UrLocalBanktoad
I've never dabbled in the Silent Hill series before, so seeing this be a free title caught my attention. I've heard that this series hasn't been in the best of shape for a while now, so I kept my expectations low.
There's some things to like here, and a bunch to not like that much. Let's get what I liked out of the way now. I liked piecing together what happened. Throughout the game you're given notes about events, and it's up to you (for the most part) to piece together the story. There were many times where I'd read a note and just stop playing to try to fit this new piece of information into the timeline, which was honestly pretty satisfying. I won't say the story here is Oscar worthy or anything, but I did enjoy experiencing it a bit. The live-action scenes were also interesting to see, as they aren't very common in games. I think the acting and voice acting were fine for the most part. No real issues there.
Okay that's that taken care of let's get into the rough. First, let's touch on the production values a bit. It's a free title at the end of the day, so I don't plan on comparing it to something like God of War or anything like that. However, I did begin to notice quickly how off some of Anita's facial expressions were. There are many scenes where it would make sense for her to be more reactive and show more intense expressions on her face and have more energetic body movements, but they just aren't here. Once again, I get it, it's a free short title so maybe the budget wasn't there for that, but it did bother me a little.
The other, part of this game I didn't like that much would have to be the chase sequences. The first few are fine enough. Run down a corridor, maybe run around something to get past the monster to get through a door it came out of. Not bad. As the game goes on and you encounter more of these sections, though, they begin to become much lengthier and more demanding of the player. Getting caught simply resets the chase, which is fine, but having to repeat chases again and again can be draining.
The last chase is easily the worst one. At first, I was just running away as usual, trying to find an exit. After a few deaths, I ran into a section that had a part where the "interact" prompt lit up on an object. It was only then when I realized what the game wanted me to do. I wish the game did a better job of showing you what you needed to do for that section. They try to clue you in with some lighting on interactive spots, but you never had a section in the past that required you to grab things as you ran away, so you'd never consider interacting with anything besides a door at that point. Another problem with this section is just how dark it is. You have a phone and you use the flashlight on it to light your path, but it genuinely feels like the flashlight isn't strong enough for some parts, leading to me fumbling in the dark in many cases, barely avoiding death because I couldn't see where to go.
Overall, I didn't hate this game. I just wish it were better designed and had a little more polish. For the low low price of free, you really aren't losing much besides a few hours trying this one out. I'd say give it a shot, but I won't blame you for tapping out at any point during your adventure.
There's some things to like here, and a bunch to not like that much. Let's get what I liked out of the way now. I liked piecing together what happened. Throughout the game you're given notes about events, and it's up to you (for the most part) to piece together the story. There were many times where I'd read a note and just stop playing to try to fit this new piece of information into the timeline, which was honestly pretty satisfying. I won't say the story here is Oscar worthy or anything, but I did enjoy experiencing it a bit. The live-action scenes were also interesting to see, as they aren't very common in games. I think the acting and voice acting were fine for the most part. No real issues there.
Okay that's that taken care of let's get into the rough. First, let's touch on the production values a bit. It's a free title at the end of the day, so I don't plan on comparing it to something like God of War or anything like that. However, I did begin to notice quickly how off some of Anita's facial expressions were. There are many scenes where it would make sense for her to be more reactive and show more intense expressions on her face and have more energetic body movements, but they just aren't here. Once again, I get it, it's a free short title so maybe the budget wasn't there for that, but it did bother me a little.
The other, part of this game I didn't like that much would have to be the chase sequences. The first few are fine enough. Run down a corridor, maybe run around something to get past the monster to get through a door it came out of. Not bad. As the game goes on and you encounter more of these sections, though, they begin to become much lengthier and more demanding of the player. Getting caught simply resets the chase, which is fine, but having to repeat chases again and again can be draining.
The last chase is easily the worst one. At first, I was just running away as usual, trying to find an exit. After a few deaths, I ran into a section that had a part where the "interact" prompt lit up on an object. It was only then when I realized what the game wanted me to do. I wish the game did a better job of showing you what you needed to do for that section. They try to clue you in with some lighting on interactive spots, but you never had a section in the past that required you to grab things as you ran away, so you'd never consider interacting with anything besides a door at that point. Another problem with this section is just how dark it is. You have a phone and you use the flashlight on it to light your path, but it genuinely feels like the flashlight isn't strong enough for some parts, leading to me fumbling in the dark in many cases, barely avoiding death because I couldn't see where to go.
Overall, I didn't hate this game. I just wish it were better designed and had a little more polish. For the low low price of free, you really aren't losing much besides a few hours trying this one out. I'd say give it a shot, but I won't blame you for tapping out at any point during your adventure.
[Average Reading Time: 7 Minutes]
Man, oh man, what an experience.
Many have played Resident Evil Village since its launch back in 2021. People liked it a lot, from what I've heard. Back then, though, I wasn't into the Resident Evil series. It wasn't because the games were horror focused, though. I won't say I'm immune to horror elements in games at all. In fact, I consider that a bit of a strength, in a way, when it comes to consuming horror media. When you let a horror game crawl under your skin, allowing yourself to be immersed in its twisted world as you cautiously peek around corners for monsters and ready your weapon as you slowly walk through dark corridors, I feel you may get more out of the experience. Then as you travel further in, you begin to familiarize yourself with the concepts, building up the courage to press on as the protagonist does, allowing the player to step further into the shoes of the leading character as they explore the spooky landscape. I think that's what I appreciate the most about horror games: they allow you, the player, to grow along with the protagonist in ways most other genres can't.
What better way to step into the shoes of a horror protagonist then via Virtual Reality?
I owned a PSVR headset back when that was the current way to get a console VR experience and despite the awkward setup, I enjoyed it a lot. Back then, Resident Evil 7 had gotten a PlayStation exclusive VR mode, and needless to say the concept fascinated me. Playing a horror game like that in VR? That must be terrifying!
I never got to experience that game, though. I was interested in playing that game and seeing that world through VR lenses, but what kept me from pursuing this dream was the control scheme. What I liked most about the VR experiences I had with titles like Skyrim VR and Accounting + were how I could move my hands freely as I explored environments and solved puzzles using the move controllers. Sadly, though, a move controller only playstyle was not supported for Resident Evil 7, so that's how I mainly lost interest. Looking back, though, I don't blame them at all for not cooking up a control scheme for those things. I mean, look at them! They don't even have analog sticks! I don't know how Bethesda cooked up a tolerable control scheme for only using these things for Skyrim VR, but using these to navigate in 3D in a horror game? Probably not ideal!
Fast forward to November 2022. Sony reveals the PSVR2, a vast upgrade over the original headset for PS4. Along with this headset came the new Sense controllers, and look what we have here! Analog sticks! All the buttons on a normal DualSense controller! We finally made it! Normal gaming in VR on console with the ability to move our hands freely at last!
Needless to say this headset was on my radar since before it got announced. Rumors everywhere, people seeing it as a no-brainer that Sony would release a follow-up to their original headset. It just had to happen, and it did! Come December 2022, we would get a look at some upcoming VR content, including a release date for Resident Evil Village's VR mode, which would launch the same day as the headset! Excitement filled me as I saw this announcement. I was eager to finally see what this game was all about, and I wanted to see it all in VR. Before I knew it February 2023 would come and so would the VR headset. After watching some other early adopters try out the headset to make sure it was the amazing piece of tech it promised to be, I used my tax return to snag one of my own, along with some games to experience in VR, including Resident Evil Village.
By this point in my life I had become no stranger to the Resident Evil series, having played Resident Evil 2 Remake and Resident Evil 5 with a friend. Now, I could not only experience Resident Evil Village for myself, I could make my first experience of it in VR. Long story short, it was everything I wanted.
I won't go into detail about the story here. I'll say that it's a fun romp, with good emotional moments and great banter from the crew of foes you face. I'll add that seeing these cutscenes in VR can be a little disorienting, though. Sometimes Ethan (a.k.a. you) will be pulled in different directions, which can be disorienting for those that suffer from motion sickness (thankfully not the case for me). You can also move your head freely in cutscenes, which means you may see certain things before the game wants you to. Subtitles are available in VR, and they hover on screen within your peripheral vision. However, these subtitles are usually placed in front of characters or objects, which means they're often too close to the viewer, causing them to appear awkwardly and difficult to read unless the player closes one eye. It gets pretty annoying when this happens, and I wish this wasn't an issue in VR.
Also, a good few number of cutscenes aren't presented in a first-person format. Instead, you're shown a cutscene on a floating screen. It's not terrible and I understand why it was necessary, but it is a little jarring sometimes. I also had this really weird glitch happen after I beat the game where the menus kept flickering in random spots, which could be a problem for those that may suffer from epilepsy. Please keep that in mind before playing this game in VR.
Moving away from cutscenes, let's talk about the gameplay, what it's like to experience the village in VR. I had a blast exploring this place in VR. This game doesn't cause motion sickness for me, so I was able to use smooth turning and walking without teleporting around to allow myself to feel more immersed in the world.
Along with moving around are your arsenal of weapons. What's cool about this game is that you get the option to manually reload your weapons. This means that, rather than just hitting a button to reload, you have to reload guns like you would a real weapon. That means for pistols, for example, you'll need to pull on the slide on top after inserting a magazine to fire it. For shotguns, you need to pump them every time you fire a shot. These mechanics apply for every weapon you find. This can be turned off for a more relaxed experience, but I refused to do that. It was way more exciting and tense to keep this feature on as I played. I've had many memorable moments because of it, like one where I shot an enemy with a rifle, and as they approached I tried to fire again and heard a click because I didn't pull the bolt handle. I then quickly did it as they got closer and got a finishing headshot mere moments before it could touch me.
Aiming is also fun in VR. You'll be holding your weapons two-handed and lining up shots constantly, whether you're holding your pistol out in front of you or looking down the scope of your sniper rifle. This game not only asks what your dominant hand is, but also your dominant eye, which allows it to take into consideration how you'll aim as you play, which is really smart. Honestly, playing this game just makes me want to play more VR games with cool gun mechanics like this, because I think having to manually reload and aim down sights adds a lot to the player experience.
Now for the real question: does playing this game in VR make it spookier? The answer is absolutely. Since you're in a VR headset, you don't get to look away when a creepy foe tries to get up close and personal with you. You either fight or you run (please don't try to run in real life though you'll break so many things) to survive in this world of horror. When you see a new enemy approach you, you're gonna have to face your fear and aim steadily for those headshots. As you progress and get more destructive firepower, you'll be mowing down even the fiercest of foes. Resident Evil Village has many tricks up its sleeves to keep you on your toes, however. They'll introduce new enemies that have specific ways to take them down or just have a ton of health to make fighting them a nightmare. There's boss fights that make you focus on keeping your distance while trying to pour as much lead into them as you can. These moments can be exciting, but not too scary.
There is one moment in this game that is downright terrifying, though, especially in VR.
I won't spoil it here, but I will say that it caught me off guard. I went from gunning down monsters to hiding in closets, my knees shaking as I prayed for it to just leave me alone. I don't think any horror game scared me like that moment did, and I loved every second of it. Seasoned Village survivors will know what I'm alluding to, but if you don't and plan on playing this game, don't spoil yourself. Trust me on this one.
Overall, Resident Evil Village is a great game, and playing it in VR makes it an even more intense experience. Whether you've never played this game before or you want your next playthrough to have a unique edge to it, I highly recommend giving the VR mode a playthrough. It's definitely worth your time, especially if you can afford both a PlayStation 5 and the PSVR2 set. Now I just wish more shooters had VR modes like this. I hope that as this generation goes on we see more VR experiences like this one!
Also, yes, Lady Dimitrescu feels 9 feet tall in VR. The people who simp for her are gonna have a great time. Me, though, I was enjoying the sight of someone else in VR a lot more.
Man, oh man, what an experience.
Many have played Resident Evil Village since its launch back in 2021. People liked it a lot, from what I've heard. Back then, though, I wasn't into the Resident Evil series. It wasn't because the games were horror focused, though. I won't say I'm immune to horror elements in games at all. In fact, I consider that a bit of a strength, in a way, when it comes to consuming horror media. When you let a horror game crawl under your skin, allowing yourself to be immersed in its twisted world as you cautiously peek around corners for monsters and ready your weapon as you slowly walk through dark corridors, I feel you may get more out of the experience. Then as you travel further in, you begin to familiarize yourself with the concepts, building up the courage to press on as the protagonist does, allowing the player to step further into the shoes of the leading character as they explore the spooky landscape. I think that's what I appreciate the most about horror games: they allow you, the player, to grow along with the protagonist in ways most other genres can't.
What better way to step into the shoes of a horror protagonist then via Virtual Reality?
I owned a PSVR headset back when that was the current way to get a console VR experience and despite the awkward setup, I enjoyed it a lot. Back then, Resident Evil 7 had gotten a PlayStation exclusive VR mode, and needless to say the concept fascinated me. Playing a horror game like that in VR? That must be terrifying!
I never got to experience that game, though. I was interested in playing that game and seeing that world through VR lenses, but what kept me from pursuing this dream was the control scheme. What I liked most about the VR experiences I had with titles like Skyrim VR and Accounting + were how I could move my hands freely as I explored environments and solved puzzles using the move controllers. Sadly, though, a move controller only playstyle was not supported for Resident Evil 7, so that's how I mainly lost interest. Looking back, though, I don't blame them at all for not cooking up a control scheme for those things. I mean, look at them! They don't even have analog sticks! I don't know how Bethesda cooked up a tolerable control scheme for only using these things for Skyrim VR, but using these to navigate in 3D in a horror game? Probably not ideal!
Fast forward to November 2022. Sony reveals the PSVR2, a vast upgrade over the original headset for PS4. Along with this headset came the new Sense controllers, and look what we have here! Analog sticks! All the buttons on a normal DualSense controller! We finally made it! Normal gaming in VR on console with the ability to move our hands freely at last!
Needless to say this headset was on my radar since before it got announced. Rumors everywhere, people seeing it as a no-brainer that Sony would release a follow-up to their original headset. It just had to happen, and it did! Come December 2022, we would get a look at some upcoming VR content, including a release date for Resident Evil Village's VR mode, which would launch the same day as the headset! Excitement filled me as I saw this announcement. I was eager to finally see what this game was all about, and I wanted to see it all in VR. Before I knew it February 2023 would come and so would the VR headset. After watching some other early adopters try out the headset to make sure it was the amazing piece of tech it promised to be, I used my tax return to snag one of my own, along with some games to experience in VR, including Resident Evil Village.
By this point in my life I had become no stranger to the Resident Evil series, having played Resident Evil 2 Remake and Resident Evil 5 with a friend. Now, I could not only experience Resident Evil Village for myself, I could make my first experience of it in VR. Long story short, it was everything I wanted.
I won't go into detail about the story here. I'll say that it's a fun romp, with good emotional moments and great banter from the crew of foes you face. I'll add that seeing these cutscenes in VR can be a little disorienting, though. Sometimes Ethan (a.k.a. you) will be pulled in different directions, which can be disorienting for those that suffer from motion sickness (thankfully not the case for me). You can also move your head freely in cutscenes, which means you may see certain things before the game wants you to. Subtitles are available in VR, and they hover on screen within your peripheral vision. However, these subtitles are usually placed in front of characters or objects, which means they're often too close to the viewer, causing them to appear awkwardly and difficult to read unless the player closes one eye. It gets pretty annoying when this happens, and I wish this wasn't an issue in VR.
Also, a good few number of cutscenes aren't presented in a first-person format. Instead, you're shown a cutscene on a floating screen. It's not terrible and I understand why it was necessary, but it is a little jarring sometimes. I also had this really weird glitch happen after I beat the game where the menus kept flickering in random spots, which could be a problem for those that may suffer from epilepsy. Please keep that in mind before playing this game in VR.
Moving away from cutscenes, let's talk about the gameplay, what it's like to experience the village in VR. I had a blast exploring this place in VR. This game doesn't cause motion sickness for me, so I was able to use smooth turning and walking without teleporting around to allow myself to feel more immersed in the world.
Along with moving around are your arsenal of weapons. What's cool about this game is that you get the option to manually reload your weapons. This means that, rather than just hitting a button to reload, you have to reload guns like you would a real weapon. That means for pistols, for example, you'll need to pull on the slide on top after inserting a magazine to fire it. For shotguns, you need to pump them every time you fire a shot. These mechanics apply for every weapon you find. This can be turned off for a more relaxed experience, but I refused to do that. It was way more exciting and tense to keep this feature on as I played. I've had many memorable moments because of it, like one where I shot an enemy with a rifle, and as they approached I tried to fire again and heard a click because I didn't pull the bolt handle. I then quickly did it as they got closer and got a finishing headshot mere moments before it could touch me.
Aiming is also fun in VR. You'll be holding your weapons two-handed and lining up shots constantly, whether you're holding your pistol out in front of you or looking down the scope of your sniper rifle. This game not only asks what your dominant hand is, but also your dominant eye, which allows it to take into consideration how you'll aim as you play, which is really smart. Honestly, playing this game just makes me want to play more VR games with cool gun mechanics like this, because I think having to manually reload and aim down sights adds a lot to the player experience.
Now for the real question: does playing this game in VR make it spookier? The answer is absolutely. Since you're in a VR headset, you don't get to look away when a creepy foe tries to get up close and personal with you. You either fight or you run (please don't try to run in real life though you'll break so many things) to survive in this world of horror. When you see a new enemy approach you, you're gonna have to face your fear and aim steadily for those headshots. As you progress and get more destructive firepower, you'll be mowing down even the fiercest of foes. Resident Evil Village has many tricks up its sleeves to keep you on your toes, however. They'll introduce new enemies that have specific ways to take them down or just have a ton of health to make fighting them a nightmare. There's boss fights that make you focus on keeping your distance while trying to pour as much lead into them as you can. These moments can be exciting, but not too scary.
There is one moment in this game that is downright terrifying, though, especially in VR.
I won't spoil it here, but I will say that it caught me off guard. I went from gunning down monsters to hiding in closets, my knees shaking as I prayed for it to just leave me alone. I don't think any horror game scared me like that moment did, and I loved every second of it. Seasoned Village survivors will know what I'm alluding to, but if you don't and plan on playing this game, don't spoil yourself. Trust me on this one.
Overall, Resident Evil Village is a great game, and playing it in VR makes it an even more intense experience. Whether you've never played this game before or you want your next playthrough to have a unique edge to it, I highly recommend giving the VR mode a playthrough. It's definitely worth your time, especially if you can afford both a PlayStation 5 and the PSVR2 set. Now I just wish more shooters had VR modes like this. I hope that as this generation goes on we see more VR experiences like this one!
Also, yes, Lady Dimitrescu feels 9 feet tall in VR. The people who simp for her are gonna have a great time. Me, though, I was enjoying the sight of someone else in VR a lot more.
2023
I've dabbled in the Rhythm Heaven series and enjoy what those games offer, so seeing this pop up randomly absolutely caught my attention. What we have here is basically a Rhythm Heaven minigame except it's WAY more intense and anxiety inducing, somehow.
You play as a seal clapping along to a set of notes. First you hear and see them, then you click to clap them. Simple enough, right? Well, it starts off that way, then it gets harder, achieved by becoming WAY more complex. You start to tense up as you see the "SPEED UP" messages and breathe sighs of relief when you see the "SPEED DOWN" messages as you try to learn the rhythms you need to survive to get a high score. "Is this one going to be on the backbeat?" "They put HOW MANY notes in this part?" These thoughts and more will swirl through your mind as you try to keep up with the pace.
Despite how scary it sounds, it's a super fun game. It's kind of like a horror game where the thrill comes from how much it puts you on edge but instead of being chased down by a creepy creature, you're trying to clap along to a song playing as a cute seal. It's free and will definitely help make some time pass by and leave you satisfied. The itch.io page for it can be found HERE!
My high score is 14, by the way!
You play as a seal clapping along to a set of notes. First you hear and see them, then you click to clap them. Simple enough, right? Well, it starts off that way, then it gets harder, achieved by becoming WAY more complex. You start to tense up as you see the "SPEED UP" messages and breathe sighs of relief when you see the "SPEED DOWN" messages as you try to learn the rhythms you need to survive to get a high score. "Is this one going to be on the backbeat?" "They put HOW MANY notes in this part?" These thoughts and more will swirl through your mind as you try to keep up with the pace.
Despite how scary it sounds, it's a super fun game. It's kind of like a horror game where the thrill comes from how much it puts you on edge but instead of being chased down by a creepy creature, you're trying to clap along to a song playing as a cute seal. It's free and will definitely help make some time pass by and leave you satisfied. The itch.io page for it can be found HERE!
My high score is 14, by the way!
[Average Reading Time: 14 Minutes]
"Hold on tight! It's going to be a bumpy ride!" -Victor Ireland, Video Games: The Ultimate Gaming Magazine, Issue 89 June 1996
Magic Knight Rayearth is an Action-RPG released for the Sega Saturn at the tail-end of its life. It is often remembered fondly by those who grew up with the title as the last Saturn game to release in the U.S., having released here on December 11th, 1998. However, this title was originally meant to release here much, much earlier.
As is stated in the game's instruction manual, Working Designs had been interested in having the title brought overseas as early as when they first became aware of its existence back in 1995. As soon as they acquired the rights to get a localization done, they began their work on the project, which was easier said than done for them, as a hard disk crash required them to rebuild much of the game's data on their own. Confident in their abilities at the time, they believed that they would have a completed product ready to hit consumer shelves in 1996, with Next Generation Magazine giving a release date of July of that year. In an interview with Video Games: The Ultimate Gaming Magazine, this became "Late summer '96", with Victor Ireland of Working Designs claiming that Magic Knight Rayearth is "...one of the biggest — if not the biggest — conversion projects that Working Designs has ever undertaken."
Over a year would pass from the time of this interview's publication and a future working with SEGA would begin to fade into the distance due to issues that arose at E3. In an interview with Electronic Gaming Monthly, Victor Ireland recounts the events that took place. SEGA had the Working Designs booth placed in a location that received little traffic, causing their showings of games like Albert Odyssey and Magic Knight Rayearth to go mostly unnoticed by attendees. Vic also claimed to have disdain for the then COO of Sega of America, Bernie Stolar, due to how he had relayed to the press much information about their upcoming console, the Dreamcast, while also downplaying the importance of the Saturn. These factors would be what lead to him taking Working Designs in a new direction, working solely with Sony regarding then unannounced projects. They were, however, committed to releasing the games that they had promised the public before these events, including Magic Knight Rayearth.
A little over a year later, the U.S. would finally be given a localization of Magic Knight Rayearth after countless delays, technical issues, and corporate drama. What began as a project they thought they could ship in a year became a demon that took them three years to finally conquer, getting not only the "honor" of being the last Working Designs localized game published for the Saturn, but also of being the last Saturn game to ever release in the United States.
"...this has been, without doubt or question, the
most grueling conversion we have ever attempted." -Working Designs, Magic Knight Rayearth Instruction Manual Page 18
Now, with the history said and done and the game in our hands, let's take a look at the game in question, shall we?
Magic Knight Rayearth plays similar to games like The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past and Secret of Mana. It's a top-down adventure with a focus on exploration and combat, with a trio of protagonists who each offer their own unique skills. You have Hikaru, who wields fire magic and attacks with a crossing sword slash. I wound up using her for most of my playthrough, if only because I liked the feel of her melee attack the best. Second is Umi, who attacks with a stabbing blade and also wields water magic. I used her the least, if only because I didn't like the feel of her melee attack. The range of the stab did help immensely in some boss encounters, though. Last, but most certainly not least, is Fuu, who attacks using a bow and wields wind magic.
We need to talk about Fuu. So, having a bow immediately removes the range limitations of a melee attack like those of Hikaru and Umi. Not only can she shoot an arrow across the screen, she can also do it rapidly, ensuring an endless onslaught of arrows on her enemies. Each member of the party also has a special version of their melee move that they can perform by charging up their weapon by holding the attack button. Hikaru's and Umi's charge moves simply increase the range of their melee attack. What does Fuu's charge move do, then? Well, it only shoots out multiple arrows that also HOME IN ON ANY ENEMIES AND BOSSES ON SCREEN! Also, as the party travels through the adventure, their weapons level up and get stronger. When this happens, their special moves get more powerful. What does this mean for Fuu? It means she shoots EVEN MORE HOMING ARROWS!
This is only half of her kit, by the way. I haven't even begun to talk about how magic works. So, Hikaru and Umi's magic allows them to do things like send water or fire attacks in specific directions or perform moves that hit all enemies on screen with powerful magic. Neat, but not something you'll be using constantly. Outside of the occasional puzzle room that requires them, you're probably not gonna use their magic much.
As for Fuu's magic, however, we have a different story. She gets a move where she uses wind to attack enemies and do some extremely light puzzle-solving as well as a shield that protects the party from damage but comes at a huge MP cost. Her other spell? Oh, that one just heals the entire party for only 3 MP! It's also the first spell she gets, making her magic immediately the most useful of the trio.
I mentioned that I played as Hikaru the most during my adventure. That's because Fuu is WAY too strong for her own good. Her range and ability are unmatched and tears the game balance in half. If you're looking for an easy time, just set yourself to Fuu whenever you don't have to be someone else and delete every enemy in your path!
Honestly even when Fuu isn't clearing out foes the game is pretty easy. Despite Working Designs' attempts to make the game artificially harder by boosting the speed and damage of enemies and bosses (As shown on The Cutting Room Floor), Magic Knight Rayearth is a breeze to complete. With three characters to play as, you also get three separate health bars and magic meters, meaning you can use magic attacks with one character and wail away at enemies, and then switch to another when they're in danger of going down. Then, of course, you have Fuu who can use magic to heal everyone up when everyone's low on health and the cycle starts anew. Also scattered throughout the world are health and magic upgrades that allow you to take more hits and use more spells. Each time you find one, you get to choose who gets it, making it become more of a personal choice as to who gets stronger. I gave all the health upgrades to Hikaru and all the magic upgrades to Fuu (Sorry Umi!), but if I were to go through this game again for any reason, I'd probably give all upgrades to Fuu for reasons already mentioned by now.
Along with your magic abilities, you'll also be given traversal abilities throughout the adventure. Sadly, these aren't very interesting at all. One is the ability to swim, which requires you to mash the attack button whenever you're in water, which is very annoying. The other two you get are basically the Pegasus Boots from Link to the Past split into two parts. You'll get the ability to break objects by dashing into them first, and then after that you'll get the ability to actually hit a button to dash.
You see, in this game, you can build up speed by moving in a straight line. Deviate from straightness for a single moment and you'll have to rebuild speed all over again. In the Settings menu, you can customize your controls, which shows that there is a button to dash. I kept hitting it throughout a good chunk of my playthrough and kept getting confused by it. Was I doing something wrong? Is my controller broken? I wound up looking it up online and found other confused players. Once I actually got the dash ability, I was relieved, but also upset since I was left confused about that button for so long.
Outside of combat, you'll be exploring the world of Cefiro, chatting with NPCs, examining random objects, and finding Rainbow Amulets. Let's talk about Rainbow Amulets first. These are scattered all over the world, and the game encourages you to find them all. In dungeons, they'll be locked away in chests. In towns, they'll either be given to you by NPCs, or they'll be hidden in random objects in the area. If you keep vigilant about seeking them out, you'll most likely be able to find most of them without need of a guide. These are used in the Rainbow Junction Shop, which isn't really a shop. You just need to have a certain number of complete sets in order to obtain the items there. These include practical items, such as an item that lets you regain MP by standing still, and also joke items such as noisy slippers and a mysterious journal. You won't need any of these items to beat the game, but it does give you something to keep an eye out for that makes exploring the world a bit more interesting.
Magic Knight Rayearth, being based on a manga/anime, has a lot going on in terms of dialogue and cutscenes. This game has many Full-Motion Video cutscenes to view, with some being from the anime and some being original to the game. I haven't gotten a chance to check out the manga or anime for this series, so this game definitely did a good job of making me more interested in them. According to The Cutting Room Floor (TCRF for short), the FMVs for this game were re-encoded for the US release, leading to them having worse video quality than the original Japanese release, which is a shame. You may want to consider an "Undub" mod for this game if you wish to experience this game with the cutscenes as they were presented in the original release.
Speaking of the dub, it's...okay? There are some moments where it can be hard to make out what a character is saying in a FMV cutscene where there are no subtitles and sometimes the delivery of lines can be flat, but overall, I'm not offended by the dub provided here. I feel like the voice actors did an okay job for the most part. There also isn't a whole lot of dubbing in the game outside of the FMVs. In the instruction manual, Working Designs mentions that in the original release of the game, more NPCs had voiced dialogue. They claim that testing allegedly lead to players having issues with this, as it allegedly "slowed down the flow of the game". To fix this, they had this dialogue removed, swapping it for a diary mode. This diary is updated as story events happen in the game, with each of the main trio updating their own personal diary with their observations and events that occur in the plot. Each entry is also fully voiced by each girl, allowing the player to get a better feel of each character's unique personality.
Working Designs claimed that this diary feature became possible due to the expanded CD space they were able to have after taking out the undubbed Japanese dialogue. However, according to TCRF, this unused dialogue is still on the U.S. version's disc, meaning that that's a complete lie.
Personally, I don't mind the inclusion of the diary. I think it's cute and does a good job of giving the player a deeper understanding of each character. However, I wouldn't miss it if it meant we could have the NPC dialogue dubbed, because there are a good number of important NPCs in this game that could benefit from having more or any voiced dialogue. I feel that by sacrificing that for this diary feature, we lost the opportunity to have stronger connections with these characters that we meet and interact with. Also, this idea that voiced NPC dialogue slows down the game can be remedied by allowing players to skip voiced dialogue. You can skip FMVs in this version. You couldn't do that in the JP release. Why not give the player the ability to skip dialogue that's voiced? For some reason, they don't let you do that here, which makes the intro of the game slower if you're doing a repeat playthrough. Maybe it's some weird pride they take in their dubs? I don't know and I'm not about to call Vic and ask.
Working Designs also mentions in the manual how they did their best to reduce slowdown that was present in the original release and apologize for the amount of slowdown present in the town of Rozen as they could not find a way to fix it. What they fail to mention here is the effects of this slowdown. When the framerate of a game gets low, it begins to affect how well a game reads your inputs. For example, pressing a button in a game running at 20 frames per second (fps) will produce results less reliably than a game running at 60 fps. Ever wonder why you fall into a pit in a platformer even though you swear you hit jump at the right time? It could be because the input latency caused by the framerate being low caused your input to not be registered. So, when you're in Rozen, surrounded by tons of NPCs that are tanking the framerate, your inputs are now registering rarely at best, meaning that after enough effort, you may be able to see what an NPC has to say, and after some more effort, you may be able to escape that conversation. This isn't limited to just Rozen, by the way. In some later dungeons, there are enemies that can cause the framerate to dip, causing your attack inputs to fail, leading to you taking unnecessary damage. Is it a deal-breaker for the entire game? No, not really. Is it really annoying? Yes, absolutely.
Okay, I've dodged it for long enough. Let's talk about what they did with this game's script.
"Forgive us, we tried." -Working Designs, Magic Knight Rayearth Instruction Manual Page 18
So, with this being an Action RPG, you're going to be reading a ton of dialogue. Not only will you be hearing what NPCs have to say, but you'll also be examining objects in each town and house. All three playable characters have something to say about each and every object you can interact with in the game, which is a neat feature. It honestly caught me off-guard when I checked an object with one character and switched to another only to see a different take on the object from them, and it made me excited to see what everyone has to say about everything in the world.
However, Working Designs has a tendency to try to push things in directions that make most uncomfortable. They have a legacy of shoehorning in pop culture references and dirty jokes into their projects, and sadly Magic Knight Rayearth is yet another victim of this. It also does not help that our main cast of characters are all 14 YEARS OLD, which just makes it even creepier when they start bringing this stuff up. Not even the back of the box is safe from this, which refers to the cast as "the teenage threesome". Considering we have information regarding the ages of these characters, you would've hoped that Working Designs had held back a little on their tendencies, but sadly that is not the case.
Throughout my playthrough I made an effort to write down any of the lines from this game that made me either groan deeply or do a double-take due to how egregious they were. I didn't get to experience every line of dialogue in this game, I'm sure, but I did see a good chunk of them. I would like to share some of the standouts here to give the uninitiated an idea of what to expect when playing a game published by Working Designs during the fifth generation of game consoles. I won't be sharing these without context, but I will make sure to not say enough to spoil anything for people who want to go into this game to see what it's like.
Context: One of the girls is flustered and trying to hide it from the others
Girl 1: "Oh? Then why are you blushing?
Girl 2: "!!! I...I am not!!"
Girl 1: "And moist!"
Context: One of the girls hit a boy
Girl: "Just call me Ike. He's my Tina!"
This is a reference to Ike and Tina Turner. Ike was a domestic abuser. Funny line, Working Designs!
Context: One of the girls is examining a book
Girl: "What's this book? 101 Ways to Give an Enema, by Dr. Felch. Hmm..."
Context: One of the girls is examining a chest
Girl: "Why are we wasting time looking in other people's chests? I've got enough hassle just trying to grow my own!"
Context: One of the girls is checking a supply cabinet
Girl: "Look at all these supplies! They've got enough condoms to last for 50 years!"
Those, and many other lines lie within this game. Working Designs' sense of humor certainly persists in their titles, but it's mostly bad. There will be moments that get a chuckle out of you here and there, but a lot of it is like this. This isn't the whole game, either, just to be clear. The stuff relating to the main plot is pretty normal for the most part. They just like to stuff these in there and I really wish they were normal and didn't do that because it's weird, man.
Overall, I didn't hate my time with this game. My grievances with the localization aside, this is a decent game that feels good to play and doesn't overstay its welcome. I won't go out of my way to call it a "hidden gem" because it really doesn't do anything to earn that title. It does nothing to impresses you nor does it do anything unique enough to stand out on its own. It's a by-the-numbers top-down action RPG with three playable characters. The presentation is decent. graphics look good. Music is okay, but not memorable. If you're looking for a game that plays like Zelda that really wants you to know about how much characters want to bake cakes, look no further than Magic Knight Rayearth.
"Hold on tight! It's going to be a bumpy ride!" -Victor Ireland, Video Games: The Ultimate Gaming Magazine, Issue 89 June 1996
Magic Knight Rayearth is an Action-RPG released for the Sega Saturn at the tail-end of its life. It is often remembered fondly by those who grew up with the title as the last Saturn game to release in the U.S., having released here on December 11th, 1998. However, this title was originally meant to release here much, much earlier.
As is stated in the game's instruction manual, Working Designs had been interested in having the title brought overseas as early as when they first became aware of its existence back in 1995. As soon as they acquired the rights to get a localization done, they began their work on the project, which was easier said than done for them, as a hard disk crash required them to rebuild much of the game's data on their own. Confident in their abilities at the time, they believed that they would have a completed product ready to hit consumer shelves in 1996, with Next Generation Magazine giving a release date of July of that year. In an interview with Video Games: The Ultimate Gaming Magazine, this became "Late summer '96", with Victor Ireland of Working Designs claiming that Magic Knight Rayearth is "...one of the biggest — if not the biggest — conversion projects that Working Designs has ever undertaken."
Over a year would pass from the time of this interview's publication and a future working with SEGA would begin to fade into the distance due to issues that arose at E3. In an interview with Electronic Gaming Monthly, Victor Ireland recounts the events that took place. SEGA had the Working Designs booth placed in a location that received little traffic, causing their showings of games like Albert Odyssey and Magic Knight Rayearth to go mostly unnoticed by attendees. Vic also claimed to have disdain for the then COO of Sega of America, Bernie Stolar, due to how he had relayed to the press much information about their upcoming console, the Dreamcast, while also downplaying the importance of the Saturn. These factors would be what lead to him taking Working Designs in a new direction, working solely with Sony regarding then unannounced projects. They were, however, committed to releasing the games that they had promised the public before these events, including Magic Knight Rayearth.
A little over a year later, the U.S. would finally be given a localization of Magic Knight Rayearth after countless delays, technical issues, and corporate drama. What began as a project they thought they could ship in a year became a demon that took them three years to finally conquer, getting not only the "honor" of being the last Working Designs localized game published for the Saturn, but also of being the last Saturn game to ever release in the United States.
"...this has been, without doubt or question, the
most grueling conversion we have ever attempted." -Working Designs, Magic Knight Rayearth Instruction Manual Page 18
Now, with the history said and done and the game in our hands, let's take a look at the game in question, shall we?
Magic Knight Rayearth plays similar to games like The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past and Secret of Mana. It's a top-down adventure with a focus on exploration and combat, with a trio of protagonists who each offer their own unique skills. You have Hikaru, who wields fire magic and attacks with a crossing sword slash. I wound up using her for most of my playthrough, if only because I liked the feel of her melee attack the best. Second is Umi, who attacks with a stabbing blade and also wields water magic. I used her the least, if only because I didn't like the feel of her melee attack. The range of the stab did help immensely in some boss encounters, though. Last, but most certainly not least, is Fuu, who attacks using a bow and wields wind magic.
We need to talk about Fuu. So, having a bow immediately removes the range limitations of a melee attack like those of Hikaru and Umi. Not only can she shoot an arrow across the screen, she can also do it rapidly, ensuring an endless onslaught of arrows on her enemies. Each member of the party also has a special version of their melee move that they can perform by charging up their weapon by holding the attack button. Hikaru's and Umi's charge moves simply increase the range of their melee attack. What does Fuu's charge move do, then? Well, it only shoots out multiple arrows that also HOME IN ON ANY ENEMIES AND BOSSES ON SCREEN! Also, as the party travels through the adventure, their weapons level up and get stronger. When this happens, their special moves get more powerful. What does this mean for Fuu? It means she shoots EVEN MORE HOMING ARROWS!
This is only half of her kit, by the way. I haven't even begun to talk about how magic works. So, Hikaru and Umi's magic allows them to do things like send water or fire attacks in specific directions or perform moves that hit all enemies on screen with powerful magic. Neat, but not something you'll be using constantly. Outside of the occasional puzzle room that requires them, you're probably not gonna use their magic much.
As for Fuu's magic, however, we have a different story. She gets a move where she uses wind to attack enemies and do some extremely light puzzle-solving as well as a shield that protects the party from damage but comes at a huge MP cost. Her other spell? Oh, that one just heals the entire party for only 3 MP! It's also the first spell she gets, making her magic immediately the most useful of the trio.
I mentioned that I played as Hikaru the most during my adventure. That's because Fuu is WAY too strong for her own good. Her range and ability are unmatched and tears the game balance in half. If you're looking for an easy time, just set yourself to Fuu whenever you don't have to be someone else and delete every enemy in your path!
Honestly even when Fuu isn't clearing out foes the game is pretty easy. Despite Working Designs' attempts to make the game artificially harder by boosting the speed and damage of enemies and bosses (As shown on The Cutting Room Floor), Magic Knight Rayearth is a breeze to complete. With three characters to play as, you also get three separate health bars and magic meters, meaning you can use magic attacks with one character and wail away at enemies, and then switch to another when they're in danger of going down. Then, of course, you have Fuu who can use magic to heal everyone up when everyone's low on health and the cycle starts anew. Also scattered throughout the world are health and magic upgrades that allow you to take more hits and use more spells. Each time you find one, you get to choose who gets it, making it become more of a personal choice as to who gets stronger. I gave all the health upgrades to Hikaru and all the magic upgrades to Fuu (Sorry Umi!), but if I were to go through this game again for any reason, I'd probably give all upgrades to Fuu for reasons already mentioned by now.
Along with your magic abilities, you'll also be given traversal abilities throughout the adventure. Sadly, these aren't very interesting at all. One is the ability to swim, which requires you to mash the attack button whenever you're in water, which is very annoying. The other two you get are basically the Pegasus Boots from Link to the Past split into two parts. You'll get the ability to break objects by dashing into them first, and then after that you'll get the ability to actually hit a button to dash.
You see, in this game, you can build up speed by moving in a straight line. Deviate from straightness for a single moment and you'll have to rebuild speed all over again. In the Settings menu, you can customize your controls, which shows that there is a button to dash. I kept hitting it throughout a good chunk of my playthrough and kept getting confused by it. Was I doing something wrong? Is my controller broken? I wound up looking it up online and found other confused players. Once I actually got the dash ability, I was relieved, but also upset since I was left confused about that button for so long.
Outside of combat, you'll be exploring the world of Cefiro, chatting with NPCs, examining random objects, and finding Rainbow Amulets. Let's talk about Rainbow Amulets first. These are scattered all over the world, and the game encourages you to find them all. In dungeons, they'll be locked away in chests. In towns, they'll either be given to you by NPCs, or they'll be hidden in random objects in the area. If you keep vigilant about seeking them out, you'll most likely be able to find most of them without need of a guide. These are used in the Rainbow Junction Shop, which isn't really a shop. You just need to have a certain number of complete sets in order to obtain the items there. These include practical items, such as an item that lets you regain MP by standing still, and also joke items such as noisy slippers and a mysterious journal. You won't need any of these items to beat the game, but it does give you something to keep an eye out for that makes exploring the world a bit more interesting.
Magic Knight Rayearth, being based on a manga/anime, has a lot going on in terms of dialogue and cutscenes. This game has many Full-Motion Video cutscenes to view, with some being from the anime and some being original to the game. I haven't gotten a chance to check out the manga or anime for this series, so this game definitely did a good job of making me more interested in them. According to The Cutting Room Floor (TCRF for short), the FMVs for this game were re-encoded for the US release, leading to them having worse video quality than the original Japanese release, which is a shame. You may want to consider an "Undub" mod for this game if you wish to experience this game with the cutscenes as they were presented in the original release.
Speaking of the dub, it's...okay? There are some moments where it can be hard to make out what a character is saying in a FMV cutscene where there are no subtitles and sometimes the delivery of lines can be flat, but overall, I'm not offended by the dub provided here. I feel like the voice actors did an okay job for the most part. There also isn't a whole lot of dubbing in the game outside of the FMVs. In the instruction manual, Working Designs mentions that in the original release of the game, more NPCs had voiced dialogue. They claim that testing allegedly lead to players having issues with this, as it allegedly "slowed down the flow of the game". To fix this, they had this dialogue removed, swapping it for a diary mode. This diary is updated as story events happen in the game, with each of the main trio updating their own personal diary with their observations and events that occur in the plot. Each entry is also fully voiced by each girl, allowing the player to get a better feel of each character's unique personality.
Working Designs claimed that this diary feature became possible due to the expanded CD space they were able to have after taking out the undubbed Japanese dialogue. However, according to TCRF, this unused dialogue is still on the U.S. version's disc, meaning that that's a complete lie.
Personally, I don't mind the inclusion of the diary. I think it's cute and does a good job of giving the player a deeper understanding of each character. However, I wouldn't miss it if it meant we could have the NPC dialogue dubbed, because there are a good number of important NPCs in this game that could benefit from having more or any voiced dialogue. I feel that by sacrificing that for this diary feature, we lost the opportunity to have stronger connections with these characters that we meet and interact with. Also, this idea that voiced NPC dialogue slows down the game can be remedied by allowing players to skip voiced dialogue. You can skip FMVs in this version. You couldn't do that in the JP release. Why not give the player the ability to skip dialogue that's voiced? For some reason, they don't let you do that here, which makes the intro of the game slower if you're doing a repeat playthrough. Maybe it's some weird pride they take in their dubs? I don't know and I'm not about to call Vic and ask.
Working Designs also mentions in the manual how they did their best to reduce slowdown that was present in the original release and apologize for the amount of slowdown present in the town of Rozen as they could not find a way to fix it. What they fail to mention here is the effects of this slowdown. When the framerate of a game gets low, it begins to affect how well a game reads your inputs. For example, pressing a button in a game running at 20 frames per second (fps) will produce results less reliably than a game running at 60 fps. Ever wonder why you fall into a pit in a platformer even though you swear you hit jump at the right time? It could be because the input latency caused by the framerate being low caused your input to not be registered. So, when you're in Rozen, surrounded by tons of NPCs that are tanking the framerate, your inputs are now registering rarely at best, meaning that after enough effort, you may be able to see what an NPC has to say, and after some more effort, you may be able to escape that conversation. This isn't limited to just Rozen, by the way. In some later dungeons, there are enemies that can cause the framerate to dip, causing your attack inputs to fail, leading to you taking unnecessary damage. Is it a deal-breaker for the entire game? No, not really. Is it really annoying? Yes, absolutely.
Okay, I've dodged it for long enough. Let's talk about what they did with this game's script.
"Forgive us, we tried." -Working Designs, Magic Knight Rayearth Instruction Manual Page 18
So, with this being an Action RPG, you're going to be reading a ton of dialogue. Not only will you be hearing what NPCs have to say, but you'll also be examining objects in each town and house. All three playable characters have something to say about each and every object you can interact with in the game, which is a neat feature. It honestly caught me off-guard when I checked an object with one character and switched to another only to see a different take on the object from them, and it made me excited to see what everyone has to say about everything in the world.
However, Working Designs has a tendency to try to push things in directions that make most uncomfortable. They have a legacy of shoehorning in pop culture references and dirty jokes into their projects, and sadly Magic Knight Rayearth is yet another victim of this. It also does not help that our main cast of characters are all 14 YEARS OLD, which just makes it even creepier when they start bringing this stuff up. Not even the back of the box is safe from this, which refers to the cast as "the teenage threesome". Considering we have information regarding the ages of these characters, you would've hoped that Working Designs had held back a little on their tendencies, but sadly that is not the case.
Throughout my playthrough I made an effort to write down any of the lines from this game that made me either groan deeply or do a double-take due to how egregious they were. I didn't get to experience every line of dialogue in this game, I'm sure, but I did see a good chunk of them. I would like to share some of the standouts here to give the uninitiated an idea of what to expect when playing a game published by Working Designs during the fifth generation of game consoles. I won't be sharing these without context, but I will make sure to not say enough to spoil anything for people who want to go into this game to see what it's like.
Context: One of the girls is flustered and trying to hide it from the others
Girl 1: "Oh? Then why are you blushing?
Girl 2: "!!! I...I am not!!"
Girl 1: "And moist!"
Context: One of the girls hit a boy
Girl: "Just call me Ike. He's my Tina!"
This is a reference to Ike and Tina Turner. Ike was a domestic abuser. Funny line, Working Designs!
Context: One of the girls is examining a book
Girl: "What's this book? 101 Ways to Give an Enema, by Dr. Felch. Hmm..."
Context: One of the girls is examining a chest
Girl: "Why are we wasting time looking in other people's chests? I've got enough hassle just trying to grow my own!"
Context: One of the girls is checking a supply cabinet
Girl: "Look at all these supplies! They've got enough condoms to last for 50 years!"
Those, and many other lines lie within this game. Working Designs' sense of humor certainly persists in their titles, but it's mostly bad. There will be moments that get a chuckle out of you here and there, but a lot of it is like this. This isn't the whole game, either, just to be clear. The stuff relating to the main plot is pretty normal for the most part. They just like to stuff these in there and I really wish they were normal and didn't do that because it's weird, man.
Overall, I didn't hate my time with this game. My grievances with the localization aside, this is a decent game that feels good to play and doesn't overstay its welcome. I won't go out of my way to call it a "hidden gem" because it really doesn't do anything to earn that title. It does nothing to impresses you nor does it do anything unique enough to stand out on its own. It's a by-the-numbers top-down action RPG with three playable characters. The presentation is decent. graphics look good. Music is okay, but not memorable. If you're looking for a game that plays like Zelda that really wants you to know about how much characters want to bake cakes, look no further than Magic Knight Rayearth.
2016
[Average Reading Time: 6 Minutes]
Kiwami means Extreme
After beating Yakuza 0 last year, I decided that this year I would continue exploring this series by playing Yakuza Kiwami. I've never experienced the original PlayStation 2 release of this title, so I can't compare it to that at all. While I am curious about that version, I'll have to save that dive for another day.
Playing this game was certainly a treat, for the most part. Experiencing the story of this game often left me excited to see what would happen next. It's very much a crime drama that has tons of twists and turns, so if you like those you'll love this. Even if you aren't too experienced with action games like this, this game is honestly pretty forgiving in terms of difficulty. I played through on the Normal skill level, and I was constantly being showered in health items and was able to make myself pretty strong very quickly, so I feel that anyone can brute force their way through this game if they wanted to. This is definitely an experience that can be had by anyone!
One of the core parts of Yakuza Kiwami's gameplay is the combat. You get four different styles to fight enemies with, each having a unique playstyle. As you play, you'll get used to often switching styles on the fly, which can be done with the push of a button, to take advantage of scenarios that lend themselves to specific styles of fighting. You also gain access to special moves called Heat Actions, which use a meter to allow Kiryu to unleash powerful moves that make quick work of foes. Mastering the styles and learning when to use specific styles in combat is one of the best parts of playing this game. Nothing is more satisfying than building up a ton of heat with one style and then quickly switching to another to use a heat action that knocks out a crowd of foes!
You can unlock new abilities and combos for three of your styles by gaining experience points from fighting enemies, eating food, and completing substories (more on those later). One style, the Dragon style, can only be enhanced in specific scenarios. A majority of these scenarios revolve around a gimmick referred to as Majima Everywhere. Majima is not only a comfort character of mine (seriously seeing him always brings a smile to my face LOOK AT HIM GO THAT'S MY SON) but he is also literally everywhere. He's in alleys, dumpsters, cars, anywhere he can try to sneak up on ya and force you into a fight. By beating him in combat (which gets harder over time) you'll begin to unlock more moves and abilities for this style. You'll have to fight him a lot in order to get all the skills, so try not to go too wild with this if you really want to see the main story unfold. You don't need to worry about this, but it is fun having some tougher fights to keep you on your toes.
Speaking of things that keep players from seeing the story unfold, let's talk about one of the biggest draws of the Yakuza franchise, the side content! Mini games and substories await you, and man is there a TON in this game. Substories are basically side quests, often being very short. These will often reward you with cash, rare items, and experience points. The more of these you do, the easier it'll be to make Kiryu really strong! Plus they're all pretty entertaining and show more of Kiryu's goofy side (Kiryu is also a comfort character of mine I love my stoic strong responsible son who's very good at falling for scams).
Mini games are aplenty here. Karaoke, casinos, and bar games like darts will do a good job of keeping you entertained for a small while. There are two mini games that gained a lot of my attention during my playthrough, however. One is MesuKing, a kid's card game where you collect trading cards that display provocative scenes of barely dressed women wrestling and then use them to battle in Rock-Paper-Scissors matches against children (it's as insane as it sounds). These cards are scattered all across Kamurocho, and the more you find, the more options you'll have when setting up your deck. Despite it being Rock-Paper-Scissors at the end of the day, finding new fighters and moves to use and seeing them in action as you trounce the kid who always picks rock for the twentieth time is very satisfying.
The other mini game that ate more time than it ethically should have was Pocket Circuit! Players of Yakuza 0 will recognize this one. Collect parts for your car and tune it to be just right to get the edge over opponents on the race track. It's surprisingly really deep, and I often spent over an hour fine-tuning my racer to be able to get it to clear a track in first place. It's easily the most interesting of the mini games to play in this game, and I highly recommend any Yakuza Kiwami player to not overlook it!
Fighting and checking out side content also earns you Completion Points, which can be redeemed for items and abilities, like being able to run without getting tired or gaining accessories that allow you to find hard-to-see items. One accessory you can get allows you to see the locations of all currently accessible substories, and this one item brought my playthrough to a major halt. I began exploring everywhere, doing as many as I could because of how beneficial they were. This also caused me to get engrossed in finding every MesuKing card as well as spending way too much time with Pocket Circuit because of course there are substories tied to them WhY wOuLdN't ThErE bE? I got that thing in Chapter 4 and I think I spent over 10 hours of my playthrough in that chapter because of it. Do I regret any of it? Absolutely not. The side content of this game is great fun and absolutely worth seeking out. However, it's important that players don't get too lost in the sauce of the side content so they can see that plot unfold!
If I had to think of any issues I had with this game, it would be with some of the enemies you face towards the end of the game. Towards the very end, you'll begin encountering lots of enemies that use guns, which interrupt your combos and immediately knock you to the ground, requiring you to mash the X button to get back up before another enemy hits you while you're down. It is very possible to enter a situation where one enemy shoots you, you get pummeled by others, and then when you get up another enemy shoots you, repeating the cycle. These are escapable, but they are very annoying. I also began getting annoyed by some of the later game bosses, who really like to dodge out of your moves and begin countering you real fast. I found that the best strategy for these was to use the Rush style and quick step around them constantly to get behind them to punish them, but this quickly became the song and dance for most bosses because of just how many acted like this. I wanted to take advantage of other styles but their dodges didn't move fast enough to allow me to do some serious damage, so I'm a bit sour about that.
Overall, I really enjoyed Yakuza Kiwami. my playthrough lasted 31 hours, but probably would've been a little over 20 if I didn't do so much side content. I enjoyed exploring Kamurocho, playing mini games, fighting Majima, and seeing what the plot had to offer. Needless to say I'm excited to see how this is expanded upon in Yakuza Kiwami 2, and I highly encourage those who want to give this series a shot to play this game!
Kiwami means Extreme
After beating Yakuza 0 last year, I decided that this year I would continue exploring this series by playing Yakuza Kiwami. I've never experienced the original PlayStation 2 release of this title, so I can't compare it to that at all. While I am curious about that version, I'll have to save that dive for another day.
Playing this game was certainly a treat, for the most part. Experiencing the story of this game often left me excited to see what would happen next. It's very much a crime drama that has tons of twists and turns, so if you like those you'll love this. Even if you aren't too experienced with action games like this, this game is honestly pretty forgiving in terms of difficulty. I played through on the Normal skill level, and I was constantly being showered in health items and was able to make myself pretty strong very quickly, so I feel that anyone can brute force their way through this game if they wanted to. This is definitely an experience that can be had by anyone!
One of the core parts of Yakuza Kiwami's gameplay is the combat. You get four different styles to fight enemies with, each having a unique playstyle. As you play, you'll get used to often switching styles on the fly, which can be done with the push of a button, to take advantage of scenarios that lend themselves to specific styles of fighting. You also gain access to special moves called Heat Actions, which use a meter to allow Kiryu to unleash powerful moves that make quick work of foes. Mastering the styles and learning when to use specific styles in combat is one of the best parts of playing this game. Nothing is more satisfying than building up a ton of heat with one style and then quickly switching to another to use a heat action that knocks out a crowd of foes!
You can unlock new abilities and combos for three of your styles by gaining experience points from fighting enemies, eating food, and completing substories (more on those later). One style, the Dragon style, can only be enhanced in specific scenarios. A majority of these scenarios revolve around a gimmick referred to as Majima Everywhere. Majima is not only a comfort character of mine (seriously seeing him always brings a smile to my face LOOK AT HIM GO THAT'S MY SON) but he is also literally everywhere. He's in alleys, dumpsters, cars, anywhere he can try to sneak up on ya and force you into a fight. By beating him in combat (which gets harder over time) you'll begin to unlock more moves and abilities for this style. You'll have to fight him a lot in order to get all the skills, so try not to go too wild with this if you really want to see the main story unfold. You don't need to worry about this, but it is fun having some tougher fights to keep you on your toes.
Speaking of things that keep players from seeing the story unfold, let's talk about one of the biggest draws of the Yakuza franchise, the side content! Mini games and substories await you, and man is there a TON in this game. Substories are basically side quests, often being very short. These will often reward you with cash, rare items, and experience points. The more of these you do, the easier it'll be to make Kiryu really strong! Plus they're all pretty entertaining and show more of Kiryu's goofy side (Kiryu is also a comfort character of mine I love my stoic strong responsible son who's very good at falling for scams).
Mini games are aplenty here. Karaoke, casinos, and bar games like darts will do a good job of keeping you entertained for a small while. There are two mini games that gained a lot of my attention during my playthrough, however. One is MesuKing, a kid's card game where you collect trading cards that display provocative scenes of barely dressed women wrestling and then use them to battle in Rock-Paper-Scissors matches against children (it's as insane as it sounds). These cards are scattered all across Kamurocho, and the more you find, the more options you'll have when setting up your deck. Despite it being Rock-Paper-Scissors at the end of the day, finding new fighters and moves to use and seeing them in action as you trounce the kid who always picks rock for the twentieth time is very satisfying.
The other mini game that ate more time than it ethically should have was Pocket Circuit! Players of Yakuza 0 will recognize this one. Collect parts for your car and tune it to be just right to get the edge over opponents on the race track. It's surprisingly really deep, and I often spent over an hour fine-tuning my racer to be able to get it to clear a track in first place. It's easily the most interesting of the mini games to play in this game, and I highly recommend any Yakuza Kiwami player to not overlook it!
Fighting and checking out side content also earns you Completion Points, which can be redeemed for items and abilities, like being able to run without getting tired or gaining accessories that allow you to find hard-to-see items. One accessory you can get allows you to see the locations of all currently accessible substories, and this one item brought my playthrough to a major halt. I began exploring everywhere, doing as many as I could because of how beneficial they were. This also caused me to get engrossed in finding every MesuKing card as well as spending way too much time with Pocket Circuit because of course there are substories tied to them WhY wOuLdN't ThErE bE? I got that thing in Chapter 4 and I think I spent over 10 hours of my playthrough in that chapter because of it. Do I regret any of it? Absolutely not. The side content of this game is great fun and absolutely worth seeking out. However, it's important that players don't get too lost in the sauce of the side content so they can see that plot unfold!
If I had to think of any issues I had with this game, it would be with some of the enemies you face towards the end of the game. Towards the very end, you'll begin encountering lots of enemies that use guns, which interrupt your combos and immediately knock you to the ground, requiring you to mash the X button to get back up before another enemy hits you while you're down. It is very possible to enter a situation where one enemy shoots you, you get pummeled by others, and then when you get up another enemy shoots you, repeating the cycle. These are escapable, but they are very annoying. I also began getting annoyed by some of the later game bosses, who really like to dodge out of your moves and begin countering you real fast. I found that the best strategy for these was to use the Rush style and quick step around them constantly to get behind them to punish them, but this quickly became the song and dance for most bosses because of just how many acted like this. I wanted to take advantage of other styles but their dodges didn't move fast enough to allow me to do some serious damage, so I'm a bit sour about that.
Overall, I really enjoyed Yakuza Kiwami. my playthrough lasted 31 hours, but probably would've been a little over 20 if I didn't do so much side content. I enjoyed exploring Kamurocho, playing mini games, fighting Majima, and seeing what the plot had to offer. Needless to say I'm excited to see how this is expanded upon in Yakuza Kiwami 2, and I highly encourage those who want to give this series a shot to play this game!
2000
[Average Reading Time: 3 Minutes]
Breakout took me by surprise. I went into this game expecting it to be a normal brick-breaking game that used its 3D elements to make interesting structures to break apart. What I got was a game that prioritizes creating interesting gimmicks unique to each stage.
The game offers a story mode where you experience these stages. You take the role of Bouncer, whose friends and girlfriend have been kidnapped by Batnix, an evil pong paddle. Oh, yeah, all the characters are pong paddles, and you get to see how they run around and make shocked faces at things. It's jarring but also really funny at the same time.
You have six worlds to explore, each having multiple stages with each stage having its own gimmick. Some stages are going to be as simple as defeating all enemies or breaking all the bricks, but they keep things interesting by doing things like having enemies approach you in a Space Invaders style, or have characters come and lay down more bricks to replace ones you've destroyed. There are also stages where you're running from things chasing you, climbing towers, and shifting across conveyer belts to launch balls into a wall. The game is surprisingly varied, and I was always eager to see what the next stage would be.
Along with these gimmicks, there are also some interesting ways to control the paddle. You can switch between two paddle styles on the fly, offering different ways to angle shots. You can also hold down the shoulder buttons to angle the paddle to try to line up shots properly. I wasn't expecting this much depth in a brick-breaking game, so I was pleasantly surprised by these additions. It made me wish more games like this tried to offer mechanics like these to allow for a higher skill-ceiling.
As you progress through the 6 worlds in the main game, you'll unlock other paddles to use. Each one is different in specific ways, with some being larger but slower and others being smaller but faster. There's one that has magnetic properties, effecting how the ball travels when it passes by the paddle. You can also switch between characters in the middle of a stage at any time, so this on top of the paddle mechanics I mentioned earlier allow for a lot of experimentation in regard to how you would want to approach a stage.
As you clear stages, you'll be given a rank. It's not based on how quickly you clear a stage or anything. It's more like a combo system. Every time you beat a stage, your rank goes up. Every time you lose all your lives in a stage, your rank goes down. It doesn't seem to effect gameplay at all, but it is a neat incentive to try to be better at the game.
As for what I didn't like about this game, there's a few things. First off, at the start of the game there's a tutorial where you're introduced to a character called Coach Steel, who is a ball who teaches you the mechanics of the game and manages your rank. The tutorial feels like it goes on longer than it should have, but I can forgive it slightly since the mechanics are important to learn and are rarely seen in other brick-breaking games.
What I can't forgive is the noises Coach Steel makes when you lose a stage. In each stage, you get three lives, with the ability to get extra lives if you collect power-ups that have them. When you lose them all, your rank lowers, which is fine. What isn't fine is Coach Steel making an annoying taunting noise every time you game over. You never want to hear it again after the first time and every time after that is just grating. When I beat this game, I came out of it happy to know I wouldn't hear that sound again.
My only other gripe is how short the game is. You can easily beat the story mode in around an hour or two, leaving you wanting for more stages. It doesn't help that as far as I am aware, there's no other game that controls like this one, so this may be all that you get.
Breakout was a surprise I never saw coming. It did things with the mechanics that I feel did a great job of evolving on this formula and had really fun stages, to boot. I just wish I could find more games that played like this, because there is definitely a ton of potential in the gameplay presentation this game offers. I highly recommend people give this game a shot!
Breakout took me by surprise. I went into this game expecting it to be a normal brick-breaking game that used its 3D elements to make interesting structures to break apart. What I got was a game that prioritizes creating interesting gimmicks unique to each stage.
The game offers a story mode where you experience these stages. You take the role of Bouncer, whose friends and girlfriend have been kidnapped by Batnix, an evil pong paddle. Oh, yeah, all the characters are pong paddles, and you get to see how they run around and make shocked faces at things. It's jarring but also really funny at the same time.
You have six worlds to explore, each having multiple stages with each stage having its own gimmick. Some stages are going to be as simple as defeating all enemies or breaking all the bricks, but they keep things interesting by doing things like having enemies approach you in a Space Invaders style, or have characters come and lay down more bricks to replace ones you've destroyed. There are also stages where you're running from things chasing you, climbing towers, and shifting across conveyer belts to launch balls into a wall. The game is surprisingly varied, and I was always eager to see what the next stage would be.
Along with these gimmicks, there are also some interesting ways to control the paddle. You can switch between two paddle styles on the fly, offering different ways to angle shots. You can also hold down the shoulder buttons to angle the paddle to try to line up shots properly. I wasn't expecting this much depth in a brick-breaking game, so I was pleasantly surprised by these additions. It made me wish more games like this tried to offer mechanics like these to allow for a higher skill-ceiling.
As you progress through the 6 worlds in the main game, you'll unlock other paddles to use. Each one is different in specific ways, with some being larger but slower and others being smaller but faster. There's one that has magnetic properties, effecting how the ball travels when it passes by the paddle. You can also switch between characters in the middle of a stage at any time, so this on top of the paddle mechanics I mentioned earlier allow for a lot of experimentation in regard to how you would want to approach a stage.
As you clear stages, you'll be given a rank. It's not based on how quickly you clear a stage or anything. It's more like a combo system. Every time you beat a stage, your rank goes up. Every time you lose all your lives in a stage, your rank goes down. It doesn't seem to effect gameplay at all, but it is a neat incentive to try to be better at the game.
As for what I didn't like about this game, there's a few things. First off, at the start of the game there's a tutorial where you're introduced to a character called Coach Steel, who is a ball who teaches you the mechanics of the game and manages your rank. The tutorial feels like it goes on longer than it should have, but I can forgive it slightly since the mechanics are important to learn and are rarely seen in other brick-breaking games.
What I can't forgive is the noises Coach Steel makes when you lose a stage. In each stage, you get three lives, with the ability to get extra lives if you collect power-ups that have them. When you lose them all, your rank lowers, which is fine. What isn't fine is Coach Steel making an annoying taunting noise every time you game over. You never want to hear it again after the first time and every time after that is just grating. When I beat this game, I came out of it happy to know I wouldn't hear that sound again.
My only other gripe is how short the game is. You can easily beat the story mode in around an hour or two, leaving you wanting for more stages. It doesn't help that as far as I am aware, there's no other game that controls like this one, so this may be all that you get.
Breakout was a surprise I never saw coming. It did things with the mechanics that I feel did a great job of evolving on this formula and had really fun stages, to boot. I just wish I could find more games that played like this, because there is definitely a ton of potential in the gameplay presentation this game offers. I highly recommend people give this game a shot!
2021
Toree 2 is the follow up to Toree 3D, a 3D platformer with only a handful of stages that had a strong emphasis on speedrunning stages. Toree 2 feels like an expansion on the first game, offering even more stages to explore and speed through, as well as secrets to find and hidden surprises.
I played this on PC via itch.io, which did not like the idea of me using a controller for some reason. No matter how I tried to configure it, it just wouldn't work. I wound up settling for using keyboard and mouse controls. While they weren't ideal for this kind of game, they got the job done and I still had a fun time regardless.
Toree 2 feels good to control, and while you can beat it in under an hour, you'll definitely want to go back to improve your times and find secrets to unlock other characters. Plus, this game is super cheap. It's 1 dollar on itch.io and Steam and is honestly worth more than that.
If you're looking for a short inexpensive platformer that plays great and gives you plenty of goals to achieve, look no further than Toree 2!
I played this on PC via itch.io, which did not like the idea of me using a controller for some reason. No matter how I tried to configure it, it just wouldn't work. I wound up settling for using keyboard and mouse controls. While they weren't ideal for this kind of game, they got the job done and I still had a fun time regardless.
Toree 2 feels good to control, and while you can beat it in under an hour, you'll definitely want to go back to improve your times and find secrets to unlock other characters. Plus, this game is super cheap. It's 1 dollar on itch.io and Steam and is honestly worth more than that.
If you're looking for a short inexpensive platformer that plays great and gives you plenty of goals to achieve, look no further than Toree 2!
1994
As the new year approaches, I felt the need to beat at least one more game before the clock strikes 12 here. I decided to give Donkey Kong Country another playthrough, but with a twist. I played through it using this MSU mod, which not only replaces the song that plays in each stage with a unique remix, but also shuffles the overworld music between multiple overworld remixes. Needless to say, it was a feast to the ears that kept fresh throughout the playthrough.
Speaking of the playthrough, man, the back half of this game is rough. They sure were cooking something when they decided that the player should beat 5 ice world levels before getting the chance to save! DKC isn't an easy romp, but despite that it's still a great time. The graphics look good, the game feels great, and even without the mod the music is stellar. You're missing out of you don't give DKC a shot at least once in your life, even if you don't beat it.
END OF YEAR RAMBLINGS BELOW THIS POINT! YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED!
I wasn't expecting this to be the last game I beat before 2024 but here we are, I guess. At the start of this year, I had only just gotten really into using this site. Since then, I've grown to really like this place. Writing reviews has been a fun way to express myself, and seeing what other people have to say on this site is always a treat. I'm looking forward to writing more stuff in 2024, all while tackling my backlog, getting used to the married life, and taking on whatever other challenges and changes life throws my way. I hope everyone has an exciting 2024 full of fun games and good times!
Speaking of the playthrough, man, the back half of this game is rough. They sure were cooking something when they decided that the player should beat 5 ice world levels before getting the chance to save! DKC isn't an easy romp, but despite that it's still a great time. The graphics look good, the game feels great, and even without the mod the music is stellar. You're missing out of you don't give DKC a shot at least once in your life, even if you don't beat it.
END OF YEAR RAMBLINGS BELOW THIS POINT! YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED!
I wasn't expecting this to be the last game I beat before 2024 but here we are, I guess. At the start of this year, I had only just gotten really into using this site. Since then, I've grown to really like this place. Writing reviews has been a fun way to express myself, and seeing what other people have to say on this site is always a treat. I'm looking forward to writing more stuff in 2024, all while tackling my backlog, getting used to the married life, and taking on whatever other challenges and changes life throws my way. I hope everyone has an exciting 2024 full of fun games and good times!
Okay this is the best DMC game hands down. Somehow this beat out 3 as my favorite.
I'm not super great at action games like this, but I do enjoy this series a lot, so having 3 characters to mess around with was a neat change of pace. Nero's devil arms are neat to use, and having so many to choose from allows for a ton of interesting builds centered around him. V's gameplay takes some getting used to, but I grew to enjoy how he played, getting tons of high ranks as him towards the end.
The absurd amount of stuff in Dante's kit this time around is amazing. While the guitar from 3 will always be my favorite goofy weapon of his, switching from a sword to a motorcycle is just too crazy (and that's a good thing). All of his weapons feel great to use and switching between melee weapons and guns and styles on the fly to build up style points is more satisfying than it has any right to be.
If you're a Devil May Cry fan and you somehow have not played this game, do it. Right now. By reading this sentence you are now obligated to play this game. DO IT
I'm not super great at action games like this, but I do enjoy this series a lot, so having 3 characters to mess around with was a neat change of pace. Nero's devil arms are neat to use, and having so many to choose from allows for a ton of interesting builds centered around him. V's gameplay takes some getting used to, but I grew to enjoy how he played, getting tons of high ranks as him towards the end.
The absurd amount of stuff in Dante's kit this time around is amazing. While the guitar from 3 will always be my favorite goofy weapon of his, switching from a sword to a motorcycle is just too crazy (and that's a good thing). All of his weapons feel great to use and switching between melee weapons and guns and styles on the fly to build up style points is more satisfying than it has any right to be.
If you're a Devil May Cry fan and you somehow have not played this game, do it. Right now. By reading this sentence you are now obligated to play this game. DO IT
I enjoyed my time with the base game, so this expansion both getting announced and being free definitely caught my attention. This does a great job of expanding on the story the base game left off on, exploring Kratos as a character and how he's evolved throughout the series. They also have plenty of other small side stories from other characters as well, giving lore-hungry players something to chew on.
The gameplay of Valhalla is truly a treat. It's a roguelite experience, meaning you start a run, you either make it to the end or die, and if you die, you start at the beginning. There's ways to increase your stats at the end of each run, successful or not, to make further attempts easier. You collect all sorts of skills and perks as you advance through encounters, including new moves that have a set amount of charges that don't recharge, making you have to think about the proper times to use them.
I played on the game's equivalent of "Normal" and was able to see all the major story content after around 5-6 hours, and even after that you're encouraged to keep doing runs to see more smaller lore bits and become even stronger, so there's plenty here to keep you engaged.
If you loved. God of War Ragnarök and want more of that game's story and gameplay, you have no reason to overlook this DLC, especially since it's FREE!
The gameplay of Valhalla is truly a treat. It's a roguelite experience, meaning you start a run, you either make it to the end or die, and if you die, you start at the beginning. There's ways to increase your stats at the end of each run, successful or not, to make further attempts easier. You collect all sorts of skills and perks as you advance through encounters, including new moves that have a set amount of charges that don't recharge, making you have to think about the proper times to use them.
I played on the game's equivalent of "Normal" and was able to see all the major story content after around 5-6 hours, and even after that you're encouraged to keep doing runs to see more smaller lore bits and become even stronger, so there's plenty here to keep you engaged.
If you loved. God of War Ragnarök and want more of that game's story and gameplay, you have no reason to overlook this DLC, especially since it's FREE!
2019
[Average Reading Time: 5 Minutes]
When people think about video games and what we do in them, more often than not some stereotypes enter their heads. Saving a princess, defeating a dark force, bringing peace to the world, etc. Video games give us the power to be who we aren't, doing amazing things we can't normally do that help others that don't exist in a world that we don't live in find happiness that exists so long as the credits are rolling. Despite the fiction of these scenarios in games, we are drawn to them. Is it because we want to feel strong? Is it because we want to feel like we are capable of doing things that can change the world around us? Is it because we want to be able to bring peace to the lives of those around us through our actions?
Video games can make people feel needed and important, but what if there was agame no, a piece of software that allows us to actually achieve these things in reality? A piece of software that allows us to connect with real people and aid them in their times of struggle? To be the light that guides others towards making right decisions, to be the comforting shoulder for someone to cry on as they vent their struggles, or perhaps to simply try to help them smile with some...
Kind Words
Kind Words is a piece of software that allows people to connect with others in ways traditional games do not typically offer. In Kind Words, your only objectives are to help others and seek help yourself. You'll find countless requests from other real anonymous people who are all struggling in some way. Whether people are lonely, sad after a breakup or being distanced by a friend, or are suffering in other ways, they are all real people who are looking for some guidance in a world that is confusing and scary. Kind Words allows users to respond to these requests, offering guidance, firendly advice, or just some kind words to help these people realize that they are not alone. They are valid. They deserve happiness, just the same as you and me. Users in Kind Words can not write back to one another, but they can send stickers along to people who respond to their requests to show how much they appreciate how you've taken time out of your busy life to consider the needs of a stranger.
Honestly, writing a letter to someone in Kind Words to try to help them through a struggle has always felt to me more impactful than anything I could do in a traditional video game. It makes me smile to know that my words can have impact on someone's life, and that I can help them find some comfort in this world, even if they will never know who I am. I don't need them to see a flashy profile with my socials on it to get some engagement numbers up or whatever. I just want to keep writing to others, saying things to them that can help them smile, and make them feel at peace. Kind Words allows me to connect with others in ways I don't often get to in reality. I'm not a therapist, but you don't need to be a therapist to offer a helping hand to those who are struggling. It's one of the greatest things about life that we don't ever think about because of how fast life moves. It's always worth keeping in mind, though, because your words and actions do matter, and what you say and do can help people in ways you may never fully comprehend.
That's one half of this game. The other half is where you can reach out to these strangers for guidance. You can ask for advice regarding anything that's making you upset in life. Are school courses giving you anxiety? Write about it. Feeling directionless in life? Vent away. When you write a request, it's shown to other players, and they may decide to write you back with kindness, hoping to make your day a little bit brighter. Before you know it, their letters will begin to appear in your inbox for you to carefully read and cherish. As you send requests and receive letters, you truly get a feeling for how naturally good people are as they take time out of their lives to address your concerns, saying things that can help you find direction and make you smile.
When I started writing requests when I started playing this game a few years back, I was at a point in my life where I was uncertain of my sexuality. I slowly grew to realize that I was asexual, and while it was comforting to reach this conclusion, it was also scary to me. I felt like I wouldn't be able to give others the satisfaction they wanted in a relationship, and that I would be left behind.
I felt broken.
As my worries grew, a part of me knew I needed to ask someone, anyone, for guidance. I didn't feel comfortable talking about it with family or friends at the time, despite knowing that they would accept me no matter what. That's when I turned to Kind Words, because I felt it was easier to ask strangers about my scenario in an anonymous state.
The response I received still makes me emotional to this day.
I received many letters from strangers. I was comforted by their words, with them telling me that I am not broken. That I deserve love as much as others do. That when I do find the right one, that person will accept me for who I am. I was offered advice, being told to be honest with future partners about my feelings, not to force myself to do things that make me uncomfortable for a partner's sake alone, and to not hang on to people who don't accept me for who I am.
These words and more were what came my way when I reached for help, and I could not be happier to see that I was not alone, and that I could find happiness as I am. I was reminded that people are naturally good, despite what we may see on social media or the news. When given the chance to, people will care about each other and do things to lift each other's spirits, and that is truly wonderful.
I've written many different requests since then, and I was always treated with the same level of kindness and understanding each time. I've also written tons of letters to strangers, reminding them that they are not alone, they do matter, and they deserve happiness.
While other games allow me to be someone I'm not, Kind Words allows me to be myself in all of the best ways.
Kind Words is only $5 on Steam, and a sequel is on the way that is fully compatible with the first game, so I implore you to give it a shot and see how good people can be to each other using their words.
Give it a shot. I highly doubt you'll regret it.
When people think about video games and what we do in them, more often than not some stereotypes enter their heads. Saving a princess, defeating a dark force, bringing peace to the world, etc. Video games give us the power to be who we aren't, doing amazing things we can't normally do that help others that don't exist in a world that we don't live in find happiness that exists so long as the credits are rolling. Despite the fiction of these scenarios in games, we are drawn to them. Is it because we want to feel strong? Is it because we want to feel like we are capable of doing things that can change the world around us? Is it because we want to be able to bring peace to the lives of those around us through our actions?
Video games can make people feel needed and important, but what if there was a
Kind Words
Kind Words is a piece of software that allows people to connect with others in ways traditional games do not typically offer. In Kind Words, your only objectives are to help others and seek help yourself. You'll find countless requests from other real anonymous people who are all struggling in some way. Whether people are lonely, sad after a breakup or being distanced by a friend, or are suffering in other ways, they are all real people who are looking for some guidance in a world that is confusing and scary. Kind Words allows users to respond to these requests, offering guidance, firendly advice, or just some kind words to help these people realize that they are not alone. They are valid. They deserve happiness, just the same as you and me. Users in Kind Words can not write back to one another, but they can send stickers along to people who respond to their requests to show how much they appreciate how you've taken time out of your busy life to consider the needs of a stranger.
Honestly, writing a letter to someone in Kind Words to try to help them through a struggle has always felt to me more impactful than anything I could do in a traditional video game. It makes me smile to know that my words can have impact on someone's life, and that I can help them find some comfort in this world, even if they will never know who I am. I don't need them to see a flashy profile with my socials on it to get some engagement numbers up or whatever. I just want to keep writing to others, saying things to them that can help them smile, and make them feel at peace. Kind Words allows me to connect with others in ways I don't often get to in reality. I'm not a therapist, but you don't need to be a therapist to offer a helping hand to those who are struggling. It's one of the greatest things about life that we don't ever think about because of how fast life moves. It's always worth keeping in mind, though, because your words and actions do matter, and what you say and do can help people in ways you may never fully comprehend.
That's one half of this game. The other half is where you can reach out to these strangers for guidance. You can ask for advice regarding anything that's making you upset in life. Are school courses giving you anxiety? Write about it. Feeling directionless in life? Vent away. When you write a request, it's shown to other players, and they may decide to write you back with kindness, hoping to make your day a little bit brighter. Before you know it, their letters will begin to appear in your inbox for you to carefully read and cherish. As you send requests and receive letters, you truly get a feeling for how naturally good people are as they take time out of their lives to address your concerns, saying things that can help you find direction and make you smile.
When I started writing requests when I started playing this game a few years back, I was at a point in my life where I was uncertain of my sexuality. I slowly grew to realize that I was asexual, and while it was comforting to reach this conclusion, it was also scary to me. I felt like I wouldn't be able to give others the satisfaction they wanted in a relationship, and that I would be left behind.
I felt broken.
As my worries grew, a part of me knew I needed to ask someone, anyone, for guidance. I didn't feel comfortable talking about it with family or friends at the time, despite knowing that they would accept me no matter what. That's when I turned to Kind Words, because I felt it was easier to ask strangers about my scenario in an anonymous state.
The response I received still makes me emotional to this day.
I received many letters from strangers. I was comforted by their words, with them telling me that I am not broken. That I deserve love as much as others do. That when I do find the right one, that person will accept me for who I am. I was offered advice, being told to be honest with future partners about my feelings, not to force myself to do things that make me uncomfortable for a partner's sake alone, and to not hang on to people who don't accept me for who I am.
These words and more were what came my way when I reached for help, and I could not be happier to see that I was not alone, and that I could find happiness as I am. I was reminded that people are naturally good, despite what we may see on social media or the news. When given the chance to, people will care about each other and do things to lift each other's spirits, and that is truly wonderful.
I've written many different requests since then, and I was always treated with the same level of kindness and understanding each time. I've also written tons of letters to strangers, reminding them that they are not alone, they do matter, and they deserve happiness.
While other games allow me to be someone I'm not, Kind Words allows me to be myself in all of the best ways.
Kind Words is only $5 on Steam, and a sequel is on the way that is fully compatible with the first game, so I implore you to give it a shot and see how good people can be to each other using their words.
Give it a shot. I highly doubt you'll regret it.
2023
This is the definitive way to experience Super Mario RPG.
The remixes of songs are great, capturing the fun of the original compositions while adding more life to them. Plus, you get the option to listen to the old soundtrack if that's more your thing!
The visuals in this game are superb. This is easily the cutest the cast has ever looked, and Nintendo would be fools to not make plushies of these incarnations of these characters. The silly dances characters do when their friends level up will live rent free in my mind forever.
The gameplay got some really neat enhancements. You see when to time hits and blocks now, and there's a combo system to encourage good timing by giving you buffs in fights! There's also new triple moves that you can perform, which can do things like prevent damage or attack all enemies. Everything feels natural and great to use. Once you get into the groove of this game's combat system you'll be pulling off crazy moves constantly. Being able to swap party members during fights is also a great quality of life feature that ensured that all characters got their proper screen time.
They also added a post game to this, scattering some interesting fights in it. These will definitely challenge your approach to combat, making you consider the greater aspects of your party composition.
Honestly this game was a joy from start to finish, and I can't recommend it enough. If you haven't played this game yet, go do it!
The remixes of songs are great, capturing the fun of the original compositions while adding more life to them. Plus, you get the option to listen to the old soundtrack if that's more your thing!
The visuals in this game are superb. This is easily the cutest the cast has ever looked, and Nintendo would be fools to not make plushies of these incarnations of these characters. The silly dances characters do when their friends level up will live rent free in my mind forever.
The gameplay got some really neat enhancements. You see when to time hits and blocks now, and there's a combo system to encourage good timing by giving you buffs in fights! There's also new triple moves that you can perform, which can do things like prevent damage or attack all enemies. Everything feels natural and great to use. Once you get into the groove of this game's combat system you'll be pulling off crazy moves constantly. Being able to swap party members during fights is also a great quality of life feature that ensured that all characters got their proper screen time.
They also added a post game to this, scattering some interesting fights in it. These will definitely challenge your approach to combat, making you consider the greater aspects of your party composition.
Honestly this game was a joy from start to finish, and I can't recommend it enough. If you haven't played this game yet, go do it!
The move to make less endings but have more going on with storylines was a good move, in my opinion. You really get to see Nicole's sadistic side shine here way more than the first game, and it's a wild treat. If you played the first game and thought it was great, you're gonna love this one!
2021
Playing this game with my wife was a blast. Just when we thought the game couldn't get more insane it pulls some ridiculous move that leaves us in stitches. Play this blind. Play it with friends.
Jeffery should've suffered more tbh
Jeffery should've suffered more tbh
Decided to give this game a replay after not touching it for years. Honestly, it's okay. The level design isn't offensive. Cleft feels good to control. The game doesn't overstay its welcome. It's not too difficult, which is good since it's aimed at children but if you're above average at platformers it kinda makes the game a bit boring since it never really gets challenging.
Its job was to exist at a time where the show was popular enough to net it a decent amount of sales and I'm willing to bet it succeeded somewhat. If you're wondering if you should play this game today then I have to sadly report that like almost all GBA licensed titles it's not actually worth playing. Unless you plan on making a video essay on licensed GBA games or something I really don't think you should waste time playing it.
Its job was to exist at a time where the show was popular enough to net it a decent amount of sales and I'm willing to bet it succeeded somewhat. If you're wondering if you should play this game today then I have to sadly report that like almost all GBA licensed titles it's not actually worth playing. Unless you plan on making a video essay on licensed GBA games or something I really don't think you should waste time playing it.