TabletopRPGFan
2018
I'm not really sure where I got the impetus to replay Deltarune from, other than that I wanted a small game I could play over the few days before the release of Persona 3 Reload. I haven't touched Deltarune in two years but I was still able to beat Jevil first try on this playthrough, nice to know I've still got it.
Definitely the weaker of Deltarune's two chapters, but still a lot of fun. Great music, nice character development for Susie, though I think it only really finds its footing after she joins the party properly. Made me remember the release of Chapter 2, back when I still used social media, and all the theories and memes from the fanbase.
Definitely the weaker of Deltarune's two chapters, but still a lot of fun. Great music, nice character development for Susie, though I think it only really finds its footing after she joins the party properly. Made me remember the release of Chapter 2, back when I still used social media, and all the theories and memes from the fanbase.
A pretty interesting visual novel/choice-based narrative game by the same devs as Life is Strange. I liked the Sandman-esque worldbuilding of various different sibling deities representing different concepts and the way it intermingled with the human conflict. Being able to see the consequences of your actions ahead of time was an interesting concept, but it made the pacing struggle a bit compared to something like Stray Gods and how its choices are more integrated with conversations. The music was pretty good too, Lena Raine has never made a bad soundtrack.
2020
This review contains spoilers
As much as I love the Persona franchise, it has not had the best relationship with queerness throughout the games (as much as I like to headcanon various characters), and I think that Persona 4 Golden is the worst at handling queer topics. It gets very close to some good stuff, especially with Kanji and Yosuke and how they could've been really good at reflecting internalised homophobia/biphobia, but the stuff with Naoto was very uncomfortable to play as a trans person, even though I doubt the writers were even thinking about trans people while they were writing Naoto's social link and character arc. I also fucking hate Teddie so, so much. He's not homophobic, he's just really annoying and creepy.
But beyond that, I really like this game, although I think it's my least favourite mainline Persona game. I think the Midnight Channel and the way that the game uses Shadows to reflect insecurities and trauma is really interesting for character development. And I think the characters are great, my personal favourite is Yukiko but I also really like Yosuke because I grew up in a small town and I knew so many kids like him when I was a teenager. The music is also great, I listen to Heartbeat, Heartbreak all the time.
But beyond that, I really like this game, although I think it's my least favourite mainline Persona game. I think the Midnight Channel and the way that the game uses Shadows to reflect insecurities and trauma is really interesting for character development. And I think the characters are great, my personal favourite is Yukiko but I also really like Yosuke because I grew up in a small town and I knew so many kids like him when I was a teenager. The music is also great, I listen to Heartbeat, Heartbreak all the time.
2020
This review contains spoilers
Persona 5 Royal is one of my favourite games so I have a lot to say about its sequel:
I quite enjoyed the story, none of the characters felt like overexaggerated versions of themselves as I've heard has happened in other Persona spinoffs. It was nice to see characters like Yusuke and Haru get their own arcs in focus after being a bit out-of-focus in the first game, and I really liked the new additions of Sophia and Zenkichi. The road trip was really fun. I had some issues though, namely I felt like Hyodo was just a worse retread of Shido from Persona 5 and I didn't really like the revelation that the cops knew the Phantom Thieves identities, seemingly for quite a while, though with how often they talk about being Phantom Thieves in public it's not really a surprise. Other than that, though, I really liked the story. Akira Konoe's Jail was easily my favourite, between its great aesthetics, great music, and my personal favourite of the game's villains. I overall think that the Third Semester from Royal makes for a better conclusion to the Phantom Thieves storyline and personal arcs, but this was a nice little dessert following the delicious feast that is Royal. It's a Persona game, so obviously the music and presentation is great, particularly the music. My favourite songs were Konoe's Jail theme, the Sendai theme, and "Daredevil".
Unfortunately, I was a lot more mixed on the combat. I ended up turning the difficulty down to easy just to carry on with the story and skipped most of the side content. It only really clicked with me during some of the boss fights, particularly the absolutely awesome boss fight against Konoe.
One final thought: the fact that the character Joker dated doesn't carry over created the simultaneously quite funny and quite sad implication that Joker and Makoto broke up between the ending of Royal and the start of this and just never bring up their relationship.
I quite enjoyed the story, none of the characters felt like overexaggerated versions of themselves as I've heard has happened in other Persona spinoffs. It was nice to see characters like Yusuke and Haru get their own arcs in focus after being a bit out-of-focus in the first game, and I really liked the new additions of Sophia and Zenkichi. The road trip was really fun. I had some issues though, namely I felt like Hyodo was just a worse retread of Shido from Persona 5 and I didn't really like the revelation that the cops knew the Phantom Thieves identities, seemingly for quite a while, though with how often they talk about being Phantom Thieves in public it's not really a surprise. Other than that, though, I really liked the story. Akira Konoe's Jail was easily my favourite, between its great aesthetics, great music, and my personal favourite of the game's villains. I overall think that the Third Semester from Royal makes for a better conclusion to the Phantom Thieves storyline and personal arcs, but this was a nice little dessert following the delicious feast that is Royal. It's a Persona game, so obviously the music and presentation is great, particularly the music. My favourite songs were Konoe's Jail theme, the Sendai theme, and "Daredevil".
Unfortunately, I was a lot more mixed on the combat. I ended up turning the difficulty down to easy just to carry on with the story and skipped most of the side content. It only really clicked with me during some of the boss fights, particularly the absolutely awesome boss fight against Konoe.
One final thought: the fact that the character Joker dated doesn't carry over created the simultaneously quite funny and quite sad implication that Joker and Makoto broke up between the ending of Royal and the start of this and just never bring up their relationship.
2023
Yukari Takeba is a lesbian and I wholeheartedly believe that. She's a victim of compulsory heterosexuality and should be able to kiss the Female Protagonist on the lips.
This review contains spoilers
Every so often, you get a game that hooks you straight away. A game that you're thinking about for every moment you're not playing it, and a game that you'll be thinking about for a long time after you've completed it.
For me, I Was a Teenage Exocolonist is one of those games. The writing is incredible. Every loss hit me because the characters felt so real, and the way that choices interlink to create your own unique narrative is incredible. By the end of the game, my ending and the choices I made felt like the consequences of my actions paid off. And because I cared about the characters, all of my decisions, how I chose to spend each month, felt so tense and terrifying as the game progressed and the stakes got higher.
Also, I love the trans representation in this game. I liked the games fluid approach to gender and how you can change your expression, identity, and name whenever you feel like, even if I never used the feature (I played a girl the whole time). I also loved the trans characters in the game itself, especially Tangent, and how her transness is an important part of her identity and arc without focusing on cliched transition-related angst. There's a scene in the medbay between her and Utopia, another trans woman, that nearly made me cry.
In short, I Was a Teenage Exocolonist, is a game I loved, I highly recommend, and I will probably be thinking about for a very long time. It's probably not for everyone, but it was for me, and at the end of the day that's all that matters.
For me, I Was a Teenage Exocolonist is one of those games. The writing is incredible. Every loss hit me because the characters felt so real, and the way that choices interlink to create your own unique narrative is incredible. By the end of the game, my ending and the choices I made felt like the consequences of my actions paid off. And because I cared about the characters, all of my decisions, how I chose to spend each month, felt so tense and terrifying as the game progressed and the stakes got higher.
Also, I love the trans representation in this game. I liked the games fluid approach to gender and how you can change your expression, identity, and name whenever you feel like, even if I never used the feature (I played a girl the whole time). I also loved the trans characters in the game itself, especially Tangent, and how her transness is an important part of her identity and arc without focusing on cliched transition-related angst. There's a scene in the medbay between her and Utopia, another trans woman, that nearly made me cry.
In short, I Was a Teenage Exocolonist, is a game I loved, I highly recommend, and I will probably be thinking about for a very long time. It's probably not for everyone, but it was for me, and at the end of the day that's all that matters.