The_X_Button
2020
this game feels like it could easily be 5 stars, the first couple years of the game are fantastic and had me hooked, but as you unlock more years, the difficulty spikes and HARD as youre at the mercy of RNG.
until you get a cow to help with watering and a pig to help with expanding your land, you're pretty much useless, the years start off harder than they end as you're forced to fend off relentless enemies with your pea shooter for the first couple days. you get less hearts and spend the first 2 days dodging countless bullets from dozens of basic rabbit enemies as they begin to take 4-6 shots to take down. what started as some of the easiest enemies to take down and avoid and kill, quickly became some of the most bothersome. once you can buy guns, and earn some decent perks, the combat becomes more bearable. but all it takes a small amount of bad luck, or a ballsy decisions gone wrong and you're dead. then the last hour or so is just down the drain, all the perks and weapons you've grown accustomed to are now gone as you've reset back to day 1 with nothing but a pea shooter, 5 hearts, some potatoes and 9 squares of soil.
sure, there are some permanent changes you can earn throughout your various playthroughs, but its all meaningless stuff like "increase rain cloud duration by 20%" or "blood rain drops additional fertilizer". (you get fertilizer like candy btw). maybe the permanent upgrades improve once you give the ant 100 cornucopias for a workshop, but i only have 50 of them and frankly i dont know if i have the strength to even go on. i'm on year 4 and going through that first day again and heading to the easiest area only for dozens of enemies to see the screen covered in bullets and enemies all coming towards me, and knowing that this isnt even CLOSE to the hardest year is simply demotivating. i can't even fathom what year 10 must be like. i'm sure by the time most reach year 10, they'd have most things unlocked and who knows, maybe there are perks that let you start with a cow and a pig, and a character that has a faster and/or more powerful pea shooter or has 10 hearts no matter the year. it wouldnt fix all my problems, but just starting the year with those would mean so much to me.
among other things, i feel like the game should be a tad more merciful. im fine with starting over from year one, but i feel like you should be given a bit of an extra chance when you die. i know theres a chance to find a respawn pod, and thats good, but maybe when you die, you have one extra life that puts you back at the start of the season with half your max hearts but you keep everything else and only let it happen once per playthrough. maybe there can be a new character that starts with additional lives but reduced hearts. i understand that most of my issues seem to be common traits of the rogue-like genre, reasons why i could never get into games like isaac or spelunky or gungeon, but unlike those, atomicrops actually managed to captivate me until i hit that wall where the game just became unforgiving. i'd like to make it clear that i dont mind the difficulty, but there does need to be a little bit of mercy. maybe i'll keep grinding the first couple years, maybe i'll unlock something that will alleviate most my stress and i wont just be forced to bullet hell while praying to the RNG gods for something that isnt crap, but if not, i think my playthrough ends here, and i'm legitimately sad to say that considering how much i did enjoy the first couple years.
until you get a cow to help with watering and a pig to help with expanding your land, you're pretty much useless, the years start off harder than they end as you're forced to fend off relentless enemies with your pea shooter for the first couple days. you get less hearts and spend the first 2 days dodging countless bullets from dozens of basic rabbit enemies as they begin to take 4-6 shots to take down. what started as some of the easiest enemies to take down and avoid and kill, quickly became some of the most bothersome. once you can buy guns, and earn some decent perks, the combat becomes more bearable. but all it takes a small amount of bad luck, or a ballsy decisions gone wrong and you're dead. then the last hour or so is just down the drain, all the perks and weapons you've grown accustomed to are now gone as you've reset back to day 1 with nothing but a pea shooter, 5 hearts, some potatoes and 9 squares of soil.
sure, there are some permanent changes you can earn throughout your various playthroughs, but its all meaningless stuff like "increase rain cloud duration by 20%" or "blood rain drops additional fertilizer". (you get fertilizer like candy btw). maybe the permanent upgrades improve once you give the ant 100 cornucopias for a workshop, but i only have 50 of them and frankly i dont know if i have the strength to even go on. i'm on year 4 and going through that first day again and heading to the easiest area only for dozens of enemies to see the screen covered in bullets and enemies all coming towards me, and knowing that this isnt even CLOSE to the hardest year is simply demotivating. i can't even fathom what year 10 must be like. i'm sure by the time most reach year 10, they'd have most things unlocked and who knows, maybe there are perks that let you start with a cow and a pig, and a character that has a faster and/or more powerful pea shooter or has 10 hearts no matter the year. it wouldnt fix all my problems, but just starting the year with those would mean so much to me.
among other things, i feel like the game should be a tad more merciful. im fine with starting over from year one, but i feel like you should be given a bit of an extra chance when you die. i know theres a chance to find a respawn pod, and thats good, but maybe when you die, you have one extra life that puts you back at the start of the season with half your max hearts but you keep everything else and only let it happen once per playthrough. maybe there can be a new character that starts with additional lives but reduced hearts. i understand that most of my issues seem to be common traits of the rogue-like genre, reasons why i could never get into games like isaac or spelunky or gungeon, but unlike those, atomicrops actually managed to captivate me until i hit that wall where the game just became unforgiving. i'd like to make it clear that i dont mind the difficulty, but there does need to be a little bit of mercy. maybe i'll keep grinding the first couple years, maybe i'll unlock something that will alleviate most my stress and i wont just be forced to bullet hell while praying to the RNG gods for something that isnt crap, but if not, i think my playthrough ends here, and i'm legitimately sad to say that considering how much i did enjoy the first couple years.
2006
best ys game so far honestly. i only beat the first character, yunica, but im really liking everything about the game. the combat is still simple yet satisfying and fast paced without being overwhelming, the characters are great, the story, the setting, the beautiful visuals that blend low-poly and pixel art wonderfully, the MUSIC! if you play one ys game, make it this.
This review contains spoilers
the main villain of the game is a better kylo ren than kylo ren
with that out of the way, this game is kinda rough around the edges, but if you can get past it, you'll find a great game with simple yet satisfying combat, good characters, a decent story, nice visuals, fantastic music and just in general a ton of fun
sure, theres a crappy ice level with some of the worst ice physics you've seen (albeit fixed once you get the stone boots), some bosses that make you wanna pull your hair out, wonky platforming, some deaths will seem cheap, you cant pause in bosses, some enemies are just straight up annoying, and god forbid anything force you to use the fire ball power
but in all that rough, there is a diamond
going through the ys series, this one might be my favorite title so far
though i do miss the bump combat of the first two games
with that out of the way, this game is kinda rough around the edges, but if you can get past it, you'll find a great game with simple yet satisfying combat, good characters, a decent story, nice visuals, fantastic music and just in general a ton of fun
sure, theres a crappy ice level with some of the worst ice physics you've seen (albeit fixed once you get the stone boots), some bosses that make you wanna pull your hair out, wonky platforming, some deaths will seem cheap, you cant pause in bosses, some enemies are just straight up annoying, and god forbid anything force you to use the fire ball power
but in all that rough, there is a diamond
going through the ys series, this one might be my favorite title so far
though i do miss the bump combat of the first two games
2007
if you want a fun mario game with tight controls, fun powerups and good level design
just play 64, odyssey or even sunshine
just play 64, odyssey or even sunshine
i remember not giving this game much of a chance back in the day because of the memes
i now regret it because this is actually a very solid game
i now regret it because this is actually a very solid game
flappy bird creepy pasta game made by someone with a thinly veiled piss fetish
2013
it makes some improvements on ys 1, but my god the level design is insufferable
2019
good first person puzzle game, full of plenty of mind-fucky puzzles that make you feel like a genius for thinking outside of the box
but it is a bit short and turns into a bit of a walking sim by the end
if it at least wasnt so short, i would rate it higher, but as it stands its still very good, and if you wanna scratch that portal itch, do give this a go
but it is a bit short and turns into a bit of a walking sim by the end
if it at least wasnt so short, i would rate it higher, but as it stands its still very good, and if you wanna scratch that portal itch, do give this a go
2020
chill, comfy game
sometimes the puzzles feel a little too difficult, but then again i was able to beat it without looking up a guide, so maybe im just dumb
neat little puzzle game tho, worth playing
sometimes the puzzles feel a little too difficult, but then again i was able to beat it without looking up a guide, so maybe im just dumb
neat little puzzle game tho, worth playing
you dont need me to tell you this game sucks, youve heard it all before
the visuals, the controls, the levels, the physics, the bosses, the gimmicks, all terrible, nothing in this game feels good, nothing in this game IS good
just skip to episode 2 and play as metal sonic if you really want to experience a marginally better version of what this game has to offer. but even then, that aint great either
the visuals, the controls, the levels, the physics, the bosses, the gimmicks, all terrible, nothing in this game feels good, nothing in this game IS good
just skip to episode 2 and play as metal sonic if you really want to experience a marginally better version of what this game has to offer. but even then, that aint great either
1991
its ok
largely improved by its sequels, and can be a bit too slow for its own good, with a few terrible stages, and boring special stages (which isnt even worth it because no super sonic and the ending barely changes)
a decent first entry, but rough around the edges
largely improved by its sequels, and can be a bit too slow for its own good, with a few terrible stages, and boring special stages (which isnt even worth it because no super sonic and the ending barely changes)
a decent first entry, but rough around the edges
1992
kino first half but the game really takes a dip halfway through, and the special stages can be a pain
mastahpiece
except the blue spheres, fuck the blue spheres
except the blue spheres, fuck the blue spheres
prepare for 3 hours of cutscenes, most of which youve already seen before as you fight very brief easier versions of bosses youve already faced before and do nothing else
$30 please
$30 please
2018
if you skip everything and only blaze through the story on easy, maybe the game's good. the story is about the best thing this game has going for it
but if you actually play it like a yakuza game, the only worse entry is fist of the north star lost paradise
the crux of this game are the highlights of the mainline yakuza games to me
the substories
the minigames
the combat
lets start with the minigames, since they tie into my problems with the substories
"you want bad stealth, mediocre lockpicking, annoying lockpicking or drone races with some of the worst controls, take your pick bro. btw we're gonna reuse all of them for all the substories, have fucking fun dipshit"
very few side activities from mainline yakuza games return for judgment. series staples like karaoke are nowhere to be seen (despite a recurring song literally being called "judgment") so that already kinda sucks. wouldnt be so bad though if the new content was good. its not.
theres 2 different kinds of lockpicking and they both make me miss bethesda lockpicking and the tailing missions are fucking horrible, legit ive seen shovelware with better stealth
its just waiting
and then you sometimes move
and it doesnt feel natural
you'll be tailing someone that would have no reason to suspect they're being tailed and isnt doing anything wrong, but they'll literally stop every few steps just to turn around, act like they know they're being followed and look out for you
but even if youre being suspicious af and literally running in circles around them, it'll take forever for them to notice you
so you just hide and wait and hide and wait
and its not like there arent many places to hide, you can hide fucking anywhere
i hate the stealth in judgment so much, its so fucking abyssal and they reuse it fucking any chance they get
also the only consistent way to earn money in the game is through the mario party boards
which sounds fun
but guess what
90% of the tiles are lockpicking minigames
and since some of the drone shit is so expensive, you gotta grind mario party for hours
the fucking combat doesnt even save the game since its either
mash square to win, with no strategy whatsoever, just stunlock till they're down with the crane style
or
hold square to instantly kill the enemy with the tiger style
only tigers and i think some bosses can resist the latter
but on bosses you got some other tiger move that will do big damage
literally the only saving grace about the game is the story and characters
it also bugs me that they reused kamurocho again, when like
that was their chance to get away from it
i get reusing assets, but we see kamurocho in every yakuza game
if youre gonna reuse assets, fine, do sotenbori, do onomichi, maybe bring back one of the areas from 5 like saejima's christmas town or baseball bat boy's town
as for the substories, they're just nothing, barely memorable, completely uninteresting. most of them are just tailing anyway from what i recall
and what is your reward for bearing through all of this? well as tradition with yakuza games go, you get to fight amon, the final test of skill and just how much you know the combat, cheese strats will never work on him, he is your final test. you never truly beat a yakuza game until you beat amon, that's what i believe.
but this is a dragon engine game, so his gimmick is making the fight go below 10 frames per second as you just mash square to beat him
also you cant use items, so its kinda just up to luck if you beat him once he goes into bad framerate mode. the game doesnt even run too well to begin with on a base ps4, but having the secret final boss literally just do THAT to the framerate is just inexcusable. if this is your first yakuza game and you dont even touch any of the optional content maybe you'll like it. but if you're a yakuza fan that spends countless hours in the game to do all the content... well you're gonna be disappointed. very disappointed
just watch the cutscenes on youtube. skip this like you no doubt skipped fist of the north star lost paradise.
lost judgment does seem like it will improve on most my problems though, i will say that
and sorry if this review isnt structured perfectly, a good chunk of it is copied from a chat with some friends where i just went on a tangent about this game
but if you actually play it like a yakuza game, the only worse entry is fist of the north star lost paradise
the crux of this game are the highlights of the mainline yakuza games to me
the substories
the minigames
the combat
lets start with the minigames, since they tie into my problems with the substories
"you want bad stealth, mediocre lockpicking, annoying lockpicking or drone races with some of the worst controls, take your pick bro. btw we're gonna reuse all of them for all the substories, have fucking fun dipshit"
very few side activities from mainline yakuza games return for judgment. series staples like karaoke are nowhere to be seen (despite a recurring song literally being called "judgment") so that already kinda sucks. wouldnt be so bad though if the new content was good. its not.
theres 2 different kinds of lockpicking and they both make me miss bethesda lockpicking and the tailing missions are fucking horrible, legit ive seen shovelware with better stealth
its just waiting
and then you sometimes move
and it doesnt feel natural
you'll be tailing someone that would have no reason to suspect they're being tailed and isnt doing anything wrong, but they'll literally stop every few steps just to turn around, act like they know they're being followed and look out for you
but even if youre being suspicious af and literally running in circles around them, it'll take forever for them to notice you
so you just hide and wait and hide and wait
and its not like there arent many places to hide, you can hide fucking anywhere
i hate the stealth in judgment so much, its so fucking abyssal and they reuse it fucking any chance they get
also the only consistent way to earn money in the game is through the mario party boards
which sounds fun
but guess what
90% of the tiles are lockpicking minigames
and since some of the drone shit is so expensive, you gotta grind mario party for hours
the fucking combat doesnt even save the game since its either
mash square to win, with no strategy whatsoever, just stunlock till they're down with the crane style
or
hold square to instantly kill the enemy with the tiger style
only tigers and i think some bosses can resist the latter
but on bosses you got some other tiger move that will do big damage
literally the only saving grace about the game is the story and characters
it also bugs me that they reused kamurocho again, when like
that was their chance to get away from it
i get reusing assets, but we see kamurocho in every yakuza game
if youre gonna reuse assets, fine, do sotenbori, do onomichi, maybe bring back one of the areas from 5 like saejima's christmas town or baseball bat boy's town
as for the substories, they're just nothing, barely memorable, completely uninteresting. most of them are just tailing anyway from what i recall
and what is your reward for bearing through all of this? well as tradition with yakuza games go, you get to fight amon, the final test of skill and just how much you know the combat, cheese strats will never work on him, he is your final test. you never truly beat a yakuza game until you beat amon, that's what i believe.
but this is a dragon engine game, so his gimmick is making the fight go below 10 frames per second as you just mash square to beat him
also you cant use items, so its kinda just up to luck if you beat him once he goes into bad framerate mode. the game doesnt even run too well to begin with on a base ps4, but having the secret final boss literally just do THAT to the framerate is just inexcusable. if this is your first yakuza game and you dont even touch any of the optional content maybe you'll like it. but if you're a yakuza fan that spends countless hours in the game to do all the content... well you're gonna be disappointed. very disappointed
just watch the cutscenes on youtube. skip this like you no doubt skipped fist of the north star lost paradise.
lost judgment does seem like it will improve on most my problems though, i will say that
and sorry if this review isnt structured perfectly, a good chunk of it is copied from a chat with some friends where i just went on a tangent about this game