost hearts to use.. which are also currency needed to get better weapons…
The game has a day and night system which can literally lock you out of progression, and serves very little purpose… yeah this game sucks, don’t play this unless your as curious as me - 2/10
The final expansion that actually feels like an expansion compared to last time, TRT expands the world by adding a new area to explore filled with new story elements, side quests to complete and an entirely new ability set to master.
The story revolves around the last Eikon that was mentioned but never found in the base game, Leviathan. It cleverly expands the lore, answering questions which were left hanging originally, and the whole scenario was very creative and visually stunning. However I did find it a shame that there wasn’t any further character development for the main cast, besides Ultima anyway.
The gameplay is standard FF16 except you have a new area to run around in and an entirely new ability granted by Leviathan which greatly expands your long distance combat and dodging ability. I personally loved it, for something that’s been added in later, it feels like a very natural expansion of the moveset, and led to some exhilarating combat encounters and of course brilliant boss fights.
The final fight against Leviathan is incredible, the fight is not only challenging, but a visual marvel that I couldn’t take my eyes off. Side content is fairly lacking here but I wasn’t really expecting much, side quests are the same sort of stuff you’d see in the base game, and while they do expand the world, they aren’t much special.
I suppose my only real complaint is the length, while a good 6-7 hours doing everything, I was hoping it would be a little longer. Still this was great, and was a fitting end to FF16 - 8/10
The story revolves around the last Eikon that was mentioned but never found in the base game, Leviathan. It cleverly expands the lore, answering questions which were left hanging originally, and the whole scenario was very creative and visually stunning. However I did find it a shame that there wasn’t any further character development for the main cast, besides Ultima anyway.
The gameplay is standard FF16 except you have a new area to run around in and an entirely new ability granted by Leviathan which greatly expands your long distance combat and dodging ability. I personally loved it, for something that’s been added in later, it feels like a very natural expansion of the moveset, and led to some exhilarating combat encounters and of course brilliant boss fights.
The final fight against Leviathan is incredible, the fight is not only challenging, but a visual marvel that I couldn’t take my eyes off. Side content is fairly lacking here but I wasn’t really expecting much, side quests are the same sort of stuff you’d see in the base game, and while they do expand the world, they aren’t much special.
I suppose my only real complaint is the length, while a good 6-7 hours doing everything, I was hoping it would be a little longer. Still this was great, and was a fitting end to FF16 - 8/10
Part 2 of the remake series, this covers a much larger section of the game than part 1, and absolutely nailed this part of the story. From the antics at the seaside resort Costa Del Sol, to the events of the lost city, Rebirth’s tone and writing is absolutely spot on, and it plays with your expectations frequently, especially in the finale.
There are some changes to the story, but most of it is to further expand upon the pre-existing plot, making side characters such as Yuffie far more vital to the bigger
picture. The animation is absolutely incredible, the acting is perfect, they just understand these characters so well. The ending truly enhanced the tradgey of the events, and it was so impactful.
Gameplay is expanded from Remake, with more characters to play as and a semi open world setting. It's much more open in terms of content than Remake, though sticking to the main story will take you on a linear path through dungeons and awesome boss fights. This game is huge, yet I found the
Pacing to be miles better than Remake. The open world gives you plenty to do as well as a ton of side games, which remarkably are mostly fun. You know your having a good time when you feel like completing it all. Traversal methods constantly change within these beautiful environments, from Chocobo that can glide to a dune buggy, and exploring is supplemented by the magnificent OST...
The battles are an expansion of the first game, bringing in a proper parry, as well as synergy abilities which are total game changers and were super fun to execute.
Rebirth really is the full package. Not all of the content is perfect, but I loved every second of it - 9.5/10
There are some changes to the story, but most of it is to further expand upon the pre-existing plot, making side characters such as Yuffie far more vital to the bigger
picture. The animation is absolutely incredible, the acting is perfect, they just understand these characters so well. The ending truly enhanced the tradgey of the events, and it was so impactful.
Gameplay is expanded from Remake, with more characters to play as and a semi open world setting. It's much more open in terms of content than Remake, though sticking to the main story will take you on a linear path through dungeons and awesome boss fights. This game is huge, yet I found the
Pacing to be miles better than Remake. The open world gives you plenty to do as well as a ton of side games, which remarkably are mostly fun. You know your having a good time when you feel like completing it all. Traversal methods constantly change within these beautiful environments, from Chocobo that can glide to a dune buggy, and exploring is supplemented by the magnificent OST...
The battles are an expansion of the first game, bringing in a proper parry, as well as synergy abilities which are total game changers and were super fun to execute.
Rebirth really is the full package. Not all of the content is perfect, but I loved every second of it - 9.5/10
The very first handled Castle Vania game and...
Yikes this game is terrible.
The classic formula is brought back and with it is every problem this style brings times 100. The control is unbelievably stiff and unresponsive due to the amount of lag, the enemies are way too nimble and platforming asks for way more than you are realistically cape-able of. There's no sub-weapons, so you are relying entirely on the whip, which can be upgraded as usual throughout the level. But for some baffling reason, you lose a stage of power every time you get hit! And the lowest power whip barely has any range and pitiful attack power so it sucks when your stuck with this.
There's only 4 stages but they are all awful. While some gimmicks are fairly unique, they are implemented so poorly that it takes away any interest I had in the game. I mean I know it's a very primative system, but it's no excuse for how this game is designed, constantly forcing you to take damage and lose any chance of surviving the bosses. To be honest untill the final boss, they really aren't that bad, but if your whip is at its weakest you will stand no chance.
The final boss is extremely cheap, and is easily the worst l've faced so far... I mean my god.
The graphics are poor by the gameboys standards and I can't say I remember the music, god get it away, this is easily one of the worst games I have ever played - 1/10
Yikes this game is terrible.
The classic formula is brought back and with it is every problem this style brings times 100. The control is unbelievably stiff and unresponsive due to the amount of lag, the enemies are way too nimble and platforming asks for way more than you are realistically cape-able of. There's no sub-weapons, so you are relying entirely on the whip, which can be upgraded as usual throughout the level. But for some baffling reason, you lose a stage of power every time you get hit! And the lowest power whip barely has any range and pitiful attack power so it sucks when your stuck with this.
There's only 4 stages but they are all awful. While some gimmicks are fairly unique, they are implemented so poorly that it takes away any interest I had in the game. I mean I know it's a very primative system, but it's no excuse for how this game is designed, constantly forcing you to take damage and lose any chance of surviving the bosses. To be honest untill the final boss, they really aren't that bad, but if your whip is at its weakest you will stand no chance.
The final boss is extremely cheap, and is easily the worst l've faced so far... I mean my god.
The graphics are poor by the gameboys standards and I can't say I remember the music, god get it away, this is easily one of the worst games I have ever played - 1/10