TheOlorunSpawn01
2011
Fortune Street is simply Monopoly on Wii with a Mario and Dragon Quest skin. It's a fun game, though trying to unlock everything will become a chore. Game is at its most fun with friends, though the game themselves will be long. Only put on retired because I also have many other games to play and beat.
2019
*Played the game three times. First two times on Switch, with the third on PS5.
Ys IX is yet a solid game in the series, despite how different it in comparison to other games. The game has a lot of things going for it. The location is set around the Prison City of Balduq where Adol is forced to be around the city for most of the game. It also is the last Ys game (as of May 2024) in the timeline and thus the story does play around the fact that it is the furthest game in the timeline. Either way, the game is still fantastic for several reasons.
For the positives, the combat of the three - party system is the most smooth with the Monstrum's Gifts really adding that the sprinkles that already made the combat great. Balduq as a setting is really interesting and thanks to Falcom's worldbuilding, the game made me care for Balduq and its people. Combined with the new Monstrum Gifts, Balduq (as well as areas around the city) is a pretty fun setting to explore (once those barriers are out of the way). Speaking of people, all the Monstrums as well as the side-characters are well - done as the Monstrums all get individual chapters to flesh them out while all the side-characters have deep connections to Balduq which makes them all more interesting than then side-characters from Ys VIII. The story, despite being the antithesis of Ys, was still told well with some really good foreshadows and mysteries that enticed me to continue playing.
Now for the negatives. OST is pretty weak in comparison to the last few Ys games, though there are still bangers within the collection. The barriers block areas around Balduq, thus the first few hours is pretty slow and uneventful in terms of movement. Despite the setting of Balduq being great, the dungeon designs had to suffer due to being restricted to Balduq Prison and thus they are pretty bland. Finally (and probably just being nitpicky), I wished the game had more voiced lines as the VA's for the cast were great.
Overall, despite the game being drastically different from the rest of the series, Ys IX is still a great game that really acknowledges the past games well. To truly enjoy the story at maximum, play all other Ys games before this one. If you don't have the means to play the other games or if you just don't care to go back, then Ys IX is still a pretty enjoyable game to enjoy. Last note, don't bother to play the Switch version due to the bad lighting and laggy performances.
Ys IX is yet a solid game in the series, despite how different it in comparison to other games. The game has a lot of things going for it. The location is set around the Prison City of Balduq where Adol is forced to be around the city for most of the game. It also is the last Ys game (as of May 2024) in the timeline and thus the story does play around the fact that it is the furthest game in the timeline. Either way, the game is still fantastic for several reasons.
For the positives, the combat of the three - party system is the most smooth with the Monstrum's Gifts really adding that the sprinkles that already made the combat great. Balduq as a setting is really interesting and thanks to Falcom's worldbuilding, the game made me care for Balduq and its people. Combined with the new Monstrum Gifts, Balduq (as well as areas around the city) is a pretty fun setting to explore (once those barriers are out of the way). Speaking of people, all the Monstrums as well as the side-characters are well - done as the Monstrums all get individual chapters to flesh them out while all the side-characters have deep connections to Balduq which makes them all more interesting than then side-characters from Ys VIII. The story, despite being the antithesis of Ys, was still told well with some really good foreshadows and mysteries that enticed me to continue playing.
Now for the negatives. OST is pretty weak in comparison to the last few Ys games, though there are still bangers within the collection. The barriers block areas around Balduq, thus the first few hours is pretty slow and uneventful in terms of movement. Despite the setting of Balduq being great, the dungeon designs had to suffer due to being restricted to Balduq Prison and thus they are pretty bland. Finally (and probably just being nitpicky), I wished the game had more voiced lines as the VA's for the cast were great.
Overall, despite the game being drastically different from the rest of the series, Ys IX is still a great game that really acknowledges the past games well. To truly enjoy the story at maximum, play all other Ys games before this one. If you don't have the means to play the other games or if you just don't care to go back, then Ys IX is still a pretty enjoyable game to enjoy. Last note, don't bother to play the Switch version due to the bad lighting and laggy performances.
Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon and the Blade of Light (of FE1 for short) is the definite victim of first-game syndrome. The basics of the core Fire Emblem experience is here: the grid-based movement, combat by initiation, permadeath, varied maps, a tons of units to use, and the ever-so-lovable enemy ai and all their jank. Despite the important foundation for the series's future success, FE1 is a game I don't want to recommend to really anyone. The game is so slow and even with the Switch version's built in speed up, it is still slow. Item management is cumbersome and trading takes up an action of a turn. The battle animations - while oddly charming, drags the already slow game down. The characters and npcs portraits are ugly (though funny to look at) and the music is charming, but repetitive. Overall, the game is simply bad, even by NES standards of first games. Thankfully, this game was remade through FE3 Book 1 and Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon on DS so if want to see the events of the War of Shadows, go play those instead. I don't recommend ever playing this game and only bother to play the game if you value the historical impact of this game. While I do still value this game for ultimately creating one of my favorite series, I don't value it for how bad it plays now.
2003
Pokémon Colosseum is an interesting game that has a lot going for it. This is the third game to be fully 3-D behind Pokémon Stadium 1 and 2 and the first of two games to fully force the player to play double battles as well as explore the Orre Region and the concept of Shadow Pokémon.
First, the positives. The tone of the game is really damn unique with how the characters design and the setting looks. It's so grimy and rustic, yet its still charming which helps stand the Orre Region out from other games. The forced use of double battles makes the battle more dynamic and tense since there is a lot more options and strategies to think of. The 3-D animations are still great though the looks of some of Pokémon do look blocky due to gen 1 and 2 models being ported over from the Stadium games. Music is straight up complete banger with all the songs being catchy, yet cool at the same time. Finally, I like the idea of restricting Pokémon to force players to use other Pokémon they would never use in another game. It makes building a team a lot more meaningful.
However, there are a few negatives that really do drag the game down. First, while I said I like the game was pretty restricted, the actual choices of Shadow Pokémon available are kind of a mixbag. Some a good to great, some are dogwater, and some are really great, but you get them way too late in the journey. It's probably my preference to how I perceive specific Pokémon, but I felt the choices were lacking due to the amount of the Shadow Pokémon being filled with a lot of Gen 2 mons. Second, the story kind of hypes itself up way too much in the opening to the point people have an inflated perception of the game's story. Make no mistake, it still is a Pokémon game where you still stop an evil organization - just without the gym badges nor the goal of becoming Champion. Third, the process of stealing Shadow Pokémon is cool, but the process to catching them while not accidentally defeating them is a pain to deal with. It doesn't help that some Shadows only have one chance to show up in the game. Finally, my biggest gripe of the game is the bad level scaling between generic enemy trainers and the Cypher Boss Admins, and the final boss. While the generic trainers are manageable, the Cypher Admins and the final boss are way too drastic difficulty spikes to the point of needing to really grind to actually enjoy them as a challenge. Since there is no random encounters, you either need to refight some weak trainers or train in Mt. Battle, which are still going to be pace killers. If it wasn't for the bad level scaling in difficult, the game would probably be about 15 hours at bare minimum and I would've been more gracious with it. However, the excessive amounts of grinding killed the pacing the game and thus ruin what could've been a pretty amazing game.
Despite my problems with the difficulty curve, I still enjoyed the game and its many unique features. I do think it's a bit too overrated though the ideas from this game still could be used for any future games when GameFreak decides to come back to it. Otherwise, solid game that is ultimately hurt by the level curve and the pacing of excessive grinding. 3.5/5.
First, the positives. The tone of the game is really damn unique with how the characters design and the setting looks. It's so grimy and rustic, yet its still charming which helps stand the Orre Region out from other games. The forced use of double battles makes the battle more dynamic and tense since there is a lot more options and strategies to think of. The 3-D animations are still great though the looks of some of Pokémon do look blocky due to gen 1 and 2 models being ported over from the Stadium games. Music is straight up complete banger with all the songs being catchy, yet cool at the same time. Finally, I like the idea of restricting Pokémon to force players to use other Pokémon they would never use in another game. It makes building a team a lot more meaningful.
However, there are a few negatives that really do drag the game down. First, while I said I like the game was pretty restricted, the actual choices of Shadow Pokémon available are kind of a mixbag. Some a good to great, some are dogwater, and some are really great, but you get them way too late in the journey. It's probably my preference to how I perceive specific Pokémon, but I felt the choices were lacking due to the amount of the Shadow Pokémon being filled with a lot of Gen 2 mons. Second, the story kind of hypes itself up way too much in the opening to the point people have an inflated perception of the game's story. Make no mistake, it still is a Pokémon game where you still stop an evil organization - just without the gym badges nor the goal of becoming Champion. Third, the process of stealing Shadow Pokémon is cool, but the process to catching them while not accidentally defeating them is a pain to deal with. It doesn't help that some Shadows only have one chance to show up in the game. Finally, my biggest gripe of the game is the bad level scaling between generic enemy trainers and the Cypher Boss Admins, and the final boss. While the generic trainers are manageable, the Cypher Admins and the final boss are way too drastic difficulty spikes to the point of needing to really grind to actually enjoy them as a challenge. Since there is no random encounters, you either need to refight some weak trainers or train in Mt. Battle, which are still going to be pace killers. If it wasn't for the bad level scaling in difficult, the game would probably be about 15 hours at bare minimum and I would've been more gracious with it. However, the excessive amounts of grinding killed the pacing the game and thus ruin what could've been a pretty amazing game.
Despite my problems with the difficulty curve, I still enjoyed the game and its many unique features. I do think it's a bit too overrated though the ideas from this game still could be used for any future games when GameFreak decides to come back to it. Otherwise, solid game that is ultimately hurt by the level curve and the pacing of excessive grinding. 3.5/5.
*Played Trails from Zero twice back in 2023 (first on PS4 then on Switch). Now making a review of it since it's still fresh in my mind and I just finished the Liberl arc not long ago in 2024.
Trails From Zero (or Zero for simple sakes) is a solid game through and the second Trails game I ever played.
As the start of a new arc known as the Crossbell arc, Zero had the job to establish a new cast of characters as well as develop the city-state of Crossbell as a setting. From the two playthroughs I did, I can confidently say it did it's job well as I loved the settings of Crossbell in general and the new cast of characters from the Special Support Section (SSS). The main cast of characters were fun to watch as the game greatly builds on their dynamic with each other over the course of the game. It doesn't help that the amazing jp voices from the Evo version elevated them into some of my favorite characters (ex. Randy and Tio). Crossbell, while small in comparison to Liberl, is still a rich setting filled with some of the best named NPCS in the series. Due to the settings contained in one city with a few small towns, bases, and a hospital, the stories of the named NPCs develop through out the whole game and it makes me care for them more than Liberl NPCs due to the smaller setting.
The story is pretty good for what it is, even if its pretty small in context to the larger narrative of the series. However, I do like the fact the story is really self - contained with a start and an end that doesn't force the direct sequel baiting that most other Trails kind of fall into.
As for gameplay, it still follow the quartz system from the Sky games, though there are minor modifications such as changing some specific spells into a different element or adding new spells all together. The battles are still the same from the Sky games, though you are mostly sticking with the four SSS members for most the game. You do get the usual extra characters, though they are only temporary.
Finally, music is simply excellent whichs make walking through Crossbell a joy and battles pretty hype.
As for the negatives, the game starts off slow though thankfully not as slow as Sky FC. There is unfortunately no English voice acting though I could understand the fact that trying to record it would delayed the game and thus delayed future Trails games that need to be localized. Finally, the PC and Switch ports invalidate the PS4 version due to the simple fact that there are no chat logs to check.
Other than those nitpicks, Trails from Zero is just a pretty great game in general and a solid start of the Crossbell game. And shouts out for the Geofront Team for making this happen! 4.5/5.
Trails From Zero (or Zero for simple sakes) is a solid game through and the second Trails game I ever played.
As the start of a new arc known as the Crossbell arc, Zero had the job to establish a new cast of characters as well as develop the city-state of Crossbell as a setting. From the two playthroughs I did, I can confidently say it did it's job well as I loved the settings of Crossbell in general and the new cast of characters from the Special Support Section (SSS). The main cast of characters were fun to watch as the game greatly builds on their dynamic with each other over the course of the game. It doesn't help that the amazing jp voices from the Evo version elevated them into some of my favorite characters (ex. Randy and Tio). Crossbell, while small in comparison to Liberl, is still a rich setting filled with some of the best named NPCS in the series. Due to the settings contained in one city with a few small towns, bases, and a hospital, the stories of the named NPCs develop through out the whole game and it makes me care for them more than Liberl NPCs due to the smaller setting.
The story is pretty good for what it is, even if its pretty small in context to the larger narrative of the series. However, I do like the fact the story is really self - contained with a start and an end that doesn't force the direct sequel baiting that most other Trails kind of fall into.
As for gameplay, it still follow the quartz system from the Sky games, though there are minor modifications such as changing some specific spells into a different element or adding new spells all together. The battles are still the same from the Sky games, though you are mostly sticking with the four SSS members for most the game. You do get the usual extra characters, though they are only temporary.
Finally, music is simply excellent whichs make walking through Crossbell a joy and battles pretty hype.
As for the negatives, the game starts off slow though thankfully not as slow as Sky FC. There is unfortunately no English voice acting though I could understand the fact that trying to record it would delayed the game and thus delayed future Trails games that need to be localized. Finally, the PC and Switch ports invalidate the PS4 version due to the simple fact that there are no chat logs to check.
Other than those nitpicks, Trails from Zero is just a pretty great game in general and a solid start of the Crossbell game. And shouts out for the Geofront Team for making this happen! 4.5/5.
Trails in the Sky the 3rd is easily my favorite of the Liberl Arc. Yes, the game is not the conventional Trails game since its more of a dungeon crawler rather than exploring a nation with a grand story and full of named NPCs. Despite it being different, Sky the 3rd still is an amazing game in its own right. The gameplay is still solid, with the big thing being you can basically use a lot of the major characters from the first Sky games and use them in anyway you want. The dungeons (or Corridors) were fun to do and raising a team of about 16 playable character is easy due to level experience gains being easy for low - level characters. The biggest things to note about the game is specific - colored doors in which there are three - Moon, Star, and Sun Doors. While Sun Doors are simply minigames, the Moon and Star Doors are significant is they provide more moments of characterization between the main playable characters, as well as giving focus to side-characters, and setting up plot points for future games. They are all great in quality, though I do admit the Moon Doors do take long (thankfully only five doors are in the game). As for the story, while it isn't a grand tale that doesn't reaches the highs of SC, it still is a well-told story that focuses greatly on Kevin and newcomer Reis. Maybe that fact that the game is shorter in length and didn't have problems with being split unlike FC or SC, the story's pacing is well-done and there is barely any padding at all in it's execution. Music is still great with my favorites being "Fighting Right On" and "Determination to Fight". The only negative I can really think off is the lack money (which even that isn't a problem since you get ample amount of quartz to trade in for mira), the Sixth Corridor does pad out with too many fights, and the game being more of a dungeon - crawler (which is still more on preference than anything). Overall, Sky the 3rd is an excellent game that made Kevin a top-five favorite character and is a game that should NEVER be skipped, even if the game structure is different. Easy 4.5 / 5.
This review contains spoilers
*Beat the game twice on Switch and third time on PS5.
Ys VIII is a pretty fun game from start to finish. Gameplay of the three-party system was beginning at its peak and exploring the Isle of Seiren was the most fun part of the game. The locations (while still very much an upscaled Vita game) were visually pretty to look at it and the music were some of the Falcom Sound Team's best music in general. Characters, while still simple, were enjoyable and the mysteries around the island is what enticed me to continue to play. The true highlight of the game was definitely Dana Iclucia and the entirety of her story. Doesn't help her va, Brianna Knickerbocker, absolutely played her amazingly.
Now for a few negatives. Character models become a bit choppy whenever they stand underneath a shadow. Map navigation in the menu is clunky, which doesn't help when you need to find a specific item or quest destination from an elevated level. Raids and hunts, while not bad modes, are pace killers. Thankfully, you don't need to do all them. I also experience audio imbalance between the voiced lines. Sometimes, it's loud and then sometimes its a bit too quite (Probably something related to porting it to PS5) While I did say, the characters were enjoyable, the story itself isn't the most amazing thing ever. The basis of escaping the island to the entirety of Dana and the Eternians made the story pretty enjoyable, though some parts of it could've been trimmed down or just not been there. Biggest example being the Nameless Ripper subplot. It didn't add anything to the story and the consequences of that subplot was ultimately minimal in the grand scheme. Finally, the true ending itself is a bit conflicting as it unnecessarily retcons the whole journey of the game to justify itself and Maia's reveal kind came out of nowhere. It's not that bad, but it does say that the journey was better than the destination itself.
Despite my gripes, Ys VIII is still a great game that is still sentimental to me as it was the very first Falcom game I ever played. Still recommend it, though I personally feel you should still play other Ys games before this one.
Ys VIII is a pretty fun game from start to finish. Gameplay of the three-party system was beginning at its peak and exploring the Isle of Seiren was the most fun part of the game. The locations (while still very much an upscaled Vita game) were visually pretty to look at it and the music were some of the Falcom Sound Team's best music in general. Characters, while still simple, were enjoyable and the mysteries around the island is what enticed me to continue to play. The true highlight of the game was definitely Dana Iclucia and the entirety of her story. Doesn't help her va, Brianna Knickerbocker, absolutely played her amazingly.
Now for a few negatives. Character models become a bit choppy whenever they stand underneath a shadow. Map navigation in the menu is clunky, which doesn't help when you need to find a specific item or quest destination from an elevated level. Raids and hunts, while not bad modes, are pace killers. Thankfully, you don't need to do all them. I also experience audio imbalance between the voiced lines. Sometimes, it's loud and then sometimes its a bit too quite (Probably something related to porting it to PS5) While I did say, the characters were enjoyable, the story itself isn't the most amazing thing ever. The basis of escaping the island to the entirety of Dana and the Eternians made the story pretty enjoyable, though some parts of it could've been trimmed down or just not been there. Biggest example being the Nameless Ripper subplot. It didn't add anything to the story and the consequences of that subplot was ultimately minimal in the grand scheme. Finally, the true ending itself is a bit conflicting as it unnecessarily retcons the whole journey of the game to justify itself and Maia's reveal kind came out of nowhere. It's not that bad, but it does say that the journey was better than the destination itself.
Despite my gripes, Ys VIII is still a great game that is still sentimental to me as it was the very first Falcom game I ever played. Still recommend it, though I personally feel you should still play other Ys games before this one.
Fire Emblem: Mystery of the Emblem (or FE3) was a natural evolution of the first two games. Gameplay was a lot more polished in terms of stats, item management, and the flow of battle. Battle animations are a lot more lively as they look like paintings in action. Music (in terms of Book 2) is great all around and the core experience was still fun to experience. Despite those important evolutions, FE3 still felt slow to play in some aspects. The enemy turns took long and some animation of specific units does drag on. Another problem I had was the difference of polish between Books I and II. While Book I is a straight up remake of FE1, Book II is the actual FE3 experience. Due to it being FE1, Book I felt sluggish to play despite the upgraded hardware. It doesn't help that it only had one map theme for most of the scenario and it got really repetitive overtime. Book II on the other hand felt a lot more quicker and fun, though the sluggishness still occurred on some specific maps. It also doesn't help that Book II had a lot more map themes and thus the usual slow gameplay is elevated by a really great OST. If FE3 was just only Book II with a bit more polish, then I'll give it a higher rating. However, because development had to focus on remaking FE1, Book II doesn't reaches its full evolution of the gameplay until the next game succeeds that aspect. For that, the game is just average as Book I simply drags down Book II and thus the experience of the whole game. Despite my gripes, it still is an important game in the series due to its quality of life features and I'll still recommended to any Fire Emblem fan who is trying out the Famicom games (though just play Book II).
Trails in the Sky SC is an improvement from FC. Gameplay was much less restrictive and you had a full party of interchangeable characters that can help play and fulfill roles with the right quartz setups. Liberl was still fun to explore the second time and doing the sidequest were still mostly fun as ever. The game has excellent character moments in all the chapters and all the main party members all get their moments to shine. For the story, it was still mostly well - done though the great character moments, though I felt the stakes were barely higher than FC and it only got really interesting until the second half. Pacing was also weird as while I felt it was fine in revisiting all the cities, it felt disjointed once you begin Chapter 6. It begins fine enough through Ch. 6 and 7, though slowdowns unnecessarily in Ch. 8. The momentum that was set up messed the momentum for the final chapter in which I personally wanted the journey to end. Another thing to note, even though I still enjoyed doing the sidequests, I felt they were the weakest in the series (no thanks to the unneeded amount of Blueblanc quests). Despite my problems with the pacing in the second half and the sidequests, Sky SC is still a solid game that succeeded all of FC's setups and ran a good marathon full of great character - moments. 4/5.
This review contains spoilers
*Played this game twice, once on PS4 and another on PS5.
Ys: Memories of Celceta is a fine game with a lot flaws. Combat's the same as Ys Seven with a bit of refinement in terms of getting skill points easier and the ability to switch Adol out. Exploring Celceta was fun, though completing the map was a lot more stingy. Music is a banger and the artstyle of the character portraits were good. Though visuals look a lot blockier as it was a Vita game first, I think the game looks fine for what it is. Despite the refinements in combat, the game has a balancing problems in terms of specific characters. One of the pierce users, Karna, straight up invalidates many of enemies and bosses which make the game difficulty a joke. So good, that I didn't bother to use the other pierce user for the rest of the game. Then, there is the story. For what it is, it was pretty entertaining if nothing special (though the villains are really one-note in comparison to other Ys villains). However, it made the cardinal sin of not really having an ending to end the game with as the game simply stops all its momentum by ending at its falling action. For that, the story is probably my second least favorite behind Ys V. Despite the problems of game balancing and the story's villains and ending, the game is still a solid game though probably the weakest out the four Ys games using the three-party system. Easily recommend if coming through the newer Ys games. 4/5.
Ys: Memories of Celceta is a fine game with a lot flaws. Combat's the same as Ys Seven with a bit of refinement in terms of getting skill points easier and the ability to switch Adol out. Exploring Celceta was fun, though completing the map was a lot more stingy. Music is a banger and the artstyle of the character portraits were good. Though visuals look a lot blockier as it was a Vita game first, I think the game looks fine for what it is. Despite the refinements in combat, the game has a balancing problems in terms of specific characters. One of the pierce users, Karna, straight up invalidates many of enemies and bosses which make the game difficulty a joke. So good, that I didn't bother to use the other pierce user for the rest of the game. Then, there is the story. For what it is, it was pretty entertaining if nothing special (though the villains are really one-note in comparison to other Ys villains). However, it made the cardinal sin of not really having an ending to end the game with as the game simply stops all its momentum by ending at its falling action. For that, the story is probably my second least favorite behind Ys V. Despite the problems of game balancing and the story's villains and ending, the game is still a solid game though probably the weakest out the four Ys games using the three-party system. Easily recommend if coming through the newer Ys games. 4/5.
2013
*I finished Ys II on PSP due to my PC causing the textboxes to disappear.
Ys II is straight-up an upgrade to what Ys I was. Having the same bump system, Ys II polishes some of the annoyances that Ys I suffered with a satisfying conclusion to the adventures in Esteria. The combat felt smoother as I felt I was hitting the enemies more than the enemies hitting me on accident. Magic is introduced and while basic - was fun to use. Exploring the flying island of Ys was still fun with a banger ost and the direction for the most part was easy to figure out. While the bosses aren't still that great, none of them were as frustrating as the bosses from Ys I. The only negative I had was that some clues of your next quest were obtused and the final dungeon was a bit too long in comparison to Darm Tower from Ys I. I also would say the final bosses was too easy, but considering Ys I's final boss's terrible game design, I can excuse it as a final victory lap. Overall, Ys II improves Ys I's combat and is simply a solid fun game. Easy recommend for those that just finished Ys I. 4/5.
Ys II is straight-up an upgrade to what Ys I was. Having the same bump system, Ys II polishes some of the annoyances that Ys I suffered with a satisfying conclusion to the adventures in Esteria. The combat felt smoother as I felt I was hitting the enemies more than the enemies hitting me on accident. Magic is introduced and while basic - was fun to use. Exploring the flying island of Ys was still fun with a banger ost and the direction for the most part was easy to figure out. While the bosses aren't still that great, none of them were as frustrating as the bosses from Ys I. The only negative I had was that some clues of your next quest were obtused and the final dungeon was a bit too long in comparison to Darm Tower from Ys I. I also would say the final bosses was too easy, but considering Ys I's final boss's terrible game design, I can excuse it as a final victory lap. Overall, Ys II improves Ys I's combat and is simply a solid fun game. Easy recommend for those that just finished Ys I. 4/5.
Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance is simply a great game. As for a return to consoles since Thracia 776, PoR hit the nail with it feeling like a console Fire Emblem experience. The story is probably my favorite 'simple' story in the series due to its execution of its themes, characters, and set-ups, and the growth of our protagonist, Ike. Gameplay is solid with shove, bonus experience, and base camp being such appreciative features that really should come back. Despite the meta of the game being more favored by mounts and fliers, all the units are viable to be used with the help of bonus experience. That help also factors in the difficulty as PoR is a lot more easier due to no part of the localized version getting rid of Maniac difficulty and adding an Easy difficulty. Despite that, I still think PoR is still a fairly fun game in terms of difficulty. Music and sound design is excellent and the character art design by Kita Senri is probably my favorite art style in the series. As for the negatives, the 3-D animates had aged as the animations aren't that exciting and flow of battle is pretty slow. Finally, the later maps in terms of Difficult mode become open season as your units become stronger, but the enemy units are barely getting any stronger. Overall, easily one of the best Fire Emblem games and easy recommendation to play through any means. 4.5/5.
2013
*I played the PSP version as I had problems with black screen occurring in my files for Ys I.
Ys I is a pretty fun game for about 75% of the time. The bumb combat system that was created due to the lack of an action button was weird, but easy to get used to. Exploring Esteria felt fun due to how quick it was and the banging ost from Falcom Sound Team. While it had some crypticness in terms of finding the next objective, there were clues that did hint on what you were supposed to be doing. The only part that was definitely cryptic was at the last part of the game. Also, the game was cryptic in the items not being usable in boss battles. While the plot and characters are simple, the lore and mysteries in Esteria were intincing enough and the upgraded art does give some characters to shine. The biggest flaw of the game were the bosses. Most of them were inoffensive to mildly annoying t best. However, a peculiar bat boss and the final boss were the most frustrating parts of the game. Especially the final boss as his fireballs and destroying floors were terrible game design. I salute all players whom beat him on PC as his fire balls are faster than on PSP. Just for those two bosses alone, the game falls to a 3.5/5. Despite those bumbs, the game is still fun and short to beat (if you know what you're doing). Easy recommendation for anyone trying out Ys for the first time.
Ys I is a pretty fun game for about 75% of the time. The bumb combat system that was created due to the lack of an action button was weird, but easy to get used to. Exploring Esteria felt fun due to how quick it was and the banging ost from Falcom Sound Team. While it had some crypticness in terms of finding the next objective, there were clues that did hint on what you were supposed to be doing. The only part that was definitely cryptic was at the last part of the game. Also, the game was cryptic in the items not being usable in boss battles. While the plot and characters are simple, the lore and mysteries in Esteria were intincing enough and the upgraded art does give some characters to shine. The biggest flaw of the game were the bosses. Most of them were inoffensive to mildly annoying t best. However, a peculiar bat boss and the final boss were the most frustrating parts of the game. Especially the final boss as his fireballs and destroying floors were terrible game design. I salute all players whom beat him on PC as his fire balls are faster than on PSP. Just for those two bosses alone, the game falls to a 3.5/5. Despite those bumbs, the game is still fun and short to beat (if you know what you're doing). Easy recommendation for anyone trying out Ys for the first time.
Ys V is definitely a weird game. After jumping into the console market, Falcom started to finally used other buttons to command more actions. In a system that is the precursor to the Napishtism system later introduced into YS VI, it was rough patch. Unlike the fast - paced bumb combat or the Napishtim system, Ys V's combat is sluggish, yet still pathetically easy. Movement felt stiff and you only had two different swings with your sword: on ground and when you jump. The magic system (alchemy) is weird as you need to hold a charge metter to 100 to even cast a spell and some spells kind break the flow of an already slow combat system. The alchemy system was essentially useless as you can just ignore it in favor of slashing enemies with your sword. In addition, grinding for gold is easy and the potions were really good considered you can only carry ten. It got to the point that I got so much gold that I damaged - boosted my way to victory. The final boss is the biggest example of this. Characters and plot isn't that special, though some characters and ideas could be flesh out in a remake. Music, while not bad, isn't the standard Falcom rock band style thanks to the limitations of the Super Famicom. Finally, clocking in at approx. six hours, this IS the shortest game in the series. Realistically, it only take one day to beat this game. For that, I could've gave it a 3/5 for that alone as the game is just an average action JRPG. In terms of Ys, it's definitely the weakest and I could've been a 2.5/5 if I was that harsh. I only gave it a 3.5/5 as I did had some enjoyment in playing a game in which its chapter has yet be officially told in the Ys timeline. And despite the sluggish combat, I still had that satisfaction in killing enemies. Combine that with a really short run time and I would only recommend it to any Ys fan who are actually trying to play the games in chronological order or are newer fans coming in. If not an Ys fan, don't bother trying it out. Otherwise, this game is the prime example of it straight-up needing a remake/reimagining.
*This is coming from a guy who beat all Trails games after the Liberl arc and its the final arc that still need to be played.
Trails in the Sky FC is a slow-burn, but a pretty solid game. As the very first story to tell in Zemuria, the story was extremely character driven with it doing the job of introducing the settings and concepts that'll stick with the series until the end of the series's storyline. However, because of those introductory elements, FC suffers on a very slow start with the pacing being slow paced and low-staked. While I carried through due to my experience with the future arcs, I had to admit the story was pretty slow despite me liking the characters from the get go. I'll honestly say it took until Ruan for me to fully be invested in it. Despite the story stakes being slow and low stakes, the character moments definitely makes up for it with its strong writing and developments. Estelle Bright is indeed Bestelle (though Kloe was personal favorite). Gameplay is pretty simple, with the quartz system being the factor of making the game entertaining for anyone. Despite how initially confusing it looks, the quartz system is simple and with the right art setup can snowball your characters into winning any fights since arts are king in the game in terms of damage output. Despite that, you'll only stick with usually two same characters as you traverse Liberl, you get shuffling character that fit for any story moment in each location. For the most part, you only really need to worry about equipping gear your two main character being Estelle and Joshua Bright. The system is extremely simple, but its a recipe for it to get better. Visually, while it looks a bit dated, the 3-Dish sprites are charming and the cities are all distinctly different. Music is great with my favorites being Ruan, Zeiss, and Silver Will. Finally, talking to the named NPCS were just fun as some have small development over the course of story events. It shows the attention to detail Falcom gave to the game (which they continue to do for every future game). Overall, recommend it as the excellent starting point since it's the first chronological story of a long series. However, understand it is more character-focused so come in the game with that in the mind.
Trails in the Sky FC is a slow-burn, but a pretty solid game. As the very first story to tell in Zemuria, the story was extremely character driven with it doing the job of introducing the settings and concepts that'll stick with the series until the end of the series's storyline. However, because of those introductory elements, FC suffers on a very slow start with the pacing being slow paced and low-staked. While I carried through due to my experience with the future arcs, I had to admit the story was pretty slow despite me liking the characters from the get go. I'll honestly say it took until Ruan for me to fully be invested in it. Despite the story stakes being slow and low stakes, the character moments definitely makes up for it with its strong writing and developments. Estelle Bright is indeed Bestelle (though Kloe was personal favorite). Gameplay is pretty simple, with the quartz system being the factor of making the game entertaining for anyone. Despite how initially confusing it looks, the quartz system is simple and with the right art setup can snowball your characters into winning any fights since arts are king in the game in terms of damage output. Despite that, you'll only stick with usually two same characters as you traverse Liberl, you get shuffling character that fit for any story moment in each location. For the most part, you only really need to worry about equipping gear your two main character being Estelle and Joshua Bright. The system is extremely simple, but its a recipe for it to get better. Visually, while it looks a bit dated, the 3-Dish sprites are charming and the cities are all distinctly different. Music is great with my favorites being Ruan, Zeiss, and Silver Will. Finally, talking to the named NPCS were just fun as some have small development over the course of story events. It shows the attention to detail Falcom gave to the game (which they continue to do for every future game). Overall, recommend it as the excellent starting point since it's the first chronological story of a long series. However, understand it is more character-focused so come in the game with that in the mind.