8 reviews liked by Stabino
Horizon Zero Dawn
2017
8/10
My thoughts on this game are complicated. On one side, I loved it, it did live up to the fantasy, but on another, I was disappointed in how much greater the game could've been. My main gripe with this game isn't even the QoL stuff that comes with the needlessly tedious RPG mechanics; no, rather my problem is actually the story. I won't spoil the game but it's a waste that the plot focuses so much on the ancient history of this world, one that is completely boring and drab, instead of the rich culture of the techno-theist tribes of the game's contemporary setting. There were so many places the game's story could've gone and it chose the most unoriginal which is unbelievable considering the rest of the conceptualization behind this game. I still loved Horizon but the story definitely didn't live up to my expectation. Aside from the story though, the art direction and gameplay are top-tier, definitely best in class especially for the time it came out. There is more to visual presentation than pure graphical fidelity and Horizon is a prime example of this with its dichotomy of horribly lip-synced dialogue yet absolutely captivating and beautiful vistas of wildlife flora and fauna. I would still absolutely recommend this game to anyone today as it's a world worth experiencing.
My thoughts on this game are complicated. On one side, I loved it, it did live up to the fantasy, but on another, I was disappointed in how much greater the game could've been. My main gripe with this game isn't even the QoL stuff that comes with the needlessly tedious RPG mechanics; no, rather my problem is actually the story. I won't spoil the game but it's a waste that the plot focuses so much on the ancient history of this world, one that is completely boring and drab, instead of the rich culture of the techno-theist tribes of the game's contemporary setting. There were so many places the game's story could've gone and it chose the most unoriginal which is unbelievable considering the rest of the conceptualization behind this game. I still loved Horizon but the story definitely didn't live up to my expectation. Aside from the story though, the art direction and gameplay are top-tier, definitely best in class especially for the time it came out. There is more to visual presentation than pure graphical fidelity and Horizon is a prime example of this with its dichotomy of horribly lip-synced dialogue yet absolutely captivating and beautiful vistas of wildlife flora and fauna. I would still absolutely recommend this game to anyone today as it's a world worth experiencing.
Chrono Trigger
2008
I went into this game with insane expectations.
It's easily one of the most renowned games of all time. And being on the internet during an era in which the generation that grew up with this game dominated most video game discussions; it always came back to Chrono Trigger. It was the crown jewel of the genre by a longshot.
And I finally played and beat it earlier this year and... yeah. It's nearly a masterpiece.
It just does so much right and little to nothing wrong.
The combat is engaging, the story is fun and interesting, the characters are lovable, as well as being all equally useful, they have multiple endings, optional bosses, a perfectly sized world that is easy to traverse, challenging bosses that never feel like damage sponges but closer to a clever puzzle to figure out, there are plenty of ways to build your team and utilize their unique teamup abilites, the soundtrack is easily one of the best of the era, the pixel are is beyond gorgeous, and the list honestly could keep going. There were a few aimless moments in the game. But thats basically a none issue, because they have a pretty good "hint giving character" to keep you on track.
I think the most surprising element that I took away from the expierence was the pacing.
It's just so immaculate. It's fastpaced, especially for a JRPG. But despite that all of the moments felt personal and savored. I think this was just square at its height. A team of developers who had spent the last decade perfecting the craft of the 2D RPG. And this is the fruits of all of the labor.
I'm very glad I finally played it. A lot of surprises in a game so legendary and old.
Who'da'thunk?
It's easily one of the most renowned games of all time. And being on the internet during an era in which the generation that grew up with this game dominated most video game discussions; it always came back to Chrono Trigger. It was the crown jewel of the genre by a longshot.
And I finally played and beat it earlier this year and... yeah. It's nearly a masterpiece.
It just does so much right and little to nothing wrong.
The combat is engaging, the story is fun and interesting, the characters are lovable, as well as being all equally useful, they have multiple endings, optional bosses, a perfectly sized world that is easy to traverse, challenging bosses that never feel like damage sponges but closer to a clever puzzle to figure out, there are plenty of ways to build your team and utilize their unique teamup abilites, the soundtrack is easily one of the best of the era, the pixel are is beyond gorgeous, and the list honestly could keep going. There were a few aimless moments in the game. But thats basically a none issue, because they have a pretty good "hint giving character" to keep you on track.
I think the most surprising element that I took away from the expierence was the pacing.
It's just so immaculate. It's fastpaced, especially for a JRPG. But despite that all of the moments felt personal and savored. I think this was just square at its height. A team of developers who had spent the last decade perfecting the craft of the 2D RPG. And this is the fruits of all of the labor.
I'm very glad I finally played it. A lot of surprises in a game so legendary and old.
Who'da'thunk?
Contra
1988
The gold standard for NES run and guns, Contra is a near-perfect game. The one flaw on its mirror sheen is the overly strict number of lives given to the player, but fortunately the game features a cheat code which fixes this and makes it a very enjoyable experience.
Final Fantasy XVI
2023
An entry that will truly divide its Fanbase
There is no denying that this entry into the Final Fantasy world has been highly controversial due to its tone shift. Truly changing the typical FF formula with a more mature rated story fans have been divided about this game since its demo. It is really interesting seeing both sides because I have yet to see a middle with this game. People have either truly loved the game or truly despise the game raving how this isn't an FF game at all. In the end however, this game worked for me VERY well as I absolutely adore this game even with its flaws.
Story
Our first stop takes us to the story of FF16 which of course I won't be getting to deep into for spoiler sakes. The lore is DEEP and rich in FF16 and will give fans a lot to talk and speculate about as time goes on. Furthermore given the controversy surrounding the game it is no surprise that yes this is a very dark and grim story. For example I can't really remember laughing much throughout the game besides a few chuckles every now and then when specific characters interacted. This can be an issue for some people as an overly serious story could be draining but by the end I found it to be amazing even given its constant serious tone. In the end I was absolutely floored by the story from the start all the way to its amazing ending even with the few hiccups along the way. Watching Clive grow more with the story was just beautiful to watch, his character was amazing to follow. One aspect I was taken away by was how deep the side stories get to the point where I almost say its a must to do side quests. You learn so much about the characters and very important details about the game through these side quests breathing new life into every main character you come across. Lastly the active time lore should NOT be overlooked and quite honestly is amazing and should be a standard for RPG stories moving forward. If you ever feel lost or don't remember what happened at anytime you can pull up a screen that will give you details on what is currently going on and the important characters during that part. I can't stress how amazing this feature is as it can get you up to speed on story in the matter of a few buttons.
Characters
Well it only makes sense to get into the characters now.... right?. Simply put, the cast in the game is phenomenal and insanely loveable from main characters to even side ones like goetz. You will really grow attached to everyone by the end of the story and even more so if you play the side quests for everyone. However, this brings me into my first issue with this game which is how certain characters are handled. It is no surprise that with a game as deep and rich lore wise there are bound to be some characters who were handled poorly and luckily I only found 2 cases. That being said there are an insane amount of standout characters such as Dion, Gav, Mid and of course Clive.
Gameplay
Oh boy are you in for a damn good time with the combat of FF16. To begin with, Yeah this is very much not a typical FF turn based game this is an action game. Furthermore the game has a deep level of combat if you want to take it to that level but can be played very casual if you choose to do so. In the beginning of the game the combat is pretty limited skill wise but as you progress the gameplay opens up to insane levels. Being able to swap between 3 elemental skill sets during battle, the amount of mixing and comboing you can do is insanely high and will keep you engaged all the way through. A truly amazing combat was cooked up with FF16 SE really outdid themselves with this entry. If you like DMC you will love this game.
Difficulty
This can be a tricky one as I believe difficulty to really be a by the person thing. You might consider this game hard , you might consider this game easy it really depends on the player itself. As for me I found the game to be way to easy making me wish the hardest difficulty was unlocked from the start. Some bosses can give you a challenge but for the vast majority of the game issues were never an occurring thing for me.
RPG elements
Given the fact this is an action game I was still bummed that the RPG elements were pretty bland. To start there are NO elemental buffs, debuff, Special skills. As an example this game has tiered weapons in the form of colors starting from green and going all the way up to Yellow. This is quite simply a useless system and weapons do not feel any different from one another apart from looking different and having higher attack. It makes for a unexciting process of acquiring new weapons , armor as you will never feel the difference, its all numbers. I really wish they implemented higher tier armor , weapons to get special stat bonuses or maybe make you resistance to specific elements. Finally there are Accessories as well ranging from typical "potions heal more" to ones that will give you attack bonuses on specific skills that you may like to use. Overall I wasn't to pleased with this aspect of the game it really left a lot to be desired BUT it doesn't ruin the game in anyway for me. One last thing, GIL felt insanely useless in this game as I only ever used GIL to buy music or potions to heal.
OST and bosses
Decided to combine both of these since they go hand to hand. What I mean by this is yes the OST is amazing but my lord the boss OSTs are AMAZING. Never once did a song disappoint me I was always jamming or getting insanely hype during boss fights. On the subject of boss fights they are all amazingly well done and fun to fight not much else to talk about bosses.
Graphics
Final Fantasy 16 looks beautiful and will consistently keep your eyes glued looking at the world. It's amazing how the game can transfer from gameplay to cutscene and still manage to look the same. In addition the characters look great apart from some random NPCs which I was not a fan of design wise.
Welp time to ramble about other parts of the game
In addition to everything stated above I will use this part to talk about the smaller details that don't really need a whole section. To begin, the performance honestly wasn't the greatest sometimes seeing dips into the mid 50s. It's crazy to think about how the PS5 software is already being pushed to this degree. In this case I didn't mind it to much it didn't plague the experience that much but it will for sure be noticeable when FPS drops happen. Furthermore on the more nitpicky side I didn't like how the main stages had no mini map. This isn't the biggest issue but my OCD grew not being able to pull up a mini map even if the stages are a linear path LOL. Of course for the big open exploring maps you will have a map to look at. In addition why does QTEs exist in the game? yes they are only for big bosses but why? its pointless and takes away from moments. I would rather sit and watch the epic part happens versus spamming square or pressing R1 I just don't like it.
For now I think I am going to leave it at this and maybe add more as I do my 2nd playthrough on the hardest difficulty. In the end FF16 is a fantastic game despite its few flaws which really don't ruin the game a whole lot. From the gameplay to its story , characters , world and graphics this game has it all and will keep you busy for awhile if you 100% games.
Highly recommend it !
There is no denying that this entry into the Final Fantasy world has been highly controversial due to its tone shift. Truly changing the typical FF formula with a more mature rated story fans have been divided about this game since its demo. It is really interesting seeing both sides because I have yet to see a middle with this game. People have either truly loved the game or truly despise the game raving how this isn't an FF game at all. In the end however, this game worked for me VERY well as I absolutely adore this game even with its flaws.
Story
Our first stop takes us to the story of FF16 which of course I won't be getting to deep into for spoiler sakes. The lore is DEEP and rich in FF16 and will give fans a lot to talk and speculate about as time goes on. Furthermore given the controversy surrounding the game it is no surprise that yes this is a very dark and grim story. For example I can't really remember laughing much throughout the game besides a few chuckles every now and then when specific characters interacted. This can be an issue for some people as an overly serious story could be draining but by the end I found it to be amazing even given its constant serious tone. In the end I was absolutely floored by the story from the start all the way to its amazing ending even with the few hiccups along the way. Watching Clive grow more with the story was just beautiful to watch, his character was amazing to follow. One aspect I was taken away by was how deep the side stories get to the point where I almost say its a must to do side quests. You learn so much about the characters and very important details about the game through these side quests breathing new life into every main character you come across. Lastly the active time lore should NOT be overlooked and quite honestly is amazing and should be a standard for RPG stories moving forward. If you ever feel lost or don't remember what happened at anytime you can pull up a screen that will give you details on what is currently going on and the important characters during that part. I can't stress how amazing this feature is as it can get you up to speed on story in the matter of a few buttons.
Characters
Well it only makes sense to get into the characters now.... right?. Simply put, the cast in the game is phenomenal and insanely loveable from main characters to even side ones like goetz. You will really grow attached to everyone by the end of the story and even more so if you play the side quests for everyone. However, this brings me into my first issue with this game which is how certain characters are handled. It is no surprise that with a game as deep and rich lore wise there are bound to be some characters who were handled poorly and luckily I only found 2 cases. That being said there are an insane amount of standout characters such as Dion, Gav, Mid and of course Clive.
Gameplay
Oh boy are you in for a damn good time with the combat of FF16. To begin with, Yeah this is very much not a typical FF turn based game this is an action game. Furthermore the game has a deep level of combat if you want to take it to that level but can be played very casual if you choose to do so. In the beginning of the game the combat is pretty limited skill wise but as you progress the gameplay opens up to insane levels. Being able to swap between 3 elemental skill sets during battle, the amount of mixing and comboing you can do is insanely high and will keep you engaged all the way through. A truly amazing combat was cooked up with FF16 SE really outdid themselves with this entry. If you like DMC you will love this game.
Difficulty
This can be a tricky one as I believe difficulty to really be a by the person thing. You might consider this game hard , you might consider this game easy it really depends on the player itself. As for me I found the game to be way to easy making me wish the hardest difficulty was unlocked from the start. Some bosses can give you a challenge but for the vast majority of the game issues were never an occurring thing for me.
RPG elements
Given the fact this is an action game I was still bummed that the RPG elements were pretty bland. To start there are NO elemental buffs, debuff, Special skills. As an example this game has tiered weapons in the form of colors starting from green and going all the way up to Yellow. This is quite simply a useless system and weapons do not feel any different from one another apart from looking different and having higher attack. It makes for a unexciting process of acquiring new weapons , armor as you will never feel the difference, its all numbers. I really wish they implemented higher tier armor , weapons to get special stat bonuses or maybe make you resistance to specific elements. Finally there are Accessories as well ranging from typical "potions heal more" to ones that will give you attack bonuses on specific skills that you may like to use. Overall I wasn't to pleased with this aspect of the game it really left a lot to be desired BUT it doesn't ruin the game in anyway for me. One last thing, GIL felt insanely useless in this game as I only ever used GIL to buy music or potions to heal.
OST and bosses
Decided to combine both of these since they go hand to hand. What I mean by this is yes the OST is amazing but my lord the boss OSTs are AMAZING. Never once did a song disappoint me I was always jamming or getting insanely hype during boss fights. On the subject of boss fights they are all amazingly well done and fun to fight not much else to talk about bosses.
Graphics
Final Fantasy 16 looks beautiful and will consistently keep your eyes glued looking at the world. It's amazing how the game can transfer from gameplay to cutscene and still manage to look the same. In addition the characters look great apart from some random NPCs which I was not a fan of design wise.
Welp time to ramble about other parts of the game
In addition to everything stated above I will use this part to talk about the smaller details that don't really need a whole section. To begin, the performance honestly wasn't the greatest sometimes seeing dips into the mid 50s. It's crazy to think about how the PS5 software is already being pushed to this degree. In this case I didn't mind it to much it didn't plague the experience that much but it will for sure be noticeable when FPS drops happen. Furthermore on the more nitpicky side I didn't like how the main stages had no mini map. This isn't the biggest issue but my OCD grew not being able to pull up a mini map even if the stages are a linear path LOL. Of course for the big open exploring maps you will have a map to look at. In addition why does QTEs exist in the game? yes they are only for big bosses but why? its pointless and takes away from moments. I would rather sit and watch the epic part happens versus spamming square or pressing R1 I just don't like it.
For now I think I am going to leave it at this and maybe add more as I do my 2nd playthrough on the hardest difficulty. In the end FF16 is a fantastic game despite its few flaws which really don't ruin the game a whole lot. From the gameplay to its story , characters , world and graphics this game has it all and will keep you busy for awhile if you 100% games.
Highly recommend it !
Final Fantasy XVI
2023
Final Fantasy XVI definitely exceeded my expectations and I couldn't be happier about it. I like how the game falsely leads you to believe it's going to be yet another revenge narrative but it swerves into oppression and revolution after they solve that issue. Some people might be disappointed if they go in expecting a complex political thriller, but what we get instead is a compelling narrative revolving around destroying a divine foundation and return mankind its freedom.
I also really like what they did with Clive. He is actually not half as edgy or bloodthirsty as I expected him to be. He never dives into blind murder territory, so excellent choice. Sadly, the same cannot be said about Jill. Don't get me wrong, I like her and was really hype for her after her arc, because I feel we learn why she was so muted before and placed priority on Clive's emotional needs over her own. But after her revenge they slipped her back into the role of Clive's love interest and echo of kindness. I hoped to see her be more of her own character than Clive's emotional crutch, so I'm bummed they didn't deliver on Jill's potential. Seeing strong female characters reduced to that is just a waste and a huge pet peeve of mine.
But overall, I'm glad I got to experience a highly immersive, mature and dark Final Fantasy game filled with phenomenal visuals, stunning cinematics, an immaculate soundtrack and a simplified but fun DMC like action gameplay featuring epic Eikon fights. You could tell the developers really cared about making this game great, which they did.
On a sidenote, it's interesting to see people try to define what a "true Final Fantasy" game is, because I feel like it's a franchise that has recreated itself on multiple occasions. There are some common threads of course, but gameplay style, plot style, etc. seem to always have morphed.
I also really like what they did with Clive. He is actually not half as edgy or bloodthirsty as I expected him to be. He never dives into blind murder territory, so excellent choice. Sadly, the same cannot be said about Jill. Don't get me wrong, I like her and was really hype for her after her arc, because I feel we learn why she was so muted before and placed priority on Clive's emotional needs over her own. But after her revenge they slipped her back into the role of Clive's love interest and echo of kindness. I hoped to see her be more of her own character than Clive's emotional crutch, so I'm bummed they didn't deliver on Jill's potential. Seeing strong female characters reduced to that is just a waste and a huge pet peeve of mine.
But overall, I'm glad I got to experience a highly immersive, mature and dark Final Fantasy game filled with phenomenal visuals, stunning cinematics, an immaculate soundtrack and a simplified but fun DMC like action gameplay featuring epic Eikon fights. You could tell the developers really cared about making this game great, which they did.
On a sidenote, it's interesting to see people try to define what a "true Final Fantasy" game is, because I feel like it's a franchise that has recreated itself on multiple occasions. There are some common threads of course, but gameplay style, plot style, etc. seem to always have morphed.
Tales of Arise
2021
My first Tales of game and a very solid experience overall! Minus the plot dragging itself out a lot towards the end, I loved the fluidity of the combat, the excellent music and the strong relationships between the characters.
On an unrelated note, I would die for Hootle.
On an unrelated note, I would die for Hootle.
Tales of Arise
2021
Maybe every JRPG just reminds me of Fire Emblem: Radiant Dawn, I don't know (I mentioned it in my Final Fantasy XVI review as well), but I kept thinking of the Order vs. Chaos theme of that game and some of the truths that are revealed about the structure of society on Tellius. I obviously do not want to spoil that game here so I won't go into it, but Tales of Arise deals with a lot of very similar themes. Just found that interesting.
Anyway, I enjoyed this game. I liked the cast, I liked exploring the world, I liked the music, I liked the combat, I liked basically everything. The story is Fine and serves its purpose in terms of getting you from point A to point B -- I think there's genuinely good pieces within the story, but as a whole, it's just okay, standard JRPG fare. Not much else to say!
Anyway, I enjoyed this game. I liked the cast, I liked exploring the world, I liked the music, I liked the combat, I liked basically everything. The story is Fine and serves its purpose in terms of getting you from point A to point B -- I think there's genuinely good pieces within the story, but as a whole, it's just okay, standard JRPG fare. Not much else to say!
Mass Effect 3
2021
A really solid shooter that ultimately buckles under the weight of its predecessors' lofty ideas. Mass Effect 3 commits itself to explaining just about everything you wanted to know about this series, perhaps to its detriment, as giving answers to questions that felt like they were never intended to have ones invariably results in disappointment.
Even putting aside the issue of the ending, I think my biggest complaint would be the lack of care taken in some of Mass Effect 3's character writing. It's a real mixed bag here, with some of your companions getting strong send-offs that carry on naturally from where their stories previously ended (like Mordin and Jack) while others did little but retread existing motivations (looking at you Miranda and Samara). It's also apparent that the writers of ME3 had no idea what to do with some of the choices your character was forced to make in prior games, resulting in decisions that previously felt weighty being reduced down to little more than side missions to increase the number on a computer.
That all said, I did appreciate the bigger picture being painted here, with Commander Shepard being forced into the difficult task of having to repair the wounds of galactic civilization and unite the collective species of the galaxy together as they put aside their differences and fight the larger threat. I think my enjoyment of that comes primarily because that story is almost beat-for-beat copied from the 90's CGI show Shadow Raiders/War Planets, a cartoon no one but me or (apparently) the people at BioWare watched. Hey, it's a great premise, and I genuinely hope they were inspired by it in some shape or form.
RIP to all those people I got killed over the course of my playthrough, except the Quarians, because you guys kind of had it coming.
Even putting aside the issue of the ending, I think my biggest complaint would be the lack of care taken in some of Mass Effect 3's character writing. It's a real mixed bag here, with some of your companions getting strong send-offs that carry on naturally from where their stories previously ended (like Mordin and Jack) while others did little but retread existing motivations (looking at you Miranda and Samara). It's also apparent that the writers of ME3 had no idea what to do with some of the choices your character was forced to make in prior games, resulting in decisions that previously felt weighty being reduced down to little more than side missions to increase the number on a computer.
That all said, I did appreciate the bigger picture being painted here, with Commander Shepard being forced into the difficult task of having to repair the wounds of galactic civilization and unite the collective species of the galaxy together as they put aside their differences and fight the larger threat. I think my enjoyment of that comes primarily because that story is almost beat-for-beat copied from the 90's CGI show Shadow Raiders/War Planets, a cartoon no one but me or (apparently) the people at BioWare watched. Hey, it's a great premise, and I genuinely hope they were inspired by it in some shape or form.
RIP to all those people I got killed over the course of my playthrough, except the Quarians, because you guys kind of had it coming.