Scale
I appreciate them having online vs, and generally it has some of the best minigames from each game. They made some weird balancing decisions though and the board choice is horrendous, why is the only decent one space land. They could've added more boards without much effort but they didn't for some reason. wasted potential.
2018
the minigames are ok but the boards suck and the star costs suck and the different dice suck. I guess it was an alright return to form
2015
car. i liked bowser party but its unbalanced. iirc the minigames are a little better
2012
car. think the minigames were bad too
2007
Ugliest mario party with garbage minigames and boring boards. I think the items are fine though. This is the one I played the most as a kid so the only thing it has going for me is funny nostalgia. its genuinely pretty bad.
2003
Probably the most medicore, middle of the road mario party of all time. Not much good or bad about it. the minigames weren't good from what I remember and the orbs are just bad compared to how they're done in 6.
2002
This is genuinely the worst mario party game of all time and its not close. Garbage items, garbage maps (that are almost all the same), mediocre minigames at best and absolutely soulless. Quite literally has nothing going for it
2000
I thought this game was dogshit but its actually pretty good all things considered. The items are honestly worse than 2 and its way more luckbased but its kinda funny. the maps are decent and the minigames are all fine. The convenience features it has for a game that was on the n64 are probably the most surprising to me.
1999
This is probably the best mario party game. I struggle to think of good mario party maps but this one generally has the highest average I'd say. It's the first one with items, it's got the best bonus starts and generally has some pretty good minigames. It's also got the most soul because they wear silly costumes
1998
a lot of aspects of this game feel purposefully designed to torture you. No items, bad coin balance for minigames, bad maps, bad minigames (control stick ones are garbage no matter how you play), everything about it is terrible. The most you can claim that it has is soul.
2004
It's honestly a great mario party but the boards are almost all pretty bad. I think the first 2 are alright and thats about it, the rest are actively boring or bad. It's definitely got the best minigame selection out of all of them, imo.
1988
I played this with a friend and its kino. easily the best of the retro 2d marios, and its life economy is probably the best in any mario game.
This review contains spoilers
This was my favorite arc when I first watched the anime version of Higurashi, so I was excited to read the original version since all the previous arcs have been significantly better as VNs. Overall it definitely met my expectations, though in some aspects I feel that the anime was actually better paced.
The OST takes another huge step up, since kai is when dai first started composing some of the tracks. "You" playing for the first time ever in the credits hits super hard. My favorite track was "Festivals," basically every scene using it was pure peak, particularly the fight with Rika and the Mion screaming match that followed. The voice acting (with the 07th mod) is fantastic the whole way through, especially Shion.
Shion is easily one of the most interesting and nuanced characters to receive a POV in Higurashi. She's a lot more openly flawed compared to the rest of the main cast, who are mostly great people with some caveats. Shion meanwhile is flagrantly arrogant, rude, and greedy (she's just like me fr). This greed is the primary driver of conflict for the entire arc, being the cause of her hyperfixation on Satoshi and everything surrounding him, as well as laying the foundation for her conflict with Mion over their birthright. Her blatant hatred for Satoko (again stemming from greed) also really makes her stick out compared to all the heartjaks around her. She's overall just really riveting to read through, especially as she becomes more manipulative and unhinged throughout the arc. Watching her develop a sort of rivalry with Rena along the way was also great.
Meakashi is divided into two sections, one for 1982 and one for 1983. The first half is a fun read, especially since its so close to before Keiichi first shows up, making it more contemporary than the Akasaka experience from the prior arc. Satoshi is goofy and likeable, and his and Shion's relationship is really sweet to read. It's nice to see his and Satoko's bond as well, especially after how much he gets gassed up in Tatarigoroshi. I loved the fingernail scene towards the end of this half, as well as Shion and Mion's reconciliation.
Probably the worst part of Meakashi is the transition from 82 to 83, which feels kind of rushed. Shion and Keiichi's first meeting is funny, but the segment is definitely slapdash and just trying to get to the Watanagashi.
83 is a rollercoaster. Shion is the best L5 character to watch and it's not even close. She's cunning, manipulative, and cocky all the way through. She always reminded me of something like Vegeta on Namek, it's all really just the perfect role for her. Her revenge quest and desire to find the truth makes her significantly more sympathetic on first viewing, even though her methods are extreme. When I first watched this blind, I was rooting for her to uproot the corruption from its source and to find the truth behind the string of deaths. Her murders of the 3 heads were all enthralling, especially Rika's section. Watching her just gaslight Keiichi throughout the entire arc makes it way funnier too.
The second half of 83 is where you really lose any sympathy you might've garnered for Shion, as her hatred for Satoko rises back to the forefront. There's like a 5-10 minute long torture scene that's just painful to get through. The conclusion to that scene with Satoko's resolve is fantastic though, and honestly was better development for Satoko than even the entirety of Tatarigoroshi imo. It was very heartwarming to read, especially considering what happened literally right before it. It's also cool to watch Shion become exactly what she hated, doing to Satoko exactly what she suspected her family of doing to Satoshi.
The side plot about Shion reclaiming her birthright as Mion is excellently sprinkled throughout the arc, and I really can't believe it was something that the anime decided to exclude entirely. It not only adds significantly more depth to the entire arc, but also completely recontextualizes Mion and Shion as characters.
The main negative I can say about this arc is that it's one of few that gets a little worse upon reread. Part of my initial appeal to this story was being excited to learn with Shion as she uncovered the corruption in the village and dealt with it from the source, but when you actually know the causes it makes the arc feel a lot more futile and tragic (though that can arguably make it better depending on your perspective). It is cool to see how she got relatively close to figuring things out before falling to paranoia though, and then having to completely reconsider her perspective after Mion's confession towards the end.
The final scene with the balcony is also incredible, watching that and then going into the credits with You playing was an incredibly memorable experience. I'd put it right up with Tatarigoroshi's ending as one of my favorite Higurashi moments. I also love the post-credits scene at the school.
Overall its still my favorite arc, Shion is just such an entertaining protagonist to read as. It's a crime that she really didn't get to do much after this point, and she's immediately shafted again as soon as the next arc. It's still a fantastic experience nonetheless though.
The OST takes another huge step up, since kai is when dai first started composing some of the tracks. "You" playing for the first time ever in the credits hits super hard. My favorite track was "Festivals," basically every scene using it was pure peak, particularly the fight with Rika and the Mion screaming match that followed. The voice acting (with the 07th mod) is fantastic the whole way through, especially Shion.
Shion is easily one of the most interesting and nuanced characters to receive a POV in Higurashi. She's a lot more openly flawed compared to the rest of the main cast, who are mostly great people with some caveats. Shion meanwhile is flagrantly arrogant, rude, and greedy (she's just like me fr). This greed is the primary driver of conflict for the entire arc, being the cause of her hyperfixation on Satoshi and everything surrounding him, as well as laying the foundation for her conflict with Mion over their birthright. Her blatant hatred for Satoko (again stemming from greed) also really makes her stick out compared to all the heartjaks around her. She's overall just really riveting to read through, especially as she becomes more manipulative and unhinged throughout the arc. Watching her develop a sort of rivalry with Rena along the way was also great.
Meakashi is divided into two sections, one for 1982 and one for 1983. The first half is a fun read, especially since its so close to before Keiichi first shows up, making it more contemporary than the Akasaka experience from the prior arc. Satoshi is goofy and likeable, and his and Shion's relationship is really sweet to read. It's nice to see his and Satoko's bond as well, especially after how much he gets gassed up in Tatarigoroshi. I loved the fingernail scene towards the end of this half, as well as Shion and Mion's reconciliation.
Probably the worst part of Meakashi is the transition from 82 to 83, which feels kind of rushed. Shion and Keiichi's first meeting is funny, but the segment is definitely slapdash and just trying to get to the Watanagashi.
83 is a rollercoaster. Shion is the best L5 character to watch and it's not even close. She's cunning, manipulative, and cocky all the way through. She always reminded me of something like Vegeta on Namek, it's all really just the perfect role for her. Her revenge quest and desire to find the truth makes her significantly more sympathetic on first viewing, even though her methods are extreme. When I first watched this blind, I was rooting for her to uproot the corruption from its source and to find the truth behind the string of deaths. Her murders of the 3 heads were all enthralling, especially Rika's section. Watching her just gaslight Keiichi throughout the entire arc makes it way funnier too.
The second half of 83 is where you really lose any sympathy you might've garnered for Shion, as her hatred for Satoko rises back to the forefront. There's like a 5-10 minute long torture scene that's just painful to get through. The conclusion to that scene with Satoko's resolve is fantastic though, and honestly was better development for Satoko than even the entirety of Tatarigoroshi imo. It was very heartwarming to read, especially considering what happened literally right before it. It's also cool to watch Shion become exactly what she hated, doing to Satoko exactly what she suspected her family of doing to Satoshi.
The side plot about Shion reclaiming her birthright as Mion is excellently sprinkled throughout the arc, and I really can't believe it was something that the anime decided to exclude entirely. It not only adds significantly more depth to the entire arc, but also completely recontextualizes Mion and Shion as characters.
The main negative I can say about this arc is that it's one of few that gets a little worse upon reread. Part of my initial appeal to this story was being excited to learn with Shion as she uncovered the corruption in the village and dealt with it from the source, but when you actually know the causes it makes the arc feel a lot more futile and tragic (though that can arguably make it better depending on your perspective). It is cool to see how she got relatively close to figuring things out before falling to paranoia though, and then having to completely reconsider her perspective after Mion's confession towards the end.
The final scene with the balcony is also incredible, watching that and then going into the credits with You playing was an incredibly memorable experience. I'd put it right up with Tatarigoroshi's ending as one of my favorite Higurashi moments. I also love the post-credits scene at the school.
Overall its still my favorite arc, Shion is just such an entertaining protagonist to read as. It's a crime that she really didn't get to do much after this point, and she's immediately shafted again as soon as the next arc. It's still a fantastic experience nonetheless though.
Pretty good for what it is (short and barely focusing on the main cast). Seeing Akasaka's POV is cool and the Oishi content is peak. I love the whole section with the pursuit of the kidnappers. It also has probably the most interesting tips up to this point. I appreciate that it doesn't really overstay its welcome, its short length is a nice interlude before the next arc (peak).
I was never a fan of Tatarigoroshi when I initially watched the anime for Higurashi, but it clearly wasn't given the justice it deserved from the VN. This is easily the best written question arc for Higurashi. I love everything about how Keiichi is written here, and the pacing for the latter half of it is fantastic. Keiichi and Satoko's voice actors do a phenomenal job (if you play with the 07 mod), and the sound/music design is just generally a massive step up from the previous two arcs, despite still not having a composer. The ending is just beautifully executed compared to both the previous arcs and its anime version, I can't recommend it enough. The baseball game is my favorite SOL part from the series too, I was really pleasantly surprised. It does start out slow and take a long time to get going though. I'd say the first half is an 8/10, but everything after Keiichi decides to kill the uncle is a 10/10. The final 2 days are my favorite sections of the question arcs.