I had heard for years that this was one of the pinnacles of Wrestling games, and now that I've finally played it? Ehhhhhhh.... It's fine to a point. It has that corny attitude era charm, I can't deny that, but it really does not feel fun to play. The AI is insanely brutal at times, and I swear I could not make the game do what I wanted it to do during my matches. It also doesn't help with the amount of Handicap matches they throw at you that winning just feels like an impossible task sometimes. There is fun to be had in No Mercy, but man, I couldn't find it.

I gotta admit, I was a little burnt out on XBC3 when I went into this, so I was a little worried once I started it. Imagine my surprise when not even 20 minutes in, I was already incredibly invested, and by the end, I didn't want it to be over. Future Redeemed takes every system that works from XBC3 and builds upon them in such a fun and satisfying way that it makes the gameplay loop maybe the most enjoyable in the entire series. Playing as Rex is quite possibly the most fun I've had in a JRPG, Double Spinning Edge is one hell of a drug. In terms of story, I gotta hand it to FR for being able to weave bits and pieces from all 3 XBC games, alongside nods to Xenosaga and Xenogears, and do it all so coheasively, its an enjoyable tale all the way through. FR doesn't add too much new music, but the pieces it does have all stand out extremely well, with the Final Boss theme in particular being absolutely insane. My last big praise for FR is its length, because it genuinely feels like the perfect length, its not too long nor too short, I never felt like my interest was fading, it really nailed that sweet spot. In conclusion, I'm feeling full of beans and I need XBC4 stat.