Shenobi
2010
The 360 version was riddled with bugs and I ultimately managed to boundary break to the edge of the world. Spoiler: New Vegas was apparently an island because there's nothing but radioactive water in every direction outside of the regular game field.
Played it through a couple years later on PC and it was still a stellar experience...much better without having the dozen or so freezes and the boundary break I experienced in the 360 version.
Played it through a couple years later on PC and it was still a stellar experience...much better without having the dozen or so freezes and the boundary break I experienced in the 360 version.
1986
This game is how I felt about Spelunker (NES) the first time I played it, but without any of the charm to bring me back to it at all. As a kid, I don't think I spent more than an hour on this game ever -- and I played a lot of games that were less than stellar back then. Another game I don't regret not spending more time with.
Just to clarify, this rating is for the non-PS4 version, since it has all the good music still. There is nothing quite like popping this game in, stealing a car, and driving around the city to some amazing soundtracks.
GRAB THIS GAME. The only reason I don't five-star this game is because there are some bugs that occasionally surface and at least one was responsible for making me have to die at least once in order to get back to normal progression.
That aside, level design and gameplay are STELLAR. The tower is a behemoth that sprawls upward and about and as you think you have a grasp on the size of the tower, you find that you're only seeing about half of what's actually there.
Secrets abound and you're actively encouraged to poke around. In fact, that's one of the quintessential cornerstones of why this game works -- it implores you to explore to your heart's content. Dying isn't an issue because any currency you build up is spendable on death and none of it is ever lost, even if you choose not to spend it. Worried you're not going to make it to whatever goal location you've got? Just try your best, spend some currency on upgrades after you die, and then come back to it again.
The character swap system is largely fun, though Arias wasn't really worth it to me and I spent most of my time switching between Kyuli (who I mained for her range) and Algus (after he got an ability that I found to be very useful).
Area progression is hypothetically linear, but sometimes getting lost can lead you to some secret areas that let you pick up some more goodies and come back with massive stomping powers as a result.
You could argue that if anything, the game actually gets too easy once you start branching out in different directions after the first boss because it's not difficult to start amassing orbs from a slew of enemies if you're not just actively avoiding them and some of the ability power-ups you find while exploring give you major leverage on both regular monsters and bosses.
Regarding bosses, all of them were fun to me, though as I mentioned before -- there wasn't much challenge after the first one. That's probably on me, but I won't delve into why because it's spoiler territory. Boss patterns are simple to understand and the difficulty in the fights lies largely in how to get the most damage out there without being greedy -- if you don't temper your desire to get a few extra hits in, you will pay the price.
Visually, it's an 8-bit spectacle and the bosses and minibosses are far more entertaining to look at (and fight) than most of the regular monsters.
Music is good, not great -- it's solid adventuring vibes throughout the entire tower, but none of them are specifically sticking with me right now after 100%ing the game.
Content is wonderful. There is a true ending for players who want incentive to strive for 100% bestiary, items, and map collection (the bestiary isn't mandatory, but you may as well if you're on your way!). There are multiple modes of play that are unlocked after beating the game or finding certain secrets/fulfilling certain conditions. Boss Rush and NG+ (which shuffles items and other such things) are some enjoyable staples, but there are others I won't mention here. Beyond the modes of play, there are other secrets that are optional to the main game that also alter the gameplay a bit.
I achieved 100% bestiary, items, and map completion along with the true ending at roughly 16 hours of time. I'd say at least an hour of that was wandering around, maybe two. There's a lot to get lost in, and that's a great thing in this game.
There are two features I'd like to add, but for sake of spoilers, I'll refrain from mentioning one of them. The other feature, however -- it would be nice if you could place markers on your map to indicate your own areas of interest. The game does try to give you a number of useful markers via some upgrades you purchase, but they're not really helpful when trying to figure out if you need a certain character for a certain ability in a room or if you just walked into a room, walked out, and never completed the room. In that respect, this map system could use the Batbarian treatment. Other than that, a little polish and at least for me, this is a 10/10 game. Buy it at full price, it's absolutely worth it at 20 bucks. Over a dozen of hours of fun before even unlocking multiple modes that change the dynamics of the game? ALL DAY, EVERY DAY, I'M THERE FOR IT.
That aside, level design and gameplay are STELLAR. The tower is a behemoth that sprawls upward and about and as you think you have a grasp on the size of the tower, you find that you're only seeing about half of what's actually there.
Secrets abound and you're actively encouraged to poke around. In fact, that's one of the quintessential cornerstones of why this game works -- it implores you to explore to your heart's content. Dying isn't an issue because any currency you build up is spendable on death and none of it is ever lost, even if you choose not to spend it. Worried you're not going to make it to whatever goal location you've got? Just try your best, spend some currency on upgrades after you die, and then come back to it again.
The character swap system is largely fun, though Arias wasn't really worth it to me and I spent most of my time switching between Kyuli (who I mained for her range) and Algus (after he got an ability that I found to be very useful).
Area progression is hypothetically linear, but sometimes getting lost can lead you to some secret areas that let you pick up some more goodies and come back with massive stomping powers as a result.
You could argue that if anything, the game actually gets too easy once you start branching out in different directions after the first boss because it's not difficult to start amassing orbs from a slew of enemies if you're not just actively avoiding them and some of the ability power-ups you find while exploring give you major leverage on both regular monsters and bosses.
Regarding bosses, all of them were fun to me, though as I mentioned before -- there wasn't much challenge after the first one. That's probably on me, but I won't delve into why because it's spoiler territory. Boss patterns are simple to understand and the difficulty in the fights lies largely in how to get the most damage out there without being greedy -- if you don't temper your desire to get a few extra hits in, you will pay the price.
Visually, it's an 8-bit spectacle and the bosses and minibosses are far more entertaining to look at (and fight) than most of the regular monsters.
Music is good, not great -- it's solid adventuring vibes throughout the entire tower, but none of them are specifically sticking with me right now after 100%ing the game.
Content is wonderful. There is a true ending for players who want incentive to strive for 100% bestiary, items, and map collection (the bestiary isn't mandatory, but you may as well if you're on your way!). There are multiple modes of play that are unlocked after beating the game or finding certain secrets/fulfilling certain conditions. Boss Rush and NG+ (which shuffles items and other such things) are some enjoyable staples, but there are others I won't mention here. Beyond the modes of play, there are other secrets that are optional to the main game that also alter the gameplay a bit.
I achieved 100% bestiary, items, and map completion along with the true ending at roughly 16 hours of time. I'd say at least an hour of that was wandering around, maybe two. There's a lot to get lost in, and that's a great thing in this game.
There are two features I'd like to add, but for sake of spoilers, I'll refrain from mentioning one of them. The other feature, however -- it would be nice if you could place markers on your map to indicate your own areas of interest. The game does try to give you a number of useful markers via some upgrades you purchase, but they're not really helpful when trying to figure out if you need a certain character for a certain ability in a room or if you just walked into a room, walked out, and never completed the room. In that respect, this map system could use the Batbarian treatment. Other than that, a little polish and at least for me, this is a 10/10 game. Buy it at full price, it's absolutely worth it at 20 bucks. Over a dozen of hours of fun before even unlocking multiple modes that change the dynamics of the game? ALL DAY, EVERY DAY, I'M THERE FOR IT.
2021
It's a step up from FF2J, but it's not without some design issues, which make sense if you look at the direction the games went in -- it's a bit of a feeling out and adjustments that were to try and craft a new experience, even if said adjustments may not have had the best end result.
A lot of jobs are largely pointless, equipment can be a pain to acquire if you are trying for certain jobs, and some early jobs just get outclassed by later iterations (not counting the two secret jobs if you do the optional dungeon -- one of those jobs is simply broken in terms of power).
I appreciate the attempt to really bring a story into the mix this time around, but this game really ends up being a story of grinding more than anything else. Even with the easing of difficulty, you're going to have to put in a little more work than usual to get some smooth sailing in this game.
It's on the fringe of being good for me, but doesn't quite get there. The soundtrack is solid in a few spots, if nothing else. Also, thank all the gods for this being the only game with airships that don't understand how height works. Mountain jumping might have been one of the dumbest things in FF-history, especially when you consider how the world in this game works.
A lot of jobs are largely pointless, equipment can be a pain to acquire if you are trying for certain jobs, and some early jobs just get outclassed by later iterations (not counting the two secret jobs if you do the optional dungeon -- one of those jobs is simply broken in terms of power).
I appreciate the attempt to really bring a story into the mix this time around, but this game really ends up being a story of grinding more than anything else. Even with the easing of difficulty, you're going to have to put in a little more work than usual to get some smooth sailing in this game.
It's on the fringe of being good for me, but doesn't quite get there. The soundtrack is solid in a few spots, if nothing else. Also, thank all the gods for this being the only game with airships that don't understand how height works. Mountain jumping might have been one of the dumbest things in FF-history, especially when you consider how the world in this game works.
2016
EDIT: Now that I've played the free and paid DLCs, I'm bumping this to five stars.
My original gripe with sequence breaking and not being able to progress in the non-Volcano area was my fault because there actually are ways around those "roadblocks", to the extent that there's actually a 0% Item/Ability run you can do that you can get achievements for in both the main game and postgame. You can actually play the entire game without your weapon and still beat it in a non-pacifist manner. In fact, the game was designed with so many different ways to approach it that the devs added in achievements for each scenario that you could pull off and encouraged you to break the game as much as possible, while still making it manageable for anyone who wants that challenge.
The volcano thing is still weird because you needed to have a particular conversation and then have a couple cutscenes to progress that exploration because of story, and this happens with a few other postgame sections, including a post-postgame (yes, there is one).
I'd say that my only real standing gripe is the buttons being listed as numbers in the movelists because yes, I do enjoy experimenting with controls, but sometimes I would rather just look and see a familiar button list to know how to do things. Everything else is essentially golden, with some very excellent boss fights on top of that exploration and sequence breaking that the game unabashedly showcases.
Original review follows.
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If you like Metroivanias with non-linear exploration and bosses that are fun bullet hells, this game is made for you and you need to play it.
I have only a couple gripes.
1) Although the UI itself is absolutely lovely, text instructions for abilities that show up in them are unintuitive because it doesn't account for the names of controller buttons, so explanations of moves will be things like, "Press (down arrow) + BUTTON 4." Sometimes when I'd learn a new ability/move, I'd just mess around with all buttons and directions until I figured it out. Not a big deal, just a small thing that makes you burn a few extra seconds to figure stuff out.
2) The non-linearity of this game is mostly excellent, and it's the "mostly" that's come back to haunt me a couple times in one form or another. There's an area I found early on that I couldn't proceed through because the game wants you to clear the first chapter before you're allowed to go do it.
At another point, I used hidden moves to get myself really deep into the volcano area and found myself eventually at a long shaft that seems to repeat infinitely with a save point in the middle of it. I was looking for hidden ledges to drop onto while falling infinitely because the map overlay on the save screen shows a separate-colored room at the bottom.
After spending about fifteen minutes wandering slamming into walls with my face or hammer or magic (and the brief opening that has some spikes on the ground in one section), I checked a walkthrough, only to find out that this area was inaccessible until MUCH later in the game and I had to use my hidden-tech skills to work my way all the way back out of the volcano to the teleporter (which was much more difficult to get back to than it was getting in from). This one was a little more frustrating because the non-linearity encourages exploration, but I was also penalized very thoroughly for exploring in this instance, to the point that I had to check a walkthrough to see I was wasting my time.
Those are minor issues, though -- the walk back from the first area I mentioned wasn't that bad (even if I did it twice) and if you're reading this and haven't played it yet, you're now aware that you shouldn't go too deep into the volcano using hidden tech abilities once you figure out how they work. It's essentially an extra 30 minutes I tacked onto the game for walking back from places and if nothing else, the volcano situation was good practice for honing those skills, even if it was frustrating.
I used all of this review to talk about these things because frankly, I don't want to lay out all the good things this game has going for it because they're innumerable. It's beautiful, non-linear, mostly encourages exploration, lets you progress story at your leisure for the most part, and the soundtrack is nice. There's a postgame and I haven't started it yet, but I will soon. There's also a free DLC that is suggested to be played in postgame and two other DLCs that add more areas/content and I intend to check those out eventually, as well.
Easily in the Top 20 and possibly Top 10 best Metroidvanias just for content alone.
My original gripe with sequence breaking and not being able to progress in the non-Volcano area was my fault because there actually are ways around those "roadblocks", to the extent that there's actually a 0% Item/Ability run you can do that you can get achievements for in both the main game and postgame. You can actually play the entire game without your weapon and still beat it in a non-pacifist manner. In fact, the game was designed with so many different ways to approach it that the devs added in achievements for each scenario that you could pull off and encouraged you to break the game as much as possible, while still making it manageable for anyone who wants that challenge.
The volcano thing is still weird because you needed to have a particular conversation and then have a couple cutscenes to progress that exploration because of story, and this happens with a few other postgame sections, including a post-postgame (yes, there is one).
I'd say that my only real standing gripe is the buttons being listed as numbers in the movelists because yes, I do enjoy experimenting with controls, but sometimes I would rather just look and see a familiar button list to know how to do things. Everything else is essentially golden, with some very excellent boss fights on top of that exploration and sequence breaking that the game unabashedly showcases.
Original review follows.
----------------------------------------------
If you like Metroivanias with non-linear exploration and bosses that are fun bullet hells, this game is made for you and you need to play it.
I have only a couple gripes.
1) Although the UI itself is absolutely lovely, text instructions for abilities that show up in them are unintuitive because it doesn't account for the names of controller buttons, so explanations of moves will be things like, "Press (down arrow) + BUTTON 4." Sometimes when I'd learn a new ability/move, I'd just mess around with all buttons and directions until I figured it out. Not a big deal, just a small thing that makes you burn a few extra seconds to figure stuff out.
2) The non-linearity of this game is mostly excellent, and it's the "mostly" that's come back to haunt me a couple times in one form or another. There's an area I found early on that I couldn't proceed through because the game wants you to clear the first chapter before you're allowed to go do it.
At another point, I used hidden moves to get myself really deep into the volcano area and found myself eventually at a long shaft that seems to repeat infinitely with a save point in the middle of it. I was looking for hidden ledges to drop onto while falling infinitely because the map overlay on the save screen shows a separate-colored room at the bottom.
After spending about fifteen minutes wandering slamming into walls with my face or hammer or magic (and the brief opening that has some spikes on the ground in one section), I checked a walkthrough, only to find out that this area was inaccessible until MUCH later in the game and I had to use my hidden-tech skills to work my way all the way back out of the volcano to the teleporter (which was much more difficult to get back to than it was getting in from). This one was a little more frustrating because the non-linearity encourages exploration, but I was also penalized very thoroughly for exploring in this instance, to the point that I had to check a walkthrough to see I was wasting my time.
Those are minor issues, though -- the walk back from the first area I mentioned wasn't that bad (even if I did it twice) and if you're reading this and haven't played it yet, you're now aware that you shouldn't go too deep into the volcano using hidden tech abilities once you figure out how they work. It's essentially an extra 30 minutes I tacked onto the game for walking back from places and if nothing else, the volcano situation was good practice for honing those skills, even if it was frustrating.
I used all of this review to talk about these things because frankly, I don't want to lay out all the good things this game has going for it because they're innumerable. It's beautiful, non-linear, mostly encourages exploration, lets you progress story at your leisure for the most part, and the soundtrack is nice. There's a postgame and I haven't started it yet, but I will soon. There's also a free DLC that is suggested to be played in postgame and two other DLCs that add more areas/content and I intend to check those out eventually, as well.
Easily in the Top 20 and possibly Top 10 best Metroidvanias just for content alone.
2012
I've played a few walking simulators before and after this game, but this one sticks with me the most because of how much effort it made to keep me from exploring just so it could tell me its story that wasn't really that engrossing.
For me, this is the worst walking simulator I've ever played. I don't imagine the Landmark Edition was any better. If you really want to enjoy a game like this, go play What Remains of Edith Finch -- which was quite a pleasant surprise for me.
For me, this is the worst walking simulator I've ever played. I don't imagine the Landmark Edition was any better. If you really want to enjoy a game like this, go play What Remains of Edith Finch -- which was quite a pleasant surprise for me.
1998
The premier survival horror escape simulator, with a monster AI that was surprising and engaging and rather unmatched for the style of game until Alien: Isolation came around. I don't know if the game wasn't finished or what, but there were many items that had no purpose I was aware of and some areas felt a little unfinished.
I rate this game so highly because there are defining moments in gaming where you get immersed thoroughly and the way the AI for this game ramps up from area to area despite how basic it was for its time meant and still means a lot to me.
I rate this game so highly because there are defining moments in gaming where you get immersed thoroughly and the way the AI for this game ramps up from area to area despite how basic it was for its time meant and still means a lot to me.
1999
The first time I ever played this, I borrowed it from a friend and it got lost in a backlog of other games that just caught my attention at the time. I didn't really like Squall and his generally complain-y attitude, but I soldiered through to Disc 3 (I think?) before the Backlog Monster ate it.
When I finally got around to playing it again several months later, I found myself completely lost on what to do and ended up driving my mountain/school bus around the world for about an hour before eventually just giving up and moving on to other stuff. I didn't feel particularly invested in the story up to that point, so no real loss for me.
Eventually, I decided to go back and do a run-through of every FF game in the main series and came back to knock this one out. My opinion of things didn't really change, though I made sure to actually focus on the game wholly this time so I didn't lose track of where I could/should be going.
The story didn't really do anything for me and coming off the Materia system (which I really enjoyed), the Draw system just felt like some monstrous mixture of "not interesting" and "easily exploitable". The visuals were fine for their time, but given that it was almost 18 years later or so, there wasn't anything really hooking me that other RPGs didn't do better before or after this.
To each their own, right? Maybe it deserves a 1.0, but it's (at least for now) tied for my least favorite FF game alongside FF XIII.
When I finally got around to playing it again several months later, I found myself completely lost on what to do and ended up driving my mountain/school bus around the world for about an hour before eventually just giving up and moving on to other stuff. I didn't feel particularly invested in the story up to that point, so no real loss for me.
Eventually, I decided to go back and do a run-through of every FF game in the main series and came back to knock this one out. My opinion of things didn't really change, though I made sure to actually focus on the game wholly this time so I didn't lose track of where I could/should be going.
The story didn't really do anything for me and coming off the Materia system (which I really enjoyed), the Draw system just felt like some monstrous mixture of "not interesting" and "easily exploitable". The visuals were fine for their time, but given that it was almost 18 years later or so, there wasn't anything really hooking me that other RPGs didn't do better before or after this.
To each their own, right? Maybe it deserves a 1.0, but it's (at least for now) tied for my least favorite FF game alongside FF XIII.
1989
When I was younger, I rented this game several times because I thought the graphical style was really neat -- it had that simulator feel of some other games for that time and was billed as an RPG. Also, cool dragon on the cover and I was a kid.
I never really got very far in the game each time I played it because I had no real clue at how to proceed. As an adult, I just looked at the game and thought, "This is one seriously ugly baby of a game."
THE END.
I never really got very far in the game each time I played it because I had no real clue at how to proceed. As an adult, I just looked at the game and thought, "This is one seriously ugly baby of a game."
THE END.
As far as the games in the series go, kinda enjoyed this one a lot more than I thought I would. Felt like a story dealing with military characters wasn't going to resonate well with me (especially given how very pointedly they try and make your initial interactions between characters awkward for one-another), but it kinda drew me in as the game progressed.
I still hate QTEs to death, House of Ashes at least made me feel like stealth and action moments were important, even if you could feel out the pattern of when the QTEs were coming (especially in the final stand-off of the game).
It doesn't win any awards for me and sometimes characters had a bit of that creepy uncanny valley look to them (Rebecca more than anyone else), but it was fun and probably the best DPA game in the series (if you don't count Until Dawn, which the series doesn't seem to do, either).
Get it on sale, as it's about six to seven hours if you are being careful and trying to find collectables (I collected all frames and 43/50 secrets). There is replayability as always because of different storyline potentials and achievements/trophies, so it's worth it simply on the principle of treating it like going to the movies -- this is largely just an interactive movie that runs about 3-4 times as long as your typical movie, priced at about 2-3 times the cost of a movie, with extra reasons to go back and "watch" it again. If nothing else, get a friend to come over and watch them play through it and see how much their choices differ.
I'd say it's a reasonable deal at 30% off, a steal at 50%.
I still hate QTEs to death, House of Ashes at least made me feel like stealth and action moments were important, even if you could feel out the pattern of when the QTEs were coming (especially in the final stand-off of the game).
It doesn't win any awards for me and sometimes characters had a bit of that creepy uncanny valley look to them (Rebecca more than anyone else), but it was fun and probably the best DPA game in the series (if you don't count Until Dawn, which the series doesn't seem to do, either).
Get it on sale, as it's about six to seven hours if you are being careful and trying to find collectables (I collected all frames and 43/50 secrets). There is replayability as always because of different storyline potentials and achievements/trophies, so it's worth it simply on the principle of treating it like going to the movies -- this is largely just an interactive movie that runs about 3-4 times as long as your typical movie, priced at about 2-3 times the cost of a movie, with extra reasons to go back and "watch" it again. If nothing else, get a friend to come over and watch them play through it and see how much their choices differ.
I'd say it's a reasonable deal at 30% off, a steal at 50%.
I guess this is going to exist perpetually in my backlog.
Originally, I played this up to the Tree of Life point and once I got there, I fed it to the backlog monster so I could play some other stuff that was more appealing at the time.
Time passes, I come back and find out my save is corrupt. Eh, it happens, but I remember it being fun enough, so let's start up again! And...some weird jankiness is going on where Death continued to list to the right when I was moving in the opening area, so I deleted the game and threw it onto the backlog again.
Several years pass, I finally go back and the controls are behaving fine this time, so I beat the opening area...and backlog it again.
And...it's April of 2022, I finally come back to it. It's got that Metroidvania-meets-Zelda-with-other-gimmicks feel that I remember that's charming...until you go through a couple dungeons and realize it's TOO puzzle-oriented and the experience system is strange.
You can't grind extra levels because enemies eventually just pay zero experience...which is fine, I guess. But this means that if you're good at fighting things that might be out of your league early, you're suddenly getting equipment that you can't use until Level 10 and you're Level 5 and the only thing you can do is just progress the game normally...and by the time I got to level 10, I had better equipment than the reward I was given from an optional boss fight in the first place.
The decision to use Diabloesque loot drops is fine, but when they eclipse the special rewards you get from beating something optional and significant, it seems like maybe this game is just seated too far into the gimmick territory.
The world is amazing, but it's a shame that the dungeons feel so flat by comparison because it's just stone with different colors to them and maybe some lava or water. I made it back to the Tree of Life area and then went to do an optional boss fight, which descended into doing ANOTHER lava dungeon and my brain just switched off.
I love the first game, but this just feels like the pinnacle of mediocrity. I'll probably come back to it yet again at some point and hopefully my save won't be corrupted this time and I'll discover that the future dungeons aren't just stone with an element theme attached to them and boatloads of puzzles to pad the dungeon time.
Sticking with the 2.5 star rating until further notice.
Originally, I played this up to the Tree of Life point and once I got there, I fed it to the backlog monster so I could play some other stuff that was more appealing at the time.
Time passes, I come back and find out my save is corrupt. Eh, it happens, but I remember it being fun enough, so let's start up again! And...some weird jankiness is going on where Death continued to list to the right when I was moving in the opening area, so I deleted the game and threw it onto the backlog again.
Several years pass, I finally go back and the controls are behaving fine this time, so I beat the opening area...and backlog it again.
And...it's April of 2022, I finally come back to it. It's got that Metroidvania-meets-Zelda-with-other-gimmicks feel that I remember that's charming...until you go through a couple dungeons and realize it's TOO puzzle-oriented and the experience system is strange.
You can't grind extra levels because enemies eventually just pay zero experience...which is fine, I guess. But this means that if you're good at fighting things that might be out of your league early, you're suddenly getting equipment that you can't use until Level 10 and you're Level 5 and the only thing you can do is just progress the game normally...and by the time I got to level 10, I had better equipment than the reward I was given from an optional boss fight in the first place.
The decision to use Diabloesque loot drops is fine, but when they eclipse the special rewards you get from beating something optional and significant, it seems like maybe this game is just seated too far into the gimmick territory.
The world is amazing, but it's a shame that the dungeons feel so flat by comparison because it's just stone with different colors to them and maybe some lava or water. I made it back to the Tree of Life area and then went to do an optional boss fight, which descended into doing ANOTHER lava dungeon and my brain just switched off.
I love the first game, but this just feels like the pinnacle of mediocrity. I'll probably come back to it yet again at some point and hopefully my save won't be corrupted this time and I'll discover that the future dungeons aren't just stone with an element theme attached to them and boatloads of puzzles to pad the dungeon time.
Sticking with the 2.5 star rating until further notice.
2000
Resident Evil, but on an aircraft carrier with plant-zombies. What more could you ask for? Well, a lot, but this was still an alright game.
This review contains spoilers
Gotta say, I don't get the super-high ratings. I've been reading reviews to try and feel out what others were saying, but the game didn't hit me the same way as it seemed to hit others. It's fun, but not without its issues.
The game really shines in its cutscenes, which feel like a big step up in content versus the usual back-and-forth dialogue boxes the second and third games had.
Otherwise visually, it seemed fine -- I really prefer the aesthetic of PSII over PSIV, but to each their own.
Speaking of, music varied from awful to fine for the most part -- the one standout gem for me being the updated version of a particular dungeon track from the first PS game. I did not like the shop tracks at all and Gryz's town music was obnoxious.
I liked the concept of returning to combat in the vehicles that you use throughout the game, but interface aside, it just felt like fights took longer if you weren't using something like N-Sphere (of which you have a limited number of uses). Restoring HP after each fight is fine, but I'd honestly prefer just walking my way to new areas and fighting the monsters that were significantly harder on the ground (this was especially a thing in Dezolis).
Story-wise, I didn't feel like it was a masterful work -- it was a nice conclusion to what was going on in the previous three games and explained a lot of answers to questions that didn't necessarily have to be asked. That's not a bad thing, just a note that they did a good job with deciding to link the games together (though it does feel like PSIII got only the most passing of nods to it).
Actual combat was mostly fine. PSIV still used the "here are some unusual names with no descriptions" idea with their spells, so experimentation or Google are your friends in that instance. The macro system is nice -- I know it's me looking back to dated design at the time, but I wish the macros could have been edited and not just deleted and replaced each time, but I don't hold that against the game design.
Enemies are a mix of stuff from previous games along with some new enemies. Since I'm a sucker for PSII, seeing old familiar enemies like the Locusta line or the Dezo Owl line were a nice touch for me.
I noticed that people said experience came a lot more easily in this game and I don't know if I agree. It still felt like it took forever to level in some instances and in a game where levels are important, the grind felt real to me in a few spots (looking at you, Air Castle!). I didn't run from any fights, but still found myself needing to grind up a couple of times in a really bad way. Previous games had this issue, but I think that because I enjoyed the soundtracks of previous games more (not counting PSIII), the grind never felt as bad in those.
The biggest crime (to me) is the dungeon design. I liked the labyrinthine layouts of the first three games and I didn't mind using a Hinas to peace-out if things got dicey and Ryuka back to town. Those dungeons got replaced by mostly corridor pathing with branches that usually lead to a dead end just a short way up the wrong path.
The first time you hit Valley Maze, you think it's going to be something tricky to navigate, but it's quite literally "walk into a room, grab a chest or note a dead end, walk back and take the other path." And it's about what...four, five rooms of that and you're through the dungeon?
A lot of dungeons have that feel. The first time you reach Zio's Fort and go digging beneath, there's an impression that things are crazy with lots of paths...but most of those paths are just a dead-end a few further steps off-screen or another dead-end with a chest. Sure, there were way more of those than in Valley Maze, but it doesn't change how simple the dungeon structure is for MOST of the areas.
I think it's a fun game, I think the story's pretty good overall (and Chaz gets a lot of character development, even if others are just largely support units), but I'd say of the main series of four games, it's probably the least entertaining one for me. Definitely worth a playthrough for anyone that's remotely interested, though.
The game really shines in its cutscenes, which feel like a big step up in content versus the usual back-and-forth dialogue boxes the second and third games had.
Otherwise visually, it seemed fine -- I really prefer the aesthetic of PSII over PSIV, but to each their own.
Speaking of, music varied from awful to fine for the most part -- the one standout gem for me being the updated version of a particular dungeon track from the first PS game. I did not like the shop tracks at all and Gryz's town music was obnoxious.
I liked the concept of returning to combat in the vehicles that you use throughout the game, but interface aside, it just felt like fights took longer if you weren't using something like N-Sphere (of which you have a limited number of uses). Restoring HP after each fight is fine, but I'd honestly prefer just walking my way to new areas and fighting the monsters that were significantly harder on the ground (this was especially a thing in Dezolis).
Story-wise, I didn't feel like it was a masterful work -- it was a nice conclusion to what was going on in the previous three games and explained a lot of answers to questions that didn't necessarily have to be asked. That's not a bad thing, just a note that they did a good job with deciding to link the games together (though it does feel like PSIII got only the most passing of nods to it).
Actual combat was mostly fine. PSIV still used the "here are some unusual names with no descriptions" idea with their spells, so experimentation or Google are your friends in that instance. The macro system is nice -- I know it's me looking back to dated design at the time, but I wish the macros could have been edited and not just deleted and replaced each time, but I don't hold that against the game design.
Enemies are a mix of stuff from previous games along with some new enemies. Since I'm a sucker for PSII, seeing old familiar enemies like the Locusta line or the Dezo Owl line were a nice touch for me.
I noticed that people said experience came a lot more easily in this game and I don't know if I agree. It still felt like it took forever to level in some instances and in a game where levels are important, the grind felt real to me in a few spots (looking at you, Air Castle!). I didn't run from any fights, but still found myself needing to grind up a couple of times in a really bad way. Previous games had this issue, but I think that because I enjoyed the soundtracks of previous games more (not counting PSIII), the grind never felt as bad in those.
The biggest crime (to me) is the dungeon design. I liked the labyrinthine layouts of the first three games and I didn't mind using a Hinas to peace-out if things got dicey and Ryuka back to town. Those dungeons got replaced by mostly corridor pathing with branches that usually lead to a dead end just a short way up the wrong path.
The first time you hit Valley Maze, you think it's going to be something tricky to navigate, but it's quite literally "walk into a room, grab a chest or note a dead end, walk back and take the other path." And it's about what...four, five rooms of that and you're through the dungeon?
A lot of dungeons have that feel. The first time you reach Zio's Fort and go digging beneath, there's an impression that things are crazy with lots of paths...but most of those paths are just a dead-end a few further steps off-screen or another dead-end with a chest. Sure, there were way more of those than in Valley Maze, but it doesn't change how simple the dungeon structure is for MOST of the areas.
I think it's a fun game, I think the story's pretty good overall (and Chaz gets a lot of character development, even if others are just largely support units), but I'd say of the main series of four games, it's probably the least entertaining one for me. Definitely worth a playthrough for anyone that's remotely interested, though.
1990
One of my favorite FF games in terms of job systems. The last dungeon is ludicrous in terms of difficulty spikes, though. Put me off of finishing the game the first time around and I had to come back sometime later and give it a real go, but it was worth it.