Started great but dmc is the enemy of after half game, could be better
also nero became my fav character of the series

Largest scale emocore title I've ever consumed

It's unexpectedly good wtf I didn't even care for the flaws
RESIDENT EVIL 4 KILLER

DQ games are all remarkable. This franchise is different owing to bringing a coming of age narrative. It's not just a journey to just defeat evil, but a journey of your life. Ironically or not, this type of story always suited Akira Toriyama.
Family is also a very important though often neglected theme throughout many stories in games, on the other hand, DQ is always hitting this key, so I consider it a merit.

Review from a day 1 player to the present day, scrutinizing a deep and complete analysis of Genshin Impact's world.
Undertaking this review to train my English a little bit

Touching on the drawbacks, Genshin can't be a solid game, and for that will never be respected by the majority of gamers. On account of being a gacha and ongoing, Genshin unfortunately hindered and camouflaged to the world its good narrative story. This subset of the population can't believe the game proposes such splendid story, and I think it's fair due to the beginning of this journey not being a very inviting one.
TL;DR: it's hated because it's a gacha, and would've been actually a very acclaimed game as long as it was released as a standard RPG.
Nonetheless, ironically, it wouldn't be a riveting and marvelous game whether it wasn't ongoing. In fact, in this day and age, the game continues progressing, getting better and better, and more creative due to having more development time. It's a double-edged sword.

Secondly, the side characters and predominantly their side quests. Even though it's a game that presents some gorgeous characters for pulling, the side characters will make you feel you're getting down to the abyss. They are basic and pedestrian, and yet some of them have long side quests. Like, it's not that the content of the side quest is bad, I just I cannot care enough for random characters around the world that in majority I will never see them again. Also, off and on, the side characters' design are all the same, having overall a lack of creativity and effort. It's a point that they could do better.

Continuing with its flaws, Genshin Impact is a game that has hindered its true potential for some time. It's time now to salient a little about the negative point the narrative has.
I appreciate it being an ongoing game, as the narrative would never be as good as it is in case the developers had no time.
Thus, the narrative does not start strong or captivating, but minimally attractive in my opinion. I felt comfortable in the first two regions, and although the third was horrible, as long as you weather the storm, the final door you'll open shall present bloom of cherry trees. That is to say, the game took a time to stop being inconsistent, so you need to have patience when trying it.

Furthermore, the fact that extremely important events that beautifully characterized certain characters will never return to the game. Anyone who has to experience the development of certain characters would have to watch it on YouTube. There are characters who had their development completed or one who revealed their entire background through these events... This is a huge waste that the game offers itself.

Particulars that make the difference negatively: besides being a gacha game and too much time to release new story and region content, the fillers update are a knife in the chest, as you spend 1, 2 or even 3 months doing pointless events. I don't even lose my time, lol.

Lastly, you need at least IQ 150 to fully capt all the plotline for the first 3 chapters. Genshin's story is good since the beginning (with the exception of the Inazuma region). However, throughout the first three regions (until Sumeru), many things are left between the lines. They are in-depth, yes, but the player will need to understand it on their own, or even research it to have all the nuances on the tip of their tongue. This is a problem and that's why you find people saying that Genshin's story is shallow. It never was, the problem is that they left heaps of things ambiguous for a while.
This issue arises due to a problem that Genshin's storyline has faced for a long time: the execution of its narrative. Although everything written is of high quality and carefully crafted, the way it is presented to the player is not comprehensive and complete enough. Many of important contents from the plot are "hidden" in books that are around the whole map.

Therefore, Genshin Impact is a videogame that will not convince you to like it, rather, unfortunately, it has to come from the player, who needs to have fun playing and feel pleasure in participating in this journey.

So why is it good? Why do I like it so much?
These are questions even I ask myself. Defending a controversial game like this is like being a lawyer trying to defend a guilty person in court.

Let's start from the basic: think that Genshin Impact is more a RPG than a gacha game.
Focusing on exploring the Teyvat, meeting its characters and furthering into the secrets of that world gives me a fabulous feeling, one I rarely encounter in any other game.
In this game, the exploration is not pointless. Every place you go, there is a tale behind those beautiful mountains and flowers. The world is alive, and everywhere you set foot, there was an "once upon a time".
It's not repetitive as they say, it's not boring,
it's experience. It makes me over the moon.
If you focus on this instead of trying to pull for characters, you already increase your own happiness in 80%, get your stress down in 120% and savor the game.


First virtue, the narrative.

The game starts with a riveting theme in my opinion, and it's even more provocative to realize Genshin follows the label of a generic RPG. Though, what differentiates this game from others is that it transformed everything generic into something unique, radiant and well written, which when looking closely doesn't even seem like it uses the same things as an average RPG (island in the skies, abyss, lost technology (wow, JRPGs love this) and the same biomes that we know adventure games offer).
Featuring an extremely ambitious plot, Genshin Impact has a beautiful worldbuilding, and heaps of characterization.
It brings an enthralling dynamism between villains, in this case, there is not just 1 villain, but 2 or more, and they all have their motives and reasons for such chaos.
I don't know much what to say about this worldbuilding topic, frankly, as it's a game that portrays everything we can imagine.

However, slowly, as each region passes, Genshin Impact's story becomes prettier, denser, and better written.
It remained as a promising game for a LONG TIME, leaving many questions unanswered that some of them even looked like pretentious (bro, like, there was way too much, they weren't answering at all). However, at a certain point, the answers began to surface, and new possibilities emerged. Following the events in Fontaine, the game ceased to be a mere promise and transformed into a tangible reality, solidifying its status as having definitely a great plotline.
Genshin initially generated a lot of hype surrounding Inazuma, the third region, but ultimately proved to be a significant disappointment in terms of its story. Following this, Genshin Impact's narrative trajectory seemed uncertain, I was honestly ready to drop the game if Sumeru was bad. Thankfully, it was the region of Sumeru that emerged as the most captivating thus far, stepping up a gear. However, despite its strengths, Sumeru left many questions unanswered, leaving the game's potential still as only a promise. That finally ended in Fontaine, which I consider to be the climax of Genshin Impact, that the answers finally began to materialize.

The game's characters are generally good, with some being astonishing and others even more fabulous. One of the enchantments of this game lies in its expansive world, known only to a select few who are familiar with its 'underworld' or 'dark side'. These special characters possess deeper insights into the truth of the world of Teyvat, making them particularly intriguing to me. Yet, aside from a few minor or filler characters (including overrated ones), the overall quality is positively commendable.


Now, I'd like to talk about the heart of Genshin Impact as a game, and there are two of them: the world/side quests and the soundtrack.

I mentioned earlier that side characters pose a problem, but this stems more from the lack of attention to detail and the perceived 'laziness' on the part of developers in creating them more thoroughly. However, this does not extend to the world quests, which significantly expand upon the vast narrative landscape. These quests are so integral that the gaming experience feels incomplete without them. Playing Genshin Impact solely for the main quests would result in a far from complete experience, as these world quests not only complement the main storyline but also add depth and richness to it.

The soundtrack of Genshin Impact breathes life and atmosphere into the game, serving as the perfect complement to its greatest propose: an immersive adventure. It truly is the icing on the cake of this exceptional gaming experience.
Genshin Impact is undeniably a professionally crafted game, with its creators assembling top talent from various fields and professions to deliver their best work. This concerted effort has borne fruit, evident in the game's quality and success.
The game's soundtrack stands out as my personal favorite in fiction. Drawing heavy inspiration from classical music, its vast variety is truly remarkable, offering a memorable and diverse selection of compositions crafted by brilliant composers. There are not only compositions that help with immersion, yet exorbitantly well written ones, more so than currently even the most famous composers on the market, featuring extraordinary complex tempos and chords, and creativity. For example, there is a song whose rhythm is made using a pocket watch. Or another where, literally, the composer of the song created his arrangement and even sings it. Unfortunately, owing to being ongoing, it never won an award at The Game Awards or was even mentioned for OST, although it should've been if that award was really serious.

For all this, it's not a game for everyone and I'm swimming against the tide. Genshin is long, heavy and easy to burnout. However, it's the only game that I never stopped playing, and I wish it was a little more loved by society for all the strengths it presents. Unfortunately, its bad side overshadows its good side, and I think it's relatively deserved.
For everything it presented, it's already a great game. Although its ending is not yet known in our time, it is expected to happen in 2 years. In case it concludes horribly (like Inazuma), it'd easily be the biggest disappointment of my life, but otherwise, it'll become an unforgettable journey for me, one that I shall remember for the rest of my life.

It doesn't have the soundtracks...
It doesn't have the style...
It doesn't have the gameplay...

but it has the best storytelling, fr. If they make a proper remake of this someday, it could become the best Persona.

No special protagonist because yes, no repetitive pacing; story's just linear and follow its plot elegantly. Good character development and solid cast of characters that features good interactions.

R-E-P-E-T-I-T-I-V-E
Persona series overall is letdown, but P3 is actually a waste of a masterpiece, and I'll explain why.

Narrative structure: Its ending shines. I completely kneel for the last 10 hours of the game, Burn my Dread is one of the COOLEST final battle themes I've ever listened (the lyrics, oh my God), and all the meaning of the journey was top. I love how, for example, how P3 deals about facing fears, and living each day as if it were your last.
HOWEVER, the entire beginning and half-game are terrible (except for the Aragaki scene middle game). The stories of Persona games are NOT bad, but they are kind of destroyed by its own structure. They are not long stories, but the structure makes it long, bullying the pacing of the games. You have 90 hours games that could be 30 or 40, but due to you needing to live every single day of the month, farming points, seeing useless social link or characters, and discarding your time instead of investing in more things to improve what is going to come (or just skip all that), the series insist that you need to grind useless no matter what. Because of this, I genuinely find impressive anyone who completes a Persona game without finding it a tiring journey, as Persona is the most repetitive series I've ever consumed. Not only that, also its worldbuilding is too simple (still efficient), and the story overall is shallow, as it's not of the interest of the creators diving into a well deep and explored narrative. It has good moments and very good connections, but the construction of the scenes are very flawed and superficial (I still remember the grotesquely bad script of Fuuka's persona presentation).

Characters: with very fun interactions, the characters are cute, cool and stylish, but they can't sustain this structure for most of the time. They're not deep and they're not incredibly well developed. They are, de facto, good characters, some unique and ones that I really like, but this does NOT carry a story for 80 hours or more. There will come a time when everything will be a record played again. Repetitive. Also, I'm already tired of saying Persona protagonists are completely bland (making a slight exception for Amamiya Ren), but I don't even care anymore.

Gameplay: The gameplay that exists is that you climb a tower with 200 floors identical to each other to kill mobs. With the exception of this defect, it's fun. Okay, serious now, the battles are very interesting. The battle system is one of the strong points of Persona games.

Soundtrack: Unique, beautiful and fantastic. A very beautiful mix of elements such as rock and jazz to create compositions that anyone in the world could familiarize themselves with in just one listen. I love Persona soundtracks. For anyone who have complained about the remix, go fuck yourself. In Reload version, the songs were better and cleaner than in the original versions. And even if you didn't like it, you're a fool for complaining. The original soundtracks already exist, the new ones give a new perspective and fresh air for those who want it to have that air.

The Art Direction continues to astound, consistently elevating the Persona series with its stunning visual presentation. Since Persona 5, it has showcased a breathtaking artistic vision that truly makes the game shine. Paired with its exceptional soundtrack, the art direction are the heart of the series.

For all that, this franchise could be much better than it actually is, but I know that will never change. The flaws will continue, and I will always be complaining, because it'll never get there. I know Atlus is like the RGG studio that likes a bit of a comfort zone, and won't change their games much.

In short, Persona is a series that is destroyed by its own exhausting structure that seems to want to suck you in at all costs, but still it's overall a fun experience with a good message.
I tried gaslight, but when a game is objectively mid, not even my gaslight can help it.

Persona is the biggest collective delusion I've ever seen, I find it unimaginable that the majority of people acclaim this series and don't point out any flaws, not even the elitists or people that know how to write good reviews. It's unbelievable to me.

It's been 5 years and still my favorite narrative in fiction. It went 99% like I wanted it to be, basically an ideal of story I had for a long time

baldurs gate antecessor + starfield killer

because the game was boring I unconsciously opened twitter while a cutscene was playing and got spoiled about alan wake on my timeline so I'll be hating xenosaga from now on

The soundtrack and universe are great. I've always been interested in exploring Granblue's world, and I'm finally done. I still see that it can improve in the future, but for now it completely SUCKS. It's shit.
I don't care about gameplay so all I'm left with is the story, which is ridiculous and poorly done. Anyways, Granblue is a massive series with an expansive worldbuilding, as there is much yet to show, it's unfair to judge the series as a whole for now.
But, yeah, having waited years and years for this game and having it be a disappointing experience, it was sad.

This game could've been so good if it hadn't fucked up. It's the antithesis of a linear plot and self-insert. After the prologue ends, the game also ends here. Basically, you're free to explore the world without a specific goal or linear structure. You may choose to search for all the characters on the map (though it's not mandatory), and in various locations around the world, there are quests related to each character. However, you can only unlock these quests at specific levels, requiring you to teleport or travel between places, and grinding. In summary, you lose the continuity and rhythm of one story to start another with no connection. In other words, the cast of characters in the game's thumbnail is basically a lie, as they practically don't even know each other well, or there is very little natural interaction.

I've now entered a story where the characters knew each other but actually there weren't any dialogues between them so I was like wtf. Not only that, but after recruiting all characters, they become part of your party. Yet, when you start any story, they all disappear in cutscenes, leaving only the protagonist of that particular story. Additionally, characters from the story's protagonist you're playing appear and have story-wise fights, but you don't play with them. Instead, you play with 'filler' characters (the protagonists of other regions, the other travelers)
It's a shame because it has very interesting characters and the game itself is very beautiful

so yeah the game is good but for having such asshole abyss fiction structure, it made the game ass

PROJECT SEKAI

When I first started it, at first I noticed a lot of melodramatic or cliche narratives choices which weren't healthy for a solid series. On the other hand, as events unfolded (specially nightcord at 25am), my opinion has changed because the game changed itself. Idk what the author was thinking during his early journey through the writing for using those lazy narrative ideas, but after the prologue ended, it turned into another title.
When I first came back to it, I wasn't that hopped in the game, so I began looking for clues in the plot to make myself curious (as I already said here I have difficulty with no-goal rule), and then, before I even realised, the goals were slowly appearing, one by one.... surprise after surprise, the characters were growing inside me (this is such a gay affirmation). Project Sekai is not strong at first, but all in all, a title that gets strong. So don't give up until you see new genesis, then you shall see how far they can go with such a simple story

NIGHTCORD AT 25AM

An experience 'outside' of the external world. Here we're swimming through the darkest memories of girls having a battle with their mental selves. Cinema 4, I can't decide my favorite character because each arc seems like one of them becomes my fav and then another arc come and other girl is my fav lol, they all are great and solid characters, but Mafuyu is without a doubt the most well explored and done character of they all excuse me. Such a great suspense they were planning how to do it for already many events, the build up was so well done, everything went so well that even the production suddenly improved af just for that arc's end. For the time I write this, I don't know if wxs will be able to beat it, but this journey was wholesome and worth it. It's kinda hard to put into words, but even so little time spent with those characters, I already felt like I was in such a journey of various things, accepting the way we are, being there for another person, that FIRST YOU FIGHT, THEN YOU RUN, AND THEN YOU FIGHT AGAIN like a cat. Seeing everything that happened with Mafuyu makes me reflect again on why I will always prefer to be sentimental for the rest of my life: because acting with the heart is acting with what we know best, it's acting with our true selves.

A BATTLE FOR THE HOPE - When I see nightcord at 25am, I think of ourselves working together to encounter that paradise, and that all of that is a journey meeting the true light. Find yourself with your own heart.

a part of niigo soundtracks are solid compositions (I even talk about bgms here) because they can really transmits what they want to, those songs helps to create this feeling of hope through the darkness using very interesting tones with the piano
also it has such great leitmotifs, and prob my favorite from the series after the title screen

It's also the best production in my opinion, every CG is absolutely cinema, and the soundtrack is really a degree above all the other groups

It's impressive how good the cast of characters is, from every group I played. There is not a SINGLE character there that I could think "ok this dude or this girl is the worst character in the cast", NO. All of them are lovable, consistent and well written characters, having great personalities and goals. Your affirmation of saying those characters are alive was really true.
I think project sekai suffers the same from other gacha games like blue archive and genshin impact. Maybe they all don't have a strong early story, but after some chapters they definitely step up a gear.
During niigo's half point, I already thought what to expect from the rest of the entire journey (the other groups' story and niigo's ending arc), but damn it was flying colors

WONDERLAND X SHOWTIME

Life is a journey of spectacle, as we're right now on stage performing our moves. Four members with different dreams came together to help each other get there. Even though a parting is near to come, the final destiny must be an ultimate reencounter. We manage to learn their development in evolving as a person (damn I remember nene being so shy at the beginning and already in one of the final events she was so proactive). I always wondered what the goal of WXS would be, and it seems it was a coming of age all this time. One of my favorite messages in fiction was when I learned we people live or for our dreams or for love. In WXS we could see that everyone there are living to accomplish their dreams. Tsukasa was the most enlightened protagonist of the series, but I want to draw attention to Emu, who is the personification of innocence and humility. Basically, THE PERFECT PERSON DOES EXIST.. IT'S HER... There is still a lot to explore from all of them. I believe WXS has more to say about the characters than the other two groups I've read.
On the other hand, I thought the coming of age was done too quickly (as I'm used to very big stories), so it wasn't enough for me to get emotional or feel much affection for the characters.
Therefore, the strong point of this group for me was the well-executed shows, mainly the one where Tsukasa sounds through the eyes (WE DON'T CRY!!!!!).

A COMING AGE THROUGH THE LIGHT - When I see wonderland x showtime, I think of ourselves being in the paradise, living our lives at the triumphant level searching for our dreams. Live your golden time, flourish your best moment, till it turn into memories.

LIGHT UP THE FIRE: VIVID BAD SQUAD

The best and most emotional event in the entire game for me, period. I'm getting chills just from writing it right now. This was PEAK Project Sekai, it PEAKED right here. You transform a story that had a boring objective with no expectation of improvement, where everything remained the same, into the tracks to compete among the best stories in the game. A single, JUST A TINY SINGLE twist made VBS story go up to tiers of the top of this series.
This story completely deceived the viewer with a totally unexpected tale that is a spectacular shock factor. On a path towards success in a calm and hopeful way, a major revealing obstacle brings us back as if to the beginning itself. Through this, we see how we were deceived from the beginning and the entire direction that the VBS story was taking was practically all justified and everything makes sense. Futile flasbacks that looked like it were going nowhere? Just random events of they improving? IT WAS THE HISTORY BEING WRITTEN as a beautiful passing of the baton to the next to continue the LEGEND of those who marked a generation. A group where their side characters are FUNDAMENTAL in the plot, showing truly the definition of Passion. The whole drama was spectacularly well created and reminded me a little of KEY during its golden age.
Throwed half of project sekai weakness to hell. It didn't failed building up even for a bit, the structure worked because the events were mostly long, and the fast and consistent pacing that marked the event being completely solid from beginning to the end.
Though, it's kinda bizarre to notice why the fuck An is not the protagonist of this group. Maybe they are planning something for Kohane, but in my eyes it doesn't make sense so far. It should've been between Akito or An, both fundamental characters of the group, while Kohane and Toya works more like supporting ones. Or for the better, let's just say the protagonists were RAW Weekend all this time
bro *********** in the final part of light up the fire was the most emotional part of the entire game imo
and yeah this group has the best side characters of any other, without ANY doubt. It's not exaggerate to say that Vivid Bad Squad is a story about side characters.

Obviously, a single event does not justify the flawed pacing of everything that has happened so far, but it's a game changing, and standalone the BEST event story in the game. Light up the fire saves Vivid Bad Squad once for all, with a masterful writing.

THE LEGEND IS PASSED DOWN FROM GENERATION TO GENERATION - Never forget the flame that fuels your passion for what you love, the fire whose warms for the sake of responsibility as you carry the dreams of those who can no longer.

Catching the last hand of this adventure, it's a thorny one, as the series' main problem is its structure since the beginning. It doesn't has an immersive writing imo, and most of the things are extremely direct and simple. Even though they build a character progression for an entire arc, they don't build the scenes very well due to the fact the medium they are in has limitations. It wouldn't probably be that good putting monologues or these things to enhance a scene for kids or in a gacha (?) idk, but I think you understood about what I'm coming here. In short, I found the build up scenes too superficial, even though it's a solid character development. Like, tsukasa crying scene, he basically said about his inspirations 30 minutes before that, so it wasn't enough time for me caring the much he cared about it, unfortunately. The literally only exception to this was mafuyu with her mom and mostly the legendary VBS event
And yeah the fact we don't care that much of some bands too 💀 💀

Overall, from a series that I never thought I would read, to the best gacha game out there

my favorite characters were tsukasa, emu and mizuki, these are the top 3
FAVORITE GROUP ORDER: Niigo > VBS > WXS
niigo is finished as the first, best in almost everything, with also the most interesting conflicts in project sekai.
VBS is being the 2nd option you guys still don't understand how epic that event was, MAYBE ANIMA-KUN UNDERSTANDS A LITTLE BECAUSE I SPAMMED HIM 250 MESSAGES WHILE HE WAS SLEEPING, it delivered a thing that was out of the world, that was project sekai at its 100%
WXS the third, even though more consistent than VBS, it was not as emotional or impactful, even though the cast of characters are almost a pair with niigo.
It's only the beginning. I'm really feeling the best of project sekai is yet to come, and I wll be there no matter what.

Such a minuscule text is not enough to say all the good things about this game, but consider this as a humble letter from someone who liked it 🧎‍♂️🌹

Nier: Automata does not excel in developing its characters, and its script is average. However, Nier's game design stands atop the pedestal of the video game medium, and that's where Yoko Taro truly shines as a GENIUS. Nier is experience and connection. The way the director constructed the entire story of the game and the way it was designed, the way he CONVEYS the story to the viewer, is completely MAGIC. This work would be different if Yoko Taro weren't present. Nier is one of the VERY RARE cases of a work or series that, I believe, reached 95% to 100% of its potential.

The catchphrase "Yoko Taro, you genius" is absolutely real. When he created a rival duo fighting a boss at the end of the C route (when you make a combo, you're automatically switched to the other character), I screamed PEAK. When he had you fight against a boss in complete darkness with a flashlight, I screamed PEAK. When he mixed ship, 2D, 2.5D, and 3D in the game, with a top view, I screamed PEAK. Not to mention the countless references he made to writers like Shakespeare or even the Bible, naming characters like Adam or Eve, or the fact that 2B's name is translated into "two b" - "to be" - which means 'to be or not to be,' Nier also aims to provoke questions and explore the philosophy of life. The artistic direction is top-notch, no comments required. The OST is also excellent, with Keiichi Okabe at his zenith, the Kevin Penkin of games

If I were to point out flaws, it's really the script that, although efficient, makes the plot move very quickly (in a bad way), and because there wasn't enough character development, it's not a perfect story. There's not enough plot construction.

The existence of Nier: Automata is essential in the video game medium due to everything it offers, such as direction and other technical aspects like the soundtrack and game design. 2017 was certainly a blessed year for anime, but especially for games